Europa Park Discussion Thread

[rcjp]

Out of interest, why would you hope for this?

When I am flying across the world to visit a park and I have a limited amount of time, I want to spend that time RIDING not standing in line watching other people ride.

 

The lines move fast, yes, but I've stood in plenty of "fast moving hour long lines" and Europa and as much as I love the park, I would have a much better visit if I didn't waste so much time standing in lines.

 

It doesn't have to be a "paid" service. Disney has done just fine with their system being free and fair for over a decade now...

 

When I visited the park last October I was surprised it didn't have such service and I did miss it as I was only able to get 1 ride on each of the main attractions.

I didn't really use to agree with the philosophy but now when I spend a considerable amount of money to visit a park I want to get the most out of it and I'll pay a little more for that with no problem. I also agree that while the lines moved fast I still waited for a considerable time for many coasters.

[robbalvey]

Out of interest, why would you hope for this?

When I am flying across the world to visit a park and I have a limited amount of time, I want to spend that time RIDING not standing in line watching other people ride.

 

The lines move fast, yes, but I've stood in plenty of "fast moving hour long lines" and Europa and as much as I love the park, I would have a much better visit if I didn't waste so much time standing in lines.

 

It doesn't have to be a "paid" service. Disney has done just fine with their system being free and fair for over a decade now...

 

When I visited the park last October I was surprised it didn't have such service and I did miss it as I was only able to get 1 ride on each of the main attractions.

I didn't really use to agree with the philosophy but now when I spend a considerable amount of money to visit a park I want to get the most out of it and I'll pay a little more for that with no problem. I also agree that while the lines moved fast I still waited for a considerable time for many coasters.

 

100% agreed.

 

Oh, and this right here is bullshit...

 

It goes completely against the philosophy of the park and the Mack family, Paid fastrack would have an impact on the main queue lines, on busy days they need as many people in queue lines as possible as the park would not be able to cope with more people on the narrow pathways and in the restaurants/shops.

 

So wait, with that logic you mean to tell me that almost every single park IN THE WORLD has been able to figure out how to make a fast pass system work in their park, but Europa Park, which IMO is one of the most intelligent well run operations isn't smart enough to figure that out?

 

Yeah, sorry, none of what you just said makes any sense. I just assume that eventually you will see such a system in place and it will probably be one of the best "skip the line" systems of any park out there, because that's how Europa does things.

Edited April 24, 2018 by robbalvey

[SharkTums]

^I know that the Mack family has personally told us they don't like the idea of Skip the Line systems *IF* they impact the normal guest experience. Cedar Fair parks used to say the same thing. Slowly the parks realize they can make a ton of money and not horribly impact the normal guests if they install the system correctly. Win for everyone!

[ElvisLuv]

I'm trying to decide when to pencil in Europa (Phantasialand and Efteling as well) for 2019. I booked a cruise for June 8th to 14th. It leaves from Barcelona and we will do Port Aventura before it. But... I can get over the pond earlier, like the middle of the last week of May. How would the crowds be mid week in late May or early June and mid June. When do the school let out over there, I suppose that's the key. Hoping to book a room and the new waterpark resort so when they go online to book, i need to be good to go on dates.

[KarlaKoaster]

Europa Park is always pretty busy, but you can check school holidays on this website here: https://www.schoolholidayseurope.eu

 

Remember to check not only Germany, but also surrounding countries like France and Switzerland as it is close to the border. I should think May will be OK, though, I think most schools in Europe break up late June.

 

Regarding the waterpark hotel, it looks brilliant but I feel I should mention that it isn't actually right next to the park like the existing hotels and you have to get a short shuttle bus. One of my favourite things about the existing resort hotels is that they're right next to each other and right next to the resort. It's really nice to be able to come and go as you please, wander around the hotels at night, go to different bars, restaurants. Obviously it's not impossible at the new hotel, but it just makes things a bit more awkward. I would personally stay at either Colosseo or Bell Rock, and do one evening at the new waterpark resort.

[Norwegian coasterfan]

^^ I went to Europa Park last year from 3-6 of July and the longest line peaked at about 40 minutes for Voletarium, so early June you should be fine

[rob_92]

Oh, and this right here is bullshit...

 

It goes completely against the philosophy of the park and the Mack family, Paid fastrack would have an impact on the main queue lines, on busy days they need as many people in queue lines as possible as the park would not be able to cope with more people on the narrow pathways and in the restaurants/shops.

 

So wait, with that logic you mean to tell me that almost every single park IN THE WORLD has been able to figure out how to make a fast pass system work in their park, but Europa Park, which IMO is one of the most intelligent well run operations isn't smart enough to figure that out?

 

Yeah, sorry, none of what you just said makes any sense. I just assume that eventually you will see such a system in place and it will probably be one of the best "skip the line" systems of any park out there, because that's how Europa does things.

 

But Europa-Park is not like almost every other theme park in the world! I know that it might not seem logical on the face of it however it is the position of the park at present (of course it could change over the coming years). This is what park management told us during a Q&A over the 16/17 winter season, and they told us the same thing this last winter season:

 

Projekt V has timed tickets. Is fastrack something to be introduced across the park?

