Sandman
Giga Poster
Not too long ago, in a galaxy not that far away…
Howie and I decided we should take a short trip over to the mainland (specifically Belgium and Netherlands) to mop up some of the new, shiny creds that everyone’s been talking about.
The plan was fairly simple: Fly into Eindhoven on Wednesday evening, hit Walibi Belgium on Thursday, Plopsaland on Friday, then finish with Walibi Holland on Saturday before our return flight home. Quite convenient, right?
We’d both been to these three parks before, however, Kondaa and Ride to Happiness have now significantly changed things. Oh, and after much deliberation, I thought it was only fair that I got my first taste of that Rocky Mountain goodness.
This would also make up for our last disastrous rendezvous back in August, when we hit a pothole which damaged Howie’s lovely Jag on the way up to Fantasy Island. As sod’s law would have it, we happened to be stranded on an anonymous country lane with no road signs or lights. We ended up being towed to a service station about 7 hours later in the early hours of the morning.
A failure of epic proportions, but alas, fate kept us away from Skegness that day.
Anyway, moving onto better things now...
Day 1 - The Initial Faff
‘Stay the **** away from Manchester airport’ - Basically every headline over the previous week.
Great.
Our flight was around 15:00, so this should have been, in theory, a leisurely start. Nah, sorry Sandman, you’re going to have to get to the airport extra early, just in case. Apparently the chaos in Terminal 1 (our terminal) was so bad that people were actually abandoning their luggage just to make their flight(s).
Great.
But first, coffee.
80 mins later…
I arrive just in time to witness the indescribable scenes.
Regular, mundane airport queues. No huge crowds and no abandoned luggage.
It took me 25 minutes to walk from the station at Terminal 2 across to Terminal 1 and through security. Relief.
Howie eventually rocked up around an hour later and we were ready to roll.
…after a couple of pints.
It wasn’t long before we were on our flight over to Eindhoven.
This was my first flight since January 2020 (pre-pandemic) and I was somewhat perplexed by the contradictory information on the UK, NL & BE government websites, advising exactly what was required for entry.
I needn’t have worried because, apart from my passport and boarding pass, nothing else was checked. Vaccine passport, health declaration form(s), passenger locator form (all of which we “apparently” required) went ignored. **** it, I’m not complaining.
Once we’d arrived in rainy Eindhoven, it was a case of fuelling ourselves at a well placed Maccies across the road and then hunting down a taxi to drive us the 20 minute journey to our hotel for the night (hire car would be picked up the next day).
Day 2 - Walibi Belgium
A damp morning.
We were picked up around 07:30 and taxied back to the airport in order to collect the hire car.
20 minutes later and we were on the road to Walibi Belgium.
The weather wasn’t looking great. During the drive down, we were hit with intermittent downpours of rain and then eventually hailstones started bouncing off the windshield violently.
I was positively hoping that this would deter crowds whilst also battling the very possible notion that Kondaa may spite us if the downpour/hail continued.
Thankfully, the worst of the weather had subsided by the time we rolled into the gravelly Walibi Belgium car park. There were a couple of rows of parked cars, indicating that it was fairly dead inside (like me, if Kondaa was closed).
*Just a quick side note so that I don’t need to constantly make reference to the weather. The entire day was very gloomy/overcast with some short sunny spells. Hence the inconsistent photos.
We made our way through the entrance hastily in the hope of catching a glimpse of Kondaa running. It didn’t take too long before we had visual confirmation that it was indeed open.
Naturally, we hotfooted it over to the back of the park, briefly surveyed the new area (looks noice), then jumped straight into the 10-ish min queue for the park’s new star attraction.
The experience (for me) started after crossing the short wooden bridge into the ride ‘area’.
I’m a fan of the little details - of which this ride has a few.
Firstly, the bridge itself is a fun little addition. I love theme parks that make use of bridges, stairs and small winding pathways to convey a sense of adventure in a ride environment.
It isn’t exactly turned up to 11 like with Taron or Black Mamba, but, if Kondaa was a wine, I’d say it has hints of those two rides, with a slight Wickerman aroma.
The area music is almost like a toned down, slower (and subtler) version of the IMAscore track produced for WM. You’d be forgiven for thinking Kondaa’s music is also IMAscore produced (although apparently it isn’t).
The combination of station rockwork (particularly the grey rockwork) and wood panels/fences is akin to a similar combination you’d find on Taron & Mamba.
I wouldn’t say Kondaa is elaborately themed as such. It has just enough to make it work well.
My favourite elements of theming are:
Our first ride on Kondaa was a back row experience.
The first drop and airtime hill are fantastic in the back. Very similar to Exp GeForce (from what I remember from riding 12-ish years ago). A decent amount of force as you are dragged down that twisted first drop and subsequently pushed out of your seat at the crest of the airtime hill before another reasonably forceful plummet.
The outward banked hill is good fun, but more-so at the front as you are pushed through the element with more speed, and thus, more airtime. Then onto the non inverting (yet feels inverting) cobra roll. This element seems like a bit of a throwaway. It’s fine, just not what I’d opt for with this type of coaster. The section as you exit the cobra roll is quite fun though (in the back, as you’re pulled out of it).
Another couple of fun airtime hills follow, but by now, the coaster is starting to lose speed and we’re into a bit of a mindless meander/turn/meander combination. Again it’s fun, just not a hugely strong finish.
We managed 6 rides in total on Kondaa, in varying seats and on varying rows.
It did noticeably warm up on our latter rides of the day - and you should expect some pretty decent airtime if you’re towards the front, whilst the back offers slightly more force as you’re dragged around.
