Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Mako (SeaWorld Orlando)
Hi guys. As we have a ranking thread for Europa Park’s coasters, I thought it was only fair to make one for their dark rides too. Dark rides are arguably almost as important as coasters within Europa Park; they are one of the few theme parks where the dark ride count is nearly as plentiful as the coaster count! So my question to you today is; how would you rank Europa’s dark ride arsenal?
I’ll get the ball rolling with my list…
I didn’t include Arthur, as it’s more of a coaster, but if I did, it would be right at the top end for sure; probably 2nd or so.
But how do you rank Europa Park’s dark ride lineup?
I’ll get the ball rolling with my list…
- Piraten in Batavia: I never rode the old version of this, but the new version is a true triumph, and an easy steal for the top spot, in my opinion! The theming and sets throughout are absolutely phenomenal, other effects such as projection mapping are also used to great effect, and overall, I think it’s a truly stunning attraction! Interestingly, I actually rated this a fair bit higher than Pirates of the Caribbean at Disney’s Magic Kingdom; it really is a stunning ride!
- Voletarium: I thought this was a very nicely done attraction! The film was good, the soundtrack was nice, there were some excellent smells and extra effects in there that matched the film really nicely, and overall, I thought it was an excellent dark ride!
- Snorri Touren: Considering this was something we just stumbled across as opposed to a big-ticket dark ride, I thought it was a really excellent ride! The theming was done very nicely throughout, screens were integrated in alongside physical set pieces very well, the soundtrack is quite fun and catchy, the simulator section is very clever, and overall, I thought Snorri Touren was a really nice ride!
- Abenteuer Atlantis: I thought this was a very fun little attraction! The theming was quite nice, the interactive element was done well, and the ride overall had a very fun vibe about it, in my opinion!
- Madame Freudenreich’s Curiosities: This has possibly one of the strangest storylines of any dark ride I’ve ever done, but I think it overall works quite nicely. This ride is certainly very quirky, but I think it has an overall fun vibe, with some nice animatronics and theming throughout! It certainly has an… interesting vibe, though. It almost feels like a hybrid of Jurassic Park and Teddy Bears’ Picnic!
- Fluch der Kassandra: This was OK, and perfectly fine for what it was, but it’s definitely the weakest of the 3 Madhouses I’ve done (Hex, Haunted House Monster Party and Fluch der Kassandra), in my opinion. I do think it lacked something due to not having a pre-show (although that could well have been a COVID measure; does this normally have a pre-show?), and it also felt a bit more sickly than the Vekoma Madhouses I’ve done. Nonetheless, I thought the room itself was quite nicely done, with a decent soundtrack, some nice lighting, and some interesting effects in the seating!
- Geisterschloss: This has a very good spooky ambience about it, but it sits below some of the higher rides because I think it feels a bit inconsistent, for lack of a better word; there’s no real rhyme or reason to it. Don’t get me wrong, it was a perfectly fine dark ride, but I wasn’t really sure what the storyline was supposed to be, and the theming felt a bit… random. In one scene you had skeletons and apparitions at a banquet, in another you had mad scientists decapitating people, in another you had undertakers… it felt more like a “greatest hits of ghost trains/spooky theming” than something with a clear, cohesive storyline. Still, I do quite like ambient, spooky dark rides, and I think Geisterschloss does the overall ambience thing quite well; I can definitely see the Haunted Mansion likeness in sections. On another note, it’s also surprisingly gory; it has a bit of an obsession with decapitating people!
- Piccolo Mondo: This was a very… interesting ride. Certainly quirky, for sure! It felt quite fun in vibe and had quite a fun soundtrack, but definitely isn’t on the same level as the rides further up. It’s an OK ride, though; it has some fun sets, and it was overall quite fun and silly in vibe!
- Schlittenfahrt Schneefloecken: Similarly to Piccolo Mondo, this was quite a strange ride, and definitely not on the level of some of the others at the park. I would say this wasn’t quite as good as Piccolo, though; it just lacked something compared to that. Nonetheless, I thought it was all right; nothing particularly special, but had some fine theming and sets. It felt almost It’s a Small World-esque, but Christmas-themed and with an extra layer of quirkiness on top. I think “It’s a Small World on crack” would be an apt analogy! It’s definitely showing its age a tad now, though; I don’t know it’s exact age, but I’m guessing it’s one of EP’s older dark rides.
I didn’t include Arthur, as it’s more of a coaster, but if I did, it would be right at the top end for sure; probably 2nd or so.
But how do you rank Europa Park’s dark ride lineup?
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