When we were planning our trip to Dunkirk, we wanted to include an excursion to Disneyland Paris or another theme park. When we discovered that we could do a day trip to Plopsaland de Panne from Dunkirk, we were thrilled because it made our decision easier and exponentially cheaper.
The Belgian theme park Plopsaland de Panne is an easy day trip from Dunkirk as it is a quick 20-minute drive and it is far less crowded than Disneyland Paris. Read on to find out why our boys fell in love with Plopsaland de Panne.
What is Plopsaland de Panne
Plopsaland de Panne is a theme park in Belgium near the town of De Panne. It is owned and operated by Plopsa. It has a total of 52 attractions, including 7 rollercoasters and two water rides. Plopsaland de Panne is open from April to January and sees roughly 1.2 million visitors every year.
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Where is Plopsaland de Panne?
Plopsaland is located in the town of De Panne near the Belgian border with France. It is easily accessible from Dunkirk, and the ferry terminal in Calais and Bruges is a 40-minute drive from Belgium.
A Day Trip to Plopsaland de Panne from Dunkirk
We left our accommodations in Dunkirk at 9:30 am so that we could have time to park and get in line for the park’s opening at 10 am.
Parking was incredibly easy as we had purchased parking online with our tickets to the park. A very short walk from the parking lot to the park entrance, a very short line until the gates opened, and we were in!
Attractions in Plopsaland de Panne
There are so many attractions at Plopsaland de Panne that it can be a little overwhelming where to start. The number of attractions rivals Disneyland, in my opinion, but much more fun because there are no hour-long lineups, even during the summer months. The rides were long, and the waits were shorter, which made everyone so much happier!
Plopsaland had so many fun things for kids of all ages. We found a roller coaster, “The Dragon,” that was great for our son Heath who was four at the time and was just a tiny bit scared on his first ride.
We ended up doing a few laps on it because he loved it so much. He even sat beside me once when he felt more comfortable being away from gripping Andrew!
The highlight of the day for our boys was, hands down, the Mercedes Benz track called “The Traffic Park,” where the boys had their own Mercedes to drive, and the track had fully functioning street lights and marked lanes.
The boys spent hours on the track, racing back into line again and again. Thankfully there were benches to watch and beer vendors nearby for Andrew and I to indulge while we watched.
Our oldest son Holter loves scary rides, so he hopped on “Super Splash” with Andrew while I waited for them with my youngest son. It has quite a drop, and of course, Holter convinced his dad to sit in the back row for maximum thrill value!
Andrew is obscured by the hands of people in front of him, but Holter’s face is priceless. He loved every minute of it, and if the wait wasn’t the longest one at the park, he would have done it over and over as again.
The Bumper cars were another fun attraction at Plopsaland de Panne. The boys were able to steer, use the pedal, and bump, bump, bump until their hearts were content.
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What do Tickets at Plopsaland de Panne cost
For our family of four, we spent 115 Euros total on tickets to the park and parking. The cost to visit both Plopsaland and Plopsaqua for two days is 49 Euros.
After visiting Disneyland recently, our boys told us that they preferred their time at Plopsaland de Panne, and both Andrew and I agreed with them. It is a much easier pace, there are characters everywhere, like Disneyland, and you just cannot beat the price at Plopsaland de Panne.
We barely even scratched the surface of the attractions at Plopsaland de Panne. We spent a full day there and could easily have done another entire day. Check out the huge list of attractions at Plopsaland de Panne here.
Right next to the amusement park is Plopsaqua, a full waterpark that we didn’t even go to! Our boys have been begging to go back they loved it so much because there was so much more to explore.
Casandra Karpiak is a travel writer and owner of Savoteur. A Toronto native with Danish roots currently residing in British Columbia, her travel writing has been seen on The Associated Press wire, MSN, FOX, CBS, NBC, Entrepreneur, 24/7 Wall St, Times Daily, and many more. When she’s not traveling, she can be found at hockey arenas all over BC cheering on her two young sons.