Divv3k Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 (edited) Seeing as it's nearly five years since the sheer awesomeness that was the 2008 TPR Europe trip I felt that a return to some of the best parks in Germany was in order. So I was able to round up a few Brit Crew cohorts to take a weekend and head out to the land of Bratwurst and beer... Our first park was Holiday Park. The park has changed hands since I last visited and it's now in the hands of the Plopsa group. Now this hasn't resulted in a great deal of changes that I could see but the work they've done on the entrance area of the park is great. It really looks nice and if they keep up with this level of theming as they maintain the park it's only gonna be a good thing. Of course, the reason that you visit Holiday Park is Expedition GeForce! It's awesome, but if you're reading this trip report you probably already know that. Rest assured however, it's STILL awesome! Alright, here we go... Oh dear lord, that's a lot of Ryanair! Oh dear lord, Dave's on the wrong side of the car! It's Holiday Park and doesn't it look nice? Here's our super fun group for this weekend! (I'm the one wearing the brown hat) Only one place to go first here - Expedition GeForce! Nathan and James are ready to ride the best steel coaster in world! Airtime... IN SPADES! It was a dull and grey day but Expedition GeForce makes everything better! The park added a new Wild Mouse since my last visit. This one is dear to my heart as it came from Scotland's (defunct) Loudoun Castle! Mike's not a fan of the Fahrt Coaster! He is however, a fan of the German beer! If you needed any further proof that it's Germany - here's my schnitzel! Newly engaged Russ and Stacey sure didn't waste any time! James says "Hi Erik!" Mike loves this park as he can go Wickie, Wickie Wild! Arcade highlight - Giant Connect 4! Mike gets 60 loser tokens! That's some quality tat! I was worried that the park's new owners might neuter the awesome dark ride... But I'm happy to report... Boobs are still on show far all at Holiday Park! We stumbled across this show in the park. Yes, that woman is hanging be her neck! Who's gonna be the unlucky sod who takes one for the team on the rapids? Unlucky, James! This isn't the only phallic looking object we saw in the park today! These weird pictures were all over the drop tower queue. They don't impress Mike much! Intamin drop towers impress us all though! (Including random Germans!) Another look at some of the awesome theming Plopsa have added to the entrance area. Dave's special. So special. Apparently James loves this kind of kinky stuff! OH NO! SUPER WIRBEL IS CLOSED FOR THE DAY! From the park's Star Flyer you can get a great view of the park's stunt show - The Hollywood Spectacular! Dave! You're making everyone in the park horny with poses like that! How about some more Expedition GeForce? Okay! OMG, OMG! Transfer track porn! Now that's hot! The best first drop on any coaster anywhere? Quite possibly! Thanks for still being awesome, Expedition GeForce! On our way out we stopped into the Holiday Park Museum where you can take a look at maps and stuff from the park's past... ...and gems like this! Indoor group photo so I don't have to lie on wet ground! So that was a pretty great visit to a very quiet Holiday Park! Expedition GeForce absolutely deserves it's spot at the top of the coaster rankings! Next: Drinking around the hotels of the Europa Park Resort! Edited May 9, 2013 by Divv3k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 Great tour, Divv and everybody. I miss EGF and the park. And that star flyer was my first one ever, back in 2008! And you all have waaaay too much fun over there, hmmm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 I'm sure Larry will be very sad that Super Wirbel was closed. He does so like walking across the train and exiting while other poor suckers ride it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecoasterkid Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Ahhh, the Brit Crew trip report! It's times like this that I wish I lived on the other side of the "pond" and could easily partake in these weekends. Glad to see you all had a good time! GeForce looks awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 I'm sure Larry will be very sad that Super Wirbel was closed. He does so like walking across the train and exiting while other poor suckers ride it. I had to go to the bathroom. Oh, and I already had the credit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisco Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Nice start to the report. Makes me want to go back to Germany soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobra_roll06 Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Gutted I couldn't make this. I'll get my GeForce credit eventually! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoCo Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 Not that it really matters, but I'd love to know the context for this little scene. Like, is she supposed to be a nun or something? (Kind of hoping she is.) Anyway, between this dark ride and EGF, I'm way overdue to visit Holiday Park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Divv3k Posted April 29, 2013 Author Share Posted April 29, 2013 ^ I could never work it out! Though to be fair, you don't really need to ask questions of such things - just appreciate that they exist! