dumbdumb
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Voltron
Just got back from four days doing Walibi Holland, Efteling, Walibi Belgium & Toverland. Quick thoughts on the parks and rides I did:
Walibi Holland (Wed)
Untamed is amazing and easily the best in the park and when of the best I've ever ridden, but what is with those shin restraints??
Speed of Sound A tunnel and onboard audio makes Boomerangs better!
Lost Gravity is brilliant and was a complete surprise. 2nd at this park.
Xpress: Platform 13 has a great queue line and launch and then quite a pointless layout when done outdoors.
Yoy Chill is best, Thrill is fun, but I found both quite janky
Goliath is a beast in the back row. Great layout, but the helices made me want to spew. 3rd at this park
Blast is an original Top Spin on acid. My eyes were shaking when I got off
Merlin's Magic Castle was a very effective madhouse with a more 'intense' cycle.
Space Shot packs a punch.
Crazy River is a great log ride.
Grand Roue provided great views, but only went round once.
Avoided Condor, and the Rapids were closed.
Park overall: Really enjoyed this park. Operations and theming could be better, but it did what it did well and has some amazing rides.
Efteling (Thu)
Baron 1898 (luckily it re-opened on the day of our visit) was so well made. Smooth, short and sweet, with a brilliant preshow and station.
Python was so smooth and surprisingly intense.
Danse Macabre Wow. Everything about this was stunning and effective.
Pagode is a lovely flying island. I love these rides.
Vogel Rok had more wonderful theming and is a great indoor coaster.
Joris en de Draak Both sides were so much fun. Not standouts but solid.
De Viligende Hollander was the surprise of the trip and easily my favourite ride in Efteling. Everything about it is atmospheric and exciting. The indoor section is brilliant.
Symbolica is a technical marvel but I left it feeling a bit underwhelmed by the experience. I don't know if it was the sequence or if I just didn't get it.
Fata Morgana I loved this ride. The music, the sheer scale of it. It felt nostalgic and very classic.
Droomvulch was another surprise. The set pieces, the ride system and the finale. Charming.
Villa Volta While the room is not that visual with no central set piece, the cycle, pre shows and music made up for it. Second to Hex.
Piraña is a great rapids ride. Felt old school and wild, like the old Grand Canyon Rapids at Alton Towers.
Closed: Carnival Festival.
Park overall: This was up there with Phantasialand and Europa Park. The atmosphere and experience were brilliant and all the rides were good, but the theming, staff and available food, shops and side experiences made it exceptional. Definitely needed two days, but we changed to one when we thought Baron would be closed. Didn't even get chance to venture in to the Fairytale Forest or ride the flat rides.
Walibi Belgium (Fri)
Kondaa is world class. Highlight of the trip. Insane airtime. I did not touch the seat on nearly all of the drops (back row right). It joins Voltron and El Toro in my Top 3.
Mecalodon Brilliant, long family coaster with amazing theming and layout.
Pulsar was another surprise of the trip. Forceful, fun and a little intimidating.
Turbine It was nice to get on 'Thunder Looper' again (I know the actual one is in Brazil). Much more intense than I expected.
Flashback Exactly the same layout as Crazy River at Walibi Holland.
Palais du Genie Good preshow and madhouse but without the effective part where the room and swing move at the same time in the same direction to look like you're not moving but feel something else.
Radja River 12-seater rapids with huge waves.
Popcorn Revenge Fun, short with good theming. Good for something different to do.
Cobra Smooth first inversion on a Boomerang, but a very rough second hill and backward journey. I have a soft spot for these, having grown up on The Missile at American Adventure after bottling it in the queue for Cobra at the West Midland Safari Park in 1990.
Loup Garou Burn it down and start again, Awful. Layout was pretty good, but it rode terribly.
Tiki Waka So much fun
Dalton Terror This thing is big and intimidating and reminded me of my last time on Apocalypse about 15 years ago.
Calamity Mine Decent Mine Train, but nowhere near Colorado Adventure.
Challenge of Tutankhamen A brilliant dark ride that would be better without the guns (although they are the point).
Park overall: Really well themed, feels ambitious, well maintained and friendly. Just need to bulldoze Loup Garou and Vampire (which seemed open but was no longer on the app) and build another world-class ride.
Toverland (Sat)
Troy Lateral machine. One of the trip highlights, but Wodan edges it.
Booster Bike Quirky and fun, but one and done. Haven't been to Flamingoland since 1995, so this was a new experience.
Dwervelwind Surprisingly forceful and fun spinner.
Fenix The setting and queue theming are amazing. It feels grand. The airtime hill is fun and the helix around the Sky Fly is a grey out area. Loved this one.
Dragon Watch Great view of Avalon from here and a charming ride.
Pixarus I have never successfully flipped one of these, but this one looked great and was themed beyond.
Merlin’s Quest Another suprise of the trip. A nice sit down with views and an awesome dark ride section.
Djenge River Another well themed rapids, but not as wild as Tripsdrill's (same boat design/manufacturer). These boats that split and have the water go through them are great.
Expedition Zork Another decent reversing flume ride.
Maximus Blitz Bahn This was the most fun I had on the whole trip. such a scream. Shame it is going, but I think it's replacement will keep the vibe.
Dragon Flagen Short but fun dinghy slide.
Park overall: I was so impressed with Toverland, it was a delightful place. It's like a regional park that bought two epic coasters and has an unlimited budget for theming.
Trip overall: Great weather, low crowds at the Walibi Belgium (despite Spring break) and Toverland (despite the weekend). The ride availability and overall park capacity of all of these parks helped with any crowds. That and the theming put every single UK park to shame (despite a couple of one train ops). We have fallen so far behind from the promise we had in the 90's.
