Why is Europa Park such an unknown quantity in Britain?

[Burbs]

Sure I’ve posted this before but the DB app makes transferring to EP very easy. Again, though, it’s having the knowledge about these things that does make it so, but that information I find isn’t really in the psyche of the British GP.

From April this year:

From: https://www.facebook.com/1424325221165984/posts/3067905646807925/?sfnsn=scwspmo



From: https://www.facebook.com/1424325221165984/posts/3067968430134980/?sfnsn=scwspmo



From: https://www.facebook.com/1424325221165984/posts/3067997656798724/?sfnsn=scwspmo



From: https://www.facebook.com/1424325221165984/posts/3068027700129053/?sfnsn=scwspmo

 

[Llama]

Not exactly a direct answer to your question, but I think EP is just not as well known outside of Germany, or hardcore theme park enthusiast circles internationally. I am not from here, but I had lived in Germany for 5 years before I stumbled on a random (in English) Youtube recommendation about the park, which I had never heard of before then. I booked a trip the next day. I would have visited much sooner, but I just never came across it.

There are plenty of regular EP vloggers in German (EPFan95 is my favorite, I've used his videos to practice learning the language) but none in English that I know of. For English vlogs the only ones I've seen are from international channels making the trip.

 

[Benjsh]

We've done a lot of comparing Europa's travel to the rest of Europe but I think its worth brining up Florida. Florida the options are simpler but only through lack of choice. You have to rent a car if you plan to visit Disney, Universal and the Sea's parks. If you can't drive I'd argue it's far harder than a trip to Europa. Even on resort Disney require you to take 2 buses to get between Animal Kingdom and any other park. Europa the whole site is walkable (even Rulantica can be accessed by foot).

Yet people have no issue visiting Florida, maybe because they make it sound so accessible from all the UK advertising. Not even considering that planning a Florida trip is like a military operation.

I guess that shows that advertising and awareness is the real issue. The more you visit Europa the easier you realise it is, but you have to be aware that it exists first. And while their are no "obvious answer" ways of getting there, their also aren't really any wrong ways to get their. I've now visited 5 times and not once taken the same route, yet every route was its own little adventure I'd have no issue repeating.

Why is Florida so difficult? We stayed on International drive last time we went and the hotels offered free shuttle service to all hotel guests to Sea World and the Disney / Universal parks. Piece of cake and saves massively on the extortionate car park fees over there.

Anyone who gets a car in Florida to just do the parks in and around Orlando is crazy.

 

[Benjsh]

Sure I’ve posted this before but the DB app makes transferring to EP very easy. Again, though, it’s having the knowledge about these things that does make it so, but that information I find isn’t really in the psyche of the British GP.

From April this year:

From: https://www.facebook.com/1424325221165984/posts/3067905646807925/?sfnsn=scwspmo



From: https://www.facebook.com/1424325221165984/posts/3067968430134980/?sfnsn=scwspmo



From: https://www.facebook.com/1424325221165984/posts/3067997656798724/?sfnsn=scwspmo



From: https://www.facebook.com/1424325221165984/posts/3068027700129053/?sfnsn=scwspmo

The Stansted to Baden Baden flight is definitely the best option from the UK but if you happen to live in Manchester, like I do, then you also have to factor in a 6 hr round drive to Stansted and back to take advantage of this route. It's simply not worth it.

Basel is the best option for us northern folk realistically, so yes EP is a royal pain in the backside to get to for many of us. Worth it because it's amazing but I don't go back as often as I'd like to because of the journey really.

 

[Vik]

With the journey to and from, not just EP but to other places too I usually like to add in extra time to visit places or stop overs. Just add to the experience a bit and also help make the over all journey more interesting, helps take a bit of the pressure off and relying too much on everything being bang on time.
Though appreciate that not everybody has the time to do this.

Certainly learnt from experience though that relying on German trains to get you places on time can cause a lot a stress. Had a few close shaves and also left with long waits due to missed connections in the past due their less than stellar reliability. Spanish trains weren’t much better either. Nor are later in the day Ryanair flights (always ATCs fault)

 

[Tim]

Why is Florida so difficult? We stayed on International drive last time we went and the hotels offered free shuttle service to all hotel guests to Sea World and the Disney / Universal parks. Piece of cake and saves massively on the extortionate car park fees over there.

Anyone who gets a car in Florida to just do the parks in and around Orlando is crazy.

I guess my point is that neither of them are difficult once you do your research. Having only been to Florida once the only way I know is by car because we needed one to travel to both sides of Florida during our trip. And generally people seem to complain that getting around without one is inconvenient. But maybe my view is warped because I know a lot of people that live outside of Orlando.

