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When was it open? As the train passed the coaster today, the person at the microphone didn't say anything about Kumba (it was closed) compared to rides like Sheikra and the rapids where they stated they should be reopening again in the next few days. I hope it is open again but thought it hasn't reopened since being closed in November. In addition to removing the closed rides web page, the park also removed the closed rides board at the entrance. They say to check the app but it's not accurate at all. Iron Gwazi has been running 1 train and Cheetah Hunt has been closed on and off since Thursday or Friday. The Sky Ride also re-opened last week but was closed today due to wind. The parking lot wasn't that full but Cobra's Curse, Cheetah Hunt (when open) and Iron Gwazi all had long lines with the closures and other breakdowns. They at least were running 2 trains on Montu so that was a 5 minute wait most of the day. -
Oblivion was really good too (tho very short). honestly, there wasn't really a bad coaster in the park, tho a couple of them were way too intense for me (Smiler and Galactica) -
By teacherkim · Posted
Hmmmm, interesting on them dimming the lights at the Rollercoaster restaurant, they did not do that at Foodloop in Europa when we were there! I think Joel loved that place as much as any coaster, lol. If/when we make it to Alton Towers, Wicker Man is definitely my most anticipated coaster so happy to hear it was really good. -
Day 8 concluded: we wandered around for a couple of hours, ,getting re-rides on things we wanted while we prepped to meet up for Wicker Man ERT at park close at 5. over in the Nemesis section, more anti government "protesters" were out demanding fair treatment for the creature. and I happened to notice this sign over on the rapids. I really do wish the US parks would enforce something like this. . . would make it such a nicer experience than riding with rowdy teenagers. eventually it was time to meet up in front of Wicker Man. .so we headed over that way as you can see, was an absolutely gorgeous day. remember that donut stand in front of Oblivion? someone (I think Colin?) had gone over and gotten donuts including the Oblivion themed one. so Robb took a picture of it with us, as he hadn't brought enough to share! are we ready for Wicker Man ERT? YES! one more time. . are we ready?? YES!!! as mentioned, I absolutely LOVED this coaster. I think it's one of very few that I rode every single train available during ERT. and because it was at end of day, and the park had been running two trains? we were able to do "zen rides". . here's Kristen all alone in front row of Wicker Man and I believe I have Elissa to thank for this pic of me on my zen ride! wheee!!!! ' they even kept on the fire and smoke effects for us the whole time. easily my favorite coaster at Alton Towers (tho Nemesis is a very close 2nd, followed by 13, and Spinball) Stacy's got some "hair time" nothing better than getting eaten by the Wicker Man. SO good! once ERT was over, we headed over to the back of the park for our evening reservation at the Rollercoaster Restaurant. ok.. so if you've never been to one? the concept is pretty neat, but the food tends to be pretty mediocre (and expensive). That was the case here too, but if you've never been to one? I'd say it's worth it just to experience once. and if you go with a group of friends? you can have a fantastic time, even with so-so food. which again was the case here before they dim the lights, you can see the mess of "tracks" overhead - that they use to serve the main meals to each table station. you order at the kiosk once seated. . . "Nemesis Reborn" was a burger option. so yeah, theme park pricing. . . part of our table station. . once the lights went down. the other half of our table: people watching the tracks as food starts coming out. in the center of this pic (by the pole) you can see one of the food deliveries coming we're all happy as we think our food is coming but nope.. went to the next table over. that's ok tho, as the waiter brought over our drinks (not delivered via coaster track) ok. .here comes our food! I mean. .it's a burger and it was an OK burger too. . . tho I didn't care for how the purple lighting made all the food look. LOL still. .it's an experience to try out if you've never done one of these RollerCoaster restaurants. and with that, we headed back to the resort thru the back entrance of the park (the prior day, we had left from front gate and had to walk around the park to get back to resort, but this time we were able to use the resort exit since next to the Rollercoaster Restaurant). we had to pack, as tomorrow was check out day, and we were headed towards what really was my main "bucket list" park: Blackpool Pleasure Beach! (and Steeplechase). but we were gonna hit a surprise park along the way first, so had to get everything ready to go, and get rested for the adventure to continue. (I'll try to get next update up fairly soon. . but got to update the Oktoberfest report before another update here ). hope you've enjoyed seeing the park thru my eyes.
