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Search result for "Europe"

Results : 79
Parque Warner Madrid
country: Spain, Europe

Spain: great weather; wild-west landscape; swimming pools everywhere; warm, amiable and flirty people; wild kissing on the piazza; celebration of street life. And in the middle of all that, the American theme park outpost Parque Warner Madrid. Suprisingly, it blends in very well! Batman, Superman, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Marty the Martian all speak Spanish and entertain the kids, while teens and adults ride the latest roller coasters, dark rides, flume rides and river...

PortAventura
country: Spain, Europe

Spain's PortAventura resort contains both the PortAventura theme park and the adjacent Costa Caribe water park. It has a truly remarkable ownership history, having changed hands from Tussauds Group and Anheuser-Busch to Universal Studios and later from Universal to a Spanish banking group called Caixa. 'Universal Mediterranea', once Europe's only Universal-branded theme park, has since been abandoned by Universal Studios. Not sure what that should tell us. Ride-wise,...

Disneyland Paris
country: France, Europe

1992-opened Disneyland Paris is the most beautiful and romantic ‘Magic Kingdom’ Disney has ever built. Instead of copying the structures and buildings of California's Disneyland, Florida's Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland, the Disney Imagineers frolicked and created a refreshingly new and inspired design for Europe's only Disney park: The Sleeping Beauty Castle is completely different; Adventureland boasts an island with a great skull rock structure in its...

Walt Disney Studios
country: France, Europe

Walt Disney Studios is Disney's thrill ride park adjacent to its more family-orientated sister park. It's small and design-wise uninspired, but don’t ignore it for the following reasons: 'Rock ’n' Roller Coaster' is the most thrilling Disney roller coaster ever. It accelerates from 0 to 100km/h in just a few seconds right at the beginning, followed by loops, corkscrews and drops in the dark. The smooth tracks make you feel like you are flying and your back...

Europa-Park
country: Germany, Europe

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...

Alton Towers
country: United Kingdom, Europe

Alton Towers, centered around the historic castle home of the blue-blooded Earls of Shrewsbury, is doubtlessly Great Britain's best theme park. Charmingly located in the middle of nowhere and ironically less accessible from London than Disneyland Paris, it contains all the major state-of-the-art rides including a flume ride, a river rapids ride, a drop coaster, a hanging coaster and a wonderful prototype of the now world-famous flying coaster. The attractions are spread so...

Phantasialand
country: Germany, Europe

A popular German institution, Phantasialand south of Cologne contains everything a theme park visitor would expect: roller coasters, flume rides, wild west village, lake, Main Street (looks rather German) and sweating staff in character costumes. It's all here and if there wasn't a 4,5-hour highway connection to Disneyland Paris just behind the park it would be even more impressive. While it won't dazzle a theme park freak it makes for a good day out with the family!...

Heidepark
country: Germany, Europe

Heidepark's defining feature is the eye-catching Statue of Liberty replica in the middle of its huge lake. Errected on July 4, 1986 and applauded by then-president Ronald Reagan via telegraph, the statue had considerable political significance, due to the park being located merely 70 km (45 miles) away from Eastern Germany, then Soviet territory. Numerous roller coasters wind across the park landscape: wooden, steel, looping, hanging and magnetic coasters - a pretty...

Tropical Islands
country: Germany, Europe

This is a refreshingly different and fantastically bizarre water theme park in the heart of Europe. Situated in a huge hangar originally intended for the construction of cargo airships (though the venture went bust before any living airship made it out of the hangar), Tropical Islands is just off the Berlin-Prague highway, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) southeast of Berlin, in the middle of a dark wood in Brandenburg. A Malaysian investor realized the potential of the...

Thorpe Park
country: United Kingdom, Europe

Situated just 7 kilometers away from London's Heathrow airport, the only thing which makes this park unique is the amount of airplanes going over it. Don't mistake me, there's nothing wrong with the state-of-the-art roller coasters and rides throughout the park, but there's nothing particularly distinctive about them either. You will enjoy the thrill of the coasters but beware of 'No Way Out', the backwards roller coaster, which might make you feel like passing a hurricane...

Costa Caribe
country: Spain, Europe

Costa Caribe is a solid water park, which contains a couple of good water slides and is refreshing after a long day of walking through PortAventura next door.
It still sports the Universal Studios brand, but isn't owned by them anymore. ...

Efteling
country: Netherlands, Europe

The Netherlands' trademark theme park Efteling is said to have inspired even Disney Imagineers! Efteling is so vast and sprawling that you should really allow for two full days to experience all the rides. Built into the surrounding forest, it is a peculiar mixture of 17th century castle garden and theme park, making for a proper fairy tale experience. The attractions fit seamlessly within this setting, with one attraction deserving particular praise for its excellence,...

