Kevin's enthusiastic joy while telling all about your experiences is the best recommendation and commercial ever. Also, a very thorough, profound and helpful report about both places.
My sister visited Europa Park recently with her husband and their one year old baby. She told me,that after standing in line one parent can go on the drive while the other one waits with the baby and after that they switch without having to wait in line again. Perhaps this is in all amusement parks, I don't have much experience, but I really loved that.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife well you could have used it this time aswell :) I saw you went on the cancan coaster and Ella couldnt… so you show her to the worker at the beginning of the line and get your baby switch card :) baby switch works in Europa Park for all dogs and for kids that are to small no matter the age (for example at the Silverstar you can get a baby switch gar for a 10 yo that is just 135cm high)
You should check out Phantasialand near Cologn. It's the second most visited park after Europapark. It is smaller, but the attractions are better. There's a lot do do for all age groups. I spend the whole day there as a teenager riding rollercoaster, my parents took my niece and nephew when they were toddlers and they had a blast. It's magical in winter with all the lights and decorations, shows, Glühwein and you can even ice skate. I wouldn't plan two days there but Cologne has many other things to see like the Kölner Dom, the Schokoladenmuseum (yes you can eat the Chocolat as well), Kevin would love the Arithmeum in Bonn which is a mathematics museum.
I second that! It’s farther away but a fantastic park! And the stay can be combined with a visit to Brühl, the town Phantasialand is in, which has two castles that are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and Cologne, with the Cathedral being another site. You don’t have to stay in the hotels in the park but if you do, I believe the entrance to the park is free.
I also think that one big plus of Fantasialand is that it is so small...they practically have to built the rides above each other, but this has the advantage that everything is close together. And yes, it is particulaly amazing in winter, last time I was there (which was admittingly pre-corona) I was really impressed by the light show over the water ride, and I am not easily impressed. Another plus is the huge indoor-area.
Great video! I actually grew up half an hour from Europa-Park and went there at least 30 times, so I really know my way around the park. One thing I definitely recommend to everyone going there is the Voletarium. It’s Europe’s biggest Flying theater where you sit on moving chairs and because during the film you can’t really see the floor underneath, you actually feel like you are flying through these amazing landscapes. The Mack-family was actually originally a rollercoaster manufacturer and Europa-Park was originally only an exhibition of the rollercoasters for their clients and grew with time. The Europa-Park is actually closed from mid january to mid march each year to do repairs on the rides.
If I'm being perfectly honest, I've never been to Europapark. 😂 Personally, the amusement park of my childhood was Heidepark Soltau. I made lots of good memories there.
Fun fact: All inhabitants of the town of Rust (where Europa-Park is located) do have free entry to the park whenever and as often they want. Children from there sometimes get the opportunity to experience new stuff first, like for example school-classes being invited to see the new 360 degree movie before everyone else or Kindergaten-kids being the first to play in the Castle-playground in Ireland. Almost everyone in town seems to have a room or an apartment for rent to park-visitors and the Macks don't try to prevent their profit. This leads to a lot of support from the locals. On the other side Disney in Paris didn't care about any support of any locals and bought a lot of ground around the park just to keep competitors away (Hotels and Restaurants). But they underestimated the relevance of the train-station that was built quite close to the park entrance. By train you can get out of the "Disney-zone" quite quick and cheap and many visitors preferred hotels in Paris over the more expensive Disney-hotels. Disney in Paris made loss for decades. That always sounds strange if you look up their prices and the high number of visitors. The main reason for this was that the Disney Corporation didn't pay anything to build the park. Instead a separate Corporation was founded and they had to build the whole park on a loan. Paying off that loan ate up the whole profit. In addition they had to pay license fees to their mother-Company. Guess this was just a concept by Disney to earn money without investing any money. The problem was based on many false calculations. For example european visitors spent much less on souvenirs than expected. They just went to a Theme-Park to have fun, not for a shopping tour. All this pushed Eurodisney close to bankuptcy. While all the other parks in Europe were building more and more stuff, there was very little to happen at Eurodisney because of the lack of money... On behalf of some stuff Disney seemed a bit naive too: They thought they could open a first class restaurant in France without serving wine with the meal! It wasn't too long that they had to give up their non-alcohol-policy and Eurodisney became the first Disney-Park worldwide to serve alcohol! I'm surprised to hear they started to serve alcohol in the US too.
I love Disney & all the parks, but I was REALLY impressed when I went to Europa Park this summer! It was less stressful than a day at Disneyland Paris & it felt more natural like you said. Europa Park felt like it was more suitable for a family with people who can't walk or stand in lines too long cause there are lots of ways to get around the park & lines were super short! I love that I didn't need to check my phone & could be fully immersed, which Disney used to be like. The fairytale forest area was so cool to see. The rollercoaster restaurant was really fun & delicious too!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife July! The restaurant is called FoodLoop. The salmon was really good! We didn't do coasters so I'm not sure how long the lines were, but attractions like Pirates, Ghost Castle, the boat rides, and Voletarium were pretty much a walkon!
It’s funny seeing this compared because Disney Parks and German Amusement Parks feel so different for me and I’ve never thought of comparing them. which is probably why I never missed the characters and parades here, because that’s just a Disney thing for me. Granted , I‘ve grown up north and never been to Europapark but to Heide Park instead which seems comparable albeit smaller (and I think you guys would enjoy that too! plus there’s amazing nature around) And Heide Park does have a few more characters than Europapark, but they’re more of an addendum, the characters exist because the park exists, whereas the Disney Park exists because the characters existed first. You go to Disney to meet them and get a park on top of that, but here its the other way around, you go for the rides and get a character on top 😅.
I agree! Personally, I feel all the beautiful buildings, statues and lights in the Europapark make one feel like the princess themselves, without a need for other harcters to embody this magic... I still felt like I was living in a magical fairytale land when I first went to Europapark, and I was 15 !!!!
Nice watching about Europapark when I will go tomorrow again. I go there every year. My mom couldn't go for years, so this trip is a present from me to her.
In Europa Park you can also stay at the camp resort. There are log cabins or teepees and you can sleep there. For dinner you have the option to do a barbeque over a open fire. That is also a adventure for kids. As far a I know there is also a restaurant where you can eat dinner, but you can definitly get a good breakfast there. You don't have a separate entrence, but it is next to the main entrance. If you want to save money that would be a good alternative. We always stayed there. To be honest I don't miss the parades. When I visited Disney World, it was nice to watch them, but their would not be a reason for me to visit a amusement park. Sometimes they also were in the way when you want to go from one end to the other. But everyone has different preferences and it is nice, that there are different options.
Great video, really enjoyed watching your experience in Europapark! I have been there like 15 years ago and it was great back then as well. If you want to enjoy other great theme parcs in Germany try Phantasialand near the city of Cologne where we live. It is much smaller than Europapark but very very well themed and has rides for all ages including some stunning coasters. My kids would approve!
And if you plan to visit Phantasialand you can combine it with Movie World in Bottrop which isn't THAT impressive but worth visiting and not far away 😉
Personally, I love your longer videos in which you explain exactly the details.You also do a lot of work in the extensive research.Even if these videos are meant to be informative, you also put all your love into this work, and the viewer can feel that right.Although I never actually go to amusement parks, this video was also very exciting for me to watch.Great job and thanks for that;best regards Kelsea
Thank you guy so much for this side-by-side comparison. Europa Park brings back so many memories. I grew up about 100km away from it and as a child I've spent many days there until around 1998. Back in the days I have seen the park at a different stage and I am amazed to see how it has grown and how many country themes don't ring a bell for me. From what I remember of those days, you were able to ride about 80% of the stuff in one day and it was quiet more affordable, especially for larger families. At this time there were no hotel or maybe the first one was in the process of being built - if memory serves. The season ended by the end of the autumn school holiday in Baden-Württemberg, so around November 1st. It was quite a different experience and I am wondering if I would enjoy the park as much as back then as a kid. At least it will always be a cherished memory!
I guess most people who grew up near of either one of the parks enjoyed it. I grew up ~25km away from Europa Park, although a bit later than you. It has been enough years now of not having been there anymore because I was so often as a kid and lived further away for some time, that it now would start to be intersting to see the changes. But I kinda feel like you about the prices. Sure I could afford the day ticket, but it is not worth it for me. I had a year pass when I was 15 like many teenagers in the region, but with their system now the equivalent of the old "Jahreskarte" seems to be the gold pass at almost triple the price back then (When I was 15 in the late 00's it cost only the equivalent of 4 day tickets.). I do not think I am going anytime soon. With this prices they will probably have to add attractions for another 10 years for me to get a new year pass (If I have not moved away again by then.)
being German and growing up with Europa-Park, I really enjoyed seeing everything again from your point of view. Laughed at your Alcohol comment... 😄Europa Park was meant to be a showcase for the Mack Rides products. Sure they had the American parts in mind when building it in the 70s. I like the fact that it grew naturally in the years and it is still family owned. The Hotels are off the chart, too. I highly recommend "De Efteling", Triberg and yes, Freiburg as your next adventure. Im sure you will love it and its pretty close 😉 And may I add that the prices in the US for theme parks are just crazy...😮 Glad you had a good time
I've been to Europa Park twice and really enjoyed the variety of rides they have. My favorite amusement park in Germany though is called Tripsdrill near Stuttgart. It is a lot smaller than Europa Park but it has a more familiar style. They have a section with vintage amusement park which is really fun. It feels less commercial than Europa Park or Heidepark and they do a really good job at telling stories with the park and it doesn't feel like a giant commercial.
What a fantastic video, well done and thanks for all the details, the work and the research. Important is that you as a whole family had a lot of fun and had this feeling when you were talking with so much passion and happiness about your experience. Really cool and much appreciated. Maybe in the future you like to visit a couple of more theme parks in Germany and Europe and share your opinion about as well. Thanks again for the video and have a nice Sunday 🥂
I think the biggest reason why disneyworld or disney parks in general are so big are not necessarily the quality of the parks but just the brand and the nostalgia pretty much every one has with it. Very cool video! Also fyi. I think most europeans at least the "younger" generations grew up on disney movies aswell :D
OMG Kevin played in a Disney band! That’s so cool and even more reason to join a band in Bavaria! I‘m so happy that you enjoyed Europapark so much! It’s been so long since I went and I remember my horror ride on the roller coaster (I said never ever haha). But it‘s a great great park. My sister and her husband are regulars and go every year and always stay overnight. You guys did such an amazing job to create this video, absolutely amazing!xxo
Yes he does need to play in a band here! It’s so cool that your sister and her family go regularly. We would, too, if we lived nearby. It’s so much fun for kids!
