My first Europe trip

[therooboy]

I am going to Europe for the first time later this year.

I want to see the sights but i also cannot miss the best coasters & parks Europe has on offer. I have checked out all the usual sites and used this sites trips as a stater guide, like i did with Japan.

I will be in Europe 6 weeks.

UK,France, Netherlands, Germany, Spain & Italy.

Here is my park list is

Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Adventure Island, Disneyland & Studio, Parc Asterix, Phantasialand, Europa Park, Holiday Park, Heide Park, Wildund Freitzietpark Klotten, Port Aventura, Parque de Atracciones de Madrid, Parque Warner Madrid, Bobbejaanland, Walibi World, Drievliet, Toverland & Efteling.

I want to know if i am missing any park or roller coaster the devoted from this site think i should not miss.

I have been to most of the major parks in the US & Japan & love Intamin & B&M, but are also looking forward to new experiences from Maurer Sohne & Gertlauer as well as the new "woodies" like Troy.

Have i got the majors covered. I had alot more UK parks i cut for sightseeing like Oakwood, Blackpool & Drayton Manor.

Also is there any annual passes that cover multple parks in Europe besides the Merlin one in the UK?

[Groteslurf]

Are you going to do all that by car ? Then you probably pass Brussels on your way and Walibi Belgium is only 20 kms fm Brussels.

Tripsdrill will open a new woodie this year, so as this park is near Europapark & Holidaypark, I would fit that park in.

Moviepark Germany is not that far from Toverland and Phantasialand either.

You mentioned you are going to Italy aswell but I don't see any Italian parks on your list.

I would not cut Bpb. That's together with AT my favorite park in the UK.

[therooboy]

Was thinking of doing Tripsdrill &/or Walibi Belgium if we have extra time.

But they're not definites. Same with Blackpool

I took Blackpool off the list as it seems to have basic themeing & no unique rides, even though it has 12 coasters, almost sinful.

Are the woodies there worth the day trip. I only see their woodies as being worth the visit, looking at the coaster/ride range.

Only 4 days in Italy so we are giving the parks there a miss.

Mostly all by car, some trains & will plane it to Spain & Italy i think.

[Team Thriller]

If you cannot make it to all those. here is all the MUST european parks.

 

-Europa Park

-Holiday park

-Toverland

-Phantasia Land

-Alton Towers

-Port Adventure

-Walibi World

 

There might be a few more I missing But these are the ones that come to mind.

 

--james

[Groteslurf]

Was thinking of doing Tripsdrill &/or Walibi Belgium if we have extra time.

But they're not definites. Same with Blackpool

I took Blackpool off the list as it seems to have basic themeing & no unique rides, even though it has 12 coasters, almost sinful.

Are the woodies there worth the day trip. I only see their woodies as being worth the visit, looking at the coaster/ride range.

Only 4 days in Italy so we are giving the parks there a miss.

Mostly all by car, some trains & will plane it to Spain & Italy i think.

 

Bpb definitely IS unique : there is the best wild mouse I've been on so far, Steeplechase is unique in the world as far as I know, Avalanche is a pretty wild bob sled, Irn-Bru Revolution looks weird but is a fun ride with airtime, Pepsi Max may not be a thrilling coaster but the view from the train on the Irish sea is magnificent, Grand National is my favorite woodie in Europe, Rollercoaster was very special without the lapbars but still is a fun ride, ...

There is also Valhalla : apart from getting completely soaked, it is the best themed waterride I know.

And there are tons of nostalgique darkrides, thrillrides, etc.

 

It would be a shame to miss BPB (fyi, I don't have shares or something in BPB )

[SharkTums]

I think it would be a shame to miss Blackpool. Most of your other stuff is covered. If you're a big B&M fan, you should at least make a quick stop into Mirabilandia for Katun. You could be out of there quite quickly and get a great B&M Invert credit.

[Groteslurf]

Also is there any annual passes that cover multple parks in Europe besides the Merlin one in the UK?

 

I did some research for you.

 

The Efteling seasonpass (link )gives you besides entrance to the Efteling, 1 free entrance to each of the following parks : Europapark, Parc Asterix & Port Aventura.

The seasonpass is however quite expensive (euro 135) so you will not save that much.

The info is not available in English for some reason on the Efteling website.

 

For the parks you're planning to visit, I don't see much other seasonpass options I'm afraid.

[Carnage]

I took Blackpool off the list as it seems to have basic themeing & no unique rides, even though it has 12 coasters, almost sinful.

 

At first glance Blackpool has basic theming. But it does have a unique charm to the park. It also has quite a few interesting dark rides.

 

BPB and Alton were the two parks on the UK trip that I thought were real stand out parks. It'd be a shame to miss BPB. I think it's definetly worth a stop.

[therooboy]

Thanks guys, i have added Blackpool back onto my definites list.

Thanks for the info & link for the Efteling passes Groteslurf, greatly appreciate that find.

We have limited time in Italy, so Katun is ,unfortunately for me, extremely unlikely, but i can never say never when Intamin or B&M are involved.

One other thing i have been meaning to ask, do any of these parks operate with no or very little English at all, like Fuji Queue & Yomiuriland in Japan. Should i go by the parks websites language.

[larrygator]

Also only a 10 minute walk from BPB is South Pier (where you pay by the ride) which has an insanely great "Waltzer" and very good BreakDance.

[Edward]

You could also try for the north (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, etc), but all depends. The only things I can think of is Liseberg Gothenburg Sweden (Intamin woody, Intamin AG), Tivoli Gardens Copenhagen Denmark (scenic railway, Bolliger & Mabillard floorless), and... Actually, that's all. Though I do remember some film of a woody in Finland, or the north of Norway. Meh, up to you.

