| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 07/08/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 42 |
| Copyright: Other |
Park update by Matt Bond
Futuroscope sets sightson UKvisitors
Park looks to lift profile
Futuroscope, France’s second most visited theme park after Disneyland Paris, lies in the Poitiers countryside to the west and was visited by 2.5m visitors last year.But how many agents know anything about it?
Do you know, for example, the park has 1,900 rooms on site and boasts 21 attractions. Last year 141,837 miles of film scrolled through its projectors and all without a pair of Mickey Mouse ears in sight.
Thanks to a new direct TGV service to the park’s front door, the park is now more accessible to British visitors – the journey from Waterloo can be made in about six hours. The ticket won’t break the bank either, costing adults £110 for a standard return or £175 first class and children £78 and £145 respectively.
The park can be reached by Eurostar to Lille where you connect to a TGV train that whisks you off to the sparkly modern station at the park.
The park also receives direct trains from Paris-Montparnasse, Roissy Charles de Gaulle, Lyon, Hendaye, Toulouse and Bordeaux.
British train operators could learn a lot from their French counterparts. Clean, fast and smooth, travelling by rail in France is a pleasure rather than a chore, especially on the speedy and comfortable TGV service.
It is a little ironic that as you glide at 175mph through the picturesque French countryside you come across the Disney Castle and Space Mountain ride. No doubt some passengers wish, for a moment at least, that they were stopping there. But, Futuroscope should not be easily dismissed.
It is a vast park filled with enough audio-visual gadgetry to please even the most demanding of technophiles.
It has Europe’s largest IMAX screen, Europe’s first fiction movie ever shot in 3D and a unique Imax projection with two giant screens, one facing the spectators and the other at a 45-degree angle under your feet giving you the sensation offlying.
The newest attraction Escape from Atlantis, which opened in April, is a simulated ride through an underwater world with 3D effects and personalised stereo sound. So good, I went on twice.
No matter then that the park resembles a jumble of Lego blocks or that the commentary on all the attractions is French – headphones overcome this to a certain degree. What visitors come here for are the rides, the clean and pleasant surroundings, the first-class service, the excellent food outlets and the stunning Lake of Images show.
Shown every night, twice during the summer, a 10-metre high screen of mist rises over the lake, turning it into a giant 7,000 metre square screen.
Comical characters and enchanting images are flashed across it and accompanied by music, fireworks and flames bursting through the water. It certainly provides a spectacular night’s entertainment.
The UK market is cautious about visiting France’s other theme park – entrants from Britain represent just 3% of visitors. However, with the new rail link the future looks bright for the park.
According to Rail Europe, 300,000 UK visitors a year, three times the current number, are expected to arrive at Futuroscope by rail by 2001.
My future, however, looked a little more bleak as I boarded the train for our return journey. I arrived at Waterloo after a fast and comfortable journey to find that technical faults had delayed all domestic trains.
factfile
crystal Holidays
Admission prices: prices to get into the park are £16 for adults and £12 for children for the day although discounts are available for large groups.
Fighting the big boys: Futuroscope plays second fiddle to Disneyland Paris but predictions suggest UK visitor numbers will improve