Overall, it’s a really great coaster - but expectations should be correctly calibrated. Don’t necessarily expect a new Top 5-10 and you may be pleasantly surprised.
Also, let’s look at this in the wider context: Walibi Belgium have got an Intamin Mega Coaster.
In my opinion, they’ve got a better star attraction than, say, Europa Park which I consider to be one of the best parks in the world. If we had this in the UK then it’d be the best coaster by quite some margin (as potent as my Nemesis nostalgia is).
Now moving onto what was my favourite coaster of my first and only (until now) visit to Walibi Belgium - Psyke Underground.
My last ride was now 5 years ago, so I was keen to regain some clarity on how this thing rides.
Walked straight on - back row.
Wow. Now I remember. This thing kicks ass!
The funky music and lighting combo, the countdown, the launch, the subsequent darkness and pure intense disorientation. This ride is the definition of insane. Totally brilliant.
If I’m being honest, I have a hard time picking between Psyke Underground and Kondaa.
We went back around another 3 times before moving on.
One thing I really appreciate about Walibi Belgium is the park layout.
It’s a very simple park to navigate, and you can easily knock off rides in an orderly manner by working either way around the lake, which acts as a de facto centre piece. Of course, we completely ignored this technique by beelining over to Kondaa and subsequently zig zagging all over the place.
Next up was a coaster I wasn’t really fussed with last time - Calamity Mine.
My vague recollection of the previous experience was that this was a fairly sluggish mine train with not very much going on. However, I’ll take that back because this time around I really enjoyed it. For a relatively small mine train, it’s actually bags of fun. It’s also nicely themed and quite a long ride considering it’s a family coaster under 50ft in height.
Still not quite as exciting a layout as Colorado Adventure, but it is perhaps a more charming mine train than its bigger, German brother. (Fun fact: Calamity Mine was actually called Colorado until shortly after Colorado Adventure opened).
Another +1 next. Tiki Waka.
Yeah, another fun family coaster. Nothing of the layout is particularly stand-out, and I still prefer the original Bobsled at Tripsdrill. But this one looks and feels very fresh, and is definitely a nice family filler in a pleasant park.
Onwards to a very quiet Pulsar.
I really enjoyed Pulsar when I rode it back in 2017. I was a little bit reluctant this time though, as it can be a bit of a soakathon. To be fair I did have a waterproof coat on and it was probably going to rain at some point anyway. Go on then.
What makes Pulsar so fab is the gradual build up of anticipation; the launches get steadily faster and feel more powerful as they fling the boat higher and higher up the half pipe until the massive splash ending provides a suitably climactic finale. Simple yet effective.
Whilst I admit that Walibi Belgium is still a decent coaster or two away from being mentioned in the whole ‘strongest line-up in Europe’ discussion, I’d still like to take a moment just to show some appreciation for the 1-2-3 punch of Kondaa, Psyke Underground and Pulsar. In my opinion, that’s a really fun trio that I’ve enjoyed immensely so far.
Now all they’ve got to do is formally introduce Alan Shilke to Loup Garou.
Talking of Loup Garou, we did actually fancy a couple of rides later in the day but by the time we got back round to it, the queue seemed a bit excessive. Why even bother when we could just slope off back to Kondaa or Psyke?
We also skipped Vampire and Cobra. Not that you can blame us, it actually enhanced the day. Sorry Vekoma, we did enjoy Calamity though.
So, what else did we do?
Fun Pilot. A feeble +1. Next.
Challenge of Tutankhamun. Yeah, the Egyptian themed interactive dark ride which is seemingly at odds with every other theme in the park.
I remember riding it last time. And it was actually really good; probably the best of the shooters I’d done. Howie couldn’t remember riding it.
Anyway, we both enjoyed it.
It’s got a good flow. Each scene had a bit of variety and made good use of practical effects, ambient music and dramatic lighting. It’s the type of ride that could hold up without the need for interactivity.
We also randomly stumbled upon Popcorn’s Revenge. I had no idea what it was as I’ve only really seen the name floating about at a glance. I just knew it was a relatively new attraction for Walibi.
Another shooty dark ride - just more screen based (a bit like Maus au Chocolat). I thought this was just as fun as Maus to be honest. I loved the whole theme. Bonus points for the overpowering popcorn smell.
So in summary:
Walibi Belgium. Great park, great day.
I really enjoyed my first visit five years ago despite the lack of Kondaa.
Now, it’s got a decent line-up, which I really hope continues to grow over the coming years.
Just get rid of the ‘off the shelf’ Vekomas. I’d be happy to see them replaced with dark rides of a similar calibre to Popcorn’s Revenge. I think this park would benefit from a couple more modern dark rides. But most importantly, get Alan Shilke a first class flight to Brussels and let’s really turn it up a notch.
Final ride count:
Kondaa x6
Psyke Underground x4
Pulsar
Tiki Waka
Calamity Mine
Fun Pilot
Challenge of Tutunkhamun
Popcorn’s Revenge
Day 3 - Plopsaland De Panne
After a successful first day at Walibi Belgium, we holed up in a Campanile Hotel (technically a motel) on the outskirts of Ghent for the night.
The next morning we managed to pull into Plopsaland’s quiet car park just moments after the 10am opening time. Not bad.
This was expected to be the most relaxed day. Whilst I consider Plopsaland a really pleasant park, it isn’t exactly chock full of rides aimed at a couple of grown men.
Anyway, today was all about Ride to Happiness. Anubis and Heide are merely collateral creds. Nothing else was really of interest, although I’m always down to pet some goats.
As soon as we entered the park, we made the sharp turn left off the main plaza and towards the distinctive Mack track poking out in the distance.
