EuropaPark

Took advantage of Monday's Pentecost holiday and drove 2.5 hrs to EuropaPark - Europe's answer to Disneyland - just past the Swiss border into Germany...and rode...

The Silver Star, Europe's highest rollercoaster & sponsored by Mercedes Benz, whose cars were formerly all silver colored, thus named. Michael loved it, of course - losing his voice. A mild-mannered Brit from church actually designed the ride.

 The themes are cultural history - educational components arranged around European countries - rather than fantasy-based. A theme park about cultures situated within the very cultures themselves, bringing Europe to Europeans in a way that reminded of California Adventure.

Beautiful landscaping, attention to detail.

But inventive, as well, creating many different kinds of spaces for different ages (picnic areas, parks, jungle gyms, food everywhere).

 

The Leonardo da Vinci ride showcased his inventions,

such as his idea for helicopter transport.

 Constant shows with a mouse mascot - hat tip to Disney.Even a
Western fantasy and Dixieland band at the entrance.

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Chicken or the egg?

Europe is also a Disney fantasy - medieval castle, manicured public gardens - but as EuropaPark definitely gets design cues from Anaheim, I began to witness a circular logic whose origin eluded me.Anyway, since this park is on the continent, the food was exact - not like having Italian food in Little Italy; more like, somehow, parts of Italy - not that far - was shipped in.

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But mainly people come for the rides - "hypercoasters" like the Silver Star or the Atlantis:

Making our way up.

a 90 degree turn,

Then drop.

The lines are cleverly designed to always be changing in vantage point, so it never visually appears unbearable. Many Americans remark, "EuropaPark is like Disneyland, but better." Sounds sacriligeous, but we kind of agreed, although hard to pin down exactly why?
 
FYI, much more cigarette smoking than in Switzerland or France, which seem to be steering towards smoke-free public spaces.

 I was annoyed at the constant cutting in line - entire families - as Europeans took advantage of other Europeans' self-contained posture, where an American might object- perhaps the most European aspect of EuropaPark.