• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

An amateur view of Europa Park

LiamC

LiamC

TS Member
Favourite Ride
Hex
I must confess...this review of Europa Park is coming to you late. Very late. Two months late infact. Therefore I fear that some of my memories of the park may have driffted from my mind. However I'm hoping that whilst I'm writting it that some of the memories do come back to me. I intened to do this in a couple of instalments as I want to try and cram as much detail and thoughts as I can into my review without boring people by forcing them to read one gigantic long post. No TL;DR's here I hope!

Anyway, onto part one -

The Journey and Arrival:

After being invited onto their Halloween trip by some very kind TSTers back in April of last year my excitement for the trip didn't let up for a lot of the year. Therefore you can imagine my excitement when the date finally came around! I had arranged to travel down to Gatwick and stay in a Travelodge there the night before as our flight the next morning was rather early (8.15). So, the day arrived and I boarded my train down to London where I spent the day taking in some cultural sights and sounds (Shakeshack, the IWM and the Science Museum :p) before heading over to Gatwick Central TL for the evening.

I arrived at the Travelodge, checked in and then headed to the bar and met Simon and Satch. (I'd like to take this opportunity now to thank them for all their help in getting me from the TL, to the airport, through to Basel and from Basel to EP. Without them I'd have been a mess of anxiety and worry! Thank you guys! :D) We chatted for a while about the upcoming holiday and what EP was like before we decided to call it a night as we had to be up before 6am in order to check in etc. so we said our goodbyes and both parties headed off to bed. The night passed uneasily for me as I fell asleep with the tv on and woke up to BBC news telling me it was 6.30. BUGGER...I'd slept in! However BBC news were just replaying something from another day and had helpfully left the clock on. Fools. I struggled to get back to sleep after this and kept waking up on and off until my alarm finally went off. When it did I leapt out of bed, got dressed, packed, checked out and briefly met Simon and Satch in the lobby before I caught my bus to the North Terminal.

On arrival we found a very busy check in area and a very broad cockney woman deafening people who weren't stood in the correct queues. Just what we needed at 6.00am in to morning! Check in passed easily and quickly enough and we went through security and into departures where we met up with Kaycee and went onto the flight. The flight was over quickly. Honestly the quickest flight I had ever been on. I'd flown over two countries and landed in a third in less time than it took me to fly up the east Australian coast. Perspective!

We landed in Basel, collected by our bags and were met by our very friendly minibus driver in quicktime. We clambered into the bus and we were on our way. The journey passed fairly quickly in which a game of "spot Sylvia" was played (where you look out for the first sign of Silver Star in the distance) and won by Satch I think? We slowed down and pulled into the new access road and then into Rust and finally, a couple more corners and I was there.

I had arrived at Hotel Bell Rock and Europa Park itself for the first time. :)

Tomorrow: Part Two - First impressions and the first night.
 
Last edited:
I was knackered last night and didn't get home 'till late so will do part two tonight :)
 
Even later than planned (apologies) here is part two:

First Impressions and the First Night

I had arrived! I was actually at Europa Park! I couldn't quite believe it and, I have to confess, did have to pinch myself slightly :p

We had pulled up outside the main doors and the first thing that struck me was the size. We clambered out of the mini bus and towering over us were six gigantic stone pillars set in front of a grand, ornate marble fountain. The whole thing was staggering and I was slightly taken aback by the whole scene...which isn't necessarily a bad thing!

We proceeded through the entrance doors into the lobby and, whilst Simon, Satch and Kaycee checked into their room, I had a wander round the lobby and seating area. The first thing that struck me was the attention to detail achieved in getting that authentic New England feel. From the worn, rustic rocking chairs to the plush leather seats, the ornate stone fire place to the glass fronted book cases it was as though I had just stepped off a ferry into colonial Massachusetts or New England. And it was only going to get better as I'll come onto later :)

By the time I had finished wandering around with a look off awe across my face like a child in Hamleys near Christmas, the others had finished checking in so I went with them up to their room to have a nosey round. Entering the room I was struck by how effortlessly the rustic feel blended in with the modern look and gloss of the whole hotel. Some people have said how it feels too modern in comparison with the rustic aesthetic that it tries to achieve however I didn't find this was evident too much. It was a lovely, large six person room that over looked Bell Rock's outdoor pool and over towards the other hotels and on towards the rest of the park. The view really was lovely and I was hoping ours would be this nice!

