Bellewaerde vs Plopsaland

Bellewaerde is a combined theme park and zoo in Ieper, West Flanders, Belgium. It's a mid-sized park aimed at families, with notable rides including Dawson Duel (a dual launched coaster in the Canadian area), Huracan (a spinning coaster), and a full zoo section housing tigers, lions and other animals. A small separate water park (Bellewaerde Aquapark) operates next door in summer.

Belgian and French school holidays are Bellewaerde's busy periods, particularly the summer peak in July and August. Weekday visits in May, June and September are usually very pleasant, with short queue times across the park. Check live wait times for Dawson Duel and Huracan, and use our crowd calendar to plan around local school breaks for the calmest experience.

Plopsaland De Panne is a Belgian family theme park on the coast in De Panne, West Flanders, close to the French border. It's built around the Studio 100 TV characters (Plop the Gnome, Bumba, Maya the Bee) and runs a strong coaster line-up for a family park: Heidi the Ride (a GCI wooden coaster), Anubis (a launched inverted coaster), The Ride to Happiness (a triple-launch Mack coaster), and Kondor.

Belgian and Dutch school holidays, Halloween and the Christmas season drive Plopsaland's peak crowds. Weekdays in May, June and September are usually very relaxed. Check live queue times for The Ride to Happiness and Anubis on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a lower-crowd midweek date - the park pairs well with a North Sea coastal holiday.