Walibi Belgium is a theme park located in Wavre, near Brussels. It was once part of the Six Flags chain, and consequently it has a great range of thrilling rides as well as many family attractions.

New for 2019, Popcorn Revenge is the world's first Erratic Ride by Alterface.

We were invited for 3 days of fun and behind the scenes experiences, which started with an evening in Brussels, followed by a day dedicated to the new attraction, and then another to explore the rest of the park.

Walibi Belgium is easily accessible by car or train from Brussels city centre, and it was worth visiting for the Belgian specialities... beer and chocolate!

The following day started with a visit to the future Alterface offices for a fascinating insight into the development of their new Erratic Ride and Popcorn Revenge IP.

Walibi's latest attraction sets itself apart from all other dark rides, by offering an entirely non linear experience. There is a introductory scene and a finale section that all riders experience, but between them there are four parts that riders may or may not experience, and in a seemingly random order. 

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Walibi Belgium hosted lunch in Delhi'cious, a beautiful restaurant in the colourful new land Karma World. It offers Indian-inspired cuisine in decorative surroundings, including a large outdoor area by the park's lake.

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We then heard more from Alterface, as well as their partners Jora Vision, ETF and Barco, before experiencing the new ride.

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Popcorn Revenge is part of Karma World, which has been inspired by Bollywood, and it's located within the Grand Maharaja Theater. The queue line is really nicely done, featuring lots of 'corny' jokes. There is a pre-ride video in the lobby that sets up the backstory for the ride.

Popcorn never get to see the end of movies, as they always get eaten before they finish. They've had enough, and decide to invade the theatre and star in their own movies! As riders are equipped with topping guns, it's their job to get the situation under control.

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This is no ordinary cinema, it's the first ever drive-through, with riders boarding trackless EFT ride vehicles which travel into the central hall and then the individual screens.

The bright and vibrant screens, with projectors supplied by Barco, give the ride a premium feel and the absence of 3D means that no annoying glasses need to be worn. We found this greatly beneficial, and loved being able to take in all of the details, both screen-based and in the physical sets.

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There are pirate, sci-fi, horror and action themed films playing in the cinema and the popcorn star in them all! The creative minds of Jora Vision have designed and produced the themed environments to a superb standard.

Scoring points is easy, just take aim at the popcorn and shoot, but getting a high score requires more skill! Look out for the main characters, and any that have invaded the central hall.

Popcorn Revenge is addictive fun with action packed gameplay and such beautifully themed spaces. A fantastic creation by Alterface and Jora Vision for Walibi Belgium.

We wouldn't be surprised to see this fun family ride 'pop up' at other Walibi parks, and it could be easily updated with new scenes rather than being copied exactly.

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At the end of the ride each person's score is shown along with a photo, there is also a large shop with a great selection of new Popcorn Revenge merchandise that has been developed by the park.

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After having several rides, we were able to take a walk around the ride, getting a close up view of all the incredible details incorporated into the attraction. The team from Alterface were on hand to tell us more about how the ride works and show us the many special features.

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Later on we were taken on a guided tour of the park, and although not open to visitors, 2 more rides (Pulsar and Tiki-Waka) were opened up especially for us.

In the evening we returned to the park for an extravagant banquet inside the ride, such a special and unique occasion that continued the 'erratic' and 'popcorn' themes with each of the 5 courses served in a random order and popcorn used in each.

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On our final day, we had an opportunity to experience all of the other rides and attractions at the park. Walibi Belgium has 6 themed areas surrounding a lake plus the Aqualibi indoor waterpark which offers slides and pools in a tropical environment.

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We started off where we began on the previous day, in Karma World, which also includes the refreshed Cobra boomerang coaster and Radja River rapids ride. The coaster is very forceful and sends riders into a cobra roll and a vertical loop then again in reverse. The rapids are themed nicely and are really wild in comparison to many similar rides. Le Palais du Génie offers a typical 'madhouse' attraction experience but has some nice effects.

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Fun World includes a selection of rides for children and will soon include the Fun Pilot roller coaster. The next main area, due to become Dock World, features 3 great rides:

Pulsar - a superb PowerSplash coaster from MACK Rides, launching riders backwards and forwards along a U-shaped track above the lake until a dramatic ending which drenches almost everyone with a huge wave of water.

Psyké Underground - an enclosed launch shuttle coaster that includes a vertical loop in the dark. The first launch features sound and light effects that do a great job of enhancing the thrill factor.

Flash Back - a log flume with forward and backward sections, a reverse drop in the dark and a double dip main drop that picks up a lot of speed.

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Exotic World opened in 2018 with the exciting new Tiki-Waka family coaster and also includes the excellent Challenge of Tutankhamon interactive dark ride. The quality of the theming in this area of the park is of a very high standard, and both main rides are really well done. 

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The very enjoyable Calamity Mine is a 'runaway train' family coaster that is the highlight of a Wild West themed area which also includes the 77 m (252 ft) tall Dalton Terror tower drop ride and the Buzzsaw thrill ride.

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The area near to the entrance is due to be transformed in 2021. The park's 4D Cinema shows the family film Tempo Attack starring the Walibi Adventure Band in a musical adventure. Loup Garou (Werewolf) is an extremely violent wooden coaster, but thankfully it has very well padded seats to remove some of the impact, and the ride is certainly exciting! Next door, the similarly rough inverted coaster Vampire starts with a roll over before heading into a sidewinder and a double in-line twist.

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There are a variety of decent food and drink outlets around the park, but for the best range and quality we suggest the new Delhi'cious restaurant in Karma World or the Country Cantina in the Wild West area. 

We were provided with accommodation at the nearby Novotel Wavre (Brussels East) hotel, which has recently undergone an extensive refurbishment. We were impressed with the stylish guest areas, standard of the rooms and the excellent breakfast options. The hotel is a 15 minute walk from the park. Book the Novotel Wavre here.

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