We arrive at the delightful new area, but recognise that it’s not quite time yet. According to a member of staff, it’s a slow starter and needs to be warmed up a bit more.
A mooch over to Switzerland then to have a quick blast on Heide. A short, compact, fun wooden coaster. Not much else I can say really.
The whole Heide area still looks lovely, albeit a little unbalanced next to the bright red dino themed log flume. Which is also, subsequently, next door to a semi-medieval sector (home of the powered coaster).
Each ride area looks great. But, it’s very tight knit and there’s not much separation, so it’s a little bit inconsistent and jarring for my liking. Maybe I’m being a bit picky for the sake of it.
Plopsaland is a fab looking park though. Little details are once again the key.
Whilst we were riding Heide, I noticed Ride to Happiness was running with people aboard.
Naturally, we went straight back over.
Firstly, the new area (does it have a name? I don’t know) looks very elegant in a modest kind of way.
Rather than an all out assault on the senses like Klugheim, Rookburgh etc, this is more of a charming nook that wouldn’t look out of place at Efteling or Toverland.
Everything here seems to thematically tie in with nature, oneness and contentment. Maybe that is the essence of Tomorrowland, I wouldn’t know.
There is an abundance of green within the surrounding foliage. On the quirky plant shaped lamp posts which line the pathways. And, of course, up inside the fabulous station, which gives me the slightest hint of steampunk, with an obscure Wizard of Oz/Emerald City aesthetic. Perhaps that’s just me.
I could go on about the fab queue line and all the details I love but we’d be here forever.
Another element deserving of praise is the station soundtrack; which has been in my head ever since I had my first ride last week. It somehow manages to build anticipation whilst remaining fairly mellow and soothing.
I’ll let Howie gush about the robot lady, as he’s already said everything that needs to be said about her in the Last Cred Review thread. I think it’s safe to say she’s a wonderful addition.
I’m fairly sure our first ride on RtH, like Kondaa the day prior, was a back row experience.
These Xtreme Spinner trains feel very big, open and comfortable.
We quickly dispatch and the gorgeous onboard audio guides us on our journey. The jojo roll is taken fairly quickly on the back row and we are whipped through to the launch section at a side angle which gives us reasonable hangtime.
The wait for the launch is only a couple of seconds long and this probably works better than a rolling launch would, due to the onboard audio (now mimicking a heart beat) building up our anticipation as we eagerly speculate on which direction we’re going to face.
Once the launch kicks in, we manage to do 2 full spins until we end up facing backwards as we start pulling up into the first tophat/hill.
This is already pretty wild. The spinning / launch combination is brilliant fun, and the fact we managed (on multiple rides) to do 2 full rotations before we even reached the end of the launch really set the tone for the rest of the ride.
Once we reach the crest, we are hit with a welcome pop of floater, before once again side angling and then steadily rotating into the backwards facing position just in time to be forcefully dragged down the next drop. On our front row rides, this floater is replaced with a mighty ejector moment which could easily rival any of Helix’s best moments (for my money).
On one occasion (probably a few rides in as it got warmed up) I was ejected so heavily just as we were mid spin, and the force literally knocked the snot out of me. I looked over at Howie and we were both wiping our noses in amazement. We ended up laughing at just how ridiculous this ride can be.
Another memorable moment came whilst we were mid-ejector. All of a sudden, about 10 coins go rocketing out of someone’s pocket and appear to float; suspended in mid air – like a scene from Gravity – as we twisted back down to Earth. It turned out they were Howie’s coins.
That whole sequence from launch>top hat>drop>banana roll>loop>zero g flows so beautifully. In the first half of the ride alone, you more or less experience a sprinkling of all the best sensations no matter where you sit.
The second half is very good too. I’m quite stuck for highlights because the whole ride is pretty much a highlight.
Expect hangtime, airtime, intensity, and even speed. It’s all tucked in there somewhere. The great thing about spinning is you never quite know which of the above you’re about to get next.
Add to that the incredible onboard audio which completely elevates the experience.
Basically, it’s all brilliant. I’m not very on top of my rankings, but this definitely sits in the Top 5 for me. If coasters were awarded Michelin stars then this would have a couple.
I managed 12 rides in total. I started to feel a bit iffy about 10 rides in, although I didn’t help myself with not eating much in the morning and instead opting to blast RtH continually. Also, 2 years of almost no decent coaster riding must have had some effect on my tolerance.
Anyway, Howie managed 17 rides which put me to shame.
Anubis feels a bit like the ugly duckling now. Like RtH, it also has a top hat poking out of the trees, but this one now pales in comparison.
We gave it a go out of sympathy.
First ride - front row.
Short, snappy launch, decent airtime on the top hat. Still good fun, but no Karacho.
The second ride we did on the back row was much jankier. So back we went to Happiness.
And that brings us to...
Final ride count:
Ride to Happiness x12
Anubis x2
Heide x1
Goat petting (lots)
Plopsaland as a whole then.
It’s still a lovely, wholesome family park much like it was 5 years ago when I first visited.
If I lived south of London then I’d definitely consider it a place to frequent more than some of the UK parks - even more so now that it has a top class coaster in RtH.
It’s well presented, the clientele are mostly families (obviously) so my experiences here have always felt laid back and leisurely. I’ve never felt rushed or anxious or stressed.
My only real issue here would be that there’s still a lot of filler missing for me. I really don’t expect Plopsa to start chucking money at massive thrill rides, but a couple of reasonably sized flat rides and dark ride attractions would not go amiss.
If I had to pick another major ride for Plopsaland to invest in, then I’d probably like to see a Mack Inverted Powered coaster like Arthur, which is universally enjoyed by all age groups. That’s the sort of ride Plopsaland could do something fab with.
