Plopsa Coo

Stavelot, Belgium

“Charming family theme park on a stunning location”

Plopsa is rapidly becoming one of Europe’s most influential theme park groups. It all started with the opening of Plopsaland De Panne in the year 2000, but the group has acquired many more parks since that day. Nowadays, Plopsa is responsible for parks in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland and there’s another park under construction in the Czech Republic. Some of the smaller parks are built from scratch, but the Plopsa Group also has a strategy of buying and renovating existing theme parks. One of those existing theme parks was TéléCoo, which was transformed to Plopsa Coo in the year 2006. The park is located at the famous Coo Waterfalls. These waterfalls aren’t as spectacular as you might expect, but the scenery is stunning nonetheless. Plopsa Coo is built between lush green hills and the Amblève river adds some natural beauty. The park even boasts a cable car, climbing up a 220-metre mountain slope.

ROLLER COASTERS

Your coaster counter doesn’t get an incredible boost at Plopsa Coo… and neither does your thrill level. The park is home to two family-friendly roller coasters. The oldest one is Halvar, a Vekoma terrain coaster which has been at the park since 1989. This is one of the company’s very few remaining MK-700 models and the trains look familiar if you’ve ever ridden Megablitz (Wiener Prater) or Revolution (Bobbejaanland). The ride isn’t extremely tall or fast, but it delivers great fun. Despite its age, Halvar remains incredibly smooth and the hillside location adds some bonus points. Great coaster.

The second credit is called Vicky The Ride and it’s themed to vikings. This spinning coaster opened in 2011 and it was manufactured by Gerstlauer. Unlike the famous Maurer spinning coasters, Vicky’s seats face inwards. Personally I prefer the Maurer trains, as they offer more visibility. Still, Vicky The Ride turns out to be an excellent family ride. The twists and turns are quite intense and the station looks nothing less than stunning.

ANYTHING ELSE?

Plopsa Coo has all the typical rides you’d expect at a family theme park. However, I should praise the park even more because of its unique rides. This includes the scenic cable car, a karting track, a midget golf area and a classic rodel track. You might know Rodelbahnen if you’ve ever been to Germany or Austria, but they’re not that common in Belgium or the Netherlands. That’s why I thoroughly enjoyed my ride on Plopsa Coo’s version. It’s not the most intense rodel track on Earth, but I guess it would get a 10+ excitement rating in Roller Coaster Tycoon. Don’t miss it, but you should note that the attraction’s capacity is rather limited.

WORTH A VISIT?

I wouldn’t recommend driving more than two hours to get here, but I consider Plopsa Coo as a fine amusement park. The location is wonderful and the ride selection is perfect for families with younger children. Two things should be taken into consideration, though. First of all, this isn’t a bad weather park. I realise that every outdoor theme park is better with nice summer weather, but a little rain doesn’t hurt if a certain park has enough indoor offerings. Plopsa Coo doesn’t have any dark rides and the number of covered attractions is very limited. Secondly, it seems that Plopsa Coo isn’t able to cope with large crowds. Most rides have a limited capacity and the total surface of the park is rather small. We came on a quiet day during the week and I enjoyed the park a lot. Still, I can imagine that weekends may cause serious queues.

PHOTO GALLERY

What’s your favourite ride at Plopsa Coo? Do you know other theme parks that are built right next to a waterfall? What would be the ideal addition for this park? Share your opinion in the comments section at the bottom of this page.