There was a British TV series called “Coach Trip” where a busful of passengers traveled around Europe and each day they could vote off one couple that didn’t fit in with the rest of the crowd. We had our own version of that show when our neighbor brought us the paperwork for a 4-day bus trip—one day to get there and one day back plus two days at the French theme park, Puy du Fou. They skip the rollercoasters and other rides in favor of massive, historical, live-action movie set productions ranging from Roman coliseums to 17th-century villages. We set off for our long weekend adventure early on a Friday with the promise of a pause café and lunch before we got to our hotel just before dinner.

Since we were overnighting about an hour south of Puy du Fou, we became well acquainted with the rising sun. After breakfast, everyone boarded the coach for an arrival prior to the 9:00 AM opening of the park gates. Not unlike at other amusement parks in the US, when the magic hour struck, there was a surge as people headed to their first chosen spectacle (show) of the morning. The park holds about 30,000 people and it felt as if they all arrived and left at the same time. During the day there were at least a dozen different shows and on both nights of our weekend, there was a grand, “all-singing-all-dancing” production performed by thousands of volunteer actors. 

There are three styles of presentations, most about half-an-hour long, designed to showcase the history of France, from the Roman empire through WWI, in an entertaining but informative manner. The ones labeled “immersive” are walk-through displays that come alive as you proceed through the hall. There was a world exploration ship from 1785, the story of King Clovis from the 5th century, and a visit to a Renaissance château. For sit-down fun in front of a stage, you could watch a Roman chariot race, an attack by the Vikings, the Mousquetaires (Musketeers) and 300 birds of prey in an aerial dance, plus many others.

Each of the two evenings of the weekend, was what their website calls the “grandiose night shows”. In Les Noces de Feu (Weddings of Fire), one of the park’s lakes serves as the marriage scene with violins and pianos for accompaniment. There are stunts–aquatic and in the air, sumptuous costumes, and props rising out of the lake. The even grander, La Cinéscénie, is a sound and light spectacular, that is, as the website says, “where 2,500 actors and dancers retrace 7 centuries of history in a romance mixing real facts and French legends”. We watched with the other 13,000 park visitors as drones, projectors, and pyrotechnics filled the 23-hectare (57-acre) outdoor stage with action and special effects. Comfort note: we brought inflatable seat cushions with us to use at other shows and especially during this 90-minute presentation in a stadium. Many brought backpacks with jackets, rain gear, water, and snacks.

When we told blog readers Linda and John that we were going to Puy du Fou, they raved about their experience there with genuine enthusiasm. Now that we’ve spent the weekend at what I think of as a “theater” park, we can understand why. And even better, everyone on our version of  Coach Trip got along well so no one ended up being voted off the bus!

If you go: Individual entrance tickets start at 47€ with an extra charge for both La Cinéscénie nighttime extravaganza show (including seat reservations) and skip-the-line privileges also with seat reservations. Meals can be reserved and paid for when you are buying your entrance tickets online. Small storage lockers (for a sweater, raincoat, etc.) begin at 7€. On Saturday we entered the park at 9 AM and left at midnight with a high temperature, under full sun, of 35°C/95°F. The air conditioning of indoor theaters that held thousands of spectators, struggled.

Photo note: As with most live theater, the park asks that you not take photos during the performances to protect copyrighted material and to avoid disturbing your neighbors. Bill took today’s photos prior to the beginning of any shows. The featured photo across the top of today’s post is just part of that outdoor 23-hectare evening stage.