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Walibi Belgium: General Discussion

Visited this park for the first time on Saturday and was very impressed. Was the first day of the season but operations were superb and we got on everything. It rained on and off all day which seemed to have put the crowds off as we never waited more than 10 mins for anything. A quick summary of the rides...

Kondaa is very good but it didn't blow me away, and I can't work out why. The airtime was solid but it felt a bit tame overall. The non inverting cobra roll feels a bit faffy and kind of kills the momentum. And the return back to the station isn't particularly imaginative. Expedition GeForce is better imo.

Tika Waka aka Crash Bandicoot: The Ride is a good family coaster.

The highlight of the day was Psyke Underground. Such a unique ride with the indoor novelty factor.

Pulsar looks the part and is pretty fun, would like to see more of these around.

Loup Garou is rubbish but not as bad as expected, just a rough old woodie that doesn't do much. Seems to be really popular though.

I'd heard good things about the two dark rides and they didn't disappoint. Particularly enjoyed Popcorns Revenge.

I won't be rushing back but would definitely recommend Walibi Belgium, it's got a really well rounded ride line up in a nice setting surrounding the lake. F&B is good value and you can get a pint of Jupiler for €5.50. Very easy to get to from Calais too, took just over 2.5 hours.
 
RicketyCricket said:
Visited this park for the first time on Saturday and was very impressed. Was the first day of the season but operations were superb and we got on everything. It rained on and off all day which seemed to have put the crowds off as we never waited more than 10 mins for anything. A quick summary of the rides...

Kondaa is very good but it didn't blow me away, and I can't work out why. The airtime was solid but it felt a bit tame overall. The non inverting cobra roll feels a bit faffy and kind of kills the momentum. And the return back to the station isn't particularly imaginative. Expedition GeForce is better imo.

Tika Waka aka Crash Bandicoot: The Ride is a good family coaster.

The highlight of the day was Psyke Underground. Such a unique ride with the indoor novelty factor.

Pulsar looks the part and is pretty fun, would like to see more of these around.

Loup Garou is rubbish but not as bad as expected, just a rough old woodie that doesn't do much. Seems to be really popular though.

I'd heard good things about the two dark rides and they didn't disappoint. Particularly enjoyed Popcorns Revenge.

I won't be rushing back but would definitely recommend Walibi Belgium, it's got a really well rounded ride line up in a nice setting surrounding the lake. F&B is good value and you can get a pint of Jupiler for €5.50. Very easy to get to from Calais too, took just over 2.5 hours.
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Excellent, definitely hoping to go this year.

Did you go on Vampire?
 
Bowser said:
Excellent, definitely hoping to go this year.

Did you go on Vampire?
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No it's a bit isolated and I couldn't get close enough to see if it had the vest restraints. Didn't risk it 😂

Done the Boomerang which was bad enough.

The rapids was really good too if you don't mind a soaking.
 
RicketyCricket said:
No it's a bit isolated and I couldn't get close enough to see if it had the vest restraints. Didn't risk it 😂
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You didn’t miss much. The landscaping is relatively quite cool and sets it aside from many others, but IIRC it rides as one of the worse European SLCs.
 
We visited for the first time on Thursday and had a great day…first impressions weren’t great, potholed car park and quite a cheap and tacky looking entrance plaza, but once past that things improve. Nicely landscaped park and the newer areas in particular are very nicely done. Great operations and 5 min queues on everything all day. Psych Underground and Pulsar were highlights, Kondaa pretty good, but weird that it can’t really be seen or photographed from anywhere other than its themed entrance and the footprint of the coaster is over wasteland.

Anyone know what is going where the extensive groundworks are between Tiki Waka and Psyche?
 
5 coasters in a decade is impressive no matter what the prior situation. Especially when they'll have the joint 4th most coasters in Europe.

Though I clearly thought Tiki-Waka was far newer than 2018. I even said it was great to see, especially with the general quality of the Walibi based additions.
 
This is a very interesting post on Reddit, Walibi Belgium apparently held a fan event and the park management detailed their pland and ideas for the next few years for the park. It seems that the Vekoma SLC (Vampire) will be leaving the park at some point, possibly the Boomerang (Cobra) could do the same, new rides are possible in the area next to Kondaa, but the big one is that their wooden coaster (Loup Garou) will be getting an RMC makeover (although in the comments someone else suggested that the park said an RMC was one option for it or it could just get a full retrack instead).


