Issue No. 14

There are 22 main attractions in total and
lots and lots else to explore. You really do
need two days or a pair of long distance
walking shoes and a sense of endurance.
In one day we managed about 13 of the
main attractions as well as the night show
but we barely stopped for a breather.
The timing of the night show varies
according to light conditions. Put on by the
Cirque du Soleil, on our visit this involved a
2CV driving on water, a sound, light and
para-technique display, a giant hologram, a
moon and a massive firework display. I
didn’t quite follow all the details of the
story which seemed to be broadly along
the lines of giant hologram boy meets girl,
puts girl on the moon and then runs into
trouble, and we’d surrendered our headsets
by then. But hey, I don’t think the detail was
that important.
For tamer rides you can travel through time
with the Raving Rabbids whilst sitting on a
toilet, experience the Ice Age, dive to the
bottom of the ocean with Jacques
Cousteau and discover a tiny microscopic
world and the inside of a spider’s web.
There are also live shows including the
iMagic show which we missed because of
timings, and the Mysteries of the Cube
which involved some risky gymnastics.
“Not quite what I was expecting” as my
daughter said, more or less summing up
the whole day.
In my admittedly very limited experience,
French theme parks are in a league of their
own (just think of Puy dy Fou for a start)
and Futuroscope is no exception. It wasn’t
what I was expecting and I generally dread
the idea of long queues and lots of people
but the park is spacious and even includes
giant bean bags for you to take a break on.
I saw elderly couples on their own enjoying
the rides and all the staff are really helpful
and nice. The park is also easy to navigate
(if big and a good day’s walk).