Podcasts about Plopsaland

In this episode, we chat with Choni Fernández, Chief Sustainability Officer and Customer at PortAventura World, the first carbon-neutral theme park in the world, and now proudly B Corp certified.Choni isn't just ticking ESG boxes, she's leading a cultural shift in how attractions operate. From zero-emissions hotels to renewable energy and deep supply chain work, PortAventura is setting the global standard.In this episode, we dive into the real work behind the headlines. How do you build a sustainability culture that actually sticks? Can you lead without a big green team? And what does digital sustainability really mean?If you're serious about sustainability, or wondering where to start, this is the conversation you need to hear.Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is Paul Marden, with co host Andy Povey and roving reporter Claire Furnival.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website SkiptheQueue.fm.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on LinkedIn. Show references:  PortAventura World website: https://www.portaventuraworld.com/nosotros/trabaja-con-nosotrosChoni Fernández on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/choni-fern%C3%A1ndez-veciana/Choni Fernández is Customer, Sustainability and Communications Director at PortAventura World. With a background in Economics and over a decade at BASF, she joined PortAventura in 2007, where she has led Procurement, Logistics, and Sustainability. She spearheaded the company's sustainability strategy, achieving the milestone of B Corp Certification, and now leads the newly created Customer Department to drive a more customer-centric approach. Choni also serves as Catalonia Delegate at DIRSE and is Chair of the IAAPA EMEA Sustainability Committee. Plus, live from the IAAPA Expo Europe show floor, we catch up with:Jakob Wahl, President & CEO of IAAPAhttps://iaapa.org/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakob-wahl/Elliot Hall from Expression Capital Partners LLPhttps://expressioncapitalpartners.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/elliot-h-1b804a6a/Matt Barton, CEO / Co-Founder CurtainUp Ltd. & President of Themed Entertainment Association TEA https://www.curtainup.livehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-barton-99a8039/Melissa Oviedo, Chief Executive Officer, Themed Entertainment Association TEA https://www.teaconnect.org/https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-oviedo-ruminot-90a63228/Kevin Murphy, Senior VP, Kraftwerk Living Technologieshttp://www.kraftwerk.athttps://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-murphy-854439/Jacob Thompson, CX Director, Attractions.io https://attractions.iohttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-thompson-icap-151271149/ Transcriptions:  Welcome, skip the queue, to Barcelona.Paul Marden: Welcome to Skip the Queue, the podcast about the world's best attractions and the amazing people that work in them. I'm your host, Paul Marden, and along with my co-host, Andy Povey, and roving reporter Claire Furnival, we're bringing you the latest news from IAAPA Expo Europe in Barcelona.Paul Marden: You join me today tired and just a little bit emotional at the airport after an amazing week at the show.Paul Marden: In this episode, we wrap up our time at IAAPA Expo Europe with a final look back at the show floor buzz. I catch up with Jakob Wahl, Chief Executive Officer of IAAPA, to get his reflections on an unforgettable week, from standout innovations to what's next for the global attractions industry. But first, Andy sits down with Choni Fernandez, Chief Sustainability Officer at PortAventura World, to explore what it really takes to become the first carbon neutral theme park on the planet and why sustainability must be at the heart of guest experience going forward.Andy Povey: So hello, everybody. I'm joined today by Choni Fernandez from PortAventura World. Choni is responsible for sustainability and guest experience and a number of other things, I believe, Choni. Hello and welcome to Skip the Queue. Hello. Choni Fernandez: Thank you very much for your invitation. Andy Povey: So, Choni, you guys at PortAventura World are really leading the industry and probably more than just our industry. In terms of sustainability, you were the first carbon neutral theme park in the world and in '24, the first theme park company to achieve a BCorp certification. Am I right?Choni Fernandez: Yes, you're right. It was, in fact, we are VCOPS since 2022. And yes, we were operational carbon neutral because we reduced our emissions during several years. And after that, we acquired some carbon credits to compensate the result of the balancing emissions. For scope one and two. Yes. So since then we are operational carbon neutral. That is not really an official name, but it's easy to explain what we are doing. Andy Povey: Okay. So what is the official name?Choni Fernandez: The official name, in fact, now that's interesting because it's a big discussion in the European community. We chat the terms we can use or not. In the new CCRG, that is going to change. Some words like green, sustainable, are probably forbidden, words that cannot be used any longer. And you need to speak properly about the impact of your activity without using these words that can lead to a type of greenwashing. And you need to be more clear about when you say, for instance, 'carbon neutral,' you need to say, 'we have reduced emissions, we compensate.' More explanation than just using one word that can be easily misunderstood.Andy Povey: Okay, yeah, yeah. That makes a lot of sense. Just buying carbon credits. You're actually doing something positive. Taking action. Like, is it Europe's largest solar farm?Choni Fernandez: It's the largest solar farm. That was one of the biggest at the source of Europe. And for sure, I guess, is still the biggest in Spain.Andy Povey: The biggest solar farm in Spain.Choni Fernandez: Sorry, in a holiday resort, yes. There are other very big solar plants that they produce energy for third parties, but they are not linked to a tourist industry.Andy Povey: No, that makes absolute sense. So you're generating your own power.Choni Fernandez: We generate 30%. The plant is not big enough and we have some restrictions of the government. So we cannot sell the surplus of energy we produce. So we could only make the plan as big as the low on consumption we have in a period of a year.Andy Povey: That makes absolute sense.Choni Fernandez: So that means that there are several months where we produce 100% energy we need. But then, obviously, in the peak of the season, we need extra energy. We buy from the net, but we always buy green energy from the net, too. Then 100% of the energy we consume is green energy, not coming from non-renewable.Andy Povey: It all becomes much more complicated as you dive into the detail, doesn't it?Choni Fernandez: Yes, yes, yes. Everything is much more complicated. And in Europe, yes, I would say even one step more complicated than the rest of the world because of all the regulations.Andy Povey: So what was it that inspired PortAventura World and how did you persuade PortAventura World to take sustainability so seriously?Choni Fernandez Okay, the history starts really with, I would say, a huge pain point, even when they were designing the park. And it was related to water. We are established in an area where we suffer from water scarcity many periods. So for those designers, they already designed the park with sustainability in mind. So they have created a complex system to recover all water rains in a big tank that is our Mediterranean lake.Andy Povey: Yeah, yeah, yeah.Choni Fernandez: So water was a treasure since the beginning. And they have also in a private-public investment. Take all the gray waters from the park, sending it to a water treatment plant several kilometres far away from the resort, and making the pipe bring the recycled water back to the resort for gardening. So PortAventura was using recycled water since 30 years ago. And that was really the starting point of sustainability at PortAventura. So we start with all the environmental impacts that the activity was going to have. And they created the park open doors in 1995. So in 1997, just two years after that, they have created the Green Team.Choni Fernandez: It's a team from different members of different departments who takes care of the environmental impacts and how they can reduce the use of water, energy and so on. And this team is still working nowadays and takes care of more complex things, certifications, but with the same, I would say, purpose, you know, that is to reduce the environmental impact of the resort, and now we start to regenerate different areas. So it's not producing impact, it's creating positive impact through regeneration.Choni Fernandez: And that was a starting point. But I like to repeat that sustainability has not fixed rules. So that is the story of Pota Aventura, because we are what we are. We are located where we are. But for instance, in the Global Sustainability Committee of IAAPA, SCARBRED was a member of that. And SCARBRED, the sustainability, had not begun for the water scarcity. They don't have this problem.Choni Fernandez: So sustainability there was more linked to the social sustainability, how to integrate communities in the project. So it really depends, again, in that moment, the momentum, you know, that we call. Where you are, who you are, what is your future footprint of your activity in your community and in the environment.Choni Fernandez: So we start with that. And year after year, we consolidate this beginning. So any new activity of PortAventura, it doesn't matter— new hotel, new park, convention centre has always followed the same philosophy that we started in 1997.Andy Povey: Very good.Choni Fernandez: Yes, because I think that this makes the project really coherent, consistent, and resilient. So it's something that we have not done from day to night, you know. It's something that we have. It's like a dish you have cooked in a low, low temperature, you know. Andy Povey: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Slow cooker. Choni Fernandez: Slow cook. That is. Sustainable PortAventura is slow cook. But at the end, you know, the dish is very good cooked and it's good.Andy Povey: Absolutely. And then, as the person responsible for customer experience within PortAventura World, before talking to you, I wouldn't necessarily have put... sustainability and customer experience together in the same group.Choni Fernandez: You're right because, okay, that is something that has changed also through years, you know, so sustainability was linked and happened at PortAventura. It was totally linked to the environmental part. But that is only one third of what sustainability means. Sustainability is also the social impact and obviously the governance.Choni Fernandez: We call also ESG. Okay, it has some difference because it has more financial meaning. But what is clear when you talk, when we talk about sustainability, we talk about the environmental impacts and the social impacts. And the social impacts are the impacts that your activity, our activity has on people. And when we talk about people, we talk about employees, we talk about our community that's surrounding us, we talk about shareholders, we talk about suppliers, and we talk about guests or visitors. And the activity of any company should have a positive impact on these people that are affected by the activity, that they are also called stakeholders.Choni Fernandez: So, and here is the reason why we try to improve every year the guest experience in order to improve this positive impact. And at the end of the day, because we are not NGOs. We strongly believe that a positive impact on the guest experience is going to be translated in future revenues, more attendance for our parks, and makes our resort more resilient because it's more profitable in the long term.Andy Povey: So this really is a sort of a wheel or a cycle. Choni Fernandez: You are right. You are right. You are right. So we really differentiate at PortAventura. I mean, sustainability is also a new angle to see your business. There is the financial angle. And then there is the angle— how your activity affects the difference they hold up. But that is clear that both need to go together. I mean, business and sustainability. In fact... One of the reasons to become a BCorp company is to evolve our mission and vision with a purpose that integrates sustainability in the business model. So it is much easier for us to talk to employees, to talk to suppliers, to talk to guests. About what is the reason why it exists and why it's important to have sustainability included in order, again, to make our business resilient through the past of the years.Andy Povey: So we have a lot of listeners around the world. What would be your advice to someone running a venue that doesn't have the advantage of starting with sustainability right at the heart and from where they started their business? How do you make a start on this?Choni Fernandez: That is a very interesting question. And the first I think any company needs to do is really to understand the stakeholders they are affecting too. Because just with this complete transparent and dialogue with the different stakeholders, you really can understand what is the impact you are producing on them. And from this result, then you know where are your main pain points, where you need to focus first on. Obviously, there are some general rules. Your impact on the environment, as I told you before, normally a new venue has, for sure, clients, or at least customer guests, employees, probably shareholders, and then in another level, suppliers, community, etc.Choni Fernandez: So, and depends what is the situation, you need to start with that. You need to prepare a good analysis because, if not, what could happen? Imagine that you focus a lot on the environmental part and you start with that because you have seen that PortAventura has started with that.Choni Fernandez: But then that is not your problem because you are in an area where your resources are really well controlled or your resort has very good standards, very efficient, because it has done with high technology, but you have an employee problem.Choni Fernandez: You have problems perhaps to attract employees, to retain the talent, or really to make them happy working with you. Then you have to start the sustainability for not the most important topic in your company. So the most important is to understand what the stakeholders need from you and then to prepare. And it's also very interesting, I think, to start, you know, things small.Choni Fernandez: Making small projects that can be consolidated and embedded into the company. Because what is really important in a company is that each department, each area of the company, maintenance, procurement, human resources, marketing, and each of the departments really is doing the part of sustainability they need to, because it is impossible that one person on every team produces all the sustainability that the whole company needs to do.Choni Fernandez: So if sustainability is really not embedded in the activity of each Japan, it's really impossible to be a successful company in terms of sustainability. You know what I mean?Andy Povey: I know exactly what you mean. That rule is so true for so many things, isn't it? You could replace the word sustainability with guest experience or ride safety. Choni Fernandez: Yes, it's the same. Andy Povey: Any number of different things.Choni Fernandez: I always explain when people say, 'but you have done a lot, Choni.' I say, 'no, no, no, no, no.' Choni has not done a lot.Choni Fernandez: Many people are doing a lot, you know. And sustainability managers or directors normally are orchestra directors. But each one needs to play its own instrument so we have a nice music, you know. If not, it does not work at all, you know, like in orchestra. So we need the maintenance guy, really. or the energy manager to really take care of that. And human resources really to prepare inclusivity, et cetera, policies linked to employees. And marketing, doing really an ethic marketing to guests. So, and that is how everyone is really doing a part of the peak and sustainability of the company.Andy Povey: That sounds very familiar and I'm sure for our guests will ring true in many different areas. It's interesting you talk about really understanding where you are. What it is you're doing. We've done some work here in the UK on the sustainability of websites. So by not printing a park map, you obviously save resources, you save paper. But if you put that on a really inefficient webpage, then you're just consuming someone else's electricity. It doesn't make you any more sustainable.Choni Fernandez: And one thing I would like to tell you is that one of the big steps for us was when our investors make the management very clear that investors of the private funds that own PortAventura were asking for sustainable investments. So that was also a way, really, to receive more money from the investors to the owners. And that is very important because when the financial markets really recognise that sustainability is a plus for an investment, then, you know, things change. Things happen. And we had two moments in this company, in my opinion, for us, for sustainability managers, that make this big change in our mindset. Choni Fernandez: One is the world of our shareholders. And that was really a big, big step forward. Because we realised then, 'oh my God, we are sustainable. We can be sustainable. Our sustainability is a lever really to receive more funds to our business.'Choni Fernandez: And the second one was when we have two different businesses, really a B2C— final customer— and a B2E— travel agencies, companies who do their conventions in our convention, et cetera, et cetera. Once upon a time, a company came to PortAventura asking for a quotation for a big convention, European size, very big one.Choni Fernandez: And before receiving the quotation, they asked, 'Please, can you send us your sustainability report?' Because we would like to see if that's the venue where we want to go. Now, everything changed.Andy Povey: Absolutely.Choni Fernandez: Because at first time, sustainability was bringing business to the company. It was not a nice to have, something that we need to have. It was really part of the business. And that changed the history of the, I would say, the sustainability journey of this company when we have both shareholders' commitment and really request to continue on that. And on the other side, we were recognised for our sustainability activity in a business case.Andy Povey: It's very interesting when you get push or pull from both sides. Choni Fernandez: You're right. Then you realise that there is no other way to do that, you know, so you need pushing, pushing.Andy Povey: You're doing a lot of work about education, work, and working with schools, and having to engage them in your journey.Choni Fernandez: That's again the same case, you know. So in our guest segmentation, school groups are one of them. And it is a very important group for us and I guess for other operators too. As we receive many schoolers. But, you know, the teachers, not students, they thought that the trip to PortAventura was really 100% entertainment. And schools were looking for something more cultural, educational.Choni Fernandez: So then, at that moment, we prepare some workshops at the beginning of the day before the park opens. If the park opens at 10, we can deliver a sustainability workshop from 9 to 10. For instance, talking to kids about biodiversity, about waste management, how to produce green energy. So in the solar plant, we don't have only solar panels. We also have some instruments, some elements to explain children how to produce green energy with movement, with wind, with sun, with solar energy. And they can experiment with their hands. With this element, how to produce this green energy. And they understand very well because that is part of the curriculum that they have to study at school. But now they can put it in practice in a different way, in a way... that our industry delivers very well, that is entertainment, you know?Andy Povey: Yes, yeah, yeah.Choni Fernandez: And that is driving more schools to visit us. So again, there is another link with sustainability, more business, more attendance, more revenues.Andy Povey: We're back on the cycle.Choni Fernandez: Yeah, again, the cycle. We close the loop, you know.Andy Povey: Absolutely. Choni, is there something you'd like to leave as a sort of parting message or a final thought to everybody that's listening to the podcast? A single sentence about how they can emulate your success.Choni Fernandez: No, I think that, okay, sometimes in life, you know, for sustainability managers, I mean, and now in the world, perhaps you feel like Talmon, you know, coming up to the river.Andy Povey: Yeah, yeah, yeah.Choni Fernandez: In a difficult situation, but it doesn't matter. So the evidence is so strong that, if you really can close the loop, as