Skyscraper
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
Part 1- Days 1 & 2
I still cannot believe that I am writing this... after having EP at the top of my bucket list for years and desperately wanting to visit a park outside of the UK, I finally got my chance this year! I turned 30 back in March, and it was the perfect opportunity. There were five of us going; myself, my sister and three family friends. We stayed on resort at Hotel Colosseo and did three days in the park with a day either side for travel, arriving on Monday and departing on Friday. It was to be an exciting (and eventful!) 5 days, and I can't wait to tell you all about it! This was only my second time going abroad and on a plane, although that was so long ago this might as well have been my first time. I have included selected photos, both my own and those taken by my fellow group members, shared with their permission.
Day 1- Travel day
We had a 12:15pm flight from Manchester airport to Basel, and after getting ready and completing online check-in, my dad and I left the house just after 8 am to collect everyone apart from my sister, who was flying separately from Heathrow. He dropped us off at Sheffield Station in plenty of time for our 8:45am train to Manchester Piccadilly, where we would change onto the airport service.
We arrived at Manchester Airport at around 10am and made our way to Terminal 1 via the skybridge. Now, there are two different departure areas in Terminal 1, A and B, and Easyjet depart from B. It took us a while to find it, as we had to go all the way along to the end of the main hall to find a narrow staircase down to Departures B. We didn't have to wait too long to enter security, although my rucksack got pulled for a random check so we had to wait for that. It was interesting seeing my liquids being tested in a machine, though. Once through security, we entered the departure hall and started to think about food. We decided on Burger King as it was the easiest option.
All fed, we headed to the gate as boarding had started. Although, when approaching the gate I suddenly realised that I didn't have my (bright yellow!) case! I rushed back to Burger King with another member of my group, and thankfully it was still there. Crisis averted, we went to the gate and got ready to board the plane. Once onboard, we were informed that we were being held for takeoff by Air Traffic Control, so would be taking off around 30 minutes late. However the flight would only take around 90 minutes as apposed to the advertised one hour and fifty-five, so we'd still likely land on time.
On the tarmac, waiting to depart Manchester Airport
We landed at a very rainy Basel Airport just after 3pm Europe time, and it didn't take us too long to clear Passport Control. We then entered the arrivals hall to meet up with my sister, who had arrived a few hours before us due to the timings, then went to collect our hire car. When we found the hire car, we had a funny moment when the group member who was driving and the nominated front seat passenger both went around to their usual sides, before remembering that it was left-hand drive and switching sides.
It was a fairly small car and a bit of a squeeze, but we managed as the journey was only an hour.
After getting our first views of the park from the approach road, we arrived at Hotel Colosseo and parked up. The lobby is really nice, not least the beautiful mural on the ceiling.
I visited reception to collect physical room keys, and my mobile room key in the app wouldn't be enough. I'm glad I did though, as the mobile room key didn't work great at all. I only got it to work once, and it took a while to unlock the door.
The beautiful mural on the ceiling of Hotel Colosseo
We stayed in a Deluxe Room with a view of the courtyard and Colisseum arch, although that did make getting to sleep difficult. The last fountain show starts at 10 p.m., and the area music isn't switched off until midnight. Plus, people are talking outside as well. The view is really nice, though! The amphitheatre is great for views as well and a nice place to sit.
The view from our room
And from the top of the amphitheatre
We took a walk to the nearby supermarkets, which are only a few minutes walk from the Colosseo plaza (a great place to get snacks for the day), then it was time for dinner at Pizzeria La Romantica. I'd been warned that there could be a wait as it's walk-up only (you can't prebook), but there was no queue when we arrived at the door. I had the Lasagne Bolognese, and it was really nice! After dinner, we relaxed a bit more then had a look at Bar Colosseo, but it's currently only open Fridays and Saturdays, so we went to Commedia downstairs instead.
Before long, it was time to get some sleep before our first venture into the park the next day!
