Efan's European Expedition

[Efan]

Hi everyone! Yesterday was the first day of my European trip and we went to Plopsaland! This is the start of a two-week-long coaster trip that I've dubbed "Efan's European Expedition" (pleasing my year 8 English teacher with my use of alliteration). On this trip, we'll hit Plopsaland, every Walibi park worth visiting before 2024, Phantasialand, Energylandia and Legendia. Of course, at Plopsa, the main attraction is the magical Ride to Happiness, but the solid supporting cast of Anubis and Heidi also intrigued me.

We started the (swelteringly hot, 30°c) day with a train from Brussels to De Panne with a spectacular view:



Simply breath-taking.

Soon enough, we were at the De Panne train station, conveniently located just a stone's throw from Plopsaland. We followed the hordes of people, assuming they knew where they were going, and thankfully they did!




I'm not entirely sure the point of the big fake wooden door, but hey ho.

Alright, I know everyone told me to bash out the kiddie creds first, but I couldn't help myself - I had to ride The Ride™ (to Happiness). I was just too excited. The theming along the queue line was great, with loads of the big robot lady in the form of those hologram fans you always see on dodgy sites like Wish:



You'll get what I mean if you've seen her. The theming in the queue line, and in the whole of Plopsa, was fantastic, being just a slight step below Phantasialand and Disney for me. The only gripe I had with this queue was the BASTARDING GRATES - at one point, my earbuds fell out of my pocket, the case jolted open, and I lost one of my earphones to the depths of the grate. Luckily, they were a cheap pair I'd gotten specifically for this trip, but the queue grates had unfortunately claimed an innocent life.

Amusingly, and somewhat terrifyingly, this wasn't even the most eventful occurrence of the queue for my first ride of the day. On the stairs just before the station, I was marvelling at the flying snake dive-esque element. Suddenly, an object fell from the train on the first inversion of the element, narrowly missing a small child on the ground. For a split second, I thought it might have been a part of the cladding or something similar, but soon realised it was a phone. I suppose this ride simply has a hatred for electronic devices. Always secure your loose articles, kids!

Following that excitement, we reached the station. Unfortunately, I'd taken a lot of the pics of the park in portrait - when I attach them, they automatically rotate sideways, and I'm too technologically illiterate to figure out how to rotate them. I suppose I'll be forced to use the (admittedly) superior landscape orientation from now on.

Anyway, we managed to snag a back row ride on our first ride. So, how did I find it?

Oh. Well... bloody hell. New #1.

​

That should be enough of a review, I believe. Anyway, next up was Anubis. This was because we'd realised that the kiddie creds actually had shorter queues than the big boys, since the Belgian children had dutifully returned to school. This allowed us to focus on the larger rides, though we didn't face a >30 minute queue the whole day (although that was because we skipped a re-ride on Heidi due to its terrible capacity on one train). At this point, the covered queue lines on most rides was very welcome, as fatigue from the crazy heat was already beginning to set in. The queue for Anubis was also great, though seemingly not really fitting? Having not seen the IP, I could only assume that the show wasn't about the Egyptian god but rather a supervillain's lair, complete with deer mounts.

As for the actual experience, I thought Anubis was great! That might be because I'm biased towards Gerstlauer - I've never come off a Gerst disappointed, and don't notice the rattle/roughness that others seem to. As expected, the launch is absolutely crazy, though not quite to the level of the excellent Fluch von Novgorod. The first top hat gives some good airtime, before plunging into a great dive loop. The highlight of the ride for me is the second top hat - it gives great airtime up into it, mixed with strong laterals which caught me by surprise. The ride then takes a couple of twists before popping up into the MCBR. This was the only bad part of the coaster, giving a harsh, almost painful jolt as the breaks took hold. The second "half" (closer to quarter) of the ride wasn't quite as good as the first, with a meandering curve and a great hangtime-laden roll into the breaks. Overall, Anubis packed a punch, and was a great supporting coaster to the #1. So great, in fact, that we went for a few re-rides in a row.

Next, I headed for Heidi. The queue here ran painfully slow, with just one train and 12 riders per cycle. This turned a wait just outside of the station into a 20-minute wait. This wasn't too big a deal though, as the queues for most rides were very short, mostly walk-on. Going into this ride, I'd heard some bad things - that it was mostly forceless and without airtime, though quite smooth.



I personally think this ride did what it set out to do fantastically. It was a great family thrill coaster, while also giving some meat to chew on for adults. It gave decent airtime, especially on that double up/down, and captured the "out-of-control" feeling GCIs are known for. As expected, it was also extremely smooth.

We then decided to bash out the kiddie creds. First up was Draak, somehow the third best Mack in the park. The standout part of this ride was the delightful smell of smoke in the station. The ride itself was good enough, being relatively smooth and giving a nice little tour of the area in which it's located.

Next was the Vekoma Roller Skater. Again, these are serviceable, though nothing to shout about (and noticeably lacking any pleasing aroma). However, the ride operator was very enthusiastic, which was a plus.

In my opinion, the worst coaster in the park was the #LikeMe Coaster (what's the point of capitalising Me? That doesn't make a difference!) This wasn't really down to the coaster itself, but rather the terrifying lump right in the danger zone, which meant I had to brace myself the entire ride:



Please don't comment on the combination of trainer and cargo trousers. I've already had enough just looking at this photo.

The last new cred (yes, CRED) was SuperSplash. This was saved for last as a reward for finishing the creds, as it would somewhat combat the blazing heat. Again, this wasn't really anything to write home about, though the vertical lift's rotation was pretty cool. There was some alright floater on the airtime hill, and the splashdown was pretty good. Unfortunately, one of the plus-points of the ride - the views of The Ride to Happiness - was negated by the fact that The Ride™ was seemingly broken down, with no trains coming around. This turned the last 80% of the ride into a somewhat dull meander around the pirate area.

The last new thing to do was to go to the farmyard area, where we met these very friendly goats:

I also believe I was requested to say hello to this guy



Hopefully he recovers soon from his sideways-itis.

The last new ride we went for was Dino Splash. This was a very charming little ride around a pre-historic theme (duh). It wasn't too wet, but the floater airtime on the double-down at the end of the ride is good, and the in-between sections between the drops don't meander. My only gripe was the lack of cover for some of the queue line, which was almost excruciating for a pasty Welshman like myself.



The rest of the day was spent getting re-rides on The Ride™. I suppose I should actually give a review, right? The jojo roll out of the station is the perfect way to introduce riders to what this ride is all about - it's disorientating and it's wonderful. You then rock up to the launch. Mack launches have gotten plenty of crap in the past, and while they're certainly not great, I found that going into Icon with low expectations for the launch caused me to be pleasantly surprised. On the other hand, there is undeniable whip in this launch - whether it's the rotation of the cars or just a more punchy launch, this caught me by surprise the first time. There's also a quick whip around halfway down the launch track which causes the cars to spin even more than before, and sometimes in the opposite direction to which they started. The ascension to the top hat gives some decent airtime, and the turn at the top gives some quite nice views of the rest of the park. Then comes the drop. The first time round, I did the drop facing forwards, which gave some great airtime and was very fun. However, I then did it backwards. Oh my god. This gave some of the best airtime I've ever experienced. The closest thing I can compare it to in the UK is, amusingly, Revolution - the feeling of being yanked over a drop backwards is the same, but The Ride cranks it up to 11 with more sustained airtime and the added factor of rotating down the drop. It's like being tied to a grand piano which is hurled off a cliff, Looney Tunes style. Next is the banana roll. One thing I read in the build-up to The Ride™ was that this element almost felt like a vertical loop. I scoffed at the suggestion, but honestly...? It does. Somehow, the rotation of the cars and the track combines to almost feel like you're just going straight up and down. The actual vertical loop somehow also feels like a vertical loop, but with rotation. The most underrated part of the ride, in my opinion, is the zero-g roll. I didn't see much hype for this element, but there's something euphoric about that element combined with a spinning coaster. There's then an S-hill, which doesn't really give too much in the way of forces (but gives a nice chance to digest everything that was just thrown at you), before the second launch.

