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Europa Park at Christmas

TPJames said:
How likely is it that the opening hours will be extended beyond 7pm next week(bearing in mind it is the week before Christmas Day). I know it is guaranteed to be at least until 8/8:30pm on the Friday and Saturday but is it likely that the hours will be extended beyond 7pm Tuesday-Thursday as well?
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No.

When they pre-cast an 8pm close, it's because it's school holidays or weekends. That isn't the case in the middle of next week, so they are anticipating the park will be quiet.

Of course, they will extend if there is the need, as Europa-Park always do. But they clearly aren't expecting it.
 
One final question!

With the park closing at 7pm, what time are the hotel guests allowed to freely wonder around and look at all the Christmas lights until?(I know at Phantasialand they leave the China area open late into the night for guests to enjoy).

Also, with a 7pm close, what time do all the shops and restaurants close at? This is simply because we are staying in the Bell Rock and whilst it is very luxurious, food prices in the hotels are simply extortionate! If the restaurants close at bang on 7pm in park, we will either be looking to eat at somewhere slightly cheaper like the Silver Lake Saloon or alternatively the local restaurants in Rust(I've looked it up and there are pizzerias, guesthouses etc all with good reviews and reasonably priced). Are you able to ride the EP express around to the main entrance from the hotels at night during the Winter season as you can in the summer season? It would be great to know as its a long walk/ a paid bus ride from the hotel resort to the main entrance, and the local town/ restaurants which aren't park owned are all on the main entrance end of the park.
 
TPJames said:
One final question!

With the park closing at 7pm, what time are the hotel guests allowed to freely wonder around and look at all the Christmas lights until?(I know at Phantasialand they leave the China area open late into the night for guests to enjoy).

Also, with a 7pm close, what time do all the shops and restaurants close at? This is simply because we are staying in the Bell Rock and whilst it is very luxurious, food prices in the hotels are simply extortionate! If the restaurants close at bang on 7pm in park, we will either be looking to eat at somewhere slightly cheaper like the Silver Lake Saloon or alternatively the local restaurants in Rust(I've looked it up and there are pizzerias, guesthouses etc all with good reviews and reasonably priced). Are you able to ride the EP express around to the main entrance from the hotels at night during the Winter season as you can in the summer season? It would be great to know as its a long walk/ a paid bus ride from the hotel resort to the main entrance, and the local town/ restaurants which aren't park owned are all on the main entrance end of the park.
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1. Rides are 7, you'll be able to wander in Spain until around 11pm. Park Restaurants will close from 7pm in the German area, but you may get a table at somewhere like the SWR3 Rock Café until 7.30pm - and the Christmas Market will run till 8pm and serves food.

2. Remember: Pizzeria La Romantica at Hotel Colosseo is cheaper. You don't need to book. Pizzas are around €13. Bodega is also reasonable at El Andaluz. Tapas and so on. As for places in Rust, there are some good Guest Houses serving proper German grub. Yes - you can use the EP Express.

Sadly, the drop in value of Sterling since Brexit, has added a good 10-15% onto prices at EP for us Brits although I find the buffets OK price-wise. Not cheap - but Flambos is £22. The ones at EP work out around £28 at the moment, and for £6 more then Flambos... the quality is way better.
 
Hi all

Happy New Year to you all.

Just back from two days in Europa Park. We again stayed at the Bell Rock and had a wonderful stay and we were (for the 3rd time now) upgraded on arrival. I think if you book with a UK address and say it's your first visit, the chances are you are upgraded.

Few things different from our visit last year below;

Good
  • Silver Star was open for the first time in Winter and was a great experience riding at night.
  • First time on Volaterium and enjoyed it. Not a thrill ride as such but loads of kids were enthralled by the whole experience and the queue line and theming is fantastic.
  • Wodan was running incredibly smoothly. Its also seemed a LOT faster than previous visits.
  • We saw the Water Park site, with construction in full flow. It's some distance from the main park.
Not so Good
  • EuroMir is starting to look a little bit tired and dated, this has to be the next coaster to be updated surely? It's also quite painful in parts.
  • The pool at Bell Rock was freezing, I think in the winter having the outpour pool connected to the indoor doesn't help!
  • The circus located in Greece was great although some of the animal acts weren't as polished, and as punishment you could see the trainer being heavy handed with them which wasn't nice to see.
Overall it was another fantastic trip to EP. Heading back in May to get mu summer fix!
 
Wodan is running ridiculously well at the moment, I had my best two rides ever on it the other night following some rain. Utterly relentless from start to finish.

