Islander
TS Member
It’s great to read that this is not just me!! Happens with every room card I get there, without fail, and doesn’t happen with other hotel room cards.
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ℹ️ Heads up...
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[2024] Europa-Park General Discussion
- Thread starter CSLKenny
- Start date
Llama
TS Member
Other than annually at EP this has happened to me exactly one other time in my life at a very cheap hotel where it was probably their fault. Absolutely no idea why this happens to me every time at EP, even when I'm trying to take care not to put the card next to my phone, but again in the end it's a handful of minutes of slight annoyance spread over several days. More silly than anything especially since it happens to me without fail.
The reception staff were all great and it seemed like they dealt with this relatively often. There's even a warning on the info card they give you when you check in:
The reception staff were all great and it seemed like they dealt with this relatively often. There's even a warning on the info card they give you when you check in:
venny
TS Member
I agree that they could really use another large scale dark ride a la Pirates. Voletarium just doesn’t do it for me, so unless you count Arthur there isn’t really a 1-2 punch on the dark ride front. It’s definitely a minor criticism though.
I think they could really use a modern thrilling flat ride. Whether it fits in with the motif is debatable, but it is one of the few ride types they don’t really have.
I think they could really use a modern thrilling flat ride. Whether it fits in with the motif is debatable, but it is one of the few ride types they don’t really have.
Skyscraper
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
A Zierer Star Shape would be a good fit, Think they would theme it really nice.
venny
TS Member
We’re just back as well. We’ve ridden across three separate periods this year and there’s definitely inconsistency in Voltron, between rows and between trains; so you can’t accurately predict what sort of ride you’ll likely experience. The front two rows are usually fine though, regardless of seat. The wing seats on rows 3 and 4 are where you’re in for Russian roulette.
Elsewhere across the park, a few observations from the week: -
- Park audio is not EP’s strong point, but it’s now at the worst standard I have ever experienced. It is either very quiet or totally inaudible across large swathes of the park. Even Deutsche Allee suffers, along with where you’d think they would have addressed it in the new area of Croatia.
It evens extends to the shows which have been getting quieter every year. The show in the Globe is so quiet that you can hear people shuffling in the seats. It makes for a pretty underwhelming experience in many parts.
Perhaps most baffling is that the audio in some areas is bang on. The Circus for example is vibrant and loud, without being ear splitting. Spain generally has audible music.
If there’s one thing Europa can do to simply improve the park experience, it’s a complete audio overhaul.
- We tried Eatenalin again and there have been some changes. The food is still spot on, excellent. You no longer receive any refills on your wine (although you do still on the sake) and the wine quality I think is slightly lower than previous. The biggest complaint I had was a seeming lack of maintenance though. There were scratches in the toilets, all the tissue boxes were empty, several screens were broken in the spaceship room and the simulator itself, which used to be good enough to deliver airtime, now just vibrates very slightly (but loudly). The room itself is therefore extremely underwhelming.
The “lift” to the bar is missing the cheeky scene it used to have. The cocktail list in the bar has been reduced to six cocktails, from a previously considerable selection.
The experience is still good, but not quite what it was. Thomas seems to be there regularly, so I’m not quite sure why standards have slipped in the way they have, although the reduction in the cocktail list is understandable for serving efficiency, whereby they had previously been quite slow.
- The decorations across the park are as abundant as ever. Any mention of the lights being cut or switched off early seem to have disappeared along with the sensitivities of previous years’ energy useage. Projection mapping has been added to the Schloss.
- The Let It Show, show on the Italian stage is pretty awful ok afraid to say. The flamenco dancers and the Sultan from summer are reused in a song/dance show that really doesn’t work.
- The circus is excellent as ever and it’s great to see the Ukrainian band do both the warm up and play at the end of the show.
- It seems the park is really struggling for live music. In 8 days there was almost no live music at the park. Even the Rock Cafe and O’Mackays were missing it, even on a Saturday. The guitarist in El Circo was, I’m afraid to say, pretty poor and Buena Vista just had a cabaret singer on.
- The Miraculeux mapping show has had some new scenes and we generally enjoyed the new show.
- We had a real problem on one of the days, which was nothing to do with the park. They dealt with our request for assistance excellently though and I can’t commend them enough, nor can I imagine many other parks in the world would do what Europa did to help us.
- The non-slip coating in Rulantica seems to have improved, but not solved the slip hazard issue.
- Snekjas has had new order terminals installed, which unlike the old ones, are actually used. This makes a big difference to the ordering process and language barrier issues we have witnessed there previously. The terminal also now have an English language section.
- Tonnevirvel’s cover is a little underwhelming in its detail; that is to say there is very little. I’m aware it’s in soft opening, so it would be good to see some additional details added to enrich the feel which at the moment is a little utilitarian. The lighting at night includes moving heads and is pretty good.
- The Rust Bus continues to be a good service however the current roadworks by the main entrance are delaying the service fairly consistently.
- Zero ride breakdowns witnessed during a full 8 days. Take note Merlin.
Elsewhere across the park, a few observations from the week: -
- Park audio is not EP’s strong point, but it’s now at the worst standard I have ever experienced. It is either very quiet or totally inaudible across large swathes of the park. Even Deutsche Allee suffers, along with where you’d think they would have addressed it in the new area of Croatia.
It evens extends to the shows which have been getting quieter every year. The show in the Globe is so quiet that you can hear people shuffling in the seats. It makes for a pretty underwhelming experience in many parts.
Perhaps most baffling is that the audio in some areas is bang on. The Circus for example is vibrant and loud, without being ear splitting. Spain generally has audible music.
