Tag: Boomerang

The park in Fiesta, Texas

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It may be the Six Flags park with the most exotic name, as Fiesta Texas basically invites you for a good time with the Mexican background of Texas in mind; but the truth sometimes can be rather simple: Six Flags Fiesta Texas is a theme park in Fiesta, Texas. You simply cannot miss the exit to the park.

History of Six Flags Fiesta Texas

Before Six Flags Fiesta Texas became a thing, it started as a theme park by the Gaylord Entertainment Company – which back at the time was big in business operating their Opryland USA theme park in Nashville, Tennessee – and the USAA Real Estate Company. The site of the park, a depleted limestone quarry, was available for development in 1988. Despite the great competition by the Houston based theme park Six Flags Astro World and the Arlington based Six Flags Over Texas, both companies saw enough potential to develop a theme park in the San Antonio area – which was also due to the stable growth in the industry. The park opened to the public in 1992. Four years later, Time Warner took over the management of Fiesta Texas and changed the name to Six Flags Fiesta Texas. With Premier Parks purchasing Six Flags in 1998, they also bought the park of USAA.

Tour of the park Six Flags Fiesta Texas

Without any doubt, this park is impressive. Even the drive towards the parking offers a beautiful view. I used my platinum membership for preferred parking, as this was my last visit to a Six Flags park this year; even though I would not have needed it. With a great view onto the amazing looking water park White Water Bay, we now enter the park.

Due to its location, nearly all park guests directly head to the inverted roller coaster Goliath or the Boomerang roller coaster. I, on the other hand, was on a mission. As I did not have the time to collect my membership bottle the day before at Six Flags Over Texas, I directly went on the search for the membership services office. After some time and with a refillable bottle in my hands, it was time for the rides.

Bugs’ White Water Rapids, Whistle Stop Train and the Gully Washer

As a German, I always enjoyed the Spassburg section of the park with its funny ride names like the Rollschuhcoaster. Sadly, most of the names changed over the years. I was looking forward for a ride on Bugs’ White Water Rapids, Six Flags Fiesta Texas’ log flume. Unfortunately, this O.D. Hopkins ride was still under refurbishment for the season.

Instead, we get on the Whistle Stop Train at the Pilger Bahnhof and enjoy a round trip through the front sections of the park towards our next stop: The Gully Washer. This Intamin rapid ride features a nice journey along the quarry wall. It is a lovely themed rafting without any big highlights. The waterfall near the end of the ride was not used on my day of visit, so you can remain dry on your ride.

Road Runner Express

Next stop is the Road Runner Express where we experience the park’s preference for high elevated stations, which are only accessible via a network of ramps, for the first time. The ride itself is a mine train roller coaster by Arrow Dynamics. It is the latest one of its kind featuring a fast paced ride above and along Six Flags Fiesta Texas’ quarry wall.

After the lift hill climb, the ride immediately starts with a small drop into a turn to the left. After being tilted more and more to the side, the train shoots down its first major drop into a highly banked curve. After a forceful valley, we now race towards a camelback and then pass an upwards helix into the second lift. On top of the quarry wall, we take another turn to the left. After a short straight, we now perform a U-turn before reaching the edge of the cliff. In a wild cliffhanger manoeuvre, we perform a Figure-eight style combination of helices before reaching the brakes in full speed.

The Road Runner Express is a very fine mine train roller coaster. The coaster is very fast and forceful, but still family friendly. Its location is simply awesome and its appearance from the outside is nearly perfect, although is doesn’t feature any decorations whatsoever. It is a shame, that no one has bought another version of this kind of mine train roller coaster after this installation.

Iron Rattler

Right next door you can find one of the most legendary roller coasters out there: The Iron Rattler. Before this roller coaster became the second RMC masterpiece, it used to be the longest and highest wooden roller coaster out there. With a daredevil first drop and a lot of exciting elements along the 5080 ft long track, this coaster was not for chickens or structural engineers with concerns on the ride’s static. In other words: The coaster was famous for its highly visible vibrations of its support structure and its modest ride comfort. Nowadays, the coaster provides a fun and exciting ride loosely following the path of the original layout.

