Plopsa
 | |
 Gert Verhulst as Gert in Plopsaland. | |
| Industry | Amusement parks |
|---|---|
| Founded | 28 April 2000 |
| Founder | Studio 100 |
| Headquarters | De Panne, Belgium |
Key people | Gert Verhulst, Founder and partial owner Hans Bourlon, Founder and partial owner Steve van den Kerkhof CEO |
| Owner | Studio 100 |
| Website | Official website |
Plopsa is the theme park division of Studio 100, the company operates 8 (water) parks across Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and Poland.
History
Plopsa began its operation at the end of 1999 when Studio 100 acquired Meli Park in Adinkerke in the Municipality De Panne. After several renovations the park reopened as Plopsaland on 29 April 2000. Several attractions got a layover with Studio 100 characters, such as Kabouter Plop, Samson & Gert and Bumba.[1]
In December 2005 the company opened a new indoor theme park in the Municipality Hasselt, named Plopsa Indoor Hasselt. This marked the opening of the first indoor theme park in Belgium. In the same year Plopsa also acquired Télécoo, an amusement park near the waterfalls of Coo. Several attraction got an overlay with Studio 100 characters, just like the attractions of the former Meli Park. July 2007 the park was renamed to Plopsa Coo.[2]
In 2010 Plopsa crossed the Dutch and German border and opened an indoor theme park in Coevorden, similar to Plopsa Indoor Hasselt. The park officially opened its doors on 29 April 2010 and got the name Plopsa Indoor Coevorden. In Germany they acquired Holiday Park in Haßloch. Just like Meli Park and Télécoo the park got a layover with several Studio 100 characters. The name however remained the same.[3]
In 2015 the company enterend a new form of park entertainment with the opening of Plopsaqua in De Panne, a water park themed to the Studio 100 character Vic the Viking. This park also received a subsidy from the Municipality, so the people of De Panne could use the facilities at a discount. Other Plopsaqua water parks are currently in active development throughout Belgium.[4] The same year Studio 100/Plopsa opened their catalog of characters to other amusement park operators outside Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, France and The United Kingdom. Mayaland Kownaty, Poland and the yet to be built theme park in Prague, Czech Republic are examples of this, since these parks are (partially) owned by an investment company. Steve van den Kerkhof (CEO of Plopsa) stated that there's also interest in the characters from companies in China, The United States of America, Australia and Canada [5]
The latest location opened in Torzym, Poland in September 2018 when Majaland Kownaty opened its doors. Majaland Kownaty is an indoor theme park similar to Plopsaland Coevorden in The Netherlands. In contrary to the other 6 parks this park is partially owned by an investment company. The theme park is doing so well that Plopsa and Momentum Capital decided to build three other parks in Poland in Warsaw, Gdańsk and Katowice.[6]
At the end of 2019 Plopsa acquired the comic themed and struggling Comic Station, located in a terminal of Antwerp Central Station. The theme park closed for a partial refurbishment and opened in October 2021 as Plopsa Station Antwerp.[7]
Theme parks, Water parks and other assets
List of all theme parks, water parks and other assets of Plopsa that are open or in active development.
| Assets (partially) owned by Plopsa | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country | City | Name | Type | Opening | Note |
 Belgium
|
Adinkerke | Plopsaland | Theme park | 2000 (1935) | Opened in 1935 as Meli Park, acquired by Plopsa in 1999 and reopened as Plopsaland in 2000. |
| Proximus Theater | Theater | 2013 | Opened in 2013 as Plopsa Theater, renamed in 2019 to Proximus Theater. | ||
| Plopsaqua De Panne | Water park | 2015 | |||
| Plopsa Hotel | Hotel | 2021 | |||
| Plopsa Village | Camping | 2022 (1965) | Opened in 1965, acquired in 2017 and is in development to reopen in fases from 2021 as Plopsa Village with a camping site, mobile homes and holiday villages. | ||
| Wijnegem | Plopsa Store | Store | 1998 | Opened in 1998 with the name De Kijkbuis, renamed in 2004 to Plopsa Store. | |
| Hasselt | Plopsa Indoor Hasselt | Theme park | 2005 | ||
| Antwerp | Plopsa Station Antwerp | 2021 (2017) | Opened in 2017 as Comic Station Antwerp, acquired by Plopsa in 2019 and reopened as Plopsa Station Antwerp in October 2021. | ||
| Stavelot | Plopsa Coo | 2007 (1976) | Opened in 1976 as Télécoo, acquired in 2005 and reopened as Plopsa Coo in 2007. | ||
| Hannut | Plopsaqua Hannuit-Landen | Water park | 2020/2021 | Due to the COVID-19 pandemic measures only the 25 meter pool opens 11 December 2020. The rest of the water park followed on 9 June 2021. | |
 The Netherlands
|
Coevorden | Plopsa Indoor Coevorden | Theme park | 2010 | |
 Germany
|
Haßloch | Holiday Park | 2010 (1971) | Opened in 1971, acquired in 2010 by Plopsa. | |
 Poland
|
Torzym | Majaland Kownaty | 2018 | This theme park is owned for 21% by Plopsa and for 79% by Momentum Capital. | |
| Warschau | Majaland Warsaw[8] | 2022 | |||
| Assets owned by third parties under a licence by Plopsa | |||||
 Czech Republic
|
Prague | Majaland Praha[9] | Theme park | 2021 | This theme park is owned by TNI Group and Kaprain. |
Investments
A list of all investments of the Plopsa Group in their current and new parks.
