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Trip Planning: Information, advice and questions!

Anyone know of a decent sized shopping centre within say half hour drive of Rust? Got kids and wife with me and they’d love to have a wander round. Doesnt need to be too authentic, german chains on a business park will do. Big toy shop would be a bonus. Thanks!
 
Visiting on the Friday and Saturday of Ascension weekend. Have heard horror stories... It can't be that bad right?

Are the tickets likely to sell out? Haven't booked yet.

Also how does the ECC membership discount work?

Expect 90 minute queues everywhere from what I've seen....

These were the maximum queue times for one of the days last season.

Screenshot_20250514-092151.png

Good luck is all I can say. 😬
 
The place struggles when it's HEAVING, as proven on my first visit. Just getting in somewhere for food is a chore.
 
The rides certainly cope better with crowds than the F&B outlets. It’s been one of my few complaints about EP for years - they really struggle to deal with serving people fast enough. Even on quieter days there can sometimes be issues caused by a reduction in outlets open.

A good tip on busy days can be to try Rock Cafe and the adjacent burger outlet in the middle of the day. They’re often much quieter.
 
Visiting on the Friday and Saturday of Ascension weekend. Have heard horror stories... It can't be that bad right?

Are the tickets likely to sell out? Haven't booked yet.

Also how does the ECC membership discount work?
Mentioned a few times about my visit on Ascension Day and the following "bridge" day.

It'll be very busy. I'd been before, so although it reduced our ride count, it didn't ruin our trip.

When I was there the park did put out on Social Media don't turn up without a ticket later in the morning.

As for discounts. Go to the guest relations window to the right of the entrance and they'll sort you out with your discounted ticket.
 
Just a little heads up for anyone planning to stay at the new Hyatt sky (opposite moxy)… i’m here as of now and its not a great hotel at all, I’ll go into more detail when I get back but long story short, I wouldn’t recommend it and hindsight would’ve had us booking moxy and saving the extra cash!
 
Just a little heads up for anyone planning to stay at the new Hyatt sky (opposite moxy)… i’m here as of now and its not a great hotel at all, I’ll go into more detail when I get back but long story short, I wouldn’t recommend it and hindsight would’ve had us booking moxy and saving the extra cash!

My initial reaction was, "Wait, they opened a Hyatt in Rust?"

It’s actually called the Hayat. Sorry that you had a bad stay. Guessing the knock-off Hyatt isn't up to the standard of the knock-off Disney park next door?
 
There’s a lot of reports on the German sites which suggest your experience isn’t an isolated one. It’s a shame because the location itself is great and the rooftop restaurant has good views.
 
Honestly pricing up a Europa trip is the most stressful experience, I've been wanting to take the family for years now but nothing about it makes sense or is simple in any way so I just book something easier every time (Disney/Efteling).

I have a basket of park tickets (3 days park and 1 day Rulantica for 2 adults 2 kids) and it comes to 979,00€
I have also priced up the campsite for 3 nights including the same tickets as above and it comes to a total of 917.50€ (how does that maths work?)
But then you go to book the campsite and get a warning about the work happening which seems written to put any sane person off booking it:
"I have been informed that extensive construction work will be taking place at Europa-Park Camping during my stay. As a result, construction noise may occur daily between 6.30am and 10pm. Some facilities and paths are currently only accessible to a limited extent or not at all, which leads to significantly longer walking distances to the sanitary facilities. The children's playground is being modernized to offer even more fun and is still under construction during your stay. Despite these circumstances, I agree and would like to stay overnight on the grounds of Europa-Park Camping."

Then you look at add-ons like the sofas in Rulantica, which describe the family suitable areas and show families of 3/4 on the sofa but then include "Max occupancy 2 people" in the description....

I might just go back to Efteling, life is simpler there :oops:
 
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Honestly pricing up a Europa trip is the most stressful experience, I've been wanting to take the family for years now but nothing about it makes sense or is simple in any way so I just book something easier every time (Disney/Efteling).

I have a basket of park tickets (3 days park and 1 day Rulantica for 2 adults 2 kids) and it comes to 979,00€
I have also priced up the campsite for 3 nights including the same tickets as above and it comes to a total of 917.50€ (how does that maths work?)
But then you go to book the campsite and get a warning about the work happening which seems written to put any sane person off booking it:
"I have been informed that extensive construction work will be taking place at Europa-Park Camping during my stay. As a result, construction noise may occur daily between 6.30am and 10pm. Some facilities and paths are currently only accessible to a limited extent or not at all, which leads to significantly longer walking distances to the sanitary facilities. The children's playground is being modernized to offer even more fun and is still under construction during your stay. Despite these circumstances, I agree and would like to stay overnight on the grounds of Europa-Park Camping."

