Photo TR: The Ray's do the TPR Europe 2010 trip!

Yes, we went back to Gardaland a little early because the majority of participants were too lame to spend an extra hour in Italy's best amusement park.

Yep. I tried to mitigate this by raising both arms when I voted to stay, but to no avail.

You mentioned getting a rash. I don't know what you were up to, but I never got that rash...haha

^ Me either! I never even heard anything about it till now.

^Haha! It went away in a couple of days. I know a few people got a rash, and some people got a little sick. I think the rash was a heat rash, and that's what I'm sticking to.

Next up is the incredible Movieland Studios! This is one of the most awesomely messed up parks I have ever been to. The rides/shows/attractions were so awesome and warped, and they did their absolute best to rip off as many trademarked an copyrighted materials as they could. We were very pressed for time, so we didn't get to experience a lot, but even the few things we experienced were beyond amazing. Where else can you have Peter Pan, Terminator, Mary Poppins, U-571, Tomb Raider, Flinstones Lilo, and the Dukes of Hazard all in one place! Like Terminator DDDDD! 5D's! You can't top that! And the cycle time for a top spin is a record that will not soon be beat (see below) ! The problem was that it was 'every single school within a hundred miles goes to Movieland day,' so it was extremely crowded. We thought they were all going to go to the waterpark, but they ended up at the theme park. At least they weren't rude, pushy, loud, and cutting in line though . After the park we were on our way to Europa Park! We drove through the incredibly beautiful Switzerland, and stopped at one of the most expensive and nicest truck stops I've ever been to. We went through the Seconds From Disaster tunnel of death, and then arrived at the hotel and had a crazy night! I had 5 Dumb Moves of the day, but that is what made the park so awesome! It was one of those messed up rides crappy operations I survived kind of days!

Dumb Move of the Day #1 The "Tomb Raider" top spin had the worst operations I have ever seen. When we arrived, we were supposed to have ERT on the top spin, and Police Academy, but with Italy being the way they are, it ended up being open to everyone. But it wasn't too bad because when we got to Tomb Raider there were only about 30 people in front of us so we should be able to get on the first, or second at the very latest, ride and be off to Police Academy with plenty of time. Boy were we wrong. The operator, who was the slowest I don't give a crap operator I have ever seen, had the weirdest loading system. He would ask each person if they wanted to get wet or not, and then proceeded to just put everyone in the same place! It was like he was required to ask, but then just said screw you all, you all just go to the same place. It was really weird, he didn't even attempt to separate anyone after asking them, but just sent everyone onto the ride in the same order they were in line. The next thing he did was only allow about 15 people per ride! There were seats for approximately 38 people, but he would fill it less than half full. I thought he was doing it to 'balance' the ride out, I don't know what for, but he pretty much put everyone on one side! So while it was really odd, I thought well, it should only take a few minutes to go through 2-3 cycles. Oh how wrong we were. We timed this guy, and he took 15 MINUTES PER CYCLE!!!!!! We should have left, but of course we were too stupid and stayed, and we ended up waiting 45 minutes to ride a stupid top spin. The effects were nice, but not worth 45 minutes. Dumb move of the day #1.

Dumb move of the day #2 was waiting for the kiddie powered Jeff Johnson credit. Again, it was supposed to be just TPR, but they were allowing a bunch of other kids to wait in line with us. We had had enough of the stupid kids, so we played rude American cops and physically held them back, and waited for the ride to open. And waited, and waited, and waited...... After almost another hour (waiting for the lower half of the park to open, then waiting in line), all of us 'whores' got our credit in. By this time, it had been almost 3 hours since the park opened!

Dumb move of the day #3 was doing Terminator DDDDD. We got in line right when it opened, and were only about 20 feet back from the front of the line. It took about another hour to finally get into the show! The people in the back of the line, maybe 50 feet at the most, had probably a two hour wait! Now Terminator DDDDD was like a video game show. Imagine a smaller Terminator Universal show with each person getting getting a gun. As you killed the Terminators and other things (like a helicopter), you would get points and progress in the game. Depending on how good you do, you could get a really long show/game. We didn't know this at the time though. Had we known, we wouldn't have gone in with a crap load of stupid kids! Our show was literally like 3 minutes long! The kids sucked, and we were killed right away. And the ending was so odd. Here it is a 5D experience, but at the end a sign comes down and it says Game Over. So we all stood around for a few minutes waiting to be told what to do and where to go. No worker came out, no door opened, no lights came on. After a few minutes we found the exit door and left. About an hour wait for a 3 minute show.

