News about Heidi The Ride

In 2024, Heidi The Ride entered a new chapter in its maintenance history. The wooden coaster had been closed since 30 September for major work, and the expected reopening was pushed back to 26 October. That meant the downtime overlapped with part of the Walloon autumn holiday and affected visitors during Plopsaland’s busy Halloween period. The park explained that the coaster was undergoing a retrack: sections of the wooden running rail were being replaced to guarantee the train’s speed. For fans, this is a familiar theme with wooden coasters. GCI rides such as Troy, Joris en de Draak and Wodan regularly need significant upkeep because wooden track changes with use and weather, affecting both comfort and performance. For visitors, the practical result was simple: one of the park’s key coasters was unavailable for a notable stretch. Historically, the article matters because it shows Heidi The Ride moving beyond its opening and permit story into the classic life cycle of a wooden coaster: maintenance, preservation and performance.

During Winter Magic, Heidi The Ride faced an incident with direct visitor impact. On 26 December 2018, the wooden coaster stopped on the lift shortly before 3 p.m. Riders remained stuck in the cold for more than an hour before everyone was evacuated around 4:15 p.m. Looopings reported that several cast members from Campus 12 were also on board. They still made it just in time for the 5 p.m. Plopsa Parade. All riders received a hot drink as compensation, while the coaster stayed closed for the rest of the day. For visitors, the story shows that even a relatively new headline attraction can be vulnerable to technical problems and weather conditions. The context made the incident feel sharper: the park was open for its winter event until 7 p.m., while other attractions also dealt with cold-related closures or evacuations. Historically, it is an important operational chapter in Heidi The Ride’s story, alongside the earlier permit and noise issues.

A little over a year after opening, Heidi The Ride gained an unusual fan story. A replica coaster car appeared on a Belgian auction site, complete with a piece of track. The object had previously been used for promotional purposes and, according to the listing, matched the size of a real car. The news showed how quickly the attraction had become visually recognisable to fans. For regular visitors, the auction changed nothing about the ride experience, but for theme park enthusiasts it is exactly the kind of side story that gives an attraction texture. Looopings also placed the replica in the wider world of coaster memorabilia and collector objects. Heidi The Ride was still young, yet already familiar enough for a promotional prop to attract attention. The proceeds were reportedly intended for charity. In the broader history of the ride, this article marks the moment when Heidi The Ride existed not only as an attraction in Plopsaland, but also as a fan object outside the park.

The Looopings test gave Heidi The Ride its public calling card. After a long delay, the wooden coaster was officially open and was assessed not simply as a children’s or family ride, but as a proper coaster with real pace. Looopings highlighted the 22-metre height and 71 km/h top speed. Plopsa director Steve Van den Kerkhof placed the attraction in a broader change in visitor demand, saying young guests increasingly ask for rides like this. The manufacturer also added context: GCI’s Clair Hain compared the sharp turns to a bobsled feeling, fitting the Swiss theme. For visitors, the article explained what Heidi The Ride actually brought to Plopsaland: a friendly looking themed ride that still delivered a surprisingly lively wooden coaster experience. Historically, it closed the difficult lead-up. After permits, noise measures and postponements, the ride itself finally became the focus, no longer the complications around it.

Just before the public opening, Heidi The Ride received its first real fan moment. Plopsaland invited a group of coaster enthusiasts to try the new wooden ride ahead of everyone else. After the long run-up involving delays, permits and noise measures, this was more than a promotional event: it was the first time the attraction was experienced by the audience most likely to judge it closely. Looopings repeated the key figures: 22 metres high, 618 metres long and 71 kilometres per hour. The wider Heidiland context also mattered, with a Swiss mountain village, restaurant, shop and farm-animal carousel. For visitors, the news confirmed that opening day was finally close. For fans, the link with other GCI coasters was especially relevant, because the manufacturer was known for lively wooden rides with pace and character. This preview almost closed the construction chapter and set expectations for Heidi The Ride as a family coaster with more force than its gentle theme might suggest.

After months of uncertainty, March 2017 finally brought a green light for Heidi The Ride. Plopsaland was allowed to open the new wooden coaster, but the permission came with a clear restriction: the ride could operate only until 7 p.m. On long summer evenings it would therefore close earlier than the rest of the park. The condition was directly linked to the noise debate around the expired environmental permit and complaints from nearby residents. For visitors, that mattered in a practical way, because riding the coaster would not automatically be possible throughout the entire operating day. For fans, the news underlined how unusual the situation had become: a major new coaster ready for guests, yet limited by local environmental rules. At the same time, the article finally gave the project a real opening date. Heidi The Ride was set to open to the public on Sunday 2 April 2017 after additional noise measurements, ending a long and complicated lead-up.

The large wall around Heidi The Ride showed how sensitive the new coaster had become. By December 2016 the ride was already technically complete, but Plopsaland still had to invest heavily in measures against noise nuisance. Looopings reported that the 22-metre-high coaster was partly hidden behind a wooden sound barrier. Covered sections had already been added earlier. These interventions were not just cosmetic; they were part of an effort to prevent complaints from neighbours and keep the permit situation under control. For visitors, the measures eventually shaped the ride experience itself. The coaster gained tunnel-like and shielded sections that reduced noise while also adding darkness and a stronger sense of speed. For fans, the report helps explain why Heidi The Ride looks different from many other GCI coasters. The attraction was shaped not only by theming and engineering, but also by its location in De Panne and the need to balance excitement with the living environment around the park.

The confirmed delay turned Heidi The Ride from a construction story into a permit story as well. At the end of July 2016, Plopsaland announced that the wooden coaster would not open until the first half of April 2017, during the Easter holiday period. That was a major setback: the attraction had originally been expected to operate that same summer. The reason was linked to problems around the park’s environmental permit, which had pushed the opening into uncertainty. For visitors, the delay removed a much-anticipated new ride from the summer calendar. For fans, it gave the coaster’s later history an important layer: Heidi The Ride was technically advanced, but neighbourhood and regulatory issues determined when it could actually welcome guests. Plopsaland used the extra months to continue finishing not only the coaster but also Heidiland. The strategy shifted from a bare ride in 2016 to a more complete themed area in 2017.

The first test run was a turning point in the construction of Heidi The Ride. After months of visible building work, the train finally moved across the wooden track in May 2016, filled with sandbags rather than passengers. That placed the coaster firmly in its technical testing phase. Looopings reported speeds of more than 70 kilometres per hour and a 22-metre-high structure, details that helped fans judge the scale of the ride. For coaster enthusiasts, this was the moment when the GCI project stopped being a set of plans and became a moving attraction. The schedule, however, was still cautious. Opening was expected around early July, while the full themed finish would follow later. That detail captures the pressure around the project: Plopsaland wanted the ride available soon, but Heidiland as a complete area needed more time. The test run therefore became an early milestone in a build that advanced technically, while later facing more complicated permit and neighbourhood issues.

The first design made clear that Plopsaland wanted more than a standalone wooden coaster. From the start, Heidi The Ride was presented with a strong scenic identity: a Swiss mountain village, timber buildings and a station beside the existing water ride. That connected the investment to Studio 100’s Heidi brand as much as to the thrill of the coaster itself. For visitors and coaster fans, the technical details mattered too. The ride would use an L-shaped layout, rise to 22 metres and be supplied by Great Coasters International, a manufacturer already respected in Europe for lively wooden family coasters. The news marked the moment when Heidi The Ride became a concrete, recognisable project rather than a loose plan. In the attraction’s later history, this reveal is important because it shows how Plopsaland intended the ride to act as the anchor of Heidiland, giving a quiet edge of the park a new themed identity.