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Five day 3 generation trip - Summer 2024

ShadowTD

ShadowTD

TS Member
Afternoon all.

My parents were never huge theme park people when I was younger (and indeed I was a massive wuss as a kid!) but they nonetheless took me to all of the usual places around the north west where I grew up (BPB, Pleasureland, Camelot, Frontierland). Over the years we've done a few trips as a family and it 2019 it was decided that the last 'big' family trip would be to Florida with them and my 6 year old daughter. This was a brilliant experience and everyone had a great time.
Summer 2022 I finally made it to Europa Park (a long time coming!) with my wife and daughter. We had two nights in the camp ground and spent a day at the park and a day at Rulantica and were unsurprisingly spellbound by Europa in general. My daughter mentions Rulantica pretty much any time a water park comes up, and Blue Fire is her second favourite ride behind Ride To Happiness. After banging on to my parents (now well in their seventies!) about how lovely it was, they said 'why don't we all go then?' So a plan is forming, but I'd appreciate some feedback from the experts.

We're looking to do it all on the train - I love the Eurostar, and it would be nice for me to not have to bother with airports/taxis/hire cars. It looks like the routes are fairly reliable, but any gotchas would be appreciated. We're also flexible on the time - seemingly the hotel prices are the same for all of the summer season? So we were thinking any time in July or August but there must be some quiet times during that period which would be a good target. We're planning on five days, four nights staying in Kronasaur due to the stunning theming (I had a quick look round last year and I was just amazed). While my parents will do Big Rides, I'm also looking for thoughts on the shows and lower adrenaline stuff that I can use to ensure they have the best time.

Any and all feedback is much appreciated. Cheers!
 
I have done that journey by train a few times now and it’s pretty straightforward. Once you’re in Paris, you’ll need to change from Gare du Nord (Eurostar terminal) to Gare de l’Est which is a few minutes walk away. Here there will be TGV (high speed) trains to Strasbourg. Bare in mind that you can only book TGV trains a couple of months in advance I believe, and it can be done in one “journey” when you book your Eurostar. From Strasbourg it’s a local train to Offenburg then another to Ringsheim, before changing onto the shuttle bus to EP. The local trains and buses come under the 24H Europass on the Deutsche Bahn app, which is extremely good value, especially when travelling in a group. Vice versa for the return journey.

Hope this helps!
 
Obviously you are looking to go during the summer holidays which is always going to be busier, but even when busy Europa-Park is completely manageable so I wouldn't worry too much. Try and avoid a Saturday if you can, as this is always likely to be the busiest day of the week.

It looks like the Baden-Württemberg school summer holidays next year are July 25 - September 7, so if you can go in July before these dates I'd imagine it will be quieter. But French school holidays and other regions of Germany can also have an impact, so worth checking those out.

Rulantica looked like it was very busy at times this summer, I suspect they upped capacity a fair bit which meant longer queues for slides than I have ever seen before. Do Rulantica on a week day!
 
That's brilliant, thank you very much. I think I've zoned in on my dates in July with your help. Looking at the train and flight prices I'm genuinely considering just driving it for the huge amount of money it will save!
 
I would get there in July as early as possible and as said avoid Saturday. Friday is normally the least waiting times, depending on weather and special holidays of course. Sunday is often not crowded as well, especially after 5 when many people have an early start to get home because of longer traveling times.

Hotel Kronasar is great, but the theming in the others is great, too. On the other hand, you have to use the shuttle to get to the park, so that is a drawback for that hotel. Perhaps you want to look at Santa Isabel, Castillo Alcazar, Colosseo or Bell Rock again which are beautiful and in walking distance to the park. If you plan to use a day in Rulantica you could also change hotel to Kronasar just for one night. Just a suggestion. I personally would never stay in Kronasar when visiting Europa-Park as main destination.
 
I agree with Gurkensalat about staying at Kronosar. If you're spending 3 days at EP and 1 at Rulantica it doesn't make too much sense to stay there, given the additional shuttle you need to take at the end of the day, and the convenience of being directly near the park and all of the restaurants in the hotels. If you don't mind the extra shuttle and love the theming there then go for it, but for me, at the end of a long day it's really a blessing to be able to exit the park and be home more or less immediately. The shuttles come regularly and aren't difficult to catch, but it is an additional step with some amount of waiting time, whereas if you stay in the main hotels you have maximum about a 5 minute walk to get back to your room from the park guest entrance.
 
Thanks to both of you for your input. I'd kind of set my heart on Kronasar because it just blew me away, but with my parents and my daughter an easy end to the end of the day would be a big advantage. Do all the hotels use the hotel entrance that is part of Santa Isabel then?
 
I totally agree, Kronosar looks beautiful and I'd love to stay there at some point, but not as much as I want to be directly back at my hotel room at the end of a long park day :D I think this will change if and when the long discussed monorail to Rulantica opens, but that's not going to be for some years at least.

Indeed, all of the hotels use the same park entrance. It's very convenient.
 
The park entrance is part of El Andaluz, to be precise. But Santa Isabel is only a few steps away. If I were you, I would look closer at Santa Isabel, since it might appeal to your parents and your daughter as well. It is the smallest and quietest of the hotels and has a special charm.
 
Again, thanks for the feedback. I'm now trying to decide between the 3 hotels closest to the entrance. Out of Alcazar, Andaluz and Santa Isabel, which one would you say feels the most 'premium'? I know Santa Isabel is a 4* 'superior' and the other two aren't, but it's not always about the rating.
 
Isabel feels most premium, I think, and it is also the newest of the 3. But Alcazar is not far behind if you like medieval theming. Andaluz is my least favorite, because it feels a bit less premium and also it is the noisiest, because the doors go to the inner court where there is often a lot of noise until late in the evening.

(I know that this does not help, but the hotel with the most premium feel of all is the Bell Rock in my opinion) :)
 
Brilliant stuff. Looks like I've got everything I need. Thanks again everyone for your help, it's much appreciated!
 
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