Today was the second Merlin park on the trip – Heide Park.  The first one had been Legoland on day 3

The first ride of the day was on Desert Race. This is pretty much a clone of RITA at Alton Towers, although the control box is very cleverly themed – it is the helicopter that can be seen in the picture.

Next up was the biggest disappointment of the trip – Colossos, the park’s  Intamin woodie was not working.  We were unable to ascertain what the problem was, although we were told that it would not run again in the 2010 season.  We could only stand and stare, photograph and dream.

Day 6 brought us to Phantasialand, an amazingly themed park with some quite special rides.  Unfortunately, it was also a day when I felt quite unwell – and the weather was pretty cold too – so I avoided the water rides.  My friends all tell me that they were pretty special, but sadly I can’t give my personal opinion on that.

The themeing in the Europa Park hotels really is very good.  This is the corridor leading into Hotel Santa Isabel from Hotel El Andaluz.  We were heading over there because I had persuaded my two friends that it would be better to try Portuguese food than the Italian that most of our group had chosen.

Fortunately, we decided to  check where the restaurant was before the time we had booked to eat.  (These restaurants get very busy, especially the fixed price buffet type ones)  I did not know at the time of booking that there were different prices for the different buffets, and when we got there we found that this was almost twice the price we had been expecting. It was more than we were prepared to pay, so we went back to reception in our hotel (El Andaluz) to cancel our reservation and discuss other options.  One of my friends really was not happy about eating late, and we found that the best option was to eat in the A la Carte Spanish Restaurant in out hotel who had a table available immediately.

Based on the experiences of our group, I believe we actually made the best choice.  Those who had eaten at the Italian Buffet had said that it was very limited in choice, and seemed disappointed.  And we had actually paid more or less the same for a 2 course meal and 2 beers.  Obviously, people are looking for different things from restaurants – and if you are looking to satisfy yourself with an all you want buffet then our choice would not suit you.

The hotels are of a 4* standard, and have all the features that you would expect of them.   But they are priced accordingly.  It’s not what I was looking for.  Of course, you do get the benefit of early entry.  It’s usually half an hour early, but due to this being the park’s 35th anniversary it was extended to 35 minutes.

It was then a short drive to out next destination, which only the organisers knew about.  Hassenhorn Coaster, Todtnau

I’ll let the pictures tell their own story 😉

Steinwasen Park

This was a small park, with just one indoor, powered coaster – Gletscherblitz

But it does have a twin bobsleigh run down the hill side, reached by a ski lift.  And a compact rapids ride.  Oh – and a pretty impressive suspension bridge.

It was a fun place to visit – especially with our group 😆