Europa Park

Europa-Park is the largest theme park in Germany, and the second most popular theme park in Europe, after Disneyland Paris. Europa-Park is located in Rust, south-western Germany, between Freiburg im Breisgau and Strasbourg (in neighbouring France).

The park is home to 13 roller coasters, the oldest, which opened in 1984, is the Alpenexpress Enzian, which is a powered coaster that speeds through a diamond mine. Europa-Park has very high capacity roller coasters and attractions, meaning the park can accommodate approximately 60,000 guests per day. The park counted 5.75 million visitors in 2019.

The resort (park, parking lot, hotels and back stages) occupies roughly 95 hectares. It hosts six hotels, one campground, and one movie theater.

In November 2019, Europa-Park's "Rulantica" water park opened, along with the Museum-Themed Hotel, "Krønasår".

History

Background and founding

Europa-Park is run by the Mack family, which has produced vehicles since 1780, circus wagons since 1880, and roller coasters since 1921.
Franz Mack (1921–2010) in 1958 took over the family firm, ''Mack GmbH & Co. KG'' (now '' Mack Rides''), together with his brothers. Along with his son Roland (b. 1949), he visited the US 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 held in Breisach 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 moved some further north, where the Macks bought the park of the historical ''Balthasar'' castle in Rust.

The park opened in 1975 with an area of . It counted 250,000 visitors in the first year; 700,000 in the second; and passed the million mark in 1978.

Themed areas and growth (1980s–2012)

The first country-themed section was "Italy", which opened in 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.

The visitor count passed the 2 million mark in 1991. The development of hotel resorts began in 1995 with ''El Andaluz'', followed by ''Castillo Alcazar'' in 1999.

By the year 2001, the number of visitors had risen to 3.1 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 2001/2002. 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 until 2011 is estimated to be close to EUR 700 million.

2013–present

On 3 June 2017, Europa-Park opened the 'Voletarium' attraction. The attraction is the biggest flight motion simulator theater in Europe. It features a queue line with multiple pre-show elements culminating in the main ride section: a film showcasing European landmarks which lasts for 4 minutes and 30 seconds. The ride is the most expensive single ride investment to date at the park and also features catering outlets, a shop, and toilet facilities in the accompanying plaza.

2018 Fire incident

On 26 May 2018, a fire broke out in a building complex, near to the park's "Holland" and "Scandinavia" areas. The guests and staff inside this building were immediately ushered outside, and the remainder of the park's (roughly) 25,000 guests were instructed to make their way to the main exits, as the fire was quickly growing in intensity. The core section of this building complex is home to the boat-ride/dark ride attraction ''The Pirates of Batavia'' as well as a theatre, a restaurant, and an employee costume shop. Despite the efforts of the fire department, the building was destroyed, along with parts of the neighboring Scandinavia section. Due to its location within the Scandinavian area (and overall proximity to the fire), the fjørd-rafting attraction was affected by debris from fallen, burning building façades. According to the operators, the incident resulted in tens of millions of Euros in property damage. No visitors or employees were injured, but seven firefighters suffered minor injuries during firefighting operations. With the exception of a few hot spots, the fire was mostly extinguished and the park reopened regularly the very next morning. Only the destroyed ''Pirates of Batavia'' ride, restaurant, theatre, a few shops, the fjørd ride, as well as the neighboring attraction ''Koffiekopjes'', remained closed for refurbishment.

Initially ''Vindjammer'', a giant swinging ship ride, was also closed; one of its two entry ques ran across the fire-destroyed Scandinavian area. Nevertheless, after briefly closing this que to make adjustments to the second entrance, the ride was swiftly in operation again. The attraction ''Koffiekopjes'' reopened four days later. On 9 June 2018, after the collection of evidence to determine the cause of the fire (and the clearing of rubble from the canal), the fjørd water ride would also be reopened. Initially, it was suspected that a warehouse near the ''Pirates'' attraction was the location where the fire broke out.

After eleven days, on 6 June 2018, the Offenburg police stated that they believed the fire actually broke out due to a technical failure in the fjørd water ride. However, the investigation was still incomplete. The Scandinavian village area and ''Pirates'' were both rebuilt based on their original designs, with some updates. Both reopened in July 2020.

