Meli Park was 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 ...

which was opened in 1935 in

Adinkerke Adinkerke (French: ''Adinkerque'') is a village in the municipality of De Panne in western Belgium close to the French border. It forms a conurbation with the coastal town of De Panne, which in turn is part of the west Belgian coastal conurbation. ...

in the municipality of De Panne on the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

coast.

History

The bee-themed amusement park was initiated by Alberic-Joseph Florizoone, owner of a honey company. Its mascot was a bee. It was one of the first Belgian theme parks. Over the years some new attractions were added. The first ones were the labyrinth and the zoo. In the 1950s, a miniature golf course,

french formal garden The French formal garden, also called the (), is a style of garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed during the 17th century by the ...

s, a fairytale forest, water organ were introduced. Over the years, it became one of the biggest attractions in Belgium as

Antwerp Zoo Antwerp Zoo ( nl, ZOO Antwerpen) is a zoo in the centre of Antwerp, Belgium, located next to the Antwerpen-Centraal railway station. It is the oldest animal park in the country, and one of the oldest in the world, established on 21 July 1843. ...

and

Caves of Han-sur-Lesse The Caves of Han-sur-Lesse (in French: Grottes de Han-sur-Lesse or simply Grottes de Han) refers to a natural complex of caves in Belgium. A major Belgian tourist attraction (around 250-300,000 visitors per year), the caves are located in Walloni ...

. Into the 1970s and the 1980s, with a growing variety of rides, Meli Park's visitor numbers reached 700,000 per annum. Its icon attraction was the Apirama dark ride, opened in 1979, featuring hundreds of animated bees. The park closed in 1999 because the park was sold to the Flemish children's television company Studio 100 and rethemed as

Plopsaland Plopsaland De Panne is a theme park located in Adinkerke, Belgium - part of the municipality De Panne - owned and operated by Plopsa. The park reopened on 20 April 2000, before that the park was known as Meli Park from 1935 until 1999. History ...

. In 1999 Alberic-Joseph Florizoone was inducted into the IAAPA Hall of Fame, an honor reserved for amusement industry innovators and pioneers.

Attractions

Roller coasters

File:Jubilé mélipark.jpg, Jubilé File:Viktor'sRace4.JPG, Marienkaferbahn File:RollerSkater10.JPG, RollerSkater

Thrill rides

File:De Piratenboot3.JPG, Piratenboot File:Plopsaland splash.jpg, Splash File:Herne - Cranger Kirmes 2012 021 ies.jpg, Vliegend Tapijt 1001 Nachts ride. File:Swings of the Century Canada's Wonderland.jpg, Chair-O-Planes ride.

References

External links