Thank you for this interesting video! Watching it and listening to all these details, I realized that amusement parks have never ever been part of my world. It was hard enough to persuade my parents to visit the annual fairground in the city. I also remember I spent a few days in Copenhagen in 1990 and I visited Tivoli, but just because I didn't know what else to do. So thank you for opening a new world for me :)
I live just north of Orlando, so I'm familiar with all the Disney Parks including the Magic Kingdom, Seaworld and Universal. I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of amusement parks, especially the endless lines for the rides. Disney has become cost prohibitive to a lot of families now and I hear they had a disappointing last quarter, so they are laying people off just in time for the holidays. It was cute, while I had a young child and seeing things through their eyes but honestly, I will leave that experience to the tourists now. Their employees are super friendly and courteous, and yes, the park is clean and the kids do love all the characters walking around the park and interacting with them. Disney during summer is BRUTAL though!
Hi there, I am so happy you liked Europa- Park! Now I feel inspired to go back and see it again. The open-air museum is a great idea, especially on days when they show original crafts or have a fair. I used to absolutely love that as a child. Also, if you would like to try one more amusement park, have a look at Tripsdrill. It's very lovely, in my opinion. And now that Christmas-Market season is upon us, I can only recommend you make a plan and check out as many as you can . Also, try to make some German christmas cookies with your kids, they will love it. Seeing your enthusiasm just makes me happy!😄
It‘s very interesting to hear that Disney‘s Magic Kingdom is more based on European folklore and architecture while in Europa Park you could find more American/Western themed places/rides. There is a theme park in the Sauerland which is dedicated solely to the Western theme called Fort Fun. And a few kilometers to the West there is a whole open air theater dedicated to plays based on the novels of Karl May who wrote some stories about the American West of the 19th century, despite never being there by himself.
About what American/Western themed places/rides are you talking? Europa Park is themed after the different European nations. There is no American themed section?
It's really worth visiting theme park 'Efteling' in The Netherlands as this park was THE inspiration for the Disney parks back in the days. And NL is worth the visit anyways, no matter which part of the country you should choose to stay. It is different from Germany, yet very enjoyable! And of course you're also able to enjoy the differences between German and Dutch food.
I worked for both, Disney an Europa Park as 'financial engineer', what is basically the guy who does the math how to earn most money with technical limitations. I don't want to speak to much about rollercoasters but more about the 'characters', like Mickey or the Euromaus walking in the park... Having those characters apear in the park is basically superexpensive. You got to pay the actor and the handler (security/health guy). And from one character, you get only a few interactions, so you spend a lot of money to entertain just a few people. But the worst factor is, that those 'characters' clog traffic. In an open area, you got people standing around them, people trying to reach them and long waiting times to get your photo. This all leads to so many issues, that do worsen the experience for guests. There are 2 reasons, Disney is keeping this characters. Most important is people expect them to be there. Kids go to Disney Parks to visit Mickey. And the second reason is, that Disney indentifies with those characters and refinances them with gigantic merchandise sales. Disney got their own universe, and they got to maintain it. But I wouldn't recommend to build on such IPs. To sum stuff up: It is a question for the park how to spend their money. There are better ways to spend a dollar and generate revenue than focusing on characters, if you havent got the corresponding IP. Entertain people, keep your paths open. Focus on stuff you are good at and that benefit the whole park.
I love your Europapark report ! I was very exited to hear about your experiences. They are very authentic. We visit Europapark at least one or twice a year since 2004. It is an inspiring experience every time. You don't write about the various shows. Didn't you joined them ? I strongy recommed to attend at least the Knights Show in the Spanish arena (Spain), the Ice show in the Ice Stadium (Greece) and the variete show in the Teatro de l' Arte (Italy). They are epic.
Well, there is a reason Europa Park has been winning the Golden Ticket Awards for the best amusement park for years in a row 😏. Their dedication to detail and offering something beautiful for everyone, no matter the age or wanted level of "exitement" (you want to go on rides? cool, we have them. you want to go look at people creating craft, listen to fairytails, watch shows and visit a things like a real space station and a norwegian wood church? we have that too!). I would like to experience Disney World one day, but for now my only experience with a Disney Park is Paris and as bad as it sounds, teenager me was a bit disappointed. It felt as if I was a bit too old to enjoy most of the attractions and I the food was really neither diverse nor very good (compared with my EP experiences). But, well, that was more than 10 years ago, and I guess giving it another chance would be fair.
Hi Sara 🙋♂, hi McFalls 🙋♂, hi, as almost every Sunday morning 😃! Thank you one more time for getting presented your interesting comparison. And getting informations about your own experiencies. Even for me as an older guy, who thought, there`s no more need for such parks, your video is extending my mind.
Loved your fun and informative video! I went to Disney Florida and Epcot as a teenager in April and had a great time (weather was perfect). However, when it came to travel experiences with my kids (living in Atlantic Canada) we would rather take them to Europe than spend the same or more on the Disney experience and they had so much fun exploring all the different Spielplätze and outdoor adventure play areas. We went to Taunus Wunderland near Frankfurt which is geared toward small kids and they loved it. I have been to Europapark with my niece and nephew and liked the variety of rides and entertainment with virtually no lineups at an affordable price!
Heyho. As I was lucky enough to experience those days with you, let me just say: It was was an amazing vacation for me as well. 10/10, 5⭐, would do again at anytime without hesitation. 😊 And I'm usually not so much of an amusement park enthusiast myself, but with such amazing company it's different. 😉
In 1998, just before we got children, we went 3 weeks to Florida. By accident we stumbled over an offer in German catalogs. There a 30 days "Florida Fun in the Sun pass". We paid 500 Deutsch Mark (approx 260 Euro) for 30 days free entry in all Disney parks (including the Waterparks) and many there attraction (excluding Universal). So we paid for a month what you pay now for a day. This is so insane. We have been to the Europa Park many times. We love, that we get in the greece part greek food. And we love how well connected all the parts are. Fun fact: in the old Pirates (there was a fire a few years ago) of the Batavia ride was a restaurant with Tai Food. What a fantastik idea. You saw the boats pass by.
Das war ein netter Vergleich :-) Aber im Sommer, wenn Ferien sind, kann es im Europapark auch sehr, sehr voll werden. Sagt Bescheid, wenn ihr das nächste Mal in der Gegend seid - hier gibt es sooo viel zu entdecken
Heidepark in Soltau is also a good one - it's in Lower Saxony though so it is more suitable to go there if you're on vacation in Northern Germany. Hansa Park in Schleswig-Holstein is also nice. And when you're already in the North there's Legoland in Billund which is in central Denmark. Regarding visitors...well Florida has pretty much the same weather all year long - Germany does not and going in the middle of winter is not really all that much fun (not to mention that many parks are actually closed during winter). Most people don't realize how far to the south the USA (except Alaska) are. New York city is on the same latitude as Rome in Italy. If Florida would be magically moved eastward you'd end up in the Central Sahara for the northern parts of Florida and southern Sahara for southern Florida.
Thank for the Video 👍🏻😃. My favorit Amusement Park is Disneyland/Anaheim ❤️😍. The Magic Kindom/ Orlando looks very old. Europa Park is s very nice Park but i miss the magic there like at disney.
Most funny thing about the irish part of Europapark is that while being mostly a little kids area it also serves the most alcoholic beverages in the park with the highest level of alcohol per drink. Seems like they know what parents want when their children are at the playground...
The reason to open a Disney park on the East coast was that it wasn't as easy (or cheap!) to get to California from all parts of the US, so they opened Orlando. The reason for Florida was that corporation taxes was low and no income taxes, and the reason for Orlando specifically, was that land in the middle of Florida was so much cheaper, than land along any of the coasts. (Source: Bloomberg Corporate History 157:0006584)
It was fun revisiting Europapark in your video. My personal favorite, however, is Playmobil- Park, near Nürnberg, so it is feasible as a day trip. There are very few rides, no roller coasters, it is all hands-on. So you only have to stand in line for very few attractions. They have tournaments for knights, a castle, pirate boats, tractor races, gold mines ... and the best play grounds. Huge slides, sand boxes and a Matsch-/Wasserspielplatz. They also offer cabins and showers free of charge, where you and your children can get cleaned up afterwards. I think they charge for washing machines though. There is so a huge indoor playground. I am not sure if your kids are into Playmobil, but the younger ones would love it. It is 16 euros per person per day, so it is quite reasonable.
Ihr solltet auch mal das Phantasialand bei Brühl und Efteling in den Niederlanden besuchen. Wenn ihr dann schon mal in den Niederlanden seid, macht auch mal einen Abstecher zum Burger's Zoo in Arnheim.
Btw beer. I was in Europapark after opening of the Ireland section and said, just for fun, to the lady behind the counter; "There is such a nice Guinness advertisement on the building, but unfortunately I don't see any here." Then she smiled at me, pointed to the stairs and said; "If you go up there, you will find everything an Irish heart desires." So I went up the stairs and in the back there was a real Irish pub, above this great children's area, even with live music at that time. If I want to have a great holiday here in germany, Europapark is at top of the list. Next to Phantasialand, of course. I can agree with the characters, but Disney just has more access because there is a huge film industry behind it. (Looking forward to when the Euro Disney arendelle opens.) I think introducing new characters in Europapark is not that important for the operators and not that easy either, for most European film characters (Maya the Bee, Heidi, Tabaluga, Wickie, Mia and Me) Plopsa (In EU Plopsaland, here in Germany Holiday Park) has the rights of use. But I also think that for most visitors such figures are not quite as important as when you go to a Disney Park or to Universal Studios. That's more to be expected. But the park is just working more on bringing a continuous story with the AcE (Adventure Club of Europe), starting in the Voletarium, up to the new Batavia and in the new Croatia area it should continue with Tesla.
