Untamed at Walibi Holland is an exceptional roller coaster.
This Rocky Mountain Construction hybrid roller coaster opened in the summer of 2019 and it
is my favorite roller coaster in all of Europe.
This video will be a review of this RMC steel creation and explain why you should head out
to the Netherlands to ride it.
13 of the 14 RMC hybrid coasters were converted from a previously existing wooden roller coaster.
And Untamed is no different.
Untamed was a conversion of the park’s former Robin Hood.
In 1998, Premier Parks purchased all of the Walibi parks and shortly thereafter, they
purchased Six Flags.
So in 2000, this park was rebranded as Six Flags Holland.
And with that came 4 brand new roller coasters, three of which were from Vekoma.
And one of those rides was Robin Hood.
Vekoma has built 383 different roller coasters, but only three wooden roller coasters.
All three rides were built in 2000 and 2001.
And all three were built in Europe.
And Robin Hood was the prototype wooden roller coaster for the company.
Robin Hood ultimately was an odd choice for an RMC for several reasons.
First, it had modest stats compared to the other 13 wood coasters that were converted.
Robin Hood stood 105 feet or 32 meters tall, reached a top speed of 50 mph or 80 kph, and
traveled a 3396 feet or 1035 meters.
Only Roar at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Hurler at Kings Dominion, Georgia Cyclone
at Six Flags Over Georgia, and Twisted Twins at Kentucky Kingdom were shorter.
But as we saw with Joker, Twisted Timbers, Twisted Cyclone, and Storm Chaser, RMC can
work with layouts of any size and make a great ride.
Second, Robin Hood wasn’t a horrifically rough ride.
Almost every RMC conversion was of a wooden roller coaster that would beat you up.
I never rode Robin Hood, but the ride received quite a bit of retracking in the years before
its closure and late reviews of the coaster said it was still an enjoyable ride.
That being said, I think everyone agrees Untamed is better.
One interesting thing about Robin Hood being selected as the first RMC conversion in Europe
is that Vekoma is responsible for selling RMC coasters outside the North American market.
And the ride that was converted was a Vekoma.
Robin Hood had a U-shaped out-and-back layout and Untamed followed that course exactly.
But there are two notable things about this layout.
First, it has the most inversions of any RMC with five.
These inversions compliment the barrage of airtime hills perfectly and don’t feel forced
at all.
Second, this conversion actually made the coaster longer.
This makes it the third conversion to be longer than the original- joining Steel Vengeance
at Cedar Point and Twisted Timbers at Kings Dominion.
Untamed is roughly 200 feet longer than Robin Hood.
Untamed was made 15% taller than Robin Hood, which allows it to reach its greater max speed
of 57 mph or 92 kph.
When you reach Untamed, you’re greeted by an impressive entrance plaza.
The ride has a massive sign and the queue line winds its way through the middle of the
coaster, giving you some of the best views of the ride.
Plus you can see a small tribute to Robin Hood that they kept standing.
Now be prepared to wait a while though.
I visited a month after Untamed opened on a Wednesday and Untamed had a 1.5 to 2 hour
wait most of the day.
For that reason, I invested in the park’s Fast Lane system, which enabled me to get
8 rides on this coaster.
And this line was long for a few reasons.
For one, it was the new ride in 2019 so it had the popularity boost of being the new
ride.
Two, it’s an amazing ride that people want to get back in line for.
Three, and the biggest issue, the ride was unreliable in its opening year.
On the day I visited, Untamed didn’t open until the mid-afternoon.
And when it did open, the ride was only running one train.
I heard the lift motor was overheating, so the park was running one train to prevent
that from happening.
The ride did add the second train though right before closing to clear out the queue.
I’m not sure if Untamed still has these issues or if they have been resolved, but
I found them a bit odd considering the other RMCs in the US don’t seem to have this issue.
Now let’s talk about this coaster’s theme.
It’s rather odd.
The ride is part of the wilderness area and the ride has jungle elements with the overgrown
plants and bug-themed zero car.
But it also feels like a party with the flashing lights, drum beats, and lettering in the ride’s
station and ride’s plaza.
Untamed runs the RMC rolling stock, which are fine for me.
The restraints will fit snugly, especially the shin guards if you’re taller, but I
had no issue experiencing this coaster’s airtime.
