Questionnaire for the Guest of Popeye Village

Popeye the movie was a live-action vehicle for the sadly departed Robin Williams, which opened to a "mixed" response from the critics and a big 'no thanks' from the (non-)viewing public, who stayed away in droves.  It was filmed in Malta on a custom designed set, and rather than sell this off to unscrupulous property developers like a regular country, Malta decided to keep "Sweethaven" village and turn it into a tourist attraction.

If anybody knows of a worse movie to have inspired a theme park, then please let me know.

Now I have not yet managed a visit to Popeye Village, but fortunately my glamorous assistant Danya has, so who better to give us the lowdown?  I came across a questionnaire from another famous theme park (to remain nameless), and despite the fact that the English is a little quirky in places, I reckon it will allow us to find out more about this famous Maltese attraction.


So here goes...

How many time have you been to Disneyland Hong Kong - sorry - Popeye Village?
- Once.  In October with a couple of friends.

The average time you spent on your visit?
- I spent just 45 minutes there.   Because we arrived there quite late in the day we only paid half price (€6 instead of €17).  You can see everything in 45 minutes anyway, although I didn't get to see any of the shows they do.

(Cognition Information:  Please answer these questions with range from 'Extremely Agree' to 'Extremely Disagree' and provide comments as necessary.)

In Popeye Village I can find the distinctive theme for everything in Popeye Village?
- What do you mean?  (some guesses by the interviewer as to what this question is actually supposed to mean)  - More or less.  Could be more Popeye themed decorations around the place, like in the canteen area the tables are very plain without any decorations.

I like the distinctive theme for everything in Popeye Village
- Agree.  Yeah, I like it.  Good stuff.  And I was there around Halloween time so the decorations were pretty good.

I think Popeye Village provides hybrid services and consumptions including attraction, shopping, food and beverage
- Agree.  There could be more options because the place is not that big.  It's hard to imagine it during peak time in Summer, must be packed.

I like hybrid services and consumptions in the Popeye Village
- Extremely Agree.  I've got nothing bad to say about that stuff.

I think Consumer Goods at Popeye Village was endowed certain famous images, characters or logos.
- More or Less.  They don't have too many options and the price is not that good.  Maybe they could have a few more options, but I was in a rush so I couldn't look too carefully and I didn't do any shopping

I can feel hospitality from the Popeye Village cast members
- Agree, but... I was there one hour before closing time, and I think they were pretty exhausted and looking forward to going home.

I think the appearance of Popeye Village cast members cheer me.
- More or Less.  They didn't look like the characters.  Too young.  The Popeye character was a teenager, was kind of ridiculous.  They were trying their best, but it was kind of crazy, I didn't know who the Brutus character was trying to be until he told us.

I think the experience of visiting the Popeye Village influences my daily life a lot.
Of course not.  Extremely Disagree, this is a stupid question.  You should ask me 'would I recommend this place'.  My answer to that is: If you have time and money to spend the whole day, I think it's a nice place to visit in the summer. There are seats by the rocky beach where you can relax, they have games and shows and entertainment for the family.  For a short visit like I had it's okay to take a few pictures, but not worth paying full price - especially during winter time.  I think summer time would be better, although like I said it probably gets very busy.  Plus with only one bus route going from Mellieha I guess that bus gets absolutely crazy busy too in summer: go early.



Popeye Village is open all year round: August and December 9:30-19:00; 21 December to 6 January 9:30-20:30; March to July and September to October 9:30-17:00; November and January to February 9:30-16:30.


Transport:  Get a bus to Mellieha and take the 237 from there, going once per hour from 09.20 to 17.20.  

Danya has written many great articles aimed at Brazilians in Malta.