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Bobbejaanland is a
theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
in
Lichtaart Lichtaart is a village in Belgium, in the province of Antwerp and municipality of Kasterlee. The village is situated near the town, Antwerp. Lichtaart bordered by the Rivers, Nete and Kaliebeek. In 1977, Lichtaart had an area of 25 km ² and ...
,
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. The park was founded by
Bobbejaan Schoepen Bobbejaan Schoepen (a pseudonym of Modest Schoepen; 16 May 1925 – 17 May 2010) was a Flemish pioneer in Belgian pop music, vaudeville, and European country music. Schoepen was a versatile entertainer, entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, guita ...
, a Flemish singer, guitarist, and entertainer who enjoyed international success in the fifties and early sixties. In 1959, he bought a 30 hectare marsh, had it drained and built a 1,000 capacity venue that opened in December 1961 as Bobbejaanland. This developed into an
amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
and remained in his possession until he sold it in 2004.


History

For its first decade after opening the park centered on water attractions and performance spaces. Numerous variety artists from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany appeared there. Following the advice of
Phantasialand Phantasialand is a theme park in Brühl, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany that attracts approximately 2 million visitors annually. The park was opened in 1967 by Gottlieb Löffelhardt and Richard Schmidt. Although starting as a family-oriented p ...
owner Gottlieb Löffelhard, Bobbejaanland evolved from 1975 onwards into a theme park, with rides becoming more important than music shows. It grew to fifty attractions with four hundred employees and received visitors from the Benelux countries, France, and Germany. As an independent family concern, it also supported educational and cultural projects. By the end of the seventies, Schoepen's wife Josée (a former opera singer and model) opened a museum with works of art from the Hopi and
Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...
cultures, forming an extensive private collection of Native American art. From the 1990s, three of his five children worked for the park. It added a high
windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...
that provides the region with energy, and an adjoining museum of alternative energy generation.


Attractions

Bobbejaanland contains about 50 attractions, such as the Waterslide (1980), the Giant wheel (1976), Indiana River (indoor waterslide, 1991), the
Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
(a dark
Rollercoaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...
, 1989), the Speedy Bob (roller coaster, 1998), the
Air Race Air racing is a type of motorsport that involves airplanes or other types of aircraft that compete over a fixed course, with the winner either returning the shortest time, the one to complete it with the most points, or to come closest to a prev ...
(suspended roller coaster, 1987, now named
Dreamcatcher In some Native American and First Nations cultures, a dreamcatcher ( oj, asabikeshiinh, the inanimate form of the word for 'spider') is a handmade willow hoop, on which is woven a net or web. It may also be decorated with sacred items such as ...
), the longest junior roller coaster in the world, 'Okidoki' (i.e. 'that's all right', 2003–04), and the world's second
Gerstlauer Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GmbH is a German manufacturer of stationary and transportable amusement rides and roller coasters, located in Münsterhausen, Germany. History In 1982, Hubert Gerstlauer, a former employee of the Anton Schwarzkopf-o ...
Euro-Fighter roller coaster, "
Typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...
" (2003–04), with a drop angle of over 97°(a roller coaster with a fourfold loop and a free fall) and a
Splash Battle Splash or Splash! or The Splash may refer to: Common meanings * Splash (fluid mechanics), sudden disturbances on the surface of water Entertainment * ''Splash'' (film), a 1984 fantasy film starring Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah ** ''Splash, Too'' ...
, "Banana Battle", (2007) made by
Preston & Barbieri Preston & Barbieri is an amusement ride manufacturing company based in Reggio Emilia, Italy. The company was founded in 2000 as a merger of the Preston and Barbieri Rides companies. The company manufactures a wide range of flat rides, water rides ...
. The giant Sledgehammer (a
Giant Frisbee The Frisbee is a type of pendulum amusement ride featuring a circular gondola that rotates as it swings back and forth. Riders are seated on the gondola facing inward or outward, depending on the model. On some models, the entire pendulum makes ...
) reaches a speed of 110 km/h). In 1995 'Kinderland' (English: Kids' Country) was opened as an area for young children. In 1979, Bobbejaanland opened the Looping Star roller coaster ( Schwarzkopf GmbH). Although the ride had a security bar placed over the hip, it was more the
centrifugal force In Newtonian mechanics, the centrifugal force is an inertial force (also called a "fictitious" or "pseudo" force) that appears to act on all objects when viewed in a rotating frame of reference. It is directed away from an axis which is paralle ...
which held the passengers in the vehicle when it looped the loop. The coaster was dismantled in 2003. Bobbejaanland also has
Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
: a fully enclosed tubular steel roller coaster manufactured by Vekoma, with world's largest train where two passengers can sit bobsled style per car. In 2016, the attraction was equipped with
Samsung Gear VR The Samsung Gear VR is a virtual reality headset developed by Samsung Electronics, in collaboration with Oculus VR, and manufactured by Samsung. The headset was released on November 27, 2015. When in use, a compatible Samsung Galaxy device acts ...
. In the morning, the original ride is active. In the afternoon, passengers have the option to wear the virtual glasses and the ride is about an escape from the erupting volcano "Mount Mara". Due to this concept only one passenger per car can wear the glasses. Physical limitations prohibit children to wear the glasses as they don't fit on their head. Because Bobbejaan Schoepen was primarily a folk and country singer, the park is still partly themed as a western village (for example the El Rio White Water Rapids and the El Paso
Dark ride A dark ride or ghost train is an indoor amusement ride on which passengers aboard guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain Animatronics, animation, sound, music and Special effect#Live special effects, special e ...
). In the Star Theater, Las Vegas style shows are performed. Bobbejaan bought
Zorro Zorro (Spanish language, Spanish for 'fox') is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp magazine, pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed a ...
's horse from stuntman
Casey Tibbs Casey Duane Tibbs (March 5, 1929 – January 28, 1990) was a rodeo cowboy, and actor. In 1979, he was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. Life and career Tibbs was born to John F. Tibbs (1886–1948) and Florence M. Tibbs (1889–1974) in ...
, but the animal was accidentally electrocuted by an exposed cable. He also acquired an ornate white Pontiac Nudie mobile decorated with American coins.


