Parc Astérix

We kept an eye on the weather forecast all weekend, and it kept saying "chaud" (hot) for Monday.  So we got an early start Monday morning and took the shuttle bus from the Louvre to Parc Astérix.  The bus route took us right up the Champs Élysées and around the Arc de Triomphe.  Fun!  But I was glad I wasn't the one driving!

The park is themed around the French comic strip characters Astérix and Obélix; the comic was set in 50 B.C. in the region of Gaul (now France).  The park has several "lands" including Gaul, Greece, the Roman Empire, a Viking village, and an area with a time-traveling theme.  Overlooking the whole enterprise is the main character Astérix.

We began our visit in the Roman Empire.

The first ride, Le Défi de César (Caesar's Challenge) was a themed ride where Caesar was recruiting troops for the war with the Gauls.  There were several rooms to walk through (they took your photo and incorporated it into some animation) and the final ride was a simulated voyage in a Roman galley ship.

Also in the Roman Empire was Romus et Rapidus, a water-rafting ride where we definitely got wet.

Next door was a Roman-themed kiddie train.  We were too tall for this one.

Nearby was the slow-moving skyride called Les Espions de César (The Spies of Caesar), where the theme was to infiltrate the Gaul Village to find Astérix and Obélix.

Next it was on to Greece, which is home to the dolphin show.

We did not watch the show, but we did see the dolphins swimming around in their temperature-controlled enclosure.

The rather boring Rivière d'Elis (Elysian River) wasn't anything to write home about, but it was nice to sit down for a bit.

Greece did have a couple of great fast-moving rides like the Cheval du Troie (Trojan Horse) and Le Vol d'Icare (Flight of Icarus)...

...but by far the most exciting ride in the area was the Tonnerre de Zeus (Thunder of Zeus).  It has a 90 foot drop at the beginning, and is supposed to be one of the longest wooden rollercoasters in Europe.  While waiting in line, we got to watch the entire wooden structure shake violently when the coaster came to a stop at the end.  Scary!

Break-time!  We headed over to the food court area (hard to miss since one of the restaurants was shaped like food) and had some pretty decent chicken wings.  One thing Parc Astérix has that you can't get in the park at Disneyland is a nice cold beer.

The Viking area was mostly comprised of kiddie rides, but there was one ride that commanded our attention: Goudurix.

With 7 inversions at almost 60mph, our brains were a little rattled afterwards.  Here is a full view from across the lake showing the loops in all their glory.

Whew!  After that we needed a nice slow ride.  We got what we asked for when we stood in line for almost an hour at the Transdemonium.  It looked cool from the outside but it was really the most boring "haunted house" ride ever.

We were now in the time-traveling section, which began with a medieval theme, complete with a smiley castle and a small village of artisans making pottery, stained glass, and woodcarvings.

You walk in through a tunnel on the medieval side, and come out in 1900's-era Paris.  Although I have to say that the Paris area probably would have been more appealing if we hadn't already spent several weeks in the actual city of Paris.

The afternoon continued to heat up.  We were tempted to take advantage of the temporary Lutèce Plage that included water rides and a small beach, but we only had a few more hours left in the park.

So instead we went to the Gaul Village inhabited by our indomitable heroes, Astérix and Obélix.

The generous behind of Obélix, Astérix, and Abaracourix (the Gaul Village chief)

Of course in that last collage I forgot the most important one of all -- Kevinix!

To further acquaint ourselves with the characters, we took a ride on the Epidemaïs Croisières.  It was a slow-moving boat ride through scenes from the comic books; in Disney parlance it was kind of a cross between the Jungle Cruise and the Storybook ride.

Some of our favorite rides of the day were in the Gaul Village.  We got completely soaked on the Menhir Express (log ride).  And we also enjoyed the fast-paced Trace du Hourra, which was a toboggan-style ride.

And since Kevin can't do fast-spinny rides, I had to go on the Chaudrons (Cauldrons) by myself.  It was basically the same as Disney's Teacup ride, only without the pastel colors or gratingly memorable soundtrack.

We had less than an hour to peek inside the shops before our shuttle bus left back to Paris.  I will say that Parc Astérix could use a lesson in merchandising from the folks over at Disney.  The same few items were for sale in every shop.  I had wanted maybe a polo or t-shirt but couldn't find anything I liked.  Oh well!  We celebrated our successful amusement park day trip with some granitas from the create-your-own slushie bar.  Cheers!