Hello dear expanding Family: You don't need to apologize every video for your pronunciation or experience. It's your opinion, and People can go find out themselfe what they like best. Thank You for this very informative video, and Europa Parc looks very atractive comparing to the American Parcs. Have a lovely Sunday 😊
Great video, as always ❤ If you haven't bern there yet, you should definitely check out Legoland, which is in Bavaria (Günzburg), so probably not too far from your home :)
I grew up in Freiburg so I visited Europapark many many times with my friends. Did you get to see some of the shows while you were there? they have so many different ones and they are a lot of fun and a good way to relax your legs and feet after all that walking and waiting and still enjoy some of the highlights of the park. Piraten von Batavia used to be my favourite ride but then it burned down a few years ago and while the new version is not really bad it does look a little bit too polished for me and I can't help but miss the old version xDDD
I can recommend Skyline Park in Bad Wörishofen & Legoland in Günzburg. They are both in Bavaria. Legoland has a stunning miniatur city build with leogs and amazing Playgrounds 🙌🏻
While watching your video, I just thought that you would probably have a very different and unique experience at the Kettlerhof near Haltern am See. It is such a different amusement park for the whole family, where there are mostly only attractions where you can climbe up and down and be active. Almost no rides where you just sit in and enjoy. That would probably be something special to visit, too.
Never visited either one so far, but that's why your video is so interesting for me! (I hope I can return to Gardaland in Italy next month and possibly Disney Land near Paris next one)
I like it when you talk about the weather. I'm an ice hockey fan, and I like it when it get's cold - minus 20°C it's just fun. _ There is no wrong weather there is only wrong clothing. ; ) (We had the first snow this year a few days before - and I LOVE it - winter wonder land _ just magical. I can almost feel Christmas is coming. ♥)
Other smaller park options worth visiting for a day trip are Legoland Günzburg, Playmobil FunPark and Ravensburger Spieleland. Each of them connected toy brands.
I‘ve growen Up near by Europa Park and we have often visit the Park 3-4 times per year. Still Love all the details. You should visit Freiburg - such a lovley City!
You need visit EP in the Sommer Holiday Time, when Germany , France, Switzerland, the Benelux States have Sommerferien :) you have waiting times for some rides up to 150 min
Europa Park is not a theme Park in its origin. It is an exhibition space for rollercoasters. The themepark came after the sucess of Disney for added Money. But they are still building rollercoasters all around the world. And Europapark always has the newest ones because they try them out there.
This is wrong. It was a theme park from the day it opened. And the park doesn't have any of the latest models of Mack Rides like Big Dipper, Power Splash or Xtreme Spinning Coaster.
As a Swiss it was one of our standard family trips destinations. I love the different foods. It’s like a vacation across Europe and people who don’t like rollercoaster can still enjoy all the shows and slow ride. And I have to add, I learned today that Von-Roll built ski gondeli 🚠 I had university classes in the old Von-roll fabric (and the old Toblerone fabric too)
What a great video. I grew up close to Europa Park, went there several times a year and I also lived and worked at Disney World and your resume is spot on. While I do love Disney World, the prices are just ridiculous these days. I was at Disneyland in LA just 8 weeks ago and the "Fastpass", now called Disney Genie+ adds another $20 per person per day to the cost. The food was horrible, the burgers tasted like Microwaved. The only good food still is the Turkey leg, I love that one. The parade and the fireworks is what you pay for in my opinion. Those 2 are, hands down, best in the world, whereas everything else is actually better in Europa Park.
A great review of Disney. I just read an article that Disney now has a new CEO and many people are asking that he get rid of the new Genie program and lower all of the prices. They are literally pricing out the entire middle class at this point, which is sad.
I am a frequent theme park visitor and went to Magic Kingdom in my twenties. Back then us Europeans used to look to the U.S. theme parks with envy. But when I actually went there I was kind of disappointed to be honest. Magic Kingdom was a great, out-of-this-world experience, no doubt, but it didn't really lived up to the hype. One could argue that young adults are not the core audience for Magic Kingdom, as it is (seems) to be focused on families with small kids. However, now that I am mother myself I find this an odd place to visit with family. As you mention there are little to none picnic sites, it takes ages just to get there and standing in line for hours in the hot Florida sun now really put me off. And if it's not that it's the prices that are not family friendly at all. To my luck Germany and Europe have really caught up in terms of theme parks and imho are acutally much better than parks in the U.S. overall. They do a lot of things right to appeal to multiple audiences. Your experience at Europapark (that you can really enjoy it as a family and that there is really something for everyone etc.) is core to most European theme parks. Disney (also Disney Land Paris) to me feels like it's meant to be for kids, but it's designed to work like a perfect big machine and you pay more for the "act" instead, than for actual things to do. A couple of things to note on Europapark: - The number of visitors is smaller, I assume, due to the seasons. The park is usually closed from early January until end of March and also some weeks in between Halloween and X-Mas/Winter Magic. It's also a cultural thing, because in Germany and Europe there are so many other things to do and destinations to visit. People don't see theme parks as an actual holiday destination (this is probably slowly changing), but rather places you would visit while your're on holiday. This is also why Europeans would never spend the eqivalent of a full family holiday only for visiting a theme park. - The park is family owned and so is Mack Rides (an internationally successful rides manufacturer). The companys' headquarter and factory are located a 30 min drive from the park. Europapark has been built intially to host movable Mack rides during off-season (of the big festivals/Feste) and also as a testing ground for their prototypes, that's why many rollercoasters in the park used to be "world novelties" when they first opened.
Just some thoughts: Thank you very much for your video 😊 If you want to go to a Freilichtmuseum I would recomend Écomusée d’Alsace more, the one in the Black Forest is quite small.
The original Pirates of the Carribean ride in Disneyland California opened in 1967, twenty years before the original Piraten in Batavia! Don't mix it up with the ride in Paris (1992) or the movies that were named after the ride!
My Florida family lives close enough to Disney that the visit to see them but then visit the parks is there also funny how that happens, I live in Michigan...so I have done just that lol... in my defense my Florida family is my mom, brother & sister, my 1st Son and grand children...... loved the comparisons great job.
During our 3 week road trip vacation through California and Nevada I wanted to visit Six Flags Magic Mountains, which we did. It turned out to be one of the only two days that sucked (the other being our rental car breaking down). Despite having a discount voucher we had to pay 99$ each, 75$ for me for a fast pass and a brazen amount of money for bad food. We weren’t even allowed to bring a bottle of water into the park despite the hot temperatures. The only spots where you could get free water was at the toilet. But that water had amounts of chlorine in it beyond believe. Europapark is the best Park I have been to, and I would go there again anytime. The last time was just recently during the week. The longest queue time was 45 minutes, and this was the exception. It usually was around 15 minutes, at maximum.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife yep! no ambiance and the rollercoasters failed my expectations too. To be fair, they were not bad, but not as good as the rides in Europapark. This whole stay there was a waste of time and money. If you are planning a trip to the Cologne area there is Phantasialand. This is the second best park I’ve been to and I can recommend it wholeheartedly. It’s quite small in terms of surface area (because they have nowhere to expand to) but it is packed with all sorts of of attractions, many of them are for smaller children too. But there are also some really nice and fast rollercoasters too.
When it comes to the Parks origins, you forgot to mention that the Owners of Europa Park, the Mack Family, build amusement rides since 100+ years and also build rides for Disney in the 60s (and today also for Universal, Cedar and Six Flags ... you name it). One intention to open Europa park was for Mack Rides to have a Showspace for their products and potential customers can come to the park and check them out on daily operation. 90% of the attractions at Europa Park are build in House.
re the hotels .., you CAN get even closer to the park in a hotel when you visit Phantasialand and stay in the Lindbergh Hotel... which is basically a part of the park and the roller-coaster flies by your face when you leave the room....,
Hellooo, You definitly have to visit: Legoland in Günzburg. And if you're in the area of Stuttgart (the Captial of your neighbour federal state 'Baden-Württemberg') you should visit Trippsdrill (One day for the amusment park, and one day for the little zoo next by. The zoo entry fee is included in the amusment park entry fee. ) What also should be good, and is on my list: Heide Park in Soltau. :D
By the way: The Company Mack Rides, which builds rollercoasters, is a lot older than the Europa Park itself. Mack Rides was founded in 1780. Why do i say that: Europa Park was founded by Franz Mack, and is also used to have a life demo showing, what Mack Rides can do. At least... thats what i recall when they had a exhibition about the history of the Park... in the Park.
I still remember my first time at Europapark in the opening year.. I was 3 years old. ❤ (it was basically the „Märchenwald“ and a Playground back then)
Kevins prowess in swedish is a big plus in pronouncing words the german/europe way. Europa would correctly sound something like "Oi-ro(w)-pah" for english speakers. 😎
Was in Europa Park many times. It always felt great. Never been to disney land (maybe in the future) but at the moment i am pretty satisfied with europa park :) glad u liked it.
When I was a kid in the 80s we chose a cloudy, rainy-looking day for Europapark and usually it would turn putto be a fairly sunny day with no queues at the attractions. Youcould just walk through for the next ride. Btw it was a lot smaller then…
You should try out the Ruhr area. In my opinion it's one of the most interesting regions in Germany, although it swims under the radar. A few of the sights would be the Zeche Zollverein in Essen (UNESCO World Heritage Site), the Gasometer in Oberhausen, the Tetraeder in Bottrop, the Landschafts Park in Duisburg (short LaPaDu), Tiger and Turtle in Duisburg and a few more attractions.
