We’ve reached the end of 2022 and that means we need to say goodbye. After a pair of weird years, this year gave lots of new opportunities for the whole team. What new experiences could we enjoy this year? Every European member shares their experiences, which summarizes the novelties of 2022. Plus we look forward to a new year of memories in 2023!
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Emma’s Orlando & Danish memories
In 2022 I’ve been lucky enough to visit 24 theme parks, it’s been a busy year for me with lots of trips! The highlights for me have to be of course my first visit to Florida and getting to ride VelociCoaster and seeing the Disney Castle! Universal’s Islands of Adventure was probably my favourite park from the trip!
It’s hard to choose a favourite moment as I had so many but I can’t not mention our trip to Fårup Sommerland to ride Fønix and spending time with the Coaster Kings team because what’s better than theme parks, having friends who love them as much as you! Looking forward to what 2023 has to offer with so many amazing things to come!
Alex’s Return to Germany & The Netherlands
Even though I didn’t plan them at the start of the year, I ended up revisiting some of my favourite European parks this year, like Efteling and Toverland! All of them had great memories, but experiencing Wintertraum at Phantasialand and staying at the spectacular Charles Lindbergh Hotel was amazing. Also loved revisiting Europa-Park after 5 years and discovering all the changes. I’m really looking forward to next year though. The Spanish parks have a lot to offer on 2023 with new coasters at Parque Warner and PortAventura, which will bring new experiences to all the team!
James’s Danish Dino Discoveries
My favourite theme park experience of 2022 was visiting Djurs Sommerland for the opening day of Dinosaurland. The new Mack T-Rex Family Coaster is one of the best powered coasters I’ve been on and the theming is incredible! Paired up with an onboard soundtrack makes for a great experience. It was great to come back to the park again for Halloween and see the park decorated with hundreds of pumpkins and crazy sculptures!
Romain’s Twilight Zone
2022 has been a rather calm theme park year for me. I have not done that many parks and coasters compared to previous years, but due to a good reason. I have been working at Disneyland Paris as Castmember on one of the best rides in the resort : The Tower of Terror. This has been for me, and still is, one of the best experiences in my life. I got to meet amazing people that are now some of my best friends. I really enjoy working on a very interesting, complex and fun ride!
Luckily, I still got to do some crazy parks as I traveled overseas to Florida to try once more the best rides over there. I got to put my butt on VelociCoaster and Iron Gwazi which messed up my whole top of favorite coasters by how great and incredible these rides were. On top of that, I got to meet my Florida colleagues at Tower of Terror, one of my best memories there!
Arthur’s Rediscovery of Magic
Since I’m still studying full-time, I didn’t have a lot of time to visit theme parks throughout the year. However this makes the visits I do get, all the more special to me! Besides some visits to Belgian theme parks, I visited Toverland again after not having been there for 3 years. It was a great day to chill out after a period of exams with pretty low crowds and some great weather. I also got to report on the renewed attraction and area which was new for 2022 and really loved how it turned out! Really looking forward to hopefully riding Toutatis at Parc Astérix, since I’ve been anticipating it since the first announcement!
Andreu’s New Parks & Encounters
This year has been amazing for many reasons, especially because I have had the opportunity to discover some awesome and breathtaking theme parks such as Efteling, Walibi Belgium, and Gardaland. Next to that I fell in love with a bunch of new coasters, especially my new favorite: The Ride To Happiness. However, the most remarkable moments of the year have definitely been those shared with the other members of the Coaster Kings team.
Some of the highlights of the year include our trips to Belgium and the Netherlands in July, and to Spain in September and November. It has been really great to get to know Sven, Emma, Sean, and the two Alex’s. It has been fantastic to share exciting experiences together, whether we were trying a new ride or just hanging out and enjoying the atmosphere of the park. All those shared moments have truly made this year special. And, for 2023, I’m looking forward to meeting the rest of the team and visit Parque Warner together to experience the new Intamin multi-launch coaster “Batman: Gotham City Escape”.
Sven’s New Frontiers
2022 brought many new experiences to Europe. That led me to visit parks in Denmark, Finland, Belgium, The Netherlands, France, Germany, Poland, Spain and the UK. Especially Denmark with two separate trips really stood out thanks to having amazing theme park adventures and local discoveries with James and Emma. Celebrating the 30th anniversary of Disneyland Paris felt wonderful as well, with he pass holder night putting the cherry on top. Coasterwise, my favorite new credits have to be Taiga at Linnanmäki and Zadra at Energylandia. Oh and finally visiting Tivoli Gardens to complete my European B&M Bingo!
Another major highlight for me personally: starting to work in the theme park industry. That’s why I cannot wait and see the opening of Champi’Folies at Le PAL in France, one of the two new dark rides opening next year in Europe. Overall, a year full of trips and absolutely loved seeing all our team members all over Europe! I cannot wait for what 2023 has in store!
Thanks everyone for joining us again for another fun year. We can’t wait for the several coasters coming in 2023 and other attractions all over Europe. Happy New Year everyone!