Tour Europe in 50 Rides (Leg 5) Quiz

Answer: A dual elevator

Matterhorn's lift consists of two elevator cabins that each hold two of the four-seater cars. To avoid the need for switches on the actual coaster track, the elevators are themselves running on curved tracks - the layout looks a bit like huge vertical parentheses. This setup adds a tilting effect during the ascent for a bit of additional thrill.

Tip: Both Swiss coasters fill up very quickly in the morning. Don't fall into the trap of riding Silver Star and Eurosat first - by the time you're done with those, you're looking at 25 minutes wait or more for each of the two Swiss ones. It's best to start in Switzerland and do France in the afternoon or evening once you have ridden all other coasters. That way, you'll stay ahead of all the other visitors.

True pros may of course ignore the preceding advice and try a mad dash for Silver Star as soon as the rope drops at 9am in the morning. If you make the first train there and you have a reasonably quiet day, you can continue Matterhorn - Bob - Eurosat - Pegasus - Poseidon - Euro-Mir - Blue Fire - Wodan - Atlantica - Enzian - Arthur - Ba-a-a Express and be done with all 13 coasters within three hours on your way to a day with 40 or more rides. My best time for the full set is 1 hour 53 minutes - good luck trying to beat it!

Answer: String puppets

The German and French names use "marionette" to describe the puppets. Each of the scenes in the ride, taken from various folk tales and fairy tales across Europe, features either the author (if known) or one of the older characters as the puppeteer and one or two puppets.

The Italian tale of Pinocchio is the most elaborate of the displays and the only one the ride actually runs through; the others are just installed on the side.

Answer: Circus

Built in 1977, Old 99 reflects the venerable traveling circuses of the time not only in theme but also in name - every tent bears the name of one major circus of the time and the scenes reflect the performances of decades ago, complete with full circus orchestras and, of course, the wild animals that were part of every circus act at the time. For folks remembering these times, it's pure nostalgia, for little kids, it's colorful comic-book like flavor and for everyone in between it's a short ride you can take or ignore without missing much either way.

Answer: Rust

The three wrong options are also associated with major German theme parks: Brühl (near Cologne) is the host town of Phantasialand, Bottrop (Northern Ruhr area) is the location of Movie Park Germany and the North German Soltau features Heide-Park.

Rust (pronounced similar to "roost", but with a shorter "oo" sound) is rather small at only about 4000 inhabitants. A large number of them works either at the park or at one of the many hotels and restaurants. As a compensation for having to put up with those tourists, all inhabitants receive free annual passes every year.

Answer: By a rotating drum in the center

The rather long time on Eurosat's lift hill in total darkness lets riders' eyes adapt so that they will be able to fully enjoy the effects even if they enter the ride without a queue coming right out of the bright midday sun. A continuously rotating steel drum provides the lifting force via an outrigger element on each train's right side. At any time, there are two or even three trains on the lift track. Euro-Mir uses the same system, but with a counter-clockwise track.

Eurosat was closed and deconstructed at the end of the 2017 season, but will be replaced with a very similar ride in 2018. Apart from minor changes due to new safety ruless, the new track layout will be identical; the main change is the addition of a VR experience using a separate station and queue for maximum ride capacity. The ride will also receive a new facade to better fit into the French square.

Tip: Eurosat is one of the very few coasters where a middle seat will result in the most intense experience - several tight turns coincide with dips, so you get the highest speeds and thus strongest forces when sitting in the middle. With the new ride having the same layout and similar trains, this will still hold for the rebooted version.

Answer: Hotels

Apart from the "best hidden" award, this ride also deserves the "least appropriate name" one. The name is a parallel to Ellen's Energy Adventure at EPCOT, but unlike the latter, it has no energy-related story or theme. The entrance was a dinosaur research camp and just to have any "energy" in there, there was a lightning effect in one place. The actual ride is located in the ground floor of Eurosat's building and it is being revamped for the 2018 season as well, receiving a new entrance and story, based on a charming Alsatian library having a connection to a dinosaur valley. Hopefully, the "Universe of Energy" name will finally be laid to rest as well.

Tip: Even though it may not be in the show schedule, France often features some musical or comedy entertainment around lunch time, especially on busy days. A preview for 2018 also promises a water fountain show to be added with the renovation.

Answer: The parking lot

No, in spite of an impressive 5.5 million visitors per year, the park does not have its own railway station and while it has a partner golf course, it is about 30 kilometers away. However, Silver Star's track extends through the parking lot and forms its central axis.

Tip: When you line up at the station, pretend rows 3 to 7 don't exist. If you want to ride the front row for the view (and it is spectacular indeed), either join the morning stampede and be among the first 20 to make it or be prepared to wait. Otherwise ride the last row which will give you the most of what you came for: airtime. There is no reason to get onto Silver Star if you are looking for anything else than long stretches of weightless, floating airtime - the ride is just parabolic hills designed to make you float.

The best time to ride Silver Star, however, is after the park closes. You read that right. At Europa-Park, the posted closing time means the last minute you can still queue up for a ride. If it's 7 pm and you line up at 6:59, you still get to ride even if it's 7:45 by the time you actually take your seat. Take advantage of your "free" ride by making your last choice one with consistently long lines - Silver Star, Blue Fire, Wodan and Voletarium are the best options.

Answer: The music stops and a voice asks you to resume pedaling

Unlike similar rides in some other parks, Volo da Vinci is not actually propelled along the track by the riders (this would cause some serious problems with elderly visitors and even worse ones with empty cabins) but maintains a constant speed and altitude (it crosses over paths and other rides, so lowering the gondolas would not be a good idea).

The only thing happening if you slack is that the soothing baroque music stops and a voice - meant to be the inventor - comes on to propose a deal: You resume pedaling and he'll stop nagging. If you still don't comply, you'll however simply finish the ride in silence.

There aren't even any red lights of shame that could expose you as lazy on your not-so-friends' social media accounts...

Answer: Romeo and Juliet

This canine Romeo and his feline Juliet were one of the new scenes added to the ride in 2011. It was originally called "Ciao Bambini" and had a Cockaigne theme and a target audience of small kids. In keeping with Eurpoa-Park's standing tradition to never remove things but rather update them, the new ride retains two of the old scenes as well as the melody of the original soundtrack which is now mostly played as an instrumental track while the sung original is played only near the end.

Tip: Italy has the highest show density of all the areas. There is a variety theater show with acrobatic acts and usually either a comedy or magic acts, an open air stage with kids' shows, a soap bubble artist and a somewhat dated electronic show best described as "Tiki Room in Venice with Italian 1980s pop music".

Answer: Spook Me!

"Spook Me!" is the story of a ghost prince who falls in love with a mortal, human, girl, causing the ghost castle to almost fall to some evil machinations. Of course, like any fairy tale, it ends well. The show ties in quite closely with the ride; for example, we see the ghost king use a strange megaphone to deliver the lines played in the pre-show of the ride.

In spite of its spooky theme, this ride does not currently receive any special treatment for the Halloween season. It rather has a year-round Halloween aura, reflected in the song "Tief aus der Gruft" ("Deep from the grave") sung by three disembodied heads near the end of the ride. This song is not from the musical but evolved from a Halloween special to a permanent feature. It's mostly in German with a local accent with some French lines and has a unique black humor as evidenced in the following lines: "Fauliges Fleisch, ganz von Würmern bedeckt - dann ist ja gut, dass man vorher verreckt" ("Rotten flesh, entirely covered by worms - well, then it's good that you cark first").

Most scenes have been updated or replaced over the years, but some iconic ones remain as on the first day.