Movieland

Lazise, Italy

“Theme park with unique, world-class experiences”

Movieland is part of the Canevaworld Resort, which is also home to a huge water park and a dinner show. When the resort decided to add a theme park in 2002, they did a great job to distinguish it from other amusement parks. Movieland, which nicknames itself as The Hollywood Park, is one of the most unusual theme parks in Europe. This park doesn’t revolve around bigger or faster rides, but the attractions are designed to deliver unique experiences. A visit to Movieland is easy to combine with a trip to Gardaland, as the distance between both parks is just 4 kilometres. You can even see Movieland while riding Gardaland’s Flying Island.

ROLLER COASTERS

Movieland has had several coasters, but only one of them was operational during my most recent visit: Diabolik. This Vekoma Invertigo used to operate at Six Flags America, but it was replaced to Italy, where it opened in 2015. The funny thing about Diabolik is its location: the ride is virtually standing in the Canevaworld water park, so you may be able to spot a few swimmers while riding this Inverted Boomerang.

SBNO is one of the worst abbreviations in the coaster-loving community. Standing but not operating means that the ride is there, but guests are not able to ride it for some obscure reason. I guess high maintenance costs forced Movieland to close Brontojet, a Schwarzkopf City Jet. It’s such a shame to see this coaster classic rot away in a remote corner of Movieland and I’m afraid it’ll never operate again.

ANYTHING ELSE?

Coasters aren’t Movieland’s strength. The park has some other assets, though. Be sure to ride Magma 2.1 for one of Europe’s craziest truck rides. This tour through the park’s backstage features some great special effects and the drivers do their utmost to provide a thrilling experience. The biggest thrill of Movieland, however, is probably Kitt SuperJet. This speedboat experience is truly amazing and although you may exit the ride completely soaked, it’s one of the best theme park rides in the whole of Italy.

Talking about soaking attractions… Don’t miss a ride on U-571, a unique submarine simulator. The atmosphere in the pre-show is very mysterious and the actual ride doesn’t fail to impress. By the way: please skip U-571 if you’re afraid of water. Self-driving experience Pangea is a lot less thrilling and wet than the other rides mentioned above, but it’s a perfect attraction for the whole family.

Hollywood Action Tower isn’t as soaking as the other rides mentioned, but it’s as least as thrilling. This old-school free fall tower offers a shaky and sensational ride experience, so I actually felt happy to exit the ride alive. Funny detail: this free fall is themed to Disney’s Hollywood Tower Hotel. That includes a bellhop as ride host and the Twilight Zone soundtrack is played right before the drop.

WORTH A VISIT?

Movieland may look like an underwhelming park to pure coaster junkies, but they’re wrong. Theme parks aren’t about roller coasters alone and Movieland created some world-class experiences. This isn’t a bad weather park, though. Many rides include serious chances of getting (very) wet, so I’d recommend visiting Movieland during the summer months.

PHOTO GALLERY

CANEVAWORLD RESORT

MOVIELAND

Would you consider visiting this park during a trip to Italy? What’s your favourite Movieland ride? And do you think that they’ll ever build a new roller coaster? Share your opinion in the comments section at the bottom of this page.