Anyway, we then made the 2 and a half hour trawl back up to Eindhoven whilst still on a dizzying RtH high.
Some extra photo bits:
Howie's donkey ride
Howie's goat petting services
Dr.Howie's prostate exam
Day 3 - Walibi Holland
The following morning, we set off reasonably early to try and make the 10am opening.
I think we both anticipated that this day could be busy, considering it's the first Saturday following opening weekend, which was apparently very busy.
I had three creds to pick up here. Well, 2 creds and a nightmare.
The first and clearly the most important was Untamed. My first RMC. My most anticipated cred in a long time.
Then Xpress, which I missed last time due to big queues and limited time.
Lastly, the SLC/nightmare. Same reason as above. I dare not even mention its name.
Throughout this little trip, I was constantly joking about how I may just give it a miss. Of course, I fully intended on grabbing the +1 as long as it didn’t jeopardise Untamed re-rides.
The weather was set to UK mode again. Overcast, rain, sun. And repeat.
As we pulled up into the car park, I was wondering if the park was even open. It was the quietest car park we’d seen so far, which was unexpected.
We managed to nick a space right up at the front by the entrance, and then we entered.
Another enthusiastic beeline towards the star attraction. It’s running with a few empty seats when I glance over.
At the entrance, we are greeted by a very friendly staff member who politely informs us that we need to download a virtual queue thingy on our phones in order to ride. Is this a lingering Covid-19 measure? Either way, it’s a faff.
He’s trying to explain to us what we need to do, whilst also stopping other guests to explain the same thing. We’re both standing in the rain, faffing with phones, trying to get this barcode so we can finally get on. My phone is very temperamental and knackered, so it’s not ideal to have to rely on it. Howie’s phone is our sat-nav, and we don’t want to drain it of juice.
Anyway the friendly man helps us to get the code on Howie’s phone, so that’ll just have to do. We finally grace the queueline of Untamed and a wave of relief hits me. Finally!
The whole ‘Wilderness’ area looks okay for what it is.
It’s nothing special. Actually, I suppose it is in a sense because it’s home to a fab looking RMC.
But thematically, the whole overgrown, shabby looking surroundings and infrastructure isn’t exactly a visual feast. Nor is it elaborate. Probably works well as a scare zone for Halloween though.
Back row again for my first ride (3/3).
Through the weird outerbanked turn and up we go.
First drop, back row - excellent.
Mini airtime hill - excellent.
Inverting stall - excellent
Etc.
Ok so the first ride down was really good. But I knew it had more to give.
No disappointment for me at all - bare in mind that Taron only became my #1 after night rides.
It was from my second ride onwards that this thing just got even more ferocious. Another back row ride and I was out of my seat for the entire first drop; heavy g’s on the mini hill/bump and then a beautifully snappy transition into the inverting stall, which presents its own lovely array of unusual forces.
Untamed is the dictionary definition of an airtime machine. It smacks you from every which way with varying crazy levels of floater and ejector (though mainly ejector). My arse was only ever briefly acquainted with my seat, the rest of the time it was firmly mid-air, awaiting the next crazy combination of airtime like a Mike Tyson opponent anticipating an inevitable beating.
The layout is incredibly well paced and fortunately there’s no dull moments to speak of.
Another Top 5 coaster basically. Perhaps it could be a Top 3 if it continued to warm up, although unfortunately, due to an unforeseen plot twist, we did not get to ride again past around 13:00-14:00.
My memories of Goliath were pretty hazy. Up until now, I’d had a singular ride when we last visited in 2017, so my memory of the experience is fairly hazy. I do recollect the drop and first airtime hill being very good, much like Kondaa and Exp GeForce (also hazy).
It was great to get back on Goliath just days after doing Kondaa. This would enable me to directly compare the two.
I think it’s fairly close, ya know.
Goliath’s first drop/airtime hill is really, really fun. Perhaps there isn’t quite the same pop of intensity as Kondaa has early on in the layout. I do think we’re talking small margins here though.
Some of this may also factor down to personal preference - a lot of people may prefer Kondaa’s twists and weird/ridiculously banked sections over the simplicity of Goliath's airtime hill/helix combo. Or vice versa.
My only real thought was that I enjoyed both very much. And that was it.
It was quiet so we did a couple more laps which were all very fun.
Well, time to tick off one of those dastardly +1’s. It’s Xpress.
You’ve probably heard it all before… fantastic, well themed, immersive, tension building queue line. Dirty, unthemed, sluggish vekoma.
I can see why Rock n Rollercoaster is in the dark.
Lost Gravity was the final cred of the day.
It’s definitely nowhere near a top ride for me. But it is fun, looks the part too.
We did do one other ride in the park before the unforeseen plot twist.
Merlin’s Magic Castle.
Yes, we actually chose to do a madhouse in spite of all the great re-rides we could continue with. I think because neither of us had done it, and the weather was somewhat iffy, we were curious enough to have a quick blast.
And yes, it’s completely bog standard.
Ok, so this is where things get a little bit interesting.
At some point (not long after midday) we both decided it would be good to nip back to the car for a mini-break; grab a few bits and then come back to batter Untamed and Goliath some more. I also had a nightmare to experience.
On the way out of the park, I nip into a cafe to grab a coffee.
As I exit, Howie approaches…
“Dude, we have a problem…”
And the real nightmare now begins.
Anyway - I’m leaving it here guys. I think it’s only fair to let Howie tell the rest.
I’ll just finish by saying, both Untamed & Goliath are great. But I’m Team Walibi Belgium.
Thanks for reading/skimming.
Howie and I decided we should take a short trip over to the mainland (specifically Belgium and Netherlands) to mop up some of the new, shiny creds that everyone’s been talking about.
