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Walibi World is a theme park in Biddinghuizen near Dronten in the Netherlands, owned by European leisure attraction group CDA Parks (part of the Compagnie des Alpes group).
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History
In 1971, the park was opened under the name 'Flevohof'. It was an educational themepark themed after agriculture and farming. Having struggled to compete with more modern family attractions, Flevohof went bankrupt in 1993, and was subsequently purchased by the Walibi Group that autumn, who redeveloped the site as an amusement park. A major winter-long programme of reconstruction saw the park re-open under the name Walibi Flevo on 7 May 1994, featuring one of Europe's first suspended looping rollercoasters, El Condor built by Vekoma (the other being Alton Towers Nemesis which had opened two months earlier), and adopting the wallaby mascot of its sister park, Walibi Wavre in Belgium. (The name 'Walibi', incidentally, is derived from the first two letters of three towns in Belgium put together to form a single word: Wavre - Limal - Bierges).
The Walibi parks, including Bellewaerde in Belgium, were purchased by Premier Parks Inc. in 1998, who subsequently overhauled the Flevo park, removing the 'Walibi' branding and building 30 new attractions as part of its transformation into Six Flags Holland in 2000. Six Flags's nominal expansion into Europe saw a similar refurbishment of the Belgian Walibi attraction, both parks benefiting from the group's rights to use Warner Brothers characters within them, leading to the creation of a Looney Tunes-themed area and a powered-launch coaster themed around popular comic figure Superman.
In 2004, Six Flags Holland and its sister parks were purchased by financiers Palamon Capital Partners, who grouped the attractions under the name StarParks. The park reverted to Walibi branding in 2005; numerous attractions having been rebranded as the sale of the parks also meant the loss of Warner Brothers rights.
In the second half of 2006, the parks were sold for the second time in as many years to the French group Grévin & Cie (Compagnie des Alpes), most notably the operators of the French themed resort Parc Astérix, who also purchased two other Dutch attractions - the Dolfinarium Harderwijk and Avonturenpark Hellendoorn.
One of the park's best known attractions, La Via Volta, has been closed for the removal of the old train. According to rumours, a new train will be added and it will be re-opened in the near future. The old one was sent to Pleasurewood Hills in England.
Attractions
Thrill Rides
- El Condor
- Aztec
- Excalibur
- Flying Dutchman Goldmine
- G-Force
- La Via Volta
- Il Gladiatore
- Goliath
Robin Hood - Space Shot
- Xpress
- Tomahawk
Family Attractions
- Mini Taxis
- Le Tour des Jardins
- Tequillas Taxi
- Cavalli Barocca
- La Fortuna
- La Grande Roue
- Les Petits Cheveux
- Los Sombreros
- Merlin's Magic Castle
- Pavillon de The
- Piccolini
- Go Karts
Water Rides
- Captain Kid
- Hudson Bay
- El Rio Grande
- Crazy River
- Splash Battle
All attractions are divided into several themed areas.
External links
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