I have been to this amusement park several times when I was a child/teenager. I always thought it…read morewas great fun, especially the bob slide and the Marienkäferbahn, a very light version of a roller coaster. My favorite is still, undoubtedly, the Wildwasserbahn/wild water slide/log flume. But beware: You will get quite wet. When I went there as an adult, the general feeling was: Boring. It wasn't very crowded, as we went during the week, but most of the rides seem to be aimed more at children and families. The wild water slide was still fun and I also enjoyed the Devil's Mine quite a lot. Prices range from 19,90 Euros for kids (Under 3 year-old are free) to 23 Euros for adults (24 in July and August). There are special offers for groups and yearly tickets for those planning to visit more often!

The Pützchens Markt is a huge fair that runs for just 5 days beginning on the Friday before the 2nd…read moreweekend in September. It brings together hundreds of stalls where you can play carnival games, enjoy varieties of food (German classics such as Bratwurst and Currywurst, crépes, noodles, waffles and the usual delicious sweets). You'll even find a Bavarian beer hall to help you prep for Oktoberfest. There's a tonne of fun to be had with the many rides as well, ranging from several "house of horrors" to dodgem cars to spinning rides, shooting rides, roller coasters and the carnival classic strap-people-in-then-throw-them-around-and-spin-up-in-the-air craziness. All-in-all a great time for everyone! Weekends are typically crowded, as is the final evening with the fireworks show at 10pm. If you come for the final day (Tuesday), you'll enjoy some great bargains at the dutch-style plant auctions (pick up a bunch of house plants for your entire apartment for just a handful of Euro!). Entrance is free - just pay per ride (typically €2 - €7,50).

I recall giving a place a six (except Yelp does not offer a six star rating). This is a six…read more Pictures and videos do not do justice. Imagine you are training for tough mudder, or you just want to relive your childhood, or you are tired of mechanical rides, or you want to get some exercise in, this place has exactly what you are looking for: a wild magical land filled with constructions that require your physical strength and daredevil mentality to get through all the obstacle courses. The reward is great. The thrills are aplenty, and you know what, all those reading about European style playground, especially in Sweden, and Germany, is all true. The structures are one of the kind. Each game area is unseen before in America, and there is no "rides" per se, every single complicated, whimsical structure requires fearless attitude, intense physical strength and all the good things you learned from climbing trees as a kid. It's not just for kids, mind you, it's for aduits too. The entire place is situated in the woods, and no two structures are alike and they are all crazy looking. I climbed a few things, and went down the water slides a few times as well. I was really enjoying the trampoline but that zip line thing was too hard. The entire time I was thinking, why could't America build something like this? It's like from another universe. A world that imagination comes alive and we learn to be a kid who enjoyed physical activities and did things like an little adventurer would. In that regard, it makes the modern amusement park that cost over $100 a day, with a line out of the door, and kids did very little but waiting in line seemed so insufferable. A couple of logistical things to note: bring cash if you are not Germans. They did not even take my French mastercard debit card. You should drive here. It's about 1.5 hours away from Dusseldorf. It has a lot of shades so sunscreen is not absolutely necessary, so don't panic if you forget them. It closes at 6, but you can stay in the park until 7 in the summer. They are Germans so when it's 6:59 you'd better be out of the door. And finally, no fast passes any kind issued. Ketteler Hof is an amusement park of a completely different type of concept: no powerful high-tech attractions, no roller coasters and free fall towers, Ketteler Hof is jungle gym inside of a nature park called Hohe Mark. It is filled with one of kind German structures, it requires us to tap into the inner adventure selves and go forward without hesitation. We were all kids inside and we can be kids again, even kids!

This is where Siegfried and Roy's white tigers wound up. It is well, well worth the time and price…read moreof admission. Driving there, don't be alarmed when your navigation system takes you out into the countryside on an obscure road (Mittweg); that's what you need to do to get there. Also, be aware that there are alternate names for this place: Safaripark, Safari Park, Safari Zoo, Zoo Safariland, etc. Also, the town name Stukenbrock is sometimes spelled (as you'd expect in German) with a "c," Stuckenbrock.

Wir waren am Samstag mit unseren drei Kindern im Safaripark Stuckenbrock. Es war zwar noch ein…read morewenig kühl für Ende März, ansonsten war der Tag aber rundum gelungen. Ich hatte vorher die verschiedenen Bewertungen gelesen und meine Erwartungen daher schon deutlich nach unten angepasst. Dafür wurden wir alles andere als enttäuscht. Durch einen Rabatt konnten wir den Park für einen mehr als fairen Preis besuchen. Die Fahrgeschäfte mögen zum größeren Teil etwas älter sein, das tut der Sache aber keinen Abbruch. In der Marienkäferbahn, der Achterbahn und der Wildwasserbahn kann man auch so seinen Spaß haben. Für die Kinder ist das allemal toll. Die interessiert auch nicht ein eventuell fehlender Anstrich. Das Personal war auch nett, die Sanitäranlagen sauber und für einen Kaffee und eine Portion Pommes zahlt man auch nicht mehr als anderswo. Dennoch sollten die Betreiber im Hinblick auf einen Erhalt des Safariparks über eine mittel- bis langfristige Steigerung der Attraktivität einmal nachdenken. Freundliches Personal und saubere Sanitäranlagen sind sowieso schon mal das Minimum. Mit den zusätzlichen Angeboten im Jahr 2018 scheint man schon ein bisschen in diese Richtung zu gehen. Vielleicht ist ja auch eine Investition im Bereich der Fahrgeschäfte möglich. Auch bei den Shows ist noch ein wenig Luft nach oben. Für die Kinder war allerdings die Western-Show eines der Highlights des Tages. Die Messerwerfernummer würde ich weglassen. Wäre vermutlich auch im Interesse der jungen Damen, die an dem Teil der Show teilnehmen... Was zusätzlich noch verbessert werden könnte, ist die Sache mit dem Zug durch die Affenanlage, weil die Besucher eben doch nicht nur Tierfutter verfüttern. Ermahnende Worte reichen da alleine nicht, da müsste sich der Safaripark was anderes einfallen lassen, wie man das Problem löst. Fazit: Wenn man nicht den vollen Eintrittspreis bezahlen muss, dann lohnt sich der Park mit Kindern auf jeden Fall und ist eine gute Alternative zu anderen Freizeitparks.