Movie Park Germany
country: Germany, Europe

Once Warner Brothers Movie World, the renamed Movie Park Germany continues to deliver a solid theme park experience.The two most exciting attractions are the Bermuda Triangle Alien Encounter flume ride and the Shrek 4-D movie. Bermuda incorporates some well-timed surprises in the dark and meticulous interior design, while Shrek, the same version found in the Universal Studios parks, is a great 3-D movie with some colorful water and wind effects. Complemented by respectable...

Indiana Jones Mine Car Rollercoaster
country: United Kingdom, Europe

Blasphemy is usually associated with biblical terms. But imagine an plasticky blue-red manufactured Tesco building replacing the authentic mine car chase rollercoaster of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom! Does that make you cry?It happened! In the mid-90s half of the famous Elstree Film Studios north of London were sold off to the British supermarket chain. Unfortunately this included the space where the Indiana Jones coaster was built in 1983. However, rumor has it you...

Siam Park Tenerife
country: Spain, Europe

Siam Park Tenerife is a wonderful addition to the European water park family, which is pretty small compared to the United States. Three major attractions make this water park unmissable:- 'Tower of Power', a nearly-vertical slide leading through an alligator's pool (at the time of writing the alligators didn't make it to the park as they didn't get through customs)- 'Dragon', a funnel-shaped slide (it's called a 'ProSlide Tornado') which is the only one of its kind in...

Legoland Windsor
country: United Kingdom, Europe

Legoland has a very well-defined target group: on my visit I encountered a ratio of mothers with children aged 3 to 8 that would cause a landslide election result for a party committed to better education. Endless carousels, rollercoasters with maximum speeds of less than 40 mph and flume rides that appear to be in slow-motion grace the landscape around picturesque Windsor next to London's hectic Heathrow airport, the busiest in the world. The rides are all brand-new;...

Abandoned fairground
country: Ukraine, Europe

This is certainly the most cheerless, somber fairground I have ever visited. Due to open in 1986 in Pripyat, a little town set up for the workers of the neighboring Chernobyl power plant, one of the nuclear reactors exploded just days before the fairground was about to open. A radioactive cloud severely contaminated Pripyat and infamously affected a staggering 100,000 square mile area around it. By the time the town was eventually evacuated, many of its inhabitants had...

Neuschwanstein Castle
country: Germany, Europe

Walt Disney was here! Shortly after the Second World War the mastermind toured Europe seeking inspiration for his envisioned Disneyland park in Southern California. Neuschwanstein Castle, the dream castle built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria celebrating Richard Wagner's operas, opened as late as 1886 (many people think it's much older). Disney and his architects fell in love with the castle and emulated its turrets and many other features in their magic copy 10,000 kilometers...

Gardaland
country: Italy, Europe

Italy’s biggest and most popular theme park offers nothing less and nothing more than the usual collection of rides: mountain roller coaster, looping coaster, jungle river cruise, Atlantis-themed flume ride, pirate-themed dark ride, Wild West town, dolphin show and 3D cinema. The copy-and-paste concept doesn't make it necessarily bad, just a bit one-dimensional for the spoiled Theme Park Guy. The park's highlight is that it's full of Italians, who create a more lively...

Holiday Park
country: Germany, Europe

‘The best roller coaster in the world’: that's what's drummed into your unsuspecting skull by every piece of marketing leaving the Holiday Park offices. Indeed, 'Expedition GeForce', created by ingenious Swiss thrill ride manufacturer Intamin AG in 2001, whizzes you through the lush wooded landscape of the park leaving you exhilarated. However, the latest Intamin coasters – found in China – feel smoother and other recently-opened adrenaline-rushes...

Futuroscope
country: France, Europe

The pride of France's home-grown leisure industry, 300 kilometers south-east of Disneyland Paris, offers less than one would expect, unfortunately! I believe the future of mankind won't consist of cold glass-and-steel buildings with isolated individuals wandering lost between them. The creators of Futuroscope, inspired by Disney's then newly-opened Epcot theme park, obviously didn't share my view when the project was being planned in the 80s. Futuroscope's many crystal,...

Fasouri Watermania
country: Cyprus, Europe

Fasouri Watermania has fewer thrill slides than its close-by competitor WaterWorld, but it's nevertheless a clean and solid water park in the heart of Cyprus. My favorites were 'The Big Orange Wet Bubble' (keeps you fit) and 'Black Cannons' (makes you fly before you splash), both of which are usually not found in the average water park. ...