We start our journey with an excellent view onto the mine train roller coaster Road Runner Express. After a turn we reach the ride’s lift hill. Immediately after reaching the maximum height of 179 ft, we drop down 171 ft following a twisted path of pure madness featuring a maximum angle of 81°. Following the path along the quarry wall, we now enter an airtime filled camelback before reaching the second highest point of the ride. With great momentum we now go over hill and dale before we plunge down the cliff once more. Following a valley, we climb and twist ourselves upwards, which culminates in the first and only inversion of the ride. After being screwed up by the Iron Rattler, we race along a series of harmonically optimised hills, before dropping down the wall a last time. With no contact to our seats, we hit the next valley hard before a curve through a tunnel leads us into the brake run of the ride.

If the Iron Rattler would be slightly longer, it would be my favourite ride. It is not as forceful as other roller coasters by RMC, but it is a very repeatable ride experience featuring amazing elements and a beautiful Zero-G roll. The first drop is insane and everything else is great – it just could be slightly longer.

Goliath

The next roller coaster in our list on the other hand is a very solid ride and doesn’t need to be longer. We now move back to the entrance of the park for a ride on Goliath, Six Flags Fiesta Texas’ inverted coaster. Before coming to Texas, this B&M roller coaster was located for some years in the Japanese theme park Thrill Valley before being relocated to Six Flags New Orleans. Due to its elaborated design, the coaster survived Hurricane Katrina back in 2005. After a refurbishment, the ride was installed at its current location in 2008.

Goliath is the third installation of a B&M inverted roller coaster with the Batman layout in Texas. Surprisingly, there aren’t any other suspended roller coasters in Texas, which really shows the passion of the Texans to this specific layout. Especially, the people of San Antonio must be huge fans, since two of the three installations can be ridden over here. Goliath is still something special as it is the only one featuring the mirrored layout and one of the longest and strangest ramps you can find within the park. Apart of that, the Goliath features a highly forceful ride through both of loops and the corkscrews.

Boomerang Coast to Coaster

A similar forceful ride can be found at Six Flags Fiesta Texas’ Boomerang roller coaster simply called Boomerang or Boomerang Coast to Coaster if you really want to be precise. It is a very pleasant and smooth ride – although I would recommend to only ride it after the morning rush. Along with Walibi Belgium’s Cobra, this Boomerang is one of the best ones out there and should not be skipped.

Superman Krypton Coaster

Following the paths towards the other side of the park, we now enter the queue for Superman Krypton Coaster – Six Flags Fiesta Texas’ signature roller coaster. It once featured the highest inversion of all roller coasters; a record which was being hold for a very long time till it was broken by the same company in 2013. As one of the first floorless coasters by B&M, Superman Krypton Coaster features a wild and exciting ride experience.

After a short turn, the train quickly climbs up the lifthill. Once arrived at the top of the quarry wall, we enjoy the view onto the shopping centre The Shops at La Cantera before dropping down an increasingly steep curve. Pressed into our seats, we now race through the first valley before entering the ride’s large loop. After another valley along the quarry wall, we decide to have a closer look on top of it. In a helix, we now race along the surface before plunging down to the ground level once again. In a giant Zero-G roll we turn ourselves upside down the second time, followed by an equally giant Cobra Roll element. A curve to the left leads us upwards and a short curve to the right directs us directly into the block brake section of the ride. Without any noteworthy reduction of the speed we enter the next drop which leads us into the first of the two corkscrews. After a short curve we hit the second one. Another curve and a short hill then lead us into the final brake of the ride.

Superman Krypton Coaster is a great and forceful ride. It features an interesting and unique layout with a great selection of inverting elements. In my mind, I always have to compare it with Parque Warner’s Superman – la attración de Acero (ride of steel) in San Martin de la Vega nearby Madrid, Spain as they are very similar rides with Superman Krypton Coaster being slightly weaker due to its lack of airtime. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed my ride on the Krypton Coaster.

Batman – The Ride

Since we could not yet spend the visit with the DC villains, as the Giant Discovery Joker was not yet delivered and the Super-Villains Swing was not yet reassembled, we focused on the Dark Knight instead. Batman – The Ride was the first ever S&S Free Spin roller coaster and an initial success for Six Flags. With many of these rides being build basically everywhere, I was very interested to have a look at the prototype, especially since my ride on The Joker a day earlier at Six Flags Over Texas was absolutely nuts. After waiting a quite long time due to a breakdown of the ride I finally came to the conclusion, that this ride simply cannot be judged properly. The ride’s comfort is always good, but the experience varies by every ride. My ride on Batman – The ride was just okay. It could have been better, but it also could be much worse. Overall, this marble track roller coaster is quite interesting due to the used technology, which cannot be found on later installations.