And there was plenty of it!
Untamed begins with this funky outward banked turn.
It didn’t do much for me, but it sends a signal to riders that this coaster is going
to have some crazy profiling.
You then ascend the 120 foot or 36.5 meter tall lift, which faces away from the park.
And then you crest the first drop, and the mayhem ensues.
The first drop is your typical RMC first drop, which isn’t a bad thing.
It’s steep gives you a very strong burst of ejector airtime.
That’s followed by a tiny speed hill that rides similarly to the ones on Twisted Cyclone
and Steel Vengeance.
You get an abrupt pop of airtime that sort of throws you diagonally forwards.
Then comes a unique element to Untamed, the double inverting stall.
This is probably my favorite element on the entire ride.
This is one of the best inversions anywhere as you get this crazy sustained hangtime while
your body is maneuvered side-to-side.
And this is all while you’re narrowly avoiding the ride’s support structure on all sides.
That’s followed by an odd double up.
The first half gives an ejector pop.
The second part is abruptly banked at the top, so you get a delicious combination of
an abrupt ejector airtime that morphs into solid laterals on the curving drop.
The next two hills give the best sustained ejector airtime on the ride.
The camelback feels identical to the second hill on Storm Chaser.
You are forcibly launched out of your seat for a few consecutive seconds.
Then comes off-axis hill that feels like the lovechild of Steel Vengeance’s giant outward
banked hill and the wave turn on Twisted Cyclone.
You get sustained ejector airtime while you’re on your side.
It’s this type of airtime that RMC is the master of.
Then comes the turnaround.
It starts with a floaty zero-G roll that delivers a few seconds of glorious hangtime.
You then wrap around and rise up another off-axis hill.
This one offers floater airtime unlike the prior one, but it’s equally as sustained.
You then get three consecutive pops of ejector airtime on the following double up and double
down.
You barely have time to return to your seat in between airtime pops.
It’s similar to the trick track double ups on both Twisted Timbers and Storm Chaser.
That’s followed by another off-axis hill.
Except this one banks you 140 degrees so it counts as the ride’s fourth inversion.
The sensations of this element are similar to a zero-G roll.
You get sustained hangtime, coming mere inches from the ride’s support structure.
You then whip through an overbank, which is the lone element on the ride that doesn’t
give airtime or hangtime.
But it changes your direction so quickly that it doesn’t disrupt the ride’s pacing.
Then comes a barrage of airtime reminiscent of Steel Vegeance’s finale.
You haul over four straight bunny hills, getting violently yanked out of your seat.
After this airtime assault, you’re surprised by the ride’s final inversion- a low-to-the-ground
inline twist.
Despite the speed at which you take this element, you get sustained hangtime because of how
stretched out this element is.
It feels similar to the first barrel roll on Outlaw Run.
You also have a headchopper with the ground, which is a unique visual.
While it feels like you’re inches from the ground, the barrel roll is followed by a surprise
dip that gives another abrupt pop of airtime.
You then snap into the brake run, getting one last pop of airtime.
And it’s also your first chance to catch your breath.
Untamed is relentless.
One of the things this coaster does best is the pacing.
Every single element- except that overbank that’s over in an instant- offers hangtime
or airtime.
And that airtime is a mix of sustained ejector, sustained floater, and violent ejector pops.
I’ve heard a lot of people refer to this coaster as a mini Steel Vengeance and it’s
not hard to see why considering how much airtime this coaster contains.
The one weakness I can point out with this ride is that it doesn’t really have any
strong positive Gs, but that doesn’t bother me considering how well the coaster succeeds
elsewhere.
So what would I rate Untamed?
Was there any doubt?
This coaster earns a perfect 10 out of 10.
This coaster is pretty much perfect.
The pacing, inversions, and airtime hills are all top-notch.
The theme is eccentric, but it gives the ride a party atmosphere which gets you even more
hyped up for your ride.
Untamed is currently my second favorite steel coaster after Steel Vengeance and comfortably
in my top 5 coasters overall.
And I don’t see it moving from these spots anytime soon.
So those are my thoughts on Untamed, the wild hybrid roller coaster at Walibi Holland.
What are your thoughts on this coaster?
Have you ridden Untamed?
I would love to hear your thoughts down 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!