Dumb move of the day #4 was not going through the Haunted Maze. There was a bit of a line, and with the way things were being run, we knew there was no way we would have made it. Well, others took a chance, and they said the line actually moved pretty quick and it was cool walkthrough! CRAP!

Dumb move of the day #5 was not going to the waterpark. We thought all the kids were going to the waterpark, so we didn't head over there. Nope, they were all at Tomb Raider and Terminator!!!!!

But this is why TPR is so awesome. We were at what is one of the worst parsk ever, but because everyone is so much fun we had one of the best days of the trip!

Next up is Movieland Studios! The kids in the picture to the right ruined our day (Read the too long story above)

Not Hard Rock, the Rock and Roll Restaurant.

They even stole the Cedar Fair style of naming things!

Tinker Bell fully supports Movieland Studios and will greet every person as they come off the slide!

Why pay for the rights when you can just use them!

Warner Bros. style sign on a USH style entrance. No copyright infringement here!

Movieland's motto is, "Why work hard when the work is already done!"

Tomb Raider and Cars. Together at last.

The TPR goodies Conga line!

Movieland Studios decided to color the dinosaurs as they actually were.

Lilo now works for the Flinstones.

Davon and Eric were smart and rode the log ride instead of/before being kiddie credit whores.

Yah for the Kristen approved ride!

Credit whores!

They should not call this whoring. Trust me, I should know

I hope your mother doesn't see this. You should all be ashamed!

Yes Bill, you should hide in shame.

At least he's making the most of it!

Now it's time for the TPR log ride takeover!

Nice ride, but you didn't get wet enough. Most of the water evaporated before it landed on you.

Next up was the Octopus Rat balls(?) spinner. I passed on this one and was sooooo glad I did. The ride went on for literally five minutes!

This looks nothing like Disney's Peter Pan and Captain Hook.

Drew, like many other TPR members, found his new love in frozen Cokes! He must have had, at the very least, twenty frozen Cokes during the trip!

Tsunamis and kicking briefcases are ok, but no standing in line or stars on your chest.

One of the last ones standing, but where's the hotel?

Next up was the Magma 2 ride from hell!

It started out as Kilimanjaro Safaris.

Then mini-Catastrophe Canyon.

They had the HUGE water effects.

And the massively HUGE eyebrow singeing fireballs.

This was the "I am going to die" shot. As we left the canyon they slammed the vehicle into full speed reverse down a steep grade into the water that almost sunk the entire vehicle. I wasn't taking a picture, this was me gripping so tight that it took this shot.

We have whistle pops, while the Italians have guitar pizza!

But it's not just any pizza, it's Dukes of Hazzard Pizza!

Next up was Terminator 5D (see Dumb Move of the Day #3). I had no idea what the scores meant.

Jack was also vacationing in Italy!

Johnny-5 is alive.

They also 'borrowed' Mary Poppins.

Next up was the long drive to Germany with a sexy view of Piers!

And we were entertained by Kristen the whole way!

Kristen took some good pictures of us!

A nice full view sexy Piers photo.

9 out of 10 people were completely dead.

Some really nice scenery.

Hi Cameron and Renee!

Look what I just wiped from my butt!

Joey, stop taking pictures. Only Amy can take pictures.

Our border crossing into Switzerland. Definitely not like the US border crossings.

Kristen takes a picture of Amy....

...and Amy takes a picture of Kristen. This went back and forth for hours!

FYI, we are going to be going through the Gotthard tunnel. This tunnel was made famous by the 2001 crash and fire that killed a ton of people, and was featured on Seconds From Disaster. Ok, go back to sleep and rest easy.

The nice scenery before the tunnel of death.

Medieval looking castle/church.

The trucks of death had to wait to prevent another tunnel of death.

I could totally live on this farm!

The TPR Europe Tour Busses.

Melissa turned off mid bite. We smacked her and she was fine.

A nice shot at the worlds nicest truck stop, complete with table cloths!

Just a little tiramisu, chocolate torte, flan, and a fruit cake for a small dessert.

Someone hit Melissa again!

After living in New York for so long, Renee didn't like the taste of clean water.

Everyone enjoyed their relaxing lunch!

One last picture of Ginny before the Tunnel of Death!