The Poltergeist of Rockville

Batman – The ride is in the Rockville section of the park, which just looks awesome. The 50’s are back and brought some great rides with it – although none of them are from this time period. I really love the look of Six Flags Fiesta Texas’ teacup ride Hustler and the S&S combo tower Scream. Unluckily, the free fall tower was just operating one of the towers, which lead to a long waiting time. I also like the look of the spaghetti bowl roller coaster Poltergeist, which I could not test due to a breakdown around noon. The layout of this launch roller coaster simply looks nice and features some very exciting elements.

Fiesta Bay Boardwalk and Pirates of the Deep Sea

The last area of the park is the Fiesta Bay Boardwalk, home to a great selection of classic American flat rides. Next to the modern Tilt-a-Whirl Spinsanity, the Twister Waverunner, a Fireball and a Ferris Wheel you can find with Pirates of the Deep Sea a newly redesigned Sally dark time. The makeover of the old Scooby Doo Ghostblasters ride is just excellent. The ride fits into the theme of the area, although it doesn’t feel like a cheap tourist trap you properly find on a real seaside pier. Well done, Six Flags!

Pandemonium

At the end of the pier you can find the spinning roller coaster Pandemonium. I was quite confused by the queue of the ride, since it looks way longer than it is. People are always queuing from the start of the pier and therefore you can or would expect a very long waiting time. Especially since the ride by the German manufacturer Gerstlauer only features 4-seater cars. At the end, I did not wait as long as I thought it would be, which is quite positive. The ride itself gave me the spin of my lifetime, although I was the only one in the car.

Interestingly, when exiting the ride, you find yourself below the pier on the same level as the Gokart-track of Six Flags Fiesta Texas.

Wonder Woman Golden Lasso Coaster

The last attraction on our list is the Golden Lasso Coaster featuring Wonder Woman. As the actual name (Wonder Woman Golden Lasso Coaster) is quite long, I reduce it to either the Golden Lasso Coaster or Wonder Woman throughout my review.

The Golden Lasso Coaster was the first installation of an RMC raptor track roller coaster, which reintroduces a very old idea back into the roller coaster market: The monorail roller coaster. Due to its track design you are free to add very tight and compact elements to your layout. Of course, this doesn’t come without downsides, as the seating arrangement within the cars is not optimal for a great throughput. The focus on the heartline gives you an excellent and very thrilling ride, but the trains itself let you wait in line for quite some time.

After boarding the vehicle, the ride starts with a very fast climb to the top of the lift hill. Once we reached the top, the train descents a small drop and moves through a curve. We now hit a small hill after which the vertical drop of the ride awaits us. As the top of the hill is very tight, we are immediately thrown out of our seats and experience an amazing airtime filled drop shortly after. Faster than we could possibly imagine, we already hit the next valley and make our way towards the top of the Dive Loop. A second later we twist ourselves sideways in a large camelback. Another second later, we initiate a curvy incline leading into the second airtime filled drop. This is followed by a Cutback element and a classic Corkscrew. After another curve we already slam into the brakes and the 50s long journey of endless insanity comes to an end.

Wonder Woman features the best roller coaster of any DC superheroes up to date. This ride is absolutely awesome and the best RMC roller coaster I’ve ridden so far. You simply cannot describe the insanity of the Golden Lasso Coaster – you have to experience it. It is just awesome.

Pictures Six Flags Fiesta Texas

Conclusion Six Flags Fiesta Texas

Six Flags Fiesta Texas is a very nice theme park with a great selection of roller coasters, flat rides and shows. As the park’s offer was somewhat reduced, I can only conditionally recommend a visit at Easter. I really would like to come back to test all the rides I missed during my visit and have a look at the water park White Water Bay and the night-time spectacle Celebrate!. Till then I’m looking forward to my next visit in the San Antonio area.