Changes

In the winter of 2003, the park invested 12 million dollars in two new rides named
the Typhoon ''The Typhoon'' is a 1914 American drama film directed by Reginald Barker, written by Melchior Lengyel, and starring Sessue Hayakawa, Gladys Brockwell, Frank Borzage, Henry Kotani and Leona Hutton. It was released on October 10, 1914, by Paramo ...
and the Sledge Hammer. In a 2004 survey of 13 European amusement parks by Belgian consumer organisation '' Test-Aankoop'' Bobbejaanland was rated second after
Phantasialand Phantasialand is a theme park in Brühl, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany that attracts approximately 2 million visitors annually. The park was opened in 1967 by Gottlieb Löffelhardt and Richard Schmidt. Although starting as a family-oriented p ...
.Test-Aankoop magazine 477, June 2004 In the early 2000s, the founder was diagnosed with cancer and he sold Bobbejaanland to the Spanish-American
Parques Reunidos Parques Reunidos (meaning "Reunited Parks") is an international entertainment operator based in Madrid, Spain. The group operates over 60 parks in about dozen countries. Parques Reunidos operates theme and amusement parks, zoos, water parks, fami ...
group in April 2004.


References


Sources

*Bobbejaan Schoepen (Johan Roggen, Publisher Het Volk, 1980 - D/1980/2345/10).
De Vlaamse kleinkunstbeweging na de Tweede Wereldoorlog - Een historisch overzicht (Peter Notte, Universiteit Gent 1992)
'The Flemish Variety Movement after World War II - An Historical Overview'. Peter Notte,
Ghent University Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...
, 1992) *Bobbejaan Schoepen — "Histories" documentary, 4 January 2001 (Canvas/VRT)
Bobbejaan Schoepen — The Belgian Pop & Rock Archive (Dirk Houbrechts and the Flanders Music Center, 2001)
*"Brel Le flamand" — Histories documentary, 2003 (Canvas/VRT). * rides.nl
Bobbejaan Schoepen Archive — Bobbejaan Records bvbaOfficial Biography Bobbejaan Schoepen
— by Tom Schoepen - "Volkskundige Kroniek" van de Federatie voor Volkskunde in Vlaanderen (i.e. “Folklife Chronicles”, magazine of the Folklife Federation Flanders)- yr. 14 - nr. 2 April-may-juin 2006).


External links


Official site Bobbejaan SchoepenOfficial myspace Bobbejaan SchoepenThe Yodeling WhistlerBobbejaanland TimelineBobbejaanland Fansite (Dutch)Bobbejaan-Online (Dutch)
{{coord, 51, 12, 04, N, 4, 54, 18, E, display=title, region:BE_source:nlwiki 1961 establishments in Belgium Amusement parks opened in 1961 Amusement parks in Belgium Western (genre) theme parks Buildings and structures in Antwerp Province Parques Reunidos Tourist attractions in Antwerp Province Kasterlee