Photo TR: Walibi Holland & Toverland!

[Satchboogie3]

I had been itching to travel outside Belgium and Netherlands has recently reopened outdoor venues including theme parks, so with a good forecast for the weekend (finally, it's been a brutal May here!) I grabbed a car and headed up to NL.  

I arrived to Harderwijk quite early, so I took some time to wander around town.  It was clear and sunny on the drive up until I got to Harderwijk.

Cute little bakery I stopped at to get some breakfast.    I've heard of the traditional wooden clogs that are famous in NL... but I never thought anyone actually wore them until I saw someone walk out of the bakery clanking along the cobblestone!   

Adorable!

 

I pulled into Walibi just after 9.    I've seen this photo a million times of the years and seeing this beauty in person got me very excited!   I've always found Intamin to be visually appealing compared to other coasters.

 

Oh yeah, I feel like I'm at a Six Flags 

 

I was in Belgium two years ago, but Untamed didn't open until I had to fly back. I've been looking forward to finally getting to ride this every since (and those Teddy bear videos!).   I headed here as soon as the park opened.   Walibi is using a virtual queue for most of the rides due to covid, you get emailed a link that you can then access on the day of your reservation.  The wifi in the park actually worked pretty well, albeit there were a few areas where the signal was weak/dropping out.   A line had already formed outside the queue before 10:00 and then we waited for the ride to become available on the virtual queue app.   For what ever reason, it didn't go online until about 7 or 8 past 10am and then it was basically a mad dash of people clicking reserve.    Funny enough, everyone standing in line had 7+ minutes until they could enter (A countdown clock pops up and once ready it goes to a QR code to be scanned at the queue entrance).  Needless to say, everyone was confused as to how to use the app, when they could enter, etc.  So basically we all just stood there for 15 minutes while the park was open... very efficient.   

My first ride was mid-train and I was impressed, but not completely blown away.  But being a cool morning and middle train, I wasn't surprised.   After I got off, the virtual queue was already showing about 35 minutes to be able to enter again, so I selected Lost Gravity instead, with a 20 min wait time.    This is when things got very frustrating .

While walking over to the ride, my queue time went up a few minutes, but then dropped down to ~16 minutes and then jumped all the way down to 7 and then 3 minutes as I was just at the queue entrance.  Great I thought!   Except all of a sudden my queue time started jumping up, at one point reaching 50+ minutes.  After about 10 minutes of seeing it bounce between 30 and 50 minutes, I just started walking over to Goliath.  About half way there, my queue time dropped back to ~3 minutes.   I'm thinking 'WTF is going on' as I turned around and rushed back to Lost Gravity (of course at the time I didn't realize you had 30 minutes after the QR code comes up to use it).   

As for Lost Gravity, I enjoyed it, but it didn't really stand out at all.  I only ended up going back for one more ride later on.   I did really like the theming though.

After Lost Gravity, it was time to finally go tick another Intamin I've been dreaming of riding for years.  The queue length was sitting around an hour on the app, but with not much else to do, I just took a seat outside the station as my virtual queue ticked down.   One of the big downsides of the park is the lack of good food/beverage or well themed areas to really sit and just relax.    My wait time got down to about 16 minutes before the dreaded announcement... Goliath is experiencing technical difficulties .  I waited for about 20 minutes before deciding to cut my losses and head back toward Untamed.   The park was massively busy, the queue for Untamed was beyond an hour already (~11:30am).  Xpress: platform 13 wasn't operating and Conder had just gone down (what a loss ).  

I really like what they did with incorporating parts of Robin Hood in the theming!

My second ride on Untamed was already an improvement over the first (I forget where I was sitting).   After the ride, I noticed that the queue times for Untamed and Lost Gravity were over 2 hours and even Speed of Sound and Condor (which was now open) were over an hour.   When I saw that Xpress: Platform 13 had opened (and with a line already 1 hour +), I decided to bite the bullet and buy the unlimited rides pass.  I think this is the first time I ever purchased a fast lane kind of thing, but it was definitely a good choice.     

 

I had heard that Walibi did  a good job with the queue/station theming for this ride, but it really impressed me nonetheless.  It definitely felt a little out of place compared to the rest of the park!

My first pass I didn't see any interaction with the fountain, but my second time through was quite entertaining

Next I headed to Speed of Sound, which, while it's just a typical boring boomerang, it did have probably the best theming of any I've yet ridden.   I was a bit annoyed at still having to wait in the actual queue far longer than I ever want to wait for a boomerang 

I headed back to Untamed, but as soon as I got in the queue, I saw that Goliath had reopened!   I was starting to go through my love-hate relationship with Intamin, fearing I'd miss the chance to ride Goliath, so taking no chances, I left the Untamed line and rushed over to Goliath.   Since it had just reopened, I managed to get 3 quick rides in before the queue built back up.  The first was dead center of the train, which was quite disappointing, but I snagged the last row, right seat on the 3rd ride and it delivered.  Classic intamin ejector air and all three bunny hops on the finish were strong.  I will say, this was probably the roughest Intamin I've ever ridden.   Tons of rattle and squeaking.   

