Dadipark, Belgium May '12

[mookster]

This was the second site on mine and Flub's roadtrip after finding HH2 sealed and with many people working around the outside.

Dadipark or Dadizelepark as it was originally known is the oldest amusement park in Europe, dating back to the 1950s. Dadizele, at that time, was already a tourist destination as many people went there on pilgrimage. Over time the park evolved from a playground for the children of visitors to The Basilica of Our Lady of Dadizele. The park was very different from your average theme park instead of focusing on large modern attractions, it was rather accessible and affordable mainly for small children. It boasted an 800m long suspension bridge, said to be the longest in europe.

The site had a poor accident history and in 2000 a 9-year-old boy lost his arm in one of the attractions, the Nautic Jet. This accident was the latest in a series of incidents, but also the most horrific accident. More and more people started to complain about safety and less and less people visited the park. In 2002, it was announced that the park would be closed for one year for renovation, but the park has not reopened since. Since 2004, several companies expressed interest in buying the park and turning it into a modern park with more modern attractions like a lazy river and an events centre. Unfortunately it is becoming increasingly difficult to attract investors.

This was a proper surreal one, not just because of the amusement park factor but because when we turned up there was a large amount of activity in the car park, a couple of ambulance bus things, lots of old people wandering around and a few younger ones, we enter the site in plain view of them and it turns out half of them are wandering around the site as well, up the big aerial walkways, in the rolling drums and having a jolly old time! It's easy to see why the park closed though, the place is a death trap.

More here http://www.flickr.com/photos/mookie427/sets/72157629721140824/

 

[onthebusescrazy]

Brillant Find there mookster love the slide shot brillant its like something out of a horror film in the second pic great pictures thank you

 

[Lost_In_Normandy]

Awsome!!!

I bet you were tempted for the slide?!!

Something about the old theme parks and Holiday homes...if I could click my heels a few times it would be off to a derlict Butlins at Barry Island with googles of SD card space and a back pack of batteries!

 

[night crawler]

Great report, so eary seeing the trees growing round the attractions, thing is did you go down the slide.?

 

[mookster]

With a sack and a bit of rain you could get down the slide but there's far too much friction in the dry

 

[flyboys90]

Looks like that one will never open again! thanks for sharing.

 

[skeleton key]

Now theres a splore you could have some real good fun at ,The Dadi park lol

Cheers mate

 

[jongriff]

LOve it, so jealous

 

[rectory-rat]

Really great set there mate, thanks for sharing

Can't believe it's still a 'just walk in the front gate'. It was like that when I first went nearly two years back, amazed no one's killed themselves in there since it closed tbh

-RR

 

[lost]

I've seen some improvised objects used for sliding down there, including a bin. I wasn't tempted.
It's a really fun place, did you look at many other places in Belgium?

 

[Miss.Anthrope]

Cool report!

i soo would have had to go down the slide!

 

[mookster]

I've seen some improvised objects used for sliding down there, including a bin. I wasn't tempted.
It's a really fun place, did you look at many other places in Belgium?

18 sites in total, still got about half to get off the card!

 

[TeeJF]

I saw this place in another report once and to be honest I wasn't at all turned on by it. But I'm getting intrigued now, especially as it's so close to those lovely Belgian Blue steaks and beers I told you about!

Great pix mate.