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Plopsaland vs Europa Park

Bowser

Bowser

TS Member
So i've 99% got my holiday availability which is looking to be Monday May 26th to Wednesday May 28th and wondering which theme park is the best to visit.

Obviously overall Europa is better but there are a few factors for us to consider:

- May 26th is a bank holiday in the UK so that shouldn't have much of an impact other than initial travel perhaps being busy. May 29th is Ascension Day which potentially could have a knock on effect perhaps more for Europa than Plopsa?
- Plopsaland is a much easier journey as we can drive door to door in under 4 hours (in theory). Bank holiday should be beneficial in that sense whereas Europa is at best 6 hours so eats heavily into the adjoining days.
- Plopsaland has much better accommodation options as we can stay in a self catering house in the new village onsite with both parks admissions included and all walking distance. Europa would require a rental and then potentially car hire or a lot of walking which would make the departure day quite challenging.
- We've been to Plopsaland once before which is both a pro and con.
- There's a chance my son might not be 1.3m by the specified time which would be a bit of a downer for Europa.

I think ultimately perhaps the time constraints are the defining issue. Europa would likely end up being an evening in Rulantica, full day in Europa and then half day (at most) in Europa again so would it be better to wait till we have add in an extra night. Though realistically that would either be Halloween half term which would be horrendously busy, Xmas which has the weather issues or into 2026.
 
In those circumstances, I’d probably recommend Plopsaland.

Europa is wonderful, but the key thing that would put me off Europa in your circumstances is the fact that you can only allocate 1 full day to it. I don’t know if anyone else on here would agree, but I feel that Europa needs at least 2 full days to get the most out of it. When I went in 2022, we had 3 days, and I thought that worked wonderfully.

Your son not being 1.3m in Europa isn’t as much of a downer as you’d think, though. I think it’s only Silver Star, Blue Fire, Euro Mir and Voltron he’s restricted from, which isn’t very much in the grand scheme of how big and plentiful Europa Park’s attraction lineup is.

The on-site hotels are lovely in Europa; Castillo Alcazar was one of the best I’ve stayed in, and the other higher-star ones like Colosseo and Bell Rock looked even nicer! Unless you’re specifically seeking self-catering accommodation, I would say Europa is one of the strongest places around for on-site accommodation. The surrounding town of Rust also has plentiful cheaper options within walking distance of the park entrance.

With all that being said, I would probably recommend Plopsaland in your circumstances given that you can only allocate 1 full day to the park in question. I haven’t been, but it seems more doable in 1 day.
 
Matt N said:
In those circumstances, I’d probably recommend Plopsaland.

Europa is wonderful, but the key thing that would put me off Europa in your circumstances is the fact that you can only allocate 1 full day to it. I don’t know if anyone else on here would agree, but I feel that Europa needs at least 2 full days to get the most out of it. When I went in 2022, we had 3 days, and I thought that worked wonderfully.

Your son not being 1.3m in Europa isn’t as much of a downer as you’d think, though. I think it’s only Silver Star, Blue Fire, Euro Mir and Voltron he’s restricted from, which isn’t very much in the grand scheme of how big and plentiful Europa Park’s attraction lineup is.

The on-site hotels are lovely in Europa; Castillo Alcazar was one of the best I’ve stayed in, and the other higher-star ones like Colosseo and Bell Rock looked even nicer! Unless you’re specifically seeking self-catering accommodation, I would say Europa is one of the strongest places around for on-site accommodation. The surrounding town of Rust also has plentiful cheaper options within walking distance of the park entrance.

With all that being said, I would probably recommend Plopsaland in your circumstances given that you can only allocate 1 full day to the park in question. I haven’t been, but it seems more doable in 1 day.
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Yeah we had slightly less than one day at Plopsaland last year and it was ample. With this being European term time again that should be the case. They also had an excellent RAP system.
 
Europa is by far the better park. Plopsa is a 1 ride park, and that ride can be extremely variable if it is good or meh.

Honestly? Parc Asterix. EP requires more time than you have and Plopsa is a bit rubbish. Asterix is a reasonable enough drive (2 hours) from the boat/train and a much better park. I haven't done the resort offering but it seems nice enough.
 
As I sat,
Poisson said:
Europa is by far the better park. Plopsa is a 1 ride park, and that ride can be extremely variable if it is good or meh.

Honestly? Parc Asterix. EP requires more time than you have and Plopsa is a bit rubbish. Asterix is a reasonable enough drive (2 hours) from the boat/train and a much better park. I haven't done the resort offering but it seems nice enough.
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As I say, we’ve been to Plopsaland and for us it’s much more than a one ride park (we didn’t go on Ride to Happiness last time and still might not be tall enough this time).

Asterix looks like a nice enough park but doesn’t have relevant accommodation or a water park so less appealing.

Walibi Belgium could be an option to explore though.
 
Plastic Person said:
Knowing the planning and flexibility required with your family for theme park trips, I'd encourage you to leave Europa Park until you can spend three or four days in Rust. I think you'd be short-changed with just a day and a bit, as would anyone on a first visit.

Plopsa and Bellewaerda sounds like a plan.
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Ha, i actually got back on the fence as i looked at flights and there's a direct one home from Basel at 7:15pm which would give us close to a full day.

I'm also a pretty good gauge of what my son will want to go on so we don't typically visit parks aiming to experience everything (eg we wouldn't be using any non-ride entertainment).

You're probably right though. Might sit on it for a bit and if availability dictates then that's not a bad outcome either.
 
Bowser said:
I can't seem to find it but they did announce the reopening recently. Think it was a general Spring as opposed to a specific date.

Oh i found it, it was a sign outside the park at Christmas saying reopening April 5th:

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That sounds like a rather optimistic "à partir du" to me... Hope it does reopen soon though, it looks insane!
 
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