Bobbejaanland
Encyclopedia
Bobbejaanland is a renowned theme park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
in Lichtaart, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. It was founded by Bobbejaan Schoepen
Bobbejaan Schoepen
Bobbejaan Schoepen is a pseudonym of Modest Schoepen was a Flemish pioneer in Belgian pop music, vaudeville, and European country music...
, a Flemish singer, guitarist, and entertainer who enjoyed international popularity in the fifties and early sixties. After 15 years he got weary of touring. In 1960 he decided to build his own music theater: he started draining a 30 ha marsh that he bought in 1959. He build a venue with 1000 places where he could perform as often as he liked. December 1961, the Bobbejaanland amusement park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
was born. In 43 years Bobbejaanland became one of the most popular theme parks in Europe. Bobbejaan and his family sold the park in 2004.
History
Bobbejaan's lifework grew organically from his musical career. His personal manager Jacques Kluger invented the name. For the first decade that it was open the heart of the park was a combination of water fun and show. Numerous artists from the Belgian, Dutch, and German variety scenes performed there. Following the advice of PhantasialandPhantasialand
Phantasialand is an amusement park in Brühl, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany that attracts approximately 2 million visitors annually. The park was opened in 1967 by Gottlieb Löffelhardt and Richard Schmidt. Although starting as a family-oriented park, Phantasialand has also added thrill rides,...
-owner Gottlieb Löffelhard, Bobbejaanland evolved from 1975 onwards in the direction of a regular theme park, with the aspect of show gradually retreating to the background. Encompassing fifty attractions and four hundred employees, the park developed into a huge tourist draw in the Benelux countries, France, and Germany. Thanks to its independence as a family concern, it was also able to bridge the gap with (more audacious) educational and cultural projects. By the end of the seventies, for example, Bob's wife Josee (a former opera singer and model) opened a museum with authentic works of art from the Hopi and Navajo
Navajo people
The Navajo of the Southwestern United States are the largest single federally recognized tribe of the United States of America. The Navajo Nation has 300,048 enrolled tribal members. The Navajo Nation constitutes an independent governmental body which manages the Navajo Indian reservation in the...
cultures in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, now one of the most complete private collections of Indian art in Europe.
From the beginning of the nineties, three of his five children participated full time in the park. Bobbejaanland was fine tuned, down to the smallest detail. Now it can foster its reputation as a place that loves children and it can present itself as the first amusement park in the world that has focussed on environmental policy. The most remarkable measure to that effect was the construction of a 70 meter high windmill
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
. that provides the whole region with energy, with an adjoining museum of alternative energy. With its mix of informative fun, Bobbejaanland can rank as the maverick among European amusement parks. Not in the least, it stands out because of its totally unique identity, which is a natural consequence of the total dedication of the founding father and his family to this life work.
Attractions
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
, 1989, Now named Evolution), the Speedy Bob (roller coaster, 1999), 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
Gerstlauer
Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GmbH is a German manufacturer of stationary and transportable amusement rides and roller coasters, located in Münsterhausen, Germany.-History:...
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 the Splash Battle (2007) made by Preston & Barbieri. The giant Sledgehammer (a Giant Frisbee
Frisbee (ride)
The Frisbee is an pendulum-motion amusement ride designed by HUSS Maschinenfabrik. The term is often used to describe similar rides built by other companies.-Design and operation:...
) is a giant shuttle that reaches topspeeds of 110 km/h). In 'Kinderland' (i.e. Kids' Country, 1995) you'll find attractions for the smallest visitors on 7000 m2.
In 1979 Bobbejaanland opened the Looping Star roller coaster (Zwartzkopf), which became a ride with a certain cult satus over the years. The family sold it in 2003.
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
Dark ride
A dark ride or ghost train is an indoor amusement ride where riders in guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain animation, sound, music, and special effects....
). In the Star Theater, Las Vegas style shows are performed.
The life of Bobbejaan is also a lucky bag of colourful anecdotes. Once, he managed to buy the original Zorro
Zorro
Zorro is a fictional character created in 1919 by New York-based pulp writer Johnston McCulley. The character has been featured in numerous books, films, television series, and other media....
's horse from guntumbler Casey Tibbs
Casey Tibbs
Casey Duane Tibbs was an American cowboy, rodeo performer, and actor.He was born northwest of Fort Pierre, South Dakota. Tibbs held the "World All-Around Rodeo Champion" title twice, in 1951 and 1955. He also won in 1949, 1951–1954, and 1959, the world saddle bronc riding championship and...
, but unfortunately the animal tread on an exposed cable and died.
From his American friend Nudie Cohn
Nudie Cohn
Nudie Cohn was a Russian-born American tailor who designed decorative rhinestone-covered suits, known popularly as "Nudie Suits", and other elaborate outfits for some of the most famous celebrities of his era. He also became famous for his outrageous customized automobiles.-Early life:Cohn was...
, he acquired the peculiar white arty Pontiac car (Nudie Mobiles
Nudie Mobiles
-History:Nudie was a Ukrainian-American tailor, known for designing rhinestone-covered outfits worn by celebrities as Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. Between 1950 and 1975 he customized 18 Cadillac and Pontiac convertibles with typical Nudie icons, such a silver-dollar-studded dashboards, pistol...
), skillfully decorated with American coins. He spent ten thousand dollars on it and used to drive it through the theme park. He would consider the car the most effective and talked-about element of all the attractions he featured.
