Walibi Holland + Fright Night Questions

[Tichkhan]

Hello!

This is my first post on the forum, I hope I'm posting it in the right place.

I am planning to visit Walibi Holland on October 13 (Sunday) this year. It would be my first time in the park and in the Netherlands. We will be coming from Barcelona. (forgive me about my English! ) My group will also want to do some sightseeing during our short trip (our main idea was to visit Amsterdam) and, as a newbie, I have some questions that I hope you can help me with.

About transportation:

We may not be able to have a car to get to the park, so I wanted to ask you guys about how to get there by public transportation (I found something in the forum, but I don't know if the information will still be valid in 2024). Mostly I am concerned about whether public transportation would allow me to get to the park before opening time (I am aware that it will be very crowded, so I want to take advantage of the opening to save time queuing at some majors) and, above all, if it would allow me to stay until the park closes, which I know that during Fright Nights is at 11 PM. I have seen that there is a bus that takes you from Harderwijk train station and vice versa, but the timetables are not yet available for October, so I'm worried that I won't be able to stay until the last minute and use the whole day.

We have not yet decided exactly where we will stay, so maybe I could consider the option of looking for an AirBNB near Harderwijk station, but I do not know if it would be uncomfortable when visiting Amsterdam, as I see that it is quite far from the city. Would you recommend me some place halfway between the park and Amsterdam that could make things easier for us in case we don't have our own car?

About the park:

We are only going to be able to attend one day at the park, and I would like to make the most of both the “normal” park hours and Fright Nights. Do you think it is possible to do all the majors before the start of the event, so that we can dedicate the time to the Haunted Houses and the Fright Nights experiences? I am aware that the park gets packed at that time, but we can't afford to buy the Fast Lane, as the tickets for the Fright Nights experiences are also really expensive.

Is it worth paying the extra for the R.I.P Pass, considering we will also be paying for tickets to The Clinic, Slaughterhouse and Below? (we are a bunch of big horror fans, Fright Nights are our main incentive for the trip). The sum of it all sounds like too much for our budget, but I imagine it's really hard to be able to do all four Haunted Houses + the 3 experiences (not even counting the Walkthroughs) without the R.I.P Pass, right? Also, I'd really like to be able to have some night rides, especially on Untamed or Goliath, of course

If I'm not mistaken, the time slot that is assigned to you with the purchase of the tickets for Slaughterhouse, The Clinic and Below implies that the queue time you will do is reduced, have I understood this right?

Do you think that going on a Sunday will make our visit a little less crowded?

I'm sure I'm leaving some questions out, I'll write if I think of more!

Thank you very much in advance! Hope you guys can help me out

 

[Hutch]

I visited the Netherlands for the first time last year and public transit is very easy. I did a day trip to Walibi from Amsterdam no problem. It might take a couple hours each way, so just make sure you're up in time. I wouldn't worry about moving accommodations.

I visited on a Monday in October. I can't remember if they had their haunts going on that night (I left the park at around 5:30 PM knowing I didn't want to return to the city super late). But there were decent crowds and some queues on each ride. But most of the good stuff has single rider anyway, so I was able to get multiple rides on Untamed, Goliath, and Lost Gravity. It'll likely be busier for you, especially with the haunts. Their fast pass seems like a decent option anyway, but I'd hope that the single riders are still sufficient.

I arrived at the park at around 15 minutes after park open but they were still testing rides so if you're not able to get there before open, I wouldn't worry too much (there should be earlier bus options, not sure how late they go but I'd imagine they run late as so many people use it).

 

[Tichkhan]

Hey, Hutch! Thank you very much for your response

I think getting there won't be much of an issue (besides the 2 hours ), but my main concern is coming back to Amsterdam. I think the bus (Walibi Express) usually runs until the closing hour, so I imagine there will be busses running. But I am aware that the trains from Harderwijkto Amsterdam don't run that late (at least in the timetable that are uploaded at the moment). I thought about getting an Uber, but I think that will be even more expensive than staying a single night near the station.

I really hope we can get a car in the end. I'll definitely ask you guys again when I come up with new doubts

Thank you very much again!

 

[Markiewong]

Hi Tichkhan, first of all welcome to the forum!

I'll try to reframe your questions in a question/answer format. If there is any question missing feel free to drop it.

