Europe 07/19 – Bobbejaanland by Mega-Lite

In recent years, my youngest brother, who’s slowly making his way up the enthusiast ladder, has been begging me to take him on a trip inspired by the ones me and Heartline go on. For various reasons it never came to be, but that was until summer 2019, when plans came together so perfectly there was no way I was going to let it slip away again.

This trip would see me return to 3 parks I’d previously visited, completely ruining the reputation of 1 and improving that of the other 2. It would also allow me to go to a park I’d be dying to visit for many years.

That’s enough set up, let’s dive in.

Day 1

Bobbejaanland

Today began early as we made our way towards the Channel Tunnel, which is still the best way to explore Europe.

In no time at all we were in France, not long after that Belgium, finally, after a brief stint of driving on ancient cobblestones, we were in the car park of Bobbejaanland.

A history lesson… Last time me and Heartline visited the park we walked away very disappointed. Rude staff, an unpleasant atmosphere and questionable decisions that kept us from getting on all the coasters were the factors that led us to that opinion. I was hoping things had improved since then but was going in expecting the worst.

First impressions were strong, with the park’s entrance area looking far better than it did last time. I paid for parking on a fancy new touch screen, before we made our way into the park and headed straight for the reason I came back.

Fury

The park’s brand new triple launch Gerstlauer Infinity coaster, named Fury and themed to the element of fire.

Firstly I need to mention just how great the coaster looks. Fury has forever changed the skyline of Bobbejaanland with the way the striking orange track towers over the park, easily visible on the drive in. Then there’s the theming, which for a park like Bobbejaanland is really impressive. The station looks awesome and the queueline rock work was far more impressive than I was expecting.

How’s the coaster though? It’s really good! The launches, 3 on a multi-pass, are much more intense than I was prepared for, especially the backwards pass that you can’t see coming. Then you’re violently ejected over the first hill, which once again I wasn’t ready for. Then from this point onwards Fury is a wonderful blend of inversions and strong forces.

Oh but I haven’t told you the best bit…

Fury has a unique element to it that massively enhances the experience. The coaster has a turntable just after you leave the station, which means it has the ability to tackle the madness forwards or backwards. This on it’s own is awesome, but to make it even better you and your fellow riders are given the choice of which direction you will be travelling, via buttons on the restraints.

Forward Fury is really good fun but backwards Fury is insane. This way you now get 2 backwards launches, hit the violent ejector with no way of seeing it coming and brave the high speed twists and turns blind, it’s a crazy experience and a rare one too.

With the trip off to a great start, it was now time to let my brother dust off the park’s other coasters. Our plan was to keep bouncing back to Fury every few rides, a genius plan, because Bobbe’s other creds are mostly awful.

I apologise for the lack of photos from here, but rest assured you aren’t missing anything special.

Speedy Bob

First up was the Mack Wild Mouse that the park closed in mine and Heartline’s faces last time we visited. Thankfully I was more successful today and credit where it’s due the coaster was hauling serious ass.

Mount Mara

Next up was the park’s enclosed Vekoma Illusion that the park closed in mine and Heartline’s faces last time we visited. I honestly quite enjoyed this strange coaster. Firstly for the comedy of just how messed up it was, but then when it really got going it was pretty awesome, especially the surprise vicious pop of air that suddenly made me pay attention to what I was riding.

Typhoon

I’d run out of new things to try, so I decided I’d keep myself amused by watching my brother get assaulted by a terrible Eurofighter. The word progression is redefined when you look at how far Gerstlauer has come from this crap to Fury…

Naga Bay

Probably the worst custom Maurer Spinner ever created. At least I didn’t have to wait 40 minutes to ride it like I did last time.

For lunch we had pizza, which was an improvement on my last visit, when the park closed a restaurant in mine and Heartline’s faces… The food was nice and I enjoyed that I managed to go through 6 plastic forks in 10 minutes.

Oki Doki

This custom Vekoma Junior was the best coaster in the park previously, now it’s the 3rd best, progress!

Dream Catcher

The queue for Dream Catcher brought back some terrible memories of everything going wrong for us last visit, oh and yeah, the coaster is still awful.

Bob Express

Bobbejaanland’s Mack powered coaster is quite good for what it is. It was also nice to experience it in a much better state of mind than last time around.

With all the coasters now ridden and 3 new credits added to my list, we went for 1 last lap of Fury before leaving the park and heading to our hotel in the Netherlands.

Well, I wasn’t expecting that, Bobbejaanland had done it, it had been a massive improvement on last time and I managed to walk away rather satisfied. Don’t get me wrong, I won’t be rushing back, but I would be happy to revisit when the time is right, unlike last time when I cursed the park and everyone in it.

Thanks for reading, click here for day 2, where I visit the fantastic Heide Park and get angry at an Intamin prefab…