The Elephants ride is seen from the Ferris wheel at Didiland amusement park in Morsbronn-les-Bains, France. (Heather Benit/Stars and Stripes)
A faded sign at French theme park Didiland calls the park Paradise Island, which it is for young children, providing a full day of amusement and nearly instant gratification.
I wouldn’t call Didiland paradise, but the under-the-radar park in the Alsace region offers perks for parents as well. Even in peak summer season, the crowds are small and the lines are short.
Entrance fees are 26.50 euros for adults and 24.50 euros for children at least 1 meter (a little over 3 feet) tall. While those prices add up for a family, it’s a comparatively good value. For example, Holiday Park in Hassloch, Germany, charges 49.50 euros for adults and 44 euros for kids.
At 17 acres, Didiland is small and the rides are more comparable to those of a rural Kerwe-style fair than to a major theme park like Europa Park and Holiday Park. But Didiland doesn’t have vendors and kitsch to spend extra money on. It’s all about the rides.
My family recently joined two others for a day trip to the park. We left the Kaiserslautern area at 9 a.m. and arrived by 10:30 a.m. That was with no traffic, one bathroom break and a carsick kid.
A line forms to enter Didiland theme park in Morsbronn-les-Bains, France, just 30 minutes after opening. Buy tickets in advance and skip to the front of the line. (Heather Benit/Stars and Stripes)
A sign points drivers to the parking lot for Didiland theme park in Morsbronn-les-Bains, France, just an hour and a half drive from Kaiserslautern. (Heather Benit/Stars and Stripes)
A washed-out sign along the side of the road discreetly directed us to a parking lot that sits next to a cornfield. The setting gave off American Midwest vibes.
A crowd had already gathered at the entrance, but we had bought tickets online in advance and skipped the queue.
Our strategy for staying together and maximizing our day was to follow the park’s numbered map, which guides visitors from the entrance through 41 attractions, mostly rides for young children like antique car driving, a merry-go-round and a water playground.
There’s also a restaurant and a section with more adventurous rides like a spinning roller coaster and rafting. Maps are only in French or German but are easy to follow in either language.
A measuring stick at the entrance of each ride at Didiland in Morsbronn-les-Bains, France, determines whether children are tall enough to ride alone, with an adult or not at all. (Heather Benit/Stars and Stripes)
The lines were short on most rides at Didiland theme park in Morsbronn-les-Bains, France, even during peak summer season. (Heather Benit/Stars and Stripes)
The bumper boats at Didiland in Morsbronn-les-Bains, France. The line for this ride was just over an hour. Waiting times got longer later in the day. (Heather Benit/Stars and Stripes)
A ferris wheel is one of 41 attractions at Didiland in Morsbronn-les-Bains, France. (Heather Benit/Stars and Stripes)
A measuring stick at the entrance of each ride determines whether children are tall enough to ride alone, with an adult or not at all.
For example, at the Pirate Tower, a pirate ship that soars back and forth like a nauseating swing, children under roughly 3 feet 7 inches can’t ride at all, children from about 4 feet 3 inches can ride with an adult, and anyone taller than 4-foot-3 can ride alone.
The 2.5-year-old in our group had to sit out some rides, but the three boys, ages 3-5, were able to ride everything in the Le Petit section with an adult companion. The lines were short or nonexistent during our August visit.
The food line at Didiland Park in Morsbronn-les-Bains, France, was long after the rides closed for lunch at noon. (Heather Benit/Stars and Stripes)
Didiland amusement park is located in the countryside of Alsace, France. The park appears old and rundown from above, but it's clean and surrounded by trees. (Heather Benit/Stars and Stripes)
Rides closed at noon for a lunch break, making the line for lunch more than an hour long at the only eatery that was open that day.
We ordered chicken nuggets and french fries for the kids and salads and bratwurst for the adults. Fries with nuggets, one salad, one bratwurst and a drink came to 26 euros. The menu options were very limited. Later we got ice cream for about 2 euros.
Our favorite attractions were the Wild River ride, which floats gently through the water before a steep, splashing drop, and the water playground, which was a chaotic scene of wet kids running around but a good way to cool off and burn energy before the drive back.
The water playground was a favorite attraction for the kids during an August visit to Didiland in Morsbronn-les-Bains, France. There's a train that takes visitors around the 17-acre amusement park. (Heather Benit/Stars and Stripes)
A view of Didiland in Alsace, France, from the Ferris wheel. The Wild River ride is to the left and a restaurant and eating area are to the right. (Heather Benit/Stars and Stripes)
There are only a few days left in Didiland’s 2024 schedule. The park closes from October until April, with its last day this year being Sept. 22. Check the schedule before going because the park is open only three days a week in September.
If you go, bring a swimsuit and pack a lunch. That way, you can avoid both the extra expense and the long line for food when the rides close, ensuring a stress-free day at Didiland.
benit.heather@stripes.com
Even in August, the crowds are thin at under-the radar amusement park Didiland in Morsbronn-les-Bains, France. (Heather Benit/Stars and Stripes)
Didiland
Address: 1 Route de Gunstett, Morsbronn-les-Bains, France
Prices: 26.50 euros for adults and 24.50 for children in the 2024 season. Check online for group rates and specials.
Hours: 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. in April-June and September; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. in July and August. Closed October-April. Open all week in July and August but only Wednesdays and weekends in June and September. Check the season’s schedule online.
Information: billetterie.didiland.fr