Day 2- First park day
The day had arrived! We got up around 8:30-ish and got ready for breakfast, and as it was fairly late there was no queue to get in. There is so much choice for breakfast, although I usually don't eat much. I had cereal, some yoghurt and a plate of sausages and hash browns today. All fed, we headed back to the room to sort ourselves out, then it was time to head to the Europa Park hotel guest entrance! This is only a short walk from the front of Colosseo, via a tunnel under the road.
The route to the hotel guest entrance is clearly signposted
We entered the park into the Spanish area, and decided on our first ride. We headed just a short distance to Austria first, to start with Alpen Express.
Alpen Express
This Mack-powered coaster is my first roller coaster outside of the UK, and it was pretty fun! I did get stapled by the lap bar, though, which hindered my enjoyment slightly. The theming is really good, and it was actually a bit faster than I expected. It is a shame that I never got to ride the original, though.
After Alpen Express I would have suggested doing the log flume next door, but it was on an advertised late opening due to maintenance. Instead, we left Spain and ventured into the Minimoys Kingdom for one of my most anticipated rides...
Arthur
This was a ride type that I'd been wanting to ride for a while, and I was so looking forward to it. I know it's not the most thrilling coaster, but that doesn't matter! It's a fun ride in my opinion, and you do get some nice views of the entrance area from it. The outdoor coaster section is short, but still really good. It's just a super re-rideable family coaster and I really enjoyed it. The moving load station setup is cool too, something I'd not experienced on a coaster before. Also, a note on the toilets at Europa Park... I loved how the toilets were themed to the land they were in, and my favourite has to be the Arthur ones, with the flower-shaped sinks and A-shaped taps. A little thing of course, but it adds so much!
After leaving the Minimoys Kingdom, we decided to head towards the Swiss area. On the way, though, we went through the England area and stopped off at the laser maze as it only had a couple of people waiting.
Queen's Diamonds Laser Maze
The aim of this attraction is to reach the exit within the 90-second time limit whilst tripping as few lasers as possible. It's actually quite hard, I lost count of how many faults I got (there is a screen at the exit, but I forgot to look at it in time).
Least I escaped within the time limit eh. It's a nice attraction to do that's not a "ride", although bear in mind that only one person can go through at a time.
The entrance to the laser maze
The replica Globe Theatre. Sadly we didn't see a show there.
The famous black cab in the England area
Maze completed, we continued on to the Swiss area. Our first stop was the Mack Bobsleigh.
Swiss Bob Run
I wasn't entirely looking forward to this, having ridden Avalanche back home (the lap bar tries its hardest to squash you), but it thankfully wasn't too bad. Although that's probably due to the fact that Swiss Bob Run has a tamer layout than Avalanche. SBR was more enjoyable because of that but I still think that Avalanche has the better layout. Was glad to ride it on our first day as it is a one-and-done for me, and nothing special.
After the Bob, we rode the other coaster in Switzerland, which I was slightly more looking forward to;
Matterhorn Bobsled
Another coaster, another first for me! This time in the form of an elevator lift, which was an interesting start to the ride. It's just a standard wild mouse, but I always enjoy these. The theming is really good as well. One I'd ride again, unlike the previous coaster.
Next, we continued through Switzerland and into France. First up was a visit to see Madame Freudenreich and her dinosaurs.
Madame Freudenreich Curiousities
This is a cute little omnimover ride through Madam Freudenreich's shop, where she keeps (anamatronic!) dinosaurs. It's a nice little ride and usually has no wait! Definitely one of the smaller attractions that should not be missed.
Leaving the dinos behind, we thought about having some lunch but then saw that Can Can was only on a short wait, so decided to do it first.
Can Can Coaster
This was another ride that I was looking forward to the most. I've not done many indoor coasters, so could not wait to ride Can Can! The theming is really good (again!), and the atmosphere and audio is great too. The ride is super fun, so enjoyable! Definitely one of my favourites.
A view of Madam Freudenreich Curiosities and Can Can Coaster from the Euro Tower.
The lake and fountains in the French area are so beautiful, and there is a show every few minutes.
After Can Can, it was finally time for our first "thrill" coaster of the trip! And a very tall one, too...
