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Plopsaland Deutschland

Haßloch, Germany

“The glow-up of a dated, regional amusement park”

Every coaster enthusiast in the world knows Holiday Park, the former name of Plopsaland Deutschland. Despite the fact that this German amusement park isn’t huge, it has one unique selling point: Expedition GeForce. This Mega Coaster opened in 2001 and it put Holiday Park on the map. Nowadays, the park is owned and operated by the Belgian Plopsa Group. Plopsa is mainly known for their child-friendly theme parks, so they added loads of family rides to the park. This may seem uninteresting from a coaster fan’s point of view, but Plopsaland Deutschland actually made a huge leap forwards during the past few years. The overall theming level has risen steadily and multiple new attractions are under development for the near future, including a Mack Rides Xtreme Spinning Coaster.

ROLLER COASTERS

Plopsaland Deutschland’s attraction lineup is still dominated by the previously-mentioned Mega Coaster. Before bigFM Expedition GeForce, this was a regional family park. However, it suddenly became a bucket-list destination for coaster enthusiasts from all over the world in 2001. Interestingly, Expedition GeForce’s raw statistics aren’t that unusual by Mega Coaster standards. The lift hill is 174 feet (55 metres) tall and riders reach a top speed of 75 mph (120 km/h). However, the ride’s biggest strengths are its original layout, twisted first drop and brutal positive G-forces. Besides, the back seats deliver some of the craziest airtime I’ve ever experienced on a coaster. Even after its 25th anniversary, Expedition GeForce still offers everything you’d expect from a top-class roller coaster.

As a childless adult, I’m not interested in visiting the Plopsa Indoor parks in Belgium or the Netherlands. I’m able to get a taste of those places’ atmosphere while visiting Plopsaland Deutschland’s indoor section called Plopsa Indoor, though. The hall was themed around animated series such as Heidi, Mia & Me and Tabaluga. The latter immediately caught our attention, as the cute little dragon lends its name to Tabaluga’s Achterbahn, a Force Two model by Zierer. Despite its short layout, this coaster makes an excellent impression. The ride is nice and smooth, and we can see beautiful rock formations all around the track. Great roller coaster for the whole family.

With Majaland and Wickieland, Plopsaland Deutschland has two extensive, cohesively-themed areas. Other parts of the park look a lot more eclectic, though. The western half of the park, in particular, turns out to be a mishmash of different themes. The area contains attractions themed to the beach, wolves, aviation and… pure horror. Sky Scream is a launched coaster that seems to be set in a permanent Halloween setting. The station was designed to look like an abandoned warehouse, whilst the queue functions a spooky walk-through with jump scares. It’s an unusual sight, especially in a Plopsa park. The coaster itself, however, is anything but unusual. Have you ever been to Busch Gardens or SeaWorld San Diego? Then you probably know what a Premier Rides Sky Rocket II is all about. Sky Scream treats its riders to three intense accelerations and one of the highest inversions you’ll find in Europe. That sounds fantastic, but incredibly cramped seats and a short ride duration prevent Sky Scream from being a truly top-class coaster.

Until recently, there’s been quite a large void between the kiddie coaster and the big thrills of GeForce and Sky Scream. That fortunately changed in 2026 with the opening of 100% Wolf, a family coaster that was built at the edge of the park’s lake. Despite its 100% original layout, this Gerstlauer-manufactured coaster immediately reminded me of my rides on Wakala at Bellewaerde Park. 100% Wolf boasts a similar twisty layout, and the ride’s special element is also identical. A track switch and a spike were integrated near the end of the layout, causing riders to experience a short section both forwards and backwards. That trick may not be particularly innovative by today’s standards, but it does give 100% Wolf a 100% unique identity. I’d also like to praise Plopsa’s creative team for the forced perspective and theming surrounding the station.

DARK RIDES

If you’ve visited Holiday Park before 2022, you may remember Burg Falkenstein. This dark ride depicted daily life in a medieval castle, including the cruelties that were part of it. It was precisely that raw edge that made Burg Falkenstein a cult classic, but it didn’t fit well in Plopsa’s family-friendly philosophy. It was therefore to be expected that the attraction would eventually be adapted. And indeed… these days, you’ll find Die Schlümpfe Abenteuer behind the castle walls. The hardware and exterior have remained virtually unchanged, but the attraction tells a considerably friendlier story revolving around the Smurfs nowadays. I genuinely like the result, by the way. The storyline is easy to follow and the ride consists of colourful, atmospheric scenes. Although I might have liked to see a bit more movement in the animatronics, this dark ride is surprisingly fun.

