Europe 06/24 – Walibi Rhône-Alpes
The other new draw in mainland Europe was of course Mahuka. Feels like it fell a distant third to the Mackness going on this year and isn’t getting enough attention, but that’s part of the appeal of this park. Understated, but brilliant.
#1 Mahuka
Not naming names, but lessons available here on how to make a new ride look good, and complete, even though it had opened a few days prior and there’s still mud under it.
Nice details in the queue.
There was a radio here that would occasionally fire up and play ’90s hits. Character. A sense of fun.
These bag ‘chutes’ were pretty genius.
And those trains look tasty.
So, how was the ride?
Loved it.
The trains are tasty. It’s exactly what the single rail needs. Openness, freedom, convenience.
Being multi-launch it’s got a satisfying length to it. A crescendo of sequence.
Full of some weird and wacky stuff, look at that ribbon of a track.
Airtime in places is really good. Bit of a Mosasaurus inspired roll at the end to finish.
All in all it just looks and rides great. I prefer it to the RMCs, which by default puts it in the top 5%.
It doesn’t have the extremes of a Railblazer, but I feel like you have to be very forgiving about everything else going on with those rides and solely focus on those extremes. Let us not speak about Jersey Devil.
This hits the spot just right. Comfortable, varied and long while still being a little wild and unpredictable as it can perform manouevres you wouldn’t otherwise expect. It does a bit of everything and it flows so well. From the moment you step into the area really, they run a tight ship considering the capacity. The perfect addition for a park this size, they just keep on nailing it here.
Mystic
This was the last thing they nailed and it holds up. I love Mystic, it’s got such an aura about it. Still a top 3 Gerstlauer.
The guy with the fish laughs at you as you dispatch and it’s all downhil from there. Great sense of intimidation and guest reaction – this is still the bad boy of the park.
And it rides real good, with some killer ejector and even more killer hangtime. Stuff like this just shouldn’t be possibile but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Timber
Timber is great for what it does. A classic showcase of Gravity getting way more than should be possible out of something so small scale.
That said, it does manage to ‘feel’ the shortest of those, but at least it still hits hard and makes it count.
Not sure what they’ve done at the end. Added a trim to the final hill which kills its impact but also provides a hilariously awkward moment of braking which adds to the character and almost balances out the loss.
And that’s the park. They’ve tidied it up real nice, it’s very pleasant just walking around. There’s little else going on, a few +1s, no dark rides (sadly) and their 4D cinema seems to be out of action this season (not so sad).
It doesn’t matter though. The quality of the top 3 coasters, including their consistency and variety, makes this one of the standout locations in Europe. They’re enough to keep me happy just bouncing between for a half day, a full day, it doesn’t really matter. You can play it cool at Walibi France. Let’s hope it doesn’t turn into Walibi Holland.