The plan was fairly simple: Fly into Eindhoven on Wednesday evening, hit Walibi Belgium on Thursday, Plopsaland on Friday, then finish with Walibi Holland on Saturday before our return flight home. Quite convenient, right?
We’d both been to these three parks before, however, Kondaa and Ride to Happiness have now significantly changed things. Oh, and after much deliberation, I thought it was only fair that I got my first taste of that Rocky Mountain goodness.
This would also make up for our last disastrous rendezvous back in August, when we hit a pothole which damaged Howie’s lovely Jag on the way up to Fantasy Island. As sod’s law would have it, we happened to be stranded on an anonymous country lane with no road signs or lights. We ended up being towed to a service station about 7 hours later in the early hours of the morning.
A failure of epic proportions, but alas, fate kept us away from Skegness that day.
Anyway, moving onto better things now...
Day 1 - The Initial Faff
‘Stay the **** away from Manchester airport’ - Basically every headline over the previous week.
Great.
Our flight was around 15:00, so this should have been, in theory, a leisurely start. Nah, sorry Sandman, you’re going to have to get to the airport extra early, just in case. Apparently the chaos in Terminal 1 (our terminal) was so bad that people were actually abandoning their luggage just to make their flight(s).
Great.
But first, coffee.
80 mins later…
I arrive just in time to witness the indescribable scenes.
Regular, mundane airport queues. No huge crowds and no abandoned luggage.
It took me 25 minutes to walk from the station at Terminal 2 across to Terminal 1 and through security. Relief.
Howie eventually rocked up around an hour later and we were ready to roll.
…after a couple of pints.
It wasn’t long before we were on our flight over to Eindhoven.
This was my first flight since January 2020 (pre-pandemic) and I was somewhat perplexed by the contradictory information on the UK, NL & BE government websites, advising exactly what was required for entry.
I needn’t have worried because, apart from my passport and boarding pass, nothing else was checked. Vaccine passport, health declaration form(s), passenger locator form (all of which we “apparently” required) went ignored. **** it, I’m not complaining.
Once we’d arrived in rainy Eindhoven, it was a case of fuelling ourselves at a well placed Maccies across the road and then hunting down a taxi to drive us the 20 minute journey to our hotel for the night (hire car would be picked up the next day).
Day 2 - Walibi Belgium
A damp morning.
We were picked up around 07:30 and taxied back to the airport in order to collect the hire car.
20 minutes later and we were on the road to Walibi Belgium.
The weather wasn’t looking great. During the drive down, we were hit with intermittent downpours of rain and then eventually hailstones started bouncing off the windshield violently.
I was positively hoping that this would deter crowds whilst also battling the very possible notion that Kondaa may spite us if the downpour/hail continued.
Thankfully, the worst of the weather had subsided by the time we rolled into the gravelly Walibi Belgium car park. There were a couple of rows of parked cars, indicating that it was fairly dead inside (like me, if Kondaa was closed).
*Just a quick side note so that I don’t need to constantly make reference to the weather. The entire day was very gloomy/overcast with some short sunny spells. Hence the inconsistent photos.
We made our way through the entrance hastily in the hope of catching a glimpse of Kondaa running. It didn’t take too long before we had visual confirmation that it was indeed open.
Naturally, we hotfooted it over to the back of the park, briefly surveyed the new area (looks noice), then jumped straight into the 10-ish min queue for the park’s new star attraction.
The experience (for me) started after crossing the short wooden bridge into the ride ‘area’.
I’m a fan of the little details - of which this ride has a few.
Firstly, the bridge itself is a fun little addition. I love theme parks that make use of bridges, stairs and small winding pathways to convey a sense of adventure in a ride environment.
It isn’t exactly turned up to 11 like with Taron or Black Mamba, but, if Kondaa was a wine, I’d say it has hints of those two rides, with a slight Wickerman aroma.
The area music is almost like a toned down, slower (and subtler) version of the IMAscore track produced for WM. You’d be forgiven for thinking Kondaa’s music is also IMAscore produced (although apparently it isn’t).
The combination of station rockwork (particularly the grey rockwork) and wood panels/fences is akin to a similar combination you’d find on Taron & Mamba.
I wouldn’t say Kondaa is elaborately themed as such. It has just enough to make it work well.
My favourite elements of theming are:
- The leaves/vines (or whatever they are) on the ceiling inside the station which eerily sway when a slight breeze passes through.
- Hand painted murals (internal & external) which sorta hint at a possible backstory to Kondaa.
- A flickering orange light in the station which gives the impression of a glowing, distant fire.
Our first ride on Kondaa was a back row experience.
The first drop and airtime hill are fantastic in the back. Very similar to Exp GeForce (from what I remember from riding 12-ish years ago). A decent amount of force as you are dragged down that twisted first drop and subsequently pushed out of your seat at the crest of the airtime hill before another reasonably forceful plummet.
The outward banked hill is good fun, but more-so at the front as you are pushed through the element with more speed, and thus, more airtime. Then onto the non inverting (yet feels inverting) cobra roll. This element seems like a bit of a throwaway. It’s fine, just not what I’d opt for with this type of coaster. The section as you exit the cobra roll is quite fun though (in the back, as you’re pulled out of it).
Another couple of fun airtime hills follow, but by now, the coaster is starting to lose speed and we’re into a bit of a mindless meander/turn/meander combination. Again it’s fun, just not a hugely strong finish.
We managed 6 rides in total on Kondaa, in varying seats and on varying rows.
It did noticeably warm up on our latter rides of the day - and you should expect some pretty decent airtime if you’re towards the front, whilst the back offers slightly more force as you’re dragged around.
