Parisians, and Germans, and Belgians . . .oh My! bert does Europe with TPR!

[bert425]

Phantasialand swag!

Magnet (that I searched all over the park for and literally got the last one, since they apparently don't do these any longer):


Stuffed "thing" from Asia section of the park:

"Wang" fan:

 

Napkins:

 

T-Shirts:

I *rarely* buy ride logo shirts. . .but in two cases on this trip, I did.   This was the 1st ride that was SO good I had to get a shirt.

 

Nice Polo I got for Nick (that he never got to wear)

 

[Nrthwnd]

^ Great looking souvenirs from the park, Bert! I agree that Wang is a great mascot (in part) of Phantasialand. I got a tall drink cup, green of course, with It 'smiling' back.

[bert425]

Day 7, evening. . .

so we loaded up the bus, in the rain, and waved goodbye to Hotel Charles Lindbergh (and Phantasialand), and headed out towards Wavre, Belgium.   

that would be where our hotel for the night would be - only 1 night, as we were loading up the bus in the morning to spend the whole day at Walibi Belgium.

Scenery as we were driving, it's always comforting to see a Nuclear Power plant. . .

James and I mostly sat in row 3, so we got a nice view of the road - and this little guy (who's name I can't recall) that Robb purchased at Europa Parc where he's part of the Pirates ride.

lovely countryside, as we moved from Germany into Belgium.    And the sky had completely cleared up too.

as we exited off the main road, into Wavre, the bus made some tight turns down some narrow (and jungle covered) roads towards our hotel for the night.

excellent driving by our bus driver

 

another really tight turn -  the entrance gate at our hotel seemed REALLY surprised at the size of the bus about to attempt this turn in.

 

but we made it in, and started unloading.

our hotel for the night was another Ibis (same brand as the 1st hotel at the airport)

with very similar looking rooms.

we put our bags up in the room, and made plans to meet some folks down in the lobby.

We had left Phantasialand before dinner, but were getting to Wavre by 8pm or so, so many in the group planned on heading out to grab some food and do some exploring in the charming smallish town.

while waiting for the group I was going to grab food with, I snapped some pics of the lobby area and the breakfast area of the hotel.     the hotel was pretty full - a football (soccer) team, that was passing thru, if I recall - tho we didn't really see any of them tonight.   in the morning at breakfast we interacted with them quite a bit tho.  Nice guys.

 

and then once we had everyone who wanted to go check out the local fast food place - the Belgium version of McDonalds. . we headed out for the short walk into town.

and here it is. . . not sure if it's specific to Beligum, or a European chain.  Tho I can't recall if I ever saw another one on the trip, so maybe it *is* Belgium specific?

basically a McDonalds:   "Quick"

 

for what it's worth?  the name LIES.

there are no counter folks to take orders. . all orders are placed at the touchscreens by the entrance doors.

then you stand and wait until they call your number to go pick up your food from the counter.

 

yeah. .it's *exactly* as much of a clusterfuck as one would think it was.   Especially when busy at dinner time (which I guess this time of night was dinner time).

it was absolute chaos. . .
 

 

and, if I'm being honest, I loved every moment of it . . . LOL. . . .

 

Eventually we got our food, and headed upstairs to a "quieter" area to eat.   

I don't really recall what I got, tho it looks like cheese balls, a poutine of some kind, and a burger

that looked like this.

it was ok, I suppose.  But really no lasting memory of it, so i guess it was just a standard burger from a fast food place?

 

we had planned to walk over to the Supermarket in the parking lot there and get some bottled water, but by the time we finished eating, the market had just closed for the evening.
(I think they closed at 9 perhaps?). . . but as we slowly made our way back towards the hotel, someone in the group that had gone towards the city center (in search of nightlife/bars I believe) had posted to the TPR trip group chat that they had stumbled across a random Breakdance in the downtown area.

even tho we had just spent a full day at Phantasialand. . . c'mon, I'm on a trip with TPR folks. . of COURSE we immediately detoured towards the center of town to see if we could find said breakdance.

 

 

I double-taked on this sign at least 3 times, before I decided I just had to take a picture.

"Immotheker finotheker". . . .has made it into my cursing lexicon

 

we had passed a parking lot full of what looked like "Carny" vehicles. . and we started to hear music, so we continued heading that way, and finally came across this.

(insert angelic singing here)

 

wasn't super busy - but again, it was a Monday night, but it appeared an entire funfair had been plopped down over two city blocks in the center of Wavre.

we weren't gonna cross illegally - gotta follow traffic rules in other Countries - so we headed down to the crosswalk.

only to be pleasantly surprised that they were Rainbow Crosswalks. 

yay!  Belgian Pride!

while most of the games and rides, seemed targeted towards the way younger crowd. . there were a few "big" rides mixed in.
(the stuff on the next street over seemed to be mostly closed this night tho, including a small kiddie coaster. . so we stuck to this main intersection for our exploring)

Kiddie Bumper Cars - and no, I still didn't ride them.

I was mesmerized by the floating kid's heads on the sign for this one
(but I believe everything is independently owned, so it must be the owner's kids?).

certainly didn't attract me to the place to purchase anything - tho I was full as I had just eaten a lot of fast food.   that spotted donut doesn't look too happy tho!

 

a funfair street cart selling Escargot?

how intriguing (and a big ol HELL NO from me). . . but Smisty wanted to try them, so she and Erik got some.
 

and to be fair?  they SMELLED amazing. . . but . . . nope for me.

the guys at the funfair (James, Erik, Andrew and me), waiting for Smisty to finish her snails

 

some pics of the games. . lots and lots of stuffed animals to (attempt) to win.

tho some booths had lots of typical American carnival crap on offer (this Duck Game) seemed to offer prizes as one would find at a ticket redemption counter in a Dave & Busters, or Pinballz arcade

 

oooo. . very tempted.   A Frozen Mirror Maze!

. . I'm sure 100% officially licensed

Disneyland Belgium!

If I didn't think my fat ass would break it?  I would have ridden on Aladdin's carpet.
(tho the Woody Woodpecker confused me.   maybe Donald broke and they needed a quick replacement?)

it really is a Small World after all.  

 

ohhh. . . a big Adult ride.   I love the Mexican Hat Dance.  

should we ride?

YES!

 

Funfairs tend to run insane cycles. . but this one ran rather lame.     but I'm kind of glad it did, because as we were starting to go, Smisty noticed that the "arms" weren't bolted shut.

yup..  they were all held together by color - coordinated bungee cords, not bolts!

Really. . ..  

so I was pretty glad it didn't run a good cycle, as I didn't wanna die at a Belgian Fun-fair.

but it was pleasant, if not exactly extreme.

(pic courtesy of Erik)

 

so why did I want to ride?   (and convince others to ride with me?).

this was the ride operator. . .. who spent a LOT of time making eye contact with me before we bought tickets.

yeah. . sex sells

it was starting to get a little darker, and the Breakdance that had originally attracted us was right around the corner. . so we went to take a look at it.

yeah. . THIS one was running a super EXTREME "carnival" program.

So intense that Andrew begged off and only Smisty and I rode.

SO intense (and such a long cycle) there were periods where we could NOT lean forward in the seats.

it was awesome. . all the while, the operator was yelling things out to us in Dutch (I think that's what it was).    Could not understand him at all, but I imagine it was something along the lines of

"Do you want to go faster??? make some noise!!!"

because when we screamed, he sped it up.

(pics courtesy of either Andrew or Erik)

 

eventually the ride stopped, and dizzy as hell, I was ready to head back to the hotel and crash.

as was everyone else. . . so we made our way back - I think we came this way?  

grabbed some water from the bartender on the way up to the room, and crashed for the night.  Think it was around 10:45 pm at this point.

Tomorrow we were headed out at 8:15 sharp for Walibi Belgium for day 8 of the trip.
 

but this had been a fantastic day 7, and it's always fun to spend so much time with great people.

 

 

[Nrthwnd]

A great countryside (by bus) and downtown fair tour, Bert.

I noticed this, and I found it strange....

I don't think I've ever seen a mayonnaise packet, with the second 'n' in brackets. Wierd.

 

[bert425]

21 minutes ago, Nrthwnd said:

A great countryside (by bus) and downtown fair tour, Bert.

