Park / Avonturenpark Lembeekse Woud
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10-December 23
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Ugliest building?! I'll take that as a compliment
Those poor animals deserve at least 6 tiles per animal in each enclosure. I'm calling PETA on this zoo
After such a long time, you guys deserve a big update. So here are two seasons, plus a download!
2005
For the 2005 season, Lembeek has finished construction of the Oceania part of the zoo. Adding in enclosures for kangaroos and ostriches as promised. As part of the expansion, a small area has been marked as a playground for kids with trampolines, fitting well with the bounciness of the wallabies nearby.
Overall the expansion was well received, but some criticism was spread in certain newspapers regarding the size of the enclosures. Due to this, protesters have been found at least once or twice in the park, which we gently had to direct to the exit.
Catherine has been doing her best to preserve the good reputation of the park and the Lembeek trust. She has released a statement where Lembeek acknowledges the criticm, but assures people that all matters have been taken into account when building the area and Lembeek holds the utmost importance to the space provided to our animals.
However Catherine’s no longer alone in the board of managers. She has a new partner, provided by the parks' main sponsor Sproetel Soda: Dirk Dwaas (picture below). Young and inexperienced, she found he still needs to learn a lot after he released his own personal statement. “Those animals have never been better! They have all the space in the world, and daily Sproetel Soda to keep them happy!” Clearly, Catherine has her work cut out for her in keeping him in line.
Sadly she can’t shut him up completely, Sproetel still is one of the main sponsors. In cooperation with them, a little stage was set up for a music festival during summer on the location of the old sea lion show. And the good side of a large partner shows here, with names such as Clouseau, Laura Lynn, Will Tura & Natalia linked to the event, causing a storm for the ticket sales.
Once again, the list of rides in the park has also expanded. Adding to the Adventure area, a HUSS Top Spin has been built, ‘Curse of Tehuan’. Our main designer Peter has produced a wonderul ride, sinking it into the ground and providing it with plenty of effects to also entertain the guests on the paths who are waiting or are not brave enough to ride themselves.
All in all, a pretty good season, though it is clear for Catherine and the team that the partnership with a large external company is a knife that cuts on both sides. Especially with some so, ahum, ‘inexperienced’ as representative of said company.
2006
While last year has proved to be a little mixed due to the commotion at the beginning of the season surrounding the enclosures, it did prove to be a good year. Attendance was rising, the new ride, music event and area were a big success. Thanks to this, Lembeek has continued to invest in the park, this time polishing up existing areas.
The final touches have been given to the medieval area. The little kiddie rides near the entrance receiving new theming and names: Excalibur & Friar Tuck’s Wagon.
Next to that, the log flume has received an exciting update with the installation of turntables. Guests can now experience part of the ride backwards.
Finally, the pirate ship has been updated. Always been quite barren, the additional theming pulls the ride to a higher level and makes it fit in with the surrounding area.
Finally, some sad news. After a long career, our rides manager Carolus has decided to retire. Having been part of the park from the very start after having worked in Francis’ soda factory, he decided it was time to leave the park to the younger generation.
He did leave a parting gift though. Adding to the Fantasy area, a historic ride has been built in the form of a refurbished Hall of Mirrors. Guests need to find their way out of the glass maze, but beware of running into yourself...literally!
To end the news from Lembeek, there have been some worrying developments on the outside of the park. Recently, a large slab of land on the edge of Lembeek has been for sale. Of course, we have been in talks with the owner in order to acquire it and expand our operations, but unfortunately, it seems we were outbid. The new owner is Barak NV, a well known developer. It seems we might get some new neighbours in the future….
Interesting times for sure! But we’re not done yet. It has however been a while since you guys had the opportunity to visit the park for yourself, so I’ve added a download of the current state of the park for you.
(posix: removed the download because the park is downloadable from the DB now)
Some well needed upgrades, making the park more polished. Don't understand why you add a topspin when you try to lure the elderly - BEJAARDEN - to the park with music events that feature Laura Lynn and other shit
Dirk Dwaas has a fitting name it seems, we from Blaarmeersen deny all accusations he is a mole sent by us to destroy Lembeek from within.
