Park / Avonturenpark Lembeekse Woud
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10-December 23
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As some of you are aware, recently I started up a side project alongside Laguna Adventura to distract me from the hyper detailing and massive size of that park. And I returned to the good old fashioned Benelux realism from the past. This has been done before on NE using the screenshot page, but to be honest, I think this works best as a forum thread. And this is inkeeping with the spirit of the genre, which is already ancient!
Now for those who don't know, the timeline genre in the Belgian/Dutch community reigned supreme from 2005 until 2007ish, with numerous parks and projects being made this way on both RCTHolland.nl, and RCTGuide. The concept is simple: start a theme park in an already established landscape and expand over the years. This means you often don't have time to overthink and go overboard with the micro detailing, but that is not the point. The point is quick and fast results, creating a believable story for the viewer to enjoy, and of course having fun!
So without further ado, let's get started...
LEMBEEKSE WOUD
Once upon a time, there lived a wealthy family in the Belgian town of Lembeek, the family Pouckelberg. They were an established family of nobility, and were the owners of large slices of land. They were big fans of horses and built a small estate for them to live on alongside their lake, complete with stables, a mansion, meadows and a small garden. However, the Second World War was not kind to the family. They lost their fortune and by the end of the war, only two brothers remained...
By the late 60s, Jan Pouckelberg, the oldest brother sadly passed away in the retirement home he spent the past years of his live. His other brother had died a few years earlier. Their fortune gone and the estate being abandoned for quite some time now.
After his death, the estate and the grounds surrounding it fell into the hands of the town of Lembeek. They decided to open the area to the public, and opened a small cafe in the stables, and larger restaurant in the mansion itself. Public footpaths were created, and a playground for the kiddies.
However, by 1979, this was all starting to be a little too much for the small town. The second oil crisis raged and the upkeep of the terrain was considered not a priority. The land and the estate were sold. But to who? And what held the future for the estate? Stay tuned....
Looking forward to see what this will become!
Cool stuff. Even though you're building this in a relatively simple and old school style, when I compare it with your early work on NE (with similar object palette) its much more refined and shows how you've improved over the years.
I agree with alex! The last two screens are quite nostalgic. Tease me with an empty canvas.
Thank you for the kind reactions! We'll dive right into the more interesting stuff now...
1980
The grounds have been sold! And the new owner is not unknown in the local community. His name is Francis Lejeune. A local boy who grew up in the town, became a well-known entrepreneur and made his fortune in the soft drinks business and travelled all over the world. Now his daughter Catherine has taken over the beverage company, he himself found it a good idea to take his mind off things and go a completely different direction. And he had an idea when he heard the estate in his old home town was for sale... Why not offer something back to the community, a place of entertainment? It took some arrangements, but by Easter 1980, Adventurepark Lembeekse Woud was opened!
From the start, it was clear Francis his ambitions were quite large as the first thing he did was build a huge parking lot across the road. This received quite a bit of criticism from the locals. Why does a small park like this need all that space?
An entrance was built. Again, this received criticism from the locals. When the town itself was in control, the grounds were a public space with free access. The fact you now had to pay to enter was not something the people were used to.
Then again, there was more to do than in the old days. A second hand carousel was installed, as well as a mini golf course. A small shop selling ice cream and hot drinks was installed, as well as a petting zoo.
On the other side of the lake a pier was built for row boats.
But without a doubt the biggest crowd puller was the addition of a rollercoaster simply called 'Keverbaan'. This was an instant hit with the locals and soon made people forget the criticism they had in the first opening weeks.
To finish off, an overview from the area, taken from a sports plane that took off in the neighbouring town of Molenkerke. As you can see it's quite the terrain available for the new park. Who knows what the future will hold?
Directly a coaster to start with, ambitious! I really like that cubic glass building. Curious to find out if the locals will protest or embrace the new park.
1981
This year saw two rather curious additions to the park. One of which is a narrow gauge railway circling the western side of the old estate. The largest soft drinks factory of Francis used to have an internal railway system which transported goods and materials on the factory grounds. During modernisation, this became obsolete but instead of scrapping the line, Carolus the foreman, who was a good personal friend of Francis, thought it best to conserve the rolling stock and locomotives and stored them away. "They might be useful again one day", he said. And he was proven right, when Francis decided to give them a new life in the Lembeekse Woud. However, he wanted something else as well and bought a second-hand steam engine to add to the collection. That's something a little more interesting and nostalgic he thought.
The station and maintenance shed are just next to the old mansion, on the way to the row boats. A small platform next to the path invites visitors to take a ride on the little line and explore the woods in a different way.