I noticed this, and I found it strange....

I don't think I've ever seen a mayonnaise packet, with the second 'n' in brackets. Wierd.

 

apparently in Dutch, it only has 1 "N" and in French it has 2.

so since they speak both Dutch, and French (as well as German) in Belgium?  they get around it by doing it that way.

found this handy pic online by googling "Mayonnaise spelling in Belgium":

[Nrthwnd]

^ Huh. I guess I just never noticed that, when I toured thru those countries with TPR, in earlier years.

[Pedrinho]

Just wanted to post a quick thank you for ayur updates! Such a great trip you had!

[SharkTums]

And that AMAZING Pirate Otter from Europa is named Jopie and he lives in our room now!

[The Great Zo]

Pretty sure that's the first Breakdance I've ever been on, and that cycle just about killed me.

[bert425]

apologies for the weeks long break here. . . I know why I've been procrastinating in continuing on, but after talking thru it with my therapist, I'm ready to keep going now. 
Doesn't mean I'm not going to be sad, but there's lots more to see, ride, and share. . so continuing on.

Day 8:  Walibi Belgium, Part 1:

we got up at the hotel, ate breakfast and checked out by 8:15.   after loading the bus, we drove to nearby Walibi Belgium.

we had stuff to do before park open:  ERT on two coasters, and 1st rides of the day on their new Intamin, Kondaa. 

pulling into a mostly deserted parking lot. . tho it was a Tuesday, there were already buses in the parking lot, and it seemed it was a school holiday of some sort.
very glad to be on this trip with TPR, because the extras - such as the skip the line passes. . it was certainly gonna help with what looked to be a busy day.

not too crowded walking up - but it was still over an hour before park open.

headed into the park, we see where we were going first:  Loup-Garou, a kinda infamous Vekoma wooden coaster.
Several of us had been talking and we reasoned that Anaconda at Walygator was vastly improved from what we had expected. . so perhaps it would be similar on this one?

I was excited to see it regardless, as I love woodies (that's what he said!). . . but was prepared for 1 and done.    I mean, it certainly wasn't warmed up 1st thing in the morning, so hoped for the best, but expected the worst.   Still got excited to see it peeking up over the entrance plaza buildings tho.

 

not as excited as I was to see the Park's Carousel front and center at the end of the entrance plaza tho, on the way to the coaster entrance

i'd be back for you later!

the coaster started testing as we approached it.

apparently "Lupe Garou" means Warewolf in French . . so it had that "theming". . . in name and signage only, but hey, theming!

it sure LOOKED pretty. . . .I felt my hopes slightly raise.

Two hair-wolves (or are we both just Bears.. . Andrew???) ready to ride!

they were running two trains during our ERT. . Green & Red.

i really liked this train design.

it was comfortable. . and you know what?   it was a lot of fun, and other than one *really* funky transition that will realign your spine if you don't know it's coming and brace for it - which for some oddball reason is JUST before the photo snap (so everyone in the photos would be making a pained face. . LOL) - it was actually quite good.

after the 1st ride, I knew when/where to brace, and I loved it.   I think I rode it every cycle available during our ERT on it, which if I recall correctly was 1/2 hour, so I got 6 rides on it.

(Pics courtesy of Elissa I think)

I think most people on the trip liked it, and many of us kept riding until it was time to head to another coaster.

walking from Loup Garou to our next stop - across the park - I snapped a few pics while walking (as usual).

here's one of the spikes on Pulsar - one of only 4 Mack Powersplash operating in the world - at least until Aquaman at SFOT finally opens in 2023

ooo..a Top Spin?  

after Talocan the prior day, I was eager to try a "tamer" version. . so would come back for this later too.

an Intamin drop tower, similar to Dungon Drop/Superman (Astroworld/SFStL) - which is now gone. . so wanted to ride this too. . .

THRU THE TREES!!!. . that's Kondaa. . . wow, that looks amazing, but we weren't headed here yet.

giant fries.. because. . . why not.     Tho they didn't' entice me to want to eat any of them.

we continued on into "Exotic World". . .. oooooooo  kinky!

down that way is Kondaa (angels singing). . . but not yet.

Park Map

THIS  is where we were headed next for some quick ERT on the park's Gerstlauer Bobsled, Tiki-Waka

really nice theming over here in "Exotic World" section of the park.

and the Coaster itself really dominates this area, going around, and over, the walkways, and even interacting with the boat/river-raft ride next door.

 

my turn! 

and pay attention, no voguing or dancing on this ride!

Whee!  

as mentioned, it interacts with the river ride next to it.. really nice setting.

after we all got a few rides on Tiki-Waka, it was time to head to the main event, as the park was opening up to the public.

so we followed our Park Guide and Robb, over to the park's latest star attraction

Kondaa

if you've seen folks online complaining about the lack of theming around this Intamin coaster?  

yeah, they just haven't been on it.  

True, there's not a whole lot around the track (but really, what can you do to "theme" around a large, spread out Intamin coaster?).   However the entrance plaza and surrounding area for the ride is beautifully done.

I liked it so much, I bought yet another "ride" T-shirt - this time with the Kondaa dragon/logo on the front.

the train design is so cool as well.. it's a dragon!
yes, I waited to ride front row

very "Aztek" looking stone design on the train. . . one of the better train designs I've seen.

after we all got our opening of the day rides on Kondaa, we got our flash pass/skip the line bands, and then split off to enjoy the park for the day.

a group of us - mostly the same folks I had hung out with at Phantasialand - headed to the 1st of the parks two EXCELLENT shooting dark rides.

Challenge of Tutankhamon:

full of pretty amazing animatronics, fire, and interactive targets. .this ride really is incredible.

and the "guns" you shoot with are Ankhs:

 

I think Andrew was shooting at a target and not me. . but who knows. . LOL

oh, see that car in front of us?  they are going to a "secret" bonus room. . that if the points in the car add up to high enough, you get an extra room with more fire effects and another scene!     Oh yes, we immediately rode it again and really aimed, to make sure we got high enough points to do both versions.

a photo op? 

Don't mind if I do.

 

the park really was already starting to get busy, and we passed a LOT of people rushing past us towards the back of the park (where we were coming from Kondaa) and ignoring some of the flats.

so when we passed this we decided to stop and ride, as there was no line.

basically teacups. .

we each got our own, and it became a TPR takeover!

tho Ryan gets a separate picture, since he sat in a different "wing". . .:)

after this spinning ride, we headed down a path against some oddly placed buildings.

what is this?  it seems so out of place. . .

Gargoyle Hotel ??

I hadn't seen that on the park map anywhere. . what the heck is it?  a walk thru?   an unused Haunt?

then I heard the muffled screams, and saw the sign on the side of the building.

 

it's Psyke Undergound!   a FULLY ENCLOSED Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop !
 

loading station

so cool. .I think we rode this twice too. .tho a line was starting to form and we used the fast lane wristbands for the 2nd ride.

there are projections inside the building during the launch, and if you pay attention, the "ghosts" are pretty neat.

from the exit queue. .

it's a lovely park, with a large lake in the center of it.

looking across at the Vekoma Boomerang (called Cobra) in the middle eastern area of the park. . we'd get over there later, as the park's other dark ride/shooting ride (Popcorn's Revenge) is over there too.

one look back at the enclosed shuttle loop before we headed across the bridge.

it was time to get wet. . .

yup. . we were heading to Pulsar!

this is what has delayed the SFOT Aquaman ride so badly.  the design change to do what Walibi Holland has:  a turntable so they can load a boat, while another boat is operating.

unfortunately, on the day we were there, only one boat was running. . so the turntable just added extra time as it had to flip around to unload before the next group could load.
(but again, luckily, we had Fast Lane/skip the line wristbands, so wasn't TOO bad.. tho think it was still a 10-15 minute wait).

for as big a splash as it makes?   it really doesn't get the riders wet (other than those sitting on the outer edges).

it was mostly just a moist cloud of drizzle.

not gonna lie tho.. it's a fun as hell ride.

and at least at Walibi it has Single Rider line. . so yeah, I did ride this a few times. .

next to it is the parks' flume.