Nice park Jappy, very classy. Comparing it to some of your older work in similar style really shows how you've grown as a parkmarker over the years. I quite enjoyed how spaced out and real feeling this was, very easy to picture myself walking around here (also plenty of room for expansion). Looking forward to more!
Lovely park, Jappy. It is very fun, immersive and one can definitely see that you cared a lot about this while building. Huge congrats on the "release".
Very charming release, love the restraint and the classic style. There's something so distinctly RCT about this kind of approach, and you know I love me a good timeline park. A little tiny thing that really tickled me is the combination of the classic RCT music with the ambient birdsong in the background. It feels elevated but still distinctly RCT, much like the park itself. Great stuff, definitely high silver/low gold from me.
2007
This is a year of consolidation for the park, to take a breather and gather funds for the coming seasons. Big plans are on their way, so the 2007 season saw no big investments.
It does seem that the fear of new neighbours was meant to be taken serious, Barak NV has started the process of converting the plot of land behind our space centre into a housing estate. We'll have to see how that story goes...
2008
No big new additions this season, Lembeek has been busy during the winter months to improve some older areas of the park and keep them up to date. But there has been one mayor project that got leaked a little too early...
One of the additions this year is a game gallery and new food point in the Fantasy Area, right in front of the wooden coaster Splinter and House of Houdini. For this, the old picnic area on this spot had to be sacrificed, but guests have mentioned this to be a welcome addition.
Second addition this year is the new gate to the African area of the zoo part in the park. The old one was not very defined, and new more monumental one was needed. In the structure itself, a new snack point was added. Lastly, the falconry show received a new stage, the old one truely being life expired.
Now the big news this year was....actually leaked via an online forum. The park is building a bungalow park for the 2009 season. Fans have already been speculating what was happening. Construction machinery has been spotted in the front half of the park behind the old stables of the Lembeek Mansion.
Catherine had already teased that something big was happening and had planned a press conference to announce the addition. But Dirk Dwaas has accidentally leaked the info earlier. He was found drunk in a karaoke bar a few weeks before the announcement and when the bouncer wanted to throw him out and ask him if he stayed nearby, he said: "not for the moment no. But soon, I and all of you can stay much closer to here. In the new bungalow park at Lembeek park." He barfed immmediately after. Sadly the bouncer knew who he was and was part of a well known theme park fan forum, where he posted all the info.
Catherine was of course not happy with this, but had no choice but to confirm. Lembeek is adding overnight accomodation for the next season. A bungalow park and a camp site is planned for the 2009 season. Construction is ongoing.
Big plans coming!
Haha a bouncer a theme park fan, so far the realism
Nice update, like the added game gallery and the new African gate. Hope the new neighbours will keep their mouths shut.
2009
This season, we started with a new chapter in the story of Lembeek: the opening of Lembeek Resort! Guest accomodation has been on our minds for a while, but only now did we manage to realise it in the form of camping grounds and a bungalow park.
Construction was not the most easy. The main driveway repurposed the old boulevard leading up to the castle grounds, but we faced objection from local history groups about the old fashioned cobbled road being replaced with smooth tarmac. Eventually, we made a settlement with the counsil to preserve the last part of the cobbles leading up to the actual Lembeek park.
The facilities are kept cosy and quaint, sticking with the Lembeek formula of keeping in touch with the surrounding nature and landscape. Next to the reception and camping facilities, a cafe and small restaurant are also provided. In the top right, the 3rd entrance to the park can be seen, with the 2nd of course being the one next to the canal for cyclists and the shuttle boat.
For the bungalow park, guests can choose out of accommodation for 2, 4 or 8 people, or the luxury cabins with wellness bathrooms and jacuzzis.
The resort has proven to be a great success. Not only do we see an increase in visitors, but also people who just want a relaxing escape to nature, with the resort being a great place to start exploring the surroundings of Lembeek itself.
