PROST! - bert does Oktoberfest 2024 in Munich with TPR

[bert425]

Part 3:  Europa Park day 2 Continued:

with less of a crowd up here, as it wasn't opening time now, I was able to get closer to the Berlin Wall pieces and read the history of the display

and snap a couple more pics of Silver Star doing it's thing

although I didn't go out the main gate completely, I believe that's the Monorail station there on the left.

I absolutely adore this statue. . . 

Viewed from the front:

but if you look at it the other direction? 

I need to find a small model of this, as I'd love to have it.

headed back towards the gardens/restaurant, as we had to meet in about 20 minutes, I stumbled across this behind a "storefront" on the main street.

the Mack museum!

with all kinds of history of the park, awards they've won, patents, and design concepts for the park.

very, very interesting, and I was the only one in there!  (as I had been in the mask museum too)

as I was about to head out, I heard some commotion from outside.

so stepped out and was treated to:

the clock going off, and doing a presentation, that I hadn't even realized was an option here 

back inside for a couple more pics

then on my way back over to the restaurant

here's the full menu

 

I ended up having the "Baden" set menu, and it was all excellent (tho the service was kind of a mess.   (I think we confused them since we all ordered separately)

 

cream of pumpkin soup (so good)

pork shoulder and potatoes

and apple bread pudding with black forest cherries.

after our meal, I took a quick look around the rest of the restaurant, as it really was in theme as a Medieval home

after finishing up eating, it was getting pretty late in the day, and we decided to head back to the hotel to change for Traumatica - which happened starting at 7pm

since we hadn't yet taken the "big" monrail, we headed up to that station near Germany and hopped on to head back to Colosseo to change clothes for something warmer

pretty cool station.

 

map showing where the Monorail went from and to, that gives a good overview of just how large this park is.

changed and back into the park, this was outfit for Traumatica

the lady in Spain seemed to like it.

we had some skip the lines for Wodan from earlier in the day, so we had all decided to meet up at that entrance, but first I decided to climb this lookout tower section that overlooked the splash battle ride

really nice views from up here too. . . and even slightly higher than that other monorail we had ridden earlier in the day

even tho it had gotten cooler?  tonight, the splash battle WAS running, and had takers.

great view of Blue Fire from here too

and of course, Wodan.
 

and even lots of theming up here - on a lookout that wasn't gonna get many folks bothering to go up to.

I love this park.

met up and rode Wodan (it was fantastic as always, and yes, my headgear stayed on as it has a chin strap)

this is the skip the line entrance for virtual queue

and then we headed over to the main Wodan entrance, as we wanted to check out that free haunt they had over here

it was mainly just lots of smoke and a few scare actors. . but for a free house?  it was ok.

it wasn't quite time for Traumatica yet, so we decided to head over to the Arthur area to grab some single rider rides.

passing thru Fairy Tale land

stopping to use the restroom over here, I just about pissed myself laughing.

there was a gnome urinal in these toilets over here.

and yes, it actually "peed". . . 

hysterical.

using single rider is the way to go on Arthur, we were on it in moments.

and then started heading towards the direction of the Traumatica entrance.

we knew it was over near Croatia (by Voltron), so we went over that way.

and once it starts to get dark?  it comes quickly.

this was when we started walking.

and this is when we got to Voltron.

and the temps started to drop too.

I caught part of this "Animatronic" show, it was about Nikola Tesla.

 

 

to be concluded in part 4:  Traumatica !!!

[bert425]

Part 4:  Europa Park day 2 concluded:  Traumatica

 

so Traumatica is a separately ticketed event that is attached to the park, and in 2024 included parts of the park that allowed two coasters to operate (Pegasus and Matterhorn blitz) as well as the Kassandra's Kurse madhouse, that ran with a graphic horror overlay via VR goggles.   There was also a brand new VR ride in a tent that had lots of effects, love music and performances, a large bar area with food stands, and the marquee attractions are the 6 Haunts that are long, and detailed and the good ones are REALLY REALLY good.

oh. .and there's an added attraction where you can ask for a glow necklace, and that gives the scare actors permission for physical contact.    Yeah.

it blew USA haunts out of the water.

no pictures allowed in the houses, but I can say that my favorite was probably the Circus themed one where it climaxed in a giant big top with 8 entrances/exits that looked exactly the same but only one of them led out.  the rest of them either looped back into the center of the tent, or dead ended.  Meanwhile the ringmaster clown stood on a pedestal in the center, twirling around and yelling at you in German.   seriously, some folks were stuck in that house for a good 15-20 minutes trying to find their way out.

