Plopsaland + Parc Asterix

[Callum]

Last week I decided to do a couple of European parks for the first time, Plopsaland and Parc Asterix. Ride To Happiness has been high on my bucket list for a long time and I've always wanted to do Asterix, especially since Toutatis opened.

I looked at a few different options, originally I was going to do Walibi Holland and Efteling too but doing this solo meant it would’ve been quite expensive, and I didn’t know how comfortable I was going to be driving in Europe on my own. Another option I looked at was Liseberg but flights from Gatwick were about £200 for a return, so I could do Plopsa and Parc Asterix for the same price as 1 day/night at Liseberg.

I knew it was the holidays but looking at the queues in previous years, that week didn’t seem particularly busy.


Day 1 - Plopsaland

I set off around 5am for the 8:15am ferry over to Calais, which arrived in Calais for 11am, aiming to get to Plopsa for 12ish. I could’ve got an earlier one to get there for opening, but it was open till 7pm and I've heard you didn’t really need a full day there anyway, and I didn’t want to knacker myself out too much.

I’d heard that food and drinks were very expensive at Plopsa so I went to the supermarket a couple of mins away to grab myself some lunch before I went in. I drove past Plopsa to get to the supermarket and realized how close it was, so I decided to leave my car parked at the supermarket and walk to the park (took about 5 mins) which saved me 15 euros on parking.

I got to the park at about 12:15, and there was obviously 1 ride I was going to go for first, Ride to Happiness. First impressions of the park were nice, the entrance plaza was cool.

On my way over, I noticed there was some work taking place on Heidi on the turnaround section so it was looking unlikely that it was going to open. Turns out it had actually been closed all month, but reopened the day after I went, on the Friday. I wasn’t too fussed about not getting on it, the main reason for visiting was Ride to Happiness and with the park being very easy to get to i’ll most probably be back there at some point anyway.



I love the plaza and the area music, very calming. The food unit did have pop music playing though which was a shame though.



Brilliant theming in the queue, it was running 1 train but only queued around 10 minutes, I went straight for the backrow which is normally my favorite seat on most coasters.

The trains are comfy, and it was interesting to see the bars come down automatically so there was no need for the staff to check restraints. The trains also have an onboard sound track and lighting.

I came off my first ride feeling very meh. It was good, and different to any coaster I've done before, and absolutely loved the on-board soundtrack, that really added to it. But was I blown away? Absolutely not. Didn’t live up to the hype for me at all.

After that I decided to have a wander around the rest of the park, did the log flume and Drakk the parks mack powered coaster which were good. Dinosplash the log flume was cool, although the water was an interesting color…



Next I did Nachtwacht Flyer which is the parks Starflyer, as I thought it would be a good way to see the rest of the park, and then went onto do Anubis, a Gerstlauer launch coaster. I did go past a couple of other little coasters but these had large queues so decided to go back to them later.

Anubis has a brilliant station building and indoor queue line, running 2 trains with no queue. This was a good little coaster, the launch is very snappy and the top hat is great, however the ending is a little dull. It was very smooth for a Gerstlauer.

I did the Superspash as I noticed people didn’t look particularly wet, which just consisted of a lift, drop and then a slow return to the station. The lift is quite cool though.




I also did the Big Wave which was the parks Disk’O coaster. This was the best themed one I've ever seen, even had a little water feature on it and had great interaction with the nearby Splash battle.

At this point I had pretty much done the rest of the park so I went back to the Ride To Happiness, this time I went for the front row. Now, this absolutely blew me away, completely different to my ride earlier. I was laughing and smiling to myself the whole way round, and the hangtime you get on that first inversion on the front car is great. It's rare I prefer a ride on the front row but getting pushed into the airtime moments and other elements on this was better in my opinion.

The rest of the day just consisted of lapping this, with the occasion ride on Anubis. It didn’t really build up much of a queue all day and in total managed to get on it over 20 times.

Operations were okay, but with no batcher and no effort from the staff to fill up seats there were a lot going round empty. I even had a car of 4 to myself at one point even though there was a queue. The queue was around 10 minutes most of the day and peaked about 30 minutes at one point.

At first I wasn’t really taking empty seats due to the language barrier but as the day went on, I got more confident getting on earlier trains taking empty seats which saved a lot of time with it being on 1 train.