WaterWorld Waterpark
country: Cyprus, Europe

The Ancient-Greece-themed WaterWorld water park at the Eastern end of the island is Cyprus' biggest and best. Its thrill slides shoot you soaringly up into the air, hurtle you down at enormous speeds and shuttle you blindly around sudden turns in the dark - all overseen by the benevolent faces of plastic Greek gods. The only issue was the stale taste of the 'ancient' splash pool water, but remember: only fools linger in splash pools! Recommended and worth the trip from...

Liseberg
country: Sweden, Europe

Liseberg is different. On a long Swedish summer evening, there is a special romance wafting through this cozy, fun-fairish amusement park. Dancing retiree couples, smiling stress-free families and friendly Swedish staff that seem as enchanted by the place as its visitors - the Scandinavian utopia of the big happy egalitarian community together under one sun feels very present here. Add a brilliant, belly turning wooden roller coaster, a meticulously designed and...

Tivoli Gardens
country: Denmark, Europe

This grandpa of amusement parks was already ancient when Disneyland was just a twinkle in Walt's eye. In fact, it may have even helped put the twinkle there - Disney is rumored to have been inspired for his very own venture after visiting here on tour after the Second World War.Tivoli Gardens is 112 years older than Disneyland and even 43 years older than Neuschwanstein Castle. It's charming and clean, with lots of restaurants, gardens and a few thrill rides (a looping...

Gröna Lund
country: Sweden, Europe

My first impressions? 'Wow, that's expensive': 62 USD for the ticket! 'Damn, it's small too': it takes just minutes to reach the other end of the park! And 'urgh, this place looks old and fun-fairish!' Not my kind of candyfloss. Yet, this 128-year-old fun fair surprised me. First, by how the five coasters fit so neatly into such a confined space. And second, that they are of solid quality: the vertical 'Zac Spin' coaster, for example, is a brilliant stomach-turner! Passion...

Paramount Park Spain
country: Spain, Europe

Construction of this exceptionally promising major theme park venture in the south-east of Spain hasn't commenced to date, yet I was able to secure a brochure from the mayor's office in Alhama de Murcia. Paramount endures a somewhat unfortunate history with regards to theme park announcements: none of their proclaimed parks in Hangzhou/Shanghai (announced in 2005), Dubai (2007) or Korea (2008) got off the ground so far. As with Paramount Movie Park Korea, progress on the...

Universal Studios Moscow
country: Russia, Europe

As of 2012, the headlines in the English press about Russia can really give you a scare. Quite on the contrary, though, every time I visit I like it very much. Yes, there is the occasional guy walking down the street that looks like he has no mother. But what I also see, and what intrigues me, is a young generation of Russians in their teens and early twenties that is English-speaking, friendly, open-minded, educated, motivated, philosophical, cosmopolitan and...

Wiener Prater

Visited 2005. Permanent funfair installation, not really a amusement park. Appeases the hunger of Eastern Europeans who, as of 2012, don't have any theme parks in their countries. Tired-looking, expensive and lots of bad attractions. Not really recommended...

Bellewaerde

Visited 1995. Very cloudy memories. I was a kid. It was raining. There was a river rapids ride. I liked it. I liked lots of things when I was a kid. Therefore, no rating...

Legoland Billund

Visited 2010. Just another Legoland park. Clean, and good for kids and parents. Lack of creative theme park spirit. Please see my other Legoland reviews...

Parc Asterix

Visited 2007. Expected so much more here! Where were Asterix and Obelix? Where was the Gallic charm? It's just a standard theme park, and this one is packed with exceptionally rowdy teenagers. Came with high expectations, left very disappointed...

Alpamare Bad Toelz

Visited 1995. Was a kid. Loved the huge, dark indoor water slide jungle. Raced through the dark, didn't know where I'd come out. But then again, everything was cool when I was a kid. No rating...

Belantis

Visited 2004. Was the first major theme park in the eastern part of Germany, but felt as inviting as an outdoor version of IKEA's storage floor - lacked spirit and heart...

Hansa-Park

Visited 1994. Good childhood memories. Recalling roller coasters by the sea and ever a good atmosphere. No rating since my last visit dates nearly 20 years back...

Legoland Germany

Visited 2011 Just another Legoland park. Clean, and good for kids and parents. Lack of creative theme park spirit. Please see my other Legoland reviews...

Octoberfest

Visited 2000. From a theme park perspective, Octoberfest is noisy and disgusting. Lots of fun for those who don't go there for the rides, but for the beer and barbaric dating atmosphere in the tents. Expect vomiting Englishman right next to gorgeous smiling girl in traditional Bavarian dress...

