Matt N’s Europa Park Initiation 26th-30th April 2022

[Matt N]

Interesting comment about (what I presume are Disney fanboys) saying Europa is mediocre or overrated compared to Disney parks. I'd say the opposite is true. Disney parks can sometimes be pleasant to walk around, but at least at Europa you can actually get on some rides, more so than most parks in fact due to the excellent operations. And unlike Disney Parks, you don't have to pay 3 times to ride them with a reasonable queue length.

I have to agree with you Matt reference Blue Fire. Not popular around these parts I know but I found it a rather by the numbers coaster myself. Incredibly well designed and engineered silky smooth machine that it is, the layout just seems a little underwhelming.

I have to say I am a fan of Euro Mir though. Nice and intense and I didn't find it as rough as is often made out.

You'll have to get back out there to experience the Diamond Mine walkthrough. Absolutely stunning. I didn't know it, and it's associated shop, was even there the first time I went. Magical stuff.

I don't think I've ever been to a park better than Europa. If you balance theming, quality, operations, ride lineup and value, I'd argue the case with anyone who says I'm wrong.

With regard to the bolded; apologies, I think I phrased that badly. What I meant was that I'd seen the park called mediocre and overrated, and I'd also seen it separately compared to the Disney parks. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

Do you prefer Icon to Blue Fire like I do, or is it only me who has that obscenely uncommon take? I easily preferred Icon, though; Blue Fire was great fun, don't get me wrong, but Icon just has more of a spark for me. It might be that I prefer Icon's twisty, airtime-filled layout style to Blue Fire's more "multi-looper"-type layout style, but while I found BF really fun and a solid 9/10 coaster, it doesn't hit the same 10/10 heights as Icon and it doesn't hit the same 10/10 heights as Silver Star and Wodan, in my view.

Fair enough! As much as I personally didn't care for EM at all, I can see why someone would like it, as it is pretty forceful for a ride of its type!

Wait, the Diamond Mine has a shop? Sounds like I might have missed something more substantial than I'd expected... I definitely need to check that out on visit 2!

 

[Matt.GC]

Do you prefer Icon to Blue Fire like I do, or is it only me who has that obscenely uncommon take? I easily preferred Icon, though; Blue Fire was great fun, don't get me wrong, but Icon just has more of a spark for me. It might be that I prefer Icon's twisty, airtime-filled layout style to Blue Fire's more "multi-looper"-type layout style, but while I found BF really fun and a solid 9/10 coaster, it doesn't hit the same 10/10 heights as Icon and it doesn't hit the same 10/10 heights as Silver Star and Wodan, in my view.

Fair enough! As much as I personally didn't care for EM at all, I can see why someone would like it, as it is pretty forceful for a ride of its type!

Wait, the Diamond Mine has a shop? Sounds like I might have missed something more substantial than I'd expected... I definitely need to check that out on visit 2!

Yes I absolutely love Icon (controversially my UK favourite) but the original Mack launcher was a disappointment for me I'm afraid. Great showcase of the coaster type though as I don't think I've ever ridden something so large yet so comfortably smooth. I'd ride it daily but I wouldn't be running round the queue line for another go as I just found it lacked..... something. So at least that makes 2 of us (although certainly not a 9/10 for me).

Also partially with you on Silver Star. It has the Rita problem of the fact there are far better models out there in the wilderness. But in it's own right, it does the job. Although venturing out to the car park and thus outside of the immersive world of Europa can be jarring, I do love pulling up in the car, parking up and watching it test. Seems like a good start to the day.

Yes the Diamond Mine has a shop at the end. I spent the best part of 60 Euros in there on my last trip. It's nice to go through on the flume (I forget it's name), but even better on foot.

 

[Matt N]

Yes I absolutely love Icon (controversially my UK favourite) but the original Mack launcher was a disappointment for me I'm afraid. Great showcase of the coaster type though as I don't think I've ever ridden something so large yet so comfortably smooth. I'd ride it daily but I wouldn't be running round the queue line for another go as I just found it lacked..... something. So at least that makes 2 of us (although certainly not a 9/10 for me).

Also partially with you on Silver Star. It has the Rita problem of the fact there are far better models out there in the wilderness. But in it's own right, it does the job. Although venturing out to the car park and thus outside of the immersive world of Europa can be jarring, I do love pulling up in the car, parking up and watching it test. Seems like a good start to the day.

Yes the Diamond Mine has a shop at the end. I spent the best part of 60 Euros in there on my last trip. It's nice to go through on the flume (I forget it's name), but even better on foot.

Even though I get the impression that I think a fair bit more highly of BF than you do in the grand scheme of things, the bolded sums up perfectly how I felt about it relative to Icon and the other coasters I rate really highly. It was a really good, fun coaster; a great coaster in fact, with a punchy launch, nice inversions (particularly the last one), and a smooth ride experience. A solid 9/10 for me. However, I just wasn’t quite getting that spark from it that I need on a ride to make me think “right, that’s instant 10/10 material; what a top-notch coaster!”, and I’ll admit to being surprised at how highly rated it is compared to Icon. The other 2 (SS and Wodan) definitely gave me that spark, but BF didn’t quite, even though it was a really great ride that did just about make my top 10 (it sits at #10, although my coaster count sits at only 91, so a top 10 placement holds less weight within my rankings than it would for someone more well travelled). Do you get what I mean?

See, Silver Star is an interesting one. I loved Mako at SeaWorld to bits (my current #1; not sure if you’ve ever ridden it), so I had high hopes, but I also tried to manage my expectations somewhat after hearing repeated reviews saying how terrible it was. And I was pretty pleasantly surprised! I found SS to have stacks and stacks of airtime (easily one of the most airtime-filled coasters I’ve ever ridden; right up there with Mako, in that regard) and be really fun and rerideable, and to be honest with you, I found it sitting surprisingly close to Mako; it snagged the #2 spot for me, and that was after much deliberation, as I actually thought it gave Mako surprisingly tough competition! So I don’t think SS is as sub-standard compared to other B&M hypers as many seem to myself! Funny you should mention Rita, as that’s another one I controversially quite like (top 20 material, and a solid 8/10, for me), but that’s for another thread…

I believe you’re thinking of Tiroler Wildwasserbahn. Unless Europa has a 2nd log flume lurking somewhere that I didn’t know about… which is a definite possibility given the nature of the place!

 

[Gurkensalat]

Yes, it is the Tiroler Wildwasserbahn that goes through the Diamond Mine and offers some nice perspectives from below. There is surprisingly no second log flume in the park. The shop at the end of "Zauberwelt der Diamanten", as the correct name is, has a selection of stones and minerals on offer in a very nice art noveau environment. Although I do not think they sell real diamonds, you can at least buy the typical smell of the attraction in little bottles!