PGAV Destinations, a global leader in the planning and design of unique destinations, is celebrating the grand opening of Europa-Park’s new indoor waterpark, Rulantica.
PGAV Destinations is proud to have been a part of the team behind Rulantica, the largest single investment in Europa-Park’s history. The public is already enjoying the highly-themed new water world, which covers more than 350,000 square feet and features 25 water attractions, including 17 slides.
Rulantica is Europa-Park’s first indoor waterpark, and it is changing the game when it comes to design, guest experience and storytelling. It is expected to attract over 600,000 guests each year, which will boost the park’s overall attendance to six million visits annually.
A richly immersive new attraction
“Adding a second gate waterpark to one of Europe’s greatest theme parks has been in the making for 20 years,” says PGAV Destinations vice president and project lead, Jeff Havlik. “The Mack Family and Europa-Park Team are phenomenal attraction partners to work with – creative, driven, and focused on authentic storytelling.
“It was an honour to partner with them on refining the initial master plan and developing the Rulantica indoor water park further through Concept Design.”
Set in the rediscovered, ancient Scandinavian land of Rulantica, the waterpark is richly-themed throughout, from the moment guests step inside. The nine different themed zones feature a wide range of fun rides and activities, including 25 water attractions, retail, restaurants, and swim-up bars.
Rulantica guests can explore immersive grottos, wave pools, waterfalls, adventure pools, obstacle courses, family raft rides, hybrid slides, and more. In the build-up to the grand opening of Rulantica, Europa-Park also unveiled Snorri Touren, a new dark ride which introduces Snorri the octopus – Rulantica’s mascot and guide.
Unique experiences
Unlike many other European waterparks, where standard waterslides are often installed without an overall theme, Rulantica is designed with an immersive thematic story at its heart. It is also carefully blended with its parent park, echoing the winding pathways and authentic stories for which Europa-Park is known.
“In Germany, it is difficult to get permits for fibreglass slides – it takes two years,” says Mack Solutions’ Matthias Lange. “So many other operators don’t want to go through that process, which is why you see so many steel slides in this part of the world.
“We wanted to bring in the unique experiences and slide components that fibreglass offers, so we took the time to go through that process. In Rulantica you will see a lot of slides not often found in European waterparks. We have family raft slides, hybrid slides, and more.”
At the end of 2019, PGAV Destinations released the latest issue of Destinology, exploring how leaders can navigate a changing workplace. Within this publication, leaders from the American Alliance of Museums, Georgia Aquarium, Biltmore Estate, and Europa-Park share details of their success
