Naga Bay is the Maurer spinning coaster at Bobbejaanland.
While the ride features elements you’d expect on a spinner, there are some unique things
about this coaster that I wanted to highlight in this review.
This coaster originally opened in 2011 as Dizz, as Bobbejaanland’s seventh roller
coaster.
For the 2017 season, the coaster was incorporated into the Adventure Valley area.
This resulted in two changes.
First, the ride was renamed Naga Bay.
And to be honest, this name has always sounded more like a themed land than a ride name to
me.
Second, the ride’s entrance was moved closer to the other rides in Adventure Valley.
This is why the entrance isn’t quite where you’d expect it to be when you see this
ride’s station.
This is a custom SC3000 Maurer spinner.
Most of Maurer’s spinners feature thin track with frequent, but thin supports.
Naga Bay is different.
This coaster features much thicker track with a spine and beefier supports, similar to what
you see on Maurer’s X-Car coasters.
It looks really out-of-place for a spinning coaster, but it was done for a reason.
It minimized how many supports were needed, which was critical since the ride winds its
way above pathways and the park’s central lagoon.
It’s a really nice setting.
It creates a lot of energy walking down the midway seeing the vehicles spinning overhead.
On-ride you get some fun visuals.
Compare that to most spinners that have a self-contained layout.
The ride doesn’t have the best capacity.
Even with multiple cars on the course and steady dispatches, each car seats just 4 riders.
While there are a few coasters at this park that get longer waits, don’t be surprised
if this ride has a 20-30 minute wait.
Riders sit in pairs facing outwards.
While you don’t get to see the reactions of those you ride with, I prefer this orientation
since it offers superior sightlines.
And that’s especially nice for a ride like Naga Bay that has an interesting setting.
Then you’re restrained by just a t-bar.
The restraint seems to come down at a weird angle for me since you’re seated so low
on the car, so it can get a little uncomfortable if you get stapled.
Once dispatched, you head straight up the 56 foot or 17 meter tall lift hill.
At the top, you get a great view of the lake and then you essentially head into a mild
helix.
The first drop swoops downwards and then you immediately twist upwards into a mid-course
brake run.
And this is the biggest problem with Naga Bay.
There are 3 of this mid-courses and all slow the train down to a crawl.
This really hurts the ride’s pacing.
But it does have one benefit.
Because of how sharply you’re braked, the spinning actually seemed to pick up here for
a few seconds.
In general, this ride has a pretty consistent spin throughout.
The drop off the first mid-course is the highlight of the ride.
It’s the largest and steepest drop by far.
And it has some good zip to it.
Then the tight pullout after has some nice positive Gs as well.
Next is this elongated bunny hill over the pathway.
It’s too drawn out for any airtime, but it does have good speed to it.
You then twist into another mid-course.
You again decelerate mightily, but you do get a boost in spinning.
The next bit has no force to it, but you get some of the best visuals of the ride.
You twist downwards and glide over a bunny hill next to a midway.
Then you have an overbank that crosses the pathway and I sort of like how the train lingers
for a second at the top.
You then twist into the final mid-course that slows you down yet again.
The final bit is a small downward spiral above the water and a hop into the final brakes.
Like before, you have some nice sightlines but nothing in terms of force.
This ends the 1411 foot or 430 meter long coaster.
I touched on the spin and pacing, but what about the smoothness?
I’m pleased to say this ride still tracks quite smoothly after a decade of operation.
The only rough part is if you enter the brake run sideways.
This can cause the car to be violently slammed back into alignment before it returns to the
station.
This is an issue on all the Maurer spinners.
So what would I rate Naga Bay?
I would give this coaster a 5 out of 10.
It’s a pretty average spinning coaster.
I really like the location and resultant sightlines.
It offers better views than most other spinners.
I also like how there’s no shortage of spinning.
I just wish the elements were better.
And a lot of that goes back to this ride’s pacing.
Those mid-course trims kill this ride’s momentum.
I imagine the elements would have quite a bit more force to them if you went through
uninterrupted.
So those are my thoughts on Naga Bay at Bobbejaanland.
What do you think about this spinner?
Let me know down in the comments.
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