Guys this was REALLY interesting. I loved it! So glad you had a fabulous holiday🙂. It was especially interesting coming from Americans and people with A LOT of Disney World experience. Kevin was great with all his facts and figures! If in that area again on holiday, we would definitely consider Europa Park as a day trip. Every time we have been in SW DE to date, we have found so many other great things to do, so Europa Park was never a priority. My sister and family flew from the UK to Florida to "go to Disney" twice and spent a fortune (part of their inheritance) ...the money they spent on those 2 (2week) trips to Disney we have spent on flying to multiple countires on multiple holidays over 17yrs. I have watched SO many Disney you tube video's over lockdown (curious over the "hype")..and each time I do NOT understand the attraction to "Magic Kingdom"...it seems the least interesting of the parks and so "plastic" and "babyfied." I guess if you live near Disney and your kids are between 4 and 9yrs old it could be fun for small kids... but the price us not justifiable for anyone over 9yrs old. The only things that interested my kids now were StarWars, Harry Potter World, Jurassic World, Pirates of the Caribbean and Marvel rides and these are all scattered over several Parks.to increase Disneys mkney making. Luckily we have the REAL Harry Potter Studios in the UK. We will go next summer now my youngest is old enough to appreciate it. The whole Disney booking, coding, fast tract booking, hours of standing in line just seems totally counter productive to having a "relaxing day".. as you mentioned "being on your phone all the time, to keep an eye on fast track stuff for certain rides".. from YT videos "Disney booking, planing process" (covid lockdown reseach rabbit hole) and then going on the Disney Site, I was still NON the wiser as to how it all works so you can have a "smooth, RELAXING, fun day". This would just put me off before I got started, when planning a holiday. I love planning and researching trips and holiday ideas/destinations, and I have travelled all over the world, and never had any issues .. but "getting behind how Disney works" is mind blowing. Also it seems a day with NO scheduling or time keeping once you are there is IMPOSSIBLE.. so it all seems VERY counterintuitive to having an enjoyable relaxing fun day/holiday🤔. I am totally against at Disney Water Parks. It is so unnatural and you are basically visiting a prison for all the wildlife, eg keeping Orca whales captive to "preform" is horrific. Not respectful to other species, so sending the wrong message to our kids....also the swim in the "fake" coral reef type pool with dolfins and fish (to my horror, my sister and family did this..and she is vegetarian "for ethical reasons" which really doesn't add up). You can just swim/boat in florida in the sea and see dolfins etc. I visited the Bahamas and just swam around the real coral reefs etc. It is so much nicer seeing these beautiful creatures in their natural habitat just living life. I've always thought it would be fun to go to a fun Park with the kids.. but the attraction for us is purely "the adrenaline rides" and not so much the themed streets because we love to travel to the actual countires and see "the real thing."..which luckily is so easy living Germany. I always think of all the holidays, countries and experiences my sister and family "could have had" if they had not blown all their savings on two holidays to Florida Disney World. During their 2nd visit, they did go to the Space Center and I surfed around for companies and persuade them to go to the Everglades and go to see Manatees, which they said was one of the highlights of their trip. There was so much more in Florida they could have done and seen while there, if they had spent less time and money in "plastic Disneyland.".. I find it so sad really. but we are all different and as long as everyone is happy and enjoys their holidays, that is the most important thing. We will try Heide Park next year. Its been on our list for the last 3 years. But always gets de-prioritised. But next year I am determined to go (time will tell). The advantage is at least my youngest is now bigger and will be able to go on more rides nowif we do make it there 😄.
I remember visiting Orlando in the early 90ties. Magic Kingdom, Epcot and MGM Studios. Very hot...we waited almost 2 hours for the *KingKongRide*. Very expensive....very cool! Like visiting Las Vegas! Its a fantasy world...and in our last day we visited the Aquarium....and we.... saw Shamu, the great orca whale. In this big stadium he looked like a small goldfish in a whiskey tumbler. So sad...!!! All is said! Carry on the good work with your vlogs! 😎
If you are interested in amusement parks, then you should try Legoland Deutschland in Günzburg or Altweibermühle in Tripsdrill. Both are awesome and unique in their own way.
The first Hotel in the Europapark was El Andaluz in the Spanish part. The open air museum Vogtsbauernhöfe is a museum with many typical black forrest farmhouses. They were from diferent parts and were rebuild there.
Let Kevin on the slide ! You go slide Kevin however much you want XD Im 40 and still love a good playground time XD and thx for this great video, great honest information on the parks.
You should visit Efteling in Kaatsheuvel, Netherlands. It predates Disney, by a year or two, and they do have a nifty way to make the park clean. Basically by nice trashcans that actually thanking you for throwing things in the cans.
You have to try out Phantasialand next! The best German theme park I would say and also regularly called one oof the best in the world! They have some amazing new (linearr induction) rollercoastes! :)
And it is also especially nice in the Winter season with their Wintertraum event. Lots if Christmas lights everywhere and a lot of very good food, too. Sooo beautiful. Phantasialand also has hotels in the park. And you could combine it with a stop in Cologne, to see the Cologne cathedral and the chocolate museum and take a walk along the Rhine etc
Well, Disney may have started a few years earlier with its parks. But the Mack family has been in the business longer, since 1921 to be exact, when the predecessor company of Mack Rides built its first wooden roller coaster. It's also not surprising that Disney has fewer roller coasters in the Magic Kingdom than Euopa-Park. After all, it started out as an exhibition site for Mack GmbH & Co (now Mack Rides). Disney has to buy the roller coasters, the Mack family builds them themselves. As of February 2022, Mack Rides has built 156 roller coasters around the world. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mack_Rides
Yeah I was reading that the Mack family started making coaches for the wealthy in the 1800’s and also made circus wagons. And with their knowledge of wheels, they then began to make roller coasters. So cool!
The holiday park chain seems pretty good as well, the hansa park is not bad as well 😊, but i think the Europa Park is pretty good, i live actually not far away, but I don't go that often sadly.
So with fastpass it’s a bit off of how you described it. With fastpass you could book 3 rides at a time with up to 90 days in advance. Now it’s with the genie plus app, which costs roughly 15-20$ per person per day. But there are very few rides not included in that payed system. These are the big e ticket attractions. With that you have to book a lightning lane. But these could be booked either with or without the genie app. With that said: it’s common to charge to skip the lines, but what Disney did with Genie is that they made it affordable. Universal f.e. Charges around 200$ per person per day. So that less people will use it and it would be a real benefit to buy it. With genie it’s different. People feel the need of purchasing the feature that they could have a guaranteed good time, because everyone does it. So it’s completely a cash grab. But things are probably changing again because Chapek is gone. Soooo. That’s that 😂 That topic alone could be its own separate video
To answer your question: Disney has special park times for hotel guests, too. As well as a few other perks (Ie if you want to eat in Cinderella's castle, you practically have to be a hotel guest to get a slot...or you trick the system and call from one of the hotels for two places, like we did back when we were there).
What I also find absolutely important, is that you can take your own food, my parents were certainly not stingy to us children, on the contrary, but my mother would never have gone anywhere where you could not have taken your own food or where there are reasonable and clean places with tables etc, where you could have eaten your own food as a family. What costs something is also more and more important for parents with children.If you are a family with several children, it goes very quickly in areas where it can hurt or is not to be paid for poorer families. and right! Good playgrounds are absolutely essential
I went to Disney in Florida towards my late 20s. For all the hype that was made, I was mildly disappointed. Some rides were closed and others had such long lines. Most rides are definitely geared towards kids. I think adults with no kids go dor nostalgic reasons. Food prices were crazy and food wasn't anything special. Years later I went to universal in California. Rides were way more thrilling but lines were just as long. Food prices were the same as Disney.
Freiburg is very very beautyful. Come here and enjoy ice from Hofeis, the Münstermarkt, the walks on Schauinsland, Feldberg or Schlossberg and the whole area around. If you like history you may like Campus Gall which is about an hour car ride from Freiburg, they are buildung a medieval monastery with methods from the medieval times. I love the southern black forest area...
Kevin's enthusiastic joy while telling all about your experiences is the best recommendation and commercial ever. Also, a very thorough, profound and helpful report about both places.
I am completely shocked - by the amount of research Kevin must have put in there - including picnic areas - I am speechless!!! 👏👏👏
Right?! I was, too. 😂
My sister visited Europa Park recently with her husband and their one year old baby. She told me,that after standing in line one parent can go on the drive while the other one waits with the baby and after that they switch without having to wait in line again. Perhaps this is in all amusement parks, I don't have much experience, but I really loved that.
Yes!! That is such a great service. We noticed that and would’ve loved to have had it when our kids were small.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife well you could have used it this time aswell :) I saw you went on the cancan coaster and Ella couldnt… so you show her to the worker at the beginning of the line and get your baby switch card :) baby switch works in Europa Park for all dogs and for kids that are to small no matter the age (for example at the Silverstar you can get a baby switch gar for a 10 yo that is just 135cm high)
You can do this in the Disney parks too.. it’s called rider swap
As far as I know, almost all bigger parks offer this.
You should check out Phantasialand near Cologn. It's the second most visited park after Europapark. It is smaller, but the attractions are better. There's a lot do do for all age groups. I spend the whole day there as a teenager riding rollercoaster, my parents took my niece and nephew when they were toddlers and they had a blast. It's magical in winter with all the lights and decorations, shows, Glühwein and you can even ice skate. I wouldn't plan two days there but Cologne has many other things to see like the Kölner Dom, the Schokoladenmuseum (yes you can eat the Chocolat as well), Kevin would love the Arithmeum in Bonn which is a mathematics museum.
I second that! It’s farther away but a fantastic park! And the stay can be combined with a visit to Brühl, the town Phantasialand is in, which has two castles that are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and Cologne, with the Cathedral being another site. You don’t have to stay in the hotels in the park but if you do, I believe the entrance to the park is free.
I also think that one big plus of Fantasialand is that it is so small...they practically have to built the rides above each other, but this has the advantage that everything is close together. And yes, it is particulaly amazing in winter, last time I was there (which was admittingly pre-corona) I was really impressed by the light show over the water ride, and I am not easily impressed. Another plus is the huge indoor-area.
Great video! I actually grew up half an hour from Europa-Park and went there at least 30 times, so I really know my way around the park.
One thing I definitely recommend to everyone going there is the Voletarium. It’s Europe’s biggest Flying theater where you sit on moving chairs and because during the film you can’t really see the floor underneath, you actually feel like you are flying through these amazing landscapes.
The Mack-family was actually originally a rollercoaster manufacturer and Europa-Park was originally only an exhibition of the rollercoasters for their clients and grew with time.
The Europa-Park is actually closed from mid january to mid march each year to do repairs on the rides.
