Walibi Holland + Fright Night Questions

[Tichkhan]

Hello!

This is my first post on the forum, I hope I'm posting it in the right place.

I am planning to visit Walibi Holland on October 13 (Sunday) this year. It would be my first time in the park and in the Netherlands. We will be coming from Barcelona. (forgive me about my English! ) My group will also want to do some sightseeing during our short trip (our main idea was to visit Amsterdam) and, as a newbie, I have some questions that I hope you can help me with.

About transportation:

We may not be able to have a car to get to the park, so I wanted to ask you guys about how to get there by public transportation (I found something in the forum, but I don't know if the information will still be valid in 2024). Mostly I am concerned about whether public transportation would allow me to get to the park before opening time (I am aware that it will be very crowded, so I want to take advantage of the opening to save time queuing at some majors) and, above all, if it would allow me to stay until the park closes, which I know that during Fright Nights is at 11 PM. I have seen that there is a bus that takes you from Harderwijk train station and vice versa, but the timetables are not yet available for October, so I'm worried that I won't be able to stay until the last minute and use the whole day.

We have not yet decided exactly where we will stay, so maybe I could consider the option of looking for an AirBNB near Harderwijk station, but I do not know if it would be uncomfortable when visiting Amsterdam, as I see that it is quite far from the city. Would you recommend me some place halfway between the park and Amsterdam that could make things easier for us in case we don't have our own car?

About the park:

We are only going to be able to attend one day at the park, and I would like to make the most of both the “normal” park hours and Fright Nights. Do you think it is possible to do all the majors before the start of the event, so that we can dedicate the time to the Haunted Houses and the Fright Nights experiences? I am aware that the park gets packed at that time, but we can't afford to buy the Fast Lane, as the tickets for the Fright Nights experiences are also really expensive.

Is it worth paying the extra for the R.I.P Pass, considering we will also be paying for tickets to The Clinic, Slaughterhouse and Below? (we are a bunch of big horror fans, Fright Nights are our main incentive for the trip). The sum of it all sounds like too much for our budget, but I imagine it's really hard to be able to do all four Haunted Houses + the 3 experiences (not even counting the Walkthroughs) without the R.I.P Pass, right? Also, I'd really like to be able to have some night rides, especially on Untamed or Goliath, of course

If I'm not mistaken, the time slot that is assigned to you with the purchase of the tickets for Slaughterhouse, The Clinic and Below implies that the queue time you will do is reduced, have I understood this right?

Do you think that going on a Sunday will make our visit a little less crowded?

I'm sure I'm leaving some questions out, I'll write if I think of more!

Thank you very much in advance! Hope you guys can help me out

 

[Hutch]

I visited the Netherlands for the first time last year and public transit is very easy. I did a day trip to Walibi from Amsterdam no problem. It might take a couple hours each way, so just make sure you're up in time. I wouldn't worry about moving accommodations.

I visited on a Monday in October. I can't remember if they had their haunts going on that night (I left the park at around 5:30 PM knowing I didn't want to return to the city super late). But there were decent crowds and some queues on each ride. But most of the good stuff has single rider anyway, so I was able to get multiple rides on Untamed, Goliath, and Lost Gravity. It'll likely be busier for you, especially with the haunts. Their fast pass seems like a decent option anyway, but I'd hope that the single riders are still sufficient.

I arrived at the park at around 15 minutes after park open but they were still testing rides so if you're not able to get there before open, I wouldn't worry too much (there should be earlier bus options, not sure how late they go but I'd imagine they run late as so many people use it).

 

[Tichkhan]

Hey, Hutch! Thank you very much for your response

I think getting there won't be much of an issue (besides the 2 hours ), but my main concern is coming back to Amsterdam. I think the bus (Walibi Express) usually runs until the closing hour, so I imagine there will be busses running. But I am aware that the trains from Harderwijkto Amsterdam don't run that late (at least in the timetable that are uploaded at the moment). I thought about getting an Uber, but I think that will be even more expensive than staying a single night near the station.

I really hope we can get a car in the end. I'll definitely ask you guys again when I come up with new doubts

Thank you very much again!

 

[Markiewong]

Hi Tichkhan, first of all welcome to the forum!

I'll try to reframe your questions in a question/answer format. If there is any question missing feel free to drop it.

Transporation​

Bus or car?
There is a direct bus connection between Harderwijk station and Walibi. Its 27 min and it runs every half a hour (I think more during Halloween). You can check the time table when you get closer to the date on www.9292.nl. They do run from pre-opening till past-closing and while the morning one won't be that big of a nightmare the closing one tends to be. Especially since your last train departs around 00:20. I haven't used the Walibi Express in quite some time, but I always see huge lines at the end of HFN. In general leaving Walibi after HFN is quite a nightmare. Theres only one lane roads around the park and they get completely clogged up, and there is no dedicated bus lane. Atleast with a car you won't have to stress about catching the last train of the day.

Where to stay?
Staying between Harderwijk and Amsterdam doesn't really make any sense. You are neither close to Walibi nor Amsterdam plus you are still dependent on the train. If you don't rent a car get a hotel in Harderwijk. That way you don't have to rely on the trains.

The park​

Can we do all majors before the start of the event?
That depends on what you consider majors. Try to get there before opening and immediatly do Untamed. I can't stress this enough, the ride is ridiculous popular and also the only ride where the queue will close way earlier than the rest (last year it closed at 21:30). Starting around 12 the park will get increasingly more busy with most coasters topping between the 120 and 180 minutes.

Do you think that going on a Sunday will make our visit a little less crowded?
No. It doesn't matter on which day you go during HFN, it will most likely be sold out and filled to the brim. Park is open from 10-23, but most people will pour in after 12.

Should we get a fast lane?
I inserted this question myself, because I think you should reconsider it. Unless you are only going to do haunted houses after 15:00 all rides will have horror wait times of 2/3 hours. I strongly advice you to get a fastlane, it will be the only way for you to do (night) rides and haunted houses. Yes the fastlane prices are steep (35 - 120). But doing HFN without them is a waste of your money unless you accept that you will do 3 rides in your whole day. You also won't be able to do nighttime rides without super long wait times.

HFN​

Should I get a RIP pass?
That depends on what will be part of it this year. The Final Slay Ride won't return this year. So the RIP pass will probably be Psychoshock, The Villa, Jeffersons Manor and Camp of Curiosities where I only think the last two are worth it. Jefferson opens earlier. If you pick an early time slot the wait time won't be more than 20 min.

What time do the houses open?
There are quite a lot of houses and they open stacked between 15:00 and 18:00. Plan smartly with the houses early and the walkthroughs later so you can do them when the sun has completely set.

Can I do all everything without a RIP pass?
Yes but it requires some smart planning and you won't be able to do any rides. Only having 10/15 min break inbetween houses.

Do I have to pick a time slot for the houses and how long are the wait times?
You have to pick a time slot for each ticket. The clinic and slaughterhouse are 15 minutes, all others are 30 minute slots. This does not mean there won't be any wait times, there still is. But the time slots streamline it a bit. Depending on the capacity of the house the time is longer or shoter. In my experience Clinic and Slaugterhouse were fine while Wicked Woods is the biggest offender with +30 min.

What should I do?
The three experiences: Clinic, Slaughterhouse and Below are what sets Walibi apart from the competition. They are absolutely peak and should not be skipped even though the prices are steep. Furthermore I would recommend these other three

• Wicked Woods
• Jefferson Manor
• Camp of curiosities