Roller Coaster

A first visit to Dennlys Parc

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Over the years, the small family amusement park Dennlys Parc has grown up around an old marble sawmill. The name of the leisure park is a combination of the village name Dennebroeucq and the river that flows through it, the Lys.

Nitro

The first attraction we encounter on our tour of the park is the Nitro double roller coaster. The ride, built by Preston & Barbieri, offers two intertwined tracks on a very compact footprint, which are designed as a Möbius loop – so it is just one roller coaster with two sections.

Once all six cars have been loaded at the same time in the station, the wild ride can begin straight away. Once you reach a height of 10 m, you have enough time to enjoy the view on a long straight section before the first shot ride begins. Both sections immediately go over an airtime hill and then into a very tight upward spiral. This is followed by a leisurely zigzag course into the block brake. While the original right-hand side of the track now completes a leisurely right-hand turn and crosses the first descent, the original left-hand side immediately plunges towards the ground. A more or less undulating left-hand bend follows on both sides before the next block brake is reached. Shortly afterwards, you enter the station. As you are now on the other side, the second lap through the layout soon follows.

In principle, the Möbius roller coaster Nitro is kind of cool, if it weren’t for the generally uneventful ride and the rather poor ride characteristics. The compact design doesn’t really do the concept any good; there are now basically two very short roller coasters, but neither of them is really convincing.

Squadron 33

Directly opposite the Nitro roller coaster is the entrance to the Aerobat Squandron 33 by Technical Park. Compared to the prototype from the Parc des Combes, the ride is less cumbersome and, with a bit of luck, you can experience a very interesting ride without necessarily being upside down.

Furio

As in any good family amusement park in France, Dennlys Parc is not short of a Soquet roller coaster. The ride on Furio begins with a left-hand bend, after which the lift hill is reached. Once at the top, we enjoy the view of the surrounding area, including the Azteca dinghy slide, before plunging down into the valley. Following the left-hand bend, we climb a hill and, after a short change of direction, plummet rapidly to the ground in a 540° helix. Now we shoot over a small hill, which is followed by a very long right-hand bend in a shallow Bayernkurve style. After another change of direction, we are drawn into another dip, whereupon we reach the station again. This is immediately followed by a second lap on the generally very nice family roller coaster.

Voltigo

The last roller coaster in the park is located in a Mexican-inspired corner of the theme park, where you will also find the small interactive cinema where the film Desperado 4D is shown.

Voltigo is a compact spinning coaster from Gosetto. Like other compact spinning coasters from other manufacturers, the layout consists of a simple figure of eight. As you would expect, the gondolas get off to a good start and create a nice, leisurely spin.

Crazy River

The last major ride at Dennlys Parc is the Crazy River. This is a spinning raft by Reverchon. The ride itself is refreshing and takes you over several rapids after the initial shot, and with a bit of luck you can get quite wet.

Alcion, Icarius, Temp’O, Baie des Pirates und Vigie

The other rides at Dennlys Parc are largely from Zamperla. The Alcion boat swing, the Icarius wave swinger, the Disk’o Temp’O, the Baie des Pirates ride and the Vigie freefall tower are particularly worth mentioning, all of which have been staged very harmoniously.

Bilder Dennlys Parc

Conclusion Dennlys Parc

Dennlys Parc is a very nice, albeit very small, family amusement park in the middle of the Pas-de-Calais. Just getting to the park is a great experience and, combined with a visit to the nearby Bagatelle theme park or a day at the seaside, it makes for a really nice day out for the whole family.

 

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Dennlys Parc

A visit to Parc Bagatelle

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History of the theme park

The Parc Bagatelle in Merlimont near Berck-sur-Mer is the oldest existing theme park in France. Bit by bit, a small amusement park with wobbly bicycles, playgrounds, animal enclosures and a mini-golf course developed around the Parent family’s inn before the first rides moved into the park in the 1970s. Initially, these were still operated by the individual showmen, but with increasing success, the offer was successively expanded by own acquisitions.

In 1993, the park switched from individual tickets to a single admission price in order to continue to compete with the nearby Belgian theme parks Walibi and Bellewaerde. By the turn of the millennium, the park had reached an average of 400,000 visitors. In 2000, it was sold to the French theme park group Grévin & Cie, which merged into Compagnie des Alpes in 2006. In the same year, the zoo part of the theme park was closed as it was no longer sustainable due to the steady decline in visitor numbers. This was followed by the sale to the newly founded Looping Group in 2010.

