Month: September 2019

Coasting Around Europe

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We recently returned from a trip to Europe, visiting 5 countries, 10 theme parks, and several Kermesses (Festivals), and rode 82 roller coasters during this whirlwind of a trip. Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, & Luxembourg were all amazing countries to visit, with some extraordinarily friendly people, fun rides, and great food!

All in all we drove around 2,000 miles (3200 km) around Europe. The driving was quite nice and the scenery was beautiful. Renting a car and driving is completely do-able, but if you aren’t big on driving in a foreign country the public transportation in Europe is incredible. A lot of the parks had a train station close by so you could easily do the trip by train, the only thing we were hesitant about was luggage storage while in the park. We flew into Frankfurt Airport (FRA) and left out of Frankfurt Airport.

When traveling through Europe, always check for Karnevals/Kermesse which are giant carnivals/festivals. We came across at least four of them on this trip, all with a bonus roller coaster or two! These carnivals/festivals are incredible with delicious food and wild rides, we even found one with a traveling log ride and one with a traveling river rampage.

Here’s the Parks we visited with their address and additional tips that we found at the park:

Phantasialand (Germany) – Website

  • Address: Berggeiststraße 31-41, 50321 Brühl, Germany
  • Get here early and go straight to Taron to get in line
  • Parking is cash only

Schloß Beck Freizeitpark (Germany) – Website

  • Address:  Am Dornbusch 39, 46244 Bottrop, Germany
  • This is only a short distance from Movie Park and is walkable

Movie Park (Germany) – Website

  • Address: Warner-Allee 1, 46244 Bottrop, Germany
  • A parking pass must be purchased inside the park to exit

Efteling Theme Park (Netherlands) – Website

  • Address: Europalaan 1, 5171 KW Kaatsheuvel, Netherlands
  • Review the park layout before you arrive and start with a plan of attack
  • The night before we stayed at the most adorable family owned hotel – website

Tover Land (Netherlands) – Website

  • Address: Toverlaan 2, 5975 MR Sevenum, Netherlands
  • A parking pass must be purchased inside the park to exit
  • The night before we stayed at the another great family owned hotel – website

Bobbejaanland (Belgium) – Website

  • Address: Olensteenweg 45, 2460 Kasterlee, Belgium
  • A parking pass must be purchased inside the park to exit

Walibi Beligium (Belgium) – Website

  • Address: Boulevard de l’Europe 100, 1300 Wavre, Belgium
  • Start with Impulse, it’s low capacity & you’ll have all day to dry off

Europa (Germany) – Website

  • Address: Europa-Park-Straße 2, 77977 Rust, Germany
  • Give yourself a minimum of 1.5 full days to explore, ride, & eat
  • We stayed in town at a family owned hotel within walking distance of Europe – website
  • The family was great and the food at their restaurant was incredible, get the schnitzel

Holiday Park (Germany) – Website

  • Address: Holiday Park Straße 1, 5, 67454 Haßloch, Germany
  • A parking pass must be purchased inside the park to exit

Tripsdrill Erlebnispark Park (Germany) – Website

  • Address: Erlebnispark Tripsdrill, Straße 1, 74389 Cleebronn, Germany
Taron at Phantasialand (Germany) was one of our favorite rides from the trip. Amazing air time, well paced, incredible theming in such a small, compact space.
Super cute park at SchloB Beck Freizeitpark (Germany). There were a lot of do-it-yourself rides, were were extremely fun. They even have a do-it-yourself boat launch. Yes, adults can ride it and Yes, of course we did.
We hit some long lines at Efteling (Netherlands), which they do not offer a fast pass system. But we had a great time anyways. It is probably one of the most beautiful parks we have ever visited.
Tover Land (Netherlands) was another fun park. We did this park in the morning & then drove to Bobbejaanland (Belgium) for the afternoon.
The Kermesse in Luxembourg
Blue Fire at Europa (Germany) did not disappoint, such an amazing ride. They have a single rider queue that goes pretty fast as well!
Another bonus Kermesse in Germany with a Crazy Mouse!
The beautiful Park of Tripsdrill (Germany), definitely a park you don’t want to miss. Also, if you love Germany Wine there are some amazing vineyards to stop and visit on your way to this park.
Additional theming in Tripsdrill (Germany)
One of the traveling river rapid rides we found, this one was right outside of Brussels in Belgium.
Europa Park – Beautiful park with some great food, check out the Raclette for a tasty snack
One of the coolest rides at Efteling called Droomvlucht (Dreamflight). This is a must do. Our friend Benny who grew up in this park as a child took us to this ride first and it didn’t disappoint.