Walibi Belgium is the largest theme park in Belgium. This park has been snakebitten
with ride closures, noise complaints, and flooding, yet they’ve persevered. Millions
of dollars were spent retheming the park and adding exciting new rides, most notably
a new signature coaster in Kondaa. Now, Walibi Belgium is one of the premier parks in Europe.
Find out everything you need to know about this park in this review.
Today, there are 3 Walibi parks across Europe, but the Belgian park was the original.
This park opened in 1975 as just Walibi. The name was derived from the first two letters of
three local towns- Wavre, Limal, and Bierges. As the chain acquired parks, they updated the
name to Walibi Wavre in 1982. Wavre is the town the park is physically located in.
In 1998, Premier Parks purchased the park. This chain also owned Six Flags,
so for the 2001 season the park was rebranded as Six Flags Belgium. This was accompanied by 15
new rides, including 2 new roller coasters. With Six Flags heading towards bankruptcy,
the Walibi parks were sold to Palamon Capital Partners after the 2004.
This led to the Wavre park being named Walibi Belgium. Then in 2006, the Walibi parks were
again sold- this time to Compagnie des Alpes or CDA. They have owned the park ever since.
And they have had a lot of headaches to deal with.
One, CDA’s first major addition after their acquisition was one of the most unreliable and
problematic theme park attractions of all time. This would be the infamous Vertigo.
This was the prototype mountain glider from Doppelmayr. The ride’s opening was delayed a
year to 2007 and when it did open, Vertigo barely operated. This led to the ride closing in 2008.
Two, flooding. Heavy rainfall caused floods in 2010 that thankfully caused no major damage.
The same could not be said about flooding in July of 2021. This caused enough damage to
keep Walibi Belgium closed for months. Three and arguably most problematic,
noise complaints from neighbors. The east side of the park borders a residential street.
This has caused ride removals, ride modifications, and operational changes.
The park is no longer allowed to build any large outdoor attractions to the left of the lake.
This is why newer additions on this half of the park are enclosed or partially enclosed.
These noise issues have led to the removal of some rides like the Looping Ship. Others have had to
be modified. Sound walls were added behind rides, even ones as small as the Salsa y Fiesta tea cups.
The park added special wheels and sand to the supports of their Vekoma boomerang
and Schwarzkop shuttle loop. But these two coasters were still deemed too loud by locals.
The shuttle loop was partially enclosed in 1999 due to noise issues. The ride was ultimately
closed from 2009 to 2013. When it reopened as Psyke Underground, it was completely enclosed,
which satisfied locals. Now, they’re hoping for Cobra, the Vekoma boomerang,
to be enclosed as well or relocated. Then prior to the 2022 season, the park’s
operational permit for any ride added after 2015 was temporarily revoked due to a technicality.
Due to a post-office strike, the permit had been late. Walibi had to scramble to get this corrected
to avoid keeping their newest rides closed. But noise issues have extended beyond
the rides. Walibi is limited how loud music can be in sections of the park.
This has also impacted the park’s operational hours. The park routinely closes by 6 or 7 pm.
And closing time represents the last time a ride cycles, so lines will close before
that on busy days. The park is only open late on a few specific days annually.
But Walibi Belgium has been able to overcome all these issues and the park is better than ever.
The park is in the midst of a $100 million Euro expansion plan. This has included the addition of
multiple roller coasters, most notably an Intamin mega coaster in Kondaa. Then 75% of the park was
also rethemed. The infusion of thrills and theming have really elevated this park in my opinion.
People are clearly receptive since this park brings in the crowds. It’s not uncommon to see
all the major coasters with 30-60 minute waits daily. That can be particularly problematic with
the park’s limited hours. Not only will you want to speed a full day here anyway, but I think it’s
necessary if you want to hit everything. There are two ways to navigate this park efficiently.
The first is to use the Speedy Pass skip-the-line system. This is an extra fee, but it will allow
you to maximize your day. It’s available on all major attractions. The unlimited option cost
roughly 50 Euros. You weirdly can’t buy this online. You need to buy it in person. The one
catch with Speedy Pass is that Kondaa was one-time only in 2021 and 2022. I imagine this coaster will
be switched to unlimited in future seasons. You alternatively can purchase single shots for 5
Euros for most rides. While there was a single shot for Kondaa listed online for 10 Euros,
the park wouldn’t actually sell them. The second is to use single rider lines.
For the rides that offer them, they were faster than Speedy Pass. The park’s three
most popular coasters in Kondaa, Tiki-Waka, and Pulsar all offer single rider lines. I
believe they’re also available for the two main dark rides as well, but I could be mistaken.
Therefore, if you want every credit and don’t have Speedy Pass, I would prioritize the Vekoma
coasters in the morning. I would start with Loup-Garou since it’s a unique layout and
a genuinely good ride in my opinion. The operations at this park are above
average. The ride crews load rides very quickly. I was particularly impressed by Kondaa’s crew.