Each ride I was laughing the whole way round, and left me smiling on the brake run. Every single ride is different no matter where you sit, and experiencing all the different elements facing a different way each time is so fun. Its so re-rideable, the front car was definitely my favorite.

The airtime at the end of the ride is brilliant. Everyone is so happy on the break run and the on board soundtrack fits it perfectly.



The queue closed at 7pm, and the staff kindly let me stay in the station for a few rides taking empty seats. Sunset rides on this were brilliant, it didn’t quite get a dark ride but the area looks brilliant in the dark. Lots of great lighting, including lighting on the train too.





I exited the park, grabbed some dinner and had a 2.5 hour drive to my hotel for the night near Parc Asterix ready for the following morning.




Overall, I had a good day. Shame about not getting on Heidi but I'll be back. Plopsaland is a charming little park, and although I was originally a little disappointed with Ride to Happiness I finished the day absolutely loving it. Plopsaland is obviously more aimed for kids so without Ride To Happiness I probably wouldn't return, but with how easy it is to get there, I'll definitely be back.

 

[Callum]

Day 2 - Parc Asterix

Next up was Parc Asterix. A big bucket list park for me, and it didn’t disappoint.

It was quite pricey at €62 for entry and €20 for parking.

The park had their halloween event on which I didn’t look into at all before visiting, as I was mainly going for the coasters. They were open 9 - 6 and then re-open 7-1am on selected nights. On nights they don’t open late its 10 - 7. I opted to just go during the day as I was making this trip cost effective as possible, and staying till 1am would’ve meant buying another entry ticket and another night in a hotel.

I was really unsure how busy it was going to be as it was the French holidays, and all their halloween nights were sold out. Thursday was also incredibly busy.

The park offers filotomatix which is their fastrack service which uses the same system seen at Chessie and Legoland. Different tiers are available, but I decided to buy the bronze option which was only €20, which allowed me to virtually queue for 9 attractions.

Turns out I didn’t really need this as it was one of the quietest days during the halloween period so far!

I arrived at the park just before opening.



And was greeted with this huge crowd being held.



Bang on 9am, the crowd started to disperse and there was lots of running. So I joined in.

I had no clue where anything was as I had done no prep but I followed the majority of people assuming they were running to Toutatis, overtaking a lot of Frenchies on the way.

Sure enough, I could see Toutatis’ top hat in the distance and an empty train going round.

Got straight in the front row queue and only had 6 people in front of me. The station building is awesome. One of my favorite stations ever. Great atmosphere in there too, with the dispatch sequence, and with the train going straight into a drop and a launch you get a lot of screams too.

Noticed it was just running 2 trains, but ops were good and soon enough I had my first ride.

Similar to RTH the day before, I came off my first ride feeling very ‘meh’. It was good, but I wasn’t blown away like I was expecting to be.

I was going to go straight back on via the SRQ but noticed this was closed, so instead I went to the back of the park to Oziris, another bucket list coaster for me.



Advertised at 5 mins, I also went straight into the front row queue and was on in about 10 mins.

Absolutely loved this. The theme, the plaza and the area is all great too, and thats the first time i’ve come off an invert questioning if that was better than Nemesis.

Throughout the day I came to the conclusion I still prefer Nemesis overall, but its close.

Next, I did Tour de Numérobis, which was new for 2024, a starflyer. I noticed this tends to get high queues and it wasn’t included on the filotomatix so I could get it done early with no queue.

I did this to try get an idea of the rest of the park, but the park has lots of trees and with this located in the corner I didn’t really see a lot. Was a good ride though, same as Flamingo lands the whole tower spins, this one had more seats though and airgates around the ride too.

I jumped back in the queue for Oziris and waited around 10 minutes, and requested the back row which was honored. Again, brilliant ride. Noticed the SRQ was closed on this too for some reason. This one turned out to be closed all day.

I wandered round the rest of the park and then could see Goudurix and Tonnerre 2 Zeus in the distance. I had a virtual queue to use for these but my thinking was if I could get these done now with little queues, I could use the virtual queue for a 2nd ride later on once it's busier.

First up was Goudurix. Was quite interested in this, never got to do corkscrew at Towers and it has a reputation of being very rough. But I enjoyed it to be honest, nothing special.

I loved the plaza for this. Very open area and partly over a lake. A lot of space for a new coaster once that time comes.



Looking very spooky with a smoke machine infront.




