LunEur Park - Eur, Rome Italy

So I was on a week long trip to Rome, and one night we decided to go to LunEur (Luna Park). It was a nice small family oriented amusement park.

We started off by riding their Looping Star. It's a classic shwartzkopt model of the same name. Just recently moved to the park in 2002, It was a fun ride.

After that we went on the Claw. The Claw is a Side-Swinging Topspin. I'm not sure what the correct name of it is but you get the idea. After the claw we went on a spinning floordrop ride. I miss having one of these at SFGam.

After that we went on Tokaido. It was a powered double Figure 8. A younger person's ride, but still fun. By then it was getting late and we went home. It was a fun couple of hours.

Hey, what kind of food do they sell at European parks? I think it'd be interesting to know if they sell hot dogs on a stick or freedom fries, or if they have their own regional junkfood.

Waffles seems to be sold at most northern europe parks, but I might be wrong there...

But usually it's just the same old boring fast food hamburgers, pizza and kebab...

Was this recently that you visited? My wife and I are planning a trip to Europe some time in March, and the LunEur website's hours page still lists hours for September.

We're not going on a coaster tour, just a normal vacation. We're hitting a lot of Europe and don't have many entire free days. This park looks great for one of our free evenings in Rome, though.

How far is the park from the city center? We're staying at the Ripa, so we're right in the middle of stuff.

(I'm still dissapointed that I'll be 30 minutes from Parc Asterix and they don't open up until 2 weeks after I've left. :( )

Ow, that hurts. Almost as much as driving by Playland in Vancouver in January, coming back from a ski trip to Whistler.

Yeah, add to that I'll have a free day in London. Once again, about two weeks before Alton Towers opens.

Working at an amusement park really cuts in to my park visiting. :(

The park is in Eur(south portion of Rome) and there is a bus that takes you right to the back entrance. You can also take the metro to the Eur-Magliana stop I think. There are three Eur Metro stops and its close to one of them. (It might not be the Magliana) The metro drops you off on the other side of a park. When I was there it was dusk and my girlfriend and I took a nice romantic stroll through the park to get there. The bus takes you right to the park, though.

I went the first week of January. I'm not sure the schedule for it being open. I went after the siesta(around 5:00pm) on a wednesday, and it was open. It wasn't very crowded either, although I'm used to the SF/CF crowds. Rides are from E2-E3.

I don;t know if you can read italian or not but here is the page with the directions to the park.
http://www.luneur.it/strade/index.php

Here is a map of Eur with the park on it.
http://www.luneur.it/strade/mappa.gif

Not sure if you've been in rome before, but if you havent know that you can just buy a few metro/bus tickets(they are the same for both) and you can reuse them over and over again w/o stamping them. The public trans is excellent, just keep an eye out for your cell phone, wallet and purse. You can get anywhere in Rome that you want to. And you dont have to worry about the crazy italian driving.

For anyone that reads this and doesn't know what I'm talking about, basically there are no rules, the lanes on the road dont mean anything, the lights are treated as stop signs, if they notice them at all, and the stop signs are ignored. I always joked that I had more fun just watching the cars driving along the Cassia. They are honestly that crazy and therefore entertaining. Just a warning if you have never been there before.

I'm not sure how long you are staying in Rome, but I definately suggest seeing the copola inside the vatican. its a few euro extra, but it is an abolutely amazing view. And just a suggestion, if you go up the copola, get the lift with the ticket, there are a LOT of stairs.

Sorry I cant help much to tell you if it is open. I honestly dont know. I hope you enjoy your trip. Rome is a beautiful city.

Second that on Rome's traffic. I've always referred to it that in the city, the lane markers and stop lights are merely suggestions. If you're not aggresive and get intimidated behind the wheel, DON'T drive. It's nutsy-cuckoo!

For a little interest, pay attention to the sides of cars. You'll notice that quite a few of them have long scratches running the length of the car, just below the windows. Roving gangs? Idle teens? Nah, it's just that a few inches below most car windows is the exact height of the handlebar brake levers on those little Vespa scooters. Sccrrrraaaaape!

Later,
EV

Thanks for the tips. I've been to Rome before, but not my wife.

I've taken the public transport in Venice, it sounds much like what you described above with the "self-serve" ticket stamping.

Oh yes and I've almost forgotten about the motorinos(scooters). I get a kick about what echo said. There really are scrapes from the motorinos zig-zaging through traffic. Imagine if they could go on the GRA!

Safety tip...

Traffic signals tend to be ignored so the best way to cross busy roads is to find a nun or two. The drivers always let nuns cross for fear of what may happen if they run one over;) And that's not as jokey as it appears heh heh

-Jim

Hehe...traffic and Rome...don´t get me started!
The incredible thing is, that there are not that many accidents happening. Beyond all the disregard for rules and signs there is an amazing common sense and fast reaction. You can say what you want: They are incredible good drivers!

As a pedestrian you just have to overcome your fear (forget everything you ever learned) and keep on walking! Well, maybe the "nun trick" is not a bad thing, there are lots of them anyway.

A car without scratches is regarded as "maiden" and in this case is NOT highly respected ;)

It even gets worse the further south you go. Naples is roadkill deluxe!

Paris traffic is as well like driving on another planet.

Have fun!

Ahh, Paris....

nothing like the 10-lane wide, un-lined, cobblestone traffic circle around the Arc de Triomphe. Pure chaos!

Later,
EV

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kpjb said:
Yeah, add to that I'll have a free day in London. Once again, about two weeks before Alton Towers opens.

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I wouldn't be too heartbroken on this one. Alton Towers is nowhere near London at all.

If I were you I'd look at going to either Thorpe Park or Chessington if they're open; Chessington has added an insane looking Maurer spinner this year.

Regards,
Richard