Europa-Park
 | |
| Location | Rust, Germany |
|---|---|
| Opened | 1975 |
| Owner | Family Mack |
| Operating season | April to October, December to January |
| Area | 850.000 m² |
| Attractions | |
| Total | 54 |
| Roller coasters | 9 |
| Water rides | 4 |
| Website | www.europapark.de |
Europa-Park is the second-most-popular theme park in Europe (more than 4 million visitors in 2007), after Disneyland Paris and the most-popular seasonal theme park in the world[1]. It is open from mid-March to the end of October and from the start of December to mid-January. It is located in Rust, south-west Germany, between Freiburg and Strasbourg.
Europapark is split into fourteen different areas, mostly named after European countries or regions. The park mascot is a grey mouse named "Euromaus". He has a friend called Eurofant, an elephant.
Europa-Park is run by the Mack family which has produced vehicles since 780, circus wagons since 1880 and rollercoasters since 1921. The park was opened in 1975 to act as a showcase for many of their different ride models - for example, the Wild Mouse roller coaster. The amusement ride company is now called MACK Rides. This explains why the park has two of their water coaster models (one a Super Splash model) and is home to the one-of-a-kind Euro-Mir. One of the few rides that goes against this rule is the relatively new Silver Star hyper coaster, designed by B&M of Switzerland. This is presumably because Mack doesn't offer a hyper coaster model.
The park is home to nine roller coasters, the oldest being the Alpenxpress Mine Train, where the coaster speeds through the diamond cave, complete with fire and smoke - and the newest coaster being Pegasus, a family coaster which opened in 2006.
Along with the park and rides, Europa-Park is also a major resort. It contains four hotels. The largest is called Colosseo which includes a re-creation of a Roman colosseum. There are many shows performed on a daily basis, such as an Ice Show, a Gladiator Show, an Acrobatics Show in an Italianate Theatre and a fully re-created Globe Theatre where guests can see a light-hearted take on Shakespeare. The 4D Cinema also opens during the evening and shows current blockbusters.
Developments
In 2007, the park introduced 'Terenzi Horror Nights' based on an idea by popstar Marc Terenzi. [2] The idea is to bring the American idea of Halloween to Germany and these will return for 2008.
2008 offered a number of changes across the resort. Two new family attractions will open in the English area, Crazy Taxi and London Bus - both themed around transport in the English capital city. There will also be a new Wok restaurant inside the Piraten in Batavia attraction along with a host of changes in the Tipi Village and renovations in different areas.
In the longer term, the park hope to open their biggest rollercoaster since 2002 for the 2009 season. It is rumoured to be a prototype launched roller coaster with inversions and will be located in the Portuguese themed area as part of a 10-15 hectare extension to the park. There is expected to be a substantial budget for this. A water park is also under consideration for 2010/11.
Features
Adventure Land
Essentially the area that comprises everything besides Europe.
- Jungle Rafts
- Mississippi Steamer
- Dwarf City
- Fairy Tale Alley
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Children's World
- Giant Slide Labyrinth
- Viking Boat Ride
- Viking Ship
- Dino Merry-Go-Round
Germany
- Elf Ride - A dark ride
- Vintage Cars - A car ride
- Panorama Train - Also has stations in other areas
- EP-Express - A monorail. Also has stations in Greece, Spain and Hotel Colosseo
- Castle Pavilon
- Magical Garden
Russia
- Euro-Mir - A one-of-a-kind, high-speed, Mack steel track spinning coaster, based around Russian Space Missions. The spinning is controlled and only happens during some parts of the ride. The ride features indoor dark-ride elements, back-to-back seating, an indoor spiral lifthill, a techno soundtrack, and one of the longest ride times of any roller coaster. The Mir space station training module is located above the outdoor queue for the ride.
- Mir Space Station - A walk-through of the Mir training module
- Sleigh Ride Snowflake - A dark ride
- Lada Autodrom - A car ride
- Radio Telescope
Italy
- Ciao Bambini - A dark ride
- Ghost Castle - A spooky dark ride
- Mack Exhibition - A gallery of Mack ride models and Europa Park's history
France
- EuroSat - Indoor coaster themed around space travel. Located inside a large geodesic sphere structure, similar to Spaceship Earth (Epcot) at Walt Disney World's Epcot. The ride itself is similar to Disney's Space Mountain, except that the train is made up of many more cars, and it features a spiral lift hill. The ride's techno soundtrack was composed by Stark Fader, with "In A Second Orbit" being the song that plays during the ride and "Sat Race" being the song in the gift shop.
