Europe Park
Europe Park | |||
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place | Rust , Germany | ||
opening | July 12, 1975 | ||
Visitors | 5.8 million (2019) | ||
surface | 95 hectares | ||
staff | 3600 an annual average 5000 in the main season |
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Website | www.europapark.de | ||
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Coordinates: 48 ° 16 ′ 6 ″ N , 7 ° 43 ′ 15 ″ E
The Europa-Park is a leisure and theme park in Rust , Baden-Wurttemberg . With around 5.8 million visitors in 2019, it is the most popular amusement park in the German-speaking region .
According to the AECOM Theme Index 2019, Europa-Park ranks 19th among the 25 most visited theme parks in the world and is the second most visited theme park in Europe after Disneyland Paris , as well as the most visited seasonal theme park in the world. In September 2019, the “Golden Ticket Award” jury of the US magazine “Amusement Today” voted Europa-Park the best amusement park in the world for the sixth time in a row.
Over 100 rides and several shows are offered in 18 themed areas on a total area of around 950,000 m² . The park has six hotels , a campsite and a cinema .
history
During a trip to the USA in 1972 , Franz Mack and his son Roland had the idea of opening an amusement park that would serve as an exhibition space for the products manufactured in their company in Waldkirch . A suitable site for the park was initially found in Breisach . Because this area was later designated as a Rhine floodplain, it was canceled as a park area. The name Europa-Park was chosen based on the Europa lake near Breisach.
In the community of Rust , the Mack family acquired the park of Balthasar Castle . An adjoining fairytale park was acquired as an additional site. The total area was 16 hectares and the park opened on July 12, 1975.
After Europa-Park was founded and the amusement park business started in 1975, the park was initially planned as an exhibition site for products from the Mack family. It was run by Franz Mack and his sons Roland, and later Jürgen too . Despite the initial skepticism from press representatives, 250,000 people visited the park in the first year, 700,000 a year later and a million in 1978. In 1982, the opening of the first themed area Italy followed and the associated implementation of the European thematic concept. In 1984 and 1985 the first two larger railways, the Alpenexpress "Enzian" and the Swiss bobsleigh run were opened. With the implementation of the European thematic concept, the Netherlands (1984), England (1988), France (1990) (with the symbol Eurosat ), Scandinavia (1992), Switzerland (1993) and Spain (1994) emerged. In 1991, two million people visited Europa-Park.
The need for overnight accommodation was met in 1995 with the opening of El Andaluz , the first hotel in the amusement park, 87 percent of which was already booked in the first year. In 1999 the second hotel Castillo Alcazar was built . The occupancy of the hotels in 2000 was 97.7 percent with three million park visitors. In 2001/02 the park opened for the first time in the winter season, in which 180,000 guests were counted. The park developed from a one-day to a multi-day excursion destination. In 2011 it had around 4.5 million visitors. In 2018, the 90-hectare park will include thirteen roller coasters, six themed hotels (El Andaluz, Santa Isabel, Castillo Alcazar, Colosseo, Bell Rock and Krønasår) and 100 other attractions. By 2011, almost 700 million euros had been invested in the park.
Major fire on May 26, 2018
On May 26, 2018, around 6:20 p.m. , a fire broke out in the hall complex, which is located between the Dutch and Scandinavian themed areas and includes the pirate themed ride in Batavia , a show stage, a restaurant and a costume chamber for employees, which is why initially the hall complex was cleared. However, since the fire developed into a major fire, the two adjacent themed areas and finally the entire park, which was visited by around 25,000 guests that day, were evacuated a little later. Despite the intervention of the fire brigade, the hall complex and the part of the Scandinavian themed area adjoining it to the southeast with several restaurants and the attractions Sunken City "Vineta" and Andersen's fairy tale tower were completely destroyed. In addition, the attraction fjord rafting, the canal of which runs along the hall complex and the affected part of the Scandinavian themed area, was affected by rubble from burned wooden facades. According to the operator, property damage was in the tens of millions. Seven firefighters were slightly injured in the course of the extinguishing work. There were no injuries among the visitors and employees. After the fire had been extinguished except for a few embers, the park reopened regularly the next morning. Only the attractions destroyed by the fire, restaurants, show stages and shops, the affected fjord rafting and the Koffiekopjes attraction, which is very close to the affected area, were initially closed. The Vindjammer attraction was also initially closed because one of the two entrances runs across the affected part of the Scandinavian themed area. After the remaining entrance had been adjusted and the other entrance closed, the attraction was nevertheless put into operation shortly after the park opened. The Koffiekopjes attraction followed on May 31, 2018 . After the search for clues to the cause of the fire had been completed and the rubble had been cleared from the fjord rafting channel, the attraction was put back into operation on June 9, 2018.
A warehouse near the pirates in Batavia was initially suspected as the place where the fire broke out . On June 6, 2018, the Offenburg police headquarters finally announced that, according to the current status of the investigation, the fire was due to a technical defect in the fjord rafting area. However, the evaluation is not yet complete.
Both the Scandinavian village and the pirates in Batavia are to be rebuilt largely true to the original, taking into account current regulations and provisions as well as the use of modern technology (e.g. electromechanical instead of pneumatic animatronic). For reasons of piety, the fire and pillage scene with the pirates should be omitted. Scandinavia was reopened in July 2019, and the new Dark-Ride Snorri tours were created in this themed area , which has the water world Rulantica and the associated mascot Snorri as its theme. The pirates in Batavia themed trip, which is very popular with many visitors, is expected to follow in summer 2020.
operator
Europa-Park is operated by Europa-Park GmbH & Co Mack KG . The Mack family has been making roller coasters and attractions for eight generations. The park's managing directors are Roland Mack , his brother Jürgen Mack and Roland Macks sons Thomas Mack and Michael Mack.
As of 2016, the operating company employed an annual average of around 3,600 people and achieved a turnover of 300 million euros.
