Plopsaland De Panne: Difference between revisions
Added a picture of the park logo. |
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Revision as of 14:36, 17 May 2021
| Previously known as Meli Park | |
 Plopsaland De Panne 20th anniversary logo | |
| Location | Adinkerke, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°04′47″N 2°35′49″E / 51.07972°N 2.59694°E |
| Opened | April 20, 2000 |
| Owner | Plopsa |
| Operating season | April to January |
| Attractions | |
| Total | 52 |
| Roller coasters | 7 |
| Water rides | 2 |
| Website | official website |
Plopsaland De Panne is a theme park located in Adinkerke, Belgium - near the town of De Panne - owned and operated by Plopsa. The park reopened on the 20th of April 2000, before that the park was know as Meli Park from 1935 until 1999.
History
Meli Park
In 1935 Alberic-Joseph Florizoone opened Meli Park a place where he could sell his own produced honey, but also teach the visitors about the process and the bee itself. Over the years - to keep up with competition - the park opened several attractions, turning it into a theme park.[1]
Plopsaland De Panne
The family Florizoone sold the park in 1999 to Studio 100 and VMMa. The park received a make-over during the following winterseason, to reopen as Plopsaland on the 20th of April 2000. During the renovation several characters from Studio 100 were used - such as Samson en Gert and Kabouter Plop - to theme new and old attractions.[2] The new park had some issues at the reopening with parking capacity and catering, these issues were fixed in the following years.[3]
Studio 100 / Plopsa bought out the shares of VVMa in 2005 and became sole owner of the park, with plans to turn it into a multi-day, all-weather resort. In that same year Plopsa opened Plopsa Indoor Hasselt and bought Telecoo, to avoid confusion with the other parks Plopsaland was renamed to Plopsaland De Panne.[4]
Besides expanding the site into a resort, Plopsa also kept expanding the theme park with Anubis the Ride (2009), Vic the Vicking-land (2013), Heidi the Ride (2017) and The Ride to Happiness by Tomorrowland (2021) in order to appeal to a wider demographic and become a destination not just for families with younger children.[5][6]
Attractions
The park consists of 52 attractions, including 7 rollercoasters.[7]
Rollercoasters
| Name | Type | Theme | Manufacturer | Opening | Specifications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K3 Roller Skater | Junior coaster | K3 | Vekoma | 1991 | Speed: 46 km/h
Length: 335m Height: 13m |
|
| De Draak | Powered coaster | Dragons | Mack Rides | 2004 | Speed: 36 km/h
Length: 450m Height: 14m |
|
| Anubis The Ride | Launched coaster | Anubis | Gerstlauer | 2009 | Speed: 90 km/h
Length: 600m Height: 34m |
|
| De Grote Golf | Disk'O | Vic the Vicking | Zamperla | 2013 | Speed: 70 km/h
Length: 92m Height: 15m |
|
| Viktor's Race | Tivoli Large | Kaatje | Zierer | 2014 | Speed: 34 km/h
Length: 360m Height: 8m |
|
| Heidi the Ride | Wooden coaster | Heidi | Great Coasters International | 2017 | Speed: 71 km/h
Length: 618m Height: 22m |
|
| The Ride To Happiness by Tomorrowland | Spinning Coaster | Tomorrowland | Mack Rides | 2021 | Speed: 90 km/h
Length: 920m Height: 35m |
|
Other attractions
- Het Bos van Plop, an indoor boat ride themed after Kabouter Plop, originally opened in 1979.
- DinoSplash, a log flume ride.
- De Dansende Fonteinen, dancing fountains.
- Plopsa Express, train ride across the park.
- F.C. De Kampioenen, a museum.
- Het Verkeerspark, pedal cars.
- De Doorloopweide, a petting zoo.
- Big & Betsy Hoeve, a petting zoo.
- De Tuin van Big, a playground.
- De Tractors, a tour.
- Amika, a horse ride.
- Bumba's Speeltuin, a playground.
- Scooter, bumper cars.
- Balloon Race, a merry-go-round.
- Safari
- WienerWalz, a swing ride.
- De Brandweer
- SuperSplash, a splash by Mack Rides.
- De Piratenspeeltuin, a playground.