Oh no, here we go!

Piers is looking to see what to do if there is another crash and fire. It says we're screwed.

If you look to your left, you will see the stain left by what was thought to be one victim. Upon closer inspection, it was found to be three victims fused together by the fire...

Is this heaven?

It looks like heaven. Are we dead? Nope, Rob(b) and most of TPR are stll here so this can't be heaven

The tunnel was like a near death experience. We were in a long tunnel surrounded by death and the only way we could make it was to go towards the light at the end of the tunnel.

Switzerland was absolutely beautiful. FYI, bring extra memory cards for your cameras so you don't have to complain like babies!

Our awesome room at the Hotel Colosseo!

The accommodations were incredible the whole trip! But.... a Europe Rant, notice there are no vents! There was no air conditioning even at the Deluxe hotels!

This place looked as nice as the Hotel Mira Costa.

And the drinking starts. I don't remember if the guy on the left was on our trip!

Oh look at me, I've got a flower pot on my head. Do I look like Lady Gaga?

Why Derek really came on this trip.

Winding down after a long day!

I hope your not an American!

More drinking in Germany.

Woah! What are you grabbing for! The half naked guy is behind you!

Weekend at Bernie's!

My glass is empty! I need another beer.

Like everything else in this world, Robb tries to make love to the beer.

Amy enjoys staying sober so she can make fun of, and laugh at, all the drunks!

Awesome shot of Piers' fancy pose and Hanno's not so fancy pose!

I can't get the F-ing smoke rings to work. I'm way too drunk. I need another Jager bomb.

Piers. Concentrate of the Jager Bomb and stop staring at the package!

My camera had a Piers goggles setting.

Why am I f-ing laughing? I can't stop F-ing laughing!

I'm F-ing Joey!

Derek does a toast while Piers does his fancy Lady Gaga Joey impression.

"Amy sit on the f-ing floor and stop laughing!" "....Why are we sitting on the f-ing floor!"

I think I like this! Now if I could only get him into a pool and put a few drinks in him....

Piers loves long cylindrical objects.

Good night TPR! See you f-ing tomorrow!

Did you get to ride U571?

Great Update, Joey! I have really enjoyed following this thread and I look forward to the future updates. Thanks for posting!

I wish the Italian parks were just a bit better! Moviestudios and the waterpark are SOOO awesome, yet run like crap and visited by a million terrible school children all the time.

Next time I'll make sure we have some more time so you can all experience both parks!!!

I forgot I was on this trip...

^^^Thanks! Unfortunately, I didn't get to experience the awesomeness that was U-571. Definitely next time though!

I wish the Italian parks were just a bit better! Moviestudios and the waterpark are SOOO awesome, yet run like crap and visited by a million terrible school children all the time. Next time I'll make sure we have some more time so you can all experience both parks!!!

I really did have an incredibly awesome time at all the italy parks, especially Movieland Studios! The operations were terrible, but that added to the fun because it wasn't just like crappy Six Flags or Cedar Fair operations, it was on it's own level. Kind of like the Sci-Fi movies! As for the school children, yes, they could all die. I thought the intinerary was awesome! We were able to recharge at the hotel by getting their earlier, and that was really nice. I wouldn't have changed a thing. You really are incredible at having the perfect trips!!!

I forgot I was on this trip...

Maybe it was just your twin, or some good photoshopping, because shy Piers would have never acted like that.

I love this portion of your TR. Brings back some great memories:

The horrible pizza (in Italy).

The "oh Sh!t" moments of Magma 2!

The "free for all" mob to get on the kids coaster.

U-571, the most ridiculous things at the park!

How the topspin guy told me I would not get wet. He then spun the disk (which actually randomly selected the ride program) and we got, "Monsoon."

Wish we had time to see the water park as well!

Great update again. Really cool to relive the trip.

And I'm not American and if I was I would be nice...

----Hans

The horrible pizza (in Italy).

That was the second worst pizza I've ever had at an amusement park. Only place that was worse was Animal Kingdom.

Here is a video of the Movieland Studios Day!

WARNING - Strong Language at 7:38 to the end!

Part 1 - Log ride somewhat POV

Part 2 - 3:06 - Serial Killer Edward

Part 3 - 3:44 - 5 Minute long octopus rat balls spinning ride with barely any spinning!

Part 4 - 4:10 - "Intense" Magma 2 ride! See the incredibly huge water effects, and the Fireless Magma destroying the tram!