others had some great ideas - like the zombie attack one, where you were sent thru in groups of 4-6 with laser guns, and you had to shoot them so they don't attack you in the giant murder dome.   or an elevator that transports you thru the 13 levels of an office building that has descended to hell.

they were all decent, and honestly the only one I didn't care much for was "the Hill". . which was a very long, outdoors in the woods, scare maze with spirits , ghosts, and spooks.     it didn't' do much for me, but that could have been because it was all outside with a lot of uneven walking surfaces in the dark.

still. . .excellent event.  here are lots of pics from it to end our stay at Europa Park!

the whole site has a spooky and creepy atmosphere.  and the haunts are most all really impressive looking.

Tarot House was another favorite of mine (one the left) as was the theming in Cinema Macabre (off shot on the right, tho the queue line is there)

 

'

this is Wakala. . he's kinda the mascot of Traumatica, and I ended up buying quite a bit of merch with him on it.

the main stage, that hosted sideshow acts, as well as band performances thruout the event.

random ghouls all thruout the crowd, providing jumpscares, even if not in the houses.

Wakala wandering

Cinema Macabre obscured by smoke, as seen from the Tarot House queue

Silver Star behind the trees. . to give you an idea where we are in relation to the park

notice a glow necklace or two in the queue line. . means they are ok with being touched.

one of the Traumatica Event managers. . she was very very cool, and I enjoyed chatting with her and telling her how much I was enjoying the event

walking around with an active torch light.. that was shooting sparks everywhere.

no way in USA. . but VERY cool here.

Hans has made it to the Bar area

even tho outdoors?  very well done.

more TPR folks joined Hans!

Andrew goes "Rarrrrrrrgh"

Jon making the long walk into up the queue (we had quick queue thank goodness, on the left is the stand by line) for the outdoor haunt int he woods.

this one is so far up and out, you get a great view of Blue Fire from the Haunt.

that polka dot tent beneath us is that big top with the multiple ins/outs, as you can see from the fabric-ed off paths to confuse everyone.

TPR found Wakala!  

 

Grim's Funhouse was another really well done house. . with some great props inside.

not part of the event (at least not in 2024), but a great view of Voltron. .and one would go this way for the VR ride, and to access the rides that were available in the park

Jon enjoying spiraled potato at the Traumatica food court/bar area

lots of photo ops around here too.

it really is a fantastic event, and highly recommended

the temps were really starting to drop.. . so the crowds were starting to thin.

myself?  I headed to the merch tent and ended up spending way too much money, but I did get a Traumatica jean jacket that I wore the whole rest of the trip, and still wear pretty often.   so it was a great buy

 

but then it was time to monorail back to the hotel and pack up.   we were headed out tomorrow morning to continue the Oktoberfest trip.  eventual final destination?  Phantasialand.

[Doppel Looping]

Like deja vu all over again!

[teacherkim]

Making me miss Europa so much! One day I shall return to the raclette hut!! We were there with ACE in July 2024, got lots of ert and nice and warm for the water rides but I would dearly LOVE to go during the Halloween event. Even though we had 2 and a half days we didn't see everything and unfortunately the Ghost Castle was down for refurb while we were there; and I love those things.  Wodan and Arthur were my favorites, Blue Fire for Joel. I had a student one day while subbing that was reading a book from the Arthur and the Minimoys series so I told him about the ride and he gave me all the background and explained the story. 

We stayed at Colosseo too. Never ate at the dinner buffet but the breakfast buffet there was absolutely outstanding. I actually let Joel have the big bed and I slept in one of the bunks because he was too tall for them  I used the ladder steps as extra shelves, lol.

Does the Food Loop restaurant usually have reservations? When we were there in the summer it was just line up and wait for an open seat.

[bert425]

^ everything that was sit down seemed to need reservations (as I mentioned, we had to come back an hour later for seating in the Medieval Restaurant).    
 

Could just be time of year tho?

[prozach626]

Holy crap. Reading your TR's made me remember that Europa Park is on my bucket list. 

[Nrthwnd]

All those 'loop' sculptures in the display case ... those were awards? Interesting.

And ....any raclette during this visit to the park? Thought I'd inquire. 

[bert425]

3 hours ago, Nrthwnd said:

All those 'loop' sculptures in the display case ... those were awards? Interesting.

