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[2025] Europa-Park General Discussion

Matt N said:
What I’m wondering is; how was Eatrenalin not family-friendly anyway? Granted, the Europa Park version seems to serve quite “adult” food, but isn’t the actual ride system just a very gentle trackless dark ride system?
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Having recently experienced Eatrenalin the only possible issue (aside from the menu) I could see that would make it not as family friendly is that everyone has their own chair and because of how the movement is choreographed, you aren't always near the people you came with which could be an issue for parents. Also, if someone were to get up and start walking around during the transitions, it would cause some issues (I know my kids would have trouble staying still!); you have to request to break for the toilet for example.
 
Safety-wise, this system seems to be the exact same as the Eatrenalin one but with a table instead of a chair, so I assume whatever safety measures exist here to allow it to function with children and without restraints would apply to Eatrenalin. I think the main difference is just in how they're marketing both of these systems, Eatrenalin is an upscale fine dining experience for adults that costs an arm and a leg and this is a 6-person family restaurant that will be cheaper and less fancy.

Still doesn't really explain how it'll work, as children sitting unrestrained on a moving table does seem relatively dangerous, though I'm sure the Macks have a solution for this.
 
The Eatrenalin chairs don’t move fast enough for them to present much more danger to a child than falling off a regular chair. Fair enough it may disrupt the ride system momentarily, but I don’t think it’s a safety issue.

I’m intrigued by the implementation of this, albeit there hasn’t really been any more news since the original announcement. The consensus thus far seems to be the short duration means they can lower the pricing, but whereabouts it will be located is anyone’s guess. I know Switzerland had been mentioned, but I’m guessing they’ll need a sizeable floor plate, which is not something that really exists in that area.
 
I wonder why Europa Park received it again after Dollywood randomly received it last year?

Definitely well deserved, though; Europa is brilliant!
 
Just back from a four-day trip to EP. Something like my twentieth visit or so since I first went in 2011, so I won't go into full detail with all the usual stuff – it remains fantastic as ever.

Below are just a couple of observations since I last went in March 2024. They're mostly snags and criticisms but don't get me wrong: they're just the things that stood out amid the general excellence. It remains the greatest theme park that has ever opened its doors.
  • Staffing issues: That perennial post-Covid EP bugbear, staffing, still seems to be affecting the park. On the first day I walked from Voltron to Blue Fire just after opening and was unable to get a coffee before Kaffi Hús as nearly all the little F&B outlets now seem to open at 11, when most of them used to open at 9 on the dot. Magellan Lounge, the upstairs at O'Mackeys and Bar Colosseo were all shut for the whole of my trip (the latter is a particular shame, given what a flagship space it is). The Italian Show was also cancelled all week – I assume a staffing issue, though I'm not sure. What they clearly have done is prioritise the rides over everything else, which is the right decision. But seeing all the construction over at Silver Lake on the new hotel made me feel uneasy: every year they seem to be adding developments that need dozens if not hundreds of new staff. But if they're struggling to find enough staff as it is, how are they going to avoid these new venues being mothballed?

  • Self-aggrandisement: I've always loved the ridiculousness of EP and the flamboyance of the Mack family: the 'wall of Roland' in the hotels, the pomp, the pageantry, the pure showbusiness of it all. But on this trip (and maybe this relates to it being the 50th), I felt like the self-aggrandisement was getting a bit much sometimes. For the first time at EP, I found myself feeling bored or even a little irritated by seeing yet another photo of the Mack family or a display board trumpeting their achievements. I don't mind, and have always slyly enjoyed, a little bit of this sort of thing. But it feels like it's getting out-of-hand and they're in danger of coming across as arrogant, or even frankly, dislikeable. When I'm queueing for Silver Star do I really need to see a looping video of Roland hanging out with his pal the Prince of Monaco? Whatever happened to 'show not tell'? You've already built the greatest theme park to have ever existed, you don't need to tell us all the time!

