BonBon-Land

BonBon-Land grew out of a sweet factory whose owner made confectionery with deliberately rude names and characters in the 1980s, opened his site to visitors, and turned it into a theme park that kept the same humour. The result is a mid-sized park with around sixty rides and attractions, including several substantial roller coasters, whose names and theming run to lavatory jokes, flatulent animals and things that would not get past a committee anywhere else, which Danish families find funny and foreign visitors find startling. Beyond the humour it is a straightforward family park with water rides, a large play area, animal enclosures and shows, set in wooded grounds, and it is generally cheaper and less crowded than the Copenhagen parks.

History

The park goes back to the sweet maker Michael Spangsberg, who made candies with names children found funny, such as seagull droppings and dog farts. As they became popular, people wanted to tour his factory at Holme-Olstrup, which hygiene rules did not allow, so he opened BonBon-Land instead: in 1992 it had a mini candy factory, a cinema, a shop and four duck-shaped boats on a small pond. It grew to 27 acres when the Beaver Rafting ride was finished in 1998 and to 32 acres with the Vildsvinet ride in 2003. The Spanish company Parques Reunidos bought it in 2007, Time magazine named it among the weirdest parks in 2012, and it has more than 60 attractions, including 4 roller coasters (Wikipedia, BonBon-Land).

What to look for

• The roller coasters - several substantial rides for a park this size.
• Deliberately crude theming - the joke the park was built on.
• Water rides - the wet attractions that draw the summer queues.
• Wooded grounds - the park laid out among trees.

When to go

May to September, with limited opening in spring and autumn and a Halloween season. A full day. Danish school holidays and summer weekends are busiest. Weekdays in June are the quietest reasonable option.

Good to know

The humour is crude and relentless and some visitors dislike it. It is aimed at children and families and there is nothing for adults alone. Queues at peak times are long. Food inside is poor and expensive. Rides close in bad weather.

Nearby

Naestved is south-west; Gavno Castle is a short drive west.

Key facts