Europa Park, Germany / License: Image author owned

Getting There

Europa Park is situated close to the A5 Autobahn 39 km north of Freiburg. It is a hassle free drive from the channel ports but if you wish to fly the park can be accessed from Basle and Karlsruhe airports both of which have shuttle buses to the park. Europa Park has a dedicated exit from the motorway and plenty of parking and so you will rarely be delayed on arrival in the area.

Layout

The park is ranged in areas themed on European countries and is beautifully landscaped. Each area features rides, attractions, restaurants and shops with something to please everyone in the family. The food is generally excellent, an uncommon occurrence in theme parks, and prices are surprising low for the quality of the food. There are plenty of places to relax and watch the world go by and a scenic lake in the centre of the park affords the opportunity for a pleasant walk when the rides have become too much!

Europa Park, Germany / License: Image author owned

Highlights

There is truly something for everyone at Europa Park. If you want peace and tranquillity you can explore gorgeous gardens with dancing fountains, beautiful woodlands or take a spin around the lake. There is an area dedicated to rides and attractions for small children and family favourites like the log flume and Fjord Rafting.  Serious roller coaster enthusiasts should check out the magnificent steel coaster Silver Star, the launch coaster Blue Fire and the incredible new woodie, Wodan which has the best queue line ever! If that is not enough thrills then there is also a bob sleigh ride, a coaster in the dark and the Matterhorn Blitz, a wild mouse ride with a unique twist at the start. Finally you will not believe Poseidon a visually stunning ride which is a roller coaster and water ride all in one. The best thing of all is that this park runs with relentless efficiency. The queues move quickly and the rides never seem to break down.

Accommodation

You will need more than one day to experience all of the attractions on offer and so an overnight stay will be required. Europa Park offers 5 beautiful themed hotels on site. The newest option is the Bell Rock hotel a masterpiece of New England styling with rooms that feature real wooden floors, oak furnishings and beds for children in the shape of boats. All of the hotels offer excellent dining, bars and entertainment. If the on-site hotels are beyond your budget there are numerous privately run local hotels which are very reasonably priced and are walking distance from the park.

Europa Park, Germany / License: Image author owned

Give it a try!

If you like theme parks and you haven’t visited Europe Park then give this place a try. I know of no other park which is run so well and offers such a fantastic range of attractions for everyone to enjoy. The hotels are superb and the prices very reasonable, there really isn’t a reason not to go.

Sally Stacey is an enthusiatic blogger and theme park fan currently writing on behalf of National Furniture who supllied the fantastic oak furnishings for her new bedroom inspired by the Bell Rock Hotel.

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Visitors to the theatre can be entertained by such acts as Roy Chubby Brown, Sarah Millican, and the 70′s Musical BOOGIE NIGHTS.

Britannia Pier, Great Yarmouth, UK by Adam Smith

If the theatre doesn’t interest you, there are indoor and outdoor rides such as the Giant Slide, Big Foot Super Truck, Formula One Raceway, Childrens Log Flume, Ghost Train, and Super Trucks to name a few.

There are two arcades that have traditional penny slot machines to state-of-the art computerised racing machines to get your blood pumping and test your skill.

And if the indoor and outdoor rides and the arcades don’t tickle your fancy, there are a whole slew of games from Bingo to a Rifle Range to Can Alley Games to Mini-go-Karts, and Kiddies Rides that are guaranteed to provide an afternoon of fun for the whole family.

For those who love to shop, and especially those with a sweet tooth, there are plenty of candy shops, doughnut shops, and novelty shops up and down the pier. If you are hungry for something other than sugar, there is a burger joint, seafood restaurants, and a cafe.

If you have had a long day and need an adult beverage or three, there is the Pier Tavern that offers great music, live entertainment, Karaoke, (for those brave enough to try it), a billiards room, and a family area. Pier Tavern is one of the most popular bars on the Pier.

Another popular pub is the Long Johns Showbar. It is family friendly by day, offering family friendly entertainment and once the kiddies are home sound asleep, the bar offers the night dwelling adults the very best in DJ’s to listen to while enjoying a few adult beverages.