Brilliant to get on Silver Star this winter as well, as per Wodan it is running very well. However riding it during very high winds on Monday morning was highly amusing, felt like it was going to stall.

:)
 
Good news, Roland Mack has confirmed that Silver Star will once again be open this witner season (weather permitting of course).
 
So, let me try to translate the new things that we will be able to enjoy at Europa Park this winter season according to yesterdays press conference - hope it`s correct that I`m posting that here :)

1.) The new animated 4D-movie "Nachts im Park" (=> "At night in the park") which can be seen at the "Magic Cinema".
2.) An additional VR-film on the Alpenexpress, themed to a famous german comic elefant ("Ottifant")...it`s a virtual ride in a baby buggy.
3.) A 180 degree video-mapping show in the dark, on the front of Eurosat Can Can Coaster, called "Miraculueux".
4.) The ice-sculpture exhibition will be themed to the upcoming waterpark "Rulantica" and it`s mascot "Snorri" this winter.
5.) The huge light-sculpture exibition in the "Schlossgarten" will also be themed to "Rulantica" this year.
6.) The "Jim-Knopf-Ride" got three additional scenes.
7.) There will be a new indoor playground in the Holland-area of the park which will be expanded in the future.
8.) In the "Mack Bank" there willl be a new exposition called "Rizzis Winterwelt" ("Rizzis Winterworld") with different winter-themed pictures and wooden sculptures.
9.) And, last but not least: There will probably be some improvements to the theming of Eurosat Can Can Coaster - although, regarding what Patrick Marx wrote at the "EPFans.ch"-forum, some improvements will probably take more time and will not be ready until the beginning of the winter season at EP. But still...a lot to look for, right? :)
 
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Some fansites are reporting that depending on the weather, both Poseidon and Tiroler Wildwasserbahn will be open this winter season. Not sure if this has been officially confirmed though.
 
Posiedon fair enough especially if PL can open Chiapas. The water should be quite inoffensive.

Tiroler though? I can't think of anything worse than that wretched rebound wall dumping so much water over guests in those temperatures.

Edit: BREAKING NEWS. Roland Mack confirms ALL rides and attractions will be open as part of the Winter Season 2019/2020. Atlantica included. Even if the Bell Vue Wheel is sat on top of it.
 
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From some of the photos I’ve seen, the new Eurosat projection show looks absolutely fab. I love that they even projected the interior track layout onto it at one point! :D

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Image from EuropaStreet
 
For the benefit of those who don't follow ES on social media, both Poseidon and Tiroler Wildwasserbahn were open today.

This leaves just Atlantica and Fjord Rafting as the only major rides closed in winter season, both of which have winter attractions using their lakes. It's quite a major step up from my first winter season in 2010-11 when the only open coasters were Sat, Mir, Blitz, Alpenexpress and Pegasus.
 
Have the park made modifications to the coasters in order to have them all available? Great news anyway, certainly makes a winter trip much more credible.
 
I hear it's been about 6 degrees today in Rust... I wonder what the line up will be like when it inevitably gets colder.
 
Burbs said:
I hear it's been about 6 degrees today in Rust... I wonder what the line up will be like when it inevitably gets colder.
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Well, as it would normally be (and as it remains advertised).

I have to say, it is excellent to see Europa-Park opening pretty much the same number of attractions during winter as during summer now. It is a massive step up and I am sure it has taken a significant re-work of how technical services operate their maintenance. I would imagine that each of the larger rollercoasters has 1 or 2 trains unavailable, but the fact they are open is awesome. Such a development from some years ago. Remember - the park admission fee is around €5/day less per person in winter, too.

There will, of course, be days when Silver Star, Blue Fire, Poseidon and the Log Flume don't open. There will also be a small few days when other rides won't either - but I guess that is part of the deal in winter. It's one of those things. The park state on their website that Blue Fire, Poseidon, Silver Star, Log Flume, Rapids etc. are all closed during the winter. So nobody is really 'expecting' them.

The projection mapping show on Eurosat is also very well done it would seem. I am avoiding watching a full run through - but the use of lights and fountains add to it very nicely indeed. Well done!

:)
 
Hehe, only EP!

Does the projection wrap all the way round to the far side, or is it just the side facing France? Shame they couldn't quite cover the very top of the dome. But I guess to do that they would need a projector on the very top of Euro Tower with a very long lense.
... Wait, this is EP. Why haven't they done that‽ :p
 
Blue Fire opened this morning when it was -1C. Running in temperatures that cold seems unprecedented, I wonder if they have developed some new winter wheel compounds or something along those lines to extend the ride's operating window?
 
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