Trip Report - Europa Park May/June 2022

[IanB]

Overview
After two failed attempts to get to Europa Park due to Covid, it was fantastic to finally get back to Europa Park after six years. I was looking forward experiencing the park as a family, when we last visited in 2016, Annabelle was to young to go on the rides, but this year Annabelle would finally get to go on BlueFire, and Daisy on Arthur.

We travelled by car, leaving after school on Friday, and stopping in Calais Friday night, before continuing our journey down to Europa Park on Saturday. Having the Toll Tag so we could just drive through the tolls without stopping saved us a bit of time, and was improved from our last visit, with the barrier opening a lot quicker. It helped us avoid a few queues at some of the tolls. We had a roof rack on the car, and the tag worked fine, and there were toll lanes you could drive through without a height limit. Below is a picture of us getting lost driving alongside the Rhine.

Saturday was supposed to be just a setup tent day, but when we checked in, we got given tickets to go in to the park for the last hour of the day, which was 7pm to 8pm, so we got the tent setup, grabbed some food, and then used the last hour to explore the park.



Sunday, Monday and Tuesday ended up being Theme Park days, Monday was supposed to be a rest day, but the weather on Thursday did not look good, so we switched to Monday. This actually worked out really well, as it meant there was no rush to pack the tent away.

Wednesday we spent at Rulatanica.

Thursday, we packed the tent away, and moved to Hotel Bell Rock for the final night. We made use of the pool at Bell Rock while waiting for the room to be ready and then had a great meal at Harbourside.



Friday we had breakfast, and then made use of the other hotel pools before heading back home.

It was a fantastic holiday, with lots of brilliant memories. Everything was as good as I remembered, and the new attractions and changes to the park enhance it further. I would highly recommend camping as well, the views are great and the facilities are great. We still did not manage to fit everything in on park, and the best news is that both Annabelle and Daisy want to go back again.

I will make some additional posts about the camp site, Europa Park, Rulantica, our hotel room, and breakfast later.

 

[IanB]

Camp Site

I have fond memories of the camp site after my first visit to the park in 2009 when we stopped there as a group. It has changed quite a bit since then, with several additional buildings and extra showers and washing facilities. The facilities were great, showers were easy to adjust the temperature and always clean. It was quite noisy until midnight, but this did not stop us from getting to sleep. At midnight the noise did stop, so the curfew was being enforced.

The camp site was busy when we arrived on Saturday, but we still found a flat spot to setup, and then it was a lot quieter from Sunday onwards. It looks like lots of people go just for one night, so it became a little game we played on the way back to guess how many tents would be in our field.




One of the thing I was unsure of before we arrived was around the electricity points. There are several electricity points around the camp site, with plenty of sockets in each cabinet, about 14 if I remember correctly. The plug sockets are European, so you will need an adapter to convert the socket to the English camp site styles and an extension if you cant get a spot near one. If you can avoid it, you don’t want to stop next to the power boxes as people do occasionally just plug their phones directly in to it and stand around chatting. They gave us enough power to keep our fridge going, and charge our phones over night.

Spoiler: Camp Site Plug Sockets

The views of Silverstar from the camp site, and hearing the ride go round, and the screams made for a great view. It was great to get up, get ready and then see the ride testing before we set off to the park. Was also fun riding Silverstar and spotting our tent from it.



There is three or four benches and tables around the camp site for people to use. So, if it’s not to busy, you might be able to get away without bringing your own. I would probably still bring ours, just in case it is busy.

The takeaway pizza was great, and a quick and easy meal to get in the evenings. The log fires were also great, and while we could not find any big marshmallows in the shops, the kids still had fun roasting their little ones and dipping them in the Nutella.




When we checked in, we parked in the car park opposite the reception, and then got let through on to the main site. You can not park next to your tent, but the car park is only a two-minute walk from where you park, so it was not an issue. The receptionist was very friendly, gave Annabelle and Daisy some gummy sweets, and gave us tickets to allow us on park for the final hour, which was 7pm to 8pm on Saturday. We used this time to explore the park, saving the big rides for Sunday.

