Plopsaland
Plopsaland is a theme park located in Adinkerke, near the town of De Panne on the Belgian coast. The park opened on 20 April 2000. Before that date (from 1936 to 1999) the park, created by a honey company, was called Meli Park and had a bee theme.
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| Location | Adinkerke, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°04′47″N 2°35′49″E |
| Owner | Plopsa/Studio 100 |
| Opened | April 20, 2000 |
| Previous names | Meli Park |
| Operating season | April to January |
| Visitors per annum | 1.3 million in 2017[1] |
| Attractions | |
| Total | 36 |
| Roller coasters | 6 |
| Water rides | 2 |
| Website | www.plopsa.be |
History
Since the foundation of the park in 2000, the figures of the popular Flemish and Dutch figures of Studio 100 can be found. All the attractions have a theme from one of the soaps or musicbands of the group. Attractions include Kabouter Plop, Samson en Gert, Big & Betsy, Piet Piraat, Wizzy & Woppy, Het Huis Anubis.
In 2006 3 new attractions were opened: the SuperSplash (in a whole new Pirate zone), the Spring Flyer (Spring is a popular soap opera on Flemish television and is Dutch for "jump") and a K3 museum. In 2007, Plopsaland opened a renewed Kabouter Plop-area, with 2 new attractions. In 2008, Mega Mindy got her own zone in the park, with the Jetski's and the Flying Bikes. In 2009 a new roller coaster manufactured by Gerstlauer opened called Anubis:The Ride. In 2011, Mayaland opened, along with a Vicky the Viking-themed zone. A new theater was opened in 2013. In 2015 Plopsaqua opened. This would also be the opening year of Heidi: The Ride a brand new wooden roller coaster manufactured by Great Coasters International but the opening was postponed until the following year.[2] In 2019 the park re themed their log flume to Dino Splash. In 2019 the park revealed plans for a brand new roller coaster for the 2021 season called The Ride to Happiness by Tomorrowland. The ride is manufactured by Mack Rides and is one of their Xtreme Spinning Coaster model. It will be the second of its kind in the world following Time Traveler at Silver Dollar City in Missouri. The opening of the hotel adjacent to the property is espected in 2021.
Park structure
The park is divided into several areas:
- Entrance area (Inkomzone)
- Gnome Plop garden (Plop-tuin)
- Castle area (Kasteelzone)
- Pirate area (Piratenzone)
- Anubis area (Anubiszone)
- Wizzy and Woppy area (Wizzy en Woppy-zone)
- ROX area (ROX-zone)
- The farm of Big & Betsy (Big en Betsy-hoeve)
- Carnival Square (Kermisplein)
- Amika area (Amika zone)
- Kaatje's World (De wereld van Kaatje)
- Mayaland (Maayaland)
- Vickyland (Wickieland)
- Mega Mindy area (Mega Mindy-zone)
- Prinsessia area (Prinsessia-zone) (coming 2015)
- Heidi area (opened 1st April 2017)
The park has a total of 5 operating roller coasters, four of which have no inversions. A roller coaster named Anubis: the Ride was added to the park in 2009. Manufactured by Gerstlauer, it has 3 inversions and a launch system which allows it to accelerate from 0 to 90 km/h in less than 2 seconds. There are five defunct roller coasters that have operated at the park, namely Crazy Coaster, Jubilé, Jumbo 5, Racing and Vleermuis. The newest Coaster is a Great Coasters International wooden Coaster called "Heidi the Ride". As the name implies, it is based on the studio's character Heidi.[3]
Other facilities
There is also a theatre named Plopsa Theatre (Proximus Theater) that is used for parkshows and shows from external companies. On March 22, 2015 the park opens Plopsaqua, a water park containing three slides, indoor and outdoor pools and a sauna.
The Plopsa Hotel opens in 2021.
See also
References
- Antoine Dié (May 15, 2018). "Plopsaland entre dans l'ère des grands parcs européens". La Voix du Nord. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
- "Heidi: The Ride opening postponed".
- Marden, Duane. "Heidi: The Ride (Plopsaland)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved May 17, 2015.