[2024] Europa-Park General Discussion

[Rob]

The capacity of the park is huge, so I'd say it's very unlikely that it will sell out. That only happens on a handful of occasions, as Craig says midnight opening or if Halloween falls on a Saturday for example.

I would guess capacity is somewhere around 60,000.

 

[Aardvark747]

Was looking at the Resort Pass Silver block out dates and came across something interesting. From the grids below, it would indicate that the park will open in 2025 at the start of February and the winter shut down will be reduced to 3 weeks. There is always a chance they just haven't updated the calendar to properly reflect but considering this February is correctly greyed out, I do wonder if this is a sign.

 

[Rob]

I am pretty sure that is just a case of the calendar not having been updated for 2025. It's such a long way off. Europa-Park traditionally opens around a week or so before whenever Easter falls and I doubt that is set to change.

 

[venny]

I can see there being some sense in the park edging towards 365 opening, given it will provide an increase in hotel occupancy. That said, the amount of work which the park do during the closed season is pretty massive. I can’t help but feel that year-round opening would be to the detriment of the usual refurbishments and surprises we commonly see at the start of a new season, along with a need for ride closures for rehab during operating days.

We’re already seeing some of the effects of staying open for Hallowinter, what with Can Can’s issues and other general issues to tidy up across the park. I’m not at all sure I’d like to see opening extend any further than they’re already stretching it.

 

[Craig]

Fully agree on the 365 opening, the sheer number of cranes that crop up in closed season (although we've seen them over the season this year too!) shows they go to town when the park is closed.

Touching on the audio issue though, it's not really a recent issue - just one that's more obvious on Can Can. Blue Fire and Arthur have had the same issues over the years, and indeed still does to this day. The movement of the trains stops the speakers from working/dislodges connections and there never seems to be a rush to fix them if they do break. Hopefully it's something they'll address soon, especially as more and more rides are featuring on board audio.

 

[Rob]

I'm not really a massive fan of video updates, much prefer photos, but thought this little closed season update was worth sharing:



A few key points from the video:

• Demolition of the ticket booths in the entrance plaza has begun. This is going to look very different come March!
• Construction on the new car park bypass is progressing at a rapid rate. This is set to be completed by Spring
• More sound barriers are being added to Wodan, this time on the hill after the first drop

A small bit of Voltron testing is also shown in the video.

This again backs up the point of why 365 day opening at Europa-Park is not likely to happen in the short-to-medium term, if ever. They do so much work during the period that they are closed. It is not uncommon for them to just dig up parts of the park!

 

[AstroDan]

I have emailed Europa-Park to complain about the buffet prices.

They are now ridiculous.

Santa Isabel, to a point, is OK - as it is much quieter and elevated quality - but Antica Roma is a joke for that price.

Reply;

We formally apologize.

The price increase is a consequence of the German government's decision.

The current government in Germany has not kept its promises to the catering industry and has increased the VAT rate again.

We very much regret that we have had to adjust our prices as a result of this decision.

We very much regret this development and had long hoped that the tax rate of 7% on food would be maintained.

=======

I looked and VAT gone from 7 to 19% on 1st January.

 

[Dave]

Reply;

We formally apologize.

The price increase is a consequence of the German government's decision.

The current government in Germany has not kept its promises to the catering industry and has increased the VAT rate again.

We very much regret that we have had to adjust our prices as a result of this decision.

We very much regret this development and had long hoped that the tax rate of 7% on food would be maintained.

=======

I looked and VAT gone from 7 to 19% on 1st January.

Sounds like they are using tax rises to price gouge to me.

 

[venny]

That would suggest significant price rises across the park then.

 

[Benzin]

Sounds like they are using tax rises to price gouge to me.

Classic capitalism.

 

[evilcod]

Sounds like they are using tax rises to price gouge to me.

Its not even a real tax rise, its a return to normal levels after a temporary reduction to help get through covid which got extended a couple of years due to cost of living.

 

[venny]

Interesting.

I don’t recall the price going down when they reduced the VAT.

 

[AstroDan]

I actually (partly) blame Disneyland Paris.

It's always them who whack up admission prices, put a blanket 10% on all food first.

Then places like Europa-Park and Phantasialand think... hang on a minute. If they're charging €45 for a buffet, €9 a beer and €110 to get in and we get a higher rating then....

Asterix do it to a lesser extent. Just look at parking rates.

I should add that Alton added 10% on all food last year too. I guess inflation in UK and Germany was over 10% and food has gone up even more.

 

[Benzin]

Blame capitalism and the excuse of "keeping profits consistent".

 

[Graeme]

I see the resort passes have increased in price.

The silver is up €25 to €265 and the gold is €445. Not sure what the gold was priced at before.

Fairly significant increase.

 

[NuttySquirrel]

I see the resort passes have increased in price.

The silver is up €25 to €265 and the gold is €445. Not sure what the gold was priced at before.

Fairly significant increase.

I bought my gold pass in late December for €420 so the €25 increase would seem to be the same across both pass types.

Glad I snuck mine in just before the price hike now.

 

[venny]

Around 10% seems to be the rule of thumb in recent years.

Well above inflation.

 

[AstroDan]

Around 10% seems to be the rule of thumb in recent years.

Well above inflation.

Whilst EP increased their pass prices significantly (well, for a one with no blackout dates) post Covid and simultaneously reduced the number in circulation, the Gold prices have not systematically risen by more than the German rate of inflation, nor the German rate of CPI.

EP Gold Pass 2023: €420.00
EP Gold Pass 2024: €445.00

This is a year-on-year rise of 5.95%. Not 10%.

Inflation in Germany has now fallen to around 4%, however consumer prices through 2023 rose around 5.9%.

Could be worse. Phatasialand don't do 2-day tickets, let alone annual passes anymore. DLP also massively increased pass prices. Their EP Gold equivalent is €699 (admittedly, it's open 365). It's also just as well the Gold pass includes 2 days Rulantica, worth around €90 towards the price.

 

[venny]

Yes, I was referring to the silver pass and the pre-Covid pass.

If you consider the Gold pass price, its pre-Covid equivalent was around €200, compared to the current price of €350 (once you account for the Rulantica entry). That’s an astronomical jump. The park clearly used the pause in annual pass sales through the pandemic as an opportunity to foist that increase on customers.

There’s not really any data to demonstrate any systemic increase in the Gold passes specifically since they’ve only been on sale for a year.

 

[Rowe]

Apologies for interrupting the current discussion, but I was browsing the resort's Instagram and came across this gem where Ed's so excited to see Snorri he jumps and clicks his heels.