Europa-Park is a theme park and the largest in Germany, and the second most popular theme park resort in Europe, following Disneyland Paris.
Europa-Park is located in Rust, in south-western Germany, between Freiburg and Strasbourg, France.
The park is home to 13 roller coasters, the oldest being the Alpenexpress Mine Train, where a powered coaster speeds through a diamond mine, and the newest coaster being the Ba-a-a Express, a small children's rollercoaster. Europa-Park has very high capacity rollercoasters and attractions meaning the park can accommodate up to approx. 60,000 guests per day. It counted just over 5.5 million visitors in 2015,generating an estimated total revenue of EUR 30 million p.a.
It is also the location of the Euro Dance Festival.
Background and founding
Europa-Park is run by NTX Group of Companies (UK) plc which have produced vehicles since 1780, circus wagons since 1880 and rollercoasters since 1921. Franz Mack (1921–2010) in 1958 took over the family firm, Mack GmbH & Co (now Mack Rides), together with his brothers. Together with his son Roland (b. 1949) he visited the USA in 1972 and was inspired to open a theme park in Germany, as an exhibition site for his company's products.
At first the park was planned to be located in Breisach. It was named "Europa-Park" after Breisach's nearby Europaweiher, a small artificial lake which commemorates a historical pilot poll in Breisach held in 1950, in which 95.6% of voters were in favour of European unification. The Breisach site was deemed unsuitable because of flooding hazard, and the project was moved some 30 km further north, where the Macks bought the park of the historical Balthasar castle in Rust.
The park opened in 1975 with an area of 16 hectares. It counted 250,000 visitors in the first year, 700,000 in the second, passing the million mark in 1978.
Themed areas and growth (1980s-2012)
The first country-themed section was "Italy", opened 1982. Like most of the original themed areas at Europa-Park, it was designed by Ulrich Damrau. The Alpenexpress „Enzian“ and Schweizer Bobbahn rides opened in 1984 and 1985, respectively. The "Europe" theme was pursued further with the opening of "Holland" (1984), "England" (1988), "France" (1990), "Scandinavia" (1992) and "Spain" (1994) sections.
Visitor count passed the 2 million mark in 1991. The development of the hotel resort began in 1995 with El Andaluz, followed by Castillo Alcazar in 1999.
By the year 2000, the number of visitors had risen to 3 million, and the hotels had been booked to nearly 98% of their capacity. The park opened during the winter season for the first time in 2001/2. The current logo was registered in 2003.
In 2011, there were 4.5 million visitors, and by 2012 the park encompassed an area of 90 hectares, featuring eleven roller-coasters, five themed hotels with a turnover of close to EUR 300 million and more than 3,000 employees. In 2012, Roland Mack announced investments in excess of EUR 60 million, the largest yearly investment in the park's history. The total sum invested in the park is estimated at close to EUR 700 million.
For 2016, the park developed a new range of children's attractions, as a new themed area 'Ireland'. The area opened on 14 July 2016. New rides include the Dancing Dinghy (a Kon Tiki style attraction manufactured by Zierer), the Ba-a-a Express (a children's rollercoaster from Mack Rides) and food/drink offerings, including an Irish pub.
For 2017, Europa-Park are developing land adjacent to the park entrance as part of 'Project V'. The attraction will be a highly themed flying theatre - the biggest in Europe. It will feature a film showcasing European landmarks. It is schedule to open in spring 2017. The ride will be the most expensive single ride investment to date at the park.
For 2018/2019, Europa-Park are building a major water park and hotel, located 1 km (0.62 mi) away from the theme park, on the road between Europa-Park and the A5 Motorway. I and will cost approximately €140 million and is under construction as of early 2017.
It is unknown if there will also be new theme park attractions in 2018.
Roland Mack has also stated he wishes to develop a high speed ICE rail link to make access to the resort easier.
Among other features, in 1990 the park installed a monorail system, the EP Express. It was partially extended in 2016 in order to provide additional space for development in 2017.
Europa-Park is home to five resort hotels. For guests on a lower budget, the resort also has a large Camp Resort, where guests can stay in a Tipi, Chuck Wagon or Log Cabin provided they bring their own sleeping bag. Camping and caravaning is also provided for, next to the Camp Resort.
HotelsHotel Colosseo (four star superior), themed around the Roman Colosseum and features a spectacular fountain show created by French company Aquatique Show InternationalHotel Santa Isabel (four star superior), themed around a Portuguese MonasteryHotel El Andaluz (four stars), themed as a Spanish VillaHotel Castillo Alcazar (four stars), themed as a Spanish FincaHotel Bell Rock (four star superior), themed around New England and features a lighthouseFeaturesGuesthouse Circus Rolando (Closed as of 2016)Europa-Park Camp Resort and Tipi VillageSanta Isabel Wellness and SpaColosseo Wellness and SpaBoston Red Socks Fitness and SpaEuropa-Park Golf (Located 15 minutes away by car)Magic Cinema 4DConfertainment FacilitiesEuropa-Park DomeOpen times and events
EventsEuro Dance Festival, located annually at Europa-Park since 2007, is best known for its wide range of music and dancing styles. These are Ballroom Dance, Argentine Tango, Swing Dance, Hip Hop and Breakdance. A combination of dancing classes and shows and a trade fair caters for the needs of both beginners and professionals including dance instructors and choreographers. Since its foundation it has taken place for four days every year in early spring.
