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Netherlands Mini Trip 2024
Introduction
Conner found himself in Europe on a theme park trip so me and Gouldy decided to join him on a weekend leg of his journey! This included two parks - both of which I have already visited - Efteling and Walibi Holland and with Max + Moritz closed for maintenance my only new credit would be Untamed at Walibi Holland.
Conner offered to shuttle us around the parks for the weekend and being based in Antwerp for this leg our travel to the parks was not so typical. Nonetheless we flew into Amsterdam from Birmingham airport and caught the train down to Antwerp from the airport - overall pretty straight forward and would make for an easier journey home as Walibi Holland is only 1 hour or so from Amsterdam Schipol airport.
Note: there is a very good Breakfast Bagel place in Antwerp called Barnini which we both enjoyed.
We travelled over to Efteling on the Saturday - for what was billed as a busy day. The entrance is currently a building site with the new hotel and associated works somewhat spoiling the walk up to the entrance. Nonetheless the overall building is very impressive, and we entered into the park on opening with minimum fuss.
We spent the majority of the day around the coasters part of the park - although we had a small detour around the Fairytale Gardens and a trip on Symbolica which was very well presented.
Even with Max+Moritz out of action this was a good chance to reflect on my trip in 2018 to see if a second ride on any of the coasters would change my opinion!
Baron 1898
Park Ranking – 4th (of 6)
Trip Ranking – 5th (of 14)
Baron 1898 is a 6-wide B&M Dive Coaster with a short layout following the drop with 2 inversions and a rising helix. The ride is themed to a mining colony digging for gold with a short pre-ride show and some additional show elements before the lift hill. The area surrounding the ride maintains the theme but the ride building itself gives the most complete feel to the ride.
In terms of intensity this ride does not really pack a punch. The ‘vertical’ drop isn’t quite large enough to give a real feeling of “being on the edge” and the remainder of the layout its fairly mild although typically smooth and well-shaped.
The layout itself is good – makes use of the space and combines the elements is a flowing fashion – wrapping around the queue and surrounding area to give lots of photo opportunities. The theme elements don’t really add too much to the ride – but there was plenty of mist in the tunnel which always helps.
A solid rollercoaster but didn’t really demonstrate what a dive coaster can be.
Joris en de Draak Vuur/Water
Park Ranking - 1st/2nd (of 6)
Trip Ranking - 2nd/4th (of 14)
Easily the best and most fun coaster(s) at the park. Two duelling GCI woodies sprawling out along the lakefront - themed to the old story of a battle with a dragon. The theming itself is quite coherent throughout the area, however key parts like the Dragon could have been better placed to provide a centrepiece for the ride.
The ride itself might well be described into 3 separate parts - despite there being no MCBRs on either ride. The first section consists of a turnaround to unite the two tracks into the first drop, followed by a double up into another crest where both tracks dive down the right, Water dropping below Vuur and then crossing over as they hit the next airtime hill. This dive section has been retracked with the new Titan Track. The transition into, through and out of didn't really alter the ride experience however, this section being quite consistent in force was perhaps a good choice for the renovation.
The second part is where the ride really ramps up - the Vuur side significantly more than the Water side. Quick transitions, double ups/downs and a complete sense of carrying too much speed into the turnaround give a great sensation of speed and a real feel of being out of control.
The third and final park is back to racing/duelling with some sort of high five sections and some off camber banked corners and hills to finish the ride off. The winner of the race gets the pleasure of entering the station first to fanfare which is a nice touch.
This is an incredibly fun ride, although the first section lacks a little bit of bite - it's very re-ridable.
Python
Park Ranking - 5th (of 6)
Trip Ranking - 9th (of 14)
The classic double loop corkscrew Vekoma, although refitted with new trains and retracked with better shaping. By today’s standards this ride isn't up to much - but it is a well looked after ride which runs really well with improvements.
