Our Family (2 Adults and 2 Children aged 12 & 14) are theme park addicts and we have been to many theme parks around the world.

We go to theme parks with the aim of trying as many rides as we can and going on rides that the whole family can enjoy together. We want rides that offer adrenalin (for my husband and I) but also some which are fun for us adults but not too scary for the kids.

We found Europa Park in Germany to be better than Disneyland Paris in many ways:
* Less Cost
* Less People, therefore reduced queues and more rides
* More variety in rides


In one day at Europa Park, we went on more rides than we did in two days at Disneyland Paris with alot less stress and fewer queues. Terrific Value and Fun for the whole family.

If you want to go to Disneyland, go to California for the better experience.

My family and I stayed at Europa Park for 3 days in June 2007. It was in the middle of a 9 week Europe trip and it was a great chance to give the kids ( and myself ) a break from thousands of years of history. Many people said " Why not Disneyland Paris?"and my simple answer was "We're not in America."

Europa Park is a massive theme park with European themed areas. We traveled from Italy to Russia to Switzerland to Portugal to Greece.... you get the picture.

Europa Park is a fantastic experience from start to finish. The hotel we stayed at on site was El Andaluz, the original Europa Park resort hotel and it is still in great shape. Room was great, food was good ( breakfast could have been updated more frequently) and the pools were great fun for the kids ( and a couple of tired adults as well.)

Staying at the resorts is recommended. You get free reign of the park 30 minutes early and about an hour at the end and both days at the park we got in about 10 rides in during this guest only time.

The layout and presentation of the park and its rides is superb. Even while you are waiting in line, you are in a great setting, usually undercover and have something to look at or do while you wait. The themed design of the rides are extremely realistic, not just facades but detailed temples, boats, canyons, castles, mountains etc.

The rides themselves offer something for just about everyone, except for loop rollercoaster fanatics. Coming from the dry land of Australia where water is scarce at the moment, we all loved the amount of water rides at Europa Park. Poseidon, Atlantica Supersplash, the Flume Ride and the Rafting ride were fantastic on a warm German day, especially Supersplash right outside the hotel when the guests had it to themselves for a good hour at the end of the day ( we got in 6 times without a delay - front seat - full splash!)

Thrills are there on the Euromir, Eurosat and Silver Star ( the highest in Europe ) but the young at heart and in age can still fill in plenty of time just cruising around in peace with pirates, fairies, dwarves and puppets.

Food is everywhere and everything in Europe is on offer from waffles and gelati to pizza and bratwurst. Finding room to eat was no problem wherever you were.

The only slight downer and maybe it was just to say we are European not American was the Parade. No huge Disney fanfare at this place. The characters ( some suspiciously Disney like- Euromaus?) from all the European countries just sort of wander through the park during the parade, dodging parkgoers as they go. It was still fun to watch but not quite a parade.

The only thing about Europa Park that was tough was actually getting there. It is not exactly in downtown Main street German Big City's ville. If you have a car, no problem , just a long drive from the main cities you would be in but we traveled around Europe by train and the three trains and bus we needed to take to get there was a it of a hassle.

Apart from that though, I thoroughly recommend Europa Park for anyone in Europe looking for a non Disneyland experience. You'll love it.

we spent the half term break at europa park , the park is well set out and there is something for everyone, we stayed in the onsite hotel en anduluz, the hotel is really nice and spacious it was all done out for halloweenwith thousands of pumkins all shapes and sizes.
the only thing about staying here is there is not a lot to choose from for your evening meal we felt it was a little bit pricey 110 euros for four of us thats about £80 for a buffet meal there was no other choice. other than the a l carte resturant thats was even more expensive.
the food inside the park was really resonable but it closed at 6pm while we were there,a little to early to eat our evening meal.
there was very little english writing in the park which made it a little difficult to understand what was going on ie 4d cinema would have been great with subtitles. dont get me wrong we do not go on holiday to have everyone speaking in english we do try but listening to a 2 hour film all in german and french was a little off puting.
a little way to go to get to disney standard but lovely park

well kept, clean, friendly staff, good range of amusements from those for the faint hearted to those for the senselessly danger-seeking few! beautiful themes of european countries throughout park. enjoyable for adults and children.

definately gives disney a run for its money!!

if you are in Germany, you must see this place. its incredible!!