There are indeed timed tickets on Projekt V. There will be only one per person, per day. Not like the Disney ticket system. It is not a tool to bring people out of normal queuelines but designed to bring people back in the quieter times. The ride will open early - 8:15/8:30am on busier days. And 9am on quieter days. We wont have any timed ticket returns at the start and end of the day when it is busier, so the main queue moves much quicker. Most of our guests don't know it's quiet at the front of park in the middle of the day. However, to give people a clue, we have introduced queue time boards around the park to help crowd control. We will constantly evaluate these tickets on Projekt V. We do not plan to roll these out to other rides. We cannot do it Disney style as the park will burst - we need people to be in queue lines as our footpaths would not cope otherwise on busy days!

 

I agree that it can be frustrating if you are travelling a long way to visit at peak times, and want to fit it as many rides as possible. The one thing I can see them possibly implementing in the future is a very limited premium queue skip ticket at a high price, in a similar manner to the new premium reserved parking area that they have. Say only 100 or so of these available each day, meaning that their impact will not be noticed by anyone else.

 

I'm trying to decide when to pencil in Europa (Phantasialand and Efteling as well) for 2019. I booked a cruise for June 8th to 14th. It leaves from Barcelona and we will do Port Aventura before it. But... I can get over the pond earlier, like the middle of the last week of May. How would the crowds be mid week in late May or early June and mid June. When do the school let out over there, I suppose that's the key. Hoping to book a room and the new waterpark resort so when they go online to book, i need to be good to go on dates.

 

Weekdays in June are normally a very good time to visit. The park tends to be relatively quiet yet the weather tends to be great!

[ElvisLuv]

Thanks for the input all.

 

We have about a month in Europe and Europa, Phantasial and Efteling are on the must do list. I would like to get in Alton Towers, Puy du Fou, Toverland and others if just briefly in passing then for the greatest hits like Gee Force as it's so close to Europa.

[funtime_arena]

Watch here a onride-video of the new Ride "Jim Knopf - Eine Reise durch Lummerland" at Europa-Park

 

[youtu_be]

[/youtu_be]

[JooordiW]

Breaking:

 

 

Big fire in Europa-park, the pirates in batavia seem to burn completely.

 

''Liebe Besucher, derzeit gibt es einen Brand bei der Attraktion 'Die Piraten von Batavia'. Bitte meiden Sie den Skandinavischen Themenbereich. Wir informieren Sie in Kürze hier wieder. Danke!''

[A.T.I]

Not good...

[boldikus]

Well, that ain't good.

[KarlaKoaster]

Oh no, how sad. I hope everybody got out safely, it can't be an easy ride to evacuate.

 

Edit: Europa Park have tweeted to say that as far as they are aware there are no injuries

[RyanTPM]

^This looks very bad, so thats good news that no one has been hurt!

[MagicMountainMan]

That's good that there were no injuries. That's got to be a silver lining in all of this.

 

I wish the best for the whole team at Europa Park. The park is truly a gem and I hope that they are all able to quickly bounce back and keep delivering thrills and fun for all of their guests.

[X2coasterfreak]

Michael Mack tweeted Batavia and Norway are completely lost. Thankfully there are still no reported injuries. What a day for this park...

 

Edited May 26, 2018 by X2coasterfreak

[JooordiW]

Just terrible..

 

 

 

[JordyC]

Howly sh*t! What a very sad day for Europa.. Glad everyone is safe!

[KICoasterkev]

Sad to see this happen to Europa Park. Good to hear nobody's hurt.

Edited May 26, 2018 by KICoasterkev

[RCT3Bross]

Holy Hell. I never expected to see these types of pictures from Europa Park. I'm aware it can happen anywhere anytime, But Europa Park just isn't a park where you expect it. Glad to hear nobody is hurt but what a loss. To think I was there 2 weeks ago and rode Pirates as the first ride of the day just leaves me silent.

[B&MIntaminGCI]

Wow, this is terrible. Thankfully everyone is safe.

[robbalvey]

So just to give everyone an idea, here is the park map:

It is the "Netherlands" and "Scandinavia" section that has been lost according to Michael Mack in his Tweet above.

 

And here is the list of rides in each of those areas:

It would seem from the photos that the Pirates attraction was a total loss, but it's hard to tell what other attractions may have also been completely lost. I have not yet heard any other confirmed details.

[thrillseeker4552]

Wow. I’m not really sure what to say that hasn’t already been said. I’m not too familiar with Europa Park, so I’m going to be honest, I had no idea what these rides were or what the areas were like. But since it’s Europa Park I imagine they were incredible. What a loss. Sad say indeed.

[SharkTums]

Not the poffertjes!!!!!!

[Hermanus]

I think it will be tomorrow afternoon before the first real confirmation comes. So far I've heard that firemen from more than an hour away have been called to the park, its huge. If my memory serves me right the Norwegian Village is gone. This is a huge loss for Europa Park, I really hope that the damage will not increase further.

Edited May 26, 2018 by Hermanus