Eurosat or CanCan Coaster?

[Matt N]

Hi guys. As many of you probably know, Europa Park’s enclosed roller coaster inside an Epcot-style “giant golf ball” has existed in two forms across its lifetime; it has existed as Eurosat between 1989 and 2017, and as CanCan Coaster since 2018. These forms are quite distinct from each other, not least in terms of theming; Eurosat was supposedly a homage to Disney’s Space Mountain, while CanCan Coaster is, as the name implies, themed to the can can/Moulin Rouge. So with that in mind, I’d be intrigued to know; which form did you prefer? Do you love CanCan Coaster to bits, or do you find yourself missing old Eurosat?

Personally, I’m going to have to remain impartial, as I never rode the former Eurosat.

However, I do have to say that I think CanCan looks vastly superior aesthetically from what I’ve seen of Eurosat; Eurosat didn’t look to have much on-ride theming at all, and the queue/external theming appeared far less elaborate, looking more like a slight variation on Euro-Mir’s queue than the wonderful themed experience we have today.

I did like CanCan Coaster a lot, though; it’s my 4th favourite coaster on park, and my favourite outside of the big 3 (Silver Star, Wodan and Blue Fire)! I’ll digress that it’s more of a family thrill coaster, and not the most intense by any stretch, but it put a smile on my face and was very good fun; the coaster was smooth, comfortable, and fast-paced, and it had surprising vigour in places! And the theming throughout is just so brilliant; I’ll digress that the Moulin Rouge theme is a slightly strange theme for a roller coaster, but EP made it work wonders, in my opinion!

But if you’ve done both, did you prefer Eurosat or CanCan Coaster?

 

[Burbs]

CanCan as a package (2D ride theming aside) is really premium. Unfortunately, old Sat as a ride was just stupid and so much more fun from a track and train perspective. Heading into that turn after the 2nd mid course was always a highlight, but I feel the MCBRs on CanCan on the whole are too harsh, ruining the ride for me.

 

[Poisson]

I never did Sat but I found CanCan odd and highly disappointing. It's really nice until after the moon then the worst themeing. Volarian is even worse, it has an amazing walking and loading section with avatars etc but then the ride footage is jerky and a bit generic and rubbish. A shame really.

 

[venny]

I’m getting a bit old for the intensity of the original, so I’m going to say Can Can. It’s smoother and more tolerable, but the biggest plus is the big improvements made to the exterior theming to blend into the rest of France. The original theming was a stark contrast to the otherwise pleasant area of France.

 

[Skyscraper]

Does it still have the VR and respective station or are they both unused/gone now like with most coasters that were retrofitted with VR?

 

[Matt N]

Does it still have the VR and respective station or are they both unused/gone now like with most coasters that were retrofitted with VR?

VR still very much exists; it was certainly still open on my visit to Europa last week!

 

[Burbs]

Does it still have the VR and respective station or are they both unused/gone now like with most coasters that were retrofitted with VR?

It's still there. It wasn't retrofitted either, it was built with the rest of the ride during the re-track. It's completely inoffensive as it doesn't affect the throughput of the ride by any noticeable amount so it can stay as far as I'm concerned!

The only ride to have had it removed is Pegasus - it still exists on Alpen Express and indeed has 6 different films to choose from.

 

[Dave]

old Sat was a better coaster, Cancan trims too much now. Cancan is a better all round experience.

 

[AstroDan]

Can Can has airtime and better theming. Old Eurosat had dull moments but the pacing in places was better and it was more intense.

50/50 on this one.

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[Matt N]

Can Can has airtime and better theming. Old Eurosat had dull moments but the pacing in places was better and it was more intense.

50/50 on this one.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

With regard to the bolded; that's an interesting one, because as fun and surprisingly fast-paced as it was, I didn't feel any airtime at all on CanCan. Is this something that is more present towards the rear of the train, as all 3 of my rides were close to the front? Or was I simply getting unlucky with my rides on it?