Logo and soundtrack
The park logo shows the lettering “EUROPA PARK” decorated with three flying stars, the tips of which imitate wing movements. It is protected by trademark .
In July 2011 Europa-Park presented an orchestral soundtrack CD that is intended to give it a musical identity. The work was specially composed by the Freiburg composer Hendrik Schwarzer and recorded by the Belarus Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of conductor Bernard Fabuljan . The most prominent motif of the composition is referred to as the "Flying Stars Fanfare" with reference to the flying stars of the park logo. The rest of the pieces on the soundtrack are mostly variations of this motif. They can be heard in various areas of the park since July 2011 and are used in advertising and information films. The title "The Old Man And His Dream" pays homage to the park founder Franz Mack, who died in 2010 .
Entrance area
In the entrance area to Europa-Park is the large statue of the park's mascot, Ed Euromaus . This is followed by the “Fountain of Encounter”, immediately afterwards several ticket booths, and behind it are the ticket offices for group and bus registrations, as well as the actual entrance building. The Alexanderplatz station is located on the upper floor and serves as the station for the EP-Express monorail .
Transport systems
Due to the size of the park, the three railways EP-Express , Monorail-Bahn and Panoramabahn serve not only as amusement ride but also as a transport system. In addition, a moving walk called Express Lane was put into operation in the park's parking lot for the 2015 summer season .
Panoramabahn
The Panoramabahn was opened together with the park in 1975. At first it served exclusively as a lookout, and its start and destination station was in the entrance area of the park. Today, the Panoramabahn stops at Germany, England, Spain and Russia. The park has five C. P. Huntington trains. These trains are manufactured by the US company Chance Morgan . The park put the first electric locomotive into operation in the 2019/2020 winter season. From time to time all locomotives should be equipped with an electric drive.
Monorail train
The monorail is the older monorail in Europa-Park. Originally, the lift, which opened in 1990, was purely a scenic lift with start and finish in the Historama in the Luxembourg themed area. In 2009 the monorail was extended across Iceland and now also stops in Iceland.
EP Express
The EP-Express was built by AEG von Roll and, in addition to its function as a panoramic train, was designed as a means of transport from the start. It is a monorail in the style of an Alwegbahn with closed, air-conditioned cars, which runs on a circuit 2.5 km in length at an average height of 6 m with a maximum speed of 20 km / h. Opened together with the Hotel El Andaluz in 1995, the EP-Express in Europa-Park also served to connect the hotel to the main entrance. In the course of time, next to the train stations Alexanderplatz (main entrance) and Spain, the train stations Greece and Europa-Park Hotel-Resort were opened.
Subject areas
The park is divided into 18 themed areas, 15 of which are European countries / regions and are designed as authentically and typical of the country as possible. They should give visitors the feeling of being able to discover several European countries within one day. The first subject area was Italy in 1982. The Swiss mountain village of Grimentz served as the structural template for the Swiss themed area . Roland Mack has been an honorary citizen of neighboring Chandolin since 2006 . The “Chocoland” was a subject area with no direct national reference. In 2010 it was abandoned and the attractions added to the English themed area. The “Chocoland” was redesigned to the “Europa-Park-Historama” and an exhibition on the history of the Europa-Park was set up in the former “Zeitreise” rotating theater . Other subject areas without national reference are “Adventure Land” (1978), “Grimm's Fairy Tale Forest ” (redesigned in 2012) and “Kingdom of Minimoys” (2014).
Country / Region | opening | Biggest attraction |
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Italy | 1982 | Volo da Vinci |
Holland | 1984 | Pirates in Batavia |
England | 1988 | Arena of Football |
France | 1990 | Silver Star |
Austria | 1992 | Alpenexpress |
Scandinavia | 1992/2019 | Fjord rafting |
Switzerland | 1993 | Matterhorn lightning |
Spain | 1994 | Columbus dinghy |
Germany | 1996 | Voletarium |
Russia | 1998 | Euro-me |
Greece | 2000 | Poseidon |
Portugal | 2005 | Atlantica SuperSplash |
Iceland | 2009 | blue fire Megacoaster /
Wodan - Timburcoaster |
Luxembourg | 2016 | Food loop |
Ireland | 2016 | Ba-aa Express |
Attractions
The amusement park offers a mix of rides, themed areas and parks.
One of the main attractions is the Silver Star roller coaster , which was planned by the Swiss engineering firm Bolliger & Mabillard Ingénieurs Conseils SA and created in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz . Until the beginning of 2006 it was the fastest roller coaster in Europe and until 2012 the highest roller coaster. The waiting area of the train is implementing a Mercedes-Benz Museum, which among other touring car and Formula 1 - racing cars can be viewed.
Another ride is the Poseidon , the first water roller coaster in Europe.
Other rides are the Euro-Mir , which is equipped with rotating gondolas, so that the route is temporarily driven backwards.
In the Eurosat , the journey takes place within a large sphere with space effects. At the start of the 2006 season, based on the soccer World Cup in Germany, Eurosat was disguised with hand-painted foils as a team spirit World Cup ball and on Halloween it is disguised as the largest pumpkin in the world. The Eurosat was closed for renovations from the end of the summer season 2017 to around the middle of the summer season 2018 and was redesigned to the Eurosat - CanCan Coaster in the style of the famous Moulin Rouge .
In the Iceland themed area there is the Blue Fire Megacoaster , the first high-speed roller coaster in Europa-Park with a linear motor launch and rollover elements - a loop , two corkscrews and a heartline roll . This roller coaster accelerates from 0 to over 100 km / h in 2.5 seconds, reaches a top speed of 110 km / h, is 38 m high and 1,056 m long.
