Gardaland's milestones
The original idea of an amusement park on the shores of Lake Garda was conceived at the beginning of the 1970s by Livio Furini, an entrepreneur from Verona who was inspired by a visit he had made to Disneyland in California... And so it was that, thanks to his resourcefulness, Livio found himself after a few years, on 19 July 1975 to be exact, inaugurating the Amusement Park destined to become Italy's No. 1 fun destination: Gardaland!
After the success of the first few years, from 1984 Gardaland considerably accelerated its growth, and over the years was to make its way onto the list of the world's leading amusement parks, thanks to the introduction of many new rides which were great in size and also in terms of scenic impact.
Having consolidated its position among the 'greats' not only in Europe but also worldwide, in 2005 Gardaland was listed by the prestigious Forbes magazine as the fifth best amusement park in the world!
But the most important innovation of these years was undoubtedly the arrival, in 2004, of the fantastic Gardaland Hotel! Gardaland was thus the first Italian amusement park to equip itself with its own theme hotel and to embark on the strategic path that led it to become, in a very short time, Italy's Resort of Fun, a holiday destination where guests can spend several days immersed in fun and fantasy!
2006 was a very important year in the history of Gardaland: it was in this year, in fact, that the company became part of the huge family of the Merlin Entertainments group, which also includes many other big names in world entertainment such as Madame Tussauds, the LEGOLAND® parks and the London Eye.
2008 also saw the arrival of another noteworthy innovation, reinforcing the concept of Gardaland as a Resort of Fun: the Park and the Hotel were joined by a brand new and fascinating fully-themed aquarium, the Gardaland SEA LIFE Aquarium: the first fully-themed aquarium in Italy!
To further enrich the Resort’s offer, in 2016 Gardaland inaugurated the Gardaland Adventure Hotel followed in 2019 by Gardaland Magic Hotel, two structures entirely themed in every detail, allowing its guests to experience the most epic adventures, firstly in faraway worlds (Wild West, Arctic ice, mysterious jungle and Arabian Nights-style atmospheres) or a magic experience in an enchanted kingdom inhabited by wizards and magic creatures (the themes offered here are the Enchanted Forest, the Great Wizard House and the crystals of the Magic Ice Castle).
The most recent milestone in the growth of Gardaland Resort is the opening of the 1st LEGOLAND® Water Park in Europe: a new 15,000 square metre, fully-themed water park for families, which was opened in 2021. Fun is guaranteed at LEGOLAND® Water Park, where you can immerse yourself in millions of LEGO® bricks, in a sea of interactive water games, play on the colourful slides and relax in the extraordinary themed areas!
Since 1975, many visitors have passed through the gates of what, as the 200 permanent and 1,500 seasonal employees can confirm, is a "seriously entertaining" company, an example of true excellence from our country.