Walibi Holland (Wed)
Untamed is amazing and easily the best in the park and when of the best I've ever ridden, but what is with those shin restraints??
Speed of Sound A tunnel and onboard audio makes Boomerangs better!
Lost Gravity is brilliant and was a complete surprise. 2nd at this park.
Xpress: Platform 13 has a great queue line and launch and then quite a pointless layout when done outdoors.
Yoy Chill is best, Thrill is fun, but I found both quite janky
Goliath is a beast in the back row. Great layout, but the helices made me want to spew. 3rd at this park
Blast is an original Top Spin on acid. My eyes were shaking when I got off
Merlin's Magic Castle was a very effective madhouse with a more 'intense' cycle.
Space Shot packs a punch.
Crazy River is a great log ride.
Grand Roue provided great views, but only went round once.
Avoided Condor, and the Rapids were closed.
Park overall: Really enjoyed this park. Operations and theming could be better, but it did what it did well and has some amazing rides.
Efteling (Thu)
Baron 1898 (luckily it re-opened on the day of our visit) was so well made. Smooth, short and sweet, with a brilliant preshow and station.
Python was so smooth and surprisingly intense.
Danse Macabre Wow. Everything about this was stunning and effective.
Pagode is a lovely flying island. I love these rides.
Vogel Rok had more wonderful theming and is a great indoor coaster.
Joris en de Draak Both sides were so much fun. Not standouts but solid.
De Viligende Hollander was the surprise of the trip and easily my favourite ride in Efteling. Everything about it is atmospheric and exciting. The indoor section is brilliant.
Symbolica is a technical marvel but I left it feeling a bit underwhelmed by the experience. I don't know if it was the sequence or if I just didn't get it.
Fata Morgana I loved this ride. The music, the sheer scale of it. It felt nostalgic and very classic.
Droomvulch was another surprise. The set pieces, the ride system and the finale. Charming.
Villa Volta While the room is not that visual with no central set piece, the cycle, pre shows and music made up for it. Second to Hex.
Piraña is a great rapids ride. Felt old school and wild, like the old Grand Canyon Rapids at Alton Towers.
Closed: Carnival Festival.
Park overall: This was up there with Phantasialand and Europa Park. The atmosphere and experience were brilliant and all the rides were good, but the theming, staff and available food, shops and side experiences made it exceptional. Definitely needed two days, but we changed to one when we thought Baron would be closed. Didn't even get chance to venture in to the Fairytale Forest or ride the flat rides.
Walibi Belgium (Fri)
Kondaa is world class. Highlight of the trip. Insane airtime. I did not touch the seat on nearly all of the drops (back row right). It joins Voltron and El Toro in my Top 3.
Mecalodon Brilliant, long family coaster with amazing theming and layout.
Pulsar was another surprise of the trip. Forceful, fun and a little intimidating.
Turbine It was nice to get on 'Thunder Looper' again (I know the actual one is in Brazil). Much more intense than I expected.
Flashback Exactly the same layout as Crazy River at Walibi Holland.
Palais du Genie Good preshow and madhouse but without the effective part where the room and swing move at the same time in the same direction to look like you're not moving but feel something else.
Radja River 12-seater rapids with huge waves.
Popcorn Revenge Fun, short with good theming. Good for something different to do.
Cobra Smooth first inversion on a Boomerang, but a very rough second hill and backward journey. I have a soft spot for these, having grown up on The Missile at American Adventure after bottling it in the queue for Cobra at the West Midland Safari Park in 1990.
Loup Garou Burn it down and start again, Awful. Layout was pretty good, but it rode terribly.
Tiki Waka So much fun
Dalton Terror This thing is big and intimidating and reminded me of my last time on Apocalypse about 15 years ago.
Calamity Mine Decent Mine Train, but nowhere near Colorado Adventure.
Challenge of Tutankhamen A brilliant dark ride that would be better without the guns (although they are the point).
Park overall: Really well themed, feels ambitious, well maintained and friendly. Just need to bulldoze Loup Garou and Vampire (which seemed open but was no longer on the app) and build another world-class ride.
Toverland (Sat)
Troy Lateral machine. One of the trip highlights, but Wodan edges it.
Booster Bike Quirky and fun, but one and done. Haven't been to Flamingoland since 1995, so this was a new experience.
Dwervelwind Surprisingly forceful and fun spinner.
Fenix The setting and queue theming are amazing. It feels grand. The airtime hill is fun and the helix around the Sky Fly is a grey out area. Loved this one.
Dragon Watch Great view of Avalon from here and a charming ride.
Pixarus I have never successfully flipped one of these, but this one looked great and was themed beyond.
Merlin’s Quest Another suprise of the trip. A nice sit down with views and an awesome dark ride section.
Djenge River Another well themed rapids, but not as wild as Tripsdrill's (same boat design/manufacturer). These boats that split and have the water go through them are great.
Expedition Zork Another decent reversing flume ride.
Maximus Blitz Bahn This was the most fun I had on the whole trip. such a scream. Shame it is going, but I think it's replacement will keep the vibe.
Dragon Flagen Short but fun dinghy slide.
Park overall: I was so impressed with Toverland, it was a delightful place. It's like a regional park that bought two epic coasters and has an unlimited budget for theming.
Trip overall: Great weather, low crowds at the Walibi Belgium (despite Spring break) and Toverland (despite the weekend). The ride availability and overall park capacity of all of these parks helped with any crowds. That and the theming put every single UK park to shame (despite a couple of one train ops). We have fallen so far behind from the promise we had in the 90's.