I'll break up the first and second halves of the ride with a paragraph as this is getting way too long already. The fact that more and more manufacturers are adding airtime hills mid-launch is very exciting; Intamin seem to be leaning into this with Pantheon and Toutatis, for example. Obviously, launches aren't boring in the slightest, but adding an extra dimension (literally) with an airtime hill really ups the experience. This then leads into the craziest element of the ride - the "flying snake dive". This rode completely differently every time we rode. Sometimes, it would feel like two inversions, and other times it would feel almost like a twisty helix? One of the downsides of The Ride™ is that it's borderline impossible to explain what it's like - you can only gush about how demented it is. Next up is an airtime hill and a curve to the left, before the second-best moment(s) of airtime on The Ride™, the two final airtime hills. These gave absolutely crazy ejector one after another, despite not looking too intense off-ride. These were so powerful that the support over the final airtime hill (probably about ~10 feet above you) felt like a headchopper. Every time we hit the breaks, the entire train was laughing like maniacs after what this beast put them through. 10/10.

So, yeah - Plopsaland. It's a very charming park, with fantastic theming throughout. The 1-2 punch of this park is extremely strong, though maybe the "2" part is only so strong to a Gerst fanboy like me. That being said, however, that "1" is worth visiting this park for alone. There's nothing like it in Europe, or (if Time Traveller reviews are to be believed) the world. Outside of The Ride™, there's a great supporting cast, with something for everyone, especially if that everyone is families. Yeah, the food and drink are quite expensive, but thankfully you can bring your own. The only real dampener on the day (which actually was the opposite of damp) was the crazy heat. Most rides' queue lines are covered, which was a welcome respite, but there's a general lack of cover otherwise, with trees providing adequate cover being relatively rare throughout the park. This is somewhat understandable as the current European heatwave is rather unprecedented, but I feel for those attending 100 years from now once global warming has kicked in. Overall, though, Plopsaland was absolutely fantastic, and is certainly one of my favourite parks I've been to.

Next up is Walibi Holland tomorrow - I'm looking forward to the mouth-watering top 3, though The Ride™ will take some beating. I will update you all soon!

 

[Howie]

Oh. Well... bloody hell. New #1.

Good ladddd
Will it stay there though? Some big hitting coasters still to come, could be a close fought battle. We'll see...

Glad to see @witchfinder 's pig getting some love - knew you wouldn't let me down - and yeah, that trainer/cargo combo is dodgy as f***!

 

[Sandman]

Lovely start to a promising report. I look forward to Part 2!

Howie can definitely vouch for the loose articles thingy on The Ride™... and most definitely in Wally Holland

I still wonder where those car keys ended up

 

[Efan]

Will it stay there though? Some big hitting coasters still to come, could be a close fought battle. We'll see...

That's the thing - Untamed's gonna be right up there, as will a lot of others. Let's see if RtH will be my shortest-reigning #1...

That trainer/cargo combo is dodgy as f***!

I tend to prefer function over form

Howie can definitely vouch for the loose articles thingy on The Ride™... and most definitely in Wally Holland

I still wonder where those car keys ended up

Rookie mistake, that. On an extreme spinner, no less. Tut tut.

 

[Matt N]

Great first report @Efan! I’m glad you got a new #1 in Ride to Happiness; that ride does look insane!

Out of interest, does RTH spin much compared to, say, a Maurer spinning coaster or something? I can enjoy a spinning coaster if it’s not ridiculously spinny, but I would never have said that they were a favourite ride type of mine, so even though it’s a hotly anticipated coaster for me, I’m never 100% sure if I’ll like it as much as everyone else does due to spinning coasters not being my favourite in general.

 

[Efan]

Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay in the report, I haven't been able to find the time to sit down and actually write it! Next up is Walibi Holland! This entailed a day trip consisting of a 4 hour train ride each way, which on the balance of things we concluded was worth it... and we were right. An early 5:30am start was negated by our early sleep schedule and we were in high spirits on the arduous journey from Brussels to Harderwijk. These high spirits somewhat wavered when we checked the Walibi app and saw that Untamed, along with Condor and Xpress: Platform 13, were closed:



But we worried not, knowing that the coaster gods would reward us for our pilgrimage. Indeed, upon sighting the park we saw that Xpress was running, which foiled the Walibi app's attempts to lead us astray. We therefore made the trek to the hallowed ground of Untamed (yeah, sorry, I keep going against your guys' advice... but I really can't help myself). It really was a beautiful sight, but what did I make of it?

Oh. Well... bloody hell. New #1.
(I promise I'll stop doing this if I get any more new #1s)​

The long and short of it is that I



this ride. Having never been on an RMC before, I had no idea really what to expect, but this ride delivered whatever I could have hoped for and a bucketful more. To start off with, the first turn out of the station was actually banked more severely than I thought, starting the ride off not quite with a bang, but perhaps a Christmas cracker snap; surprising, but not exactly uber-exciting. The lift hill was probably the strangest I've experienced - this thing really feels like it has no idea what speed it wants to go, jerking you back and forth for much of its duration. Whatever, as long as it gets you there. The drop is nuts - one of the best drops I've experienced, hands down. In the back, it feels like you're being yanked down a sheer drop by your hair; it's great. Alternatively, the anticipation of the drop, mixed with realising how steep the ****er actually is, also makes for a great combo when riding in the front.

The next element is actually the only real dud of the ride. The speed hill really only gave some middling flojector, getting weaker the further forward in the train you got. This was a far cry from the violent ejector I was hoping for, but thankfully the rest of the ride had this in spades. The double-inverting stall is certainly one of the standouts of the ride, as expected - if you're on the right side of the train, you get whipped round, and on the left side it almost feels like the floor falls away beneath you. The front half of the train is hangtime central, while the back half was laterals for days. The inversions also, unfortunately, highlight the only other gripe I have with this beast - the shin guards. While not painful by any means, they're somewhat uncomfortable. My real issue with them, though, is that they ruin the flow of the inversions; this ride has exceptional design in which transitions between elements feel impeccably smooth, but the jolting and jerking of the shin guards somewhat dampened this flow. Ironically, Untamed feels like it wants to tame my shins, aggressively. I can only imagine how this beast could be even wilder with the shackles cut away.



I realise that the above paragraph seems pretty doom-and-gloom, but the reality is that this is a tiny blip on Untamed's otherwise unblemished report card. These are really nitpicks in the grand scheme of things. This ride really leaves you no time to breathe, following the stall by throwing you into a hill which gives a lovely pop of airtime, before one of the best moments of laterals I've ever been subjected to - I'm tempted to say this step-up turn (or whatever its scientific name) is my favourite element of the ride; it just about flings you into North Sea. This then transitions into a straight airtime hill, which is welcome these days - sometimes the best airtime is your straight, classic, no nonsense, whole-wheat bread, John Terry airtime, which this ride actually delivers plenty of in between inversions and wave turns and the like. This John Terry airtime hill is then contrasted by the lovely outer-banked airtime hill, giving a quick jolt to the left before diving down again.

Then comes my favourite inversion of the ride, which I don't really want to call a step-up underflip, but I suppose I have to. This element perfectly captures the "flow" I mentioned earlier, seamlessly transitioning from a zero-g-esque element into a turnaround. Following this is a wave turn, which unfortunately didn't hit as hard as I had hoped. Rather than the sideways ejector I expected, it instead mostly felt like an airtime hill banked 90 degrees, which isn't exactly the same thing, though is still pretty great in its own way. From here on out, though, it feels like Untamed took some tips from James Bond's DB5, doing its best to eject you into the stratosphere. Another of the standout elements comes next, with a double up/down, giving excellent and surprisingly sustained ejector with each rise and dip. A wacky flip (which I'm surprised they didn't find a marketable name for) is succeeded by a regular old overbank. Then comes the single most sinful and deplorable run of airtime I've ever been witness to. Like, it shouldn't be allowed on TV before the 9pm watershed - that's how utterly

Filthy.

it was. Truly sacrilegious and unholy, and I enjoyed every second of it. On one of my rides, I just folded over the restraint (in a very pleasurable way, don't fret), inadvertently smacking the head of the rider in front. The ride ends with delightful heartline roll and a pop up into the breaks. This ride is just pure, unadulterated fun. There's no other way to describe it. Every element feels so natural yet so inventive, so aggressive yet so enjoyable. It's absolutely wonderful. I felt like conquering this beast deserved a picture.



