The name Magic Park was the result of a family's dream. Some fairgoers who, tired of traveling from fair to fair throughout Catalonia, settled in the 70s in Platja d'Aro and Lloret de Mar. Magic Park was the first amusement park on the Costa Brava.
Mario Xufré i Fabregat was born into a fairground family in Barcelona. He told us that the Civil War and the death of his mother when he was just a child made him abandon his studies and get involved in the family business that his older brother was running at the time, and which he accompanied throughout Catalonia with a fairground stand called “la Selva”. When Mario married Maria Teresa Bertran Carol – la iaia – (Igualada 1950), they decided to settle on their own and bought a small itinerant shock track.
In a short space of time, they achieved 5 shock-track tracks that worked simultaneously in various locations. His desire to innovate made them travel to France where the concept of fair was much more advanced. From there, they imported the purses so that the shock cars would work automatically and not with waltzes, as it had been done until then. He also designed clues to be able to connect with each other and got to work with 60 cars at the same time, something unthinkable at that time.
After many years of going from fair to fair, the couple decided to settle down and buy some land, first in Lloret de Mar and later in Platja d’Aro, where they built two Magic Parks – since they had two children, Màrius and Francesc, – and where they installed bumper car tracks and, later, other children's attractions, video games, table football, and slot machines with prizes. In the 80s, they consolidated themselves as a recreational, leisure and family leisure space and their advertising was “the first amusement park on the Costa Brava”.
The Màgic Park de Platja d’Aro, which was always directed by the eldest son, Màrius Xufré i Bertran, was for more than 40 years, a meeting point for families, children, youth and adults in the municipality and neighborhoods that met in various Spaces such as: the skating rink, the bowling alley, the Màrius disco, the football or pinball area, or the games room. The “Noria” was for many years an icon of the amusement park and the village since its bright star was seen from several points in the municipality.
With the advent of new technologies, portable consoles and internet, gaming machines were becoming obsolete. Likewise, the increase in the leisure offer in the municipality and the establishment of a children’s playground a few meters outdoors, were presented as a strong competition for the family amusement park.
In March 2017, the son Marius transferred and his daughters, Teia and Jenny set themselves up as the family business. Finally, on September 11, 2017, the Magic Park of Platja d’Aro closed the doors of the area dedicated to children’s and family entertainment. He wanted to take a farewell farewell to the place he was closing and had so much represented for so many generations.
For this farewell, there was an open day and tickets were freely distributed. They got to distribute more than 15,000 and the Magic Park is absolutely full of boys and their parents, grandchildren, grandparents and friends who wanted to say goodbye. Likewise, an exhibition titled “Magic Park. A small trip in time” with which photographs, plans, drawings and objects of the park were recovered, as well as examples of machines such as one that “predicted the future” and that it worked with 25 pesetas; another that included a boxing bag and measured the strength of the participant to hit it; one of the first shock cars; billiards; a cabin of the already disassembled toilette, a sign where Xufré Autochamps are read … and also the Màrius disco, which was housed in the same building. The farewell and the exhibition was a tribute that the creators wanted to do to their grandparents.
However, the gaming section for those over 18 continued in the same building. On January 8, 2018, the park was permanently closed and the Games Room was moved 50 meters away to the Millennium Building, where the Xufré family has definitively opened the new slot machines and sports betting space.
The new Gaming Hall consists of 200 m2 divided into two areas: A ground floor with a roulette for 10 players and 23 prize machines; and a first floor, where sports lovers have their space with the leading online sports betting house in Spain: Sportium.
Here you will find personalized attention, 3 large screens to follow the main matches live and 12 self-service terminals to make betting faster and safer and automated prize collection machines. You can enjoy all international sports: football, tennis, basketball, horse racing, Formula 1, cycling, golf and a long list of others.
The new Magic Park, for adults, has a capacity for 139 people and is open from 11 am to 2 am Monday to Thursday and 11 am to 3 am on weekends and holidays 365 days a year. The staff that will serve you are 6 people who have remained from the old amusement park staff.