Silver Star
Behold, my first B&M Hyper! I'd been wanting to ride one for so long, and finally got my chance at Europa. This was my tallest coaster yet, at almost 240ft (my previous tallest was Big one at 213ft). It's super smooth and so fast, and the airtime is great! We decided to queue for the front row as the queue to get to the station was short and there were only a couple of trains' worth of people in the front row queue, so we had an unobstructed view.
After Silver Star, it was time to leave France and head to Italy for an encounter with the Medici family...
Castello Dei Medici
This is another ride which never gets a wait, and we were straight into the preshow. It's another omnimover ride, but this time a very spooky one! Some scenes are actually quite gruesome, it's surprisingly dark for a theme park ride! The "stretching room" pre-show (sound familiar? I've not experienced the original, though) is an interesting start to the ride, and the ride itself is pretty good.
Escaping the castle, we headed out of Italy and into Germany for the parks' flying theatre attraction. My first one, too!
Voletarium
I was looking forward to this as I'd never ridden a "flying theatre" before, but was slightly nervous as I wasn't sure how I would find it. For starters, the queue line is simply stunning. I was genuinely blown away whilst walking through it! Now, this is the only attraction I rode where the queue was stood still for periods as opposed to constantly moving like everything else. I suspect that's due to the nature of the ride system though, so can't be helped. I can't think of a better queue to be stood in, though! There are three levels of seating, each with three rows side-by-side. We were batched to the middle level and the section closest to the exit doors. To my relief the motion was quite gentle, and I found it actually really fun! Ironically the most intense bit was at the end, when an advert for EDventure/Grand Prix of Europe was played on the screen.
After Voletarium, we were all starting to feel a bit tired, so we decided to begin heading back to the hotel's exit via a couple of rides that I wanted us to do. First, we went to the nearby Panoramabahn station.
Panoramabahn (Germany to Spain)
This miniature railway is just one of three transport rides in the park, and it's a great way to get around! It has stops in the Germany, England, Spain and Russia areas.
Arriving in Spain, we then had a short walk past the hotel exit towards Scandinavia, to visit a certain Octopus...
Snorri Touren
This is a cute little dark ride! It's fairly hidden, you could easily miss the entrance if you're not looking for it. It's themed around Snorri, the Rulantica water park's mascot, and is a nice little ride! It even has a small motion simulator-style section at the end, which was slightly tamer than I was expecting, but still fun.
Exiting Snorri's lair, we continued on to to the Dutch area, and the park's biggest dark ride...
Piraten In Batavia
I was so looking forward to this ride! I still miss Pirate Adventure at Drayton Manor back in the UK (RIP), so could not wait to ride Europa's version. From the queue to the ride itself, it is simply stunning. The sets and animatronics are amazing, it's just an incredible attraction. An absolute must-ride at Euoropa Park, and one of my favourites!
The entrance to Piraten in Batavia
And with that, it was time for our last ride of the day. We decided on the park's GCI wooden coaster, so we headed over to Iceland.
Wodan
Being a huge fan of Wicker Man, I was very excited to ride a bigger GCI! The queue line is really interesting, taking you through different "realms", and you also go through the support structure which is cool. Also, the entrance arch is huge! The ride itself is super fast and action-packed, so much so that I found it a bit too much this first time. I would get more rides on it over the next couple of days, though, which were more enjoyable. It's a fantastic woodie!
Wodan's awesome entrance arch!
So, that was it, our first day in Europa Park was over! We went back to our hotel to ponder about dinner, and eventually decided to go to Pizzeria La Romantica for a second time as it's the only resort restaurant within our price range and the other place we'd looked at wasn't open on Tuesdays. This time I had a margarita pizza, with added tuna (they don't do sweetcorn, sadly), and a couple of my group had the lasagna bolognese, which I'd recommended.
After dinner, we spent a bit of time in Bar Commedia, and I took a walk up to the amphitheatre. Before long, though, it was time to turn in for the night and get some rest before our second day in the park, especially because I'd decided to head in earlier for the hotel guest early ride time. We had an absolutely amazing first park day, and I couldn't wait for day 2! I hope you've enjoyed reading this first part of my report, and stay tuned for part 2 soon!
