The Magic Kingdom in Guatemala

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(Steve's entry)

When our friends invited us to visit “Guatemala’s Disneyland” we thought it was a euphemism but we were surprised and delighted to find that they weren’t kidding. IRTRA is a pair of theme parks not far from the northern Pacific coast of Guatemala. It is a fairly new operation that was the brainchild of a man who is currently running for vice-president of the country. His idea was to collect 1% of the salary of employees of all private companies. He wanted to invest in a series of destination facilities that would then be affordable to the average Guatemalan. This decidedly socialist idea works beautifully. Folks from all levels of the economic spectrum are able to treat their families to a world-class good time. One highlight of this visit was enjoying how well the architect incorporated the existing forest into the design. The hotels and parks were clearly developed to take advantage of the massive trees that existed on the land and despite being just a few years old, the gardens beneath the mature jungle canopy made for a magical setting.

It was also my (Steve’s) first time behind the wheel in Guatemala. We rented a vehicle from our guide and friend Hugo Suarez of Expeditions Guatemala and that worked out great. The roads are actually very good and recent improvements in the signage made the whole trip a breeze.

The two parks are across the road from each other and are connected to a number of nearby hotels that are all part of the same complex. Xocomil, the water park is as good as any Six Flags park we’ve ever visited. Slides, pools, more slides and more pools dot the many acres of land. The park was completely up to five star standards. Our kids had a ball! Xetulul is a land park that does indeed compare to a small Disneyland. The architect clearly visited the Magic Kingdom a few times and the service and facilities were on par with our experience at Disneyland. Despite a torrential downpour in the middle of our time there, we managed to make Lucas sick after one too many crazy rides, and all of us left for the hotel in a heap of exhaustion.

We didn't get any photos inside Xocomil or Xetulul, but there are photos of the park on the tabs"Xetulul" and "Xocomil" (click "galaria" at the bottom of each) at the IRTRA website: IRTRA

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Photos

Guatemalan Disneyland
...without the souvenir traps and bad food!
These photos are just of the hotel area.

more IRTRA
The hotel themes included Thai, African and Mayan.

Comments

[Ronald Alvarez]

GUATEMALA
Guatemala is really beutiful, I am from there. I am going to go to Xetulul this summer of 2010 I cannot wait!!!!!!