- Waterfietsen, a pedalo.
- De Hangbrug, a slide.
- De Piratenboot, a pirate ship.
- Storm op Zee, a spinner.
- De Konijntjes
- De Kikkers, a merry-go-round.
- De Emmer, water playground.
- De Ploptuin, a playground.
- De Eenden, a merry-go-round.
- Mega Mindy Jetski, a water spinner.
- De Vliegende Fietsen, a spinner.
- De Dierenmolen, a merry-go-round.
- Kaatje zoekt Eendje, a boat ride.
- ROX-Flyer, a starflyer from Funtime.
- De Koffiekopjes, a teacup ride.
- Wickie the Battle, a splash battle from Mack Rides.
Mayaland Indoor
Mayaland indoor is an indoor theme park that during the winterseason can be visited separately when the rest of the park is closed.
- De Glijbaan, a slide.
- De Klimboom, a slide.
- Het Ballenbad, a ball pit.
- Willies Speeltuin, a playground.
- De Valtoren, a free fall tower.
- De Swingboom, a swing.
- Het Vlot, a raft.
- De Bloemenmolen, a merry-go-round.
- De Waterlelies, a spinner.
- Het Spinnenweb, a playground.
De Panne resort
The theme park is part of the larger Plopsa resort that consist of an indoor theme park (2011), the Proximus Theater (2013), a Plopsaqua waterpark (2015), a hotel (2021) and a camping (2021/2022). The resort also houses the headquarters of the Plopsa-group.
Visitor numbers
Below is an overview of the development of Plopsaland visitor numbers, as stated in the annual report.[8]
| Year | Visitors |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 1.221.108 
|
| 2012 | 1.176.639 
|
| 2013 | 1.222.169
|
| 2014 | 1.280.947
|
| 2015 | 1.276.302
|
| 2016 | 1.353.162
|
| 2017 | 1.398.172
|
| 2018 | 1.209.512
|
Future
in 2022 Plopsaland will open Circus Bumba, an indoor hall that will house a darkride, theater and several carnival type attractions.[9][10]
Trivia
- The name Plopsaland is an aggregation of the first two Studio 100 characters Plop and Samson. Another name that the new owners thought of was Pannadine after the town De Panne, this name was abandoned after the new owners discovered it was a medical creme.[11]
- From 2000 until 2012 the park - and the other parks of the group - had Koning Plopsa as icon. In recent years the character was taken out of the logo's, parkshows and as a walk-around character. At various places around the resort the icon can still be found.[12]
References
- ^ Steen, Gudrun (2016-07-15). "Meli-park herleeft weer (even)". Het Laatste Nieuws. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Meli-park wordt thuishaven van Samson en Plop". De Morgen. 1999-06-10. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Steen, Gudren (2020-07-24). "Gert Verhulst blikt terug op 20 jaar Plopsaland in 20 vragen: "Op eerste dag vergaten we tank van treintje te vullen, waardoor het na 50 meter stilviel... gênant!"". Het Laatste Nieuws. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Plop heerst alleen over zijn land". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). Retrieved 2021-04-16.
- ^ "The Ride to Happiness coming to Plopsa De Panne in 2021". Thrill Nation. 2021-01-15. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
- ^ "Als de kinderen gaan slapen, ontwaken de griezels in Plopsaland De Panne". Het Laatste Nieuws. 2019-10-11. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Attracties". Plopsaland De Panne (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-04-16.
- ^ "PLOPSA NV STAATSBLAD PUBLICATIES en JAARREKENINGEN (BE0466400051)". www.staatsbladmonitor.be. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
- ^ KW, Redactie (2019-12-23). "Plopsaland mikt op 2 miljoen bezoekers met hotel en extra attracties". KW.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-04-17.
- ^ "Piet De Koninck is smaakmaker van Plopsaland". www.parkplanet.nl. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
- ^ Decker, Karen De (2017-06-14). "AHA: daar komt de naam Plopsaland vandaan". Flair.be (in Flemish). Retrieved 2021-04-16.
- ^ "Nieuws / Koning Plopsa verdwijnt uit Plopsa-logo's / PlopsaFansite". PlopsaFansite. Retrieved 2021-04-16.