Yep, those are the classic purple trainers.

I realise I'm running the risk of just using my trip reports as coaster reports, but so be it. The theming around Untamed, along with the park as a whole, is surprisingly great for a former Six Flags park. The general theming is clearly targeted at a Millennial/Gen Z/Alpha demographic, being laden with bright colours and interesting details to find, perfect for a generation raised on Tiktok. The general vibe is very upbeat and lively, which I would imagine would be a huge difference compared to if Six Flags still owned the park.

Anyway, next up was Lost Gravity:



This ride is just... weird. Super inconsistent. I had two rides, one on the outside right seat in the back, and then a second on the inner left seat in the front. On the wing seat, the experience was completely ruined by the rattle. As I previously stated, a rattle on a coaster usually doesn't faze me, and doesn't affect my overall enjoyment. But this rattle is invasive; disruptive. It felt like going 90 over the speed bumps in a school zone. It would be bad enough if this coaster was an oldie, but for a ride less than a decade old, it's very disappointing. Incidentally, I wonder if Dynamite has the same issue, can anyone vouch for the smoothness of that coaster? On the other hand, on the inner seat, the rattle is certainly very noticeable, but not enough to actually cause discomfort. This allowed me to actually focus on the ride itself.

Even if the rattle was a non-issue, the coaster itself didn't really impress me. The drop is undoubtedly the best part of the ride - you get great airtime going down, and get great laterals, especially if you're on the left side of the train. The steepness and 180° twist is very distinctive, and I look forward to see how the somewhat similar first drop on Project Exodus will ride. The following speed hill gives the best moment of airtime on the coaster, with some moderate ejector. Perhaps I was spoiled by the very similar second top hat on Anubis a few days earlier, but the top hat on LG was a let-down. There was no real airtime to speak of, and barely any laterals - it really was just... there. I would have appreciated a cutback or something similar, or at least something that made me feel like I wasn't on a monorail. It then ascends a camelback, which from off-ride, seemed like it would give great airtime - but I was let down again, with only some mild floater. This actually encapsulates how I feel about this ride; it looks incredible, but the actual on-ride experience is unexceptional. Not bad, exactly, just somewhat disappointing. My enjoyment of this ride would probably be greater if someone had blindfolded me until I was on it.

Following the outer-banked curve is the MCBR, which then transitions into a swarm-esque wing-over drop. This is also a pretty good element, giving some good hangtime on the way down. The fact that it takes it so slowly also mitigates the otherwise incessant rattle. The finale of the ride is just a few turnarounds and weak airtime hills, combined with a great zero-g roll. I will say that LG certainly has some interesting elements; the outer-banked curve leading into the MCBR is so slightly banked that it makes it unique, and the variable pacing is actually quite enjoyable. Overall, though, I was quite let down by this coaster. I feel like Mack could have given it a vertical lift and positioned it as a more premium alternative to the Eurofighter for larger parks with a premium on space. Ah well, makes for a great Instagram pic though (as long as you overlook the terrible lighting in this photo):



Having not had the greatest experience on Plopsa's Zierer Tivoli, I was sceptical of Draak, our next +1.



I was correct to be cautious. This ride also has the, quite frankly, unethical lump in the centre of the seat. On Plopsa's Tivoli, I just had to be very cautious. On the other hand, with this, there was no way out. I just had to grin and bear the pain. I think that further exposition is unnecessary. I mean, I get that this ride's primary focus isn't adults, but they do realise that adults will ride it, right? Were there no adult males around to test whether this was a good idea?

While I nursed my injuries, we made our way over to Goliath. I'll just say it; this ride is absolutely stellar. I'd always heard great reviews, but I never envisioned that this ride would be elite. But that it is. Just to get it out of the way, I had to get the stereotypical, overdone picture of the lift hill:



Side-note: this ride is gorgeous. I'm so glad they got rid of that horrible, garish green-and-purple colour scheme. The royal blue really fits this ride's vibe; it's a traditional, no-nonsense thriller. The only issue with the aesthetics is that zero car - why not put something on there, like the ride's logo? It just looks like scrap metal.



Anyway, this coaster has an undeniable aura. It just feels like a monster. This is magnified by the Walibi flag at the lift hill's peak; it really makes it feel like you're at the summit of a mountain. Once you crest the hill, then comes the first drop - fantastic. Great, prolonged airtime throughout the train. You could tell Intamin had perfected the traditional straight first drop at this point. The coaster then rises up into a large camelback, lifting you out of your seat for what feels like an eon. This is classic bread-and-butter Intamin pleasure. A Stengel Dive follows, which really feels like an inversion - at least more so than the zero-g-cancel-thingy on Untamed, which is listed as an inversion by RCDB.

The next element was the big surprise of the ride for me - the helix. I'd heard so much about how the two helices were forceless and boring, but I actually really enjoyed them. I was consistently near greying out on the first, which is impressive for how sustained it is. The second isn't quite as forceful, but the positive g's are held for even longer. There are two s-hills on the ride, one after the first helix and another after the second. These were probably my least favourite part of the ride. They did give some decent floater, but the laterals weren't really what I expected. This certainly isn't to say they're bad; just not quite up to the standards of the rest of the ride.

The phrase coup de grâce is a little overused, but the three final airtime hills deserve this moniker. They absolutely finish you off. I'd say this final run of airtime is comparable to that on Untamed; there are less hills in Goliath's final run, but the airtime is sustained for longer, and both rides have similar airtime strength. Basically, if you want my opinions on Goliath's final bunny hills, just scroll a few lines up to see my review of Untamed's final bunny hills.

This ride would be the standout attraction at almost any theme park in Europe. It's utterly ridiculous that Walibi Holland has two top-tier coasters that are both worth the trip alone. I need to find the wonderful minds that decided that Goliath and Untamed should be a 5-minute walk apart from each other and shake their hand.

I didn't take another picture of Goliath, so just enjoy the same exact picture as above. It is pretty good, after all.



Our next port of call would have been Condor, but this was spite #1 of the trip:



As novel as riding the first Vekoma SLC would have been (in the same way it would have been novel to be the first guy to get kicked in the nuts), I'm somewhat glad we didn't have to subject ourselves to this. Infusion is both mine and my girlfriend's least favourite coaster (at least as of this visit, stay tuned to find out the new champ). This means that we probably saved ourselves a lot of injuries, along with time that could be used for less masochistic purposes.

Our actual next port of call was the interestingly-named Eat My Dust. This ride is a classic Zamperla junior coaster, and, to tell the truth, I actually really enjoyed it. I'd say it's my favourite kiddie coaster that I've done. It's glass smooth, which may or may not be down to it being constructed in the year of our lord 2023. It's not really forceful, which is how I like my kiddie coasters; I just want to get in and out as quickly as possible. I will say, though, that this is probably not what the park needed; a slightly more thrilling coaster à la Booster Bike at Toverland would be a nice stepping stone between the kiddie rides and the big rides. Luckily, it seems this park will get that in the 2025 family RMC Raptor.



Next up was Speed of Sound, a Vekoma Boomerang. This was actually a first for me; I'd somehow never gotten round to getting on a (non-family) boomer so I was equal parts excited and terrified.



I don't understand why these are spoken about in the same breath as SLCs; they're everywhere, yes, and they're certainly not good, but they're nowhere near the abject misery of the SLC. With proper restraints, these would be decent coasters, though quite samey, I suppose. On that topic, the main issue with this is the restraints. Speed of Sound has been retrofitted with the newer restraints given out to SLCs and boomerangs, but this does nothing to solve the issue. In fact, my hot take of the day is that the newer restraints are worse than the older restraints, at least for me. For the most part, with the older restraints, I'm able to avoid headbanging by sitting up straight so that my ears clear those horrible ear-protector-things. There's certainly a lot of headbanging involved, but at least I'm able to avoid a headache. With these, the vests have little give, and sit right on the sides of my collarbones, so feels like someone's holding a knife to my collarbones. 0/10, worst restraints ever. Rant over.