The second addition is a tropical birds exhibition. During his travels Francis developed a love for wildlife and nature and started collecting a large amount of feathered friends. It was a shame these had to live in a cage back at home and he had always wished for a place where more people can admire them but also learn to appreciate nature. This was just the place he thought. Alongside the different exhibits a small shop was opened selling drinks and snacks.
The little park now has been developing quite fast that it was time to organise. Catherine was a little worried about which way the Lembeekse Woud would go. Her father was a nature lover and great entrepreneur, but also a dreamer and completely new to the parks industry with little knowledge on what the public actually wants. She thought that her father's little pet project needed to be overseen by more people to make sure it went in the right direction. She pushed Francis to establish a small board to oversee the development of the estate. Her father being chairman, sharing the seat with herself. Peter Illamp, a local painter and stage director in the nearby community theatre was appointed creative director and Carolus, the old foreman technical director.
Nest update soon!
So cute. I love the little gates around the trees.
Really enjoying this. First screen definitely reminds me of Ruben and his overdone minimalism - or would you call that underdone minimalism? Wondering whether we'll see the trees grow in subsequent years, that'll be a first I think. I had some cherry blossoms grow between saves in De Bedriegertjes but it was only a single grove that I hardly showed anywhere.
God I love this. These Dutch timeline parks were my favorite when I was first discovering NE 4-5 years ago. It obviously wouldn't be a Jappy park without a railway, and the aviaries look amazing. Excited to see this one develop!
Peter Illamp... I see what you did there
Lovely stuff.
me too "Looking forward to see what this will become! "
1982
This season the themepark saw an expansion. The board realised that to attract more visitors, it is vital to keep offering new experiences and being able to present something interesting to do. Right now the park was namely quite stagnant in its offering, with guests when asked mentioning that there wasn't really that much to do. Yes the aviaries were fun to look at, and the few rides were enjoyable, but next to a walk around the estate, that was about it. It's time to invest and make more plans for the future...
That is why this year no less than three new rides were opened! Piratenboot, Swinger and a go karts ride. These have been succesful and are what Catherine believes is the path the park should follow.
Francis on the other hand, while begrudgingly agreeing to these additions, prefers to look at the more calm side of things. Under Catherine's supervision, a bird show was built to present his collection of precious animals in a more interactive way.
While Catherine believes more rides are the way forward and her father wanting to go more nature and animal focused, there has been some tension on the board. Some meetings have been quite heated and rumours from neighbours have mentioned that their family dinners have been the same. With both having similar powers on the board, who knows what this means for the future....
Nice work! The falconry show is quite brilliant, don't recall seeing that before!
You may want to share a family tree/organogram at some point.
1983
No big updates this year, both of the park's board leaders, Catherine and Francis are away. Catherine is on a trip of the USA, to see the new developments in the theme park industry, and Francis is on one of his known journeys around to world, to discover cultures, animals and exotic plants.
So it's a quiter year, but both Catherine and Francis have announced they have big plans for next season. The other members of the board are already getting nervous.... Will the two get along and finally develop a shared vision for the future?
Glad you're continuing this! Sounds like big plans.
1984
Catherine's back from the States and has big plans for the future. She has seen for herself what the theme park industry is like in the states and wants to be able to offer the same sort of thrills as over there. When looking at the possibilities, she has come across a Dutch company who is a contractor for the American coaster company she heard so much about in the USA. Looking through their catalogue, she has come across an exciting new model with a small footprint. And a purchase has been made. Introducing in 1984, Lembeekse Woud's first big thrill coaster: Serpent!
Not only is this the park's first big rollercoaster, it is the first attempt at theming as well. Being named Serpent, the park took a small effort to adjust the surrounding foliage, garden beds and the station and give them a little tropical feel. While she may have seen great rides in the USA, Catherine found them to be a bit bare. Adding some thematical elements makes them more interesting she finds. Something the entire management of the park agrees with.
Meanwhile, her father's plans for the park have been delayed to 1985, as he's having troubles with an export visa for an exotic purchase... However, the licenses have been granted by the town and construction will soon begin on the other side of the park. Catherine's rolling her eyes and wondering on what silly thing her father has spent money on now...
Backstage, things have been moving as well. The entire board is fed up with the constant bickering between the managing father and daughter team. While they do not want to kick them out, a plan has to be made as the two oposing views towards the future cannot continue and an agreement has to be made what path is to be taken. It is time to sit down with both sides and talk things through.
To be continued!
Do I feel Bellewaerde II getting started?