  • The shows: I'm not a big show person, so am not the expert here. But the ice show this year, ('THE RACE - Ed vs. Nachtkrabb') was probably the worst I've seen. It just felt tired. I also wonder if some of the top-tier talent has left, because it felt like there weren't as many impressive tricks as there used to be, and twice, skaters fell over while attempting them. The crowd didn't seem particularly impressed either, with just a smattering of applause at the end. It didn't help that the show was yet another ad for the animated film thingy, and skaters dressed as mascots are a little clumsy and ungainly. The Spain show ('The Legend of Zorro') was a lot better but nothing that'll blow you away. I wonder if it's time for a bit of a rethink of the shows, which are undoubtedly dated ("tits and teeth", as one person on here describes them). Watching the ice show, it's as if Cirque du Soleil never happened. It's all a bit artless and 1980s, and feels like it needs an injection of new life. As Soleil itself shows (at Disney, no less!) you can take these things in a more artistic, experimental, even avant-garde direction and still be family-focused and accessible. And maybe it's time to just ditch the 'ice' part entirely...?

  • The bus: As a non-driver and non-flyer, it's great that there's been a steady increase over the years in rail services to Ringsheim, including the new direct train from Paris. But it remains the case that the most faffy part of getting from Sheffield to EP and back again on public transport remains the bloody bus between Ringsheim and the park. The timetable is hard to find, and confusing. It isn't clear how much it is, or whether you even have to pay at all. It's basically fine on the way there – it seems to be timed with the trains and they just wave you on without a ticket – but on the way back it's a nightmare, especially if you've got a connection you can't miss. For the second time in three years I found myself with a group of a dozen people with big suitcases standing outside Bell Rock, panicking about where exactly the bus goes from, confusing it with EP's own 'Hotel Shuttle' service, then only just making our train by about 30 seconds because the bus was ten minutes late. If the park are serious about wanting more people to come by train, they should replace the (state-run?) bus with a free EP-branded shuttle bus that just runs between Ringsheim, Rulantica and the park on a loop all day. If it was just advertised as 'every ten minutes' you wouldn't have to worry about the timetable and you could just turn up 30 minutes before your train – no hassle. It should have simple and clearly-marked stopping points. It'd be a relatively straightforward change in the scheme of things, but would make a world of difference.

  • GRAND PRIX EDventure: I basically had zero expectations for this, and thought it was fine. The queue theming is great, especially once you get inside. The ride itself is like every one of those screen-based shooters – I had a perfectly nice time, but I don't feel the need to ever go on it again. But they're all like that, and this one is no different to the others. It's definitely an improvement on the Historama, which was tedious. Something I thought was interesting was that the ride experience was basically identical to Buzz or Maus au Chocolat, and felt just as long, but taking up a fraction of either of those rides' footprints due to the clever space-saving ride system. I imagine Disney must be kicking themselves, because if that had been available when they'd built Buzz, they could have just stuck in three or four of these in half the space with double the capacity. And of course as ever with EP, given the sheer number of rides they have, you end up more-or-less walking straight onto a ride identical to rides at Disney or Phantasia you could be waiting 90 minutes for. Something I did notice is that, even though the park was pretty busy during my trip, EDventure seemed to be permanently walk-on, with a 'Wait time: 5 minutes' sign actually hard-fixed to the entrance. I think they're struggling to get people to go on it. The entrance is obviously meant to be themed around a temporary event, but I wonder if that makes people think it's actually a temporary event or some kind of show, rather than a ride? Needs a bit of a rethink.

  • Castello dei Medici: Missed this last year as it was being re-done when I was there. It's great. They've not actually changed that much, but it feels like a big improvement. I love that it's almost all based on physical effects with barely any screens, and the screens that are in there actually add to it. The ride now has a coherence and consistent quality that it didn't before. It's obviously never going to be a top-tier dark ride due to limited space, the fixed layout and the ride system, but it now feels like this wouldn't be an embarrassment to any Disney dark ride enthusiast who came to visit. And unlike Eurosat, it feels like it's still the same ride as it was before – just improved.
 
Sam said:
Just back from a four-day trip to EP. Something like my twentieth visit or so since I first went in 2011, so I won't go into full detail with all the usual stuff – it remains fantastic as ever.

Below are just a couple of observations since I last went in March 2024. They're mostly snags and criticisms but don't get me wrong: they're just the things that stood out amid the general excellence. It remains the greatest theme park that has ever opened its doors.
  • Staffing issues: That perennial post-Covid EP bugbear, staffing, still seems to be affecting the park. On the first day I walked from Voltron to Blue Fire just after opening and was unable to get a coffee before Kaffi Hús as nearly all the little F&B outlets now seem to open at 11, when most of them used to open at 9 on the dot. Magellan Lounge, the upstairs at O'Mackeys and Bar Colosseo were all shut for the whole of my trip (the latter is a particular shame, given what a flagship space it is). The Italian Show was also cancelled all week – I assume a staffing issue, though I'm not sure. What they clearly have done is prioritise the rides over everything else, which is the right decision. But seeing all the construction over at Silver Lake on the new hotel made me feel uneasy: every year they seem to be adding developments that need dozens if not hundreds of new staff. But if they're struggling to find enough staff as it is, how are they going to avoid these new venues being mothballed?

