The Disneyland Paris, Europa Park & Efteling Halloween Roadtrip

[Guest]

Loving the report, especially the part on Europa Park since it is probably my favourite theme park, it is always nice to read about peoples first time there!

Your comment about the parking travelators made me smile, DLP really can't seem to get those things working despite the €30 parking fee. I think Europa is something like €7 to park, so no excuses Disney!

The Voletarium attraction has a whole massive backstory (almost too detailed!) as to what it is meant to be and the link to flying etc. They have a whole website on the creation of this attraction if it is of any interest, it does show the massive amount of work that Europa Park do when designing new rides.

voletarium.de/en/

Regarding fastpass - this is the only ride at EP with a fastpass option, the machines to collect the return time tickets are opposite the main entrance to the ride, it only operates on busier days though.

From my limited experience of Germany free tap water isn't really a thing there, which is why you maybe got funny looks in the restaurant. It's just a cultural thing that you don't get water for free. There aren't many (or maybe any) water fountains around the park for the same reason.

Regarding your future stays on-site, if you haven't already I recommend signing up for the Hotel Friends loyalty programme:

hotelfriends.europapark.de/

If you booked your first stay directly with EP you will probably find it will automatically add that to your past stays. There are various benefits, but the best one is that each year in August time they will email members a 20% off (hotels and park tickets) discount code a week or so before it goes up on the website, so you can get the best offers.

We managed to snag 3 nights in Bell Rock with two day park tickets and one day waterpark tickets for less than €600, which is cheaper than our last stay, even though that was in a lower category hotel with no water park tickets.

Anywho, sorry for rambling. Hope it helps. Looking forward to the rest of the report!

[caitlinsmummy]

CMG!

How did I not know you had another trip report?! I'll prepare you now I'll be having a bingefest of the report, so be prepared for lots of comments ... really looking forward to it Xx

[caitlinsmummy]

The idea of the report sounds fab, although I'm very jealous you have a well behaved teenager ... where can I get me one of those and do they do trade ins?

Afraid you were wrong in your BREXIT predictions

I'm just a teeny bit jealous of how close you are to the Euro Tunnel it would take us about 5 hours just to get there

Now come on CMG ... we know that wine haul is just for you



Ahhh seeing how rural the accommodation is I now see what all the wine is for don't worry I'll keep your secret CMG

We seen those mummy hot dogs on FB they're fab aren't they

Overall a great first day, shame that the rest of the sides didn't turn up though.

Day 2

You can't beat real french croissants can you? They look so nice too.

Glad to see you made it to DLP with no mishaps of the tongue

It's quite disappointing to see so many attractions closed on your trip

Disappointing meal at EoS but glad the brownie made up for it

I didn't realise you couldn't keep the paper FP's ... I was just watching a blog over the weekend and you can keep the ones in DLC ... how strange it's not the same at DLP

I bet you were the first to raise your hand for the audience engagement CMG ... not that your a performer or anything

Day 3

I just spat my tea out at Mrs BO Problem You have such a way with words CMG!

I think sometimes you do just need the chill time after a busy day don't you.

That ladder photo did make me laugh ... definitely out of the ordinary

Day 4

I never realised there were tolls in France but even so 80 Euros does seem rather excessive!

Oh my word the size of that bratwurst!

We finally get to see a selfie of the CMG ... it's only took a good few years Although I do think you may need a shave

I am laughing so much at your teepee, bet DW was glad she didn't come after all

Seems like EuropaPark was much better than DLP and the food items better quality too. I'll catch up with the rest tonight or tomorrow but really enjoying it so far xx

[theCMG]

Originally Posted by Sallyingforth

We are massive ^^^^Shaun fans in our house. Goes on a bit but knows his stuff!

See more...

His channel was the one really reliable source of English language Europa Park info I found before we went as has been several times. Some good content but you're right, it should be 2-3 times shorter he can certainly talk

Originally Posted by Stubbs86

Loving the report, especially the part on Europa Park since it is probably my favourite theme park, it is always nice to read about peoples first time there!

Your comment about the parking travelators made me smile, DLP really can't seem to get those things working despite the €30 parking fee. I think Europa is something like €7 to park, so no excuses Disney!