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day 8 - 2nd full day at Alton Towers, checking out CeBeebes land, the gardens, the Alton Towers Dungeon, WickerMan ERT and the rollercoaster restaurant for dinner! after a good night's sleep (and a brilliant 1st day at Alton towers), was up and ready to go at park open the 2nd day. but first stop? the coffee shop in the Hotel. Not quite a Starbucks, but really the closest I found on our UK trip! the big chair photo op had no line this morning (and Andrew had joined me in getting coffee - so there was someone with to snap a pic). I DO love me a good throne! Andrew does too meeting up with Stacy in the lobby we headed to the Monorail station. today, we got to ride on Strawberry! wheee we had hit every coaster yesterday, so today I was determined to do all the silly, stupid stuff (ie: the stuff I really love to do), and first on my list was that elevated railway, over in CeBeebees land. told ya yesterday I was gonna ride it damn it Stacy was willing, since I had waiting in line with her at the kiddie coaster yesterday, so we stood in the 20 minute line for our ride (it's a fairly long ride, and only seemed to have 5-6 cars). Spinball Whizzer hadn't been running yet, but if I recall, the park did open at 9, and most of the rides don't start until 10. but we got a view of it from the Treetop adventures queue I mean. . look at this silly thing! of COURSE I wanted to ride it. yay!! as noted it's a fairly long track, and high enough you get a decent view of most of the land - which is actually quite large. over the fence was a Bluey show that was going on, and we figured if we timed it correctly, we could catch the end of it. (by the way, it was here that I learned that Bluey is a girl. . I had no idea!). it's a LIFT HILL !!! (well, I'm gonna count it as one) seriously. . WTF are these things? and they were among the LEAST F-ed up things in this land. I'm shocked British kids don't end up way more damaged if this is what they are watching instead of Bozo, Captain Kangaroo, Romper Room, or Sesame Street. noted! the land really is quite large. . with tons of stores, shows, and indoor attractions my brain wanted badly to ride this. . .but even I realized that this one is for the little kids, and I likely couldn't get my fat ass into the seat. . . LOL Take the tunnel !!! look at all these bunny hops! it IS a coaster ! 😛 ah. .there we go. . .as we were getting off the ride, Spinball Whizzer started testing over the fence next door. we made our way over to the theater, and had just missed the Bluey and friends show. . . but they were out doing a meet and greet (and the ducks were out too) I had no idea who any of these were other than Bluey, but oh I learned .. . . and this weird little guy was driving around (and managing not to run over any of the little kiddos) he was interactive with the guests too. I discovered this nightmare of a ride by looking at a park map and saying to Stacy . . "is that a ride????" it looked like it was part of a store, but it was actually next to the store (exit thru the store), and was the theme of the other resort hotel - the Night Garden, magical adventure ride. again, HOW can kids sleep with this nightmare fuel all over the hotel room?? turned out it was a boat ride, which got us both excited. silly, and on a boat? complete win!!! the operator looked quite amused that we were so excited about it. ok. . starting off a little bit dark. . but into the woods we go. aww. .how cute. . a little "train". . . I guess? and Peter Rabbit themed frog hoppers next door (that you shouldnt' be able to see from the boat ride, but ok, it's still rather decent theming) Um. . . whut? trolls? with cream puff hair??? WHUT the AKTUAL F are these???? Gahhhhh!!!! a starfish infected with measles??? a gay sun? sheesh. . ok, back to reality (or at least other kiddie rides we can see from the boat ride) this SEEMED to be an interactive experience where one can go pet puppies and cats. . but we never made it back over here to be certain. oh no. . . back into the dark forest for. . . um. . I dunno what these are? it's got a bike. i think? this TERRIFIED me. .and I wish I could remember her name, as apparently she's one of the best known characters from the kiddie shows in Britain. she's known for hiking up her skirt. no, really and the animatronic does it!! I was laughing so hard, that I almost didn't get a pic, and I still managed to catch part of it, if not the full pantie reveal tiny fairie guardsmen? cue Whodini: the fever dream was over :(. . . . I loved every moment of it. . . Stacy was done with the kiddie section tho 😛 bumped into the Alton Towers