The Belgian amusement park Bellewaerde is continuing to invest in modernization with a thorough renovation of the Canada Zone. Following the opening of the Amazonia water attraction in 2024/2025, this section of the park will also be redesigned with new attractions, an adventure course, and a large themed waterfront restaurant.
The renovation is part of a broader investment strategy. Since 2020, Bellewaerde has invested approximately €90 million in new attractions, themed areas, and infrastructure. The park aims to strengthen its position and attract more visitors from the Netherlands and Germany.
With the renovated Canada Zone, the park is not only trying to add extra experiences, but also to better distribute visitor flows across the site.
New family attractions with a Canadian atmosphere
The eye-catcher of the area is the Seesaw Swing , a swing ride that, according to Bellewaerde, is the largest of its kind. The attraction reaches a height of 14,5 meters, accommodates 24 visitors per ride, and has a capacity of approximately 750 people per hour.
The attraction swings visitors high above the pond, combining an adrenaline rush with panoramic views over the park.
In addition, Timber Trail was built: a wooden adventure course approximately 400 meters long that runs partially over the water. With a capacity of about 1500 visitors per hour, the course targets families who want to be active together.
The trail consists of two routes with varying levels of difficulty, so both younger children and older visitors can enjoy it. Together, the two attractions provide a capacity of over 2000 visitors per hour in this section of the park.
Hospitality as a strategic part of the zone
A striking feature of the renovation is the revamped restaurant The Canadian Burger , designed as a wooden Canadian barn on the edge of the large pond.
The restaurant seats approximately 400 indoors and another 400 on the terrace. The kitchen focuses on fresh burgers and fries.
Filip van Dorpe, Marketing Director: “The expansion of the catering facilities is no accidental choice. The Canada Zone is located at the far end of the park and, for many visitors, marks the endpoint of a route that starts at the entrance and runs through the Mexico section, among others. Traditionally, a concentration of visitors forms here around lunchtime.”
By creating additional catering capacity at this location, the park can better accommodate the crowds and allow visitors to stay in this area longer.
Authentic materials enhance the experience
What's particularly striking about the renovated Canada Zone is the attention to materials. Instead of decorative solutions, a conscious choice was made for genuine, robust materials that contribute to the area's credibility.
For example, the wooden logs in the adventure course are actually solid wood logs, not concrete structures with a wood grain. High-quality materials were also chosen for the stonework. The flagstone elements used are sturdy and appear durable, meaning they are expected to withstand years of intensive use.
These choices ensure that the zone is not only thematically sound but also feels authentic. Even with parts of the area still under construction, visitors already feel like they're truly in a Canadian setting.
It shows that during this renovation, the park not only looked at the attractions, but also at the credibility of the environment in which these attractions are located.
Investing in sustainability
Bellewaerde is also investing in sustainability. New buildings are heated and cooled using geothermal systems that extract heat from the ground. Water purification, insulation, and heat pumps also play a role in the park's sustainability strategy.
For these efforts, Bellewaerde received the SDG Pioneer Award from the United Nations.
Growth outside the region
Bellewaerde welcomes approximately 800.000 visitors annually. Although the park traditionally has a strong presence in West and East Flanders, the number of visitors from the Netherlands and Germany is growing.
According to park director Stefaan Lemey, national borders are becoming less of a barrier for families looking for a day out. With new attractions and renovated park areas, Bellewaerde is therefore trying to position itself more emphatically within a broader international region.
For the Dutch market, distance remains a factor at the moment. For many visitors from the Netherlands, the park is less of an obvious choice for a spontaneous day trip, but can be an interesting stopover during a trip to Northern France or Southern Europe, or as a destination during longer weekends and school holidays such as the spring or autumn break.
Bellewaerde doesn't rule out expanding to include accommodations in the future. However, concrete plans or a detailed policy framework for this are not yet available.
Business analysis: what other parks can learn from this
The developments in Bellewaerde demonstrate how existing parks can strengthen their position without building entirely new park sections.
- Redevelopment can be more effective than expansionThe Canada Zone isn't a new area, but rather an existing zone that has been redesigned. By more closely connecting attractions, restaurants, and the landscape, a renewed experience is created without physically expanding the park.
- Hospitality plays a role in visitor routingThe new restaurant is not only a food service establishment, but also a tool for managing visitor flows. By strategically positioning food service establishments, wait times and crowds can be better distributed.
- Experience is (also) in the choice of materialsTheming doesn't have to consist solely of decor. Investing in real materials, robust construction, and landscape integration creates a credible environment that visitors intuitively recognize.
- The right partners determine the qualityThe choice of subcontractors, designers, and suppliers plays a significant role in the final appearance of a park section. By collaborating with partners experienced in theming and high-quality materials, a park can create a consistent and credible experience.
This offers a clear lesson for recreational entrepreneurs: experience is rarely created by a single element. It's precisely the interplay of design, materials, routing, hospitality, and execution that determines how powerful an area ultimately is.
A park in transition
A visit to Bellewaerde reveals that the park is clearly in a transitional phase. The park's foundation has evolved historically, and this is still visible in various parts of the grounds. At the same time, work is clearly underway to create a more modern look and a stronger connection between attractions, landscaping, and amenities.
Bellewaerde positions itself emphatically as a park where attractions, animals, and nature converge. With over 130 animals, the park is also officially recognized as a zoo, which adds an extra dimension to this combination.
The revamped Canada Zone clearly illustrates the park's future. Not so much by adding increasingly extreme attractions, but by redesigning existing areas and bringing features like food and drink, play, and experiences closer together.
In other parts of the park as well, such as the King's Table restaurant , it is evident how atmosphere and decor contribute to the overall experience. On busy days, such a place can evoke the feeling that visitors briefly step into a different time or environment, where food and togetherness are part of the experience.
This approach is expected to continue in future developments. If Bellewaerde continues to focus on the use of materials, ambiance, and landscape integration in new projects, the park can gradually evolve into an increasingly cohesive destination.
For those traveling to southern Europe or looking for a day trip during a holiday in northern France, Bellewaerde can be a surprisingly interesting stopover: a park where attractions, animals, and nature come together and where the ambition for further growth is now clearly visible.
Explanation Pretwerk.nl – Judith Woordes Scheepers – Snibbit.nl
More information: www.bellewaerde.be/nl