Also in the Iceland themed area, the Wodan - Timburcoaster was opened in 2012 , the first wooden roller coaster in Europa-Park. The special feature is that the track crosses with the Blue Fire Megacoaster and Atlantica Supersplash. Wodan is 1,050 meters long and reaches a speed of over 100 km / h.
roller coaster
Surname | height | length | Max. Speed | Max. g-force | Capacity (in pers / h) |
Minimum age | Minimum size | Type | Opening year | Manufacturer | Subject area |
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Alpenexpress "Enzian" | 6 m | 264 m | 45 km / h | 2 | 1100 | 4th | 100 cm | Powered coaster | 1984 | Mack Rides | Austria |
Swiss bobsleigh run | 19 m | 487 m | 50 km / h | 3 | 1100 | 6th | 120 cm | Bobsleigh | 1985 | Mack Rides | Switzerland |
25.5 m | 922 m | 60 km / h | 4th | 1600 | 6th | 120 cm | Darkride / dark roller coaster | 1989
new: 2018 |
Mack Rides | France | |
Euro-me | 28 m | 980 m | 80 km / h | 4th | 1600 | 8th | 130 cm | Spinning Coaster | 1997 | Mack Rides | Russia |
Matterhorn lightning | 16 m | 383 m | 56 km / h | 2 | 960 | 6th | 120 cm | Wild mouse | 1999 | Mack Rides | Switzerland |
Poseidon water roller coaster | 23 m | 836 m | 70 km / h | 3 | 1690 | 6th | 120 cm | Water roller coaster | 2000 | Mack Rides | Greece |
Silver Star | 73 m | 1620 m | 127 km / h | 4th | 1750 | 11 | 140 cm | Hyper Coaster | 2002 | Bolliger & Mabillard | France |
Atlantica SuperSplash | 30 m | 390 m | 80 km / h | 4th | 1400 | 4th | 100 cm | SuperSplash | 2005 | Mack Rides | Portugal |
Pegasus - The YoungStar roller coaster | 13 m | 400 m | 65 km / h | 3 | 1000 | 4th | 100 cm | YoungSTAR Coaster | 2006 | Mack Rides | Greece |
blue fire megacoaster | 38 m | 1056 m | 100 km / h | 3.8 | 1720 | 7th | 130 cm | Launch coaster | 2009 | Mack Rides | Iceland |
Wodan - Timburcoaster | 40 m | 1050 m | 100 km / h | 3.5 | 1250 | 6th | 120 cm | Wooden roller coaster | 2012 | Great Coasters International | Iceland |
Arthur | 13.5 m | 505 m | 31 km / h | 1.5 | 1500 | 4th | 100 cm | Inverted Powered Coaster / Darkride | 2014 | Mack Rides | Kingdom of the Minimoys |
Ba-aa Express | 3 m | 80 m | 20 km / h | 1.5 | 400 | 3 | 95 cm | Children's roller coaster | 2016 | Mack Rides | Ireland - children's world |
- In the case of the two water roller coasters, the hybrid vehicles do not drive on sections on rails, but swim in a canal.
- With the exception of the Silver Star from Bolliger & Mabillard , the wooden roller coaster WODAN - Timburcoaster from Great Coasters International and the Ba-aa Express from ART Engineering, all lifts were built by Mack Rides .
- As of 2018, Europa-Park has a total of 13 roller coasters. This is the largest number of roller coasters in any European amusement park.
- On the Alpenexpress "Enzian" train from 2015 to 2017 on the Pegasus train - The YoungStar roller coaster, as well as on the Eurosat after the renovation in 2018, is / was offered an optional virtual reality experience under the title "Coastiality" for a surcharge . For this purpose, the visitor is given VR glasses on loan, on which a film synchronized with the train is shown during the journey.
More rides
The range of rides is complemented by several water rides, numerous carousels and themed rides . The latter are trips with a boat in a water channel or a carriage on a rail, which transport the visitors into strange worlds and scenarios with the help of computer-controlled animated puppets (so-called " animatronics "). Examples of this are pirates in Batavia (destroyed by a major fire on May 26, 2018) or Madame Freudenreich Curiosités with dinosaurs. In detail, the park offers:
Surname | Type | Max height | Manufacturer | Subject area | Opening year |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adventure Atlantis | Interactive dark ride | - | Mack Rides | Greece | 2007 |
African Queen | Boat trip | - | Mack Rides | Adventure land | 1975 |
Arena of Football | Indoor bumper cars | - | Mack Rides (lane), Bertazzon (vehicles) |
England | 2006 |
Crazy Taxi | Demolition Derby | - | Zamperla | England | 2008 |
Dancing dinghy | Children's ship swing | - | Ornamental | Ireland - children's world | 2016 |
Jungle raft trip | Raft trip | - | Mack Rides | Adventure land | 1978 |
Fairy ride | Water attraction | - | Mack Rides | Germany | 1979 |
EP Express | Monorail | 6 m | AEG / Von Roll | Germany, Greece, Spain | 1995 |
Euro Tower | Observation tower | 75 m | Intamin | France | 1983 (redesign 2015) |
Feria Swing | Mountain and valley railway | 3 m | Mack Rides | Spain | 1994 |
Fjord rafting | Rapid River | 8 m | Intamin | Scandinavia | 1991 |
Flying Dutchman (previously "Peter Pan") |
Cog ride | 0.5 m | Mack Rides | Netherlands | 1982 |
Curse of Cassandra | Illusion ride, witch swing | 4 m | Mack Rides | Greece | 2000 |
Flight of the Icarus | balloon ride | 8 m | Morgan | Greece | 1996 |
Ghost castle | Dark ride | 6 m | Mack Rides | Italy | 1982 |
Jim Button - Journey through Lummerland | Circuit train | - | Mack Rides | Germany | 1977 (renovation and redesign 2018, before "Old 99") |
Jungfrau glacier flyer | Flying carousel | 14 m | Mack Rides | Switzerland | 1989 |
Koffiekopjes | Coffee cup carousel | - | Mack Rides | Netherlands | 1985 |
Columbus dinghy | Mountain and valley railway | 3 m | Mack Rides | Spain | 1994 (redesign 2015) |
Lada Autodrom | Car ride | - | Mack Rides | Russia | 1987 |
Lítill Island - Hansgrohe Children's Water World | Water playground | - | - | Iceland | 2010 |
London bus | Flying bus | 7 m | Zamperla | England | 2008 |
