The name of Magic Park was the result of the dream of a family. Fair workers who, tired of moving from fair to fair throughout Catalonia, settled down in the 70’s 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 in a family firaire in Barcelona. He told us that the Civil War and the fact that his mother died when he was only a child, caused him to abandon his studies and get involved in the family business that at that time had his elder brother accompanied by All Catalonia with a fair stop 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 on a fair at the fair, the couple decided to settle and buy land, first in Lloret de Mar and later in Platja d’Aro, where they built two Magic Park – since they had two children, me Màrius and Francesc, – and where they installed the clashes of cars and, later, other children’s attractions, video games, football and prize-winning machines. In the 80’s, they consolidated themselves as a recreational space, leisure and family leisure and its publicity was “the first park of attractions of the Costa Brava“.
The Magic Park of 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 play for people over 18 continued in the same building. On January 8, 2018, he finally closed the park and moved the Games Hall to 50 meters, at the Millennium Building, where the Xufré family has permanently opened the new space for gaming machines and sports betting.
In the new Playroom there are 200 m2 divided into two environments: A ground floor with a roulette for 10 players and 23 prize machines; and a first floor, where sports lovers have their place with the leading online sports betting house in Spain: Sportium.
Here you will find personalized attention, 3 large screens to be able to follow live the main games and 12 self-service terminals so that the bet is faster and safer and automated collection machines of the prizes. You can enjoy all the international sports: soccer, tennis, basketball, horse racing, Formula 1, cycling, golf and a long list.
The new Magic Park, for the elderly, has a capacity for 139 people and a schedule from 11 am to 2 a.m. from monday to thursday and from 11 am to 3 on the weekend and holidays at 365 days of the year. The staff that will assist you are 6 people who have stayed in the old template of the amusement park.