I still cannot believe that I am writing this... after having EP at the top of my bucket list for years and desperately wanting to visit a park outside of the UK, I finally got my chance this year! I turned 30 back in March, and it was the perfect opportunity. There were five of us going; myself, my sister and three family friends. We stayed on resort at Hotel Colosseo and did three days in the park with a day either side for travel, arriving on Monday and departing on Friday. It was to be an exciting (and eventful!) 5 days, and I can't wait to tell you all about it! This was only my second time going abroad and on a plane, although that was so long ago this might as well have been my first time. I have included selected photos, both my own and those taken by my fellow group members, shared with their permission.
Day 1- Travel day
We had a 12:15pm flight from Manchester airport to Basel, and after getting ready and completing online check-in, my dad and I left the house just after 8 am to collect everyone apart from my sister, who was flying separately from Heathrow. He dropped us off at Sheffield Station in plenty of time for our 8:45am train to Manchester Piccadilly, where we would change onto the airport service.
We arrived at Manchester Airport at around 10am and made our way to Terminal 1 via the skybridge. Now, there are two different departure areas in Terminal 1, A and B, and Easyjet depart from B. It took us a while to find it, as we had to go all the way along to the end of the main hall to find a narrow staircase down to Departures B. We didn't have to wait too long to enter security, although my rucksack got pulled for a random check so we had to wait for that. It was interesting seeing my liquids being tested in a machine, though. Once through security, we entered the departure hall and started to think about food. We decided on Burger King as it was the easiest option.
All fed, we headed to the gate as boarding had started. Although, when approaching the gate I suddenly realised that I didn't have my (bright yellow!) case! I rushed back to Burger King with another member of my group, and thankfully it was still there. Crisis averted, we went to the gate and got ready to board the plane. Once onboard, we were informed that we were being held for takeoff by Air Traffic Control, so would be taking off around 30 minutes late. However the flight would only take around 90 minutes as apposed to the advertised one hour and fifty-five, so we'd still likely land on time.
On the tarmac, waiting to depart Manchester Airport
We landed at a very rainy Basel Airport just after 3pm Europe time, and it didn't take us too long to clear Passport Control. We then entered the arrivals hall to meet up with my sister, who had arrived a few hours before us due to the timings, then went to collect our hire car. When we found the hire car, we had a funny moment when the group member who was driving and the nominated front seat passenger both went around to their usual sides, before remembering that it was left-hand drive and switching sides.
It was a fairly small car and a bit of a squeeze, but we managed as the journey was only an hour.
After getting our first views of the park from the approach road, we arrived at Hotel Colosseo and parked up. The lobby is really nice, not least the beautiful mural on the ceiling.
I visited reception to collect physical room keys, and my mobile room key in the app wouldn't be enough. I'm glad I did though, as the mobile room key didn't work great at all. I only got it to work once, and it took a while to unlock the door.
The beautiful mural on the ceiling of Hotel Colosseo
We stayed in a Deluxe Room with a view of the courtyard and Colisseum arch, although that did make getting to sleep difficult. The last fountain show starts at 10 p.m., and the area music isn't switched off until midnight. Plus, people are talking outside as well. The view is really nice, though! The amphitheatre is great for views as well and a nice place to sit.
The view from our room
And from the top of the amphitheatre
We took a walk to the nearby supermarkets, which are only a few minutes walk from the Colosseo plaza (a great place to get snacks for the day), then it was time for dinner at Pizzeria La Romantica. I'd been warned that there could be a wait as it's walk-up only (you can't prebook), but there was no queue when we arrived at the door. I had the Lasagne Bolognese, and it was really nice! After dinner, we relaxed a bit more then had a look at Bar Colosseo, but it's currently only open Fridays and Saturdays, so we went to Commedia downstairs instead.
Before long, it was time to get some sleep before our first venture into the park the next day!
