Beginnings Nigloland opened on June 13, 1987, thanks to the initiative of the Gélis brothers Patrice and Philippe, who were inspired by their trip to the United States where they discovered amusement parks with a single entrance ticket The Gélis brothers visited the Walt Disney World Resort in the early 1980s. The two brothers invested seven million francs to install a park in the family property of eighteen hectares in Dolancourt. Initially, the park was composed of a small creperie, a restaurant, and seven attractions and installations: "Train western", "Tacots 1900", "Aventure land", "Ciné show 180°", "Niglogolf", "Carrousel 1900", and "Château hanté". The number of visits was per season, with the breakeven point being annual visitors. In 1988 Nigloland opened its first roller coaster, "Bayern Express" also known as the "Lost City of Gold," as well as the pirate ship ride, "Galion pirate." The following year, the "Rivière canadienne" made its appearance, followed in 1990 by the "Circuit de Nigloland," an attraction that allows visitors to drive guided race cars on rails and the "Caravelles de Jacques Cartier." The park celebrated its one-millionth visitor on its fifth anniversary and inaugurated the "Niglo Show," a show of animatronics inspired by "
Country Bear Jamboree" at some Disney parks. The management of Nigloland bought the equipment from Toison d'Or Park at scrap prices from a subsidiary of Lyonnaise des Eaux. This acquisition and the relocation of some of the attractions cost nearly twenty million
francs, or approximately three million euros. Thus a new village, the
village merveilleux, opened with new attractions including the
Rivière enchantée (Enchanted River) and the
Petit Poucet (Tom Thumb). After spending six years at the park,
Bayern Express left Nigloland in 1994 for
Sunway Lagoon, a park in
Malaysia, due to noise pollution problems and maintenance costs. To replace this attraction, the
Haunted Manor arrived at the park. The roller coaster
Train de la mine from the Toison d'Or park, now belonging to the Gélis brothers, was also transferred to a Malaysian park, Genting Theme Park, under the name
Rolling Thunder Mine Train. In 1995:
La Course de bobsleigh, roller coasters straight from German fairs, made their appearance after a brief stay in Sweden. That same year, attendance reached 470000 visitors. The opening of the
Flying Dragons in 1996 allowed the 450000 visitors to enjoy a panoramic view of the park. In 1997, the
Chenille and the
Hérissons dans la forêt magique were two novelties intended for the youngest visitors. 480000 visitors were accumulated this season. 480,000 people walked the park's alleys in 2002. In 2003 the park now offered around thirty attractions. The new attraction
Dinosaurs Adventure enabled the park to attract 515,000 visitors. In 2004, Nigloland inaugurated
King of Mississippi and received 496,547 customers. In 2005, the park opened the ''Pirates' Hotel'', the park's first hotel, themed around
piracy. This season ended with 430,408 visitors. This attraction was sold in 2007 to
Antibes Land. The 2009 season was the last for the cinema named
Planète 180°. That same year, the leaders expressed their intention to develop its hotel complex by adding "cottages" on the theme of the
Caribbean. This project will not materialize.
2010s In 2010 the novelties are the flying chair ride
Apple Flight, a new show
La Parade des caniches and a restaurant in the Swiss village,
Lara Clette. In 2011, a new magic show named
Las Vegas Show is installed in the park. In September 2011 the park served as a shooting location for scenes from the film
Comme des frères, renamed "Fifouland" for the occasion on the big screen. Two attractions appeared in 2012.
Air Meeting by
Gerstlauer is a ride in which airplanes turn around an axis. The specificity of
Air Meeting is that passengers control the movements of their plane on another axis, which allows for looping. ''Route de l'essence'' is a children's carousel. This ride temporarily left the park after the 2013 season. One of the oldest attractions,
Adventure Jungle, was renovated in 2013 and renamed
Africa Cruise for the occasion. The track and station were modified and many animatronics were added to the ride. Additionally, the park invested in the construction of a Champagne-style house at the park entrance. Nigloland opened the roller coaster circuit
Alpina Blitz in 2014 and reached 560,000 visitors by the end of the season. In 2016 the leisure site offered two
drop towers. The first one is called ''Le Donjon de l'extrême
. With a height of 100 meters, this rotating freefall tower from the manufacturer Funtime is announced by park management as the tallest in France. La Tour des petits fantômes
is aimed at young children. This family tower of the Spring Ride type from Zierer is 11 meters high. The 2017 season was the last for La Course de bobsleigh which moved to Parc de la Vallée, in Poitou-Charentes, in 2018. In the same year, Nigloland opened Les Zabeilles'', an airplane ride. The park reached an annual attendance of 655,000 visitors in 2018. The novelty of 2019 is the 'Eden Palais', which recorded 635,000 entries.
2020s In 2020 the
Chenille also leaves Nigloland to join the Parc de la Vallée. The junior roller coaster
Noisette Express is added to the attractions. That same season, the
Grande roue moves within the park. The start of the season is postponed to July 11, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With a budget of 12 million euros,
Krampus Expédition is inaugurated in 2021. The park is increasingly aiming for attractiveness by becoming a
themed park that tends to become a resort. In 2022, for the park's 35th anniversary, Nigloland renovated 3 mythical attractions: •
Les montgolfières becoming
Le voyage en Montgolfières (The Balloons becoming The Balloon Voyage) •
Le Niglo Show •
Les hérissons de la forêt magique (The hedgehogs of the magical forest) That year, the park reached a record attendance of 763,000 visitors, surpassing the symbolic threshold of 700,000 entries. In 2023, Nigloland continues its renovations by revamping the "Rivière Enchantée" (Enchanted River) into the "Rivière des Fées" (River of Fairies). == Rides ==