Which for the life of me, I cannot recall the name of (From the signage I see, looks like maybe "Flashback" ? ) 

I do remember that like most other flumes I rode in Europe, it has a backwards section, so that makes sense I guess.

it was fun.. but I think I got more wet on this, than I did on Pulsar. . so this was 1 and done for me.

back over to Pulsar for a few more pics (and I think I rode again. . figuring, I'm already moist, might as well)

 

to be continued in part 2

[bert425]

Walibi Belgium, part 2:

we headed over to the "western" part of the park. . a smallish area, with a bunch of shops, and two rides. . the drop tower, Dalton Terror, and the Vekoma mine train, Calamity Mine.
 

I used to love this at Astroworld, and tho got to ride it at SFStL before it closed. .and earlier in the trip at Holiday Park. .so any chance to ride these, I take.
 

you can see from the lines forming, it was really starting to get busy as we got into early afternoon timeframe.

 

the mine train was only so-so, I thought. . .but I did like the look of this area.

and was able to get James to do a photo op with me.

i'm so pretty!

we headed over to Buzzsaw, and wow.. what a line over here.   with the fast lane it still took almost 20 minutes.

and the cycle was really pretty bad.  I mean, nothing could really compare with Talocan - especially the day right after.   But this thing flipped, I think, maybe 3 times total?   the rest was just rocking back and forth.

i was sadly disappointed in this.

tho it was very photogenic.

phantom cars!!!

it's a g-g-g-ghost driving!! ruh-roh!!

we still had 3 coasters left in the parks line up, and I really wasn't looking forward to any of them (and didn't plan to ride two of them anyways, the kiddie and the Boomerang). . but to get up my nerve - and it was on the way - we stopped at the Carousel on the way to Vampire, the parks Vekoma SLC.

lovely carousel. and all the effects were working: the spinning cups, the galloping horses, and the rocking carriages.

see?  my happy place.

 

even rode twice maybe?   Unless Jon fell off from the prior pic? 

 

while some went for a coffee break, I popped into the store up front to see if there were any shirts I might want later.

i was surprised to see them selling merch from everyone in here!   DC Superheroes (Six Flags parks), Harry Potter (Universal), Star Wars/Marvel (Disney), even cartoon network stuf fand Nintendo stuff! . . it's a copyright free for all up in here.. . LOL

but eventually we had to face it.

another "pretty to photograph, but it's gonna suck" ride.

Vekoma SLC

with some nice theming tho.

but yes. . it suuuuuuucked.     I haaaaaaated it.

the only thing that even made it worthwhile to come over to this part of the park (near the front gates) was the Carousel.

oh. .and passing these two inked Bears. . .   hello misters!

 

after the crapfest that was Vampire, we were starting to get hungry, but wanted to let stomachs settle.   So we headed across the park to the one section we hadn't been in yet - and to ride Popcorn's Revenge - the other shooting dark ride.

nature will find a way:

although this seems like a huge waste of space - like SOMETHING should be in here for use? - it really is lovely to have a lake in the center of the park.

and allows for some great views.

 

this Elephant sculpture was adorable.

and it "mists" you as you walk by. . LOL

before we got to Popcorn tho.. most of the guys wanted to ride the boomerang.

why?  I dunno. .to get the credit I guess?    I decided to just wait for them and watch.

the best seat on a Vekoma Boomerang?

the bench out front of the entrance

THIS is what I was interested in.

I had called this Mediterranean section. .but I think it's more going for an India street vibe, right?

huge queueline, that was almost completely empty.

for such a fun shooting dark ride.   I think maybe just a lot of people don't realize it's over here?

if you ever go to Walibi Belgium?  don't miss this one. .it's great.   and so well themed.
(yes, it's basically Toystory Mania. . but it's still a good ride)

 

this is all just the queueline theming!

exit thru the gift shop. . . so you can buy a stuffed Popcorn. . . LOL

he was cute - and it smelled wonderfully of buttered popcorn in here - but I couldn't fit that in my bag to get back home.

this lil magnet tho, i could. . so grabbed him.

Pink, of course.

so photogenic. . .but so. . . boomerang-y

the park has a flying carpet over here.. but no one was really riding it other than some small kids.

i asked if adults were allowed, and the operator said "sure!  come on aboard!"  

he said we could have cameras out so I got on with a couple of others, figuring I could get some good pics from the ride.

catching Loup-Garou over  the lake - and thru the trees

and catching Kondaa on the 1st drop.

for such a huge splash, it's so fun not more . . . wet.

But I really liked Pulsar, and it too is very photogenic

we sat to have a drink in the cafe across from the magic carpet and noticed these water jets.

what's this?

oh. .it's the parks rapids ride, "Radja River" - which I hadn't realized they had.

I noticed this too over there.. . oh my!

I convinced a couple of folks to ride with me. . but can't recall if we got really wet or not.     I don't think we did?

 

it was well done tho. . and like the rapids rides we saw in other parks?  never in USA. . the boats were sent pretty closely together, making for a more fun time.

across from it was the kiddie.

and since I had talked some into riding the rapids - and the kiddie was a walk on basically.. . yeah. . I rode "Fun Pilot"

oooo. .another Mad House?  

yes please.. I've gotten to like these, and happy that so many parks we visited had one.

sorry so many pics of Pulsar. . I really DID edit out a lot of them!   it's just so pretty with the sky behind it.

it was time to eat.

No idea what this was.  I do remember it was good, tho the desert was a bit too chocolatly.

but it was good.

pic from Robb, that he sent out while we were stopped for lunch, so it saved in my camera in this spot.  I guess from the top of the drop tower?

But showing the full layout of Kondaa

after lunch, we all wanted something "relaxing". . so we headed to that "slow boat" ride that's nearby Tiki-Waka

 

feeeeed meeeeeeeee

really do love how closely this ride interacts with the coaster (and vice versa)

 

awww. . a pony ride, similar to what I got to ride at Dollywood (tho on bears there).

 

we couldn't ride tho, as we were all too tall.

 

so instead we went and rode the angry giant vagina monster ride.

 

at least I'm guessing that's what this was called.. i honestly have no idea!

tho I seem to recall that Ian got stung by a bee while in line?  (or was that Jon?) and they went together to first aid to have it looked at while we rode?

 

ZERO memory of this.. no idea what it was. . or if it was open, or if we did it.    Took a picture of it tho, so I suspect we did it. . but sorry, no idea.

Kondaa thru the trees!   I do recall we wanted to ride it again, even tho we had end of night ERT on it. . so headed over that way for a ride

tho stopping to ride this again along the way. .

coming back into the Kondaa entry plaza area. . . we had talked about this ride and were planning to ride it.

but we hadn't' seen it cycle, and watching it, it became clear that this is a very mild children's ride (good planning to put something over here for the kids, to keep them occupied so the adults can ride Kondaa).   So we passed on this and went to the main attraction.

 

another great ride, and before we had to end the night with ERT, we took another lap around the park to hit up anything we still wanted to ride, or to re-ride.

 

NOT the boomerang (or the SLC). . but really, that boomerang is so tricksy. .it looks so nice!

did we ride this breakdance?

i really can't remember.

 

after a few rides on things, we stopped at an icecream stand that had "Milkshakes" on the menu.   So I tried it.

OMG. . it was pretty disgusting.  

it's NOT what American's think of as a milkshake.. but it was very blue.  and foamy.   and not a consistency i liked.. it was sorta like "lumpy" milk.
um. . yeah. . I didn't finish it.

it was all good tho. . because by then it was almost time to meet up in front of Kondaa with the park rep, Valentin, and get our ERT on.

So a quick stop in the shop near the front to pick up the Shirt I had seen earlier that I wanted, and then we headed back to meet up for ERT.

 

not really any pics, because once we stored our bags in the station cubbies, we just rode and rode until the day was over.
 

but I snapped this one before we went up to the station, while the park was flushing out the line from the General Public.

such a gorgeous entry plaza for this ride.

pic courtesy of Elissa (or Robb).
 

and then sadly it was time to head out.   We left around 7pm and had about a 3 hour drive to get to the hotel - on the beach in De Panne.

so we had to say our goodbyes to Walibi Belgium to headed out.

 

up next. . Day 8 evening on the beach in De Panne (still light out at 10pm!)

