First solo park adventure to Germany!

[cloudburster]

Hello everyone! Long-time lurker and long, long-time theme park dork!

I'm currently planning a potential trip to Germany to visit the major parks for a week or two. I've had a rough few years since the pandemic, lost my entire career, lost my Dad, lost my house - prepare the tiniest of violins! This all had a pretty big knock-on on effect with my mental health and I've essentially spent 3 years now barely leaving the house and waiting for life to happen for me again. Long story short, we all know life doesn't just happen for you, so I'm planning this to kickstart things back into gear, shake off the cobwebs, and throw myself out of my comfort zone by doing something I love, in the places I love the most!

I've loved theme parks since I was a kid, been to all of the UK parks a bunch of times. Since my options for a grand adventure here in N.I. are limited to a total of zero parks, with Taytoville being a day trip at most AND UK parks being a bit long in the tooth now (imo), I've decided to go where the public transport is reliable and I can experience a diverse range of themes, attractions, and coasters, so Germany!

I've spent ages reading through people's trip reports and I know plenty of you go to parks solo all the time. I've never done it myself but since I'll be going off-season in November, I figure it'll be a great time to not get stuck in massive crowds and just take my time and ease myself into doing it all alone.

If anyone has any tips or pros/cons of solo park trips, travel between the parks in Germany etc, I'm all ears. I'll be flying from Belfast so likely going to Paris > Strasbourg > Europa Park and work my way north from there, relying on public transport. Thanks in advance! And sorry if this is in the wrong place...!

 

[Llama]

Sorry to hear about the rough time you've had recently, but I will say that you've got a very nice plan for getting back on the saddle, as it were. The theme parks in Germany are some of the best in the world, as you've no doubt learned by reading, well... half of the posts on this very forum

I've been to parks solo a few times and it's always been a nice time, especially in the off-season like you're planning. I think if you went solo and had to queue endlessly it might become a bit boring, but when the wait times are short and you can kind of do whatever you'd like on your own schedule it can really be a wonderful time, especially if you personally need a bit of a temporary escape from the real world.

Regarding the trains, they aren't as reliable as they might be in, for example, Japan, but they will get you from A to B. I would build in some possibility of late or canceled trains into your schedule, so don't assume you'll be exactly on time in terms of dinner reservations or what have you, but other than that you should be able to get around without issue. I'm not sure if you can download the DB Navigator app without a German phone, but if you can it's very helpful for navigating the train system here.

 

[cloudburster]

Sorry to hear about the rough time you've had recently, but I will say that you've got a very nice plan for getting back on the saddle, as it were. The theme parks in Germany are some of the best in the world, as you've no doubt learned by reading, well... half of the posts on this very forum

I've been to parks solo a few times and it's always been a nice time, especially in the off-season like you're planning. I think if you went solo and had to queue endlessly it might become a bit boring, but when the wait times are short and you can kind of do whatever you'd like on your own schedule it can really be a wonderful time, especially if you personally need a bit of a temporary escape from the real world.

Regarding the trains, they aren't as reliable as they might be in, for example, Japan, but they will get you from A to B. I would build in some possibility of late or canceled trains into your schedule, so don't assume you'll be exactly on time in terms of dinner reservations or what have you, but other than that you should be able to get around without issue. I'm not sure if you can download the DB Navigator app without a German phone, but if you can it's very helpful for navigating the train system here.

Appreciate it on all counts! Escapism is certainly the vibe I'm going for. I'm sure once you get your first day done solo, you find your feet from there.

I'm planning for two weeks so I have time to get between parks, see a few of the cities etc. I know they're a lot more reliable than the public transport here in the UK, so that sold me haha.

 

[Wildboy1983]

I can't really add any kind of advice about traveling alone as I have not tried it yet (although I think I would enjoy it) but I wanted to say I'm glad to read that you are going for it. Wrestling yourself out of a difficult period is a hard thing to do and I reckon this trip will be a real tonic and watershed for you.

I have been to all the parks you will visit and I know that you are going to have an awesome time. I can't wait to read the trip report!

 

[RicketyCricket]

Be sure to double check the park opening calenders. You may be limited to what parks you can visit as most of them will be closed or only open at weekends in November.

It's such a great country to travel by rail. You can get from one end of the country to the other in a few hours for less than 30 euros if you book at the right time.

Worth considering breaking up the long train journeys with some small town stop overs, to get a break from the busy cities.