If there’s one thing Europa can do to simply improve the park experience, it’s a complete audio overhaul.
- We tried Eatenalin again and there have been some changes. The food is still spot on, excellent. You no longer receive any refills on your wine (although you do still on the sake) and the wine quality I think is slightly lower than previous. The biggest complaint I had was a seeming lack of maintenance though. There were scratches in the toilets, all the tissue boxes were empty, several screens were broken in the spaceship room and the simulator itself, which used to be good enough to deliver airtime, now just vibrates very slightly (but loudly). The room itself is therefore extremely underwhelming.
The “lift” to the bar is missing the cheeky scene it used to have. The cocktail list in the bar has been reduced to six cocktails, from a previously considerable selection.
The experience is still good, but not quite what it was. Thomas seems to be there regularly, so I’m not quite sure why standards have slipped in the way they have, although the reduction in the cocktail list is understandable for serving efficiency, whereby they had previously been quite slow.
- The decorations across the park are as abundant as ever. Any mention of the lights being cut or switched off early seem to have disappeared along with the sensitivities of previous years’ energy useage. Projection mapping has been added to the Schloss.
- The Let It Show, show on the Italian stage is pretty awful ok afraid to say. The flamenco dancers and the Sultan from summer are reused in a song/dance show that really doesn’t work.
- The circus is excellent as ever and it’s great to see the Ukrainian band do both the warm up and play at the end of the show.
- It seems the park is really struggling for live music. In 8 days there was almost no live music at the park. Even the Rock Cafe and O’Mackays were missing it, even on a Saturday. The guitarist in El Circo was, I’m afraid to say, pretty poor and Buena Vista just had a cabaret singer on.
- The Miraculeux mapping show has had some new scenes and we generally enjoyed the new show.
- We had a real problem on one of the days, which was nothing to do with the park. They dealt with our request for assistance excellently though and I can’t commend them enough, nor can I imagine many other parks in the world would do what Europa did to help us.
- The non-slip coating in Rulantica seems to have improved, but not solved the slip hazard issue.
- Snekjas has had new order terminals installed, which unlike the old ones, are actually used. This makes a big difference to the ordering process and language barrier issues we have witnessed there previously. The terminal also now have an English language section.
- Tonnevirvel’s cover is a little underwhelming in its detail; that is to say there is very little. I’m aware it’s in soft opening, so it would be good to see some additional details added to enrich the feel which at the moment is a little utilitarian. The lighting at night includes moving heads and is pretty good.
- The Rust Bus continues to be a good service however the current roadworks by the main entrance are delaying the service fairly consistently.
- Zero ride breakdowns witnessed during a full 8 days. Take note Merlin.
Burbs
TS Team
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
Completely agree on this one. Last winter season we watched the parade from the Melusina area and really struggled to hear the audio. I’ve also noticed that music on rides is difficult to hear too, for instance on Dancing Dingie and Spinning Dragons, which is a real shame as the audio really heightens the ride experience. I wonder if they’ve been asked to dial down the audio in areas near to the village, as I don’t recall it being an issue until the last couple of years. Either that or the speakers are largely shot and they need to have the volume down!
Bowser
TS Member
Is it fair to conclude that sitting on an inner seat is "safe" regardless of placement? Just thinking ahead to ensure my son sits there if so and i'll take the bullet.
Must admit i'm curious what this was though also suspect you would have said already if you felt comfortable doing so.
IDB
TS Member
Exactly the same for me. Even the “less comfortable” rides weren’t that bad.
Poisson
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- The Giant Squid
I've done it 8 times. 1 of the rides was like Gerst doing badly (but not their worst) levels of utter crap, 4 of them at least very smooth with the rest varying between the 2.
New Geisterschloss. The ending is good but the rest was just....fine? Maybe doesn't help I have no nostalgia for it.
New Geisterschloss. The ending is good but the rest was just....fine? Maybe doesn't help I have no nostalgia for it.
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AstroDan
TS Team
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance, Cedar Point
venny
TS Member
Yes, I’d say the non-wing seats at the back can be a little bumpy, but I’ve never had a ride that I’d class as really rough on them. They’re the “safe” choice.
It’s correct to say Gheisterschloss is just okay. The refurb was an evolutionary improvement.
There’s one other thing I forgot to mention. A visit to Bubba Sven’s Sports Bar to watch some football, which we had been assured earlier in the week would be shown, turned into a farce when it turned out that not a single person in said bar, even the manager, had any idea how to actually use the tv system to turn on the correct game. Quite a thing for a sports bar to not be able to show the correct sport; very much style over substance.
AstroDan
TS Team
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance, Cedar Point
Martin
TS Member
It's actually a sign of a real sports bar abroad if nobody there can work the tv to get it to show the match the customers all want to see.
Electric Elly
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Voltron Nevera
The next country to be annexed could be... France- and by royal decree at that.
https://www.looopings.nl/weblog/275...ieuw-Europees-themagebied-in-2026-Monaco.html
Spotted this on Looopings and saw some discussion taking place over on EPFriends.
Will be interesting to see how much they can get squeezed in- next few years are getting very busy for them.
https://www.looopings.nl/weblog/275...ieuw-Europees-themagebied-in-2026-Monaco.html
Spotted this on Looopings and saw some discussion taking place over on EPFriends.
Will be interesting to see how much they can get squeezed in- next few years are getting very busy for them.
Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Shambhala (PortAventura Park)
Will this really change an awful lot? It makes sense thematically, but there’s not an awful lot of space around by Silver Star and the Mercedes-Benz Hall to do anything meaningful, if I’m remembering rightly.
Won’t it basically just be a separate area in name only, and still effectively feel like France?