News about DinoSplash

In November 2025, DinoSplash returned to the news because of a striking technical incident. Looopings described how the log flume stopped on a Saturday around 17:05 and how the evacuation that followed did not go as smoothly as visitors and fan sites expected. Footage from MR Plopsa showed several boats lined up on the large conveyor lift toward the highest point of the ride. Staff tried to restart the lift, but because too much weight was resting on the belt, the boats slid backwards down the incline. One boat even splashed backwards into the water. Plopsaland later confirmed that a rollback had occurred during the restart attempt and that employees then decided to evacuate the guests. According to the park, the situation was handled safely. For fans, the article is relevant because it exposes the mechanics behind the classic Mack Rides flume. DinoSplash has carried a fresh dinosaur theme since 2019, but underneath that layer remains an older log flume from 1989, with machinery that immediately draws attention when something goes wrong.

On 3 July 2020, Looopings could report that DinoSplash was finally complete. Visitors had already been able to try the renewed water ride the year before, but several pieces of scenery were still missing at that point. During the winter, Plopsaland De Panne finished the attraction with additional dinosaurs, paintwork and planting, allowing the former De Boomstammetjes to be presented as a fully rounded dinosaur world. The official opening did not go as originally planned. Plopsaland had intended to open DinoSplash ceremonially during the Easter holidays, but the COVID crisis kept the park closed until 1 July and visitor numbers remained limited afterwards. As a result, the launch was much quieter than a project of this scale would normally deserve. For visitors, the news still marked an important end point: the 1989 log flume had received a new identity after years of decline, demolition and interim versions. For fans, the article closed the major renovation cycle, from Samson and castle scenery to a completed jungle of volcanoes and dinosaurs.

In July 2019, the transformation of De Boomstammetjes reached the visitor stage. Looopings reported that Plopsaland De Panne had opened the renewed log flume DinoSplash, even though the major refurbishment was not yet fully finished. Guests could once again ride the classic flume, now passing smoking volcanoes, lava flows and dinosaurs along the route. At the same time, it was clear that this was still an interim version: additional scenery and moving dinosaurs would be added later, and the official opening was scheduled for spring 2020. The article also highlighted how radical the thematic shift had become. The attraction began in 1989 as Splash, later received the Samson castle theme and then operated as De Boomstammetjes. With DinoSplash, Plopsaland deliberately chose a more universal theme that was not built around a Studio 100 character. For visitors, the news meant an old water ride had returned as an almost new experience; for fans, it was the first real look at a project that had been discussed for months.

In May 2019, Looopings made clear that the renovation of De Boomstammetjes was more complex than a normal seasonal project. Plopsa director Steve Van den Kerkhof confirmed that visitors would already be able to ride DinoSplash that summer, but that the attraction would not yet be fully complete. The old log flume was receiving a dinosaur theme with volcanoes, rocks, lava flows and dinosaurs, but some of the rockwork, scenery and moving figures would follow later. The plan was for DinoSplash to close again after the summer so Plopsaland could finish the project toward Easter 2020. For visitors, the news created a mixed expectation: the ride was returning, but as a work in progress. For fans, the article offered rare insight into the scale of the transformation. The park did not simply want the attraction operational again; it wanted to lift it to a much stronger thematic level, with the promise that DinoSplash would become Plopsaland's most beautiful attraction.

In November 2018, the transformation of De Boomstammetjes took on a rawer, more concrete form. Looopings published new images of the winter construction site where Plopsaland was preparing the old log flume for its prehistoric future. Construction fences surrounded the ride, much of the station had been stripped and the castle walls that had shaped the attraction's look for years had largely disappeared. It made clear that the move toward DinoSplash was much more than adding new props along the route. The park was removing the old identity down to the underlying structure so that a landscape of volcanoes, rocks, lava flows and dinosaurs could be built. For winter visitors, it must have been a strange sight: a familiar ride turned into an open construction site, halfway between past and future. For fans, the article was an important progress update, giving the refurbishment scale, speed and visible impact.

Two weeks after the major investment announcement, Looopings showed that the transformation of De Boomstammetjes had already visibly begun. Plopsaland De Panne had started demolition work around the 1989 water attraction. The old castle, for years one of the ride's most recognizable features, was being removed in sections to make way for volcanoes, rocks and dinosaurs. What made the situation striking was that the ride was still open to visitors at that stage. Anyone boarding was not seeing a finished product, but a classic attraction caught mid-transition. Photos from fansite Plopsa Fans revealed how the original structure of the 21-metre-high log flume was emerging from beneath the scenery. For fans, this made the project tangible. The old identity of De Boomstammetjes was literally being dismantled piece by piece, while the provisional DinoSplash name and the 5 million euro budget raised expectations for the new chapter.

In October 2018, the scale of De Boomstammetjes' future became clear. Looopings reported that Plopsaland De Panne was investing 5 million euros in a major transformation of the old log flume. The castle theme would be replaced by a prehistoric landscape with roaring volcanoes, rocks, lava flows and dinosaurs. Plopsa director Steve Van den Kerkhof stressed that the park did not want to do the job halfway and was choosing an unusually large theming budget. The provisional name was DinoSplash, with reopening then expected in July 2019. The article also placed the ride's history in context: the Mack Rides log flume opened in 1989 as Splash, later became Het Kasteel van Koning Samson and then operated as De Boomstammetjes. For fans, this was a turning point. The refurbishment was not just new scenery, but a break with the attraction's Studio 100 past and the start of a more independent, universal theme.

At the end of 2014, Looopings framed the future of De Boomstammetjes with unusual clarity. Plopsa director Steve Van den Kerkhof admitted that the log flume in Plopsaland De Panne was in very poor condition and could not continue for much longer without major work. For a ride that had existed since 1989, when the park was still Meli-Park, that was a significant signal. The director described a refurbishment as unavoidable, but linked it to the search for the right theme. That made the news especially relevant: the attraction was still loosely tied to Samson and Gert, yet Van den Kerkhof suggested that this layer would probably not return after a renovation. For visitors and fans, the article now reads like an early warning of the transformation that would eventually create DinoSplash. It marks the moment when the old log flume stopped being viewed only as a familiar classic and became a ride for which Plopsaland had to make a fundamental decision about the future.

At the start of 2012, De Boomstammetjes surfaced in the news through an unusual legal follow-up. Looopings described how an incident from the summer of 2007 ended with modest compensation for a visitor. During a ride, a fire hose accidentally ended up in the log flume channel, causing one of the boats to nearly tip over. A man tried to help his family but became trapped between the heavy log boat and the trough. He broke his collarbone and later took the matter to court. The ruling awarded him 500 euros, while a Plopsaland employee was cleared. For the history of DinoSplash, this is mainly an early safety-related episode from the era when the attraction was still known as De Boomstammetjes. It shows that the ride drew attention not only through major rethemes and new scenery, but also through incidents that reveal the physical, hands-on nature of an old-school log flume.