Transporation​

Bus or car?
There is a direct bus connection between Harderwijk station and Walibi. Its 27 min and it runs every half a hour (I think more during Halloween). You can check the time table when you get closer to the date on www.9292.nl. They do run from pre-opening till past-closing and while the morning one won't be that big of a nightmare the closing one tends to be. Especially since your last train departs around 00:20. I haven't used the Walibi Express in quite some time, but I always see huge lines at the end of HFN. In general leaving Walibi after HFN is quite a nightmare. Theres only one lane roads around the park and they get completely clogged up, and there is no dedicated bus lane. Atleast with a car you won't have to stress about catching the last train of the day.

Where to stay?
Staying between Harderwijk and Amsterdam doesn't really make any sense. You are neither close to Walibi nor Amsterdam plus you are still dependent on the train. If you don't rent a car get a hotel in Harderwijk. That way you don't have to rely on the trains.

The park​

Can we do all majors before the start of the event?
That depends on what you consider majors. Try to get there before opening and immediatly do Untamed. I can't stress this enough, the ride is ridiculous popular and also the only ride where the queue will close way earlier than the rest (last year it closed at 21:30). Starting around 12 the park will get increasingly more busy with most coasters topping between the 120 and 180 minutes.

Do you think that going on a Sunday will make our visit a little less crowded?
No. It doesn't matter on which day you go during HFN, it will most likely be sold out and filled to the brim. Park is open from 10-23, but most people will pour in after 12.

Should we get a fast lane?
I inserted this question myself, because I think you should reconsider it. Unless you are only going to do haunted houses after 15:00 all rides will have horror wait times of 2/3 hours. I strongly advice you to get a fastlane, it will be the only way for you to do (night) rides and haunted houses. Yes the fastlane prices are steep (35 - 120). But doing HFN without them is a waste of your money unless you accept that you will do 3 rides in your whole day. You also won't be able to do nighttime rides without super long wait times.

HFN​

Should I get a RIP pass?
That depends on what will be part of it this year. The Final Slay Ride won't return this year. So the RIP pass will probably be Psychoshock, The Villa, Jeffersons Manor and Camp of Curiosities where I only think the last two are worth it. Jefferson opens earlier. If you pick an early time slot the wait time won't be more than 20 min.

What time do the houses open?
There are quite a lot of houses and they open stacked between 15:00 and 18:00. Plan smartly with the houses early and the walkthroughs later so you can do them when the sun has completely set.

Can I do all everything without a RIP pass?
Yes but it requires some smart planning and you won't be able to do any rides. Only having 10/15 min break inbetween houses.

Do I have to pick a time slot for the houses and how long are the wait times?
You have to pick a time slot for each ticket. The clinic and slaughterhouse are 15 minutes, all others are 30 minute slots. This does not mean there won't be any wait times, there still is. But the time slots streamline it a bit. Depending on the capacity of the house the time is longer or shoter. In my experience Clinic and Slaugterhouse were fine while Wicked Woods is the biggest offender with +30 min.

What should I do?
The three experiences: Clinic, Slaughterhouse and Below are what sets Walibi apart from the competition. They are absolutely peak and should not be skipped even though the prices are steep. Furthermore I would recommend these other three

• Wicked Woods
• Jefferson Manor
• Camp of curiosities

 

[Tichkhan]

Hello again!!!

First of all: OMG, I'm so sorry @Markiewong, I totally overlooked your super helpful post. It's been a long time since I've been active on forums and I'm not as good at it as I used to be.... Thank you so much for your reply, you cleared up a lot of doubts for me. I am finally staying in Amsterdam and we will be going to and from the park by car. We already have our tickets (we got Early Bird, yay!) and now that the tickets for the HFN attractions have gone on sale it's time to decide what we can afford. New doubts arise on my mind.

Finally, we had decided to buy Fast Lane, but we found out that during HFN the price increases a lot more than we expected and only Bronze, Silver and Gold (single and regular) are on sale.

Do you think that buying Fast Lane Bronze is worth it? (if I am not mistaken it is just a virtual queue, it does not reduce waiting time, which sounds a little bit too much for a virtual queue to me...) We would like to be able to leave most of the majors (roller coasters) done before the start of the HFN in the afternoon, so we can enjoy the event even though because of the prices we will not be able to do all the rides we wanted to do. So, do you reckon that we can do that if we get there early, run to Untamed + Goliath at the moment the gates open and then we combine the virtual queue with the regular queue for the other coasters? (Yes, I also wanna try to do the Condor credit )

Do you know how far in advance the Fast Lanes tend to sell out? We may not be able to buy everything at once, but we are a bit afraid that they sell out.

