Peet
Giga Poster
I finally made it abroad and got my first international creds in 2 years, and I'm so chuffed I'm writing a trip report!
The Netherlands has been top of my list to visit since Untamed opened, and having never visited Toverland, it was impossible to resist. So I waved farewell to my (extremely understanding and supportive) wife and baby for a 4 day European dash with my trusty riding buddy.
The Netherlands requires proof of vaccination plus a certified lat flow test to enter, so we stopped off in the car park of Heathrow Terminal 4 to get tested (Expresstest, £35) then hit the road to Harwich to get the overnight Stena Line ferry to Hook of Holland.
The ferry was great, I love travelling while sleeping, and it's a pretty good price considering it saves on hotel and car hire costs (£314 return for car +2 passengers in basic cabins).
On arrival we got absolutely grilled by the Dutch passport control, felt thoroughly told off for... I'm not sure what. Got my first ever EU stamp in my passport and we were eventually allowed in.
From there it was a pleasant 2 hour drive to Walibi Holland where we got another grilling since we weren't able to show a QR code from the "Corona Check" app, which does not work if you've been vaccinated in the UK. Eventually they reluctantly accepted our NHS vaccination certificates and we were in. Despite all the faff it was still only about 45 mins after opening time, so not too bad.
So, straight to the Main Event:
Yeah this thing didn't disappoint, what an amazing ride. The best moment is probably the 270 DICS, but I love how it just gets more and more frantic as the ride goes on. I'm a bit confused by the theming, the word "LOVE" everywhere, and the fly thing on the front of the train, but I'm sure it made sense to somebody.
I rode Robin Hood back in 2014 and needless to say there is absolutely no comparison.
Lost Gravity was also a new cred for me, it's a really fun ride, I'm surprised we haven't seen more like it being built.
I got an absolutely cracking ride on the front left, and the fireball went off inches away from me. Great stuff.
Aside from that there's not a huge amount to say about this park's coasters:
- Goliath has changed colour since I last rode it. It is still really good but spends too long going round helixes, and not a patch on EGF of course.
- Platform 13 has an amazing queue line and station, a surprisingly decent launch for an old Vekoma LSM, but the ride itself is pretty dull and uncomfortable.
- Condor is not quite as bad as it was due to the new trains, but still needs scrapping.
- Speed of Sound - yuck.
- Drako, +1 as I didn't ride it last time. Yay.
The quality of Untamed really shows up just how bad the 3 Vekomas are in this park, which must now be obvious even to the average punter.
Got some great views from the big wheel:
The park closed at 6 so we didn't get any night rides but racked up 7 on Untamed, 4 on Lost Gravity and 4 on Goliath, so the painfully slow start to the day was a distant memory by the time we left.
On the way out we spotted this thing in a nearby field which was pretty interesting:
It's a sculpture with steps up the middle which was weird but well worth a 5 minute stop off.
Next up, the unusual same-day combination of Slagharen and Toverland!
The Netherlands has been top of my list to visit since Untamed opened, and having never visited Toverland, it was impossible to resist. So I waved farewell to my (extremely understanding and supportive) wife and baby for a 4 day European dash with my trusty riding buddy.
The Netherlands requires proof of vaccination plus a certified lat flow test to enter, so we stopped off in the car park of Heathrow Terminal 4 to get tested (Expresstest, £35) then hit the road to Harwich to get the overnight Stena Line ferry to Hook of Holland.
The ferry was great, I love travelling while sleeping, and it's a pretty good price considering it saves on hotel and car hire costs (£314 return for car +2 passengers in basic cabins).
On arrival we got absolutely grilled by the Dutch passport control, felt thoroughly told off for... I'm not sure what. Got my first ever EU stamp in my passport and we were eventually allowed in.
From there it was a pleasant 2 hour drive to Walibi Holland where we got another grilling since we weren't able to show a QR code from the "Corona Check" app, which does not work if you've been vaccinated in the UK. Eventually they reluctantly accepted our NHS vaccination certificates and we were in. Despite all the faff it was still only about 45 mins after opening time, so not too bad.
So, straight to the Main Event:
Yeah this thing didn't disappoint, what an amazing ride. The best moment is probably the 270 DICS, but I love how it just gets more and more frantic as the ride goes on. I'm a bit confused by the theming, the word "LOVE" everywhere, and the fly thing on the front of the train, but I'm sure it made sense to somebody.
I rode Robin Hood back in 2014 and needless to say there is absolutely no comparison.
Lost Gravity was also a new cred for me, it's a really fun ride, I'm surprised we haven't seen more like it being built.
I got an absolutely cracking ride on the front left, and the fireball went off inches away from me. Great stuff.
Aside from that there's not a huge amount to say about this park's coasters:
- Goliath has changed colour since I last rode it. It is still really good but spends too long going round helixes, and not a patch on EGF of course.
- Platform 13 has an amazing queue line and station, a surprisingly decent launch for an old Vekoma LSM, but the ride itself is pretty dull and uncomfortable.
- Condor is not quite as bad as it was due to the new trains, but still needs scrapping.
- Speed of Sound - yuck.
- Drako, +1 as I didn't ride it last time. Yay.
The quality of Untamed really shows up just how bad the 3 Vekomas are in this park, which must now be obvious even to the average punter.
Got some great views from the big wheel:
The park closed at 6 so we didn't get any night rides but racked up 7 on Untamed, 4 on Lost Gravity and 4 on Goliath, so the painfully slow start to the day was a distant memory by the time we left.
On the way out we spotted this thing in a nearby field which was pretty interesting:
It's a sculpture with steps up the middle which was weird but well worth a 5 minute stop off.
Next up, the unusual same-day combination of Slagharen and Toverland!
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