Trip Planning: Information, advice and questions!

[John_P]

I went the Monday and Tuesday after that weekend this year and it was a pleasant 2 days with manageable queues.

Only park that felt busy the week before was Legoland Deutschland.

Skyline Park, Tripsdrill, Schwaben Park, Holiday Park, Walygator, and Fraspertuis City were all easily navigated and able to ride plenty and get re rides.

 

[Bowser]

I’d suggest otherwise. Ascension Day in France is the 29th next year and the park typically gets rammed towards the end of that week. Here is the crowd calendar from the equivalent time this year - there’s a reason it’s colloquially known as “Hell Week”!



The week before or after might be the safer option.

Hmm. Would that be because it coincided with school holidays this year? It seems to have fallen much earlier in the month. How could it be so busy all week otherwise?

Week before isn't an option as need it to be school holidays in UK.

 

[Burbs]

Hmm. Would that be because it coincided with school holidays this year? It seems to have fallen much earlier in the month. How could it be so busy all week otherwise?

Week before isn't an option as need it to be school holidays in UK.

It’s always been an extremely busy week as far as I’m aware, regardless of school holidays. I know that it’s common for the French to book the Friday off work as a bridge day to the weekend which is why it gets like this. That being said, if you are visiting 26th-30th, presumably you are on park Tuesday to Thursday with travel days Monday and Friday? In which case perhaps the first half of the week will be a bit more manageable. I appreciate that you are restricted with the dates you can visit - would you be able to manufacture it so that you’re on park Monday to Wednesday instead?

 

[Bowser]

It’s always been an extremely busy week as far as I’m aware, regardless of school holidays. I know that it’s common for the French to book the Friday off work as a bridge day to the weekend which is why it gets like this. That being said, if you are visiting 26th-30th, presumably you are on park Tuesday to Thursday with travel days Monday and Friday? In which case perhaps the first half of the week will be a bit more manageable. I appreciate that you are restricted with the dates you can visit - would you be able to manufacture it so that you’re on park Monday to Wednesday instead?

Yes we’d only go for 2 nights so I just meant that week in general. Mon-Wed would probably be ideal!

Monday - Travel + Rulantica
Tuesday - Europa + Rulantica
Wednesday - Europa + Travel

 

[IDB]

If i take this information to be correct, does this mean going in the UK half term of May 26-30 would be an excellent time to visit (excluding the 30th which seems to be a German bank holiday)?

I think it’s my most regular post on this forum. But do not go anywhere near Europa Park on Ascension Day or the day after. Made that mistake once and it wasn’t a nice experience. It’s the only time I’ve seen the park put out on social media asking people not come.

 

[Plastic Person]

If possible, I would honestly probably avoid EP for the entirety of that week, especially for a first visit with limited time. Early on in the summer holidays is a much safer bet.

 

[Bowser]

If possible, I would honestly probably avoid EP for the entirety of that week, especially for a first visit with limited time. Early on in the summer holidays is a much safer bet.

Really? Interesting. I understand the Ascension day issue but seems mad 3 or 4 days prior when all children are technically at school would be busier than summer. Is it more full of teenagers and young adults?

 

[Poisson]

Plopsa was rammed for Ascension too. It's a big thing in Europe

 

[Bowser]

Plopsa was rammed for Ascension too. It's a big thing in Europe

Isn’t it the equivalent of a bank holiday here though? You wouldn’t expect parks to be busy on a Thursday in May following Bank Holiday Monday in term time.

 

[NuttySquirrel]

Isn’t it the equivalent of a bank holiday here though? You wouldn’t expect parks to be busy on a Thursday in May following Bank Holiday Monday in term time.

Broadly I think that's probably true, if you avoid the public holiday itself and go earlier in the week it won't be as packed.

The crowd calendar for 2024 is a bit misleading because the day before Ascension Day was VE day which is a public holiday in France... Another one to avoid.

However if you look at that week for 2023 the first part of the week (leading up to the ascension weekend) looked ok - though worth noting that Monday and Tuesday were wet days.


If you have your heart set on going then, I'm sure you will have a good time. EP isn't like UK parks which are almost always rammed and only occasionally acceptable. Most days at EP are fine, there are just handful of key dates you'll want to avoid.

