Italy's Most Famous Park and Its Success
The History of Gardaland Resort
From the bulldozers in the fields of Ronchi in 1975 to today's record-breaking Resort: fifty years of attractions, twists and novelties that have made the history of Italian amusement parks.
It all began with a simple idea: to bring the magic seen at Disneyland to Lake Garda. From there, half a century of openings, closures and attractions that became legendary. Let's retrace it together, year by year.
๐ก The 1970s โ It All Begins Here
1975 โ From Bulldozers to Opening Day
In the early 1970s, Livio Furini, a merchant and musician from Peschiera del Garda, returned from a trip to Disneyland in California and a visit to the Edenlandia park in Naples with a clear vision: to build a new-concept amusement park on the shores of Lake Garda. On 19 October 1971 he purchased the first plot of land in the municipality of Castelnuovo del Garda, a strategic location with enormous tourism potential.
On 8 October 1974 Gardaland S.p.A. was officially founded, established by Furini together with a group of local entrepreneurs, including Flavio Zaninelli (managing director and relative majority shareholder until 1994), Cesare Brentarolli, Angelo Giambenini and, from 1979, Cesare Pelucchi. Having obtained the go-ahead from mayor Alberto Fogliardi, the partners appointed Giorgio Tauber as the park's first-ever director.
The bulldozers went into action in the spring of 1975 in the Ronchi area. After months of intense work, on 19 July 1975 Gardaland โ La cittร dei Divertimenti officially opened its doors.
From the very first day of opening the park offered numerous attractions, including two milestones:
TransGardaland Express: The historic panoramic train located near the entrance, still active and loved by visitors today.
Safari Africano: A canoe adventure along a tropical river among tribes and wildlife. Over the years the attraction was renamed Tunga, remaining in the hearts of visitors until its closure in 2009 (dismantled in 2010) to make way for the roller coaster Raptor in 2011.
Fun Fact: During the opening day in July 1975, the Safari Africano was actually still an open-air construction site: the first visitors aboard the canoes could catch glimpses of workers and carpenters busy finishing the sets and installing the animatronics as the boats glided past them!
๐ข The 1980s โ The First Major Additions
1984 โ The First Roller Coasters
In 1984, to keep up with European competition, the park expanded by introducing two important attractions that are still present today: Colorado Boat and Magic Mountain. These, known today as Shaman, were Italy's first roller coasters with a loop.
Fun Fact: Did you know that back then you had to pay an extra ticket to ride Colorado Boat?
1986 โ The World's Longest Junior Coaster
Prezzemolo Tour opened, a caterpillar junior coaster (now called Ortobruco Tour).
Fun fact: to this day Ortobruco Tour is the longest Caterpillar Junior Coaster in the world.
1988 โ La Valle dei Re and Many New Additions
La Valle dei Re debuted, a themed dark ride that became an immediate success (it would close in 2008 to make way for Ramses: il risveglio in 2019). Also arriving were Giostra Cavalli, Kaffeetassen (later renamed first Mr Ping's Noodle Surprise and today Rocket Factory), Peter Pan and Il Corpo di Eva, removed in 1994 after a fire.
1989-90 โ The Legend of Ikarus and the Cinema Dinamico
In 1989 the park continued to expand its offerings with the introduction of four new attractions:
Monorail: Still present and active within the park, offering a relaxing elevated panoramic ride.
Ikarus, Nuvola and Calci: Three attractions no longer present at Gardaland today. In particular, Ikarus was a genuine crowd favorite and remained etched in the memory of generations of visitors. After being removed from Gardaland, the attraction was transferred to the Apulian park Miragica, a venue that permanently closed its doors in 2018.
In 1990 two more milestones arrived that marked the history of the park: the Cinema Dinamico and Il Villaggio degli Elfi (later converted and integrated into the Fantasy Kingdom area under the name Funny Express).
The Cinema Dinamico underwent a significant technological and scenic evolution over time:
In 2001 the attraction introduced three-dimensionality with 3D glasses synchronized with the movement of the seats, debuting with the famous film L'isola dei dinosauri. The building was enhanced with an impressive Jurassic-themed entrance and a pre-show video before entering the hall.
In 2004 the hall was renamed The Spectacular 4D Adventure, offering a dynamic program with a continuous rotation of films.