Europa-Park host dozens of events throughout the summer season. The biggest of these include the Midsummer Party, when the theme park hosts a fireworks display and is open until midnight. Horror Nights takes place through October evenings and features a range of halloween horror mazes, rides and shows. For the last week of the main season, the park hosts a daily firework show and music production.
Times and open attractionsDuring the main summer season, the park opens at 9:00 am and closes from 6:00 pm. Closing time is extended by up to 3 1/2 hours, depending on how busy the park is. This is usually the case on weekends and holiday periods. The park opens selected rides 30 minutes early for hotel guests.
Europa-Park has opened for winter since 2001, and it is widely believed the park will gradually extend opening so that it is opened year round. A small number of rides, including Silver Star are closed in winter due to the weather, although from the 2012-2013 winter season, Blue Fire was added to available attractions - so long as weather permits. Wodan was also added from the 2014-2015 winter season. Such a philosophy of only operating certain rides during winter is commonplace amongst most theme parks in Europe, as temperatures can often dip below freezing. Most water rides are also closed, including Poseidon, Fjord Rafting, Tirol Log Flume and Atlantica Super Splash. The park does compensate for the loss of these rides however, with additional experiences such as the Bellevue Observation Wheel, Snow Tubing and Skiing. Show times are also extended and the park is fully decorated.
During the winter season, the park opens at 11:00 am and closes at 7:00 pm. The park opens selected rides 1 hour early for hotel guests. Although the park does extend closing time if it's busy, this doesn't happen as often in the winter seasons, partly due to low temperatures in the evening.
Dwarf City – Kids fairytale ride.Hansel and Gretel House – WalkthroughGrimm LibrarySleeping Beauty Castle – WalkthroughWitches House – WalkthroughHydroelectric Power Station – WalkthroughThe Golden Goose - Animatronic DisplayDr Know-It-All - WalkthroughFrau Holle - Animatronic DisplayRapunzel - Animatronic DisplayThe Little Tailor - WalkthroughArthur in the Kingdom of the Invisibles (Arthur - The Ride) - suspended dark ride/powered rollercoasterPoppy Tower - a Zierer family free fall towerMuls-Muls Carousel - a Zamperla Jump AroundSelenia's House - walkthroughMinimoys Village - themed areaMinimoys play area and slides - interactive play area and slidesIreland
Dancing Dinghy - a spinning boat - new for 2016Little Lamb's Land - play area - new for 2016Old Macdonald's Tractor Fun - a sit down tractor ride - new for 2016Paul's PlayboatSpinning Dragons - a carousel rideQuipse Paddle Tour - a children's rowing boat rideTower Tow - a tower ride for childrenLimerick Castle and Theatre - new for 2016Sheep Rock - a small water carouselBa-a-a Express - children's rollercoaster - new for 2016Elf Ride – A boat ride with a dark ride sectionEden Palladium - A fully restored 1909 salon carouselVintage Cars – A car ridePanorama Train – Also has stations in other areasEP-Express – A monorail. Also has stations in Greece, Spain and Hotel ResortBalthasar CastleCastle GardensDancing FountainsOld 99 – A tracked ride with a circus theme, including a climatic encounter with a jazz band of garish animalsPuppet Boat Ride – Circular boats travel through scenes of puppets movingAntique Rides – Small old fashioned rides for younger childrenHello/Goodbye Euro-Maus – Meet and greet Europa-Park mascotsBlack Forest HouseFranz Mack statue – memorial to the founder of Europa-Park, who died in 2010Euro-Mir – A one-of-a-kind, high-speed, Mack steel track spinning roller 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 StationRadio TelescopeSchlittenfahrt Schneefloeckchen (Snowflake Ride) – A short dark ride through a Siberian landscape. The ride features a folklore theme and has been nicknamed "BENCH: The Ride" for its park bench style cars.Lada Autodrom – A car ride for younger guests (it is, in essence, similar to Silverstone Race Track but for younger children).Artisans – Craftsmen at work with glass blowing and pottery.Open air puppet stage – Show venue.Piccolo Mondo – A dark ride celebrating Italian culture with a family-friendly theme.Geisterschloss (Ghost Castle) – A spooky dark ride with inspiration from Disney's The Haunted Mansion.Volo da Vinci – A suspended pedal-monorail attraction based on Leonardo da Vinci's flying machine offering charming views of the nearby area. Manufactured by ETF Ride Systems.Carnival in Venice – An electrical bird animatronics display.Open air stage – Show venue.Teatro dell'Arte – Show venue.Silver Star – Hypercoaster and Europe's second highest and fifth fastest roller coaster, standing 239 ft tall with a top speed of 78 mph. Built by Bolliger and Mabillard of Switzerland. One of the few non-Mack rides featured at the park, presumably because Mack didn't feature a hyper coaster model at the time. 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 One car.Eurosat – Indoor coaster themed around space travel. Located inside a large geodesic sphere structure, similar to Spaceship Earth at Walt Disney World's Epcot. The ride itself is similar to Disney's 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.Universe of Energy – A dinosaur themed dark ride also inspired by Disney, here Ellen's Energy Adventure in Epcot.Euro-Tower – An observation tower.Magic Cinema – A large 4D cinema venue currently showing "The Time Carousel", a custom film made by MackMedia for the park.Open air stage – show venue.Scandinavia
