Germany in 2015

I am starting to plan a trip to Germany to celebrate my 50th birthday at Oktoberfest in Munich. While we are there, I would like to go to a few other parks and was wondering which ones are "not to miss" parks. Europa is defiantly on the list as are Heide and Holiday Park.

Any other suggestions or recommendations.

Heard really great things about Phantasialand.

Europe's a really small place for traveling. Are you ruling out parks in any other nearby countries?

I believe you mean Germany, not Europe...right?

Not at all, but I am also trying to stay realistic and still have a chance to see some of the country and culture. I am also thinking about a train trip through the Swiss alps.

Two or three days at Europa Park, half a day at Holiday Park, a full day at Phantasialand, a full day at Efteling, and a full day at Wiener Prater. Heide is ok, but I have no urge to ever go back myself. Then there's always Scandinavia and England. ;-)

I'll be at Oktoberfest on Sunday!

On your way to Europa Park(minimum 2 days as this park beats Disneyland Paris in my opinion), there is a little park called Tripsdrill which has some great coasters (Karacho/Mammut) and rather unique themed rides.

I would highly recomend Phantasialand aswell as it is one of the best themed parks in the World(especially considering the new generation Intamin log flume ride Chiapas should be open/google for images, the theming on this ride is amazing)

Unlike other users, I would not recomend other countries as you might see a lot, but really experience nothing. Germany is quite spectacular besides the parks. Munich/Bavaria scenery is stellar, the Neuschwanstein castle is just a short trip away(incl mountain coaster in the area)

As for a trainride, I would recomend a ride between Cologne (Phantasialand close) and Frankfurt along the Rhine River. You will encounter about 60+castles, plus a stop in one of the medieval towns along the way should make a great day.(Need to take the local train, not the fast ICE train)

I am in Germany at least twice a year, so if you have any questions, I am here to help :-)

Oh, goody. Munich's Oktoberfest is on my bucket list and I'm tentatively planning a trip for my 60th birthday in 2014, and this is great information.
I may do up to three weeks and I plan to hit parks in England, Germany, and also visit Paris. (as much as I love Disney, DLP doesn't hold much interest for me, so that'll probably be a pass.) I hope that amount of time will allow for interesting sight seeing of different nature as well. While I intend to visit parks and fairs I would never visit Europe without taking in as much as possible. It may be my only trip ever.
Europa looks like an absolute must-do and Oktoberfest has more fantastic rides than you can shake a stick at. I looked for vids recently and I see two new rides. Sky Fall is billed as the tallest portable drop ride, at well over 200 feet, and Odysee looks to be a giant indoor dark type of ride with live actors. I'm glad to hear these recommendations for other parks as well.
A couple of rube questions, and please forgive me. I've heard that traveling around Europe is fairly easy, it's more like what we would consider going from state to state and train travel is efficient. True? And I'm concerned about language barrier (in Germany especially, I don't know a lick) and wonder how an English-only guy would get along. I intend to check with Rick Steves for planning advice, too.
Alexatucla, have a blast and a safe trip. Please, if you can, post reports and pics for us.

Oktoberfest is basically the best themepark in the World. Coasters, insane flatrides(running a program that would land a U.S.themepark operator in jail,, lol) themed darkrides, funhouses, shows, incredible food and BEER(lots and lots of beer, some of the tents hold over 10000 people and the bands cover every song you can sing along with)

Traveling within Europe(specifically EU member states) is like going from state to state in the U.S.. There are no border check points anymore.

Love traveling by train in Europe, most of the times it is even faster vs going by car(for example Frankfurt-Cologne takes 50 min by train/120 min by car). Just make sure you always take the fast, ICE train in Germany or the TGV in France. Also make sure to get the traintickets 3 months before your travel as you can take advantage of the specials(for example any trainride within Europe from Germany is €39/€29 within Germany, once those tickets are gone, prices go up and the closer you get to your traveldate you might have to pay full price which can go up to €200 each way)

Dont worry about language barriers as in Germany every kid has to learn English from the 5th great on. There should be no problems for you to communicate at least in Germany(The french are a little different/snobby, so they might pretend to not understand you, even if they do)

Make sure you do a day along the Rhine River Valley. I just did it this year with a friend from L.A. and although I was born in Germany, I forgot how beautiful it is.

As for your planing, I felt the Tripadvisor Messageboards are a huge help as you can read(and ask) other people's questions and locals answer them. You will get a lot of insider tips thru that.

Pm me if you go next year to Oktoberfest, maybe we can have a mini coasterbuzz meet and a beer(or two)

Oh you're gonna have so much fun. Oktoberfest should be on everyone's bucket list. I almost moved to Germany after my first Oktoberfest (but I almost made that decision when I was poo'faced)

Like everyone said, Phantasialand and Europa are not to be missed. If you have time, and want to ride the worst wooden coaster in existence (just to say you did it) hit Warner Brother's Movie World and ride Bandit. Van Helsing makes up for it though.