From: https://www.reddit.com/r/rollercoasters/comments/1gnnvzg/walibi_belgium_out_with_the_slc_in_with_the_rmc/

Edit - Also a POV was shown for their 2025 Gertslauer Family Launch Coaster and has been posted online.

From: https://youtu.be/RexwAsoVq8Y?si=DKuFRrV6nvTOM0iF
 
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Genuinely think the layout of Loup Garou is a lot more fun than Robin Hood was so I'd prefer them to get it retracked than RCM'd.

If you're ripping out Vampire could build a ground up RMC instead.

The mad thing with the Walibi Group is how they seemingly pull who they'll work with out of a hat each time with what one park does has no impact on the other. In ride type or manufacturer.
 
John_P said:
Genuinely think the layout of Loup Garou is a lot more fun than Robin Hood was so I'd prefer them to get it retracked than RCM'd.

If you're ripping out Vampire could build a ground up RMC instead.

The mad thing with the Walibi Group is how they seemingly pull who they'll work with out of a hat each time with what one park does has no impact on the other. In ride type or manufacturer.
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Compagnie des Alpes do seem to have a good relationship with Intamin though, in their parks we've seen Objectif Mars at Futuroscope in 2020, Kondaa at WB in 2021, Toutatis at Parc Asterix in 2023, and the Hot Racer at Walibi Rhone Alpes in 2024.

They also seem to be very fond of working with Gertslauer, they will be opening three family coasters by them in 2025 (the family launch coaster Speed Boat at WB, the family spinning coaster Cétautomatix at Parc Asterix, and an unnamed coaster at Jardin d'Aclimatation). I really like how they are trying to give all their parks different models of new rides from a manufacturer rather than just taking a cookie cutter approach and putting the same ride models in at each of their parks. I wish they'd enter the UK market!
 
Loopings have now published on article on how the park is apparently in contact with RMC over a possible conversion for Loup Garou.

www.looopings.nl

Walibi Belgium aast op Untamed 2.0: plan voor ombouw houten achtbaan

De houten achtbaan van Walibi Belgium krijgt mogelijk dezelfde behandeling als Untamed in Walibi Holland. Het Belgische pretpark overweegt om de 23...
www.looopings.nl www.looopings.nl

The article is in Dutch and translates as follows:

Walibi Belgium's wooden roller coaster may get the same treatment as Untamed in Walibi Holland. The Belgian amusement park is considering converting the 23-year-old roller coaster Loup-Garou into a hybrid coaster from American manufacturer Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC). The same thing happened earlier in its Dutch sister park.

There, wooden roller coaster Robin Hood was transformed into Untamed in 2019: a sensational 37-meter-high coaster with wooden supports and a steel rail. Visitors go upside down several times, with a top speed of 92 kilometers per hour.

Walibi Belgium is currently in talks with RMC about converting Loup-Garou, also known as Weerwolf in Dutch. This was reported to Looopings by those involved. RMC has drawn up a plan for an unparalleled ride experience with elements that have not yet been used anywhere else, insiders say. It would make the attraction one of the most spectacular coasters in Europe in one fell swoop.

Feasible concept
Jean-Christophe Parent, the general manager of Walibi Belgium, recently hinted that the renovation of Loup-Garou is being considered. This happened during a meeting with fans. The plan is more concrete than expected, as it now appears: there is already a feasible concept from RMC ready.

A spokeswoman cannot confirm this yet. "As discussed during the Walibi Pass Event, we are considering the possibility of retracking the Loup-Garou" , she reports. "However, nothing has been confirmed or signed." The wooden roller coaster will remain operational in its current form in 2025, the spokesperson knows.

12.5 million euros
RMC specializes in transforming old wooden roller coasters into intense new experiences with a steel rail. The arrival of Untamed in Walibi Holland cost 12.5 million euros at the time.

The American company has delivered three European projects to date. In addition to Untamed, these are Wildfire in the Swedish park Kolmården (2016) and Zadra in the Polish Energylandia (2019). Walibi Holland will open the double RMC roller coaster YoY in 2025.
 
John_P said:
Wish the way these major mainland European parks look to be continually investing in rides and new experiences would catch on in the UK.
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I assume because the likes of Disneyland Paris, Efteling, Europa and Phantasialand set the bar so high, even the second tier parks like Plopsa and Walabi have an overall higher standard to maintain. That and it's not a single company monopoly.

Help us Universal, you're our only hope....

John Travolta Meme GIF
 
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