Line #37 Ride/EuropaPark


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/europapark.jpg]]
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3	Europa-Park is the largest ThemePark resort in UsefulNotes/{{Germany}}, and the second most popular in UsefulNotes/{{Europe}} just behind Ride/DisneylandParis and before Ride/{{Efteling}}. It is located near the town of Rust, in [[UsefulNotes/TheSixteenLandsOfDeutschland Baden-Württemberg]]. The closest big cities are Freiburg im Breisgau and Strasbourg in nearby UsefulNotes/{{France}} on the other side of the Rhine.
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5	The park's main theme encompasses Europe's various cultural features, [[NationalStereotypes stereotypes]] and [[HollywoodAtlas landmarks]] in nations-themed areas. Some rides are pretty much copycats of Disney attractions, though there has been an effort to differentiate them in recent years. The park's symbols include UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion's flag's blue color and yellow stars[[note]]although nations that are not part of the EU such as Switzerland, Norway or Russia are represented in the park[[/note]] and a MockyMouse, Ed Euromaus. Famous landmarks include the giant silver Epcot-ish sphere that houses the "[=EuroSat=]" rollercoaster, the panoramic "[=EuroTower=]" and rollercoasters such as "Silver Star" [[note]]73 meters high, tallest in Europe until 2012[[/note]], "Blue Fire", "Wodan" and "[=EuroMir=]". Since 2019 there's a water park expansion called "Rulantica".
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7	The park opened in 1975, and it is now home to 13 very high capacity roller coasters and can accommodate up to approximately 60,000 guests per day. It counted about 6 million visitors in 2017, 82 per cent of which didn't come for the first time. The park is owned by the Mack family, also well-known in the theme park space for Creator/MackRides, a major manufacturer of all kinds of amusement attractions. That connection means that Europa-Park often acts as a showcase for many of their new product developments and innovations.
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9	!!Tropes of the park include:
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11	* AugmentedReality: The "Coastiality" system with virtual reality headsets is available on some rollercoasters in the park, such as "Alpenexpress Enzian". "[=EuroSat=] - Coastiality" is themed after ''Film/ValerianAndTheCityOfAThousandPlanets''.
12	* BigBad: The Nachtkrapp, the main recurring villain of both the 4D Ed films and the park's Halloween events.
13	* CharlieChaplinShoutOut: Employees cosplaying as Creator/CharlieChaplin's famous Tramp/Charlot character can be seen in the park at times, and during the parades.
14	* DarkestAfrica: The park has its own equivalent of ''Ride/JungleCruise'' titled ''Jungle Rafts.''
15	* TheDeadCanDance: Skeletons in period clothes can be seen dancing at a ball inside [[HauntedHouse "Geisterschloss"]].
16	* DemBones: Plenty of animated skeletons can be seen inside "Geisterschloss".
17	* EiffelTowerEffect: The park features downscaled replicas of some famous European landmarks such as UsefulNotes/{{Rome}}'s Colosseum (a hotel named "Colosseo"), a Santorini Island-styled village or the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe_Theatre Globe Theatre]].
18	* FairyTale:
19	** Some dark rides are themed after Western Europe's fairy tales (those of Creator/CharlesPerrault, Creator/HansChristianAndersen or Creator/TheBrothersGrimm for instance).
20	** The Russian district has a dark ride themed after [[Myth/RussianMythologyandTales Russian fairy tales and legends]].
21	* GayParee: The French district has Parisian style restaurants, a statue of UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc and [="EuroSat"=] is themed after French cancan since 2018. Somewhat mitigated in that there aren't only Parisian clichés, there's also a restaurant that makes [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarte_flamb%C3%A9e Flammekueche]] (a dish from Alsace, the neighboring French region to the park) and the dinosaurs breeder of the revamped "Universe of Energy" is an old Alsatian woman.
22	* GladiatorGames: The Spanish district has an arena that features gladiator and medieval combat shows.
23	* HauntedHouse: Europa-Park's spook/horror ride is situated in the Italian district and called "Geisterschloss" ("Haunted Castle" in German). It has prominent [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance Renaissance]] inspirations, from the outside's architecture to sceneries inspired by Titian.
24	* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: The HauntedHouse is described as belonging to the Medici family. Now someone's got to explain the FrankensteinsMonster experiments, tortures, creepy dinners and balls and so on...
25	* HornyVikings:
26	** A whole area is themed after the world of ''Literature/VickyTheViking'', which uses this trope a lot. Plastic toy helmets with horns are sold there, and they've been enduringly popular.
27	** Snorri, the mascot of the ''Rulantica'' waterpark, wears such a helmet, fitting in with the Scandanavian theme of both the waterpark and the hotel it's located at.
28	* TheIgor: [[https://media.holidaycheck.com/data/urlaubsbilder/images/41/1164387909.jpg This animatronic guy]] greeting people at the entrance of the HauntedHouse.