From 2012 the 3D glasses technology was removed. In the following years the attraction gradually fell into obscurity, limited to the cyclical screening of the same films. This created a curious contrast: the original external Jurassic theming was kept over the years, even though the films shown inside no longer had anything to do with dinosaurs.
๐ดโโ ๏ธ The Fabulous 1990s
1991-92 โ Il Villaggio Inglese and I Corsari
In 1991 the park was enriched with the grand opening of the Villaggio Inglese, a themed area conceived and designed by the celebrated art director and set designer Claudio Mazzoli. The area included the iconic seafaring-style buildings still visible today, though without the restaurant galleon "Corsaro Nero", which would only be added in 2017.
In 1992 Gardaland gave life to what is considered the park's signature attraction, a majestic underground water dark ride full of detail, immersive music and breathtaking sets. Building the attraction was a colossal feat of engineering: the massive underground excavations proved extremely complex due to the nature of the terrain and the proximity to the shores of Lake Garda. Among the most famous anecdotes from the construction site, it's said that one of the bulldozers used during excavation got stuck deep in the mud: given the extreme difficulty of recovering it, it was decided to leave it there and bury it forever behind one of the attraction's walls!
A record investment: With a construction cost of 60 billion lire, "I Corsari" was, at the time, one of the most expensive attractions ever built in the world, requiring over three years of complex work to complete.
1997 โ PalaBlรน Opens
Opened in 1997, the PalaBlรน was built with the ambition of giving the park a top-tier entertainment venue. Located right next to the Gardaland Theatre, the building was an imposing covered amphitheater with 1,500 seats, quickly becoming Italy's largest dolphinarium. In its years of greatest splendor, with its several daily shows, the PalaBlรน welcomed up to over 5,000 spectators a day, making it one of the most-watched shows in the history of Italian amusement parks.
For a full fifteen seasons, between 1997 and 2012, the venue lived its golden years. The show featured bottlenose dolphins led by a team of expert trainers, accompanied by evocative music, water effects and projections, combining visual entertainment with educational moments dedicated to marine life.
The turning point came in January 2013, when Gardaland announced the permanent closure of the aquatic show and the subsequent transfer of all the animals to the Genoa Aquarium to ensure them a more suitable home. After a period of inactivity, in 2018 the large gallery beneath the stands was refurbished to host the temporary exhibition "La Favolosa Gioia", an exhibition dedicated to Gabriele d'Annunzio created in collaboration with the Vittoriale degli Italiani.
Following the restrictions in 2020, the exhibition was closed and all activity was suspended. Today the imposing building remains awaiting a conversion plan or a major new redevelopment project.
Fun Fact: Besides the continuous filtration and recirculation system for the pools' hundreds of thousands of liters of water, the amphitheater was designed with acoustics specifically engineered to amplify the show's orchestral music without disturbing the dolphins' biosonar during performances.
1998 โ An Adrenaline-Fueled Year
In 1998 two of the park's most thrilling attractions, still present today, were opened: Blue Tornado and Space Vertigo. Jungle Rapids was also supposed to open, but its public opening would actually be delayed by a year.
Fun fact: Blue Tornado is a Vekoma "SLC" type and has a signature element, a final "bonus helix", an additional concentric turn.
1999 โ Jungle Rapids and a Preview of the Euro
In 1999 Jungle Rapids opened, a fun whitewater rafting ride through a river in flood, amid the lush nature of the jungle. Also in 1999, the African safari was updated with new animatronics, including Tunga, the jungle man inspired by Tarzan.
Fun Fact: at Gardaland in 1999, thanks to an agreement with the Ministry of the Treasury and the State Mint (Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca di Stato), the coins of the then-unreleased euro were unveiled in a world preview, under tight security measures.
๐จ The 2000s โ The Resort Is Born
2000 โ New Millennium, New Entrance
In 2000 the beloved Flying Island opened to the public and many of the park's attractions, such as La Valle dei Re and I Corsari, were renovated. A new, larger entrance was also inaugurated, converting the historic entrance castle into an information office and entry point for pass holders.
2001-02 โ Fantasy Kingdom Is Born
To make room for a historically significant themed project, the park decided to move the historic employee parking lot to the northern area of the site. In its place rose Fantasy Kingdom, an entirely themed area conceived by the genius of set designer Claudio Mazzoli. The area was designed as a genuine immersive fairytale village, the official home of the mascot Prezzemolo, dominated at its center by his majestic and iconic Giant Tree.
