dandaz Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 Hi What`s it like, Will I need to book a hotel room or is it a one day adventure??? Mick... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeb Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 You can do it all in a day during the winter. There is no light show so everything closes at around 6pm. Try to get there early to avoid queueingIn the summer it can get very busy, all the attractions will be open and there can be quite long queues. You may need a hotel room if you are going to stay for the light show, which I've heard is superb, as it doesn't start until around 10.30pm. I've been several times, winter and summer, with our visitors and love it. Great fun!!regards.........helen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 Futuroscope is superb, brilliant, quirky, whimsical, technical and generally good all-round value. Not to be missed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tresco Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 Hi Mick, I havn't been yet, i've been saving it up for..... not a rainy day!!! People I knew who went in the rain said it was total misery (middle of summer no umbrellas etc) and there is your warning, it's fantastic, apparently, as others say, but prepare for all weathers. Please let us know what you think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adobill<P><FONT face=Arial>Bill <FONT><P><P><FONT face=Arial>Charente Maritime (17) & Northampton<FONT><P> Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 Went a few years ago and managed to do it all in one day, it was absolutely fantastic but exhausting. The best advice I was given was go straight to the furtherst away point and make your way back to the main entrance.This seemed to work as the furthest away points were empty, later in the day we had queues, but they were no more than 20 - 30 minutes. All shows are timed so either plan it very well or just jump into one as you pass.Kids loved it, light show was unbeleivable, would reccomend it to anyone, however in the winter there are fewer people (obvious) but the park is not open as long. In summer more people but open later and with light show - take your pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark and Amanda<P><IMG src="http:forums.livingfrance.comimagesline.gif"><BR><FONT face=Arial>Mark and Amanda<FONT><BR><P> Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 Mick ...I think this kind of depends on your expectations. We took the kids (14 and 11 year olds) last year and they found it enjoyable but a bit tame, the trouble is that we've done the Florida parks in the past and that spoils them for anywhere else.Many of the attractions are based on an educational theme and the nobility of that was a bit lost my kids who basically just want the s*** scared out of them (or more likely me and mum) on some stomach churning g-force 20 rides.As for doing the park in a day ... well we went right at the start of September (just after the French schools were open again I think) and I'll say that you could do it all in a day but you'd have to be pretty determined. We went with that intention but by about 4pm I was well knackered as we marched from one attraction to the next and we called it a day at that point. A good call on reflection as it leaves us some things to see this year when we'll probably go again.On the whole, for our family I'd rate it about 7/10 and advise others to just make it a 1-day visit at a leisurely pace and accept that you won't get around all of the park.Have a nice time ... Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandaz Posted January 17, 2005 Author Share Posted January 17, 2005 Hi Mark 7/10 how would you rate say Alton Towers.... I`ve found this map and pressed English version but comes up with french maybe some-one with a bit of time could translate a few of the features....Just run the mouse over it... http://www.futuroscope.com/09-plan/plan.php Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark and Amanda<P><IMG src="http:forums.livingfrance.comimagesline.gif"><BR><FONT face=Arial>Mark and Amanda<FONT><BR><P> Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 Mick,Haven't been to Alton Towers for 4 or 5 years but from how we found it then I'd rate it about 8.5/10 as it has thrill rides etc. Futuroscope has some simulator stuff but no roller-coasters etc.For us, we roughly rate the following:Futuroscope 7/10Drayton Manor Park (West Midlands) 7/10Alton Towers 8.5/10Florida Parks (ie Universal Studios) 10/10 Mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandaz Posted January 18, 2005 Author Share Posted January 18, 2005 Hi mark Florida parks I might get there one a day... We go to Alton towers every year AIR is brill might take it up to 9/10.... Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 I'm surprised that you are comparing Futuroscope to Alton Towers et al - it isn't quite like that, being heavily centred around the moving image and a number of 3D and other exotic cinemas. If you went expecting Alton Towers you might well be disappointed. Personally I think it is a million times more entertaining.I looked at the English version of the sitehttp://www.futuroscope.com/gb/index.php?lg=gband I couldn't find anything in French it was all English! What were you having problems with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandaz Posted January 19, 2005 Author Share Posted January 19, 2005 Hi Dick When I select the park map and run my curser over it ,it all comes up in French so I don`t really know what`s there...... There nowt worse than turning up and not knowing where you are going..... Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loiseau Posted January 20, 2005 Share Posted January 20, 2005 QUOTEI`ve found this map and pressed English version but comes up with french maybe some-one with a bit of time could translate a few of the features....Just run the mouse over it..http://www.futuroscope.com/09-plan/plan.php--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------MickIf you go to the link you gave in an earlier post, you will see a row of flags near the top left of the screen. Click on the Union Jack and you'll get the whole site in English !Angelahttp://www.the-vendee.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted January 20, 2005 Share Posted January 20, 2005 Yes - the names of the cinemas and other bits are in French. The shows have changed since I was last there, so I'm not sure what they are like exactly, but if you look at the Attractions section and click on the thumbnails there is an explanation in English.Click on 'The Park' and you will get a drop-down menu. Click on 'Attractions'.I'm still a bit concerned that people seem to think this is an Aulton Towers/Thorpe Park type attraction - it isn't, it's about the moving image and various super-duper cinema effects plus a few bits and pieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamedup Posted January 20, 2005 Share Posted January 20, 2005 My youngest son thought it was nul when he went there at 15 years old. We had discussed the place before he went and sort of assumed that it would be along the lines of Disney's Epcot Center, which we had all thoroughly enjoyed. Anyone done both Epcot and Futuroscope and can tell me how they found they compared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loiseau Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 Gosh TU, I have never been to the Epcot Center but, from what I hear, I imagine that Futuroscope is nowhere in the same league! So I 'm not surprised your son was disappointed...I went to Futuroscope about 6 years ago, just before the Easter hols (no evening laser show at that time of year). We took a two-day ticket, which turned out not to be a bad idea as it made us less frantic about the queues. We were finished by about half-way through the second day.As Dick says, it's just a collection of flashy cinemas really, and as we had already seen Imax, 3-D and 360-degree cinema in the States we were not quite as captivated by it as we might have been. The only things we hadn't seen were the "cinéma dynamique" (where the seats move), and the giant screen, nine-storeys high. Think twice about taking *small* children; these dynamic cinemas have a minimum height restriction, so you could have a furious child on your hands if it doesn't measure up to the requirement.A good piece of advice we were given was to leave the most popular things till after 5pm, when the coach parties are whisked off home and there are fewer people around.It's quite a compact site - not too exhausting to walk around. Apart from the cinemas, there are a few low-key entertainments (House of Music; Maze of Water Jets; steering small model boats around a tank - for an extra fee), but NO fairground rides (whatever the brochure might make it look like!). New since we went is some sort of computer-games alley; I imagine it's where you can have a go at all sorts of state-of-the-art computer games, but don't quote me.Snack food on sale was pretty awful; I'd say better to pack your own picnics/drinks.You are given headsets with the appropriate language, but I seem to recall that we had to leave our passports as security - so better not forget to take them with you.There are the usual modern hotels around the perimeter of the site. However, we stayed in a B&B gleaned from that useful booklet "Bienvenue au Chateau" (free from the French Tourist Office in Piccadilly) that was about 10 mins down the road. Can't remember the name, but the very nice rooms were in converted outbuildings; we had the bread oven in our room... There was a tourist office just inside the main gate, and they would book accommodation for you on arrival at the park.Angelahttp://www.the-vendee.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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