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Six Flags Fiesta Texas / Texas Round-Up Day 3

WAA!!! Walibi à la française

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History of Walibi Rhône-Alpes

À chacun son WAA!! While I’m looking for the book by Dominique Fallon to entertain you with some lively facts about the entry of Avenirland in France, you can already be amused about the great phonetic cry from Walibi Rhône-Alpes. Eddy Meeùs, founder of the Belgian amusement park Walibi and exclusive distributor of waterskiing facilities in Belgium, was offered a share in the French amusement park Avenirland near Les Avenières in 1981. This rather small amusement park near Lyon offered since 1979 a small collection of rides from Mack and Soquet in a – not necessarily matching the name – western setting. Meeùs and a French amusement ride manufacturer first took over 40% of the shares, before they each owned 50% just two years later.  Differences of opinion between the two parties led to Meeùs holding all the shares by the end of 1985.

1986 saw the opening of Aqualibi, the first water park in the group. Although there were already plans to build a swimming pool in Wavre in 1975, these were never realised due to a lack of funds. Ten years later Dominique Fallon visited the Duinrell amusement park with its brand new Tikibad, and the idea for the Aqualibi water park was born in Belgium. Eddy Meeùs himself could only be convinced of the idea in January 1986. After that, everything actually happened very quickly. Both Aqualibis opened in a tight time frame, although the French water park would only be open during the summer months due to its location and therefore was rather sparse compared to the Belgian Aqualibi – which at the time was the status quo for water parks in Belgium.

Two years later the park received its first large roller coaster, the Boomerang.  However, the lack of visitors almost meant the end for the amusement park. The park had an image problem and Dominique Fallon had the solution. The Walibi brand was known throughout France through extensive advertising on the Luxembourg radio station RTL – although the advertising was always aimed at the Francophone Belgians – and the new rapid river, the Radja River, was on everyone’s lips. So Avenirland was to get its own Radja River, and the park was to be renamed Walibi Rhône-Alpes. Within one year the number of visitors increased from 250000 to 450000.

The 1990s were characterised by the rapid growth of the Walibi Group, while Walibi Rhône-Alpes stagnated somewhat in terms of visitor numbers. In 1997, a large part of the group was sold to Premier Parks (with the exception of the two Brussels attractions Mini Europe and Océade which were henceforth managed by Thierry Meeùs). During the Six Flags era, the number of visitors stabilised again at 400,000. This was followed in 2004 by the takeover by Star Parks, a chain of theme parks created by Palamon Capital Partners. In 2006, it was sold to Grévin & Cie, the current theme park division of Compagnie des Alpes.

From then on, Paris had the say and the first action was the massive expansion of the Aqualibi water park. It also received a new name with L’île aux Pirates. In 2011, the park’s biggest innovation followed, when the cuddly kangaroo was given its own universe and was then given a much more modern appearance. As a result, the water park also regained its original name. Large parts of Walibi Rhône-Alpes were redesigned and were now based on the leitmotif around the two fictional bands WAB and The SkunX. Even if the overall reorientation was only short-lived, it was groundbreaking.

Nowadays, the decision-making power on the orientation of the amusement park is no longer exclusively in Paris, which allows the individual parks to develop according to their own needs. The fact that a new attraction has been offered every year in Rhône-Alpes for the past seven years is a very interesting development. Not every park is able to perfectly adapt its novelties to the themed area in question.

Tour of the park

Dock n Roll and Hurricane

So it is hardly surprising that I was absolutely thrilled by the park right after entering the newly created entrance area. Walibi Rhône-Alpes is downright stylish, which is also due to the newly created Festival City themed area with its Rockin’ Tug Dock n Roll and Vertical Swing Hurricane, as well as the park’s 4D cinema. Unfortunately, the chain flyer was still under construction at the time of the visit; I liked the design idea with the multitude of fans very much.

Bamba

For dramaturgical reasons, we are now moving counter-clockwise through Walibi Rhône-Alpes. We will soon come across the original principal area of the park, the actual western town. Nowadays, this area is of course very colourful to match the look of Morvan’s, L’Hermenier’s and Wuyes’ comic strip. The area boasts a wide variety of restaurants and family rides, including a merry-go-round, a vintage car ride and a bumper car, as well as two faster rides. The first of these is the Mack Rides Calypso Bamba, which offered a solid, albeit monotonous, ride and, at almost 40 years of age, is still able to thrill the family crowd.

Skunx Tower

The main attraction in this area is the Skunx Tower, which at the time was placed in the park by Premier Parks as the Totem Infernal. This 57m high launch freefall tower from S&S Power does what a freefall tower from the company in the Space Shot programme does and takes you to the top of the park with a good dose of speed. Once there, however, something happens that you would never expect and you are transported to the shoulder restraints. Airtime olé! Needless to say that you get out of the ride with a big grin on your face and if the queue at such a tower wasn’t always so long, you’d get back on board in no time. A great tower that you should not miss!