Madame Freudenreich Curiosités | Dark ride | 5 m | Mack Rides | France | 1994 (renovation and redesign in 2018, before that "Universe of Energy") |
Marionette boat ride | Water attraction | - | Mack Rides | Germany | 1992 |
Mini scooter | Mini scooter | - | Mack Rides (lane), Ihle (vehicles) |
Netherlands | 1977 |
Monorail | Monorail | 6 m | Mack Rides | Luxembourg | 1990 |
Classic car ride | Car ride | - | Mack Rides (route), Ihle (vehicles) |
Germany | 1976 |
Panoramabahn | Park railway | - | Chance Morgan | Germany, England, Spain, Russia | 1975 |
Piccolo Mondo | Dark ride | - | Mack Rides | Italy | 1982 (redesign 2011, before "Ciao Bambini") |
Pirates in Batavia | Water Dark Ride | 6 m | Mack Rides | Netherlands | 1987 (destroyed by fire in May 2018. Reconstruction is under construction and should be reopened in 2020) |
Quipse paddle boats | Children's boat trip | - | Mack Rides | Ireland - children's world | 2001 (redesign in 2016, before "paddling tour") |
Red Baron | Children's flight carousel | 7 m | Mack Rides | Netherlands | 1980 |
Snowflake sleigh ride | Dark ride | 4 m | Mack Rides | Russia | 1998 |
Sheep Rock | Wicki boat trip | - | Mack Rides | Ireland - children's world | 1990 (redesign in 2016, before "Viking boat trip") |
Silverstone slope | Car ride | - | Mack Rides (route), Ihle (vehicles) |
England | 1975 |
Snorri tours | Dark ride | - | Mack Rides | Scandinavia | 2019 |
Spinning Dragons | Children's carousel | - | Mack Rides | Ireland - children's world | 1993 (redesign in 2016, before "Dino carousel") |
The British Carousel | Antique carousel | - | Mack Rides | England | 1981 |
Tyrolean wild water slide | Flume | 18 m | Mack Rides | Austria | 1978 |
Tower Tow | Self-powered lifting tower | 9 m | Heege | Ireland - children's world | 2002 (redesign in 2016, before "lighthouse fun") |
Vindjammer | Ship swing | 20 m | Huss Park Attractions | Scandinavia | 1993 |
Voletarium | Flying Theater | 15 m | Brogent Technologies | Germany | 2017 |
Volo da Vinci | Interactive scenic drive | - | ETF Ride Systems | Italy | 2011 |
Water playground | playground | - | - | Adventure land | - |
Whale Adventures - Northern Lights | Splash Battle | - | Mack Rides | Iceland | 2010 (renovation and redesign 2015, before "Whale Adventures - Splash Tours") |
Wichtelhausen | Voyage of discovery | - | Mack Rides | Grimm's fairy tale forest | 1975 |
Viennese wave flyer | Wave flight | 14 m | Ornamental | Austria | 2006 |
Worms Wies'n | playground | - | - | Austria | - |
Shows, parades and 4D cinema
Europa-Park also offers around a dozen different shows, including figure skating, variety or flamenco shows, as well as the puppet theater for children and the Junior Club Studios , an interactive show in which children can immerse themselves in the world of film technology.
One of the shows was the rotary theater multimedia show "Zeitreise" . The focus was a circular theater, divided into six sections, with the spectator seats rotating around the theater and each viewer being able to see one section after the other. For the 35th birthday of Europa-Park on July 12, 2010, the theater was redesigned and given the new show name Europa-Park Historama - The Show . It showed the 35-year history of Europa-Park in a spectacular way with 4D effects and a 180 ° view. Since the 2018 summer season, the revolving theater has served as a “preview center” for the Rulantica water park .
In the baroque theater Europa-Park Teatro, which is located in the Italian themed area, the musical "Spook Me!" Was performed several times a day during the Halloween seasons 2014-2017. In the 2018 and 2019 summer seasons "Rulantica - The Musical" was shown there. Both musicals were composed by Hendrik Schwarzer ; the ensemble include, among others Ornella de Santis the park, each the female lead spielt.In the summer season shows there the magic show "It's Magic!" in the u. a. the magician Peter Valance appears. The “Cirque d'Europe” dinner show, which changes every year, takes place here in winter.
Medieval jousting games are performed in the arena in the Spanish themed area, which can hold up to 2,000 visitors.
The ice rink was part of the Swiss themed area until the 2007 season, today it has a Greek facade and is managed by Ian Jenkins. In the 2018 summer season, the park presented the “Paddington on Ice” show here.
There is also a large parade with colorful floats and costumed performers every day.
A 15-minute short film is shown several times a day in the park's 4D cinema. In the evening after the park closes, a current movie is shown in the cinema, but often with the additional 4D effects. A new 4D film came to the Magic Cinema for the 2018/2019 winter season. The film is called Ed & Edda in "Nachts im Park 4D". In the 2020 summer season, the 11-minute short film "Departure to Batavia" will be shown three times a day, but as a 2D film. The Magic Cinema holds a total of 448 visitors, the size of the screen measures 19 × 9 meters.
Europa-Park offers a total of over six hours of show program.
TV productions from the park
Europa-Park is becoming more and more important as a media location for television productions. The broadcasters BR , Sat.1 , SWR , ZDF , Nickelodeon and ProSieben , among others , repeatedly produce programs in Europa-Park. Every year since the summer of 1995, SWR has broadcast the program Immer wieder Sundays live from the IWS Arena in Europa-Park, which has been moderated by Stefan Mross since 2005 . Among other things, combination tickets are also offered with which you can visit the show and the park on the same day.