Then you look at add-ons like the sofas in Rulantica, which describe the family suitable areas and show families of 3/4 on the sofa but then include "Max occupancy 2 people" in the description....

I might just go back to Efteling, life is simpler there :oops:
I've booked later year. Reception said a 2 person berth is fine for a family to use. We are using a Lagerhus sofa to help us with a full day in the water park. We're doing 4 days EP and 1 day Rulantica. 3100 Euros outlay already. 🙈
 
I've booked later year. Reception said a 2 person berth is fine for a family to use. We are using a Lagerhus sofa to help us with a full day in the water park. We're doing 4 days EP and 1 day Rulantica. 3100 Euros outlay already. 🙈
Cheers, that clears the sofa question up abit. 😅
Ouch, assume that includes accommodation?
 
What's Bubba Svens Sports Bar like? Hoping to watch the Champions League final there. Can I just walk in or do I have to book? Looks more restaurant than sports bar.
 
What's Bubba Svens Sports Bar like? Hoping to watch the Champions League final there. Can I just walk in or do I have to book? Looks more restaurant than sports bar.
We visited in October, it's basically in the Bubba Svens restaurant, on the other side of the bar, so I understand that concern, and even was seated for Breakfast in that area when staying in the hotel.

In the evening however, that section is for the sports bar, and definitely feels like one as apposed to a restaurant with pool tables, table football and darts boards. Menu is a very basic bar snacks menu with wings basically being the main item.

There's plenty of screens about the place so that's no issue.

Pretty sure we went when Bubba Svens had closed for the evening, so not sure how it works when both are in operation, but would guess it's purely partitioned for the bar itself as apposed to restaurant guests being there as has it's own separate menu etc. as previously mentioned.

Looking at the website it mentions that booking is not possible and tables allocated on site so answers your booking question at least 👍🏼
 
We visited in October, it's basically in the Bubba Svens restaurant, on the other side of the bar, so I understand that concern, and even was seated for Breakfast in that area when staying in the hotel.

In the evening however, that section is for the sports bar, and definitely feels like one as apposed to a restaurant with pool tables, table football and darts boards. Menu is a very basic bar snacks menu with wings basically being the main item.

There's plenty of screens about the place so that's no issue.

Pretty sure we went when Bubba Svens had closed for the evening, so not sure how it works when both are in operation, but would guess it's purely partitioned for the bar itself as apposed to restaurant guests being there as has it's own separate menu etc. as previously mentioned.

Looking at the website it mentions that booking is not possible and tables allocated on site so answers your booking question at least 👍🏼
Great thank you :)
 
Regarding buses, I was originally going to play it be ear when arriving via the train but then I noticed on DB that you can book a trip to the Hotels bus stop.

So if I book that, am I then limited to the bus booked on? Or is it the usual whichever bus that turns up? As the DB timetable doesn't match the one from Europa's website.

Or is it just worth grabbing the bus on the day instead?
 
You wouldn't be bound to a specific bus, it just means you don't have to pull out cash to pay the fare for the final leg. I always book my entire journey to and from the hotels stop and the bus driver has barely ever glanced at the tickets, much less tried to check any of the details.

Generally when booking via Deutsche Bahn only long distance (IC/ICE/EC) trains have Zugbindung (literally "train committment") while regional and local trains do not. So if you book a ticket with a combo of ICE trains and regional or local transit you only have to make sure you catch the ICE train at the time specified on the ticket, and for the rest of the trip you can any train or bus at any time as long as it's on the same route and calendar day.
 
I've got to do a transfer from Cologne (Phantasialand) to Rust (EP) via train. Have to admit it's outside my comfort zone. Never been on a train that long and never been on European trains either before
 
I've got to do a transfer from Cologne (Phantasialand) to Rust (EP) via train. Have to admit it's outside my comfort zone. Never been on a train that long and never been on European trains either before
Don't worry it's a doddle.

Download the DB app and you can track the journey whilst on the train using your location. Will tell you how many stops are left, what platform your changed are etc.
 
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