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Urgent EP advice

Aardvark said:
Although not ideal I think the difference is although the 'big' rides were not open, there was still a full day of things to do that were open, through the indoor rides and the shows. Unlike a UK merlin park which is unmanageable in such conditions.
We have been fit unlucky too at Europa with snow wiping out all of the big rides. Yet we still have the most amazing and magical day doing everything else but the outdoor coasters.
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I did basically all the good dark rides by 2PM (3 hours in). It doesn't help I spent two days there earlier this season which I focused on the dark rides, as it was so busy the coasters were busy (Voltron was closed too).

But yeah Pirates in Batavia and Arthur are great but after one ride each, I was ready to go home and twiddling my thumbs with boredom. I surely couldn't of spent more than 4 hours there without some form of boredom.
 
Aardvark said:
We have been fit unlucky too at Europa with snow wiping out all of the big rides. Yet we still have the most amazing and magical day doing everything else but the outdoor coasters.
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That happened the day after we left the park this week. Unfortunately though it also wiped out my flight home.
 
Aardvark said:
Although not ideal I think the difference is although the 'big' rides were not open, there was still a full day of things to do that were open, through the indoor rides and the shows. Unlike a UK merlin park which is unmanageable in such conditions.
We have been fit unlucky too at Europa with snow wiping out all of the big rides. Yet we still have the most amazing and magical day doing everything else but the outdoor coasters.
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I'm inclined to agree, Europa Park isn't the sort of place you just rush around ticking off as many coasters as possible, like a Six Flags park. From that perspective I guess it makes sense that they don't issue refunds for only a few big rides being unavailable when they still have dozens of other attractions.

Still it comes down to what your expectations for the day are and everyone's will be different. If I went to Alton Towers and all of CBeebies land was closed I really wouldn't care - but a family with preschool kids would have felt they'd had a wasted trip. I do sort of think the park ought to do something for guests that haven't had their expectations met at all, it's just good customer service.

Also I imagine a snow day at the park is a bit more enjoyable than a stormy one in terms of being able to walk around, enjoy the theming etc.
 
Skyscraper said:
Yep I've got three days there in May and can guarantee that I will not be bored 😛😍
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Rob said:
And to think I've often spent 4 days there without an ounce of boredom! 😅
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So imagine you've spent two days in the summer doing all the dark rides/shows with a sprinkle of coasters. I did Pirates X3 in the summer, and basically every supporting ride from the rapids to the dodgems. They are all great!

Now take away 5/6 of the primary roller coasters, and close 2 of the supporting coasters. Also have gale force winds battering you as you walk around the park, with dull skies due to this walking around isn't even fun anymore. The cold was also pretty ugly with the winds. The shows also seemed a lot more sparse anyway, it just seemed to be the Ice Show and nothing else? I guess you had Fjord Rafting I could have done but i was alone and the realfeel was like 2 degrees on Accuweather.

So after doing the dark rides i remember being good, Eurosat, what else was i meant to do? Walking around is even miserable? A lot of pathways were empty from everything being closed, take Europa Park and roast the atmosphere until it is dead. So yeah summer is very different.

I just sent an email to EP complaining. I feel like a karen now but I do feel its interesting that right now I wish I was dealing with Merlin.
I basically just told them about how their customer service policies are incompetent compared to my local park operator (Merlin) which is disappointing for a park that prides itself with the reputation that it holds. But yeah it used to be my favourite park, now its dropped certainly below Phantasialand and Cedar Point. Man guys maybe Merlin are actually good, at least they would of given me a day to try again and have fun. I never thought i'd call Merlin Parks better than Europa Park but I guess parks show their care for guests when difficult situations (like severe weather) arise, and Merlin would of taken well care of me by now. I feel like buying a Merlin pass now haha
 
I don't want to sound awkward, but you chose to go to a theme park in the middle of the continent in mid November.
Poor weather is to be expected at that time of year.

My personal experience of Merlin customer service this year has been poor.
Merlin operations at Alton in the same window as your visit were shockingly poor.
 
JoshuaWAH said:
So imagine you've spent two days in the summer doing all the dark rides/shows with a sprinkle of coasters.
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The park can’t reasonably cater to the fact you went on some rides a few months ago. Sounds like the majority of attractions were open, just not the particular ones you wanted but that’s not really a provable aspect for the park to offer refunds on.

Sorry you had a bad time, I think we’ve all had experiences like this.
 
I can't think of a better park to be at in those conditions tbh. You can trust they'll get as many things open as possible.

But yeah I can sympathise, I'm an impulsive trip booker too and it feels like a waste of money/time when you go somewhere for a specific coaster and it's closed.
 
It depends what you want from a theme park. I could happily enjoy a day at Europa-Park whereby I went on only a handful of rides, watched a show, relaxed with some food and drinks etc. But if you are going to ride the coasters then clearly a day where all the major ones are closed is going to be a bummer. You did however go on the only day I have known in recent history whereby all of the major coasters are closed all day!

As for their customer service response, I am not surprised. Getting anything "free" from Europa-Park is a real achievement, it's just not how they do things. Whether that is right or wrong is up for debate, but it doesn't appear to be doing them any harm.
 
RicketyCricket said:
I can't think of a better park to be at in those conditions tbh. You can trust they'll get as many things open as possible.

But yeah I can sympathise, I'm an impulsive trip booker too and it feels like a waste of money/time when you go somewhere for a specific coaster and it's closed.
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My lesson this year after getting burned at AT, Drayton and Universal Osaka is not to go to a park just to ride something specific (unless you have regular access of course).
 
