Europa-Park Attractions: Best Rides & Tips for Kids

Last updated on September 10, 2026

Europa-Park has flown under my radar for years, but as soon as I heard about the Europe-themed park (one of the biggest in Europe!), I knew we needed to visit. And now I think you should too! We’ve done a few Disneys, Universals and smaller theme parks around Europe, and Europa-Park is definitely up there with the best. In many ways it’s preferable to Disney as it’s calmer, cheaper and less of a sensory overload. And there’s a broader range of attractions suitable for that time when kids have outgrown the really little rides but aren’t quite ready for a mega coaster.

We visited with our six- and eight-year-olds and have put together this guide to help you get the most out of your visit. With over 100 attractions, it can be hard to get your head around all the Europa-Park attractions and which ones are most suitable for your group. This guide is designed to make those decisions easier. It covers how many days to allow, the best Europa-Park rides for different sorts of children, how to reduce queues and the simple strategy that helped us get much more from our time.

See all our theme park guides.

How to do Europa-Park with kids: the quick answer

Allow two full days if Europa-Park is a major part of your trip and you want to do as much as possible at a reasonable pace. One full day can still be brilliant if you choose priorities in advance (we paired a short evening visit with a full day). Download the official app, understand the virtual queue system, measure every child before you travel, and group rides by confidence as well as height. If budget allows, staying at an on-site hotel makes the start and end of the day noticeably easier. Unlike Disney, Europa-Park definitely doesn’t require a lot of planning to make the most of it, but it’s worth reading this guide in advance to know what to expect and help make the most of your day.

What is Europa-Park?

Europa-Park is Germany’s largest theme park and one of the biggest in Europe. It has more than 100 attractions and shows within one park, almost twice the 50-plus attractions Disneyland Paris lists across its two parks combined. But numbers alone don’t explain what makes it special.

The park is arranged around European countries and regions, with areas inspired by places including Italy, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Spain and Scandinavia. The landscaping and architecture are impressively detailed: you move between cobbled squares, Alpine villages, gardens, waterways and grand façades, with food and rides woven into each setting. There are also fantasy areas based around Grimm’s Fairy Tales and the world of Arthur and the Minimoys.

It’s different to Disney because there’s no familiar cast of characters holding everything together, so the atmosphere feels more varied. Some parts resemble a beautifully landscaped European resort while others feel like a traditional amusement park. The newest areas have the polish and storytelling of a major modern theme park, while elsewhere Europa-Park’s roots as a traditional family-run amusement park are more visible, which adds a lovely layer of charm (it’s no wonder I liked it!).

Like all good theme parks, there’s a lot more beyond the headline rollercoasters. There are tiny children’s rides, boat trips, dark rides, playgrounds, water attractions, shows and quirky experiences tucked between the big coasters. It’s enormous, but beautifully landscaped, and because many rides are partially hidden within the themed areas, there is a nice sense of discovering things as you explore.

There’s also the bonus of having the incredible water park, Rulantica, next door. I’ve written a separate Rulantica guide.

Is Europa-Park good for families?

Yes, exceptionally so. Europa-Park has more than 100 attractions, but it doesn’t feel as though the family offering has been added around a handful of headline coasters. There are whole areas made for younger children, a generous number of rides families can do together, playgrounds, shows and slower attractions that give everyone a breather.

It also works particularly well for siblings with different levels of confidence. A cautious child can enjoy gentle boat rides, carousels and play areas while a braver sibling moves on to Pegasus, Arthur or one of the major coasters. And because so much of the park is beautifully landscaped and themed, splitting up briefly doesn’t have to feel like one parent has been exiled to a waiting area.

What is the best age for Europa-Park?

There’s no single perfect age. Toddlers have plenty to do, and teenagers could happily spend the whole trip chasing rollercoasters.

Height makes a bigger difference than age alone. At 90cm, accompanied children can begin to access rides such as Ba-a-a Express, and at 100cm, family coasters such as Pegasus open up. The park applies both age and height restrictions, so measure children without shoes before the trip and check every priority ride in the current app. It’s much easier to manage disappointment at home than beneath a rollercoaster.

How many days do you need at Europa-Park?

Two full days is my recommendation for most families. The park is too large to complete in a day, and trying to ‘do it all’ is the quickest way to turn a fun day into a military operation. Two days let you devote the first to family favourites and the second to anything you missed, repeat rides and shows. The queues are shorter than at Disney, so it doesn’t require the same level of planning. That said, one day is absolutely worthwhile. In the next point I talk about how to split your time between the theme park and water park.