[bert425]

not a whole lot of swag from Walibi Belgium. . so will put it here.

two magnets:

 

 

and two shirts. .including this "Pride" one I had seen in the front shop and went back to get:
 

 

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Just got caught up on this thread. So sorry to hear of Nick's passing. I cannot imagine how much that sucks. Glad you're working through it with a therapist. 

 

Paris is a wonderful city, isn't it? You hit all the good stuff!

 

European Knoebels...I had no idea this existed, and I've just added it to the ever growing list of places to go whenever I can get back to Europe.

 

That Charles L******gh Hotel looks absolutely unbelievable. They really went all out on an incredible experience. If only they had chosen ANYONE else to name it after... Sheesh, can't we collectively agree white supremacists are bad?

 

Absolutely every photo of Phantasialand looks like it could be framed. I don't know how they do it, but I'm glad they do!

 

Lots of good stuff here, too much to comment on individually. Glad you had a great trip!

[bert425]

Day 8: Evening:  arriving at our hotel in De Panne, and checking out the beach

we pulled into De Panne close to 9:30 pm, if I'm not mistaken, and were quickly in to our hotel - which looked like perhaps it was once an apartment complex that had been converted into a hotel.

Hotel Ambassador (thanks Elissa!) was the name of this place, and the husband (Luc) and wife team that own it were charming, and each room had a different layout than the others.   The small lobby (with even smaller elevator off to the side) opened up to a large breakfast area on one side, and into a bar/dinner area to the other (which was closed already since we arrived on a Tuesday evening, off season, close to 10pm).

since it was off season (a few weeks before the peak holiday), I think our group took over the majority of the rooms in the hotel. . . just a block or so from the beach, and on the main street of the town.

the rooms are all different, as noted, and James and I got lucky again (as we did in Phantasialand) and scored a room with a tub (one of only 4 in the hotel - yes, I did take a soak one night we were there).   A large room too:

view from the bedroom looking towards the beach (behind the condos/buildings there)

our gigantic bathroom. . seriously, it was almost half the size of the room itself!   and the tub

long walk to the toilet. . LOL

and the view from the bathroom window.

we got settled away, and met a group of folks in the lobby to go explore (even tho it was kind of late) and see if we could find anything that looked good to eat.
(another group had also gone out exploring)

we headed to the beach boardwalk - I had heard there was a Carousel here (bonus!) if I could find it, and if it would be open prior to the season really starting.

quite a few folks out for post 10pm on a Tuesday!   (more than I had expected)

looking North:

Looking South:

there seemed to be more options going North, so we headed that way.

this is the Atlantic Ocean, as seen from Belgium.   Gorgeous.

"funland". . . sounds kinky.

 

I had to keep reminding myself it was late, so of course not much would be open. . . even tho it LOOKED pretty early.

a picture I sent Nick from the beach.   It was morning in Austin and he thought I was sending him something from the prior day, and I was like:  nope.. it's still light out here.
he was impressed.

we peeked into a few of the open restaurants as we passed, but most of them looked a little bit too "fancy" for us - we'd spent the whole day in a theme park, no one had showered, and the idea of a sit down, upscale meal just wasn't that appealing to anyone in the group I was with.

so we kept walking looking at options, making note of the Pizza place we passed, and a hot dog place.

the architecture on the beachfront buildings impressed (and delighted) me, so I took pics as we walked the boardwalk.

it wasn't "cold". . but it was just chilly enough, I had no desire to walk out to the water tonight to dip my feet into the Atlantic.  So we stayed on the boardwalk.

From the boardwalk, looking towards the street that our hotel is on (way back a couple of miles, since we had walked pretty far)

doggo!

at the far end of the boardwalk, it dead-ends on this side into an entertainment area.

not only a big ferris wheel and some art installations, but also "glamping" areas, and this place that offered these activities:

beautiful sun finally starting to set, close to 11pm.

nothing had caught our eye, so we took the walk back up to the main street, to head back towards the hotel that way and see if any options there .

looking back at the beachfront

lots of sculpture and unique installations on the main street walking back too.

but not a whole lot of places to eat that were open, or more casual.

so we decided we'd head back to the pizza place, and see if they were still open.

De Panne is very lovely.

a pic I stopped and sent to Nick.

he responded telling me he wasn't' feeling all that well, and he thought he was going to lay back down.  But I should go eat and have fun, and he'd ping me Austin Evening, tomorrow morning my time.

so we exchanged "love you"s and we headed off back to the pizza place on the boardwalk.

we got back to the pizza place, I *think* just after 11pm?   and tho the sign had been flipped to closed, the door was still unlocked - and we saw the other folks from our group in there eating and drinking.

so we popped our heads in and asked if there was any chance we could squeak in and get food.   There was only one worker left - who I think was the manager - but he seemed delighted to have a small surge of customers at the tail end of the night.   Remember, it's still off season, so I assume business was slow?    

with a big smile, he waved us in to sit, and then when handing out the menus asked "please, order only from the pizza options, I don't know how to make much of the other things on the menu"

Deal!   and he was so kind, and happy, that we gladly ordered alcohol and planned to give nice big tips.

here's our group, and the other group of TPR folks who had stopped in before us.. TPR takeover of the Pizza Place on De Panne Boardwalk:

 

it was a LOT of food.. but we weren't gonna start asking to split up stuff. . . keeping things as easy as possible for this kind restaurant owner/manager.   a few folks shared pizzas, but I wanted to try something (that I can't recall now) that no one else wanted. . so I had my own and ate about 2/3rds of it.

was VERY good.

I think a calzone?   or maybe a shared 1/2 of pizza from James' plate.

and heckling from the other table. . LOL

full, fat, and happy, we headed back to the hotel to crash after a very long day.

the sun had finally set enough that it was actually dark-ish.

but before we went up to crash, we stopped at the convenience store up the street, which was open 24 hours.

 

since the only cigarettes i'd seen had been from generic machines, this was the first time I saw the way they do the actual images on the cigarette boxes.

i was shocked, kinda grossed out, and very amused.   so of course I took a pic.

I didn't pick up the weed/crack pipes they had for sale tho. . . just some bottled water and a soda.  

and with that, we said our goodnights in the hotel lobby, and everyone headed up to the rooms to crash.

tomorrow, day 9, was a full day at Plopsaland De Panne - and we had morning ERT on one of the most looked forward to coasters on this entire trip:  Ride to Happiness.

so I went to bed excited.

to be continued. . . .

[SharkTums]

Luc was the owner at the Hotel Ambassador De Panne! Wonderful family and hotel!  And the breakfast spread was great too!

[bert425]

Hotel Ambassador!   thanks. . I'll go edit.

I'm pretty sure I took pics of the breakfast the next morning, or the morning after. . . I'll check. 
EDIT:  found some. . knew I took some.

it's gonna make folks hungry

Pics from Wed Morning breakfast:

 

and Thurs morning breakfast:

 

[bert425]

Day 9, Plopsaland De Panne: part 1

(and as one should expect?  LOTS of pics of "Ride to Happiness" )

 

Up bright and early-ish (8:15 am departure) to go eat breakfast - pics in prior post - and be on our way to the close by Plopsaland De Panne!

It was looking like it was going to be a beautiful day/


 

pulling up to the front gates of the park, they appear to have an onsite Hotel, but I loved where we stayed at Hotel Ambassador De Panne, and glad we stayed there.

this was a bit of an odd park.

it seemed like it had been around a really long time, and had a set of characters (some superhero, some insects, some warriors, etc). . but then they ALSO had quite a few things themed to Television/Film /pop-culture things.  I mean, the big new draw was themed to the Tomorrowland Music Festival.

of the six roller-coasters, only two of them would be "high thrill", and one was a really good adult woodie, tho not really high thrill.   But also 3 junior/kiddie coasters.  

And most of the flats seemed to be targeted to teen and younger level,  but adults could ride, so of course we did.   There were a few young adult level thrill flats tho.

all that said? It still was a beautiful park, even if it did seem geared more towards the younger set in most all of the attractions.

 

and I LOVED the giant door at the entrance. . entering into your imagination?

one of the characters (the superhero one, I think) that has statues in the opening plaza.

I have pics of all 10 of them, but didn't want to overdo it with pics of these, since you get the idea

Me popping out of a giant closet.

