Dadipark
THE ABANDONED AMUSEMENT PARK IN BELGIUM
It made a small village famous, this amusement park for kids, Dadipark in Dadizele. The park was closed in 2003, and not much later the field is taken over by nature and the attractions are starting to rust.
The park was opened in October 1949 by local priest Deweert. In fact, in the early years, the park was named ‘Daiselpark’. “Where the kids are king” was the slogan of this playfield. It was not aimed at large modern attractions, but was rather an accessible and affordable park for young children.
One of the main reasons for closure was the bad safety and security. That became clearly in the year 2000 when a child almost lost his arm on a toy jet. In 2002, they announced that the park would be closed for renovation for a year, but the park has not been opened since.
I took these photos during my visits to the abandoned site in 2005 and 2010. In 2011 the city announced that the park was demolished, after more than 60 years the place is gone. Eventually, in June 2016, the city announced that the old site will be a green recreation and living area. The name ‘Dadipark’ will remain. Follow this link for more abandoned amusement parks.
