Walibi Holland | Eat My Dust | Zamperla Junior Coaster | 2023

[Efteldingus]

It’s not like the park actually feels run-down once you’re in it.

Gotta disagree with you on that one.
The way they "updated" the Zero Zone area near Lost Gravity and the flume ride was dreadfull, the graffiti everywhere made it a huge mess.. It's a cool theme as well but just very poorly executed.
W.A.B. Plaza and the kids area next to it are also bad, but those haven't seen any major work done in the last decade. I hope they'll fix those, and make it look less cheap and chaotic. I quite like the more expressive and fun style of theming they do, but the park shouldn't cut corners in quality.

 

[Indy]

Gotta disagree with you on that one.
The way they "updated" the Zero Zone area near Lost Gravity and the flume ride was dreadfull, the graffiti everywhere made it a huge mess.. It's a cool theme as well but just very poorly executed.
W.A.B. Plaza and the kids area next to it are also bad, but those haven't seen any major work done in the last decade. I hope they'll fix those, and make it look less cheap and chaotic. I quite like the more expressive and fun style of theming they do, but the park shouldn't cut corners in quality.

Maybe it's because I never visited the park before all of these changes had occurred, but I don't understand this sentiment at all. I found the areas you mentioned to be some of the best actually.







It hardly looks run down. The landscaping is quite beautiful. I get that the WAB Plaza sign may look a little on the cheap side, but these areas themselves are really well done in my opinion. I had no idea what to expect going into the park and was pleasantly surprised by a lot of it.

Frankly, I think the Eat My Dust theming looks pretty solid and I bet it will be well executed based on CdA's recent projects.

 

[cookie]

Gotta disagree with you on that one.
The way they "updated" the Zero Zone area near Lost Gravity and the flume ride was dreadfull, the graffiti everywhere made it a huge mess.. It's a cool theme as well but just very poorly executed.
W.A.B. Plaza and the kids area next to it are also bad, but those haven't seen any major work done in the last decade. I hope they'll fix those, and make it look less cheap and chaotic. I quite like the more expressive and fun style of theming they do, but the park shouldn't cut corners in quality.

Clashing themes doesn’t make something run-down, though. Walibi Holland to me never felt worn and tired like I would say about Heide-Park or parts of Movie Park Germany/ Bobbejaanland/PortAventura where upkeep and atmosphere fell noticably short. It was still a vibrant park that felt clean and looked after, even if it had its share of other shortcomings.

 

[Crazycoaster]

I’d say the only time it looked horrible was all the graffiti on the mad house castle.. and then leaving the madhouse theme inside completely unchanged with that crazy spinning wizard story. It just clashed horrendously .

 

[oriolat2]

There are obvious parallels with Merlin’s theming style but at least it’s colourful, upbeat, quirky and slightly whimsical. We’ve spoken for ages about how Merlin’s is always dark and drab so I can appreciate Walibi’s use of colour and humour, even if not particularly to my taste and obviously cheap.

Saying all that, I just looked again at the really uninspired track colour. At least it’s not black I guess…

Unlike Merlin, CdA can actually pull great attractions on a (I guess) tighter budget, and are not afraid to make bold investments (Mystique, Kondaa, Pulsar, Untamed, the pair of RMC raptors, Toutatis...). I don't really mind CdA using containers, as they always find creative ways to incorporate them into their attractions themes, avoiding the (post)apocalyptic theme that Merlin always seem to go after whenever a shipping container is on sight.

 

[Efteldingus]

Clashing themes doesn’t make something run-down, though. Walibi Holland to me never felt worn and tired like I would say about Heide-Park or parts of Movie Park Germany/ Bobbejaanland/PortAventura where upkeep and atmosphere fell noticably short. It was still a vibrant park that felt clean and looked after, even if it had its share of other shortcomings.

Maybe it didn't help that my last visit was on a gloomy october day last year, but I still felt like the ''bad'' stuff distracted me too much from the actual overall theme of the areas I mentioned. As I said I like the themes they did for some bits of the park, like Lost Gravity for example. That queue is awesome, however what they did with the rest of the area around it just felt unimaginative in my opinion. Just slap graffiti and warning stripes on everything and it's done. Not really my cup of tea.
The kids area between Zero Zone and WAB plaza actually looked pretty run down. Paint faded and peeling off theming elements near that train ride thingy, and a lot of it was green thanks to the trees overhead. The main downside to WAB plaza is that it's just old, and that's getting fixed so I'm hopefull in that regard.

