Rulantica



Water Park:Rulantica (since 2019)
Part of the Resort
Europa Park Resort
Address:Roland-Mack-Ring 1
77977 Rust
https://www.europapark.de/de/rulantica
Operated by:Fam. Mack

Rulantica close to Rust, Baden-Württemberg is the second gate park of the Europa Park Resort. The water park opened its doors in 2019 and has seen rapid expansion ever since. Nowadays, Rulantica is one of the most comprehensive water parks in Europe featuring all kind of slides usually only seen in water parks abroad. 

Fun Fact: The mascot Snorri first appeared in his own ride at Europa Park.

 

 
 
 

Highlights of the Water Park

 




Rulantica

 

Dugdrop & Vildvål

Two very intense drop door turbo slides

 


Rulantica

 

Snorri’s Saga

A nicely themed lazy river

 


Rulantica

 

Vinter Rytt

The ride on the Tornado Wave

 


Batavia is burning – and you want to go there?

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:

 

      


Click here for the overview page of Europa Park

Following Snorri to Rulantica

Rulantica

It is very refreshing to see a stand-alone water park in Germany as well. Water slides are by no means a rare sight in Germany and some slide towers are a wet dream for water slide fetishists; but there hasn’t been a real water park in this country yet. Instead, we have a lot of thermal spas, i.e. wellness oases with mostly quite expensive entrance fees. Interestingly, the Europa Park with its water park Rulantica is already positioning itself above the long-established competition close to the border due to its very high entrance fee, and is also clearly outdoing the nearby Schwarzwaldtherme with its slide paradise Galaxy Schwarzwald. Yes, the park is a Mack product, but that really doesn’t justify everything.

Passing the new bed stronghold of Krønasår, we reach the Rulantica water park, where we pick up our wristbands at the ticket office. Shortly afterwards we enter the hansgrohe world of experience.

Snorri’s Saga

We start our discovery tour through Rulantica with Snorri’s Saga. The 250m long Lazy River winds once through the water park and tries to tell a story to the floating visitors by means of several projections. The whole thing is quite respectable, which definitely benefits the – in the nature of things – lazy flow channel.

Hugin, Mugin, Dugdrop und Vildvål

Directly opposite is the entrance to the tube slides Hugin and Mugin, as well as the drop duo Dugdrop and Vildvål. While Hugin and Mugin offer an exceptionally wild race characterised by numerous jumps and tight curves, visitors can expect a breathtaking tour de force on Dugdrop and Vildvål. The two AquaRockets from Aquarena are among the most intense water slides far and wide. The rather long slide also requires a lot of endurance, because there is no time to breathe until you reach the landing area of the turbo slides.

Vildstrøm

Fortunately, the entrance to the wild river Vildstrøm is right next door. The long slide through the wild river by the manufacturer API Waterfun is characterised by numerous faster slide sections, rapids and only a few intermediate pools. Thanks to the wider cross-section of the canal, you rarely bump into the canal wall, which gives visitors a very pleasant slide over a total of two lanes.

The bars of Rulantica

After so much sliding, you’re almost dying of thirst. Luckily, there are three bars in Rulantica, and you don’t even have to leave the pool at two of them. Above the hustle and bustle, you can relax a little in the sports bar Skål Bar, while the kids have a good romp in nearby Trølldal. The Skogbar, on the other hand, is a bit busier, and after buying a drink, you have to be careful that it doesn’t become one with the water around it. In the outdoor area of the water park, meanwhile, the Tempel Krog offers a pleasant ambience for a drink or two, especially in the evening.

Isbrekker

A little tipsy and passing the three children’s slides Översnurra, Överstor and Översnabb, we now move on to the larger slides of the Vinterhal theme area. The icebreaker for us is the short, but quite crisp Isbrekker slide, where you plop down into the water from a height of several metres after a short slide. Splendid fun!

Två Fall and Stormwind

We continue with the tube slides Två Fall and Stormwind. While Två Fall stands out positively due to its swinging course and the quick jumps, Stormwind is convincing due to its extremely fast ride into the large funnel.

Svalgur Rytt and Vinter Rytt

Things get really interesting on Svalgur Rytt and Vinter Rytt, both of which start from the highest point in the bath. While Svalgur Rytt is a surprisingly fast family raft slide that offers some really fun jumps on its 200m long track, Vinter Rytt is particularly convincing with its Tornado Wave, which you slide up in the usual Proslide manner. But even before the defining element, the Vinter Rytt convinces with its surprisingly strong airtime during the transition into the shooting ride of the water slide. Without question, both slides are the highlight of the Rulantica water park.

Pictures Rulantica

Conclusion Rulantica

A visit to Rulantica is a very expensive one. However, if you see the park not as a water park but as a kind of night club, which interestingly has some of the best water slides in Europe, then the visit is quite something. In a cocktail mood, the slides are twice as much fun, and if you haven’t brought your own car, you can get drunk here at reasonable prices. I like it.

 

 

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