Walygator Grand Est celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, so we went to experience everything that the park has to offer.

The most well-known attractions at the park (which opened in 1989 as Big Bang Schtroumpf) are the two big roller coasters, The Monster and Anaconda, but there are more than 40 rides and attractions in total.

Currently part way through a 5-year plan to re-theme the park, newer themed areas include Le Village des Explorateurs and Far West.

Walygator Grand Est is a 42-hectare theme park located in Maizières-les-Metz, part of the Lorraine region in France. It's just 20 minutes from Metz and 1 hour from Nancy, and has its own SNCF station on the Metz - Luxembourg train line.

Le Village des Explorateurs

Following a €1.2 million investment in 2023, the entrance area is now a bright and colourful collection of themed buildings leading down to 'chair-o-planes' ride Mistral and the edge of the park's lake.

The main portal resembles a train station, leading you into a highly decorative bazaar with various shops to pick up supplies, places to eat and drink, and even a museum about the history of the park.

Later in the day, we returned to this area for lunch at Le Club des Explorateurs.

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Waly Boat Tour & Co offers a relaxing cruise on Lake Superior, where you discover park mascot Waly in a variety of locations.

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The Monster

The Monster opened in 2010 and is still one of the tallest, fastest and longest inverted roller coasters in Europe. It includes almost 4000 ft of track length, a height of 131 ft, a top speed of 90 km/h and 6 inversions.

The ride features a 100 ft tall loop, a zero-G roll, a cobra roll and two corkscrews. Each of these elements come together to create an intense experience, especially in the back row. The Monster is actually a clone of Raptor at Cedar Point in the US, but without the midcourse break run.

It's a shame that the ride is completely un-themed, positioned in a field at the back of the park, because it has the potential to offer an even better experience to guests.

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Anaconda

With a height of 118 ft and a top speed of 90 km/h, Anaconda is the tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster in France. It also has almost 4000 ft of track length, and delivers a surprisingly smooth ride for a wooden roller coaster of its age. 

Anaconda was manufactured by the now defunct American roller coaster builder Morgan, and the ride formed part of the park's original line-up of attractions in 1989.

A nicely themed queue, station and trains complete the overall experience.

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Highlights outside the two big roller coasters are the newer themed areas Le Village des Explorateurs and Far West, as well as Space World and Dino World.

There is still significant work to do with the ongoing re-theming and rejuvenation of the park, which will require additional investment, but the first stages have already started to breathe new life into the park.

Far West 

This area of the park was re-themed and extended in 2022, at a total cost of around €600,000, and it now features a great selection of rides and attractions for younger guests.

Little ones can saddle up on Thunder Horses, ride mini drop tower Sheriff Shooter, join a 4×4 convoy on Rocky Rangers, take flight on the USA Balloons, splash down on the mini log flume Old River, and take a spin on The Golden Nugget ride. Further attractions for children include the Steam Machine 'Crazy Bus' ride, the Far West Tour monorail and Canyon City Express mini train ride. Sheriff Academy is a fun interactive theatre attraction, but it's in need of modernisation.

Far West a very nicely themed area of the park, and should be the standard by which the remainder of the park is presented by the time the renovation programme is complete.

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Space World

The rides in this space-themed area include Space Shot, which propels riders 180 ft into the air in just 2.5 seconds, thrilling 'Air Race' attraction G-Lock and classic looping coaster Comet. 

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Dino World

We enjoyed braving the wild waters of Dino Raft, a brilliant 'river rapids' attraction that's set in an attractive, lush landscape. Opposite this, family 'Magic Bikes' attraction Dino Bike. Curiously, there's another dinosaur themed attraction on the opposite side of the park, Walynosaure, that would fit nicely within this themed area.

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There are a variety of other rides and attractions scattered around the park, some are themed but do not sit within specific themed areas, including several pirate and fairytale style attractions that could be grouped into new themed lands. For the bravest adventurers, the mysterious Terror House is an immersive 'haunted house' walkthrough attraction.

A brand new pirate show will be launched from June until September in 2024. It will take place in the park's amphitheatre, which has been unoccupied for almost 10 years.

Grizzly Falls and Le Marais aux Alligators are both currently under refurbishment and will return later this year.

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Overall, we had a really fun day out at the park, especially so due to the very friendly staff. With the park celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, some theming improvements, and visitor numbers recently reaching their highest level in more than a decade, the future looks bright.

We were guests of Walygator Grand Est for the purpose of this review.

Find out more and book your tickets at walygatorparc.com/grandest/