There isn't much in the way of theming for this ride - the trains have a nice livery but generally this is more of a traditional rollercoaster rather than an experience. The layout itself it’s also simple, 1 drop, 2 loops, 2 corkscrews and a helix to finish off.
The reshaping and retracking has certainly helped the ride - no more hand banging transition into the first corkscrew and the loops are left to just be intense by force.
The retrack turns this into a re-ridable coaster - which is more than can be said for some other Vekomas on this trip.
Vliegende Hollander
Park Ranking - 4th (of 6)
Trip Ranking - 7th (of 14)
Vliegende Hollander is Kumbak's only full rollercoaster construction - and a water coaster to boot. The ride is multifaceted - combining dark sections, boat sections and rollercoaster sections to good effect. The way the ride is set out makes the transitions through the ride quite seamless and enjoyable.
The rollercoaster section isn't really anything to write home about overall - although the first drop with the opening doors and diving towards the lake is quite thrilling. Generally, the track was also quite smooth - although the turnaround before the final drop was a little janky.
This ride was a fun experience - but not something I'd be looking to re-ride more than once a day.
Vogel Rok
Park Ranking - 6th (of 6)
Trip Ranking - 10th (of 14)
Vogel Rok is an indoor Dark Coaster built by Vekoma with a custom layout. The ride experience is mostly in pitch black which gives a heightened sense of thrill despite what appears to be quite a simple layout. The large entrance centrepiece is most outstanding part of the ride experience although there were a few interactions with the birds during the ride.
A neat ride which complements the park well as a whole.
On the Sunday we travelled up to Walibi Holland – a fair old drive with some single-track roads to challenge Conners European driving skills (we didn’t die – he passed). This park feels a lot more chaotic and stressful for the older enthusiast. It is very much aimed at teenagers rather than families and the vibe reflects that.
Nonetheless there are a plethora of coasters, some more worthwhile than others, to be ridden in quite a compact park. We were unfortunately too early for the yet unnamed duelling raptor track – this is best seen from the Goliath lift (or I suppose the Big Wheel although this was out of action at the time of visit)
The best tip I think we got from this park was to hit Xpress: Platform 13 first. A mix of reliability issues, location at the start of the park and general popularity meant this consistently had one of the bigger queues in the park.
Condor
Park Ranking - 8th (of 8)
Trip Ranking - 14th (of 14)
Condor is the original Vekoma SLC – and oh boy does it show. The shorter trains don’t do much, if anything, to help with a seriously rough ride and completely detracts from what is a really good layout. I think the most enjoyment I got on this ride was, as per the TV instructions, getting a fist bump for correctly pulling down my harness.
I really should’ve ditched Gouldy and Conner to go ride Goliath a few times round. Or just sat and stared at a wall, either would be preferable in hindsight.
Drako
Park Ranking - 6th (of 8)
Trip Ranking - 12th (of 14)
Drako is a Zierer Tivoli kiddie/family coaster tucked away behind Lost Gravity at the side of the park. It was pretty quiet when we got there so Gouldy and Conner opted to deprive the target audience of the back seat experience.
Not too much to be said about this ride – still doesn’t sit as the worst experience in the park.
Eat My Dust
Park Ranking - 7th (of 8)
Trip Ranking - 13th (of 14)
Another family/kiddie coaster – this time by Zamperla – and a surprise additional credit for myself! The ride was smooth if unremarkable – and outside of the station area the theming was quite weak. Gouldy had a nice-looking apple pie from the stand outside the exit however.
Goliath
Park Ranking – 2nd (of 8)
Trip Ranking – 3rd (of 14)
A classic, Intamin Mega Coaster. A poster coaster for myself alongside EGF although with its now blue paint colour scheme.
The ride itself hauls you up a cable lift and over the first drop which comes quite quickly at you, providing a good dose of straight airtime. This is followed by another airtime hill into the Stengel dive. This is a solid start and provides good straight forward excitement.
The following helix and S-hills are the weak part of the ride – whilst they are fun – they don’t provide enough forces or interest to sustain the ride experience through to the final section with the final ejector hills and forceful final turn.
