Stricter COVID rules keep Mayaland and The Ball Bath closed
Stricter Belgian COVID rules forced indoor attractions and covered parks to close again from 26 December 2021. At Plopsaland, Mayaland stayed shut, including The Ball Bath, which had already been out of use because of earlier measures.
More context
Belgium tightened its COVID rules again at the end of December 2021, and indoor leisure venues were hit hardest. Theme parks and zoos could in principle remain open, but indoor attractions, covered amusement parks, animal houses, cinemas, theatres and water parks had to close from Sunday 26 December. At Plopsaland De Panne, that meant Mayaland was no longer allowed to open.
The decision also affected The Ball Bath, the small play area for younger children inside Mayaland. Looopings reported that several play attractions in this indoor zone, including the slide, the ball pool and climbing structures, had already been unavailable for some time because of earlier COVID measures. The new restrictions made clear that this part of the park would not return to normal visitor use during the holiday period.
For families, the closure mattered most on cold or wet days, when Mayaland normally offers a sheltered break from the outdoor park. In the attraction's history, this news marks a very specific kind of downtime: not a technical fault or refurbishment, but a public-health closure that temporarily removed one of Plopsaland's quietest indoor options for young children.