Part 5 - 6:49 - An intense Toy Story 3 discussion with KidTums!

Part 6 - 7:38 - TPR Bar Time with PIERS!!! One part is only audio, but still funny. WARNING - STRONG LANGUAGE. Stop here if you are offended by bad words!

That was soo funny! I loved the last bit. That Magma ride does not look too great though! The log flume looks quiet nice and family friendly,wish i could visit this park!

Video is fixed!!

Movieland Studios was such a crazy park, and I loved it!

After living in New York for so long, Renee didn't like the taste of clean water.

Hey, NY tap water is actually amazing! In Europe, I was happy to find any water that wasn't carbonated.

Im not sure if I find the 'audio only' part of the video very creepy, like you had hidden the camera so we wouldnt know it was happening or something, I am confused.

^haha! No, it wasn't meant to be 'hidden camera.' I left the camera on by accident, but the audio was too funny not to include. Unfortunately, right before that when I thought I was recording was when you did a little dance, but I missed it

That Magma ride does not look too great though!

What! The Magma ride was AMAZING! This video shows more of the ride, BUT it still does it no justice!

Hey, NY tap water is actually amazing! In Europe, I was happy to find any water that wasn't carbonated.

I think it's the minerals that puts many Americanos off, not so much the carbonation. Not all mineral water is carbonated. The still mineral water seems to put certain people off as much as the carbonated mineral water.

^^Thanks for that video! We were sitting in the front so I forgot all about the back people getting drenched! That was such an awesome ride.

^I am definitely one of those non-mineral water people. It tastes salty to me, but I know it's supposed to be better for you.

Part 1 of 2!

Next up was EUROPA PARK!!!! This park was incredible, and is now one of my top 5 favorite parks! The theming was absolutely incredible, and many areas were better than Disney! It was such a massive park that even with almost 2 days at the park, I think we may have hit just a little over 1/2 of it! Because this park was so huge, this will be a two part review! This is part 1, part 2 will be posted when there are enough comments to get to page 9, so please post comments if you want to see more!

On to the pictures!

Cameron plays Rob(b) for the day!

We have ERT this morning, so we get to go through the special Hitler Fart entrance.

This is part of the Blue Fire queue. Trying to walk and watch it was like trying to walk through one of those spinning rooms.

Thumbs up before the first ride of the day!

Very big loop.

One of the coolest things about Blue Fire was that the hand holds were heart rate monitors so you could track your heart rate throughout the ride!

They made us walk around to re-ride, so there were a few empty seats on each train. Also, the walk back to the ride was really long!

Twisty!

Yay for Blue Fire!

Is that my heart rate, or my blood alcohol count?

Blue Fire ERT was awesome!

Take a bath, a drink, or for the horses?

Now it's off to see the rest of this massive park!

A random 'burning house while the man fishes' theming in the river.

Looks like the fish won this battle.

These sandwiches were amazing!

Shark!

Best drink in Germany, MEZZO MIX!!! I must have had 10 gallons while we were there.

The vikings started the short skirt trend.

Euro Mir!!! The best lift hill in the world! Video to follow later!

Russ is a little unsure of what he just experienced.

More TPR members enjoy Euro Mir.

Another shot of the almost all TPR train!

This people look like they are from the 80's.

Amy and Andrew approve of Euro Mir!

There were a couple of these random buildings, but they were incredibly detailed with murals and drawings on the inside.

Why does this ride say "No dogs allowed," it's not like dogs are allowed in Amuse.....

....they let you bring dogs to the park!!!! I love this place!

They even have water dishes themed for the dogs!

Next up was the powered coaster Gersterlfljisejklgkerfdserlsrer....

Inside the Roseanne Barr house.

These two old animatronics were the most realistic ones I have ever seen.

Phantasialand may have the Michael Jackson The Ride, but they don't have Michael Jackson the Maid who beats you with a stick!

A random signed cow with a sign that is too far away to read what it is for.

Derek frolics in the stream for a bit. This is how cool the theming was. They even put in a little stream running through the walkways!

An amazing looking park!

For some reason I completely missed that we would be seeing two Spaceship Earth golf balls on this trip! First up was Euro Sat! Rough, but still a lot of fun.

The queue reminded us of Space Mountain. Video of the ride to follow!

Next up was Universe of Energy, the no Ellen Europa Park version!