As mentioned before, we have seen quite the increase of visitors this year. This is of course due to the new resort and continuous expanse of the park, but also another reason. We are in the middle of a financial and economic crisis which hit hard last year. This is a double-edged sword. While it means that more people choose to do day trips and theme parks instead of travelling abroad, it means we have to be careful with our cash reserves. Catherine and her board are looking carfully at the future plans which might need to be spread out more over the coming years or simply cancelled.
Nontheless, we did welcome a new member to the team this year: Bart Berenpoot! He will follow up as operational and maintenance manager after the retirement of our good friend Carolus. We first tried to have our designer Peter take on this task as well, but we had our doubts when he tried to fix a mechanical failure on our wooden coaster Splinter with fried tofu and meditational sound sessions... We wish Bart all the luck! Catherine really must appreciate his input, she planned three lunch meetings between the 2 of them in one week...!
So what happened in the park itself? The food offering in the Oceanic area was pretty limited and the first restaurant was quite a walk away . This was fixed with the building of a small restaurant on the lakeside called 'Sanger Shack'. The menu consists of sandwiches and BBQ products.
The last expansion is part of a larger project which we aim to complete for our 30th birthday next year. A small sneak-peak in the form of a water playground can be seen already, but most of it is still under construction. To be continued....
These new additions are really good!
Looking good, fine additions. Will the park get a snow themed waterpark? I'm curious!
very cute
2010
The start of a new decennium! Some big things happend this year. The Belgian railways celebrate their 175th birthday, the Eyjafjallajokull disrupts European air travel, David Cameron comes to power in the UK and Shakira is n1 with Waka Waka for the World Cup in South Africa.
Most importantly, Lembeek is celebrating its 30th birthday this year! The little park started in 1980 by Francis Lejeune is getting more and more grown up! The team did not want to pass on this occasion unnoticed and had planned a multi-million investment for the park. The biggest one so far. But as it turned out, not everything materialised sadly....
Before all that, Catherine has decided to introduce her daughter Julia into the family business. At 24, Julia has just finished college and will need experienced guidance and help if she is ever to take over the reigns from her mother.
Now, the park initially wanted to do a combo of both a new big ride opening, and an expansion to the zoo. Sadly, the first one stranded due to local objections from the neighbours... They feared the new ride would cause too much noise and went to the council who came to the park management. A solution has been found workable for both parties, but annoyingly that meant the new ride is not finished for the celebrations. It has been postponed to 2011.
Thankfully, the expansion to the new zoo has been finished on time. And with this, one of the oldest parts of Lembeekse Woud received a well deserved face lift. The path between the European themed zoo area, and the suspended coaster Aviator has been untouched since the opening of the park. Passing through the woods to the small pier for the boat hire, this connection was felt lacking with the increase in visitor numbers in recent years and could benefit from an upgrade.
Peter, our house designer, has introduced 'Land of Snow', the area of the park dedicated to marine life and cold climate animals. A brand new building houses aquaria over 3 different floors, partially also underground. The row boats have been integrated into their new surroundings, and some old friends, the sea lions have returned. A nice nod to the past as the old sea lion show was near this area.
Also part of the new zone is the penguin exhibit, where guests are invited to walk through the habitat and see the funny little birds waddle around and over the path.
Lastly, representing the far north, the ice bears found their home in Lembeek. With thanks to the Lejeune trust, an arrangement has been set up where donations in the gift shop will help in the protection of these animals as their habitat it threatened due to global warming. Also visible is the water playground that has been built last year as a teaser for what the new zone would entail.
So that is 2010! Sadly no new ride for the 30th anniversary, but def a new one in 2011. See you then!
Stupid neighbours with their stupid complaints... Shame to miss out on that big new ride! Wonder what it is gonna be, a new water ride?! At least there's the new zoo stuff. Aquarium building looks Pairi Daiza as fuck so that's nice. Love the pinguin walkthrough. Can I take one home?
Nice work man! Penguin walk is a cool idea for sure. Execution a bit too simple perhaps. But I like it.