Walibi Holland
Since my last visit in 2009 a lot has been done within the park which is now known as Walibi Holland. The whole Walibi group got a makeover and offers a new leitmotiv theme. Also, the park’s boomerang roller coaster was reactivated.
If you enter Walibi Holland before 10 am you will not be entertained by the ingenious opening ceremony anymore. On the main stage in front of the giant wheel there is a small welcoming by Walibi and Co, where they made a small advertisement for their new show Rockstars: The Battle.
Enterprise
Since the crowd made their way to Speed of Sound right from the start, we were drawn to the SLC prototype El Condor. However, the ride had some start-up problems, which is why we moved on to Goliath. We didn’t know that our first ride of the day would take place in a HUSS Enterprise, which was clearly seeking for passagers. An interesting feature of the ride is that the gondolas are from the former Walibi Belgium version and the rest of the ride is still original.
Space Shot
After the ride we went to the S&S Space Shot nearby, which now have a suitable background music since last season. Experience has shown that these towers break down very quickly. Later in the day there was a ride with an unintentionally long ride program, where the car rose a few feet up and then came back gently to the ground and then stood still for 15 minutes in total.
Goliath
After referring to Goliath in the last report from the park, I have to change my mind in this report. The ride is just fun and offers the strangest kind of airtime I could experience so far on a roller coaster. Back in 2009 only Stengel Dive could me, as the train was only able to creep along the track. This year however even the curves could push one into the seat. A big compliment goes to the probably most batty operator of the world, who not only wishes you a good trip, but also wishes you a nice trip during the departure of the train.
Robin Hood
Another highlight in my opinion is the wooden roller coaster Robin Hood, which convinced me right away two years ago. In terms of wooden roller coasters Vekoma has actually done everything right, it’s quite a wonder that there are only three ever build. Riding a wooden roller coaster over and over again at the end of the visit is always a wonderful activity to end a nice day properly.
Merlin’s Magic Castle
In Merlin’s Magic Castle – one of the most beautiful Mad houses by Vekoma – everything was great. In addition to the wonderful preshow, as well as the atmospheric music, one of the best main rooms of this ride type awaits you in here. Be sure to try!
Crazy River and Rattlesnake
In the western area of Walibi Holland you will find with Crazy River one of the best log flume courses in the world, which however was slightly to dry. Next to the VISA SBF Frisbee with a really bad ride program you can find the roller coaster, which was formerly known as Woks Waanzin: The Zierer Tivoli Medium named Rattlesnake. The ride uses the old waiting area of the Flying Dutchman Gold Mine roller coaster, which is now based in the french amusement park Mer de Sable (nearby Paris).. The train with a new front and new tail adapt well in its new place.
Splash Battle
Of course a rafting and log flume are not enough for water soakers, so the park offers a splash battle battle. Typically for a Preston & Barbieri Splash Battle Ride most of the water canons in the boats are not working. But, the ride itself even gets you wetter if you can’t defend yourself and that’s actually a good thing.
Spinning Vibe
Just like two years ago, the HUSS Magic did not lift its arms on the day of visit. Strangely enough, this feature worked wonderfully at the start of the season. The ride was long and quite intense, as the ride was manually controlled.
Speed of Sound
Now we come to the former Italian theme area of Walibi Holland, where we find next to a wave swinger with tight clearance profile (the trees are pretty close), a talking well – which also likes to get the visitors wet –, the Boomerang roller coaster Speed of Sound. The roller coaster was completely re-branded this year and fitted with a new train. The result is overwhelming. Although the ride is not the smoothest of its kind – this is still the Cobra in Walibi Belgium – the new restraining system completely prevents you from any slaps of any kind. However, you have to get used to the tight-fitting vest.
The sound system of the Boomerang initially struggled with some difficulties and so not all segments of the song were played. But this was fixed after some time and so you could enjoy the whole song. In addition to the onboard sound you are confronted in the station with a earworm producing sound. The Compagnie des Alpes has done everything right with this ride and so we can only hope that other parks will follow soon after.
El Rio Grande
Since the rapid ride El Rio Grande was still being prepared for the season in April 2009, I was looking forward to my first trip on one of the only two Vekoma rapid rides ever produced. From all rapid rides ever build, this one offers the more accurate sensation of a truly white water rafting. With a bit of luck, you can even get wet.
El Condor
Let’s move on to Mexico, where you can ride the prototype of all suspended looping coasters from Vekoma in addition to a bumper car and a rather weak flat ride with sombrero hats. The techno sound has left the station and so you are sonicated with a soundtrack suitable for the area. The ride itself is good, though not necessarily meant for tender minds.
Rockstars: The Battle
Now we come to the show Rockstars: The Battle, which was dominated by Themepark.nl, as the Dutch forum had a meeting in Walibi Holland. Unfortunately the show was not that good, even though the Skunx performed well. In general, you have to say that the costumes give the wearers a large degree of freedom., they even could break-dance. After all these changes, I foresee a very bright future for Walibi and his brother Squad.
Pictures Walibi Holland
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Walibi Holland near Biddinghuizen in the beautiful Flevoland is one of the largest theme parks in the Netherlands. Founded in 1971, the amusement park can look back on an eventful past. When the park reopened in 1994 as Walibi Flevo under the leadership of the Belgian Walibi Group, nobody could have foreseen that a few years later the group would be taken over by Premier Parks, who would then operate the park as Six Flags Holland and expand it massively. With the takeover by the Compagnie des Alpes, the company returned to its original roots.
Fun Fact #2: As the train of the roller coaster La Via Volta was used on the roller coaster Wipeout in the English Pleasurewood Hills, the Boomerang stood around unused for several years. It wasn’t until the redesign to Speed of Sound in 2012 that the ride was put back into operation.
