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Europa Park: The Imperfections

evilcod said:
I would disagree about Europa’s dark ride prowess. Their latest ones (notably the new version of pirates) look great but before Arthur they were all pretty weak (with the possible exception of Diamond Mine but is it really a dark ride?)
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The only 'weak' dark rides at EP now are Bench and Geisterschloss.

Piccolo Mondo is what it is but with Piraten, Snorri Touren, Madame Freudenreich, Arthur, Voletarium and the lighting/audio enhancements to Atlantis, the stable is much stronger.

Dark rides have been the main investment area in the last ten years and the difference is enormous.

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AstroDan said:
The only 'weak' dark rides at EP now are Bench and Geisterschloss.

Piccolo Mondo is what it is but with Piraten, Snorri Touren, Madame Freudenreich, Arthur, Voletarium and the lighting/audio enhancements to Atlantis, the stable is much stronger.

Dark rides have been the main investment area in the last ten years and the difference is enormous.

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Oh I don't disagree at all, all the new stuff looks great. My point was just that when Cassandra opened darkrides were a long way from Europa's strong point.
 
The rumours of a Gheisterschloss refurb have been swirling for a couple of years. Hopefully they come to fruition as, although detailed, it suffers from the same issue as the original Pirates, in that it’s had so many little changes over the years that it’s now incoherent.

If they could move away from the egregious Disney impersonations as they have done with their other recent refurbs, it would really bolster the enjoyment of a classic. Given the ride has the capacity to deal with big crowds, it seems like a win-win to increase quality and spread crowds.
 
I wish they weren't so into hosting and promoting 'Miss X' (Miss Germany, Miss Alsace) competitions. I don't expect theme parks to be world thought leaders when it comes to subversive entertainment or gender philosophy, but this stuff is properly 70s/80s fare even by German standards. Given that Michael Mack is married to a former Miss Germany winner, I imagine this is one tradition that will persist.
 
At the hotel bars and restaurants, when you go to pay by credit card then they want to know if it's a Visa or Mastercard. If you split the bill and one of you has Visa and the other Mastercard, they bring two different card readers and make sure you use a specific one. God forbid if you get it wrong (like I did once). Expect the staff member to be suitably put out.

Why does it matter what my card is? And why is it a question they ask at the hotels but not in the park? It's almost a Phantasialand level of quirkiness.
 
Alsty said:
At the hotel bars and restaurants, when you go to pay by credit card then they want to know if it's a Visa or Mastercard. If you split the bill and one of you has Visa and the other Mastercard, they bring two different card readers and make sure you use a specific one. God forbid if you get it wrong (like I did once). Expect the staff member to be suitably put out.

Why does it matter what my card is? And why is it a question they ask at the hotels but not in the park? It's almost a Phantasialand level of quirkiness.
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It’s an odd one, I wonder if they have different contracts with different card reader companies or something.
 
Matterhorn Blitz. The snow tunnel at the top of the first drop is so dirty and ugly compared to the rest of the ride, and has been for some years. It needs a jetwash or a repaint.
 
One small thing I did think of that I’ve heard other people mention is that stapling (restraining riders very tightly) is apparently an issue on coasters on occasion.

I didn’t personally find it to be too much of an issue, but I was stapled on a few of my rides at the park (Wodan in particular seemed to be quite prone to it; I was stapled in quite tightly on a fair few of my 6 rides) and I have heard numerous people say that Europa’s staff are very prone to stapling.
 
A very small thing, but I wish they had signs on the train station platforms like they do for the EP Express telling you how long until the next train. You have no idea if you have just missed one or if it is just around the corner. I also wish they wouldn't just sit at the stations as long either, as sometimes you board and then wait 5 mins for the train to set off.
 
The variation in station wait times is probably something to do with how they keep the trains far enough apart, although I don't actually know how the Panoramabahn is signalled.

I can't say for certain, and it's undoubtedly the right thing to have done anyway, but on my last visit I thought the trains seemed slower following the locos being converted to battery operation. Also, now that they have a steam sound system, the chuffing really ought to match the speed that the dummy driving wheels are turning at (4 chuffs per revolution, seeing as they're based on a 2-cylinder engine).
 
Probably radio signalled, definitely seemed to have a communication system in the cab of the old locos.

Here's a photo I took in October 2021 of the cab of one.

IMG_20211015_135313.jpg
 
Wait times would definitely be handy, especially when they’re not running the full compliment of trains. Since the battery conversion it also seems to take an age to fully stop as well, which can be a tad frustrating.

Perhaps the biggest imperfection of the park is their inability to open any new attraction on time. I struggle to recall a large new addition which has opened when it was originally intended to.

Pirates, Voletarium, Eatrenalin, Arthur all immediately spring to mind.
 
Blue Fire was on time. And Wodan.

But since it's more delays than not.

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Went in November and was actually pretty pissed off that rooms 693 and room 691 are the same rate (Castillo Alcazar Standard Room Plus) despite being signifcantly different and the former not even as described on the site.

Basic equipment
Double bed (1.80 x 2.00 m) and bunk bed (0.90 x 2.00 m), air-conditioned, shower/WC, hairdryer, flat screen, desk, phone, Wi-Fi, mineral water at welcome, non-smoking room
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From: https://www.europapark.de/en/overnight/accommodation-options/castillo-alcazar/room-suite-prices

Room 691 does indeed have a double bed and a set of bunk beds, it also has a seating area and a walk out balcony whereas room 693 has a double bed and doors that open to a Juliet balcony. Yes I understand that room sizes may vary slightly however it felt a lot like us staying in room 693 (we had to share a bed) go supremely screwed over in comparison the rest of the party staying in room 691. It feels like a separate tier, charge accordingly.
 
That does look bad. In terms of size if 693 and 692 were merged (using the bathroom of to expand what I assume is a utility room) it'd actually be the same size as all the other rooms.
I feel like if this was in one of the newer hotels like Bell Rock they would have merged the two (bathroom space included) and made it a premium room. No reason they can't rebrand it now.
 
This is one of the benefits of returning to EP. When you book a hotel room for the 2nd+ time you can choose which room to stay in.

I booked Castillo Alcazar and this was the only room I could choose, so I cancelled my booking and stayed in a different hotel instead 😂
 
Although I was aware of being able to choose which room you stay in as part of the "Hotel Friends" perks it is quite disheartening to learn that you would _have_ to do this in order to get the experience you paid for; Disney are starting to move away from this by no longer allowing multiple fast pass/restaurant bookings months in advance. the real kick in the proverbials is that it's mis-sold on the website and upon arrival it really did make me question if we had been given the wrong room. Ultimately, these rooms need some refurbishment or to be downgraded and sold accordingly.

On a more positive note, the staff were very understanding that it might not have been quite what we were expecting and did agree that it wasn't as described and comped us a couple of rounds of drinks at Bar Colosseo.
 
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