(tho can one come out, if one was never "in" ?)

looking back at the outside world, and Robb making sure we herded cats posed for a picture.

said picture of the TPR group courtesy of Robb:

once inside the main plaza, the "fairy tale" type theming continued.  

dang, it looked lovely.

that "Mayaland" in the background is an entire indoor ride/entertainment area based on one of the characters - I think I recall "Maya" was the bee?

but we weren't here early for Maya Land. . .we were here for what was peeking out on the left top over there . . .

we were led back to the ride, thru the still empty areas, me oogling the attention to detail.

one of those rides like they have at Legoland - where the kids drive the trackless cars
(tho I wondered with no barrier how do they keep the kiddos from driving out into the walkway?)

and would it be a theme park without sponsored cars parked just randomly in the walkways?

I say no!

adorable statues all thruout the gardens as you walk along. . not sure if these are some of the park's characters or simply some random animals hanging out?

that's Heidi. . a ride that's laid out very similar to White Lightning from what I was told.

we'd get to that later, for some evening ERT. . .

but for now, we were taking a right at this intersection.

(which seemed to be headed into an area kind of like "a bugs land" ?   I really liked the flower light fixtures tho.

yes, we took that right, as headed here:

"the Ride to Happiness" - themed and built in cooperation with the Tomorrowland Music Festival.

this amazing coaster (which is WAY up on my favorites list, and on the right day might even be my #1 overall) is a multi-launch, *spinning* coaster, with inversions.

it's incredible. . .

we had to hang out for a little bit while they did the morning test runs before we got to ride it, so I'll just shut up and show the pictures, and let you enjoy the incredible Aura of this ride:

getting to be almost ready for us. . so just making sure my big butt fits.

GREEN!

note the art-deco train station, that has you slowly coming out of a Keyhole, and directly into an inversion.

Green light they are ready for us.. let's ride!

as I was getting my 1st ride. . pic Courtesy of Elissa I think!

 

whee!!  OMG. .this sucker is AMAZING.  Lives up to every bit of hype you may have heard.

I know I rode it a ton of times in the morning ERT, since I'm sitting next to different folks in all the pics I have of me

but after a few rides, I really needed to pee.

so I went down to the restrooms, and took my time coming back thru the main queue so could get some pics of it.

outside of the main station, from the courtyard.

some close encounters with the ride near the entrance!

stepping into the main queue - most everything was automated, with moving "steampunk" parts, and color changing.

Very well done

from the interior queue, the line goes outside, to a nice area where the brake run laps the queueline.

this "castle tower" isn't part of Ride to Happiness. . it's the lift for the Park's Chute the Chutes boat ride - that's the track exiting the tower on the left.

up these stairs, and then into some more indoors queue.

and finally into the station

as our morning ERT time was winding down, I needed a little bit of a break, so hung out on the exit steps, and took a pic of the "hobbit-like" gift shop that one exits the ride thru.

I would come back here later to purchase some things.

a better view of the Chute the Shoots track, from RtH's exit line.

the park was opening up to guests, and the first few "runners" had made it to the ride entrance, so this was our last morning ride, and I snapped pics of the TPR folks who stuck it ou for every ride.

(I can't 100% recall, but I know it rode it again later, so i think we also got some evening ERT on this one?)

Morning rides done, we were let loose in the park, and most of us headed towards the other coasters.

Dragon and Heidi didn't seem to be open just yet (and we had evening rides on Heidi anyways).  .so we headed to the Vekoma Rollerskater.

passing this guy on the way, who I think IS one of the park's mascots.

 

great views of Ride to Happiness if you're anywhere on this side of the park. 
(It's hard to not take pictures of it)

 

here's the parks RollerSkater.. . which is themed to . . . . K3 (a dutch girl group) who had a tv show called "K3 Roller Disco".  . no, really.

got really good pics of most of the TPR crew on it, so gonna share all of em

LOOK at all those smiles

having seen this at Klotten?  I had no desire to ride a boat that will swing out and get me wet.

but note the superhero theme at the top of the center. . . I think that's the hero that's spotlighted outside the big front door.

more Ride to Happiness pics?   of course

leaving the K3 RollerSkater to head to the other coasters in the park, you enter into this "oversized" (or maybe we're shrunk?) area of the park.

I made sure to stop and take this pic to send home to Nick.

 

to be continued. . .

[bert425]

Day 9, continued.   Plopsaland De Panne: part 2

this was a pretty neat chair. . . you sat in the spilling coffee/nutrella. . .

what's this?  a slowly moving spinning boat ride?

yes please!

it was across from the next coaster we were going to ride, but that was in testing mode and hadn't opened yet.

apparently the boat ride is called "Tik Tak Junier"  so we hopped on it to see if the coaster would open by the time we finsihed

absolutely no clue what it was supposed to be about. . which made it that much better!

 

WHEEE!!!

 

and as we exited the boats?  the gates went up and the next coaster opened.

apparently this is themed after a TV show, which seems to be about High School Kids?

yet it's a very junior family double figure-8 layout.

I present:  Hashtag: Like Me Coaster

 

empty queue as it had just opened. . .

see why I'm assuming the show is about high-school kids?

it doesn't do much.. but it IS pretty speedy, and I liked how hidden in the trees it is.

it also was in the running for "longest train" for any coaster we rode on the trip!

I mean.. look how long this thing is!

the Starflyer is themed to another show, this one about a vampire, a warewolf, and a witch (I think?). . .they had a photo op set up across from it.

and you could choose which character you wanted to swing under.

it wasn't open yet either, so we continued on to come back later.

the flowerbeds and greenery in this park are so nice.    It would be a pleasant day just walking around.

we were there on a Wednesday, so this wasn't open, unfortunately - which I know disappointed some of the group.

it's a sit down restaurant that only sells deserts.

so we continued on to the other "thrill coaster" in the park, Anubis.

train!

doesn't the conductor look thrilled?

NOT the Eye of Sauron. . but the Eye of Anubis

with lots of Egyptian theming out front.

which disappears the moment you get into the queue.

I was very confused, but upon looking it up on RCDB, it seems this Gerstlaur launch coaster is themed after a Finnish Television show, about teenagers who search for treasure in their spooky boarding school.     

Sorta harry potter, I guess, but not - since the starflyer is also themed to a sorta harry potter show?

anyways, here's the queue: (yes, we waited in this line rather than use our quick pass, as I wanted to see the queue)

I believe I have AJ to thank for this pic.   it's a great pic. .but man did this coaster rattle, and was really only tolerable to me in the front row.
(think I rode 3 times, twice in front, and once in middle row)

Swinging ship, and Ride to Happiness across the lagoon

as I said a few times:  beautiful park.

having hit all the open coasters, we looped back to try to get Dragon Coaster, the Dinosaur Flume Ride, and Heidi the Ride (wooden coaster)

Lookie lookie!

James and I have joined K3 

(creepy as hell, so of course I loved this photo op)

 

oooo. . another one of these!  I had never seen one prior to the one at Holiday Park's indoor section.  
Yeah, it's stupid and doesn't do really anything. . but I still had a ball, and stopped to ride it.

and I wasn't the only one

'

 

don't I look comfy sitting on a "chicken"

[GeorgeTakei] OH MY!!! [/GeorgeTakei]
 

we had ERT on this later, but wanted to ride it early to check it out, as noted, supposedly it's very similar to White Lightning, but with the wood supports

really quite smooth, and ends with a little "dark ride" section.

was it insanely thrilling?  not really, but i liked it . . a lot, and rode every time during ERT later.

and of course, you exit thru the gift shop.

no idea, but these seem to be the characters the ride is based on.

 

and because I'm 12 years old mentally?  sent this pic home to Nick too.

 

Heidi: the Ride is right next to the Dinosaur Flume, which still wasn't operating yet.   The park claimed it was opening, but at the moment the flume was still drained.

however. . what's that I see zooming towards us?

the Dragon Coaster had started running.

like the rest of the park, the area over here by Heidi is really cutely themed.

with several photo ops.

it was after lunchtime, and we were starting to get hungry, so headed to the "mushroom elves" ? section, which seemed to have the most options for food, even if it was mostly "Six Flags" type theme park food.

 

this was right next to it tho. . . ooooooooo

they had a test bunny out for photos, and test seat.