Below are some images of the camp site:

 

[IanB]

Europa Park

We had three days on Europa Park, and that still did not feel like enough time. We did not really plan the days in advance, and just went with the flow. At one point we bumped into the characters on the train outside Ireland, and when they got back on the train, the kids ran after the train all the way to Russia so the lack of a plan helped in this respect, but is also why we probably missed a few things, the main thing we missed was the Ice Show but its great to have a reason to go back.

Annabelle was three centimetres short of 1m40, and Daisy was just 1m10, so this meant we had to balance going on the big rides, with keeping Daisy busy. It did mean that Annabelle got to benefit from the parent swap, which when used alongside the virtual queues made life a lot easier. Like Poultons Park, where there is a big ride, there is plenty of smaller rides for the little ones to go on, so they are not having to wait around bored. I think Daisy went on Madame Freudenreich Curiosités several times while waiting for Annabelle to go on Can-Can coaster.

Sunday was my Birthday, and what I was looking forward to most was riding Blue Fire for the first time with Annabelle. Best birthday present ever! We queued for the front row, and it was just as good as I remember it. The launch, the final inversion, it was excellent. Annabelle also loved it, and it went straight in as her new number one coaster. Really proud of her, as it was her first inverting coaster, and she even went hands free through the final inversion after thinking the ride was over. Annabelle made the most of the parent swap, getting on Blue Fire four time during our visit.

Wodan was also great, and while we only rode this once over the three days, Annabelle enjoyed this, and then suffered with the question of which ride is better, Blue Fire or Wodan. I liked her comment about how comfortable the Wodan seats are, these are very relaxing and just what I need after all this walking. Lisa was not a fan, so we only did it the once each. I think Blue Fire won, but only because Blue is her favourite colour, the comfortable chairs were so relaxing though.

Arthur was easily the best ride of the holiday, as we could all go on as a family. Daisy was a little hesitant at first (She has a fear of the dark, and so all the rides with dark queue lines were tricky to get her in to, we had lunch in the Arthur hall to try and help her get used to it, and got preview videos of the ride to show her what it was like) but by the end of the holiday it was easily her favourite ride, and she was asking if there is a ride like it in England (This should be Paultons next big ride as it would fit in their line-up perfectly, although I suspect the cost would be an issue).

All the other coasters did not feel as rough as I remember, Does Euro-Mir still spin on the lifthill, as it did not on the train were were on. Can-Can was good, but felt like their were empty spaces, so not sure if some of the effects were not working, or that's just how it is.

Annabelle enjoyed Poseidon, and they both really liked Pegasus, which ended up being referred to as Pretty Peagus from teen titans.

The Spanish show was really entertaining, and while my German is not good enough to provide a running translation, Annabelle, and Daisy both enjoyed the show, and could follow most of what was going on.

The park itself was looking great, the gardens were in full colour, everything looked open and available to use.

There was a event in Storybook land over the weekend, which was fun, and the kids got some freebies from taking part in some of the games, we did the boules and dressing up as a queen activities. We even saw a fairy-tale wedding.

And there did not appear to be much happening at the new ride, but here is a photo I took.


Best of all, both Annabelle and Daisy are already asking when we can go back.

One of the things I need to make sure I do if we go back, is sign both the kids up to the Europa Park Kids Club program, as a lot of the rides now seem to have devices where you can scan the kid passes to unlock things. I am hoping this will help me, Annabelle and Daisy improve our German, as they don't do it in English.

 

[IanB]

Rulantica

I was not sure what to expect from Rulantica. It looked like it was going to be something a little bigger than a Centre Parks pool, but not as big as somewhere as Siam Park. As a treat, we purchased a Komfort Hyddas, Odin II. This allowed us to enter the water park at 9am (No early entry for the water park or main park if your camping from what I could tell).

When we arrived, and after checking in, we were directed to Guest Relations, where Jean met us, welcomed us to Rulantica. He then gave us a tour of the park, giving us some hints and tips, and then showed us to the Komfort Hyddas. It was a great start to the day, and then we got several extra freebies including a face mask, welcome fruit, welcome cocktails, complimentary water (Which they swapped the sparking to still for us) and four ice creams (We had a voucher to trade in when we wanted them).

