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Walibi Belgium | Kondaa | Intamin Mega Coaster | 2021

Rupert

Mega Poster
Echo everything that’s been said, it looks phenomenal. That huge outerbank! Love it.

Also just before the brake run, great to see the series of mini bunny hops first pioneered by The Ultimate almost three decades ago. No airtime-focused coaster has the excuse not to put similar in before the ride ends (looking at B&M with their 200-ft tall final brake runs).
 

Intamin to Win

Mega Poster
Take a look at B&Ms portfolio and you'll see why it's unlikely they'll start putting 15ft bunny hills at the end of every coaster. There's a reason B&M Gigas have the brake runs they do!
This is obviously anti-B&M bias, but I also cannot think of another actual reason: it’s because they’re kinda lame and would rather play it safe than do anything truly cool
 

bob_3_

Giga Poster
This is obviously anti-B&M bias, but I also cannot think of another actual reason: it’s because they’re kinda lame and would rather play it safe than do anything truly cool

I know you're just tryna bait any non-intamin fans here (judging by your profile name) so I won't bother trying to explain Giga brake runs. But I don't think any designer sits there going "I'm going to make it like this because it's very un-cool" lol! Also "playing it safe" usually mean putting comfort, reliability, ease of operation and evacuation and high rider capacity OVER things like mad intensity, which isn't always a bad thing when you're trying to design for a mass audience.

That said, it's great to have Intamin as a counter point, pushing the boundries in layout design. I'm completely in love with all the madness on show here and then matching that with Walibi's beautiful theming touches and concept, urgh it's so good. Does anyone think those final hills look like they're part of a kiddie coaster? But obviously will be taken at "big boi coaster" speeds. I wonder if it'll be like SteVe's finale.
 

Rupert

Mega Poster
I was being a bit facetious earlier, of course you can’t throw in a tiny bunny hop profiled too small for relevant speeds like on some B&M gigas, and the Ultimate is notorious for crawling through it’s pre-second lift bunny hops.

But the overall point is that some quick movements and direction changes (airtime or lateral Gs) can keep the thrill going right until the end. The main example I had in my head is actually Silver Star - the high-speed S-bend over the river just before the final brakes is genuinely a ride highlight, and I completely agree with @bob_3_ that Walibi’s will feel like the end of Steel Vengeance which also maintains the frantic feeling up til the end.
 
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