Plopsaland De Panne

Belgium'S Best Known Family Theme Park, Built Around The Studio 100 Television Characters (Mega Mindy, Maya The Bee, K3), With A Plopsaqua Water Park Beside It · De Panne, West Flanders Province

Plopsaland De Panne is Belgium's best-known family theme park, near the French border at the western end of the coast. It began as a small amusement park, Meli Park, and was taken over in 2000 by Studio 100, the Flemish television producer, which rebuilt it around its own characters: Kabouter Plop the gnome, who gives the park its name, K3, Maya the Bee, Mega Mindy, Wickie the Viking and Samson and Gert. Those characters are household names for Flemish and Dutch children but are mostly unknown elsewhere, so visitors from other countries may not recognise the shows or meet-and-greets. What draws older children and adults are the rides: the launched coaster Anubis, the wooden coaster Heidi the Ride and the Ride to Happiness, a spinning launched coaster often ranked among the best in Europe. The Plopsaqua water park sits next door on a separate ticket. The honest caveat: this is a mid-sized, busy park, not a Disney-scale resort; weekends and Belgian school holidays mean long queues, and it closes for much of the winter.

De Pannelaan, De Panne, near the French border at the western end of the Belgian coast, De Panne, West Flanders Province, Belgium

Plopsaland De Panne is seasonal. It usually opens daily or most days from about April to early November, plus some winter and school-holiday openings such as the Christmas and spring holidays, and closes in between (confirm). Typical hours are roughly 10 am to 5 or 6 pm, later on some summer evenings, and some days in quiet periods are closed altogether - always check the opening calendar before travelling. Plopsaqua keeps its own year-round hours and needs its own ticket. Getting there: SNCB/NMBS trains run to Adinkerke-De Panne station, usually with a change, and the park is a short walk away; the Coast Tram also stops at the station (confirm the stop). By car, the E40 exit for De Panne/Adinkerke is close by and the park has a large paid car park. Buy dated tickets online in advance: they are usually cheaper than at the gate, and busy days can sell out.

Plopsaland De Panne on Spottos · Explore more places on Spottos