Calling BonBon-Land one of the weirdest theme parks out there is an understatement. This
Danish theme park has some of the oddest, most eclectic theming you can find anywhere. I mean,
this park has a coaster themed to a dog taking a dump. Where else would you find something like
that? But does weird mean good? Find out in this review of BonBon-Land.
BonBon-Land’s origins are tied back to a candy company named BonBon. The company was extremely
popular with children in the 1980s and 1990s. This was because of its bizarre and outlandish
flavors like Dog Farts, Pee Diapers, Ear Wax, and Large Boobs. Kids wanted to tour the factory,
but it was banned due to strict hygiene laws. So BonBon decided to follow in the steps of
Hersheypark and create a theme park to entertain families. This led to the creation of BonBon-Land
in 1992. The park started with only a few rides. Their main calling card was the theming.
BonBon took their crazy candy themes and brought them to life through giant,
colorful, and crass animal statues. You had bare-breasted cows, peeing ants, and pooping
dogs. And this aesthetic was carried over to the rides they added throughout the years as well.
The park now includes nearly 2 dozen rides across 34 acres, making it one
of the larger theme parks in Denmark. The BonBon candy company’s popularity declined
towards the late 1990s and it was sold to Toms in 2001, who removed some of the edgier flavors.
Then in 2007, Parques Reunidos acquired BonBon-Land and they have operated the
park ever since. Many people were concerned how a multi-national chain would treat this park,
especially with regards to its theming that would be deemed inappropriate in other cultures.
My one and only visit was in 2022, but I’ve heard from locals the park has seen better days.
While Parques Reunidos has kept a majority of the theming intact, they have removed some of
the more vulgar statues in recent years. I think the bigger issue is stagnation. The
park is still colorful, but there are many areas with faded or chipped paint. Some of the pathways
felt awkwardly dead. Like there’s the section by Svend Svingarm that is a bare midway with
just plain fencing next to the coasters. Then the park hasn’t added a new ride since 2010.
That’s a stark contrast to the park’s first 20 years when they would add a new ride annually.
Then you have Fantasy World. This was an indoor area adjacent to the main entrance.
Now the building looks like an abandoned warehouse. It was designed to be like the
indoor sections at the Plopsa park. It could serve as an alternative on days
with poor weather and remain open yearround when weather wasn’t suitable for the outdoor rides.
Parques Reunidos has the capital, so it’s a shame this park hasn’t gotten better
investments between new rides and general TLC. This park’s appearance is so unique and it’s a
shame it isn’t run to its fullest potential. That being said, the park still looks good
between its expansive color pallet and visuals you won’t find anywhere else. It
creates a dreamlike atmosphere. And that is paired with some natural beauty. You have no
shortage of trees on the perimeter and I like how the back half of the park is set around a pond.
I visited on a summer weekend and was a bit nervous what crowds would look like. I arrived
midday and Parques Reunidos is not known for the best operations. Crew members efficiently loaded
rides, but the largest rides had low capacities between short vehicles or one train operations.
Thankfully, most rides were no more than a 20 minute wait. The worst line by far was for the
Vandrotten log flume, which took 45 minutes. I think this park can comfortably be done in a
half day, but I would recommend arriving at opening for the best experience if you
want to beat the lines. I would prioritize the 4 coasters and two big water rides in
Baever Rafting and Vandrotten. The latter is the most important one to hit early.
On that note, let’s talk about the rides. BonBon-Land caters mostly towards kids,
but they have a few bonafide thrill rides. The park currently features 4 coasters.
The biggest of the bunch is a historic one in Vild-Svinet. This was the original Gerstlauer
Euro-Fighter. It was the world’s first coaster to feature a beyond-vertical drop. There have
been bigger and steeper drops since then, but this one still gives good ejector airtime.
Then there’s also a forceful vertical loop shortly thereafter. The rest of the ride isn’t too
notable, but it is thankfully smooth despite its over-the-shoulder harnesses and age. Check out my
separate review for more details on this ride. Located next door is Hankatten, a Gerstlauer
spinning coaster. This is the ride that was cloned for Joker at Six Flags Mexico. Try for
an off-balanced car if possible. Your car will spin like a top. The helixes in the first half
aren’t too crazy, but the finale is a lot of fun. The spinning will be at its maximum and you have a
few spots of floater airtime simultaneously. Viktor Vandorm is the park’s newest coaster.