Overall, it’s a really great coaster - but expectations should be correctly calibrated. Don’t necessarily expect a new Top 5-10 and you may be pleasantly surprised.
Also, let’s look at this in the wider context: Walibi Belgium have got an Intamin Mega Coaster.
In my opinion, they’ve got a better star attraction than, say, Europa Park which I consider to be one of the best parks in the world. If we had this in the UK then it’d be the best coaster by quite some margin (as potent as my Nemesis nostalgia is).
Now moving onto what was my favourite coaster of my first and only (until now) visit to Walibi Belgium - Psyke Underground.
My last ride was now 5 years ago, so I was keen to regain some clarity on how this thing rides.
Walked straight on - back row.
Wow. Now I remember. This thing kicks ass!
The funky music and lighting combo, the countdown, the launch, the subsequent darkness and pure intense disorientation. This ride is the definition of insane. Totally brilliant.
If I’m being honest, I have a hard time picking between Psyke Underground and Kondaa.
We went back around another 3 times before moving on.
One thing I really appreciate about Walibi Belgium is the park layout.
It’s a very simple park to navigate, and you can easily knock off rides in an orderly manner by working either way around the lake, which acts as a de facto centre piece. Of course, we completely ignored this technique by beelining over to Kondaa and subsequently zig zagging all over the place.
Next up was a coaster I wasn’t really fussed with last time - Calamity Mine.
My vague recollection of the previous experience was that this was a fairly sluggish mine train with not very much going on. However, I’ll take that back because this time around I really enjoyed it. For a relatively small mine train, it’s actually bags of fun. It’s also nicely themed and quite a long ride considering it’s a family coaster under 50ft in height.
Still not quite as exciting a layout as Colorado Adventure, but it is perhaps a more charming mine train than its bigger, German brother. (Fun fact: Calamity Mine was actually called Colorado until shortly after Colorado Adventure opened).
Another +1 next. Tiki Waka.
Yeah, another fun family coaster. Nothing of the layout is particularly stand-out, and I still prefer the original Bobsled at Tripsdrill. But this one looks and feels very fresh, and is definitely a nice family filler in a pleasant park.
Onwards to a very quiet Pulsar.
I really enjoyed Pulsar when I rode it back in 2017. I was a little bit reluctant this time though, as it can be a bit of a soakathon. To be fair I did have a waterproof coat on and it was probably going to rain at some point anyway. Go on then.
What makes Pulsar so fab is the gradual build up of anticipation; the launches get steadily faster and feel more powerful as they fling the boat higher and higher up the half pipe until the massive splash ending provides a suitably climactic finale. Simple yet effective.
Whilst I admit that Walibi Belgium is still a decent coaster or two away from being mentioned in the whole ‘strongest line-up in Europe’ discussion, I’d still like to take a moment just to show some appreciation for the 1-2-3 punch of Kondaa, Psyke Underground and Pulsar. In my opinion, that’s a really fun trio that I’ve enjoyed immensely so far.
Now all they’ve got to do is formally introduce Alan Shilke to Loup Garou.
Talking of Loup Garou, we did actually fancy a couple of rides later in the day but by the time we got back round to it, the queue seemed a bit excessive. Why even bother when we could just slope off back to Kondaa or Psyke?
We also skipped Vampire and Cobra. Not that you can blame us, it actually enhanced the day. Sorry Vekoma, we did enjoy Calamity though.
So, what else did we do?
Fun Pilot. A feeble +1. Next.
Challenge of Tutankhamun. Yeah, the Egyptian themed interactive dark ride which is seemingly at odds with every other theme in the park.
I remember riding it last time. And it was actually really good; probably the best of the shooters I’d done. Howie couldn’t remember riding it.
Anyway, we both enjoyed it.
It’s got a good flow. Each scene had a bit of variety and made good use of practical effects, ambient music and dramatic lighting. It’s the type of ride that could hold up without the need for interactivity.
We also randomly stumbled upon Popcorn’s Revenge. I had no idea what it was as I’ve only really seen the name floating about at a glance. I just knew it was a relatively new attraction for Walibi.
Another shooty dark ride - just more screen based (a bit like Maus au Chocolat). I thought this was just as fun as Maus to be honest. I loved the whole theme. Bonus points for the overpowering popcorn smell.
So in summary:
Walibi Belgium. Great park, great day.
I really enjoyed my first visit five years ago despite the lack of Kondaa.
Now, it’s got a decent line-up, which I really hope continues to grow over the coming years.
Just get rid of the ‘off the shelf’ Vekomas. I’d be happy to see them replaced with dark rides of a similar calibre to Popcorn’s Revenge. I think this park would benefit from a couple more modern dark rides. But most importantly, get Alan Shilke a first class flight to Brussels and let’s really turn it up a notch.
Final ride count:
Kondaa x6
Psyke Underground x4
Pulsar
Tiki Waka
Calamity Mine
Fun Pilot
Challenge of Tutunkhamun
Popcorn’s Revenge
Day 3 - Plopsaland De Panne
After a successful first day at Walibi Belgium, we holed up in a Campanile Hotel (technically a motel) on the outskirts of Ghent for the night.
The next morning we managed to pull into Plopsaland’s quiet car park just moments after the 10am opening time. Not bad.
This was expected to be the most relaxed day. Whilst I consider Plopsaland a really pleasant park, it isn’t exactly chock full of rides aimed at a couple of grown men.
Anyway, today was all about Ride to Happiness. Anubis and Heide are merely collateral creds. Nothing else was really of interest, although I’m always down to pet some goats.
As soon as we entered the park, we made the sharp turn left off the main plaza and towards the distinctive Mack track poking out in the distance.