Fun Fact: The original Fantasy Kingdom project did not include the famous underground Mad House. The decision to add the Magic House under the Tree's roots mid-project changed the construction plans, delaying completion of the whole structure. The Tree and the underground house were thus finished in the winter between 2001 and 2002, before being officially inaugurated at the opening of the 2002 season.
2003 โ Fuga da Atlantide
2003 marks a turning point for the park with the opening of Fuga da Atlantide, an impressive Water Coaster(SuperSplash model by manufacturer Intamin) unique and exclusive throughout Europe. The arrival of this attraction led to a major expansion of the park's boundaries, resulting in the creation of an entirely new themed area dedicated to the legendary "Lost Kingdom".
The majestic set design, created by set designer Claudio Mazzoli, ranks among the most colossal and detailed in all of Gardaland: amid giant statues of Neptune and sea deities, ruined temples and water-filled paths, the attraction still boasts today the largest water basin in Europe for an attraction of this kind.
Fun Fact: Throughout its debut season in 2003, the track along which the boats travel had a bright sky-blue hue that strongly contrasted with the ancient, rocky look of the set. In 2004, the park decided to completely repaint the track in a grey-green color, perfectly in harmony with the vegetation details and the stone blocks of the kingdom of Atlantis.
2004 โ Gardaland Resort Is Born
2004 marked a watershed moment in the park's history, transforming Gardaland from a simple amusement park into a full-fledged tourist destination and entertainment Resort.
About 800 meters from the main entrance, the Gardaland Hotel opened, Italy's first fully themed hotel. A monumental building designed to extend the magic of the visit into the night, featuring at launch 236 rooms, 5 junior suites, 6 elegant suites and various themed rooms designed for families. The accommodation offering was enriched from the start with an elegant restaurant, lobby bar, in-house shop, dedicated entertainment and a spectacular pool area surrounded by greenery (Blue Lagoon).
Fun Fact: The architecture of the Gardaland Hotel deliberately echoed the elegant, Victorian style of Disney's top-tier flagship hotels.
2005 โ A Year Upside Down That Would Give Management Plenty of Headaches
Opened on 30 April 2005 to mark the park's 30th anniversary, the attraction debuted under the name Sequoia Adventure as the very first example in the world of the Screaming Squirrel model, built by S&S Worldwide. A unique and unconventional layout, featuring flat inversions that sent riders traveling upside down for long stretches parallel to the ground.
The coaster's life was marked by several operational issues and forced downtime. As early as 2006 it was relaunched to the public as a "new attraction" to make up for the constant technical closures of its debut season. The turning point came on 8 April 2017, the season's opening day: a general power outage stopped the attraction, leaving some visitors stranded on the initial lift hill. The incident led to a two-year-long closure. The coaster reopened in 2019 under the new name Sequoia Magic Loop with a color and theme refresh tied to the park's Year of Magic. The experience was short-lived: in 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the complex operating costs, the attraction was permanently closed and later dismantled. The area left empty at the heart of Shaman's layout was later reused in 2024 to host the drop tower Wolf Legend.
Fun Fact: The Screaming Squirrel model was one of the rarest layouts ever built in roller coaster history: only three examples were ever built worldwide.
2005-06 โ A Record-Breaking Theatre
2006 marks one of the years of greatest structural and corporate change for Gardaland. The park inaugurates the Gardaland Theatre, a majestic building erected on the site of the old Teatro Azzurro, destined to become the absolute reference point for major shows and musicals. The first show to grace the new stage was the production "Broadway Celebration".
In November 2006 the historic corporate shift takes place: following management difficulties, 90% of Gardaland's shares are acquired by the British multinational Merlin Entertainments, leaving the remaining 10% with the founding families. That same year also sees the debut of the Gardaland Express system, the first paid skip-the-line solution designed to reduce wait times on the main attractions.
Fun Fact: With its 1,300 seats, the Gardaland Theatre is one of the largest indoor theatres in Europe located inside an amusement park, equipped with mechanized set pieces and Broadway-level audio-lighting technology.