Then the availability of single rider lines maximizes the throughputs of these rides and helps
people who don’t mind riding alone. The downside is that this can make seat selection a bit tricky.
Most rides only allow enough people into the station to fill the next train, so
several have first-come or assigned seating. A few attendants were willing to honor seating requests.
Then Kondaa thankfully is the one ride with a designated queue for the front and back row.
From what I’ve heard, this park usually runs multiple trains on the coasters. However,
I visited on a day with lots of rain and threats of thunderstorms.
Due to the lower attendance, most coasters ran just one train. This meant lines were still
lengthy even on a quieter day, which still made Speedy Pass a worthwhile investment. But I was
just thankful the park and its rides were open. Many parks in America would have closed early.
What surprised me most about this park was its appearance. This is a really nice looking park.
You have a lot of natural beauty. There’s no shortage of trees and gardens around the park.
Then the main layout circles around a giant lake that creates some nice vantage points
of the park’s attractions. It also makes the park fairly easy to navigate. The
only tricky parts are the small loop over by Pulsar and then Vampire is awkwardly
located all-by itself on a dead end pathway. Multiple rides have their own designated plazas
like this and in some cases custom soundtracks that create a lot of energy and anticipation.
Several attractions have thematic elements or enclosed sections that boost their appearance.
In general, this park was much better in the theming department than I expected.
This was part of the recent expansion. There are some nicely themed areas with two in particular
that shine most. You have Exotic World, which has an adventure and Polynesian vibe. This is
the park’s newest section, so it was designed at the start to have a cohesive aesthetic.
I also really like the western themed area. A lot of parks have this theme,
but it’s done well here between the architecture and selected color pallets.
Now let’s talk about the rides. This park has a sizable coaster collection. There
are 9 in total. The park’s most recent coaster in Kondaa was desperately needed.
Before this Intamin mega coaster opened, the park lacked that signature coaster. Kondaa
more than satisfies in this department. It is one of the best coasters in Europe.
The ride feels like the cross of your traditional Intamin hyper and a Rocky
Mountain Construction hybrid. The outward leg has some incredible airtime moments. The first
drop is one of the best out there. It delivers powerful ejector airtime and wicked laterals.
Then the next two camelbacks are gigantic and have incredible and sustained ejector airtime. Then the
second half stays close to the ground, offering more rapid bursts of ejector airtime, more similar
to what you get on an RMC. Just replace the occasional zero-G roll with one of those bunny
hills on Intamin hypers that still manage to give sustained ejector. The ride has incredible
pacing and it’s impeccably smooth, making it a powerhouse. Check out my review for more!
The supporting cast is quite diverse. You have two launched shuttle coasters. The newer of the
two is Pulsar, which was the prototype Mack PowerSplash. While Mack isn’t know for their
launches, the ones on Pulsar have some punch to them, particularly the final backwards one.
Then you also have some airtime and weightlessness on the bunny hill and spikes.
Lastly, you have a giant final splash. Your upper body will get very wet on the end seats, but
you’ll come off fairly dry on the inside seats. So choose wisely. See my review for more details.
Psyke Underground is the most unique Schwarzkopf shuttle loop. The ride has a catchy soundtrack
and cool lighting effects, but it doesn’t have the same power as the others. That ties
back to the ride’s refurbishment by Gerstlauer. Gerstlauer has made some powerful LSM launches,
but they gave Psyke an LIM launch with only some mild force. I think the older Schwarzkopf
flywheel or weight drop launches have more power to them. Then this one brakes hard going through
the station, killing the final spike. The vertical loop is still special though. It has great Gs and
is super disorienting in the dark. Then the first spike still has good weightlessness.
Then this park has a trio of Vekomas that don’t get a lot of love.
I genuinely like Loup-Garou though. This is the oldest remaining Vekoma wood coaster. It is bumpy,
so I would advise avoiding a wheel seat or the back of a car. But in the other seats
it’s tolerable because of the super cushiony seats. That allows me to enjoy the layout,
which is actually quite good. There’s some nice airtime on the bunny hills and camelbacks,
particularly in the back car. As I said in my review, this is the park’s second best coaster.
Cobra is your typical Vekoma boomerang. This one still has over-the-shoulder restraints,
but it’s smooth enough minus one transition in the cobra roll. Then per usual, you have the enjoyable
drops and 3 intense inversions that’ll pile on the positives going both forwards and backwards.
Vampire is a vile Vekoma SLC. The bulky harnesses will play rock em sock em robots
with your head. The ride has some snappy inversions, but I would advise skipping
it unless the park gives it some new trains. For family coasters, you have two solid options.
Tiki-Waka is a cool-looking Gerstlauer bobsled. This wild mouse variant has a great setting above
pathways and the water. The ride is super smooth and there are some solid spots of laterals. The
one downside is that this coaster features several bunny hills, but none of them offer airtime.