Events
Euro Dance Festival
The Euro Dance Festival takes place every February during the winter break in the park . Dance enthusiasts from all over the world meet here. In over 200 workshops, new step combinations, techniques and dances are taught by the best and most famous dance couples and dancers in the world. Detlef D were among the guests ! Soost , William Pino and Alessandra Bucharelli, Isabel Edvardsson , Franco Formica, Oliver Wessel-Therhorn , Kristina & Peter Stokkebroe, Luis Vazquez & Melissa Fernandez.
Ladies Only Festival
The Ladies Only Festival takes place on a weekend between January and March during the winter break at Europa-Park. The festival combines the elements of fitness, dance, health, beauty and wellness. Over 200 workshops and seminars with 80 trainers take place over four days.
Miss Germany election
The official election of Miss Germany has been taking place in the Europa-Park Dome in February since 2002 . It is organized by the Miss Germany Corporation from Oldenburg. The cooperation is so successful that in 2010 the cooperation was extended for another decade.
Experience gastronomy
Experience gastronomy also plays a role in the park. After the park closes, this is combined with entertainment programs at various locations, including the dinner show, the artistic evening event Indonesia Malam , the Alemannic knight's meal and the evening event Dinner & Movie .
Science Days
The multi-day Science Days for children take place in May and the Science Days for (older) students in October . It is the oldest science festival in Germany with exhibitors from the industrial sector, schools, hospitals and universities as well as scientific lectures and shows.
Halloween
Halloween has been taking place in Europa-Park since 1998 . From the end of September to the beginning of November, the park puts the visitor in a scary mood with countless pumpkins in various colors, straw bales, corn stalks and skeletons . Numerous attractions, shows and gastronomy offers are adapted to the Halloween theme every year.
The 2014 season also saw the premiere of the Halloween musical "Spook Me!", Which Europa-Park produced independently.
Horror Nights
In the years 2007–2011, the “Terenzi Horror Nights” were held in October in cooperation with Marc Terenzi . In 2007 and 2008, visitors were able to walk through the Italian and French themed areas in the dark. In 2009 the event was moved to the Greek as well as the Swiss themed area. Actors were as different monsters , such as zombies , dressed up and chased the guests fear and terror. From 2010 to 2016 this event was once again included in the annual program and marketed in 2011–2012 and 2015–2016 under the title “Horror Nights starring Marc Terenzi”. 2013–2015 the event was only called "Horror Nights" because it took place without Marc Terenzi.
Trauma
In 2017 the horror nights were replaced by Traumatica . This event takes place in the evening partly in the Greek themed area, partly outside the actual park area. The visitor is transported into a post-apocalyptic world, in which five different groups fight for supremacy, whose headquarters can be visited as horror houses with live actors and special effects.
Tortuga - Forgotten Pirates
2006 was in the Greek and from 2007 to 2011 in the Scandinavian themed area Tortuga - Forgotten Pirates , where live frighteners waited for the visitors in dark corridors. The Spanish name Tortuga refers to the second largest island in Haiti, which was a port of call for pirates between 1640 and 1670. This show was only available in the Halloween weeks.
The villa
After the elimination of the daily mazes Tortuga - Forgotten Pirates , The Villa taught day visitors fear from 2012–2013 . The horror labyrinth in the Greek themed area, designed as a Victorian dream house from the 19th century, awaited visitors alongside numerous live frighteners with special effects.
Tenem's revenge
In the years 2015-2016 there was the daily Maze Tenems Vengeance below the waiting area of Poseidon . In the horror house, the visitors had to walk through dark corridors, where live shockers and light and fog effects were waiting for them. The design of the house was based on an Egyptian burial chamber.
Halloween Festival Mysteria
The big Halloween show Mysteria took place every two years until 2016, alternating with an approx. 30-minute concert by Swiss star DJ BoBo on the festival grounds of the park. With live singing, artistic performances and pyro and laser effects, the show delights visitors in the last week of the summer season.
Until 2011, the show played under the motto Castillo Mystico in a haunted castle. 2013 was a completely new story about two warring gangs in a container landscape on the outskirts.
Hellfire Fountains
Since 2017, the Halloween show Mysteria has been replaced by the fountain and fire show Hellfire Fountains , which is presented several times a day in the evening hours during the last week of the season.
Winter season in Europa-Park
In the 2001/2002 season, Europa-Park opened for the first time for a winter season. The number of visitors at that time was 180,000 and rose to almost 500,000 by 2011/12. The park is adapted to the season with an ice rink, a skibob course, a large Christmas market and Christmas decorations and a specially built Ferris wheel. The Santa Claus meeting has taken place once a year since 2002. Visitors who dress up as Santa Claus save on entry.
The following attractions are closed during the winter season: African Queen, Atlantica SuperSplash, fjord rafting, canoeing, Poseidon, Tyrolean whitewater run, rocking jetty and cable ferry, water playground and the waterway.
The Blue Fire Megacoaster (since 2012), Silver Star (since 2017) and Wodan Timburcoaster (since 2014) are also in operation in winter if the weather permits.
Europa-Park Resort
The six hotels and the Europa-Park “Camp Resort” are combined in the so-called Europa-Park Resort . The largest hotel resort in Germany has around 5,800 beds. In 2019 the number of one million overnight guests was reached for the first time. The hotels give guests VIP access to the park. For guests of Hotel Krønasår , which is a little further away, a free bus shuttle service to the park is offered.
From 1996 to the 2015/16 winter season, visitors were also able to spend the night in the “Circus Rolando” guest house in the immediate vicinity of the main entrance. The 23 rooms were comparatively simple and decorated with colorful circus motifs. There was no restaurant in the guest house. It was closed at the beginning of 2016 to make room for the new Voletarium attraction .
The Europa-Park “Camp Resort” consists of a tipi village and caravanning. Tipis are available as accommodation facilities Tipis , log cabins and vans. They are arranged in a small western village around a lake, where the “Silverlake Saloon” restaurant is also located. At Europa-Park Caravan visitors are 200 pitches for caravans , campers and tents available.
