Walibi Holland

Biddinghuizen, The Netherlands

“Holland’s most thrilling amusement park”

After being named Flevohof, Walibi Flevo, Six Flags Holland and Walibi World, the Netherlands’ premier roller coaster destination is now called Walibi Holland. This park attracts approximately 850,000 visitors per year and most of them are thrill seekers. Thanks to its extensive coaster collection, Walibi Holland is a must do destination for coaster enthusiasts. The park is also known for its rather unusual Festivalisation theme. Walibi doesn’t feature common themes like a Far West village or an adventurous jungle, but they chose to decorate the park with graffiti, bright colours and antique ornaments. That’s why some parts of the park feel like a giant, open-air cocktail bar.

ROLLER COASTERS

Untamed is one of Europe’s few hybrid coasters. It was built by Rocky Mountain Construction and it replaced Robin Hood, a Vekoma wooden roller coaster which has entertained guests from 2000 until 2018. Well… maybe ‘entertained’ isn’t the right word, as Robin Hood became pretty rough during the last few years. That issue has definitely been fixed, but Untamed is more than just a smooth coaster. It also consists of incredible airtime, power and heavily banked curves. RMC’s layouts always look a tad unnatural, but they feel like they’ve been designed by the gods. When I first looked at those two first inversions, I wondered how on Earth such an element could feel comfortable. But at the moment we experiences the so-called double inverted corner stall (exotic names for coaster elements… another RMC specialty), it provided some of the craziest coaster fun ever. Untamed is a hype and I had high expectations, but the ride didn’t disappoint in any way. Awesome!

Walibi Holland’s tallest, fastest and longest coaster is Goliath. This Intamin Mega Coaster has been a fan favourite since it opened. With over 1.2 kilometres of track, a height of 46 metres and a top speed of 105 km/h, it’s quite an impressive ride. Still, Goliath hasn’t aged as well as many similar Mega Coasters. Don’t get me wrong: the first drop is fantastic, the ride offers some amazing airtime and the Stengel Dive is wonderful. The second part of the layout, however, is pretty forceless. Whereas Untamed literally keeps going until the final brake run, Goliath loses its pace much faster. I’d like to praise the ride’s crew for their incredibly fast dispatches, but one ride is enough for me today.

One single ride on Goliath is enough, but one single ride on the nearby Condor is too much. Condor has been known as one of Europe’s roughest roller coasters for many years. This was the prototype of the Suspended Looping Coaster, one of Vekoma’s most successful coaster models ever. I haven’t ridden any version that was really enjoyable, but I remember this one as the worst of them all. You should only ride it if you really want the credit.

Ever wondered how Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster looks like in daylight? Xpress – Platform 13 provides the answer because it has an identical layout. This Dutch version isn’t themed to music, though. Platform 13 tells the story of a creepy, abandoned metro station. The walk-through towards the station is amazing and the platform itself is nicely decorated as well. It’s just a shame that the actual ride isn’t themed at all. This dark theme would be perfect if it was enhanced with music and frightening effects. Unfortunately, we experience a rather rough roller coaster in the open air. That doesn’t necessarily make Xpress a bad ride, but it feels like a missed opportunity to me.

Walibi’s Boomerang is themed elaborately and the park’s two kiddie coasters are necessary for a full coaster bingo, but these rides don’t deliver must do experiences. Lost Gravity, however, should not be missed. This unusual roller coaster can be found in an area that I would define as urban trashy. It looks peculiar, to say the least, but it works effectively here at Walibi. This is not Efteling or Disneyland, where theming makes up 80 percent of the overall experience. This is Walibi, a park which still primarily focuses on hashtag youth. In this specific case, however, those hashtaggers have to settle for a rather mediocre roller coaster ride. Lost Gravity features a fantastic first drop, some good airtime and a brilliant near miss with a water bomb, but the last part of the layout is pretty uninteresting. Besides, the ride is considerably rougher than I remembered it to be. Don’t get me wrong… I don’t hate Lost Gravity and I really enjoy the ride’s unusual look. But if you’re hoping for a world-class coaster, it may cause some disappointment.

ANYTHING ELSE?

Walibi Holland is at its best on a warm summer day. I realise that this applies to every theme park on Earth, but Walibi really lacks some indoor experiences. The only indoor ride is a mediocre mad house; all other rides take place in the open air. Besides, the park offers a good amount of water-based attractions. There’s Crazy River (a log flume with three drops and an invertor), El Rio Grande (a beautifully integrated rapid river) and Walibi is home to the world’s first Splash Battle as well.

WORTH A VISIT?

Untamed counts as one of Europe’s best roller coasters. But how awesome is Walibi Holland? Is this the Netherlands’ best day trip? Unfortunately it isn’t, in my opinion. This is mainly due to the park’s lack of dark rides and family-oriented coasters. Although Walibi Holland is trying to put itself on the map as a family-friendly destination, it primarily remains a park for thrill seekers. Five of its eight roller coasters feature inversions and the park’s kiddie coasters are just ridiculously small. What this park needs, is a coaster like Pégase Express (Parc Astérix) or a major dark ride. So is Walibi worth a visit? Yes, but only if you’re in search for spectacular roller coasters.

What’s your favourite roller coaster at Walibi Holland? How painful was your ride on Condor? What would be an ideal future addition to the park’s attraction lineup? Share your thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of this page.