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Plopsaland De Panne is a
* 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.
* 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.
Plopsaland Official Website
Amusement parks in Belgium 2000 establishments in Belgium Buildings and structures in West Flanders Tourist attractions in West Flanders De Panne Amusement parks opened in 2000 21st-century architecture in Belgium
theme park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...
located in Adinkerke, Belgium, in the municipality of De Panne
De Panne (; ) is a town and a municipality located on the North Sea coast of the Belgian province of West Flanders. There it borders France, making it the westernmost town in Belgium. It is one of the most popular resort town destinations within ...
, and owned and operated by Plopsa
Plopsa is the theme park division of Studio 100, the company operates 8 parks across Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and Poland.
History
Plopsa began operation at the end of 1999 when Studio 100 acquired Meli Park in Adinkerke. After several ...
. The park was originally known as Meli Park
Meli Park was a theme park which was opened in 1935 in Adinkerke in the municipality of De Panne on the Belgium, Belgian coast.
History
The bee-themed amusement park was initiated by Alberic-Joseph Florizoone, owner of a honey company. Its masco ...
from 1935 to 1999, before reopening as Plopsaland on 20 April 2000.
History
Meli Park
In 1935, Alberic-Joseph Florizoone openedMeli Park
Meli Park was a theme park which was opened in 1935 in Adinkerke in the municipality of De Panne on the Belgium, Belgian coast.
History
The bee-themed amusement park was initiated by Alberic-Joseph Florizoone, owner of a honey company. Its masco ...
as a place where he could sell his home-produced honey and also teach visitors about the process and the honey bee itself. To keep up with competition, over the years the park opened several attractions, turning it into a theme park.
Plopsaland
The Florizoone family sold the park in 1999 toStudio 100
Studio 100 N.V. is a Belgian children's entertainment production & distribution company that specialized in high quality kids & family entertainment content and operated their in-house animation studios such as their Australian animation compa ...
and ''VMMa''. The park received a makeover during the following winter season, to reopen as Plopsaland on 20 April 2000. During the renovation several characters from Studio 100, such as ''Samson en Gert'' and ''Kabouter Plop
Studio 100 N.V. is a Belgian children's entertainment production & distribution company that specialized in high quality kids & family entertainment content and operated their in-house animation studios such as their Australian animation compa ...
'', were used to theme new and old attractions. The new park had some issues at reopening with parking capacity and catering, though these were corrected in the following years.
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''.
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) , ''The Ride to Happiness
The Ride to Happiness is a steel spinning roller coaster located at Plopsaland De Panne in Adinkerke, Adinkerke, Belgium. It is Europe's first Mack Rides Xtreme Spinning Coaster, and holds the record for the most inversions on a spinning coaster. ...
'' (2021) and Circus Bumba (2023) in order to appeal to a wider demographic and become a destination not just for families with younger children.
Attractions
The park consists of 55 attractions, including 7 rollercoasters.Rollercoasters
Darkrides
Other attractions
De Panne resort
The theme park is part of the larger Plopsa resort that consist of anindoor theme park
A family entertainment center (FEC) in the entertainment industry, also known as an indoor amusement park, family amusement center, family fun center, soft play, or simply fun center, is a small amusement park marketed towards families with small ...
(2011), the Proximus Theater (2013), Plopsaqua De Panne (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.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.
* 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.
References
{{ReflistExternal links
Plopsaland Official Website
Amusement parks in Belgium 2000 establishments in Belgium Buildings and structures in West Flanders Tourist attractions in West Flanders De Panne Amusement parks opened in 2000 21st-century architecture in Belgium