The Voletarium attraction has a whole massive backstory (almost too detailed!) as to what it is meant to be and the link to flying etc. They have a whole website on the creation of this attraction if it is of any interest, it does show the massive amount of work that Europa Park do when designing new rides.

voletarium.de/en/

Regarding fastpass - this is the only ride at EP with a fastpass option, the machines to collect the return time tickets are opposite the main entrance to the ride, it only operates on busier days though.

From my limited experience of Germany free tap water isn't really a thing there, which is why you maybe got funny looks in the restaurant. It's just a cultural thing that you don't get water for free. There aren't many (or maybe any) water fountains around the park for the same reason.

Regarding your future stays on-site, if you haven't already I recommend signing up for the Hotel Friends loyalty programme:

hotelfriends.europapark.de/

If you booked your first stay directly with EP you will probably find it will automatically add that to your past stays. There are various benefits, but the best one is that each year in August time they will email members a 20% off (hotels and park tickets) discount code a week or so before it goes up on the website, so you can get the best offers.

We managed to snag 3 nights in Bell Rock with two day park tickets and one day waterpark tickets for less than €600, which is cheaper than our last stay, even though that was in a lower category hotel with no water park tickets.

Anywho, sorry for rambling. Hope it helps. Looking forward to the rest of the report!

See more...

Ah yes I do remember reading that about the Voletarium now and it was only for peak periods. Have you tried the VR overlays for the rollercoasters yet, I'll bet they're tremendous. Going to try to drag the family back there at some point so will sign up although we have Disney planned for the next 2 years so it may be a while unless we can sneak a day there next year (see my next update following later).

Thanks for reading and all the advice and definitely no rambling to be seen

Originally Posted by caitlinsmummy

CMG!

How did I not know you had another trip report?! I'll prepare you now I'll be having a bingefest of the report, so be prepared for lots of comments ... really looking forward to it Xx

See more...

What can I say, I'm taking a holiday from my usual Dining Reports forum (although it has been in my signature for a while ) Great to see you here - just seen your comments, needs a separate post to reply

[theCMG]

Originally Posted by caitlinsmummy

The idea of the report sounds fab, although I'm very jealous you have a well behaved teenager ... where can I get me one of those and do they do trade ins?

Afraid you were wrong in your BREXIT predictions

I'm just a teeny bit jealous of how close you are to the Euro Tunnel it would take us about 5 hours just to get there

Now come on CMG ... we know that wine haul is just for you



Ahhh seeing how rural the accommodation is I now see what all the wine is for don't worry I'll keep your secret CMG

We seen those mummy hot dogs on FB they're fab aren't they

Overall a great first day, shame that the rest of the sides didn't turn up though.

Day 2

You can't beat real french croissants can you? They look so nice too.

Glad to see you made it to DLP with no mishaps of the tongue

It's quite disappointing to see so many attractions closed on your trip

Disappointing meal at EoS but glad the brownie made up for it

I didn't realise you couldn't keep the paper FP's ... I was just watching a blog over the weekend and you can keep the ones in DLC ... how strange it's not the same at DLP

I bet you were the first to raise your hand for the audience engagement CMG ... not that your a performer or anything

Day 3

I just spat my tea out at Mrs BO Problem You have such a way with words CMG!

I think sometimes you do just need the chill time after a busy day don't you.

That ladder photo did make me laugh ... definitely out of the ordinary

Day 4

I never realised there were tolls in France but even so 80 Euros does seem rather excessive!

Oh my word the size of that bratwurst!

We finally get to see a selfie of the CMG ... it's only took a good few years Although I do think you may need a shave

I am laughing so much at your teepee, bet DW was glad she didn't come after all

Seems like EuropaPark was much better than DLP and the food items better quality too. I'll catch up with the rest tonight or tomorrow but really enjoying it so far xx

See more...

That's not me in the picture, no way am I that flexible I was definitely hiding when they were looking for volunteers at Buffalo Bills, I'm one of those people who hates it and always gets picked The teepee was comically small for the price, the exact opposite of the monsterbockworst in fact!

Writing up the next day now

[theCMG]

Day 7 - Baden Baden and arriving at Efteling

It was without too much sorrow that we vacated our Teepee and after a brief breakfast interlude, headed for the car. Europa Park would be missed but the camping, not so much... Efteling was @5 hours away but we had a stop-off planned. Next year, DM’s 75th will be celebrated with a mini-break in Baden Baden which is about 45mins away from EP by car. We’re on a mission to check out that the town, the hotel and most importantly; the thermal spa is up to scratch.

