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My Review of Europa Park: Arguably the best theme park in the world?

Rob

TS Team
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Warning: lots and lots of texts with no images!!

When I was last at Europa Park I referred to it as ‘theme park heaven’. Why is this though? I have now been twice since 2012 yet have never written any form of review on the park. Here I am going to change that with a slightly different type of review.

I am a fan of big, fast and thrilling rollercoasters. When looking at new parks that I want to visit, I often base it on what coasters they have. However I am arguing that Europa Park, a park which does not really have any of the biggest or best coasters in the world, is the best theme park in the world. I should here point out that my definition of theme park in this review is any park consisting of rides and attractions, aiming to provide people with a fun day out. Of course that is not the true definition of a theme park but true theme parks are few and far between these days.

Some people don’t initially ‘get’ Europa Park. It can take a number of visits. Maybe it is the sheer size of the park, that fact that it is almost impossible to take it all in over the course of a three or four day visit. I have spent a total of seven full days and a couple of parts days on park and there are still numerous rides that I have not ridden. However it took me no time at all before I was completely in awe of the place. The rides, the theming, the detail, the atmosphere, the food, the passion and care for all they do; for me there is little not to fall in love with.

Despite all of this it did take me until my second visit last month to acknowledge Europa Park as my number one theme park. Previously that position belonged to Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Funnily enough there are many similarities between these two parks, in particular the themes. Both parks have beautiful European themes with wonderful atmospheres. They are both immensely beautiful parks. Busch most certainly edges it on coasters and Curse of DarKastle is better than all of Europa’s current dark rides put into one (although hopefully Arthur will change this). But my second visit to Europa Park made me realise that Busch just doesn’t ooze that same magic or class that Europa does.

Europa Park is home to five exquisite hotels along with the Tipidorf Camp. The hotels are something else, full of little details. When I think of other theme park hotels I have stayed in they come out on top. They are grander, more extensive and of a higher quality than Alton Towers hotels. They have more of an atmosphere and more detail than Newport Bay Club at Disneyland Paris. Hotel Gold River at PortAventura is lovely but it the main hotel building is not comparable to those at Europa. Then you have the hotels at Phantasialand. They are not as grand as Europa’s but thematically they probably do edge it. The rooms in Matamba are so unique and the views into the park are something else. However both of Phantasialand’s hotels lack one thing in a big way: atmosphere. Two of the bars were practically ghost towns. The hotels at Europa have a selection of very different bars, all with their own unique atmosphere and extensive drinks lists. And I should mention here that the new bar in Hotel Bell Rock, Spirit of St Louis, serves what has to be the best club sandwich known to human!

Evening meals at the hotels can pose a big dilemma. There is just so much to choose from. I won’t go into much detail over this as I want to mention one place in particular, Silver Lake Saloon at Tipidorf. This has to be one of my favourite places to eat and it’s not even because of the food! The food is of course brilliant but it is the entertainment that makes it. When we were there the other week we had the wonderful Steven Bailey on stage performing. It was the first night at Europa and for me it just set the tone for the rest of the stay. It was fun, hilarious and his interactions with our group just gave it that extra special feeling. Only at Europa Park!

The park itself is just special. It is unlike any other theme park I have visited or am likely to visit. Magic is a word often used along with theme parks. Alton Towers used to have magic long before my first visit in 2004. Disney most certainly has magic; in fact Disney is probably the definition of theme park magic. Europa Park also has magic though, yet this is a very different kind of magic to that found at Disney. It’s hard to put magic into words as it is just something that exists in the atmosphere of a park. You really have to be there to feel and understand it. I get goose bumps walking around areas of the park where they play the perfectly composed Europa Park Suite music.

Another word commonly used with theme parks is escapism. This is essentially what theme parks are all about, taking you out of the everyday world and allowing you to escape into an environment where you can relax, have fun and just forget everything. It’s a word that I feel is overused though. Very few theme parks provide what I would call as full escapism. For example, Alton Towers love to claim that you should “escape to Alton Towers Resort”. However how are you able to fully escape when your surroundings are run down and you have adverts, promotions and sponsorships shoved in your face all day? In my opinion the only true place that you can really escape at Alton Towers is in the Towers and the Gardens. Europa Park however is escapism at its best. So much so that I am confident that you could have a perfectly enjoyable day at the park just walking around admiring the different areas whilst stopping for a sit down and a coffee in some of the many eateries, all without going on a single ride. I certainly could not say the same for any other theme park that I have been to.

So you could have a lovely time doing just that. But it just wouldn’t be possible. You cannot be in a park that has the likes of Blue Fire and Wodan and not ride them! These two recent additions to the park are quite simply masterpieces. The rides themselves are brilliant; I do not know of a more fun coaster in the world than Blue Fire, it is impossible to ride it and not have a smile stretched across your face. Wodan has improved greatly since it opened in 2012 and is now flying around the track. Then once you add the theming and ride soundtracks you have two complete theme park attractions.

