Entrance Bobbejaanland 05/08/2018 11h57
A statue of probably the founder Bobbejaan Schoepen (a pseudonym of Modest Schoepen; 16 May 1925 – 17 May 2010), who was a Flemish pioneer in Belgian pop music, vaudeville, and European country music. He was also founder of Bobbejaanland.
Bobbejaanland
Bobbejaanland is a theme park in Lichtaart, Belgium. The park was founded by Bobbejaan Schoepen, a Flemish singer, guitarist, and entertainer who enjoyed international popularity in the fifties and early sixties. In 1959 he bought a 30 hectare marsh, had it drained and built a 1000 capacity venue that opened in December 1961 as Bobbejaanland. This developed into an amusement park and remained in his possession until he sold it in 2004.
For its first decade after opening the park centered on water attractions and performance spaces. Numerous variety artists from the Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany appeared there. Following the advice of Phantasialand 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, Bob's wife Josée (a former opera singer and model) opened a museum with works of art from the Hopi and Navajo cultures, forming an extensive private collection of Native American art.
Bobbejaanland contains about 50 attractions, such as the Waterslide (1980), the Giant wheel (1976), Indiana River (indoor waterslide, 1991), the Revolution (a dark Rollercoaster, 1989), the Speedy Bob (roller coaster, 1998), the Air Race (suspended roller coaster, 1987, now named Dreamcatcher), the longest junior roller coaster in the world, 'Okidoki' (i.e. 'that's all right', 2003/04), and the world's second Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter roller coaster, "Typhoon" (2003/04), with a drop angle of over 97°(a roller coaster with a fourfold loop and a free fall) and a Splash Battle, "Banana Battle", (2007) made by Preston & Barbieri. The giant Sledgehammer (a Giant Frisbee) reaches a speed of 110 km/h). In 1995 'Kinderland' (English: Kids' Country) was opened as an area for young children.
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). In the Star Theater, Las Vegas style shows are performed. Bobbejaan bought Zorro's horse from stuntman Casey Tibbs, but the animal was accidentally electrocuted by an exposed cable. He also acquired an ornate white Pontiac Nudie mobile decorated with American coins.
In the winter of 2003 the park invested 12 million dollars in two new rides named the Typhoon 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. In the early 2000s the founder was diagnosed with cancer and he sold Bobbejaanland to the Spanish-American Parques Reunidos group in April 2004.
[ Wikipedia ]
Tags: Europe Belgium België Belgique Vlaanderen Flandres Lichtaart Kasterlee Bobbejaanland Themepark Parc d'Attractions Attractiepark Parc à Thèmes Parques Reunidos Bobbejaan Schoepen Modest Schoepen August 2018 Meteorry Entrance Statue Horse Cheval
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Entrance Square 05/08/2018 12h07
The square right behind the entrance. This is where our discovery through the park began. Olaf and especially Andy had an idea where to go first.
Bobbejaanland
Bobbejaanland is a theme park in Lichtaart, Belgium. The park was founded by Bobbejaan Schoepen, a Flemish singer, guitarist, and entertainer who enjoyed international popularity in the fifties and early sixties. In 1959 he bought a 30 hectare marsh, had it drained and built a 1000 capacity venue that opened in December 1961 as Bobbejaanland. This developed into an amusement park and remained in his possession until he sold it in 2004.
For its first decade after opening the park centered on water attractions and performance spaces. Numerous variety artists from the Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany appeared there. Following the advice of Phantasialand 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, Bob's wife Josée (a former opera singer and model) opened a museum with works of art from the Hopi and Navajo cultures, forming an extensive private collection of Native American art.
Bobbejaanland contains about 50 attractions, such as the Waterslide (1980), the Giant wheel (1976), Indiana River (indoor waterslide, 1991), the Revolution (a dark Rollercoaster, 1989), the Speedy Bob (roller coaster, 1998), the Air Race (suspended roller coaster, 1987, now named Dreamcatcher), the longest junior roller coaster in the world, 'Okidoki' (i.e. 'that's all right', 2003/04), and the world's second Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter roller coaster, "Typhoon" (2003/04), with a drop angle of over 97°(a roller coaster with a fourfold loop and a free fall) and a Splash Battle, "Banana Battle", (2007) made by Preston & Barbieri. The giant Sledgehammer (a Giant Frisbee) reaches a speed of 110 km/h). In 1995 'Kinderland' (English: Kids' Country) was opened as an area for young children.
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). In the Star Theater, Las Vegas style shows are performed. Bobbejaan bought Zorro's horse from stuntman Casey Tibbs, but the animal was accidentally electrocuted by an exposed cable. He also acquired an ornate white Pontiac Nudie mobile decorated with American coins.
In the winter of 2003 the park invested 12 million dollars in two new rides named the Typhoon 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. In the early 2000s the founder was diagnosed with cancer and he sold Bobbejaanland to the Spanish-American Parques Reunidos group in April 2004.
[ Wikipedia ]
Tags: Europe Belgium België Belgique Vlaanderen Flandres Lichtaart Kasterlee Bobbejaanland Themepark Parc d'Attractions Attractiepark Parc à Thèmes Parques Reunidos Bobbejaan Schoepen Modest Schoepen August 2018 Meteorry Entrance Square Welkom Lake House Andy Ram Olaf Stappers Male Boy Homme Guy Teen Coca Cola
© All Rights Reserved
© All Rights Reserved