2019: Rulantica

In November 2019, Europa-Park's "Rulantica" water park opened, in addition to a new themed hotel "Krønasår" in May 2019. Rulantica has 13 themed areas, and includes 30 water slides. Other attractions include a wave pool, a surf simulator, and a wild river. There is an indoor part of and an outdoor part of .

2022 Renovations of racist and colonial stereotypes

In 2017, Europa-Park acknowledged allegations of racial/cultural insensitivities; some attractions featured potentially offensive portrayals of African people as "tribal" (with white characters featured as colonial rulers and safari hunters) in the ''Adventureland'' themed area. However, the park doubled-down and rejected these accusations of racial discrimination up until 2021; workers made only small adjustments in response, such as renaming "Colonial Food Station" to "Adventure Food Station". In January 2022, it was announced that the ''Jungle Rafts'' ride would be closed until the start of the 2023 season, to be completely renovated and rethemed as a new part of the ''Austria'' area. No further detail was given on the other rides and attractions of ''Adventureland'' that may have come under scrutiny.

In March of 2022, the Jungle Rafts ride reopened under the new name ''Josefina’s Magical Imperial Journey'' (now themed to the adjacent Austrian-themed area), with all references to colonial Africa removed.

Accommodation and transportation

Hotels

*Hotel Colosseo (four star superior), themed around the Roman Colosseum and features a fountain show created by French company Aquatique Show International
*Hotel Santa Isabel (four star superior), themed around a Portuguese Monastery
*Hotel El Andaluz (four stars), themed as a Spanish Villa
*Hotel Castillo Alcazar (four stars), themed as a Spanish Finca
*Hotel Bell Rock (four star superior), themed around New England and features a lighthouse
*Hotel KRØNASÅR (four star superior), themed as a natural history museum that shows unique and historical objects collected by the "Adventure Club of Europe"

File:ENTRANCE EL ANDALUZ.jpg, El Andaluz
File:ENTRANCE AL CANZAR.jpg, Alcazar
File:Colosseo.jpg, Colosseo

On-site transportation

There are three different railway systems that also double as rides: The E.P. Express, the Monorail train, and the Panoramabahn. Additionally, a moving walkway called Express Lane was installed in 2015 in the parking lot.

Among other features, in 1995 the park installed a monorail system, the EP-Express, with three monorail trains reassigned after the 1988 World Expo in Brisbane. It was partially extended in 2016 in order to provide additional space for development in 2017.

Among the systems of transportation are the Monorail, another monorail system built in 1990, and the Panoramabahn, a miniature train ride.

;Panoramabahn

The Panoramabahn has been installed since the opening of the park in 1975. At first, it served as a sightseeing train which departed and arrived near the entrance of the park in Germany. Today the train also stops at train stations in England, Spain, and Russia. The Europa-Park owns five type C. P. Huntington trains manufactured by the US-American company Chance Morgan. From the 2019/2020 winter season onwards, the locomotives have been converted to run on electricity using a system designed by SEW-EURODRIVE.

;Monorail

The monorail was put into operation in 1990 and was originally intended for sightseeing only, with its starting and finishing point inside the Historama in Luxembourg. In 2009, the monorail was extended by an additional stop in Iceland allowing passengers to use it as a means of transportation.

;E.P. Express
The E.P. Express was built by AEG and Roll and has always been intended for transportation purposes besides its function as a panorama railway. It is a monorail modelled after a type of Alweg-monorail with closed, air-conditioned carriages, and it reaches a maximum speed of 20  km/h on a 2,5  km circuit at an average height of 6 meters. Inaugurated together with the Hotel 'El Andaluz' in 1995, one of the purposes of the E.P. Express of the Europa-Park was to connect the hotel to the main entrance. Over the course of time, the stops 'Greece' and 'Europa-Park Hotel Resort' were added to the existing 'Alexanderplatz' (main entrance) and 'Spain' stations.

