Mirabilandia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

3Wanderer 5:00 PM Sep 5, 2022

Don’t bother with kids under 8
This park has very unusual restrictions on the kids rides… you not only have to meet a height restriction to ride (usual) but also an age restriction too… every single ride the staff asked me how old are your kids… well of course I could just make up whatever number I liked! How would they know? This is the strangest way of regulating safety onboard rides that I’ve ever come across, I’ve never seen that in a theme park anywhere before. I can totally understand height restrictions… but age?! Also, if your under 3… don’t bother: there is nothing here for you apart from a playground (which is crazy too, because half of it is not accessibly by parents so it’s totally unsafe!) you might be 90cm… but wait your not 3 years old so there’s noway you can ride this incredibly slow; barely moving carousel or farmyard train… again totally absurd! Even worse, if your not 3 yet but 101cm tall… you have to pay full price to enter and you can’t ride on anything at all, not even when accompanied by a full paying adult, who is usually your parent, and wouldn’t let you ride anything that’s too big/fast/scary anyway. They also would not let my 120cm daughter ride some very tame rides alone (there was me and 2 kids and my younger one was napping, so she had no choice but to ride alone) because she was under 8 years old.. come on! Mirabilandia really needs to update your policy about ride restrictions, make them simpler and more rides open to younger kids. I can’t comment on all the rides as I couldn’t go on most of them due to having little kids with me, but there looked to be a couple of good thrill rides. The other gripe I had was on entry, we must’ve turned up at a popular time, and it took 30 mins just to drive into the car park. It would’ve been so much better if a couple of turnstiles had pre paid entry, so you can pay parking online and scan a code on arrival or something. That definitely needs updating. Other than that we had a good day: the hot wheels show was incredible, and something I’ve never seen before. The Nickelodeon show was a bit poor and boring, and could’ve been a lot more inventive, and in a better location than a sweaty tent too. The photos were a good price, 6 euros or 3 for 15€. We took a picnic with us, but the food looked ok actually… lots of people saying over priced on reviews, but I saw hotdogs for less than 5 euros, they had a Mac Donald’s and a sushi place doing poke bowls for about 9 euros which I’d say is average for Italy really, you always expect to pay a little More in these places anyway. We visited midweek early September it was very busy but closed at 6pm which was a shame as the weather only just started cooling down. And not all drink/ice cream stands were open. The toilets could’ve been better maintained but there was plenty around, and we never had to wait throughout the day. I almost bought season passes online before we went; but I’m glad I didn’t because of ride regulations and also queues for entry.

3Peter C 5:00 PM Sep 6, 2017

OK... but not Disney
I hate to say it, but Disney sets the bar for guest experience, and the bar is high. Mirabilandia did not measure up. We lined up for 45 minutes to ride the new "Master Thai" VR ride, only to find that there were 2 lines, and one (ours) were not being given VR goggles. Very disappointing. A group ahead of us who spoke Italian were also ticked but somehow negotiated with the attendant to cross the boarding platform and get into a VR car. When we tried to do the same thing we were held back. Confusing. It's not cool to treat guests differently. I also wanted to ride a peddling helicopter ride with my kids in the Dinosaur part of the park. I was turfed off the ride after having been buckled in, and told that my kids were too old for me to accompany them. I was embarrassed and humiliated. The clerk told me I should have read the sign. Fair enough... it was in English, but I can't say it was prominently displayed. But that's beside the point. If I paid to get into the park and want to ride a ride, I should be permitted regardless of how old my kids are. Can you imagine Disney telling parents they can't ride in the spinning teacups? It's absurd. One more point: Mirabilandia nickels and dimes you for extras - not all rides are included in the price. Not cool. One highlight: the Hot Wheels show was an unexpected taste of Italian culture. Too bad we only caught the first 10 minutes, as by then it was late and we had to catch a bus. All in all, an expensive but only average experience.