| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 24/04/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 67 |
| Copyright: Other |
It takes some Gaul to rock with the rollers
French park takes a step back in time
haps we should have tried the Wild Boar burgers, after all.Until last summer, the nearest hotel was three miles away. Now there is the 100-room L’Hotel des Trois Hiboux on site. As elsewhere in the park, children staying here are well catered for with steps in the bathroom to help them reach the sink and lower door handles.
ONE look at the Tonnerre de Zeus rollercoaster was enough to convince me that Asterix’s more gentle occupation of beating up Romans was more my cup of tea.
The wooden Tonnerre de Zeus – literally the Thunder of Zeus – is one of the most popular attractions at Parc Asterix. The other is the equally stomach-churning Goudurix rollercoaster, which passes through seven loops on its way back to base.
The coasters are an important part of Parc Asterix for thrill seekers but you can find this type of ride in theme parks across the UK and Europe.
For me, the essence of the park is the Village Gaulois, modelled on the French village in the Asterix books, where characters including Asterix and Obelix come out at regular intervals to delight the children and where you can stand on Chief Vitalstatistix’ shield – for those who missed out on the Asterix books, the chief was carried everywhere on his shield.
It does help to have read the books so you can pick up on the terrible puns, and the mixture of French and Roman theming in the park starts to make sense.
The fact that the Asterix cartoon character is less well known in the UK than in France is probably one reason why the park has not captured British hearts in the same way as Disney, which is 30mins down the road. The other is that the atmosphere of the park is very French, which might not appeal to everyone.
That is a shame as there is plenty to do. My five-year-old daughter, Ilana, loved the village and neighbouring play area, complete with massive menhirs – Obelix always carries one of these huge stones – to push around. When we finally managed to drag her away, we found plenty of rides for youngsters, with no height restrictions, including a mini-roller coaster, a flume and pedal-powered monorail.
There is also a great tyre ride where you get decidedly damp and the newest ride, Oxygenarium, which opened last year, looks mild enough but sends riders twisting and turning, one way and then another, along a 400-metre run in a water toboggan.
For those who want to get really wet, a larger flume plunges riders, aboard ‘floating menhirs’, into deeper water, and there are a couple of middle-size coasters.
The park also has seven shows, including the Great Mona Lisa Caper, which was great. It is set in Le Havre in the 1930s, involves cops, robbers and a stolen painting, and is full of stunts and explosions. It is the only theme park show Ilana has sat through, which is about as good as it can get.
There are a couple of down sides to the park, though. One is the Dolphinarium, which will not appeal to most UK audiences.
The other was the food. True, we only had a snack, but it looked tired, was reluctantly served and was lukewarm when it should have been hot. Perhaps we should have tried the Wild Boar burgers, after all.
Until last summer, the nearest hotel was three miles away. Now there is the 100-room L’Hotel des Trois Hiboux on site. As elsewhere in the park, children staying here are well catered for with steps in the bathroom to help them reach the sink and lower door handles.
Parc asterix by Jane Archer
Splashing out: be prepared for a soaking in the new OxygenariumCuddly: Ilana enjoys a hug with the park’s big heroAsterix
Factfile
parc asterixSample operators: Bridge Travel Service, Travelscene, Brittany Ferries, SeaFrance and Eurotunnel.
Sample package: Bridge Travel Service offers two nights at L’Hotel des Hiboux for £197 per person bed and breakfast off peak including ferry travel from Dover-Calais with P&O Stena Line or Hoverspeed.