But the real reason I compare Europa to Florida is because any Florida trip requires months of planning itineraries and booking food and rides long before the trip if you want the best experience. EP I can enter with no plan at all. If you factor that in the inconvenience of understanding European public transport far outways micromanaging a holiday.

...
Basel is the best option for us northern folk realistically, so yes EP is a royal pain in the backside to get to for many of us. Worth it because it's amazing but I don't go back as often as I'd like to because of the journey really.

I think this highlights that different people simply have different travel preferences. Because If given the choice I prefer the Basel route to Baden Baden.
Firstly because Stansted is a depressing airport to fly from, always end up stuck in unpleasant queues.
Then once in Switzerland the transfer options are clear and easy to follow. Bus to the city centre, Tram to the German railway station, train to Ringsheim. Its not as direct as using a direct transfer bus, or transferring through Baden Baden. But all the services are frequent and clearly marked so there's no waiting around at each transfer point.

 

[Benzin]

Anyone who gets a car in Florida to just do the parks in and around Orlando is crazy.

Or they're better off using a car for various potential reasons.

Dread to think how burdenous those internal shuttle buses could be for wheelchair users and dealing with entitled parents.


+1 for Baden-Baden isn't viable for many. Did a taxi service from Basel once and that was fine if expensive. Would probably just hire a car whenever next visiting from whichever airport and work from that.

 

[jon81uk]

Dread to think how burdenous those internal shuttle buses could be for wheelchair users and dealing with entitled parents.

The internal shuttle buses if you are staying on site are great with wheelchair lifts and similar or at Universal there are ramps onto the boat shuttles. But if staying off site then the bus service is often poor anyway with long waits.

 

[venny]

For those who drive, the Basel route is extraordinarily simple. The car hire from the French side of the airport is always one of the simplest car hire collections of any airport - the desks and the car park itself being within about 50 yards of exiting baggage collection.

You are then directly next to the motorway, where it’s a simple one hour drive north to reach the Europa Park exit.

 

[Benjsh]

For those who drive, the Basel route is extraordinarily simple. The car hire from the French side of the airport is always one of the simplest car hire collections of any airport - the desks and the car park itself being within about 50 yards of exiting baggage collection.

You are then directly next to the motorway, where it’s a simple one hour drive north to reach the Europa Park exit.

We will be doing this next time we go I think in 2024 for the new area opening. No brainer for a family of three as well.

 

[Connor98]

I simply think it’s Transport links and not being near a major tourist city or resort. The two main European parks I have visited are Portaventura and Energylandia, both having good links to their main desi tomato of non national visitors. Energylandia Runs shuttle busses from Krakow (a major European tourist city) and also advertises very heavily in the city and surrounding areas. Portaventura on the other hand is in a brilliant location 15 minutes walk from the big tourist resort of salou, red force alone acts as a brilliant billboard as it is seen from all over the resort (and is only 20 min taxi from Reus airport).

I think Europa falls into the catalog as Alton Towers, being that it is a well known park among enthusiasts and some other non enthusiasts in other countries, however it suffers from it not being located near a tourist resort and also the fact it doesn’t have amazing transport links into it for non car owners/renters. They both seem to mainly rely on nationals of their own country and area to be the main portion of visitors.

 

[rob666]

I simply think it’s Transport links and not being near a major tourist city or resort. The two main European parks I have visited are Portaventura and Energylandia, both having good links to their main desi tomato of non national visitors. Energylandia Runs shuttle busses from Krakow (a major European tourist city) and also advertises very heavily in the city and surrounding areas. Portaventura on the other hand is in a brilliant location 15 minutes walk from the big tourist resort of salou, red force alone acts as a brilliant billboard as it is seen from all over the resort (and is only 20 min taxi from Reus airport).

I think Europa falls into the catalog as Alton Towers, being that it is a well known park among enthusiasts and some other non enthusiasts in other countries, however it suffers from it not being located near a tourist resort and also the fact it doesn’t have amazing transport links into it for non car owners/renters. They both seem to mainly rely on nationals of their own country and area to be the main portion of visitors.

desi tomatoes, yum yum...
Is it only Europa that does them?
Autocorrect topic award winner surely?

 

[Connor98]

desi tomatoes, yum yum...
Is it only Europa that does them?
Autocorrect topic award winner surely?

Don’t knock it till you try it mate

 

[rob666]

Oh wow, as a sad gardener, I just googled...
Desi is indeed a variety of tomato.
Every day remains a school day.