we have been talking, if you can really demonstrate and we can close the gap. Between the sustainability impacts and the financial impacts, then sustainability is part of your business. I think that should be the goal— to really don't have sustainability as something nice to have additional to the business. Avoid that at all.Choni Fernandez: Sustainability is part of the business and makes the business more resilient and more profitable in the long term.Andy Povey: Lovely. That's a great message to leave us with. Paul Marden: Now let's hear some of the buzz from the show floor.Claire Furnival: So day three of IAAPA and I've just bumped into Matt Barton. Matt Barton: Hello. Claire Furnival: Matt, you wear many hats.Matt Barton: My day job is I'm the founder and CEO of Curtain Up. I'm also the owner of 7th Sense, a company that makes media servers and pixel management systems. But I'm also the president of the Themed Entertainment Association, better known as the TEA.Claire Furnival: Crumbs, the busy man. I hear you had a party last night. Matt Barton: We did. Yeah, we had a very successful mixer. We have a great relationship with IAAPA and we have a mixer at all of IAAPA's events around the globe. And we bring our members together, usually on the second or third night of the event.Claire Furnival: Anything announced last night at the party?Matt Barton: Yeah, so we announced our next SAIT conference, and SAIT stands for Storytelling, Architecture, Technology equals Experience. So it's a thought leadership conference where we talk about trends in the industry, best practices to follow, that kind of thing. We've just finished our SAIT Asia event just three weeks ago now, and that was in New Zealand this year. And we just last announced that we're going to be in Dubai next year. Again, building on that great relationship we have with IAAPA, we're actually doing it almost like a pre-conference event. So it's tied in with IAAPA Middle East, which is going to be in Abu Dhabi. We're going to be the week before. So people can then come to SAIT, enjoy SAIT with us, and then go straight down to Abu Dhabi for the IAAPA conference.Claire Furnival: What activities is it that the TEA do? What do you offer your members?Matt Barton: So a whole range of things. And what I'm going to do now is introduce our CEO, Melissa. Melissa Oviedo.Claire Furnival: Great to meet you, Melissa. So what is it that TEA offers its members?Melissa  Oviedo: We are really the connection community. The connection community for the design, the makers, the builders, the creators. Everybody who delivers world-class experiences around the world, that's really who we are and what we represent. That can be from theme parks to museums to cultural to location-based entertainment. Claire Furnival: So I understand that the TEA does an annual benchmark report. Melissa  Oviedo: Yeah, we've just rebranded this. This is the TEA Theme Experience Index. This is the 19th year that we're doing this benchmark study. Yeah, it's really exciting for us. And what this is, is this is the annual attendance report that tracks attendance data from around the globe for the top theme parks, water parks, and museums globally. It really looks at trends, so we can understand where are the guests going, where are they spending their time, how are the parks, especially as they're coming new on the market, how do they influence those trends? And we're actually going to be launching this on October 22nd.Claire Furnival: So a couple of questions spring to mind on that one. So first of all, can anybody access the report?Melissa  Oviedo: Yeah, sure can. It's a completely free resource. You can go online. If you're not a member, we just ask for you to fill out a quick form so we know who's downloading the report. And you will have full access to all of the data, and we will have actual books to hand out at IAAPA in Orlando in November.Claire Furnival: The sector's very, very, very lucky to have this piece of research. So can you give us any snippets as to what we might see in the report?Melissa  Oviedo: I think you'll see that the theme parks are really consistent. The big players are still the big players with Disney and Universal really driving the... main attendance data. And then China, with Chimalong Park, really still holding rank at number one water park in the world. We're seeing the attendance coming back in a fierce way in China.Melissa  Oviedo: Outlook is positive. Overall, though, you'll be able to find in the report a lot of the trends that we're seeing. A lot of what we're not only anticipating in 2025, but in the future as well, with all of the developments that are happening. So, really exciting, this year's report. Claire Furnival: And what about 2026? What does that bring the TEA? Melissa  Oviedo: Momentum is high, right? The community continues to look at how they diversify as an organisation or as a business. Theme parks is our core, but we're so much more than just that. So I think you're going to see. More people doing really cool and immersive things in new places. I think the definition of themed entertainment gets broadened and further defined. I think that you're going to see more activity and more collaboration because collaboration is really when the magic happens. And you're going to start to see that even more robustly in 2026 and beyond. Claire Furnival: Sounds exciting. So last thought from you, Matt.Matt Barton: Yeah, I just wanted to touch on a couple of things we've got left in 2025 before we look to 2026. So I mentioned SAIT earlier. We also have our SAIT conference in North America coming up. So that's in October. at Knott's Berry Farm, and that ties in with when we're launching the Global Experience Index. And then in November, we've got our mixer, our international mixer, combined with the IAAPA conference in Orlando. And so on the Tuesday night of IAAPA, we have our international mixer at the Isle of Berk attraction at Epic Universe. We've got the whole land, we've got dinner and drinks, and it's going to be a good one, so make sure you get your tickets in.Claire Furnival: One not to miss. Well, it's fabulous to catch up with both you, Matt, and you, Melissa. So thank you very much for your time.Matt Barton: Thank you.Melissa  Oviedo:  Thank you so much, Claire.Andy Povey: So we're on day three, and I'm sitting here with Elliot Hall, who's one of the founding partners behind Expression Capital Partners. Elliot, hello. Elliot Hall: Hi, Andy. Good to see you. Andy Povey: For our listeners at home, can you just tell me what Expression Capital Partners do and treat me like an idiot because I really don't understand the world of investment banking and all that kind of stuff.Elliot Hall: Okay, so Expression Capital Partners is the advisory firm to Entertainment Investments 1LP. Which is specialising in the entertainment industry. Andy Povey: Interesting. So I understand you're doing some work with Hasbro and in particular things like Monopoly.Elliot Hall: Yes, yes, yes, absolutely. So we're looking to open monopoly-themed hotels and casinos around the world. Andy Povey: Wow. Elliot Hall: Along with many of the different types of brands, as we're rather across their 1000 plus brands. Andy Povey: I understand there's also some sporting connections. Tell us a little bit about, tell us what you can. Elliot Hall: Yeah, so what we can. We are working with some brands that have relationships and contracts for the IP for UEFA, FIFA and the FA. Yeah, so some really exciting products there and businesses. And we are in a position to be able to sign licenses and lease agreements and so on. And we're looking at bringing all of those brands together, either in the same cluster of IP attractions or within one building under one roof. Andy Povey: So, Elliot, you guys really are the people that are bringing the magic together. The IP, the operators, and then working out how someone funds it all.Elliot Hall: Yes, absolutely, yes. Andy Povey: Fantastic.Claire Furnival: So I'm here talking to Kevin Murphy from Kraftwerk Living Technologies. How are you finding the show this year and what do you see the trends for 2026 for you, Kraftwerk or also the industry?Kevin Murphy: I think in many respects, the trend at the moment is survival, which isn't being negative, but the world is a different place from how it was pre-COVID. The industry, though, is very, very alive. There's a lot happening out there. It's good to see the show for full. We actually tried to get a booth this year and couldn't. Everything had sold out. It's busy. People are wandering around with a very positive vein. But there's no doubt that there's— world tensions and there's problems with investment— and it does affect the industry and you know we're not immune from that. Kevin Murphy: But what's been good about this show is that a lot of the partners and Clients that we're working with are starting to announce their new projects. You have to bear in mind, for us, we do high technology behind the scenes in parks and museums and science centres. We can be working on them for many, many years. So we've had projects that have been brewing and they're just starting to get announced now. So what I'm seeing is, although there's concern about the industry, there is a slightly more positive vein coming through. I think the economy is improving out there, investors are starting to come out, and you can make money out of our industry.Claire Furnival: So what in particular have you got going on in 2026? Anything you can talk about and share with us?Kevin Murphy: Well, we're very, very pleased it's been announced, so I can talk about it. Plopsaland, which is a park in Belgium, are working with Mac. And I'm delighted to see that they've just announced, earlier than we expected, we're still working behind the scenes, but they've now announced their new flying theatre. Which will be ready and prepared at the end of 2026 for the 2027 opening.Claire Furnival: Congratulations, that's really, really exciting news.Kevin Murphy: Sadly, a lot of the other projects, I still can't say too, too much, because they may not have announced.Claire Furnival: Yeah, the dreaded NDAs.Claire Furnival: Just bumped into Jacob from Attractions. io. How's the show been for you?Jacob   Thompson: Great. This is my second time at IAAPA in Barcelona. It's been even better than the first time. So the weather's held out. Great conversations, great company. So overall, a success.Claire Furnival: And a little birdie has told me that you have a new feature coming out.Jacob   Thompson: That is true. So, yeah, we have launched a new product this month called GX Pulse. And the idea is it's enabling operators to make sense of all the noise of guest reviews and sentiment by breaking... reviews down from TripAdvisor, Google reviews, their own internal platforms to make sense and map that across a guest journey, specifically for attractions. So it's able to understand sentiment across things like queue management, your attractions, your food and beverage, give you scores and benchmark you against other venues. But most importantly, give you actionable insights to make improvements to the guest experience.Claire Furnival: Brilliant use of data there. Really, really, really good. So is this product now launched?Jacob  Thompson: Yes, yes it is. So we've been demoing it across some attractions at the trade show floor this week and it's had some really positive feedback. This product is completely separate from our core app platform and experience. So even if you don't have a mobile app and don't need a mobile app, this can be valuable for anybody that is looking to understand the sentiment and experience of their guests across their attractions.Claire Furnival: Fabulous. Guest will be seeing you in IAAPA Orlando.Jacob   Thompson: Yes, and I heard there's going to be a great party hosted by Skip the Queue.Claire Furnival: I'm not sure we'll be hosting a party, but we'll certainly be partying.Jacob   Thompson: Well, I'll be there to join you nonetheless.Paul Marden: So we're here for the final day of IAAPA Expo Europe. I've had a whale of a time and I'm sat here with Jakob Wahl, who amazingly, considering three days into this fantastic expo, is still looking fresh and bright. Jakob, please introduce yourself for our listeners who may not know you.Jakob  Wahl: I'm president and CEO of IAAPA, the Global Association for the Attractions Industry. I've done that now for two and a half years, but in total I've been with IAPA for, I think, nearly 15 years.Paul Marden: Wow, so man and boy almost.Jakob  Wahl: Yeah, you know, and I always say the kid in the candy store— I love doing what we do and bringing people together.Paul Marden: How could you not? So this is my first IAAPA. It has been fantastic and stood on the show floor. I think it was yesterday. I was on my own, done so many interviews. I've been bouncing around, but I just had a few minutes by myself and just stood in the middle of it all. Totally is like being a kid in a candy store, the Willy Wonka moment isn't it? Of what this place is like, because it is so fantastic.Jakob  Wahl:  It is and the most wonderful thing about it is, you know, we as an association, we create a framework, but it is actually all of you, our members, who fill it with life. Because everybody comes together. It's just a massive class reunion. People know each other. And the best thing about it is they're all willing to help and support each other. So obviously, the trade show floor is one component, but we have all those networking sessions, the education sessions, safety corners, we have places where people can exchange, depending on what they work in or where they work, and everybody comes together to share. That is so wonderful, because it's not only family-owned parks, small parks, big parks, but it's also the big private equity corporate players. They're all here to really benefit from this platform, and that fills me with pride.Paul Marden: Good. So, as the week draws to a close, what's been the real highlights for you?Jakob  Wahl: How much time do I have? First of all, the people. It's always the people. It's, you know, for me, it's my team coming together from all around the world, putting this together. And then it's... the people coming and creating those education sessions, creating those moments together, sharing their knowledge. That is just wonderful. There's not one specific moment like that, but it happens all the time. Jakob  Wahl: And then one of the highlights for me is always, always, always the opening reception. That is our Tuesday night event, which took place at Tibidabo, this classic historic amusement park on top of Barcelona. We were a little bit concerned Monday. Will it rain? Will it not rain? So we had to rent tents to make sure that everybody will stay dry. And what happens if you're intense? Obviously, it doesn't rain. Jakob  Wahl: There was an expensive insurance, but it turned out to be exactly that evening. And we have been to Barcelona three times now. We have been to the Tibidabo three times and I think I can be pretty sure that when we go back to Barcelona in three years, we will also go again to Tibidabo because, you know, it's just this evening filled with magic and good people.Paul Marden: Excellent. You've had some time wandering the show floors, I'm sure, talking to suppliers, getting a feel for what's happening in the industry. What have you heard from the show floor that you think is going to influence the sector over the year ahead?Jakob  Wahl: I would have loved to ask you that question, actually. What is your impression?Paul Marden: Oh, the blending of tech with real life I find really interesting. We all want to take our kids to attractions because we want to pull them away from their screens. But there's got to be a hook, I think. And in many cases, there are rides or there are amusements of some form that is a skillful blending of that tech with an in-life, in-real-life experience that I think is the hook to get the kids in. But then we're still wrenching them away from the screens. They're doing something for real with family.Jakob  Wahl: Yeah, I think technology enhances the experience. It doesn't replace the experience. I think that is something which is very clear on the show floor, that there are different ways of how you can combine existing attractions with new technology. And we sometimes call it fusion attractions, where you bring several elements into play with each other. And I think that is very important. What we have seen also is an increase in what I would call smart technology. How can you use technology... to improve the guest flow, to make it even smoother. We all want to have a smooth process. It should be easy on the phone. All those things, besides the classic coasters and water slides and inflatables, that is, I think, some area which has really grown on our trade show floor over the past years.Paul Marden: Yeah, absolutely. If you can smooth that process from the moment that they hit the website all the way through, getting them to the experience and then back out the other side and encouraging them to want to return again is really important, isn't it?Jakob  Wahl: And the same is for operations and maintenance, the front of house for the customer, but also the back of house. And we learned some fascinating things. We talked in our leadership breakfast with the CEO of a large park group, and he said, 'There are tools that can now predict 93% of the attendance of every day.' And that is just fascinating because that helps operational planning, that helps food and beverage planning, that helps all those aspects in running a park successfully or running an attraction successfully.Paul Marden: Absolutely. So, as we come to the end of IAAPA Expo Europe, there are many US listeners, I'm sure, also quite a few Brits as well, anticipating IAAPA Expo Orlando in November. Have you got any insider tips or things that we can look forward to in Orlando? Jakob  Wahl: I can say it will be epic. There's quite a significant theme park which opened this year, Epic Universe, which is just down the road from the convention centre.Jakob  Wahl: And we actually have not only... Mark Woodbury is speaking in our keynote in our leadership breakfast. But we also have privatised the park on Thursday evening for the IAAPA Celebrates for four hours. So it is Epic Universe, just for IAAPA members, which will be amazing. I've had the luck to visit the park several times. And I can only tell you, you know, you should be there. The evening before the show opens on Monday, IAAPA has the Legends event, the honorary evening for the Hall of Fame. And this year we're actually inducting five inductees. Among them is Dolly Parton. So if you have ever wanted to meet Dolly Parton. Paul Marden: The real Dolly Parton. Wow.Jakob  Wahl: Yeah, Dolly Parton is getting into the IAAPA Hall of Fame, besides some other really fantastic candidates or inductees. And she will be there to receive that accolade. And as you said, you have many British listeners. Next year, IAAPA Expo Europe is in London.Paul Marden: Now, I'd quite like to do an edit for my family that might be listening, because that did sound quite epic. And we need to be absolutely clear that there's lots of hard work to be done in Orlando, as well as enjoying ourselves at Epic and seeing Dolly Parton.Jakob  Wahl: Yeah, I'm pretty sure we need to Skip the Queue on site for a podcast from Orlando.Paul Marden: Oh, there we go. There we go. I think we should end it there. Jakob, it has been delightful to meet you. I've really enjoyed it. I'm so grateful for being invited to come to IAAPA this year. Bring the podcast here. I've had so much fun. I've learned so much. It's been wonderful. Thank you.Jakob  Wahl: Oh, we love what you do. Thank you, you know, for making the attractions industry present in the digital space. And we are all great listeners of your podcast. So thank you for what you do for us.Paul Marden: Wow, what a week. A massive thank you to IAAPA for hosting us in Barcelona. It was an incredible few days of connection, innovation, and inspiration. We've absolutely loved being part of it. And who knows, maybe we'll see you again sooner than you think. If you liked today's episode, please like us or leave a comment on your podcast platform. It really does help people to find us. And lastly, thank you to all of the team that made these daily episodes and today's wrap-up session. A possibility without the team it could not have been possible to have done this— thank you to Emily and Sami at Plaster, Steve at Folland Co. Wenayn, Claire, and Andy back at Skip the Queue HQ. It has been a delight to be with you and I look forward to seeing you again next week. The 2025 Visitor Attraction Website Survey is now LIVE! Dive into groundbreaking benchmarks for the industryGain a better understanding of how to achieve the highest conversion ratesExplore the "why" behind visitor attraction site performanceLearn the impact of website optimisation and visitor engagement on conversion ratesUncover key steps to enhance user experience for greater conversionsTake the Rubber Cheese Visitor Attraction Website Survey Report