Since the line was building back up, I decided to head back to Untamed and take full advantage of the unlimited skip the queue.    

The pull-your-self-across platform was closed due to covid.   

I got 3 or 4 rides in, including a front and back row ride.   The front was fun and pretty forceful, but that back row ride, that cemented this as my new #1 roller coaster in the world, without doubt.   I'm not sure I will call it my favorite per say, as I love Expedition GeForce and think it's just about perfect for what it is.... but Untamed does more.  The unrelenting pacing, crazy fast transitions, ejector air everywhere, it's pretty close to a masterpiece.   The only criticism could be it's small stature and lack of strong positive g's, which is where I might still slightly prefer GeForce as my favorite.   It might seem weird, but I think I have different #1 and favorite .    

I then headed back to Goliath for a few more laps.  I snagged a front row ride (great forceful helicies from the front) and another back row ride (I wonder if the trains are running quite different,  this lap feel nearly as forceful as the previous in the back row).   

I headed back to Untamed to finish out the night.  I got another 2 or 3 laps in before I was standing next in line for the front row just past 6:00pm (with another lap queued up the app).  And then the dreaded breakdown.   This was now the 3rd time Untamed broke down while I was in queue and unfortunately it was a night ender (they had to evac both the train in the station and brake run).   I give the park a lot props, they spent up until about 6:35 trying to get it running before calling it quits.  

Walibi had a rough day overall with breakdowns.  While in line for Untamed at the end of the day, I had noticed that Goliath also had broken down.   As I was leaving the park, I saw the train on Goliath stuck at the top of the lift hill (and it looked like some people were still being evacuated down the lift)!   Not sure I've seen the top to coasters at a park both need to get evacuated to close out the day!   

I overall enjoyed my time at the park.  I was annoyed with the virtual queue, but I understand them trying to adapt with covid and the staff was very nice in general.   Goliath is classic Intamin, even though it might not be aging very gracefully and of course Untamed is absolutely insane.  I can't say there is much else that would draw me to the park though.   

I'll update with Toverland tomorrow or in the coming days.  Toverland was pretty fun! Beautiful park!

[SharkTums]

5 hours ago, Satchboogie3 said:

The pull-your-self-across platform was closed due to covid.   

 

This is the worst Covid Closure yet!

Seriously though, thanks for the report. Interesting with their virtual queuing but then long lines. I'm sure the breakdowns are just like all the ones we're seeing here as they're not back in the groove yet and probably short staffed a bit as well!

[KarlaKoaster]

Wow, this is a great report. I'm glad you made the most of what seemed to be a really busy day. I think for such an ugly park, Untamed looks like one of the prettiest coasters RMC have done and I do actually quite like the 'nature is taking over' aesthetic. 

[Satchboogie3]

3 hours ago, SharkTums said:

This is the worst Covid Closure yet!

Seriously though, thanks for the report. Interesting with their virtual queuing but then long lines. I'm sure the breakdowns are just like all the ones we're seeing here as they're not back in the groove yet and probably short staffed a bit as well!

I was really looking forward to the raft crossing!  I'll just have to come back once covid is in a better state.

The park was pretty packed and they were skipping every other row for the rides, so I wasn't to surprised by the long lines.   While I was initially frustrated by the virtual queue, it did seem to work more smoothly for others as the day progressed.  They did just reopen so they need some time to work out the kinks.  I will say, virtual queue could be really useful for busy rides at other parks.  I like the idea of sitting in a cafe or biergarten while waiting in 'line'.    The staff did do a great job getting the rides back up quickly and were pretty quick with loading and not stacking trains.    

2 hours ago, KarlaKoaster said:

Wow, this is a great report. I'm glad you made the most of what seemed to be a really busy day. I think for such an ugly park, Untamed looks like one of the prettiest coasters RMC have done and I do actually quite like the 'nature is taking over' aesthetic. 

The entire Untamed section is really nice.  Having the out-n-back layout surrounding the queue is awesome and all the vegetation is pretty. 

[cfc]

I think that Walibi Holland is a strange mix of scenic beauty and some very odd theming--natural spaces, but weird rides and goofy graffiti on some buildings. They did a great job with Untamed.

[Satchboogie3]

Day 2: 

I headed down to Helenaveen to stay at Hotel Eetcafé In d'Ouwe Peel for the night.   6 minutes from Toverland, this little Inn was very charming!  Small rooms with shared bathrooms, but everything was very 'homey' and clean and the staff was very welcoming.   