And ....any raclette during this visit to the park? Thought I'd inquire. 

yup. . look at Day 1. . . Raclette was day one.

[Nrthwnd]

^ I thought I had thoroughly checked your TRs on Europa. My oops. 

[bert425]

Day 9: Holiday Park (now, Plopsaland Deutschland)

 

this one ended up being a long, but fantastic day.

we got up in the morning at Europa Park and after breakfast met in the lobby to check out and hop on the bus.

before leaving tho, I made sure to get some daytime pics of Hotel Colosseo. . our amazing resort hotel.

 

after loading up the bus, and after a drive, we ended up in Haßloch Germany, home to what was called "Holiday Park" but has now been renamed as of mid 2025 "Plopsaland Deutschland"

so this was my last visit to "Holiday Park" ever. . it's a medium sized park, with some nice thrills, a lot of wasted space/closed attractions, and a killer top coaster in Expedition GeForce.   we were also there during the Halloween event, called "Halloween Fright Nights". . tho not certain if they are still doing that now that it's a Plopsa park.

there were certainly signs it was transitioning more towards a "tweens" park tho. . . as you'll see below in comments.

Front gates

 

Front Gates with TPR, pic courtesy of Robb.

loved the light fixture additions.   they were cutsey, but fit this front  area of the park.

I believe this is/was the park's mascot. . tho never saw him really anywhere other than near the front and by one ride at the back of the park.

 

this was the main reason for our stop tho. . the excellent Expedition GeForce - this amazing Intamin Mega coaster, with tons of airtime pops, and that fantastic curving first drop.

TPR on GeForce.    Hawk seems to imply it was a bit chilly this day.

Happy TPR train on Expedition GeForce

the Starflyer, which ran a so-so program in an area that was almost completely shut down/abandoned.   it LOOKED like they were getting ready to do some construction over here tho, so hopefully Plopsa has put some $$ into adding a bunch of stuff.

the other "big" ride at this park:  Skyscream     (a Premier Skyrocket).

i pass on riding, as I've been on several (including this one) before.  the queue is really well done tho, and they leaned into the Halloween Season for this area, as the queue already was in the realm of "spooky"

I rode this, tho I wasn't as good as getting the planes to flip as others on the TPR trip were.

but, yup, it's "Plane on Stick!"

the only other place I saw this mascot in the park.

This was back over by the Starflyer. .  not opening until this year (so yeah, they've been working on it for a while), but per RCDB, it's a Gerstlauer Family coaster with a booster lift, a chain lift, and a roll back. 

the flume that's over by the "animated" section that was a big "tweens" area already in the park.

it has a nice double dip drop. . tho doesn't get one super wet

TPR on the flume!  and they DIDN'T make us all cram into one log.

this was my face upon discovering that my *favorite* ride in the park, is no longer there.

oh, Expedition GeForce is my favorite coaster, but my favorite ride in Holiday Park was the Castle Frankenstein dark ride.   It was kinda / sorta Haunted Mansion, but done just different enough it wasn't a direct rip off.   even tho the ride system is the same.

last time I was here?  I rode this, easily, a dozen times.

this time ?    closed down.

and why?

 

they are turning it into a Smurfs ride !!

SMURFS !!!!

bahhhhhh!

oh well, I'd drown my sorrow in food, as our day included a meal voucher (along with skip the line passes).

not sure what the heck this was, but suitably freaky for the time of year.

 

lunch was pretty good tho. . I had the Schnitzel

and a ride on the Carousel will always cheer me up.

since I had last been here, a new section of the park had opened up near the front.   so we went to check it out.

and yeah, it seemed targeting children as well.. so signs were there that the park was gonna get a name change.

the scenery looked pretty tho

and the rides were all "tween type" rides.     mini drop tower, dumbo type ride, and a galloping horse type ride

 

tho instead of horses, one would ride Grasshoppers.

I thought it was adorable, but didn't want to try riding in case there was a weight limit.

the indoor section is still there, and looks pretty much the same - with the same family rides, including the classic wood carved roundabout, the kiddie roller coaster, and the fairy flight ride.

even Jon was willing to pose for a pic on the St. Bernard 

 

that's a WHOLE LOTTA SAUSAGE for a teeny tiny bun!

