The roman themed madhouse Défi de César at Parc Astérix (France) has been closed and removed from the park’s website and app without prior announcement, with the park still not providing a statement on the attractions fate as of writing.
Défi de César opened in 2008 and was build by Mack Rides with a Caesar animatronic by Sally Dark Rides and media by Alterface. The ride was one of only two operating madhouses build by Mack Rides, with the other being Fluch der Kassandra at Europa-Park. The ride featured three pre-shows where guests signed up for the roman army to fight the Gauls. These pre-shows where de-activated during the COVID-19 pandemic, with guests being led straight into the madhouse instead. It now seems like the madhouse itself has been put out of commision as well.
The future of the ride is currently unknown, with it being unclear if its being renovated or removed. A sign advertising the park’s halloween event has been spotted at the ride though, possibly hinting at the ride being replaced by a halloween haunt. It isn’t the first time Parc Astérix closed a ride without prior notice; a similar thing happened in 2018 with Transdemonium. The park also closed their oldtimers Nationale 7 after the 2023 season.
Update: A question about the future of Défi de César was asked during a Q&A with American Coaster Enthusiasts, with the park stating that “It’s useful for us since it’s one of the very few indoor rides. We need some indoor rides when it’s raining and we don’t have a lot of them. We will take care of that one because it needs to be revamped, we know that. We also did some small renovation to improve the AV system this winter.”
