Germany's Theme Parks
Legoland
The amusement park goes back a long way in Germany. The Tripdrill park near Heilbronn, was founded in 1929 and is still going strong. But it was the Americans in the postwar years who gave the amusement park its present sensational dimensions, and Germany is keeping pace.
There are no fewer than 15 parks in the country that draw at least 200,000 visitors annually, and one of them, Europa Park, has been favorably compared by a consumer organization to Disneyland Paris.
Among the big things at the parks are the rides. They all have roller coasters, and many have rides that take you through haunted houses or fairyland, or off adventuring among gnomes, pirates, cannibals or Indians, sometimes on a "ship" that pitches with the waves. "Wild water rides" are also big. All parks have children's playgrounds, and many have trains that help the visitors get around. The newest thing at the parks is the flight simulator, in which you seem to be speeding off somewhere without budging from a single spot.
The parks also have extensive entertainment programs, including musicals, variety shows, animal shows, puppet shows, movies, laser shows, parades and circuses. And many have "foreign" areas; Italian piazzas, western towns, Dutch, Chinese or Scandinavian villages, usually with the appropriate food and drink.
A selection of some of Germany's best parks:
Europa Park
Europa Park, at Rust, Baden, north of Freiburg is the only park in Germany that the magazine Test rated "very good" in all three of its major categories: "rides," "entertainment" and "layout/service." Its " Eurosat" takes you on a virtual journey past clusters of meteors and falling stars. It has a Greek village, a replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theater and a wax figure gallery of the hundred most popular Europeans.
Warner Brothers Movie Park
Warner Brothers Movie Park, at Bottrop in the Ruhr, is Germany's first motion picture theme park. Like other such parks it actually produces movies and TV shows and the facilities can be toured. The rides and shows tend to have a tie-in with Warner Brothers productions. Visitors keep meeting Bugs Bunny, Batman and Superman; there is a "Looney Tunes Land" with attractions for the kids, a "Batman Adventure" ride and food and refreshments at "Rick's Cafe Americain." (Here's lookin' at ya, kid!) One of its roller coasters is called "Lethal Weapon."Enough said!
Legoland® Deutschland
Legoland® Deutschland, at Günzburg, Bavaria will be Germany's own Lego amusement park and the fourth Legoland worldwide. The Park is scheduled to open May 17, 2002, and will feature seven themed sections. The "LEGO Motor School" is undoubtedly one of the biggest highlights and invites children age 6 and up to practice their driving skills. Toddlers can clean windows in the five-meter high Frankfurt skyline or take a Lego Audi TT for a drive. The Park offers a wide selection of rides, attractions, games, food and LEGO displays for everyone.
Hansa Park
Hansa Park, north of Lübeck at Sierksdorf on the Baltic, is the only one of Germany's amusement parks located at the beach. It is also hailed for its superior rides. It too has a flight simulator, and one of the most nerve-racking roller coasters in the country, with lots of loops and corkscrew turns.
Heide Park
Heide Park, is on the Lüneburg Heath at Soltau, about halfway along the Hamburg-Hannover Autobahn. Since last year it has had the "Colossos," the world's biggest wooden roller coaster.
Phantasialand
Phantasialand, is at Brühl, near Cologne. Its "Space Center" ride to the moon is one of the best, and one of its newest rides through the "Temple of the Nighhawk" takes you on a ride through the black of night on the back of a virtual hawk. It theme villages include Mexico, Old Berlin and Chinatown.
Tripdrill Park
Tripdrill, at Claybronn/Tripsdrill, between Stuttgart and Heilbronn, is Germany's oldest amusement park, but moves with the times. It has a number of good rides and also is noted for a wine museum and a petting zoo. It also has a pleasing layout, with plenty of shady places, lawns and gardens.
Fort Fun
Fort Fun, at Bestwig-Wasserfall about halfway between Kassel and Dortmund, has another noted roller coaster, but most of its appeal is western. There's a "Davy Crockett Camp," a saloon and a "Devil's Mine," where you can search for gold.
Other large parks with a variety of attractions are Panorama Park Sauerland, southeast of Lüdenscheid at Oberhunden; Holiday Park, southwest of Mannheim at Hasloch in the Palatinate; Freizeit-Land at Geiselwind, about halfway between Würzburg and Nürnberg, and Safari and Hollywood Park, on the Paderborn-Bielefeld Autobahn at Schloss Holte. For a complete list of the facilities at each of these parks, and a list of many other parks with their facilities, check the website: www.freizeitparks.de.
Make no mistake about it, a family outing at one of the amusement parks will be an expensive undertaking. Figure on at least €100 for travel, admission, food and drink. Bringing a picnic lunch may knock something off the price, but souvenirs and candy can push the total even higher. And don't try to "do" a park in less than four hours.
The price of admission ranges from about €10 to €20 per person. Children are usually admitted for less, but only slightly less. The admission price usually covers all rides and shows, though there can occasionally be an extra levy on some of these.
Smaller parks are less hectic and you usually don't have to wait so long. Thursdays and Fridays are the least crowded days, and the parks are also less full during the first weeks of the school vacations. You also might find special rates, such as family days or a two-day ticket.
