Monday
We arranged for a rental car from the nearby town of Villefranche-Sur-Saone this week! We were a bit concerned that the car would not be big enough to fit all our suitcases, but it was the largest option available to book online. Fortunately they had a Ford C-Max minivan reserved for us and everything fit! Hooray!
After picking up the rental car and packing everything and everyone into it, we said goodbye to Joan and Mike and headed north. We’d picked up a flyer about Chateau Cormatin while we were at Chateau Fletcheres, so that was our intended first destination. Our accommodations for the night were in Rust Germany, but we had all day to make it there.
Chateau Cormatin was wonderful! We were very lucky because the only visitors there only spoke English, so our tour guide was able to give the tour in English for everyone’s benefit. We were very impressed with the castle restoration and I think the blue and gold room meditation room was our favorite.
The kids picked out post cards to add to their collection, and then we wandered through the formal gardens. There was even a boxhedge maze the kids ran through.
After the chateau, we headed north toward Chalon-Sur-Saone for lunch. Keller picked out a pizza restaurant which was open outside “normal” French lunch hours of 12-2, so we were able to drive through the French countryside at a leisurely pace rather than rushing off to make a meal. Keller and I really liked spotting all the little towns dotted through the countryside — you never knew what you’d find, especially chateaus!
After lunch we picked up the highway and headed to Germany. The drive was uneventful and quick — both good things! We checked into our AirBNB in Rust. This time we had a private room but a shared living space and bathrooms. Often the main bathroom with shower was occupied, but otherwise it was just fine. The kids liked having bunk beds!
We ate dinner at Gasthaus zum Ochsen and decided that no, we still don’t really care for German food. There’s too much brown food — fried, sauce, and veggies all meld together. =/ Oh well! Then off to bed before a full two days at Europa Park!
Tuesday
*note — Not all of these photos are mine. I neglected to take some photos of our favorite rides, so I filled in with Google Image search items.*
In our experience, it’s worth getting to theme parks early to beat the crowds — for parking, security, and potty breaks before the park opens. Online it said Europa Park opened at 9am, so we left at 8am and were parked by 8:15. We were standing at the gate at 8:30 when they opened early! Woohoo! The weather was a bit chilly and damp, but not too bad. We were hoping the weather would keep crowds down at the park.
They didn’t open the entire park early, but they did allow entry to the first part of the park, including the Voltarium ride. The themeing of the queue line was spectacular — and Keller was a bit sad that there was no line because we didn’t get a chance to enjoy the queue! What a problem to have, right?! We all liked Voltarium, though I think Soarin’ at DisneyLand is a bit better executed.
We then waited at the rope line to the rest of the park, which opened at 9am. Keller split off to ride Silver Star — a hyper coaster, which he said was just okay. The kids and I rode Pegasus three times before Keller arrived and then rode it with them once more. From there we hopped over to Poseidon — a water roller coaster and one of Caden’s favorites. Once again, there was no line, so we breezed through the queue line and were on in minutes. We got a bit wet, but not too bad!
Next we headed toward the back of the park to the bluefire and Woden coasters. Kamy and Daddy rode bluefire — Kamy really liked the launch start on the coaster! Then I sat out while the three of them rode Woden, a wooden coaster. Woden got high marks from everyone, along with the report that I should try it at some point too.
Next up we grabbed lunch at FoodLoop. It is a restaurant where your food is delivered via ROLLERCOASTER! You order your food on a touch screen menu and it arrives in little pots with lids via a coaster track. It was so cool! One table even had a loop de loop in the track! While the food itself wasn’t special, the environment was and made it worth the stop.
After lunch we trekked over to the Atlantica splash coaster. Since we were already damp, we then did the Tirol log flume and the Alpen Coaster. Both rides were original to the park when it opened and go through a really neat cave with animatronic dwarves, crystals, and a dragon. We really liked that the rides were interwoven and you’d see the coaster go by while on the log flume. You can also walk through the cave and see both the coaster and the log flume at a slower pace! It was one of our favorite sections of the entire park!
The Dark Prince show was next on the list, so we made our way to the Spanish Arena to rest our weary legs. While the story was a bit hard to follow at times (and I’m still not 100% sure what happened), it was very entertaining! The horses and actors were right up by the stands and we could see very well.
We then worked our way back toward the front of the park. We did the Pirates ride (essentially an echo of Pirates of the Caribbean) and several smaller kids attractions in The Netherlands section.
Kamy and Daddy rode the Euro-Mir coaster — one of Kamy’s favorite rides in the park. Meanwhile, Caden did the little kid bumper cars and two different driving car attractions.
We also did the Atlantic Adventure dark ride — aiming laser shooters at colored lights to score points. Kamy thought it was a lot of fun!
Next we rode the Matterhorn Blitz and the bobsled before going up the EuroTower.
We did a few more little dark rides before queueing in line for the Rulantica musical. The show was brand new and both kids really enjoyed it! There was a screen on the side that described what was going on in the story in English, which helped a lot! For a theme park, we were very impressed!
By the end of the day we’d done at least 30 attractions and been at the park for ten hours. We were tired and hungry! We found an Italian restaurant about 20 minutes away by car, stopped by a grocery store for lunch on Wednesday, and then found a closed restaurant. Shoot! By now it was approaching 8pm and the kids were running out of gas and we were short on patience. Fortunately we were able to find a little restaurant further out that was open for dinner. Our meals were tasty and both kids fell asleep in the car on the drive back.