bear again tho. .so my day was fantastic thus far. hadn't noticed this yesterday, but the splash battle has sharks circling we headed towards Wicker Man and grabbed a ride, and then we popped into one of the Taverns in this section to try out the drinks. we had planned to do the Dungeon with a bunch of TPR folks as a group, so we headed that way after the beers. we had a great time! and thanks so much for the photo pass, and sharing this pic with us! we then headed over to 13 for another ride, and saw a bunch of TPR folks on ride just in front of us. hi Colin, Adam, Ryan, Jonathan, Shane, Chris, Barry & Steve (not looking) we debated what to do next and Stacy and I decided to tour the "ruins" in the center of the park. . so we headed over there (I think Andrew joined us too) not sure if this is part of the queue of "Hex" - which was down for refurb - but it certainly looked like these were emergency exit options. or perhaps ride exit. regardless. . it's very cool that these structures, are just in the center of a theme park. they do such a fantastic job "hiding" the rides. . you'd never know there are rollercoasters all around you of course we decided to take the lakeside walk path to get to Haunted Hollow (had to ride Curse of Alton Manor again!). . and so glad we did the pathway is just littered with all kinds of interactive sculpture and atmosphere that trigger when you get close to them. different scare actors out in front of the attraction today, but they too were having a ball. they all really seem to love their jobs. like the Donut shop in the middle of Oblivion, the Curse of Alton Manor has a sweet shop across from the main entrance. with some really delicious looking special treats Stacy got the black ice cream with eyeballs to be continued. .. .
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Totally weather dependant. More often than not when I've gone during that week it's dead mainly because it's usually in the 40s or 50s and grey and dreary. If there's a chance of rain at all make sure you keep an eye on socials to make sure they're not closed because they know the park will be dead. There are the occasional days that get sunny and shoot into the 70s and it is usually a mobscene, and with college and high school workers not really available yet a busy day during spring break can really get ugly with lots of rides at minimal capacity and lots of food places closed. I love the dead dreary days but you need to go in with the expectation that they will close a few hours early on those days. -
Haven't been at the park since 2018 and thinking about making a trip on Tuesday April 22nd. Park is open 11 am to 6 pm and it's spring break week. Wondering what I should expect crowd wise? On one hand it's a weekday early in the year but on the other hand it's Spring break. Not sure if flash pass would be needed/worth it. Would appreciate any info! -
By jedimaster1227 · Posted
After our brief but wonderful taste of Europa Park the prior evening, it was hard to sleep knowing that we'd have two full days to enjoy the resort ahead of us. I managed to grab what rest I could, eagerly awaiting the morning's exclusive ride time. We started with Blue Fire, another of the park's coasters that I had long anticipated getting the chance to ride. This is one sleek train! ERT earned many thumbs up! As soon as ERT was over, Robb and I rushed over to The Can-Can Coaster (Eurosat), not for the traditional ride experience, but for the newly-opened The Phantom of the Opera Coastiality VR experience. Replacing the previous Valerian VR experience that debuted with the rebuilt Eurosat, this new experience leans heavily into the fandom surrounding Andrew Lloyd Webber's classic musical. The queue is filled with props from the show... The queue also serves as pre-show experience before the VR elements begin, setting the stage for your visit to L'Opera Populaire in Paris. Fans of Andrew Lloyd Webber can find in-universe nods to some of his other works. I'll be absolutely honest. I'm not a huge fan of VR experiences on coasters. But I am a huge fan of Phantom of the Opera--I've seen the show seven times in my life, the movie countless times and I've listened to the soundtrack far too many times to count. For this reason, I wasn't going to be to visit Europa Park without seeing how such a beloved (albeit likely incompatible) IP could translate to a theme park ride experience. Unlike other VR experiences I've been on, this one had you put on the headset while standing in a room away from the loading platform. From here the pre-show experience begins in Box 5 of the Paris Opera House, the Phantom's preferred