How to split your time between the two parks

Europa-Park only has full-day tickets, but you can buy evening tickets for Rulantica from 5-10pm, or even a moonlight option from 7-10pm. Europa-Park typically closes at 6pm, but this can vary on the day (they decide on the day itself). This means you can feasibly do Europa-Park and Rulantica in one day, but it would be full-on. Personally, I’d recommend at least a full day for each, and ideally two for Europa-Park and one for Rulantica. That said, my 8-year-old would disagree and say you need two for Rulantica instead of Europa-Park (he adored the water slides!). Personally, I’d quite like two days in each to allow for a more relaxed pace.

When is the best time to visit Europa-Park?

Europa-Park is open nearly all year, aside from a break between mid-January and late March.

For the widest choice of outdoor rides and water attractions, I would look at late spring through to early autumn. A weekday outside the main German, French and Swiss school holidays usually gives you the best chance of a calmer day.

Halloween is one of the park’s biggest themed seasons and winter looks wonderfully atmospheric, but both create a different sort of trip. In colder weather, some outdoor and water attractions may not operate.

Where is Europa-Park and how do you get there from the UK?

Europa-Park is in Rust in south-west Germany, close to both France and Switzerland. This makes it particularly easy to combine with a Black Forest road trip, as we did. We flew into Zurich, travelled through the Black Forest and flew home from Basel.

The closest airports are Strasbourg and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden at 64km away, and Basel is a close second at 90km. Compare routes and car-hire prices rather than choosing an airport by distance alone.

If you aren’t driving, the nearest station is Ringsheim/Europa-Park. Regular Europa-Park and Rulantica buses connect the station with the park, Rulantica and the resort hotels. The official journey planner is the best place to check the current rail and bus times.

How much does Europa-Park cost?

Europa-Park uses date-based pricing, so there is no single ticket price. For the 2026/27 season, one-day online tickets currently range from €67 to €76 for adults and €56.50 to €65 for children aged four to 11. Children aged three and under enter free. Two-day tickets currently range from €127 to €143.50 for adults and €105 to €119 for children.

Buying at the ticket office currently adds €10 per ticket, while visitor parking is €10. The second day of a two-day ticket can currently be used within five days of the first visit, which gives some nice flexibility to take a day off between full theme-park days.

The food at Europa-Park was far cheaper (and better quality) than at Disney. See more about that in the food section.

How to reduce queues at Europa-Park

The queues at Europa-Park were surprisingly short for such a major theme park. The longest line we saw was 60 minutes, and that was unusual – they tended to average around 20 minutes, and even the biggest attractions averaged 30 minutes and had lulls where they were less than this. We never queued for more than 20 minutes all day. That said, there are a huge number of rides, so you do still want to think about how to maximise your time. But unlike Disney and Universal, Europa-Park doesn’t have to be a full military operation. Here are some top tips.

Does Europa-Park have a fast pass system?

Europa-Park doesn’t currently have a paid, park-wide fast pass that lets you skip the queues like at Disney and Universal. I think this might actually be part of why the queues are never too long. Instead, it has VirtualLine: a free virtual queue for a small selection of attractions.

How to use the VirtualLine system

To use it, download the Europa-Park and Rulantica app, add or scan your park tickets and enable location access. Once you are inside the open park, choose a participating attraction and the app will assign you the next available time slot. You can then explore elsewhere and return to the dedicated VirtualLine entrance during your window. When using this line, we only had to wait around 5 minutes to get on the ride.

Bear in mind, you can only hold one VirtualLine reservation per ticket at a time. As soon as you get on the ride, you can book a new one.

It’s a great system, but availability is very limited and not all rides are included, so it isn’t something you can bank on. For us, it was great for getting on some of the rides that had bigger lines, like Voletarium and Voltron Nevera.

Another thing to note is that they release VirtualLine spots throughout the day – it isn’t the case that they all get booked in the morning – so it’s worth checking regularly if there are particular rides you’re keen on.