Further information about the history of Britannia Pier, events coming up in Long Johns Showbar or The Pier Tavern and Theatre dates visit: https://www.yarmouth-norfolk.co.uk/holiday/britannia-pier.htm

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Port Aventure

Port Aventura is located in Salou, Catalonia, Spain. The park, which attracts around 3 million visitors each year, is the most popular adventure park in the country. It is divided into 6 different areas, each of which has its own theme. The 6 areas are Polynesia, China, SesamoAventura, Mexico, Mediterrania, and the Far West. All 6 sections have really fun rides, shows, and other attractions. Some of the best rides at Port Aventura are Dragon Khan, Furius Baco, Tutuki Splash, Hurakan Condor, and Stampida.

Port Aventure, Salou, Catalonia, Spain by Joao Maximo

Terra Mitica

Terra Mitica is a large adventure park that is located in Bendidorm, Spain. The park is divided into 5 different zones and each zone has its own theme. The 5 zones are Egypt, Greece, Rome, Iberia, and The Islands. In addition to having a lot of really good rides, Terra Mitica also has many shops and restaurants. The food and merchandise in these establishments are very fair and reasonably priced.

Trivoli World

Tivoli World is a much smaller adventure park. It’s located in the Costa del Sol and has around 30 rides. They always have a lot of live music, Wild West shows, and shows for children.

Isla Magica

Isla Magica is an adventure park that is located in Seville, Spain. The park has many rides and other exciting attractions. Some of the most popular rides there are the Anaconda, El Jaguar, Rapidos del Orinoco, and El Cubo.

Monte Igueldo

Monte Igueldo is another smaller adventure park. Although it is small, it is still very fun and exciting. It is located on top of a mountain in San Sebastian and has many rides and attractions. This park is a really good place to take kids, but it also has a lot of good rides for adults as well. Because there are so many really nice adventure parks in Spain, it’s a great place to take a trip to.

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Legoland Windsor

Fun for both adults and children alike, Legoland Windsor is split into different zones that you can explore, including Pirates Landing where you can learn swashbuckling skills at the Pirate Training Camp, the Land of the Vikings where you can sail and explore the Nordic maze and many others including Duplo Land for younger guests. Rides at the park include Laser Raiders – a laser gun ride, the Dragon roller coaster ride, the Vikings’ River Splash ride, the Orient Expedition train ride and many more. The latest attraction at Legoland is the Star Wars Miniland Experience recreating some of the well-known scenes of the films.

Legoland Windsor is situated outside Windsor, close to the M3, M4 and M25. It’s about a twenty minute drive from High Wycombe.

Model of Tower Bridge in Miniland, Legoland Windsor, England, UK by Cherryguy93

Thorpe Park

Another theme park option is Thorpe Park which would suit families with older children as the rides here are not to be laughed at! The latest addition to their roller coaster offering is the Swarm, the first winged roller coaster in the UK. Other favourites include SAW – a horrifying roller coaster that has a worse than vertical drop, Stealth – a super-fast ride that catapults you from 0-80mph in less than two seconds and finally, Nemesis – one of the original terrifying rides of the park.

For those who prefer to stay away from the intense, high speed, sick inducing roller coasters, there are plenty of other rides to enjoy including the Rumba Rapids, Loggers Leap log flume and tea cup rides.

Set near to Staines, Thorpe Park is close to the M25 and M3 and is only a thirty minute drive from High Wycombe.

Thorpe Park, England, UK by ThorpePark1000

Harry Potter Studio Tour

Any budding little witches and wizards would appreciate a trip to the Warner Brothers studios London to see the ‘Making of Harry Potter‘. The studios are situated in Leavesden near to Watford which is a thirty minute drive from High Wycombe. At the studios, you can see the sets used in the films including Diagon Alley, Hogwarts Castle, Hagrids Hut and the potion’s classroom. You can see props used in the films such as Hagrid’s motorbike and Harry’s Nimbus 2000 broomstick. Tickets must be bought in advance and sell out quickly, especially for popular days such as weekends and bank holidays so book ahead in order to avoid disappointment.