In De Panne stelde Plopsaland Belgium aan de pers zijn grootste investering ooit voor: Plopsa Plaza, een transformatie van het huidige Dorpsplein, met een nieuw restaurant, uitgaansmogelijkheden en een Flying Theater van Mack Rides in Maya de Bij-thema.

In this episode of Skip the Queue, host Paul Marden speaks with Andy Hadden, founder of the Lost Shore Surf Resort in Scotland. Andy shares the remarkable journey from his sporting background and early property career to discovering wave technology in the Basque Country, which inspired him to bring inland surfing to Scotland. Despite starting with no money and no land, Andy raised over £100 million and built one of the world's most advanced inland surf destinations. He explains how Lost Shore Surf Resort combines world-class waves with a strong community focus, sustainability initiatives, and partnerships with schools and universities to deliver real social and economic impact.Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is Paul Marden, with co host Andy Povey and roving reporter Claire Furnival.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website SkiptheQueue.fm.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on LinkedIn. Show references:  Lost Shore Surf Resort website: https://www.lostshore.com/Andy Hadded on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-hadden-94989a67/Andy Hadden is the founder of Lost Shore Surf Resort, Scotland's first inland surf destination and home to Europe's largest wave pool. Opened in November 2024 near Edinburgh, Lost Shore is the country's largest sports infrastructure project since the Commonwealth Games and now attracts a truly international audience of surfers, families, and brands. With a background in insolvency and investment surveying, Andy led the venture from concept to completion - securing major institutional backing and building a multidisciplinary team to deliver a world-class destination. Long before 'ESG' was a buzzword, he embedded environmental and social value into Lost Shore's DNA, helping set new benchmarks for responsible development. As home to the Surf Lab with Edinburgh Napier University, Lost Shore also serves as a global hub for performance, product R&D, and surf therapy. Live from the show floor, we'll also be joined by:Bakit Baydaliev, CEO/ Cofounder of DOF Roboticshttps://dofrobotics.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/bakitbaydaliev/Hamza Saber, Expert Engineer at TÜV SÜDhttps://www.tuvsud.com/enhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/hamzasaber/David Jungmann, Director of Business Development at Accessohttps://www.accesso.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjungmann/Kristof Van Hove, Tomorrowlandhttps://www.tomorrowland.com/home/https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristof-van-hove-2ba3b953/ Transcriptions:  Paul Marden: Welcome to Skip the Queue, the podcast about attractions and the amazing people who work with them. I'm your host, Paul Marden, and with my co-host Andy Povey and roving reporter Claire Furnival, we're coming to you from IAAPA Expo Europe. This is the first of three episodes from the show floor that will come to you over the next three days. Firstly, I'm joined today by Andy Hadden, the founder of Lost Shores Surf Resort.Paul Marden: Andy, tell us a little bit about your journey. You've opened this amazing attraction up there in Scotland where I was on holiday a couple of weeks ago. Tell us a little bit about that attraction. Why this and why in Scotland?Andy Hadden: Well, I grew up locally and I came from more of a sporting family than so much of a business family. My father was the international rugby coach for a while and I played a lot of sport. Paul Marden: Oh, really? Andy Hadden: Yeah, yeah. So we always had this thing about there wasn't enough facilities here in Scotland because Scotland is a place which doesn't necessarily have all the resources and the access to funds and everything else like that. But one thing we noted with, you know, if you created facilities, whether they be good tennis facilities, good 4G football pitches, whatever it was. It allowed the environment around it to prosper, the communities around it to prosper. And, of course, I was a charter surveyor by trade, so I worked in insolvency and then in investment. So I sold two sites to that market. Andy Hadden: But I always surfed. I always surfed. So whilst I was down in Birmingham in England, when I actually got an email in 2012 talking about some, you know, some surfy thing that might have been happening in Bristol, I called the head of destination consulting up and I said, 'this sounds like nonsense, to be honest', because I surf and you can't really be talking about real surfing waves here. It's got to be something, you know, different. He said, 'No, no, there's these guys in the Basque country.' So I took a flight over there and that day changed everything for me. Paul Marden: So what was it that you saw? Andy Hadden: I went to see what was back then a secret test facility in the mountains of the Basque Country. It was very cloak and dagger. I had to follow the guide and give me the email address. I found this all very exciting. When I went and actually saw this facility, I realised that for the decade before that, there'd been all these amazing minds, engineers and surfers working on what they believed could be, you know, a big future of not just the inland surfing movement that's now burgeoning into a multi-billion dollar global movement, but it could really affect surfing. And if it was going to affect surfing as a sport, and it's now an Olympic sport because of these facilities, they wanted to make sure that it was a very accessible piece of kit. So surfing, it could affect surfing if ran by the right people in the right ways and really communicate that stoke of the sport to the masses.Paul Marden: So what is it that you've built in Edinburgh then? Tell me a little bit about it.Andy Hadden: So we've delivered a wave garden cove, which is a 52-module wave garden, which is about the size of three football pitches, and it can run hundreds of waves an hour, touch of a button and it can run in skiing parlance anything from green runs right through to sort of black powder runs. And the beauty of it is you can have people that are the better surfers out the back and just like at the beach at the front you've got their kids and learning how to surf on the white water. So we're finding it to be a really amazing experience— not just for surfers who are obviously flocking to us, but already here in Scotland, eight months in, tens of thousands of new surfers are all coming back and just going, 'Wow, we've got this thing on our doorstep.' This is blowing our minds, you know. Paul Marden: Wowzers, wowzers. Look, I'm guessing that the infrastructure and the technology that you need to be able to create this kind of inland wave centre is key to what you're doing. That you've got to access some funds, I guess, to be able to do this. This is not a cheap thing for you to be able to put together, surely.Andy Hadden: Yeah, correct. I mean, you know, I have questioned my own sanity at times. But when I started 10 years ago, I had no money and no land. But I did have some property expertise and I wanted to do it in Edinburgh, a close-up place that I cared about. So we have excellent networks. For a few years, you know. Whilst we've ended up raising over  £100 million in structured finance from a standing start, it took me a couple of years just to raise £40,000. And then I used that to do some quite bizarre things like flying everyone that I cared about, you know, whether they were from the surf community or... Community stakeholders, politicians, and everyone over to the test facility to see themselves— what I could see to sort of—well, is it? Am I just getting carried away here? Or is there something in this? And then, on top of that, you know, we sponsored the world's first PhD in surf therapy with that first $5,000. So now we have a doctor in surf therapy who now takes me around the world to California and all these places. How does business actually really genuinely care about, you know, giving back? And I'm like, yeah, because we said we're going to do this once.Andy Hadden: We got to do it right. And it took us a decade. But yeah, we raised the money and we're very happy to be open.Paul Marden: So I mentioned a minute ago, I was holidaying in Scotland. I bookended Edinburgh— both sides of the holiday. And then I was in Sky for a few days as well. There's something about Edinburgh at the moment. There is a real energy. Coming up as a tourist, there was way too much for me to be able to do. It seems to be a real destination at the moment for people.Andy Hadden: Yeah, well, I think, coming from the background I came from, if I knew I was going to deliver a surfing park in the edge of Edinburgh, I then wanted to do it in the least risky way possible. So to do that, I felt land ownership was key and three business plans was also very key. Edinburgh's in need of accommodation regardless, and Edinburgh's also in need of good places, a good F&B for friends and family just to go and hang out on the weekends. And then, of course, you have the surfing, and we've got a big wellness aspect too. We also sit next to Europe's largest indoor climbing arena. And we're obviously very well connected in the centre of Scotland to both Edinburgh and Scotland. So, so many things to do. So, yeah, I mean, the Scottish tourism landscape has always been good, but it's just getting better and better as we see this as a future-proof marketplace up here. You know, we're not building ships anymore.Andy Hadden: Well, in fact, we got a contract the other week to build one, so maybe that's wrong. But the point is, we see it as a very future-proof place because the Americans are flagging, the Europeans are flagging, and they just want to feel like they're part of something very Scottish. And that's what we've tried to do in our own special way.Paul Marden: And when you think of coming to Scotland, of course, you think about surfing, don't you? Andy Hadden: Yes, who knows. Paul Marden: Exactly, exactly. Look, you had some recent high-profile support from Jason Connery, the son of the late James Bond actor Sean Connery. How did that come about?Andy Hadden: Well, I think we've got, there's a real Scottish spirit of entrepreneurialism that goes back, you know, probably right the way through to the Enlightenment where, you know, I'm sure. I'm sure a lot of you know how many inventions came from Scotland. And this is, you know, televisions, telephones, penicillin. I mean, just the list goes on.Andy Hadden: Of course, you know, that was a long, long time ago, but we still feel a lot of pride in that. But there seems to be a lot of people who've had success in our country, like someone like Sir Sean Connery. These guys are still very proud of that. So when they see something— very entrepreneurial— where we're using a lot of local businesses to create something bigger than the sum of its parts. And to do it truly— not just to be a profitable private business, which is what it is, but to give back 18 million into local economy every year, to work with schools in terms of getting into curriculums. We've got Surf Lab. We work with universities, charities, and so on. They really want to support this stuff. So we have over 50 shareholders, and they've each invested probably for slightly different reasons. They all have to know that their money is a good bet, but I think they all want to feel like they're part of creating a recipe. For a surf resort, which we believe there'll be hundreds of around the world in the next few years. And we can create that recipe here in Scotland. That's hopefully another example of Scottish innovation and entrepreneurialism.Paul Marden: So you've got the test bed that happened in the Basque Country. You've got Scotland now. Are there surf resorts like this elsewhere in the world?Andy Hadden: Yeah, there are eight other open in the world. There's actually, there's various technologies. So there's about 25 different surf parks open at the moment. But there's... doesn't under construction. Pharrell Williams has just opened one in Virginia Beach a few weeks ago there in America. And what the equity, I think, is looking at quite rightly, the big equity, you know, the type that go right, if this really is a, you know, kind of top golfing steroids in that property developers can look at them as.Andy Hadden: You know, excellent ways to get through their more standardised property place, residential, office, industrial. Usually they have to do that in a kind of loss-leading way. But if you look at this as a leisure attraction, which councils and cities actually want because of the benefits, and it makes you money, and it increases the prices of your residential around it. I think developers are starting to realise there's a sweet spot there. So the equity, the big equity, I think, is about to drop in this market over the next couple of years. And it's just waiting for the data set to enable them to do that.Paul Marden: Wow. I guess there's an environmental impact to the work that you do, trying to create any big... a big project like this is going to have some sort of environmental impact. You've put in place an environmental sustainability strategy before it was mainstream as it is now. Tell us some of the things that you've put in place to try to address that environmental impact of what you're doing.Andy Hadden: Well, we're in a disused quarry. So it was a brownfield site. So already just by building on it and creating an immunity, we're also adding to the biodiversity of that site. And we're obviously there's no escaping the fact that we're a user of energy. There's just no escaping that. So the reality is we've got as much sustainable energy use as we can from air source heat pumps to solar. And we're looking at a solar project. So it becomes completely self-sustaining. But we also, the electricity we do access from the grid is through a green tariff. But you'll see a lot of the resorts around the world, this is going to become the sort of, the main play is to become sort of sustainable in that sense. Where we really fly is with the S and ESG. And like you say, the reason we were the world's first institutionally backed wave park, of course, we like to think it was purely down to our financials. But the reality is, they started saying, 'Wow, you're as authentic an ESG company as we've come across.'Andy Hadden: And it's the same with our mission-based national bank. So, because we didn't really know what that meant, we just knew it was the right thing to do. So we fit squarely into that ESG category, which I know is a tick box for a lot of funds, let's face it. There's a lot of them that really want to do that. There's a lot of investors out there that want to do it. But let's understand our place in the system, which is we're really market leading in that area. And I think that's very attractive for a lot of funds out there. But the S in ESG is where we really fly with all the work we're doing socially around the site.Paul Marden: So talk to me a little bit about that. How are you addressing that kind of the social responsibility piece?Andy Hadden: Well, two examples would be we're not just looking at schools to come here to surf. That's an obvious one. They'll go to any attraction to surf if you could go to Laser Quest, go up to visit the castle, do whatever. But we reverse engineered it. We got schools coordinated to go around the headmasters and the schools and say, 'Well, Look, you're all teaching STEM, science, technology, engineering, maths, for 9 to 13-year-olds. And you're all looking for outdoor learning now, which is definitely a big part of the future in education in general. Can you allow us to create some modules here? So we've got six modules that actually fit into that STEM strategy. For instance, last week, there was a school in learning physics, but they were using surf wax on a surfboard friction.Paul Marden: Amazing.Andy Hadden: So these kids so it works for schools and headmasters which is very important and for parents and it obviously works for the kids and they love it and the reason we do that and we give that it's all at discounted low times and everything is because it's a numbers game they come back at the weekend and so on so that's example one and another would be we've created a surf lab with Napier University, a higher education. So we sponsored the world's first doctor. It got a PhD in surf therapy, but then the university was like, 'hold on a minute, you know, this is good marketing for us as well'.Andy Hadden: This surf lab, which has the infrastructure to host great competitions, but also PhD students can come down and learn engineering. They can learn sustainable energy. So we've got more PhD students working there. And this higher university collaboration has not only led to Alder kids coming down but other universities in the area are now what can we do with lost shore now that's cool and fun so we're working with the other universities in town too so that's a couple of examples alongside the standard, employing local people and actually having the economics of putting money into the local economy.Paul Marden: It's interesting, isn't it? Because... So for many people, ESG, and especially the social responsibility piece, feels a little bit worthy. It feels an altruistic move for the organisation to go and do those things. But you've hit on the quid pro quo what do you get back for doing all of this stuff well you're bringing in these kids you're enriching their learning, you're helping them to learn valuable skills but you're also giving them a taster of what life is like at the the resort and seeing the benefit of the return visits that flow from that is crazy.Andy Hadden: You know, I like to think we've fought as hard as anyone to ingrain this stuff in your DNA because we're year one. And of course, we have our cash flow difficulties like everyone does. You know, you don't know how to... run the place for the first three months or that's what it feels like even though you've done all this preparation and so on and so forth but at no point does anyone turn around and go let's get rid of the schools program let's get rid of the university partnership and that's why i think it's very important to build it into your dna because it doesn't have to be this zero-sum game that people attribute you know or we're giving here so that means we have to take over here it's like there's cute ways to do everything you can do the right thing but also drive traffic for your business and it's very good right. It's good reputation, because the people that stay there, when they see that we're doing this stuff, they feel like they're part of it, and then they want to book again. So I believe it doesn't have to be a zero-sum game, but it is a different way of creating a business— that's for sure.Paul Marden: For sure. So there's going to be a listener out there, I'm sure, with a crazy idea like you had a few years ago. What advice would you give for somebody just starting out thinking of opening a business in the leisure and attraction sector?Andy Hadden: I would just try your best to make it as simple as possible. I think it was Yves Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, who said, 'One of the hardest things in life is to make it simple. It's so easy to make it complex.' And when you're dealing with a business plan, it's very exciting, right? Well, what if we get into this market? What if we do this? And splitting it all into those components. I think arm yourself with very good people around you. They don't even have to be part of the company. If you've been a good person in your life, I'm sure you've got friends who you can tap into. Everyone knows an architect. Everyone knows an accountant. Everyone knows a lawyer. You're a friend of a friend. Andy Hadden: And I think just overload yourself with as much information to get you to the point where you can be assertive with your own decisions. Because at the end of the day, it's going to come