Written by Ben Mills
Published: March 18, 2005 at 12:57 PM
IT’S TOUGH TO BE A EUROPEAN:
Who Needs The States, Anyway?
It’s tough to be a European, my friends – oh boy, how it’s tough!
On one side, we have the U.S.A, which takes the lion share when it comes to theme parks with all the media talking about Orlando – a place that could be considered the theme park Mecca - and now a year that will have it’s spotlight on Walt’s original Magic Kingdom: Disneyland.
Further into the USA, there’s a whole chain of parks devoted mainly to stomach turning, heart pumping, puke inducing scream machines – the infamous Six Flags.
On the other side of the world, we have the land of the rising sun with it’s Godzillian Disney resort, a Universal studio theme park which takes the best from the past experiences of the company - and blows it up to the next level - as well as a whole range of offers in the amusement park category!
As if all this wasn’t enough, these two titans have a whole range of “minor” offerings that range from old time piers and amusement parks (Santa Monica, Coney Island) to ever-present theme parks like Knott’s berry farm.
And in the middle of all this?
Europeans!
· We who have changed our currencies (at least in most of continental Europe) in one single one!
· We who speak a tower of Babylon of languages!
· We who want our continent to become one keeping our national identities!
· We who only received our first theme park - fully built throughout - in 1992!
We Europeans!
Yes my friends, Europeans. Not a nation but a continent full of people of different and unique nationalities, each with our own identities, who live in an ever changing continent, full of rich history and a bright future!
And most of all; we Europeans who often underestimate the beauty of our very own backyard – at least when it comes to theme parks.
Chatting with my fellow Theme Park Insider and ETPCA board members, I have had the chance – as have many of you reading their beautiful pieces posted here on TPI - of seeing Europe with a different eye; an eye which now tells my brain (when it is not smashed to pulp during a corkscrew) “Maybe that trip to Tokyo can wait after all… we do have diamonds in the rough back here”.
Right here at 120 km from my very own house in Milan there is Gardaland, a theme park that pretty much summarises the history of many theme parks in the old continent. This theme park started small way back in 1975 when an entrepreneur fell in love with Disneyland and year by year - with great help from an ex-Imagineer - built some great things such as “Escape from Atlantis”, “The Valley of Kings”, “Pirates” and one of Europe’s cutest kids lands, Fantasy kingdom.
Right now Gardaland is also expanding its scope by trying to become a resort and adding a beautiful hotel, as well as seeing various company changes which will assure it to become one to watch.
Or how about Europa Park? Again, someone who loved theme parks and attractions started building and showcasing them in his very own backyard. Did the Mack family ever even think that their farmland in Rust would become one of the most important European theme parks? It’s been 30 years since then, but every one has showcased the same level of quality and commitment to showmanship.
Soon, my mind wanders off to Denmark. Even Walt Disney fell in love with Tivoli Gardens – the role model for Disneyland itself, and it still remain an experience to send a shiver down your spine, especially at night. Not many parks boast an impressive fireworks and light extravaganza like Copenhagen’s “green park”.
As if all these parks weren’t enough, starting small and building big, Britain itself busts many incredible parks for us theme park lovers. Alton Towers, with its stomach turning experiences (don’t look down!) and neat dark rides, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures… the United Kingdom could be called the Amusement Kingdom of the old continent!
And if anybody was to argue that Europe is too cold when compared to Florida, my mind immediately wonders towards Spain, where Port Aventura and its incredible sister water park Costa Caribe are both present, as well as a good movie based theme park in Madrid – Warner Bros Movie World - or the old Terra Mitica (incredible yet not easy to operate it, seems).
Oh gosh, my eyes are starting to see tears in them as I remember my last birthday; I invited 7 friends over to Disneyland Resort Paris and spent the 48 hours of a lifetime! How can you beat eating with friends at your very own table in the California grill, with the fireworks rehearsing for the next day (the first of the high season) and on the next day seeing such an impressive and inspiring thing as Fantillusions?
Sure, it is difficult to explain to your friends that the studios park is still “in the making” and that only in the last few weeks is it finally starting to do something to address all its problems, but hey… in time we know it will become something truly unique.
What can I say to conclude this piece? Meet me down Main Street USA my friends, and let’s have some European fun. We are lucky enough to have a whole theme park continent to explore, and we have just started to eat the cream of the cake.
As for me, maybe I will continue touring the world, heading to Tokyo, Orlando, Anaheim et al very often, but when that plane flies other Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Denmark, Britain and these other wonderful nations, I might ask the nice lady for a parachute, and experience some of the world’s best theme parks… right here in Europe!
So give me that parachute!
TTFN, tatafornow
Andrea Monti
