Theme Parks in the Puglia Region!

It's amazing the difference a couple of years make! If you'd have asked me about theme parks in the Puglia region 5 or 10 years ago I'd have probably scratched my head and given you a blank stare. Ask me the same question now and I'll scream, "You bet! Let's go!" Gone are the days when you had to head north in search of fun! Now there are 2 main theme parks in the Puglia region and both offer fun from morning until night!

One of the most popular theme parks in the Puglia region started out as a simple zoo. ZOOSAFARI - in the small town of Fasano - was once your pretty typical car-tour of wild animals. Only problem was that there weren't a whole lot of wild animals and the ones that were in the zoo didn't look so wild as much as tired and that's being kind. Fortunately for the animals and also for tourists, ZOOSAFARI changed management several years ago. The number of animals doubled and they look a lot happier. And come to think of it so do the tourists. But what's really cool is the development of FASANOLANDIA or Fasano Land!

FASONOLANDIA has 25 way-cool attractions ranging a giant ferris-wheel to a log-flume to a roller coaster. All wrapped around live entertainment and music and seamlessly intergrated within the zoo grounds. At night the lights come up and there is even more fun and frivolity including a huge disco and colored lights.

What's really encouraging is that while other theme parks have been boarded up, ZooSafari and the new FasanoLandia seem to be more popular than ever before. The 2010 schedules includes a bunch of new cool attractions including animatronic dinosaurs and a variety of live acts. Check out the website at www.zoosafari.it.

The second of our theme parks in the Puglia region has only been open about 2 years but is showing signs of longevity in the hard-nut-to-crack world of theme parks. The name of the park is called Miragica and someone was thinking clearly or clearly thinking of how to create a successful theme park. Located in the port city of Molfetta and only about 50 meters from the Molfetta Outlet Mall, the Miragica theme park has taken an important page from the DisneyWorld playbook: namely one price of admission for everything excluding food (as opposed to many other theme parks in Italy where you pay at the door and then pay again for each specific ride)

The park also has extended hours during summer. Being so close to the Molfetta Outlet Mall (also called the Fashion District Outlet) means that parents who love to shop can drop off the kids and not feel guilty about it. The kids can spend a day at the park while mom and dad shop at the mall. Like Zoosafari the Miragica theme park has the always popular ferris wheel and log flume plus a whole lot of thrill rides including fake-free fall and bumper cars. Parents would probably do well to stay at the mall and shop.

Admission is about 20 euro but when you consider that price is good for the entire day, it really is a good deal. And this year the park has opened up a picnic area so families can pack a lunch and eat instead spending 10 dollars for a hotdog that still has heel-marks where the jockey kicked it.

Zoosafari/Fasanolandia and Miragica. Just two more reasons to visit the Puglia region and have fun this summer!