Half price Disney!

Wildboy1983

Disneyland vs Europa Park

Hi everyone I just wanted to write to tell you about an absolute gem of a theme park resort that most people have never heard of but is actually in many ways better than Disneyland. 

Firstly about myself, I am a rollercoaster/ theme park enthusiast and I like to travel the world visiting new parks. I am not in any way affiliated with Europa Park but I feel that more people in the UK should know about it. Whenever I tell someone I am going to Europa Park I am met with confused looks so hopefully by introducing it to you today, you will learn that there is a much better and cheaper alternative to Disneyland Paris. 

Europa Park is situated in the southern town of Rust in Germany between Basel Mulhouse and Frankfurt airports. Ryanair fly there usually for under £50pp. 

The park features 15 areas, each beautifully themed to countries around the world and include over 100 rides. Compare that to Disneylands offering of 50 attractions and you start to get a feel for the size and scale of the resort. 

Along with the huge glut of rides for the little ones, Europa Park has a much better ride offering for teens and thrillseekers with it's soon to be 14 rollercoasters. Counting coaster credits is not what Europa is about though, the park is arguably the most beautiful in the world. Streams weave their way through manicured gardens under a shady network of smaller pathways that lead to discovery of another themed land. 

There are many difference's to Disneyland but you will probably notice the similarities more, like their take on the Haunted Mansion or the excellent Pirates of Batavia which has an uncanny resemblance to Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean. It's no secret that Europa is modelled heavily on Disney. They have selectively taken things that Disney does well and come up with their own unique recipe for fun.  A Disney die hard fan might argue that Europa is a poor mans Disney. If that is you then you may miss the iconic characters and IP that make Disney what it is but if you are willing to try a different kind of magic then you can at literally half the price.

Day tickets work out at around £50 for an adult. You will absolutely need longer than a day to see everything and not because of long lines. Thanks to the untiring German efficiency, staff keep lines moving at a walking pace. You will typically wait 0-20 minutes on an off-peak day and up to 45 minutes for the big ticket rides on a big bank holiday. There really is so much to see and do. By the time you have hit all the main attractions, relaxed on the tamer rides and taken in the amazing Vegas/Broadway style shows (these are worth the ticket price alone) you will have spent 3 whole days there and that's not taking account of the massive indoor waterpark Rulantica as an optional extra. 

Food is also reasonably priced and exceptional quality. There is the option of typical theme park burger and fries but for the same price you can have a sit down restaurant meal. A special mention goes to my favourite spot Bamboo Bai serving fresh Thai noodle bowls. We ordered two large chicken noodle bowls with a range of toppings plus a side of 8 spring rolls and drinks and it came to around £30 for the two of us. That set us up for the whole day as we were too full for an evening meal.

Soft drinks are currently around £3.50 for a 500ml bottle but you can go with a refill option for around £1.60. of course you can also bring in your own food and drinks if you prefer.

As for accomodation, you can stay in one of the six hotels on resort which although fabulous are actually pretty pricey and close to Disney rates or you can stay locally in one of the many Airbnb apartments in the adjacent village of Rust. Prices here are slightly elevated due to the convenient location but you can certainly find an apartment for four guests at around £100 per night. We choose to stay a little further afield in order to save even more.

If you have read this far then you are probably interested so please look into it. If Disney feels just too out of budget or you are interested in an alternative, give Europa Park a try. It deserves to be enjoyed by as many Brits as possible.

If you have any questions, please do give me a shout. I will answer them if I can.

Alex