Day 2- First park day
The day had arrived! We got up around 8:30-ish and got ready for breakfast, and as it was fairly late there was no queue to get in. There is so much choice for breakfast, although I usually don't eat much. I had cereal, some yoghurt and a plate of sausages and hash browns today. All fed, we headed back to the room to sort ourselves out, then it was time to head to the Europa Park hotel guest entrance! This is only a short walk from the front of Colosseo, via a tunnel under the road.
The route to the hotel guest entrance is clearly signposted
We entered the park into the Spanish area, and decided on our first ride. We headed just a short distance to Austria first, to start with Alpen Express.
Alpen Express
This Mack-powered coaster is my first roller coaster outside of the UK, and it was pretty fun! I did get stapled by the lap bar, though, which hindered my enjoyment slightly. The theming is really good, and it was actually a bit faster than I expected. It is a shame that I never got to ride the original, though.
After Alpen Express I would have suggested doing the log flume next door, but it was on an advertised late opening due to maintenance. Instead, we left Spain and ventured into the Minimoys Kingdom for one of my most anticipated rides...
Arthur
This was a ride type that I'd been wanting to ride for a while, and I was so looking forward to it. I know it's not the most thrilling coaster, but that doesn't matter! It's a fun ride in my opinion, and you do get some nice views of the entrance area from it. The outdoor coaster section is short, but still really good. It's just a super re-rideable family coaster and I really enjoyed it. The moving load station setup is cool too, something I'd not experienced on a coaster before. Also, a note on the toilets at Europa Park... I loved how the toilets were themed to the land they were in, and my favourite has to be the Arthur ones, with the flower-shaped sinks and A-shaped taps. A little thing of course, but it adds so much!
After leaving the Minimoys Kingdom, we decided to head towards the Swiss area. On the way, though, we went through the England area and stopped off at the laser maze as it only had a couple of people waiting.
Queen's Diamonds Laser Maze
The aim of this attraction is to reach the exit within the 90-second time limit whilst tripping as few lasers as possible. It's actually quite hard, I lost count of how many faults I got (there is a screen at the exit, but I forgot to look at it in time).
Least I escaped within the time limit eh. It's a nice attraction to do that's not a "ride", although bear in mind that only one person can go through at a time.
The entrance to the laser maze
The replica Globe Theatre. Sadly we didn't see a show there.
The famous black cab in the England area
Maze completed, we continued on to the Swiss area. Our first stop was the Mack Bobsleigh.
Swiss Bob Run
I wasn't entirely looking forward to this, having ridden Avalanche back home (the lap bar tries its hardest to squash you), but it thankfully wasn't too bad. Although that's probably due to the fact that Swiss Bob Run has a tamer layout than Avalanche. SBR was more enjoyable because of that but I still think that Avalanche has the better layout. Was glad to ride it on our first day as it is a one-and-done for me, and nothing special.
After the Bob, we rode the other coaster in Switzerland, which I was slightly more looking forward to;
Matterhorn Bobsled
Another coaster, another first for me! This time in the form of an elevator lift, which was an interesting start to the ride. It's just a standard wild mouse, but I always enjoy these. The theming is really good as well. One I'd ride again, unlike the previous coaster.
Next, we continued through Switzerland and into France. First up was a visit to see Madame Freudenreich and her dinosaurs.
Madame Freudenreich Curiousities
This is a cute little omnimover ride through Madam Freudenreich's shop, where she keeps (anamatronic!) dinosaurs. It's a nice little ride and usually has no wait! Definitely one of the smaller attractions that should not be missed.
Leaving the dinos behind, we thought about having some lunch but then saw that Can Can was only on a short wait, so decided to do it first.
Can Can Coaster
This was another ride that I was looking forward to the most. I've not done many indoor coasters, so could not wait to ride Can Can! The theming is really good (again!), and the atmosphere and audio is great too. The ride is super fun, so enjoyable! Definitely one of my favourites.
A view of Madam Freudenreich Curiosities and Can Can Coaster from the Euro Tower.
The lake and fountains in the French area are so beautiful, and there is a show every few minutes.
After Can Can, it was finally time for our first "thrill" coaster of the trip! And a very tall one, too...
