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| Location |  Germany |
|---|---|
| Opened | 1975 |
| Owner | Family Mack |
| Operating season | April to October, December to January |
| Area | 700.000 m2 |
| Attractions | |
| Roller coasters | 9 |
| Water rides | 4 |
| Website | www.europapark.de |
Europa Park is the second most popular theme park in Europe, after Disneyland Paris. It is open from April to October and in December and early January. It's located in Rust, south-west Germany, between Freiburg and Strasbourg. Its mascot is a grey mouse named "Euromaus" whose friends include Europhant, an elephant. It is split into 14 different areas, typically named after European countries or regions.
Europa Park is unusual in that it is run by the Mack family which has produced vehicles since 1780, circus waggons since 1880 and rollercoasters since 1921. The park was opened in 1975 to act as a showcase for many of their different ride models, eg. the Wild Mouse roller coaster. The amusement ride company is now called de:MACK Rides GmbH & Co KG. 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, designed by B&M of Switzerland. This is presumably because Mack doesn't offer a hyper coaster model.
The park is home to 9 roller coasters, the oldest being the Alpenxpress Mine Train where one travels at speed through a diamond cave with fire and smoke and the newest being Pegasus, a family coaster which opened in 2006.
Along with the park and rides, there are countless shows on offer every day. These include an Ice Show, a Gladiator Show, an Acrobatics Show in an Itlianate Theatre, a fully re-created Globe Theatre where guests can see a light-hearted take on Shakespeare plus many more. The 4D Cinema also opens during the evening and guests can pay a small fee to watch a current blockbuster.
In 2007, the park will continue its building programme by introducing a new dark ride in the Greek themed area. A teaser trailer video is available on the official Europa Park website. It is expected that the theming company Hoffman will be involved in this new ride as for other Europa Park rides in the past. A 4th hotel will also be built at the resort over the coming year. This will be in the theme of a Portuguese monestrey and will be located in the Portugal area next to the Castillio Alcasar hotel.
In the longer term, it is anticipated the park will build another rollercoaster under/next to Atlantica Super Splash. At the present time though, this is speculation.
Aside from the park, Europa Park is a major resort, boasting 3 hotels - all of which are either 4 Star or 4 Star Superior class. The largest hotel, Colosseo, offers a breathtaking recreation of a Roman colosseum and stunning design, artwork and layout. There is also a Guest House, budget-price Tipi Village, Golf Course and Evening Shows are available with some packages. Stays at the resort start range from GBP10 per person in the Tipi Village to over GBP200 per person in some of the more deluxe accommodation.
The Theme Park offers:
Adventure Land
Essentially the area that comprises everything besides Europe.
- Jungle Rafts
- Mississippi Steamer
- Dwarf City
- Fairy Tale Alley
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 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 Europe Park's history
France
- EuroSat - Indoor coaster themed around space travel. Located inside a large geodesic sphere structure, similar to Spaceship Earth at Epcot. The ride itself is similar to 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 second 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. Whithin the ride's hall there is a coffe shop, a gift shop, and a small-size musiem that features a full scale replica of a Mercedes-Benz Formula 1 car.
- Old 99 with Circus Parade
- Puppet Boat Ride
- Universe of Energy - A dark ride
- Euro-Tower - An observaton tower
Scandinavia
- 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
- 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 De Aventure
Spain
- Columbus Dinghy - A spinning ride
- Adventure Playground
- Feria Swing
Holland
- Rocking Bridge and Chute
- Pirates of Batavia - An indoor themed boat ride, very similar to Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean.
- 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
- Jungfrau-Gletscherflieger - 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.
- Greek Vilage Mykonos
England
- Silverstone Race Track - A car ride
- The British Carousel
- Baron William's Mystery Hall - A walkthrough attraction
- Arena of Football - A football themed bumper car ride
Austria
- Alpenexpress - Powered partially indoor coaster which includes a trip inside the Cave of Diamonds. Makes two trips through its relatively short course during each cycle.
- Silvretta Nova Wave Swinger - A swing ride
- Tirol Log Flume
- Magic World of Diamonds - A walkthrough attraction
External links
- Template:En icon Europa Park (Official Site)
- Template:De icon Europa Park (Official Site)
- Google Maps
- Template:Fr icon eprust French Europa-Park Fan Club, with many updates
- UK site with reviews, pictures and packages
48°16′06″N 7°43′15″E / 48.26833°N 7.72083°E / 48.26833; 7.72083
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