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 ^ Randomness, and boobs, is a good thing most times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedimaster1227 Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Great to see the Brit Crew still in action! Haven't seen James since the East Coast trip when he suffered through the Toboggan at Lakemont Park! Thank you guys for letting me live vicariously through your European and UK adventures... Still have no idea when I'll be able to get back out there to experience the parks for myself, so this helps take the sting out of that wait! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 We anxiously await part 2. Brit Crew TRs are always great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Divv3k Posted April 30, 2013 Author Share Posted April 30, 2013 (edited) Since we were visiting Europa Park there was no way we could go and NOT stay at the amazing Hotel Colosseo at the resort. I stayed here in 2008 and fell in love with the place. Absolutely one of my favourite hotels in the world. And of course with this being a Brit Crew weekend it would be remiss of me not to include photos of our night out drinking! Our original plans involved just having a few quiet drinks in the hotel bar. But then we decided that it would be worth checking out the Bell Rock hotel which had opened since my last visit here. On the walk to this hotel I had the amazing/terrible idea that we might want to try drinking in every hotel in the resort this evening It's worth saying that ALL the hotels at Europa Park are awesome, and here's why... Hooray! After almost five years I'm back at the incredible Hotel Colosseo! Woohoo! We're at Hotel Colosseo! Just to give you an idea of how awesome the rooms at this hotel are. Just to give you an idea of how awesome a visit to this hotel these guys had. Mirror porn! Time to go out exploring the Europa Park resort! Our first stop is the new Hotel Bell Rock! First bar of the evening! Mike does his best to blend in with the locals. Here's an idea - why don't we try and drink in every hotel in the resort? The lighthouse tower at Bell Rock contains some very fancy looking suites. Dave's gonna book us into there next time. Hotel Bell Rock has a fancy fountain/fire show. Just like World of Color! Next up - Hotel El Andaluz and Hotel Castillo Alcazar (They share an entrance) For Hotel Alcazar we took the lift up to Bar Buena Vista Club! Gimme some booze! Great view from up in this bar! Two hotels down, three to go! Hotel Castillo Alcazar has some awesome theming in the hallways! Here's the booze selection at Hotel El Andaluz! But it's a Piña colada or nothing for Mike. I LOVE that Europa Park are still using these messed up glasses! Three hotels down, two to go! Mike added a little Mexican to his life in El Andaluz. If only we'd restricted it to ONE drink in each hotel! Our fourth hotel is Hotel Santa Isabel. Right away we could tell that finding booze here might be a problem... No booze down here. No booze in here either... We couldn't find any booze up the stairs. But we did find this awesome tiger picture. No booze in our chairs. Not even any booze behind this ancient bookcase! We were about to admit defeat in our endeavour to drink in every hotel. And then we found this monk! The monk hooked us up with a bottle of wine that we drank in the lobby! (Seriously!) Four hotels out of five! James has been very bad this evening. Last hotel! We KNOW we can booze here! Credits! The upstairs bar in Colosseo was bouncing! The tiny toilet is still, well... tiny. Mike likes his beer with extra candle. Apparently this is how you drink beer in the Midlands. Confession couldn't keep these guys out of jail! Mike, Mike, Mike. We finish our night of boozing out in the viewing area of Hotel Colosseo! Don't tell Mike we're getting up at 7am. WE DID IT! We drank in all five hotels at Europa Park! Ain't we awesome? We certainly didn't feel awesome the next morning! But still, this was one really fun night at the Europa Park Resort and really opened my eyes to the quality of ALL the hotels on the property! Europa Park is up next! Edited April 16, 2014 by Divv3k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper39 Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Awesome report, I had no idea that place had so many hotels. Europa is probably #1 on my park bucket list, it looks amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I assume the wackiness of the Hotel Colesseo bar makes it the best of the bars or am I mistaken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Europa . . . how I miss that place. The Colosseo is, indeed, an excellent hotel, and I'd love to try the others some day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fudgey Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 This was a great trip, seriously! All of the hotels are stunning in their own way. It had been about 6 years since I had last been here and I totally wondered why I hadn't been back sooner. A thoroughly enjoyable evening, with some very strange moments. Much fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Divv3k Posted May 3, 2013 Author Share Posted May 3, 2013 Thanks for the comments, everyone! It truly was a crazy night! I assume the wackiness of the Hotel Colesseo bar makes it the best of the bars or am I mistaken. Yeah, I would say Colosseo is the best bar, well at least for weirdness and wackiness. I really liked the main bar at Hotel Bell Rock too. Really nice atmosphere and loads of model planes hanging from the ceiling. I think if I was to stay at any other hotel on the resort I'd want to try Bell Rock first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPDave Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Looks like you guys had a great time, so jealous I couldn't be there!