Shows, parades and the 4D cinema

Europa-Park offers about a dozen different shows, including figure skating, variety shows, and Flamenco, as well as a puppet theatre and junior club studios, the last being an interactive show in which children can experience the world of filmmaking. One of the shows is the rotary theater-multimediashow "Zeitreise". In the center is a circular theater, divided into six sectors, that the seats circle around, each audience member being shown one sector after another. For the 35th anniversary of the Europa-Park, on the 12th of July 2010, the theater was remodeled and got a new show name, "Europa-Park Historama - die Show". It showed the 35-year-old history of the Europa-Park with spectacular 4D-effects and a 180 degree-view. Since the summer season of 2018, the rotary theater has been used as a "preview center" for the waterpark Rulantica. In the baroque theater Europa-Park Teatro, which is located in the Italian-themed-area, the musical "Spook Me!" was performed many times a day during the Halloween season of 2014 to 2017. In the summer seasons of 2018 and 2019, "Rulantica-The Musical" was performed there. Both musicals were composed by Hendrik Schwarzer. In the summer season the park shows the magic show "It´s Magic!", in which the magician Peter Valance appears, among others. The annual thematically changing dinner show "Cirque d'Europe" takes place here in winter as well.

The arena in the Spanish-themed area, which holds up to 2,000 spectators, hosts medieval knight games.

Until the 2007 season, the ice stadium was part of the Swiss themed area. Today, it has a Greek façade and is led by Ian Jenkins. In the 2018 summer season, the park presented the show ‘’Paddington on Ice’’ there.

There is a big, daily parade with colorful carts and actors in costumes.

Several times a day, the park’s 4D cinema called ''Magic Cinema'' screens a 15-minute short film. In the 2018/19 winter season, the 4D short film called ''Ed & Edda: Nachts im Park'' was shown and in the 2020 summer season, the 11-minute 2D film called "Aufbruch nach Batavia" was screened three times a day. The ''Magic Cinema'' holds 448 spectators and its screen is 19 by 9 meters large. In the evening, after the park closes, you can watch the latest films there, often with additional 4D effects.

Overall, the Europa-Park offers a show programme of over six hours.

The Park’s TV production

The Europa-Park has gained more and more importance as a media centre. Channels, such as BR, Sat.1, SWR, ZDF, Nickelodeon and Prosieben, all produce shows in the park. Each year since the summer of 1995, SWR has been airing its show called ''Immer wieder sonntags'', which is moderated by Stefan Mross, live from the IWS-Arena in the Europa-Park. Among other tickets, there are also combination tickets, which allow you to visit the park and see the show in one day.

Events

Euro 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 founding, it has taken place for four days every year in early spring.

Europa-Park hosts 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 take place through October evenings and feature 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.

Euro Dance Festival

Every February, when the amusement park is closed during the winter break, the Euro Dance Festival takes place. Dance enthusiasts from all over the world gather at the park to learn new steps and techniques in over 200 workshops taught by some of the best and most well-known international dancers. Amongst others, star guests like Detlef D! Soost, William Pino, Alessandra Bucharelli, Isabel Edvardsson, Franco Formica, Oliver Wessel-Therhorn, Kristina & Peter Stokkebroe, Luis Vasquez & Melissa Fernandez have taught there previously.

Ladies Only Festival

The Ladies Only Festival takes place on one weekend between the months of January and March, when the park is closed for a winter break. On this occasion, the festival connects elements of fitness, dance, health, beauty and wellness. More than 200 workshops and seminars held by roughly 80 coaches are spread out over four days.

Miss Germany Pageant

Since 2002, the official election of Miss Germany has taken place every February in the Europa-Park Dome, arranged by the Miss Germany Corporation from Oldenburg. The collaboration was so successful that in 2010 it was extended for another decade.

Dinner Theater

The Europa-Park offers a variety of dinner events on several nights of the year after the amusement park closes. There are several different events you can choose from. For example, the Dinner Show, the Baden Medieval Banquet as well as the Dinner & Movie.

Science Days

For several days every May and October, the park offers Science Days for younger and older schoolchildren, respectively. The Science Days are the oldest science festival in Germany, featuring science talks and shows, as well as exhibitors from the industrial sector, schools, hospitals, and universities.

CloudFest

Formerly known as WebHostingDays, CloudFest is an annual conference in March about cloud computing aimed at commercial organizations. CloudFest 2022 had 150 exhibitors, 250 speakers, and was attended by 7,200 visitors.

