The Walibi amusement park in Belgium opened its doors in July 1987 and was the creation of Eddy Meeus. Since then the amusement park has passed through a number of owners, including the American company Six Flags and a London investment company. The current owner of the amusement park is the French company CDA Parks.
The amusement park took its name from three nearby towns - Wavre, Limal and Bierge. [You don't need me to explain any further!] There are three other
amusement parks carrying the same brand name, in Aquitaine, in Holland and in the Rhone-Alps area.
The fifty rides, which include seven roller coasters and two water rides, are of the most exciting kind and include differing experiences. Like other
amusement parks, visitors are given the opportunity to be dropped from a great height, to be swung around, to be carried upside down and to be
propelled up and down slopes all at a thrillingly fast speed.
The Walibi Belgium amusement park caters for all age groups, with thrilling rides for the older element which offer terrifying yet safe experiences.
Among these is the only wooden roller coaster in Belgium. There is also the Dalton Terror which hoists passengers up to a height of 77 metres and drops
them down again at a speed of 110km/h. In addition there are three water rides. The amusement park has an area for younger visitors with 15
attractions especially designed for them, including roller coasters on a smaller scale. There is free entrance to the amusement park for those under
three.
As in other amusement parks, attention has been paid to making visits as simple as possible to arrange. There is a partnership with three nearby hotels and a website available with three different languages - English, Dutch and French. In the amusement park there is the usual wide variety of food available, with four restaurants, eight fast food outlets and two offering a choice of sweet foods such as waffles. There are five shops which cater for the variety of visitors to the amusement park who wish to take away a memento of their time there.
There are characters to be met too - the lead one being Walibi the Kangaroo, a rather fun take on the amusement park's name. Closed through the winter,
the amusement park continues to be a major attraction at other times for locals and for tourists to Belgium.
Near to the amusement park, with its own website and with a separate entrance fee, is the water park Aqualibi.
See also:
Tivoli Gardens Amusement Park : a Potted History
Amusement Parks: Disneyland - a Potted History
Amusement parks: Walt Disney World - a Potted History
Amusement Parks: Six Flags- a Potted History
Cedar Point Amusement Park: a Potted History
Amusement Parks: Tokyo Disney Resort - a Potted History
Amusement Parks: Hong Kong Disney Resort - a Potted History
Amusement Parks: A Good Year at Compagnie des Alpes
Philippe Segretain is named Chairman of the Compagnie des Alpes Supervisory Board
Dominique Marcel to become Chairman of the Management Board of Compagnie des Alpes on October 1, 2008
Compagnie des Alpes First half of FY 2007-2008 results