I've noticed that many people say that Eurosat was more intense. I've watched POVs of both with the lights on, and I'll admit that I don't really notice a huge speed difference. Was old Eurosat a bit like Space Mountain at WDW, where the aged-ness of the ride system and the old-fashioned rattle it has accentuates the feeling of intensity in a strange sort of way? Or am I simply mis-perceiving POVs of old Eurosat?

I'll admit that I don't rate Space Mountain as highly as many. I'll digress that while it wasn't unbearably rough, the rattle and general discomfort did detract from it somewhat for me, in spite of the ride feeling surprisingly fast-paced and having 1 or 2 surprising pops of airtime; I remember it hurt my back a bit. It was perfectly OK, and far from the roughest coaster I've done, but the rattle did prevent me from enjoying it past a certain level. I always imagine old Eurosat being a very similar sort of ride to that; would I be correct there?

If Eurosat was even vaguely similar to WDW's Space Mountain, then I'll admit that I think the CanCan treatment was a brilliant move for it; I rate CanCan considerably higher than I rated Space Mountain, personally.

 

[Rowe]

I really do enjoy CanCan, the theming and music are an absolute delight but I do miss the space corridors, the astronaut animatronics being super polite and getting thrown about on old Sat when it had warmed up.

 

[AstroDan]

Both versions of Eurosat are flawed by a layout that is inhibited by the shape of the dome. It was actually badly designed and, rightly or wrongly, due to the fact that Franz Mack designed it, when it was re-worked/re-tracked/rethemed, they kept 95% of the layout the same out of respect.

There is airtime towards the rear of the train on the second dip - this dip was not found on the original layout.

Old Eurosat was rougher, and this did indeed accentuate the feeling of intensity. In addition, the ride trimmed less (although I have to say this isn't such an issue now). It was also darker. Once warmed up, old Eurosat could be genuinely wild in places.

 

[Matt N]

Was CanCan originally slower than it is now, then? Is its current speed broadly similar to what the old Eurosat felt like?

 

[AstroDan]

Was CanCan originally slower than it is now, then? Is its current speed broadly similar to what the old Eurosat felt like?

They adjusted the trims slightly a few weeks/months after opening. At first, the trims were more noticeable and affected the pacing more than they do now. A lot of tweaking and adjusting was made.

The speed is broadly similar but due to the fact the new ride is of vastly higher engineering and design quality due to 30 years of technology, it feels more controlled, safer and less fast/intense now than it did before.

Either way, for clarity, I voted 'undecided' - as frankly the losses of the old ride are gained in other ways with the new version.

 

[Rob]

I am undecided also. Old Eurosat was a better coaster experience, especially once it had wamred up on a hot day (EUROSWEAT). However CanCan is a much more rounded ride experience and the whole French area is so much better following the changes.

The track modifications made for CanCan definitely enhance the ride. 2 of my 4 rides on CanCan last week had no audio, and when this happens it is a major issue as you lose the extra fun element to the ride.

 

[Jonathan]

I've not done CanCan yet, so have to vote 'Undecided'. Others have given their thoughts on it, so I don't feel the need to add anything more...other than it got (and presumably still does get) very warm inside the dome during the summer months, which led to it being nicknamed 'EuroSweat' or 'EuroSauna' on my first visit in August 2012.

 

[MattyH]

I wish they'd have gone for VR where it puts you in the Moulin Rouge or something. The current VR is abysmal, which is such a shame when the walking onto the train is done so well

 

[Rob]

I wish they'd have gone for VR where it puts you in the Moulin Rouge or something. The current VR is abysmal, which is such a shame when the walking onto the train is done so well

Love a good hyperbole. Abysmal? Really? I've done it twice and found it a great experience both times.

 

[Dave]

I wouldn’t say it’s abysmal but the on-ride part of the VR didn’t overly impress me considering the effort they have put into the product as a whole.

That said I’m not a big fan of the whole VR concept in theme parks.

 

[Rob]

I'm no fan of VR in theme parks, but of the numerous VR on coasters I have experience Valerian VR on Eurosat is the most complete and well executed. The main issue with all that I have done is the below par graphics quality.