Spoiler: Komfort Hyddas Freebies

The Hyddas also included a fridge, a safe with USB ports inside. This was great as it meant we could leave everything in the Hydda and not have to worry about going back to the lockers. The safe did get very warm as it was above the fridge, but I just made sure the phones were not directly on the safe floor.

Spoiler: Komfort Hyddas Fridge and USB

The other pleasant thing about the Hyddas was that you could order food and drinks through out the day, so we could have a little rest while waiting for food.

Spoiler: Food

The water park is a lot bigger inside than it looks from the photos and the outside area is huge. There is definitely enough to keep you busy for the whole day, and we ended up leaving at 9.30pm.

The lazy river is great, the effects and the video screens really add to it and is not something I have seen on a lazy river before. The girls loved seeing Snori and the Mermaids. I think the screens under the ship were broken when we visited, as they were just blank, but you could still hear the sound effects.

Svalgur Rytt was great, going on it as a family makes it more fun and means no one is waiting. It goes quick, a few good splash areas, and a few nice little drops.

Just me and Annabelle went on Vinter Rytt, and that slope is again bigger than it looks when you are riding it.

Stormwide and Tva Fall are fun as well. I was not expecting to go backwards on one of them, so this caught me and Annabelle out, but we enjoyed it.

Hugin and Munin are also good fun, the timer element adds something extra to it. I did feel they could have been a bit more to these. Quickest time me and Annabelle managed was 20.8 seconds.

Vildfal and Dugdrob are not as bad as you think, the initial drop where you feel like your just falling is the scariest bit, and after that they calm down, and are enjoyable rides. The ride op was messing with us when we did it, which added to it. Started the countdown, stopped it, restarted it, stopped it, and then dropped us.

Stormrok was also good fun, Annabelle and Daisy enjoyed squirting me on that one while I went down.

The outside areas are really good and adds a lot of extra things to do. Both Annabelle and Daisy enjoyed getting their Mocktails in the pool as well. Even though it was the start of June, it was still pleasant to sit outside and watch the little ones run around, although queuing at the top of Stormrok in the wind was a little cold.

The other thing that Jean mentioned to us, was the Snori Slide Badge. It is for the little ones to learn about pool safety and show they can use the slides and pool safely. We signed Annabelle and Daisy up for this, and they both enjoyed it, and liked getting their Badge and Certificate. It did not cost anything extra, and we just had to sign up for it at guest relations.



It was fairly quiet when we visited, but there is lots and lots of seating, and I don’t think we queued more than five minutes for a ride, which meant that by the time you go to the top, you needed 30 seconds to catch your breath.

I also noticed that they changed all the colour of the candles depending on what time of day it was, which I thought was a nice touch.

Rulantica is a fantastic addition to Europa Park, and while its not as good as Siam Park, it is very close (And I think its a little unfair to compare them. It is miles better than the Centre Parks water parks, with significantly more to do inside, and a massive outside area), and with the constant additions coming to Rulantica I can only see it getting better and better. It got a big thumbs up from all of us, and we are already looking forward to visiting next year. I would also highly recommend the Hyddas. While they may appear a little expensive, when you consider the amount of time you have in the water park, and the service we received, it justified the price

 

[IanB]

Hotel Bell Rock – Lighthouse Suite

This was my Birthday treat, and it certainly was a treat. After packing up the tent, we arrived in the car park at 11.30 and got directed to a secure car park, which was under cover. When we checked in, the room was not ready, but we were told we could use the pool and facilities. We also got asked if we would like to have breakfast at Ammolite, and you cannot turn this down. We got a complimentary voucher for drinks and treats in Spirt of St. Louis bar, so we got Hot Chocolates, Coffee and a selection of chocolates, which the kids enjoyed eating.

By the time we finished eating these, I got a text saying the room was ready, so we got into the room just after 12.30. The receptionist showed us to the room, and again, told us a little about the history of the hotel which was interesting.