down to you making your own decisions. And if you've got a very clear path of what success and failure looks like, understanding that it ain't going to look like your business plan. As long as it's got the broad shapes of where you want to go, it can get you out of bed every day to try and make things happen. So, yeah, just go for it. Really, that's it.Paul Marden: See where it takes you. So look, in the world of themed entertainment, we talk a lot about IP and storytelling and creating magical experiences. Are any of these concepts relevant to a destination like yours?Andy Hadden: Yeah, well, you know, technically, from an IP perspective, you know, we're using the WaveGround Cove technology. You know, we've purchased that. So from a strictly business perspective, you know, we have access to their sort of IP in that sense and we deliver that. But I think for us, the IP is the destination. It's so unique, it's so big that it becomes defendable at scale. So it does sound like a bit of an all-in poker hand. But it would be more risky to go half in because these things are very hard to build. But when they are built, they're also very hard to compete with. So as long as your customer experience is good enough. You're going to maintain a kind of exclusivity in your locality for long into the future. So, yeah, there's obviously IP issues in terms of technologies. But for us, it was all about creating a destination with three business plans that's greater than the sum of its parts. And if we can do that in our location, then it's very hard to compete against, I would say.Paul Marden: Andy, it sounds like such an exciting journey that you've been on. And one year in, that journey has still got a long way to play out, doesn't it? You must be on quite the rollercoaster. Well, surfing quite a wave at the moment, if I don't mix my metaphors so badly.Andy Hadden: Yeah, we're just entering maybe the penultimate phase of the sort of 20-year plan. You know, we've gone through our early stages, our fundraising, our construction. We've gone through the very hard sort of like getting the team together and opening year one. And we're just starting to go, 'OK, we understand we've got data now'. We understand how to run this place now. So I think we now want to push through to stabilise the next two or three years. And then hopefully we've got a lot of irons in the fire globally as well. Hopefully we can go to the next phase, but we'll see what happens. Worst case scenario, I just surf a bit more and try and enjoy my lot.Paul Marden: Well, Andy, it's been lovely talking to you. I've been really interested to hear what you've been up to. This was only a short snippet of an interview. I reckon there's some more stories for you to tell once you're into year two. So I'd love for you to come back and we'll do a full-on interview once you've got year two under your belt. How's that sound to you?Andy Hadden: Absolutely, Paul, and thanks very much for the platform.Paul Marden: Next up, let's hear from some of the exhibitors on the floor. Bakit.Paul Marden: Introduce yourself for me, please, and tell me a little bit about where you're from.Bakit Baydaliev: We have two companies located in Turkey, Istanbul, and Los Angeles, USA. We develop attractions, equipment, but not just equipment— also software, AI, and content, games, and movies. Paul Marden: Oh, wow. So you're here at IAPA. This is my very first morning of my very first IAAPA. So it's all very overwhelming for me. Tell me, what is it that you're launching at IAAPA today?Bakit Baydaliev: Today we're launching our bestseller, Hurricane. It's a coaster simulator. In addition to that, we're also launching a special immersive tunnel, Mars Odyssey. We're sending people to Mars, we're sending people to space, and the story, of course, may change. After you install the attractions, you always can create different kinds of content for this attraction. It's completely immersive and what is very unique for this attraction is edutainment. Theme parks, science centres, space centres, and museums all benefit from it. It's not just to show and entertain, but also educate and provide a lot of useful information for people. Paul Marden: So what would you say is unique about this? Bakit Baydaliev: There are several factors. First of all, it's equipment. We have a very special software that amazingly synchronizes with the content and it doesn't create motion sickness at all. Paul Marden: Oh, really? Bakit Baydaliev: This is very important. Independently on the speeds, which is... We have very high speeds in our simulators. In addition to that, we have special effects, unusual effects, which feel like cold, heat, sounds.Paul Marden: So it is truly 4D, isn't it?Bakit Baydaliev: Completely. In addition to that, it's interactive content. It's not just the content which you can sit and... watch and entertain yourself and get a lot of useful information, but also you can interact. You can play games, you can shoot, you can interact. And of course, the most important thing which makes this attraction innovative is the educational aspect.Paul Marden: I find that really interesting that you could see this ride at a theme park, but similarly you can see it as an educational exhibit at a science centre or space centre. I think that's very interesting.Bakit Baydaliev: Very, very. Especially, you know, the standard experience for space centres, science centres, and especially museums, it's just walking around, touch some stuff. Some you may not even touch it. It's exponents which you can watch, you can read, it's very nice. But it's even better when you let people live it in real with a nice simulation atmosphere environment, like immersive tunnel.Paul Marden: Absolutely. Bekit, thank you so much for joining us on Skip the Queue, and I look forward to enjoying one of the rides.Bakit Baydaliev: Please ride, and you will be amazed.Hamza Saber: My name is Hamza. I work for TÜV SUD Germany. Our main job is to make sure attractions are safe, parks are safe. We do everything from design review to initial examination of rides, to yearly checks and making sure that we push the standards and the norm to the next level and cover everything that comes in new in the industry as well to make sure this industry stays safe and enjoyable for people. Paul Marden: It's so important though, isn't it? At an event like this, you don't have a sexy stand with lots of really cool rides to experience, but what you do is super important.Hamza Saber: Yes, I guess it's not one of the big colourful booths, but it's at the heart of this industry. It's in the background. If you look at the program for the education, there is a lot of safety talks. There is a lot of small groups talking about safety, trying to harmonise norms as well. Because if you look at the world right now, we have the EN standards. We have the American standards and we're working right now to try to bring them closer together so it's as easy and safe and clear for all manufacturers and operators to understand what they need to do to make sure that their guests are safe at the end of the day.Paul Marden: So Hamza, there's some really cool tech that you've got on the stand that's something new that you've brought to the stand today. So tell us a little bit about that.Hamza Saber: So as you can see, we have one of the drones right here and the video behind you. So we're trying to include new technologies to make it easier, faster, and more reliable to do checks on big structures like this or those massive buildings that you usually see. You can get really, really close with the new technologies, the drones with the 4K cameras, you can get very, very precise. We're also working on AI to train it to start getting the first round of inspections done using AI. And just our expert to focus on the most important and critical aspects. So we're just going to make it faster, more reliable.Paul Marden: So I guess if you've got the drone, that means you don't have to walk the entire ride and expect it by eye?Hamza Saber: No, we still have to climb. So what we do is more preventive using the drones. So the drones, especially with the operators, they can start using them. And if they notice something that does not fit there, we can go and look at it. But the actual yearly inspections that are accepted by the governments, you still need to climb, you still need to check it yourself. So the technology is not right there yet, but hopefully we're going to get there. Paul Marden: We're a long way away from the robots coming and taking the safety engineer's job then. Hamza Saber: Yes, exactly. And they don't think they're going to come take our jobs anytime soon. Using technology hands-in-hands with our expertise, that's the future.Paul Marden: It must be so exciting for you guys because you have to get involved in all of these projects. So you get to see the absolute tippy top trends as they're coming towards you.Hamza Saber: Yeah, for sure. Like we're always three years before the public knowledge. So it's exciting to be behind the scene a little bit and knowing what's going on. We're seeing some really fun and creative ideas using AI to push the attractions industry to the next level. So I'm excited to see any new rides that will be published or announced at some point this week.Paul Marden: Very cool. Look, Hamza, it's been lovely to meet you. Thanks for coming on Skip the Queue.Hamza Saber: Yeah, thank you so much.Kristof Van Hove: My name is Kristof. I live in Belgium. I'm working for the Tomorrowland group already now for three years, especially on the leisure part.Paul Marden: Tell listeners a little bit about Tomorrowland because many of our listeners are attraction owners and operators. They may not be familiar with Tomorrowland.Kristof Van Hove: Yeah, so Tomorrowland is already 20 years, I think, one of the number one festivals in the world. Actually, already for the last years, always the number one in the world. And what makes us special is that we are not just a festival, but we are a community. We create. special occasions for people and it starts from the moment that they buy their tickets till the festival we make a special feeling that people like and I think we create a world and each year we work very hard on new team that goes very deep so not only making a festival but we go very deep in our branding not only with our main stage but we also make a book about it we make gadgets about it so it's a completely.Paul Marden:  Wow. Help listeners to understand what it is that you're doing new here at the moment. You're blending that festival experience, aren't you, into attractions.Kristof Van Hove: Yeah, that's right. So because we are already 20 years on the market building IP, the more and more we really are able to create a complete experience, not only the IP as a brand, but also all the things around it. We have our own furniture. We have our own plates. We create actually all elements that are needed to build a leisure industry project. And that makes it magnificent. I think we are capable now, with everything that we do in-house, to set up and to facilitate water park and attraction park projects completely. Paul Marden: So, have you got any attractions that are open at the moment? Kristof Van Hove: Well, we have the Ride to Happiness, of course, the coaster that is built in Plopsaland three years ago. That is already now for five years the number one steel coaster in Europe and the fifth steel coaster in the world. So this is a project we are very proud of. Besides that, we have already a lot of immersive experiences. And we are constructing now a secret project that will be announced in the beginning of next year somewhere in Europe.Paul Marden: Give us a little sneak peek what that might look like.Kristof Van Hove: It's not that far from here. Okay, okay, excellent. So it's more an outdoor day project that we are constructing. That for sure will be something unique. Excellent.Paul Marden: So look, you're already planning into 2026. Help listeners to understand what the future might look like. What trends are you seeing in the sector for next year?Kristof Van Hove: Well, I think more and more the people expect that they get completely a deep dive into branding. I don't think that people still want to go to non-IP branded areas. They want to have the complete package from the moment that they enter. They want to be immersed. With everything around it, and they want a kind of a surrounding, and they want to have the feeling that they are a bit out of their normal life, and a deep dive in a new environment. And I think this is something that we try to accomplish. Paul Marden: Wow.David Jungmann: David Jungman, I'm the Director of Business Development here at Accesso, based in Germany. I'm super excited to be here at IAPA in Barcelona. We're exhibiting our whole range of solutions from ticketing to point of sale to virtual queuing to mobile apps. And one of the features we're calling out today is our Accesso Pay 3.0 checkout flow, which streamlines donations, ticket insurance, relevant payment types by region on a single simple one-click checkout page.Paul Marden: What impact does that have on customers when they're presented with that simple one-click checkout?David Jungmann: Well, as you guys know, conversion rate is super important. The number of clicks in an e-commerce environment is super important. And because we're at IAAPA Europe, we've got guests here from all over Europe. Different regions require different payment types. And it's important to not overload a checkout page with like eight different types for, let's say, German guests, Dutch guests, Belgium guests, is to be able to only offer what's relevant and to keep it short and sweet. And then rolling in additional features like donations, ticket insurance and gift cards, stuff like that.Paul Marden: Amazing. So get your crystal ball out and think about what the world in 2026 is going to be like.David Jungmann: I think this year was a little bit soft in terms of performance for the parks, certainly in Europe, what we've seen. I think what that will mean is that maybe some will consider, you know, really big capex investments. But what that also means is they will get creative. So I envision a world where, instead of buying new protocols for 20 million, maybe some operators will start thinking about how can we make more out of what we've got with less, right? How can we be really creative? And I think there's a lot to uncover next year for us to see.Paul Marden:  Sweating their assets maybe to be able to extend what they do without that big CapEx project.David Jungmann:  Yes, how can we keep innovating? How can we keep our experience fresh? Without just buying something very expensive straight away. And I think that's what we see.Paul Marden: What is going to be innovating for Xesso and the market that you serve?David Jungmann: Well, for us, it's really about that streamlined, consistent guest experience, but also tying into things like immersive experiences, right, where you could maybe change the overlay of an attraction and feed in personalised information that you have for your visitors and collect it during you know the booking flow when they enter the venue and feeding that into the actual experience i think that's something i'm excited about.Paul Marden: I think that there is a missed opportunity by so many attractions. There's so much data that we build and we collect the data, but oftentimes we don't bring it together into a central place and then figure out the ways in which we want to use it. There's so much more you can do with that rich data, isn't there?David Jungmann: 100% exactly. And I don't just mean from a marketing perspective. I mean from an actual experience perspective. Let's say you ride through Dark Ride and all of a sudden your name pops up or your favorite character pops up and waves hello to you. That's the type of stuff you want to do, not just market the hell out of it.Paul Marden: Absolutely. Look, David, it's been so good to meet you. Thank you ever so much. And yeah, thank you for joining Skip the Queue. David Jungmann: Thanks, Paul. Have a great day at the show. Paul Marden: Isn't it great? I mean, we have got such an amazing job, haven't we? To be able to come to a place like this and be able to call this work.David Jungmann: Absolute privilege. Yes, absolutely.Paul Marden: Now, before we wrap up, Andy and I wanted to have a little chat about what we've seen today and what we've enjoyed. Why don't we sit down? You have clearly returned to your tribe. Is there a person in this place that doesn't actually know you?Andy Povey: There's loads. I've been doing the same thing for 30 years. Paul Marden: Yeah, this ain't your first radio, is it? Andy Povey: I'm big and I'm loud, so I'd stand out in a crowd. I mean, there are all fantastic things that I should put on my CV. But this is really where I feel at home. This industry continues to blow me away. We're here, we're talking to competitors, we're talking to potential customers, we're talking to previous customers, we're talking to people that we've worked with, and it's just all so friendly and so personally connected. I love it.Paul Marden: It has been awesome. I've really enjoyed it. Although I'm beginning to get into the Barry White territory of my voice because it's quite loud on the show floor, isn't it? Andy Povey: It is. It's actually quieter than previous shows, so I don't know why, and I don't know whether... Maybe I'm just getting old and my hearing's not working quite so well, but... You used to walk out of the show and you could almost feel your ears relax as they just stopped hearing and being assaulted, I suppose, by machines pinging and blowing.Paul Marden: It really is an assault on the senses, but in the very best way possible. Andy Povey: Absolutely, absolutely. I feel like a child. You're walking around the show, you're going, 'Wow, Wow, Wow, Wow, Wow, Wow, Wow.' Paul Marden: So what has been your highlight? Andy Povey: Do you know, I don't think I could give you one. It really is all of the conversations, the connections, the people you didn't know that you hadn't spoken to for two years.Paul Marden: So for me, my highlight, there was a ride that I went on, Doff Robotics.Andy Povey: I've seen that, man.Paul Marden: So it was amazing. I thought I was going to be feeling really, really sick and that I wouldn't enjoy it, but it was amazing. So I had Emily with the camera in front of me. And within 10 seconds, I forgot that I was being recorded and that she was there. I was completely immersed in it. And I came off it afterwards feeling no motion sickness at all and just having had a real good giggle all the way through. I was grinning like, you know, the Cheshire Cat. Andy Povey: A grinning thing. Paul Marden: Yeah. So, tomorrow, what are you looking forward to?Andy Povey:  It's more of the same. It really is. There's going to be some sore heads after tonight's party at Tribodabo. We're all hoping the rain holds off long enough for it to be a great experience. But more of the same.Paul Marden: Well, let's meet back again tomorrow, shall we? Andy Povey: Completely. Paul Marden: Let's make a date.Paul Marden: Thanks for listening to today's episode from IAAPA Expo Europe. As always, if you've loved today's episode, like it and comment in your podcast app. If you didn't like it, let us know at hello@skipthequeue.fm. Show notes and links can also be found on our website, skipthequeue.fm. Thanks to our amazing team, Emily Burrows and Sami Entwistle from Plaster Creative Communications, Steve Folland from Folland Co., and our amazing podcast producer, Wenalyn Dionaldo. Come back again tomorrow for more show news. The 2025 Visitor Attraction Website Survey is now LIVE! Dive into groundbreaking benchmarks for the industryGain a better understanding of how to achieve the highest conversion ratesExplore the "why" behind visitor attraction site performanceLearn the impact of website optimisation and visitor engagement on conversion ratesUncover key steps to enhance user experience for greater conversionsTake the Rubber Cheese Visitor Attraction Website Survey Report