Schwabenpark

Visited 1995. Recalling a moldy, rattling roller coaster and a munchkin clown called Bimbo with a monkey. The park was always empty when I visited as a kid, and that was back in the 90's. Magical that it's still operating!...

Therme Erding

Visited 2002. The water slide dome 'Galaxy' wasn't in place back in 2002. Well-kept and close to Munich airport. Probably a good idea to visit now. No rating...

Tripsdrill

Visited 1993. Childhood memories here as well. Loved the warmth and love for detail in the park. Recalling a long slide in a vintage tower. Wouldn't be fair to rate since it's all clouded by recollections from the schooldays...

Spreepark

Visited 2004. Abandoned theme park in the eastern heart of Berlin. The owner was involved in drug trafficking, which gives this venture an evil spirit. Plans to revive it have failed so far...

Vidam Park

Visited 2011. Desolate, old funfair in the center of Budapest. Prides itself on having the world's oldest operating carousels...

Gorky Park

Visited 2011. When I went, this legendary Moscow city center funfair was in the process of being demolished. A local told me that Gorky Park was going through a complete revamp and would resurrect as a modern public park for families. Given that Moscow will probably get a Universal Studios theme park, perhaps it's a good idea. Yet, it is sad to see a piece of Soviet history destroyed. Instead, I would have knocked down Lenin's Mausoleum in Red Square and laid to rest ...

Aquacity

More of a swimming pool than a water park. Depressing location and atmosphere...

Isla Magica

Visited 2011. Classic theme park built around a central lagoon with all the standard lands and attractions. Solid for the locals, but doesn't justify boarding a flight for it...

Terra Mitica

Visited 2011. Visible love went into creating this well-themed venture. Extremely few visitors. Probably struggles to survive. No on-site hotels. Ride quality varies: the wooden roller coaster is outright awful, while the 'Labyrinth of the Minotaur' dark ride is impressive given that this is not a Universal or Disney theme park. Thumbs up!...

Aqualand Tenerife

Visited 2009. The only question I had was: where is world-class Siam Park Tenerife? The answer I got: around the corner! How do they manage to survive?...

Cariba Creek

Visited 2009. Part for Alton Towers. Very small indoor 'water park', I would rather call it a themed splash ground with the occasional slide. Only worth visiting in conjunction with the theme park next door...

Chessington World of Adventures

Visited 2009. Theme park in the south of London. Can get very busy on the weekends. Not worth the trip given that London has a direct train to Disneyland Paris!...

London Dungeon

Visited 2009. Will this ever end? Everlasting, monotonous, thrill-free attraction that makes you starve for the emergency exit...

Luna Park Yerevan

Visited 2012. A little funfair world of color with awful rides in a grey, but special city...

Sochi-Park
country: Russia, Europe

The construction site of the Sochi Olympics is gargantuan, yet it feels a little cold and clinical. It has me wondering what the villagers of Adler – the Sochi suburb that will host the Olympic venues – will do with all these stadiums and monuments once the games are over? The Sochi-Park, now under construction adjacent to the Olympic site with German/Dutch manpower and coaster tracks, will leave something behind that’s worthwhile: Russia’s first...

"Carousel" Vladivostok

Visited 2013. Depressing small funfair by the Pacific, starring Caucasians...

Primorsky Oceanarium
country: Russia, Europe

Quick side trip to Vladivostok, Pacific Russia. Primorsky Oceanarium on Russky Island is expected to become one of the world's biggest and best oceanariums. Unfortunately, it was still under construction, site access closed and visibility on the day of my visit extremely bad. As evident from my pictures, I came back empty-handed. But I experienced the big town of Russia's Far East, a place not even Asia specialists tend to stop by. And I found it remarkably similar to Riga...

Sensapolis

Visited 2009. Interesting indoor theme park concept with focus on families. Nice dry slides...

Adler funfair

Visited 2013. Small, run-down, yet operating funfair close to the Sochi Olympics site. ...

Sky Park

Visited 2014. Small, modern amusement park with a roller coaster on the roof of Sofia's premier shopping mall Paradise Center. Was almost empty on a sunny Sunday afternoon...

Luna Park Tirana

Visited 2014. Small funfair in an exotic European city packed with pedestrians. Tirana is the opposite pole of Kissimmee...

Baku fairgrounds

Visited 2014. Baku's stunning seaside promenade is equipped with several amusement rides, including a Ferris wheel, miscellaneous carousels and a ghost train. Do NOT ride the ghost train on the eastern end, you may end up getting stuck with your nose and teeth on a sticky curtain that drops on your face in complete darkness, while the vehicle continues moving forward. That sounds too funny and cruel, but man that was painful. Reporting this to the lazy-looking ride operator,...