This is a Zierer Tivoli coaster with a super long train that seemingly never ends.
The layout runs through the back section of the park. This was a terrain coaster
relocated from another park, so you weirdly have to climb a tower to reach the station.
Most of the coaster is a fairly tame and scenic experience, but if you ride in the back row,
the second drop gives a surprise pop of airtime. The final coaster is arguably the park’s most
famous in Hundeprutten, aka the Dog Fart Coaster. This is a Zierer kiddie coaster with a basic
layout, but the theme 100% makes the experience as long as you have a juvenile sense of humor.
You pass through a dog house where you’re hit with fart noises. Then you circle around
a giant dog statue dropping a deuce. I have an entire review if you want to hear more,
but this ride is the [expletive]. Along with this lovely work of art,
the park also has some small roundabouts and plenty of playgrounds for the kids. And many of
the larger rides have low height requirements to allow families to enjoy them together.
This park doesn’t have any traditional dark rides, but there are two attractions that satisfy that
niche. There’s a 4D theater by the main entrance. Then there’s Soloven. This is a slow-moving boat
ride. While it’s entirely outdoors, it passes a series of animal statues and animatronics.
This was one of the park’s most underrated rides in my opinion.
Moving onto more traditional water rides, you have several options.
It’s one of the park’s biggest strengths. Vandrotten is a quirky log flume. It has the
size of a junior log flume with mild drops, but the visuals make the experience. Most of
it takes place in a giant hunk of cheese and you have some more animal statues and animatronics.
Baever Rating is a long Intamin river rapids ride.
This one doesn’t have too many drenching rapids, but the layout is heavily wooded and secluded.
Then Rejen is a quartet of wet/dry water slides perfect for racing. Each consists of a triple
down. The second hump lifts the entire raft off the slide, which is quite thrilling.
Next are the flat rides. This park isn’t as heavy in this department as some,
but there are a few notable ones. You have two unique drop towers. One
is Kragetraeerne. This is a rare BEAR model. The drops are mild, as is the max height of
15 meters of 50 feet. But on the final ascent, the vehicles violently tilt forwards. It’s a
really shocking moment, especially with how minimalistic the restraints are.
The other is Cobratarnet. This is a Fabbri drop tower. The experience was comparable to
the Larson or ARM ones in the United States both from a height and power perspective.
The drop was sudden with a great stomach dropping sensation plus floater airtime the whole way down.
This makes it the park’s most thrilling ride and my personal favorite attraction there.
The final noteworthy flat is Svend Svingarm. This is a Zamperla giant discovery. It was
unfortunately closed for my visit, but based on my experience with these frisbees elsewhere I
suspect it would have been one of the park’s top 2 rides. The max swings have nice floater airtime,
good positive Gs, and fantastic speed. Rounding out the ride offerings are a
few slower observation rides like a monorail and a slow boat ride.
I didn’t notice many shows during my visit and due to my limited time,
I didn’t try any of the park’s food offerings, so I cannot comment on their quality.
As of 2022, BonBon-Land cost 250 Danish Krone or $35 USD, which I thought was fair given the park’s
offerings. Then you also have to pay for parking. The system is a bit different than other parks.
A camera scans your license plate when you enter. You then have 24 hours to pay the 50 DKK or $7 USD
fee online. If you fail to do so in this time period, the parking fee quintuples in price.
Alternatively, you can access this park by train.
I haven’t done this, but there’s the Holme Olstrup Station just a 5 minute walk from the park.
So do I recommend BonBon-Land? If you’re into crazy theming, I sure do. You won’t find a park
with the visuals of BonBon-Land anywhere else. Between the giant animals, abundance of color,
and zany scenes, I had a big smile on my face. The ride lineup isn’t as strong as some other parks-
particularly if you’re looking for coasters- but there is something to satisfy everyone.
I really hope Parques Reunidos invests more in this park both in terms of new attractions
and maintenance. Until this is done, I can’t see myself returning here over the
country’s other parks. But I am certainly glad I experienced this unique park at least once.
If you’re looking into visiting this park, know it’s about an hour south of Copenhagen by car.
So it’s a park you can easily pair with a place like Bakken if you’re on a theme park roadtrip.
So those are my thoughts on BonBon-Land, one of the craziest theme parks in the
world. What are your thoughts on this park? Do you enjoy the wacky theming as well? Let
me know down in the comments. If you enjoyed this review, I’d appreciate it if you gave
this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a lot
more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!