Nomadic Samuel

Posted: 18 Apr 2014 11:50 PM PDT

When I was growing up once every year a small carnival featuring rides, snacks, games and entertainment would setup shop for several days in the main square of our small village. The amount of excitement and anticipation I felt as a child was something that I can still remember clearly to this day. Begging my Mom and Dad for money (and extra cash after I had run out) I would spend all day checking out as many rides as possible and playing games until my funds were completely gone.

It has been a long time since I’ve been to a theme park, so when the opportunity to visit Europa-Park was included in my post-conference blogging trip schedule I decided it was time to channel my inner-child that at times is quite lost and distant in adult form.

With an open mind, I decided I’d wander around the entire theme park trying to soak in as of the activities as possible while making sure to take plenty of the rides along the way.

What fascinated me the most about Europa-Park was that it catered to all ages. I saw just as many adults as I did children and there were many young couples coming here for a date.

Walking around the entire premise took quite some time given that this theme park is the largest in Germany and the second most popular theme park resort in all of Europe.

Nestled in the small town of Rust, seemingly entirely built around this park, I felt totally immersed without any competing distractions.

For fans roller coaster rides, this is the mother of all parks for you to enjoy as it could literally take you all day to try them all out.

With over 4.5 million visitors annually (with a capacity of accommodating 50,000 guests per day) you won’t be sharing this experience alone.

The following is a photo essay and travel video post about our one day experience at Europa-Park:

One of my favorite aspects of Europa-Park is that it is pet friendly and you'll see a lot of people with their dogs. It is truly family friendly - even for the pooch.

One of my favorite aspects of Europa-Park is that it is pet friendly and you’ll see a lot of people with their dogs. It is truly family friendly – even for the pooch.

It is awesome how countries all over Europe are represented around the theme park.

Which way should we go? So many options to choose from ;)

Which way should we go? So many options to choose from

Here is a shot from the Austria section of Europa-Park

The park venue is full of stimulating architecture and sculptures

This was one of the more scenic areas of Europa Park and ironically one of the quietest as well.

This park is absolute paradise for kids but I was surprised to see so many adults also having fun.

One fascinating aspect we learned from our guide is that some of the artists and performers who work at the park actually live inside of the theme park.

With so many roller coasters to choose from it could literally take you the whole day to try them all.