Thomas read an article about a park named Familypark as he relaxed on his sofa. He looked at the pictures and thought "I've got to visit that place".
Thomas borrowed a car and headed in the direction of the Familypark, located outside the city of St. Margarethen. This is very close to Hungary, so Thomas considered paying Sopron, and the beautiful quarry located in Fertorakos. He eventually visited both places, but more about those in another article.
The car-ride from Vienna to the Familypark took about 1 hour, without much traffic to see. But, Thomas was greatly surprised upon arrival at the park. He had read that it opened at 9.00 every day and that the rides only started from 10.00. So, he expected the park to be quite empty upon arrival at 9.30. But, he was completely wrong. Before he found a place to park the car, he had to pass by hundreds of cars that had arrived even earlier than him.
One of the attractions in the Family Park - Source.
Entering the park - entrance fees
To enter the park, Thomas had to pay 24 Euro. This fee is for all the attractions inside, meaning that he could enjoy everything on the inside after that without paying any extras. But, he had to stand in line for 10 minutes to get his ticket (even though there were 6 cashiers open). This place was much more popular than he would have imagined beforehand.
As he looked through the price-list, Thomas said to himself, that if he lived close to this park, he would have bought the annual ticket (costing only 69 euro). In other words, if you visit the park more than twice a year, the annual ticket gives you the best value.
Once inside, Thomas empties his tank (in one of the many toilets in the park) and looks for something cool to do.
Thomas spots a carousel in the park
At first, Thomas spots a carousel in the Familypark. It looks nice, but for people in their 30's, this isn't exactly the kind of program you are looking for in an amusement park.
Walking a bit further, he can see one of those rides he fears a lot. You have to sit in a chair together with others, they take you to the top, and then suddenly let you fall downwards. Luckily, this is a small one, so Thomas decides to take a seat and enjoy it.
Luckily, this ride wasn't too scary for Thomas
This was a nice start on the stay in the park for Thomas. Now he walks on to see what else to do. In the background, he spots a roller-coaster and hurries up to give it a try. He isn't really so tough, but he likes to think of himself as a guy not fearing anything. As Thomas gets into the line, he is happy that it is only 25 Celsius outside, because this line would be a disaster if it would have been warmer. After 20 minutes in line, Thomas is ready to take a seat and try the rollercoaster.
Thomas enjoys the rollercoaster in the Familypark
It isn't often that 60 seconds passes by this fast. There were no loops in the rollercoaster, but it still felt scary, and Thomas' legs are shaking a bit as he leaves the car. He would like to try it once more, but he doesn't want to spend 20 more minutes in line in order to do so. He walks on to find more cool stuff worth trying.
As he walks around in the park, he spots a very delightful little train driving people around inside parts of the park. It looks nice, and Thomas can easily imagine visiting this place with kids sometime in the future. There are loads of rides suitable for kids, and there are even fairy tale houses where you can listen to fairy tales and see famous fairy tale figures.
Lots of delightful rides for kids in the Familypark
One of the fairy-tale houses in the park.
Thomas is getting hungry, and around lunch-time, he can see that there are more and more people coming into the park. He eats something quickly and is surprised that the prices aren't higher. Since everyone visiting the park stays for the entire day, they will all have to eat something, and thus they could "push" the prices higher in the park. Luckily, they haven't done so, and Thomas could enjoy a wiener schnitzel with fries costing him around 6 Euro.
Ready for some more action in the Familypark
As Thomas walks to the other part of the park, he can see some attractions looking more like something for adults. The first attraction catching the attention of his eye was another rollercoaster. This one is called the Götterblitz, and it looks to be a bit scarier than the first.
Another rollercoaster in the Familypark - SourceThere is only a slight problem. By now, on a late August day, the park is so packed that you have to wait around 30 minutes (at least) to enjoy the popular rides. Thomas keeps wondering if he should have visited the park in September instead (when the local kids are attending school instead of the park), but he cannot change that at the moment.
One of the popular rides in the Familypark, ideal for kids, not so fun for adults!
The coolest attraction in the entire park is, without a doubt, the new flying machines, ala Leonardo da Vinci. Unfortunately, it was a terribly long line for this attraction as well, but Thomas felt as if he had to give it a try at least.
Flying with Leonardo da Vinci - Source
The picture above doesn't show Thomas during the ride, but it for sure felt scarier than what the picture shows. If you manage, you can even make your "flight" turn upside down as it goes round and round and up and down, making it an even greater adrenaline kick than if you just take it for a normal flight.
After a long day in the park where Thomas has tried quite some rides, he feels satisfied and is ready to leave the park.
He has some trouble finding the way out of the park (he misses some signs showing where the exit can be found), but he doesn't really mind that. As he gets back into his car it is extremely hot inside. The car has been in the sun for the entire day, so he rolls down his windows and gets ready for more action somewhere else.
Thomas got soaking wet as he tried this ride...
Thomas' short Familypark summary
It was a magnificent park, and he now understands very well why it is called a Familypark. It is not the ideal park for adults wanting to enjoy some action rides (those should rather visit Prater in Vienna), but for those with kids aged between 2 and 20, this park is perfect. And again, if Thomas had to return to Familypark another time, he would for sure try to visit the park on a day when most people are in school and kindergarten, instead of during the summer holidays when all kids are bored and their parents bring them to the Familypark.
For more information about the Familypark, visit their website.
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