We had planned to buy (which we still don't know if we will be able to do, given the price and because we are not sure if we will have time to do it). We had planned to buy (which we still don't know if we will be able to do, given the price and because we are not sure if we will have time) Slaughterhouse, The Clinic, Below, Wicked Woods and try the new US vs YOU (which sounds similar to Survival Maze from Horrorland). Do you have any information about the type of attraction it will be? If it is very similar, maybe we will skip it). Oh, and do you guys recommend making them in any specific order? Because Slaughterhouse opens a couple of hours earlier than the other ones, but it totally feels like it should be the last one in terms of intensity. Also, IDK if any of them gets affected by daylight.

I'd really like to try one of the traditional Haunted Houses, but I guess we'll have to wait until we're in the park and see if we can afford it and if we have time. Do the Haunted Houses usually sell out on the same day?

For now, I think this is all. Thank you all very much in advance and, again, a thousand apologies to Markiewong for not having seen his post!

 

[Markiewong]

Hello again!!!

First of all: OMG, I'm so sorry @Markiewong, I totally overlooked your super helpful post. It's been a long time since I've been active on forums and I'm not as good at it as I used to be.... Thank you so much for your reply, you cleared up a lot of doubts for me. I am finally staying in Amsterdam and we will be going to and from the park by car. We already have our tickets (we got Early Bird, yay!) and now that the tickets for the HFN attractions have gone on sale it's time to decide what we can afford. New doubts arise on my mind.

Finally, we had decided to buy Fast Lane, but we found out that during HFN the price increases a lot more than we expected and only Bronze, Silver and Gold (single and regular) are on sale.

Do you think that buying Fast Lane Bronze is worth it? (if I am not mistaken it is just a virtual queue, it does not reduce waiting time, which sounds a little bit too much for a virtual queue to me...) We would like to be able to leave most of the majors (roller coasters) done before the start of the HFN in the afternoon, so we can enjoy the event even though because of the prices we will not be able to do all the rides we wanted to do. So, do you reckon that we can do that if we get there early, run to Untamed + Goliath at the moment the gates open and then we combine the virtual queue with the regular queue for the other coasters? (Yes, I also wanna try to do the Condor credit )

Do you know how far in advance the Fast Lanes tend to sell out? We may not be able to buy everything at once, but we are a bit afraid that they sell out.

We had planned to buy (which we still don't know if we will be able to do, given the price and because we are not sure if we will have time to do it). We had planned to buy (which we still don't know if we will be able to do, given the price and because we are not sure if we will have time) Slaughterhouse, The Clinic, Below, Wicked Woods and try the new US vs YOU (which sounds similar to Survival Maze from Horrorland). Do you have any information about the type of attraction it will be? If it is very similar, maybe we will skip it). Oh, and do you guys recommend making them in any specific order? Because Slaughterhouse opens a couple of hours earlier than the other ones, but it totally feels like it should be the last one in terms of intensity. Also, IDK if any of them gets affected by daylight.

I'd really like to try one of the traditional Haunted Houses, but I guess we'll have to wait until we're in the park and see if we can afford it and if we have time. Do the Haunted Houses usually sell out on the same day?

For now, I think this is all. Thank you all very much in advance and, again, a thousand apologies to Markiewong for not having seen his post!

No idea if the info is still relevant for you but I will try to answer it as extensive as possible. I grouped some of your stuff together.

Fastlane
I used to say yes, but with the current price increase its more expensive than a seperate daily ticket. For people that live nearby, I would recommend just going another day outside of HFN for coaster. In your case since you don't live nearby it depends on how much you value rides. If you arrive early at 10 you can do most coasters without a long wait. As the day progresses it becomes increasingly more busy with wait times peaking at +120 minutes. I wouldn't count on doing a lot of rides in the evening and spend your time on enjoying the atmosphere.

Start your day in the back at Untamed and work forward to Express.

Tickets
Fastlane in my experience doesn't sell out in advance.

RIP Passes and the experiences do. Especially Clinic and Slaugterhouse due to their low capacity.