WATER RIDES

It’s great that Plopsa often chooses for original attractions these days. After all, Schlümpfe Abenteuer and 100% Wolf are rides you can’t experience anywhere else. However, Plopsa isn’t afraid to push the copy-and-paste buttons from time to time. Wickieland, for example, looks very similar to its namesake in Plopsaland Belgium. The Splash Battle seems identical and the area’s centrepiece is also a Disk’o Coaster. Nevertheless, I’ve noticed two striking differences. Firstly, the German Wickieland got a considerably nicer location right in the centre of the park. Secondly, the area is noticeably larger thanks to the presence of Wickie Splash, a log flume by Mack Rides dating from 1992. It is kind of similar to Flash Back and Crazy River at Walibi Belgium and Walibi Holland: the ride features three drops, including one backward one. Plopsa has successfully refreshed the decoration, so Wickie Splash remains an excellent family attraction, even after 35 years of operation.

Wickieland isn’t the only place to cool off. Plopsaland Deutschland offers dancing fountains (which seem to be an almost obligatory feature in every park run by this group), a water playground in Majaland and a colourful water slide tower themed to Super Wings. And as if that weren’t enough, you can also head to the centre of the park for Dino Splash. Do not confuse this attraction with its namesake at Plopsaland Belgium. Here in Haßloch, it’s a rapid river rather than a log flume. A rapid river that does not disappoint, by the way. The raging river winds beautifully through the green landscape and there are a number of rapids that are sure to get you wet. However, it’s a shame that most of the dinosaur animatronics along the route no longer move, despite the fact that they’ve only been there since 2020.

OTHER EXPERIENCES

Plopsa once started as a child-oriented theme park chain, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that many of Plopsaland Deutschland’s attractions are aimed towards younger visitors. A large portion of these rides can be found in Majaland. As I walk through Majaland, I experience a lingering sense of déjà vu. The architectural style, the water playground and the look of the attractions… everything reminds me of Plopsaland Belgium. Even Maja’s Blütensplash is an exact copy of De Bloemenmolen in the Belgian park. The catchy song has obviously been translated into German, but the goal is the same: follow the instructions to avoid getting wet. Even more kiddie rides can de found beneath the tracks of Expedition GeForce. This area is themed around Blinky Bill. Zamperla and Metallbau Emmeln supplied three attractions, whilst Plopsaland provided (simple) decoration with references to the Australian Outback.

Plopsa has a wide range of spinning flat rides. Plopsa Indoor features a carousel with swinging seats, the beach area is home to a jet-ski attraction, and Die Große Welle (The Big Wave) at Wickieland counts as one of the coolest-looking Disk’o Coasters in the world. And then there’s a square known as Air Show ’71, named after Holiday Park’s opening year. The attractions in this area are themed to hot air balloons, antique planes and fighter jets. The biggest crowd pleaser is Sky Fly, which has been built by Gerstlauer. This type of ride can be found at many other European parks and it’s also present at Universal Epic Universe. Plopsaland Deutschland’s version stands out due to its long ride cycle, which makes it relatively easy to make inversions.

The skyline of Plopsaland Deutschland is dominated by Expedition GeForce, Sky Scream and two tall towers. One of them is Lighthouse Tower, a 230-feet-high (70 metres) Star Flyer with a surprisingly long ride programme. Free Fall Tower offers a considerably shorter experience, but it’s very thrilling nevertheless. Unfortunately, this Intamin Giant Drop is one of the park’s weakest attractions when it comes to theming. The queue was decorated with a few photos from the TV series Das Haus Anubis, but that’s it. Let’s hope that this ride will receive a well-deserved renovation soon. A little tip: try to get the gondola closest to the operator’s booth, as it treats you to brilliant views of Expedition GeForce.

WORTH A VISIT?

I remember Holiday Park as a dated family park that just happened to have a superb roller coaster. In fact, Expedition GeForce was the only valid reason to make a quick stop while travelling to Europa-Park or Tripsdrill. However, Plopsa has done an amazing job over the past 15 years. Nowadays, Plopsaland Deutschland is a destination with an extensive ride lineup, excellent theming and a very pleasant atmosphere. Nevertheless, there is still room for improvement, particularly when it comes to operations and staffing. It’s a shame that GeForce seems to be running only one train almost year-round, but this is far from the only attraction that suffers from poor operations. Although it didn’t bother me on a quiet day, I can imagine that a visit to Plopsaland Deutschland may turn out rather disappointing during busier times.

Plopsaland Deutschland isn’t Europe’s best theme park, but we did have a lovely day here. Expedition GeForce remains awesome, 100% Wolf is a great addition and the beach bar served some delicious cocktails. But what are your thoughts? Is Expedition GeForce the world’s best roller coaster? Is Plopsa Group doing a good job with this park? And have you experienced the rather explicit scenes of Burg Falkenstein before it was transformed into a Smurfs dark ride? Share your opinion in the comments section at the bottom of this page.

This article reflects my personal experience at Plopsaland Deutschland during a visit in July 2026.