In Germany, all the warning signs seem to be swearing at you.

Little bloody dinosaur emerging from his egg.

The pterodactyl flashed everyone as they went by.

Not nearly bloody enough.

I think the correct translation is "Get the hell out!"

Next up was Poseidon, where the Trojan Horse in the Queue pees on you.

This is a perfect example of Europe's idea of a ride line. This is halfway through the line, yet it ended up being a free for all. People spread out and would just shove their way ahead of you.

Nice family picture in front of the golf ball.

Lots of attention to details.

The boarding area was very impressive.

I'm just a little excited for my first water coaster!

Great views along the way.

Amy and Derek enjoy the slow part before the coaster.

The view from the boat.

The Percy Jackson temple looked amazing on the outside, but...

the inside was even more incredible!

Eric, Drew, and Fernando enjoying Poseidon.

Sploosh!

A coaster section of the ride.

Getting ready for the final splashdown.

Next up was the pegasus coaster.

They had this warped looking animatronic chic.

And an even more warped looking Sylvester Stallone.

Only Storks who are not delivering babies can ride.

The embarrassment of being the only adults on a ride full of kids.

Icarus kills you at the end.

This is the baby washing station. Just put them in and an hour later they come out all fresh and clean.

This Sorcerer's Mickey hat actually serves a purpose unlike the pin trading joke at DHS.

Next up was Atlantica. These rides are nothing special to me at all. They are like wannabe Poseidons.

Getting ready for the splash!

There was some odd pirate theming as well.

Or my picture order got screwed up.

Before the drop. Also, remember, no dancing.

They used Derek as the model for the bull.

Next up was the AlpenExpress.

The three bears fight it out over whose fault it was that Goldilocks got in.

Eric and Derek enjoy the nice powered coaster.

The only way this ginger will ever kiss a girl.

I missed Alfredo and Drew's though.

Jordan is still trying to figure out what the crap he just saw in the cavern.

Ah, the silent bliss of a powered coaster.

On the powered coaster you go through this weird cavern with trolls(?). The cavern is actually a part of 3 different attractions. It's a walkthrough, and both the log ride and powered coaster also go through it.

This is one of the happy Troll workers. They are unhappy because Europa Park had the audacity to raise the retirement age from 64 to 65.

This is the head chopper dragon.

The coaster powers through the cavern.

More unhappy workers.

Many male TPR members swung from the wiener ride.

Why go backstage when ridding through the park is much quicker.

We caught Andrew on the log ride with his hands down his pants.

Derek decided to play Dan and sit this one out.

Next up was the automated Ebola raft ride through Africa. There were no ropes or seatbelts because Europeans aren't stupid and sue happy like Americans.

This guy had a special on Staph and E Coli for the day.

Dschungfi's Fahrts put Shaka Zulu's to shame.

Duck.

The lion randomly picks one guest per boat to eat while the rest of us laugh and take pictures.

This could easily be a caption contest.

Disney wanted to make their Jungle Cruise boats look like the African Queen, while Europa Park just said screw it and just made the African Queen.

Unlike at Disney, the Hippos win here.

One of two, that's right two, monorail systems in the park. The other will be in the next part, as are the old Disney versions.

VIDEO IS HERE!

PART 2 COMING SOON!

Europa Park was beautiful and I can't wait to go back! I find myself saying that a lot about this trip. I would love to recreate the entire thing or repeat the entire trip.

Since I couldn't do the coasters Christine and I split from you guys and just spent the day meandering around and relaxing. We did all the little kiddie rides and went in every store. The 3 things that really standout in my brain are the awesome log flume part where it went through that mountain, the very scary Haunted Mansion-ripoff and the great 4D show. We had no idea what they were saying but that 4D show was adorable and so well done! I was totally crying by the end!

The food was also great! Loved the fresh crepes and we enjoyed some delicious pizza and pastries while sitting with our feet in the fountain.

Love this report Joey!

Hand raised - I await part 2.

The one thing that was lacking at Europa when we visited in 2008 was a thrilling coaster. Blue Fire (and Silver Star which was running much better on this trip) filled the gap.

I'm not a fan of EuroMir

Europa was the main reason I went on the trip, drinking with friends was a distant second. The theming at the entire resort is beyond amazing, from the little details inside the park to the hotel rooms and bar area (complete with secret room!). I definitely won't hesitate a return trip to Europa anytime, especially now with the addition of blue fire.