robbalvey Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 (edited) Hey everyone! Not too much to report today other than WE MADE IT!!!! Started at LAX around 3pm on Tuesday, landed in London around noon on Wed, then flew into Paris around 6pm, and drove to our hotel just outside of Walibi Belgium where it is now 11:30pm. Hopefully we'll be able to post a couple of pics from each day depending on how many hotels have internet wi-fi access. This hotel certainly does so you can expect a Walibi Belgium update tomorrow! Anyway, as for today, here's a few pics to hold you over until we can get to the parks! --Robb NOTE: If you want to go directly to the pages where the trip report and photo updates are without weeding through the responses, check the "what's new" page: http://www.themeparkreview.com/whatsnew.htm or click on the links below: Day One: Walibi Belgium Trip Report and Photos Day Two: Bobbejaanland Trip Report and Photos Day Three: Walibi World Trip Report and Photos Day Four: Farup Sommerland Day Five: TusenFryd Day Six: Liseberg Day Seven: Tivoli Gardens & Bakken Day Eight: Bon Bon Land and Hansa Park Day Nine: Heide Park Day Ten: Movie Park Germany & Toverland Day Ten BONUS! Dan & Joey Meet German Chicks At A Bar! Day Eleven Part One: Phantasialand Day Eleven Part Two: Wild-und Freizeitpark Klotten with Boat Jumping Video!!! Day Twelve: Holiday Park Day Thirteen - Europa Park Day Fourteen Part One: Mirabilandia Day Fourteen Part Two: Gardaland Day Fifteen: Movie Studios Park Day Sixteen: Walibi Rhone-Alpes & Nigloland with "Abnormal Boomerang" video! Day Seventeen: Walibi Lorraine and Disneyland Paris Resort Day Eighteen: Disneyland Paris Resort, Day Two Day Nineteen: Parc Asterix and more Disneyland Paris Day Twenty: The Return Home Onride Footage of Balder, Thunder Coaster, and Tonnerre De Zeus posted to the Members Only Forum Ahh, here we are in Belgium enjoying some 'local cuisine.' (BTW, this photo was taken at 10pm...check out how light it still is outside!) Here we are in Paris trying to get to Belgium.... Joey got a "Beer Slushy" in London! Ok, the story here...since he is actually legal to drink in the UK, he ordered a beer. Assuming it would be warm, as most English beer seems to be, it came out half FROZEN!!!! WTF??? This is our plane...it's big...um...that's all I've got, sorry. Wow...they are actually going to let us on the plane! :o Damn! And we thought our first ride of the trip was going to be the LAX baggage conveyer!!! Edited October 3, 2005 by robbalvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 I think you should be asking which way is the Exit in the map picture. You appear to facing the wrong way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Clinksalot Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Glad to see that you guys made it!!! Have an awesome time!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryH Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Nice report! I didn't know there were Pizza Huts in Belgium! Did Elissa have a plain cheese pizza? Now hurry up and get to France so you can visit a McDonald's and see what a big Mac is called! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disneygurlz2s Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Elissa should appreciate that all I could think of while looking at these was "It looks like they are on The Amazing Race". LOL I need a life. Have a great time...will look forward to the updates. Shari Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disneyfan1313 Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 We did pizza hut one day in Paris just because it was the only place we could find open. It was darn good.. better than any pizza hut I have ever had in the US! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frade Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Hey Robb, Elissa, Dan, ... Its great to hear that you made it to Europe safely I hope you have a great time, ride lots of coasters, and take many pictures. Have fun ! Take care with those crazy Europeans, hahaha, lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maliboomer Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 I'd love to see Robb and Elissa on The Amazing Race, apart from the whole tear-the-relationship-apart portion of the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterdude5 Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Glad yall made it! Why don't they have european fast food places in America? Hmmm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hattuchili Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Hey Robb, great to hear that you made it! Nice pictures! I hope everything working good for you! --Sören Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunder001 Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Nice pics as allways. Can't wait for the next update from the trip, just remember to drive on the other side of the road now. I would love to see how many times that Robb forgets which side of the road is which. Have fun and enjoy guys....be safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Quinte Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 I would love to see how many times that Robb forgets which side of the road is which. Eeeuhm, in Belgium we all drive on the right side, same as the states... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchCoasterFan Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Good that you guys made it! Have fun today, did you meet members off the boards in WBe ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorpion Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Great! You safely found your way to Belgium Enjoy your stay and hope you like it up here. 8) off-topic: Yes, we there are Pizza Huts. Did you know we even have television ! :shock: Scary huh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicolas -TRZ- Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Hey! Welcome in Belgium Robb! You are now in Walibi Belgium and i can't wait you'r first Trip Report Well..see you on Saturday at Walibi world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reality15 Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Have fun in Europe! Looks like you guys already are. *~* Jon "Hey, can I come to Europe too?" R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Palooza Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Glad to see you guys made it. Have a safe trip. We're looking forward to your updates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socalMAN123 Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Great that you guys made it! Hope those Europeans are nice to you! I didn't know there was Pizza Huts in Europe! Well, enjoy your like month stay in Europe while I sit here and rot with Deja Vu. ---Brent 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick_be Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Hi, I was today at Walibi Belgium with the team. My pictures : http://www.wistiti.fr/AlbumsPerso/Invites/VisuInvites.asp?alb=mamaMXRGR290520CCIQS&DI=mamaMXRGR290520&type=&nombre=&suiv=0&mdp=maverick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterCrazy Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 I'm glad to hear that you guys made it to Europe! I'm looking forward to reading some great TR's! