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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.

and two random pics that found their way in (out of order) this one is sad to share, as Oakwood just announced it's shutting down. . but here's on the bobsled slide at Oakwood and I THINK this might be the Wave at Drayton Manor? anyone know for sure?

Day 7. . . checking into Alton Towers resort (for 3 night stay!) and ERT in the waterpark this evening. apologies for the long delay (travels, illness, and injuries contributed), but trying to get back on track! upon leaving Drayton Manor, we drove the rest of the way to Alton Towers, and arrived in the evening for check in. We had missed the park for the day, but that was no problem as we had gotten tons of riding in at Drayton earlier. besides, Robb and Elissa had surprised us with an offer for after hours ERT / dinner at the indoor waterpark on site! so here's images from the hotel, the room I had, and the ERT at the Waterpark: after a drive, we pulled into the Alton Towers resort. . a view of the other resort (themed to the kiddie properties) that was across the way from us, but still closeby to the monorail station to get to the park. it's a large, and themed hotel. . tho the themes seemed to be a bit all over the place. still. . they were all in tho. lobby theming. . the restaurant downstairs (and bar) were themed too and the steampunk pirate ship that's in the center atrium also served as a stage for musical performers, and a magic show each night. the rooms heavily leaned into the "steampunk" / "Pirate" theming. . .except when they didn't and parts of it were "steampunk" / "Outer-space" still. . it was an incredibly lovely room. with a big, separated bunk-bed area that could sleep even more the bathroom is where it really went into outerspace but at least you had a robot buddy on the back of the door so one never has to poop alone changing into my swimwear, I headed back down to the lobby area, and snapped some pics as I made my way over to the other hotel - where the waterpark was located a giant chair? sure, I'll attempt a pic the fountain outside the main entrance to the hotel and a look at said main entrance I suppose the British folks knew who these carvings were of. . I had no idea, but thought they were rather cool. most of the walkway between the hotels was covered. . . tho as seen above, we did have to go outside to go to the connecting hotel. lots of oversized props. . . but I guess since this hotel is geared towards the kiddie stuff, it makes sense that things would be giant to the patrons. a peek down at the waterpark from the walk way. the waterpark is in the center of the hotel, and tho it was open for us, it had closed already to the public. so we were surrounded by folks looking out windows and wondering why there were people in the closed waterpark. it felt very "zoo-y". . .LOL the layout of the waterpark (and even tho it was pretty chilly outside, the outdoor stuff was open for us. I felt bad for the lifeguards that had to stand out in the cold, but they were pretty talkative, and fun and seemed to be enjoying our fun) Stacy and I are ready to have a splashing good time! it's not a large waterpark, but as noted, there are some outdoor things too. and what they have offers quite the fun variety. the food was delicious too. . . took way too much (as hadn't eaten much today). . but everything was great. heya Adam & Nick. Group photo, courtesy of Robb, before we got in the water! and this seems to be the aftermath of the giant dunk tank tipping on us. . somewhere I have that pic, but not finding it at the moment. I believe this hot tub was off the lazy river, and was called "Bubbly Wubbly". . so of course, had to soak in it. thanks Elissa for this pic. to be continued. . .

I can't be mad about that. You're not wrong.

I changed my oil, today.