Europa Park Discussion Thread

^ Huh, interesting. I worked for RWS back in 2011 but they were only working with low to mid-tier American properties. When my contract was up with them they began to break into the cruise ship entertainment industry. To see they're now working with world-class level properties is great!

I wonder if I can schmooze my way back in.

There's a new clip showing off some of the inner area of Rulantica:

[youtu_be]

A first video of the Pre-Opening of Rulantica - Europa Parks new Waterpark which will officially open on November 28 - appeared on Youtube. Looks pretty nice so far... https://youtu.be/DJeWJFI2l0Q

Well be in the park on saturday and in Rulantica on sunday - if someone is around, let us know!

Here's our trip report from our recent visit to Europa Park: https://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1930755#p1930755

Europa-Park reopening 29th May 2020

- Hotel restaurants reopening outdoor areas from 18th May

- Hotel restaurants indoor areas open from 25th May

- Park, Hotel Accomodation and Camp Resort reopen from 29th May

- You must pre-book tickets for specific days - available from 13th May

- Shows, cinema and Rulantica will remain closed for the time being

- Masks must be worn in queues, indoors and on rides

- Digital technology, including a new 'Distance Radar' app introduced to manage queues and social distancing

The six themed hotels, the Camp Resort as well as Europa-Park Camping will also be welcoming you from 29.05.2020.

The hotel restaurants will be re-open step-by-step from 18.05.2020, beginning with the outside areas only. Only the water world Rulantica will remain closed until further notice.

 

We welcome the national easing of Coronavirus related restrictions announced by the Baden-Württemberg government on 6th May 2020 and have been intensively preparing for a re-opening of Europa-Park, our accommodation offering and the gastronomy, in close cooperation with the authorities.

 

Health and safety of our guests and employees have always been our highest priority. It is our goal that you continue to feel safe and comfortable when visiting us. We have therefore decided to start the season with a limited number of visitors from 29.05.2020. We will be offering date-specifiy tickets for the 2020 summer season from 13.05.2020 via our online ticket shop. Our park area is large and spacious which means there is enough space for all visitors and employees to keep the mandatory minimum distance.

 

We kindly ask you, dear guests, to observe the manditory minimum distance as well as the additional hygiene requirements which apply until further notice at Europa-Park

 

We look forward to also welcoming our international guests as soon as travel from and to our neighbouring countries is possible again.

 

We look forward to welcoming you again at Europa-Park from shortly. It is soon time again to Experience. Time. Together.

 

Your Mack Family

 

 

 

The most important changes at a glance

Re-Opening

Europa-Park will open its gates on 29.05.2020 to welcome you to the 2020 summer season. The attractions have been polished and the flowers are fully in bloom. Europa-Park will be open until 6pm Monday-Friday and until 7pm Saturday and Sunday.

The six themed hotels, the Camp Resort as well as the Europa-Park Camping will welcome you to stay overnight from 29.05.2020.

The re-opening of the hotel restaurants will happen in two steps. Outside areas will be open from 18.05.2020, and the inside areas one week later, from 25.05.2020.

We look forward to welcoming you, whether you are a park visitor, hotel guest, or restaurant guest.

 

We are confident that the water world Rulantica will also be able to open again soon and we will keep you up to date on this page, as soon as we know the date.

 

Day-Specific Tickets

In order to be able to limit the number of visitors, we have decided to introduce day-specific tickets instead of tickets for the whole season. These tickets are available exclusively online via the ticket shop (tickets.mackinternational.de). If you have already purchased tickets for the 2020 season, you can exchange these into day-specific tickets via the ticket shop.

 

The sale of the date-specific tickets as well as the exchange of already purchased tickets will begin on 13.05.2020.

 

Spontaneous trips without previously purchased tickets are unfortunately not possible due to the current situation.

 

Clubcard

All information regarding the Clubcard during the opening with limited capacity of Europa-Park are available on the Clubcard website.

 

Shows

In accordance with the government guidelines, park shows (such as the ice show) as well as the cinema will remain closed for the time being.

 

General Hygiene and Safety Rules

Due to the manditory wearing of masks in Germany, it is also mandatory at Europa-Park to wear a mask covering your mouth and nose in all covered areas, waiting areas of any kind, as well as during the use of rides. Further, obtaining the minimum distance of 1.50 metres as well as the coughing ettiquette must be followed at all times.

 

We ask you to only visit Europa-Park in good health. If you are part if a high risk group, we recommend to postpone your visit for your own protection. We will introduce all measures in detail on this page in due course.

 

Further Measures

In addition to the measures on site, Europa-Park has introduced digital technologies in order to manage queues and the minimum distance between visitors. The Europa-Park and Rulantica app will be supplemented with additional features. We will also release an additional app which will be a gamified way to keep the correct distance when in the park. All information on the new Distance Radar app will be available here.

