Slagharen theme park is located in the region of Overijssel near the German border. We come across this theme park since we searched for a theme park that offers good deal, is located near Germany, and is somewhere along the North of the Netherlands. We set this criteria in order to fit our plan of staying overnight in Heede (Germany), then combining with family visit in the North of the Netherlands. It is quite fortunate that we found this theme park. We were surprised to discover that the Slagharen Theme Park features the Wild West American way of living, which much resembles the history of the settlers in Canada. Two months ago, we traveled in Canada and enjoyed learning about the rough and exciting culture of both native inhabitants and settlers in Canada. For further details about our impressions of Canada, see our blogs on Discover Winnipeg Canada and Seven hours stop-over in Montreal. It is quite interesting to  see this Wild West setting in the Netherlands! The ‘oldness’ of Slagharen theme park, the rides it offers, and the ambience, truly makes the visit like going back in the old days in the Wild West.

Why visit the Slagharen Theme Park?

Compared to many theme parks in Europe, visiting the Slagharen theme park has many things to offer at a good value for money. Below are the top five reasons many reasons why you can choose to go to Slagharen theme park over other theme parks in the Netherlands and Europe. Here is my analysis:

1. Slagharen theme park is good value for money.

As compared to Disneyland Paris, Slagharen theme park gives you more value for money. Based on my previous blog about Disneyland Paris, you can see that going to Disneyland Paris (and Disneyland in general) is very expensive. The entrance fee costs already 88 euros per person for peak season and 48 euros during lean season. That one person entrance fee to Disneyland is already equivalent to four discounted entrance tickets to Slagharen theme park! In addition, you pay for the entrance of 3 years old kid in Disneyland while you do not pay for it in Slagharen theme park.

2. Slagharen theme park is perfect for family and children of various ages!

The rides within the theme park offer a lot of variation. Therefore there is enough to do for all ranging from very young kids to old ones. I think the park is not enjoyable for a baby. For a kid to enjoy the park, he or she must be more for more than 1 year old. There are many attractions for young kids to enjoy (e.g. 2-4 years old). This include rides such as Rosie’s tea party, El Teatro, Randy’s playground, Wild West Adventure to name a few. Some rides allow parents supervision, while others let children to enjoy the rides themselves. Be warned though that to access many rides, a minimal height is required. This system is practical but not perfect, for instance older kids who are a bit small and who do not satisfy the height requirements are not allowed to enter a specific ride.

There are also attractions for older kids (5-15 years old) such as a few roller-coasters and a wild-water coaster. For older kids around 15, it might be advisable to bring some friends to make the whole experience more fun. This theme park also has a swim park including high slides fit for older kids, a mini beach with a shallow pool for younger kids, and stretchers for parents for sunbathing.

Conveniently there are many accommodations and holiday houses next to the Slagharen park. Families can stay there for using combination deals (accommodation + entrance in Slagharen) at very affordable prices.

3. Slagharen theme park has less traffic and huge parking space.

Another thing we enjoyed about Slagharen is that it is less crowded as compared to other theme parks we have been to such as in Efteling and Disneyland Paris. This translate to less time spent on standing in ques and more time spent on enjoying rides. Slagharen is located at a remote location providing a huge parking space, for which you only pay 7,50 euros a day (others ask for 10-12 euros!).

4. This park gives an authentic feeling of Wild West American adventure.

Slagharen theme park is magical in its own way. Although less “magical” than Disney land or the Efteling, Slagharen theme park offers an authentic feeling of being in the Wild West. Examples are attractions where you can enjoy the carnivals of New Orleans, embark on the spectacular Expedition Nautilus, watch a 4D film, and  go on a boat ride in Wild West Adventure and see how Native Indians used to live. This is quite a unique experience particularly for those who are interested in the
Wild West culture and history.

5. Visiting Slagharen themepark could be combine with visiting German borders

Slagharen theme park is located at Zwarte Dijk 37, 7776 PB Slagharen, which is just near the German border. Therefore, it is possible to combine your visit to Slagharen theme park with visiting Germany, either for site seeing, eating, or having an overnight stay. Of course, due to the closeness of Slagharen to Germany, it makes sense to see a lot of Germans visiting this park. What is even more interesting, the Dutch and German language are also used in Slagharen theme park, such as in the 4D cinema.

How to get a discounted ticket?

Getting tickets to Slagharen theme park is pretty easy and could be done online. It is advisable to do it online, since there are many sources of discounted tickets. Here are some of the sites that you could visit on order to get your tickets:

1. Slagharen theme park’s website – If you book 5 days early, you pay 20% more discount during your booking. In other occassions, they also do promotions in the tickets or in combination with their accommodations.
2. Websites such as Social deal or Groupon.nl occassional have promo tickets to Slagharen theme park
3. If your insurance provider is AON, they more likely offer you the a yearly card called EropuitmetAON, which offers discount that includes wide range – dinner in restaurants, hotel stays, visit to museums and attraction parks to name a few. We got our tickets to Slagharen theme park via this yearly card subscription and got 50% off the price.
4. Voordeeluitjes.nl – You get a deal or offer that includes accommodation and entrance to Slagharen theme park.
5. If you are a member of ANWB, a royal Dutch touring club that offer services related to road assistance, insurance, medical assistance abroad, to name a few, you can also get a 50% off discounted ticket to Slagharen theme park via the ANWB website.

Tips and Tricks when visiting Slagharen theme park

There are also some tips and tricks in order to maximise your visit in Slagharen theme park. These are summarized as follows:

• Buy discounted tickets to Slagharen theme park based on the different options mentioned. Never pay for the full price because discounted tickets are just almost everywhere!
• Come early, the park opens at 10AM. This will guarantee that you can try as many rides as you can, especially if you are visiting only for one day.
• Bringing your own food. You can save money especially if you are staying for longer period of time.
• This theme park could be very busy during summer time, so early autumn period is a good time to go. The tickets are relatively cheap and there are less people. The only downside is that you cannot use the waterparks due to poor weather.