And some rides are more popular than others, so it’s worth prioritising the busier ones. When we went, seven rides had VirtualLine and some had availability all day, often with a time slot in the next 30 minutes, whereas others sold out super quickly. This was the rough order of popularity:

Voltron Nevera
WODAN – Timburcoaster
blue fire Megacoaster
Voletarium
Euro-Mir
Water Rollercoaster Poseidon
Pirates in Batavia (Piraten in Batavia)

The participating rides can change, so check the VirtualLine filter in the app on the day rather than working from an old list. And I recommend thinking of any reservation you get as a bonus. Arriving early, choosing a compact route and being flexible are still the most reliable ways to reduce waits.

Take advantage of early access as a hotel guest

Guests at Europa-Park’s themed hotels get earlier park access, although the exact attractions and arrangements can vary. On the day we went, seven rides were open early and we could enter the park at 8am, one hour ahead of the other visitors. These were the rides that were open:

Blue Fire Megacoaster (Iceland)
Voltron Nevera (Croatia)
WODAN – Timburcoaster (Iceland)
Arthur (Minimoys Kingdom)
Alpenexpress Enzian
Tirol Flume Ride (Austria)
Pirates in Batavia (Netherlands)

The hotel entrance is near Spain on the opposite side of the park to the main entrance. This means that even if you enter at 9am, you’ll still have pretty short queues for the rides farthest from the main entrance.

Use Baby Switch for the large coasters

If one child can’t ride, speak to the attraction team before joining the queue. On participating larger coasters, one adult rides while the other stays with the child, then the second adult can ride without repeating the long wait. It makes splitting for one or two headline rides far less disruptive. We did this for Voltron.

Try Single Rider when riding alone

Some major rides have a Single Rider queue. It will split your group and doesn’t guarantee a short wait, but it can be useful when one adult wants a coaster that nobody else fancies or is able to do.

Keep an eye on queue times

Queues rise and fall with weather, lunch, shows and the direction people move from each entrance. If a ride isn’t a true must-do, save it and look again later. For example, when Steve and I first looked at the line for the Silver Star coaster, it was almost an hour, but it was down to 10 minutes when we looked an hour later.

Don’t forget the things that aren’t rides

Europa-Park is much better when you leave space for the smaller discoveries. The Irish area is especially good for younger children, with Limerick Castle and play spaces that will help children let off steam. There are water-play areas in warmer weather, so pack a change of clothes or swimwear and a small quick-dry towel if you can.

Shows are also useful anchors for the day. Choose one that appeals, note its time in the morning and use it as a natural sit-down break. The EP-Express and monorails can also be attractions in their own right, although they aren’t always the fastest way to reach a specific ride once queues and station locations are factored in.

Before you go: five things that make a big difference

1. Buy dated tickets online

Book in advance because on-the-day tickets cost more than the online price and availability is not something I would leave to chance during busy periods. Europa-Park uses date-based pricing, so this is one section to check again when you book rather than relying on an old figure in a blog post.

2. Download the Europa-Park & Rulantica app

Do this at home, add your tickets and make sure location access is enabled. The app shows current queue and show times, includes the park map and is the only way to use VirtualLine. I would still take a quick screenshot of the map and your key ride list in case reception lets you down.

3. Measure the children

For every must-do attraction, know the current minimum age, minimum height and whether a child below a second height threshold must ride with an adult. If some kids can ride and others can’t, choose a nearby ride they can do instead. This tiny bit of planning can save a lot of disappointment.

4. Make a shortlist

Europa-Park is huge and it’s hard to predict queue times (they varied hugely while we were there), so it’s important not to expect to do everything. I recommend picking a few family priorities: the rides everyone will be disappointed to miss. And also earmark a few areas where you can reset after the rides, like at shows, on gentle rides or in play areas. Steve and I also picked one big rollercoaster each that we wanted to make time for.

5. Check the closing time (it’s decided on the day!)

Europa-Park publishes a minimum closing time and may extend it depending on the day. Check the app rather than assuming the park will close at the earliest published time. The final hour can be excellent for rides. We got loads done in that final hour, and managed to walk straight onto rides where the lines had been an hour long earlier in the day.

Tips for choosing the best Europa-Park rides for kids

It’s hard to say definitively which are the best rides for kids as it depends heavily on the child’s level of confidence and what they’re scared of. For example, my eldest is terrified of heights, but the youngest is scared of the dark and anything threatening. So the little one doesn’t blink at the idea of a fast-paced rollercoaster with big drops, but he does worry if there’s a tunnel involved. On the other hand, the older one loves the dark rides but needs some persuasion for the rollercoasters. That said, in the past few years, the eldest’s confidence on rollercoasters has increased dramatically – he’s scared but he loves them!