Plopsaland en de Plopsa-groep bestaan 25 jaar en dat wordt gevierd met een groot en uitgebreid jubileumboek. We zitten samen met Nick Jespers, die vertelt hoe het jubileumboek is ontstaan en welke bijzondere verhalen er allemaal in staan.

In deze aflevering vertellen Erwin en Danny wat zij zouden doen als ze in vijftien Europese parken elk vijftien miljoen euro zouden mogen investeren. Welke nieuwe attracties en shows komen erbij en hoe zou Pretparkland door deze investeringen veranderen?

Warum Rehe bellen, Achterbahnen hinterm Lustschloss ne super Idee sind und "diese Tomorrowlandachterbahn" Jumpy's gegessen hat erfahrt ihr in dieser Folge. #schlossbeck#plopsalanddepanne

Mock a third of Flanders for being so wrong, because we're back for De Mol België Season 13 - and its visit to the one place that Logan spent six months that we're actually allowed to talk about - Thailand! Over these nine weeks, three guys who have their tickets to Plopsaland booked already for next year - Michael, Logan & Bindles - are recapping and breaking down everything that happens as we try and work out who has been given the task to spread bad luck in the Land of Smiles and become the Mole - continuing with the sixth episode and elimination of Pedro! In this episode - Bindles has been out shopping, Logan's had a Messi weekend, Michael forgets about something we talked about hundreds of episodes ago, we wonder if Belgium has back, sack and cracks, Tui get a new slogan, we think about coordinating our suspicions next week, everyone falls for the same trick, we look up Nimrod's favourite water parks, there's another edition of "Bindles confuses Saunders", everyone might be on the same Mole now, we discuss what the Mole's best tactic at the heist mission was, Pedro whiffs an advantage, Pattaya has a reputation, there are the latest updates to the Pool and First Suspicions, Bindles forgets to use his power and our penultimate set of suspicions are locked in. You can play along with this week's Bother's Bar Suspect List here. We will see you next week for Episode 7! Please note: This episode is intended on being spoiler-free, but references to any season we have already covered (WIDM 10-11, 14, 16-25 and Renaissance; België 4-12) may be made. This episode is supported by our friends over at Zencastr. Create your podcast today! Social Media: Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Bluesky Threads Patreon

Mainz senkt Nachtparktarife für Pendler und Anwohner, 16-Jähriger aus Ingelheim verletzt sich schwer bei einem Traktorunfall und ein Dämpfer für Mainz 05 im Spiel gegen Borussia Dortmund. Das und mehr heute im Podcast. Alle Hintergründe zu den Nachrichten des Tages finden Sie hier: https://www.allgemeine-zeitung.de/lokales/mainz/stadt-mainz/mainz-senkt-nachtparktarife-fuer-pendler-und-anwohner-4509565 https://www.allgemeine-zeitung.de/lokales/kreis-mainz-bingen/ingelheim/traktor-ueberschlaegt-sich-16-jaehriger-schwer-verletzt-4512665 https://www.allgemeine-zeitung.de/lokales/mainz/stadt-mainz/mainzer-warten-bis-zu-acht-jahre-auf-einen-kleingarten-4495065 https://www.allgemeine-zeitung.de/lokales/rhein-neckar/aus-holiday-park-wird-plopsaland-deutschland-4510105 https://www.allgemeine-zeitung.de/sport/fussball/fussball-bundesliga/daempfer-fuer-mainz-05-niederlage-bei-borussia-dortmund-4499639 Ein Angebot der VRM.

Bei der OB-Stichwahl in Wiesbaden kann sich Amtsinhaber Mende gegen Herausforderer von Debschitz durchsetzen, einen Taunussteiner erwarten gleich mehrere Strafverfahren nach zweimal betrunken Autofahren und SV Wehen Wiesbaden kassiert eine Niederlage. Das und mehr heute im Podcast. Alle Hintergründe zu den Nachrichten des Tages finden Sie hier: https://www.wiesbadener-kurier.de/lokales/wiesbaden/stadt-wiesbaden/gum-gum-gum-die-spd-feiert-gert-uwe-mende-4498784 https://www.wiesbadener-kurier.de/lokales/kreis-rheingau-taunus/taunusstein-kreis-rheingau-taunus/taunussteiner-faehrt-gleich-zweimal-voellig-betrunken-auto-4514082 https://www.wiesbadener-kurier.de/lokales/kreis-rheingau-taunus/idstein-kreis-rheingau-taunus/neue-sauerteigbaeckerei-eroeffnet-in-idstein-4490667 https://www.wiesbadener-kurier.de/lokales/rhein-neckar/aus-holiday-park-wird-plopsaland-deutschland-4510105 https://www.wiesbadener-kurier.de/sport/fussball/fussball-dritte-liga/svww-legt-sich-die-baelle-in-dresden-selbst-ins-netz-4500026 Ein Angebot der VRM.

Plopsaland De Panne bestaat dit jaar vijfentwintig jaar en viert deze bijzondere verjaardag met een gloednieuwe parade. Pers en genodigden kregen afgelopen weekend de premiere van deze 25 Celebration Parade in aanwezigheid van de oprichters van het park.

Arheiliger Unfallfahrer wird in Darmstadt wegen Mordversuchs angeklagt, die Metzgerei Bäcker in Otzberg schließt nach über 120 Jahren und erneut kein Auswärtssieg für den SV Darmstadt 98. Das und mehr heute im Podcast. Alle Hintergründe zu den Nachrichten des Tages finden Sie hier: https://www.echo-online.de/lokales/darmstadt/arheilger-unfallfahrer-wegen-mordversuchs-angeklagt-4500119 https://www.echo-online.de/lokales/kreis-darmstadt-dieburg/landkreis-darmstadt-dieburg/metzgerei-baecker-in-otzberg-ende-nach-ueber-120-jahren-4504107 https://www.echo-online.de/lokales/darmstadt/neuer-juwelier-in-der-darmstaedter-ludwigstrasse-4484627 https://www.echo-online.de/lokales/rhein-neckar/aus-holiday-park-wird-plopsaland-deutschland-4510105 https://www.echo-online.de/sport/fussball/fussball-zweite-bundesliga/auswaerts-laeuft-es-beim-sv-darmstadt-98-nicht-12-in-ulm-4493889 Ein Angebot der VRM.

Triforce Mailbag Special 47! We once again show how dated the podcast is by talking about Elon Musk and Path of Exile 2, we find out Diggy Diggy Hole is being played in Plopsaland, and we react to the hatred we're getting on the Triforce Subreddit. We also have a small YogPod throwback with a Simon cameo! Support your favourite podcast on Patreon: https://bit.ly/2SMnzk6 Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In deze Grabbelton-aflevering beantwoorden Erwin en Jelle vragen over hoe ze pretparkliefhebber werden, over veranderingen aan Fata Morgana, de staat van Disney Imagineering, een abonnementloos Phantasialand en een terugblik op tien jaar Disneyland Paris.

Afgelopen weekend heeft Disney veel nieuwe attracties aangekondigd op het D23 Event. In deze aflevering bespreken we uitgebreid de nieuwe plannen. Zo komt er een Lion King attractie naar Parijs en gaat World of Frozen open in 2026. Verder gaan we met jullie de wereld over en vertellen wij welke nieuwe attracties er in de Disney parken zullen verschijnen de komende jaren. Verder nemen wij jullie ook mee in onze zomer. Zo zijn wij met LEKKERGAAN naar Walibi Holland geweest. Is dit de moeite waard om naar Walibi voor te gaan? Ook zijn we naar Plopsaland de Panne geweest, waar we vooral volop hebben genoten van het entertainment.Reageren kan via: podcast@thrillstastic.comVind je onze podcast leuk? Je kan ons steunen en wordt ThrillsTastic Member! Meer informatie en de voordelen via: http://thrillstastic.com/memberInstagram: https://instagram.com/thrillstasticTikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/@thrillstasticX: https://x.com/thrillstasticYouTube: https://youtube.com/thrillstasticDiscord: http://thrillstastic.com/discordMusic by:Journey To The Toucan Isle - Vadim Krakhmal

De nieuwe directie van Plopsa neemt het horecabeleid kritisch onder de loep. Plopsaland De Panne en de andere Plopsa-parken stonden de afgelopen jaren bekend om hoge prijzen en een weinig gevarieerd aanbod. Onder leiding van de Nederlandse horecadirecteur Koen Keijsers moet daar verandering in komen.

In deze aflevering trekken we onze beste business-suits aan en maken we samen met marketeer en Plopsa-kenner Thomas Smolders een SWOT-analyse van Plopsaland. We brengen de sterktes, zwaktes, kansen en bedreigingen van Plopsaland in beeld.

Op reis met Bumba is de tweede darkride van Plopsaland in De Panne, na de klassieker Het Bos van Plop. Bumba, de Studio 100-figuur voor peuters en kleuters, staat centraal in een bontgekleurde reis die het hoogtepunt vormt van indoorgebied Bumba Circus.