As for the ride itself, you all know what it's like. Not smooth, quite repetitive, but the plus side is that it's quite intense. A +1 is a +1 is a +1.



Following many re-rides of Untamed and Goliath, we went for our final cred: Xpress, which had been down for most of the day. This is another weird one. First off, the queue line is excellent. Definitely better than the clone at Disney, at least when it was Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. The best part is when you get to the station and are blocked off from getting in by doors, making it seem like the empty train waiting for you had thrown off all its riders... or something. The pre-launch and break run also have some really nice theming, which enhance the atmosphere around the ride.

This is all well and good. It's just the middle bit... you know... the coaster? It's lacking in theming, to say the least. For the entire experience, it's just an outdoor AA:FF. And, seeing this thing outdoors when it's not pitch black makes you realise how weird and dull this layout is. It's clearly catered for theming and around an Aerosmith soundtrack, and without that it's just a shell of what it is at Disney. The sea serpent roll is very cool, but other than that it just meanders slowly around corners, aside from a rattly corkscrew thrown in the mix. My favourite part is when you get to what is transparently the MCBR for Rock 'n' Roller coaster. The issue is, this ride doesn't have a MCBR. Instead of re-engineering, or even putting a tiny dip or something, they just leave a long bit of straight track. Flawless.

On that note, that was Walibi Holland! I know I disparaged a lot of this park's line-up, but the truth is that I had one of my favourite theme park days ever at this park. Seriously, it could be Untamed and Goliath plopped in a car park and it would still be worth the 8-hour round trip from Brussels and back. The atmosphere at this park is also great. Seriously, if you haven't gotten yourself out here yet, please do. I'll meet you there in 2025.

Finally, here're some on ride photos. See if you can spot who the enthusiast is and who's just been dragged along for the ride:





N.B. The guy in front is the bloke who's head I slapped while folding over the restraint (see review above). Sorry mate!

Out of interest, does RTH spin much compared to, say, a Maurer spinning coaster or something? I can enjoy a spinning coaster if it’s not ridiculously spinny, but I would never have said that they were a favourite ride type of mine, so even though it’s a hotly anticipated coaster for me, I’m never 100% sure if I’ll like it as much as everyone else does due to spinning coasters not being my favourite in general.

I'm glad you asked this - going into it, I was worried I'd feel sick from the spinning, because I can't do flat rides and multiple re-rides on a Maurer would have a similar effect. This doesn't have that impact on me at all, I was completely fine. I think that's because the thing on Maurer spinners that makes me sick is when the vehicle is spinning one way and the track is going another (if that makes sense). RtH doesn't have much of that.

RtH is definitely a crazy coaster, I'd be interested to see how you rate it. I know you didn't like Iron Gwazi as much as you thought you would - I recall that was because of how quick and jolty the transitions were? I have you pegged as someone who prefers more graceful rides rather than abrupt/thunderous/out-of-control/etc. rides. The only RMC I've been on is obviously Untamed, and it's definitely got those snappy transitions I think you said you didn't like. I can say that RtH doesn't have those sorts of transitions; the way the train itself moves is graceful, but the out-of-control feeling comes from the spinning, rather than the trackwork itself. Like I said, I'd be really interested to see what you think of it.

Anyway, next up is Walibi Belgium! I visited this park yesterday so I already know what it was like but I prefer to keep you in suspense... mostly because this report took an age to write up. Ciao!

 

[Matt N]

RtH is definitely a crazy coaster, I'd be interested to see how you rate it. I know you didn't like Iron Gwazi as much as you thought you would - I recall that was because of how quick and jolty the transitions were? I have you pegged as someone who prefers more graceful rides rather than abrupt/thunderous/out-of-control/etc. rides. The only RMC I've been on is obviously Untamed, and it's definitely got those snappy transitions I think you said you didn't like. I can say that RtH doesn't have those sorts of transitions; the way the train itself moves is graceful, but the out-of-control feeling comes from the spinning, rather than the trackwork itself. Like I said, I'd be really interested to see what you think of it.

Anyway, next up is Walibi Belgium! I visited this park yesterday so I already know what it was like but I prefer to keep you in suspense... mostly because this report took an age to write up. Ciao!

That's correct.

The interesting thing is that I can love abrupt, out of control feeling transitions when done right. For instance, I absolutely loved Wodan at Europa Park, and I’d argue that that has some quite abrupt transitions. The thing with Iron Gwazi, though, is that I almost remember the transitions towards the end of the ride in particular toeing the line of being a touch too abrupt for my liking. In hindsight, though, part of me wonders if it was simply a case of me being overly nitpicky towards it because I had absurdly high expectations and it didn’t quite meet them on my first ride. It was a truly phenomenal ride; it’s my #6 out of 110, which I’d argue is still a pretty ringing endorsement! I’d be interested to ride it again, or ride another RMC, to see if my feeling towards it was based at least partially on my expectations being overly high.

On the subject of Ride to Happiness; I would be interested to see what that ride is like. I gather that it’s not quite like anything I’ve ever ridden before!

On a more relevant note, I’m glad that you had a good day at Walibi Holland and gained yet another new #1; I can’t believe RTH only lasted a day! I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on Walibi Belgium; I’m interested to see what your thoughts are on Kondaa! That ride is one that really appeals to me; seeing as I absolutely fell in love with VelociCoaster and crowned it my #2 recently, and I do love a good hyper, I’d be interested to ride new-gen Intamin’s take on a hyper coaster!

I can’t lie, I’m also curious to hear what your new least favourite turns out to be…

 

[Efan]

That's correct.

The interesting thing is that I can love abrupt, out of control feeling transitions when done right. For instance, I absolutely loved Wodan at Europa Park, and I’d argue that that has some quite abrupt transitions. The thing with Iron Gwazi, though, is that I almost remember the transitions towards the end of the ride in particular toeing the line of being a touch too abrupt for my liking.

I can completely understand not liking those kinds of transitions. Again, I can only compare to Untamed, but there were certainly some moments that were pretty extreme. Personally, I quite liked how fierce it was, but I could imagine a lot of people wouldn't.

On the subject of Ride to Happiness; I would be interested to see what that ride is like. I gather that it’s not quite like anything I’ve ever ridden before!

Certainly nothing like I've ridden! I've been a bit out of the loop the last couple of weeks, but I gather you've been wanting to do a solo trip abroad at some point? If so, I'd say somewhere in Belgium or the Netherlands would be a decent shout. Quite close to home, majority of people speak English so you should be alright, and oh... some pretty decent coasters too

On a more relevant note, I’m glad that you had a good day at Walibi Holland and gained yet another new #1; I can’t believe RTH only lasted a day! I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on Walibi Belgium; I’m interested to see what your thoughts are on Kondaa! That ride is one that really appeals to me; seeing as I absolutely fell in love with VelociCoaster and crowned it my #2 recently, and I do love a good hyper, I’d be interested to ride new-gen Intamin’s take on a hyper coaster!

I can’t lie, I’m also curious to hear what your new least favourite turns out to be…

All shall be revealed soon*! Though I feel you could probably work out the answer to the second question...

*Your definition of "soon" may vary.

 

[Howie]

"The John Terry Airtime Hill!"
Aw man, I'm using that name from now on.
Brilliant.

 

[FistedColossus]

"The John Terry Airtime Hill!"
Aw man, I'm using that name from now on.
Brilliant.

Same, big fan of that

Glad you loved Untamed - it's in the top tier of RMCs IMO and certainly the best one in Europe.

 

[Efan]

Alright everyone! Sorry again for the delay, I hope the hold music was to your liking. I'm now back from my trip, so I should be able to update you on Phanta and Energyla/Lege-ndia in a more timely manner. That being said, next up is Walibi Belgium! This meant an early wake up again, just a day after the 8-hour round trip up to the Netherlands. Luckily, we had a beauty waiting for us:



The journey was rather uneventful, apart from... this?



Genuinely curious if anyone has any idea what... that is?

