Bellewaerde

Bellewaerde
place	Hooge ( Ypres ), Belgium
opening	3rd July 1954
Visitors	800,000 (2017)
surface	54 hectares
Website	www.bellewaerde.be
	Bellewaerde
	Bellewaerde
	Location of the park

50.848333333333 2.9455555555556Coordinates: 50 ° 50 ′ 54 ″ N , 2 ° 56 ′ 44 ″ E

Bellewaerde (also Bellewaerde Park ) is an animal and amusement park that is located in the immediate vicinity of the Belgian city of Ypres , near the French border.

history

Bellewaerde is the oldest amusement park in Belgium. The park was originally founded on July 3, 1954 by the Florizoone family as a pure zoo and safari park under the name "Toeristische Centrum Bellewaerde". In 1969 the park was renamed "Safari Bellewaerde", which was operated from 1971 to 2013 under the name "Bellewaerde Park". Since 2014 only the name "Bellewaerde" has been used for the park.

The park is located on the area of the village of Hooge, which was completely destroyed in several battles during the First World War, on the eastern edge of the municipality of Ypres. In the immediate vicinity there is a British military cemetery ( Hooge Crater CWGC Cemetery ) as well as two museums and a monument to the King's Royal Rifle Corps .

In 1991 the park was taken over by the Walibi Group . Another takeover took place in 1999 by the American amusement park chain Six Flags , which in 2004 sold all European parks to a British investment company called Palamon, including Bellewaerde Park. Palamon sold the park in 2006 to the French amusement park chain Grévin & Cie , which still operates the park to this day.

In May 2017, the operator announced the construction of an on-site indoor water park in Bellewaerde Park. The 3,000 square meter Bellewaerde Aquapark is scheduled to open in spring 2019.

Animal park

Bellewaerde's zoo specializes in particular in exotic animals. Over 300 exotic animals can be admired up close by visitors to the park. These include animals such as: flamingos , Cameroon sheep , pelicans , elephants , lemurs , giraffes , tigers , bison , lions , parrots , zwartbles , raccoons , zebras and many more animals. The park also regularly offers animal demonstrations.

Elephants
Flamingos
Coatis
tiger
Maras
Lemurs
Capybaras
Yellow and breasted macaws

amusement park

The Bellewaerde amusement park offers a total of 27 rides, of which three are roller coasters, five water attractions and a dark ride can be found in the park.

roller coaster

Surname	Type	Manufacturer	Opened
boomerang	Shuttle Coaster	Vekoma	1983
Coccinelle	Large Tivoli Coaster	Zierer rides	1981
Huracan	Force Coaster - Custom	Zierer rides	2013

Water attractions

Surname	Type	Manufacturer	Opened
Bengal Rapid River	Rapid River	Vekoma	1988
Big Chute	Hara Kiri Raft Slide	Van Egdom	1989
Jungle mission	Raft trip	Intamin	1997
Niagara	Spillwater	Interlink	1995
River splash	Flume	Reverchon	1980

Other attractions

Surname	Type	Manufacturer	Opened
4D Cinema	4D cinema	3DBA	2006
Bengal Express	Safari tour	Space Leisure	1972
Carrousel	Nostalgia carousel		1983
Coffee cups	Coffee cup ride	Mack Rides	1988
Dansende balloons	Balloon Race	Zamperla	2002
Dawson Duel	Dueling Alpine Coaster	Wiegand	2017
El Toro	Breakdance 3	Huss Rides	2006
El Volador	Topple Tower	Huss Rides	2005
Exprestrein	Park railway	Zamperla	2002
Flying Carrousel	Wave flyer	Zierer rides	1999
Gekke Koets	Flying carpet	Zamperla	2002
Houdini's Magical Huis	Mad House	Vekoma	1999
Kikker	Jumpin 'Star	Zamperla	2002
Mini bike	Mini ferris wheel	Zamperla	2002
Peter Pan	Mountain and valley railway	Mack Rides	1988
Pirate boat	Pirate boat	Huss Rides	1987
Screaming Eagle	Shot'n Drop	Huss Rides	1999
Tuff tuff	Round trip	Zamperla	2002
Vlinders	Red Baron	Zamperla	2002

Former attractions

Surname	Manufacturer	opening	closure
Dancing Queen	Frank Hrubetz & Company	1989	2004
Enterprise	Huss Rides	1981	1986
Los piratas	Mack Rides	1991	2012
Monorail	Mahieu	1983	2007
Octopus	Carrouselbouw Holland	1980	2007
Classic cars	Metal construction Emmeln	1981	2009