Een nieuw jaar is begonnen, dus hoogtijd om je bij te praten over de nieuwe attracties die dit jaar open gaan. Ook nemen wij jullie mee in onze pretparkplannen voor komend jaar. Toch gaan we ook nog even hebben over Oud en Nieuw. Wij vertellen jullie hoe wij het nieuwe jaar ingeluidt hebben vanuit de Efteling en Plopsaland de Panne. Daarnaast hebben we 2023 afgesloten met een Disney dag en hebben een bezoek gebracht aan Disney on Ice en Disney 100 in Concert. Als laatste gaan we het ook hebben over de Bright Nights in Walibi Holland.Kortom wil je het jaar goed beginnen, dan moet je zeker deze aflevering beluisterd hebben. VragenlijstWij hebben daarnaast jouw hulp nodig! Wij willen de podcast in 2024 nog beter maken en zouden graag jouw mening hierover willen horen! Zou je daarom voor ons de volgende vragenlijst in willen vullen: http://thrillstastic.com/vragenlijstAlvast bedankt!Reageren kan via: podcast@thrillstastic.comVind je onze podcast leuk? Je kan ons steunen en wordt ThrillsTastic Member! Meer informatie en de voordelen via: http://thrillstastic.com/memberInstagram: https://instagram.com/thrillstasticTikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/@thrillstasticX: https://x.com/thrillstasticThreads: https://www.threads.net/@thrillstasticYouTube: https://youtube.com/thrillstasticDiscord: http://thrillstastic.com/discordMusic by:Journey To The Toucan Isle - Vadim Krakhmal

Deze aflevering zeggen we dingen tegen onze kinderen die we niet zo hebben bedoeld. Maar weet je, we doen ook maar wat. Het gevoel dat je een imposter bent kennen wij maar al te goed, dus laten we daar maar gewoon open over zijn. Een eerlijke aflevering, speciaal voor jou tijdens de donkere dagen. Shownotes

Twintig kilometer voorbij de Franse grens leven honderden vluchtelingen in schrijnende omstandigheden. Ze slapen in afgedankte festivaltentjes tussen de ratten in de modder. Ze wachten om de oversteek te maken en hopen allemaal op een beter leven in Engeland. Onze Insider Marc Klifman ging ernaartoe en legt in onze podcast uit wie die mensen zijn en waarom ze hun leven riskeren om naar Engeland te gaan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

La Belgique, la Belgique, on veut l'avoir et on l'aura. En tout cas, c'est un sentiment que l'on peut clairement vous partager tant les parcs belges regorgent de propositions intéressantes, diverses et satisfaisantes. On va parler de Walibi, Bobbejaanland, Plopsaland, Pairi Daiza et Bellewaerde et se poser la question de leurs qualités. Et si, en fait, ils faisaient mieux que Disneyland Paris, au moins sur certains points ? En tout cas, en attendant Universal, on vous emmène dans ce plat pays, cet Univerpropre !

➤ Reageer op deze podcast: themetalk.nl/reageren/ ➤ Steun ons! Doneer aan ThemeTalk: themetalk.nl/doneren/ ➤ Luister via Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/themetalkapple ➤ Spotify: spoti.fi/2RQULSq ➤ SoundCloud: bit.ly/scThemeTalk ➤ Abonneer op YouTube: bit.ly/2Tc6vjX ➤ Volg ThemeTalk op Twitter: www.twitter.com/ThemeTalkNL ➤ Volg ThemeTalk op Instagram: www.instagram.com/ThemeTalk Aflevering #252 van ThemeTalk, dé Nederlandstalige podcast over pretparken en themaparken met Maurice de Zeeuw en Thomas van Groningen. Disneyland Paris heropende deze week het horecapunt Fuente del Oro Restaurante in Frontierland. Vanaf nu gaat de locatie als Casa de Coco - Restaurante de Familia door het leven. Thomas geeft commentaar in deze aflevering. Ook de geplande vernieuwingen in het Walt Disney Studios Park worden besproken. Maurice ergert zich op zijn beurt aan fotolijstjes die de Efteling verkoopt. Daar zit drukwerk op van een oude actie die niet meer bestaat, wat voor veel verwarring zorgt. Ook doet hij uitgebreid verslag van een recent bezoek met Groningers (niet Thomas dus) aan het park. Verder in deze ThemeTalk: Halloween, Barbie, horror, Six Flags, Pee Wee Herman, Plopsaland is duur en schuilen voor de regen.

Deze aflevering bepaalt de toekomst van Pretparkland! We bepalen voor elk park wat de huidige attractiemix is voor het bestaande doelpubliek en op basis daarvan voorspellen we wat de ideale volgende nieuwe attractie zou zijn voor die parken.

Tirannie, angstcultuur en pesterijen. Woorden die je 2 maanden geleden niet zou linken aan een kinderpretpark zoals Plopsa. En toch is waarom CEO Steve Van den Kerkhof de deur gewezen is. Wat er juist gebeurde bij Plopsa legt journalist Cedric Lagast ons uit in de nieuwe aflevering van onze actuapodcast De Insider: “Tijdens de stafmeetings pikte hij er elke keer iemand uit die voor de hele groep uitgescholden werd. Een rapport dat niet in orde was, kregen werknemers tegen hun hoofd gesmeten.”Deze podcast is een productie van Nieuwsblad, in samenwerking met Nostalgie en GVA. De montage gebeurt door House of Media.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Waar excelleren welke parken in? Welke parken verdienen gouden medailles voor beste winterevent, beste plattegrond, beste app, beste zomeravonden, beste soundscapes, beste spookhuis, beste geureffecten en vooral: waarom?

In deze aflevering hebben we het over Anubis: The Ride in Plopsaland de Panne. Wellicht heb je 1000 vragen over deze achtbaan. Wij proberen ze allemaal te beantwoorden in deze aflevering. We hebben het onder andere over de grote verrassing die deze achtbaan heeft en natuurlijk over de serie 'Het Huis Anubis'.Volg ons ook op onze socials!Tiktok: @van0tot8baanInstagram: @van0tot8baanTwitter: @van0tot8baanFacebook: Van 0 Tot 8BaanE-mail: van0tot8baan@gmail.comSupport the show

Johan, Wilfred, René en Job Knoester bespreken in razendsnel tempo de actualiteit: de komende Provinciale Statenverkiezingen, de toespraak van Poetin en het grensoverschrijdende gedrag in Plopsaland. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

durée : 00:03:49 - Le billet d'Alex Vizorek - par : Alex Vizorek - Ce matin, Alex nous parle du concours de Miss Belgique, organisé chaque année dans le théâtre de Plopsaland, un parc d'attraction

L'élection de Miss Belgique a été perturbée samedi soir à La Panne. Un homme armé a été arrêté quelques heures avant la cérémonie qui se déroulait au parc Plopsaland. Selon le Parquet fédéral, il avait probablement l'intention de commettre un attentat.

Via Instagram konden luisteraars van Ochtend in Pretparkland vragen aan ons stellen. In deze aflevering beantwoorden Jelle en Erwin vragen over de rokende sprookjesbosfiguren, vernieuwingen in Disney Village, de nieuwe prijzen van Plopsaland.

In deze eerste aflevering van 2023 kijken Erwin en Jelle terug op pretparkjaar 2022 en vooruit naar wat pretparkjaar 2023 staat te wachten. Wat zijn de belangrijkste nieuwigheden waar wij naar uitkijken en wat was het grootste nieuws van vorig jaar?

On se retrouve aujourd'hui pour prendre de nouveau la route du plat pays, la Belgique, si bien nommée, si bien représentée par des parcs : outre Plopsaland ou Bellewaerde, y a-t-il d'autres choses là-bas ? Ou n'est-ce qu'une autoroute glorifiée vers Phantasialand et Efteling ?   On va voir ça ensemble, avec un peu d'histoire et un tour du parc. Du moyen, du bon, du très bon voire de l'excellent ? Eh ben, qu'on est arrogants, à prendre les Belges de haut ! En plus, c'est bien desservi par les transports ! N'hésitez pas à préter une oreille à l'épisode de La File d'attente dédié à Kondaa !    Un grand merci à Léa, qui nous a accompagnés et qui vous enverra peut-être en l'air si vous acceptez de voler aux côtés de De Vinci ces prochains jours et à Max, bien sûr. Et puis à nagla. Et puis à moi, parce que pourquoi pas.   Pensez à écouter les podcasts de la Disney's Music Box et à nous soutenir en mettant des étoiles et en nous partageant ! Découvrez également nos offres sur Patreon et sur la boutique Utip !

In deze aflevering nemen we je mee naar Plopsaland de Panne en Bellewaerde. Wat vinden we van deze parken? Daar kom je achter in deze bonus aflevering!Volg ons ook op onze socials!Tiktok: @van0tot8baanInstagram: @van0tot8baanTwitter: @van0tot8baanFacebook: Van 0 Tot 8BaanE-mail: van0tot8baan@gmail.comSupport the show

Direction la Gelbique ! On se rend à Plopsaland pour découvrir The Ride to Happiness et un parc qui a beaucoup évolué ces dernières années ! Est-ce que l'un des plus vieux parcs d'Europe vaut le coup aujourd'hui ? On vous dit ça tout de suite avec Léa et Max de la Disney's Music Box !

In deze aflevering hebben we het over The Ride to Happiness by Tomorrowland in Plopsaland de Panne. Hierin vertellen we meer over hoe je de beste spin kan behalen, leggen we alle inversies uit die je in deze ride kan vinden en hoor je wat wij vinden van de samenwerking tussen Plopsaland en Tomorrowland.Volg ons ook op onze socials!Tiktok: @van0tot8baanInstagram: @van0tot8baanTwitter: @van0tot8baanFacebook: Van 0 Tot 8BaanE-mail: van0tot8baan@gmail.comSupport the show

Wir haben uns auf einem gemütlichen Boot im Hafenbecken in Düsseldorf abwechselnd das Ruder in die Hand gedrückt und dabei über Sven's Erstbesuch im Plopsaland de Panne gesprochen. Neben viel Liebe für die schöne Gestaltung des Parks und die familienfreundlichen Rides, gab es auch einen übergroßen Schwall Zuneigung für Ride To Happiness - der neuen Weltklasseachterbahn im Park. Wie immer viel Spaß beim Zuhören! #plopsalanddepanne #ridetohappiness #freizeitpark #achterbahn #podcast #freizeitparkpodcast www.dielitzigen.de instagram @dielitzigen_podcast dielitzigen@web.de Merch: www.dielitzigen.de/litzshop Support/Trinkgeld: paypal.me/dielitzigen

Join Nick, Harrison, Tabitha, Chris, Nikki, Laura, Steve, Jamie as they provide live thoughts on, not only Ride to Happiness, but the park in general.  It's true.. Europe does do it better - and here's why! 

Wir waren auf einem lange erwarteten Weekender unterwegs durchs schöne Belgien! Unser erster Stopp führte uns nach de Panne ins Plopsaland, wo uns The Ride to Happiness in den Orbit befördern wollte. Tags darauf erlebten wir ähnliches auf dem neuen Megacoaster Kondaa in Walibi Belgium. Und natürlich haben wir in beiden Parks auch noch die restlichen Lieblings-Rides mitgenommen. Also gesellt euch dazu wenn wir zu fünft am Rheinufer sitzen und die schöne kleine Mini-Tour Revue passieren lassen! Die Folge gibt es wie immer bei Spotify, Apple Podcasts und allen Podcatchern. (Bitte seht uns die an manchen Stellen suboptimale Audio-Situation nach, unser Setup hat am Ende nicht so gut funktioniert wie erhofft haha) 0:00 Intro 5:44 Hallo & Einleitung 14:00 Plopsaland de Panne 1:49:30 Walibi Belgium CHAT: https://discord.goldentapes.de/ SHOP: http://shop.goldentapes.de/ https://airtimeradio.de instagram / tiktok: @goldentapes / @airtimeradiopodcast 10% Rabatt mit Code "goldentapes" bei https://www.stormbeforethecalm.de/ Herzlichen Dank an IMAscore für die Bereitstellung der Musik "Fly To The Hills"! www.imascore.com

De Plopsa Group gaan onverstoorbaar verder met het veroveren van het Europese pretparklandschap. In de Looopings Podcast vertelt commercieel directeur Sebastien Momerency waar de expansiedrift vandaan komt en welke marketingstrategieën Plopsa hanteert om elk nieuw park tot een succes te maken. Hoe spreek je uiteenlopende doelgroepen aan? En waar ligt de grens tussen te hoge tarieven en een gezond prijsbeleid?

Ooit deed MNM-dj en ‘Nonkels'-acteur Manu Van Acker een vakantiejob in Plopsaland, waar hij onder meer de personages Plop en Bumbalu speelde. Maar hij werd er ook aangeklaagd omdat hij een kindje geduwd zou hebben (wat overigens niet waar bleek). Van ‘Cars' bestaan er geen wandelende characters in Disneyland. Als kind speelde Manu ook niet zo graag met auto's, wél verkleedde hij zich regelmatig als Disneyprinses. Toch heeft deze zevende Pixar-film een bijzonder plekje in zijn hart, al was het maar omdat het een van de eerste films was die hij in de bioscoop zag. We onderzoeken of de wagens in ‘Cars' hol zijn, want we zien ze nooit langs de binnenkant. We ontdekken waarom we in 2006 al konden weten dat John Lasseter van Pixar een kleine viespeuk is. En we vinden de ware schuldige van die gekke wereld van Cars (en dat is dus niet John Lasseter). (En het gaat ook even over de kortfilm ‘One Man Band' (2005) die de film destijds vooraf ging.)

Hij toverde met Nicole De Moor een konijn uit zijn hoed, gaf een scherpe speech in Plopsaland en heeft zijn troepen op één lijn. Sammy Mahdi nam een vliegende start als nieuwe voorzitter van CD&V. Maar waar de partij nu echt naartoe gaat, is nog niet duidelijk. "Termen als rentmeesterschap, personalisme,...: daar fronst de man in de straat eens de wenkbrauwen bij." Verder hebben we het over abortuswetten in de VS - "er zijn geruchten dat Donald Trump zelf twijfelt of dit wel een goeie zet is". En over de VRT, waar er nog altijd een opvallende loonkloof gaapt tussen mannen en vrouwen. Productie Nieuwsblad Podcasts | Stemmen Jeroen Roppe, Liesbeth Van Impe en Hannes Heynderickx | Fragmenten VRT | Montage Pieter Santens & House of media | Eindredactie Eva Migom en Bert Heyvaert

➤ Reageer op deze podcast: themetalk.nl/reageren/ ➤ Steun ons! Doneer aan ThemeTalk: themetalk.nl/doneren/ ➤ Luister via Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/themetalkapple ➤ Spotify: spoti.fi/2RQULSq ➤ SoundCloud: bit.ly/scThemeTalk ➤ Abonneer op YouTube: bit.ly/2Tc6vjX ➤ Volg ThemeTalk op Twitter: www.twitter.com/ThemeTalkNL ➤ Volg ThemeTalk op Instagram: www.instagram.com/ThemeTalk Aflevering #213 van ThemeTalk, dé Nederlandstalige podcast over pretparken en themaparken met Maurice de Zeeuw en Thomas van Groningen. Je ziet het steeds vaker, bedrijven, winkels en horeca die de deuren gesloten moeten houden omdat ze geen personeel kunnen vinden. Ook in de pretparkwereld slaat dat noodlot toe. Zo stond Maurice afgelopen week een paar keer bij een gesloten horecapunt in een pretpark. In Amerika lukt het Disney niet om weer op volle capaciteit te draaien omdat het langer duurt om alle vacatures weer op te vullen die zijn ontstaan toen in coronatijd veel mensen werden ontslagen. Is er een oplossing? Of moeten we in pretparken steeds meer dingen zelf gaan doen? In deze aflevering niet het antwoord, maar wel een poging daartoe. Maurice bezocht afgelopen week twee pretparken in België: Plopsaland De Panne en Bellewaerde Park. In deze aflevering staat hij stil bij zijn bezoek. Wat zijn de attracties die je echt niet mag overslaan? En wat vond hij van The Ride to Happiness by Tomorrowland in Plopsaland? In Walt Disney World opende deze week Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in Epcot. Deze nieuwe indoor-achtbaan trekt veel publiek, waardoor Disney weer alles uit de kast heeft getrokken om de mensenmassa zo veel mogelijk over de dag te spreiden. Maar is een bezoek aan het pretparkresort nog wel leuk met zo veel apps, toeslagen en tijdsloten? Thomas heeft het uitgezocht. Toverland organiseerde voor het eerst een eigen popfestival: Toverland LIVE!. Maurice was erbij en had het enorm naar zijn zin, maar zijn hekel aan festivalmuntjes en lange rijen bij de horeca is alleen maar groter geworden. Verder in deze ThemeTalk: mazout in pretparken, een verslag van de de camping bij Toverland, examenfeestjes in Disneyland, het beste pretpark van België.