Anyway, we were soon (at least by the previous day's standards - less than a quarter of the travel time!) at Walibi Belgium's gates:



Quite the crowd gathered at the gate. Luckily, about 90% of them queued for Vampire or Loup-Garou, leading to a ~40 minute queue for both just after doors but a 0 minute queue for Kondaa. Beautiful. As you'd expect, we beelined it straight for the back of the park, which housed both Kondaa and Tiki-Waka. For once, I actually followed your guys' advice! We decided to go for Tiki-Waka first, which had a relatively sizable queue already due to its capacity. We therefore decided to go for the single rider queue, which got us on in about 10 minutes.



This is a pretty lovely little family coaster. It's not really like anything else I've ridden - those weird little lateral turns were quite enjoyable. The train wasn't really built for laterals, which made it a bit awkward given I was sliding into a Belgian pensioner instead of my girlfriend... but they were still enjoyable. There were also a few nice pops of airtime, especially on the s-hill midway through the layout and the few straight hills at the end. We would have liked to ride it again during the day, but given it was hovering around 35-40 minutes while Kondaa was 10-15 all day... safe to say that didn't happen. That being said, probably my #2 from this park.



But, of course, on to the #1...



Just waalking up to Kondaa is a greaat experience. It's at the back of the park, and strategically hidden from view further forward in the park by trees, which makes its reveal all the better. There's not much at this park that's on the same level in terms of height (apart from Pulsar, but that doesn't count), so the sudden appearance of such a comparatively huge coaster really emphasises its stature. The proto-plaza the ride sits in is also beautiful, with some lovely details in terms of rockwork and theming regarding the serpent itself. I particularly liked this little pathway leading under the skeleton of Kondaa:



The station was also lovely, making it seem like you're one of the people battling the snake. It also had a chant every time a train was dispatched, reminiscent of Untamed or (spoiler) Taron. The whole affair leading up to the ride experience really amps you up for the ride, better than the majority of rides I've been on.



Just look at those happy faces.

But what of the ride experience?



Bloodeh loveleh.

What a wonderful ride. This is like if Intamin built Goliath in 2021, but just... better. Nearly every element hits just like it should, or even better.

First of all, that delightful first drop. It's not quite the best first drop I've been on (that one has to go to a ride later in this trip), but is certainly up there. In the back you get absolutely whipped over that bastard. The front offers a completely different experience, tamer, more restrained, but still utterly excellent in its own way. It's an absolutely delicious way to start off this ride.

Then comes the first camelback - Intamin know what they're doing here. This one's very strong, but the real draw is its sustain. You're flung out of your seat for about 3 seconds. It's probably the single most sustained bit of airtime I've experienced. This sort of thing is down to a science in today's amusement industry, but Intamin still figures out a way to get it just that little bit better than everyone else. In that sense, it might not quite be a John Terry airtime hill... maybe a Virgil Van Dijk airtime hill; still quite old-school compared to its contemporaries, but incorporates some modern elements and is just that little bit better than the John Terry airtime hill (I fully expect some hate for this one ).

The VVD airtime hill is then followed by an outer-banked hill. This thing is pretty difficult to describe. It banks first, then just sort of yanks you down to the right while you're banked to the left. It's a pretty punchy element, but compared to others on this coaster, it doesn't hit quite as hard as the other heavy-hitters. The airtime isn't quite as strong as the previous hill, as you'd expect, but the extra banking doesn't do a huge amount for me. This isn't to say this isn't a great element; it's just like dining at a 2 Michelin star restaurant instead of a 3 Michelin star restaurant. I also fully expect that this element would be even better to another rider, it just doesn't appeal to me in the same way as the previous hill.

Following this is the ride's signature element - the non-inverting cobra roll. I'd heard a lot of crap about this element going in, but this thing is still really good, despite probably being the weakest element of the ride. It's weak in the same way that one of the songs off Master of Puppets has to be the weakest off that album; that doesn't mean that it's not still proper amazing (it's Orion, for the record). The pullup into the element gives the best moment of positive g's on the ride, and one that I wasn't expecting at all. The ride in general following the cobra roll has some nice positive g's in places you wouldn't expect. One of the main things that I heard about this element is that it offers no laterals or airtime; this is just false. The laterals on the first or second twist (first if you're on the right side of the train, second if you're on the left) are great, and are so strong that you get a pop of floater at the apex of the element from the train essentially falling from under you. What slightly irks me about this element, and probably makes it the worst on the ride for me, is the rattle entering and exiting it. I've obviously been completely spoiled by this trip in terms of coaster smoothness - I really haven't been on many outright rough coasters on this trip (though one is coming up in this report), which means I really nitpick when looking for things I don't like. The rest of the ride is glass smooth, but the entry and exit on this one bizarrely have some slight juddering, which came as a surprise given that it's basically straight track. Again, though, this really isn't a big deal - there's much worse out there. I think the real downfall of the non-inverting cobra roll is that it was a victim of expectations - being the signature element, everyone expected that it would blow the rest of the ride out of the water. When it was very good, but not quite mind-blowing, people were let down by it. I think Intamin wanted to play it safe on this one given that it's the first element of its kind, on a coaster that's a crowd-pleaser and not uber-intense. The nature of the element means that it's very compact at the apex; this meant that this element specifically had a low margin for error, and any miscalculation would likely have quite substantial effects on the ride experience for the average person. That being said, I think if Intamin gave this element another go they'd be able to make something really special. Make it happen.

Following the weakest element of the ride is the strongest; another airtime hill, somewhere in between a camelback and a speed hill. I'm the type of person who tends to prefer airtime strength over sustain (though more of both is great), and this thing is like what the speed hill on Untamed should be. It's taken at such speed that it borderline feels immoral. Like, it would be looked down upon in places of worship. I think if this thing had those horrible Vekoma restraints I complained about on Speed of Sound there'd be a pretty real possibility of decapitation on this element. Luckily this ride was blessed with some of the best restraints out there, which makes this airtime hill ridiculously fun, instead of ridiculously difficult to clean up.

The moment your arse hits the seat after that airtime hill, you go into a quite intense turnaround into a wave turn. This is another one of those moments of positive g's I alluded to earlier - it's very much welcome. The middle-thing between the corner and the wave hill combines laterals and positives in quite a pleasurable way. Lovely. The wave turn itself is alright - it gives some sideways airtime, but about halfway through the element it feels like you're just... sort of... going sideways? Instead of actually being thrown to the side? Intamin really have yet to figure the wave turn out - it's as though they're in a transitional period between being sh*t at them and being the sh*t at them. That being said, I'd say this element is probably at the "the crap" level, not quite "the sh*t".

Another corner follows, and the ride goes into its return run. I just love the return run. It begins with another strong airtime hill, evocative of that camelback/speed hill hybrid earlier. A truly indescribable element follows; not necessarily because of how incredible it is, but just because of how weird it is. The best way I've found to describe it is probably an s-hill leading into a twisted double down. I suppose. It doesn't really give any particularly strong forces, but really fits in the ride's narrative. I give it a thumbs up. Another nice airtime hill follows, before a lovely turn into the final three hills. The laterals are crazy on this one, especially for a turn taken at relatively low speed at the end of the ride. Sitting on the back right seat, this is delectable. The ride ends with three lovely hills; the first two give some wonderful John Terry ejector, while the last throws you to the left while also ejecting you with the same strength. If I was to really, really nitpick, I'd say that putting the last wacky hill in between the two John Terry ones would ease some of the discomfort you get slamming into the brakes while half of you is in Belgium and the other's somewhere in South America. That being said, that's also a pretty cool way to end the ride.

This ride is truly stunning. It's in the absolute upper echelon of roller coasters I've been on. While it didn't get the

Oh. Well... bloody hell.​

treatment, if it were placed earlier on the trip it certainly would have. There's really no dead spots on this ride; there's only spots that are, maybe, slightly elderly and frail. Certainly no dead ones though. What a wonder.

Being the ridiculously hot day it was, we decided to go for Pulsar next.



