Kondaa is the newest Intamin mega coaster at Walibi Belgium. This ride was announced back
in 2018 and I, like many coaster enthusiast, patiently waited for this coaster to open. That
finally happened in 2021 and it’s exceptional. This ride feels like the combination of Expedition
GeForce and Steel Vengeance. Find out what makes this coaster so special in this review!
Walibi Belgium had always been a contender for the top coaster lineup in Belgium,
mostly for quantity over quality. The park had some interesting coasters including a Vekoma
wood coaster and an indoor Schwarzkopf shuttle loop, but nothing world-class. A few years ago,
this park unveiled a 100 million Euro investment plan and the lynchpin of this was Kondaa.
This coaster was placed in the very back of Walibi Belgium in the relatively new Exotic
World section. The coaster’s first few elements run alongside the road to draw in prospective
customers. But from within the park, despite how this is the park’s tallest coaster,
you really can’t see it until you’re right on top of it. But the reveal of this coaster
is a wow moment as you see that 164 foot or 50 meter tall lift and the twisting first drop.
This coaster looks like the child of Expedition GeForce and Steel Vengeance.
For many years, Intamin was arguably the foremost designer of intense, airtime-packed coasters. But
a new competitor entered the ring over the past decade in Rocky Mountain Construction.
RMC developed coasters jam-packed with airtime,
offering rapid-fire elements that would eject you from your seat in all different orientations.
Intamin clearly noticed this as Kondaa, like several of their other recent projects,
have elements inspired by RMC. The first drop twists 90 degrees to the right
and is followed by a camelback like Expedition GeForce. But then you navigate a massive outward
banked hill like the one on Steel Vengeance. After a unique turnaround section, Kondaa has a return
run reminiscent of Steel Vengeance or Untamed with a flurry of small hills giving quick ejector pops.
Just replace the inversions RMC is known for with the occasional bunny hill with sustained ejector
like the other Intamin mega coasters. Kondaa alone makes quite the impression,
but Walibi went above and beyond by adding theming in the ride’s immediate area and station. The area
has a jungle vibe with these giant rock statues and the ride’s booming soundtrack fills the area.
It gives the ride an epic feel. You enter the ride’s queue by passing through a temple with
a giant snake head. Then the station also mixes in a jungle aesthetic. It sort of reminded me
of Untamed’s station, especially since you have a booming chant and soundtrack whenever a train
is dispatched or returns to the station. It really gets you hyped for your ride!
Understandably, this ride has often had the longest line at Walibi Belgium since opening.
It’s not only new, but it’s a real crowd-pleaser. Fortunately, the line has been hovering around the
25-35 minute mark most days this summer, which is more than worth it for a coaster like this.
And I don’t mind the wait anyway since it offers arguably the best views of this coaster. There are
a few reasons why lines have been manageable. One, the operations on Kondaa are incredible.
The trains seat just 24 riders across 12 rows, which is considerably smaller than the earlier
Intamin mega coasters. But this one compensates with a faster lift hill and simplified restraints.
You have just lap bars and the crew can rapidly check them. The coaster
was running just one train during my visit due to a stormy forecast, but the line still moved
at a steady rate thanks to the crew. From what I’ve heard, two trains are thankfully the norm.
Two, the highest tier Speedy Pass currently limits you to just one ride on Kondaa.
Speaking candidly, I would’ve used it to lap Kondaa for hours had that been possible.
Right now the only unlimited option to skip this line is the highest tier and pricey season pass.
But I suspect this ride will become unlimited on the highest Speedy Pass in the future
like the rest of the park’s attractions. If you run to this attraction first thing,
and I mean run because guests will race back there, you can have a minimal wait, but this
coaster is notorious for warming up throughout the day. A morning ride on Kondaa is still fantastic,
but some of the elements hit even harder after the coaster has cycled several times.
If lines are long, you do have a single rider line. It was less effective on a
day with just one train in use, but it seems to get you on the ride relatively quickly as
long as you don’t have a seat preference. Every seat on this coaster is elite.
If you wait in the standby or Speedy Pass queue, you can request to wait for either the very front
or the very back. While the front has the added sense of speed,
I think this is a back row coaster. That first drop is magical in the back row and I think
the finale also has more oomph back there Now let’s talk about the trains. First off,
they’re gorgeous. They have a scaly paint scheme and the lead car has a fanged snake on the front.
Two, they are ridiculously comfortable. If you’ve ridden Pantheon or Red Force,
the trains are identical. You have an overhead lap bar that comes down comfortably while still
granting your plenty of room to feel the airtime. Unlike some of the Intamins like Velocicoaster or
Taron with the elevated seats, the feet of most riders will rest on the floor of the train.