Operations were amazing on this. Smashing the trains out.

Next up was Tonnerre 2 Zeus, which also has a reputation of being quite rough. This was advertised at 25 mins, but ended up taking 45 with a bit of downtime. My longest queue of the day by far. Worth noting, this was the only bit of downtime I saw at the 2 parks over the 2 days. No messing around either, no empty trains needed once back in operation.

Had a mid train ride and quite enjoyed it. It was a little rattly but didn’t find it particularly rough, and had decent airtime.

I would’ve loved to have tried the backwards seat but that was removed for this year unfortunately. Would’ve loved to have tried it with its previous trains too.

Also in the area is another amazingly themed Zamperla Disk'o, this one has a fire effect too. I didn't bother with this due to a large queue and wasn't included with the fasttrack I had.



I was itching to get back on Tourtatous to give it another go, and this time the SRQ was open too. Was so interesting just watching the station, organized chaos, but it works. Having staff walking up and down the airgates (while people are trying to get to their allocated rows) is hilarious, but it works and means they can seriously speed up ops.

Within 15 mins I was at the airgate, row 6 this time. They then sent a couple of empty trains, and engineers were present so I thought they may be adding the 3rd train. Turns out they were just swapping one. Not sure how often it runs 3? Maybe due to the extended opening hours they just switch between them so they have 2 available at all times?

Anyway. Soon enough normal service resumed and I had my ride. And WOW. What a difference from earlier. Had a huge smile the whole way round. That swing launch is absolutely incredible.

I’m not the biggest fan of the first section before the swing launch, and I don’t particularly like the top hat either, the trims really kill it. But the rest of the layout is amazing and has some of the best ejector i’ve ever experienced.

On that swing launch, its hilarious just watching other peoples heads. Its so aggressive. Some of the most aggressive airtime i’ve experienced.

I had a little wonder round the rest of the area and had a look at the Nebula, which is raised up in its own little area. It had no queue and i’d never done one before so gave it a go. Better than I thought it was going to be, but nothing amazing.



I then did the Rapids and grabbed a bite to eat. The rapids were alright, short layout but had a few water effects and splashes.

Before having my lunch I got in the virtual queue for Pégase Express, the parks Gerstlauer family coaster which was 30 mins.

A good little family coaster but nothing amazing. The backwards section was my favorite bit, pretty forceful. I loved the Greek area though and the interaction with the rapids. Great ops too, running 4 trains they were smashing them out.

I then got in the virtual queue for Trace du Hourra (the parks Mack Bobsleigh) and had a little wander around. Once I got there I noticed it dropped to 10 mins, so I got in the main queue and then used to the virtual queue after so had 2 quick rides, a backrow and front row.

Decent ride but I prefer Avalanche at Blackpool, much more intense. Crazy good operations though, running 5 trains and commonly had 2 trains going up the lift hill at the same time.
The airgates and restraints fling open before the train even parks in the station which is hilarious, and bags on the ride means no messing around with that either.

I joined the virtual queue for Oziris which was 30 mins and I was obviously back in the Toutatis area so it would be rude to not have a ride. Went for the SRQ again and was on in less than 10 minutes.

At this point I was addicted, so I canceled my Oziris virtual queue and was lapping the SRQ. I thought I was in for a busy day so couldn't quite believe I was lapping it getting on within 10 mins.

Ended up having another 5 rides on it on multiple different rows, including the back.

Was really really enjoying it. I was thinking about where I rank it, its not a Kondaa beater for me purely because of the top hat and the weak start. But the swing launch and aggressive airtime is phenomenal, and watching others reactions was hilarious. Great ride.

Eventually, I pulled myself away from it and used my virtual queue for Oziris and got straight on the front row.



I loved the drop into this pit. You get a little splash of water too.



I had a look at the SRQ which was still closed, and as I was walking round I noticed a scare maze in the corner which had no queue. As I previously said, I hadn’t looked into the halloween stuff at all, I didn’t know if the mazes were a night only thing or additional cost. But had a chat with the staff at the entrance who told me it was free, and got straight in the next group, there was only about 5 of us.

It was called ‘Le tombeau des Dieux’ which means ‘The Tomb of the Gods’ in French, and was 1 of 2 new scare attractions for this year.

Now this was brilliant. Hands down the best scare attraction I've done in a long long time.