This was the longest queue of the day - 30 minutes - but it had some nice details, such as the "heart" of Pulsar:



Pulsar's... good, I guess. It's difficult to compare it to much, really. The launches are pretty average, but better than I was expecting for a water coaster. I'm glad they put an airtime hill in there; would have been pretty boring in between the spikes otherwise, and it offers a decent pop of airtime on the backwards section. The spikes themselves offer a good moment of weightlessness, and I quite like how the forwards spike has a bit of a flatter section, which makes it a bit more exciting. The splashdown is pretty good, but feels distinctly "coaster-y" - it's not quite as satisfying as a proper splashdown on a shoot-the-chute or a log flume. Does get you the same amount of wet, though. Overall, Pulsar's pretty decent, but also pretty one-dimensional, as you'd expect.

As everyone knows, there's no better combination than water and wood. Therefore, while being sopping wet, we decided Loup-Garou was next on the list.



The best thing I can say about this ride is that the seats are absolutely lovely. Travelling at 50mph on these sofas is what I think this would feel like:



The downside is that this ride absolutely needs the seats. I've never seen a ride be so rough while doing basically nothing. It feels like there's potholes dotted randomly around the track that the council haven't noticed in 20 years. This is exacerbated by the fact that this ride decides that the best thing it can do is mostly just meander around boring corners, broken up occasionally by shaky airtime hills. Those airtime hills do, to their credit, give some nice moments of floater. This is really what saves the ride from having absolutely no redeeming factors apart from what you place your arse on. Apart from some decent floater, this ride is just very uncomfortable and unenjoyable - no thanks. Having not ridden an RCCA yet, I feel like this is what a slightly better version of an RCCA would be. These Vekoma woodies are definitely on the way out, and having an RMC in its place would put WB in the upper echelon of European parks.



Having decided we hadn't punished ourselves enough yet, we then headed over to the nearby Vampire to ride our first of two (working) SLCs on the trip.

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Yeah, this is my new least favourite coaster. Sorry to hold you all in suspense when the answer was quite obvious. It feels so shoddy. It featured the bouncing I've come to expect on SLCs, but to such an insane degree that it actually became painful. I've actually never found headbanging to be too much of an issue on Infusion, Kumali or (the soon to be reviewed) Mayan, but this thing is so bouncy and rough that it's inevitable that your cranium will be slammed into the horrible restraints. The only upside of this coaster compared to something like Infusion is that it doesn't have that terrible painful kink going into the inline twists, but the rest of this thing is so godawful that it makes up for that tiny respite.

When looking at my least favourite coaster, there are really three candidates:

• Infusion
• Hero
• This bastard

While, as I said, this thing doesn't have the awful trackwork on the inline twists that Infusion has, the rest of the ride is so, so much worse in terms of shuffling and roughness that I came off Vampire even less impressed than Infusion. No, the real contender for the prestigious #108 (ish) spot is Hero. You know what this thing's like if you've been on a Volare - terrible riding position, awful restraints, and the hairpin turns feel like they were designed to hurt you as much as possible with those restraints. I think what Hero has over Vampire is that you're able to see when the pain is coming. You can brace yourself for the awful turns and inversions since you're able to see them coming. With Vampire, the magic is that you don't know when your head is going to be pulverised. It'll just be on some random, unassuming piece of track. I'm sure if you rode it enough, you'd be able to see the potholes coming, but I'd rather put my head through a mangle than subject myself to this again. My least favourite coaster of all time. Congratulations.

Somehow feeling that we hadn't endured enough, we made our way over to Cobra:



Perhaps there was someone up there looking out for us, since this was spite #2 of the trip. It wasn't technically a spite, but it broken down while we were queueing for it, and later was on a 20-minute queue without any shade from the sun, so we skipped it. I felt very bad for these poor people who were stuck up there for about half an hour:



Given that we were nearby, and tired of the sun, we then decided to go for Popcorn Revenge:



This is a pretty good dark ride. I like that after every scene, you go into this room in the middle and see everyone else, and also get the chance to shoot some stuff on the TVs. I do wish that you had a cursor or something, though - it was pretty difficult to see where you were shooting. Worth doing if you get the chance, though. Also, what is this? It certainly isn't Captain America:



We'd then make our way over to Psyké Underground, but hit Fun Pilot on the way:



This is another pretty good kiddie coaster, just like the one at Walibi Holland. That first helix is relatively forceful for a kid's coaster, and the ride is glossy smooth. As a first coaster before graduating to Tiki-Waka/Calamity Mine, this is great.

We then actually rode Psyké Underground. It had one of the longest lines in the park, for some reason, so we caught it when it lowered to around 20 minutes. I obviously had to take a pic of the original flywheel launch:



But what of the ride itself?

It's alright. It's about as good as it could be for just being a loop forwards and backwards. The launch is punchy, and the ride itself is pretty smooth. It's obviously quite short, though. What I didn't realise is that it seems to be themed around a kids' show (?), so you'd see some... guys while on the ride. Weird. What really hit me from the outside was how quiet the ride was. Being enclosed, you'd really have no idea there was a roller coaster in there. In fact, we couldn't hear the ride in the queue line until we were literally in the station. Quite impressive sound dampening.



En route to Calamity Mine, we decided to have a ride on Dalton Terror:



Hands down, the best drop tower I've ever been on. I'd even say it's the best flat ride I've been on. It's just utterly terrifying. The drop goes on for what feels like absolutely ages, and it's so forceful that you feel like you'll slam into the ground. It also slows down close to the ground, giving it an extra element of terror. Side note, can you tell I have no idea how to describe a drop tower? Having never gotten to ride Apocalypse at Drayton Manor, it was really nice to have gotten on something similar (though probably even better).

Anyway, up next was Calamity Mine:



The queue line gave some wonderful views of Kondaa's cobra roll:



This coaster is pretty decent. The pseudo-duelling aspect adds a lot to this ride as well - it makes it feel a bit more like an actual mine or something. As you'd expect from an old Vekoma Mine Train, it's pretty jank, but luckily the ride doesn't have too many moments that turn that jank into pain. There's some decent moments of airtime and laterals too. Theming is what really makes this ride - it's probably better than Colorado Adventure, imo. I'd say the ride itself is better as well. There are a few moments of interaction between the train and the theming too, which is really nice. Overall, a pretty decent supporting coaster, especially for one so old.

We finished the day with more re-rides on the beauty, Kondaa:





What an absolutely amazing ride. 10/10.

Overall, Walibi Belgium is a great day out. It's worth the trip for Kondaa alone, obviously. What I would say is that the drop off is pretty steep after Kondaa; there's really not a solid #2 that elevates this park. The supporting cast is all there - Psyké, Pulsar, Calamity Mine et al. are great rides to fill out a line-up, but I really think that another solid thrill coaster would help this park. RMC Loup-Garou would be an amazing way to do this. Please. Please. Please.

But yeah, Walibi Belgium is definitely worth a visit if you haven't been before - it's a pretty easy trip from the UK, and it's easy to reach from Brussels. And you get to ride the absolute beast that is Kondaa. Do it.

Here's a couple ORPs:





Yeah, no idea why the quality is so low.

Anyway, next up is a pitstop in Germany for Phantasialand! I'm hoping I'll be able to get this one out in a more timely fashion given that I'm back home now (though NOWTV broadband being out for ages certainly didn't help with the writing of this report...). Anyway, thanks for reading! Bye!

 

[Efan]

Alright, the next park we visited was Phantasialand! This was the only park on the trip I'd been to before, in 2018. This means that, along with Taron, F.L.Y. was waiting for me as well! Arriving in Germany, we received the customary welcome (icy indifference), arriving into a bustling Cologne train station. We soon after arrived in Brühl, a quaint and pretty quiet (at least in our area) little town very close to Phantasialand. The most interesting part of the area around where we stayed was the cigarette vending machine - I didn't know these existed?! They were all over Germany when we went. How do these things ID you?



(Wrong orientation as usual.)

