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Bellewaerde Park | Mundo Amazonia | Intamin Rapids & More | 2024

that's a yikes for sure!
I wonder if they can add something to the slide part itself to slow it down, like padding/ a mat kinda like how the WhiteWater West raft slide things at SFA/Thorpe have pads in the trough.
 
Sounds very odd/unbelievable to me but have heard it a few times now from what I consider trustworthy people - that apparently Intamin have not supplied the boats, just the ride system. The park hoped to get away with getting cheaper boats elsewhere; but this seemingly has backfired on them and is one of the factors why they are having a hard time getting Tüv (health & safety authorities) approval to open it.
 
Looopings says the park is aiming to open the ride for the upcoming Saturday (20th of April).
Hopefully everything goes smooth and they figured out the bumping problem.
 
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Just planned a counting tour through Belgium for this weekend. Looks like I might have a chance to give it a try this Sunday!
If that turns out to be true, I will share my review.
 
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Sounds very odd/unbelievable to me but have heard it a few times now from what I consider trustworthy people - that apparently Intamin have not supplied the boats, just the ride system. The park hoped to get away with getting cheaper boats elsewhere; but this seemingly has backfired on them and is one of the factors why they are having a hard time getting Tüv (health & safety authorities) approval to open it.
Who is this Merlin!?
 
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Are they really strict about protocol being followed when boarding? or is it so scary it leads to an evacuation?
 
Found a POV on YouTube.
That drop segment looks stupid fun!
It really is the cherry on top isn't it?
I'm happy that there's these vertically sliding doors so people on the outside (that don't follow coasters like we do) don't know whats happening in there.
I'm going sometime next week with friends, I ain't gonna tell them nothing! 🤭
 
I'd have just sent a second one down to knock it out. Like when you get a ball stuck in the gutter bowling.
 
So, I've returned from my trip which included Bellewaerde.
I did not expect Amazonia to be open when planning the trip, but I certainly don't complain.

Once the gates opened, we imediately walked to the rides entrance. The queue isn't bad, but quite long with no ways to shorten it. You will walk quite a bit before reaching the final cattle pen and the subsequent station.
After a few minutes of the ride not moving at all, they started moving some boats and boarded us with a father and his son onto the first boat of the day. Good for us, as a significant queue has built up in the 10-15 minutes we were waiting for boarding. It is their newest headliner attraction after all.

Before bording, they had all the people for the board step on a scale (simultanousely) to be weighed. Our group of four (3 adults + child) was ~330kg. Don't know if this matters, but I might as well mention it. I should also mention, that the boats do not feature handrails in the middle, and nothing to put your feet on except for the stairs. So if you're like me used to putting your shoes up - you can't do it here.

The ride itself is really strange. The first bit of the lift is actually rotating 90° to be able to take the boat. Once the boat is on that piece, it roates to become part of the lifthill. The first bit is pretty much your run of the mill tube-style rafting ride - BUT I can confirm, it really spins a lot in some places. I recall a total of 2 times that we got in a spinning that I never anticipated in a rafting. It was more intense then on most spinning coasters.

Second lift is nothing special either, allthough I have to admit that spinning lifts, and lifts with "open" ends always cause some feeling of insecurity in me - which is something I actually enjoy, as this is something I rarely experience in a (safe) park.

The big thing is of course the drop. It isn't the steepest, but it is fun. The first swing upwards is still untrimmed, the strips will only affect the subsequent swings. And it's actually working. We were rocking left to right a bit, but there was more than enough room between us and the sidewalls.

The final element is the effect track. It actually runs a decently long cycle, nearly long enough to be considered its own attraction. It goes suprisingly deep down (which included some themed lighting as well) and gives very weak floater. That alone wouldn't be necessary a good thing, but with you having no classic restrain, it is a fun and thrilling element.

One more thing to note is that the boats are being automatically rotated into certain positions prior to the second lift in the drop track. Those rollers used for the rotation are an accident waiting to happen. They are completely open, and you could easily get your hand stuck between them and your boat if you were careless enough.

Is it wet? Not really. There was one wave which got our bums a bit wet, but nothing to bad. With the design of the boat, most of the water was actually behind us and flowing into the middle of the boat to flow out. Please keep in mind that we only were 4 people with 330kg in the boat. A fully loaded boat might be significantly wetter. I don't know of the max weight for groups, though.


To sum it up, it is something different, but certainly a fun ride. And while thrilling, it is still suitable for children and its ending might suprise a few guests - even though the air powered system is naturally not quiet. I would have gone for a second ride, but time contraints and a certain stuck boat cancelled those plans.

Sorry for my horrible language skills today. I am quite tired, but wanted my report to be posted whilst my memories are still fresh.IMG_54641.jpeg
Yes, that's the stuck boat. When we rode the Boomerang 45 minutes after this photo was taken, the water was turned off, and there was no movement on Amazonia. Don't know if they reopened.
 
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Thanks for the review - great read!

I've read that the maximum group weight is currently at 420kg, but they may not be accurate or subject to change.
 
I suppose that's a consequence of them hastily adding the strips to slow it down?
From what I've heard - it was actually a faulty water pump on the last element
I've read that the maximum group weight is currently at 420kg, but they may not be accurate or subject to change.
yep, and this is actually causing a (very small) bit of a stir as sometimes people are individually weighted, and anyone can see the weight on the screen (it isn't angled towards operators only).
 
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