We arrive at the delightful new area, but recognise that it’s not quite time yet. According to a member of staff, it’s a slow starter and needs to be warmed up a bit more.
A mooch over to Switzerland then to have a quick blast on Heide. A short, compact, fun wooden coaster. Not much else I can say really.
The whole Heide area still looks lovely, albeit a little unbalanced next to the bright red dino themed log flume. Which is also, subsequently, next door to a semi-medieval sector (home of the powered coaster).
Each ride area looks great. But, it’s very tight knit and there’s not much separation, so it’s a little bit inconsistent and jarring for my liking. Maybe I’m being a bit picky for the sake of it.
Plopsaland is a fab looking park though. Little details are once again the key.
Whilst we were riding Heide, I noticed Ride to Happiness was running with people aboard.
Naturally, we went straight back over.
Firstly, the new area (does it have a name? I don’t know) looks very elegant in a modest kind of way.
Rather than an all out assault on the senses like Klugheim, Rookburgh etc, this is more of a charming nook that wouldn’t look out of place at Efteling or Toverland.
Everything here seems to thematically tie in with nature, oneness and contentment. Maybe that is the essence of Tomorrowland, I wouldn’t know.
There is an abundance of green within the surrounding foliage. On the quirky plant shaped lamp posts which line the pathways. And, of course, up inside the fabulous station, which gives me the slightest hint of steampunk, with an obscure Wizard of Oz/Emerald City aesthetic. Perhaps that’s just me.
I could go on about the fab queue line and all the details I love but we’d be here forever.
Another element deserving of praise is the station soundtrack; which has been in my head ever since I had my first ride last week. It somehow manages to build anticipation whilst remaining fairly mellow and soothing.
I’ll let Howie gush about the robot lady, as he’s already said everything that needs to be said about her in the Last Cred Review thread. I think it’s safe to say she’s a wonderful addition.
I’m fairly sure our first ride on RtH, like Kondaa the day prior, was a back row experience.
These Xtreme Spinner trains feel very big, open and comfortable.
We quickly dispatch and the gorgeous onboard audio guides us on our journey. The jojo roll is taken fairly quickly on the back row and we are whipped through to the launch section at a side angle which gives us reasonable hangtime.
The wait for the launch is only a couple of seconds long and this probably works better than a rolling launch would, due to the onboard audio (now mimicking a heart beat) building up our anticipation as we eagerly speculate on which direction we’re going to face.
Once the launch kicks in, we manage to do 2 full spins until we end up facing backwards as we start pulling up into the first tophat/hill.
This is already pretty wild. The spinning / launch combination is brilliant fun, and the fact we managed (on multiple rides) to do 2 full rotations before we even reached the end of the launch really set the tone for the rest of the ride.
Once we reach the crest, we are hit with a welcome pop of floater, before once again side angling and then steadily rotating into the backwards facing position just in time to be forcefully dragged down the next drop. On our front row rides, this floater is replaced with a mighty ejector moment which could easily rival any of Helix’s best moments (for my money).
On one occasion (probably a few rides in as it got warmed up) I was ejected so heavily just as we were mid spin, and the force literally knocked the snot out of me. I looked over at Howie and we were both wiping our noses in amazement. We ended up laughing at just how ridiculous this ride can be.
Another memorable moment came whilst we were mid-ejector. All of a sudden, about 10 coins go rocketing out of someone’s pocket and appear to float; suspended in mid air – like a scene from Gravity – as we twisted back down to Earth. It turned out they were Howie’s coins.
That whole sequence from launch>top hat>drop>banana roll>loop>zero g flows so beautifully. In the first half of the ride alone, you more or less experience a sprinkling of all the best sensations no matter where you sit.
The second half is very good too. I’m quite stuck for highlights because the whole ride is pretty much a highlight.
Expect hangtime, airtime, intensity, and even speed. It’s all tucked in there somewhere. The great thing about spinning is you never quite know which of the above you’re about to get next.
Add to that the incredible onboard audio which completely elevates the experience.
Basically, it’s all brilliant. I’m not very on top of my rankings, but this definitely sits in the Top 5 for me. If coasters were awarded Michelin stars then this would have a couple.
I managed 12 rides in total. I started to feel a bit iffy about 10 rides in, although I didn’t help myself with not eating much in the morning and instead opting to blast RtH continually. Also, 2 years of almost no decent coaster riding must have had some effect on my tolerance.
Anyway, Howie managed 17 rides which put me to shame.
Anubis feels a bit like the ugly duckling now. Like RtH, it also has a top hat poking out of the trees, but this one now pales in comparison.
We gave it a go out of sympathy.
First ride - front row.
Short, snappy launch, decent airtime on the top hat. Still good fun, but no Karacho.
The second ride we did on the back row was much jankier. So back we went to Happiness.
And that brings us to...
Final ride count:
Ride to Happiness x12
Anubis x2
Heide x1
Goat petting (lots)
Plopsaland as a whole then.
It’s still a lovely, wholesome family park much like it was 5 years ago when I first visited.
If I lived south of London then I’d definitely consider it a place to frequent more than some of the UK parks - even more so now that it has a top class coaster in RtH.
It’s well presented, the clientele are mostly families (obviously) so my experiences here have always felt laid back and leisurely. I’ve never felt rushed or anxious or stressed.
My only real issue here would be that there’s still a lot of filler missing for me. I really don’t expect Plopsa to start chucking money at massive thrill rides, but a couple of reasonably sized flat rides and dark ride attractions would not go amiss.
If I had to pick another major ride for Plopsaland to invest in, then I’d probably like to see a Mack Inverted Powered coaster like Arthur, which is universally enjoyed by all age groups. That’s the sort of ride Plopsaland could do something fab with.