That’s a shame because Gerstlauer bobsleds usually deliver in this department.
Calamity Mine is the park’s best-themed coaster. This Vekoma mine train would fit
in at a Disney park between the rock mountain and mining equipment that you travel past.
Those visuals carry the experience since the layout itself is very light on the
forces and thrills, which I noted in my review.
The final coaster is Fun Pilot. This is a Zierer junior coaster. And it’s one of the
more comfortable ones out there between it’s smooth tracking and accommodating trains.
This is a great ride for kids, especially since their parents will have no trouble joining them.
On that note, let’s talk about the kids areas. There are two separate ones on opposite sides
of the lake. I like how they’re spread out and each has 8 or so rides. And the one on the left
side of the lake has a giant play area that seemed to be a big hit with kids.
Kids will also be able to tag along for the dark rides. This park is surprisingly strong in this
area. The crown jewel of their collection is Challenge of Tutankhamon. This is one of the
best shooting dark rides out there. This shooting mechanism works great. You have laser sights and
all the targets work. Then you uniquely get one of two possible endings depending how well you score.
But what makes this ride truly special are the detailed set pieces. This Egyptian-themed
ride has large physical sets and some surprising practical effects too like fire.
I can’t believe this was built during the Six Flags regime. It offers a level of
immersion unseen on any of their other rides. Popcorn Revenge is the park’s second shooter.
This one is entirely screen-based, which is fine to differentiate it from Challenge of Tut.
The targets are plentiful and the guns are responsive. Then you have a unique theme.
You move through a movie theater and see different film genres reenacted by popcorn.
Is it goofy? Sure is. But is it fun? Oh yes. Then Palais du Genie is a Vekoma madhouse. You
have a pre-show establishing the story of an angry genie. Then the main ride has some music
and lighting effects. And the inverting effect is mighty convincing between the
rocking seats and rotating room. Moving onto the water rides,
this park is stacked in that area too. I already mentioned Pulsar, but you have some other options.
Flash Back is a really good Mack log flume. You have a tunnel with party lights. Then you have
two great drops. One backwards one and a sizable double down. The latter has some nice floater
airtime. Just watch out for the landing since this flume’s seats are uncomfortably uncushioned.
Radja River is a decent river rapids ride from Intamin. This one has a scenic course. The rapids
aren’t too extreme on this one, but there are a few notable effects. There’s a section with
a wave machine that’ll have your raft bouncing uncontrollably. Then if you want to get soaked,
you’re in luck since there are these giant water cannons at the end that drench your upper half.
Then if you want something more leisurely, you have the Gold River Adventure slow-moving boat
ride. This type of ride is quite common at European theme parks.
Next door to Walibi Belgium is Aqualibi, an indoor water park. I think this was a
smart choice to allow yearround operations. The park looks to have a nice atmosphere,
but I skipped it since the slide lineup didn’t appear to have any standout attractions.
Moving back to the dry park, Walibi has an enjoyable collection of flat rides. You have
plenty of spinning rides. None are standouts, but they’re peppered throughout the park.
Then you have two notable thrill rides. The best of the bunch is Dalton Terror. This
25 story tall Intamin drop tower gives a wonderful aerial view. Then the drop packs a wallop. You’re
released with no warning, get a solid stomach drop sensation, and float the whole way down.
Then you have a Huss top spin named Buzzsaw. Since so many of these rides have been removed,
I try to ride them whenever possible. The rapid flips are quite forceful while the slower
rotation juxtaposes that power with hangtime. I know the park has some live entertainment,
but I chose to focus on the rides during my lone day there.
The one area where I think the park really needs to improve is the food department. I tried 4
different items here. I tried a croissant, fish and chips, pizza, and a hot dog. They weren’t a
good value and lackluster at best. If any locals know of better food options here, definitely
let me know in the comments down below. So do I recommend Walibi Belgium? Absolutely!
This place does a lot well. From the beauty to the theming to the rides, it is a very
well-rounded park. Then you have that world-class coaster in Kondaa that should automatically put
the park on the bucket list of most enthusiasts. I deliberately waited until that coaster opened
to make my first visit to this park and I’m glad I did. It really cemented this place as a great park
by giving them that top tier attraction. I think the park’s admission is more than
fair given the offerings. As of 2022, day tickets cost 42 Euros.
Then if you buy one of the premium season passes, they come with multiple skip-the-line passes. The
highest-tier has unlimited use of the Speedy Pass queue, which is a really attractive perk.
And this park is quite easy to get to as well. From Brussels, it’s an hour train ride to the
nearby Bierges-Walibi station or a half hour drive. And if you’re on a theme park road trip,
there are several other notable parks within a 2 hour drive in multiple directions.
So those are my thoughts on Walibi Belgium. What are your thoughts on this theme park?
Do you agree Kondaa completed this park’s ride lineup? Let me know in the comments
below. 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!