Since 1998, the park has also provided conference and event venues under the concept of Confertainment , which is made up of Conference and Entertainment (“ Meetings and Celebrations”) .
List of hotels in Europa-Park Resort:
Hotel name | Hotel classification | Opening year |
---|---|---|
El Andaluz | 4 stars | 1995 |
Castillo Alcazar | 4 stars | 1999 |
Colosseo | 4-star superior | 2004 |
Santa Isabel | 4-star superior | 2007 |
Bell Rock | 4-star superior | 2012 |
Krønasår | 4-star superior | 2019 |
Since the existing hotels with an occupancy rate of 95% are at their capacity limit, the construction of two more hotels is planned for the next few years.
Confertainment Center
In addition to numerous smaller halls in the hotels and rooms that are otherwise used by the general public, Europa-Park offers its own event center next to the main entrance. The Europa-Park Dome, a tent-shaped hall with a round floor plan and a size of 1,250 square meters, as well as the Berlin Ballroom, a room that can be divided in the middle with a total of eight hundred square meters, are larger halls. In 2017 the Europa-Park-Arena, a hall with three thousand square meters, was opened, which among other things has a gallery. The offer is supplemented by smaller conference rooms that are connected by a common foyer. Access is from outside the park for independent use. As a special feature, the Berlin Ballroom also has its own foyer, which can also be used as a conference room, as well as direct access from the park.
Ed Euromaus
The main mascot of Europa-Park is Ed Euromaus . His friends are Edda, Böckli, Louis and Olli Eurofant. Ed Euromaus's antagonist is the evil night crab. The music band “Die Rustis” also appears in the history world. The first names were announced in the 2015 anniversary season, according to a public survey. In addition, since the mid-1980s, Charly , a character who is heavily based on Charlie Chaplin's Tramp , has been a permanent part of the park's cast.
- Animated films with Ed Euromaus
- The Secret of Balthasar Castle (2011)
- The time carousel (2015)
- Ed & Edda in "Nachts im Park 4D" (Winter 2018)
- Computer games
- The mysterious labyrinth of Balthasar Castle (2015)
- Cannon Flight (2016)
traffic
Europa-Park is located in Rust, Baden, between Freiburg im Breisgau and Offenburg on the western side of the A5 motorway . The Rhine, which forms the border with France here, is 2.5 km away as the crow flies. The nearest border crossing is the ferry connection between Kappel-Grafenhausen and Rhinau (Alsace) 7 km away.
Rust has had its own motorway junction since 2002 with a partially four-lane access road to the Europapark, 3 km away. The closest train station is Ringsheim , from where regional trains run to the ICE train station in Offenburg . The Südbadenbus (SBG) runs several times a day between Ringsheim train station and the main entrance to the park . There are also direct buses from Emmendingen and Herbolzheim . The lines 271 and 531 from Réseau 67, the public transport of the Bas Rhin (Lower Rhine) department, connect the park with Strasbourg and Schlettstadt (Sélestat). In addition, Europa-Park can be reached with the long-distance buses from Flixbus . The connections 007 (Zurich – Hamburg), 008 (Freiburg – Tübingen) and 011 (Konstanz – Saarbrücken) stop at Rheinweg, approx. 100 m from the main entrance.
Following the approval of the Freiburg Regional Council to use Lahr Airport as a feeder airport , feeder flights from Vienna, Rotterdam and London could be booked from mid-2007. In the first season of 2007, around 3500 guests were flown to Europa-Park in 51 aircraft. However, the airport proved to be unprofitable in 2008, so operations were suspended again in 2010. Europa-Park can be reached by scheduled flights from Karlsruhe / Baden-Baden Airport, from which shuttle services are offered.
Visitors
The total number of visitors since the park was founded is over 110 million guests. In 2019, 5.8 million guests visited the park.
Of the 5.6 million park visitors in 2017, first-time visitors made up 18 percent and repeat visitors made up around 82 percent. 23 percent are multi-day guests who stay an average of 2.3 days. The target group of Europa-Park are families, who in 2008 made up 70% of the visitors. On average, the park visitor is around 29 years old.
The nationalities were divided as follows in 2017:
- Germany: 49 percent
- France: 23 percent
- Switzerland: 22 percent
- Other countries: 6 percent
power supply
The " Alte Elz " flows through the park. In the southern part of the site, a run-of-river power plant on the river with a two-meter drop and a maximum output of 275 kW contributes to the park's power supply. The water rides are not supplied with river water, but rather via several deep wells on the park area (see also Upper Rhine Aquifer ).
Ammolite restaurant
Ammolite - The Lighthouse Restaurant was awarded two Michelin stars under head chef Peter Hagen . As of 2015, it is the only starred restaurant in an amusement park worldwide.
Awards
In 2014, Europa-Park received the Golden Ticket Award in the Best Amusement Park category as part of an event at SeaWorld Park in San Diego . The title was also defended from 2015 to 2019 and was named the best amusement park in the world six times in a row.
Rulantica
On November 28, 2019, the Rulantica water park , an adventure pool with indoor and outdoor areas with a size of 46 hectares, was opened southeast of Rust . In a twenty meter high hall there are, among other things, 17 water slides, a lazy river, a wave pool, several dining options and an outdoor pool with a size of five hundred square meters. The theme of the water park was based on the story of a fictional island in the European North Sea, based on a series of novels published by Coppenrath Verlag .
The sixth theme hotel in the park was built next to the pool. Krønasår is modeled on a natural history museum. It offers space for around 1300 guests in three hundred rooms. An artificial lake was created between the water park and the hotel, which is modeled on a fjord.
As the new site is some distance from the existing park and the other hotels, guests can use a regular bus shuttle line.
Future developments
At the end of 2017, managing directors Roland and Michael Mack revealed in several interviews that a large new roller coaster would be built “in the center of the park” in the period 2020–2021.
