Gardaland’s story begins in Disneyland in the early seventies. It is in California that the Veronese entrepreneur Livio Furini He is struck by the idea of importing a little America on the banks of Lake Garda. Buy a land of 90 thousand square meters (today Gardaland extends for over 500 thousand) and in 1975 inaugurates Gardaland, the first Italian theme park.
Exactly 50 years have passed since that lucky intuition, they are not even 10 in the morning, the gates are not yet open and a crowd of families, couples and groups look forward to the start of the day and the Welcome Show. Every day dancers, songs and the inevitable Parsley They welcome their guests, opening the doors of the park and making the first patrons that run – literally – to grab a place on the Russian mountains.
Circus, cowboy and Indians
You enter where it all started, from medieval castle With flowery watch that marks the day. The Gardaland of the beginnings began and ended just beyond and It was a mix between a stable circus, an amusement parkthe scenography of a western film and that of the fairy tales of principles and princesses. Today Gardaland is much more, but the “kingdom of fantasy” of that time is far from setting.
The Transgardaland Express He still carries visitors along the perimeter of the historical nucleus of the park, and the children take the photos riding horses in a natural size fiberglass. The Shows inspired by the Far-West myth And the walks riding horses (real) of the early years are only a memory, no longer feel the sirings of the assault on the train staged as in a film, and the pacchian speakers instead modern music that praise the magic of Gardaland, dominated only by the desperate screams of those who are shot at full speed in the most adrenaline roller coasters. Gardaland has always had the mission of making adventures live with the result of being one Stratification of historical periods, cultural references and generations of games and children.
50 years of new adventures
On his debut, the park included The Rio Bravo villagea restaurant of typical Venetian cuisine, a labyrinth with pagodaone bewitched housea Tent of the circusa dolphin show and a pond for sport fishing in which he “landed” in 1977 A carousel in the shape of a flying saucer And then a rocket with flight simulator in space.
In 50 years the park has expanded but above all it has evolved, introducing eight steering wheels, new characters, technologies and settings in step with the times. Some no longer exist, others have been renewed, not without the related controversies. Every year new attractions are presented and for such a special anniversary I find myself at the opening ceremony of Animal Treasure Island, technically a «Water Dark laughs entirely underground », which takes the place of The corsairs in the English village inaugurated back in 1992. There is waiting and a little apprehension among the guests of the first inaugural lap that fear the restyling after The Valley of the kings dedicated to Egypt, year 1988, she was dismantled in 2019 to make way for that of Jumanji.
There are people who know each other, enthusiasts, loyal customers, specialized influencers. Around Gardaland there are not only three themed hotels but a universe of Dedicated websites, YouTube channels, podcasts and Facebook groups, such as the Gardaland and opinions that has more than 37,000 members. One of the founders, Filippo Benagliohe also awaits to try the new attraction. Passionate about Gardaland, in 2022 with some friends he began to provide advice, news, and to share memories. “We recall the one that called the” golden era “of the past”, an era in which “we were closer to magic” or the late nineties, early two thousand, period of the Valley of the kings, of canions, de Corsari: “Debaten topic” – He tells me before entering. Because in Gardaland there are not only patrons, but real narrators, historical and loyal of the park who over the years have contributed to enriching its myth.
The new Animal Treasure Island and the farewell to the Corsari
The new Animal Treasure Island It is a long, articulated path, full of scenes that tell a story impersonated by animals dressed as pirates, slow and without twists or adrenaline chills: I admit I do not see anything extraordinary. Incredible, fantastic are the comments of the criticism at the exit they dissert on technical details, but not only. “Very rich in references to the Corsari of the first era »Filippo and his friend Emanuele Perbellini satisfied me satisfied after the raceintent on exchanging philological opinions on the scenography with a hunter of roller coasts that brandishes a go-pro.
They liked them very much, and this historical re -enactment of the former was part of the success. So I am looking for the videos on YouTube to understand what I got lost and I find myself in front of shelled videos of the nineties with scenes that seem more to belong to a natural -size semi -love nativity scene: Pirates from the Hook to Hook, Formers, Ports and … sailors who beat Rhum and beer while playing cards hoping to win to invest in the services of the sex workrs we would say today that they are perched on him. To conclude, traders hanged who dangle in the void. Even without being part of a zealous association of parents, not exactly what you would like to explain to an preschool child. The golden chest and other elements, however, still remain today, thus maintaining a link with that glorious past, even if now unpresentable, which has made the history of Gardaland.
Cancel Culture and sign of times
At the entrance, walking through the Western village of Rio Bravo, I asked myself which children could now have fun in the middle, without having any cultural reference to characters such as Tex Willer and to the films of John Ford in vogue back in 1975. BWho plays now with the soldiers to build trenches or shoot the “Indians”? Fortunately nobody, and without bothering the Cancel Culture.
Gardaland is A living witness of social history of our times and confronts itself (as Disney also did not by chance) with the contemporaneity, and this is always by its nature in evolution. At the end of the seventies, the park quoted Salgari and transformed all into explorers thanks to a path in a similar-junk between ferocious animals, King Kong and tribes with lance in hand and black men dressed in nose-to-nose hides. It was a symbol of the park, Today it would be more than politically incorrect, definitely cring as well as a false historian (Not even Africa is more what it used to be). The African safari was therefore dismantled to return, however, under new guise thanks to the decidedly more impressive scenic machine than the new Jumanji. Everything must change because nothing changes: the spatial adventure that was experienced in the first UFO is today a ruling supersonic, the eastern theme of the ’75 pagoda finds itself in attractions like those of Kung was panda renamed Dragon Rush. Just do not return the dolphins.
It is not needed adrenaline, but to live the adventure
The skill lies entirely in the balance between tradition and innovation, between satisfying parents and their children, preserving the memories of the happy days of the past and the topicality of the game, the memory of history and the sense of the present. The comic book characters have given way to those of animated films, but the narration is the same: Gardaland is the kingdom of fantasy. Adrenaline is therefore not the right meter of judgment to be adopted to judge attractions, or rather it is not the only one. There is always a story, an setting, a suggestion, a universe in which to immerse yourself, whether they are the adventures of pirate animals or those of the grandfather of Peppa Pig.
Gardaland’s success: tangible imagination
In a virtual world where everything goes from a screen, far and impersonal In Gardaland is all true: the heat, the queues, the tiredness, incredible universes that really materialize before your eyes. But above all Very physical emotions and sensations Like the splashes of water, the amazement of seeing a dragon, or a caterpillar that runs fast. “Ortobruco is an undervalued attraction,” Filippo and Emanuele tell me and so I’m going to try it. I wait, I sit and in three minutes of tour the caterpillar accelerates perhaps up to 20km per hour, not exactly on heart -pound, and I wonder again where I am wrong. Then I observe, the show are the children who caress him, look at him, ask parents how many legs have the caterpillars and then want to sit all in the first carriage, just the one behind the antennas. I sat there too and it’s true, it’s an underestimated attraction.
Source: Vanity Fair
I’m Susan Karen, a professional writer and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in Entertainment news, writing stories that keep readers informed on all the latest developments in the industry. With over five years of experience in creating engaging content and copywriting for various media outlets, I have grown to become an invaluable asset to any team.