booth. Surprisingly, the booth lowers from the theater down into the catacombs below to reveal the Phantom's lair. Standing alongside others who are also wearing the VR headsets (you and others around you are represented as period-appropriate avatars, mine an older woman in a purple dress and Robb's a man with a monocle, a black top hat and a grey mustache) you are guided by another avatar through the catacombs to a convenient train of gondolas. What you don't realize is that from behind the VR helmets, you are walking to the Eurosat trains. And through the VR experience you are actually expected to walk to and get into your seats. If the VR isn't spot on (whether because of the headset placement or how it has sync'd up), then your results on getting in safely may vary... But I absolutely give them credit for such a ballsy approach. Once seated, your gondolas take off and begin on a journey that summarizes the key points of the musical's story in a compressed format. Logic, science and physics cease to matter as, once you ascend Eurosat's lift hill, your point of view shifts from the turning gondolas to a glowing orb that floats and flies through the story's scenes. The ride kicks off strong with the Phantom bringing down the chandelier to the famous tones of the show's main overture, and as the chandelier collides with the stage, you go crashing through it, down and into the catacombs. Flying through the layout of the physical coaster, you inexplicably weave in and out of the Paris Opera as it crumbles and burns, pausing near the end for Raoul and Christine to kiss in front of its burning remains, before returning inside to revisit the Phantom's lair, where he appears briefly and disappears in a gag that mirrors a final moment from the show, All in all, it was an interesting way to translate the show to a ride. The VR graphics aren't quite there yet and the syncing with the coaster's movement never really felt perfectly aligned--both reasons why I was in love with the end result, but as a Phantom fan, I'm grateful that Europa Park was gutsy enough to choose such a property for this experience. Now time for another hotly anticipated experience! Due to our visit taking place near Halloween, the coaster's signature music had been replaced with a special track for the season. "It's Halloween" plays on repeat throughout the queue and inside of the ride itself during this overlay. And I guess it is because I didn't know what I was missing--I thought it worked really well. Euro-Mir was a really fun ride (with a somewhat wild finale) and the randomized rotations made it very re-rideable. You know we had to come back for more Voltron! I love that the Croatia section of the park features three animatronics of Nikola Tesla (one in the queue, one at the start of the coaster and one in an outdoor area in the land). I strongly considered buying this Coaster Dynamix Nanocoaster but I haven't finished assembling several of the ones I already own. Silver Star stands in the foggy distance... Madame Freudenreich Curiosités was a very cute way to repurpose the "Universe of Energy" dinosaurs for a more unique (and less knock-off-ish) experience. The ride has a cute story. Familiar but different. There are lots of dinosaurs to be found in the ride. Not our dino, TPR has a bobsled team! Long had I waited for this moment! And Schweizer Bobbahn did not disappoint! The Swiss section of the park is charming and narrow... But most importantly... It is home to raclette! TPR takeover of the raclette hut! The park has so many beautiful areas to enjoy. I love the faux bateaux mouche so much! Europa Park had already been a delicious and refreshing experience so far! Time for more cute dark rides! Adorable. How does one follow up such cuteness? With coasters, of course! It was nice to just hang out for a bit. Of all of the rides inspired by Disney's Haunted Mansion that we experience on this trip, Castello dei Medici was certainly one of them. There's definitely key differences here. But there are also far more blatantly derivative sections. Familiar but different. There's even a hitchhiking ghost-equivalent finale. Though I have no affinity for the IP, "ARTHUR - In the Minimoys Kingdom" is a pretty neat mini land. The power suspended coaster was fun and unique. I love the architecture in the Iceland section of the park. And Wodan was a solid wooden coaster that has been well maintained. The station fly-through is such a fun element. Whale Adventures – Northern Lights is easily one of the cutest splash battles I've ever seen. Animatronics and flammable buildings out and about to enhance the lands' theming. I LOVE IT. I wish I had more time