Interestingly on my previous trip I didn’t enjoy the sharp final ejector hill however this time this felt like a strong finish to the ride. This might have been in comparison to Untamed which I’ll come onto later.
In reality this rollercoaster is a relic of the past and shows how far rollercoasters have come since then. A great ride but it’s nowhere near what is achieved by more modern coasters.
Lost Gravity
Park Ranking – 3rd (of 8)
Trip Ranking - 6th (of 14)
The first iteration of Mack’s newer small form rollercoasters – this ride exhibits a lot of promise and interesting ideas without feeling like a complete coaster. The first drop is a fantastic twisting element that gives a different experience in every seat. The turnaround element is also interesting and produces some different forces and the layout overall seems suitably long to give a good ride.
The theming is quite well incorporated – there are a few near-ish misses but not on the level of some of Eftelings more trademark rides.
I enjoyed this ride again – I think it is probably underrated in the grand scheme of things and flies a little under the radar.
Speed of Sound
Park Ranking – 5th (of 8)
Trip Ranking - 11th (of 14)
The park’s other classic Vekoma – but this one is a boomerang with a lights and sound package to boot. This was far better than Condor – the ride wasn’t too rough and does pack a small punch travelling forwards and backwards through the 3 inversions. The tunnel first drop is a nice touch that does add a little bit to the ride.
Untamed
Park Ranking – 1st (of 8)
Trip Ranking – 1st (of 14)
The major reason for visiting the park again – opening the year after I rode Robin Hood in its final throws of coaster mortality – an RMC conversion with 4 inversions, a 116ft drop and advertised 14 moments of airtime. The theme is perhaps a cheap but effective choice – the wilderness, but it was a nice touch to include the old track and train of Robin Hood within the queue line.
The ride starts out with a pointless outer banked turn into the lift hill. These pre-lift “innovative” shenanigans are quite pointless – a flat turn with a bit of speed would’ve been far more enjoyable. The lift hill ascends up and over the first drop, 80 degrees of classic RMC airtime. What follows is a small speed bump into the signature double inverting stall. I thought prior to riding this would feel like a gimmick, much like the pre lift, however it actually was a lot of fun.
The ride then enters a sort of double up, with the second crest turning to the right and diving into a straight airtime hill providing good ejector airtime. This is followed by a sideways airtime hill transitioning into a zero g inversion into the turnaround. This has a nice flow and overall probably my favourite segment of the ride.
The next sequence out of the turnaround is another sideways airtime hill (opposite side to the previous) into a double up double down – which by this point is becoming quite sharp instances of airtime. An overbank follows (which doesn’t feel too forced) as the ride runs back through the structure on it’s return. There is a plethora of head choppers and sharp airtime here which don’t have the same effect as the first half of the ride. The ride ends with what RCDB tells me is a Step-Up Under Flip (rising barrel roll) into the final brake run.
This is firmly the best ride in the park, although the first half of the ride outclassed the second quite significantly. It’s certainly a win for the park in my opinion – however it never really troubled any of my favourite rides.
Xpress: Platform 13
Park Ranking – 4th (of 8)
Trip Ranking – 8th (of 14)
To round out the rollercoasters for the park is a spaghetti bowl, LSM launched Vekoma with a haunted house style queue line. The launch was the big attraction for me on this coaster, having recalled that the actual ride layout didn’t live up to my previous expectations. The ride itself feels a little forceless, although it was nice to be taken by surprised by the corkscrew – perhaps not looking into the rides too much prior to visiting helps the overall ride experience.
The theming and execution of the ride certainly add to what is a relatively tame ride.
Summary
Two new credits – one of them a very good addition to my list (my 3rd RMC, none of which have disappointed overall) and a great whistle stop tour to the two main parks in the Netherlands. It was really good to be back in Europe after a year hiatus and enjoyed the travel with Gouldy and Conner – thanks to you for the banter and company (and driving in Conners case)
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