La Récré Des 3 Curés

La Récré Des 3 Curés (also known as "La Récré Des Trois Curés") is a 17-hectare (42-acre) amusement park in the commune of Milizac, Finistère, Brittany, France. The park usually sees around 220,000 visitors every year, making it one of the most popular tourist sites in Brittany.[2]

La Récré Des 3 Curés
LocationMilizac, Finistère, France
StatusOperating
OwnerFrancis and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoy
Attendance225,000 in 2017[1]
Area17 ha (42 acres)
Attractions
Total38
Roller coasters2
Water rides3
Websitewww.larecredes3cures.com/%20larecredes3cures.com

La Récré Des 3 Curés is situated around a lake, and includes multiple rides, playgrounds, slides, games, 3000 m2 of indoor games, and two roller coasters. In addition, the park includes a 4-star campground.[3]

History

The park's name is derived from that of a local legend, "Lieu-dit des Trois Curés", which tells the story of the park's locations between three communes; Milizac, Bourg-Blanc, and Coat-Méal. The legend says that the resident Priest of each jurisdiction wanted to meet at an inn, but couldn't, as they were unable to leave their parish's territory. To overcome the said obstacle, a triangular table was built at the crossroads between the three municipalities, and each could sit on one side of the table while in the company of the others.[4] During their meetings, they could be served by the local inn.

In the late 1980s, park co-founder Jean-Pierre Bonnefoy worked as a nighttime taxi driver, and had grown tired of the job. In 1989, Jean-Pierre and his brother Francis established a small campground, which at the time had only 25 pitches.[5] At first, business was slow. However, in order to attract and keep potential customers, the brothers began to install various games and playground utilities. As attendance increased and the park began to gain a solid reputation among park-goers, a go-kart track was installed, and 2001 saw the addition of the park's first major roller coaster; the Grand Huit.[6] The roller coaster was attributed to be the cause towards a 20% increase in park attendance, from 80,000 to 100,000 visitors.[4]

La Récré Des 3 Curés continued to invest in new attractions while maintaining the park and campground. In 2011, the children of the Bonnefoy brothers began to share park management and director duties.[7] The park began to create and run live shows starting in 2017.[8] For the 2019 season, La Récré invested €2.5 million into a brand new reception building, which would contain park offices and ticket sales. The work was carried out by 24 different firms, 22 of whom were from the Finistère region.[7] For the park's 30th anniversary in 2020, Vertika, a major €5 million looping coaster from German manufacturer Gerstlauer, opened to the public and represented their largest investment to date.[9][10] In recent years, La Récré has also begun implemented thematic areas around the park; Celtic and Mayan culture has since found itself integrated with various attractions.[11]

Attractions
Grand Huit
River Splash
Galion des Pirates
Mambo
Spoontus
Pédalo

Roller coasters
NameYear OpenedManufacturerDescription
Grand Huit 2001 Soquet A mine train style coaster. For the 2023 season much of the area around the attraction was outfitted with new Mayan decor.[12][11]
Vertika 2020 Gerstlauer A Euro-Fighter looping coaster that opened for the 2020 season.[9][13]

Water rides
NameYear OpenedManufacturerDescription
Aquatico 2010 Van Egdom A children's water play area with slides and a tipping bucket.
Niagara 2009 Metallbau Emmeln A 194-metre (636 ft) long raft ride that delivers rafts to a peak height of 13 metres (43 ft) and down a chute. It formerly operated as Bobby Drop at Bobbejaanland in Lichtaart, Belgium from 1999 to 2008.[14]
River Splash Unknown Metallbau Emmeln A four-lane dingy slide.