Anyway, we then made the 2 and a half hour trawl back up to Eindhoven whilst still on a dizzying RtH high.
Some extra photo bits:
Howie's donkey ride
Howie's goat petting services
Dr.Howie's prostate exam
Day 3 - Walibi Holland
The following morning, we set off reasonably early to try and make the 10am opening.
I think we both anticipated that this day could be busy, considering it's the first Saturday following opening weekend, which was apparently very busy.
I had three creds to pick up here. Well, 2 creds and a nightmare.
The first and clearly the most important was Untamed. My first RMC. My most anticipated cred in a long time.
Then Xpress, which I missed last time due to big queues and limited time.
Lastly, the SLC/nightmare. Same reason as above. I dare not even mention its name.
Throughout this little trip, I was constantly joking about how I may just give it a miss. Of course, I fully intended on grabbing the +1 as long as it didn’t jeopardise Untamed re-rides.
The weather was set to UK mode again. Overcast, rain, sun. And repeat.
As we pulled up into the car park, I was wondering if the park was even open. It was the quietest car park we’d seen so far, which was unexpected.
We managed to nick a space right up at the front by the entrance, and then we entered.
Another enthusiastic beeline towards the star attraction. It’s running with a few empty seats when I glance over.
At the entrance, we are greeted by a very friendly staff member who politely informs us that we need to download a virtual queue thingy on our phones in order to ride. Is this a lingering Covid-19 measure? Either way, it’s a faff.
He’s trying to explain to us what we need to do, whilst also stopping other guests to explain the same thing. We’re both standing in the rain, faffing with phones, trying to get this barcode so we can finally get on. My phone is very temperamental and knackered, so it’s not ideal to have to rely on it. Howie’s phone is our sat-nav, and we don’t want to drain it of juice.
Anyway the friendly man helps us to get the code on Howie’s phone, so that’ll just have to do. We finally grace the queueline of Untamed and a wave of relief hits me. Finally!
The whole ‘Wilderness’ area looks okay for what it is.
It’s nothing special. Actually, I suppose it is in a sense because it’s home to a fab looking RMC.
But thematically, the whole overgrown, shabby looking surroundings and infrastructure isn’t exactly a visual feast. Nor is it elaborate. Probably works well as a scare zone for Halloween though.
Back row again for my first ride (3/3).
Through the weird outerbanked turn and up we go.
First drop, back row - excellent.
Mini airtime hill - excellent.
Inverting stall - excellent
Etc.
Ok so the first ride down was really good. But I knew it had more to give.
No disappointment for me at all - bare in mind that Taron only became my #1 after night rides.
It was from my second ride onwards that this thing just got even more ferocious. Another back row ride and I was out of my seat for the entire first drop; heavy g’s on the mini hill/bump and then a beautifully snappy transition into the inverting stall, which presents its own lovely array of unusual forces.
Untamed is the dictionary definition of an airtime machine. It smacks you from every which way with varying crazy levels of floater and ejector (though mainly ejector). My arse was only ever briefly acquainted with my seat, the rest of the time it was firmly mid-air, awaiting the next crazy combination of airtime like a Mike Tyson opponent anticipating an inevitable beating.
The layout is incredibly well paced and fortunately there’s no dull moments to speak of.
Another Top 5 coaster basically. Perhaps it could be a Top 3 if it continued to warm up, although unfortunately, due to an unforeseen plot twist, we did not get to ride again past around 13:00-14:00.
My memories of Goliath were pretty hazy. Up until now, I’d had a singular ride when we last visited in 2017, so my memory of the experience is fairly hazy. I do recollect the drop and first airtime hill being very good, much like Kondaa and Exp GeForce (also hazy).
It was great to get back on Goliath just days after doing Kondaa. This would enable me to directly compare the two.
I think it’s fairly close, ya know.
Goliath’s first drop/airtime hill is really, really fun. Perhaps there isn’t quite the same pop of intensity as Kondaa has early on in the layout. I do think we’re talking small margins here though.
Some of this may also factor down to personal preference - a lot of people may prefer Kondaa’s twists and weird/ridiculously banked sections over the simplicity of Goliath's airtime hill/helix combo. Or vice versa.
My only real thought was that I enjoyed both very much. And that was it.
It was quiet so we did a couple more laps which were all very fun.
Well, time to tick off one of those dastardly +1’s. It’s Xpress.
You’ve probably heard it all before… fantastic, well themed, immersive, tension building queue line. Dirty, unthemed, sluggish vekoma.
I can see why Rock n Rollercoaster is in the dark.
Lost Gravity was the final cred of the day.
It’s definitely nowhere near a top ride for me. But it is fun, looks the part too.
We did do one other ride in the park before the unforeseen plot twist.
Merlin’s Magic Castle.
Yes, we actually chose to do a madhouse in spite of all the great re-rides we could continue with. I think because neither of us had done it, and the weather was somewhat iffy, we were curious enough to have a quick blast.
And yes, it’s completely bog standard.
Ok, so this is where things get a little bit interesting.
At some point (not long after midday) we both decided it would be good to nip back to the car for a mini-break; grab a few bits and then come back to batter Untamed and Goliath some more. I also had a nightmare to experience.
On the way out of the park, I nip into a cafe to grab a coffee.
As I exit, Howie approaches…
“Dude, we have a problem…”
And the real nightmare now begins.
Anyway - I’m leaving it here guys. I think it’s only fair to let Howie tell the rest.
I’ll just finish by saying, both Untamed & Goliath are great. But I’m Team Walibi Belgium.
Thanks for reading/skimming.
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It's been ten days... where is it?!