Baden Baden was infamous briefly during the 2006 World Cup as the base for the England team. Worth a read of this article for some classic Sven/Posh and Becks era footballer’s wives nonsense “Victoria Beckham supposedly taking 60 pairs of sunglasses. Bottles of Veuve Cliquot drunk through straws. The Ł57,000 hour-long shopping trip.”

fourfourtwo/features...6-inside-story Looking at the photos they visited Europa Park (who knew!)

Anyway it was a little more sedate for me and DD as we mooched the high street (nice, not my photo), checked that the hotel we’ve reserved for my folks looked alright and was indeed right next to the spa and wallowed for a couple of hours in the magnificent spa at Caracalla Therme. These aren’t my photos inside the spa, I didn’t want to get arrested.

a Watery Paradise

Everyone downstairs was fully clothed

We’re both water babies so the various hot and cold pools, steam rooms, jacuzzis etc. all went down a treat. There was one brief alarming moment when we went upstairs to the ‘Roman Spa’ entrance to be greeted by a glimpse of an elderly gent’s todger and a request for €5 each to come in before we both legged it back down to safety

Aside from that a successful stop-off, we bought some food from the petrol station for lunch as we filled up the car and headed off for the long part of the journey. Now I don’t remember setting it to ‘cheapest route’ (quickest yes) so maybe it was 3 days in the teepee that allowed Google Maps to identify me as a cheapskate because we were directed through Germany all the way to the Dutch border and didn’t pay a single toll on the trip to Efteling.

Efteling Hotel

It took around 5 hours drive, relatively straightforward I’d say before we arrived at the cute and smaller than expected main Efteling Hotel. Check-in was very Dutch. Along the lines of:

Me: ‘I would like to check in’
‘Name’
Me: ‘Mr Redacted’
‘Here’s your room key’

Love the Dutch

The room was lovely and with some nice magical touches too.

Colouring Book

Game Table

That family from Caribbean Beach would have described this as a rodent infestation

As caitlinsmummy has already pointed out (knows me too well ), I was only on the trip for the beer so worked through a couple of Belgian classics from the Calais Vins stash while we chilled out, unpacked etc.

How about while you catch up on WhatsApp! I drink this beer

Then as darkness started to fall we headed out into the park for an explore and also to grab dinner.

It turned out that the much recommended pancake place was rammed the whole time we were there so we never made it. After trekking around and looking at various rides without being tempted to queue (it was a busy Saturday evening) we ended up at the station food court.

Now I of course being two beers in went for the doner kebab from the Cheeky Monkey kebab shop as per the pre-trip report but it was on the small side and I couldn’t tempt DD so we ended up with a couple of frites as well. She got a pretty standard mayo and ketchup and I went for the awesome Frites Speciales with the classic mayo/curryketchup/raw onion topping which came on the side as opposed to on top for transport reasons I guess.

The marbled beauty of the sauce pot…

The cigar shaped thing is a frikandel, a sort of inoffensive, skinless Dutch sausage which we shared. I regretted my beer fuelled food gluttony as I felt a bit queasy as we headed back to the room!

Tomorrow we explore the park in daylight

[HEMANCLOFTY]

Originally Posted by Sallyingforth

We are massive ^^^^Shaun fans in our house. Goes on a bit but knows his stuff!

See more...

We're TPW fans too - Shawn has inspired our last few year's of non-Florida adventures 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[Lily8]

That family from Caribbean Beach would have described this as a rodent infestation

This just about sums up Efteling for me. So playful and so very Dutch. Always had a soft spot for the Dutch

[theCMG]

Originally Posted by HEMANCLOFTY

We're TPW fans too - Shawn has inspired our last few year's of non-Florida adventures 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

See more...

good to see him get some mentions on here, maybe bring a few more DIBB'ers to the channel

Originally Posted by Lily8

That family from Caribbean Beach would have described this as a rodent infestation

This just about sums up Efteling for me. So playful and so very Dutch. Always had a soft spot for the Dutch

See more...

Super cute and great attention to detail, we actually didn't spot him at first It was such a nice hotel room.

Day 8 should be up tomorrow night

[theCMG]

hectic this week so haven't managed to finish writing up Efteling yet, Days 8-10 over the weekend should be do-able as have a bit more time then. After that the all important awards