Rides
NameYear OpenedManufacturerDescription
Bob's 2004 Wiegand A 500-metre (1,600 ft) Summer toboggan.
Carrousel Concept1900 Entertainment A Carousel manufactured akin to a vintage carousel, and was custom-made domestically.[15]
Chevauchée sauvage Soquet A track ride where riders are able to ride atop horses along a rail.
Drakkars 2022 Mack Rides A spinning boat ride that operated as the Viking at Bobbejaanland from 2004 to 2018, and was replaced by Fury in 2019. Today, it is located next to Vertika.[16]
Galion des Pirates 2005 Metallbau Emmeln A pirate ship.
Grande Roue 2008 Technical Park A 25-metre (82 ft) tall Ferris wheel.
Grenouilles 2017 Zamperla A jump-around children's ride with frog-themed vehicles.
Karting A Go-kart attraction where riders can drive said vehicles around a track. As of 2021, it is priced at €10 for 7 minutes.[17]
Mambo 2011 Mack Rides A Mexican-themed Matterhorn flat ride that operated at Bobbejaanland from 2000 to 2010.[18]
Pen Draig 2023 Mack Rides A Dragon-themed tea cups ride that previously ran as Dino Dancer at Bobbejaanland from 1999 to 2018.[19]
Petit Train A trolley tram offering half-hour tours around the park.
Pieuvre 2012 Schwarzkopf An octopus ride. It operated from 1987 to 1991 as Le Monstre at Zygo Park in Nice, France, before opening under the name Pieuvre des Caraïbes at Walibi Rhône-Alpes in 1992. The attraction was closed in 2001, and sat in storage until its refurbishment by Soquet and sale to La Récré Des 3 Curés.[20]
Rêve d'Icare 2015 Zierer A wave swinger attraction.[21]
Spoontus 2016 HUSS Park Attractions A fairly rare Fly Away attraction, and one of the park's headlining thrill attractions. It formerly operated as Fly Away at Bobbejaanland from 2003 to 2014.[22] Unlike the typical enterprise ride that the attraction was modeled after, riders instead ride laying on their stomachs, and the attraction reaches heights of 22 metres (72 ft) with a diameter of 19 metres (62 ft).
Tasses 2008 Technical Park A Teacups ride.
Tchou Tchou Moutig A children's ride.
Teufs-Teufs Metallbau Emmeln A track ride where riders are able to drive scaled-down tractors along a trail at a leisurely pace.
Manège 2021 Mack Rides A small spinning children's ride, formerly located at Bobbejaanland.

Other attractions
  • Bassin Pour Enfants; A circular children's wading pool.
  • Cannonade; An indoor playground attraction where children can use air cannons to shoot foam balls at one another.
  • Ciné 6D; A Motion simulator/theatre attraction showcasing two short movies.
  • Jeux Couverts; A variety of indoor playgrounds.
  • Labyrinthe; A multi-level playground.
  • Le Pitz; Inaugurated in 2023, an "aquatic labyrinth" floor that shoots water jets up at unsuspecting guests.
  • Pédalo; Pedalos that can be used on the lake.
  • Royaume de Margaux; A colorful outdoor toddler's playground that was installed for the 2014 season.
  • Volcan; A cone-shaped slanted climbing structure with a slide at the top.

Former attractions
  • Super Dragoon; Levent Lunapark wacky worm children's coaster (2014-2015).[23]

References
  1. "Milizac : La Récré des 3 curés fête les vacances de février!". 7seizh.info. February 23, 2018. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  2. "Récré des Trois-Curés. La nouvelle saison s'ouvre à Milizac". Le Télégramme (in French). April 4, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  3. "Camping de la Recre". Tripadvisor. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  4. Habasque, Célia (July 18, 2015). "La Récré des Trois Curés, une aventure familiale !". Ouest-France (in French). Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  5. Auffret-Pericone, Marie (July 16, 2014). "Un été dans La Croix. Affaires de famille (1/7) A La Récré des 3 curés, on s'amuse en famille". La Croix (in French). Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  6. Le Coquil, Yannick (August 18, 2017). "Milizac. La Récré est devenue de plus en plus joueuse". Ouest-France (in French). Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  7. Guénégou, Yann (February 10, 2019). "Bâtiment d'accueil et attraction à sensation : sept millions d'euros investis à La Récré des trois curés près de Brest". actu.fr (in French). Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  8. "Récré des trois curés. Le parc d'attractions fait le plein". Le Télégramme (in French). August 14, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  9. Niclot-Baron, Sabine (June 5, 2020). "VIDEO. Brest. La Récré des 3 curés rouvre, Vertika fait tourner les têtes". Ouest-France (in French). Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  10. "Le plein de sensations en Bretagne". starparc.be (in French). June 6, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  11. "2 millions d'euros investis pour réenchanter le parc d'attractions La Récré des 3 curés". Bretagne Économique (in French). April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  12. Marden, Duane. "Grand Huit  (La Récré des 3 Curés)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  13. Marden, Duane. "Vertika  (La Récré des 3 Curés)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  14. "Nostalgie - Bobby Drop". www.bjlnostalgie.be (in Dutch). Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  15. "Our Story". www.concept1900.com. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  16. @larecredes3 (April 8, 2022). "Dans les coulisses de La Récré des 3 Curés" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. "Le Karting". www.larecredes3cures.com. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  18. "Nostalgie - Mambo". www.bjlnostalgie.be (in Dutch). Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  19. "Dino - Bobbejaanland - Pretparken.be". pretparken.be (in Dutch). Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  20. "Projets sur mesure La pieuvre". www.soquet-attractions.fr. Retrieved April 9, 2021..
  21. "Trois-Curés. Du rêve à l'inauguration". Le Télégramme (in French). July 7, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  22. "Verdwenen attractie Bobbejaanland verhuist naar ander pretpark". Looopings (in Dutch). June 23, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  23. Marden, Duane. "Super Dragoon  (La Récré des 3 Curés)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved April 13, 2021.

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