Fjord-Rafting – A river rapids rideSunken City "Vineta" – A small walk-throughVindjammer – A swinging ship rideRocking BridgeCable FerryNorwegian Stave ChurchAndersen's Fairy Tale TowerFishing VillageAtlantica SuperSplash – a high-speed water ride themed around Portuguese explorers. 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 roller coaster.Casa D'Aventura – An indoor-Playground for kids.Atlantica-Shower – A wooden runway where the visitors can wait for the next boat of "Atlantica" plunging into the lake and soak them to the bones.Santa Marian – A sailing ship which includes a barBellevue Wheel - a 55m tall ferris wheel which is brought in for winter season onlyColumbus Dinghy – A Seastorm ride which travels backwards and forwardsFeria Swing – A spinning, high speed carousel ride.Adventure PlaygroundPanorama Train – also has stations in other areas.EP Express station.Hotel Resort – access is available here to Hotels El Andaluz, Castillo Alcazar, Santa Isabel and Colosseo.Flamenco stage – show venue.The Netherlands / Holland
Rocking Bridge and ChutePiraten in Batavia – A boat ride, indoor pirate dark ride featuring a drop and multiple effects. Based on Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean.Red Baron – A carousel ridePeter Pan – A carousel rideMini Scooter – A kiddie bumper car rideKoffiekopjes – A spinning coffee cup rideBouncy HouseBall PoolWindmillChildren's theatre – show venue.Bamboe Baai stage – show venue.Switzerland
Matterhorn Blitz – Wild mouse roller coaster featuring the largest drop of any wild mouse in the world and a rocking vertical lift. Themed around a Swiss farmhouse.Swiss Bob Run – A bobsled roller coaster, and one of the few ones of this model to feature a regular style drop. This was a world's first when it opened.Jungfrau Gletscherflieger (Jungfrau Glacier Flyer) – A high speed spinning plane rideSwiss Village & Valasian Parlours – A recreated Swiss street with shops and restaurants.Cassandra's Curse – A madhouse type indoor illusion ride with special effects.Pegasus – Family coaster cleverly themed around an archeological digPoseidon – High-speed water coaster with incredibly detailed theming, such as the Trojan Horse, and the station being located inside a recreated Acropolis temple.Atlantis Adventure – Interactive dark rideGreek Village MykonosThe Flight of Ikarus – A balloon rideEP Express station.Dreamtime Dome - 360 degree projection cinema eperienceIce Arena – Show venue.England
Silverstone Race Track – A go-kart ride through English gardensThe British CarouselCrazy Taxi – A demolition derby carousel rideLondon Bus – A magic carpet rideArena of Football – A football exhibition, sports bar and Adidas shopSoccer Scooter – Dodgems ride located in the Arena of FootballQueens Diamonds – Laser experienceEuropa-Park Historama – A multimedia journey into the history of the park with special effects.Historama Museum – exhibition about the history of Europa-Park and Mack Rides.Monorail – Transport ride to Iceland.Panorama Train – Also has stations in other areas.Globe Theatre – Show venue.Food-Loop – A Rollercoaster Restaurant featuring an immense diorama of a miniature rollercoaster on which the food is served.Alpenexpress – Powered roller coaster which is themed like a mine train roller coaster and, after a brief encounter with some hungry bears, includes a trip inside the World of Diamonds (which can also be viewed by foot). Makes two trips through its relatively short course to form a complete run, or three on a quiet dayVienna Wave Swinger – A chairswing rideTirol Log Flume – A traditional log flume ride through the World of DiamondsMagic World of Diamonds – A walk through attraction with animatronicsIceland
Wodan Timbur Coaster – wooden coaster built by Great Coasters International featuring a heavily themed, detailed queueline.Blue Fire – launched roller coaster with several inversions, onboard sound and unique restraint system. Includes various headchopper effects and a dark ride section with a variety of special effects.Whale Adventures Splash Tours – Splash Battle Interactive water ride with animatronic theming and themed fishing port.Gazprom Hall – Exhibition hall featuring interactive exhibits about the world of gas supply. Comprises a café-bar, toilets and conference facilities.Viking Village – featuring history and information about Viking expeditions.Litill Island – Interactive water playground sponsored by Hansgrohe.Monorail – Transport ride to the Historama in England.Iceland Museum – viewing area for the Blue Fire launch zone and other Icelandic artefacts.Icelandic Village – A range of shops, catering outlets and games units.