Traveling: 2019

Sunday 3 November 2019

Europa Park 2019 - Part 1

Europa Park

Sunday - September 29th 2019

In October Claudia and I were celebrating our fifth Wedding Anniversary and for that occassion we chose to visit the biggest German themepark called Europa Park. So Sunday morning we hit the road and about five hours later we arrived in Rust near the German French boarder. We booked our stay at the Hotel Castillo Alcazar. Unfortunately our room wasn't ready when we arrived, so we decided to go into the park and return later.

Hotel El Andaluz

Hotel El Castillo Alcazar

Hotel El Andaluz

Europa Park

To be honest, we had very high expectations of the park, because it is branded as the world's best themepark. The first impressions were pretty good, but soon it was clear that Europa Park can't reach the quality of a Disney park. However the park features some fantastic rollercoasters and they were the main reason for our visit. Needless to say that our first stop was the huge wooden coaster named Wodan. To our surprise the line was short despite being Sunday afternoon. Wodan was a very powerful and fast ride and a lot of fun. We had already tried a wooden coaster at Cedar Point in Ohio, but Woodan was much better. Afterwards we did Bluefire Megacoaster, a launch coaster which turned out to be my favourite attraction at Europa Park. Now it was time for a coffee and beer break.

Wodan Coaster

Bluefire Coaster

Coffee an Beer Break

Scandinavia

After we just walked around to explore the park, we noticed to short line at Vindjammer. It was a fun little swing ride, but nothing to get excited about. Since hadn't had lunch yet, we got vegan hot dogs and I have to admit they were really delicious. Finaly we received our notification that the room was ready and so we headed back to the hotel. Our room was indeed very nice and beautifully themed. Before we returned to the park, we stopped at the hotel bar for a glass of sangria.

Vindjammer

Vegan Hot Dogs

Scandinavia

Europa Park

Our Room

Hotel El Andaluz

Sangria at the Hotel Bar

Back in the park we just strolled around with no plans at all. Europa Park is themed after European countries, but has a very strange layout and is not easy to navigate, because everything is just tuck together with no real masterplan. In the Russian area of the park we got in line for one of the worst rollercoasters I had ever been on. While it looks quite nice from the outside, the ride itself and the theming were not great at all. After that disappointment we just walked around the park and on the way back to the hotel we rode Blufire again. The theming of the coaster was very tacky and cheap looking, but the ride experience was amazing. Back the the hotel we refreshed and then we got a drink at the hotel bar on the top floor. Although the bar was beautiful, it was allowed to smoke there, which is a no go for me and so we left again soon.

Spain

Adidas Sports Bar

Euro Mir Coaster

Scandinavia

Europa Park

El Castillo Hotel Bar

Saturday 2 November 2019

Europa Park 2019 - Part 2

Another Day In Europa Park

Monday - September 30th 2019

After we got up we headed down for breakfast. Breakfast was included in our package and to our surprise there were some vegan options as well. Once we finished our breakfast, we were on our way to the park. Our first stop was the Bluefire megacoaster. During the day the line got quite long, since it was one of the most popular rides in the park, but in the early morning it was basically walk on. Later we checked out the Austrian area of the park and got in line for a mine train coaster, called Alpine Coaster Enzian, and a flume ride. Both rides were okay, but nothing to get excited about. Then we took the monorail to get a bird's eye view of the park.

Breakfast

Austrian Area

Europa Park

Scandinavia

EuroMir Coaster in Russia

Europa Park

Scandinavia

Europa Park

Scandinavia

Russia

Our next stop was Greece, where we gave an Atlantis themed darkride a try. The attraction was like Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast, but just not as good and well themed as you know from Disney. Unfortunately it was a little bit chilly and so we skipped the the water rides in Greece until the afternoon. Instead we headed over to Italy and rode Volo Da Vinci, a cute little ride based themed after the flying machines designed by Leonardo Da Vinci. Next was a haunted house, the cheapest Disney knock off I've ever seen. It was such a terrible copy of Disney's Haunted Mansion. After that huge disappointment, we needed a snack and got vegan churros for lunch.

Atlantis Attraction

Greece

Europa Park

Italy

France

Volo Da Vinci

France

Vegan Churros

Italy

Germany

After the delicious snack we rode Silver Star, a huge and fast coaster and then we got in line for Europa Park's newest addition called Voletarium. Voletarium was excatly like Disney's Soarin', but unlike all other copies, this attraction was superior compared to Disney, because in my opinion the images were sharper and they managed to enhance the flying effect. In Europa Park's version guests fly over European landmarks instead of Californian or international landscapes. Now it was time for a drink and so we walked to the Ireland area of the park, where we got a couple of beers at the O'Macky's Irish Pub.

Voletarium

Parts of Berlin Wall

Germany

Drinks at the Irish Pub

Europa Park

In the afternoon we did Can Can Coaster, a nice roller coaster ride through Paris and then we got in line for Silver Star again. Since it wasn't as cold as in the morning anymore, we headed over to Greece to give Poseidon, a splash ride another chance. There Claudia and I also rode another roller coaster called Pegasus. For today only one more attraction was on our must do list. We left the river rafting attraction in the Scandianvian area until the end of the day, because we were pretty sure to get wet. But before got in line, we had a salad with veggie balls for dinner, which was the only vegan option left for the day. Then it was finally time for Fjord Rafting. The attraction was similar to Disney's Kali River Rapids or Grizzly River Run. To our surprise we didn't get wet that much and so on our way back to the hotel we did Atlantika Supersplash as well. There I got indeed wet, but it was a lot of fun. Back at the hotel we changed into dry clothes and then we checked out the neighbouring Europa Park hotels and got some drinks at the hotel bar.