Written by Alex Smith
Published: March 14, 2005 at 12:01 PM
A WORM'S EYE VIEW OF EUROPE:
Take It From A Teenager…
Being based in the United Kingdom, European theme parks are very close by, but prove complicated to get to. Whenever there is a chance to get to one, however, I jump straight on it, because Europe is full of fantastic attractions, parks, and yes, theme park hotels and restaurants.
In voting I tried to look at them as overall European awards - most of my knowledge is geared towards United Kingdom parks, so the parks that I’ve not been to have been left out. I would take a view that each category is a fantastic opportunity to showcase my experiences of European theme parks, where I would suggest you do and do not go; not simply an award for best this or worst that - a recommendation.
The two closest theme parks to me are Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventures. I visit them the most and know the most about them. In the last five years, they have both chosen a major swing in target audience and general direction. It is the common view of the general public that Thorpe Park is getting better and better. It's got the best rides, the biggest rides and as much as your average visitor likes a big volcano, the theming and park's look and feel generally does not matter.
Chessington has recently added a large amount of family orientated rides, one of the most spectacular being the ‘Land of the Dragons’ development. Theme park enthusiasts regard it as the best thing they have done for a long time. The general consensus from the average unintelligent visitor is that Chessington is boring… it has no decent rides… basically; it’s rubbish. I don't hold this view, but it has occurred to me that it would be better for Tussauds to run the parks, as before, as two competing parks catering for thrill seekers and families - that way people will want to go to both parks, and if they compete they will keep on trying to get better and better to rival each other. I only see that as a good thing for Tussauds and the visitors. Unfortunately, they aren't doing this and the two parks are very different.
With that in mind, it seems the only park that is getting positive remarks is Thorpe Park, and the park which I see as failing to meet public demand, having a lack of rides - including attractions frequently closed - and the people visiting the park not becoming nice friendly families is Chessington World of Adventures.
Away from Surrey, the continent holds many gems; some showcased, some hidden. Disneyland is one of my favourites - the only non UK Park I have visited twice. It is a family park, based on Mickey Mouse, but it does cater for everyone, and as unusual as this may sound the whole idea of "Disneyland" is quite remarkable, maybe even magical. My collection of Disneyland images blatantly show stunning theming, intense rides, family rides, state of the art restaurants, spectacular shows and everything else you could ask for in your ideal theme park (except a B&M coaster!). Plus the addition of the hotels, the shops and outside restaurants giving the area that holiday resort (but not tacky holiday resort) feel conjure up a tremendous place which should win most awards it is nominated for.
There aren't many parks in Europe that fall into the category of stupendous yet unheard of. However, there are definitely some I could recommend that I had never heard of until I visited the area nearby - and if you hunt around there are probably many others. Only one of them could get my award though. In the form visitors of my website could fill in to voice their opinions, many decided this park was heading nowhere. I disagree - perhaps it was one of the better days, where all expenses were paid for and the sun was shining, but I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the American Adventure in Ikleston, North of England. My first impression was of a low class tacky amusement park, with the first area being themed to JCB World - you could pay to ride a digger. The park was not run by enthusiastic young university students, but old women who couldn't even get a job as a cleaner. But moving further into the park, one could see the fabulous setting of the park surrounding a large lake. Many great rides reside here, including one of the UK's best log flume rides - Nightmare Niagara - a rapids ride, the excellent Bullet Coaster and a selection of thrill rides. (One of which actually made me feel queasy). Whilst not an exclusive, there aren't many Skycoasters in Europe and despite the rather ludicrous cost, it was a truly immense experience - the highlight of the park.
Another of Europe's hidden gems would be the Tivoli World in Copenhagen, Denmark. My family dragged me here to view some flowers, and to my surprise I found a fully flourished amusement park - a very large weed to the rest of my family, a fully blossomed fuchsia to me. The Danish visitors weren't the nicest of people, and the park's staff, similarly to American Adventure, were not very efficient but Six Flags manage to get away with that, so why shouldn’t Tivoli? There was a well themed wooden roller coaster, a rather intense mine train roller coaster and another steel coaster with a tight layout, almost a wild mouse coaster. In another corner was a selection of thrill rides, including a rather tall drop tower, an inverted magic carpet, and an oriental themed flat ride that was pretty indescribable, as I had never come across one before, but I certainly enjoyed. All these attractions were surrounded by beautiful gardens, buildings and some more theme park-like scenery. I thoroughly recommend visiting this park, not only for its rides and attractions, but also it can easily be mistaken for some gardens.
Spain is also home to some pretty decent parks; Warner Brothers Movie World, residing in what could be mistaken for Outer Mongolia, Port Aventura on the coast near to Barcelona and Terra Mitica down south are all magnificent for their own reasons. The Warner Brothers Movie World was outstanding in terms of rides and scenery, the one thing that I felt let it down was its staff - they rolled in one by one with most rides taking at least an hour to open. Inefficiently run, but a standing masterpiece - from Superman Ride of Steel to its log flume and the Tom and Jerry Coaster, each area is well drawn out and planned to perfection, and while not too busy even during holiday time, there was a buzz in the crowd of general satisfaction and awe at the entire creation. Had the service been better and the park been busier, it could have been a dream Disney park.
Port Aventura felt very similar, each pathway was an avenue of shrubs, plants and trees to the right of the park, and with Temple Del Fuego and Dragon Khan definitely being the highlights, too many rides to count lie here in wait along with illustrious areas and scenery. Terra Mitica had enough to impress my grandparents, just the entrance was magnificent, and although the big rides were few and far between, there was enough to fill a day and this park, despite being situated in Benidorm, shows how quality matters, not quantity.
Despite the big American parks that seem to have no financial worries whatsoever, and those holding the most records for biggest and tallest coaster etc, Europe is key to the theme park world with many gems, catering for more than you could want in your local continent. I think their creators should be most proud of these qualities, and hopefully - although I’ve had to follow a negative thread in places - my votes reflect some of the best of that creativity in Europe.
Alex Smith