The Voletariun was one of our favorite rides! It’s so cool. We show it and talk about it in the video as well.
Ich liebe das Voletarium!! Die beste Attraktion im ganzen Park! 😍
If I'm being perfectly honest, I've never been to Europapark. 😂 Personally, the amusement park of my childhood was Heidepark Soltau. I made lots of good memories there.
Fun fact: All inhabitants of the town of Rust (where Europa-Park is located) do have free entry to the park whenever and as often they want. Children from there sometimes get the opportunity to experience new stuff first, like for example school-classes being invited to see the new 360 degree movie before everyone else or Kindergaten-kids being the first to play in the Castle-playground in Ireland.
Almost everyone in town seems to have a room or an apartment for rent to park-visitors and the Macks don't try to prevent their profit. This leads to a lot of support from the locals.
On the other side Disney in Paris didn't care about any support of any locals and bought a lot of ground around the park just to keep competitors away (Hotels and Restaurants). But they underestimated the relevance of the train-station that was built quite close to the park entrance. By train you can get out of the "Disney-zone" quite quick and cheap and many visitors preferred hotels in Paris over the more expensive Disney-hotels.
Disney in Paris made loss for decades. That always sounds strange if you look up their prices and the high number of visitors. The main reason for this was that the Disney Corporation didn't pay anything to build the park. Instead a separate Corporation was founded and they had to build the whole park on a loan. Paying off that loan ate up the whole profit. In addition they had to pay license fees to their mother-Company. Guess this was just a concept by Disney to earn money without investing any money. The problem was based on many false calculations. For example european visitors spent much less on souvenirs than expected. They just went to a Theme-Park to have fun, not for a shopping tour. All this pushed Eurodisney close to bankuptcy. While all the other parks in Europe were building more and more stuff, there was very little to happen at Eurodisney because of the lack of money...
On behalf of some stuff Disney seemed a bit naive too: They thought they could open a first class restaurant in France without serving wine with the meal! It wasn't too long that they had to give up their non-alcohol-policy and Eurodisney became the first Disney-Park worldwide to serve alcohol! I'm surprised to hear they started to serve alcohol in the US too.
I love Disney & all the parks, but I was REALLY impressed when I went to Europa Park this summer! It was less stressful than a day at Disneyland Paris & it felt more natural like you said. Europa Park felt like it was more suitable for a family with people who can't walk or stand in lines too long cause there are lots of ways to get around the park & lines were super short! I love that I didn't need to check my phone & could be fully immersed, which Disney used to be like. The fairytale forest area was so cool to see. The rollercoaster restaurant was really fun & delicious too!
Ooo we didn’t try the roller coaster restaurant! Which summer month were you there?
Ooo we didn’t try the roller coaster restaurant! Which summer month were you there?
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife July! The restaurant is called FoodLoop. The salmon was really good! We didn't do coasters so I'm not sure how long the lines were, but attractions like Pirates, Ghost Castle, the boat rides, and Voletarium were pretty much a walkon!
It’s funny seeing this compared because Disney Parks and German Amusement Parks feel so different for me and I’ve never thought of comparing them. which is probably why I never missed the characters and parades here, because that’s just a Disney thing for me. Granted , I‘ve grown up north and never been to Europapark but to Heide Park instead which seems comparable albeit smaller (and I think you guys would enjoy that too! plus there’s amazing nature around) And Heide Park does have a few more characters than Europapark, but they’re more of an addendum, the characters exist because the park exists, whereas the Disney Park exists because the characters existed first. You go to Disney to meet them and get a park on top of that, but here its the other way around, you go for the rides and get a character on top 😅.
I agree! Personally, I feel all the beautiful buildings, statues and lights in the Europapark make one feel like the princess themselves, without a need for other harcters to embody this magic... I still felt like I was living in a magical fairytale land when I first went to Europapark, and I was 15 !!!!
Nice watching about Europapark when I will go tomorrow again. I go there every year. My mom couldn't go for years, so this trip is a present from me to her.
In Europa Park you can also stay at the camp resort. There are log cabins or teepees and you can sleep there. For dinner you have the option to do a barbeque over a open fire. That is also a adventure for kids. As far a I know there is also a restaurant where you can eat dinner, but you can definitly get a good breakfast there. You don't have a separate entrence, but it is next to the main entrance. If you want to save money that would be a good alternative. We always stayed there.
To be honest I don't miss the parades. When I visited Disney World, it was nice to watch them, but their would not be a reason for me to visit a amusement park. Sometimes they also were in the way when you want to go from one end to the other. But everyone has different preferences and it is nice, that there are different options.
Great video, really enjoyed watching your experience in Europapark! I have been there like 15 years ago and it was great back then as well. If you want to enjoy other great theme parcs in Germany try Phantasialand near the city of Cologne where we live. It is much smaller than Europapark but very very well themed and has rides for all ages including some stunning coasters. My kids would approve!
Ah cool, we’ve heard good things about Phantasialand. Does it also have roller coasters?
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife search for F.L.Y. here on YT
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Yes, they have several roller coasters. Just search for Phantasialand here on RUclips and you can find videos about it.
Just come here and you will see for yourselve...
And if you plan to visit Phantasialand you can combine it with Movie World in Bottrop which isn't THAT impressive but worth visiting and not far away 😉
Personally, I love your longer videos in which you explain exactly the details.You also do a lot of work in the extensive research.Even if these videos are meant to be informative, you also put all your love into this work, and the viewer can feel that right.Although I never actually go to amusement parks, this video was also very exciting for me to watch.Great job and thanks for that;best regards Kelsea
Thanks so much, Kelsea! ❤
Thank you guy so much for this side-by-side comparison. Europa Park brings back so many memories. I grew up about 100km away from it and as a child I've spent many days there until around 1998. Back in the days I have seen the park at a different stage and I am amazed to see how it has grown and how many country themes don't ring a bell for me. From what I remember of those days, you were able to ride about 80% of the stuff in one day and it was quiet more affordable, especially for larger families. At this time there were no hotel or maybe the first one was in the process of being built - if memory serves. The season ended by the end of the autumn school holiday in Baden-Württemberg, so around November 1st. It was quite a different experience and I am wondering if I would enjoy the park as much as back then as a kid. At least it will always be a cherished memory!
I guess most people who grew up near of either one of the parks enjoyed it. I grew up ~25km away from Europa Park, although a bit later than you. It has been enough years now of not having been there anymore because I was so often as a kid and lived further away for some time, that it now would start to be intersting to see the changes. But I kinda feel like you about the prices. Sure I could afford the day ticket, but it is not worth it for me. I had a year pass when I was 15 like many teenagers in the region, but with their system now the equivalent of the old "Jahreskarte" seems to be the gold pass at almost triple the price back then (When I was 15 in the late 00's it cost only the equivalent of 4 day tickets.). I do not think I am going anytime soon. With this prices they will probably have to add attractions for another 10 years for me to get a new year pass (If I have not moved away again by then.)
being German and growing up with Europa-Park, I really enjoyed seeing everything again from your point of view. Laughed at your Alcohol comment... 😄Europa Park was meant to be a showcase for the Mack Rides products. Sure they had the American parts in mind when building it in the 70s. I like the fact that it grew naturally in the years and it is still family owned. The Hotels are off the chart, too. I highly recommend "De Efteling", Triberg and yes, Freiburg as your next adventure. Im sure you will love it and its pretty close 😉 And may I add that the prices in the US for theme parks are just crazy...😮 Glad you had a good time
I've been to Europa Park twice and really enjoyed the variety of rides they have. My favorite amusement park in Germany though is called Tripsdrill near Stuttgart. It is a lot smaller than Europa Park but it has a more familiar style. They have a section with vintage amusement park which is really fun. It feels less commercial than Europa Park or Heidepark and they do a really good job at telling stories with the park and it doesn't feel like a giant commercial.
Okay good to know! More fun parks for us to explore.
Tripsdrill is the best - so many happy childnood memories for me!
What a fantastic video, well done and thanks for all the details, the work and the research.
Important is that you as a whole family had a lot of fun and had this feeling when you were talking with so much passion and happiness about your experience. Really cool and much appreciated.
Maybe in the future you like to visit a couple of more theme parks in Germany and Europe and share your opinion about as well.
Thanks again for the video and have a nice Sunday 🥂
I think the biggest reason why disneyworld or disney parks in general are so big are not necessarily the quality of the parks but just the brand and the nostalgia pretty much every one has with it.
Very cool video! Also fyi. I think most europeans at least the "younger" generations grew up on disney movies aswell :D
OMG Kevin played in a Disney band! That’s so cool and even more reason to join a band in Bavaria! I‘m so happy that you enjoyed Europapark so much! It’s been so long since I went and I remember my horror ride on the roller coaster (I said never ever haha). But it‘s a great great park. My sister and her husband are regulars and go every year and always stay overnight. You guys did such an amazing job to create this video, absolutely amazing!xxo
Yes he does need to play in a band here! It’s so cool that your sister and her family go regularly. We would, too, if we lived nearby. It’s so much fun for kids!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife I guess the sousaphone is not really often used in Germany.
Thank you for this interesting video! Watching it and listening to all these details, I realized that amusement parks have never ever been part of my world. It was hard enough to persuade my parents to visit the annual fairground in the city. I also remember I spent a few days in Copenhagen in 1990 and I visited Tivoli, but just because I didn't know what else to do. So thank you for opening a new world for me :)
I can understand - amusement parks are noisy, crowded and can be very overstimulating. They aren't for everyone, that's for sure!
I live just north of Orlando, so I'm familiar with all the Disney Parks including the Magic Kingdom, Seaworld and Universal. I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of amusement parks, especially the endless lines for the rides. Disney has become cost prohibitive to a lot of families now and I hear they had a disappointing last quarter, so they are laying people off just in time for the holidays. It was cute, while I had a young child and seeing things through their eyes but honestly, I will leave that experience to the tourists now. Their employees are super friendly and courteous, and yes, the park is clean and the kids do love all the characters walking around the park and interacting with them. Disney during summer is BRUTAL though!
I have to say It is refreshing to See Kevin Take the lead in one of your Videos.