Harry Potter Studio Tour, England, UK by Rev Stan

If you’re planning a trip to London and are looking for a hotel in the High Wycombe area, take a look at the Holiday Inn website for great offers:  https://www.hihighwycombehotel.co.uk/

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Pleasure Beach in Great Yarmouth, UK by Jeremy Thompson

Chief attractions

Once you enter the park you are sure to be tempted to enjoy a ride. Besides the exciting Scenic Railway Roller Coaster there are lots of other rides to cater palpitating pleasure at every moment. Even children find ample scope of great attractions as there are various amusement arcades, ice cream and sweet shops. If you have time you can eat what you like in the cosy corner of the park. Initially just after the inauguration there were only two rides in the Pleasure Beach. Now there are countless ones ranging from the Segway Grand prix to Cups and Saucers especially made for the children. Amid all the thrilling rides there is of course another special attraction for the park visitors, the ferris wheel, popularly known as the Yarmouth Wheel.

Special one

Keeping aside the rides if you want to taste something special you have to wait for a year or two. ‘The Edge’, a multiplex comprising a cinema hall, hotel, bowling alley and obviously a casino within it is going to raise its head adjacent to the park to add colour to tinge the Pleasure Beach.

However there is free entry to the park you need to pay for the rides which is between £13 – £25 for unlimited rides for the day priced depending on childrens ages. Opening times vary and depend also on the weather. There is a car park which is free if you buy a ride ticket.

For more information about Great Yarmouth seafront visit: https://www.yarmouthnorfolk.co.uk/.

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Disneyland Paris, France by Rene Mensen

When going to Disneyland Paris, the first thing you need to understand is that two parks are within walking distance from each other, so you do not need transportation to go from one to the other. If you like Downtown Disney in California or Florida you will also like the Disney Village here just be aware it is much smaller than its counterparts in the states.

When it comes to Disneyland Paris Hotels, you will find that Disney owns seven different hotels and they have four partner hotels. The hotels have different levels like you will find at Disney World Hotels with different amenities. The Santa Fe and Cheyenne hotels are the lowest priced but they do not have air conditioning. These hotels all offer vacation packages that you can customize to your family and are priced depending on the hotel you will stay in as well as the amenities the hotels has. The closest hotel to the magic of the parks would be the Disneyland Hotel and it would be my first choice of a hotel to stay at. In the end, the farthest walk from the Disney owned hotels is about 15 minutes so distance should not be an issue.

When it comes to food at Disneyland Paris there isn’t much of a benefit of a dining plan so when it comes to food it is good to not have the dining plan. Breakfast does come with the room when you do book a vacation package so I would make sure you eat a good breakfast in the morning to help you with your dining spending during the day. The buffets at Disneyland Paris are very good, and a mid-afternoon buffet will just hit the spot. One restaurant worth trying is the Blue Lagoon, it is in the Pirates ride like Blue Bayou is in Disneyland California. Just make sure you realize that portions in Europe are smaller than in America.

Disneyland Paris, France by Fabio

When you’re staying at one of the Disneyland Paris Hotels and want to visit Paris, the city is about 45 minutes away depending on where in the city you want to go. The metro service in Paris is very convenient.

The weather in Paris can be moderately hot, but it does rain pretty frequently. Make sure you do pack yourself rain gear to prepare for this.

As the Disneyland Paris resort is huge, it really is too big for the demand. I would recommend you check a few months before travel as Disneyland Paris releases discounts like kids stay free and free night packages. Planning too early can result in much higher prices.

Just a warning, the Disneyland Paris parks Disney World and Disneyland are very different from each other when it comes to size and scope as well as the culture. It is best to not compare but to take in all of Disneyland Paris as well as all it has to offer.

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10. Apocalypse (Drayton Manor)

Drop towers are a standard feature of most modern theme parks, carrying riders up high up into the sky before sending them free-falling back down to the ground below. Drayton Manor’s Apocalypse, though, is no generic amusement park ride. Instead, this 5-sided monster offers three district types of experience, with riders able to choose between being seated, standing on a floor or standing with no floor at all. If the 177-feet drop doesn’t put you off, then this will be enough to draw you back for a repeat ride or two.

