Plopsa (De Panne, Belgium), the theme-park division of the Belgian media enterprise Studio 100 (Schelle, Belgium), has purchased the amusement and adventure park “Holiday Park” in Hassloch, South West Germany. Holiday Park, Managing Director Wolfgang Schneider and Steve Van den Kerkhof, Managing Director of Plopsa, signed the contract on 2 November 2010. The reopening is scheduled for April 2011. Plopsa already operates three theme parks in Belgium – Plopsaland De Panne (founded in 2000), Plopsa Indoor Hasselt (2005) and Plopsa Coo (2005) and one theme park in the Netherlands - Plopsa Indoor Coevorden which opened in April 2010. The theme parks attract approximately 2.5 million visitors per year.

Plopsa is a word coined from the children’s TV characters Kabouter Plop (Plop the Gnome) and Samson & Gert, which are very popular in Belgium and, as Studio 100 characters play an important role in the parks.

Plopsa is the theme-park division of the Belgian media enterprise Studio 100, which has been represented on the German market by Studio100 Media in Munich since 2007. Studio100 Media owns the rights to highly recognized children’s TV brands such as Maya the Bee, Vicky the Viking, Heidi and Tabaluga.

“A dedicated theme park in Germany in which we can also give a home to the Studio100 Media characters such as Maya the Bee and Vicky is a logical strategy” says Steve Van den Kerkhof, Managing Director of Plopsa. “It is important for Studio 100 to offer family entertainment on all platforms under our own direction – this also includes allowing fans to experience beloved classics such as Vicky and the heroes from our production House of Anubis”, adds Patrick Elmendorff, Managing Director of Studio100 Media. Studio 100 owners Gert Verhulst and Hans Bourlon assert: “We take great pleasure and pride in our new family member.”

The Holiday Park will keep its name and will be reopened in April 2011; the scheduled closure of the park took place on 31 October. Plopsa intends to maintain the number of employees (currently 85 staff members) and raise it in the long term. The company will invest 25 million Euros over the next four years to achieve the medium-term goal of making it one of the five most frequented theme parks in Germany. The branding of the park will then take its cue from the Studio 100 brands.

Holiday Park was founded by the Schneider family in 1971 and will be celebrating its 40th anniversary next year. “I am delighted that Holiday Park will continue to grow successfully in the Plopsa Group” says Wolfgang Schneider, the departing Managing Director of the Holiday Park.