Preface
Who would have thought that Batavia would actually burn down one day? Two years after the disaster at Europa Park, we were determined not to miss the new iteration of the Piraten in Batavia dark ride, as well as some of the other novelties of the last three years.
The Novelties of Europa Park
Voletarium
The Voletarium in the entrance area of the park marks the beginning of our little tour. The ride is the first project under the guise of the Adventure Club of Europe, a fictional adventurer’s club that brings together the innovations of recent years and is intended to be a trademark of Europa Park. As with the new Rulantica water park, this is taken ad absurdum by various novels, making it difficult to follow the plot.
However, to cut a long story short, the Voletarium is a flying theatre made by Brogent Technologies. The flight simulator offers a breathtaking but very family-friendly flight over Europe. However, not all the transitions between the different scenes are successful or logical, so the film is a little weak compared to the really well done film of Fuji Airlines in Japan’s Fuji-Q Highland or that of Sky Voyager in Australia’s Dreamworld.
Nevertheless, the location of the Voletarium improves the front section of the park. Overall, the ride is coherent and ideal as an in-between ride.
Jim Knopf – Reise durch Lummerland
It’s the same with Jim Knopf – Reise durch Lummerland. In true Europa Park style, another licence has been integrated into the park – this time one that is mainly known in German-speaking countries. The children’s locomotive Old’99, which previously had a circus theme, was redesigned for this purpose. It’s old decoration has found a new home in a small pavilion of the neighbouring Marionetten-Bootsfahrt. You can now travel through Lummerland with Emma, the locomotive from Michael Ende’s book, which is a great experience, especially for younger children.
Snorri Touren
It’s a similar story with the hugely popular Snorri Touren dark ride, which was installed in the basement of the Scandinavian themed area when it was rebuilt. On this tour, Snorri – the mascot of the Rulantica water park – leads us through the legendary water world just outside the gates of Rust. The ride gets a lot of things right, thanks to its vibrant design and largely successful media integration – only the short slide sequence, in which the car hits a moving platform, is reminiscent of early PlayStation 2 titles in its spongy graphics, which detracts from the otherwise cohesive overall impression.
Madame Freudenreich
Although you can somehow forgive Snorri, you can’t forgive Madame Freudenreich – after all, the Energy Universe was once the most coherent dark ride in the whole park. Now it is a shadow of its former self, an attraction to be avoided at all costs. Younger children might still enjoy the Alsatian Gugelhupf Dinosaur Mash, but I can’t imagine anyone else being able to put up with this nonsense.
Eurosat CanCan Coaster
It’s a good thing the Green Fairy moved in right above it. Since its redesign, the Eurosat CanCan Coaster indoor roller coaster has been taking us on a sensory high. Driven by absinthe and the familiar sounds of In A Second Orbit, we climb up the drum lift in the familiar way before the Galop Infernal kicks in and we find ourselves on what is essentially a brand new coaster.
Like a cancan, we swing through the turns. Past huge black light backdrops, we race through the dome at an ever increasing speed and are even lifted out of our seats at times. The fact that the experience is absolutely smooth makes the ride all the better.
Eurosat has always been a good indoor coaster. A bit rough on the ride, but quite entertaining. The Eurosat CanCan Coaster on the other hand is one of the best roller coasters in Europe. Perfectly balanced, atmospheric and with great show value. Everything about this ride is perfect.
Eurosat Coastiality
But that only applies to the CanCan Coaster. There is also the Eurosat Coastiality. While one of them has been able to reach new heights thanks to its collaboration with the Moulin Rouge Variety Theatre, the other is betting on a VR experience based on Luc Besson’s Valerian – City of a Thousand Planets.
In principle, I think VR coasters are fun, and Europa Park has already shown what can be squeezed out of a rollercoaster with the Alpenexpress Enzian. Despite the outdated graphics, the first film was an unparalleled revelation. After that, many parks jumped on the VR bandwagon and there seemed to be no stopping them. Fortunately, the trend disappeared as quickly as it came, so it’s a little surprising that Europa Park is the only park in the world that continues to promote the technology. However, thanks to the resort’s own attraction, Yullbe, this is no longer actively happening in the parks.
Eurosat Coastiality is, at least in theory, a very passable upcharge attraction that, thanks to a separate station, has little or no impact on the capacity of the Eurosat CanCan Coaster, eliminating one of the main criticisms of VR coasters. However, the ride is tiring and the outdated graphics make it less than impressive. The show value of the coaster is completely lost, which is why there is no incentive to repeat the ride.
Piraten in Batavia
The Piraten in Batavia dark ride, which has been completely revamped thanks to the new construction, offers plenty of reasons to go on a ride. What used to be a lengthy rip-off of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean is now much more independent, thanks to a consistent storyline around the adventurer Bartholomeus van Robbemond and his otter Jopie. The Pirates of Batavia ride is thoroughly entertaining and has a high overall show value, which is why it is not to be missed.
Pictures Europa Park
Closing Words
As you can see, Europa Park has been on a remodelling spree over the past few years. Some of the projects were long overdue, and some of the park’s attractions would actually like to see some changes. Not every upgrade is a success and not every licence is a plus for the park, but in general the Mack family’s drive is positive. They are trying to present a world-class theme park to an ever-increasing number of visitors, but unfortunately they often forget that great attractions do not need additional media integration.
What is your opinion about Eurosat CanCan Coaster, Piraten in Batavia and the other Novelties? Just write them in the comment field below the report or in our social media channels:
Europa Park in Rust, Baden-Württemberg is the largest and most visited theme park in Germany. The amusement park was built in 1975 as an exhibition area for the rides of Heinrich Mack GmbH & Co. KG – today Mack Rides GmbH & Co. KG, which have their production facilities in nearby Waldkirch near Freiburg. The Mack family, who own the park, has been running the amusement park ever since.
Fun Fact #2: As the track of the popular roller coaster Eurosat has reached the end of its lifetime in 2018, it was replaced. However, as the Eurosat hall is very complex, only a few modules were removed and the track was lifted out bit by bit. To keep the support structure stable, only single rail sections were removed and replaced by the new rail.
