
Gardaland turns 45
28 August 2020/ A tribute to Gardaland, the number one park in Italy, which this month reaches a historic milestone /
It has spanned the decades, withstanding fashions, crises and now even the lockdown, and has carved out a special place in the most beautiful and carefree memories of at least 4 generations of Italians: on July 19 Gardaland celebrates its first 45 years of business.
At the time of its opening it was something totally new on the Italian leisure scene, helping to drive the birth of the country’s parks, acting as a model and leader. A new concept, inspired by the idea of the Disneyland model in California, where themed areas gave visiting Italian families the chance to enter exotic worlds that until then they had only seen on the big screen or on TV: the Far West with its saloons and cowboys, train robberies and the Native American village, Africa with a canoe safari among crocodiles, villages and hippos, and Japan with its pagodas.

The park was immediately successful (100,000 visitors in the first year), and continued that way in the years to come: who in Italy can say they have never been to Gardaland? In its 45 years of history, the park has welcomed some 100 million visitors, becoming an essential fun and escape destination for children and families at least once a year, if not more. From the original 90,000sq.m with about 20 attractions, it has now become a theme park covering 600,000sq.m with about 40 attractions, divided into 3 types (thrill, adventure and fantasy) and accommodation facilities (including 3 hotels) that make it a true resort. A complex that with its 3 million visitors on average per year ranks among the top 10 theme parks in Europe by attendance.
The elements that have led to its success undoubtedly include the…
Continue reading Games & Parks Industry July/August 2020, page 48