I still had a couple of hours before Dan and the others I was sharing the room with arrived so I had planned to go to the adjoining gym and then into the pool afterwards. I said my goodbyes to the others, leaving my bag in their room for safe keeping, and headed over towards the gym and pool. First up I went to the gym which is where I encountered a typically English problem abroad. I went into the changing area and came face to face with two different doors with what I deduced to be the German for Male/Female...but I didn't know which was which! It was a trial and error situation and, luckily, I walked into one changing room and saw urinals! I'd never been more happy to see some :p I headed to the gym which was very modern with excellent facilities, did what I had to do there, got changed and then headed over to the pool which I was really looking forward to!

As I was walking from the gym area to the pool (they're on opposite sides of the hotel) I kept hearing this odd sound, like a creaking noise you may hear on an old ship, but couldn't put my finger on it. I kept on going and it kept on following me around so I stopped and tried to decipher where it was coming from. Looking around I saw round speakers in the celling above me which was where the sound was coming from. They were piping in the sound of a creaking ship. Immersion and attention to detail ftw...and this was just in the hotel!

I reached the pool area, collected my towel and proceeded into the changing rooms. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the lockers and changing rooms weren't at all like those God awful Butlins style things we have to endure at Cariba but were pleasantly decked out in nice pastel colours with proper changing rooms, unlike the endless rows upon rows of tiny cubicles you can't swing a Cat in! I also enjoyed the fact that the lockers were actual, individual wooden barrels opposed to the generic ones you often see in changing rooms. I thought this was a nice little touch. I got changed and went into the pool area which was decked out in the same faded pastel colours as the changing room, carrying on the rustic feel that the whole place was going for. The pool was split into an indoor and outdoor bit and separated by a window that slid up and down when the pool opened and closed. It was a lot colder than I was expecting but it was the end of October so I couldn't really complain. I did a few lengths and had a bit of a paddle but time was advancing and the guys I was sharing with would be here soon so I climbed out, got showered and changed and went back up to the lobby to wait.

Waiting in the lobby I grabbed a cake from The Spirit of St. Louis bar. This bar area is fantastic with the bar itself as a rectangle in the middle of the room and the seating area around the bar. The bar itself was stacked to the rafters with different bottles of wines and spirits as far as you could see. You named it, they had it...it was quite a selection. The bar itself was well themed and had plenty or ornaments and nick nacks to catch your eye, all with a 20s/30s vibe to them. There was also original Coke style fridges and vending machines dotted around the room that I thought was a nice touch.

Time passed quickly and before I knew it Dan and Vik had arrived and we were checking in and on our way to the room. Arriving at the room I was hoping for a room similar to the other guys and, on opening the door, wasn't disapointed. Dan had emailed prior to us leaving and asked if we could have, "a room with a view" and not only did we get this, we also got given a six person room between just the four of us! The room was lovely and spacious views over the pool and on towards the park. We could even see Blue Fire roaring around it's track from our room :)

We had arranged to get changed, freshen up and then head out for a nosey around the other hotels and a drink somewhere before dinner that night. Whilst the other two unpacked and freshened up I had a nosey around the room. Aside from the complementary water and fruit (makes a nice change from Tea&Coffee :p) there was a lovely writing set left for us that comprised some Bell Rock headed paper and envelopes which I though was a nice little niche touch. Bathroom was lovely and modern as was the adjoining toilet/washroom. My astonishment and enthusiasm for this place was growing by the minute and I hadn't even stepped into the park itself yet!

By this time the others had finished doing what they were doing so we left and met up with the rest of the group and had a wander over to El Andaluz and Hotel Colosseo. El Andaluz is a lovely hotel to say it's the oldest of all the hotels at Europa Park. It had a lovely Mediterranean feel to it and was a pleasure to spend time in. For it's age it didn't look run down or tired at all unlike some older theme park hotels I've been to. We passed through El Andaluz, into the carpark, down through a lovely themed tunnel and emerged outside Hotel Colosseo.