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted June 16, 2005 Author Share Posted June 16, 2005 Hey everyone! Day one of our trip is over, and it was a GREAT day at Walibi Belgium (aka. Vekomaland!) Getting to the park from the hotel was very easy and we were one of the first ten cars in the parking lot. Since we bought our Walibi passes online, we were all set. Entering the park we head for the Vekoma SLC first since it was right at the front and the boys needed their credit. To be honest, it wasn't that bad! I rode in the front row and probably didn't get head banged a single time! :shock: After that we headed to Loup Garou, the Vekoma woodie. Not sure how this has managed to stay in good shape all these years, but it has. I can now say that there are two things Vekoma can do right: Roller Skaters and wooden coasters! Seriously, this ride is STILL great! Yes it shuffles a bit, and yes it has some bumpy spots, but it's not "rough" like some of those once great CCI's have become. At this point we noticed that both Vampire (SLC) and Loup Garou had about an hour line each. It seemed that EVERYONE in the park was at these two rides because nothing else had a line. Next we went to Turbine and if you remember, this is the shuttle loop that got stuck upside down a few years ago. Since then they have enclosed the entire launch track and the loop with only the spikes being outdoors. This coaster is so much fun because of that. Three years ago there were some really cool lighting effects inside the enclosed parts, and it was disappointing to see that they aren't there anymore (or at least weren't on today), but the ride was still really fun. Being a fly-wheel model the launch is strong, yet it IS braked on the way back through the station. Not as much as the weight-drop versions, but it is braked. We made our way around to the back of the park, did the Intamin giant drop on the way (GREAT drop ride, BTW), hit up the Vekoma mine train coaster, and then we did something that was a complete surprise to us: 'Challenge of Tutankhamon' This was a dark ride built a couple of years ago using the new version of the Sally Dark Ride system. It's a 'trackless' ride system with the cars holding 6 people each. The effects were fantastic, using real fire in one section, there are three different endings depending on your score, and all of us were really impressed! It reminded me a lot of the Pooh system used in Tokyo Disneyland. We ended up riding this a second time we were so impressed with it! Next up was the Vekoma Boomerang (we told you this was Vekoma land!) and that was actually decent...for a boomerang. Since the park was so empty, we went back and rode Turbine again, Loup Garou again, and did a couple of flat rides (tea cups that were more like a whip!) And then....OMG...the most INSANE bumper cars any of us have ever been on!!! We called them the "no rules" bumper cars....because there were no rules! :shock: You could drive any direction you wanted, if you wanted head on collisions...GO FOR IT, and what ended up was complete chaos! It was crazy fun!!! We wandered around a bit more, ate some crepes, rode Loup Garoup again, and finally headed back to our hotel. We spent a good 7 hours at the park and it was all very nice and relaxing, and overall fun. Even though it was "Vekomaland" we didn't hit one bad coaster today. Tomorrow we're off to Bobbjaanland (or however you spell it!). Even though there will be a much bigger Europe update coming later, here are a few photos from today.... NOTE: If you want to go right to the page of the latest trip report and photos without reading through the responses, check the "what's new" page: http://www.themeparkreview.com/whatsnew.htm "This was a bad idea....thanks Dave!" "Beware of electric bolts that made you breathe fire!" WTF?!? Ahh, finally, a coaster that's NOT made by Vekoma!!! Joey and "Wok," the stereo-typical, non-politically correct, super offensive Walibi dragon! :o Ahh, "Happy Hour" on the go-karts! Theme Park Review readers Maverick and Benny put up with us today! Dan: "Pray For Us, Max, we're on a Boomerang!" Joey says "I love Vekoma mine trains!" "Dalton Terror" was a kick ass Intamin Giant Drop! "No shorts allowed in Walibi Belgium...only speedos!" :o WE LOVE VEKOMA!!! One thing Vekoma seems to do right...wooden coasters! Ahh, yes...you can see we are very happy to be riding Vekomaland coasters! First order of the day...SLC!!!! No more "Six Flags"....welcome to "Walibi Belgium!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Token Yankee Guy Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 "No shorts allowed in Walibi Belgium...only speedos!" :o Whats with the Belgiums and speedos? Thats like the complete opposite you'll see at an american waterpark. Great Trip Report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DenDen Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Well I'll be, a place for people with a speedo-fetish! And then....OMG...the most INSANE bumper cars any of us have ever been on!!! We called them the "no rules" bumper cars....because there were no rules! Shocked You could drive any direction you wanted, if you wanted head on collisions...GO FOR IT, and what ended up was complete chaos! It was crazy fun!!! Aren't Kennywood's bumper cars (Grand Prix) run in the same fashion? They used to be. Great trip report! Have fun guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Quinte Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 "No shorts allowed in Walibi Belgium...only speedos!" :o Whats with the Belgiums and speedos? Thats like the complete opposite you'll see at an american waterpark. Great Trip Report. It's a law in the southern part of Belgium (cauz of hygiene). Nice TR!! I'm looking forward to read your next Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick_be Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Question : what did you make last evening ? http://fr.news.yahoo.com/050616/5/4grfz.html translation : http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffr.news.yahoo.com%2F050616%2F5%2F4grfz.html&langpair=fr%7Cen&hl=fr&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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