Plopsa

Plopsa is the theme park division of Studio 100, the company operates 7 parks across Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and Poland.

Plopsa
IndustryAmusement parks
FoundedApril 28, 2000 (2000-04-28)
FounderStudio 100
HeadquartersDe Panne, Belgium
Key people
Gert Verhulst,
Founder and partial owner
Hans Bourlon,
Founder and partial owner
Steve van den Kerkhof
CEO
OwnerStudio 100
WebsiteOfficial website

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 the 29th of April 2000. Several attractions got a layover with Studio 100 characters, like Kabouter Plop and Samson & Gert.

In December 2005 the company openend 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. Since July 2007 the park was renamed to Plopsa Coo.[1] Due to the fact that since 2005 Plopsa owned and operated multiple parks in Belgium, the name of Plopsaland was changed to Plopsaland De Panne to avoid confusion.

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 openend its doors on the 29th of 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.[2]

In 2015 the company enterend a new form of park entertainment with the opening of Plopsaqua in De Panne, a waterpark 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 waterparks are currently in active development throughout Belgium.

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 themepark is doing so well that Plopsa and Momentum Capital decided to build three other parks in Poland in Warschau, Gdańsk and Katowice.

At the end of 2019 Plopsa acquired the comic themed and struggling Comic Station, located in a terminal of Antwerp Central Station. The themepark closed for a partial refurbishment and is set to open in 2020 as Plopsa Station Antwerpen.

Themeparks, Waterparks and other assets
De Panne
Hasselt
Coo
Antwerpen
Mechelen
Hannuit-Landen
Wijnegem
Current and future locations of Plopsa in Belgium. Red: themepark, Blue: waterpark, Green: other asset.
Coevorden
Haßloch
Kownaty
Warschau
Gdańsk
Katowice
Prague
Current and future locations of Plopsa in the rest of Europe. Red: themepark.

List of all themeparks, waterparks and other assets of Plopsa that are open or in active development.

Country City Name Type Opening Note
 Belgium De Panne Plopsaland De Panne Themepark 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 Waterpark 2015
Plopsa Hotel Hotel 2020 In development
Plopsa Camping Camping 2020 In development
Wijnegem Plopsa Store Store 1998 Opened in 1998 with the name De Kijkbuis, renamed in 2004 to Plopsa Store.
Hasselt Plopsa Indoor Hasselt Themepark 2005
Antwerp Plopsa Station Antwerpen Themepark 2020 (2017) Opened in 2017 as Comic Station Antwerpen, acquired by Plopsa in 2019 and is in development to reopen as Plopsa Station Antwerpen in 2020.
Stavelot Plopsa Coo Themepark 2007 (1976) Opened in 1976 as Télécoo, acquired in 2005 and reopened as Plopsa Coo in 2007.
Hannuit en Landen Plopsaqua Hannuit-Landen[3] Waterpark 2020 In development
Mechelen Plopsaqua Mechelen[4] Waterpark 2022 In development
 The Netherlands Coevorden Plopsa Indoor Coevorden Themepark 2010
 Germany Haßloch Holiday Park Themepark 2010 (1971) Opened in 1971, acquired in 2010 by Plopsa.
 Poland Torzym Majaland Kownaty Themepark 2018 This themepark is owned for 21% by Plopsa and for 79% by Momentum Capital.
Warschau Mayaland Warschau[4] Themepark 2021 In development
Gdańsk Majaland Gdańsk[4] Themepark 2022 In development
Katowice Majaland Katowice[4] Themepark 2023 In development
 Czech Republic Prague T.B.D.[5] Themepark 2021 This themepark is in development and owned by TNI Group and Kaprain under license of Plopsa.
 European Union T.B.D. Plopsaqua #4[4] Waterpark 2023 In development

In 2015 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 build themepark 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 [6]

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.[7]

Plopsa is also trying to realize a hotel and a Plopsaqua waterpark near their Holiday Park in Germany, but an official announcement has yet to be made.

Trivia

The name Plopsa is a combination of Plop and Samson, two of the earlier characters of Studio 100.

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References
  1. https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/b290811051216
  2. https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20101103_097
  3. https://www.looopings.nl/weblog/9528/Definitief-Plopsa-opent-nieuw-waterpretpark-in-2020.html
  4. "Plopsa Group maakt plannen voor nieuwe pretparken concreet". Looopings (in Dutch). 2020-02-27. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
  5. "PLOPSA SLUIT OVEREENKOMST VOOR BOUW NIEUW INDOORPRETPARK IN PRAAG".
  6. https://www.tijd.be/ondernemen/entertainment/Heel_de_wereld_wil_een_Plopsaland/9611235.html
  7. https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/editienl/artikel/4920916/plopsa-wil-waterpark-den-haag-bouwen
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