Anyway, Phantasialand was just a short shuttle bus away from our accommodation, which made it pretty simple - except for some reason you'd have to give your money to a bloke outside the bus instead of just paying the bus driver? Maybe it's to do with throughput/getting on the bus faster but whatever. We were soon at Phanta, and greeted by the beautiful main street:





As previously stated, I'd already been to Phanta before. I remembered how striking Klugheim was, but not how beautiful the rest of the park is as well - it's all maintained to a very high standard and sightlines were clearly taken into account when designing it. It's easily the most beautiful theme park I've been in. Anyway, upon seeing the queue time board, a bittersweet feeling awaited us - firstly, Taron and F.L.Y. were both on 0 minute queues - amazing! - but Black Mamba was closed - dismaying! Yeah, I gather that Black Mamba has been closed for a while with maintenance work underway. I'm not sure if it's back open but it really was a shame as I wasn't aware before getting there. I recall Mamba being a fantastic invert, pretty much on even footing with Nemesis, with both giving similarly forceful ride experiences. Of course, this disappointment was quickly forgotten about as we rushed to Klugheim to ride the beast that is Taron for the first time in 5 years.



Yeah, maybe the most aesthetically pleasing coaster in the world. F.L.Y. doesn't quite beat it for me, but it's certainly a close contest. But one of Taron's greatest strengths, just as F.L.Y., is that it's located in an incredibly-themed area which is tailor-made for it. Taron's is Klugheim, a wonderful Viking-y village which has been crafted to be as realistic and immersive as possible. It's just beautiful; the amount of details in every place you look is just stunning. A particular favourite for me were the shop signs, which were all painted or sculpted from wood instead of being cheap plastic, really immersing you in the Norse lore. Only two things break the immersion - the roller coaster, and the people, both of which are pretty unavoidable. Overall, it has to be my favourite theme park area of all time. It's stunning.

As fun as Taron is to watch, it's even better to ride. Going into this trip, Taron was my #1. Would it live up to the memories, or would it fall flat?



It didn't just live up to the memories. It far, far, exceeded them. I'd forgotten how much of a f*cking beast this coaster was. Talking about individual elements is quite difficult for the most part, as it is just an indescribable mess of track hurtling through the most beautiful coaster setting (possibly) in the world. I'll try though. Restraints are incredibly comfortable, as usual for newer Intamins. FYI, you can pat Taron's head if you're in the front row; highly recommended, I hear it gives good luck.

Leaving the station, a booming chant rings out, getting you amped up as they often do. The first launch is excellent, and goes up into a large overbank. This overbank pulls some nice positive g's, which rather surprised me - despite how much I liked it when I rode it half a decade ago, I did think it was somewhat lacking on the forces for the most part. That isn't what I got this time; this entire ride really kicked my arse, and it was one of the most intense on the trip. Following the overbank comes an airtime hill, giving some decent ejector (again, more than I remember getting in 2018!) before diving into a tunnel, which was one of the most memorable moments of the ride in 2018. This gives some great positives again.

Then come a couple of turns - I remember the first giving crazy whip, absolutely hurling you to the other side of the train. The second is a meandering curve which does nothing. This is probably Taron's greatest weakness, as there are a few curves which don't do it for me (or anyone who's been on or seen or thought of a roller coaster before) in terms of forces. I definitely don't have as much of a problem with the dead spots on this ride as I do with other rides which have them, though. The first is because it's really nice to see the views of Klugheim as you race between buildings and rockwork; it's really amazing. Side note, these buildings and rockwork amplify the sense of speed in a really nice way. It almost feels like driving at 90 into a tiny village, swerving around trees and old ladies, almost crashing, that sort of thing. Y'know, that... but Viking. The second is because they probably had to do that to fit this twisting mess of a coaster into the plot it sits in. If that's the case, then the couple of underwhelming turns are more than worth it. Anyway, yeah, I don't have as much of a problem with it... but I still do have a problem with it. It would have been nice if some of those transitions had more whip, but hey ho.



You then go into another curve (sensing a pattern here) before a wave turn-sorta thing follows. It gives decent laterals and some good airtime at the apex, and breaks up the monotony of constant turns that could have occurred were it not there. Taron then goes around another slow turn, before an s-turn giving great whip, as is convention with Taron. It then snakes into the second launch. Usually, I prefer first launches on coasters - the acceleration is so much more noticeable when you go from zero, and it really spices up the start of a ride. On Taron, though, the second launch is just incredible, and is better than the first. It feels like such a natural part of the ride, which launches often don't. It really feels like part of the ride's "story", which it tells through the ride experience (if that makes literally any sense to anyone that isn't batsh*t mental). Going from the whip of the s-bend almost directly into the second launch hammers home the relentless feel of the ride. It also has to be said that the roar of the second launch also really fits in the area - it's super intimidating and reminds you of the beast snaking around you, no matter where in Klugheim you are.

Following the second launch is another overbank, very similar to the first but mirrored. This overbank piles on even more g's than the first, though. Also, if you're sitting in the left side of the train you get a refreshing soak from the waterfall on the way up, which, while cheesy, makes the ride experience feel like more than a coaster - breaking that barrier where the environment can't touch you adds to the experience Taron provides. It then does this weird s-bend thing very high off the ground, which while interesting doesn't whip you like the previous one did. Yet another overbank follows, which actually gives comparable forces to the second, which caught me off guard - you're not travelling especially quickly at this point, and it seems unassuming, but it feels like you're getting a lap dance by a wrecking ball or something (Miley Cyrus who?). The succeeding section is stunningly satisfying. There're a couple of places where the track banks one way, then unbanks, and then banks again to the original direction. There's something really fulfilling about this, as it flings you from side to side. I really like. This sort of thing again emphasises the speed of the ride, which you really feel in the front row. Subsequently, Taron rides into a few more curves before a couple of airtime hills, which provide some flojector. Unfortunately, the ride is then trimmed, but given how tight the upcoming curve was, they probably had to so that people didn't get their necks taken off. The aforementioned curve then takes you into the brakes, where Taron finally relents.

Taron's even better than I remember, which is a mean feat for a #1. It's, for the most part, an absolutely relentless beast attempting to jettison you at every opportunity. It's even better when this occurs in what is essentially the set of Game of Thrones. Though it's no longer my #1, I still absolutely adore this ride, and that's through no fault of its own - the rides above it are elite and some of the best in Europe. Taron is also one of the best in Europe, and, furthermore, my baby.



While in the area, we decided to have a go on Raik:



As usual for a family boomer, this a very pleasant little ride. The couple of hills have some quite lovely floater, and the turns do have a semblance of positives and laterals. For some reason, we got to go round twice, despite there being people in the station - but I'm not complaining. Of the family boomerangs I've done (Raik, Accelerator, Boomerang (EL), Light Explorers), this is easily the best, if not for the setting alone.

We then, of course, turned our attention to F.L.Y., my first new-gen Vekoma. Following some confusion regarding how to get to the bloody thing (they'd closed all the doors to Rookburgh apart from the one right at the entrance!), we were greeted with a stunning area:



Phantasialand's theming department must really have something to prove. Following Klugheim was not easy, but Rookburgh made it look like Germany vs. San Marino. Just like Klugheim, this place is absolutely wonderfully themed, full of little details, and houses a mangled jumble of roller coaster.

Reviewing F.L.Y. is pretty difficult - my memory's not great at the best of times, so I usually use POVs to recall the layout and how each element felt. The nature of F.L.Y., however, means that loose articles (read: cameras) aren't allowed. So... I'll have to go on vibes alone.



F.L.Y. is probably the most technologically advanced coaster I've ever been on. After trudging your way to the end of the queue (this is a LONG queue, with a lot of elevation changes), you're given a wristband, which you use to open a locker. This would let you put all your loose articles away, and get them at the end of the ride. You then go through a metal detector, then get to board. You board the train side-on; you can see here just after the break run:



This makes it super easy to board; even easier than a regular coaster. There seemed to be trouble on each of my rides regarding restraints - it seemed that perhaps people weren't putting their legs in the leg guards properly, or something like that. Luckily, it's a quick fix, but likely adds up over time and affects throughput. As you depart, you move sideways, and go into a preshow. There's a few sciency things, and you then see a big screen made to look like a window where you see a steampunk city, with people flying all over the place.

