Circus Bumba is the newest addition to Plopsaland De Panne. It opened in the summer of 2023 and hosts a variety of new activities and rides. Although the whole area opened a few weeks ago, we preferred to wait a bit longer to visit the park again until the whole area was finished.
The area
You either enter the area through their new restaurant called “De Spiegeltent” or through the main entrance which is located between the Dunkin Donuts and another food stand called “De Bumba Snack”. The main entrance is through a shop which can be a little impractical when it gets crowded, but this is a theme which can be found throughout the whole area as all of the attractions are close to each other.
The area itself is really cozy and doesn’t really feel like a big box although there are some places where the theming is a bit lacking.
When it is warm you don’t come here for some refreshment as the area itself was not cooled as far as I could notice, which I think is a missed opportunity. They advertise their indoor areas as “fun for all weather conditions” so I think it is a missed opportunity to make some cooled spaces.
There is also a show which is played multiple times a day. To our surprise this was another Bumba show than we had seen in Plopsa Indoor Hasselt a few months ago. You should really watch it when you are here as it is so much fun to hear the songs and see all the mascots on stage.
The attractions
Circus Bumba is targeted for the younger guests as the name might suggest. This means that the rides are also targeted at the younger guests, but that doesn’t mean that adults can’t have fun there.
There are three main attractions in the area: a dark ride named “Op Reis Met Bumba”, a Zamperla Balloon tower named ‘Bumballoon’ and a Zamperla crazy bus called ‘De Dolle Busrit’.
Sadly the crazy bus was closed when we were there and we didn’t get the chance to ride it and even though it had just opened it didn’t look in the best state. There were some parts of the ride just poking out behind the decorations and some of the balls from the playground were just chilling in the pit underneath the bus.
The Zamperla balloon tower was a lot of fun! You can spin as hard as you can which means that this kiddie ride doesn’t necessarily have to be a kiddie ride. The ride is situated right next to the main entrance of the area and it looks quite nice. In the ride itself you can get some great views of the area.
Last but not least there is the dark ride. This dark ride is Plopsa their first real attempt at making a dark ride of their own. The ride system was built by German manufacturer: Metallbau Emmeln. You board a cute little car and start your adventure. You can choose the language in which your journey is narrated, this is either Dutch or French. The ride itself is very well themed but has some dead spots and also has quite a large flaw. The ride vehicle itself goes very fast through its layout which means you don't have much time to appreciate the amazing theming in the ride itself. But it is something you should really ride when you are in the park and it is bound to become a classic.
Conclusion
Circus Bumba is a nice area but there are some elements that could have been executed better. From the inside everything looks nice but the outside is quite ugly in my opinion. It doesn't help that the show building itself is located in an area of the park which looks outdated. But all bad things aside it reaches its goals and the area provides a space where even the youngsters can have fun. So if you go to ride Ride To Happiness in the near future you should stop by Circus Bumba and give it a try.
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