Europa-Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Europa-Park | |
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| Location | Rust, Germany |
| Address | Europa-Park-Straße 2, Rust, 77977 |
| Phone numbers | +49-1805-776688 (0,14 € / minute)
+49-7822-770 (Standard call rate) |
| Website | www.europapark.de |
| Owner | Family Mack |
| Opened | 1975 |
| Operating season | April to October, December to January |
| Area | 680.000 m2 |
| Rides | 54 total
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Europa-Park is the second-most-popular theme park in Europe, after Disneyland Paris. 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. Its mascot is a grey mouse named "Euromaus" whose friends include Eurofant, an elephant. It is split into fourteen different areas, typically named after European countries or regions.
Europa-Park is run by the Mack family which has produced vehicles since 1780, 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 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, Europa-Park is also a major resort. It contains four hotels, with the largest Colosseo including a recreation of a Roman colosseum. There are many shows 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.
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[edit] Developments
In 2007, the park introduced 'Terenzi Horror Nights' based on an idea by popstar Marc Terenzi. [1] The idea is to bring the American idea of Halloween to Germany and these may return for 2008.
2008 will offer 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 rollercoaster 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.
Europa-Park is often criticised for its lack of thrill attractions. Indeed, unlike most major theme parks, there are currently no inversions (upside down spins) on any of the parks rides. Whilst the hyper coaster Silver Star is indeed extremely fast, the ride features mid-course trims which reduce the intensity so as to appeal to families. It is hoped that as Phantasialand and Disneyland Paris (the parks nearest competitors) introduce more intense attractions such as Black Mamba and Talocan at the former and Tower of Terror at the latter, that Europa-Park too will begin to cater for thrill seekers.
[edit] Features
[edit] Adventure Land
Essentially the area that comprises everything besides Europe.
- Jungle Rafts
- Mississippi Steamer
- Dwarf City
- Fairy Tale Alley
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[edit] Children's World
- Giant Slide Labyrinth
- Viking Boat Ride
- Viking Ship
- Dino Merry-Go-Round
[edit] 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
[edit] 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
[edit] 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
[edit] 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. 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 - A dark ride
- Euro-Tower - An observation tower
- 4-D Cinema: Pandavision
[edit] 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
[edit] 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 Da Aventura
[edit] Spain
- Columbus Dinghy - A spinning ride
- Adventure Playground
- Feria Swing
[edit] 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
[edit] 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
[edit] 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
[edit] 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
[edit] 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
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- (English) Europa-Park (Official English Site)
- (German) Europa-Park (Official Site)
- Park location via Google Maps
- (English) UK web site for Europa-Park Breaks
- (German) Terenzi Horror Nights Site