29	* JumpScare:
30	** Used aplenty in the HauntedHouse, naturally.
31	** The giant stone head of a Balinese mythological monster that marks the start of the "Pirates in Batavia" dark ride also counts, since it appears in a LightningReveal.
32	* LargeHam: Most of the park's speaking animatronics speak loudly and dramatically.
33	* {{Lilliputians}}: An area and dark ride/rollercoaster are themed after Creator/LucBesson's ''Film/ArthurAndTheInvisibles''. There are oversized plants and BigCreepyCrawlies inside so guests of the park feel like they are the size of the book/film series' lilliputian protagonists.
34	* MockyMouse: The park's {{mascot}}, [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Euromaus.JPG Euromaus]] (full name "Ed Euromaus" since the 2010s), a grey [[FunnyAnimal anthropomorphic mouse]] pretty blatantly inspired by Mickey Mouse.
35	* PetGetsTheKeys: In "Piraten in Batavia", there was the same scene as in ''Ride/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'', with several prisoners trying to coax a pet into bringing them the keys to their cell. Only it's set in the Dutch Indies, and the pet is a monkey instead of a dog.
36	* {{Pirate}}s: The park's pirates-themed dark ride, "Piraten in Batavia", is notable for not featuring the usual [[Ride/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Caribbean]] setting. It instead takes place in the FarEast, during the 17th century Dutch colonization of UsefulNotes/{{Indonesia}}, with a pirate raid on Jakarta (known as Batavia until 1942). A German-speaking PirateParrot animatronic could be seen greeting guests atop a street lamp at the ride's entrance. The ride was destroyed by a fire in May 2018, then was rebuilt and reopened in July 2020.
37	* {{Prehistoria}}: The dark ride "Madame Freudenreich Curiosités" mainly features animatronic UsefulNotes/{{dinosaurs}}, who live with the titular old lady. Formerly a purely dinosaur-centric experience titled "Universe of Energy" after the [[Ride/EllensEnergyAdventure Epcot attraction]].
38	* ProductPlacement: The park is sponsored by brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Gazprom (until 2022), Milka and Nivea, and it shows with the brands' names attached to some rides and buildings (like the "Mercedes-Benz Hall"). Not to mention the shops of said rides.
39	* RollercoasterMine:
40	** "Alpenexpress Enzian", the first rollercoaster to be built in the park (in 1984). The mine that speeding train goes through is named "The Magical World of Diamonds" and features [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame dwarves]] and {{Clockwork Creature}}s, a dragon most notably. The area is shared with a log ride and there's a walking path inside as well.
41	** Shows up in the first of the 4D Ed films, ''Das Geheimnes von Schloss Balthasar''.
42	* SunkenCity: "Versunkene Stadt Vineta" in the Scandinavian district. An exhibition with a sound and light city model and a [[LargeHam hammy]] animatronic bearded [[TheStoryteller storyteller]] that tells the legend of the curse that sank the mythical city of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vineta Vineta]], the Baltic Sea's equivalent of {{Atlantis}}.
43	* TheThemeParkVersion: Each nation featured in the park is represented through recognizable clichés, cultural traits and landmarks, such as:
44	** [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance Renaissance]] and UsefulNotes/{{Ven\|ice}}etian-[=looking=] buildings, [[SpaghettiAndGondolas mandolin music and pizzeria]] in the UsefulNotes/{{Ital\|y}}ian district.
45	** Chocolate shops, an [[YodelLand alpine-looking village and yodel music]] for UsefulNotes/{{Switzerland}}.
46	** Santorini Island-styled houses, [[UsefulNotes/AncientGreece a temple of Poseidon]] and [[UsefulNotes/TheTrojanWar the Trojan horse]] for UsefulNotes/{{Greece}}.
47	** Fish restaurants and a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stave_church stave Church]] for Scandinavia (UsefulNotes/{{Norway}}).
48	** Delftware and [[LandOfTulipsAndWindmills windmills]] for UsefulNotes/TheNetherlands.
49	** A statue of UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc (and now French Cancan in Eurosat) for UsefulNotes/{{France}}.
50	** [[Myth/RussianMythologyAndTales Winter-related fairy tales]] and UsefulNotes/TheSpaceRace for UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}.
51	* TheTourney: The most prominent show in the Spanish district's arena is a medieval joust.
52	* WindmillScenery: The Dutch district is the LandOfTulipsAndWindmills, of course.
53	* WorldTree: The "Wodan" rollercoaster is themed after Myth/NorseMythology. Guests enter the ride through the roots of Yggdrasil, the mythical tree that connects the nine worlds in Norse cosmology.
54	* YodelLand: The Swiss district has chocolate shops in Alpine-looking houses and Yodel music playing.

Context Ride / EuropaPark