Europa Park 24 May 2003

Associated parks:
None

Well, after deciding NOT to go last week, I got up early and made the 2 hour drive to Rust to get my first experience at Europa Park.

As I walked in the front gate, I was immediately impressed by the atmosphere, and just kept getting more impressed as the day went on. The scenery, both natural and man-made, is incredible. The trees, flowers, streams, fountains, theming, etc just makes the whole park feel like something special. I'd say it's akin to the Magic Kingdom as far as atmosphere goes. Picture Islands of Adventure with natural beauty to compliment the theming.

Anyway, I hit Silver Star first, which is the second tallest coaster I've ever ridden. After that, I walked over and rode Euro-Mir before grabbing a quick lunch (with perhaps the worst burger I've ever had). After a nice surprise on the Austrian attractions, I hiked on back to the beginning of the park and rode Matterhorn Blitz, followed by Euro-Sat, the observation tower, and another ride on Silver Star. By that time, it was hot, and I headed over and got a ride on Posiedon before exploring the scenery of the park and eating very good pizza in the Italy section. Oh, I also threw in Piraten in Batavia earlier in the day. After checking out the Geisterschloß, I spent some time at the Poseidon splash down area before heading home. Overall, a great day at the park.

Rides:

Silver Star:
For some reason, I'm just not a huge fan of B&M hypers. I don't know...it's not that they're bad rides, I enjoy my time on them, but they pale in comparison to the Intamin and (gasp) Arrow creations. I've ridden Silver Star, Nitro, and Apollo's Chariot, and AC is my favorite of the 3. Silver Star has a nice first drop, with an incredible lift (at at least 45 degrees), but the course is just not that exciting. I got mild airtime on the hills (partly because the ride-ops seemed to only want to staple ME....I was the only one they ever checked both times I rode), but that was about it. The best part of the ride were the quick turns at the very end. Again, it is still an excellent ride, and I certainly wouldn't turn it down, but I wouldn't put it in my top 10.

Euro-Mir:
Great little coaster, with some very unique and surprising elements. I'd ridden it on No Limits and couldn't figure out what the heck was the deal. Then, when you're on it, and you realize the cars spin, and you do some of the drops backwards, and the theming is great...you get it. Excellent coaster, and a very original experience.

Alpen Express:
Cool mine train coaster, that was easily the biggest surprise of the day. This coaster is completely electrically driven, and as such has no lift hill. It does two circuits of the course and has some fantastic laterals and a good illusion of speed. The diving turns through the magical cave are fantastically themed and really make this a fun experience.

Wild Wasserbahn:
Good log flume that goes through the same themed cave as Alpen Express...two lifts with a beautiful course and some nice drops.

Matterhorn Blitz:
Another very, very original ride. This is a Mack Wild Mouse, but the lift is an elevator lift, which tips you from side to side as you go up (it locks the cars to the elevator when you go onto the track)...you then go out of a tower and start the course. Excellent drop for a mouse, but then the course is a bit slow. Overall, a very unique and entertaining wild mouse.

Euro-Sat:
Super dark coaster reminiscent of Space Mountain. the lift is in completely pitch black darkness, and I had no idea where the heck I was for about a minute. The ride is extremely rough, but fun. There have got to be some instances that hit 3Gs lateral. It's definitely worth riding, but only once in a day due to the roughness.

Poseidon:
This was my first watercoaster, and I loved it. Great theming to start the ride...absolutely top notch, among the best themed coasters I've ever seen. The ride has some sweet drops, and some great laterals, and the water splashdowns are fantastic, especially the second one. Perhaps the highlight of the trip.

Piraten in Batavia and Geisterschloß:
Both taken from the very similar Disney rides. The pirate ride is a bit different, with a different location and stuff, but is well themed and neat. The animitronics in both are not to Disney quality, but everything else is. The Gesiterschloß practically steals half it's stuff from the Haunted Mansion, including the exact same opening room. A bit shorter, and not as funny, but it was ok.

Overall, I'd have to say there wasn't a single attraction I went on that I didn't enjoy, which is saying something. The park was clean, not too crowded, original and beautiful. It is definitely one of the top parks I've been to, and is in the top two or three as far as pure atmosphere and enjoyment go. It's not the best as a coaster park, but I was enjoying myself so much I didn't care.

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Jman
Webmaster: Gravibulb Coasters - Home of Professional Quality Coaster Photos
http://balder.prohosting.com/gravbulb/coasters/
*** This post was edited by Jman 5/24/2003 3:57:04 PM ***

Wow, that was a fast reply for my request in the original thread ;)

Glad you enjoyed your trip and had a good time.

Concerning EuroSat: Yes, the coaster is wild, but I wouldn´t call it rough. I wonder that you had enough of it after one ride. Did you sit alone in a row and are you very tall? Then I could understand that you have been thrown around and your knees might have had a bad time. This is definitely a ride where you should have a riding partner next to you.

So, what will be your next destination?

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top thrill tricktrack

I'm not very tall, but I am somewhat tall, and I did not have a riding partner. Don't get me wrong...I enjoyed the ride a lot, but I was just thrown about, so I didn't feel the need to run right back on it. Oh...I also wanted to mention how impressed I was with the capacity. The ride ops kept the lines moving like wildfire. Great job!

I have no idea where I'll be going next. I am getting married in a month, and then my new wife will be coming to Germany with me (she's got to finish work in the states, so after our honeymoon, she'll come back with me), and we'll probably make a few of the bigger trips. Until then, I'll likely just head down to Holdiay Park for another day sometime.

Oh, and eventually, I'll have all my pictures up on my website, but I have a lot of work to do...I have a full 6 galleries to add, with around 250 photos, so it is going to take a while.

Very nice trip report and pretty similar to mine when I went there last year. I also was very impressed by the atmosphere and the special attention to detail to scenery, theming, anamatrinics and even the bathrooms. Silver Star was also my second tallest coaster I've ever ridden and still is (I haven't ridden TTD or Titan). I also haven't ridden Nitro (only SS, AC, and RBull) but I thought Silver Star was a fairly fun ride and yes, the lines were moving fast. I also ate some of that delicious pizza in the Italy section.

Alpen Express is a neat powered coaster, which seem to be plentiful in many German amusement parks I visited last year. The magical cave is neat (you can also walk through it) and the heat from the fire-breathing dragon is intense. The cave of Poseidon is also cool.

Glad you enjoyed Europa Park like I did. Look at my profile for my Europa Park pic :) Congrats on your upcoming marraige and visit nearby Holiday Park when you get a chance.
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When was the last time you drove 251 km/h (156 mph)?

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