(Or: The Phantom of the Opera is here, inside my eyes)
Well, it’s time for another short post I absolutely did not plan to write, but I just couldn’t resist talking a little about my experience with YULLBE Go at Europa Park! I apologise in advance for the lack of photos here, as my phone was locked away as soon as we entered!
When visiting Europa Park, there are two ways to experience YULLBE Go. As we were staying in Hotel Kronasar, we opted for the YULLBE centre right next to the hotel (we were able to walk from the entrance in a few minutes). You can also experience YULLBE Go in the park inside the Blue Fire area, but honestly there were some people doing it whilst we were getting in line for the coaster, and they looked so silly I’d opt to do it outside the park if possible! But maybe you’re less self-conscious than me! Alternatively, you can choose to experience YULLBE Pro, a far more advanced version of the technology available only at the centre adjacent to Hotel Kronasar.
Walking into the YULLBE location outside of the park, we were greeted with an empty, futuristic style lobby (lots of greys, jewel tone lights, and glass cases stuffed with merchandise). Check in was a little bit of a struggle as no staff spoke any English (which is fine, that’s on us for not speaking sufficient German of course) but we got there in the end, and as the Go option is a single-player game, we were each allowed to choose our own adventure. There were a variety of options from adventures around the park to various IPs such as Valerian and the reason I was there, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera. In case you don’t know me too well, I’m a theatre girl. I adore musical theatre and endeavour to consume as much of the stuff I possibly can. And, like a large number of theatre people, my hooks were Phantom and Les Mis. As such, this mysterious Phantom experience was an absolute must-do. So, all checked in, we sat on the bench and waited for our individual numbers to be called. (Note: make sure to bring a €1 coin, as all loose items must be stored in a locker. It’s refundable!) As we waited, our equipment was placed in a sterilising box ready for use. Eventually, our numbers were called, and it was time to suit up.
The gear consists of two hand-held controllers and a headset. I was firmly instructed to only use one large button on each controller – I guess the others are for the longer YULLBE Pro experience – which was fine. It was the headset that was more of an issue. I just could not get it right. I twisted and twisted but couldn’t find that focus. In the end, I settled for just the very middle of the headset being focused and worked with it. Maybe with some help from the instructor, we could’ve got there, but again, the language barrier kind of got in the way of that. Never mind, it was time for the game to begin!
Warning, spoilers ahead for The Phantom of the Opera YULLBE Go!
Into the world of The Phantom of the Opera I went. Beginning, where else, in the Phantom’s box at the Paris Opera House. The only thing in the box with me was a seat, so I awkwardly felt around to see if there really was a chair there (surprise: there was not). After that, I wasn’t really sure what to do, until suddenly the iconic chandelier appeared, having been jumped on by a seemingly flying Phantom. The musical’s score started up, and the chandelier smashed into Christine… okay I don’t remember that part of the show! Again, I was slightly at a loss of what to do next, before the entire box began moving down an elevator shaft, settling at the bottom of the opera house in front of three doors. Each one would need to be opened in turn, with the experience in each room completed in order to move on.
Behind the first door, I found what was undoubtedly the weirdest scene in the experience: here I stepped into the insides of a giant piano, enormous hammers hovering above me, and in the middle of it all, Christine. Just standing still. She continued to remain frozen as the hammers of the piano began to fall, attempting to crush me. I dodged around them, hopping forwards and backwards, until eventually a mirror portal appeared, and I stepped inside to return to the three-door room.
The next door revealed a long corridor filled with doors. Here, you walked along, moving from room to room as the Phantom chased you down. I was jump-scared quite a few times here by the Phantom appearing in a direction I wasn’t looking, then being right in my face when I turned around! It was essentially a Phantom of the Opera scare maze and was utterly ridiculous.
Finally, in the most video-game-esque part of the ‘game’, the last room required players to ‘pick up’ a candelabra and burn enormous thorned vines that blocked the corridor. I’m not really sure of the Phantom connection here, bar the candelabra, I honestly felt more like Prince Philip battling the thorns from Sleeping Beauty, but hey, it was interactive at least.
On completion of all three rooms, the Phantom’s gondola appeared. At this point, I actually let out a little cheer as though the experience had been Phantom themed so far, I never truly felt like I was actually engaging with the story. However, here, finally, there was some direct link to the story I knew so well. So on to the gondola, I stepped, tapping the oar once to start my journey toward the Phantom’s lair. As we sailed in, it was impossible to miss Christine dangling from the ceiling in a cage. I definitely forgot that part of the show! But yes, that was definitely her. In fact, she called down to me, instructing me to play the Phantom of the Opera theme on the organ – it was, apparently, the only way to beat the Phantom! So I obliged. Read: I pressed the keys that lit up. Christine was freed from her cage and proceeded to have a boss battle with the Phantom, and this is right about when I lost it completely.
For Phantom of the Opera fans, or Phans, all the dialogue for the rest of the experience would be very familiar. That’s because every line from there on out was a lyric from a song in the show. Delivered not by the very best of the West End, but with a flat emotionless delivery and entirely out of context. At one point, Phantom tells Christine to ‘Buy his freedom with your love!’ (a lyric from ‘Finale’) despite the fact that Raoul (whom the lyric is referencing) never appears in the experience in any form. It’s all very silly. The whole thing ends with the appearance of a mirror and Christine begging you to turn it toward the Phantom, who promptly flies (he can fly in this experience, by the way) over. You see, as well as flying, the Phantom is also some sort of light-sensitive vampire who promptly explodes when you shine the light of the mirror on him. With that, you transport to the stage of the opera house, watch Christine sing the end of All I Ask of You, and your work here is done. The operator removes your headset, and it’s time to leave.
The whole experience is quoted at 10 minutes, but it was more like 15 for us, perhaps due to having multiple people in the space at the same time. The system prevents you from walking into each other by having a red human shape appear in the scene, surrounded by a bubble, to prevent you from walking in that space. Though this worked very well, it did mean that I spent quite some time on multiple occasions waiting for my partner to move as whatever he was up to just happened to be in the portal I needed. The walls around the room also appear red in this way, however on one occasion the red only appeared at the very last minute and I did indeed walk straight into the wall, and it wasn’t soft!
So, was this worth €9.90? Absolutely. This was the dumbest, funniest thing I’ve done at a theme park in quite some time. As a Phantom of the Opera fan, it delighted (at times I was dancing along to one of my favourite scores) as well as utterly bewildering me. A pretty good mix if you love a weird experience! The gameplay element was actually quite enjoyable, and I did get pretty into exploring the space, even if the graphics were very Playstation 2 at best. So, maybe if I’d chosen a slightly less niche game, it wouldn’t be so silly and might just be cool? Maybe. Either way, I really think it’s worth a play, and I’d love to try the – far more expensive – pro version! If only they had a Phantom of the Opera option on that, eh?
Speak again soon,
Claire
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coasterclaire.co.uk 