Walibi Belgium



Theme Park:Walibi Belgium (since 2005)
Six Flags Belgium (2001 - 2004)
Walibi Wavre (1982 - 2000)
Walibi (1975 - 1981)
Address:Boulevard de l'Europe 100
1300 Wavre
https://www.walibi.com/belgium/be-en
Operated by:Compagnie des Alpes

Loop Garou • Vekoma Wooden CoasterWalibi Belgium located in Wavre nearby the capital Brussels is the biggest theme park in Belgium. The park was founded in 1975 by the Belgian Businessman Eddy Meeùs and is currently being operated by the french group Compagnie des Alpes. The park features state of the art roller coasters and water rides, like the prototype of the Mack Rides Power Splash.

Fun Fact #1: The park is named after the surrounding cities Wavre, Limal and Bierges. The mascot is therefore a wallaby.

Fun Fact #2: The park was operated by the American theme park group Six Flags between 2001 and 2004. In order to promote the park in Europe, Six Flags Belgium was one of the parks featured in the game Roller Coaster Tycoon 2.

Fun Fact #3: The roller coaster Sirocco became world famous after a train got stuck in an upside down position. When the ride was being enclosed during its transformation to Turbine (now Pskyé Underground) a platform for evacuation was installed in the middle of the loop.

 
 
 

Highlights of the Theme Park

 




 

Calamity Mine

The original Vekoma Mine Train

 


 

Cobra

It doesn’t get any smoother than this

 


 

Flashback

The time travel log flume

 


 

Kondaa

One of Europe’s finest roller coasters

 


 

Loup Garou

Wooden roller coaster made by Vekoma

 


 

Palais du Génie

An evil djinn turns the house upside down

 

 



 

Popcorn Revenge

A very entertainment visit to the Cinemas

 


 

Psyké Underground

Europe’s only Shuttle Loop

 


 

Pulsar

The first Power Splash

 



 

Radja River

The water tunnel at the end is amazing

 


 

Tiki Waka

The bobsled coaster high up in the sky

 


 

Vampire

A very good SLC

 


The exotic additions of Walibi Belgium

Preface

When I visited Walibi Belgium last year, I unfortunately experienced the most crowded day due to an event by the Belgian Red Cross. Walibi themselves did a great job in managing the crowd level, yet as you can imagine, I did not experience many rides. Although I managed to ride most of the new additions, I missed a ride on the Gerstlauer bobsled coaster Tiki Waka, due to its limited capacity and a resulting wait time of more than two hours. This year however, I basically started with a ride on the exotic racer.

Tiki Waka

The ride on Tiki Waka immediately starts with a tight left curve, whereupon we enter the ride’s lift. High above the park’s paths we then take a small dip and dart directly into the first block brake in a slightly winding course. The second drop of the ride is a bit more defined and is followed by a valley at lofty heights. Several turnarounds follow. After passing the second block brake, we finally go down to the ground in a curvy drop. We then pass the boat ride Gold River by a twisty hill. A likewise twisty ascent then leads us into the fourth block brake. A small dip then leads us into a series of airtime hill, which guides us into a very tight helix at which end we hit the final brakes.

Tiki Waka is a very nice addition to the park, yet it is a rather family-friendly ride which lacks a bit of the speed, lateral forces and airtime for which the model is actually known for.

Popcorn Revenge

Right next to the roller coaster Cobra there is the entrance to the interactive dark ride Popcorn Revenge. Located in an old cinema in the Indian-inspired Karma World themed area, the ride tells the story of Popcorn attacking the Cinema goers. The guests themselves are equipped with sirup cannons to calm the corn down. The trackless vehicles make their way through the theatre with brief stops in front of the screens of the highly themed cinemas, where most of the action takes place. Overall, the ride is very enjoyable and extremely entertaining. Well done, Walibi!

Fun Pilot

Located right next to mad house Palais du Genie and adjacent to the large children’s area Fun World, you can find the small family roller coaster Fun Pilot. The ride made by Zierer consists of two back-to-back helices and is a very fine entrance level coaster for all future enthusiasts out there.

Kondaa

Since 2021, the highlight of Walibi Belgium is the roller coaster Kondaa. The ride built by Intamin features an absolutely fantastic layout, as well as some very wacky elements.

