Goudurix is the infamous Vekoma looping coaster at Parc Asterix. This ride looks amazing,
but it famously placed in the bottom spot of both the Mitch Hawker and TPR coaster polls.
But I have a confession to make. I not only find Goudurix bearable, but I genuinely like
this ride. This is why I think it may be the most underrated coaster in the world. In this video,
I’ll explain why I think this coaster is so overhated and should really get more praise.
Parc Asterix opened in 1989 with just one major roller coaster in Goudurix.
And this was a record-setting coaster at the time. This ride opened as the tallest, fastest,
and longest coaster in all of France. But more notably, it tied Shockwave at Six Flags Great
America for the most inversions of any roller coaster in the world with seven.
Goudurix would hold this record until Dragon Khan opened at PortAventura with 8 in 1995.
Goduruix was a custom Vekoma MK-1200, which was a sit-down looping coaster model. These were
analogous to Arrow’s looping coasters. Vekoma sold several of these in the 1980s and 1990s.
These rides were capable of forceful inversions; however, this model suffered
from janky and/or rough transitions. And Goudurix was the poster child for this.
This coaster was a perennial contender for the world’s worst steel coaster,
as it earned that dubious distinction in the final Mitch Hawker poll in 2012.
More recently, it placed in the bottom 10 of TPR’s Coaster Poll. But is it really that bad?
Not for me. So why am I immune to this ride’s suffering?
I think there are three things that need to be considered.
First, I’m tall enough that my head clears the top of the over-the-shoulder harness. This means
I cannot get any headbanging. This improved a lot of Arrow loopers for me as I got older. If you’re
on the shorter side, I can totally understand why you may find Goudurix unbearable since this ride
most certainly is not smooth. If you watch my back row POV, you’ll see heads of taller riders
jostling around, but note how they are not smacking into anything. For me, that’s key.
Second, I have only ridden Goudurix in the back car.
Most coasters tend to be smoother up front, but maybe Goudurix is an exception. Because
I know people who rode this coaster recently up front and despised it.
Third, the park made a series of changes between 2000 and 2013 that made the coaster more bearable.
My first rides occurred in 2019 after all these modifications. I was nervous I just got lucky,
but I got a similarly pleasant experience in 2023. So what did the park do to improve the ride?
The coaster originally opened with Arrow trains, but these were switched to Vekoma trains in 2000.
These trains still had similar over-the-shoulder restraints though.
Further changes were made to the trains a decade later. A heavier chassis was
added in 2010. Then in 2011, the coaster got different wheels to try and reduce vibrations.
While I’m fine with the current trains, I think this coaster would benefit mightily from new
trains with vest restraints. This would eliminate the possibility of headbanging for all riders.
These trains have worked wonders on other Vekoma loopers like Blue Hawk at Six Flags Over Georgia
or Hyperspace Mountain at Disneyland Paris. Goudurix also had a lot of structural work
in 2013. This included modified supports and some retracking.
The transitions still aren’t perfect, but again, they don’t personally cause me pain. So if the
park wanted to fix this once and for all, they could look into a full retracking like the one
Python at Efteling got. That coaster is now smooth as glass. The layout is not the issue
with Goudruix, just the execution. This would make Goudurix a darn near perfect looping coaster.
For all the hate this ride gets, most people agree that it looks fantastic.
The coaster originally opened with white track, but it was painted yellow in 2009.
While I’m not a big fan of the shade of yellow the ride uses, I do love the ride’s placement.
It’s in the back of the park above the water. It is such a pretty location. This coaster’s mess
of inversions is mesmerizing to watch. It also has a nice entry sign affixed
to some actual coaster track no less! And I also like the themed station. To
fit in with the Viking area, the station was turned into a viking boat in the 2007 season.
Another thing people agree on is that Goudurix has fantastic operations. Each train holds 28 riders.
The trains are comprised of 7 cars with each car having 2 rows of 2. This ride has two trains,
but the crew moves fast enough to support three. They not only avoid stacking, but
they regularly have the next train heading up the lift before the prior one hits the final brakes.
The crews at Parc Asterix are some of the fastest across the board, but the load
procedures at Goudurix are particularly easy. All belongings ride at your feet, much like a
Disney coaster. So riders don’t need to waste time storing things on the unload platform.
Then you just have a simple over-the-shoulder harness with no secondary restraint.
Goudurix will still generate a queue most days, but it will typically be less than the park’s
other major coasters. Expect the wait to be somewhere in 20-30 minute range on average.
If you want to avoid the wait altogether, there are two ways to do so.
First, head here in the last few hours of the day. I’ve seen this coaster as a complete
walk-on in the last hour or two of the day. The line typically peaks around noon and starts
to decrease steadily by the mid-afternoon. Second, purchase a Filotomatix skip-the-line
pass. Goudurix is included on all tiers or you can purchase a single shot for 8 Euros.