Halloween

Europa-Park has been celebrating Halloween since 1998. Every year from the end of September until the beginning of November, visitors find themselves in a creepy environment, surrounded by hay bales, corn stalks, skeletons, and countless pumpkins of all colours. Numerous attractions, shows, and food and beverage facilities adopt a Halloween theme every year, as does the daily parade. In the 2014 season, Europa-Park premiered their independently produced Halloween musical, "Spook Me!"

Horror Nights

Between 2007 – 2011, the park's Terenzi Horror Nights were organised in the month of October in cooperation with Marc Terenzi. Visitors were able to go on night-time walks through the Italian and French themed areas in 2007–2008 and through the Greek and Swiss themed areas in 2009, where they would be chased and spooked by actors dressed as various horror-themed monsters such as zombies. The event was again included in Europa-Park's yearly program between 2010 and 2016, billed as Horror Nights starring Marc Terenzi. Between 2013 and 2015 it was simply called Horror Nights, as it took place without Marc Terenzi during that period.

Traumatica

In 2017, the Horror Nights were replaced by the Traumatica event. It takes place in the evenings, partly in the Greek-themed area and partly outside of the theme park's territory. Visitors are taken into a post-apocalyptic world in which five different groups fight for dominance. The group members are played by live actors and are set up in haunted houses with special effects as their main quarters, which can be attended by visitors.

Halloween Festival Mysteria

Every other year from 2011 through 2016, the park's festival grounds were home to the Halloween show Mysteria, offering live music, artistic performances, pyrotechnics, and lighting effects. During off years, 30-minute concerts by the Swiss DJ BoBo took the place of the show. Starting in 2011, the show was set in a ghostly castle, with the title Mysteria: Castillo Mystico. In 2013, the park introduced an entirely new story revolving around two enemy gangs in a shantytown on the outskirts of the city.

Hellfire Fountains

In 2017, the show was replaced by the fountain and fire show Hellfire Fountains, offered multiple times every evening in the last week of the season.

Seasonal operations

In 2001, Europa-Park opened for its first winter season. That year, approximately 180,000 visitors attended during the winter; as of 2012, that number had grown to 500,000. In the winter, the park opens an ice rink, a skibob track, the Big Wheel Bellevue and adds festive decor. The park is also home to an annual Christmas market. Since 2002, the park has been hosting an annual Weihnachtsmann-Treffen (''English: Santa Claus Convention''). Visitors who enter the park wearing a Santa Claus costume can purchase their tickets at a discount. During winter, most outdoor and/or water rides are closed: the African Queen, Atlantica SuperSplash, Fjord-Rafting, Poseidon, and the cable ferry.

Themed areas

Germany

* Carnival Barn Museum
* Elf Ride – A boat ride with a dark ride section.
* EP Express Station - Alexanderplatz – A monorail. Also has stations in Greece, Spain and Hotel Resort.
* Jim Knopf – A tracked ride based on 'Jim Button and Luke the Engine driver'.
* Panorama Train Station Germany – Also has stations in other areas.
* Puppet Boat Ride – Circular boats travel through scenes of puppets moving.
* Schatzkammer
* Vintage Cars – A car ride.
* Voletarium – A flying theatre.

Austria

* Alpenexpress Coastiality
* Alpenexpress Enzian – 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 day.
* Playground Würmchen Wies'n
* Tiroler Log Flume – A traditional log flume ride through the World of Diamonds.
* Vienna Wave Swing – A chairswing ride.
* Josefina’s Magical Imperial Journey - A tow boat / dark ride through an African settlement.
* Danube Steamer

England

* Arena of Football - Be Part of It! – A football exhibition, sports bar and Adidas shop.
* The British Carousel
* Crazy Taxis – A demolition derby carousel ride.
* Globe Theatre. A replica of Shakespeare's theater.
* London Bus – A magic carpet ride.
* Panorama Train Station Paddington – Also has stations in other areas.
* The Queen's Diamonds - The Curse of Baron Williams – Laser experience.
* Shooting Gallery
* Silverstone Race Track – A go-kart ride through English gardens.
* Soccer Bumper Cars – Dodgems ride located in the Arena of Football - Be Part of It!
* Water Lane

France

* 4D Magic Cinema – A 4D cinema venue currently showing "Happy Family", a custom film made by MackMedia for the park.

