News about Historical Carousel

The opening of the new carousel gave Holiday Park Germany a quick answer to the gap left by Antikes Pferdekarussell. Only a few months after the 145-year-old predecessor was removed, its replacement was already operating: a new carousel from Wooddesign Amusement Rides, a Dutch manufacturer that had built several rides for Plopsa before.

The nostalgic styling was an important choice. Plopsa did not replace the old ride with something entirely unrelated; it opted for a carousel that deliberately echoed the atmosphere of its predecessor. Under the canopy near DinoSplash, guests once again found classic ride figures, including horses, other animals, carriages and a rotating basket. The location therefore kept the feel of a familiar family ride, but with a system better suited to modern operation.

For visitors, the Palatine village area regained its quiet traditional anchor point. At the same time, the opening formed part of a much broader renewal wave, with new children’s rides, a Smurfs dark ride, a family coaster and further investments on the horizon. Historical Carousel became a small but telling bridge between the old Holiday Park and the emerging Plopsaland Deutschland.

The removal of Antikes Pferdekarussell was not a routine ride swap for Holiday Park Germany. The carousel dated back to 1879, travelled through Switzerland for many years and found a permanent home in the German Plopsa park in the early 1980s. That made it more than a children’s ride; it was a visible piece of fairground and park history.

For guests, the biggest change was the atmosphere around the square near DinoSplash and the former Burg Falkenstein dark ride. The old carousel stood under a canopy in the Palatine village area and helped define that corner of the park for decades. According to the report, keeping the 145-year-old ride in line with modern safety standards had become too expensive for Plopsa. The group therefore chose to sell and replace it rather than preserve it in its existing form.

That background matters for today’s Historical Carousel. The current ride did not simply fill an empty plot; it was built to succeed a nostalgic landmark while giving families a more reliable carousel for the future.