My first time in the Vienne was, of course, to discover Futuroscope, many years ago now with my cousins… My second time was to return to Futuroscope, but this time I made a little stop in the beautiful city of Poitiers.
For my 3rd time in this beautiful department, it was again to head to the Futuroscope that I made the trip, but also to take a little tour of the surroundings of Poitiers with, as usual, a small selection of things to do, see, eat, experience, some good addresses, and my favorites. The first part of this article will be dedicated to Futuroscope and the second part (coming very soon) will focus on the rest of my discoveries in the northern part of the Vienne department.
A quick geographical reminder (it can always be useful…), the Vienne department is located in the Poitou-Charentes region (for now of course, as all of this is changing), in the center-west of France.
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Table of Contents
The Futuroscope Park
So this was my 3rd visit to the Futuroscope park. The first time, I went with my uncle, my brother, and my cousins in the late 90s, and I went back a second time about 6 years ago.
Needless to say, I had plenty of new attractions to discover, and I was thrilled to be back, especially accompanied by my cinema editor Julie, a true 3D pro who gave me a sort of guided tour of the technique as applied in the park.
Given the many attractions I was able to test this time and the subjects approached, it is clear that the park is currently focused on raising awareness among its visitors about species preservation and respect for the environment, a theme that I find more than commendable.
The attractions
- The Mysteries of the Cube, a new 2015 attraction featuring a live show that mixes two acrobats, a dancer, and a 3D mapping system.
- The Time Machine, the Raving Rabbids attraction that inevitably makes you smile as it revisits great moments in history with the rabbits’ signature humor.
- Arthur the 4D Adventure, an adventure imagined by Luc Besson, on dynamic motion simulators.
- Vienne Dynamic, the park’s historic attraction that offers a tourist rally through the department on dynamic seats. Still just as bumpy!
- Cosmic Collisions: I could spend hours listening to Lorant Deutsch talk about cosmic collisions in this planetarium. Simply fascinating!
- Wild Destiny: A lovely report on animal welfare.
- The Little Prince: A quite successful example of 3D on a vibrating platform.
- Under the World’s Seas: An example of 3D under an IMAX dome that was much less successful. Definitely do not do this at the beginning of the day, as it might ruin it for you. We couldn’t handle the glasses throughout the whole film (which was fascinating nonetheless). Beware of headaches!
- Dances with Robots: Simply my favorite attraction in the park, so fun and exhilarating, you are shaken in every direction by the arm of a 7-meter-high robot. If you’re not afraid of being “shaken” in all directions, try level 3, it’s the best (thanks to my accomplice Julie for pushing me to do it)!
- Dynamic: Rather violent dynamic seats (the story of which completely escaped us in the end), especially if you are on the outside… Julie still remembers it, and I’m still laughing about it…
- 8th Continent the Game: To shoot everywhere and destroy waste…
- The Gyrotour: An exceptional viewpoint to admire the park. Just be aware that if you have a fear of heights, this might be one to avoid…
- Hubble Mission: Fascinating report on the Hubble telescope rescue mission.
- The Lady O night magic show (every evening, included in the ticket price), a show of pyrotechnic and aquatic effects on water screens. A small note: this show is primarily aimed at children and can make adults smile a little (a lot) due to its naive nature.
The great tip: Wi-Fi is free in the park (no, I’m not an ultra-connected geek, I don’t see why you would think that…).
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Futuroscope Restaurants
There are many restaurants in the park to grab a bite, with a fairly wide price range, depending on how much you want to spend. Here are the two I tested.
Saveurs du Soleil Restaurant
This restaurant offers plancha meat or fish specialties, as well as many varied dishes, and the service is very friendly.
Saveurs du Soleil Restaurant Set menu from 17.90 € / child menu at 8.90 € open from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM and from 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM
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The Studio Grill
The ideal place to have breakfast after getting off the train, before all the attractions open.
Studio Grill open from 10:00 AM to 10:30 PM
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Futuroscope Hotels
If you decide to stay for 2 days at the Futuroscope site (1 day is not enough to do all the attractions), there are many hotels near the park to stay in.
For my part, I stayed at Hôtel Alteora and there is even a free bus that goes around all the hotels to save you from walking (though it only runs every 15-20 minutes or so).
The hotel was nothing exceptional, but it was very decent and had a pool! A privilege I unfortunately didn’t have time to enjoy… But the breakfast was plentiful!
Inter Hôtel Alteora Futuroscope Site Avenue du Futuroscope 86960 Futuroscope Chasseneuil
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Futuroscope Premium Pass
During our short stay, we tested the benefits of the Premium Pass. This is valid for one day and for one person.
It allows:
- 1 priority pass for one person on certain attractions (The Time Machine; Dynamic!; Vienne Dynamic; Dances with Robots; Arthur, the 4D Adventure). Be careful, though, this only entitles you to 1 priority per attraction! If you want to do the attraction a second time, you will have to wait in line.
- Guaranteed access to the iMagic and The Mysteries of the Kube shows up to 15 minutes before the start of the chosen session and to the VIP Square in the bleachers for the “Lady Ô” night show up to 10 minutes before the show starts.
- 10% discount on all your purchases in the park + 1 free token to collect at Cyber Avenue.
The really fun thing (in addition to not waiting in line, of course) is that you really go behind the scenes of each attraction to “shorten” the wait. So you take the elevator reserved for employees, you see the other side of the decor, it’s a quite unusual experience and it adds a little VIP side to things.
Price: 15 € per Pass
The great tip: if you are the only one who wants to do an attraction, sometimes there is a solo queue parallel to the “premium pass” line that allows you to avoid the queue if you go alone… It’s always good to know…
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How to get to the Futuroscope?
The best way to get to the park is to take the train, because I remind you that there is a TGV stop directly in the park: Futuroscope TGV Station. From Paris, it will take you less than 2 hours without a transfer, and the best option is to take the 7:41 AM train, as you will arrive at the park just before opening.
Futuroscope Park Park open from February 7, 2015, to January 3, 2016
Find all my articles on Theme Parks below:
⇒ All my Theme Park reviews
MY THEME PARK REVIEWS
⇒ Disneyland
⇒ Parc Astérix
⇒ Futuroscope
Photo credits: Mademoiselle Bon Plan Photos are not royalty-free, photographer authorization is required before any use