So hopped on that , but wasn't sure if adults could ride.

once the operator confirmed "sure, adults can ride". .did we ride it?

you betcha!!!

the lines were a bit too long, so since nobody was really *starving* - we'd had a big breakfast - we headed over to the section of the park we hadn't been in yet.

there's also a DISC-O over here. . which I don't believe I rode here.  I did join the folks I was hanging with at one part to ride it. .but think that might have been Holiday park.

otherwise?  not really a fan of these.

a kiddie firefighter ride.

(having done this in Japan, I didn't feel the urge to ride this here)

a large building was over here on the left, which looked like it used to be a Carousel - was under construction, which made me a bit sad. 

I later found out it used to be bumper cars (?) and they were turning it into a theater.

but the biggest joy in coming to this section - which was mostly kiddie & teen rides - was up ahead on the right.

No, not this. . .

This.

yes. Plopsaland De Panne has a Dunkin' on property.

with LOTS of donut options  (and lots and LOTS of bees attracted to the sugar)

most importantly tho? 

THEY HAD A MILKSHAKE ON THE MENU.    (and it was described as what an American Milkshake would be). . .

so absolutely had to order one, to wash that vile memory from the prior day of what I had and was called a "milkshake"

this one was quite satisfying, and good.   the donuts were good too

 

and got to eat my snack surrounded by Purple Penis trees.

i mean. .what else could they *possibly* be?

 

one ride over here did look interesting. . tho we didnt' ride it either.

it's a Tractor ride, similar to what we rode at Europa Parc, but here?  it weaves in and out of animals that just roam around the tracks.

I guess the animals are smarter than some people, in that they easily moved out of the way if a tractor was coming.

we stumbled across this one, and I'm glad we did.

it was an indoor dark ride in boats.   

as with most things here, I had no idea what the storyline was supposed to be (tho I recognize the hat in the ride logo, so its based on one of the park's mascots). . seems to be about gnomes, or elves. .

and you enter into thru the Gift Shop. . where I saw these.  

So gotta wonder if this was once a Smurfs ride?   It would fit, and be easy for them to have made the changes (just repaint a few things from Blue).
 

this lift actually resulted in a little bit of a splash that got our boat moist. 

Tho maybe because it was 5 adults in a small boat?  LOL

coming around to the front of the park, we peeked into MayaLand, to see what food options were at the restaurant in here.

we didnt' stay to ride or eat anything (typical hotdogs/burgers), but a nice small assortment of rides and slides for kids to play on.

Cutting back across to the Mushroom food area from earlier, thinking it was later now, there likely wouldn't be a line still (there was, and it took a while to get something to eat. . but we were in realaxed mode at this point having gotten most of what we were hoping to ride today). . . .we found a pathway that passed right next to Anubis for some good pics

and must be where AJ got that pic of us on it earlier.

but before we got to go eat. . SuperSplash was open (the Shoot the Chutes). . so we rode that and didn't' get any wetter than we already were from the dark boat ride.

phones were put away just in case, so only have the entrance sign as a pic.

and then we saw that Dino Splash (the dinosaur flume) had opened. . so we went directly there next.  The donut / shake snack really helped curb appetite, LOL

again, phones put away just in case, so only have entrance, but I do recall it was fun, and I THINK it had a backwards section too?

NOW it's time for food. . . but since we're passing right under Ride To Happiness on the walkway there, sure, let's stop and take a few more pics of this amazing ride.

the food we waited a bit too long for, and was OK for theme park food.

this park more than makes up for it with atmosphere and a world class ride (RtH). . but yeah, if the desert restaurant is not open, I'd just stick to Dunkin to eat here.

lots of birds over here too. . so they must get fed a lot of french fries. . they weren't scared of people at all.

having eaten something, we treked back over to the starflyer to get a ride.

Even the churro stand was themed to the supernatural show over here by the starflyer

 

at this point, I think we had about an hour left before park close, and a few folks wanted to go back to Anubis (I passed) or Ride to Happiness. . but once I found out there was a Carousel here?  I split off and went to ride my must do:

beautiful, and hidden way back here in the far corner of the park!

double decker, so I immediately went uptop, only to be told that I could not ride any horses or cups, that upstairs adults may only ride on the bench.

so I rode the bench:  (still happy tho)

and then I went downstairs and took another ride, this time on a horse.

as noted..it's way back in the corner, so not very busy back here.

 

but look how happy!

I wanted to buy some magnets or souveniers, so I headed back around to the front plaza. . but stopped to snap a pic of the workmen who were transforming that space I had thought was the carousel.

and walked thru the petting zoo area over here too.. that was on the opposite side of that tractor ride.

the petting zoo is behind me, but they also had sculptures of animals in the sandbox, so kids could "pet" them without being scared of a live animal.

good call on the park's part.

ah. .I DID take a pic of  the actual petting zoo too.

swag purchased I made my way around back to RoH to meet up with the group, and happened across the parks parade.

wasn't very long, but it was cute - or creepy - depending on your "person in suit" tolerance.

 

now there were some kids driving in this attraction.

I can't recall if we had ERT this evening as we'd had this morning, or if just everyone had saved their skip the line passes (I do seem to remember it had gone down for a few hours, and when it came back up, the line got slammed). . .but I went into the Gift Shop first.

a little bit of sticker shock - I totally would have bought a T-shirt, but you can tell this is a "sponsored by Tomorrowland" installation, as the shirts were (I think) all $50 or more.   I ended up with a magnet I loved, and that was "only" $20.  

but so what, I liked it, so I bought it.

I rode it two or three more times. . and then stepped out to take a few more pics of it.

park was closing, so those of us at RtH headed over to Heidi: the Ride, the coaster that would close out our day at Plopsaland.

 

I wasnt' hungry - at all - but it would be a lie to say I wasn't tempted a bit.

I settled for just pictures of what they were offering at this cart on the pathway.

and then it was on to Heidi.

all these pics are courtesy of Elissa or Robb. 

and I rode it every time during Evening ERT.    as I said, I enjoyed it a lot, as you can tell from the giant smile I have in every pic. . .

and then it was time to head out.   We'd had a lot of fun in the park, and it seemed to fly, but this really is a one day park.

however, if they keep updating with rides like RtH?   I can see them drawing tons more people than that ride is already drawing to the park.

closing out with pics from Robb that he shared with us on the bus on the way back to the hotel.

taken by his coaster camera in the morning.

these are incredible, and LOL. my face in that first one.  . gravity sliding me into that inversion.

 

 

 

and then I got the text back from Nick that changed my mood:

"hi Hun, don't worry.   I'm in the hospital, my lung collapsed.   I'll text you later and update you.   143"

 

yeah

[bert425]

didn't really buy much from Plopsaland, just the two magnets.

so will share them here.

[Hilltopper39]

Great report as always Bert, I never realized Plopsaland was so extensive with all of the themeing and dark rides and stuff, looks like a really great park.

 

Ride to Happiness looks amazing, I know Time Traveler at SDC is similar but it feels like I hardly ever hear about that coaster compared to Ride To Happiness which everyone seems to rave about. 

[bert425]

I worried about Nick the drive back to the hotel, and during the relax period in the room. . . but when folks wanted to go grab food (remember, our meal this afternoon at the park was. . um. . underwhelming) I was up for it.

I also wanted to go to the Left on the beach, as we hadn't found the Carousel the night before when going Right, so it should have been on the Left.

I was worried, but nothing I could do, so tried to enjoy the boardwalk along the Atlantic Ocean in De Panne, Beligum.

we were out earlier than had been the night before, so it was a bit brighter, and there were more folks out and about, as we hit the boardwalk and made a left.

looking back towards where we had come from. . really beautiful, and I think it was close to 8pm at this point?

 

this both scared and amused me. . .LOL

and what was that up ahead at the end of the boardwalk?  

Found it!!!

 

and it was closed - boooooo. . . .

tho, honestly, I wouldn't have been able to enjoy it as I as so worried about Nick.   and besides, we had just spent the full day at Plopsaland, and I had ridden the Carousel there twice. . so I'd had my fill and could live with it.

did I take pics of it anyways?    you bet. . .

at this end of the Boardwalk, there was another big sculpture installation.

\

and this AMAZING - *never in America* sand sculpture of an attacking Octopus.