Changes
Recently Bobbejaan SchoepenBobbejaan Schoepen
Bobbejaan Schoepen is a pseudonym of Modest Schoepen was a Flemish pioneer in Belgian pop music, vaudeville, and European country music...
suffered from intestinal cancer, which gave rise to the idea to part with his life's work Bobbejaanland. Apparently there was no stopping him: in the winter of 2003, a major investment of 12 million dollars was made for a couple of world premières: the Typhoon and the Sledge Hammer (supra "attractions").
In 2003, the consumer’s organisation Test-Aankoop conducts a large-scale comparative survey of 13 European amusement parks. On a European level, Bobbejaanland came off second best after Phantasialand
Phantasialand
Phantasialand is an amusement park in Brühl, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany that attracts approximately 2 million visitors annually. The park was opened in 1967 by Gottlieb Löffelhardt and Richard Schmidt. Although starting as a family-oriented park, Phantasialand has also added thrill rides,...
for being as good in every aspect under scrutiny, together with Disneyland and the Parc Astérix
Parc Astérix
Parc Astérix is a theme amusement park in France, based on the stories of Asterix . Situated approximately north of Paris and from Disneyland Resort Paris, in Plailly in the département of Oise, it opened in 1989...
. For Belgium, Bobbejaanland is considered to be the best. (Test-Aankoop magazine 477, June 2004).
But April 2004 the final decision to sell the park was taken, after a preparatory period of more than three years. Bobbejaanland was sold to the Spanish-American Parque Reunidos group. With this decision, the last family concern in the sector of amusement parks in Belgium disappeared.
During the 43 years of the Schoepen-management, we can consider the founding father to be the artistic brain behind the park. His wife José (who is the oldest of sixteen children) was the commercial backbone, and her sister Louise set up a solid foundation with regard to accounting and finances. The key to success was the mutual trust in this triumvirate and their pragmatic and powerful work ethic.
The artist dominates the entrepreneur
In the mean time Bobbejaan focused again on his music career. In 2005 he gave four surprise performances on the European literary festival Saint Amour. On February 13 2007, Bobbejaan Schoepen received in Belgium a Lifetime Achievement Award (ZAMU) for his important role in the Belgian music history. In April 2008, Bobbejaan released a new album called "Bobbejaan", featuring Geike ArnaertGeike Arnaert
Geike Arnaert was the lead singer of the Belgian band Hooverphonic from 1997 up to October 2008.Arnaert was born on 13 September 1979, in Heuvelland, Belgium...
(Hooverphonic
Hooverphonic
Hooverphonic are a Belgian rock/pop group, formed in 1995. Though early on categorized as a trip hop group, they quickly expanded their sound to the point where they could no longer be described as a lone genre, but rather encompass alternative, electronica, electropop, rock, and mixture of others...
) and Daan and produces by his own son Tom Schoepen.
Since the park was sold in 2004, the number of visitors decreased significantly.
In January 2007 the British investor/company Candover
Candover
Candover Investments plc is a British-based private equity firm, specialising in arranging and leading large buyouts and buyins. Candover Investments is structured as an investment trust...
bought Parques Reunidos
Parques Reunidos
Parques Reunidos is an international entertainment operator based in Madrid, Spain. The group operates over 50 parks in almost a dozen countries. Parques Reunidos operates theme and amusement parks, zoos, water parks, family entertainment centers, and cable cars...
for probably 935 million Euro from Advent (a financial group from Boston) who paid 3 years before 240 million Euro.
Though the name Parques Reunidos
Parques Reunidos
Parques Reunidos is an international entertainment operator based in Madrid, Spain. The group operates over 50 parks in almost a dozen countries. Parques Reunidos operates theme and amusement parks, zoos, water parks, family entertainment centers, and cable cars...
still exists. and operates 22 parks in 6 countries in Europe and in 2006 made a profit of 193.5 million euro.
Bobbejaan and his wife still lived until the founder's passing in May of 2010 "on" the domain, in the original house where the history of the park began.
External links
- Bobbejaanland Website (English)
- Official site Bobbejaan Schoepen
- Official myspace Bobbejaan Schoepen
- The Yodeling Whistler
- Bobbejaanland Timeline
- Bobbejaanland Fansite (Dutch)
- Bobbejaan-Online (Dutch)
Sources
- Bobbejaan Schoepen (Johan Roggen, Publisher Het Volk, 1980 - D/1980/2345/10).
- De Vlaamse kleinkunstbeweging na de Tweede Wereldoorlog - Een historisch overzicht (Peter Notte, Universiteit Gent 1992). 'The Flemish Variety Movement after World War II - An Historical Overview'. Peter Notte, Ghent UniversityGhent UniversityGhent University is a Dutch-speaking public university located in Ghent, Belgium. It is one of the larger Flemish universities, consisting of 32,000 students and 7,100 staff members. The current rector is Paul Van Cauwenberge.It was established in 1817 by King William I of the Netherlands...
, 1992) - Bobbejaan Schoepen — "Histories" documentary, 4 January 2001 (Canvas/VRT)
- Bobbejaan Schoepen — The Belgian Pop & Rock Archive (Dirk Houbrechts and the Flanders Music Center, 2001).
- "Brel Le flamand" — Histories documentary, 2003 (Canvas/VRT).
- rides.nl
- Bobbejaan Schoepen Archive — Bobbejaan Records bvba
- Official Biography Bobbejaan Schoepen — by Tom Schoepen - "Volkskundige Kroniek" van de Federatie voor Volkskunde in Vlaanderen (i.e. “Folklife Chronicles”, magazine of the Folklife Federation Flanders)- yr. 14 - nr. 2 April-may-juin 2006).