Plopsaqua (C34)
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Plopsaqua is a chain of waterparks in
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, 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 ...
''. It currently consists of two waterparks: Plopsaqua Hannut-Landen in
Hannut Hannut (; ; ) is a municipality and city of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Hannut had a total population of 14,291. The total area is 86.53 km2 which gives a population density of 165 inhabitants ...
,
Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...
in the French-speaking
Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...
which opened in 2021, and Plopsaqua De Panne, which is part of the
Plopsaland De Panne Plopsaland De Panne is a theme park located in Adinkerke, Adinkerke, Belgium, in the municipality of De Panne, and owned and operated by Plopsa. The park was originally known as Meli Park from 1935 to 1999, before reopening as Plopsaland on 20 Apr ...
complex in
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 ...
,
West Flanders West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemis ...
in the Dutch-speaking
Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
, which opened in 2015.


Plopsaqua De Panne

At the beginning of the 2010s, Plopsa was looking into turning its flagship park ''
Plopsaland Plopsaland De Panne is a theme park located in Adinkerke, Adinkerke, Belgium, in the municipality of De Panne, and owned and operated by Plopsa. The park was originally known as Meli Park from 1935 to 1999, before reopening as Plopsaland on 20 Apr ...
'' into an all-weather-resort. They wanted to reach this goal by opening an indoor themepark, theatre, hotel and waterpark. Around the same time the municipality of De Panne was looking to replace their municipal swimming pool. Both parties decided to merge their plans, in which Plopsa would build, own and operate the facility and the municipality would pay Plopsa €750,000 each year for a period of 20 years in exchange for which the municipality could use the facility and residents would pay a reduced price. In July 2012 Plopsa filed their permit, which was granted in October of that same year. The construction started in October 2013 and the facility was opened during the 15th anniversary of the resort in March 2015.


Plopsaqua Hannut-Landen

After the opening of Plopsaqua De Panne, Plopsa started looking at other locations in Belgium for waterparks that could also function as a municipal swimming pool. Around the same period the ''
Hannut Hannut (; ; ) is a municipality and city of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Hannut had a total population of 14,291. The total area is 86.53 km2 which gives a population density of 165 inhabitants ...
'' and ''
Landen Landen () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the city of Landen proper and the villages of Attenhoven, Eliksem, Eze ...
'' municipalities were looking for a solution for their outdated municipal swimming pools. After a tendering procedure Plopsa was awarded the concession in 2017, with a location in Hannut at the language border with Flanders. The project would cost €22.5 million and the municipalities would each contribute €480,000 each year for a period of 25 years. In 2018 Plopsa submitted the permit application, which had to be adjusted on a number of points - such as the color of the slides and the exterior - in order to fit better into the environment. The province approved the plans in February 2019 and construction started in May of the same year. The waterpark is themed after Maya the Bee and Bumba, but the municipal pool has a neutral appearance. The opening of the waterpark was scheduled for December 5 of 2020, however the COVID-19 figures were not positive enough, so the Belgian federal government could not give permission to attraction- and waterparks to reopen. However, sports pools were given an exception and these were allowed to reopen with measures. Plopsa decided to open the Plopsaqua Landen-Hannut sports pool on 11 December 2020. The rest of the waterpark followed on 9 June 2021.


Future


Plopsaqua Haßloch

In Germany the group is looking for a waterpark next to their ''Holiday Park'', for this project Plopsa also wanted to participate with the local authorities. Several proposals were given, but were cancelled in a referendum. In an interview ''Steve Van den Kerkhof'' (CEO Plopsa) announced that they would build the waterpark with or without funding from the municipality. In December 2021 Plopsa officially announced the creation of the waterpark, that would consist of a 4,000 m2 indoor themed area with a wave pool, a white water river, a water playground, slides, a sports pool and an outdoor area. This plan was abandoned in December 2023 when Plopsa reached an agreement with the municipality of
Haßloch Haßloch () is a municipality in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Unlike most municipalities in the district, it does not belong to any '' Verbandsgemeinde'' – a type of collective municipality. It lies near the Man ...
. The group will replace the outdated municipal swimming pool and create new themed facilities on the same site.


Waterpark Warsaw

In June 2022 it was announced that a waterpark is to be constructed next to the indoor theme park by Plopsa and Momentum Capital, the owners and operators of aforementioned theme park. The waterpark will be owned for 21% by Plopsa and 79% by Momentum Capital.


Cancelled


Plopsaqua Den Haag

During a corruption investigation to a city official of ''
The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
'' in 2019 it was discovered that Plopsa was actively searching for a new site in The Netherlands to expand with a Plopsaqua and a possible second Plopsa Indoor. During an interview with ''
RTL Nieuws RTL Nieuws is a Dutch television news service produced by RTL Nederland. The national and international news service produces 17 bulletins each weekday and six weekend bulletins for RTL4 and RTL Z, reaching a total audience of about 1.5 millio ...
'' Steve Van den Kerkhof confirmed this and that Plopsa was in talks with the city of The Hague, but that they were also investigating other sites in The Netherlands. The company also registered th
URL
In August 2022 it was announced that the waterpark has been cancelled by Plopsa.


Plopsaqua Pulderbos

In 2020 the mayor of ''
Zandhoven Zandhoven () is a municipality in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the villages of , , , and Zandhoven proper. In 2021, Zandhoven had a population of 13,124. The total area is 40.10 km2. Sports Women's volleybal ...
'' ''Luc Van Hove'' announced that he was in contact with Plopsa for a Plopsaqua facility, this to the dismay of the city council. The mayors of ''Zandhoven'' and ''
Zoersel Zoersel () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of , , and Zoersel proper. In 2021, Zoersel had a total population of 22,142. The total area is 38.65 km2. Sports The women's A s ...
'' had meetings with Plopsa before the start of a tendering procedure in which a binding offer was made, once the tendering procedure was started the requirements were almost identical to the offer of Plopsa. All meetings and the binding offer were kept in the dark from the city councils, an opposition party started a petition to stop the new facility in 2021. In June 2023 the former swimming facility closed permanently and it was announced that there weren't any plans for its replacement.


Plopsaqua Mechelen

The city of ''
Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...
'' and Plopsa started investigating Plopsaqua Mechelen in 2015. Several locations throughout the city were looked at, but the consortium picked a spot behind ''Technopolis''. Plopsa submitted a permit application in February 2022 with a planned opening at the end of 2024 or the beginning of 2025, pending on the approval time. The facility, which shall be called Plopsaqua Mechelen Zennebad, shall consist of several slides, a wave pool, two sports pools, an outdoor pool and an instruction pool. The wave pool shall be themed to
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 ...
,
Samson SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...
and Bumba, the public facilities will get a neutral theme. In September 2022 Plopsa withdrew its permit application after two negative remarks of the Provincial Environmental Licensing Committee. The company stated that it still commits to the project, but that several changes are being worked on. The city of Mechelen issued a permit for the complex to Plopsa in June 2024, with an estimated opening in 2026. In december 2024 Plopsa announced that they have cancelled the project, due to legal uncertainty and a changed economic context.


References


External links


Plopsaqua official website
{{coord missing, Belgium Amusement parks in Belgium Tourist attractions in Belgium