Silver Star
Behold, my first B&M Hyper! I'd been wanting to ride one for so long, and finally got my chance at Europa. This was my tallest coaster yet, at almost 240ft (my previous tallest was Big one at 213ft). It's super smooth and so fast, and the airtime is great! We decided to queue for the front row as the queue to get to the station was short and there were only a couple of trains' worth of people in the front row queue, so we had an unobstructed view.
After Silver Star, it was time to leave France and head to Italy for an encounter with the Medici family...
Castello Dei Medici
This is another ride which never gets a wait, and we were straight into the preshow. It's another omnimover ride, but this time a very spooky one! Some scenes are actually quite gruesome, it's surprisingly dark for a theme park ride! The "stretching room" pre-show (sound familiar? I've not experienced the original, though) is an interesting start to the ride, and the ride itself is pretty good.
Escaping the castle, we headed out of Italy and into Germany for the parks' flying theatre attraction. My first one, too!
Voletarium
I was looking forward to this as I'd never ridden a "flying theatre" before, but was slightly nervous as I wasn't sure how I would find it. For starters, the queue line is simply stunning. I was genuinely blown away whilst walking through it! Now, this is the only attraction I rode where the queue was stood still for periods as opposed to constantly moving like everything else. I suspect that's due to the nature of the ride system though, so can't be helped. I can't think of a better queue to be stood in, though! There are three levels of seating, each with three rows side-by-side. We were batched to the middle level and the section closest to the exit doors. To my relief the motion was quite gentle, and I found it actually really fun! Ironically the most intense bit was at the end, when an advert for EDventure/Grand Prix of Europe was played on the screen.
After Voletarium, we were all starting to feel a bit tired, so we decided to begin heading back to the hotel's exit via a couple of rides that I wanted us to do. First, we went to the nearby Panoramabahn station.
Panoramabahn (Germany to Spain)
This miniature railway is just one of three transport rides in the park, and it's a great way to get around! It has stops in the Germany, England, Spain and Russia areas.
Arriving in Spain, we then had a short walk past the hotel exit towards Scandinavia, to visit a certain Octopus...
Snorri Touren
This is a cute little dark ride! It's fairly hidden, you could easily miss the entrance if you're not looking for it. It's themed around Snorri, the Rulantica water park's mascot, and is a nice little ride! It even has a small motion simulator-style section at the end, which was slightly tamer than I was expecting, but still fun.
Exiting Snorri's lair, we continued on to to the Dutch area, and the park's biggest dark ride...
Piraten In Batavia
I was so looking forward to this ride! I still miss Pirate Adventure at Drayton Manor back in the UK (RIP), so could not wait to ride Europa's version. From the queue to the ride itself, it is simply stunning. The sets and animatronics are amazing, it's just an incredible attraction. An absolute must-ride at Euoropa Park, and one of my favourites!
The entrance to Piraten in Batavia
And with that, it was time for our last ride of the day. We decided on the park's GCI wooden coaster, so we headed over to Iceland.
Wodan
Being a huge fan of Wicker Man, I was very excited to ride a bigger GCI! The queue line is really interesting, taking you through different "realms", and you also go through the support structure which is cool. Also, the entrance arch is huge! The ride itself is super fast and action-packed, so much so that I found it a bit too much this first time. I would get more rides on it over the next couple of days, though, which were more enjoyable. It's a fantastic woodie!
Wodan's awesome entrance arch!
So, that was it, our first day in Europa Park was over! We went back to our hotel to ponder about dinner, and eventually decided to go to Pizzeria La Romantica for a second time as it's the only resort restaurant within our price range and the other place we'd looked at wasn't open on Tuesdays. This time I had a margarita pizza, with added tuna (they don't do sweetcorn, sadly), and a couple of my group had the lasagna bolognese, which I'd recommended.
After dinner, we spent a bit of time in Bar Commedia, and I took a walk up to the amphitheatre. Before long, though, it was time to turn in for the night and get some rest before our second day in the park, especially because I'd decided to head in earlier for the hotel guest early ride time. We had an absolutely amazing first park day, and I couldn't wait for day 2! I hope you've enjoyed reading this first part of my report, and stay tuned for part 2 soon!
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