Once dispatched, you roll out of the station and ascend the lift hill.
If you look to your right, you get a great view of the rest of the park. Once at the top,
you are treated to one of the best first drops in the world. This drop is super steep with a
max angle of descent of 80 degrees. And halfway down, it also twists 90 degrees to the right.
The obvious comparison is Expedition GeForce. Both drops offer a delightful combination of powerful
ejector airtime and wicked laterals. But they’re applied differently. On Expedition GeForce,
the airtime and laterals start simultaneously. On Kondaa, you’re first ejected from your seat.
Then the laterals kick in halfway down the drop. I sort of think this makes the laterals
wilder since you’re levitated completely out of your seat when thrown sideways on this one.
This drop is still fun up front as you get some lift, but the airtime is way less extreme,
as are the laterals. The pullout, like many in the first half,
juxtaposes this airtime with some solid positive Gs. It gives Kondaa some nice variety.
The second hill is 125 foot or 38 meter tall camelback offering amazing sustained
ejector airtime. It’s a trademark Intamin hill reminiscent of the second hill on something
like Expedition GeForce or Hyperion. No one delivers sustained ejector airtime like Intamin.
This leads into an outward banked hill that feels nearly identical to the one on Steel Vengeance.
You get a beautiful combination of strong and very sustained ejector airtime
while sideways. This element did take 1-2 hours to reach its full potential, as my morning rides only
had decent to good ejector, but no matter when you ride you will get some degree of ejector airtime
and it will be very sustained. Next is the non-inverting cobra roll,
a one-of-a-kind element. This was one of the weakest on the ride in terms of airtime,
as it only offered weak floater airtime, but it excelled in other ways.
The ascent into it piles on the positive Gs, but the twists
offer some nice laterals. They’re particularly incredible in the back cars on the descent.
You gently levitate out of your seat and then your body is snapped sideways on the twisting plunge.
Kondaa then flies over a giant speed hill, offering a few seconds of strong and sustained
ejector airtime. It reminds me of a B&M speed hill in terms of how sustained the airtime is,
but the power is on par with an ejector airtime bunny hill on an Intamin mega coaster.
The element is also plussed by a great headchopper on the descent with some of Kondaa’s supports.
You then zoom around a low and decently forceful turn that leads into a wall stall,
which is Intamin’s take on an RMC wave turn. Vekoma has tried these elements
in recent years too, but no one has been able to match those on RMCs. Kondaa’s wall
stall on offers weak floater airtime, but it is semi-sustained once the ride warms up.
Kondaa the zooms around another low turn and traverses another speed hill.
This one is a bit smaller than the first, but it rides pretty similarly from a force perspective.
Again offering some wonderful sustained ejector airtime.
At this point, Kondaa starts the return run and navigates
a series of elements reminiscent of an RMC. First is this s-hill. Intamin has been using this
element for years on their hypers, but this one features a banked double down on the other side.
The front gets a good floater pop at the apex and a decent burst on the second dip.
Those towards the back get two brief but stronger bursts of airtime.
You then cruise over another bunny hill delivering sustained ejector airtime
like one of Expedition GeForce’s final hills. I’m glad Intamin didn’t go full RMC and still added
another sustained airtime moment on the return. You then sharply twist left. Everyone gets a good
jolt of laterals, but those up front will get lightly popped out of their seat too.
Kondaa then charges through 4 little humps on its way to the brake run.
This is very much like Steel Vengeance. Every single hump launches you airborne and you barely
have time to return to your seat in between. Humps 2 through 4 were particularly potent. I
know not everyone likes elements this abrupt, but I like being tossed about like a ragdoll.
This ends the 3937 foot or 1200 meter long coaster with a bang.
This coaster is not only chalk full of airtime, but its masterfully paced and glass smooth too.
So what would I rate Kondaa? I would give this Intamin mega coaster a 10 out of 10.
This is an exceptional coaster and one of the best I’ve experienced.
The layout offers the sustained ejector airtime we expect from an Intamin hyper while also
mixing in RMC-like airtime pops and some wild laterals. This ride is engaging start to finish,
and the experience is amplified by the theming in the station that sets the tone. I had very high
expectations for Kondaa and it most certainly met them. This is not only the best coaster at Walibi
Belgium by a longshot, but it also is the best Intamin mega coaster out there in my opinion.
So those are my thoughts on Kondaa at Walibi Belgium. What are your thoughts on this incredible
coaster? Do you agree it’s the best Intamin mega coaster? Let me know your thoughts down below.
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