Wanted: Suggestions for Short European Trips

[milst1]

I recently took a job in the Netherlands and, as the days start to get
slightly longer, I'm really jonesin' for a coaster or two. I live in
The Hague and the local park here is Drievliet.

We're headed to the last day of Winter Efteling and it appears that
Toverland is basically open all winter, so we're planning day trips to
those places, and of course to Walibi World in Flevoland for Goliath.

I'm posting because I wanted to ask for your European favorites. We
aren't sure wear to start. We know about Blackpool and Alton Towers in
UK, we have an eye on Liseberg, Mirabilandia, PortAventura, and
Holiday Park. But we haven't done the homework.

Whoops, forgot to mention Disneyland Paris.

So what are your *must see* *must do* European rollercoasters and
"amusement attractions and parks"?

The first thing we're doing is probably hitting the Amsterdam Dungeon,
just 'cause it's close.

Thanks for your help and input.

Cheers,

Martin

[David Sandborg]

In article
<cc0e4821-32ac-4521...@a26g2000prf.googlegroups.com>,
milst1 <mil...@yahoo.com> wrote:

> I recently took a job in the Netherlands and, as the days start to get
> slightly longer, I'm really jonesin' for a coaster or two. I live in
> The Hague and the local park here is Drievliet.
>
> We're headed to the last day of Winter Efteling and it appears that
> Toverland is basically open all winter, so we're planning day trips to
> those places, and of course to Walibi World in Flevoland for Goliath.
>
> I'm posting because I wanted to ask for your European favorites. We
> aren't sure wear to start. We know about Blackpool and Alton Towers in
> UK, we have an eye on Liseberg, Mirabilandia, PortAventura, and
> Holiday Park. But we haven't done the homework.
>
> Whoops, forgot to mention Disneyland Paris.
>
> So what are your *must see* *must do* European rollercoasters and
> "amusement attractions and parks"?

Here are a few you didn't mention that I'd love to revisit:

Tivoli: Not a lot in terms of thrilling rides, but amazing to walk
around in, particularly after dark. And a restaurant for every day of
the month.

Grona Lund: Nice little park, and Jetline is a great ride, if not as
good as the Schwarzkopf in Liseberg. It's also in the middle of
beautiful Stockholm.

Bakken: People compare Holiday Park to Knoebels, but I think Bakken may
be a closer analog. We had an absolute blast there; I wish we'd had a
bit more time.

--
Dave Sandborg
Remove Spam-away to respond via e-mail.

[canob...@gmail.com]

Phantasialand! 100% my favorite European park. (Liseberg is #2 and
PortAventura /Alton would be #3.. but you already listed them)
Holiday Park would be low on my trip list (re-visit that is..)

[Rollermonkey]

I haven't seen anyone mention Europa Park. Fantastic park in southwest
Germany. I think that Cologne (Koln) is the nearest major city.

Gardaland in Northern Italy also has some nice features, and then
there's Prater in Vienna, Austria.

[Richard Bannister]

I'd add to that Hansa Park, especially with their new coaster for next
year.

It's a bit further away but you're probably also in range of
Freizeitpark Plohn for its new GCI Wood -- though I've not been there
yet, so I've no idea if the park is any good ;)

[M_force_4_ever]

I'd like to say you are so lucky (I want to live in Amsterdam, I love
that city) anyway I see you already have planned on hitting the
Amsterdam dungeon and I wouldn't miss it as it is one of the coolest
experiences ever (think half haunted house and half museum that ends
with a roller coaster) I would recommend Walibi World because it is a
fun park and Goliath is awesome. My understanding is that if you
purchase a Eurail pass you can get to really most any major park in
Europe within a days worth of travel (24 hours)...Some parks I didn't
have a chance to go to but look like they have great rides are: Heide
Park(DE), Phantasialand(DE), Tivoli Gardens(DK), Oakwood(UK), Parc
Asterix(FR) and I'd also recommend just looking around on RCDB to find
good looking coasters.

[milst1]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. We actually skipped the last
days of Winter Efteling and went to Phantasialand instead, which was
really awesome! Winjas was definitely a nice surprise, and we loved
the all around look and feel of the park. I posted a photo TR on TPR,
if you're interested.

Thanks again,

Martin
milst1