2007 โ Time Voyagers
In 2007 Gardaland made a major technological leap into the world of immersive cinema by opening the Time Voyagers theater, a multisensory venue equipped with advanced special effects such as vibrations, scents, air jets, water sprays and soap bubbles. Beyond the dynamic seats that move in sync with the on-screen camera, the walls and ceiling of the room hide dozens of pneumatic vents and strobe lights capable of simulating storms, explosions and falls into the void.
The debut film told a space adventure starring two funny robots on a recovery mission. In later years the theater hosted major international franchises, screening short films featuring SpongeBob and the characters of Ice Age, Corsari 4D, Wonder Woman and Aquaman.
Fun Fact: Every time the main film changes, the building's facade and pre-show room are completely repainted and fitted out with massive set pieces (from Ice Age's blocks of ice to Aquaman's corals and tridents).
2008 โ Mammut and Gardaland SEA LIFE
2008 is a pivotal year in the park's history thanks to the debut of two major new attractions. On one hand the birth of the Gardaland SEA LIFE Aquarium, a themed aquarium housed in a 3,500 sqm building with 35 tanks, and on the other the opening of the mine train Mammut, built by manufacturer Vekoma.
Mammut represents the last major project signed by set designer Claudio Mazzoli before his departure from the park. The attraction is set in a Siberian scientific base amid the polar ice, where a team of paleontologists suddenly finds itself threatened by the awakening of a gigantic prehistoric mammoth. The explorers' only way out is a fast escape aboard the polar train. Thanks to its perfect combination of family accessibility and high adrenaline, the coaster proved to be one of the most successful and effective attractions ever right from the start, still ranking today among the most beloved and popular rides in all of Gardaland.
Fun Fact: During the initial design phase conceived by Claudio Mazzoli, the mine train's layout was not originally intended for a glacial setting. Among the options under consideration were a theme centered on the mysterious "Mines of King Solomon" and a "Ghost Train" theme with horror and spectral elements, before the final choice settled on the arctic expedition and the giant mammoth.
2009 โ Ramses: il risveglio
In 2009 Gardaland introduces its first Interactive Dark Ride, radically transforming the park's historic Egyptian temple. Thus Ramses: il risveglio is born, an interactive attraction aboard ride vehicles equipped with laser guns, called upon to permanently replace the legendary and much-loved La Valle dei Re.
The new storyline paired the classic charm of Ancient Egypt with an impactful sci-fi twist: the awakening of Pharaoh Ramses triggered by the invasion of a technologically advanced alien civilization. Visitors' goal was to fight their way through cybernetic mummies and electrified sarcophagi, hitting the illuminated targets scattered throughout the themed rooms with their laser devices to rack up the highest score.
Despite the technological novelty of the interactive system, the attraction is still considered by the community of enthusiasts and longtime visitors to be the most criticized restyling in the park's history. The overlay of sci-fi elements and neon lights onto the solemn, epic original set design of La Valle dei Re sparked lengthy debate, leaving a wistful memory of the previous classic version.
๐ฆ The 2010s โ The Era of Major Coasters
2010 โ A Year to Forget
2010 was a year to forget for the park: it opened Inferis: il labirinto del terrore, a "horror house"-style walkthrough in what is today known as Oblivion's "Training Center". The attraction was closed the following year after its poor reception from the public, having received countless criticisms. In 2010 the film at Time Voyagers was also changed, introducing "Spongebob 4D".
2011 โ Raptor Takes Flight
2011 marks an absolute milestone in the park's history with the opening of Raptor: un volo da brivido. Developed by the renowned Swiss company Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), the ride debuted as a world prototype of the Wing Coaster type, featuring seats suspended on either side of the track that give riders the sensation of flying through open air with nothing above or below their legs.
The imposing attraction sits on the area once occupied by the historic river ride Tunga (originally Safari Africano), an attraction present in the park since opening day in 1975. The storyline sees visitors captured and placed aboard the "wings" of a fierce, relentless winged predator, on a high-speed course full of near-misses with rock faces, bridges and broken fences.
Until the 2012 season, the set design included spectacular water effects (splashes and high-pressure jets) that burst out as the train passed, simulating impact with the swamp. They were later permanently deactivated because the continuous misting caused corrosion and wear damage to the attraction's metal structures and sensors.