  • Self-aggrandisement: I've always loved the ridiculousness of EP and the flamboyance of the Mack family: the 'wall of Roland' in the hotels, the pomp, the pageantry, the pure showbusiness of it all. But on this trip (and maybe this relates to it being the 50th), I felt like the self-aggrandisement was getting a bit much sometimes. For the first time at EP, I found myself feeling bored or even a little irritated by seeing yet another photo of the Mack family or a display board trumpeting their achievements. I don't mind, and have always slyly enjoyed, a little bit of this sort of thing. But it feels like it's getting out-of-hand and they're in danger of coming across as arrogant, or even frankly, dislikeable. When I'm queueing for Silver Star do I really need to see a looping video of Roland hanging out with his pal the Prince of Monaco? Whatever happened to 'show not tell'? You've already built the greatest theme park to have ever existed, you don't need to tell us all the time!

  • The shows: I'm not a big show person, so am not the expert here. But the ice show this year, ('THE RACE - Ed vs. Nachtkrabb') was probably the worst I've seen. It just felt tired. I also wonder if some of the top-tier talent has left, because it felt like there weren't as many impressive tricks as there used to be, and twice, skaters fell over while attempting them. The crowd didn't seem particularly impressed either, with just a smattering of applause at the end. It didn't help that the show was yet another ad for the animated film thingy, and skaters dressed as mascots are a little clumsy and ungainly. The Spain show ('The Legend of Zorro') was a lot better but nothing that'll blow you away. I wonder if it's time for a bit of a rethink of the shows, which are undoubtedly dated ("tits and teeth", as one person on here describes them). Watching the ice show, it's as if Cirque du Soleil never happened. It's all a bit artless and 1980s, and feels like it needs an injection of new life. As Soleil itself shows (at Disney, no less!) you can take these things in a more artistic, experimental, even avant-garde direction and still be family-focused and accessible. And maybe it's time to just ditch the 'ice' part entirely...?

  • The bus: As a non-driver and non-flyer, it's great that there's been a steady increase over the years in rail services to Ringsheim, including the new direct train from Paris. But it remains the case that the most faffy part of getting from Sheffield to EP and back again on public transport remains the bloody bus between Ringsheim and the park. The timetable is hard to find, and confusing. It isn't clear how much it is, or whether you even have to pay at all. It's basically fine on the way there – it seems to be timed with the trains and they just wave you on without a ticket – but on the way back it's a nightmare, especially if you've got a connection you can't miss. For the second time in three years I found myself with a group of a dozen people with big suitcases standing outside Bell Rock, panicking about where exactly the bus goes from, confusing it with EP's own 'Hotel Shuttle' service, then only just making our train by about 30 seconds because the bus was ten minutes late. If the park are serious about wanting more people to come by train, they should replace the (state-run?) bus with a free EP-branded shuttle bus that just runs between Ringsheim, Rulantica and the park on a loop all day. If it was just advertised as 'every ten minutes' you wouldn't have to worry about the timetable and you could just turn up 30 minutes before your train – no hassle. It should have simple and clearly-marked stopping points. It'd be a relatively straightforward change in the scheme of things, but would make a world of difference.

  • GRAND PRIX EDventure: I basically had zero expectations for this, and thought it was fine. The queue theming is great, especially once you get inside. The ride itself is like every one of those screen-based shooters – I had a perfectly nice time, but I don't feel the need to ever go on it again. But they're all like that, and this one is no different to the others. It's definitely an improvement on the Historama, which was tedious. Something I thought was interesting was that the ride experience was basically identical to Buzz or Maus au Chocolat, and felt just as long, but taking up a fraction of either of those rides' footprints due to the clever space-saving ride system. I imagine Disney must be kicking themselves, because if that had been available when they'd built Buzz, they could have just stuck in three or four of these in half the space with double the capacity. And of course as ever with EP, given the sheer number of rides they have, you end up more-or-less walking straight onto a ride identical to rides at Disney or Phantasia you could be waiting 90 minutes for. Something I did notice is that, even though the park was pretty busy during my trip, EDventure seemed to be permanently walk-on, with a 'Wait time: 5 minutes' sign actually hard-fixed to the entrance. I think they're struggling to get people to go on it. The entrance is obviously meant to be themed around a temporary event, but I wonder if that makes people think it's actually a temporary event or some kind of show, rather than a ride? Needs a bit of a rethink.