RicketyCricket said:
I can't think of a better park to be at in those conditions tbh. You can trust they'll get as many things open as possible.

But yeah I can sympathise, I'm an impulsive trip booker too and it feels like a waste of money/time when you go somewhere for a specific coaster and it's closed.
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and if all else fails O'Mackay's was open selling beer and Shepherd's Pies.
 
rob666 said:
I don't want to sound awkward, but you chose to go to a theme park in the middle of the continent in mid November.
Poor weather is to be expected at that time of year.

My personal experience of Merlin customer service this year has been poor.
Merlin operations at Alton in the same window as your visit were shockingly poor.
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In my defence everything was operating just fine that week though. Now it is cold in the continent but gale force winds isn't an everyday thing in continental europe lol. Nobody would book any trips in winter if they did lol. Yeah Merlin isn't perfect but there is some policies they have that I think are admirable.

Bowser said:
My lesson this year after getting burned at AT, Drayton and Universal Osaka is not to go to a park just to ride something specific (unless you have regular access of course).
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I think there was problems with the snow last week weekend but it seemed Wodan was still open. Honestly any of their big coasters. I would of lapped Wodan and been happy. Any big coaster would of been made it something i could work with. Honestly just being able to enjoy the atmosphere which was dead from the dreary storm would of helped. The place had no little atmosphere on my visit which was more than likely due to the drab conditions. It is a wonderful park on basically any other day of the year.

Anyway probably best i finish this thread soon,
but yeah maybe i'll refrain from the Merlin slander now. Sorry for the rants guys.
 
I do have to say the idea that EP has very little to do outside the main roller coasters is a bit funny to me. Other than perhaps Disneyland or Efteling I can't think of another park that has more to do if you remove the big coasters.

It does sound like you have a bad experience but there's not much the Macks can do against a day of gale force winds.
 
JoshuaWAH said:
but yeah maybe i'll refrain from the Merlin slander now. Sorry for the rants guys.
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No need to apologise, it's been an interesting vent and hopefully cathartic for you!

I really don't think you'd have fared better if you took the equivalent situation to a Merlin park in the UK where weather caused a handful of attractions to be closed but the majority remained open. Yes they have the "rainy day" policy but that itself has restrictions. And of course the main difference is that at most of the Merlin parks other than LegoLand adverse weather means the majority of rides can't operate whereas Europa have plentiful indoor offerings so they're going to face far more disgruntled customers. This of course is another reason they don't operate much in Winter.

Also i think Merlin are happier to offer "free" returns because their business model is reliant on spending in the park.
 
Llama said:
I do have to say the idea that EP has very little to do outside the main roller coasters is a bit funny to me. Other than perhaps Disneyland or Efteling I can't think of another park that has more to do if you remove the big coasters.

It does sound like you have a bad experience but there's not much the Macks can do against a day of gale force winds.
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So here was my perspective, I arrived at 11:10. I did CanCan, Maudame, Ghost Castle, Voletarium, Pirates in Batavia, Arthur, and Alpen Express. I got the monorail and realized.. what the hell do I do? There is more dark rides but the quality is variable, maybe Bench?

It was around 2:30-3 when I hit this wall. I would walk around and enjoy the theming but we're in a mini storm and an awful time for atmosphere or pictures. A lot of the food places were shut (don't blame them lol), the park seemed dead which usually is a positive but going on the bumper cars with all the others cars being empty is dull lol.

I didn't even go to the Scandinavia area of the park but I just remembered fjord closes for the winter which is fair enough. Heading to the back of park for Whale Tours when it's two degrees I guess I could of done but didn't seem very worth it, especially as I doubt anyone was on it, or anything was open up there anyway.

During the summer sure there is tons to do, but like take it from that perspective and you kinda see that it isn't really magical in that scenario. Most food places are closed, 1/4 the park is practically a ghost town and the usual Europa Atmosphere unfortunately is not there. It has more content than Alton without the coasters, but only really 4 dark rides are like actually worth it. Do those 4 and ride Cancan and you're probably not missing out on much else

Imagine Alton had 4 good dark rides and Thirteen open, Forbidden Valley was closed entirely as an area and it was a stormy day. No revalidated tickets tough luck Cbeebies land was open lol. Full price ticket as well (60 euros roughly which is pricy)
 
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JoshuaWAH said:
The shows also seemed a lot more sparse anyway, it just seemed to be the Ice Show and nothing else?
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I am sure there were other shows as well, perhaps only the smaller ones. I don't about the Globe theater and the Arena at the moment, but Magic Cinema (probably even 2 different movies over the day), Karneval in Venedig, Traumzeitdome, Limerick Bubbles are worth a visit at least once, I think. Nothing special, but nice. Even the Fina and the Yomis movie in the enchanted forest is an acceptable diversion.
 
JoshuaWAH said:
I did CanCan, Maudame, Ghost Castle, Voletarium, Pirates in Batavia, Arthur, and Alpen Express. I got the monorail and realized.. what the hell do I do? There is more dark rides but the quality is variable, maybe Bench?
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To play Devil's Advocate here, if you went to a Merlin park and did 1 indoor coaster, two dark rides, a flying theatre, an indoor boat ride, a suspended family coaster and a mine train coaster, that's not a bad ride count. Likely you would have queued 40-60 minutes for each of those anyway and then it would be five o' clock and time to go home.

EP and Merlin might have different policies relating to refunds/free returns, but it's clear to me which park I'd rather be in on a weather-affected day.
 
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