- Silver Star - Megacoaster and Europe's highest and third fastest roller coaster. Built by Bolliger and Mabillard of Switzerland. One of the few non-Mack rides featured at the park, presumably because Mack doesn't feature a hyper coaster model. The ride is sponsored by Mercedes-Benz. Within the ride's hall there is a coffee shop, a gift shop, and a small-size museum that features a full scale replica of a Mercedes-Benz Formula 1 car.
- Old 99 with Circus Parade
- Puppet Boat Ride
- Universe of Energy - ride which gives participants a view inside of this theme all indoors, and therefore dark
- Euro-Tower - An observation tower
- 4-D Cinema: Pandavision
- Fjord-Rafting - A rapids ride
- Sunken City "Vineta" - A small walk-through indoor display
- Vindjammer - A swinging ship ride
- Rocky Bridge and Cable Ferry
- Norwegian Stave Church
- Andersen's Fairy Tale Tower
Portugal
This is the newest one of the Park's Areas. Opened in 2006, and located in the dierct east of the park , it's not complete yet and still has some place for new attractions or buldings. The main attraction is the Atlantica SuperSplash Coaster, a ride that takes the visitor upon 36 metres and let him plunge down into a great lake. It features a short part where the boats drive backwards through a sink.
- Atlantica SuperSplash - High-speed water ride themed around Portugal. The boats are a higher capacity than Poseidon, and it doesn't feature any high speed turns as on Poseidon, but still has enough time on the coaster track that it can be considered a coaster.
- Casa D'Aventura - An Indoor-Playground for Kids.
- Atlantica-Shower - A wooden runway where the visitors can wait for the next boat of "Atlantica" plunging into the lake and soak them to the bones.
Spain
This area is located in the very north-east of the park. It features some carousels, and several restaurants, Shows and eateries.
- Columbus Dinghy - A spinning ride
- Feria Swing - Also a spinning ride.
- Adventure Playground
Holland
- Rocking Bridge and Chute
- Pirates of Batavia - An indoor themed boat ride, very similar to Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean. It was opened in 1987.
- Red Baron - A spinning ride
- Peter Pan - A spinning ride
- Monorail
- Mini Scooter - A kiddie bumper car ride
- Koffiekopjes - A spinning coffee cup ride
- Bouncy House
- Ball Pool
- Windmill
Switzerland
- Matterhorn Blitz - Wild mouse featuring the largest drop of any wild mouse in the world and a rocking vertical lift. Themed around a Swiss Farmhouse.
- Swiss Bob Run - Bobsleigh coaster. One of the few ones of this model to feature a large drop.
- Balloon Ride
- Glacierflyer - A spinning ride
Greece
- Cassandra's Curse - A madhouse type indoor illusion ride
- Pegasus - Family coaster based around the Flying Horse
- Poseidon - High-speed water coaster with incredibly detailed theming, such as the Trojan Horse, and the station being located inside a Grecian temple.
- Atlantis Adventure - Interactive dark ride
- Greek Village Mykonos
England
- Silverstone Race Track - A car ride
- The British Carousel
- Crazy Taxi - A carousel ride
- London Bus - A magic carpet ride
- Arena of Football - A football themed bumper car ride
Austria
- Alpenexpress - Rollercoaster which, in addition to a brief free air portion also includes a trip inside the Cave of Diamonds (which can also be viewed by foot). Makes two trips through its relatively short course to form a complete run.
- Silvretta Nova Wave Swinger - A swing ride
- Tirol Log Flume
- Magic World of Diamonds - A walk through attraction
References
- ^ [1] Europa-Park website
- ^ [blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=27814006 Marc's Official Blog] Retrieved 2007-08-05
External links
- Template:En icon Europa-Park (Official English Site)
- Template:De icon Europa-Park (Official Site)
- Park location via Google Maps
- Template:En icon UK web site for Europa-Park Breaks
- Template:De icon Terenzi Horror Nights Site