The communities of Rust and Ringsheim have jointly designated an industrial area along the access road to the park, which stretches from the new water park to the motorway. This should be available to companies from the service and tourism sector. It is also intended as an expansion area for Europa-Park, but should not be used for a second amusement park. It is not yet known what use is planned there in the future.
The mayors of Rust and Ringsheim are calling for an ICE stop to be set up at Ringsheim train station in order to better develop the park with public transport. So far, the station is not yet suitable for this, as it only has a platform height of 38 centimeters and the platform length of 265 meters is also too short for most ICE trains. In the course of the expansion of the Rheintalbahn, the previous stop has to be replaced by a new one anyway, as the line in this area will be expanded to four tracks. In the course of this, the prerequisites for a future long-distance traffic stop could be created.
literature
- Theo Hofsäss: The amusement park in the village . An empirical study about the "Europa-Park" in the Baden community of Rust [in cooperation with the Institute for Municipal Planning and Development GmbH]. In: East-West Studies on Communal Planning and Development , Volume 2, Association for Communal Science e. V., Freiburg in Breisgau 1993, ISBN 3-925008-01-2 .
- Heribert Klein (Hrsg.): From the illusion and its reality 25 years Europa-Park . Europa-Park, Rust 2000.
- Manuela Ohnemus: From fishing village to leisure destination . 30 years of Europa-Park and its effects on Rust and the region. VDM, Saarbrücken 2009, ISBN 978-3-639-16850-1 .
- Europe Park. Discover Germany's largest amusement park with us. In: Parkscout leisure guide . 2nd, revised edition. Vista-Point, Cologne 2006, ISBN 978-3-88973-878-3 .
Web links
- Europa-Park Rust
- Patrick Griesser: The Macks and their amusement park . Basler Zeitung , October 27, 2012
- Martin Herceg: Europa-Park: Congresses are an important source of income . Badische-zeitung.de , March 26, 2015
- A life for pleasure . Focus 37/2014
- Europapark XXL - Frustration in Rust , SWR television On the Baden-Württemberg issue from October 25, 2019 (About the history of the park)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b TEA / AECOM 2019 Theme Index and Museum Index. In: TEA / AECOM. July 19, 2020, accessed July 24, 2020 .
- ↑ a b BZ editorial staff: record attendance. In: Badische Zeitung. January 1, 2020, accessed January 1, 2020 .
- ↑ a b TEA / AECOM 2019 Theme Index and Museum Index. In: TEA / AECOM. July 19, 2020, accessed July 24, 2020 .
- ↑ 2018 Winners - The Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today Inc., September 8, 2018, accessed October 1, 2018 .
- ↑ Thematic areas - Europa-Park - Leisure Park & Adventure Resort. Retrieved September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ history. Europa-Park, accessed November 28, 2014 .
- ↑ Major fire in Europa-Park Rust - SZ-Online. Retrieved May 26, 2018 .
- ↑ Major fire: black smoke rises above Europapark - Watson.ch. Retrieved May 27, 2018 .
- ↑ Tweet by Michael Mack on Twitter. Retrieved May 27, 2018 .
- ↑ Extinguished major fire in Europa-Park - this is how it goes on - Offenburger Tageblatt. Retrieved May 27, 2018 .
- ↑ Tweet from the Europa-Park spokesman regarding the closed attractions. Retrieved June 6, 2018 .
- ↑ Tweet of the Europa-Park spokesman regarding the closed attractions (update). Retrieved June 6, 2018 .
- ↑ Tweet from the Europa-Park spokesman regarding the opening of the Koffiekopjes attraction . Retrieved June 6, 2018 .
- ↑ Europa-Park after a major fire: Coffee cups will be back soon - regio-news.de. Retrieved June 6, 2018 .
- ↑ Fire in Europa-Park in Rust: The most important questions and answers for visitors - Baden-Württemberg - Stuttgarter Zeitung. Retrieved June 6, 2018 .
- ↑ Tweet from the Europa-Park spokesman about the reopening of Fjord Rafting. Retrieved June 9, 2018 .
- ↑ POL-OG: Joint press release by the public prosecutor's office in Freiburg and the Offenburg police headquarters, Rust - fire in amusement park / 3rd supplementary report | Press release Police Headquarters Offenburg. Retrieved June 6, 2018 .
- ↑ Europa-Park speaker: We captured the atmosphere and impressions of the official opening of the Scandinavian themed area in this video. It's worth taking a look! pic.twitter.com/vUdfoZ7YTH. In: @ep_sprecher. July 24, 2019, accessed July 24, 2019 .
- ↑ Tanja Starck: Local council agrees: Europa-Park is allowed to rebuild Scandinavia after a fire. Badische newest Nachrichten Badverarbeitung GmbH, August 9, 2018, accessed on October 4, 2018 .
- ↑ Philipp Vetter: Junior boss Michael Mack - This is how Europapark wants to compete with Disney. In: welt.de. August 27, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2018 .
- ^ Europa-Park GmbH & Co Mack KG, Rust: 799th place in the ranking of the top family businesses - Die Deutsche Wirtschaft. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; accessed on May 27, 2018 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ DPMAregister | Trademarks - register information. Retrieved September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ New name of the Euromaus known: Europa-Park mascots are now called Ed and Edda. parkerlebnis.de, accessed on October 2, 2015.
- ↑ Official Europa-Park fan club - panorama train and train stations. Retrieved June 10, 2020 .
- ↑ EP-Express station "Spain". In: europapark.de. Retrieved September 23, 2018 .
- ↑ a b Interview with Simone Mauder from the press department of Europa-Park Rust on November 27, 2008; in: Karen van den Berg: Conception and staging of adventure worlds. (PDF; 3.9 MB) Accessed August 29, 2012 .