* Eurosat - CanCan Coaster – Indoor coaster. 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.
* Eurosat Coastiality
* Euro-Tower – An observation tower from Intamin. In 1983 the 76m tower was opened in Europa-Park. The observation tower opened for the first time at the Münchenstein ', then at the Kassel ''Bundesgartenschau'' 1981 and at the ''Floriade 1982''.
* Madame Freudenreich Curiosités – A dinosaur themed dark ride.
* Mercedes-Benz Hall – Small-size museum that features a full-scale replica of a Mercedes-Benz Formula One car.
* Silver Star – Hypercoaster and Europe's fourth highest and fifth fastest roller coaster, standing 239 ft tall with a top speed of 78 mph. Built by Bolliger and Mabillard, of Switzerland. It is one of the few non-Mack rides featured at the park, presumably because Mack didn't feature a hypercoaster model at the time.

Greece

* Atlantis Adventure – Interactive dark ride.
* Cassandra's Curse – A mad house type indoor illusion ride with special effects.
* EP Express Station - Greece
* Pegasus - The YoungStar Coaster – Family coaster cleverly themed around an archeological dig.
* Water roller coaster Poseidon – High-speed water coaster with incredibly detailed theming, such as the Trojan Horse, and the station being located inside a recreated Acropolis temple.

Grimm’s Enchanted Forest

* Cinderella
* Doctor Know-All – Walkthrough.
* Dwarf City – Kids fairytale ride.
* Enchanted Forest Cinema in Grimm's Library
* Fairy Tale Gallery
* The Frog King
* The Golden Goose – Animatronic display.
* Hansel & Gretel – Walkthrough.
* Mother Hulda – Animatronic display.
* Little Red Riding Hood
* Rapunzel – Animatronic display.

* Sleeping Beauty's Castle – Walkthrough.
* The Valiant Little Tailor – Walkthrough.
* The Wishing Table...

Iceland

* Blue Fire– Launched roller coaster with several inversions, onboard sound and a unique restraint system. Includes various head chopper effects and a dark ride section with a variety of special effects.
* GAZPROM Theme World - The Wonder of Energy – Exhibition hall featuring interactive exhibits about the world of gas supply. Comprises a café-bar, toilets and conference facilities. (Closed after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Februar 2022.)
* Lítill Island - Hansgrohe Water Playground – Interactive water playground sponsored by Hansgrohe.
* Monorail Station Iceland
* Whale Adventures — Northern Lights – Splash battle interactive water ride with animatronic theming and themed fishing port.
* WODAN - Timburcoaster – Wooden coaster built by Great Coasters International, featuring a heavily themed, detailed queue line.

Ireland – Children's World

* Ba-a-a Express – Children's roller coaster.
* BIG-Bobby-Car Circuit
* Dancing Dingie – A spinning boat.
* Dingle Bay
* Little Lamb's Land
* Old Mac Donald's Tractor Fun – A sit down tractor ride.
* Paul's Playboat
* Sheep Rock – A small water carousel.

* Spinning Dragons – A carousel ride.
* Quipse Paddle Boats – A children's rowing boat ride.
* Tower Tow – A tower ride for children.

Italy

* Ghost Castle – A spooky dark ride with inspiration from Disney's The Haunted Mansion.
* Piccolo Mondo – A dark ride celebrating Italian culture with a family-friendly theme.
* 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.

Luxembourg

* Journey to Rulantica - Preview centre
* Monorail – Transport ride.
* Monorail Station Luxembourg

Minimoys Kingdom

* ARTHUR – Inverted dark ride/powered roller coaster.
* Mul-Muls Carousel – A Zamperla jump around.
* Poppy Towers – A Zierer family free fall tower.
* Root Slides – Slides.

Netherlands

* Ball Pool
* Flying Dutchman – A carousel ride.
* JUNIOR CLUB Studios
* Koffiekopjes – A spinning coffee cup ride.
* Mini Scooters – A kiddie bumper car ride.
* Red Baron – A carousel ride.
* Rocking Bridge & Chute
* Pirates of Batavia - A themed indoor boat ride. In May 2018, a fire completely destroyed the building, which forced the temporary closure of the nearby Fjord Raft attraction until June 9th. In July 2020, "Pirates of Batavia" was re-opened, with updated animations.