9. Oblivion (Alton Towers)

Oblivion, the world’s first vertical drop roller coaster, opened to huge fanfare in 1998. It remains one of the best rides at the UK’s most popular theme park, carrying guests to the top its signature, 180-feet-tall drop. There, they are held for a few agonising seconds, before plunging into a darkened pit below. The ride is occasionally criticised for being over too quickly, but few guests will be disappointed after experiencing such a stunning set-piece.

8. The Ultimate (Lightwater Valley)

Opened back in 1991 at a cost of £5.2 million, The Ultimate is still the headline ride at Yorkshire’s Lightwater Valley. At the time, it broke the record for being the world’s long roller coaster, at some 7,442-feet-long. While it has since lost this record to Japan’s Steel Dragon 2000, it remains the longest if measured by duration (an amazing 7 minutes 34 seconds). There are plenty of thrills along the way, with the ride hitting a top speed of 51 miles per hour.

7. Bubbleworks (Chessington World of Adventures)

Located near London, Chessington World of Adventures is home to some of the UK’s most inventive and bizarre theme park rides. Bubbleworks is a great example, with guests boarding circular rafts to take an indoor tour of a “bubble factory”. After viewing the “Bubbleworkers” hard at work, they enter a dazzling final scene in which an array of fountains leap over the boats.

6. Lost River Ride (Flamingo Land)

Flamingo Land doubles as both a major theme park and a world-class zoo, and the Lost River Ride combines both elements into one large-scale attraction. The first half of the ride is a leisurely boat cruise past a range of majestic animal species, including rhinos, giraffes hippos and lions. Things then get a little more thrilling, and a lot wetter, with riders plummeting down a 60-feet drop into a splash zone below. Unmissable.

5. Stealth (Thorpe Park)

Thorpe Park’s Stealth certainly doesn’t feature the longest ride experience on offer at any of the UK’s theme parks, with coaster’s run-time coming in at just under 30 seconds (10 of which are spent cruising back into the station at low speed). Still, what it lacks in duration, it makes up in sheer spectacle, with riders being launched from 0 to 80 miles per hour in just 1.8 seconds. They then climb to the top of a 205-feet-tall tower, before racing down at a near-vertical angle towards the ground below.

4. Tomb Blaster (Chessington World of Adventures)

Chessington World of Adventures features a number of themed lands designed to take “adventurers” on a tour of exotic areas of the world. The Forbidden Kingdom area recreates Ancient Egypt, and is dominated by the popular Tomb Blaster ride. This takes guests on a tour of a tomb, where they must use laser guns to fend off hordes of the undead. It’s a fiercely addictive attraction, with guests always returning for “one more turn” to try and beat their top score.

3. The Swarm (Thorpe Park)

The first “wing rider” coaster in the UK opened at Thorpe Park in March 2012, and places guests at the centre of an alien invasion of London. The coaster’s trains represent the aliens, with riders being carried on “wings” on either side. This enables some impressive “near-miss” elements, including close encounters with the wreckage of a crashed plane, a burnt-out fire engine and a partially submerged helicopter.

2. The Big One (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)

Dominating the skyline on Blackpool’s seafront is The Big One, the UK’s tallest roller coaster. It is the headline attraction of the historic Blackpool Pleasure Beach, which still attracts more guests than any other amusement park in the country. Riders get an incredible view of the seaside resort from the top of the 213-feet-tall lift hill, but there’s little time to absorb it before racing around the coaster’s circuit at speeds of up to 74 miles per hour.

1. Nemesis (Alton Towers)

Alton Towers established itself as the UK’s leading theme park in 1994, when it opened Europe’s first inverted roller coaster, Nemesis. While the park has since installed a range of other major coasters, none can quite rival the original for sheer thrills. The ride is housed in a trench in order to overcome severe height restrictions placed on the park by local authorities, and this ensures that the scenery races past riders’ feet at close quarters. Other rides have tried and failed to top the Nemesis experience, and it remains one of the best roller coasters in the world.