2012-13 โ New Films and New Shows
In 2012 Time Voyagers changes skin again with Ice Age 4D: "you put on the special glasses and are catapulted into the surreal frozen world of the beloved cartoon's characters: Buck, Sid, Scrat, Peaches and many others. Through a highly advanced motion platform (made of vibrations, bubbles, wind, scents and sprays) you explore underground worlds inhabited by dinosaurs, vultures and hungry pterodactyls for a truly unforgettable adventure!".
In 2013, a new show was introduced as a novelty at the "PalaRaptor", later renamed "PalaTenda": "Madagascar Live: it's circus time!" The show was later replaced by "Romeo le formidable" in 2017.
2014 โ Prezzemolo Land
In 2014 Gardaland dedicated an exciting new space to its youngest visitors with the opening of Prezzemolo Land: gioca e splash!. Located in the heart of the park's medieval area, this colorful interactive playground is dominated by an imposing medieval castle, with water slides, water cannons, splash play features and suspended walkway paths where children can have fun in complete safety.
Fun Fact: What makes Prezzemolo Land unique is that its original concept did not come from the park's creative team, but from an idea submitted by a family of visitors. The area was in fact built by turning into reality the winning entry of the online contest "Il Gardaland che vorrei" ("The Gardaland I'd Like"), launched by the park to hear the wishes and ideas of its guests.
2015 โ Oblivion: The Black Hole
2015 saw the debut of Oblivion: The Black Hole, the first Dive Coaster by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) ever built in Italy. The attraction offers a one-of-a-kind immersive experience thanks to an interactive queue full of tests, optical illusions and sound effects, designed as a genuine "training center" to prepare space-time travelers for the plunge into the void. The training center structure was built inside the space previously occupied by the tent of the horror house Inferis, while the imposing white track runs above the surrounding Space Vertigo area, extending all the way over the Rio Bravo rapids.
Also during 2015, the Time Voyagers theater updated its film lineup by introducing "Scrat: An Acorn Forever", a fun 4D short film centered on the famous squirrel from the Ice Age saga.
Fun Fact: During the months of construction of the attraction, Gardaland ran a marketing campaign with a compelling story based on two fictional scientists who had detected the presence of a mysterious wormhole (a space-time rift) right above the park's skies.
2016 โ Kung Fu Panda Academy and the Second Hotel
On the attractions front, in 2016 Gardaland forged an important partnership with DreamWorks Animation to open the Kung Fu Panda Academy, an immersive themed village located near the medieval area. Highlights include the Kung Fu Panda Master, a family Spinning Coaster built by Pinfari featuring spinning cars, the retheming of the historic spinning teacups (renamed Mr Ping's Noodle Surprise), plus photo spots and kiosks in perfect Eastern style.
1 June 2016 marks another key milestone with the opening of the Gardaland Adventure Hotel, the Resort's second official hotel. Designed to extend the immersive adventure into the night hours, the hotel features 100 rooms fully themed around 4 different settings (Arctic, Western, Jungle and Arabian). Rounding out the accommodation experience is the Tutankhamon Restaurant, a restaurant fully staged as an ancient Egyptian temple, also open to guests not staying at the Resort.
2017 โ Shaman and Virtual Reality
2017 proved to be a particularly unusual, transitional year for the park. The main novelty was the complete restyling of the historic Magic Mountain (operating since 1985), relaunched to the public with a new theme and a new name: Shaman. The revamp introduced a setting tied to shamanism and Native American rituals, enhanced by the integration of Virtual Reality headsets aboard the trains. The virtual reality experiment on Shaman was unfortunately one of the shortest-lived novelties in the history of Gardaland's attractions, remaining fully operational for only one season before the headsets were permanently discontinued due to a drastic slowdown in the ride's hourly capacity caused by synchronization issues between the VR and the actual movements of the track, and the excessive time needed to sanitize, calibrate and put on the headsets before each launch.
At the same time, in 2017 the multisensory Time Voyagers theater retired the screening of "Scrat: An Acorn Forever", opting for a return to its roots by bringing back the historic debut space film with the two little robots.
2018 โ Peppa Pig Land and the I Corsari Restyling
2018 proved to be a year full of varied projects and major novelties for different audiences. For the youngest guests, Peppa Pig Land opened, an immersive themed area created in partnership with the production company Entertainment One. Inside, three interactive attractions were built โ La Monorotaia di Peppa Pig, Il Trenino di Nonno Pig and La Scalata sull'Isola dei Pirati โ alongside Peppa Pig's house and meet-and-greet points dedicated to the cartoon's characters.