Aqualibi

Following the paths, we cross the tracks of the park railway and have a look at the water park Aqualibi from the outside. It was not in operation at that time of the year and also the interesting looking slide Coursaire was located on a site next to the water park. Actually I always wanted to go to Walibi Rhône-Alpes to test the park and the water park, but now I was a bit too early. But that doesn’t matter, because the water park will be massively extended in the near future in order to entertain the guests as an independent water park just like in Wavre. I am very interested in the tube slide with the constantly narrowing curve diameter.

Bambooz River

Directly opposite the entrance to the pool is the modern log flume Bambooz River by Interlink and Soquet. Built in 2012, this ride was the first new attraction since the rebranding. The ride stands around relatively naked in the area, but is impressively adorned by larger steel sculptures. The ride features two shots of different heights, with the smaller one also featuring a double downhill run. Both are wet. In fact, the Bambooz River can really soak you, which is great and desirable. Unfortunately, however, you are not allowed to do any of the water rides in the French CDA parks on your own, which is why I only left it at one ride, which seems strange, especially on the next ride on our park tour.

Tam Tam Aventure

We are now embarking on a French classic, the Tam Tam Tour or Tam Tam Aventure, as the eternally long boat trip is called after its transformation. As I know the ride from Walibi Aquitaine – today’s Walibi Sud-Ouest – I was very curious to see whether the ride would drive you crazy with the monotonous croaking of countless frogs. It turned out differently. Very much so, in fact.

Since I was not allowed to go alone in the boat, but was the only one far and wide at visiting time, I was allowed to wait a little bit for other passengers. It was a good thing that within a few minutes a big crowd of girls passed by at a bachelor party. There was singing, trumpeting and of course drumming, after all there are drums built into the boats especially for that purpose. Actually, you are supposed to drum in the appropriate rhythm to the built-in film scenes – but nobody really does that. The trip itself has a great visual impact, the scenes are really creative and funny. The narrator is also highly ironic. This is really a lot of fun and gives the old boat trip a right to exist.

Coccinelle

Speaking of the right to exist, let’s now move on to the Coccinelle. Since 1992, this classic ladybird coaster in its largest version has been entertaining park guests from Walibi Rhône-Alpes. As always, the roller coaster with the layout of a side-by-side double eight knew how to convince, but unfortunately the track was only used for a single lap. This is of course a bit of a pity, after all these rides are predestined for a multiple lap operation.

Mini Ferme and Les plongeurs de l’extrême

I spent an unexpectedly long time at the Mini Ferme, a small domestic animal zoo. It is vividly designed and yet surprisingly spacious. It’s amazing how many French family parks have such an area, the Mini Ferme here in Walibi Rhône-Alpes is one of the most beautiful examples and is especially suitable for families with small children to spend the time or at least to use the time until the next wet side story. Les plongeurs de l’extrême offer a great and absolutely worth seeing Acapulco Cliff Diver Show.

Gold River

Let’s now turn to the Radja River rapid river, which has belonged to the Explorer Adventure theme area since the construction of the MonORrail – at least parts of which run above it – and has been called Gold River ever since. In contrast to the original from Belgium, the Radja River is a Soquet product with eight seats per boat. However, the trip through the rapids is quite leisurely and without a major highlight.

On the other hand, I was quite taken with the monorail running above it. This monorail, also made by Soquet, scores with unusual insights into the park’s Vekoma Boomerang, as well as with a terrific smoothness. A truly great ride.

Le Galion

Past the park’s large amphitheatre, which is only used in the summer months, the attraction now moves more and more towards the Timber wooden roller coaster! But before that, we dedicate ourselves to Le Galion, after all we are in France. This HUSS swing ship would not be worth mentioning if the seats were not separated by seat dividers, so that even small children can ride on each seat absolutely safely. As these seat dividers were never used on a Pirat, I was quite astonished.

Timber!

