Van Hoorne Studios recently purchased the Familyland recreation park in Hoogerheide in Brabant to transform it into the 'Familie Resort & Avonturenpark De Tovertuin' holiday and amusement park, the park of children's brand Woezel & Pip. By making as much use as possible of existing buildings and
working within the existing permit possibilities, the park can be developed in a relatively short time. Michael van Hoorne shows us around and tells us, among other things, that there will even be a real dark ride in the park.
What can we expect here?
Michael van Hoorne: “It will be a themed holiday park, linked to a day attraction park, with both an indoor and outdoor area. We are very familiar with the youngest target group, and that is what we are going to focus on in this park with the theme of Woezel and Pip.”
Why did you choose this particular location?
Michael van Hoorne: “We were looking for a somewhat larger location where we could realise the combination of day and residential recreation. With a surface area of 20 ha, this location is excellent. Moreover, when making such a purchase, you also look at the available possibilities. If you can prevent the need for zoning plan changes and building permits, then that speeds up the process. The central building is of excellent quality and offers possibilities. The building is cleverly designed; for example, look at the central location of the kitchen, which can support multiple restaurants.
We are also very happy with the former riding hall, which was later converted into an indoor golf course, because it is large enough to realize a nice indoor park. There are also development possibilities for the holiday part. For example, we can build many extra houses here. What we are also very happy with is a municipality that is prepared to think along with us.”
And then Michael mentions another important asset that he only discovered later: “This park is located in the nature reserve of the Kalmthoutse Heide. This is not a very well-known nature reserve, but I am increasingly discovering what a beautiful hinterland we have here. With Woezel and Pip we were already planning to link their stories to the themes of nature, education and dealing with the world. We will certainly use this beautiful environment for that.”
Are there any other preparations required besides the construction and zoning plans?
Michael van Hoorne: “There are quite a few migrant workers staying at the park at the moment. They have a contract with a few employment agencies. We have terminated those contracts as of next year. In addition, there is a part of the park where people have their own holiday home. We have been able to make good agreements with them, so that the park will be available for individual rental in 2026. In the first phase, we will have 1000 beds in 150 houses; and also 20 camper spots. For the somewhat longer term, there are still pieces of land that we can develop in several directions. This will also allow us to remain flexible in the future. We can further expand both day and residential recreation there.”
The park still looks a bit old-fashioned. Isn't that a problem?
Michael van Hoorne: “You have to look past that. The construction quality of the central building and the houses is quite good. We are going to extensively theme this and redecorate it. The exterior of the central building will get a completely different look. The holiday homes will also get a makeover, so that they will become real Woezel & Pip houses. There are several wooden houses. The atmosphere of wood fits in well with the nature-oriented atmosphere that we want to create here.”
What do the plans for the day attraction look like?
Michael van Hoorne: As you can see, there is a beautiful large hall. For us, that is a great basis for an indoor park. There will be one large attraction; a dark ride through the world of Woezel & Pip, with a trackless system supplied by ETF. The rest of the hall will be furnished with indoor games. In addition, there is a large outdoor area where we offer various fun activities. There will also be an attraction from ABC rides, themed around Aunt Perenboom. Of course, an extensive show program is also a must for us, with at least one large parade per day. We hope to receive around 250.000 visitors per year here in the long term, including the guests of the holiday park.”
Are there any other elements that make the park special?
Michael van Hoorne: “For the guests of the holiday park, the current swimming pool will be converted into a water park full of fun water play elements. The current swimming pool will be given a thorough makeover for this. At Familie Resort Molenwaard, we initially wanted to create a water park, but we were not yet able to calculate the budget properly. Fortunately, we can create the water playground here.”
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