And two notes if you use this. First, the Filotomatix entrance is a royal pain to
find. It’s nowhere near the main entrance. It’s located on the pathway towards the
park entrance exclusive for hotel guests. Second, because it dumps you off in the back
half of the station, you will usually be placed in one of the back cars. Some staff members
will honor seating requests and let you wait an extra train for a specific row, but not all do.
Once dispatched, you have a small dip out of the station, roll forwards, and slowly ascend the
118 foot or 36 meter tall lift. You face away from the park, heading towards the hotels.
At the top, you have a small dip and have a slow turn left.
Then you encounter the ride’s largest drop by far. This is a straight 11 story tall plunge.
It supposedly has a 64 degree angle of descent, but it feels much shallower than that.
Still, it does give some weak floater airtime if you’re in the back car.
You then charge through the first two inversions, a butterfly. This was a unique double inversion
designed specifically for Goudurix and Blue Hawk. It feels like a demented sea serpent. You
basically have this weirdly profiled sidewinder followed by a reverse sidewinder. I find the most
of this element smooth enough, but the transition out of the second loop is the most jarring on the
ride. You’ll really feel the train shake here. Where this maneuver excels is in the positive G
department. It is extremely forceful. It’s not just the half loops in and out of the element,
but you also have these tall and compact half corkscrews with a tight valley in between.
And along with all those positives, you also have two shocking headchoppers
entering and exiting the element. This is probably my favorite part of the ride.
Next comes a batwing. The half loops pile on the positive Gs as well,
as the train is yanked through them. The half corkscrews don’t track the best though. The
jolts caused a little neck chopping for me. Then comes a vertical loop. This is probably
the smoothest inversion. It’s fluid yet very forceful, as it dishes out some more positive Gs.
Goudurix then climbs upwards. When you level off, you actually get some weak floater airtime in the
rear rows. So I imagine you really get some really good negative Gs towards the front of the train.
This is followed by a sudden turn right. It’s fine in back, but the profiling
may have cause some abrupt and uncomfortable laterals towards the front of the train.
Something similar happened to me on another Vekoma looper in Loopen at TusenFryd.
Then comes a double corkscrew. There’s a nice near-miss into the element. Then the two
inversions have solid snap. They’re a lot better than your average Vekoma or Arrow corkscrew. There
is a bit of a pothole exiting the second corkscrew that can jolt you downwards, so just be aware.
Goudurix then has an upwards helix. This gives some nice laterals. In the back rows, you are
eased into them and they intensify as the element progresses, which keeps them comfortable for me.
Again, if you ride up front, maybe they’re more jarring since you’ll be pushed into the helix.
This ends with a brake run, but not the final brake run. But for
all intents and purposes the ride is pretty much over at this point.
After coming to a full stop, you slowly dive downwards and to the right. You then have
some straight track past the ride’s queue line. Then you hop upwards into the final brake run.
It always feels like the train will valley, but to my knowledge, it never has.
You then return to the station, ending the 3120 foot or 950 meter long coaster.
I’ve already touched on the smoothness, but what about the pacing? Goudurix is really
good in that department. Once you crest the lift, you have a big drop and seven
inversions in rapid-fire succession. There are no trims, brake runs, or throwaway elements.
It’s just one flip after another. Add in how forceful the inversions are, and it’s
no surprise why this coaster is so intense. So what would I rate Goudurix? I would give
this coaster a 7 out of 10. I genuinely like this coaster and I think this is a good ride…at least
for me. This is a fast-paced and extremely powerful looping coaster. The first five
inversions in particular standout, but those last two corkscrews aren’t too shabby either.
This ride does have some jolty transitions, but they aren’t painful for me. If you’re shorter,
I can totally see how these could cause headbanging and serious discomfort though.
And as I said at the start, I have only ridden this coaster in the back car, so if it is rougher
up front, I can’t personally attest to that. I think this ride is better than a lot of the
Arrow mega loopers in the US. Goudurix has far better pacing, more oomph, and honestly, it tracks
fairly similarly. So if you dislike those rides, you’ll probably hate this one. But I really do
not get the hate this coaster receives. Maybe it’s just the cool thing to bash on Goudurix,
but I’d prefer to just ride it. And I ride it multiple times every time I’m at Parc Asterix.
This isn’t even the roughest ride at Parc Asterix. That honor goes to Vol d’Icare,
but that’s a story for another day. If Goudurix ever got vest restraints and/or
a full retrack, I think this ride would shoot up the rankings of most enthusiasts. If it got these
changes, I’d place it ahead of a lot of B&Ms. So those are my thoughts on Goudurix at Parc
Asterix. Let me know if you find this ride enjoyable like me or if you’re one of the
people that hate this ride? Let me know down in the comments. If you enjoyed this review, I’d
appreciate it if you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a
lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!