Make use of the Europa-Park website

The Europa-Park website has a useful search function where you can look for rides based on age, height and level of action. You could use this prior to your visit to get an idea of what’s suitable for your group.

Don’t miss the helpful Europa-Park guidance for rides

At the entrance to every ride and in its description on the app, Europa-Park provides information on the effects and strain for each ride, rating each on a sliding scale. Things it includes are: light effects, sound effects, scents, smoke effects, g-forces, darkness, surprise effects, heights, tight spaces and splashing water. These are incredibly helpful for working out what might suit different riders. There are some examples below, so you can see how the ratings work.

Watch on-ride videos

If you’re unsure about any of the rides, do a search for on-ride videos. You can find plenty of these online and they’ll give you the best idea of what the ride is actually like and if your kid will like it.

A quick note on dark rides

A dark ride is an indoor attraction where you travel through dimly lit themed scenes, usually in a moving vehicle. It doesn’t necessarily mean the ride is frightening or fast. At Europa-Park, Madame Freudenreich Curiosités and Snorri Touren are playful dark rides, while Pirates in Batavia includes smoke, loud noises and some more atmospheric scenes. Castello dei Medici is deliberately spooky, and Eurosat CanCan Coaster is a rollercoaster in near darkness. If your child is sensitive to the dark, watching an on-ride video is a useful way to judge it.

The best Europa-Park rides for kids – ranked

I’ve had a go at ranking all the Europa-Park rides for different fear levels. It’s somewhat arbitrary and will vary depending on the individual child, so I recommend looking carefully at the ‘effects and strains’ scale for each ride, which you can see on the app.

The gentlest rides for cautious children

These are among Europa-Park’s gentlest rides, although individual age and height restrictions still apply. As you can see, Europa-Park has plenty for all ages!

Josefina’s Magical Imperial Journey: A leisurely boat ride through Empress Josefina’s ornate palace gardens.
Danube Steamer: A gentle boat trip around the Austrian lake that is ideal for slowing the pace of the day.
London Bus: A flying Routemaster that lifts families into the air above the English themed area.
Silverstone Race Track: A miniature driving track where children can take the wheel of their own little racing car.
The British Carousel: A beautiful 100-year-old horse carousel offering a gentle dose of traditional fairground nostalgia.
Euro-Tower: A slowly rotating observation tower with panoramic views across Europa-Park.
Madame Freudenreich Curiosités: A wonderfully quirky dark ride through an Alsatian grandmother’s garden filled with cake-eating dinosaurs.
Elf Ride: A gentle boat ride through a colourful, enchanted world populated by elves and other magical creatures.
Jim Button – Journey Through Morrowland: A cheerful ride where children ride a little train through the colourful world of Jim Button.
Puppet Boat Ride: A peaceful gondola ride around a small lake lined with animated puppet scenes.
Vintage Cars: A gentle driving ride where families travel around a track in miniature Ford Model Ts.
Dwarf City: A small children’s ride through a charming miniature world inhabited by Snow White’s seven dwarfs.
Old Mac Donald’s Tractor Fun: A slow tractor ride through a playful Irish farm populated by animals and colourful characters.
Quipse Paddle Boats: Small paddle boats that let children navigate their own gentle journey around the water.
Spinning Dragons: A colourful dragon carousel where the giant creatures whirl through the air.
Tower Tow: An interactive lighthouse ride where passengers pull a rope to decide how high their seat will climb.
Piccolo Mondo: A gentle gondola journey through a colourful and musical celebration of Italy.
Volo da Vinci: A scenic aerial ride where families pedal Leonardo da Vinci-inspired flying machines above the Italian area.
Liechtenstein Balloon Ride: A gentle balloon carousel that rises into the air with lovely views over the park.
Mini-Scooters: A miniature dodgem ride designed especially for younger children.
Red Baron: A colourful aeroplane carousel where children can control how high their plane flies.
Lada Autodrom: A relaxed driving ride where families steer colourful Lada cars around a guided track.
Sleigh Ride Snowflake: A gentle indoor sleigh ride through wintry scenes inspired by Russian fairy tales.
Snorri Touren: A colourful dark ride through the underwater world of Rulantica, guided by the cheerful octopus Snorri.

The best gentle thrill rides

These are all good entry-level rides for kids who want to do something beyond the most gentle rides of all. It’s quite a broad category, so some are much gentler than others. You will need to judge what’s suitable for your kids based on their individual fears.

