by cfc » Mon Jul 14, 2008 6:01 pm
^Hmm--I used to have a bad case of "farmpit" when I worked for my Dad during apricot season.
Moving right along . . .
Chapter 3: If It’s Tuesday, It Must Be Walibi Belgium
It’s tempting to label Walibi Belgium the “Fuji-Queue” of the Europe trip, because it’s a park with a bunch of low-capacity rides, but huge crowds. But that would be a bit unfair. I think it’s a much better park than Fuji-Queue—it’s prettier with better themeing and more enjoyable.
But those crowds on June 24, 2008, and all that “French crunching,” were pretty annoying.
Fortunately, Robb and Elissa had arranged some much-appreciated morning ERT, not only on the park’s woodie, but also on the lower-capacity coasters. This let everybody get their credits in and still have plenty of time to hit the park’s other main attractions. Again, my thanks to Robb and Elissa for ensuring that everybody could maximize their fun, even when the park is crawling with obnoxious kids and teenagers.
Here’s how the coasters stack up (best to worst):
Turbine—Leave it to Anton Schwartzkopf to grace Walibi Belgium with its best ride: a classic shuttle loop in a box. You’re launched into complete darkness, so the loop is a huge surprise, even though you know it’s coming, and the train climbs nice and high on both the front and back spikes. Nice work, Anton!
Calamity Mine—Europeans must love mine-train coasters. There were quite a few of them on this trip, and they were all pretty good. Walibi’s was very nicely themed to the American Southwest and even threw in a few waterfalls. Lots of fun.
Loup Garou—I was a bit disappointed in this woodie. It’s an OK ride, but it seems to shuffle a lot (at least when I rode it). This is too bad, because I really like Tusenfryd’s Thunder Coaster (another Vekoma woodie).
Cobra—On the one hand, this may be the best boomerang I’ve ever ridden; on the other hand, that’s not saying much. It’s like saying that one punch to the jaw is better than two punches to the jaw and a shot to head. Like saying that a tension headache is better than a migraine. Like saying that I’d rather shoot myself in the head with a .22 than a 12 gauge. (OK, I’ll stop now.)
Coccinelle—This tiny ladybug coaster is really for kids and credit whores only, and not always for the latter, it seems. Robb persuaded the operator to let our group ride it for one lap, two adults at a time—provided that we say, on camera, that we are “sad and pathetic.” Did anybody turn him down?
But Walibi Belgium’s best attraction, for my money, was its shooting dark ride, Challenge of Tutankmamon. This trackless Sally dark ride offers plenty of targets, loads of atmosphere, and even a bonus room if you car scores enough points. (Mine didn’t, but some other TPR members did.) There’s even real fire! La Chambre Magique du Zanzur is a very good madhouse ride about dueling Arab magicians, hampered by its lousy operations: Instead of cycling the ride for one group while letting the other watch the preshow, guests are forced to wait outside while one group gets the preshow and the ride. This seems counter to any other madhouse attraction I’ve ridden, and it doubles the wait time. There’s also a good, reversing log flume with the sneakiest queue I’ve ever seen (more on that later).
The park’s newest attraction, a suspended coaster called Vertigo, was down for the count, which was unfortunate; so was Vampire, the park’s Vekoma SLC, which was just as well.
Many of the group also checked out the ropes course at Adventure Parc. I gave it shot, but being as you could fit all my athletic ability into a thimble and still have room for my knowledge of quantum physics, I didn’t last long. Still, I was curious because I’d never done anything like that before, and my thanks to Elissa for the opportunity. My hat’s off to all those who outlasted me at Adventure Parc.
And now, a look at both Walibi Belgium and Adventure Parc. Well, mostly at the former. And there was an impromptu snooker tournament the night before.
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- TPDave so regretted teaching Larry how to play snooker . . .
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- . . . that he impaled himself on his own cue.
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- For my money, KidTums snookered them all. On to Walibi Belgium!
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- And here it is.
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- WB has a very nice entrance . . .
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- . . . and, unfortunately, a functional Vekoma Boomerang.
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- "Hi there! I'm Satan! Enjoy my ride! Think of it as punishment for 'original sin.'"
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- It is crucial that all Boomerangs be thoroughly documented.
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- After all, we must make sure that future generations . . .
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- . . . profit from our mistakes.
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- "OK, you can keep the Boomerang and leave now, or have what's in the box! Whaddaya say, pal?"
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- Everybody chose the box.
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- And no one regretted it. Turbine is fun.
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- I think someone must've slipped Loup Garou some wolfbane that morning.
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- The poor werewolf wasn't howling too loud that day. Maybe if I'd ridden it under the full moon . . .
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- I pretty much fail at being a werewolf. I do sort of look like Henry Hull in "Werewolf of London," though--but I didn't have "a Chinese menu in my hand."
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- What is it with European parks and American "Wild West" themeing? They're really good at it.
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- Even down to the drop tower. More to come.
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