 

why "never in America" ?    well. . . it's made of Metal.

yes. . metal.   Sharp edges and all.

and the kiddos were climbing all over it.

it looked so incredible. . and so many tripping hazards everywhere.

Great place to snag a foot and fall headfirst into another metal part.

yup. . "never in America"

 

Even metal birds sculpted hanging out on some of the Tentacles. .

It was while I was out on the beach (sand in my shoes and everywhere, but was worth it for the pics) that Nick texted me he was up and could I talk.

so I stepped off to the side and I called him and we talked.

he told me that his right lung had collapsed (not his left lung again, which is what had happened on his Birthday in March) and that they had been able to get it reinflated, and were monitoring him.    And that tho it sounded very concerning, I shouldn't worry, as he was where he needed to be, and they were fixing the issue - although he was still against having the surgery that the specialist had recommended (but then agreed with us that since Nick tends to have after affects from Surgery that we should not do it unless absolutely necessary. . and this didn't seem necessary, yet).

so no reason to rush home, or try to change my flight back a week later. . . but I should continue enjoying my trip.

I yelled at him when he told me that he had driven himself to the Hospital after he woke up from the nap and he still was having difficulty breathing.   I was so angry that he chanced driving himself, instead of calling 911 or reaching out to any of our friends who knew I was gone and would have helped.

the stubborn ass actually apologized for that, and said he was sorry for scaring me.     and then he had to rest, as the Nurse had come into the room.

So I told him I'd talk to him later, before bed, and I was glad he was where he needed to be.

Still worried, but feeling much better after talking to him, we continued on for our walk in De Panne, to try and find some food place. . last shot of the closed Carousel, before heading up to the main street in search of food.

but I got a smile pic to send to Nick after we hung up.

as said, really is quite lovely here.

we passed a laundry mat that seemed very busy.

with TPR folks doing laundry.   

Hi guys!   

More impressive art sculptures as we got back to the main street for the town

someone recalled that Ian had told us he had Gyros / Greek food the night before in a place near the hotel. . so we texted him and he pointed out where to go.

it was a LOT of food, and it was really good.  Tho there was absolutely no English spoken, and the menu appeared to be in Dutch - which left us all at a bit of a disadvantage.
luckily there were a lot of pictures, and a large family already seated that was eating. . . so was able to see what they were eating, and find a similar picture that matched it and then order by pointing.

as noted, it was all really good.   No idea what I got, think it was a mix of Lamb and Chicken strips on a full plate with Fries, pita, hummus and several other things.

I think my mind was still very flustered, as I somehow didn't manage to take a pic of the food (really odd for me)

on the way back to the hotel to crash after that super filling meal, we bumped into Robb, Elissa and Kristen on the street.

i filled Elissa in on what was going on with Nick (as I had told her on the bus that he has been admitted to the hospital). . and that he seemed good and not worried when I talked to him.

so at least although I was worried, the day ended on a really good note.

and hey, we also got a full moon in De Panne, thanks to the window washer - who was squeegeeing *all the way to the ground* on the windows behind Elissa while we were chatting.

it was a little distracting. . so of COURSE i pointed it out - and took a picture

enjoy the full moon over Beligum!

 

and with that, we said our goodnights, and headed back to the hotel room to crash.   

tomorrow was another big day - up, checked out, and on bus by &;30 am, for a day at Bellewaerde

 

to be continued. . . .

[SharkTums]

Thank you for the very flattering photo of me shoving ice cream into my mouth with the guys ass hanging out nearby!

[bert425]

^ you look like you're judging. . which is why I loved it!

(tho can totally edit it to cut ya'll out if you want me to)

[Electerik]

Quote

we were there on a Wednesday, so this wasn't open, unfortunately - which I know disappointed some of the group.

it's a sit down restaurant that only sells deserts.

Me! It disappointed me!

[bert425]

Day 10: Bellewaerde !

we were up and checked out of the hotel and on the bus by 7:30 (but not before having breakfast).

I was in Belgium, so about damn time I had some waffles:

it was very overcast, and was supposed to be a bit rainy and chilly. . .but we were headed to Bellewaerde today. . a kind of funky park, that I thought reminded me very much of Busch Gardens Williamsburg.   Animals, and very "green" pathways, with many of the rides hard to see as they are buried among the trees.

starting out not too badly tho. . just slightly overcast, but still clear on the bus ride there:

oooo. . this park be kinky!!!

apparently there's a waterpark here too. . . tho I can't recall ever seeing the slides.   (as noted, a lot of stuff is hidden by greenery)

I believe we came in the back gate (we exited later from the front gate). . .but we came in back here, because we were going to get some ERT before the park opened, and Robb was going to film on the parks funky indoor/outdoor/dark ride coaster, "Huracan" - which is close to this entrance.

we were greeted by a Boomerang on the left (yay?), but on the right?  yeah, that's what I was most excited about - another brand new ride for me, a Topple Tower!

I was so excited to see this.   I've never been on one, and it was one of my 'must do' at this park - once it opened.

oh look, they have an "El Toro" here too

but we were headed to Huracan 1st.

 

I really loved this coaster. .it had a fantastic theming thruout, and a really fun dark-ride section with lots of lasers and lights, that hid very well what was just a pretty basic layout (for the inside portion of the coaster).     It's a great family coaster with pops of fun on the outdoors section.

speaking of theming. . . I mean, look how amazing this station is!

I got to sit in the front row with Robb during one of his filming sessions
(pic courtesy of Elissa)

after riding this a few times, our park guide gathered us up for the trek to the other side of the park for our next ride (we came in by the Mexico Section, and we were next going to ride things (Wakala & Dawson Duel) over in the Canada Section. . so you can see the route we took on the park map below)

along the way, he pointed out things of interest - including this ladybug coaster that had a countdown clock on it.

what was going on?  this classic coaster was going to be closing forever shortly after our visit.   He urged us to take a ride on it, for historic purposes, if we got the chance today, as this was a beloved coaster that had been in the park for decades.

noted!

I snapped pics of ride signs as we passed.. tho often it was hard to get a pic of the actual rides, because of all the greenery.

River Splash - the parks flume ride

I mean, look how beautiful and green this park is!

and lots of animals to look at as you walk the pathways in the park.

LEMURS!    so cute!!!

as I keep saying. . just lovely.

tho I don't recall actually riding this teacups ride here.

or this Carousel (I know!!!).    I may have ridden it and just don't recall, but I don't have a pic on it, so I think I might have just not come back to it, as it was a smaller children's Carousel (not that that ever really stops me).   Took a pic of this as we walked by tho

lots of flowers and topiary thruout the park too, even in the more "open" areas

I believe this is a meet and greet location for the park's mascots. . tho I didn't see any out today.  Probably just because it was overcast and did get colder and start to drizzle shortly after park open.

 

we are passing by the main front gate now, and this is the entrance to the gift shop.

as we looped around to the Canada section, there was a photo op for the soon to be closed Ladybug coaster.

so did I stop to take a pic?  

I mean. . .   of course!

