BillyBird Hemelrijk has a new entrance

VOLKEL – BillyBird Hemelrijk has a new entrance since this Sunday. Work on the new building has been underway since the end of September 2023. All this time, visitors had to pass through the construction fences to reach the old reception. A reception square and a distribution square were also constructed at the same time, so that the route had to be changed regularly. From now on, visitors can reach both the Oervallei play area and the beach pool after entering.

Future

The architect was commissioned to create a covered entrance on the existing road. The idea of placing the ticket scanners and pass scanners indoors has to do with the future. “To remain affordable in the long term, you have to automate as much as possible,” says Ton Derks. “With this building we are preparing for the possibility that our guests will scan their membership cards themselves. We also receive more and more visitors outside the high season. Not only the valuable equipment, but also our employees are kept warm and dry.”

The building also contains a guest service on one side. Most visitors to BillyBird are members. Of the people who are not members, more than 80% already buy a ticket via the internet. So hardly anyone buys a ticket at the counter anymore. For those who still do, there is guest service. It is expected that within a few years almost everyone will buy their ticket or take out a membership via the internet. The cash register kiosks that were traditionally found at all recreational parks will be a thing of the past.

Park appearance

Hemelrijk started as a recreational lake. Over the years, new facilities have been built on this recreational lake. The old reception was positioned in such a way that when you entered the park, you immediately saw the recreational lake and most of the playground equipment and attractions. When you enter the new entrance, you enter a recreational park. You can't see the recreational lake there yet. In the image, the recreational lake will be just one of the attractions. Admittedly the most important attraction. But still so that visitors experience the park as a year-round park.

No opening

“The beach promenade that was built in 2015 was also never opened. However, our guests are very happy with it. We are now also going to put the entrance building into use. A few walls in the old reception are being moved. There will be a washing area for cups. The recycling of cups is quite a challenge for parks in the Netherlands. We want to be able to put this into use before the summer really starts,” adds Maarten Derks.

In the meantime, the finishing touches are also being made to some furnishing elements, such as benches, in the Oervallei. And the office workers can also move in in a few weeks.

BillyBird leaves park

The observant viewer will see a subtle change in the logo that can be seen on the new building. The chain has chosen to omit the word "park" and to present the word "BillyBird" larger than the name of the location "Hemelrijk". In this way, the chain hopes to generate more awareness among the public under the name BillyBird instead of Hemelrijk as it is traditionally called, according to Frank van Woudenberg. The future plans of the second BillyBird Drakenrijk location in Reuver (Limburg) were also taken into account.