Hi there, I am so happy you liked Europa- Park! Now I feel inspired to go back and see it again. The open-air museum is a great idea, especially on days when they show original crafts or have a fair. I used to absolutely love that as a child. Also, if you would like to try one more amusement park, have a look at Tripsdrill. It's very lovely, in my opinion. And now that Christmas-Market season is upon us, I can only recommend you make a plan and check out as many as you can . Also, try to make some German christmas cookies with your kids, they will love it. Seeing your enthusiasm just makes me happy!😄
Stay tuned - we just made Vanille Kirpfel, Linzen Plätzchen and Zimt Sterne today and a video will be coming out soon for them!
It‘s very interesting to hear that Disney‘s Magic Kingdom is more based on European folklore and architecture while in Europa Park you could find more American/Western themed places/rides. There is a theme park in the Sauerland which is dedicated solely to the Western theme called Fort Fun. And a few kilometers to the West there is a whole open air theater dedicated to plays based on the novels of Karl May who wrote some stories about the American West of the 19th century, despite never being there by himself.
About what American/Western themed places/rides are you talking? Europa Park is themed after the different European nations. There is no American themed section?
ah yes the hill horror park
It's really worth visiting theme park 'Efteling' in The Netherlands as this park was THE inspiration for the Disney parks back in the days. And NL is worth the visit anyways, no matter which part of the country you should choose to stay. It is different from Germany, yet very enjoyable! And of course you're also able to enjoy the differences between German and Dutch food.
Oh i heard of the park, my girlfriend lives close to the Netherlands 👍🏻, that might be worth a visit
The Dutch also created the song Europapa which is the perfect song about Europe and Europa Park
I worked for both, Disney an Europa Park as 'financial engineer', what is basically the guy who does the math how to earn most money with technical limitations. I don't want to speak to much about rollercoasters but more about the 'characters', like Mickey or the Euromaus walking in the park...
Having those characters apear in the park is basically superexpensive. You got to pay the actor and the handler (security/health guy). And from one character, you get only a few interactions, so you spend a lot of money to entertain just a few people. But the worst factor is, that those 'characters' clog traffic. In an open area, you got people standing around them, people trying to reach them and long waiting times to get your photo. This all leads to so many issues, that do worsen the experience for guests.
There are 2 reasons, Disney is keeping this characters. Most important is people expect them to be there. Kids go to Disney Parks to visit Mickey. And the second reason is, that Disney indentifies with those characters and refinances them with gigantic merchandise sales. Disney got their own universe, and they got to maintain it. But I wouldn't recommend to build on such IPs.
To sum stuff up: It is a question for the park how to spend their money. There are better ways to spend a dollar and generate revenue than focusing on characters, if you havent got the corresponding IP. Entertain people, keep your paths open. Focus on stuff you are good at and that benefit the whole park.
I enjoyed reading your experience from having worked at both parks! Thanks for sharing, it all makes a lot of sense.
I love your Europapark report ! I was very exited to hear about your experiences. They are very authentic. We visit Europapark at least one or twice a year since 2004. It is an inspiring experience every time. You don't write about the various shows. Didn't you joined them ? I strongy recommed to attend at least the Knights Show in the Spanish arena (Spain), the Ice show in the Ice Stadium (Greece) and the variete show in the Teatro de l' Arte (Italy). They are epic.
Well, there is a reason Europa Park has been winning the Golden Ticket Awards for the best amusement park for years in a row 😏. Their dedication to detail and offering something beautiful for everyone, no matter the age or wanted level of "exitement" (you want to go on rides? cool, we have them. you want to go look at people creating craft, listen to fairytails, watch shows and visit a things like a real space station and a norwegian wood church? we have that too!).
I would like to experience Disney World one day, but for now my only experience with a Disney Park is Paris and as bad as it sounds, teenager me was a bit disappointed. It felt as if I was a bit too old to enjoy most of the attractions and I the food was really neither diverse nor very good (compared with my EP experiences). But, well, that was more than 10 years ago, and I guess giving it another chance would be fair.
I so agree - Europa Park offers something for all ages and has delicious and diverse food. It’s a huge winner in my book!
Love your videos, your honesty and fairness! Thank you.
Hi Sara 🙋♂, hi McFalls 🙋♂, hi, as almost every Sunday morning 😃!
Thank you one more time for getting presented your interesting comparison. And getting informations about your own experiencies.
Even for me as an older guy, who thought, there`s no more need for such parks, your video is extending my mind.
Loved your fun and informative video! I went to Disney Florida and Epcot as a teenager in April and had a great time (weather was perfect). However, when it came to travel experiences with my kids (living in Atlantic Canada) we would rather take them to Europe than spend the same or more on the Disney experience and they had so much fun exploring all the different Spielplätze and outdoor adventure play areas. We went to Taunus Wunderland near Frankfurt which is geared toward small kids and they loved it. I have been to Europapark with my niece and nephew and liked the variety of rides and entertainment with virtually no lineups at an affordable price!
Heyho.
As I was lucky enough to experience those days with you, let me just say: It was was an amazing vacation for me as well. 10/10, 5⭐, would do again at anytime without hesitation. 😊 And I'm usually not so much of an amusement park enthusiast myself, but with such amazing company it's different. 😉
It was a lot of fun (and so helpful) to have you there! 😊
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife ❤
In 1998, just before we got children, we went 3 weeks to Florida. By accident we stumbled over an offer in German catalogs. There a 30 days "Florida Fun in the Sun pass". We paid 500 Deutsch Mark (approx 260 Euro) for 30 days free entry in all Disney parks (including the Waterparks) and many there attraction (excluding Universal). So we paid for a month what you pay now for a day. This is so insane.
We have been to the Europa Park many times. We love, that we get in the greece part greek food. And we love how well connected all the parts are.
Fun fact: in the old Pirates (there was a fire a few years ago) of the Batavia ride was a restaurant with Tai Food. What a fantastik idea. You saw the boats pass by.
Yes! They rebuilt the Piraten in Batavia ride and the Thai restaurant, too! You can still sit and eat and watch the roller coaster go by.
You guys are so gracious and warm in your comparison.
Thank you for yet another great video. 🌻
regarding the hotels: it CAN get much closer. In Phantsialand the rollercoaster is going THROUGH one of the hotels.
Oh very cool! It’s like that in Europa Park. The Spanish hotel is in the park.
Das war ein netter Vergleich :-) Aber im Sommer, wenn Ferien sind, kann es im Europapark auch sehr, sehr voll werden.
Sagt Bescheid, wenn ihr das nächste Mal in der Gegend seid - hier gibt es sooo viel zu entdecken
Heidepark in Soltau is also a good one - it's in Lower Saxony though so it is more suitable to go there if you're on vacation in Northern Germany.
Hansa Park in Schleswig-Holstein is also nice.
And when you're already in the North there's Legoland in Billund which is in central Denmark.
Regarding visitors...well Florida has pretty much the same weather all year long - Germany does not and going in the middle of winter is not really all that much fun (not to mention that many parks are actually closed during winter).
Most people don't realize how far to the south the USA (except Alaska) are. New York city is on the same latitude as Rome in Italy. If Florida would be magically moved eastward you'd end up in the Central Sahara for the northern parts of Florida and southern Sahara for southern Florida.
Thank for the Video 👍🏻😃. My favorit Amusement Park is Disneyland/Anaheim ❤️😍. The Magic Kindom/ Orlando looks very old. Europa Park is s very nice Park but i miss the magic there like at disney.
Most funny thing about the irish part of Europapark is that while being mostly a little kids area it also serves the most alcoholic beverages in the park with the highest level of alcohol per drink. Seems like they know what parents want when their children are at the playground...
The reason to open a Disney park on the East coast was that it wasn't as easy (or cheap!) to get to California from all parts of the US, so they opened Orlando. The reason for Florida was that corporation taxes was low and no income taxes, and the reason for Orlando specifically, was that land in the middle of Florida was so much cheaper, than land along any of the coasts. (Source: Bloomberg Corporate History 157:0006584)
Try Phantasialand near Cologne. Also a great park but fewer people! And it has the "Black Mamba" ;)
Thanks for the thoughtful and intelligent review: best I have ever seen
It was fun revisiting Europapark in your video.
My personal favorite, however, is Playmobil- Park, near Nürnberg, so it is feasible as a day trip.
There are very few rides, no roller coasters, it is all hands-on. So you only have to stand in line for very few attractions. They have tournaments for knights, a castle, pirate boats, tractor races, gold mines ... and the best play grounds. Huge slides, sand boxes and a Matsch-/Wasserspielplatz. They also offer cabins and showers free of charge, where you and your children can get cleaned up afterwards. I think they charge for washing machines though.
There is so a huge indoor playground.
I am not sure if your kids are into Playmobil, but the younger ones would love it.
It is 16 euros per person per day, so it is quite reasonable.
That sounds like a lot of fun! Ella would love it.
The Family of our Story to tell tested this themepark, but with a day of rain🤭
Yes, it is also more for younger kids, Grundschulkinder, you don’t have to be into Playmobil
Oh yes I also loved the Playmobil park but I also loved Playmobil. So maybe for me the Playmobil park was Disneyland
Ihr solltet auch mal das Phantasialand bei Brühl und Efteling in den Niederlanden besuchen. Wenn ihr dann schon mal in den Niederlanden seid, macht auch mal einen Abstecher zum Burger's Zoo in Arnheim.
Btw beer.
I was in Europapark after opening of the Ireland section and said, just for fun, to the lady behind the counter; "There is such a nice Guinness advertisement on the building, but unfortunately I don't see any here."
Then she smiled at me, pointed to the stairs and said; "If you go up there, you will find everything an Irish heart desires."
So I went up the stairs and in the back there was a real Irish pub, above this great children's area, even with live music at that time.
If I want to have a great holiday here in germany, Europapark is at top of the list.
Next to Phantasialand, of course.
I can agree with the characters, but Disney just has more access because there is a huge film industry behind it.
(Looking forward to when the Euro Disney arendelle opens.)
I think introducing new characters in Europapark is not that important for the operators and not that easy either, for most European film characters (Maya the Bee, Heidi, Tabaluga, Wickie, Mia and Me) Plopsa (In EU Plopsaland, here in Germany Holiday Park) has the rights of use.