More often than not one of the downsides of visiting a theme park is the food. Theme park food on the whole is fast food; hot dogs, burgers, chips, pizza etc. Not at Europa Park. Just like everything else the food is sublime. FoodLoop is such a unique dining experience that has to be tried, it’s not every day that your food and drinks arrive at your table after travelling down custom made track! Wherever you eat on park you know you are going to get quality. There is so much to choose from and it is hard to not keep returning to your favourite place. It’s just another thing that makes Europa Park stand out above so many other theme parks.

I could go on more about the park in general and the rides but I’m not going to. There’s nothing new for me to say that hasn’t been said a thousand times before. My next point is another thing that is very unique to Europa Park. They love themselves and they want all their guests to know just that. They love to show off and blow their own trumpet. But they get away with it, and only Europa Park could get away with this. What they do means that guests arrive with extremely high expectations and more often than not these are not only met but exceeded. How many other parks in the world have a whole attraction dedicated to showing off how they have developed in the past, taking you through the story of the park and basically showing how and why they are better than the rest? How many other parks release a video at the start of each season outlining each and every change they have made for the new season which is basically just showing off what they do? It just doesn’t happen. Some would call it all arrogance and maybe it is but for me at least it just works for them.

This leads on nicely to the next thing, investment, which is another key aspect to successful theme parks. Clearly Europa Park are cannot compete with the huge investments by the likes of Universal or Disney over in the USA. Not many parks can. However investment is continuous, varied and substantial. Whether it be new rides, a new hotel, a waterpark, behind the scenes changes, staff accommodation, new theming or improved road systems; they are always investing to make the park better. Europa Park understand something that parks owned by Merlin do not, if you put the money in to make the park the best it can be you will increase guest satisfaction and in turn the financial return will be greater. It keeps the park fresh and exciting. Not many parks decide to randomly add a huge themed tunnel to the lift of their rapids ride just because they felt like doing it. That is an investment that does not provide any direct financial return yet that is not a reason for them not to pursue it. It is a pity that the likes of Alton Towers cannot do the same.

With all this investment the future clearly looks bright. The development of the new waterpark is going to be fascinating to follow. Park expansions and new hotels are bound to be down the line. But you never know what Europa Park are going to do next. They took everyone by complete surprise in 2011 with the announcement of Wodan. So who knows exactly what we can expect in the years to come. The only thing you can be sure of is that it will be exciting.

So there we have it, why I think Europa Park is arguably the best theme park in the world. Of course at the end of the day it all comes down to preference. There will be many that think Europa Park comes nowhere near to the same level that Disney do with some of their parks. Others will think it lacks the big thrill rides to be classed as the best in the world. But from my experiences Europa Park is just unique in so many ways. There is nothing else like it. I’m just glad that I do not have to wait two years to return this time like I did after my first visit!

:)
 
Great post, Rob.

I like the angle you've taken here - with barely a mention of the rides.

It is true to say you can't actually understand just how high quality the entire complex is until you've spent several days there.

I visit 2-3 times every year and still enjoy it with as much gusto now as I did when I first walked in those gates with an air of trepidation back in September 2004.

:)
 
Talking about investments : Did you guys know that park manager Miro Gronau confirmed a few days ago that there is already a new thrill coaster in the planning ? And that they already decided to build their own special take on a freefall tower (but that will take a few more years) ?

Greeds...Gero
 
Great review Rob!

By not really talking about the rides, you actually capture the essence of what makes Europa great. It is by far and away my favourite park in the world, yet none of the rollercoasters there are in my top ten (though Wodan is edging dangerously close). A good barometer of a theme park, maybe we could call it 'the Lowe Test', is how much you would enjoy a park, and how long you would spend there, if you couldn't go on any of the rides for some medical reason.

This is where Europa exceeds for me. I would happily spend several days there, watching a couple of shows per day, and making my way round the park's many excellent and varied eateries. Then of course, a visit to the deli in Germany to stock up on local meats and cheeses! Nowhere else can you go to a theme park that offers the retail and culinary experience of a quaint seaside village.

GeorgeT said:
Talking about investments : Did you guys know that park manager Miro Gronau confirmed a few days ago that there is already a new thrill coaster in the planning ? And that they already decided to build their own special take on a freefall tower (but that will take a few more years) ?

I must have missed that! Do you have a source to link to George? :)
 
Sam, it was a part of an official interview in german for a themepark fan club.

If I`ll find it again, then I`ll post it here !

But you can trust those informations....at least it`s said by the park manager ;)
 
Here is the interview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK9704IUkr0#ws

some infos from the interview:
On Freefall Tower: They have some design ideas and there will be ride in the future - but can take some years - "up to 10 years". They want to design a special tower that is unique from other manufacturers and caters a bigger audience as they think current towers are quite expensive and cater only a small audience.

Waterpark: Is in the paperwork process with German authorities. The plans are fixed and IF they get the GO it might be finished in 2016 - at latest 2017. It will be mostly indoor and a unique to Europe attraction.
 
That was an excellent review!

The thing that strikes me about Europa is the level of customer service and the detail in everything. You can almost feel the love that has gone in to the park, it's just immaculate and very efficient!
 
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