Photo credits

All images © Natalie Sim.

Nick Sim writes runs one of the web’s largest resources dedicated to theme parks all over the globe. Thinking of trying out Nemesis for yourself? Don’t miss the site’s up-to-date listings of all the latest Alton Towers vouchers.

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“If you want to take a shower before you go to bed, make sure to dry your hair, or they can get frozen. Do not drink too much alcohol and do not eat any heavy food. Make sure to change into dry and warm clothes,” says hotel manager Annet van Limburg to the visitors.

The unique hotel was opened in Zwolle on the occasion of the ice sculptures festival on 3rd December last year and will remain in operation until 29th January 2012. There are three rooms, the construction of which lasted ten days. Unlike similar projects, such as those in Canada or Sweden, the hotel is built inside a large freezer warehouse, not in the nature.

The dominant feature of the rooms, which are made of the giant block of ice, is a great double bed, coloured with pink, green and blue light from lamps, installed under the ice. Ice walls which are 1 meter thick, are decorated with abstract patterns. If you are interested in spending the night in such unique ice hotel, prepare €199 for one night with breakfast for two.

How to sleep in six degrees?
The temperature in the room is between six to eight degrees Celsius. “If you are healthy, it is not dangerous,” says Annet van Limburg assuring potential guests. However if the guests during the night change their minds and want to leave the room, they can use the nearby hotels, where the hotel taxi takes them to for free.

Ice Hotel in Zwolle is unique not only in the Netherlands, but it is also the first hotel of its kind, ever opened such a lot on the south of Europe. The greatest ice hotel in Europe and perhaps in the whole world is an ice hotel in Jukkasjärvi in Sweden, which boasts a total of 47 rooms.

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Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by daniel.herding

Maritime theme park
The first exhibition called Maritime theme park is located in buildings of the former fish market. This exhibition is interactive and can be divided into several parts: Bruges and the sea, military-Zeebrugge harbor, fishermen earlier and now, the International port Zeebrugge or Pirate Paradise. Here you can take a closer look at the Zeebrugge port – its history and present, or at a hard life of fishermen and through the film into the depths of the sea.

Lightship West-Hinder II
The second exposure of Seafront Zeebrugge is Lightship West-Hinder II. It is the ship, which until recently served as navigation and was moored at a position at sea to mark the coast near the town of Nieuwpoort. You can walk through it, touch and learn more about the role of beacon ships.

The Russian submarine Foxtrot
The third exhibition is The Russian submarine Foxtrot. Submarines of this type were used until 1994. During your visit you will learn, how is the life in such submarine when it is filled up with 75 crew members.

Seafront Zeebrugge theme park is open every day from 10am to 6pm and in July and August to 7pm. Keep in mind that the tour of all three parts of the Seafront Zeebrugge takes about two hours. You can buy tickets up to one hour before closing time. Children up to one meter in height, accompanied by parents, have free entry. Children to 12 years pay €8.50, and adults €10.50. Special rates apply for the groups and Seafront Zeebrugge offers many other additional programs for schools and companies. The nearest tram stop is Zeebrugge Kerk. Parking is free right at Seafront Zeebrugge.

For further information, visit the official site of Seafront Zeebrugge.

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Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Dave Smith

You have to pay to get in to the theme park itself, which currently costs £30 for children, £40 for adults (and a child over 12 is considered an adult so expect to pay full price for older kids) or £120 for a family of four for a day, so it isn’t cheap, but once inside your ticket covers all of the rides and so the only extras will be souvenirs and food and drink.

Thorpe Park is famous for some of its rides, including the new rollercoaster and live action maze based on the Saw movie series. Not all of these rides are suitable for young children and some are particularly scary, so it is a great choice for thrill seekers and teenagers but not so good for the feint hearted.

Thorpe Park has several rides, including the Logger’s Leap log flume, where you will get very wet, so unless it is a very hot day it is a good idea to buy one of the waterproof ponchos they sell at the park to try and keep your clothes dry.

Thorpe Park also has plenty of restaurants and bars where you can unwind during your visit. For further information visit their official website.

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