Plopsaland De Panne is a family theme park in Adinkerke, part of the coastal town of De Panne in West Flanders, Belgium. The site began life in 1935 as Meli Park, a honey-themed attraction built around a real apiary, before Belgian media company Studio 100 acquired the grounds in 1999 and reopened it as Plopsaland in April 2000, themed around its television characters like Kabouter Plop and Samson & Gert.
Now operated by Studio 100’s Plopsa division, the park is the flagship property of the wider Plopsa group, which also runs sister parks in Germany and the Belgian Ardennes. In the summer of 2025 the venue was renamed Plopsaland Belgium as part of a group-wide rebrand, though it remains best known by its longtime name, Plopsaland De Panne, and its De Panne coastal location.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Adinkerke, De Panne, West Flanders, Belgium
- Operator: Plopsa (Studio 100)
- Opened: 1935 as Meli Park; reopened as Plopsaland on April 20, 2000
- Size: about 30 hectares (74 acres)
- Annual visitors: over 1.3 million (2017)
- Signature attraction: The Ride to Happiness by Mack Rides (2021)
The Ride Experience
Plopsaland’s headline attraction is The Ride to Happiness by Tomorrowland, a Mack Rides Xtreme Spinning Coaster that opened in July 2021. It uses two linear synchronous motor launches to send freely spinning four-seat cars through roughly 920 meters (3,018 feet) of track, reaching about 90 km/h (56 mph) and 33 meters (108 feet) in height, with a double-inverting dive loop that gives it a claim to the most inversions on any spinning coaster.
Beyond that flagship launch coaster, the park runs six other roller coasters spread across its Studio 100-themed lands, including Anubis: The Ride, a launched steel coaster from 2009, and Heidi the Ride, a wooden coaster added in 2017. Most rides are built around Plopsa’s own children’s television franchises, keeping the lineup family-oriented rather than thrill-focused.
History and Legacy
Before it was a theme park, the land belonged to Meli Park, a honey-education attraction opened in 1935 by beekeeper Alberic-Joseph Florizoone. Studio 100 bought the site from the Florizoone family in 1999 and relaunched it a year later as Plopsaland, weaving its television characters into both new and inherited rides.
Since then the park has expanded steadily, adding the neighboring Plopsaqua water park and successive coasters through the 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s. Its 2025 rebrand to Plopsaland Belgium folded it into a wider Plopsa naming scheme alongside Plopsaland Deutschland and Plopsaland Ardennes, but the park continues to operate on its original De Panne coastal grounds.
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Plopsaland De Panne FAQs
Where is Plopsaland De Panne located?
It’s in Adinkerke, part of the municipality of De Panne on the Belgian coast in West Flanders.
What is Plopsaland De Panne’s biggest roller coaster?
The Ride to Happiness by Tomorrowland, a Mack Rides spinning launch coaster that opened in 2021, is the park’s tallest and fastest coaster.
Is Plopsaland De Panne the same as Plopsaland Belgium?
Yes. The park operated as Plopsaland De Panne from 2000 and was renamed Plopsaland Belgium in summer 2025 as part of a Plopsa group-wide rebrand, though it remains in the same De Panne location.
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Photo: Jérémy-Günther-Heinz Jähnick / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.