Lech Coaster at Legendia is considered by many to be Vekoma’s magnum opus.
I went in with sky-high expectations and Lech Coaster met them.
This is the lone Bermuda Blitz model built thus far and I’m stunned there aren’t
more.
Lech Coaster is easily the star attraction at this Polish park, but this well-rounded
attraction also has a case as one of the best coasters in the world for positive Gs.
Lech Coaster is a greyout machine and in this video, I will explain why this coaster is
as good as its reputation suggests.
In the mid-2010s, Vekoma’s reputation performed a complete 180 amongst coaster enthusiasts.
This Dutch manufacturer was often criticized for cloning rough and/or lackluster coasters,
but they had two major developments that triggered a new age for the company.
First, Vekoma dramatically improved their track manufacturing capabilities.
The days of rough Vekomas are gone.
Their new rides are smooth as glass.
Second, Vekoma hired an innovative designer in Benjamin Bloemendaal.
Vekoma was still designing layouts that could be cloned, but their new layouts would be
much more dynamic rides combining fast-pacing, inversions, and airtime.
The first next-generation Vekoma thrill coaster was located just an hour away from Legendia
at the newly opened Energylandia.
Formula opened in 2016 and this was a short but sweet coaster.
I have a separate review going into more detail, but Formula showcased what Vekoma was capable
of.
And just one year later, they built something far more extreme at Legendia in Lech Coaster.
This Bermuda Blitz model would forgo the launch.
Instead, Lech Coaster stands 131 feet or 40 meters tall and features a crazy twisting
beyond-vertical drop.
Beyond vertical drops are always imposing, but adding a twist takes it to another level.
The black paint scheme looks menacing and I love this coaster’s placement on the back
edge of the lagoon.
The ride is perfectly centered with the park’s main street and you can get some amazing vantage
points of this coaster no matter where you are in the park.
Then when you get close to this beast, there are pathways going under and around.
Beyond the coaster itself looking great, the area around the attraction is well-landscaped
and the coaster has some light theming.
The queue line and station are housed in a themed building.
I believe there is supposed to be a pre-show, but unfortunately it was not being used the
day I visited.
So I didn’t get the background on this coaster’s story and theming.
Once you reach the station, you will find a train seating 20 riders across 5 cars.
The coaster has Vekoma’s vest restraints.
While they’re more restrictive than the restraints on Intamin’s newest looping coasters,
they’re comfortable and the straps have some give so they don’t inhibit the airtime
too much.
The park owns two trains, but only one was in use on this summer weekend day.
And that seemed suitable given the crowd levels.
The ride was a complete walk-on for the first hour.
In fact, there were so few people riding Lech Coaster initially that the operators were
deliberately waiting 10-15 minutes in between dispatches hoping more people would show up.
Once Lech Coaster formed a line- it was a posted 20 minute wait at its peak- the operations
went from deliberately glacial to pretty fast.
I ended up splurging for the unlimited Fastpass since it was only 15 USD and it got me on
the next train each time.
This allowed me to marathon this coaster, and it was a pretty demanding coaster to ride
given the forces it exerts.
In terms of seat selection, I liked the back row the best.
Most elements rode identically regardless where you sat, but Lech Coaster’s drop is
downright magical in the back car.
Once dispatched, you head towards the surprisingly steep lift hill.
It starts slow, but it rapidly picks up the pace.
This leads to the train being absolutely thrown over that first drop.
The ridiculously steep angle combined with the twist results in a powerful combination
of great ejector airtime and violent laterals simultaneously.
The drop reminded me of Expedition GeForce.
Towards the front, you won’t get the same laterals but you will still get some floater
airtime because of how extreme that angle of descent is.
But again, you want to experience this drop in the back.
That’s the best spot to experience one of the world’s best drops.
The pullout charges through some rockwork, but I’m going to be honest, I don’t recall
seeing that on any of my rides.
That’s because I lost my vision.
I was always greying out on this pullout through the entirety of the dive loop.
This is one of the strongest and most sustained greyouts I’ve ever experienced.
It’s almost as good as the one on Intimidator 305.
The pullout from the drop is shockingly tight and I believe this is where the coaster pulls
its max G-force of 4.8.
