Phadd-F

For a small country like Belgium, we kinda have a lot of theme parks. Eight to be exact. From those I only frequent two of them: Plopsaland De Panne & Walibi Belgium. And sometimes Bobbejaanland. A park that's kinda big but misses my boat is Bellewaerde... Now that the park opened a new zone with new rides, it was time to go back to Ypres and hit the park up again. We arrived shortly for opening at the Mexican entrance gate which locates at the back of the park. The weather predictions weren't very good, it would be a clouded day with lots of wind. Not a day to visit a theme park for the general public but us theme park fans know it's an ideal day to go because empty queues! The parking lot was quite empty so we were expecting a calm day. My last visit to the park was 4 years ago when they opened their last big new ride. And now they got some new ride and a new zone to show off, so a good moment to get back to this park. The new zone called Mundo Amazonia was not far from the entrance so we decided to go there straight away. Of course we went first for the biggest new ride of the park: Amazonia. It's a Spinning Rapids from Intamin but it doesn't compare at all to the classic Rapid Rivers we know and are used to like Radja River (Walibi Belgium) & Piranha (Efteling). This resemblances more the old Bobby Drop (Bobbejaanland) and Oxygenarium (Parc Asterix), though it has the classic rapid river boats and not those rubber boats. The whole park seemed to have sprinted towards Amazonia because we still had to queue 30 minutes despite being there quick after opening. And the queue got bigger after us. Before we could enter our boat we also had to be weighed, for the moment they only allow a maximum of 400 kilograms per boat. They had some troubles during testing and from what I understand this measurement would be temporary. Well the term spinning certainly delivers! Those boats spin more than some spinning coasters do in a whole year (looking at you Naga Bay [Bobbejaanland]). The spinning and the edges of the ride being so low, kinda makes it thrilling for me. I have to admit I'm a chicken when it comes to slides and in water parks I even skip those. The fear of going over the edge is always present and that feeling I also got on Amazonia. After the first part, full of turns and spinning, you splash down at the bottom only to be taken back up again by a vertical lift. Now comes the grand final: a big half pipe! It is the star of the show and the best part of the ride for me. It is quite good. It however is not the very last element though you would think you'd float to the station and get out. No, there is a little free fall element right before the station that drops you to an emerald mine. Quite a unique element to have on a water ride. Conclusion: a good added asset for the park. Personally not so into it but that's more because of my dislike/fear of slides. I really can see the general public liking this a lot. They love water rides over here, it's quite something else that other theme parks around here don't have and it looks impressive. And despite the impressive look, it still is accessible for young & old, just like this park likes it. The theming was also great. Loved how the queue meanders beneath the ride. There is plenty of fitting foliage planted that certainly will be gorgeous after some years when it has grown a bit. The whole zone feels slick and fresh too, a nice and needed refurbishment from the old Wild West zone that used to be located here. The park really needed this. Some points of critique however: it is all a bit cliché and cartoonesk sometimes. The Brazilians know more colors than green & yellow and it was weird how they wanted to include the theme of football in the restrooms... The new zone has more new rides, there's also a new mini log flume for little kids but that ride is still unfinished. They got some troubles with late deliveries. The other new ride in this zone is finished and open for us, luckily. Brazilian Buggies is nothing more than a single helix kiddiecoaster from Zamperla. But of course an extra credit is an extra credit! +1 on the counter. As a horizontally-big man I got in there without any problems, bars were no issues. Great! We skipped the log flume, because it wasn't quite warm enough. We deciced to get some food in the nearby Texas Grill restaurant. I always feel ripped off when I get food in Plopsaland De Panne but holy moly, Bellewaerde thought to go one step further. More than 20 euros for fries and a burger with a drink... criminal. I have to admit that the size of the portion was big and it tasted really good. But next time I'll bring my own sandwiches. The logical next stop was Huracan, an indoor coaster from