The room was lovely, it had an almost 360 degree view. The balcony offered a wonderful view of the fountain show, Colosseo, and even a few of the rides in the distance. Me and Daisy enjoyed just sitting on the balcony in the evening watching the water shows. We were on the fourth floor, so I imagine the view are even better if you can get a room slightly higher

The room was much bigger than I expected from the pictures, and plenty of space. There was a well-stocked mini bar, chocolates and little treats for the kids. I think every Molton Brown product was in the bathroom room as well, I have never seen Molton Brown mouthwash before.



There was also a coffee machine and kettle for tea, and also a draw full of glasses depending on what you wanted to drink.

A selection of different Mack books to read.


We then got our swim stuff, and went for a swim, which was lovely, and when we went back to the car, the windows had been washed, which was great as the car was covered in dust from the campsite all week.

We had a lovely meal in Harbourside, and it was great to see Annabelle trying some of the foods from around the world. She enjoyed picking the food for the Mongolian BBQ and trying all the different puddings. We sat inside, near the play area, and this was also great, as it meant me, and Lisa could enjoy our food while Annabelle and Daisy went and played.

We then went back to the room, where they had done a Turn-down service (Does anyone know if all the rooms at Bell Rock get this?), which was a little embarrassing as we had not left the room in the tidiest state, but it was good to have a restocked mini bar.

It was a lovely evening watching the sun set, and the fountain show from the room, and after sorting out who was sleeping in the top and bottom bunk, we got the kids to bed.



It was a fantastic experience stopping in the lighthouse, and I would recommend it as the room and the views are fantastic, but it is very expensive for what it is.

 

[IanB]

Ammolite Breakfast

Breakfast was at Ammolite, and we had the restaurant to ourselves when we arrived. It was smaller than I thought it was going to be, but the waitress was lovely, getting us drinks and showing us the buffet. The Chef said hello when we were getting food from the buffet. We then had a selection of food to choose from, with us all going for a mixture of pancakes and waffles.

Spoiler: Menu

Spoiler: Buffet

Ed Euromouse came to visit, and we got several photos with him which was cool. After about half an hour, another family joined us, but at no point did we feel rushed, and the waitress was constantly checking if we wanted more drinks, or more food ordering.

It was a great way to finish our stay off, and to let the food settle before we headed home, we let the kids have a splash in the St Isabel pool before heading home after a fantastic holiday.

 

[MattyH]

Looks like a brilliant weekend away. How long did it take to drive from Calais to Europa? Was it a difficult drive?

 

[IanB]

Looks like a brilliant weekend away. How long did it take to drive from Calais to Europa? Was it a difficult drive?

The drive is fairly easy, once your off the Euro Tunnel its all motorways apart from a little bit near the end. Adaptive cruise control in the car really helps, as you don't need to put any pressure on the pedals 90% of the time. The only difficult part is when you get near Strasbourg when a few motorways merge together, but its not to bad.

It still works out a little cheaper than flying, as you don't need to worry about getting to the airport, airport parking and then transfers from the Airport to Europa Park. Time wise its is quicker to fly, but probably only 5 or 6 hours quicker, plus the car is more of an adventure.

I know a lot of people break up the journey stopping at different parks along the way, but I was just happy Lisa agreed to drive in the first place. I did try to get her to do a bit of the Motorway in France but she did not fancy it.

The drive there was 7 hours 30ish, but we stopped twice, and I took a wrong turn. I think we spent as long in the check-in queue and passport control at Folkstone, as it took to drive from home to Folkstone. We did bump in to the Liverpool fans going to the football. They do need to change how the queues work, because if someone has a problem in front of you, your just stuck behind them until its resolved, and there is nothing worse than seeing the other queues move quicker while your stuck.

Drive back to Calais was about 6 hours 45, and we stopped once. We left the resort just before 1pm, and got back home just after 12.30am

The girls were great in the car travelling, no complaining at all, and only had to do one emergency stop. Daisy gets travel sick but the wrist bands she had were great and helped her manage it.