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobra_roll06 Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 ^Just means they'll have to go back so we can go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Yay for drinking trip reports! I assume that being in Germany, the draft beer selection was out of this world at these resorts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Divv3k Posted May 9, 2013 Author Share Posted May 9, 2013 To finish our weekend away we of course spent the day at Europa Park! Having not been since 2008 there were quite a few new things here for me to do, such as Wodan and Blue Fire. I was really impressed with them both. Not only the rides but the theming around them (Wodan’s queue is brilliant). But it’s not just those two – the whole park is just incredible. The park absolutely cemented its place as my favourite park in Europe. I just can’t believe I left it so long between visits! I won’t leave it so long next time! Here’s some photos... A bright and early start for Hotel guest early admission at Europa Park! Mike's putting on a brave face. He really feels like death at this point. Nothing like some Blue Fire to wake you up in the morning! Mack prove with this that can do launch coasters as good as anyone. The ride has a bit of a "Maverick" feel at some points. Of course Blue Fire isn't the only thing around here that's new... It's Wodan! Wodan has one of the best queues I've seen since Dueling Dragons. Seriously, just awesome. I think everyone is starting to wake up now... Being a GCI fan, I really liked this! To Asgard! And for the people who were too hungover to take a shower... Here you go! Look at this photo. Remind yourself of the theme tune. Keep thinking about it. Think about it some more. There! The song is stuck in your head for the rest of the day! Now go dance around like these two! Hi Euro-Mir, it's me! Europa Park may be known for it's awesome coasters and theming but for Dave it's all about the lamppost dark ride! Seriously, he BEGGED us to ride this! Another shot from inside the Lamp Post Ride just for Dave. The Bobsled is always a test of how comfortable your friendship with your travel companions actually is. Oh yeah, they have a B&M hyper here too! In a park with some great rides like Wodan and Blue Fire it's easy to forget Silver Star exists! But still, whilst not the park's stand out attraction, Silver Star is absolutely worth a ride! Who wants to see some lesbian dinosaurs? The lesbian dinosaur energy in this ride is palpable. Moo. Normally I'm not a fan of a wild mouse but I LOVE Europa Park's! Mike is feeling the mid-day lull. I wish Europa would make an effort at theming their trains. "Everyone stand under the horse's arse so I can get a photo!" Not content with just one splash boat ride, Europa Park has two! As well as a pretty lengthy "coaster" section, Poseidon has a good splash down section too. It's just a shame the water guns here weren't working when I took this! This is what you call the Europa Park "Money Shot", all the rides are in action. Just a shame about the clouds! Eat this, Tangled Toilets! Just in case you needed a reminder at how incredibly themed this place is! Raclette for lunch! Yum! Dave went for all the fixings with his. Pretzel donut! Continuing the food theme, some of us tried out the French bakers and found Milka cupcakes! Sadly, we did not try this guy's pizza. Stop horsing around, Russ. Mike made a balls up of the bumper cars. I love Europa's absolutely shameless Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion rip offs. They're pretty good! Welcome to Russland. Home of all things tall. See?! Yay, Scandi! Uh oh! Danger shot! Soak it up, Russ! If you don't get wet on the rapids then the bridge at the ride's exit will get the job done! It's a powered coaster. Mike insisted we ride. Missed out on the awesome coaster/log flume combo shot again... There was only one place we wanted to finish our Germany trip... Wodan! It was running even better later in the day. Not the best GCI out there by any means but it's still really good and I'm in awe of how well the park operate it! It's Brit Crew European weekends go, this one was an uncharacteristic raging success! We clearly need to come back to Germany more often! And that's it from our German adventure. It was a great weekend. We really need to do weekends in Germany more often - Europa Park really is one of the best parks int he world. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 It's a good thing I'm already eating some cheese for lunch right now or your Raclette pictures would have made me cry!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 The Europa pictures are enough to make me cry--need to get back to that place! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oriolat Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 Excellent review! I was at Europa Park in Easter and the park was just in top-notch condition. Even though it was freezing cold, the park did all they could to get coasters running as soon as temperature rose, and when the major coasters were closed the rest of the coasters were running at top capacity. I also agree that Bluefire is a superb launch coaster but Wodan was a bit of a letdown. Don't get me wrong, it's great but as a GCI fan I was expecting something like Troy but it wasn't as wild, although I must admit that the queueline and the 3-train non-stacking operations made up for the lack of forces. The "Moo" picture made me laugh, but the one with the raclette made me drool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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