From https://www.europapark.de/en/info/all-information-regarding-re-opening

^ To add to this, they are allowing annual passholders / club members one visit per month, and are still extending peoples' passes for the length of both the closure and the period of limited operation.

More good news! I'm curious to see how well the new rules and app work.

Rulantica remaining closed is strange to me, same for all water parks. The water is chlorinated. I'm no chemist but doesn't chlorine kill basically everything that could be potentially harmful in a pool or circulated system? Shouldn't slides at least be open? Pools can get crowded and confusing for social distancing, as can water play areas, but slides are easily distanced.

Rulantica remaining closed is strange to me, same for all water parks. The water is chlorinated. I'm no chemist but doesn't chlorine kill basically everything that could be potentially harmful in a pool or circulated system?

I think it may be more due to the amount of surfaces that guests touch in a water park, such as carrying the tubes by their handles, holding onto grab bars until they're given the clear to go down the slides, body contact for slides that don't use inner tubes... I think it's a "better safe than sorry" mentality.

^ No worse than what you'll encounter at any other amusement park that's been given the all-clear. The tube question is solved by assigning tubes per person or group. Makes me wonder if there are additional protocols being implemented that we haven't heard about yet or if it's an oversight. Regardless, if regular parks are opening, water parks should be, as well, in my opinion.

That's not to say I'm one of the end the shutdown protesters, far from it, I'm just having trouble finding where the proverbial line is that separates water parks and amusement parks.

Oh and I swear if someone replies saying it's water so help me...

Well, I'm from Germany. It's simply that all recreational facilities with water, such as pools, spas, etc. are closed by the government. Same for all indoor activities. As rulatica is both, there is no other option for it to remain closed.

Please don't ask me for the logic behind - it's just the law.

My workplace (community college) for adults is closed in my state, where the same colleges in other states are open and primary schools in my state are open. So there's no consistent logic in this.

And now we know why. Thanks for chiming in!

So there's no consistent logic in this.

This should be 2020's tagline.

^ and ^^

You're welcome!

Yeah, but here in Germany it's really confusing. As our states are so much smaller than yours, it's sometimes hard to understand. If you live let's say in Frankfurt, you have roughly a two hour drive to Europa Park and to Phantasialand and a one hour drive to Holiday-Park. As they are in three different states there are - as of today - three different rules:

Phantasialand could open today (but they won't), Europa Park will open on the End of May and for Holiday-Park there'e no opening day determined, but it will not be before May 25th.

So this one person from Frankfurt which is possibly carrying corona is not allowed in Europa Park or Holiday-Park, but in Phatasialand. Same goes for restaurants, if you are living close to the state borders.

As of today, one household - no matter how many people - can meet with another household, no matter how many people. After that, household one can meet with another 20 people from a third household. But you're not allowed in a group of three if you are from three households of one family.

So yeah, Kyle. It's 2020's tagline. We just have to accept. And to sit in the garden and have a nice BBQ.

Today Europa-Park announced to introduce Virtual Queue as mandatory for Blue Fire, Arthur, Eurosat and Euro-Mir.

I hope this is the first step to a lane skipping system after this mess is over.

^Europa has always been so dead set against any skip the line system, at least this would be one positive to come out of the pandemic!!!

^

I just can't see them inventing a system, implementing it in the app and then throwing it into the trash bin after some month just because the pandemic is getting easier to handle.

But maybe it's just me hoping to quit standing in lines at Europa.

The Arthur roller coaster is so much fun.

I just felt like I needed to put that out in the universe.

I think that this has, unfortunately for Europa, caused them to re-think guest queueing, etc. Give them credit, for lasting this long without skip-the-line systems. And this is a big, wonderful park, too! I actually enjoyed NOT looking for fast pass kiosks, etc. etc. I could be happy with three days there. With four nights' stay, too. I Colosseo Hotel.

Was Europa the last major park in the world to not have any kind of skip the line system.

^I don't know if this qualifies as a "major park in the world," but Holiday World still doesn't have one.

^I don't know if this qualifies as a "major park in the world," but Holiday World still doesn't have one.

Europa is in a totally different league than Holiday World. Holiday World is still great though

As for the new virtual queuing, I think after the corona crisis, they might take the system they have on Voletarium and expand it to other rides, which is great! Skipping a few major lines, controlling guest flow and increasing overal park satisfaction are just some of the benefits that, enhancing their skip the line service would bring.

Europa prides themelves for not having a paid fast pass system and honestly I think they are the only park in the world were they can get away with it (apart from Disney), that's how good their operations are!

I've always liked having options at parks to skip the lines. Even when they're out of my price range *cough* so far only USJ *cough* it's nice the option is there if I want it (USJ is only an hour flight away and not a once in a lifetime so it's not the end of the world to stick it out in single rider lines than shell out I think we saw over $200 a person for a Flying Dinosaur 7 when the school vacation was on). Judging by reactions I see on some sites or social media celebrating about Disney Fastpass+ being suspended there's way more anti fastpass people than I thought.