Bengal Rapid River - the entrance to the park's River Rapids ride.

didn't ride this today, as you'll see in later pics, this sucker got people SOAKED.   (and I was already moist enough from the drizzle later)

and they aren't kidding with the "rapids" part of the name

one of the few pics of Dawson Duel - the first "Mountain Coaster" I'd ever ridden.

but wait, you ask. . I don't see any "mountains" at Bellewaerde.

and you'd be correct.   They built massive towers to support the mountain coaster and hid them in the forest around the park.    So the result is a pretty amazing racing Mountain coaster - with a super long climb via ramps/steps to get up to the start.   but you truly can't see most of it, or get a good pic, because it's so well hidden.

but we walked under it for now, as we were headed to Wakala . . a pretty unique shuttle type launch coaster, with a spike over the big lake near the park.

again, some really cool theming here.    as it has thruout the whole park.

the group coming back from the first ride, surprised by that unexpected "spike" over the lake, and then backwards before switching over to come back into the station.

look at those smiles. . we all loved it.

pic by Robb or Elissa

after a couple of rides on Wakala, we headed across the walkway to Dawson Duel & checked all our bags/cameras/etc,

it didn't really matter, as it's so hard to get a decent pic of it - but wow, highly recommended, as the views while climbing up to the start are spectacular and worth the climb up.

and of course, had to climb up twice - I mean, it's a dueling mountain coaster - you've GOT to ride both sides

Luckily Robb shared a pic on his instagram (which I borrowed to use here), of the empty "carts" making the lift back up to the top so we could load in for the rides.
(I wish they let you ride up in them tho. . LOL)

from the top of the Dawson Duel tower, we had a clear view of the parking lot, and tho it was mostly empty as the park was just about to open, we did see several school buses full of kids pull into the lot and park by the front gate.

after Dawson Duel, we were let loose in the park to enjoy until it was time to head out ~4pm (as we were headed back to Paris after)

since we were right over here, some of us decided to hang out and wait for Screaming Eagle, the drop tower to open.

there was a shoot the chutes over here too.. tho I can't recall if it opened.  I THINK it did, but had no desire to ride it.

nice theming tho.

it took them a seemingly long time to get this open, as there was one operator, and he was having trouble getting the balance correct between the riders on each side, and it kept throwing a red light.

so there were a number of "get on, get restraints on, check them, then everyone off". . . cycle the ride. . and do it again.

eventually, tho we got a green light, and we went (against my better judgement, since it was so hard to get the "green light". . but I got on).

i have to say, probably the most underwhelming ride I was on in Europe.    A drop tower with zero forces?   no airtime on the drop down, and no G's going up.

it was so weird how forceless this was.     I think most of us felt silly we had waited for it to stop operating.

passing by, I think we may have hopped back on Wakala for another ride.

Managed to not get the trains (sorry), but a some good pics showing how well the ride is integrated in the trees.

 

thru the trees!!

this walkway seemed to go out to a dock that appeared to be either a swimming hole, or possibly a paddle boats ride. . . but didn't see anything here, other than the long bridge, and what appeared to be a Tom Sawyer Island-like attraction with cabins to explore over there.  

we didn't explore it any further than looking at it tho, as I was determined to get on that Topple Tower, so we headed back over towards where we started.

we popped into the Lion exhibit - again, really well done.

you can climb into the "crashed" vehicle, to get a slightly better view of the animals.

 

and going this way, finally got a good view of the river rapids ride, and made me decide hell no to riding:

yeah. .the animatronic elephants made SURE everyone in the rafts got soaked!   

 

I believe the Tiger exhibit. . . there's one laying up there on the perch on the left.   Some very nice design work in this park.

 

even the food stands are nicely themed to the area they are in (not open, but still nice)

 

ooooo..another madhouse.   I believe this one was themed to Houdini ? 
(it looks like it based on the statues and locks on the outside)

and the inside show room before the ride.

still headed back to Mexico for the topple tower credit for me. . . .

 

thru the trees!

but we were passing thru the Wild West area. .

and the Ladybug coaster.

I honestly had not planned to ride it. . . . tho everyone else in the group I was with wanted to, so I joined along.

glad I did too. . it's another one of those that looks like a kiddie coaster, but is a fun family coaster, that moved pretty fast and pulled some forces.

and as you can see. . it had started to drizzle, a bit heavy.

 

this is my kind of ride too.. where's the entrance???

ah. here it is. . .

if I'm recalling?  that snake was animatronic, and spit water out at people coming into the entrance. .

the first group of kids from the buses we'd really bumped into today. . .   but they filled the whole boat before us, so we got the next one.

lots of animals to look at on the Jungle Cruise. . .

oh crap..really?  we're gonna get wet on this too????

yep. . . sheesh. .   LOL

it's a.. . . um. . . hell, I can't remember what these are called.

it's a giant rat thing. . .  (but without a monkey riding it)

and if we weren't already moist and cold, it started to drizzle harder. . .

great. .more spitting snakes. .

and some "slightly problematic in 2022" Natives.  . .

but the chief was toking!    

the pic I have of the smoke POURING out of that window came out blurry. . but funny as hell.

 

and . . .yeah. .  MORE water on the boat.     a fun, and great family ride. . but anyone in an outside seat is gonna get a little wet.

the rain had paused by the time we finally got back over to Mexico.

so I went right away to the topple tower, El Volador, even tho I had been getting warned it was going to underwhelm.

 

I mean, it LOOKS amazing. . .

was it "thrilling" ?    

no

but did I really like it?     heck yes!

it was a fun, mid level ride, and when it does the full tilt thing, I really liked the feeling of being about to slip out of the restraints.

is it my favorite flat?   not at all, but I will ride one if I'm in a park that has it.  I enjoyed it that much

and was able to get some pics of Huracan's outdoor section from the exit - which meant had to go ride that again after.

 

 

I kinda wanted to ride this. . but really can't recall if we did?   I don't' think we did?  but maybe?

everyone else wanted to ride the Boomerang.   called "Boomerang" here.

I took my favorite seat on it - the bench out front - and took pics of them riding.

 

and this singing phallic thing with a unique speaker opening. . . hmmmmm.

it made odd noises, so I wanted to get a pic with it . . LOL

it had been a fairly light day, so even tho it had gotten a little chilly, we took a spin on the flume ride - and we each got our own log . . whee!

I don't recall much of this flume, but I didn't hate it (or would recall I didn't like it). . I guess?

we'd waited long enough to eat. . and it had started drizzling again, so we headed up towards the front of the park to the big restaurant to eat a late lunch.

I THINK this was a breaded fish and fries?    I seem to remember it was fish, and I found it odd there was a brown sauce with fish.

I do remember the cake was good.   Not very sweet, which I liked.

 

this tho?   this just looked gross. . so yeah, didn't try this.

while eating lunch, with most of  the TPR group in there at the same time, there was discussion on if we should stay until we had planned to at 4, or if we wanted to leave early to get to Paris earlier.

I THINK it was at this park?     the overall voting was that since it was so chilly and overcast, and since most everyone had ridden everything they wanted, that we'd leave at 2pm instead of 4.    (I could be mistaken, but I think that was here).

the only thing I still wanted to ride was the train, as it went thru the Lion & Tigers exhibit . . and we knew it had been swamped with kids earlier, and likely still would be busy.   So after eating, we headed over to the train.
 

tho there were still a bunch of school kids, we got super lucky and they all crammed into the other train cars, and the TPR folks ended up in a mostly empty car at the back of the train - which let us move from side to side to take pics. so it worked out really well. . . .  

you get really close to the tigers and lions!

Smart cats. . they know to stay just far enough away from the tracks . . .but they are watching. . .

oh yes. .they watch the cars full of food slowly go by

I'm not sure what everyone else broke off to do after the train. (I think they may have gone back to ride Wakala again?)
but I wanted to do some shopping, so headed up to the front entrance to hit the main gift shop.

such a pretty park. .a shame it was a little nasty today.  but I really enjoyed it.   so pretty.

cold and wet, yet still some folks were riding the rapids!

as you can see from the wait times sign, the weather REALLY kept the crowds away.

and as the School Kids had left around 1:30, the park was really very deserted . . I mean. .this is the main entrance area. . a few folks here and there on some rides.

 

LOVED these strollers.   

If I were small enough, I would love to be pushed around in a Kangaroo all day

 

in the gift shop, they were selling some "questionable in 2022" souvenirs for the kiddos. . . tho I don't have any issue with it.

Maybe that's just a thing (the Cultural appropriation stuff) in the USA and not so much in Europe?

 

I was so tempted to buy this . . .LOL       but (t) I didn't.  (yes, I have a dirty mind)

 

but I did end up getting a Lemur sweatshirt.. which is so cute, and comfortable.   I put it on right away.

ah. .here, out front of the main entrance, is one of the Park Mascots you can pose with:

 

and then it was back on the bus, and starting the ~4 hour drive back to Paris.

look how cute that Sweatshirt is!

 

even tho it was a bit too chilly and drizzly for my preference? I still had a fantastic time at Bellewaerde, and really recommend this park.

if you get a chance to visit?  it's well worth a stop for the rides, the animals, and the atmosphere.

we rested on the bus, and I texted back and forth with Nick a bit (who was up as the nurses kept waking him up) and he told me that he was doing much better and would talk to me that evening on the phone.

so I settled in after a full and fun day, and just enjoyed the ride as we headed back to Paris airport and our hotel for the evening.