- ↑ Media information from Europa-Park: Roland Mack Honorary Citizen in Wallis. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on February 22, 2014 ; Retrieved August 29, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Ba-aa Express. In: europapark.de. Retrieved February 7, 2019 .
- ↑ JUNIOR CLUB Studios - Europa-Park - Leisure Park & Adventure Resort. Retrieved June 24, 2020 .
- ↑ Spook Me! UM Verlag und Medien GmbH, accessed on October 3, 2018 .
- ↑ Rulantica - The Musical - Cast & Crew. Europa-Park GmbH & Co Mack KG, accessed on October 3, 2018 .
- ↑ It's Magic! - Europa-Park - Leisure Park and Adventure Resort. Retrieved June 24, 2020 .
- ↑ Europa-Park starts the 2018 season with many new products. In: regiotrends.de. March 22, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018 .
- ↑ Ed & Edda in "Nachts im Park 4D" - Europa-Park - Leisure Park & Adventure Resort. Retrieved June 10, 2020 .
- ↑ Departure to Batavia - Europa-Park - Leisure Park & Adventure Resort. Retrieved June 10, 2020 .
- ↑ a b Start - Ladies Only Festival. Retrieved September 21, 2017 .
- ^ Science Days Festival. Retrieved October 31, 2017 .
- ↑ Science Days Festival: 2017 program, interviews, plans, information. Retrieved October 31, 2017 .
- ↑ Europa-Park in brief. Europa-Park GmbH & Co Mack KG, March 22, 2018, accessed on October 3, 2018 : "Seasonal concept: Halloween theme weeks (since 1998)"
- ^ Report on the musical "Spook Me!" On the park's website.
- ↑ Europa-Park ends winter season with record numbers. January 5, 2012, accessed July 23, 2012 .
- ↑ Cheap to Europa-Park in winter 2016? Just go as Santa Claus! In: Parkerlebnis - Freizeitpark-Magazin. Retrieved November 13, 2016 .
- ↑ Winter in Europa-Park. In: europapark.de. Retrieved October 2, 2016 .
- ↑ Blue fire winter opening. EPfans.info, accessed October 30, 2018 .
- ↑ Silver Star winter opening. EPfans.info, accessed October 30, 2018 .
- ↑ a b Europa-Park wants to build two new hotels - one million overnight stays for the first time. Badische Latest News , February 4, 2020, accessed on February 7, 2020 .
- ↑ The guest house is closed. epfans.info, January 18, 2016, accessed on February 7, 2020 .
- ↑ Confertainment - Europa-Park - Leisure Park & Adventure Resort. Retrieved September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ Europa Park - Krønasår - The Museum Hotel. Retrieved September 8, 2019 .
- ↑ Rooms - Europa-Park - Leisure Park & Adventure Resort. Retrieved July 7, 2017 .
- ↑ Europa-Park Junior Club. In: ep-juniorclub.de. Retrieved October 1, 2018 .
- ↑ A Swiss man has been copying Charly-Chaplin in Europa-Park for 27 years. Badische Zeitung, September 11, 2013, archived from the original on February 19, 2014 ; accessed on May 30, 2019 .
- ↑ Ed & Edda in "Nachts im Park 4D". In: Europapark.de. Europa-Park, accessed October 30, 2018 .
- ↑ The Secret of Balthasar Castle (2011) , imdb.com
- ↑ Europa-Park: DJ Bobo lends Böckli the voice , Badische Zeitung from December 20, 2015.
- ↑ Kappel ferry. In: Ferries on the Rhine. go_on Software GmbH, accessed on August 12, 2019 .
- ↑ So that the traffic can move quickly , epfans.de, accessed on July 4, 2012
- ↑ MeinFernbus. In: MeinFernbus. Retrieved May 19, 2016 .
- ↑ Europa Park CTBR: Compagnie des transports du Bas-Rhin. Retrieved September 21, 2017 (fr-fr).
- ↑ Long- distance bus connections to Rust , meinfernbus.de, accessed on April 6, 2017
- ↑ Europa-Park in brief. February 25, 2014, accessed August 13, 2014 .
- ↑ a b Europa-Park in brief. Europa-Park GmbH & Co Mack KG, March 22, 2018, accessed on October 3, 2018 .
- ↑ Information according to the information boards at the power plant
- ↑ Nothing works without Klemens Disch. In: Badische Zeitung , August 22, 2012.
- ↑ Europa-Park Rust shines with star cuisine. In: rp-online.de. November 7, 2014, accessed October 9, 2018 .
- ↑ Europa-Park Rust welcomes the 100 millionth visitor , badische-zeitung.de, accessed April 6, 2015.
- ↑ Zoé Baches: How the Europapark asserts itself on an international level. In: nzz.ch. September 12, 2018. Retrieved September 12, 2018 .
- ↑ Europapark water world "Rulantica" opened. SWF, November 28, 2019 accessed on 23 December 2019 .
- ↑ a b The underwater world of the Europa-Park. Retrieved November 25, 2019 .
- ↑ Rulantica - Mack media cooperation with Coppenrath Verlag - Freizeitpark-Welt.de. Retrieved January 19, 2020 .
- ↑ Rulantica - Lost Island - Coppenrath Verlag | The Spiegelburg | Hölker Verlag. Retrieved January 19, 2020 .
- ↑ New for 2019 - Water Adventure Resort - Europa-Park - Leisure Park & Adventure Resort. Retrieved July 7, 2017 .
- ↑ Thomas Frank: Big new roller coaster is to be built in the center of Europa-Park. Parkerlebnis.de, December 23, 2017, accessed October 4, 2018 .
- ^ Barth Medienhaus GmbH: :: Municipality of Ringsheim | Economy ::. Retrieved July 7, 2017 .
- ↑ Macks are investing hundreds of millions in Rust - Südwest - Badische Zeitung. Retrieved July 7, 2017 .
- ↑ Changed routing requires new planning. In: karlsruhe-basel.de. Retrieved April 6, 2019 .