Objectif Mars & Tornado Chasers: Two Standout Attractions

Over the last five years, Futuroscope’s expansion has brought a number of significant new rides to the park, including Objectif Mars. This Intamin-manufactured, family-friendly spinning coaster offers a space journey, taking you through a realistic training center. The queue line, while lengthy, features engaging interactive elements like photo opportunities, props, and videos to keep you occupied.

Opened in 2020, Objectif Mars stands out from your average spinning coaster due to its wealth of unique effects. It features a dark ride section, two thrilling launches, fire effects, a drop track, and, of course, the signature spinning cars. It was great to get several rides in and see the spinning feature fully operational again, as this element had been turned off for the last few years. It’s a worthwhile ride for families and anyone looking for a coaster with a bit of a quirky twist.

Another major highlight is Tornado Chasers (Chasseurs de Tornades), which opened in 2022 and has since won multiple awards, including a prestigious Thea Award. The ride’s story follows a team of storm chasers on a mission to get into the eye of a storm to test a new machine. The experience begins with a fairly lengthy pre-show that masterfully blends live scenes with a video recording, blurring the lines between reality and technology.

The ride itself is a sight to behold, accommodating up to 120 riders on a spinning disk at the center of the room. Surrounding you is a spectacular 360-degree screen that immerses you in the heart of the storm. As the story progresses, the platform spins, tilts, rises, and falls in a truly incredible visual experience. If that weren’t enough, the screens can open up to reveal live scenes, again making you question what is real or not. We have never been on a ride before where we were genuinely guessing what was real due to the high quality of the video and the flawless timing of the live scenes. This is an outstanding ride and easily one of our favorite attractions we have ever done!

A World of Spectacular Shows

Beyond the thrilling, world-class attractions, Futuroscope also offers a variety of spectacular shows, which may vary depending on the season. During our visit in the peak of summer, we were lucky enough to experience two of them. The first was a mesmerising robotic show that featured a robotic arm. Utilizing a stage with projection mapping, screens, and lasers, the performance was a truly captivating blend of technology and artistry.

To cap off the day, you can watch The Key to Dreams at the outdoor lake arena. Before the main event, the park hosted plenty of warm-up activities involving crowd participation. Although we had no idea what was going on, with kids dancing on chairs and adults moving wildly, it was clear that everyone was having a fantastic time and was full of energy.

The show itself featured some elements we had not seen on this scale before. The 3D aquatic effects were simply incredible, looking especially cool in the darkness of the evening. The show masterfully combined fire, lasers, and water fountains, all synchronized with music to tell the story of a sandman. We absolutely loved this 20-minute finale to our day, and it stood out as one of our favorite shows thanks to the stunning and impressive laser effects.