[therooboy]

I'd love to go to Sweden & visit Liseberg but we really can't add any more countries. Balder & Kanonen ....aah another time.

[Groteslurf]

One other thing i have been meaning to ask, do any of these parks operate with no or very little English at all, like Fuji Queue & Yomiuriland in Japan. Should i go by the parks websites language.

I think nearly all (if not all) parks your going to visit have an English version of their website.

In the parks you should be fine with English. Only in Spain (and Italy) it may be problem to communicate in English with some of the ops. But you will certainly find somebody able to talk English.

[therooboy]

thanks mate

I've checked your coaster count.

You've been to all the places i'm going ,i think,

& yes it was the Spanish sites that got me thinking about the language barrier, it'll be no sweat, just wanted a heads up.

Can i ask you what are your favorite dark rides, attractions at these parks or anything i might miss that is hidden inside a building or a favorite sight that is often underrated.

Some of the things i've been looking up besides coasters look brilliant.

[Groteslurf]

thanks mate

I've checked your coaster count.

You've been to all the places i'm going ,i think,

& yes it was the Spanish sites that got me thinking about the language barrier, it'll be no sweat, just wanted a heads up.

Can i ask you what are your favorite dark rides, attractions at these parks or anything i might miss that is hidden inside a building or a favorite sight that is often underrated.

Some of the things i've been looking up besides coasters look brilliant.

No problem :

Alton Towers : Hex (madhouse)

Disneyland : Potc, Star Tours, Buzz, Phantom Manor, ...

& Studio : ToT, Armageddon, Studio Tram Tour

Parc Asterix : Transdemonium ,

Phantasialand : Mistery Castle, Winja's (rollercoasters)

Port Aventura : Templo del Fuego

Bobbejaanland : Revolution (rollercoaster)

Efteling : Vogel Rok (rollercoaster) , Vliegende Hollander (partly rollercoaster) , Droomvlucht, Diorama, Fata Morgana, Spookslot, Villa Volta & Pandadroom

BPB : Valhalla + tons of old but magnificent darkrides.

[therooboy]

thanks alot mate

quite a few of those especially at Efteling i hadnt heard about before.

[larrygator]

Parque d'Attraciones Madrid has a couple of things you might overlook.

 

A love it or hate it shooting ride called Desperado.

 

Cava de Tarantula (or something like that) is another fun shooting dark ride underneath Tarantula.

 

There is also a walk through fun house on a river boat.

 

There is also an upcharge walk thru haunted house with actors, but it has limited hours.

 

Holiday Park has a fun dark ride, it think it is called Castle Falkenburg

[Dark Vampire]

Don't forget to do Indiana River in Bobbejaanland too, it is a indoor log flume. Themed in jungle style.

http://www.rides.nl/attractie/fotos/indiana-river#854

[Bucket]

I suggest you start in Southern Germany for Europa Park and Holiday Park. As Europa Park and Holiday Park are in the same state and are not too far from one another (perhaps a 2 or three hour drive?), you could easily see these two theme parks within the matter of two days but I would spend at least a full day at Europa Park. There is so much to do there and you wouldn't want to rush! Phantasialand is in North Rhine-Westphalia in the north and is actually quite far. Perhaps you should take a flight from Stuttgart to Duesseldorf or Koeln. And also, Heide-Park is not close by either. It is actually near Hamburg I think. It is possible to visit all these parks of course, but I think it will be very expensive because of the location of some of the parks. I think you should narrow down a few parks that you REALLY want to visit, and just stick to those. Best of luck!!

[Groteslurf]

I suggest you start in Southern Germany for Europa Park and Holiday Park. As Europa Park and Holiday Park are in the same state and are not too far from one another (perhaps a 2 or three hour drive?), you could easily see these two theme parks within the matter of two days but I would spend at least a full day at Europa Park. There is so much to do there and you wouldn't want to rush! Phantasialand is in North Rhine-Westphalia in the north and is actually quite far. Perhaps you should take a flight from Stuttgart to Duesseldorf or Koeln. And also, Heide-Park is not close by either. It is actually near Hamburg I think. It is possible to visit all these parks of course, but I think it will be very expensive because of the location of some of the parks. I think you should narrow down a few parks that you REALLY want to visit, and just stick to those. Best of luck!!

 

If I remember well the distance between Europapark and Holidaypark is about 150 km so on German highways about 1 hour to max 1.5 hour. The distance between Holidaypark and Phantasialand is about 250 km. No offense, but taking a plane will take MUCH longer than by car.

[therooboy]

thanks guys

We'll be driving for all bar Spain and maybe England and i have my times worked out for all that.

I am contemplating adding Tripsdrill back on due to hearing Mammut is another prefab woodie.

But i need to diss a park. I'm thinking either Parc Asterix or Drievliet.

Is Parc Asterixes woodie that good?

Which of the 3?

[SharkTums]

If you have to cut out one of those three, cut Drievliet. Unless you prefer steel to wood, and then cut Tripsdrill. Asterix is actually a really nice park with some good coasters and attractions.

[therooboy]

got another question....

my partner is on the heavy side and is worried he may not fit on some of the rides.

He's fitted on all so far, but TTD & MF were close calls,

& what ive read here the tightest seats.

He has put on a small ammount of weight since then, which he is gyming out.

So while he works on that, i want to find out if the Europe coasters have pretty much the same seats as their US counterparts.

ie if he fits in a B&M USA will he fit B&M Europe in theory?

And is is true all other Intamins have the slighty larger seats [ala Superman Great Escape Qld Australia] rather than the afor mentioned intamins.

He is worried he will miss big intamins like Expedition Gforce & Goliath.

Would greatly appreciate a response to this

4 1/2 months to go woohoo.