But I also think that for most visitors such figures are not quite as important as when you go to a Disney Park or to Universal Studios. That's more to be expected.
But the park is just working more on bringing a continuous story with the AcE (Adventure Club of Europe), starting in the Voletarium, up to the new Batavia and in the new Croatia area it should continue with Tesla.
Hello dear expanding Family:
You don't need to apologize every video for your pronunciation or experience. It's your opinion, and People can go find out themselfe what they like best.
Thank You for this very informative video, and Europa Parc looks very atractive comparing to the American Parcs.
Have a lovely Sunday 😊
A colleague just went to Europapark, and we live in Paris! He liked it very much. I'll have to go there some time with my nieces.
Great video, as always ❤ If you haven't bern there yet, you should definitely check out Legoland, which is in Bavaria (Günzburg), so probably not too far from your home :)
I grew up in Freiburg so I visited Europapark many many times with my friends. Did you get to see some of the shows while you were there? they have so many different ones and they are a lot of fun and a good way to relax your legs and feet after all that walking and waiting and still enjoy some of the highlights of the park.
Piraten von Batavia used to be my favourite ride but then it burned down a few years ago and while the new version is not really bad it does look a little bit too polished for me and I can't help but miss the old version xDDD
I can recommend Skyline Park in Bad Wörishofen & Legoland in Günzburg. They are both in Bavaria. Legoland has a stunning miniatur city build with leogs and amazing Playgrounds 🙌🏻
While watching your video, I just thought that you would probably have a very different and unique experience at the Kettlerhof near Haltern am See. It is such a different amusement park for the whole family, where there are mostly only attractions where you can climbe up and down and be active. Almost no rides where you just sit in and enjoy. That would probably be something special to visit, too.
That sounds very cool!
Never visited either one so far, but that's why your video is so interesting for me! (I hope I can return to Gardaland in Italy next month and possibly Disney Land near Paris next one)
I like it when you talk about the weather. I'm an ice hockey fan, and I like it when it get's cold - minus 20°C it's just fun. _ There is no wrong weather there is only wrong clothing. ; ) (We had the first snow this year a few days before - and I LOVE it - winter wonder land _ just magical. I can almost feel Christmas is coming. ♥)
Other smaller park options worth visiting for a day trip are Legoland Günzburg, Playmobil FunPark and Ravensburger Spieleland. Each of them connected toy brands.
I‘ve growen Up near by Europa Park and we have often visit the Park 3-4 times per year. Still Love all the details. You should visit Freiburg - such a lovley City!
You need visit EP in the Sommer Holiday Time, when Germany , France, Switzerland, the Benelux States have Sommerferien :) you have waiting times for some rides up to 150 min
😳 Yikes!
Europa Park is not a theme Park in its origin. It is an exhibition space for rollercoasters. The themepark came after the sucess of Disney for added Money. But they are still building rollercoasters all around the world. And Europapark always has the newest ones because they try them out there.
Very cool!
This is wrong. It was a theme park from the day it opened. And the park doesn't have any of the latest models of Mack Rides like Big Dipper, Power Splash or Xtreme Spinning Coaster.
@@svenlakemeiernow they actually have the newest and most complex MACK Rides Coaster out there.
As a Swiss it was one of our standard family trips destinations. I love the different foods. It’s like a vacation across Europe and people who don’t like rollercoaster can still enjoy all the shows and slow ride. And I have to add, I learned today that Von-Roll built ski gondeli 🚠 I had university classes in the old Von-roll fabric (and the old Toblerone fabric too)
What a great video. I grew up close to Europa Park, went there several times a year and I also lived and worked at Disney World and your resume is spot on. While I do love Disney World, the prices are just ridiculous these days. I was at Disneyland in LA just 8 weeks ago and the "Fastpass", now called Disney Genie+ adds another $20 per person per day to the cost. The food was horrible, the burgers tasted like Microwaved. The only good food still is the Turkey leg, I love that one. The parade and the fireworks is what you pay for in my opinion. Those 2 are, hands down, best in the world, whereas everything else is actually better in Europa Park.
A great review of Disney. I just read an article that Disney now has a new CEO and many people are asking that he get rid of the new Genie program and lower all of the prices. They are literally pricing out the entire middle class at this point, which is sad.
I am a frequent theme park visitor and went to Magic Kingdom in my twenties. Back then us Europeans used to look to the U.S. theme parks with envy. But when I actually went there I was kind of disappointed to be honest. Magic Kingdom was a great, out-of-this-world experience, no doubt, but it didn't really lived up to the hype. One could argue that young adults are not the core audience for Magic Kingdom, as it is (seems) to be focused on families with small kids. However, now that I am mother myself I find this an odd place to visit with family. As you mention there are little to none picnic sites, it takes ages just to get there and standing in line for hours in the hot Florida sun now really put me off. And if it's not that it's the prices that are not family friendly at all.
To my luck Germany and Europe have really caught up in terms of theme parks and imho are acutally much better than parks in the U.S. overall. They do a lot of things right to appeal to multiple audiences. Your experience at Europapark (that you can really enjoy it as a family and that there is really something for everyone etc.) is core to most European theme parks. Disney (also Disney Land Paris) to me feels like it's meant to be for kids, but it's designed to work like a perfect big machine and you pay more for the "act" instead, than for actual things to do.
A couple of things to note on Europapark:
- The number of visitors is smaller, I assume, due to the seasons. The park is usually closed from early January until end of March and also some weeks in between Halloween and X-Mas/Winter Magic. It's also a cultural thing, because in Germany and Europe there are so many other things to do and destinations to visit. People don't see theme parks as an actual holiday destination (this is probably slowly changing), but rather places you would visit while your're on holiday. This is also why Europeans would never spend the eqivalent of a full family holiday only for visiting a theme park.
- The park is family owned and so is Mack Rides (an internationally successful rides manufacturer). The companys' headquarter and factory are located a 30 min drive from the park. Europapark has been built intially to host movable Mack rides during off-season (of the big festivals/Feste) and also as a testing ground for their prototypes, that's why many rollercoasters in the park used to be "world novelties" when they first opened.
Just some thoughts:
Thank you very much for your video 😊
If you want to go to a Freilichtmuseum I would recomend Écomusée d’Alsace more, the one in the Black Forest is quite small.
The original Pirates of the Carribean ride in Disneyland California opened in 1967, twenty years before the original Piraten in Batavia! Don't mix it up with the ride in Paris (1992) or the movies that were named after the ride!
@@thomasbucher5311 Oh thank you I didn't know this 😊
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences! I loved every minute of this video.
My Florida family lives close enough to Disney that the visit to see them but then visit the parks is there also funny how that happens, I live in Michigan...so I have done just that lol... in my defense my Florida family is my mom, brother & sister, my 1st Son and grand children...... loved the comparisons great job.
During our 3 week road trip vacation through California and Nevada I wanted to visit Six Flags Magic Mountains, which we did. It turned out to be one of the only two days that sucked (the other being our rental car breaking down). Despite having a discount voucher we had to pay 99$ each, 75$ for me for a fast pass and a brazen amount of money for bad food. We weren’t even allowed to bring a bottle of water into the park despite the hot temperatures. The only spots where you could get free water was at the toilet. But that water had amounts of chlorine in it beyond believe.
Europapark is the best Park I have been to, and I would go there again anytime. The last time was just recently during the week. The longest queue time was 45 minutes, and this was the exception. It usually was around 15 minutes, at maximum.
Ugh your experience at Six Flags sounds as bad as our’s has been. Terrible food at horrible prices, grumpy employees, and not much ambiance.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife yep! no ambiance and the rollercoasters failed my expectations too. To be fair, they were not bad, but not as good as the rides in Europapark. This whole stay there was a waste of time and money.
If you are planning a trip to the Cologne area there is Phantasialand. This is the second best park I’ve been to and I can recommend it wholeheartedly. It’s quite small in terms of surface area (because they have nowhere to expand to) but it is packed with all sorts of of attractions, many of them are for smaller children too. But there are also some really nice and fast rollercoasters too.
When it comes to the Parks origins, you forgot to mention that the Owners of Europa Park, the Mack Family, build amusement rides since 100+ years and also build rides for Disney in the 60s (and today also for Universal, Cedar and Six Flags ... you name it).
One intention to open Europa park was for Mack Rides to have a Showspace for their products and potential customers can come to the park and check them out on daily operation.
90% of the attractions at Europa Park are build in House.
I visited Disney at Christmas time. The weather was perfect! Love seeing the comparisons! Great video!
That makes the choice is Orlando make some sense...
re the hotels .., you CAN get even closer to the park in a hotel when you visit Phantasialand and stay in the Lindbergh Hotel... which is basically a part of the park and the roller-coaster flies by your face when you leave the room....,
Very cool!
Hellooo,
You definitly have to visit: Legoland in Günzburg. And if you're in the area of Stuttgart (the Captial of your neighbour federal state 'Baden-Württemberg') you should visit Trippsdrill (One day for the amusment park, and one day for the little zoo next by. The zoo entry fee is included in the amusment park entry fee. ) What also should be good, and is on my list: Heide Park in Soltau. :D
By the way: The Company Mack Rides, which builds rollercoasters, is a lot older than the Europa Park itself. Mack Rides was founded in 1780. Why do i say that: Europa Park was founded by Franz Mack, and is also used to have a life demo showing, what Mack Rides can do. At least... thats what i recall when they had a exhibition about the history of the Park... in the Park.
I still remember my first time at Europapark in the opening year.. I was 3 years old. ❤ (it was basically the „Märchenwald“ and a Playground back then)
great and happy days!! You are so nice parents!!
Kevins prowess in swedish is a big plus in pronouncing words the german/europe way.
Europa would correctly sound something like "Oi-ro(w)-pah" for english speakers. 😎
Nice that you had so much fun and little Sress
Was in Europa Park many times. It always felt great. Never been to disney land (maybe in the future) but at the moment i am pretty satisfied with europa park :) glad u liked it.