to spend in the Scandinavian section of the park. Snorri Touren is a gem of an attraction that no amount of research had prepared me for. Snorri is simply the best. This dark ride is not without value for adults. The gist of where the story takes you while onboard... Our carriage awaits! Our journey begins... Some great set design for this attraction. You can't go wrong with singing trolls. Snorri plays the mushroom drums. You can bet I brought a plush Snorri home to my son. Familiar but different. Some neat elements in the queue... Lots of exposition but I couldn't understand what it was. While he isn't Snorri, Jopie is great too. Piraten in Batavia feels similar but different to Pirates of the Caribbean. Some scenes are more recognizable than others. Jopie is helping to escape! Very pretty sets. I spy with my little eye, someone that is Mack. The ride's finale ends with an impressing series of projection mapping effects. Familiar but different. Equally familiar but different. Where have I seen one of these before? It was too cold for my tastes to ride Fjord-Rafting during our visit. Atlantica Supersplash looking good. This place is a theme park fan's dream. So cool to see in person! Such a fun and pictureseque coaster! Our time in Europa Park came to a close for the day... But our adventure was just beginning. As we had an evening set aside to experience Rulantica! Due to our limited time I have virtually no photos from inside, but I can't rave enough about the water park. This is the first indoor water park I've been to, but the bar was set so much higher than I anticipated. Rulantica is packed with themed areas, great water slides and some excellent spaces. Vildstrøm is the star of the show--a wild outdoor body slide that doesn't require you to go one at a time. Hilarity and chaos ensue. Robb has some fantastic video from our experience... The park was kind enough to let us try the Snorri Snorkling VR experience which was unlike anything I'd done before. It followed a similar story to Snorri Touren from in the park, but this time, experiencing it while gliding through the water. Super unique--mildly bizarre. I'm glad I had the chance to do it. After a wonderful evening at Rulantica, it was time to head back to the hotel for some rest. Tomorrow would bring even more adventures. -
Trackless, they shared an inspiration story video on it recently -
Has anybody heard or seen recent news, that the Disney CARS attraction in MK won't be trackless and instead, be tracked like Racers in DCA? Just wondering, here. -
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By michaellynn4 · Posted
The Smiler theme in the queue music is still an earworm in my and my wife's ears 7 years later. -
I think this is why so many people are disappointed in it. It is a perfect 'first big' roller-coaster for younger kids wanting to try a bigger ride and should have been marketed as such. Instead for whatever reason the marketing went with 'World's scariest roller-coaster' and their viral stunts included a more adult trailer advertising it after 9 P.M. on TV, and news reports released by the park claiming it was so scary that only riders 16+ could ride and you'd have to sign a waiver before riding. So instead of getting excited families and their kids for what I agree is a great family ride, you got teenagers and thrill-seekers lining up for hours for something that wasn't what they expected. -
By Hilltopper39 · Posted
As soon as I saw the sideways facing seats in the concept art my first thought was about the ride system for F.L.Y. at Phantasialand. Yes I know that's a flying coaster but the seating assembly essentially just rotates 90 degrees to lock into the "flying" position when the track position changes. For the Monsters coaster it looks like they could accomplish basically the same thing but with that looks like their typical junior inverted coaster train. Load sideways, lift the train into place, then rotate to a forward position. -
Awesome TRs of Alton Towers, Bert! And I love that perfectly placed DONUT SHOP in front of Oblivion's drop, heh. And I would love getting one of those models of the Wicker Man coaster cars. Very kewl looking.
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^ I wouldn't be surprised if they did, indeed, use the rotating seats in the attraction itself, like Cosmic Rewind. I envision one part of it, where the seats turn, and you're gliding (and facing) past a whole wall of doors. 🚪🚪🚪 Or like you said, the seats may remain facing forward, and only turned when unloading/loading it. Eventually, we'll all find out! ...... Ding Dong!
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