 

tho we had planned to leave after a few hours, the park offered us admittance to the Haunts if we wanted.  so a vote was taken, and tho we had been planning to get to Phantasialand earlier in the day, overwhelmingly we all voted to stay at Holiday Park for a few more hours.

which meant we got to hang out and drink coffee, and enjoy the Parade.

oh look..  there IS the Mascot!  so I was incorrect.   

tho Andrew doesn't look too impressed

hmm.  this parade has a lot of little kids in it (tried my best to take pics around them), but it's pretty spooky.

maybe this is gonna be really fun?   

Spoiler - it was!

I've always found the scariest thing about the Grimm Reaper to be his Nike's 

really cool parade. . and as the sun started to set, the park was getting ready for the monsters to come out, and to open up the houses.

 

this was the entrance to the first house we'd be going thru: Freak Circus

 

but much like Six Flags has "the Arrival". . .Holiday Park has a show, that brings out all the haunt actors for the houses.

TPR anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Monsters

Sponsored by a local radio station. . .    

the "show" was about what you'd expect, but I loved that they leave the stage and weave thru the audience as they head towards their houses

they have arrived

and Bob looks amused.

she was great!  and ended up in the "Disco Ball Room" of the first haunt.   so many flashing lights.

in the Freak Circus house, they send you thru in small groups.  (actually all the houses did that - groups of 6-8), and in one room the "ringmaster" yells to all get together and smile for a picture that they take, and then hand to you upon exiting.

for all the posing and direction the ringmaster gives you, the pictures are hysterically awful - blurry/out of focus - and they got worse as the groups went. 

 she even missed half the group.  hysterical!

snapping a pic of the drop tower that is a park icon as we passed by it.

(it's more of a "floating drop" than a sharp drop. . but it's ok, and it looks great)

yes. 

they have a "Titty Twister" house.  

and yes!  staffed by Vampires, including a door guy who says absolutely FILTHY things to people as they wait to go thru (a'la Cheech Marin in the movie"

what I found absolutely the most hysterical thing about this?  most of the scare actors - and the park guide who was walking us thru - had NO IDEA this was based on a movie!  they were just working off scripts and getting into character that way.    HAHAHAHAHA

and don't even ask about "Ms Mona". . . poor Jon.    no pics allowed inside the houses, but it's an experience we'll never forget (and I bet Jon won't either).

 

this is also brilliant - right next to Titty Twister.    This is an actual park restaurant.   They closed it down for the Halloween Season, and turned it into a cannibal restaurant house.
so you really ARE walking thru a restaurant.

lots of random scare actors hanging about outside the main houses. . but that was really the only areas.  if you weren't nearby a house, you were "safe"

 

the fourth "house" is an outdoor maze, that seemed to be themed to Rats mutated by toxic sludge, and out front in the queue were protestors arguing for rat's rights.   funny.
(not really "scary" tho)

a peek into the animated Norse land I mentioned earlier that has been the central area in the park (and is also at Plopsa). . with a Disc-o, a splash battle, the flume and a couple of other family rides.

 

of course, it was never a trip to Holiday Park if you didn't stop into the "pipi station" bathroom next to Expedition GeForce.

I really hope they kept this!

as we finished up with the last TPR group thru the outdoor house, we headed towards the front of the park.

as we passed between two "houses". . there was a scare zone here.   so some scare actors to interact with.

and crossing across the main square by the front entrance, they had turned off the fountains, and had a DJ on stage getting a dance party going.

a final shot as we headed to the parking lot to get on the bus.

and a pic from either Robb or Andy (since my camera lightened up the above, and theirs captures the beautiful sky)

and then back on the bus and continuing on to Phantasialand. . where we were staying at the Hotel Charles Lindbergh on property.

I don't think I took any pics of the room this time, as I have stayed in this hotel on prior trips.   

But snagged some areas I probably didn't get before.

like the steampunk registration desk:

and the park entrance to the hotel (yup, that's F.L.Y. track on the right.  it goes thru the hotel).

a sunset shot from the rooftop of the hotel, with F.L.Y. track underneath.

could be mine, but I suspect I have to thank Andy for this.

time for dinner (included with our hotel stay), the place looks really great at night.

hungry TPR ready to chow down.

and the food here is so dang good!

best part of staying in this hotel?   

the ride may shut down with the park, but the area (Rooksville) stays open for hotel guests to wander around in if they so please.

so able to get some wonderful pics.

and then it was off to bed.

tomorrow was the 1st of two full days at Phantasialand to end the trip