Celien Dept en Michiel Callebaut zijn samen CEMI voor hun meer dan 15 miljoen volgers op Youtube en TikTok. Met name jonge kinderen aanbidden wat ze doen en wie ze zijn, en volgen, delen, liken en becommentariëren ELKE post. Influencers, pur sang, en van het eerste uur. Met meerdere keren per week nieuwe filmpjes over voetbal, voetbaltruukjes, online trends en creatieve uitdagingen: challenges in het jargon. Ze hebben een eigen kledinglijn, eigen schoenen, een Gouden K (van Ketnet) voor een uit de hand gelopen coronalied, en bijna een eigen achtbaan in Plopsaland. Al stak een online petitie daar toen een stokje voor. Kortom: beroemdheden CREDITS ‘Freek blijft slapen’ is een podcast van HLN | Host Freek Braeckman | Redactie Ilse Himschoot | Eindredactie Geert Dewaele | Muziek House of Media | Montage Niels De Vos en Ilse Himschoot See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bij ons in de buurt woonde vroeger een baron, die eenmaal per jaar zijn tuin openstelde voor het hele dorp. Dan mocht het plebs rondlopen in het park vol mooie bomen en een vijver. Een soort mix van publieke en private ruimte, eigenlijk, net als Disneyland of Plopsaland. Aan dat rijtje mogen we voortaan ook Twitter toevoegen, want Ome Elon besloot het virtuele dorpsplein op te kopen. Met 280 klinkers kan je alvast een stukje van de straat leggen! Die laat hij niet in kruiwagens, maar met drones leveren. Kan allemaal, als je geld genoeg hebt. Welkom in Computer Club, een podcast door Frederik 'Freddy' De Bosschere & Thomas 'Smollie' Smolders. Met dank aan Sebastiaan Van den Branden & Toon De Pauw voor de technische hulp. Wekelijks bespreken we de actualiteit op vlak van technologie en gaan we op zoek naar interessante feiten en innovaties. Af en toe nodigen we zelfs een gast uit. Er zijn ook jingles. Word Vriend van de Show: https://vrienden.computerclub.online Nieuwsbrief: https://nieuwsbrief.computerclub.online Merchandise: https://computerclub.shop

Dit keer domineert de rubriek de gehele aflevering. Afgelopen weekend waren Kim & Jaap met hun kinderen in Plopsaland wat ontzettend leuk is, maar helaas raakte de jongste, Ted, gewond. Heel naar, maar ongelukken gebeuren. Daarom doen ze alles uit de doeken: over alle andere stomme ongelukjes bij de kinderen en zichzelf.Warning: let op met een zwakke maag.Geproduceerd door: Tonny Media.Zie het privacybeleid op https://art19.com/privacy en de privacyverklaring van Californië op https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In dieser Episode sprechen wir mit Bastian Lampe vom Ritter Rost Magic Park Verden über den Sturm und dessen Schäden, mit Michael Bierhahn über Eloria und mit Marcel Bender vom Schwaben-Park. Außerdem gibt es einen Bericht über die FKF-Awardübergabe für "The Ride to Happiness by Tomorrowland" im Plopsaland de Panne. Weitere Informationen findet ihr unter:FKF-ConventionFKF-Award Eloria Schwaben Park Ritter Rost Magic Park Verden Folgt und besucht uns auf:FKFev.defreundescast.deInstagramTwitterFacebook

We sluiten het bijzondere jaar 2021 af met tien vragen waarin we stilstaan bij wat we dit jaar allemaal wel maar ook niet in Pretparkland beleefden. Corona snoepte een deel van het pretparkjaar af, maar tegelijk openden ook bijzondere nieuwe achtbanen.

Vanuit een nachtelijk Pairi Daiza blikken we in deze aflevering terug op het Halloweenseizoen 2021. Nadat Halloween vorig jaar last-minute moest worden afgelast, konden pretparkliefhebbers dit jaar weer de parken in om te griezelen en te huiveren.

C'est la suite de notre découverte du parc Plopsaland de Panne en Belgique ! Il est temps pour nous de tester les autres grandes attractions du parc : Heidi the Ride, Anubis the Ride, la légendaire Forêt de Plop et d'en profiter pour découvrir l'univers de ce parc basé sur les licences du Studio 100. 〰 RETROUVEZ-NOUS EN LIGNE 〰

Deuxième parc de notre road-trip, nous découvrons Plopsaland de Panne situé en Belgique et sa toute nouvelle attraction : The Ride to Happiness by Tomorrowland ! Et c'est pas peu dire que cette attraction est exceptionnelle ! Mais ça, on vous le détaillera dans l'épisode ! 〰 RETROUVEZ-NOUS EN LIGNE 〰

De N-VA startte tijdens de gezinsdag in Plopsaland de festiviteiten op naar aanleiding van haar 20e verjaardag. Op 15 september 2001 – en dat is deze week exact 20 jaar geleden – hield de Volksunie een referendum bij 9.000 leden over de toekomst van haar partij. Drie groepen boden zich aan: de groep “Niet Splitsen” met Johan Sauwens, “de Toekomstgroep”, met onder anderen de Vlaamse ministers van de Volksunie Bert Anciaux en Paul Van Grembergen, én de groep “Vlaams Nationaal”, onder leiding van Geert Bourgeois. Die laatste groep haalde het met iets meer dan 47% van de stemmen. Maar omdat de afspraak was dat de naam Volksunie zou verdwijnen, tenzij een van de erfgenamen meer dan de helft van alle stemmen haalde, wat dus niet het geval was, kreeg op 13 oktober 2001 – en dat is de eigenlijke verjaardag – de nieuwe partij de naam “Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie”, of afgekort, de N-VA. Wat is het bilan van die twintig jaar? Wat heeft die jonge partij in haar bestaan al bereikt? Dat vraagt Alain Gerlache (RTBF) aan Ivan De vadder (VRT NWS).

➤ Reageer op deze podcast: themetalk.nl/reageren/ ➤ Steun ons! Doneer aan ThemeTalk: themetalk.nl/doneren/ ➤ Luister via Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/themetalkapple ➤ Spotify: spoti.fi/2RQULSq ➤ SoundCloud: bit.ly/scThemeTalk ➤ Abonneer op YouTube: bit.ly/2Tc6vjX ➤ Volg ThemeTalk op Twitter: www.twitter.com/ThemeTalkNL ➤ Volg ThemeTalk op Instagram: www.instagram.com/ThemeTalk Aflevering #182 van ThemeTalk, dé Nederlandstalige podcast over pretparken en themaparken met Maurice de Zeeuw en Thomas van Groningen. Plopsaland De Panne stond afgelopen week op de agenda van Thomas. Hij bezocht het park voor het eerst en doet uitgebreid verslag. In het park opende deze zomer een nieuwe spectaculaire achtbaan, 'The Ride to Happiness by Tomorrowland', een gelanceerde spinning coaster. Is dat niet wat te intens? In deze aflevering een recensie. Maurice overnachtte op de camping van Toverland en vertelt uitgebreid hoe het is om naast een houten achtbaan wakker te worden. Ook blikt hij vooruit om zijn reis naar pretparken in Duitsland en Frankrijk. Verder in deze aflevering: Halloween in Walibi Holland, pretparken in Portugal, Nest! in de Efteling is al stuk, de beste achtbanen van Europa.

Sean and Alex go the tip of Belgium to visit a special park in Europe: Plopsaland De Panne. Filled with Studio 100 characters of which most don't say anything to Alex but give a flashback to Sean. Plus, they talk about their experiences on Ride to Happiness by Tomorrowland! Find out more at https://coaster-kings-radio.pinecast.co

Über die letzten Wochen kamen unter uns drei Klosterschwestern einige Freizeitparkbesuche zusammen. Phantasialand, Movie Park, Liseberg, Plopsaland, Kirmes - heute hauen wir alles raus. Das Ergebnis ist eine bunte Folge mit vielen kleinen und großen Erfahrungsberichten und wie immer viel Emotion und Albernheit. Viel Spaß beim Hören! Die Folge gibt es wie immer bei Spotify, Apple Podcasts und allen Podcatchern, sowie auf YouTube. Feedback & Teilen wird immer freudig angenommen! :) 00:00 Intro & Hallo wie geht 07:25 Die große Flut 38:45 Phantasialand mit Uhrwerk 1:00:00 Movie Park 1:08:10 Andi war in Liseberg 1:36:00 Happy Colonia 1:41:05 Jan war im Plopsaland 2:01:20 Phantasialand again 2:22:00 Fragen von Discord #Freizeitpark #Achterbahn #Freizeitparkpodcast CHAT: https://discord.goldentapes.de/ SHOP: http://shop.goldentapes.de/ https://airtimeradio.de instagram / tiktok: @goldentapes / @airtimeradiopodcast Herzlichen Dank an IMAscore für die Bereitstellung der Musik "Fly To The Hills"! www.imascore.com

In diesem Jahr eröffnete im belgischen Plopsaland eine Neuheit, die den Park zum Pflichtbesuch auf unserer Tour machte: der Ride to Happiness. Wie uns diese Fahrt gefallen hat und wie der Parkbesuch im Generellen, das erzählen wir in diesem Podcast. Viel Spaß beim Hören! Klickt für mehr Infos auf linktr.ee/meinfirstdrop.

➤ Reageer op deze podcast: themetalk.nl/reageren/ ➤ Steun ons! Doneer aan ThemeTalk: themetalk.nl/doneren/ ➤ Luister via Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/themetalkapple ➤ Spotify: spoti.fi/2RQULSq ➤ SoundCloud: bit.ly/scThemeTalk ➤ Abonneer op YouTube: bit.ly/2Tc6vjX ➤ Volg ThemeTalk op Twitter: www.twitter.com/ThemeTalkNL ➤ Volg ThemeTalk op Instagram: www.instagram.com/ThemeTalk Aflevering #180 van ThemeTalk, dé Nederlandstalige podcast over pretparken en themaparken met Maurice de Zeeuw en Thomas van Groningen. In Walt Disney World is The Hall of Presidents in het Magic Kingdom-park heropend. Deze indrukwekkende animatronic-show is een ode aan het presidentschap van de Verenigde Staten en bevat animatronics van alle presidenten tot nu toe. Sinds het aantreden van president Bill Clinton begin jaren 90 is het zelfs traditie dat de zittende president zijn stem leent aan de show. Thomas en Maurice bespreken het uiterlijk van de Joe Biden-animatronic en staan stil bij de 'nationalistische' shows van Disney. Thomas bracht een bezoek aan de Efteling afgelopen week en maakte een bijzondere storing mee in Fata Morgana. Hij kon goed zien hoe het verdwijneffect bij derde tovenaar in de attractie werkt. Maurice legt uit hoe het precies zit. Dat pretparken geen goedkope hobby zijn, weet iedere luisteraar van ThemeTalk. Maar, in deze podcast speciale aandacht voor de extreem hoge prijzen die Disney nu rekent. Zo zijn abonnementen bij Disneyland fors duurder geworden, is betaald voordringen in Disneyland Paris knetterduur en is een overnachting in het Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser-hotel onbetaalbaar. Verder in deze ThemeTalk: Thomas gaat naar Plopsaland, nieuws over The Holy Land Experience, Aquanura en brand in darkrides.

Via Instagram konden luisteraars van Ochtend in Pretparkland vragen aan ons stellen. In deze aflevering beantwoorden Jelle en Erwin vragen over betalen voor Fastpassen in Disneyland Paris, een darkride in Toverland, de Wereld van Sindbad in de Efteling.

Chris und Thorben begrüßen Dich in dieser Woche zu ihrer bereits fast 50. Folge! Thorben berichtet von einer Achterbahn-Neuheit, die für jede Menge Euphorie gesorgt hat, doch bei Chris eher für einen verstimmten Magen sorgen würde... Wie happy einen eine Achterbahn so machen kann, erfährst Du in dieser Folge.

Gisteren vond de officiele opening van plaats van de nieuwe extreme spinning coaster van Mack Rides in Plopsaland De Panne, The Ride to Happiness by Tomorrowland, zonder twijfel een van de meest spectaculaire achtbanen van heel Europa.

Heute gibt es endlich noch einmal ein paar Erlebnisberichte von der lieben Chrisi und dem lieben Andi. Chrisi war vergangene Woche im Fantasiana zur großen Presse-Eröffnung von Fridolins verrückter Zauberexpress! Andi erzählt von seinen Erlebnissen in Bellewearde, dem Plopsaland de Panne mit dem Ride to Happiness und seiner Reise nach Finnland inklusive den beiden Freizeitparks Linnanmäki mit Taiga und Särkänniemi.

Ziehier weer een aflevering van de meest banale podcast van Vlaanderen. Deze aflevering discussiëren we over Monopoly, nieuwe attracties voor Plopsaland, brengen we een ode aan de pubertijd en brengen we nog een hoop ander banaal gezever. Enjoy!