 

[Tim]

I simply think it’s Transport links and not being near a major tourist city or resort. The two main European parks I have visited are Portaventura and Energylandia, both having good links to their main desi tomato of non national visitors. Energylandia Runs shuttle busses from Krakow (a major European tourist city) and also advertises very heavily in the city and surrounding areas. Portaventura on the other hand is in a brilliant location 15 minutes walk from the big tourist resort of salou, red force alone acts as a brilliant billboard as it is seen from all over the resort (and is only 20 min taxi from Reus airport).

I think Europa falls into the catalog as Alton Towers, being that it is a well known park among enthusiasts and some other non enthusiasts in other countries, however it suffers from it not being located near a tourist resort and also the fact it doesn’t have amazing transport links into it for non car owners/renters. They both seem to mainly rely on nationals of their own country and area to be the main portion of visitors.

I think this is an interesting point which is both correct and not quite the full story. Europa isn't linked to a major city, it's between multiple. It sits between Strasbourg and Basil, both significant cities (even if they are technically in different countries to the park). Slighty further out are Zürich and Stuttgart, and Frankfurt while quite far away sits directly on the access corridor.
This is why EP can rival Disney in visitor numbers whilst seeming remote to tourists, who tend to try and stick to visiting a single city area.

The Alton Towers comparison is fair because it also pulls the same trick with Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool. With London and Scotland not being unreasonably far away.
However I wouldn't compare them in terms of public transport. For a small station Ringsheim is really well connected and the shuttle bus between it and EP is very reliable. Alton however is a nightmare to get to. Their are limited connections between the park and even minor stations, which run only during set hours and very infrequently. I've even had multiple occasions when a schedule bus hasn't even turned up.
Alton really is cars only, and I feel sorry for any visiting tourists even attempting to make the journey.

 

[John]

To expand on the above, whilst EP was clearly not built with public transport access in mind (unlike DLP) they are at least making the best of what they have and the situation has improved over the years as the park has grown. There's now direct fast trains to Ringsheim from multiple countries, with trains running from both Paris and Milan. Obviously it's still not the easiest to get to from a UK perspective but as we're such a small portion of their visitor base that's not really surprising.

Hopefully they can continue with incremental improvements, a more reliable connection between the resort and Ringsheim would be useful.

 

[Jambo]

It should also be worth noting that you can (or could) get a direct flight to Baden Baden from Edinburgh in the summer. I’d need to check if it’s still a thing.

We did this a few times, hired a car and then drove the remaining journey. Really easy and comfortable.

Also, I like the fact the EP isn’t as well known in the UK. We love taking friends there with no knowledge of the place and blowing their minds!

 

[Tim]

To expand on the above, whilst EP was clearly not built with public transport access in mind (unlike DLP) they are at least making the best of what they have and the situation has improved over the years as the park has grown. There's now direct fast trains to Ringsheim from multiple countries, with trains running from both Paris and Milan. Obviously it's still not the easiest to get to from a UK perspective but as we're such a small portion of their visitor base that's not really surprising.

Hopefully they can continue with incremental improvements, a more reliable connection between the resort and Ringsheim would be useful.

To expand on the expansion I wonder what the chances are of the Monorail extending to Ringsheim? Assuming the Rulatica plans go ahead I notice it isn't planned to stop at the front of Kronsar but Loops around to the side. That sets it up nicely for a further expansion to the large area alongside the autobahn.

If it expands that far it's practically at Ringsheim. And I imagine having it go over the Autobahn could be quite the marketing opportunity.

 

[venny]

The monorail extension has gone quiet recently. I think last I heard, quite some time ago, they had been given approval by the local authority and MM had instructed Mack Rides to get on with it.

Has anything else progressed that we know?

 

[Vik]

The weak link for me at the moment seems to be the Shuttle Bus to and from Ringsheim. Whilst there are plenty of trains now, even though reliability is not always the best, the bus often get snarled up in the traffic so can often end up late. Not good if you are leaving in the morning and need to make your rail connection and the same vice versa in evening. Has happened a few times to me now.

Seems that people use the village as a rat run hoping to avoid the queue of traffic heading in to park but then get snarled up in more traffic as everyone else has the same idea. Thus probably ends up taking longer than it would if they waited on the main approach road which is geared up to handle heavy traffic flows much better than a small village. Of course then the bus service is at the mercy of the added congestion. Also I note that during the early & mid afternoon the service is cut right back which could mean a long wait for a bus if you happen to arrive at the train station at the wrong time as not all arrivals have a bus connection. Sadly there really isn't a lot to do whilst you wait either.

Not sure how far the monorail idea has progressed. I did get the impression back in August that there is some local opposition to it. At the same time I also got the impression some aren't to happy with the increasing traffic through the village trying to find a quick way in to the park.