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Timber’s first drop as seen from beneath the train Image courtesy Marcus Gaines
Y
es, it really is that long since the park in Les Aveniéres, about an hour from Lyon, last opened a brand new coaster, in the shape of Zig Zag, a Zamperla wild
mouse that gets a fresh lease of life as Woodstock Express in Explorer Adventure, the new themed zone that sits a short walk towards the left of Walibi Rhône-Alpes' main entrance. That particular ride was added (in 2002) under the park's relatively short-lived reign as a Six Flags property, since which it has had two new owners, starting with Star Parks – which brought back the Walibi name in 2004 – and then France's own Compagnie des Alpes (CdA), which has been at the helm for the last decade. In 2011 CdA embarked on a rebranding exercise across
the Walibi portfolio (which also includes Walibi Sud-Ouest in the south of France, operated these days under a licence agreement by Aspro), retaining the wallaby mascot, but reinventing him as a pop star accompanied by an equally “streetwise” gang of bandmates. A handful of coasters at each park were refurbished and rethemed in the meantime, but no new rides were purchased. “The priority for the last five years was to create a new
atmosphere in the park based on the music theme,” explains Thomas Mondon, responsible for Walibi Rhône-Alpes' marketing and sales. During this period, new live entertainment was added (including a high dive show and street performers), rides were rethemed (such as the Boomerang coaster EqWalizer) and others reintroduced (the flume ride Bambooz River). “Now, our ambition is to work on new content, delivering each year a new attraction with an immersive environment,” adds Mondon.
Eight-year plan Compagnie des Alpes has committed a total of €24 million over the next eight years to this, the smallest of its French parks (behind Parc Astérix and Futuroscope), and indeed the smallest of its remaining Walibi properties in Europe. The goal is to raise attendance from 400,000 last season (the park's best performance in 10 years) to 600,000 in 2024.
This year's improvements represent a €6 million investment,
around €4 million of it on the Gravity Group designed wooden coaster, the rest on a second attraction from Zamperla, as well as new food outlet and theming/design work. The result is impressive, creating a genuinely immersive environment for families. If this is a sign of the quality to come over the coming years, then Walibi guests are in for a treat. Visible, including the first drop, from the car park, Timber! Is
not the world's tallest wooden coaster, but it is a lot of fun, featuring 11 moments of airtime, a nice theme and also a little interaction with the aforementioned wild mouse. “We decided to call the ride Timber! because that is what
lumberjacks shout to warn others when a tree is about to fall,” confirms Fabien Manuel, concept designer at Walibi Studio/CdA. “Because the first drop is from 17m [56ft], we think people will have trouble not screaming during the descent.” Passengers are encouraged to shout “Timber!” as they
begin the 56.5° fall, and several were obliging during Park World's summer visit.
Trees to please Forests and wooden coasters are of course a natural fit. Elsewhere in Europe, the Swedish park Kolmården has embraced a similar theme this season with its outrageous new Wildfire ride, while in Cincinnati, Ohio, Kings Island is gearing up for the debut next season of Wild Timbers, another woodie that celebrates the source of its key construction material. Although Walibi Rhône-Alpes is surrounded by a lot of
greenery, it would appear the lumberjacks have been busy as there are few trees immediately in the path of Timber! Nevertheless, Gravity Group engineer and partner Korey Kiepert says he is impressed with the scenery curated by the design team at Walibi Studio/CdA: “Timber! has more theming than any other wooden coaster that I’ve worked on,” he says. “It has an elaborate entrance, multiple scenes from the logging camp and a great soundtrack. Fabien Emmanuel and Julien Simon at Compagnie des Alpes added some fun details.”
“
Walibi Rhône-
Alpes is a leisure park but since opening Timber! and Explorer Adventure we want to go more in the direction of a theme park. We are now working on new themes for different areas
Thomas Mondon Caption
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