“It’s going down, I’m yelling timber! You better move, you better dance”. Someone must have liked the song by Pitbull quite a bit, because the exclamation Timber! was certainly not known to any Frenchman before. So it’s all the nicer to have a Montagne russe en bois with lots of timbres in the park. The manufacturer of this beauty is the American Gravity Group, the founders of which were previously responsible for numerous works by Custom Coaster International, or CCI for short. For some time now, the company has been building mainly smaller wooden roller coasters, which makes them especially interesting for small to medium-sized amusement parks. So it’s no wonder that Walibi Rhône-Alpes took up the business back then.

The wild ride in the short trains starts quite quickly with the ascent of the only 17m high lift hill. After a tight turning curve, the train rushes down mercilessly over the far too narrow hilltop, accompanied by appropriate music. With plenty of airtime we complete the first drop of the ride as well as the following hill, which is quite close to the ground. After a short bend to the left we wind our way up over three tops, once in one direction and then inclined in the other direction, and are torn out of our seats every time. In a right-hand bend close to the ground we approach the park boundary, shoot over a very flat hill once more and turn around. Below the third hilltop we now perform a wild and airy turning manoeuvre. Just after that we make another turn and fly over a hill shortly after. A series of smaller hills follows immediately after a right turn, whereby the speed is reduced a little in a trim brake. Before you know it you reach the braking distance of the ride and the short and wild ride comes to an end.

Timber! is an extraordinarily great roller coaster, which has been fantastically staged and scores with its extremely powerful ride. If you compare the ride of the roller coaster with the wooden roller coasters of the manufacturer GCI which are better known in this country, Gravity Group’s ride here is quite a statement. Unfortunately there is one small detail on the ride that spoils the fun a bit and that are the trains! Timberliners may be justified, especially since they allow smaller children to ride safely. But what on earth are the blinkers on the sides of the train for? I’ll let the manufacturer get away with the stupid construction of the stirrups, because they are actually only clumsy, but the blinkers are very restrictive. You just don’t sit comfortably. Nevertheless, a good ride – but not my highlight because of the trains used.

Woodstock Express

Passing the Zamperla Barnyard Volt-O-Vent we are now heading for the Wild Mouse Woodstock Express. This Italian mouse coaster construction from the house of Zamperla offers a similar ride pleasure as the rides from L&T Systems, but with a small, but extremely fine difference right at the beginning of the ride. While the other mice escort their passengers in a right-hand bend into the lift hill of the ride, the Zamperla Mouse shoots out of the station on a short gradient before the lift makes a big noise. As I already knew this behaviour from Walibi Sud-Ouest, I was accordingly riding by and supported myself from the backrest until the moment in question. This was followed by an absolutely butter-soft ride, for which I was always happy to get in line.

EqWalizer

Passing the boat slide Surf Music, we now go to the last roller coaster of the park and my personal favourite: the Vekoma Boomerang EqWalizer. Now you might ask yourself, why of all things a Boomerang should be better than a crazy and extremely powerful wooden roller coaster. The answer is simple: The train.

Vekoma Boomerangs are per se extremely funny roller coasters, which can easily convince on both forward and reverse ride through cobra roll and looping; as long as they ride well and at least that is what they are good for in Europe. Of course there are better roller coasters, but when a Boomerang suddenly comes along without shoulder restraints, you have to be in a pretty good position to compete against such a ride. The unusually high level of freedom on the Sunkid trains is a great benefit for the ride and makes you hungry for repeat rides. And here in the park you don’t have to pay 5€ every time like on the Vienna Prater.  However, I also have some minor points of criticism regarding the EqWalizer, which at least partly concern the ride, but do not diminish its quality. For example, getting into the second row of seats in a car is an extremely tight procedure, which could certainly be optimised with a slightly different lap bar shape. Altogether a great coaster!

Pictures Walibi Rhône-Alpes

Conclusion Walibi Rhône-Alpes

Walibi Rhône-Alpes was – as the last remaining Walibi Park – on my bucket list for quite some time now and fortunately, thanks to the upcoming novelties, it has been back on the list for quite some time. The park has a great charm and convinces with its really coherent overall concept. The park also has a very pleasant audience, which further strengthens the family park character. It was also nice to meet the bachelor party troop again and again, who really thanked me every time for the ride with them on Tam Tam Aventure. In any case, I couldn’t have imagined a better start for my roller coaster trip, although the Yukon Quad roller coaster celebrated its premiere in Le Pal on the same day, but we’ll look at it in the next review.

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Tron-Tron-Trône Day 1 / Walibi Rhône-Alpes

The Pulsing Waters of Walibi Belgium

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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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