The most significant intervention, however, concerned one of the park's historic icons: after a full 26 years of unchanged operation, the famous underground dark ride was completely renovated and renamed I Corsari: la vendetta del fantasma. The revamp introduced imposing dynamic sets, a new symphonic soundtrack, an upgraded audio system and no fewer than 3 video-mapping projectors to create ghostly sailing ships, storms and three-dimensional visual effects on the scenic walls. The renovation, which radically altered a park classic, did not escape criticism from fans.
At the same time, the multisensory Time Voyagers theater welcomed the new high-adrenaline screening San Andreas 4D Experience, packed with seismic and water effects tied to the famous action film, replacing the nostalgic interlude of the little robots' debut film that had been temporarily brought back in 2017.
2019 โ The Year of Magic
2019 was a very special year because it involved the entire resort. To promote the brand-new Gardaland Magic Hotel, in fact, an entire promotional campaign was created involving every destination in the resort. At the park the controversial Foresta Incantata opened in the Rio Bravo area, together with the reopening, after 2 years of closure, of Sequoia Adventure under the name Sequoia Magic Loop.
The Foresta Incantata drew heavy criticism from visitors, being marked by long wait times, with the experience inside the attraction considered by many to fall short of what one would expect from a park like Gardaland. The attraction consisted of a walking path to save a forest from being petrified by an evil witch.
Sequoia Magic Loop, on the other hand, reopened with a new theme featuring very bright colors, stars and magic brooms. This attraction also failed to win public approval and was closed at the end of the season, never to reopen.
In 2019, the theater Palatenda closed with its final show "Magic Elements", making way for the future LEGO-themed water park.
Also in 2019, Merlin Entertainments was purchased, half by the financial firm Blackstone together with the Canadian pension fund CPPIB, and half by the investment fund Kirkbi, which holds the LEGO brand, for 6.6 billion euros.
๐ The 2020s โ Towards 50 Years
2020 โ The Covid-19 Season
2020 was a complex year due to the global health emergency linked to COVID-19, but Gardaland reopened its doors to the public on 13 June 2020 thanks to an extensive and strict safety protocol. The plan introduced capped entries with mandatory booking, temperature checks and continuous sanitization. Gardaland was among the very first European theme parks to physically eliminate queues thanks to the Qoda app, allowing visitors to book their access time for rides and restaurants directly from their smartphone and stroll freely around the park while waiting for their turn.
To comply with the regulations in force, all indoor and covered attractions (including I Corsari, Ramses, La Foresta Incantata, Cinema 4D, Magic House and the Gardaland Theatre) remained temporarily off-limits. The park nevertheless managed to reinvent its entertainment offering by focusing on new outdoor experiences: the 44 Cats Arena opened with the live show "44 Gatti Rock Show" along with the spectacular dancing fountain and water effects show Aquafantasia.
The worsening epidemiological situation in autumn then prompted management to bring the end of the season forward to 26 October 2020, exceptionally cancelling both the 31 October Halloween celebration and the entire winter event Gardaland Magic Winter.
2021 โ LEGOLAND Water Park Gardaland
On 7 June 2021 Gardaland safely reopens with mandatory masks, social distancing and, from 6 August, the introduction of the Green Pass. The season marks the return of almost all indoor experiences, with the exception of the Ramses: il risveglio area, permanently decommissioned to make way for the major construction of Jumanji - The Adventure.
The year's landmark event is the opening, on 26 June 2021, of LEGOLANDยฎ Water Park Gardaland, the very first LEGOยฎ-themed water park built in Europe. Originally planned for 2020 and postponed due to the pandemic, the new destination sits within the park next to Fantasy Kingdom (accessible with a combo ticket or supplement) and offers slides, wave pools, the famous miniland featuring Italian landmarks in bricks, and the lazy river where you can build your own custom rafts.
The 2021 season also saw the return of the big live shows: the Gardaland Theatre reopened its doors with the new production "Gardaland Awards", while the Cinema 4D theater refreshed its lineup by screening Wonder Woman 4D Experience. Lastly, on the mechanical side, the historic Shaman track underwent an extensive retracking operation, replacing the rails at the points of greatest wear to ensure a smoother, more comfortable ride.
