Meli

About

Meli Park was a theme park which was opened on 21 April 1935 in Adinkerke in the municipality of De Panne on the Belgian coast. Founded by Alberic-Joseph Florizoone, owner of a honey company, the park was themed around beekeeping and its mascot was a bee. It grew to become one of the largest tourist attractions in Belgium, reaching 700,000 visitors per year at its peak in the 1970s and 1980s. Its most iconic attraction was the Apirama dark ride, opened in 1979. The park closed on 3 October 1999 and was subsequently sold to Studio 100, a Flemish children's television company, which rethemed the site as Plopsaland.

The bee-themed amusement park was initiated by Alberic-Joseph Florizoone, owner of a honey company. Its mascot was a bee. It was one of the first Belgian theme parks. Over the years some new attractions were added. The first ones were the labyrinth and the zoo. In the 1950s, a miniature golf course, french formal gardens, a fairytale forest, water organ were introduced. Over the years, it became one of the biggest attractions in Belgium as Antwerp Zoo and Caves of Han-sur-Lesse.

Into the 1970s and the 1980s, with a growing variety of rides, Meli Park's visitor numbers reached 700,000 per annum. Its iconic attraction was the Apirama dark ride, opened in 1979, featuring hundreds of animated bees.

The park closed in 1999. It was sold to the Flemish children's television company Studio 100 and rethemed as Plopsaland. In 1999 Alberic-Joseph Florizoone was inducted into the IAAPA Hall of Fame, an honor reserved for amusement industry innovators and pioneers.