Ba-a-a Express: A tiny rollercoaster, perfect for younger children’s first coaster experience.
Crazy Taxi: A lively and fairly gentle children’s ride where black cabs spin and whirl around one another.
Atlantis Adventure: An interactive dark ride where passengers use laser guns to search for treasure beneath the lost city of Atlantis.
GRAND PRIX EDventure: An interactive family dark ride that follows Ed and Edda through a chaotic European motor race.
Mul-Muls Carousel: A colourful indoor carousel where children spin and whirl inside giant furry Mul-Muls.
Poppy Towers: A small family tower ride that lifts passengers into the air for views over the Minimoys Kingdom.
Whale Adventures – Northern Lights: An interactive boat ride where families fire water cannons at targets and one another.
Flying Dutchman: A stormy-sea carousel where small boat gondolas swing as they circle the legendary ship.
Koffiekopjes: Classic spinning teacups that can be kept relatively gentle, or made thoroughly dizzying if you’re anything like Steve!
Pirates in Batavia: An elaborate indoor boat ride through a pirate-filled Indonesian port, with dark scenes, smoke and loud effects.
Fjord-Rafting: A classic white-water rafting ride through rocky Nordic scenery where getting wet is almost inevitable.
Feria Swing: A fast-spinning fairground ride that tilts and gathers speed as it circles.
Jungfrau Glacier Flight: A family aeroplane carousel where riders control how high their plane travels.
Dancing Dingie: A children’s swinging boat that delivers a smaller and gentler version of the classic pirate-ship experience. Ride Vindjammer for the big version.
Sheep Rock: A turbulent little boat carousel that twists around an Irish rock and sprays an occasional splash.
Vienna Wave Swing – ‘Glückspilz’: A traditional chair-swing ride that circles high above the Austrian themed area.
Voletarium: A spectacular flying-theatre simulator that sweeps you over European landscapes using a giant screen, suspended seating and special effects.

The best bigger rides for confident or older children

These rides are all great for kids who have conquered the smaller rides and are looking for a bigger thrill.

Alpine Express ‘Enzian’: A lively family rollercoaster that races through an Alpine landscape and a briefly dark cave with a smoke-breathing dragon (my youngest didn’t like it because of this). You can also ride the back two carriages with a VR headset (my eldest adored this!).
Tirol Log Flume: A classic log flume with Alpine scenery, dark cave sections and two splashy drops.
Cassandra’s Curse: A disorientating indoor illusion ride that makes it feel as though the entire room is turning upside down.
Pegasus: A smooth and exciting family rollercoaster that makes an excellent first step beyond children’s coasters. We all loved this and rode it about seven times!
Castello dei Medici: A traditional ghost-train-style dark ride through a medieval castle filled with skeletons and spooky scenes. This one needs to be judged carefully – we didn’t do it as we knew our youngest would hate it.
ARTHUR: An imaginative suspended ride combining detailed dark-ride scenes with faster rollercoaster sections indoors and out. This one is really innovative and worth doing, but won’t be good if your kids are scared of the dark or creepy storytelling.
Atlantica SuperSplash: A large water ride with a backwards section, a dramatic visible drop and an enormous final splash.
Matterhorn-Blitz: A compact but punchy rollercoaster with a vertical lift, quick drops and sharp, slightly jerky turns. The first drop was bigger than I expected!
Swiss Bob Run: A bobsleigh-style rollercoaster that races freely around a winding metal chute. We all loved this!
Kolumbusjolle: A surprisingly lively indoor boat ride with spinning gondolas, darkness, lights and stormy effects. My youngest hated it because of the dark, but the eldest loved it.
Vindjammer: A large Viking ship that swings increasingly high above the Scandinavian themed area. This was one of our kids’ favourites and they rode it multiple times at the end of the day when there was no queue.

The major thrill rides

These aren’t rides I’d use to test whether a child ‘might’ be brave. Plan them when the answer is already an enthusiastic yes, and use Baby Switch or Single Rider if only part of the family wants to go.

blue fire Megacoaster: A powerful launched rollercoaster that accelerates from 0 to 100km/h before tackling four inversions.
WODAN – Timburcoaster: A fast, noisy and intense wooden rollercoaster with a dark atmospheric start, tunnels and a top speed of 100km/h.
Voltron Nevera: An intense multi-launch rollercoaster with seven inversions and some brilliantly unusual twists and turns (one of the wildest rollercoasters I’ve ever been on!)
Silver Star: A towering hypercoaster built around enormous drops, high speeds and stomach-lifting airtime rather than inversions.
Euro-Mir: A distinctive spinning rollercoaster with a long spiral lift, fast outdoor drops and darker enclosed sections.
Eurosat – CanCan Coaster: A fast indoor rollercoaster through a stylised Paris at night, with most of the track hidden in darkness. This also has the Coastiality VR feature for some carriages.
Water Rollercoaster Poseidon: A substantial water coaster combining twisting outdoor tracks, Greek mythology and two large splash-filled drops.

Europa-Park transport rides

EP-Express: An elevated monorail that circles the park and connects Germany, Greece, Spain and the hotel resort.
Monorail: A slower elevated ride between Luxembourg and Iceland that offers excellent views over the themed areas.
Panorama Train: A traditional steam-style train connecting Germany, England, Spain and Russia at ground level.

Where to eat at Europa-Park with kids

The country-themed areas mean there is much more variety than the usual theme-park circuit of burgers and chips. Snack your way around Europe, with crêpes in France, pizza in Italy and gyros in Greece. My main advice is to decide whether lunch is an experience or simply fuel. If food matters, choose one restaurant in advance and eat outside the busiest window. If rides are the priority, pick something close to where you already are rather than crossing the park for a famous snack.

The only restaurant you can reserve in the park is Restaurant Schloss Balthasar.

FoodLoop is the main novelty restaurant and a fun option for children because dishes travel to the table on looping tracks. It’s popular, though, so queues are long. For a calmer sit-down meal, look at the current restaurant list and reserve where the park recommends it. I would also carry water and a couple of emergency snacks for grumpy moments in the queues!

Because the park closes around 6pm, we ate dinner at our hotel (Hotel Colosseo) each night, which was perfect as we felt like we were on a real Italian piazza!

Where to stay for Europa-Park

If you can, stay on site for at least one night. It turns the visit into a mini-break, removes a morning drive and gives you earlier access to the park. We stayed at Hotel Colosseo and it’s hands-down my favourite theme-park hotel so far. It’s gloriously extra without feeling tacky, built around an Italian piazza with a recreation of the Colosseum and restaurants around the edge. The evening fountain and light shows are a highlight, plus our kids loved running through the fountains while waiting for dinner. The park entrance is around a five-minute walk away.

The resort has several other heavily themed hotels, including Bell Rock, Krønasår, Santa Isabel, El Andaluz and Castillo Alcazar, as well as simpler options at Silver Lake City.

More practical tips for Europa-Park with kids

Wear comfortable shoes. The park is large and you’ll be clocking a lot of steps.
Consider using a buggy for younger children, even if they rarely use one at home. It also earns its keep carrying spare clothes and water. Bring your own, or you can also hire them at either entrance.
Write a phone number on children or use the free identification stickers available from the information offices.
Pack a light waterproof layer and a full change for children who want to go on the water rides or play areas.
Take a portable charger. The app is too useful to risk losing at 3pm.
Let each child choose two or three priorities. It makes compromises later in the day much easier.
Don’t force the big coaster. Europa-Park has such a good progression of rides that courage can build naturally.
Check seasonal closures, show times, opening hours and current safety restrictions directly before travel. It’s good for avoiding disappointment.

Europa-Park with toddlers

Europa-Park is still worthwhile with toddlers. There are great children’s areas, small rides, playgrounds and family attractions, and Baby Switch helps adults and older children access the headline coasters. I’d advise building in a nap and using a buggy.

Is Europa-Park worth it with kids?

Europa-Park is one of the best theme parks we’ve been to and definitely worth it with kids. It gets the family balance unusually right with plenty for all ages. There are spectacular rides for people who love them, but the day doesn’t depend on everyone wanting the same level of adrenaline. Our children could move from swings and a pirate ship to a first coaster and, eventually, bigger rides like the Matterhorn Blitz at their own pace. It’s a great place for building ride confidence.

I think the secret to a good trip is accepting you can’t do it all. Choose a handful of priorities, keep your route compact, use VirtualLine when it helps, and leave room for spontaneity so kids can re-ride their favourite attractions or you can jump on unexpected rides with short queues. Those spontaneous favourites are often the things children talk about most afterwards.