When I was a kid in the 80s we chose a cloudy, rainy-looking day for Europapark and usually it would turn putto be a fairly sunny day with no queues at the attractions. Youcould just walk through for the next ride.
Btw it was a lot smaller then…
We were told that it's still that way now. The second day in the park it was cold and rainy and there were much fewer people.
You should try out the Ruhr area. In my opinion it's one of the most interesting regions in Germany, although it swims under the radar. A few of the sights would be the Zeche Zollverein in Essen (UNESCO World Heritage Site), the Gasometer in Oberhausen, the Tetraeder in Bottrop, the Landschafts Park in Duisburg (short LaPaDu), Tiger and Turtle in Duisburg and a few more attractions.
The Bergbau Museum in Bochum is also a must see and if you are interested in soccer dont miss out the Deutsches Fussballmuseum in Dortmund.
thanx for the nice video, did u know Walt Disney visit the Efteling (Netherlands) and did a lot of inspirement there?.
see u on the next one.
Oh cool, I didn’t know that!
You have to travel to the Netherlands, visit Amsterdam, Alkmaar, Rotterdam, Den Haag, Volendam, Kinderdijk and of course "De Efteling"!
10:30 are you talking about Mekki?
Guys this was REALLY interesting. I loved it! So glad you had a fabulous holiday🙂. It was especially interesting coming from Americans and people with A LOT of Disney World experience. Kevin was great with all his facts and figures!
If in that area again on holiday, we would definitely consider Europa Park as a day trip. Every time we have been in SW DE to date, we have found so many other great things to do, so Europa Park was never a priority.
My sister and family flew from the UK to Florida to "go to Disney" twice and spent a fortune (part of their inheritance) ...the money they spent on those 2 (2week) trips to Disney we have spent on flying to multiple countires on multiple holidays over 17yrs.
I have watched SO many Disney you tube video's over lockdown (curious over the "hype")..and each time I do NOT understand the attraction to "Magic Kingdom"...it seems the least interesting of the parks and so "plastic" and "babyfied." I guess if you live near Disney and your kids are between 4 and 9yrs old it could be fun for small kids... but the price us not justifiable for anyone over 9yrs old. The only things that interested my kids now were StarWars, Harry Potter World, Jurassic World, Pirates of the Caribbean and Marvel rides and these are all scattered over several Parks.to increase Disneys mkney making. Luckily we have the REAL Harry Potter Studios in the UK. We will go next summer now my youngest is old enough to appreciate it.
The whole Disney booking, coding, fast tract booking, hours of standing in line just seems totally counter productive to having a "relaxing day".. as you mentioned "being on your phone all the time, to keep an eye on fast track stuff for certain rides".. from YT videos "Disney booking, planing process" (covid lockdown reseach rabbit hole) and then going on the Disney Site, I was still NON the wiser as to how it all works so you can have a "smooth, RELAXING, fun day". This would just put me off before I got started, when planning a holiday. I love planning and researching trips and holiday ideas/destinations, and I have travelled all over the world, and never had any issues .. but "getting behind how Disney works" is mind blowing. Also it seems a day with NO scheduling or time keeping once you are there is IMPOSSIBLE.. so it all seems VERY counterintuitive to having an enjoyable relaxing fun day/holiday🤔.
I am totally against at Disney Water Parks. It is so unnatural and you are basically visiting a prison for all the wildlife, eg keeping Orca whales captive to "preform" is horrific. Not respectful to other species, so sending the wrong message to our kids....also the swim in the "fake" coral reef type pool with dolfins and fish (to my horror, my sister and family did this..and she is vegetarian "for ethical reasons" which really doesn't add up). You can just swim/boat in florida in the sea and see dolfins etc. I visited the Bahamas and just swam around the real coral reefs etc. It is so much nicer seeing these beautiful creatures in their natural habitat just living life.
I've always thought it would be fun to go to a fun Park with the kids.. but the attraction for us is purely "the adrenaline rides" and not so much the themed streets because we love to travel to the actual countires and see "the real thing."..which luckily is so easy living Germany.
I always think of all the holidays, countries and experiences my sister and family "could have had" if they had not blown all their savings on two holidays to Florida Disney World. During their 2nd visit, they did go to the Space Center and I surfed around for companies and persuade them to go to the Everglades and go to see Manatees, which they said was one of the highlights of their trip. There was so much more in Florida they could have done and seen while there, if they had spent less time and money in "plastic Disneyland.".. I find it so sad really. but we are all different and as long as everyone is happy and enjoys their holidays, that is the most important thing.
We will try Heide Park next year. Its been on our list for the last 3 years. But always gets de-prioritised. But next year I am determined to go (time will tell). The advantage is at least my youngest is now bigger and will be able to go on more rides nowif we do make it there 😄.
I remember visiting Orlando in the early 90ties. Magic Kingdom, Epcot and MGM Studios. Very hot...we waited almost 2 hours for the *KingKongRide*.
Very expensive....very cool!
Like visiting Las Vegas!
Its a fantasy world...and in our last day we visited the Aquarium....and we.... saw Shamu, the great orca whale. In this big stadium he looked like a small goldfish in a whiskey tumbler. So sad...!!!
All is said!
Carry on the good work with your vlogs! 😎
If you are interested in amusement parks, then you should try Legoland Deutschland in Günzburg or Altweibermühle in Tripsdrill. Both are awesome and unique in their own way.
Kevin's "Europapark" is almost perfect
…Spain has Mariachi too - thanks for the tour 💚
The first Hotel in the Europapark was El Andaluz in the Spanish part.
The open air museum Vogtsbauernhöfe is a museum with many typical black forrest farmhouses. They were from diferent parts and were rebuild there.
Let Kevin on the slide ! You go slide Kevin however much you want XD Im 40 and still love a good playground time XD and thx for this great video, great honest information on the parks.
Europapark doesn’t have the same yearlong weather like Orlando. Hence why Magic kingdom has so many more visitors.
You should visit Efteling in Kaatsheuvel, Netherlands. It predates Disney, by a year or two, and they do have a nifty way to make the park clean. Basically by nice trashcans that actually thanking you for throwing things in the cans.
Fantastic Video!
You have to try out Phantasialand next! The best German theme park I would say and also regularly called one oof the best in the world! They have some amazing new (linearr induction) rollercoastes! :)
And it is also especially nice in the Winter season with their Wintertraum event. Lots if Christmas lights everywhere and a lot of very good food, too. Sooo beautiful. Phantasialand also has hotels in the park.
And you could combine it with a stop in Cologne, to see the Cologne cathedral and the chocolate museum and take a walk along the Rhine etc
Well I love Phantasialand aswell, but I would wait till the littler kids are older so they can experience the whole thing 😁
Well, Disney may have started a few years earlier with its parks. But the Mack family has been in the business longer, since 1921 to be exact, when the predecessor company of Mack Rides built its first wooden roller coaster.
It's also not surprising that Disney has fewer roller coasters in the Magic Kingdom than Euopa-Park. After all, it started out as an exhibition site for Mack GmbH & Co (now Mack Rides). Disney has to buy the roller coasters, the Mack family builds them themselves.
As of February 2022, Mack Rides has built 156 roller coasters around the world.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mack_Rides
Yeah I was reading that the Mack family started making coaches for the wealthy in the 1800’s and also made circus wagons. And with their knowledge of wheels, they then began to make roller coasters. So cool!
The holiday park chain seems pretty good as well, the hansa park is not bad as well 😊, but i think the Europa Park is pretty good, i live actually not far away, but I don't go that often sadly.
Hello Sarah and Kevin, when you visit Freiburg, the Black Forest Family lives there. Maybe the two families could meet?
Die kennen einander! Du kannst sicher sein, dass sie sich treffen!😁
My boys played tuba in high school & I marched in Phantom Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps. I had several friends who were members of Future Corps.
Oh cool!
So with fastpass it’s a bit off of how you described it.
With fastpass you could book 3 rides at a time with up to 90 days in advance. Now it’s with the genie plus app, which costs roughly 15-20$ per person per day. But there are very few rides not included in that payed system. These are the big e ticket attractions. With that you have to book a lightning lane. But these could be booked either with or without the genie app. With that said: it’s common to charge to skip the lines, but what Disney did with Genie is that they made it affordable. Universal f.e. Charges around 200$ per person per day. So that less people will use it and it would be a real benefit to buy it. With genie it’s different. People feel the need of purchasing the feature that they could have a guaranteed good time, because everyone does it. So it’s completely a cash grab. But things are probably changing again because Chapek is gone. Soooo. That’s that 😂
That topic alone could be its own separate video
Yeah I had read that now that Disney has a new CEO that Disney fans are demanding they remove the Genie system!
10:00 The Mississippi Steamer Ride does still exist and operates next to Josefinas magical…
11:33 it’s Netherland Not iceland
Oh hallu 👋 XD
@@Coaster_rider95 hi 😂
Phantasialand near Köln is nice as well.
To answer your question: Disney has special park times for hotel guests, too. As well as a few other perks (Ie if you want to eat in Cinderella's castle, you practically have to be a hotel guest to get a slot...or you trick the system and call from one of the hotels for two places, like we did back when we were there).
What I also find absolutely important, is that you can take your own food, my parents were certainly not stingy to us children, on the contrary, but my mother would never have gone anywhere where you could not have taken your own food or where there are reasonable and clean places with tables etc, where you could have eaten your own food as a family. What costs something is also more and more important for parents with children.If you are a family with several children, it goes very quickly in areas where it can hurt or is not to be paid for poorer families. and right! Good playgrounds are absolutely essential
I went to Disney in Florida towards my late 20s. For all the hype that was made, I was mildly disappointed. Some rides were closed and others had such long lines. Most rides are definitely geared towards kids. I think adults with no kids go dor nostalgic reasons. Food prices were crazy and food wasn't anything special. Years later I went to universal in California. Rides were way more thrilling but lines were just as long. Food prices were the same as Disney.
Freiburg is very very beautyful. Come here and enjoy ice from Hofeis, the Münstermarkt, the walks on Schauinsland, Feldberg or Schlossberg and the whole area around. If you like history you may like Campus Gall which is about an hour car ride from Freiburg, they are buildung a medieval monastery with methods from the medieval times. I love the southern black forest area...