  • Castello dei Medici: Missed this last year as it was being re-done when I was there. It's great. They've not actually changed that much, but it feels like a big improvement. I love that it's almost all based on physical effects with barely any screens, and the screens that are in there actually add to it. The ride now has a coherence and consistent quality that it didn't before. It's obviously never going to be a top-tier dark ride due to limited space, the fixed layout and the ride system, but it now feels like this wouldn't be an embarrassment to any Disney dark ride enthusiast who came to visit. And unlike Eurosat, it feels like it's still the same ride as it was before – just improved.
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Some fascinating observations there. We didn’t bother to experience the Grand Prix Edventure as we heard it wasn’t very good. Seems like we didn’t miss much.

Interesting to hear your bus comments. It was similar to us heading back to Ringsheim train station. We waited for a bus outside the main entrance but we were then convinced it wasn’t going to turn up, so I had to nip into to a nearby hotel to ask them to book us a taxi as I was worried we would miss our connection to Baden-Baden. Typically, just before said taxi appeared so did the bus but we didn’t react quick enough to get on it as it stopped further down the road so in the end it cost us 25 euros for a 10-minute journey. And as we walked out onto the platform there was the damn bus we had just missed. And, typically, our flight was delayed for over an hour as well so it wouldn’t have mattered if we had missed that train.

On the way there, though, we had endured a three-hour delay at Offenburg (and a friend of mine had warned me about the trains over there beforehand although this delay was due to an incident out of their control) which was frustrating and we had to get off at Herbolzheim as the train we caught didn’t stop at Ringsheim. We then managed to catch a bus to Rust and luckily managed to get into Rulantica in time for the 7-10 slot where they squeezed us in despite being ‘fully booked’ on their website.

The two days in Europa-Park made up for all the shenanigans though. Amazing place.
 
Poisson said:
The tales of woe from the bus have been so frequent I usually drive. Seems a waste to have a hire car sat for a couple of days but much less of a headache.
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Yeah our hire car was sat for over three days, but given it was my first park trip abroad I was glad to not have the stress of public transport.
 
Didn't really have an issue with buses bar the one on the way there being hilariously busy of teenagers so we couldn't get on.

Definitely needs some form of distinct regular service that times nicely with rail services. Both ways we ended up waiting a short time because of the specific hotel resort buses.
 
I've used the below Taxi company a couple of times when we've arrived later at night and been unsure if the buses would be running.

www.taxi700.de

Taxi | Taxi 700 | Baden-Württemberg

Taxi 700 - Personenbeförderung mit Herz an 365 Tagen im Jahr, rund um die Uhr in Rust, Rheinhausen, Kippenheim, Ettenheim, Herbolzheim, Kenzingen.
www.taxi700.de www.taxi700.de
 
Returned to Europa for 3 days last week (Thurs-Sat) and whilst I expected Saturday to be busy it was actually busy all 3 days it almost felt like public holidays. Despite the bigger crowds the ride ops were excellent as usual, with queues constantly moving. I really love the resort vibe here and having Rulantica next door is a big plus but out of Europe's best parks its by far the hardest for me to get to/from. My journey home consisted of taxi, train, bus, plane, terminal bus, plane (delayed) and then finally taxi home taking around 14 hours in total 😩 As great as Europa is I can get to/from Phantasialand, Efteling, Portaventura etc in less than a third of that time so not 100% sure when I'll be back 😥
 
velocikieran said:
Returned to Europa for 3 days last week (Thurs-Sat) and whilst I expected Saturday to be busy it was actually busy all 3 days it almost felt like public holidays. Despite the bigger crowds the ride ops were excellent as usual, with queues constantly moving. I really love the resort vibe here and having Rulantica next door is a big plus but out of Europe's best parks its by far the hardest for me to get to/from. My journey home consisted of taxi, train, bus, plane, terminal bus, plane (delayed) and then finally taxi home taking around 14 hours in total 😩 As great as Europa is I can get to/from Phantasialand, Efteling, Portaventura etc in less than a third of that time so not 100% sure when I'll be back 😥
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Where are you travelling from?
 
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