France for Families’ view on the rides

The best rides are those simulator rides which directly involve you in the story such as Arthur 4D, Dances with Robots and Dynamic Vienne. Here are our favourites in order of preference.

Updated: 01/05/2015 – New attractions available for the 2015 season. For more information on these and much more at Futuroscope and all their rides, visit the Futuroscope website.

Arthur, the 4D Adventure – Realized by Luc Besson (director of The Fifth Element, Leon, and The Big Blue), Arthur the 4D adventure takes young visitors into the make-believe world of the Minimoys. It is a unique experience that has been hailed by the Industry as one of the Top TEN attractions anywhere in the world in 2010 at the IAPPA EXPO in Florida. The 4D experience is created through a 3D movie with seats that physically move, completely involving you in the experience as guides lead you through a fantasy world, both above and below ground. It’s a shame it doesn’t last longer….although there’s nothing to stop you doing the ride multiple times!

Dynamic Vienne is a 3D show with some really entertaining effects. The pre-show works well to swallow the crowd (200 people can be accommodated per showing) and avoid the feeling that you’re queuing a long time, although it’s in French only and so you will need to explain to your kids that it’s not the main event! Save those translators till you get moved into the second auditorium. This is a really cute show with a nice storyline about a young man who’s late for his wedding. You’ll join him flying through the air over the Vienne and driving through some of the local streets at break neck speeds! It’s a surprisingly lively ride and we wouldn’t recommend it for the really young, or anyone with back complaints. Actually Futuroscope have height limits on some rides, but if you have very young children parents can ask the hosts to let you through one by one so that you don’t have to queue twice. This way both mum and dad can get a full day of pleasure (don’t forget to take the young ones to the area dedicated to them).

Dances with Robots – the only reason this show isn’t at the top of the list is because you don’t get the 3/4D treatment here. What you do get though is an incredible ride on the end of a huge robotic arm….dancing to a variety of different types of music. If you’re over 1.2m, under 1.95m, not pregnant and have no back or heart problems then give this a go. It’s absolutely great fun. You have a choice of levels from 1-3. Even level 3 is OK although it’s very lively. If you’re nervous then make it clear that you want a lower level. We recommend to visit this attraction first thing, during lunch, or around tea time to avoid long queues. It’s only a 2 minute ride…but that’s all you’ll need!

The 8th continent, your mission is to eradicate the waste and refuse that is polluting our oceans. Our oceans are being poisoned with plastic. More than 70% of marine pollution comes from man-made waste. The idea behind this new attraction comes from the discovery in 1997 by British sailor Charles Moore of a gigantic “soup” of plastic waste materials stuck together by marine micro-organisms, floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. This “Great Garbage Patch” is so deep (around 100 ft) and so vast (six times the size of the UK) that has been called the 8th continent. Aim your gun at the screen and destroy the garbage (you can see where you are aiming by looking for the identifier number on the screen which corresponds with the number on your gun’s base station). It was very noticeable that the mums and dads were completely outplayed by the youngsters. 10,000 is a respectable score…..in our case mum and dad scored 3000 & 5500 respectively!

Cosmic Collisions This is a pleasant and interesting show from the American Museum of Natural History, narrated by Robert Redford, which takes visitors on an informative journey through time and space to witness the cosmic smashes that shape the universe. The scientific images shown on the dome screen were taken by NASA satellites and modelled to simulate cosmic phenomena in 3D.

Children’s World – Enjoy the amazing new games in Children’s World. A fun area for younger children.

Visit the Futuroscope website