Zierer with some darkride elements. Since it was some time I rode this, I kinda forgot that the first darkride part was quite good and had some nice effects. But it all goes to mediocracy when you go up that lift. It brings you on the roof of the building which I still keep finding it weird. You dive back into the building for the rollercoaster part of this... rollercoaster. But it's mainly in a big black hall without effects. A missed opportunity. The effect in the end brakes are quite good and make for a strong ending however. The guys went to ride El Volador next. I passed, I don't really like the feeling of hanging there slowly in all kind of angles. This ride is known for being prone to technical issues, one of the reasons this ride type doesn't really exist anymore anywhere else. I know the other parks that had one also had issues with them and they closed those. I do hope Bellewaerde does not close El Volador because it just looks so good and it's placed so great there. Maybe they should convert it to a mini free fall?! We could not skip out on a ride on the Boomerang. It's the very first Vekoma Boomerang that opened in the world and it has become such an icon for the park that the parks director said he simply just would order a new boomerang from Vekoma if this one goes to heaven. Understandable, but it's kinda sad how this is the only thrilling rollercoaster in the park and it is just a Vekoma Boomerang... Reride factor: zero. Someone from our group never rode Jungle Mission before. These boat rides aren't really built anymore and you can definitely tell it's an old ride. In these times of being woke and social justice, there are some questionable scenes that the park should reconsider imo. It would be a good excuse to revamp this whole ride or just maybe get rid of it and place something new here. When we passed the tiger- and lion enclose we noticed the park had built a new bridge over the enclosure. So now you can watch this big cats from above! That also kinda makes Bengal Express, the train that goes through these encloses, a bit redundant. I definitely prefer to walk over the bridge since I always felt a bit suffocated in those trains that also can get very hot in summer. Also redundant for me is Bellewaerde's terrain coaster on a flat terrain, aka Dawson Duel. They made some vague decisions here in Ypres but chosing a duelling alpine coaster on supports is without a doubt the dumbest idea they ever had. You even can't enter the vehicle at the bottom and use the lift to go up, no, you have to do a whole climb up there. Not worth it. A better choice was Wakala, a family coaster from Gerstlauer which is the parks latest new big ride before Amazonia opened. Not a bad investment though the park keeps lacking a real thrill coaster, something that really catches the mind and eye of the public. Wakala is however a fun family coaster, the type of family coaster that can also be enjoyed by the older kids and adults like us. It has a flowy layout through the woods, an acceleration on its lift and what they call the antenna here (the spike that makes you go backwards). For me, Wakala is the best coaster of the park. However not good enough to warrant a visit to the park each year. I passed for Screaming Eagle, their space shot tower. Free falls and such are not my cup of tea (vertigo). Nobody of the group was interested in a ride on Niagara, the parks spillwater. That ride can really soak you and it really wasn't warm enough. We were nearby the parks show location and their dive and stunt show would start soon, so we decided to go there. Bengali is new for this year, though the park already had a dive show for years here. The story is cliche and over the top, which is the case for most shows in theme parks. However I did enjoy the stunts and diving. No matter how many times I've seen that, I'm still impressed by it. Jumping from 25 meters into a small bassin is something I'd need a diaper for. The up-tempo Bhangra music also was a big surplus to the show. Time was running out before the park would close, so some of our group ended the day with a last ride on Amazonia. We had a fun day at the park though I don't think I'll be back soon. Bellewaerde is ideal for families with little children but there is just nothing there that appeals for teenagers or adults. There are rumours going around they would invest in a new rollercoaster with inversions but knowing previous investments there, I'm keeping my expectations low. They really could use a stand-out coaster because they are falling behind the other 3 big Belgian parks if they only keep focusing on the little children. ** sorry for any grammar mistakes and such, I'm Belgian and English isn't my first language.