Mtatsminda Park

Visited 2014. Renovated amusement park legend on the mountaintop overlooking Tbilisi. Accessible through a beautiful funicular that must have inspired Wes Anderson for his Grand Budapest Hotel film. The park itself has all the common ride equipment, Ferris wheel, ghost train, roller coaster (min 4 passengers to switch it on) and flume ride (closed). Theming-wise, it has a little bit of an identity crisis. The walk from the city center to the funicular valley station and then...

Tbilisi funfair

Visited 2014. Small, drab fairground in the northern suburbs of Tbilisi...

Gorky Park Minsk

Visited 2014. Forget about the rides. On an autumn day, there is a special poetry to walking under the many trees in a somewhat desolate Gorky Park in a special city like Minsk...

Deutsches Museum coal mine

Visited 1994 & 2014. Visited frequently as a child, and still impressed today. While strictly speaking not a theme park, the coal mine exhibit at the 'Deutsches Museum' in Munich is a masterpiece of theming. Its winding, endless corridors, attention to detail and authenticity provides a great, dark adventure within a huge, old museum...

KidZania Istanbul

Visited 2015. One of the larger and newer branches of world-famous, ingenious children theme park concept KidZania...

Landora Temali Park

Visited 2015. Small outdoor theme park with castle and coaster. Looked new, but was closed on the date of my visit, together with an abandoned Crowne Plaza hotel connected to it. Legal, license or safety issues? A spooky sight...

KidZania Moscow

Visited 2016. KidZania's so far biggest outlet worldwide and one of its newest and best-kept, too. Remarkably great kitchen! The mall hosting it is Europe's biggest and very much resembles the gargantuan Dubai Mall at the foot of Burj Khalifa. Russia from its most modern side...

Children's World Department Store

Visited 2016. Stunningly beautiful new mall close to Moscow's Kremlin, and entirely dedicated to children. Hosts an animatronic dinosaur walk through attraction (cheap but charming), a KidZania rip-off called KidBurg (cheap but big), and a stunning atrium with a giant clock and a painted ceiling (not cheap at all). Great atmosphere, visit it!...

Attraktsionomaniya

Visited 2016. A couple of rather rusty amusement rides facing the VDNKh expo center...

Khabarovsk Amusement Park

Visited 2016. Small collection of rides (a couple of operating carousels and a desolate roller coaster) by the stunning Amur river promenade...

Happylon Yekaterinburg

Visited 2017. Family Entertainment Center inside a huge mall on the outskirts of Russia's Siberian metropolis Yekaterinburg. There is nothing special about this FEC, but the city left an impression on me: huge, clean, organized and definitely underappreciated & undervisited by the common Western tourist. ...

Zaryadye Park

Visited 2017. Once the trees are grown, this will be Moscow's Gardens by the Bay, right next to the Kremlin; includes a flying theater (Flying over Moscow) and a cutting-edge 360 degree theater showcasing the history of Russia's capital (in Russian only). Zaryadye Park is a hit, a worthy addition to one of the greatest capitals of Europe...

Gagarin Park fairgrounds

Visited 2018. A collection of amusement rides inside Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk's public park 'Gagarin'. Closed during winter...

Jurassic Park Dzhubga

Visited 2018. Small dinosaur theme park that is a bit too reminiscent of Steven Spielberg's 1993 Jurassic Park to not pay IP licensing fees. Dinosaurs look Chinese-made and not built to last...

Krasnodar Amusement Park

Visited 2018. Small public amusement park in a perfectly friendly and pleasant city (my favorite in Russia). Sports a Ferris wheel and various other rides...

Popeye Village

Visited 2019. Once a film set and now a permanent attraction with characters and shows. Charming. Wish the entire Malta looked like this...

Funfi Park Krasnodar

Visited 2019. Small indoor amusement center with a lot of heart and soul. Animals, balloon games, oversized furniture, and my favorite: you can pay to throw plates against a wall to relieve stress. Something that's not really needed in Krasnodar (one of the least stressful cities I've ever been to), but I imagine this could be a big hit and great source of 'entertainment' in bigger cities...

Aquapark Lebyazhy

Visited 2020. Modern indoor water park in the outskirts of Minsk, powered by German-made waterslides. ...

Vladivostok Aquarium

Visited 2020. Vladivostok's very Soviet-style old city center aquarium, which can't compete with the newly-built, massive oceanarium erected on Russky Island two spectacular bridges away...

Vladivostok
country: Russia, Europe

Visited 2020. More to come...

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