Day One: Walibi Halloween Fright Night
Arrived at the park tired from 3 hours sleep. Driving over hadn't worked out quite as conveniently as we had planned, but never mind. I was so excited for this event that I doubt I would have got much sleep had I been tucked up by 9pm the night before! Anywho.
It was nice to see familiar faces and meet new ones at the park entrance. We plowed onto
Platform 13, which had an amazing queue line and no queue. Perfect combo! I love the ride station, the way you don't see anything until you board the train. Coaster-wise, the launch is super fun, but the ride dwindles around after that. It's a solid
6.5/10, most of those marks for the fab themeing.
We did the Boomerang next, it was Chris' first boomerang and I think it may have set his expectations too high for future boomerangs. I mean,
Speed of Sound is actually tolerable! Sure, it doesn't have the fab cheesy soundtrack that it used to, but as far as boomerangs go, this one is one of the least worst.
4/10
Lost Gravity was next and I was very excited. I followed the construction of this (admittedly ugly) coaster with great fascination, it basically seemed like Macks attempt at building a Gerstslauer. Colour me intrigued by this prospect! The ride area has typical gaudi themeing that we all know and love from Walibi, including a rather pleasurable vibrating step
The coaster itself is pure joy. I love it. So many unsuspecting moments of airtime, or throw-you-out corners. And that last inversion is absolute perfection. It's the type of coaster you could ride all day and you would smile every time.
9/10
Those new to Walibi had to endure the SLC, whilst the rest of us took advantage of the parks free hot drink refills. I'll repeat that. Free hot drink refills!!! What a great idea for chilly autumnal events. Full of tea, we headed to
Goliath which I have now concluded to be the worst example of a mega coaster. Yeah, it's tall and has airtime, but the overall ride experience is so bland and calculated that it never really gets the adrenaline pumping. Plus the helixes are sluggish and the trains rattle a lot.
6/10
Then it was time for those who booked scare mazes to venture off into the world of horror. Maddie, Ben, Lofty and I had tickets for the extreme, alone attraction at 15.15pm. Talk about kicking things off with a bang! I was so scared that I was very close to chickening out before we even got to
The Clinic. Thankfully, Lofty and Delpiero convinced me to give it a go. We signed our disclaimers saying we don't mind being severely restrained on a bed etc and headed in one by one. *spoilers ahead!*
I was the last to go in. It wasn't like any other scare attraction, it was more of an experience. The Clinic had a really somber, morbid atmosphere. No jump scares or anything obvious. Just anxiety-inducing claustrophobic scenarios and a grim, realistic representation of death. Basically, the premise is that you have died on an operating table. You get embalmed, put in a morgue, someone mourns over you. Then they put you in a coffin. When they closed the coffin lid it nearly touched my face, and I couldn't move at all. It doesn't sound that bad writing it now, but trust me, being in the coffin was pretty horrendous. After a few seconds I panicked and said the safe word.
The staff were brilliant at getting me out quickly but to be honest, I left The Clinic shaking all over. The final scene after the coffin sounds amazing though, so part of me wishes I had stuck it out, but unfortunately fear got the better of me and Delpiero spent the rest of the trip calling me "Safe Word Serena" haha. (At least I went in it, he didn't!) Although I didn't see the ending, I would give The Clinic
10/10 for originality, sets, acting and creating a different kind of intense atmosphere that I've never experienced in a theme park before.
The Villa was next. This one is themed to horror movies. They batched us in tiny groups, meaning just Maddie and I went in together. What's amazing about going through a scare attraction as a twosome is everyone experiences every scare. And trust me, The Villa has thousands of scares! I don't think I've ever jumped so much. The actors use a lot of diversion tactics to really catch you off guard. The sets were stunning, they left no doubt as to which film they represented. And for a maze based on multiple characters, each scene really flowed. The Nightmare on Elm Street bit scared me the most, and Chucky even followed Maddie and I out of the maze to scare us once more after we had left! Top notch indeed, just the kind of frightful fun I needed to recover from The Clinic!
8/10
After this was
Psychoshock. The novelty of crossing a misty lake via a bridge scattered with zombies was not lost on me, what a way to enter a maze! The make up was beautiful in this attraction, all kinds of vile undead creatures with contoured cheekbones <3 There was also swat team actors who kind of reminded me of Sub Terra, but then the narrative also had that 'tell us your fears' element; it was a bit of a strange mix. The attraction was enjoyable, but not quite as strong as The Villa.
7/10
We met up with the others, in all my excitement I had forgotten to each lunch so grabbed some delicious Kaassoufle before going to
Haunted Holidays - a seasonal themed horror maze! Gotta love Walibi for their unique ideas! This maze was the least cohesive, I didn't see the relevance of the day-glo paint and circus type sets. However, the final scene where a giant Christmas tree unfolds to reveal a zombie Santa was ridiculously good. Some excellent moments, peppered with moments of wtf?!
7/10
After this, it was time to soak up the scare zones, which are absolutely world class. Some serious production value going on in these! Fire, insanely elaborate costumes, chainsaws, ominous soundtracks, screens, eerie lighting...every zone had its own huge, compelling atmosphere and was just captivating to walk through. From pirates to insects to zombie Nintendo characters, the scare zones are staggeringly good and elevate Halloween Fright Night into the top league of Halloween events. Plus, there are so many to choose from! The Halloween entertainment on offer is impressively substantial and varied.
We rode Goliath at night and guess what? It's still pretty dull (for what it is. Obviously it's better than a Reverchon mouse)
Then soaked up the atmosphere in
The Firepit, which was ironically one of the coolest scare zones considering it had a massive fire. (Surrounded by hill billy actors with chainsaws and a DJ!) Rode Lost Gravity at night and guess what? It's still brilliant. Could say I was Lost for words.
After that, we all did our free maze together -
Jefferson Manor. A proper haunted-house-themed Haunted House, with ghostly actors and so many amazing tricks and illusions! I loved it, the sets again were so immersive, no corner was left unthemed. The originality of the scares was awesome too (the girl in the floor! Aargh!)
9/10
We watched the show after, which started kinda creepy but then unfolded into a sexy dance routine. Weird! But kind of cool. Nothing at all like what I was expecting!
The actors from the scare zones then dashed to the entrance to ensure every one left the park running and screaming. Such a good touch, to keep the scare factor heightened at every opportunity, even the exit. I bought a fab glow in the dark t-shirt
Some chavvy boys surrounded Maddie, nadroJ and I at the exit and tried to be all intimidating and start a fight. Bit of a downer to end the day on, but I can't let that scupper ruin what was easily the best Halloween theme park event I have ever been to. Special thanks to Maddie for letting me cling onto her in the mazes! What an incredible way to start the trip! Stay tuned for my next bleatings on the loveliness that is Toverland!