The easter holiday is for, the most of, Europe the start of the theme park season. Finally after a few months without coasters we can practice our hobby again! Instead of a usual suspect, let's try an unusual opener of the season. And for that, no better destination than the country of William Wallace, Nessie, Haggis, bagpipes,... Scotland! Not the first country on the mind for planning a themepark trip, but honestly, this trip was more about visiting the city of Edinburgh and the Highlands. Visiting one of the small parks of Scotland was just a surplus. M&D's is the name of Scotland's biggest theme park. With 5 coasters, it has more the double amount of coasters than any other Scottish theme park. But don't imagine it too big, because well... M&D's is not big. At all. I'd compare it with Plopsa Coo or for the American readers: Timber Falls x2 or something like that. But that's just comparison in size, not in rides or atmosphere. I didn't know anything about the park so I really had no expectations. I did know that 4 from the 5 coasters were built by Pinfari... Oh boy... Not the constructor the fans are wishing for, or one that has great coasters on his resume. The first coaster we came across, was the only non-Pinfari coaster from the park. This one was made by Barbisan. Who?! Yeah I never heard of them before either. This coaster is also the only coaster from Barbisan which is still operational this day. But we had to move on because it wasn't opened yet. Mechanics had still work to do on it, we saw them welding. Honestly, we concluded this one would remain closed for the day. So now we started our tour of Pinfaris. First coaster of the day: Space coaster. Not high or long, a plain family coaster. A bit weird it has shoulder restraints, and the seats were placed kinda low, which made it not very comfortable. But shaking? No sir, no shaking detected! For a Pinfari that's a win, right?! Overall not very special coaster, most special thing about this was that the ride OPs had to push the train out of the station. On to the next Pinfari, Tsunami. A suspended coaster. From Pinfari. That does not sound good... Why on earth would someone want Pinfari to build a suspended coaster? This will hurt... Wrong again, ride experience was not shaky or painful at all. I do have my thoughts about the maintenance on this rice, one piece of track hanged lose in the station... (note: this is the coaster that derailed this year, a thing you never expect to happen but the maintenance in this park already seemed very poor to me visiting a year earlier on). Because we had to wait until the whole group did Tsunami, we decided to fill our time on flying elephants. We're not crazy, they do exist! Unfortunately not painted in pink. Two Pinfaris to go and the following one was Wacky Worm named Big Apple. A classic. For us adult coaster fanatics, not more than a +1 on the counter though I have to admit this one was pretty fun, but maybe that's because of the rides M&D's has to offer. Tip: when going for a second round, watch out while flying out of the station the little dip there could break your teeth. Someone from our group almost experienced that which of course, we all found hilarious. Ride OPs had to push the train out of the station here as well. Save the worst for last?! Because now we had the biggest coaster of the park, and of Scotland, waiting for us. I have to admit, until now the coasters weren't shaky or painful. The things you expect from Pinfari coasters. So maybe I exaggerated a bit. Tornado. The same uncomfortable trains as Space coaster has. Already on the lift, you get the feeling the round of not painful Pinfari coasters at M&Ds could end here, but the first drop does not confirm that. It's everything else what follows after the first drop what confirms that! Shaking like a polaroid picture, something you won't like if you are the polaroid picture. I've ridden some nasty coasters, think of Goudurix or Bandit, but this one is absolutely the worst! And then you have to think it originally had a corkscrew but they had to get it out because it was too rough?! Wow... Tornado gave me a fine dose of neck pain. Torture is the only way to describe it, never again! Remember that one non-Pinfari coaster which was closed because mechanics were welding on it? Oh yeah, they opened it later on. Runaway mine train seemed Beemer smooth after riding Tornado, but was just boring. It opened as a spinning coaster but they converted it to a sit down. What a shame. But at least we got our coaster bingo. Time for lunch, which wasn't very good (or maybe I expect too much, being a Bourgoundic Belgian). It was only 1PM and we had planned to stay at M&Ds until 5PM... We had the coaster bingo but none of the coasters really was so much fun we wanted multiple rides. So we decided to leave earlier at 3PM. We filled the rest of our time in the park doing the log flume, mini free fall tower and the mini-golf. The mini-golf gave us without doubt the most fun of the day at M&Ds. Conclusion: M&Ds... not worth it to go to Scotland. But Scotland is worth a trip, beautiful country with a rich history. The Highlands are phenomenal. So yeah, do plan a trip to Scotland. But not for M&Ds, plan it for an hour or 2,3 and then move on to enjoy Scotland. Welcome to M&Ds! Theming!... or something like that... Welding in the early morning Space coaster Tsunami Euh... is this normal? This doesn't seem right... or safe... Flying elephants! Push, push, push The biggest coaster of Scotland, and the most painful coaster on my 400+ counter Don't forget to do the mini-golf if you visit M&Ds! Pure fun.

- Sweden trip: Kolmarden, Liseberg, Skara Sommerland, Tusenfryd, -waterpark-, Furuvik, Grona Lund - The usual suspects: Plopsaland De Panne, Walibi Belgium, Phantasialand - Not decided yet: Luna Park Praha, Plohn, Belantis and maybe some other parks on the way to Prague Normally I spend every vacation on theme parks but I have to calm down a bit in order to save some money for a USA trip in 2018.

Hi and welcome to the forums! I've been to Gent twice (visiting the Volvo Trucks plant) so I have seen a little of the city center. Very nice city! If I look outside my window, I can see the Volvo plant Never been to Norway, but planning a trip to Tusenfryd next year.