Local Belgian ale just across the border.  They also serve all of the La Trappe beers!  

Solid stoofvlees.

The upstairs rooms have a shared terrace and there's a terrace for the restaurant on the other side of the building.   I can't recommend this place enough if you need a place to stay around Toverland.  You aren't going to find a better price or better service!

Did I just go through a teleport? 

 

On to Toverland!

At the park, I saw QR codes for the Toverland app.  Of course, my account is still linked to the US, so I was unable to download it.  I did find a work around: there's an app (APKcombo) you can download that gets around the regional locks 

 

Once the gates opened I headed back to Fenix.   Due to covid, the actual queue through the building was closed, instead you went up the emergency exit at the back right of the station.    I got into the station and was very confused when there was no one there!  The ride gates were open, the lights were off and there literally were no employees.  I waited until a few minutes past 10 before deciding to just head over to Troy.   It was really odd.   

Luckily the line for Troy was still pretty short still.  I got two quick rides in, front row 2nd car and one in the middle train.    I didn't go in with much expectation as I'm generally not the biggest GCI fan.   I found the pacing to be pretty good, but otherwise not very memorable (I didn't really get any airtime or strong forces).  The line started to grow after the second ride so I headed over to Booster Bike!

At this point most of the lines were at about 30 minutes and for the most part the lines varied between 20 and 45 minutes for most rides throughout the day.    Booster Bike was quite a unique ride and pretty fun!

Next up, Fenix!    Surprisingly the line for Fenix was probably the shortest for any ride at the park.  It was only a 5 minute wait when I got over and I think the longest I waited all day was 15 minutes.   They were running two trains, filling all rows, and the ops were dispatching trains very quickly, but it was still strange to see such a short line!    (Troy was only filling every other row, but also running 2 trains)

I really love this themed area!   Fenix really takes the center piece and fits in beautifully to the landscape.

This was my first B&M Wing coaster.   I wasn't quite sure what to expect, I'm not the biggest fan of Dive Machines and a lot of B&M's shorter layouts on new coaster concepts.  Fenix delivered though!     The drop into the (dive loop?) was pretty awesome on the back left side and I thought it was decently forceful.   The airtime hill had solid sustained floater airtime and overall I thought the layout was fun.  Still on the short side, but way better than a dive machine .  Plus the ride just looks gorgeous!

I didn't expect much from Dwervelwind, but it was actually a lot of fun and a lot more forceful than I was expecting!   If the line hadn't quickly gotten long I would have grabbed a few more rides.  I think it also looks pretty awesome (a theme here!)

 

The difference between Toverland and Walibi was stark.  This park is beautiful.

 

It was pretty hot and sunny, a water ride seemed just what was needed.   To nitpick, I do wish the track for flume was submerged in the water or rock formation (kinda like the flume at Phantasialand).   It just sticks out in an otherwise nicely themed area.

Unfortunately the two indoor areas were closed due to covid (besides the flume).  I'll have to come back to drink in the biergarten!

Back over to Troy for some more rides.   I managed to snag a front row and back row ride.    I'm not sure if it just needed to warm up, but my impression completely changed after a few more ride.    The back was riding very fast, great pacing, pretty intense, and I was getting a good bit of floater airtime.   The front was also pretty good, but the back was a bit better.    This is definitely my favorite layout of all the GCI's I've ridden (not a whole lot of the newer ones though, besides Wodan).     You definitely get that of out-of-control rumble I so like in a good wooden coaster!

There were quite some good options for food (I forgot to take photos, but I got a delicious crepe near Fenix and Chili fries.   Next time I'll have to spend sometime relaxing at the restaurant across from Fenix.  The food looked pretty good and what a great area to relax! (the line to get in was a bit too long for me)

 

I stopped at Van Moll Cafe in Eindhoven on the way home (my first time here).   Very solid tap list and bottle list.  I went with this Caol Ila Barrel Aged Imperial Stout (I'm a big peat fan) and it was sublime!   I definitely would recommend a stop here if you are passing by Eindhoven.

 

It was a fun weekend exploring the Netherlands and getting some sun!   Untamed blew me away, Goliath was fun, and Toverland was overall an excellent park.  I look forward to going back again!   Maybe I can get up to Efteling this weekend 

[Condor]

Great photos and report from both Walibi and Toverland. Sorry your day at Walibi didn't go smoothly. It's still one of my top must-visit parks.

[cfc]

I was last at Toverland with TPR in 2019 and was so impressed with the new outdoor expansion. I'm not a big fan of Wing Coasters, but Fenix was great! Love the layout and theming in the station.

I'm sorry you missed out on the bier garden, as it's quite nice.