TheThemeParkGuy

Family-owned Europa-Park is the best theme park in Germany, no doubt about that.

The theming of the park is original, world-class and atmospheric, featuring European country-themed areas representing Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Scandinavia, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. These are the unmissables:

• Silver Star: a high and fast strapped-in-by-the-belly roller coaster that makes everyone scream
• Euro-Mir: an innovative Russian space station-themed roller coaster that lifts you up in circles with great space-inspired music, warming you up for the wild down-and-around spin ride (my personal highlight)
• Poseidon Water Roller Coaster: a solid flume ride/roller coaster combination
• Swiss Bobsled Run: a classic of Europa-Park, made great by its well-designed Switzerland setting
• Cassandra’s Curse: a bewitched spinning-room dark ride with a Greek mythology theme

The only downside is that the park copied quite shamelessly from popular Disney rides/structures in its early days. There are so many ideas for theme park rides out there! Why the need to build clones of 'Jungle Cruise', Epcot’s 'Spaceship Earth'/'Space Mountain' and 'Pirates of the Caribbean'? Nevertheless, congratulations to the Mack family for their passionate dedication and for keeping it a family venture. It's a seriously marvelous theme park and my number two in Europe.