An American's First Time at Europa-Park
As often as we’d heard the words ‘Europa-Park’ thrown around in conversation bout overseas theme parks, they never elicited the kind of excitement that they should have. As American theme park enthusiasts who were born with hearts for theming and cursed to endure coasters slapped concrete in park after park across the U.S.A., we’d never seen enough of Europa’s extensive theming to know what we were missing. All of that changed as we took our first steps inside the largest theme park in Germany, and came face to face with 235 acres of fantasy made reality.
Surrounded on all sides by farmland, farmland and - oh, look, more farmland - the park is well and truly in the middle of nowhere. Located in Rust, which itself is a district of Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, Europa is the only notable tourist destination for dozens of kilometers; and though the commute inland towards Europa is not particularly magical, the mood quickly shifts as you exit off the highway and begin to see the faint outlines of Silver Star and Blue Fire Megacoaster on the horizon. You’ll pass Rulantica, then enter the tiny township of Rust and navigate through the restaurants and boutique stores rooted there. Assuming you’ve splurged on a resort, as we did, you’ll begin to reach those properties next. And while we could go on and on about how incredible our stay at the Hotel Bell Rock was - and perhaps we will, in a separate post - we all know that what you’re really interested in hearing about is Europa-Park itself.
Now, it’d be unfair not to mention that there were two things about our first visit that won’t necessarily be replicable for others making their first visit to Europa. The first is that we visited during the park’s 50th anniversary celebration, which allowed us to partake in cultural festivals, enjoy a special 50th anniversary parade and try a number of special treats and beverages that may not be around next year. The second is that we had the benefit of a personal tour guide in our new friend Yannick, who lives nearby and knows just about every hidden secret inside these walls. The park is huge, so having access to the Europa-Park app is critical for navigation - but having access to a seasoned enthusiast who knows the park like the back of his hand is even better! Yannick was fantastic and stuck with us for our entire first day at Europa, guiding us from point to point in what he believed was the most efficient order and helping us understand the app and the VirtualLine system. By the dawn of our second day at Europa, we knew more than the average traveler and felt pretty confident in our ability to guide ourselves!
The price of a single-day ticket to Europa-Park is comparable to the price of a single-day ticket to an American Six Flags park at roughly 70€ ($81.53 USD) per person, dynamically priced with slower days being cheaper and busier days being more expensive. That is, however, where any resemblance between the two titans ends. Europa-Park is divided into 18 unique territories or “countries”, each boasting meticulous theming and immersive environments with stunning architectural detail and cultural authenticity. Best of all, the park maintains an impeccable standard of cleanliness, supported by a dedicated custodial team and a strong commitment to sustainability through the use of reusable plates and cutlery across all restaurants and snack stands.
Speaking of restaurants and snack stands, dining at Europa-Park is an experience all its own. Over the course of our three and a half days on property, we never once had a disappointing meal. Whether our order was placed at one of the hotel bars, a snack stand or a full-service restaurant, every dish was consistently fresh, flavorful and satisfying. Some venues - such as Restaurant Bamboe Baai and Food Loop - even offer thematic gimmicks that kept us entertained all through the meal. Bamboe Baai offers an air-conditioned view of the boats from ‘Piraten in Batavia’ as they float gently by, and Food Loop is a whole experience unto itself; I mean, when's the last time you had your meal delivered to you on a tiny, suspended roller coaster track?
Above: “Food Loop” offers a unique dining experience that can only be experienced at Europa-Park! Food is served on roller coaster tracks and comes direct to the table by way of gravity.
And cool as the micro-coasters at Food Loop are, Europa-Park also has a heaping helping of full-size roller coasters - to say nothing of the immersive dark rides, soaking water rides and compelling simulators. What’s more, every attraction has a story and only two attractions parkwide are based on intellectual properties. Animatronics in the queues at Swiss Bob Run and Atlantica SuperSplash spin the yarns of lost sea captains and mountain treks, making the short runs of both attractions that much sweeter and more narratively cohesive when you finally board the ride vehicle. Piraten in Batavia and Madame Freudenreich Curiosités welcome you to immersive (if weird) and wonderful lands and communities where anything can happen, and dinosaurs eat cake. ARTHUR allows you to shrink down to the size of a Minimoy and enjoy an adventure at 1/30th scale. Dare we even talk about Castello dei Medici? Let’s just say that Disney’s Haunted Mansion looks childish by comparison, and leave it at that.
And then there are the walkthrough and interactive experiences. All across the park there are areas designated for childrens’ play, several of which are wet/dry areas where swimsuits are recommended, and several of which are straightforward fun in the sun. While we were too tall (and childless) to be able to enjoy most of these areas as adults, we were able to thoroughly enjoy the recently-reopened Austria section of the park. The near-misses and close encounters with Alpen Express ‘Enzian’ and Tirol Log Flume would on their own be worth the ascent to the top of the “mountain” - but then there are all the slides, interactive easter eggs and triggers, too! There’s also a family-oriented area of the park where you can wander your way through some classic fairy tales and press the various buttons to have the tales spun in your native language; just be sure to keep an eye out for the spitting frogs!
All this, and we haven’t even really scratched the surface of everything there is to see and do at Europa. Add in the characters, the shows, the transport rides, the history; I mean, you can actually dine in a genuine 15th century castle in the German area of the park! It became very evident very quickly that with only three days allocated to this amazing experience, we didn’t have a prayer of doing it all. Still, we did quite a lot - some attractions more than once - and really felt that we got the most out of our time on property despite the (literal) blistering heat. When we first started putting our German theme park trip to paper, Europa-Park was a lesser priority. We were excited to see the park and collect its many coaster credits, but we had no idea that it would blow us away to the extent that it did. We fell in love with Europa-Park, and when the time came for us to pack up and get on the road to the next destination, we had a really hard time saying goodbye. But the nice thing about leaving some things undone is that you still have things left to go back and do for the first time on your next visit - which we can only hope is sooner rather than later.
Above: Our new friend Yannick gave us an amazing tour of Europa-Park for our first of three park days!
For more information about Europa-Park attractions, experiences and hotels, and to purchase your tickets for any future visit, check out the official park website at https://www.europapark.de/en. And for this who might be interested in seeing or hearing more about our personal experience as first-time visitors of the park, be sure to check out the ongoing vlog series on our YouTube channel - and don’t forget to subscribe! More adventures are always right around the corner, and you never know where the next theme park adventure might take us!