2022 โ Jumanji Arrives
The season kicks off on 2 April, preceded by special weekend openings in March with a partial offering. The year's most anticipated event takes place on 9 April with the opening of Jumanji - The Adventure, the world's first attraction dedicated to the famous film franchise. Built on the site of the former Ramses, the dark ride features off-road vehicles capable of rotating and simulating the obstacles along the course. The official ceremony was attended by CEO Aldo Maria Vigevani and numerous VIP guests, including the Gardaland Plus team.
Additionally, for the first time, the multisensory theater offers two rotating screenings: Wonder Woman and Aquaman 4D Experience. During the autumn months, further experiential novelties were added in the former Foresta Incantata area: during the Gardaland Magic Halloween event, the live-actor horror walkthrough La Foresta Maledetta debuts, later transforming for the winter season into the fairytale Bosco degli Gnomi. As a surprise, for Gardaland Magic Winter the cinema hall hosts the screening The Polar Express 4D Experience, accompanied in December by the unveiling of the cinema's facade after a careful restoration.
Fun Fact: Inside the Jumanji dark ride, one of the most engineering-intensive moments is the encounter with the Stone Giant: an imposing animatronic standing 6 meters tall and 5 meters wide, built with high-precision movements.
2023 โ Jumanji: The Labyrinth
In 2023 the park continues expanding its Sony film franchise by opening Jumanji - The Labyrinth. After passing through the imposing Entrance Portal, adventurers face an interactive walking course made up of a labyrinth of over 40 mirrors and an intricate plant-filled passage with more than 2,000 real plants, full of detours, dead ends and surprise effects.
At the Gardaland Theatre the futuristic show Nautilus debuts, sparking lively debate both among fans and within the park's leadership. Meanwhile the Miniland at LEGOLANDยฎ Water Park expands with the Milano Moderna area, recreating in bricks architectural icons such as the Bosco Verticale, the Pirelli Tower, the Torre Velasca and the three CityLife towers.
Rounding out the season are the film Mowgli's 4D Jungle Adventure at Cinema 4D, the CoComelon meet-and-greet near the theater, and the final transformation of the former Foresta Incantata into the Bosco degli Gnomi, converted into the Bosco Maledetto during Halloween's Venerdรฌ da Paura.
2024 โ Wolf Legend and Farewell to I Corsari
In 2024 the season's signature attraction is Wolf Legend, a Drop & Twist Tower aimed at families and thrill-seekers alike. The imposing tower stands in the area previously occupied by Sequoia Magic Loop, dismantled in autumn 2023. The set design depicts an imposing stone wolf, over 25 meters tall, howling toward the sky, said by legend to have been frozen by a curse in the very act of howling at the moon.
Right next to the new tower, the historic Shaman track had its fourth inversion redesigned to eliminate the annoying neck discomfort reported over the previous two years, ensuring a much smoother ride.
The year also marks the start of the major works ahead of the park's historic fiftieth-anniversary milestone. On 18 August 2024 the I Corsari dark ride closes for an extensive restyling ahead of the 2025 debut of Animal Treasure Island; the closure of this landmark ride was announced simply with a post on the official social media channels.
Rounding out the season are over ten renovation projects (including the restyling of Prezzemolo's Tree with bright new orange baubles) and the continuation of the Bosco degli Gnomi in the Rio Bravo area, transformed into the Bosco Stregato for Halloween.
๐ 2025 โ The 50th Anniversary
2025 represents a historic milestone: the park celebrates its first 50 years of operation with a season packed with celebrations and major structural novelties.
The season's flagship attraction is Animal Treasure Island, the deep reimagining of the historic underground dark ride I Corsari. The experience retains the evocative water journey and pirate atmosphere, introducing a new storyline populated by anthropomorphic pirates, cutting-edge sets and next-generation animatronics.
Also debuting is Dragon Empire, the transformation of the former Kung Fu Panda Academy: a colonial- and Eastern-themed area that incorporates the existing family attractions, where the classic teacup ride is placed inside a new indoor structure to ensure it can be enjoyed in any weather.
Fun Fact: Since its opening on 19 July 1975, Gardaland has grown from a small themed park with a dozen or so attractions into a true international Resort spanning over 500,000 square meters.
Fifty Years of History, One Way to Experience It: Live ๐ข
Discover all the attractions born over these 50 years or book your discounted ticket for the next chapter of the story.