The initial idea once came from a woman from Basel. In 1976, Selmeli Ratti rattled the gates of Europa-Park and demanded free admission for a bus full of children. Instead of rejecting the request as improper and locking the gates tightly, Europa-Park turned it into a major charitable campaign called “Happy Hearts.” As part of this, the Mack family has since invited socially disadvantaged people to visit the park free of charge. Several 10,000 guests come to the park every year because of these special invitations. In total, more than one million people have visited Europa-Park free of charge. The gratitude among the “Happy Hearts” visitors is often boundless: Any number of letters from the visitors who are currently struggling in life usually end in a similar way: “We hope we can come again one day!”