The Official "TPR In Europe" Ongoing TR Thread.

Face Book · Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2005 1:41 pm Post subject:

Europe Trip Day Sixteen: Credit Whoring at Walibi Rhone-Alpes and Nigloland!

Today was our "credit whore" day. Basically, we had a LONG drive from Gardaland and Disneyland Paris and when mapping out the trip we looked at ways to break up the drive.

Being that we have Walibi passes, we noticed that, if we routed our journey in such a way, we could almost pass right by two Walibi parks, Rhone-Alpes and Lorraine as well as Nigloland.

Credits that help break up a long drive? Sure!!! Taiko Laughing Red

Everyone had told us that Rhone-Alpes was pretty crappy and that we shouldn't even bother, but we figured since we had to drive right by it, and it was basically free, why not?

Well, everyone was right! The place was pretty crappy, but it was also pretty entertaining!

All I will say is that you HAVE to download the "Abnormal Boomerang" video! And I really want to know if anyone has EVER seen another Vekoma Boomernag do what this one does! Just download the video and you'll see! Taiko Really Happy

The had a Boomerang, a Zamperla Wild Mouse, and a Tivoli kiddie coaster. Yeah...quite a quality selection of coasters, eh? Wink

And on top of it, the park itself was pretty sad. Most of the rides looked like they were built out in a field with little thought put into path ways, landscaping, or anything. The lake that runs through the park looked more like a malaria infested swamp. Overall, we spent less than an hour, got our credits, and continued the drive.

BUT we did take away from the park the VERY entertaining "Abnormal Boomerang!" Basically, it acted more like a Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop! Just watch the video and you'll see.

Onto Nigloland!

We had about a 4 hour drive in between the two parks and we got to Nigloland with about 3 hours left in their operating day. At first, we thought they might have been closed since absolutely NO ONE was in the rows of parking! Turns out they had a very small lot 'up front' which kind of looked like the "Marketplace Parking" on Grand Avenue at Knott's. And not even all those spaces were full.

If we saw 50 other people in the park today, I'd be surprised!

Arriving at this park we were expecting another "Let's credit whore our way through this crap hole and get out of here" but what we found was actually a pretty nice park!

Let's check out the coaster line up: Powered Mack Mine Train, Schwarzkopf City Jet, Wacky Worm, Indoor Mack Coaster, and....drum roll please....a Pinfari Inverted Coaster....YES! A looping, invcrted Pinfari! Does it get any better than that? Taiko Really Happy Red

Oddly enough...the ride was just fine!!! :shock: If you have been on a Pinfari looping anything, you know how :shock: :shock: :shock: we were when the ride was totally smooth, and we didn't get jolted or bashed ONCE!

Did we luck out or is the ride always like this???

The rest of the park was very nice. Good landscaping, fun coasters, some good dark rides, well themed flat rides, a few 'interesting' signs (check out the photos) and overall it was really "cute."

The indoor Mack coaster was great! It reminded me a LOT of Euro-Sat at Europa Park. It used the same trains, same sprial lift system, and had the same violent, but amazing quality to it!

Elissa's favorite ride was the rodent themed 'outdoor dark ride', which I kind of get the feeling was the reason we came to this park in the first place. Wink

They also had a haunted house dark ride, which was another one of Europe's "Bench: The Ride" systems. I think it's so funny that people have joked for years about "Bench: The Ride" to the point where I don't even remember the origin, but now that I've seen all these dark rides that litterally have a bench attached to a ride vehicle, I wonder if this is where it started!

Anyway, overall we had a great day of credit whoring and finding a little gem in Nigloland!

On to some photos and be sure to download that Abnormal Boomerang video!

Face Book · Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2005 1:55 pm Post subject:

Ok, I added the video to the trip report. Check it out.

I forgot to mention that what you see in the video clip is NOT a roll back! It was doing this for EVERY ride cycle!!!

Enjoy! Taiko Really Happy

--Robb

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2005 2:19 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the new update and all the great new photos. Of course I directly downloaded the "Abnormal Boomerang" video and all I can say is:
Okay it isn't that screwed up^^ It isn't really normal either but I didn't found it very special Taiko Laughing Red

What do you expect from an old Vekoma it's no real surprise that the brakes don't work properly after a few years Wink

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2005 2:20 pm Post subject:

Robb, as far as the "back up the spike" after the backwards part goes, both Great Escape's Boomerang and Six Flags New England's Flashback have the train come all the way out of the station and up the spike (Great Escape's train didn't come all the way out of the station until about two years ago)...but the thing that I've never seen before is the part you mentioned...how it went back into the boomerang. Usually it goes back onto the spike, then is stopped a few times to get it back into the station normally. It would be cool to sit in the front car of that boomerang, though...almost a 7th inversion!

And that Pinfari Inverted coaster looks frightening...it looks to me like an SLC from lower depths of hell!

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2005 2:21 pm Post subject:

Hey Robb,
nice pictures! Walibi Rhone-Alpes looks so bad.
The video was funny and the "Abnormal Boomerang" thing is really scary! :shock: I have never seen this before!
However, great update again!

--Sören

Face Book · Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2005 2:27 pm Post subject:

Every Boomerang I've ever been on (At least 30 of them) has gone a *little* bit out of the station on the return, maybe 10 feet or so at the most, but this is the first time I've ever seen one go almost all the way back up the back spike, and then back into the boomerang again!

At the point that it goes BACK into the station for the very last time is what I'm used to a normal Boomerang doing on the return run.

That's why it's different and weird!

--Robb

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2005 2:33 pm Post subject:

Just watched the clip
All I can say is WTF! I never seen a boomerang do that before.

It might make the ride better :shock:

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2005 2:42 pm Post subject:

LOL, "Anal rape-age". Seriously, is Walibi Rhone-Alps like the Cypress Gardens of Europe? Rides plopped down in nature with some sort of contaminated lake.

Anyway, a hilarious update... and the sh*t sign is indeed the best sign ever.

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2005 2:47 pm Post subject:

OK, call me a "vercoma-virgin", but what's it supposed to do? Wink

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2005 2:50 pm Post subject:

I can't go today at walibi rhone alps

only boomrang and wild mouse in my region very poor.

i will wait the new theme park SPYLAND spy theme with MACK coaster and vekoma bike coaster Great!!!
www.spyland.net

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