 

[Joelpagett]

The problem with bright colours is they tend to fade pretty quickly, making things look a bit dull and run down even if they're a few years old. That's probably why M£rlin love grey and black - it lasts a lot longer without having to paint it.

When I visited, I did like the overall theme of Lost Gravity, it was a bit of a lighter and brighter Smiler - but it was already starting to age and that was only 2 years after it opened.

 

[DeathmetalmikeNL]

I dont know if im getting old, but the whole vibe of the park takes away a lot of the overal experience for me.

The rides are pretty solid (except the slc)
Untamed is amazing, and I'm sure the single rail coaster will be to

But the theming I really don't get.

It's a shame... its like they don't really knew what direction to go for a long time. Even with mascottes and stuff. Masha van till said that theming experiences for rides are overrated.


I'd rather go to parks like europa Park, efteling or disney. But I will check the new single rail coaster when it's complete

 

[Leon_K]

I dont know if im getting old, but the whole vibe of the park takes away a lot of the overal experience for me.

The rides are pretty solid (except the slc)
Untamed is amazing, and I'm sure the single rail coaster will be to

But the theming I really don't get.

It's a shame... its like they don't really knew what direction to go for a long time. Even with mascottes and stuff. Masha van till said that theming experiences for rides are overrated.


I'd rather go to parks like europa Park, efteling or disney. But I will check the new single rail coaster when it's complete

I get it, it's probably not for everyone. But from a creative aspect, it's almost necessary that a themepark tries something new. Sometimes I start to doubt the creativity of themparks after the 30th park in the world opens there pirate/wildwest/movie-adapted themed area. It's feels inspirationless... I personally like their vision, but that's my opinion. It feels original and refreshing at least.

 

[redheadedRobin]

Spoiler

Bright colours, random junk and shipping containers again

View attachment 23146
View attachment 23147
Concept art for Eat My Dust's station and the food and toilet buildings.

Sourcehttps://www.looopings.nl/weblog/21871/Golfplaten--autobanden-en-containers-in-nieuw-themagebied-Walibi-Holland.htmhttps://www.looopings.nl/weblog/218...ners-in-nieuw-themagebied-Walibi-Holland.htmll

I kinda like this. I'm getting quite a big "Fortnite meets dirt-racing" kind of theme and I think it's great considering the target audience of the area

 

[Pokemaniac]

The problem with bright colours is they tend to fade pretty quickly, making things look a bit dull and run down even if they're a few years old. That's probably why M£rlin love grey and black - it lasts a lot longer without having to paint it.

Heck, when was the last time Merlin themed a major ride to something other than stuff being destroyed, decayed, or abandoned? They can skip all sorts of maintenance and claim it to be part of the themeing.

 

[Tonkso]

Heck, when was the last time Merlin themed a major ride to something other than stuff being destroyed, decayed, or abandoned? They can skip all sorts of maintenance and claim it to be part of the themeing.

Basically all of Chessington? Wicker Man?

 

[Ethan]

Basically all of Chessington?

Scorpion Express themed to literal junk. Croc Drop is plonked in decaying ruins. I could go on, plus most of the park generally looks like it has been decaying for decades (which is sort of has lmao)

Wicker Man?

Every building for Wickerman is painted to look rotten/decaying too?

 

[Indy]

Walibi has posted a video on their IG showing off the Eat My Dust train as it is being placed on the track. I can't lie, the lead car looks pretty awesome.

Walibi Holland on Instagram: "Wat vind jij van de trein van de nieuwe familie achtbaan Eat my Dust? 🤩 We nemen weer een kijkje op de bouwplaats! #walibiholland #walibi #speedzoneoffroad"

2,515 Likes, 39 Comments - Walibi Holland (@walibihollandofficial) on Instagram: "Wat vind jij van de trein van de nieuwe familie achtbaan Eat my Dust? 🤩 We nemen weer een kijk..."

www.instagram.com

 

[Inverting_Thrills]

Wow! That train looks downright incredible.

 

[CrashCoaster]

I

Wow! That train looks downright incredible.

I agree, that looks surprisingly great.

 

[Lofty]

Ok, I love that train.

It just feels much more realistic than I'd have expected it to be.

 

[Niles]

A tour of the site has taken place.




Theming has started to go in round the track.





Source

 

[StampidaRMC]

I'm going to Walibi Holland this summer in August. Is it known if it will be built by then, or will I miss the credit?

 

[Hutch]

I'm going to Walibi Holland this summer in August. Is it known if it will be built by then, or will I miss the credit?

It's a kids coaster, and the track seems to be complete. They're not gonna wait until the end of the summer to open a small ride like this.