It was a similar format to what we have here, the normal spiel from staff outside then inside the first room the actor had a mic where he set the scene of the maze. It was quite amusing doing a maze not understanding a single word anyone was saying. But I didn’t need to understand.

The pre show ended with the lights going out and a jump scare effect, then I was in the maze. It was pretty dark, had lots of jumps and lots of actors.

I then came across an area with what I thought was just a water fountain, and the floor was really wet. Then, an actor came out of the water! AN ACTOR WAS LAYING DOWN HIDING IN THE WATER. The most bizarre thing I've ever seen in a maze and really caught me off guard.
It had a strong ending with actors coming from all angles, sides and from above. The whole thing was well themed and was most probably the best scare attraction i’ve ever experienced. Actors were fairly touchy.

I then did Storm surges sister L’Oxygenarium. Great ops as it benefits from a larger station, 2 in offload and 2 load. It was pretty dull though, no music and theming was all looking quite old and tacky.

I then came across 2 other mazes which both were displaying 5 minute queues.

First up was Mission perdue which required 3d glasses. It was decent but nothing amazing. The 3d glasses made it quite trippy and it featured lots of clowns, moving walls, air cushions and the ending scene was a load of dolls similar to the ending on stitches.

Great use of the 3d glasses though with lots popping out at you and fake steps.

Catacombs was up next. Waited about 10 minutes for this one, but had an actor walking up and down the queue which was entertaining.



This one was great. It looked like it was in a temporary building but once again the theming was excellent. Lots of tunnels and crawl spaces and very dark. One of the tunnels had water dripping on you from above. Actors all over the place and grabbing you from holes in walls. Was a strong maze!

I continued walking round the park and walked into a castle which is part of the footpath, and there was a load of roaming actors too.

My favorite was a guy with a chainsaw who was creating a big crowd, and 2 people dressed up as spiders hiding in darkness in a castle. 1 of them was hanging off a web, and there was another on the floor, and as people walk near they move and make people jump. Was hilarious, and creates a great atmosphere walking round the park.






Next I did Zeus again on the backrow, I used my virtual queue for this and was straight on. Again, really enjoyed this. I noticed they have a spare queue into the station which I assume used to be the queue for the backwards seat, would be cool if they turned that into a SRQ.

I then came across another maze, this was the 2nd new one for this year and it was €5, the only upcharge maze which was intriguing.

Got straight in, and was in a group of 3 for this one. There was an actor in the queue who jumped out as I went round the corner with a mic. Had to just awkwardly smile at him as no idea what he was saying.

There seemed to be more actors in here, who were very touchy and grabby and constantly blocked me in my path, splitting us up, and followed throughout the maze.

Once again amazing theming and sets throughout, came across another actor who was in water who was pulling me in, and eventually splashed and soaked me. It wasn’t till I came out I realized how soaked I was, more than what I got from the water rides. Was a great maze but didn’t top that first one I did.

Next I did the log flume, was straight on this with my virtual queue although did take me a while to find the entrance! Was a good flume, and had good views of construction of the new coaster construction.




I also noticed the tea cups next door seemed to have a halloween makeover so went and checked that out after. They had put walls up to make it dark and added a smoke machine and lights! Simple things like this go a long way, no reason why Thorpe or Towers couldn’t do something similar with theirs.

It was coming towards the end of the day so I went towards Toutatis but unfortunately the SRQ had been closed and the main queue was overflowing out the entrance. I had a ferry to catch and didn’t want to risk it so I gave it a miss.

I finished my day doing the final cred, Vol D'Icare which had no queue which was a kids Zierer Hornet coaster, then did a re-ride on Pégase Express as it had no queue. I didn’t realize the first time but you get wet from the show scene on this.



I then grabbed some food, and set off to get the ferry back home.

I had a great day, got on 23 rides including 7 on Toutatis and 4 mazes throughout the day. I had no intention of doing any mazes to be honest but I got more done than I thought, and after how good that first one was I thought it would be rude not to try some of the others.

Parc Asterix is one of my favorite parks. It has a great selection of rides, great ops and overall is just a very pleasant place to be.

Their halloween event is strong, i’m surprised I hadn’t really seen much about it before. The 4 mazes I did were all strong, and there was lots going on around the park too. I didn’t watch any of the shows, but the park was decorated really well and there was lots of roamers and cool sets.

Great day, one of my favorite days at a theme park this year and I will 100% be back!