| Country | Resort/Park, City | Investment | Type | Opening | Cost | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium
|
Plopsa Coo, Stavelot | The Smurfer | Attraction | 2022 | Rethematization of Halvar | |
| Germany
|
Holiday Park Resort, Haßloch | Water playground | 2023 | €3.5 million | ||
| Poland
|
Majaland Gdańsk, Gdańsk[8][10] | Theme park | 2023 | €20 million | This theme park is owned for 21% by Plopsa and for 79% by Momentum Capital. | |
| Belgium
|
Plopsaland Resort, Adinkerke | Circus Bumba | Attraction | 2023 | ||
| Germany
|
Holiday Park Resort, Haßloch | Tomorrowland-themed area | 2024 | €15 million | ||
| Poland
|
Majaland Katowice,Katowice[8] | Theme park | 2024 | This theme park is owned for 21% by Plopsa and for 79% by Momentum Capital. | ||
| Belgium
|
Plopsaland Resort, Adinkerke | Plopsa Village extension[11] | Accommodation | 2024 | €30 million | |
| Germany
|
Holiday Park Resort, Haßloch | Holiday Park Hotel | Accommodation | 2024 | €20 million | |
| Holiday Wasserpark[12] | Water park | 2025 | €22.5 million | |||
| Belgium
|
Plopsaqua Mechelen, Mechelen[13] | 2025 | €50 million | |||
| Poland
|
Water park, Warsaw[14] | Water park | T.B.D. | This water park is owned for 21% by Plopsa and for 79% by Momentum Capital. | ||
During a corruption investigation to a city official of The Hague 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 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. Since the interview no updates were given to the Dutch expansion.[15]
References
- ^ "Studio 100 koopt Plopsaland helemaal". De Morgen (in Dutch). 3 February 2005. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
- ^ "Studio 100 neemt attractiepark Télécoo over".
- ^ "Plopsa koopt Duits pretpark".
- ^ "Plopsaqua opent de deuren". De Morgen (in Dutch). 21 March 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
- ^ "Heel de wereld wil een Plopsaland". 14 March 2015.
- ^ "Plopsa kondigt tweede pretpark aan in Polen". Leeuwarder Courant (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 October 2021.
- ^ "Plopsa neemt toch Comics Station Antwerp over". De Standaard (in Flemish). Retrieved 18 October 2021.
- ^ a b c "Leisure & Holiday Parks" (in Dutch). Momentum Capital.
- ^ "Plopsa Licensing Program". Plopsa.
- ^ "Wielki park rozrywki w Gdańsku. Majaland powstanie przy Obwodnicy Trójmiasta! Będzie kosztował 20 mln euro". Gdańsk Nasze Miasto (in Polish). Retrieved 21 April 2022.
- ^ "Plopsa start de zomer met nieuwe Plop-chalets en extra shows". Plopsa News (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "Holiday Park baut eigenen Wasserpark". Plopsa News (in German). Retrieved 22 December 2021.
- ^ "Plopsaqua wil in Mechelen openen in 2023: CEO luistert naar buurtbewoners op infomarkt". www.gva.be (in Flemish).
- ^ Mantel, Roy. "Momentum Leisure start vierde themapark in Polen met franse partners Nhood en Ceetrus". Momentum Capital (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ^ "Plopsa wil waterpark in den Haag bouwen". 14 November 2019.