Gardaland

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Gardaland Resort

Gardaland's entrance
Location	Castelnuovo del Garda, Italy
Coordinates	45°27′16″N 10°42′50″E / 45.45444°N 10.71389°E / 45.45444; 10.71389Coordinates: 45°27′16″N 10°42′50″E / 45.45444°N 10.71389°E / 45.45444; 10.71389
Owner	Merlin Entertainments
Opened	19 July 1975 (1975-07-19)
Operating season	Spring-Summer & Holidays
Visitors per year	2.92 million (2019)
Area	260,000 m2 (64 acres)
Attractions
Total	36[1]
Roller coasters	7
Water rides	4
Website	Official website

Gardaland Resort is an amusement park located in northeastern Italy. Opened 19 July 1975, the resort includes Gardaland Park, Gardaland Sea-Life, and the Gardaland Hotel. It is adjacent to Lake Garda. The entire complex covers an area of 445,000 m² (4,789,940 sq ft), while the theme park alone measures 200,000 m² (2,152,782 sq ft). Sporting both traditional attractions and entertainment shows, it attracts nearly 3 million visitors every year.

In June 2005, Gardaland was ranked fifth in Forbes Magazine's list of the top ten amusement parks in the world, with the best turnover. According to 2011 data is the eighth in Europe by the number of park visitors.^{[citation needed]}

Since October 2006, the park has been owned by the British company Merlin Entertainments. Major attractions at the park include Mammut, Jungle Rapids, Fuga Da Atlantide, Shaman, Blue Tornado, Ramses: Il Risveglio, Raptor and Oblivion: The Black Hole which opened on 28 March 2015. The park's mascot, Prezzemolo, was popular in the Italian licensing market during the 1990s and the 2000s.

History[]

Built on the eastern shore of Lake Garda at Castelnuovo del Garda, Gardaland opened on 19 July 1975, between Peschiera and Lazise.^[2]

It has expanded steadily in both size and attendance, topping 1 million visitors annually for the first time in 1984. By 2007, attendance reached 3 million.^[3] Gardaland is now the eighth-most-popular theme park in Europe,^[2] and is run and operated by the Merlin Entertainments Group. It has a total of 32 rides, including seven roller coasters and three water rides.^{[citation needed]} The coasters are Blue Tornado, Shaman, Sequoia Magic Loop, Raptor, Kung Fu Panda: Academy, Mammut and Oblivion: The Black Hole.^[3] Fuga da Atlantide is a Shoot the Chute.^[4]

Themed areas[]

Name	Picture	Additional information
Fantasy Kingdom		Fantasy themed area featuring a variety of family rides
Prezzemolo Land		Medieval themed area featuring a variety of family rides & a playground
Rio Bravo		Western themed street
Pirati Covo		Pirate themed area featuring a dark ride & food units
Kung fu Panda Academy		an area based on Kung fu Panda with family rides
Arabia		Arabian themed area featuring a variety of food units
Peppa Pig Land		A small Peppa Pig themed area with younger rides just by the main entrance.
Energy		This area has no specific theme and is made up of the sections of the park that are not in any specific themed area.

Attractions[]

Roller coasters[]

Name	Picture	Type	Opened	Area	Manufacturer	Additional information
Blue Tornado		Suspended Looping Coaster	1998	Energy	Vekoma	The Vekoma SLC (765 m [2,510 ft] extended with helix) is situated near the entrance of the park, and stands 33.32 m (109 ft 4 in) tall from the ground. The track is 765 m (2,510 ft) long, and the main elements are a rollover, sidewinder and a double in-line twist ending with several high speed helixes close to the ground. The minimum height restriction is 1.4 metres.
Shaman		Steel sit down coaster	1985	Energy	Vekoma	Vekoma Double Loop Corkscrew, and is situated on the lower level of the park. The oldest coaster in the park. It stands at 30 m (98 ft 5 in) above the ground and 700 m (2,296 ft 7 in) long. Its main elements are a double loop, double corkscrew and a rising helix. In 2009 the classic Arrow Dynamics trains have been replaced with the new model of Vekoma. The minimum height restriction is 1.2 metres. In the 2017 season the ride was rethemed and renamed as 'SHAMAN' and featured a Virtual Reality experience. The VR was removed prior to the 2018 season.
Raptor		Wing Coaster	2011	Energy	Bolliger & Mabillard	Raptor is a prototype Wing Coaster by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard. It opened on 1 April 2011. The minimum height restriction is 1.4 metres.
Mammut		Steel sit down	2008	Energy	Vekoma	Mammut (Italian for Mammoth) is a steel roller coaster which includes a herd of mammoth.
Oblivion: The Black Hole		Dive Coaster	2015	Energy (Area Oblivion)	Bolliger & Mabillard	Oblivion: The Black Hole opened on 28 March 2015 and is a dive coaster manufactured by Bolliger and Mabillard. It's based on the prototype dive coaster at Alton Towers which is called 'Oblivion'![citation needed] The minimum height restriction is 1.4 metres.
Kung Fu Panda Master		Steel spinning roller coaster	2016	Kung Fu Panda Academy	Fabbri Group	Family spinning coaster from Fabbri. Opened on 14 May 2016 as part of the Kung Fu Panda Academy area.
Ortobruco Tour		Steel	1991	Energy (Luna Park)	Pinfari	Ortobruco Tour is a Family Caterpillar Coaster from Pinfari and opened in 1991.
Sequoia Magic Loop		Screamin’ Squirrel	2005	Energy	S&S Sansei technologies	Sequoia Magic Loop is an S&S Screamin’ Squirrel coaster and opened in 2005. It was previously known as Sequoia Adventure until 2017 when it became SBNO, then reopening in 2019 as Sequoia Magic Loop.

