We drove about 2000 miles in my trusty little Fiesta. RJ and I shared the driving and it worked out very well. Driving on the other side of the road turned out to be much easier than I'd expected in a car I was used to! Our accommodation booking worked out pretty well too - other than not being able to find the last B&B everything went flawlessly.
So, onto the interesting bits - the parks:
1. Parc Asterix
Good points:
- Excellent rides - singling out Oziris and Tonnere de Zeus as two of the standouts.
- Some of the better park food we encountered on the trip.
- Asterix theming spot on.
Bad points:
- Huge numbers of people smoking in queue lines really spoilt it.
- Long queues on the day we visited - queue jump tickets were sold in a bizarre way.
- One of the only parks where we didn't get on all the rides we wanted to.
2 & 3. Disneyland Paris & Disney Studios
Good points:
- Tower of Terror, Ratatouille and Crush's Coaster were all excellent.
- Staff very friendly and helpful (as you'd expect from a Disney park)
- Fireworks display was enjoyable.
Bad points:
- Food options in the park were poor compared to other parks.
- Disney Studios park seemed quite "under construction" with various areas barricaded off.
- Several big rides (Big Thunder Mountain, Indiana Jones) closed when we visited.
- It's not as good as the parks in Florida.
4. Europa Park
Good points:
- Vast park with a huge range of excellent rides. Blue Fire, Silver Star and Wodun in particular.
- Excellent theming throughout.
- Very good food options - the restaurant where we had lunch was the best on the trip.
Bad points:
- As it was such a huge park, navigation could be difficult.
5. Phantasialand
Good points:
- Generally excellent theming throughout.
- Taron and Chiapas: best rides on the entire trip.
Bad points:
- Area around Winjas poorly themed.
- Hollywood Tour ride was pretty dreadful.
6. Movie Park
Good points:
- Van Helsing's Factory is a decent ride with good theming.
- Ice Age ride and the drop tower weren't bad either.
Bad points:
- Most other rides were poor.
- What the hell was Mystery River about? Confusing ride, dated queue)
- Bandit was the worst ride we rode in the entire trip.
7. Heide Park
Good points:
- Flug der Damonen and Krake are very good and nicely themed.
- Nice range of flat rides and coasters.
Bad points:
- Colossos was closed.
- Limited range of food.
8. Hansa Park
Good points:
- Karnan is an innovative and excellent ride. Novgorod also very good.
- Large range of unusual rides.
- Cheap on-ride photos.
Bad points:
- Rides near park entrance look dated and uncared-for.
- No park maps available.
9. Efteling
Good points:
- Best theming on the entire trip.
- Joris en de Draak was best wooden coaster on trip.
- Good food choices.
- Fountain show was a nice touch.
Bad points:
- Nothing to speak of.
10. Bobbejaanland
Good points:
- Good range of rides, including some unusual ones.
Bad points:
- Nothing particularly special, except Mount Mara.
- Limited food options.
Overall
Favourite steel rollercoaster:
1. Taron (Phantasialand)
2. Oziris (Parc Asterix)
3. Karnan (Hansa Park)
Favourite wooden rollercoaster:
1. Joris en de Draak (Efteling)
2. Wodun (Europa Park)
3. Tonnere de Zeus (Parc Asterix)
Favourite non-coaster track ride:
1. Chiapas (Phantasialand)
2. Maus au Chocolat (Phantasialand)
3. Pirana (Efteling)
Favourite flat ride:
1. Tower of Terror (Disney Studios)
2. Talocan (Phantasialand)
3. Villa Volta (Efteling)
Worst ride:
1. Bandit (Movie Park)
2. Mystery River (Movie Park)
3. NYC Transformer (Movie Park)
Best food:
1. Efteling
2. Parc Asterix
3. Europa Park
Worst food:
1. Bobbejaanland
2. Disneyland Paris
3. Heide Park
Worst for Smoking:
1. Parc Asterix
2. Movie Park
Overall Park ranking (best to worst):
1. Efteling *****
2. Phantasialand *****
3. Europa Park *****
4. Parc Asterix ****
5. Hansa Park ****
6. Disneyland Paris ***
7. Heide Park ***
8. Disney Studios **
9. Bobbejaanland **
10. Movie Park *