Always buy your tickets in advance and not on the same day. They become more expensive then.

Btw the before dark package sounds like a great deal if you want to do them on the cheap and don't mind the day light. Just be sure that you pick the last timeslot for Camp of Curiosities and end as late as possible into the queue.

Houses/Experiences
Us Vs You is a regular house and not an experience, I only know that you go in in groups of 8. I would recommend it looking at the quality of their latest additions. Some of the older houses, especially Villa and Psychoshock show their age.

Order wise I would Slaughterhouse earlier than Clinic. I am doing all houses this year so I have to start early to be able to make it. But if that is not the case I would move them towards the start of the event and spend the time before that on rides. Only the walkthroughs are outside, so be sure that you plan a time slot in the dark. The first time slot of 1800 is not dark enough except if you are in the last weekend.

If you have any more questions feel free to put them here, I will more actively follow this topic in the upcoming weeks since the event will be starting soon.

 

[Tichkhan]

Hi again! Thank you for responding, it's totally useful!

We already brought our tickets for Slaughterhouse, The Clinic and Below and we also purchased US vs YOU and Wicked Woods, so we can have try a little bit of everything. We scheduled it in those timeslots:

Us vs You 15 - 15:30

Slaughterhouse 16-16:30

Below 17:30-18:00

Wicked Woods 19:30-20:00

The clinic 21 - 21:30

We thought about deciding whether to buy it at the last minute for the fast lane. We will look online at the queue times from the previous weekend (October 4-5) and make the decision. We are considering buying the fast lane bronze, i.e. the virtual queue. This way we can queue while we are in the experiences and haunted houses and sneak in some coaster between haunt and haunt. Even though we've been told that it is worth to soak in on the atmosphere of the park at night.

BTW, on the park's website it says that Fast Lane is one-person, but I've been told that it can actually be used by more than one person. Is this true?

We will definitely go to Untamed as soon as the park opens, as you advise us.

Depending on time and availability, we may buy tickets for an additional haunted house or two, but we will probably decide that at the park.

Thank you very much for your help!! Any tip is super helpful to us. We are really looking forward for that trip!

 

[Markiewong]

I think you made an excellent selection, showcasing all the best stuff they have to offer. Very curious to hear your experiences, especially as a first timer.

The fast lane is per person, but can be used by anybody within the group if you pass him/her the phone. You reserve a spot through the website and when it is your time slot the QR code will pop up. When the staff scans it it will them how many people are part of the group.

Major tip is to plan your lunch and dinner time outside of the rush hours. The lines get super long since the park doesn't have enough capacity to feed all those people at the same time. Buy drinks in advance, there are lockers you can rent at the entrance for the whole day for 5 euros. The park isn't that big so its easy to go back to them. Walibi doesn't offer alot of covered options, so make sure you have layer of clothes and umbrellas/rain clothes for in the locker if the weather is not gonna be nice.

 

[TheTalbotHound]

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but it's usually better to enter the house queues near the end of your timeslot, but just before the next one gets let into the main queue. Usually that is when the queue is the least full.

 

[Tichkhan]

Hi again!

Definitely gonna tell you guys my impressions when I come back! We hope it's worth all the mess (and money)

Regarding the fast lane, if we buy it (we doubt it, since the overpricing it's really too much) we are gonna buy one per persona in the end. We've been thinking about splitting it, but we're gona loose so much time either ways.

We though on skipping the rush hours for lunch and dinner but, what would you consider rush hours? I know in Holland people tend to eat much more earlier than what we are used to in spain, for example.

And thank you @yTheTalbotHound for the tip! Definitely gonna keep that in mind! We have the first time slot of the day for US vs YOU (15-15:30) do you reckon it's better to go there near the end of the slot, considering its the first turn? I've been told that timeslots work pretty well and they tend to save a valuable time on queues, I really hope that's true.

Thank you guys for everything again!

 

[TheTalbotHound]

I'd still suggest going at the end of the timeslot. People will come early and fill up the pre-queue cattle pen before every timeslot, including the first one, before they're all let into the main queue at the start time of the timeslot. So unless you get to the pre-queue about 15 minutes early, the best thing to do is to wait for the queue to empty a bit during the timeslot before going in, then they're less likely to send groups too close to each other. For Us vs You that last part won't be a problem because the way the scarehouse is designed means that you will never catch up to a group in front.