Rabkoland Amusement Park in Rabka-Zdrój

Rabkoland started in 1988 as the "Alibaba" funfair on a muddy two-hectare plot in the centre of Rabka-Zdrój. Today it is a family amusement park beside the Poniczanka and Raba streams, rebuilt in 2019 and divided into six themed zones for children aged 2–12. A ticket gives unlimited use of all rides for the whole day.

History: from "Alibaba" to Rabkoland

The idea goes back to 1986, when Waldemar Sybilski, a psychologist at the Rabka branch of the Institute of Mother and Child, opened a small funfair by the stadium with Kazimierz Miśkowiec. A year later Eugeniusz Wiecha, whose family had run rides at the Silesian Amusement Park since before the war, took on the building of a proper funfair. It opened on 12 May 1988; its centrepiece was the wooden "Scheherazade" building, put up by highland carpenters in two weeks. In 1989 the park even had a mini-zoo with a bear, eight monkeys, ponies and a llama, which lasted until 1997. The name "Rabkoland" was originally registered by the Order of the Smile chapter; the Wiecha family bought it in 2003.

Zones and rides

• Machinarium – the inventors' zone with the Ferris wheel known as the "Great Space-Time Folder", offering views of Luboń Wielki and the Beskid Wyspowy hills.
• Viking Village – home to the Wiking Coaster roller coaster: a 90 m track, speeds up to 25 km/h and a ride of about 2 minutes. Children ride alone from 120 cm tall, with a parent from 100 cm. The youngest have their own "Little Viking" coaster.
• Bumblebee Valley – a calm, green zone for toddlers.
• Auntie Marynia's Farm, Highland Jungle and the Circus Zone – playgrounds, carousels, bumper cars, rafts and the Duch-Duch ghost tower.
• Water play areas – on hot days bring a towel and a change of clothes.

Tripto tip

The park is right in the centre of Rabka-Zdrój by the market square, about 60 km from Kraków. Free parking is across the Poniczanka on ul. Sądecka; the car park in front of the entrance is municipal and paid. Ticket prices depend on the child's height, and little ones up to 90 cm get in free; tickets are slightly cheaper online than at the gate. Current prices and the opening calendar are on the park's website. There is no cash machine on site, and dogs are allowed on a lead (larger ones muzzled). Plan half a day or a full day – the park stays open in light rain but may shorten its hours in a downpour. Combine the visit with the Order of the Smile Museum and a walk in the spa park.