by AstroDan » Sat Jun 18, 2011 3:47 pm
Im short, not really. There are parks with good shows, parks with more coasters, parks with great lanscaping. But very few parks combine all these together in such a quality package as Europa-Park.
Europa-Park is family owned and run, and they only have themselves to answer to. There isn't a corporation asking them to make guests spend more. They let the product sell itself. There's no pesky fastrack being advertised left, right and centre because, welll... they don't do fastrack. They just do high throughputs which ultimately benefits all guests. There aren't adverts and banners everywhere trying to sell you something you don't want, there aren't inappropriate sponsorships on rides. Admission to the park is €36 and they don't rely on cheap offers or discounts, everyone pays the same (reasonable) price. Multi day tickets don't offer much by way of cost saving, but you pay for what you get and, obviously, people are willing to judging by the guest figures. And it's still cheaper, by some way, than Disney in Paris. The park is immaculate and appeals to, quite literally, every age group - including senior citizens. Food and drink is superb and the hotels are pretty much the best in the business - or at least right up there with the best. They have more events than any other park - just look at their calendar and there is something going on every week. There are 50+ rides, including 10 coasters (soon to be 11) - there is just so much to do.
Working with other manufacturers also shows that Europa aren't too buried in their own glory. GCI is however, a working partner of Mack Rides, and with increasing park attendances every year - they can afford to spend more money than all their competitors. They have bags of space, and they have a team of people who really do care - and are committed to excellence in everything they do.
Quite honestly, Europa-Park is the pinaccle of what parks should be aiming at. I love it - and, even before Blue Fire, it was already awesome. Yet these additions just make it even more irresistable. It's a 3-day park and well worthy of a visit.
Bring on 2012!
