Center Parcs EU

[PickledMuffin]

Hi, we’re off the Center Parcs in The Netherlands soon. Do you need to pre-book any of the extra activities, for example indoor skiing or paint balling etc? and if so, how far in advance?

I usually look how often they are run to decide if I need to prebook. My experience is you don't need to for both activities or eating out. The only one I encountered selling out was making soap in Paris Village Nature. The girls went to the perfrume making and said they'd want to do the soap too. But it was sold out so we couldn't join. They run only once a week however.

Yes, it’s worth booking the popular ones before you go. The European parks put their activity sessions up about six weeks before arrival, and you can book online as soon as they’re out. Popular ones can fill up.

If something you want is already full, places do come back when people cancel. We used ParcWatch, which emails you when a place opens on a full activity and it does cover the Dutch parks as well as the rest of the European ones!

I was told they were very relaxed and don't really need to book in advance but the pony rides were sold out at Villages Nature Paris (cue lengthy moans from my DD about how her lifelong dream had been to ride a pony) so I would book anything you are sure you want to do in advance to be sure.