The first weekend in May it was once again time for the annual SpringFest meet-up from ACE Europe. This year Walibi Holland was the place to be. The group was smaller than usual, which meant that the planned ERT sessions couldn’t happen. But, as is often the case with ACE outings, that didn’t dampen the fun one bit. In fact, it turned into a surprisingly relaxed day where the sun, the atmosphere, and the friendships made for a good time.
The day already felt good at the entrance. Due to the Walibi Play event, where you could play games like Minecraft and Roblox in the park and meet various Dutch Youtubers, a small crowd had gathered in front of the gates. And right before the gates opened the last few raindrops disappeared.
As we headed into the park, the gathered ACE’ers split up in two groups to explore the park. One with Fastpasses, and one without. The group I was part of had all bought a pass in advance, and that completely changed the rhythm of the day. Although it wasn’t that packed in the park, the no waiting everywhere came in handy. No “should we or shouldn’t we”, no time pressure. And at times, it felt like we had our own ERT, just spread throughout the day. Especially at Goliath, the parks Intamin mega-coaster, this turned into a ritual. Take a ride, get off, a “one more?”-nod and back to the station. At some point the operator didn’t even look surprised anymore to see us again.
We had started the day with a logical loop around the park. First Xpress: Platform 13, and right after Speed of Sound. That meant we had already ticked off a good chunk of the “Vekoma vintage” early on. And to be honest, you can tell these coasters have been around for a while. Xpress rattles in places, and Speed Of Sound had some janky transitions, especially on its return trip. And that other classic, Condor… well, I skipped it as usual. Some brave souls who did go, came back with exactly the faces you’d expect. A mix of regret, headache and the quiet conviction that they wouldn’t be doing that again anytime soon.
From there we continued our journey through the park. And what stood out was how good the atmosphere in the park was. Despite the staffing challenges Walibi Holland has been dealing with, the employees were clearly doing their best. Dispatches were quick, operators were friendly, and the overall vibe was just pleasant. The only real downside was when trying to grab a bite. Many food outlets were closed, which made the ones that were open extra crowded. For lunch we ended up at the Cock-a-Doodle-Doo for fries and chicken nuggets accompanied with some good conversations and a surprise late visit from even more ACE’ers.
We managed to do all the major rides in the morning. And with the sun out we had to do at least one water ride to take a short break from all the coastering. But as you can guess, after a pretty much dry ride on the El Rio Grande rapid river it was back to coasters again. And with so many rides and re-rides the day almost became a blur.
But one ride in the afternoon became the absolute highlight of the day. Unsurprisingly it also happened on my favorite coaster of the park: Untamed. Because our split of group had an odd number of people, the empty seat next to us was almost always filled up by someone standing in the Single Rider line. During one of the rides, a young boy sat down in the seat next to me, clearly nervous. His father was already waiting at the exit gate of the station, and gave him a thumbs up with a face that clearly said, “definitely not for me this, but you go buddy!” As the restraints locked and we started climbing the lift hill, the boy looked at me and whispered, “I’m a little nervous.” “First time on Untamed?” I asked. He nodded and continued, “It’s so high… and then going down… it’s a bit scary. Have you done this before?” I smiled. “Yeah, quite a few times. You’ll be fine. Just hold on tight, but mostly… enjoy!” And off we went.
An awesome ride later we were back on the trim brakes. “So, what did you think of it?” I asked. “Oooh, that was awesome,“ he said, with a look somewhere between pride and mild nausea. “But I do have a bit of a tickle in my stomach.” “You’ll get used to it. Because was it awesome enough to do again?” I asked. A resounding “Yes!” followed.
And that’s when you can’t help but think back to your own first coaster experiences. How you as a kid climbed into the Keverachtbaan, a Zierer Tivioli at De Valkenier, full of nerves. And how kids nowadays ride an RMC at the same age as if it’s the most normal thing in the world. So perhaps, right there, a future coaster enthusiast made his first steps.
With the park now closing we spontaneously decided not to head home right away, but to grab dinner together at Hans & Grietje in Zeewolde. A perfect spot to wind down, grab some excellent pancakes, and too look back at an awesome day. A day that was exactly the kind of outing that reinforces that well known motto once again: “Come for the coasters, stay for the friendships.” Yes, we came for the rides, for Goliath, for Lost Gravity, and for Untamed. But in the end, it was the conversations, the jokes, the spontaneous choices, the small moments, and the people, that made the day what it was. Another fantastic Springfest edition.
