Europa-Park is the second-most-popular theme park in Europe, after Disneyland Paris. It is open from April to October and in December and early January. It's located in Rust, south-west Germany, between Freiburg and Strasbourg. Its mascot is a grey mouse named "Euromaus" whose friends include Europhant, an elephant. It is split into fourteen different areas, typically named after European countries or regions.

Europa-Park is unusual in that it is run by the Mack family which has produced vehicles since 1780, circus waggons since 1880 and rollercoasters since 1921. The park was opened in 1975 to act as a showcase for many of their different ride models - for example, the Wild Mouse roller coaster. The amusement ride company is now called de:MACK Rides GmbH & Co KG. This explains why the park has two of their water coaster models (one a Super Splash model) and is home to the one-of-a-kind Euro-Mir. One of the few rides that goes against this rule is the relatively new Silver Star, designed by B&M of Switzerland. This is presumably because Mack doesn't offer a hyper coaster model.

The park is home to nine roller coasters, the oldest being the Alpenxpress Mine Train where one travels at speed through a diamond cave with fire and smoke and the newest being Pegasus, a family coaster which opened in 2006.

Along with the park and rides, there are countless shows on offer every day. These include an Ice Show, a Gladiator Show, an Acrobatics Show in an Itlianate Theatre, a fully re-created Globe Theatre where guests can see a light-hearted take on Shakespeare plus many more. The 4D Cinema also opens during the evening and guests can pay a small fee to watch a current blockbuster.

In 2007, the park introduced a new interactive dark ride, Atlantis Adventure, in the Greek-themed area. It is expected that the theming company Hoffman will be involved in this new ride as for other Europa-Park rides in the past. A fourth hotel will also be built at the resort over the coming year. This will be in the theme of a Portuguese monastery and will be located in the Portugal area next to the Castillio Alcasar hotel.

In 2007, the park also introduced 'Terenzi Horror Nights' based on an idea by popstar Marc Terenzi. The idea is to bring the American idea of Halloween to Germany.

Aside from the park, Europa-Park is a major resort, boasting 4 hotels - all of which are either 4 Star or 4 Star Superior class. The largest hotel, Colosseo, offers a breathtaking recreation of a Roman colosseum and stunning design, artwork and layout. There is also a Guest House, budget-price Tipi Village, Golf Course and Evening Shows are available with some packages. Stays at the resort start range from £10 per person in the Tipi Village to over £200 per person in some of the more deluxe accommodation.

[Source: Wikipedia]

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