The ride on Kondaa starts with a quick ascent to a high of 50 m. Here we take a very twisty drop to the ground, which is directly inspired by the first drop of Holiday Park’s famous Mega Coaster Expedition GeForce. The drop is followed by an airtime hill, which let you fly out of your seat. In the next valley, we drop onto our seats again before climbing a rather crocked hill, which bends to the right and impresses the riders with a unique airtime sensation. This is followed by the world’s only non-inverted Cobra Roll – an interestingly looking ride element, which offers a variety of great twisting sensations. A speed bump then leads us into a series of low to the ground curves and turnarounds followed by multiple twisted airtime hills. With a good smile on our face, we then hit the brakes.

Kondaa is an utterly brilliant roller coaster. The ride quickly became a fan favourite. The fast pacing, the high number of one-of-a-kind ride elements and the low to the ground airtime hills speak for themselves.  

Pictures Walibi Belgium

 


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The Pulsing Waters of Walibi Belgium

Preface

It is rare that a concept where you always ask yourself how it actually works is put into action. It is even rarer if this is done by a park, which has already gained quite negative experiences. Well the Doppelmayr cable car coaster Vertigo, which was put into Walibi Belgium 9 years ago, is said to be quite fun on the few open days back in May of 2008; This was nevertheless a disaster on both sides. This time, however, the ride comes from the traditional roller coaster company Mack Rides. Therefore, the chances for another debacle were rather low with Pulsar. The Power Splash can be roughly described as a shuttle coaster, i.e. a roller coaster without a closed circuit, with a watering towards the end of the journey. What should go wrong, especially when the park knows a lot about shuttle roller coasters? Nothing!

Pulsar

Thematically Pulsar represents a machine (in the form of a beating heart), whose destructive energy is derived via a roller coaster at regular intervals. The nice thing is that the visitors are the missing component to make all of that possible. The story plays in the same universe that was created to restructure Walibi Belgium in 2011; So no “F*ck Slow, #Hard Gaan”, as in the Dutch sister park. In general, the audience in Walibi Belgium is now very pleasant; but it may also be that unwanted crowds of visitors (I remember times when the cashier was regularly insulted as “fils de pute”) fail to comply with the additional security measures all around in Belgium.

After walking through the queue on the upper floor (or as a Single rider just a few meters till the turnstiles) you are already divided into one of the five rows. You store your luggage in the shelves on the right side of the station and wait for the next arriving boat. The boarding is done very quickly thanks to automatically closing lapbars, so that only a few moments pass before the 20-passenger boat – accompanied by the heartbeats of the machine – is rotated towards the actual track.

Once in position, the boat is immediately accelerated backwards over a hill. The initial scepticism about the (still) quite shallow acceleration is soon to be forgotten, as you fly over the hill. Now you pass the still unflooded water water basin and climb the vertical spike on the rear end of the ride about half of its height. At about the same speed, the return leads to the station, where you are now noticeably accelerated on the hill and neatly lifted from the seat. Now you climb the front spike of the ride up to its end. With noticeably fast speed, you cross the acceleration hill for a third time, which now tries to eject you from the ride. Back in the rear section of the ride, you climb the spike till its (slightly flattened) top. During this manoeuvre the water level in the basin is raised by 30 cm. In the meantime, the upcoming splash quickly moves back into the memory of the passengers, whereby the previously accumulated joy suddenly passes into a respectful panic. At 100 km/h, the boat now dives into the pool, which leads to a visually very impressive wave. However, this rewards the front rows of seats only with a little mist, while it can thoroughly soak the rear of the boat. Shortly thereafter you pass the hill for the last time and are slowed down to walking pace, whereupon you stop in the next valley. The turntable then turns you back to the station and the bar opens.

Pulsar is an all-round successful attraction, where you always like to get on again. The ride is just terrific and can absolutely convince just by its unusual acceleration phases over the hill. The watering is optically more impressive than it is while riding; However, it is definitely scary! Especially if you suddenly get soaked after the first rather dry ride. Hopefully more copies of this truly enhanced water ride will follow.

Pictures

Closing Words

Due to the location within Walibi Belgium, the paths in the park are now slightly optimised so that you can commute on the fastest routes between the main attractions Flashback, Psyké Underground, Pulsar and Loup Garou. Interestingly, the probability to suddenly meet an old friend of yours in the park is reduced. However, whilst waiting for another round on Pulsar I suddenly got a call from my friend David. He was in a group waiting in the normal queue and I just got on as a Single Rider. After the ride, I finally realised him in the queue, so I took another round via the single rider to actually sit with him in the same row. My plans to leave Walibi for another visit of Plopsa Coo or Plopsa Indoor Hasselt were discarded. The times to leave Walibi Belgium early are now a thing of the past. Thanks Pulsar!

 

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