Dadipark

I was perusing some Etsy listings not too long ago, and I came across this one which sparked interest in me, not for the product - but for the place. If you take a look at the 3rd picture in the listing, you'll notice the model leaning on some sort of merry-go-round. I had to ask where and what it was, because the curiosity would have killed me. Now, for as long as I can remember, I have always had a fascination with amusement parks and rides, and always day dream of having one of my own (NOT MJ style...). It takes me back to when I was younger, and going to the PNE and Playland every summer with my mom, visiting the local fair that always came through, and always imagining having my very own homemade roller coaster.

The Etsy seller advised me that the picture was taken in an old abandoned amusement park called Dadipark, in Dadizele, West Vlaanderen, Belgium. She told me that the park has been closed for almost 10 years, and is taken over by trees, and bushes and is very spooky - definitely an attraction in itself! My curiosity grew even more, and I had to do some research. It seems that you can plop "Dadipark" into any search engine, and I promise you will get hundreds of different kind of results, such as peoples own personal experiences, memories, (tons of) photos, and videos.

From what I've been able to find out, the park was opened in 1949 and was created to be an affordable attraction, or "self" amusement park, meaning all of the rides were mechanical and are propelled by the children. In the peak of its operation, the park saw more that 1 million visitors in a year!

Some time between 2000 and 2002, a guest lost their arm on a ride, being the worst accident case the park had ever seen. Naturally, popularity dropped, and the park received numerous complaints about safety. Not to long after, the park was shut down in 2003 for a year of renovations, but apparently the maintenance cost became too great, and the park never re-opened. Since, several companies have shown promising interest in buying the park, including an 80K investment to turn it into a modern amusement park, with shopping malls, arenas and event centers, but it seems none of these plans have ever followed through.

You can find the parks archived website here. There is also a pretty amazing set of photos here, and this video isn't in English, but you get a cool idea of what its like there. Here is a picture of Dedipark in it's glory days: