I want you to picture your local FEC. Imagine if they added a Bolliger & Mabillard wing coaster
17 years from now. Does that seem absurd? Well one FEC in the Netherlands managed to do that.
And to that, I introduce Fenix at Toverland. Yes it’s a small B&M wing coaster, but it’s a big
and bold investment for a park like Toverland. Was it a good move? Find out in this review!
Toverland opened in 2001 as an indoor family entertainment center,
but they have successfully transformed themselves into a full-fledged theme park.
They’ve expanded outdoors, improving their theming and ride offerings simultaneously.
This park made it onto the map of most coaster enthusiasts with Troy in 2007,
as that GCI was and still is the country’s tallest and fastest wood coaster.
Their fifth roller coaster in 2018 was their costliest addition ever at 17 million Euros
and that would be none other than Fenix. This coaster would be the park’s tallest
and fastest coaster. And it looks incredible. This coaster is the anchor of the brand new
Avalon themed area. Fenix’s royal blue track really pops and the coaster is integrated
beautifully into the land. It’s impossible to miss the giant wingover drop. I love how the
bunny hill and zero-G roll are framed with the land’s entrance. Then you can go all around the
attraction. There are all sorts of pathways and the Merlin’s Quest boat ride goes beneath it.
Then in 2023, a Gerstlauer Sky Fly will be added in the middle of the coaster’s
helix to add even more energy to the area. The ride also has some shockingly good theming.
Like most of the park’s new additions, the ride has a custom soundtrack.
This is a great score that feels epic. The station and queue building looks like a castle straight
from Lord of the Rings. The queue line is dark and mysterious. It’s brilliantly lit and atmospheric.
And it honestly gives me Dueling Dragons vibes between the theming and how you choose your
position…aka side…at the end of the queue. Fenix usually has the shortest wait of
Toverland’s coasters. Part of that is its higher height restriction and part of that
The park will run just one train on quieter days as I saw during my 2022 visits,
which is completely understandable. It also helps the restraints are easy to check. You have snug
vest restraints with a redundant seatbelt. And they’re super comfortable for riders too,
eliminating the chance of any headbanging. Each side offers its own visuals, so I choose
whichever side has the shorter wait. As for which row I prefer, I like the front and back equally.
I think the back may have a pinch more force, but you have that unobstructed view up front.
Once dispatched, you turn out of the station into a brief dark ride section.
You stop in front of this giant dragon animatronic breathing mist and fog over the train. It’s a
really cool start to the ride. The theming doesn’t really continue onto the rest of the coaster, but
that’s fine since the landscaping and interaction with the land is more than satisfactory.
The lift is 131 feet or 40 meters tall, making it the tallest attraction at Toverland.
At the top, you oddly make a 90 degree turn before heading into the wingover drop. The
other wing coasters with this element go straight into it off the lift hill. And I love this drop.
Those up front get some great hangtime as you slowly rotate high above the ground.
Those in back get some decent airtime as the train is pulled down the drop. Then everyone
is blasted with positive Gs at the base. And these won’t be the last positives either.
Next is a fantastic bunny hill. You get some serious sustained floater airtime here.
Getting that type of airtime without slowing down is magical. It feels similar to the speed hills on
B&M hypers and gigas. You also have an excellent headchopper as you dive beneath the bridge.
You then zoom through an Immelmann. It has decent force to it,
but that’s just the beginning. This element flows seamlessly into a wild low-to-the-ground helix.
Fenix reportedly hits nearly 5 Gs and I suspect this is where that occurs.
I greyed out on all my rides here. It’s easily the most intense moment on any wing coaster.
Between the forces, speed, and near-miss with the ground,
this is probably the best part of the ride. Next is a zero-G roll. I was expecting a nice
and floaty inversion like you get on the other wing coasters, but instead this one
is whippy. It reminded me more of some of the zero-G rolls on the B&M floorless coasters
how you’re pulled through the inversion. You only get a little float in the back row.
You’re simply go through the element too quickly to get any airtime or hangtime.
At this point, Fenix is essentially over. You glide over an s-hill that doesn’t do too much.
Then you round a decently forceful turn and head into the brakes, getting a hint of laterals.
This ends the 2667 foot or 813 meter long coaster, but it feels shorter than that.
This is my biggest gripe with the ride. I was surprised to learn this wasn’t the
shortest B&M wing coaster. Rides like Swarm at Thorpe Park and Flug der Damonen at Heide Park
have less track, but they feel like more complete rides. I think there are a few reasons for this.
One, Fenix’s track length is padded by the pre-lift section.
Two, the other wing coasters I mentioned have more elements and inversions
so you seem to get more bang for your buck. Three, Fenix stays low to the ground
and maintains its speed better start to finish. You really fly through the layout.
I imagine this is all Toverland had the budget for since it was already a very
pricey addition- especially considering the themed land around the coaster.
So I get why there isn’t more track length. Instead Toverland went for
quality over quantity and those first 2/3 make it arguably the most intense wing coaster.
I just touched on the pacing, but what about the smoothness? Fenix is very smooth. Some
of the B&M wing coasters have a vibration on the outside seats, but Fenix doesn’t have that
issue. Maybe that’s because it’s less than 5 years old, but I hope it stays that way.
So what would I rate Fenix? I would give this B&M wing coaster an 8 out of 10.
This is a good all-around attraction. The way this ride is integrated into Avalon is great
and the theming during the queue line, station, and pre-lift make it a complete experience. Then
the coaster delivers a surprisingly intense and well-paced ride too. I love the 3 inversions,
bunny hill, and helix. These are some of the strongest elements on any B&M wing coaster
and it really is impressive how well the ride holds its speed. Compare that to the other wing
coasters that have slower and floatier elements. My only flaw with the ride is the ride duration.
It really could have used another element or two to elevate it into the top tier of wing coasters.
I still think Troy is the best attraction at Toverland.
That being said, Fenix is the perfect compliment and it’s a highly marketable attraction for them.
The ride seems like a real crowd-pleaser with guests. I really hope Toverland
gets the return-on-investment on such a large addition like this.
So those are my thoughts on Fenix at Toverland. How do you think it compares to the other B&M
wing coasters? Let me know 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!