That’s an impressive figure on its own, but the fact Lech Coaster sustains it through
the following inversion and that inversion’s pullout is what makes it special.
And spoiler alert, this is not the last greyout.
My vision would return midway through the supersized S-hill that follows.
It’s a similar sensation to Intimidator 305 when your vision returns on the second
hill.
If you’ve never experienced airtime while greying out, it is a funky sensation.
Everything feels fuzzy and the weightlessness is super disorienting.
And that’s especially the case because the S-hill gives strong airtime; it’s good ejector
airtime throughout the train.
That’s followed by another forceful low turn that nearly caused me to see some grey.
You then fly over a giant camelback.
This hill has a super sharp crest and it delivers sustained airtime in all rows.
Those up front get strong floater airtime while those in the back get decent ejector
airtime.
Instead of dropping back down to the ground, you instead level off early and then charge
through the station.
But unlike those station fly-bys on GCIs that are simple straight track, Vekoma took a page
from Intamin’s playbook and placed an inversion above the load platform.
It gets you hyped up for your ride while waiting in the station and it’s downright crazy
on-ride.
The element starts flat like an inline twist before twisting downwards like a traditional
corkscrew.
Whatever this maneuver is, it’s fantastic.
You have so much speed through it that you are abruptly whipped 360 degrees.
And it’s extremely disorienting too from the near-misses with the station building.
There isn’t much clearance!
Lech Coaster then returns to the positive Gs.
The pullout from the corkscrew pulls some very strong Gs and they’re sustained through
the following overbank that’s super tight.
This was another section where I’d get a sustained greyout each ride.
After another high speed turn, I regained my vision and was treated to an awesome bunny
hill.
This element offered some great ejector airtime throughout the train.
Again, I need to emphasize how weird it feels to get airtime like that while immediately
coming off a greyout.
The bunny hill shoots under the brake run in one of the few near-misses you can actually
appreciate before ripping through the ride’s third and final inversion, a corkscrew.
This one is taken fast.
It’s pretty snappy and offers some laterals.
The corkscrew transitions into another super sharp turn that had me seeing grey on each
ride without fail.
You then coast over this off-axis hill.
And this is the one element that was a relative dud.
It did nothing up front and only offered weak floater airtime in back.
These off-axis hills are the one element Vekoma hasn’t yet perfected on their new designs.
Lech Coaster then cruises around a 270 degree upwards helix that pulls some good positive
Gs.
I’d start to see some grey on half my rides.
The exit from the helix is this sweet s-hill that gives a good pop of ejector airtime that
is extremely disorienting if you managed to lose your vision on that prior helix.
After another low, tight, and forceful turn that consistently had me seeing grey, Lech
Coaster shot into the brake run, giving those up front a little floater airtime.
And I always felt fuzzy and dizzy once the 2979 feet or 908 meters of track ended.
It’s not uncommon for me to see grey on a lot of coasters.
Vertical loops and tight pullouts usually do it for me.
But most rides only offer this sensation once.
Lech Coaster did it at least 6 times.
There were two of the longest and most sustained greyouts I’ve had on any coaster plus 4
other turns had me seeing grey to a lesser extent.
The amount of positive Gs this coaster pulls is crazy.
It’s without a doubt one of the most intense coasters I’ve ridden.
And I wonder if this is why there aren’t more Bermuda Blitz coasters.
Even their new Shockwave coaster in Abyssus didn’t pull positive Gs like this.
So what would I rate Lech Coaster?
I would give this coaster a perfect 10 out of 10.
This coaster is phenomenal.
The layout and pacing is near-perfect.
Really the only weak element is that aforementioned off-axis hill.
Every other element and transition is incredible.
The way Lech Coaster transitions between ejector airtime, crushing positive Gs, and snappy
inversions is a balance few coasters have ever been able to attain.
Lech Coaster rates similarly to Intimidator 305 for me.
Both rides feel like they’ll try to kill you with positive Gs.
Lech Coaster is a borderline top 25 steel coaster for me because of its sheer intensity
and varied layout.
I really hope something like this comes to America in the future.
So those are my thoughts on Lech Coaster, the awesome Bermuda Blitz coaster at Legendia.
What are your thoughts on this forceful coaster?
Are you excited for the future of Vekoma?
I would love to hear your thoughts down in the comments.
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