Ik sprak met Faisal over samenwonen met vrienden, zombies en geld. Faisal: https://www.instagram.com/faisxl/?hl=nl Volg mij @enderscholtens of Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enderscholtens/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/enderscholtens?lang=en Snapchat: enderrrrr YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4F3QqJ-g0HDqvyWf-6K4Sw TikTok: http://vm.tiktok.com/J61VUE/

Welkom bij de TPWNL Podcast. -- Deze weken praten Rowan en Job over de verschillende muziekstukken die er te horen zijn in attractieparken. In deze muzikale trip nemen ze jullie mee naar onder andere Europa-Park, Disneyland Parijs, de Efteling, Toverland en Plopsaland. Ook praten ze over de raarste pretparkmuziek. En wordt de vraag beantwoord: "welke pretparkmuziek beschrijft jou het beste?". -- LET OP!! Deze aflevering is opgenomen op donderdag 10 maart. Informatie kan inmiddels veranderd zijn. Check voor de recente COVID-19 maatregelen op de sites van de lokale overheden. Voor Nederland: https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/coronavirus-covid-19 Voor België: https://www.info-coronavirus.be/nl/ -- Volg ons op: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVxi1kQXkWCItNw9vTCy2Mg Twitter: TPWnl: https://twitter.com/TPWnl Rowan: https://twitter.com/ThisRowan Job: https://twitter.com/TPWnl_Job Instagram: Rowan: https://www.instagram.com/thisrowan/?hl=nl Job: https://www.instagram.com/themeparkworldnl/?hl=nl

Welkom bij de TPWNL Podcast. -- Na een weekje rust is er weer een nieuwe aflevering van TPWNL Podcast. Job en Rowan praten je bij over het laatste pretpark en themapark nieuws. Zo wordt er gekeken naar attractieparken in Denemarken, Phantasialand, Plopsaland de Panne en Energylandia. LET OP!! Deze aflevering is opgenomen op donderdag 3 maart. Informatie kan inmiddels veranderd zijn. Check voor de recente COVID-19 maatregelen op de sites van de lokale overheden. Voor Nederland: https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/coronavirus-covid-19 Voor België: https://www.info-coronavirus.be/nl/ -- Volg ons op: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVxi1kQXkWCItNw9vTCy2Mg Twitter: TPWnl: https://twitter.com/TPWnl Rowan: https://twitter.com/ThisRowan Job: https://twitter.com/TPWnl_Job Instagram: Rowan: https://www.instagram.com/thisrowan/?hl=nl Job: https://www.instagram.com/themeparkworldnl/?hl=nl

De afgelopen jaren voegde de Plopsa-groep drie Dino Splash-attracties toe in drie van zijn parken. En ook al hebben de attracties in Plopsa Coo, Plopsaland De Panne en Holiday Park dezelfde naam en hetzelfde thema, toch zijn ze stuk voor stuk anders.

Welkom bij de Themeparkworldnl Podcast. -- We zijn weer terug met een podcast aflevering in 2021. Het heeft een maandje geduurd maar vanaf deze week weer wekelijks een nieuwe aflevering. In de aflevering volgt een kleine uitleg over onze afwezigheid. In de aflevering bespreken we een aantal dingen zoals de nieuwe achtbaan voor Plopsaland, vernieuwingen in Walibi en een grootte rechtszaak waar Walibi Holland op dit moment mee te kampen heeft. LET OP!! Deze aflevering is opgenomen op woensdag 27 januari. Informatie kan inmiddels veranderd zijn. Check voor de recente COVID-19 maatregelen op de sites van de lokale overheden. Voor Nederland: https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/coronavirus-covid-19 Voor België: https://www.info-coronavirus.be/nl/ -- Volg ons op: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVxi1kQXkWCItNw9vTCy2Mg Twitter: TPWnl: https://twitter.com/TPWnl Rowan: https://twitter.com/ThisRowan Job: https://twitter.com/TPWnl_Job Instagram: Rowan: https://www.instagram.com/thisrowan/?hl=nl Job: https://www.instagram.com/themeparkworldnl/?hl=nl

De nieuwe extreme spinning coaster van Mack Rides die dit jaar in Plopsaland De Panne opengaat, krijgt de naam The Ride to Happiness en een wel heel bijzonder thema, dankzij een unieke samenwerking tussen het park en het muziekfestival Tomorrowland.

Via Instagram konden luisteraars van Ochtend in Pretparkland vragen aan ons stellen. In deze aflevering beantwoorden Jelle en Erwin vragen over Walibi Belgium, Plopsaland, Phantasialand, de Efteling, Disneyland Parijs en uiteraard ... corona.

Welkom bij de Themeparkworldnl Podcast. -- 2020, een jaar waarin veel gebeurde, te veel. Ook in de pretparkwereld gebeurde veel en daarom nemen wij jullie luisteraars in deze aflevering nog eventjes mee terug naar leuke en minder leuke momenten in de pretparkwereld, speciaal uitgekozen door de leden van de TpwNL Crew. Anna, Rowan en Job praten, bespreken en discussiëren er weer op los deze laatste aflevering van 2020. We kijken terug naar nieuws uit de Efteling, Plopsaland, Toverland, Walibi, Phantasialand en zelfs de Amerikaanse Disney parken. Namens de gehele TpwNL Crew wensen we al onze luisteraars een gezond, gelukkig en beter 2021. -- LET OP!! Deze aflevering is opgenomen op dinsdag 29 december . Informatie kan inmiddels veranderd zijn. Check voor de recente COVID-19 maatregelen op de sites van de lokale overheden. Voor Nederland: https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/coronavirus-covid-19 Voor België: https://www.info-coronavirus.be/nl/ -- Volg ons op: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVxi1kQXkWCItNw9vTCy2Mg Twitter: Rowan: https://twitter.com/ThisRowan Job: https://twitter.com/TPWnl_Job Instagram: Rowan: https://www.instagram.com/thisrowan/?hl=nl Job: https://www.instagram.com/themeparkworldnl/?hl=nl

Welkom bij seizoen 3 van de Themeparkworldnl Podcast. Dit seizoen gaan wij iets anders doen. Om de week verschijnt er een nieuws aflevering . In deze afleveringen bespreken wij het nieuws vanuit pretparkland. -- In deze nieuwe aflevering van de TpwNL Podcast nemen Rowan en Job weer het laatste pretparknieuws door. We bespreken bijvoorbeeld de sluiting van vele pretparken in Europa. We kijken naar de nieuwe achtbaan in Plopsaland de Panne en we bespreken nieuwe ideeën van Vekoma. LET OP!! Deze aflevering is opgenomen op Maandag 9 november. Informatie kan inmiddels veranderd zijn. -- Volg ons op: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVxi1kQXkWCItNw9vTCy2Mg Twitter: Rowan: https://twitter.com/ThisRowan Job: https://twitter.com/TPWnl_Job Instagram: Rowan: https://www.instagram.com/thisrowan/?hl=nl Job: https://www.instagram.com/themeparkworldnl/?hl=nl

Heute mit einer besonderen Folge zum belgischen Plopsaland de Panne - Tobi plaudert aus der 3 Jahre alten Erinnerung und Sönkes Erinnerung ist noch frisch. Viel Spaß beim Hören und lasst uns gerne ein Abo da!

In aflevering #26 gaan we achtbaan jagen! Net zoals op onze website waar we in de reeks Coaster World een specifieke achtbaan in de spotlights zetten en punten geven op verschillende categorieën (zoals airtime, lengte, etc...), brengen we deze reeks nu ook in podcast formaat. En we starten met Heidi the ride! In 2017 opende Plopsaland De Panne de tweede in werking zijnde houten achtbaan van België. Eigenlijk had Heidi al een jaartje eerder in soft-opening moeten gaan maar dankzij een ontbrekend millieurapport moesten we iets langer wachten om Heidi te berijden. Frederik, Tim D. & Timothy testten Heidi uit op een zonnig dagje Plopsaland. Vinden we Heidi te kort, of juist net lang genoeg? Hoe zit het met de airtime? Soepelheid? En mogen we Heidi de beste houten achtbaan van België noemen?! Je hoort het allemaal in deze aflevering!

Aflevering 46 is weer een ouderwetse nieuwsaflevering. We bespreken de heropening van de parken en de maatregelen die daar bij horen, we kijken naar de bouwupdates uit de Efteling, Phantasialand en Europapark en bespreken de mogelijkheid dat Plopsa samen met de Efteling een waterpark zou willen bouwen. Hoe zien wij die samenwerking? Kortom, weer een volle aflevering!

Plopsaland viert vandaag zijn twintigste verjaardag. In die twintig jaar is het uitgegroeid van een klein regionaal themapark tot een grote speler die nationaal en internationaal zijn stempel heeft weten te drukken op de pretparkindustrie.

Via Instagram konden luisteraars van Ochtend in Pretparkland vragen aan ons stellen. In deze aflevering beantwoorden Jelle en Erwin vragen over de Efteling, Disneyland, Bobbejaanland, Bellewaerde, Plopsaland en Disneyland Paris.

Deze aflevering zit weer vol nieuws uit de pretparkwereld. Het Negen Pleinen Festijn wordt geschrapt, wat vinden we van deze verandering? Er zijn ook plannen van Plopsaland ik iets te doen rond Den Haag! Wat zou dat betekenen voor de parken in de omgeving?

➤ Reageer op deze podcast: themetalk.nl/reageren/ ➤ Steun ons! Doneer aan ThemeTalk: themetalk.nl/doneren/ ➤ Luister via Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/themetalkapple ➤ Spotify: spoti.fi/2RQULSq ➤ SoundCloud: bit.ly/scThemeTalk ➤ Abonneer op YouTube: bit.ly/2Tc6vjX ➤ Volg ThemeTalk op Twitter: www.twitter.com/ThemeTalkNL ➤ Volg ThemeTalk op Instagram: www.instagram.com/ThemeTalk Aflevering #071 van ThemeTalk, dé Nederlandstalige podcast over pretparken en themaparken met Maurice de Zeeuw en Thomas van Groningen. Thomas is net terug van een weekend naar Europa-Park. Zijn eerste keer. Is hij net zo enthousiast over het park als Maurice? Er is meer bekend geworden over de uitbreidingen in Tokyo DisneySea. Er komt daar een nieuw themagebied met de naam Fantasy Springs, met attracties rond Frozen, Tangled en Peter Pan. De heren zijn ontzettend jaloers op de Japanners. Verder in deze ThemeTalk: Kermis FM, werken in Plopsaland, diefstal in Walt Disney World en verslag van de coaster challenge in Toverland.

➤ Reageer op deze podcast: https://themetalk.nl/reageren/ ➤ Steun ons! Doneer aan ThemeTalk: https://themetalk.nl/doneren/ ➤ Luister via Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/themetalkapple ➤ Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2RQULSq ➤ SoundCloud: http://bit.ly/scThemeTalk ➤ Abonneer op YouTube: http://bit.ly/2Tc6vjX ➤ Volg ThemeTalk op Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ThemeTalkNL ➤ Volg ThemeTalk op Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/ThemeTalk Aflevering #069 van ThemeTalk, dé Nederlandstalige podcast over pretparken en themaparken met Maurice de Zeeuw en Thomas van Groningen. De Efteling gaat eindelijk PandaDroom aanpakken. Is dit een verstandige keuze van het park? Thomas en Maurice bespreken het nieuwe project Fabula en verschillen nogal van mening. Over driedimensionale dieren gesproken - in Parijs rijden de ratten van Ratatouille tijdelijk zonder 3D-effecten rond. Thomas is daar wel gelukkig mee. Verder: ergernissen in de Efteling, aftellen naar Galaxy's Edge, een voiceclip uit Heide Park, een rustig weekend in Plopsaland én overnames in pretparkland.

In de zomer van 2020 opent de Plopsa-groep de deuren van zijn allereerste hotel. Naast Plopsaland in De Panne komt een hotel met 117 gethematiseerde kamers, een restaurant, twee bars en vergaderzalen. Wij gingen een kijkje nemen op de werf in De Panne.

Erwin en Jelle duiken vanuit een zonnig Gent in de mails die Ochtend in Pretparkland de afgelopen weken van luisteraars mocht ontvangen. Ook reageren en je reactie in een volgende aflevering horen? Mail ons en wie weet komt jouw mail in een volgende OiP!

In deze aflevering hebben we het niet over al het nieuws dat dit jaar zal openen - en dat is nogal wat - maar over die attracties die we vanaf het nieuwe pretparkseizoen moet missen in o.a. Bobbejaanland, de Walt Disney Studios en Walibi Holland.

Erwin en Jelle duiken in de mails die Ochtend in Pretparkland de afgelopen weken van luisteraars mocht ontvangen. Ook reageren en je reactie in een volgende aflevering horen? Mail ons en wie weet komt jouw mail in een volgende OiP!

In de tweede aflevering praten Rowan en Job over wachttijden in attractieparken, over wat ze van Sinterklaas in Plopsaland de Panne vinden en nog veel meer. Voor vragen, tips en/of opmerkingen: themeparkworldnl@gmail.com DM Instagram account @themeparkworldnl Job: www.instagram.com/themeparkworldnl/ Rowan: www.instagram.com/thisrowan/

De achtbaan waar we het vandaag over hebben is Heidi the Ride, een houten coaster uit Plopsaland De Panne, is 618 meter lang, 22 meter hoog en heeft een topsnelheid van 71 kilometer per uur.

In deze derde aflevering van ‘Moh seg hé’ bespreekt Beau het Studio 100 en Plopsa nieuws van de afgelopen twee weken. Ook beantwoord hij de "Moh seg hé – Aflevering 3: Plopsa Summer Nights"

In deze 2de aflevering van Moh seg hé bespreekt Ruben opnieuw het nieuws van Studio 100 en de Plopsa-parken. Beau is er deze keer helaas "Moh seg hé – Aflevering 2: Throwback love cruise"

De eerste aflevering van onze gloednieuwe podcast met al het nieuws over Studio 100 en de Plopsaparken. In deze aflevering bespreken we onder meer de "Moh seg hé – Aflevering 1: Wij gaan beginnen"

Deze zomer vindt in het gemeentehuis van De Panne, op een boogscheut van Plopsaland, een retrospectieve tentoonstelling plaats over de geschiedenis van het eerste pretpark van ons land en een van de oudste themaparken van de wereld: Meli-Park.

In deze aflevering kijken we vooruit naar al het nieuws dat parken als Walibi Belgium, Walibi Holland, Plopsaland en Phantasialand in petto hebben voor hun bezoekers. En we hebben we het over Shanghai Disneyland dat in juni de deuren opent.

Tachtig jaar geleden opende Meli-Park in De Panne, op de plaats waar nu Plopsaland ligt. Zonen van de stichter Robert en Roland Florizoone vertellen over hun herinneringen aan Meli, over de overname door Studio 100 en over hun toekomstplannen.

Waarom heten Walibi Walibi, Bellewaerde Bellewaerde, Efteling Efteling en Plopsaland Plopsaland? In deze afleveringen vertellen we de verhalen achter de namen van de bekendste parken in binnen- en buitenland.

Plopsaqua is de jongste telg van de snelgroeiende Plopsaparkenfamilie en het nieuwste waterpark van Belgie. Het waterpark, gethematiseerd naar de wereld van Wickie de Viking, opende enkele weken geleden in De Panne.

Op vrijdag 11 april 2014 vond in Plopsaland de uitreiking plaats van de vierde Diamond Theme Park Awards, de oscars van Pretparkland zeg maar. Welke parken wonnen dit jaar welke prijzen?

Bagatelle is een minder bekend park in het noorden van Frankrijk, op zo'n uurtje rijden van Plopsaland. Wat biedt het park en is het de moeite om er naartoe te trekken?

Tien stellingen over de Plopsaparken en tien keer spreken Erwin en Yves zich uit over wat de kans is dat de stelling werkelijkheid wordt voor een van de parken van de Plopsagroep.

De vier grote Belgische parken hebben een eigen app voor smartphones. In deze aflevering leggen we de vier apps kritisch onder de loep. Wat vinden wij ervan en wat moet echt beter?

Gisterenavond vond in Plopsaland De Panne de grote opening plaats van Wickieland, het nieuwe parkdeel gethematiseerd naar de figuren van Wickie de Viking.