Portugal

* Atlantica 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. It shares a ride design with Journey To Atlantis from SeaWorld San Antonio.
* Casa da Aventura — Home of the Quipse – An indoor-playground for kids.

Russia

* Euro-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.
* Lada Autodrom – A car ride for younger guests (it is, in essence, similar to Silverstone Race Track, but for younger children).
* A full-size replica of the Soviet space station Mir; it was formerly used for cosmonaut training and in 1994, it was re-assembled at the park.
* Panorama Train Station Russia
* Russian Handicraft – Craftsmen at work with glass blowing and pottery.
* Snowflake Sleigh Ride – A short dark ride through a Siberian landscape. The ride features a Russian folklore theme.

Scandinavia

* Fjord-Rafting – A river rapids ride.
* Snorri Touren - A dark ride which takes guests on a tour of Rulantica (New for 2019).
* Rocking bridge and wobbling boat
* Vindjammer – A swinging ship ride.

Spain

* Adventure Playground
* EP Express Station - Spain
* Feria Swing – A spinning, high-speed carousel ride.
* Kolumbusjolle – A seastorm ride, which travels backwards and forwards.
* Panorama Train Station Spain – Also has stations in other areas.

Switzerland

* Jungfrau Glacier Flight – A high speed spinning plane ride.
* Matterhorn Blitz – Wild mouse roller coaster themed around a Swiss farmhouse.
* Schellen-Ursli House – A Bell for Ursli.
* Swiss Bob Run – A bobsled roller coaster and one of the few ones of this model to feature a regular style drop.

Attractions

The theme park offers a mixture of rides, themed areas and parks. One of the main attractions is the roller coaster ‘Silver Star’ which was planned by the Swiss engineering office Bolliger & Mabillard Ingénieurs Conseils SA and constructed in cooperation with Mercedes-Benz. ‘Silver Star’ was the fastest roller coaster until the beginning of 2006 and, until 2012, it was also the highest one in Europe. The waiting area guides the visitors through a museum, which was equipped by Mercedes-Benz, showing touring cars and Formula One racing cars. Another ride is called ‘Poseidon’, the first water roller coaster in Europe.

The roller coaster ‘Euro-Mir’ has rotatable gondolas, so the ride is temporarily backwards. The ride in ‘Eurosat’ takes place in a big sphere which is designed with special effects that create a space-like atmosphere. In 2006, the sphere was laminated with hand-painted foils which made it look like a football following the Football World Cup. During Halloween, the roller coaster is disguised as the biggest pumpkin in the world. From the end of the 2017 summer season until the middle of the 2018 summer season, 'Eurosat' was closed for reconstructions. The now called ‘Eurosat CanCan Coaster’ was inspired by the style of the famous Moulin Rouge. The ‘Blue Fire Megacoaster’ is located in the Icelandic themed area. It is the first high-speed roller coaster in the Europa-Park, including a linear motor start and rollover elements, namely one looping, two corkscrews and one heartline roll. This roller coaster accelerates from 0 to in 2.5 seconds, reaches a maximum velocity of , is 38 m high and 1,056 m long. The Europaparks' first wooden rollercoaster, the Wodan - Timburcoaster, opened its doors to the public in 2012 and is a part of the Icelandic themed area. A special feature of this roller coaster is that it crosses paths with the Blue Fire Megacoaster and the Atlantic Supersplash coaster. Wodan is 1,050 m long and can be up to fast.

* In some parts, the watercoasters' hybrid vehicles drive in canals and not on rails.
* All rollercoasters were built by Mack Rides, except the Silver Star (Bolliger & Mabillard), the wooden rollercoaster Wodan - Timburcoaster (Great Coasters International) and the Ba-a-a Express (ART Engineering).
* The rollercoaster Alpenexpress "Enzian" as well as the Eurosat, after it was renovated in 2018, offer an optional Virtual Reality experience called "Coastiality" for an additional charge. The Pegasus - YoungStar rollercoaster had the same offer from 2015 to 2017. For their rides, visitors get VR-glasses to watch a film which is synchronized to each rollercoaster.

See also

*List of amusement parks in Europe
* Mack Rides

References

External links

Europa-Park
(Official Site)

{{Authority control

Economy of Baden-Württemberg
Amusement parks in Germany
Amusement parks opened in 1975