Lighthouse Tower

In August 2023, Lighthouse Tower was hit by an unusual weather-related incident. During a thunderstorm, lightning struck near the tall swing ride at Holiday Park, now Plopsaland Deutschland, at around 1 p.m. According to the park, the control system was damaged. The attraction was already closed to guests at the time, as were the other outdoor rides, so no one was on board.

For visitors, the strike mainly created uncertainty about when the ride would return. Plopsa contacted Funtime, the Austrian manufacturer of Lighthouse Tower, to assess and resolve the damage. Until then, the attraction remained out of service. The park directed guests to its app and website for the latest status information.

The news illustrates why a ride such as Lighthouse Tower is both spectacular and vulnerable. At roughly eighty metres high, the swing ride is a defining part of the park’s skyline, but that same height makes weather safety and technical monitoring especially important. The incident was more than a routine breakdown: it was a clear example of how weather, engineering and visitor planning can intersect.

In October 2017, Lighthouse Tower made the news because of a backstage incident. A Holiday Park employee was inspecting the starflyer when he slipped and fell about six metres. Fire services and a rescue helicopter were called as a precaution. Regional media reported that the man was not seriously injured, but he was taken to hospital for examination.

For visitors, the incident happened outside the normal ride experience, yet it is still meaningful in the attraction’s history. Tall swing rides require not only daily operation checks, but also specialist inspections and maintenance work at height. On a ride that towers over the park and functions as a visual landmark, that work carries very visible risks.

Looopings also placed the incident in context, describing Lighthouse Tower as Germany’s highest swing ride, more than seventy metres tall, built by Funtime and opened in 2006. The news shows that the attraction stands out not only because of its views and thrill factor, but also because of the technical and safety organisation needed to keep such a structure running.

In September 2017, most attention at Holiday Park focused on Expedition GeForce, which had to close temporarily because of abnormal wear on the lift cable. The same update, however, also carried important news for Lighthouse Tower. Plopsa director Steve Van den Kerkhof said the roughly eighty-metre swing ride was also suffering from technical problems and that the park was waiting for parts from Austrian manufacturer Funtime.

For guests and fans, the report showed a broader picture of how vulnerable major rides can be. Lighthouse Tower is not a minor background attraction: because of its height and visibility, it is a recognizable part of the park’s skyline. When such a ride is unavailable, visitors notice it immediately, especially when another headline attraction is closed at the same time.

The article also underlined how dependent parks are on manufacturers and specialist parts. A technical issue cannot always be solved on the same day. Sometimes the availability of a supplier determines when a ride can return. In Lighthouse Tower’s history, this was a clear moment where maintenance, technology and guest expectations came together.