It's hard to put into words how incredible this hotel is. From the huge stone canopy over the entrance to the luxury sports cars that always seemed to be parked outside during our stay I could tell this hotel was something special. Just the lobby alone, without even seeing the rooms, screamed and shouted luxury! Everything was so polished and neat. I couldn't wait to go outside and see the famous courtyard and Colosseum piece. We walked through the lobby, out the doors to the back and emerged into the courtyard and, once again, I was staggered at what I was seeing. Whenever I had looked at pictures of the replica Colosseum they have at Colosseo I had thought that it was a smallish structure just tucked away towards the back. But no, this was enormous. Completely dominating the skyline looking out into the courtyard. 60/70ft high and built of solid stone, flying the flags of each area of the park from the top and dotted with flaming torches. It's quite a sight and must be seen!

We had finished mooching around the hotels and, with our reservation time for dinner looming, headed back over to Bell Rock to get changed and head to dinner. We headed down to the Captain's Finest restaurant where I got my first view of this highly regarded restaurant. Decked out to look like the cabin of a ship or yacht it was very charming with the roaming Violinist and captain character a charming and interesting bonus. The food, however, wasn't as good as I was expecting it to be I'm afraid. Whilst the starter I had of Clam Chowder was lovely unfortunately my main course of Ribs and Fries wasn't as nice. I found the sauce on my ribs was a little dry, as though it had been sat under the heat lamp for a while, and my ribs where slightly chewy. I don't think this was anything to do with the restaurant itself, I think it was just a one off unfortunately, so I didn't feel too disheartened. I will say, however, that if you ever go out for a meal with Sam for the love of god don't sit him next to anyone he even remotely likes because he will NOT shut up and it'll take him over an hour to eat his main course!!

Anyway, we had finished our meal and faffed around with the payment for long enough and settled on going for a drink to finish off the evening in the Buena Vista Club bar in Castillo Alcazar. Castillo Alcazar was, for me, the most visually stunning of the hotels from the outside. Themed around a middle ages Spanish castle it captures this perfectly with it's worn, grey brick work and towering turrets and flag towers. We made our way inside and up to the top floor where the bar was. The evening passed in a flurry of laughter, cocktails, stories and general tomfoolery that can be expected from such TST meets and before we knew it midnight was approaching and bed was calling.

However before we left Dan took us out onto the balcony area of Buena Vista and the sight that greeted me was quite extraordinary. Lit up before me in the darkness was the majority of Europa Park itself. Directly in front of me was Atlantic SuperSplash and Wodan and just behind that Blue Fire itself. To the right I could see the pyramid like roof of Historama and the vast sphere of Eurosat. Everywhere I looked there were twinkling lights and something new to take in, it was truly staggering.

It was then that I knew the following day would be something special :D

Next part - 1st day on park and Halloween Party.
 
Last edited:
As I keep saying, I am looking forward to going back to EP this year, I think I have said it enough times to make it true now :p

Great read, and it really is one of those places, that you can pass this off as been a fan, but once you visit, you realise how great it is. I just hope this is not your first European park Liam :)

Ian
 
Not at all no. I really want to get back to EP at some point this year for Arthur and then possibly a sneaky trip to Efteling at some point later I hope! :)
 
Liam, it's so nice to read a trip report from an EP newbie. I'm going for the first time in April, and can't wait! Reading what you've written has made me far more excited!
 
Thanks for your nice comments. I hope you enjoy it; I know you will!

My third part of this is coming I promise! Part two took it out of me slightly, I hadn't written that much in one go since I did A-Levels! Once I've psyched myself up and have my laptop working again (writing 1,900 words on an iPad is an effort) it shall be done :)
 
LiamC said:
Thanks for your nice comments. I hope you enjoy it; I know you will!

My third part of this is coming I promise! Part two took it out of me slightly, I hadn't written that much in one go since I did A-Levels! Once I've psyched myself up and have my laptop working again (writing 1,900 words on an iPad is an effort) it shall be done :)
Click to expand...

I am itching to read more, sugar!

:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top