You then flip over into the flying position, which is quite fun in itself. You get up to the first launch, and pause a few seconds. Then, the launch kicks in. This is a very meek launch, which is somewhat understandable given the riding position, but it's worse than a Mack launch. The first element is a big overbank (seems familiar...) which sells the flying experience wonderfully. There's two inversions, one at the beginning and one at the end, with both being corkscrews. They're fun enough, but don't really fit into the theme all that well - the inversions should be where this ride really shines and leans into the flying theme, but the corkscrews are no better than anything I've experienced before.

Most of the track length of this ride is spent on curves, rushing past the landscape at high speeds. While I praised Taron for this, I'll have to criticise F.L.Y. for it. While Taron's turns are intense and whippy, F.L.Y. meanders a lot. While this should help to allow riders to take in the view, the riding position means that a lot of the view is cut off by the ride vehicle. This, ironically, makes you feel more caged in than free. This isn't to say that you can't take in the views, but I feel that you rush past it too fast to take it in properly. Additionally, F.L.Y. in general suffers from a lack of intensity; I feel like Vekoma wanted to play it safe with such a revolutionary ride so felt that they should tone down the ride's forces. While understandable, it's still disappointing that this coaster doesn't pull much more force than a family coaster.

Probably my favourite part of this coaster was the couple of pops of airtime. They're actually surprisingly strong and sustained, and don't feel like anything I've experienced before. It's so weird to have your entire body float up, instead of just your upper body. It's very pleasurable.

Overall, F.L.Y. is a great and very unqiue coaster. There was clearly a lot of research and effort put into designing this coaster, and the end result is absolutely beautiful. It's unfortunate that the ride really isn't that forceful, but I also appreciate that's not really what they wanted to go for; this coaster is very accessible, even for a flying coaster. It's a great supporting ride for this park.



After a couple of re-rides on Taron, we thought Chiapas would be a good idea. While Rookburgh and Klugheim get all the glory, Mexico (and most other areas of the park) is quietly very beautiful:



The theming around Chiapas especially is very beautiful. This is another area of the park anchored by a signature ride, and Chiapas being the centrepiece certainly makes for a great view. By the way, anyone know what this mystery door near the splashdown is for? To let out water?



The queue line continues the excellent theming, with copious amounts of waterfalls and rockwork all around:



On to the ride itself - this ride is so much more of a soaker than I remember. Even the smaller drops soak you to the bone. It didn't help that I was at the back of the train, so that every time we went up a lift hill (hint: there are lots) all the water in the car would slosh to the back, soaking my trainers through. You're also forced to take bags on board, which definitely doesn't work well with the puddle/lake that gathers in the back. Well, I suppose it was what I signed up for.

You start by going up a lift and into a short show scene. You then pause for a second at the first drop, before plunging down. This splash isn't too bad, lulling you into a false sense of security. You then reverse and traverse the second show scene - the iconic disco scene. You then go into the second drop, this one quite a bit wetter. 'Tis a shame that there wasn't a lift hill backwards so that the rider in the front could get a taste of my pain.

The journey continues by returning to forwardness and a couple more lift hills. You go round a few turns, and then crest the main drop. This thing is extremely steep, and you get a little floater on the way down. You go over an airtime hill, which actually piles on more floater, before the splashdown. Chiapas is very wet. That is all.

We then went to Colorado Adventure, which I stupidly didn't get any pics of. I was cautious going into this, as I got quite nauseous on this last time out. Luckily that didn't happen this time. However, this, combined with Chiapas, are making up for Taron, F.L.Y. and Winjas' lack of lift hills and then some. It feels like a lot of this ride's momentum is cut short by lift hills that aren't really all that necessary.

But anyway, the ride experience. This thing is pretty good, I guess. There's a lot of wonky turns (classic Vekoma), which lead to some interesting forces that I'm a fan of. My favourite part of the ride was the section in darkness. I'm usually not big on dark sections, as I like to anticipate where I'm going, but on a family coaster being in the dark helps to make it more intense. The theming was, as usual, excellent, apart from the spaghetti bowl section in the main building - it just feels like some lazily plonked props were all they thought they needed. Overall, it wasn't as good as Crazy Mine, but still pretty decent.

In between some more re-rides on the big coasters, we went over to Mystery Castle. I remember this thing being a huge drop tower, and quite excellent. I think I've definitely been spoiled by Dalton Terror, since Mystery Castle didn't really live up to my memories. It's good, but not as good as I remember, unfortunately. It certainly didn't feel as long as last time, and the drop was pretty standard for a drop tower. Previous to this trip I likely would have called it my favourite drop tower. It helped that it was a walk-on and air conditioned, though. Again, I forgot to get a pic, so:



Hope that helps.

The last thing of note was a ride on Winja's Force. I think the Wuze Town area of the park is pretty underrated - I think the spectacle of an indoor area with two spinners duelling above is absolutely great.



Force starts off with a snappy vertical lift. You begin the ride facing forwards (or backwards), with no spinning. First up is a nice little drop, which goes into a series of switchbacks, where the spin is spun. The coaster then goes into its most picturesque element, the large spirals. While this doesn't pull any forces in particular, I'll give it a pass for the spectacle that it is off-ride. A few small drops with some nice floater follow, before you head into the brake run.

Or do you?! Nope, the best parts of the ride are next. Avoid the spoiler if you don't want to know about the surprises in the dark.

Spoiler

Far from a break run, the track then rotates to the left, before you're released down a pretty quick drop. You then brake for real, but there's also a bounce track, where the track underneath the train bounces up and down like a space hopper. I'm a big fan of these two added extras, as it really helps make the ride experience feel unique.

So, yeah. That was my day at Phantasialand. It's just as good as I remember - the main draw is, of course, the coasters, but what makes them so good is the theming. You could spend an entire day here just looking at the rides going round and it wouldn't feel wasted. The atmosphere is also really nice. I'm glad I came back here again - it's well worth the trip.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Bonus Round!!!

That's right, I ain't done yet. While in Cologne, we realised that, at the same time, nearby Bonn was hosting the Pützchens Markt, a standard funfair steeped in 650 years of history. Unfortunately, though Olympia/Munich Looping often makes an appearance there, it was, until recently, a prisoner at Wiener Prater, which presumably means it couldn't be there this year. Instead, the headline attraction is now €uro-Coaster, one of two Reverchon gliding coasters ever produced. Funnily enough, this has also operated at Wiener Prater, along with Winter Wonderland, sometimes as Christmas Coaster.



The first port of call was Wilde Maus, which seemed to be a travelling Mack Wild Mouse. As usual, didn't get a good picture of it:



This was my first Mack Wild Mouse. Pretty bumpy and rattly and uncomfortable and not all that great. Ah well.

On the way to €uro-Coaster, we saw a ride called Octopussy, which feels illegal. Speaking of illegal:



Yeah, this wasn't all that great. The tight turns really aren't comfortable, and the transitions are really weird. I mean, these look like Roller Coaster Tycoon transitions:



However, it really wasn't as bad as I was expecting, thankfully. All in all, an inverted wild mouse by Reverchon could have been a lot worse. Acceptable.

The last coaster was a standard wacky worm called Crazy Jungle:



Hey, it's not shameful if you rope someone else into riding it with you.

A pint followed, before riding what I suspected might have been a coaster - Spuk:



I mean, looks pretty coaster-y to me:



But upon riding... nah. Even I'm not enough of a cred whore to count this one. The breaking point was when the trains swivelled outwards to face the rest of the fair - a coaster ain't doin' that. Funnily enough, I found a thread from 13 years ago on this very forum debating whether this was a cred. Got quite heated, actually:

Does this count as a credit?

Yeah I'm a credit whore. I went on 3 new rides at a german fun fair in london called 'winter wonderland' (or 'vinter vunndervand if you're german :--D ) on new year's eve. Fantastic fireworks if anyone watched them on TV. Did anyone go see them? Anyway, there was an inverted coaster, of a...

coasterforce.com

I'm not quite as sure as Ben is, clearly.

Anyway, that was my time at the Pützchens Markt. Next up is the last country of my trip (), where I will be going to Energylandia and Legendia. I will update you all soon. Bye!

 

[Nitefly]

Thank ye for the enjoyable reports!

Looking forward to the conclusion