One day down, one to go!
Wednesday
Our strategy today was to hit the best of the best as repeats and try to do the rest of the attractions that were on our list. We each picked three things that we’d really like to do again — so that formed our priority list. We parked by 8:15, were at the gate at 8:30 when they opened it, and then we rode Voltarium twice before the rest of the park even opened. This time we walked a bit slower through the queue line so we could appreciate the decor and themeing.
The weather was cool and wet again today. But not just drizzly like Tuesday, but full-on raining in the morning. It could have been a disappointment, but we all approached it with a good attitude and we made the best of it. Because of the weather, the park was nearly empty for the first several hours.
The family favorite was the three combined rides in Austria — the AlpenCoaster, the Tirol log flume, and the Diamond Mine walk through. So we started there once the park opened!
We actually took the monorail around to the back side of the park — both to save our feet and because it was on Keller’s wish list. =)
The rain created a memorable experience on the AlpenCoaster. There was not a line, so we walked right up to the first and second rows. It was actively raining, so we were all huddled in our rain jackets, laughing as we went around the track. Keller caught a low hanging tree branch in the face thanks to the wet leaves — fortunately it didn’t hurt and we were able to laugh about it. Once we rode, we got up to leave but there were many open seats, so they let us change rows and ride it again immediately. This time, instead of going around twice (which is normal), the operators waved us through for a third loop! There was no one in line at all, so why not?! It was a fun and memorable way to remember this ride.
Since we were already wet from the rain, we did the Tirol log flume next. What’s a little more water once your jeans are already soaked? While it was cool, it wasn’t so cold that we were shivering. I was definitely glad to have both my rain coat and fleece jacket on though!
bluefire and Woden coasters were also requested repeats, so they were next on the list. This time we did the child swap for bluefire, so Kamy was able to ride it both with Keller and with me, nearly back to back. She thought that was awesome! Woden is one of Caden’s favorites — he seems to really like the wooden coasters and the kids liked showing me the queue line and telling me what to expect on the ride.
We all rode the Whale Watching boat before walking over to do Atlantic Adventure, Pegasus, and Poseidon again. We tacked on Cassandra’s Curse too — a mad house where the room appears to spin, but we didn’t think it was as successful as Merlin’s Castle at Walibi Holland.
I wanted to catch the acrobatic show, Times, in the England section, so we headed there next. The show was very impressive and the acrobats were quite good. After the show we ate our sandwiches and snacks before setting off for more fun!
Rain was threatening once again, but we didn’t let that stop us! We did Volo da Vinci, the Jim Button rail road, and a little boat ride. Next we walked back to the kids section in Ireland where the kids had spotted a playground with large slides (and was on Kamy’s wishlist). Kamy and Caden didn’t let wet sand on the slides stop them either! They also rode a little kids coaster and did the Dizzy Dragons spinny ride.
We attempted to ride Arthur, but the ride was temporarily closed when we got there. We missed it yesterday, so it was on our “really want to do” list. It won best ride in 2016 when it opened.
Next we walked through the Fairy Tale Forest on the way back to the Diamond Mine. Both kids bought little souvenirs from the shop there. Then we rode the mini monorail a full loop — per Keller’s request. Matterhorn Blitz repeat came next. Kamy wanted to ride Euro-Mir again, so Daddy took her while Caden and I did the preview show for the new Rulantica water park they are building.
The parade was coming up shortly, so we found a place to wait. It was short and sweet, so it did not take very long.
We had about an hour and fifteen minutes left of the day — what should we do? Arthur was still closed, so we kept an eye on the status via our phone apps and let the kids choose one last thing each. Kamy chose Euro-Mir; it’s officially her favorite ride at Europa Park. Keller did not want to ride it again, so I swapped out and did it with her. Caden chose to repeat Woden one last time. It had the longest wait of the day, 20 minutes, but we would have enough time.
As luck would have it, 5 minutes before we got on Woden and 15 minutes before the park closed, Arthur re-opened! As soon as we finished Wodan, we ran across the park to Arthur — hoping to get there before they closed the queue line. We made it! We were all a bit out of breath, and we were there at 5:54. Arthur was very neat — it is a hybrid between a dark ride and roller coaster. It was a perfect way to end our Europa Park trip!
Overall, we LOVE Europa Park! While there are many familiar rides, they all have a little twist to make them special. Add in the themeing, especially in the queue lines, and everything feels very impressive. It’s officially our favorite theme park (yes, over DisneyLand and Efteling). The park was huge, with so many different attractions, and even with no lines we were not able to do everything in two days. We’ll just have to come back another time! Keller gave the day a 10/10 — including the rain and spint to Arthur which just made it more memorable!
After the park closed we ate dinner in town at Restaurant Apollon, which was pretty good. The nearby Bell Rock Hotel had a little fountain show which we watched before heading back to our beds for the night. It was another full and successful day!
… And the kids have already asked when we can go back. =P
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One little side note — About one week after we were at Europa Park they had a large fire in a section of the park! A significant portion of the Holland section and all of Scandinavia burned to the ground. Pirates of Batvia is no more … hopefully they’ll replace it with something else more creative!