Water rides[]

Name	Picture	Type	Opened	Area	Manufacturer	Additional information
Colorado Boat		Log flume	1984	Energy	Mack Rides	Log flume themed to the Americas.
Fuga da Atlantide		Shoot the Chute	2004	Energy	Intamin	Fuga da Atlantide (Escape from Atlantis), is a Shoot the Chute, the Intamin Super Splash, and is situated near Blue Tornado.[4] The ride begins with a cable lift hill, at the car/boat turns on a shallow helix and plummets down a steep hill with water jets in the track into a pool. The ride progresses to another similar element.
Jungle Rapids		River rapids ride	1999	Energy	Intamin	Rapids ride in a small boat, which passes by various Asian scenes.[5]

Dark rides[]

Name	Picture	Type	Opened	Area	Manufacturer	Additional information
Ramses: Il RisVeglio		Dark ride	2009	Arabia		Ramses: il risveglio (Ramses: The Awakening) formerly La Valle dei Re/The Valley of Kings is Gardaland's first interactive dark ride. The vehicles are omnimover like the Haunted Mansion. The original ride starts during an expedition, then takes riders through burial chambers, tombs with mummies, and a town with explorers partying. The ride closed in 2021 with construction walls around the building stating ‘a unique world class for adventures of all ages’. Some rumors suggest a Jumanji themed indoor roller coaster however nothing has been announced.
The Spectacular 4D Adventure		Cinema 4D	1990	Energy		It closed in 2017 and was replaced with Trex-taurant restaurant
Wonder Woman the 4D experience		Cinema 4D	2007 (2018) (2020)	Energy		In 2018 it was closed and rethemed to 'San Andreas 4D Experience' based on the 2015 film of the same name. In 2020 it then changed to Wonder Woman the 4D experience.[clarification needed]
I Corsari		Dark boat ride	1992	Pirati	Intamin	Enter the pirate ship and take a boat ride underground.

Flat thrill rides[]

Name	Picture	Type	Opened	Area	Manufacturer	Additional information
Space Vertigo		Drop Tower	1998	Energy (Space)	Intamin
Flying Island			2000	Energy (Space)	Intamin
Magic House		Madhouse (ride)	2001	Fantasy Kingdom	Vekoma

Family rides[]

Name	Picture	Type	Opened	Area	Manufacturer	Additional information
Baby Pilota		Spinning ride	2000	Fantasy Kingdom		The cabs rotate and move up and down.
Peter Pan		Spinning ride	1986	Energy (Luna Park)	Mack Rides	Fast spinning family ride
Mr Ping's Noodle Surprise		Teacups	2016 (1993)	Kung Fu Panda Academy	Mack Rides	Formerly known as Kaffetassen. Rethemed in 2016 as part of the Kung Fu Panda Academy area.
Il Trenino di Nonno Pig		Junior train ride	2018	Peppa Pig Land
La Mongolfiera di Peppa Pig		Star Dancer	2018	Peppa Pig Land
L'Isola dei Pirati		Junior boat ride	2018	Peppa Pig Land
La Casa di Peppa Pig		Walk-through attraction	2018	Peppa Pig Land

Other attractions[]

Name	Picture	Type	Opened	Area	Manufacturer	Additional information
Foresta Incantata		Interactive, actor lead walk-through	2019	Rio Bravo		Replaced Canyon Creek (2009). This is an interactive walkthrough attraction similar to Bami Salami at Toverland
Sea Life Aquarium		Aquarium	2008	(Back of the car park)	Sea Life
Gardaland Theatre		Theater	2006	Piazza
Monorotaia		Monorail	1990	Energy (Luna Park)	Mack Rides

Gallery[]

Food, features[]

• 

  Casa di Prezzemolo

• 

  Blue Tornado fast food

• 

  Inside the pirate area

• 

  Bar Hawaii

• 

  Silver Saloon

• 

  Mexico area

• 

  Station of the TransGardaland Express

• 

  Information

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gardaland.

• Official website
• Gardaland at the Roller Coaster DataBase
• Information about Gardaland
• Gardaland's roller coasters
• Gardaland Weather