Germany: Holiday Park Announces New Dark Ride Based on the TV Series “The Smurfs“

The Holiday Park in Haßloch, which belongs to the Plopsa Theme Park Group, has developed from what was originally a small fairytale forest into one of Germany's top amusement parks since 1971, with more than 40 attractions, to which new ones are regularly added. Yesterday, a new themed ride based on the TV series “The Smurfs“ was announced for the 2024 season. The dark ride is said to be an attraction for the whole family, taking both young and old guests into the world of Papa Smurf, Smurfette and Gagarmel. “The idea of immortalizing the Smurfs with their own attraction in the park is a logical consequence of the enormous popularity of the characters among parents and children. Many of today's parents grew up with the Smurfs and thanks to the new animated series, today's children are also fans of the popular blue characters. We are therefore very pleased to be able to give the Smurfs a new home at Holiday Park," says Holiday Park Managing Director and CEO of the Plopsa theme park group Steve Van den Kerkhof about the new project idea.

However, the new attraction will not be built on a new area, but instead the existing “Falkenstein Castle“ theme ride will be extensively redesigned. Built in 1987 by Mack Rides, the outdated attraction will have its last ride in regular theme park opening hours on November 1. On November 5, however, fans will have the opportunity to take a backstage tour to say goodbye to the old ride. Furthermore, Holiday Park is auctioning off the ride's inventory in a public auction.

In addition to the dark ride for 2024, the park also has other projects in mind for the coming years. As we reported earlier this year, the park plans to invest a total of more than 65 million euros in new projects. These include a Maya the Bee themed park-owned hotel, a water park, a new water playground (2023) and a new themed area with a major attraction for the 2025 season . (eap)