Parc Bagatelle

Interestingly, the amusement park is reached via a generously dimensioned underpass. The entrance on the other side of this, however, is less impressive with a covered square and a small ticket office. A small square with a fountain and several colorful children’s rides await us after entering the theme park.

Past the small Kid’z Coaster, a Wacky Worm by SBF Visa, and the Twist’air wave swinger, the path leads us into the original western area of the amusement park. The park railroad station and the monorail station directly above it are located right at the entrance to the area.

River Splash

The River Splash log flume has been one of the theme park’s main attractions since 1976. The ride, built by Reverchon, impresses with its fast ride through the canal, which runs through a forest for a large part of the ride, before climbing up again for the finale, climaxing in a plunge into the cool water.

Le Raft

Past the Bag-a-Bato ride and the Grand Prix car ride, we make our way to the Rapid River Le Raft. Thanks to the nearby airfield, the decoration of the Hafema Raft Ride is kept to a minimum, but the ride itself is a highlight of the theme park thanks to the large whirlpool ride element.

Triops

Located directly on the lake at the back of the park are the Bag Pearl boat swing, the Rapido dinghy slide and the large Triops shuttle roller coaster.

Triops is the suspended version of a timeless roller coaster classic – the Vekoma Boomerang – but Invertigos wouldn’t be Invertigos if they didn’t have even more special features. Firstly, the seating arrangement allows you to reverse the order of the tried-and-tested experience and you can also watch your fellow passengers.

Just like at its former location in Sommerland Syd, the ride is absolutely great. As before, the ride is as intense as ever with great ride characteristics through the loop and the Cobra Roll and back again. It’s just great fun!

Famous Jack

If you follow the Main Street of the western area to its end, you will inevitably come across the Famous Jack spinning coaster, which stands out with its very striking front. Viewed from the side, however, the ride hardly differs from other rides of its kind. As is typical of Reverchon, the ride itself is great fun and, depending on the load of the gondola, can turn into an absolute whirlwind ride.

Les Woodies

Les Woodies, the novelty of the year, is located in the immediate vicinity of the Famous Jack roller coaster. On the Apollo Sidecar from Technical Park, you can control the swing of the small cars yourself, which makes for a very fun ride.

Splash Factory

Splash Factory, the park’s second log flume, is located in the middle of the forest. Since 2000, this small ride from L&T Systems has been impressing visitors with its single shot ride and incredibly high level of wetness.

Spirale Express

The small family roller coaster Spirale Express is somewhat unusual for a Soquet roller coaster. After a steep curve, the ride leads over a curved hill, the exit of which has a distinct kink in its appearance, which is also quite interesting to ride and throws you back and forth in the car. This is followed by a second lift and a long Bavarian bend close to the bottom. Shortly afterwards, you reach the station again, whereupon you set off on a second lap through the generally quite nice layout.

Gaz’Express

Directly opposite the Zamperla Air Race Silver Wings is the entrance to the Gaz’Express roller coaster. From 1987 to 2005, the ride ran through an elaborate mountain massif with several interesting water features to match its Mine Train design. This was removed in 2006, after which the ride operated as Bouzouc and Bag Express and appeared rather bleak overall. This changed in 2019 when the ride reopened as the Gaz Express with an impressive industrial look.

The ride on the Gaz’Express begins with a right-hand turn, which immediately leads us into the ride’s lift. Once at the top, a longer helix awaits us, in which we build up some speed over one and a half laps before entering into the first drop. This takes us through a house and over a lake with quite a bit of momentum. The trail then leads us into another building in a wide right-hand bend. Inside the building, which is reminiscent of a gasometer, we now complete several laps in a descending helix. At full speed, we then make our way over a small hill and into an uphill right-hand bend. Back in daylight, we then enter the water tunnel, although this effect is only visual. After another left-right turn, we reach the station completely dry, whereupon the ride on this extremely interesting Soquet roller coaster unfortunately comes to an end.

Pictures Parc Bagatelle

Conclusion Parc Bagatelle

Parc Bagatelle is a very mixed park. Sometimes it shows its age, sometimes it convinces with really nicely designed corners and rides. At least there doesn’t seem to be a common thread, which means that it has always retained its 70s charm and is therefore very reminiscent of theme parks such as Rasti-Land or Avonturenpark Hellendoorn, which also belongs to the same group. There is definitely potential at Parc Bagatelle, but it should be exploited with clear demarcation of the themed areas and a revision of the older rides. The Looping Group is currently demonstrating quite impressively that it can do this at Drayton Manor Theme Park. In other words, Bagatelle, we may see each other again at some point.

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Parc Bagatelle

The exotic additions of Walibi Belgium

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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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Walibi Belgium