 

[Skyscraper]

Broadly I think that's probably true, if you avoid the public holiday itself and go earlier in the week it won't be as packed.

The crowd calendar for 2024 is a bit misleading because the day before Ascension Day was VE day which is a public holiday in France... Another one to avoid.

However if you look at that week for 2023 the first part of the week (leading up to the ascension weekend) looked ok - though worth noting that Monday and Tuesday were wet days.


If you have your heart set on going then, I'm sure you will have a good time. EP isn't like UK parks which are almost always rammed and only occasionally acceptable. Most days at EP are fine, there are just handful of key dates you'll want to avoid.

Also there are lots of smaller rides that rarely get queues, so you can be sure that there will always be something nearby with a short wait.

 

[Bowser]

Also there are lots of smaller rides that rarely get queues, so you can be sure that there will always be something nearby with a short wait.

We’d also have the option of using RAP for the busier attractions if needed though the excellent ops at Europa sound like they make queuing more tolerable so it’s really only the busiest of days we need to avoid.

If you have your heart set on going then, I'm sure you will have a good time. EP isn't like UK parks which are almost always rammed and only occasionally acceptable. Most days at EP are fine, there are just handful of key dates you'll want to avoid.

It’s the only viable week I think, otherwise would be looking at Halloween half term which I presume is much busier.

Though we’ve just measured my son and he’s still 1.27m barefoot so might hold off on booking for a few more months as missing out on Voltron and Blue Fire would be a massive shame.

Sorry for the diabolical quoting.

 

[Matt N]

It’s the only viable week I think, otherwise would be looking at Halloween half term which I presume is much busier.

Though we’ve just measured my son and he’s still 1.27m barefoot so might hold off on booking for a few more months as missing out on Voltron and Blue Fire would be a massive shame.

Sorry for the diabolical quoting.

Is the summer holidays at all viable? In particular, I imagine the first weeks in late July might be quieter, as the German holiday dates posted above implied that summer holidays don’t begin until 31st July.

With regard to height; bear in mind that your son will be taller measured on the park height measurement sticks, as he’ll be wearing shoes. And if your trip is still the better part of 6 months away, who’s to say that he won’t be a few centimetres taller by then?

 

[Bowser]

Is the summer holidays at all viable? In particular, I imagine the first weeks in late July might be quieter, as the German holiday dates posted above implied that summer holidays don’t begin until 31st July.

It is, though the majority of regions break up before then and I’m assuming people travel from across Germany to visit. Certainly a potential alternative though.

With regard to height; bear in mind that your son will be taller measured on the park height measurement sticks, as he’ll be wearing shoes. And if your trip is still the better part of 6 months away, who’s to say that he won’t be a few centimetres taller by then?

Yes I do take that into account but I prefer him to be as close as possible rather than risk rejection, especially on a trip of this nature, as shoe height tends to add 1-2cm.

Sadly his growth rate is very slow, on the chart he’s not estimated to reach 1.3 for another year but a spurt is always possible!

Or the Jedward hair option

 

[Gurkensalat]

Avoid Ascension day and the 2 following days at all cost. The Sunday 3 days after Ascension is perfectly fine and even a kind of pro tip. Halloween week rivals Ascension week in crowds, so it is not recommended. Summer normally starts kind of slow: End of June (after Pentecost holiday) until around 7./8. July (start of holiday in France) is very moderate, then crowd levels start to rise with August being rather full, but not extremely.

 

[Poisson]

If you're that concerned, park the trip for a year, go elsewhere and then do EP 2026? Halloween week was BUSY.

 

[Bowser]

If you're that concerned, park the trip for a year, go elsewhere and then do EP 2026? Halloween week was BUSY.

I won't book anything non-refundable (i.e flights) until he's tall enough anyway, just need to allocate the dates in the schedule at this point and work out the logistics. We've got Disneyland Paris in March so can see how tall he is then (assuming that trip is successful).

 

[AstroDan]

The days before Ascension are absolutely fine.

I was also there at Halloween Week just. It was busy but totally fine. Longest wait was Voltron 70.

Really. There's only a handful of days a year I'd totally not recommend the park.

Ascension itself, bridge days following a bank holiday, Halloween if a Saturday...