Europe in the Air is a motion simulator ride

Simulator ride

Simulator rides are a type of amusement park ride, where the audience is shown a movie while their seats move to correspond to the action on screen.-History:...

 located at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, a theme park in Williamsburg, Virginia

Williamsburg, Virginia

Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...

. The attraction is similar in both ride and production to that of Disney's Soarin' Over California

Soarin' Over California

Soarin' Over California is a simulator attraction at Disney California Adventure . It debuted with the park on February 8, 2001...

and Star Tours

Star Tours

Star Tours is a motion simulator attraction currently operating at Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris. The ride is based on the successful Star Wars film series created by George Lucas, making it the first Disney attraction based on a non-Disney produced film.The first...

. Because of the theming of the park, Europe in the Air simulates flight over Europe's most notable icons. The park states the picture is "eight times clearer then HD." Other features, such as fans, are used for a more realistic journey. Europe in the Air replaced the Corkscrew Hill ride for the 2010 season. Europe in the Air is sponsored by Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus Group Plc is the flag carrier of Ireland. It operates a fleet of Airbus aircraft serving Europe and North America. It is Ireland's oldest extant airline, and its second largest after low-cost rival Ryanair...

.

Announcement

In 2009, it was announced that the Corkscrew Hill ride would retire to make way for Europe in the Air.

Queue

The queue line begins in a castle-like structure (in which a "hand" used to hold Corkscrew Hill's logo) with the ride's name on a bill board, saying "Europe in the Air: A High-Flying Adventure." The line wraps around ponds, through dark primitave tunnels and (oddly) enter a high-tech room showing maps of the countries and landmarks you are about to "fly" over. Next, guests enter a room with a pre-show, showing an "advertisement" and summary of Europe in the Air, a fictional airline. After that, another preshow in the next room requires riders to stand in front of the row of your choice. This time the pre-show is more about safety than humor. After this, guests enter the ride.

Pre-shows

• The first of the two pre-shows show a flight attendant telling about the features of the flight, like Big Ben or the Eiffel Tower
  Eiffel Tower
  The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
  
  , and featuring Coronado Romero.

• The second pre-show is aimed at telling guests how to fasten their seatbelts, to remain seated, and if you should or shouldn't ride.

Ride

The ride vehicle is a large box-like seating area, occupied by rows of seats. In front is the screen, as well as some fans. When the ride begins, the fans start, and the boarding platforms are raised and taken away. After "taking off" from Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, the ride "flies" upward, using clouds as the screen wipe. As said before, the ride "flies" over Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

's landmarks to laid-back music and eventually "lands" in Ireland again. The loading and unloading platform drop back down, and guests exit through a hallway, showing pictures of the previously seen sights. This hallway is also the Quick Queue entrance.