Past years, I spent almost all vacation on visiting theme parks. I had to calm down a bit, I decided I wanted to do something different and went for a 2 week vacation in the south of France. At the Mediterranean Sea. But because the distance to drive is too long I decided to do a theme park on the way. And Walibi Sud-Ouest was the ideal park to visit, because it's a part of Walibi we all know it's existence in Belgium but since it's such a long drive and there aren't any interesting parks in the direct neighborhood, it's not a park you'll visit often. This was my chance. Unlucky for me, the park was already sold to the same group that has Walygator. Though they kept the Walibi name for this year. My Golden Pass wasn't valid here. But 25 euros entrance fee is not that much compared to the average park price nowadays. I didn't know any of the park, except it was called Walibi Aquataine until a few years back. Did not know what to expect. First impression: the park is very green! I like that. You can make a park atmospheric by theming heavily or have a nice and good landscape & foliage. It's also kinda funny the Walibi figures and mascottes were more present over here than they are in Walibi Belgium or Walibi Holland. By next year, they all will be gone here. First coaster of the day was Scratch, a wild mouse coaster from Zamperla. It has a different lay-out than the ones I'm used to, kudos for that, but in the end it's just a wild mouse. It's hot in southern France, lucky they have a log flume. Logically the smallest drop was the wettest one. Not the best log flume but still enjoyable. The splash battle, who seemed copy pasted from the one from Walibi Holland, was not open. It's location was also a bit weird, like it was cut out of the park. They also had a rapid river named Radja River. Now you have to know, Radja River is also the name of Walibi Belgium's rapid river. And that one is very good and can be soaked if you are unlucky. But this one was rather tame compared to the Belgian Radja River. Fun but not wet. They also had a boat ride going trough an African jungle, with outdated animal animatronics and the obligated African tribe member. Somehow, these kinds of rides must have been very popular some decennial ago because more European parks have those. And all with the same theme and they are all pretty outdated. Hope they renovate it and give it another theme, something more original. Like space monkeys. That would be so cool. I was hungry, so I went for a classic burger and fries menu. They also have a buffet restaurant but I wasn't that hungry. The burger with fries wasn't very expensive but not very tasteful either. But of course you can't expect much from theme park food. After eating, I decided I wanted to get my coaster bingo first. The most 'impressive' coaster from the park is the Vekoma boomerang which is named Boomerang. It is the symbol for the one problem this park has: it's attractions. If a Vekoma boomerang is your biggest ride, then you can't expect much attention from themepark freaks. Besides, it wasn't a very comfortable boomerang. I decided one ride was good enough. The third coaster they have is Coccinelle which is French for beetle track, translated very simply. But that's the name those Zierer Tivoli Large coasters are given in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Another standard coaster. As it was very calm the operator said to the people they could stay seated for an extra ride if they wanted. Very nice and friendly from him. I also visited the sea lion show, which is fun to fill the time, and the 4D cinema with the movie Tempo Attack (which already played in Walibi Belgium few years back). Because of a defect the movie was shown in 2D withouth the 4D effects which proved how negligible those effects are. I did not miss them. In the summer, they also had a BMX bike show, I didn't go watch it and afterwards I did regret that. Conclusion: Walibi Sud-Ouest is a nice, charming green park. But because the ride line-up, it's not very attractive to visit it. They do miss a top ride in every segment . Enough rides to fill the day but not one that screams "I want to ride it again" or one that makes you want to go to the park. If you're in the neighborhood I would definitely recommend a visit, but I wouldn't make a trip for this park alone. The entrance, small but kinda based on Walibi Belgium's one Choo choo Did I mention this park was very green? Sratch, a Zamperla wild mouse That drop won't make you very wet, the little drop earlier on will do so. A mill blowing bubbles when it rides, cool! I recognize that name... ... but the Belgian brother is just better. Sorry. Boomerang time.

Hi guys and girls! I'm Phadd-F, or Frederik. I'm 25 and I am from the beautiful town of Gent, in Belgium. I always liked going to theme parks. When we got internet at home, a new world opened itself. My first memories were the construction of Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point. Because of that, I became crazy about Cedar Point and became my ultimate dream to visit it once. By now, I made that dream true. In 2013 I went to the States with a Belgian rollercoasterclub. That was the most awesome trip ever! And we did Cedar Point, that was a dream come true. So far I've got 404 coasters on my counter, almost all of them steel. I am a big fan of woodies though but there aren't as much in Europe than in America. My home park is Plopsaland De Panne, I even worked there for about 5 years. I read the TPR forums for a while, for the trip reports. While write some of them myself soon. I'm the guy on the left wearing the Shambhala shirt. I met Rob & Elisa and other TPR members at Walibi Holland this year. Was fun, you were very nice and friendly!