Heide Park

Heide Park Resort, commonly known as Heide Park, is a theme park in Soltau, Lower Saxony, Germany. With an overall area of over 850,000 m2 (210 acres), it is the largest amusement park in Northern Germany and among the largest in the country. It operated by the UK-based Merlin Entertainments group.

History

The site originally belonged to the Heidenhof Wildlife Park, which was named after the chapel that was built there in 1350. The park was closed in 1972 following a devastating storm.

The showman Hans-Jürgen Tiemann subsequently bought the land and opened a small amusement park in 1978, with the contractual requirement to maintain Heidenhof Chapel as well as the keeping of native animals. When Heide Park opened on 19 August 1978 it offered six rides: the Monzapiste, the Heide Park Express, the Oldtimerrundkurs, the Floßfahrt (tow boat ride), the Wichtelhausenbahn and the Hochbahn. In its first season, Heide Park had just under 200,000 visitors. 1979 saw the first dolphin show, for which they built a large domed roof a year later.

The Heide-Dorf (Heath Village), a richly detailed replica of typical buildings from the Lüneburg Heath, was inaugurated in the 1988 season.

In 1996/97, the Dutch section of the park was built, with a windmill and canal at the other end of the park. With the growth of the park, the catchment area grew as well. In the 1990s, up to 2 million people visited Heide-Park each season, with 2.1 million guests in 2001.

In 2002, the UK-based Tussauds Group bought the park and since then attendance decreased to 1.5–1.6 million visitors per annum. Hans-Jürgen Tiemann retained an influence by shares and as an advisory director of the Tussauds Group. In early 2007, the Tussauds Group was merged with Merlin Entertainments and the land was subsequently sold, with Merlin continuing to operate and develop the park.

The park's mascot is a bear called Wumbo. The most recognizable landmark in the park is a 1/3 scale replica of the Statue of Liberty (35 meters tall), it was inaugurated on 4 July 1986 on the 100th anniversary of the original statue. At the end of 2011, the structure was relocated to stand within the roller coaster Colossos.

Music and events

The music played at Heide Park is a combination of commercial tracks, library music and commissioned music. The following composers have had their music played at the park: Graham Smart, Ian Habgood, David Buckley, Crispin Merrell, IMAscore and John Sanderson.

Halloween in October is a special event.

Heide Park Resort

Hotel Port Royal was opened in 2007 with 150 family rooms and 16 suites. There is also a Holiday Camp that opened in 2005 with 81 wooden houses in Caribbean style with a total of 536 beds.

Park areas

The park is divided into five areas.

• Eingang & Ausgang, that features Lower-Saxony style buildings
• Bucht der Piraten, that is mainly themed around the world of pirates
• Transilvanien, with a medieval-style castle on top of the hill surrounded by a forest
• Land der Vergessenen, which hosts the park's award-winning wooden roller coaster Colossos - Kampf der Giganten, as well as the Mayan Village that has many flat rides.
• Exploria

Attractions

Heide Park currently has about 40 rides which are mainly aimed at families but its thrill rides are also very popular. One of the main attractions is Colossos - Kampf der Giganten, a wooden roller coaster, which until the opening of Balder, on 12 April 2003 in the Swedish amusement park Liseberg, was the steepest wooden roller coaster in the world. The latest attraction is the wing coaster Flug der Dämonen. It is Germany's first wing coaster and reaches a maximum of 4 g positive during the ride.

Roller coasters

Water rides

Other attractions

Shows

Five shows are available each day at Heide Park, these are;

• Im Auge des Drachens, a 35-minute pirate show at Pirate Arena that was built in 2010 and seats 1200 people.
• The Movie Maker, an interactive show at Pirate Arena in which selected guests from the audience can produce a film.
• Smilie – It’s Magic, a humoristical magic show at Pirate Arena.
• Time, an artistical journey through time at Pirate Arena.

Trivia

• Heide Park was one of three playable real world parks (with Alton Towers and Blackpool Pleasure Beach) added to RollerCoaster Tycoon in the Loopy Landscapes expansion pack.
• In 2001, one episode of Die Rettungsflieger was set in Heide Park.

Gallery

Main gallery: Heide Park at WikiCommons

• Heide-Park Entrance
• Kapitol
• Mountain Rafting
• Pirate in 2007
• Entrance of Hotel Port Royal

External links