France’s home-grown answer to Disney for spectacle and splendor, Puy du Fou, is planning to expand to Spain and China. Quite an order for a park whose stock in trade is recreations and spectacles of French history with animals, actors, stunts and fireworks.
Puy du Fou began in 1978, in the Vendée region of western France, and had a big expansion in 1989. Second only to Disneyland Paris, it had well over 2 million visitors last year, which has driven the plan to expand.
But the park’s operators aren’t planning on a new Napoleonic invasion: each of the new parks will copy the idea of historic spectacle by night, historic villages by day, but with the local history instead. Spain’s, which will open near Toledo in 2019, will focus on Spain’s history from earliest settlers to the 19th century. For Spain, avoiding the 20th century in the park is probably a good idea.
The China park is planned to open around 2025.
