Halo, Beer Hier
Halo, introducing the Finger Marie’s – Scott, Paul, Scott, Robert, Ben, Robert and Darryl… that didn’t get confusing at all and from reading that last sentence, two Scott’s and two Robert’s were not what you found yourself wondering.
Each group creates their own name, this is always random from past tours including the Log Flume Appreciation, Pesky Roundabouts or even Meat Processing Coaster. Finger Marie was the driving talk from the back seat… does anyone know what they call rich tea biscuits in Sweden? This is the level of humour which accompanied this tour throughout the week.
Every tour is very different from the previous and this was no exception. With an event going on in Dusseldorf, the order of parks were drastically changed to accommodate this which is why we started off in the Netherlands before heading into Germany.
When visiting a park for the first time, that impression can be greatly influenced on if the park was having a good day or a bad day. This tour featured many coasters in maintenance, all of which began with the letter B - Baron 1898, Black Mamba and Booster Bikes. Unfortunately Bandit at Movie Park Germany was not included and I am just happy it was a ride to happiness and not a bike!
Starting the trip as usual with Walibi Belgium, this park featured a lot of downtime, however we did complete all the credits except fun pilot. The park also shut the queues early again, something that has not impressed two groups in a row now. The day was busier than I have seen in a while and this always seems to be the case with each group. Some parks you will get a win whereas other parks may be slower. This example was clear the following day when visiting Walibi Holland for what was the quietest I have seen the park from the 6 completed tours so far. With untamed at one point getting to a maximum of 10 minutes, it would be rude not to re-ride.
Walibi Holland provides such a fun atmosphere that the group needed and the jokes became constant for another awesome day. Everyone connected with one another and the park being open until 8pm also helped as they celebrated a gaming event where locals could play against their favourite Dutch YouTube stars. We didn’t challenge on the video games, but the group did take on the American Bar located at the front of the park. It was here when a complaint was made against our group for smoking weed, very strange and as a group of non-smokers just enjoying themselves, it was obvious we were just having fun.
Day 3 saw a more relaxed adventure as we explored Efteling. With Baron 1898 currently under maintenance, we headed straight to George and the Dragon. It was here as the gates open and the queues rush in, that it was obviously going to be a very different day as the team runs straight to the Holle Bolle Gijs, or better known as the paper gobblers. These are bins with huge mouths that shout “Halo, Papier Hier”. Efteling has a lot of things that are very difficult to explain so Click Here for the attraction description.
Halfway through the day and we must have been on at least 4 bins by this point, it was clear the group has misheard the bins and are now shouting “Halo, Beer Hier” which became the tour saying. Whenever the group split up, everyone was always greeted with the “Halo, Beer Hier” saying and no one said “Cheese” when taking photos for the rest of the week.
As we continue the walk through the fairy tale forest in the afternoon, one of the main attractions which is always good fun is the Donkey that Poops Gold Coins! Exactly, you just have to visit Efteling and experience this for yourself.
2 Bins in the fairy tale forest later, rides on Max & Moritz and Fata Morgana, a re-ride on Flying Dutchman and back to the hotel with a new saying… Halo, Beer Hier! This was a very random day at Efteling.
Toverland game plan always starts with a ride on the Booster Bikes which unfortunately was getting some maintenance from Vekoma on our visit. With a lot of re-rides on Fenix and Troy, Which is the Toverland way, this was not the big coaster to miss and so we continued to have an awesome day.
Maximus Blitz Bahn as always was the most competitive ride of the trip as the times are recorded and we have a Coaster Breaks Leader Board. Benjamin has just taken the top spot from Fabio as the new leader, but we still have 7 tours remaining for 2022. Can Benjamin hold on? View the full leader board here.
The perfect explanation for how great the staff are at Toverland was on our return to the station on Djengu River, the parks rapids ride. The staff member blocks our exit by standing in the way of the raft and tells us “you’re too dry, you need to go around again!” and so we did. A brilliant atmosphere as always and such great fun at this awesome Dutch theme park.
As the evening comes closer, re-rides on Fenix saw the B&M wing coaster claim the phone of Robert M. Scott and other Rob in the row behind saw this small rectangle black item floating through the air and there was no way we could find where this has gone, but this is another reminder to secure loose articles for everyone. Robert’s find my phone has given me a location for a game of real life where’s Wally on my next visit but this now belongs to the Fenix!
The most anticipated day of the week has been put towards the end as we finally head over to Phantasialand. Today was hot, it was a hot week but at 30 degrees the heat was powerful blaring down on us.
Straight to F.L.Y for gates opening and in the queue the app has informed us that Black Mamba would be down all day. This is due to building a new jungle gym attraction and walkthroughs around the B&M inverted coaster while also increasing the scenery around the already well themed coaster. Although this was very disappointing, this was not the end of the world and the park offers some of the best attractions in each of their categories.
With the heat, Chiapas and River Quest were real highlights, this being the only group I have seen to opt for a re-ride on River Quest over F.L.Y and the Intamin Rapids already being the highest queue of the day.
Queues were pretty good, however with no Black Mamba or Talocan, this was likely having a knock on effect with F.L.Y which remained above the 30 minute mark all day. I just wish the construction is finished soon as this will make it slightly easier to get around the park and especially, to consistently ride one of the best inverts in the world.
A shortened day at Movie Park Germany due to the enhanced thunder, lightning and rain cutting the rides short was not an issue as we smashed through the quiet park in the morning. We did however miss a couple credits in the afternoon with Jimmy Neutron and Sponge Bob being sacrificed, but a re-ride on the indoor coaster Van Helsing made up for this. The morning and evening drives were filled with the Spice Girls on repeat which kept everyone in high spirits and my Spotify account wondering just what is going on.
In the evening, we opted to eat at the hotel for a nice final meal of the trip. Throughout the morning, I was trying to convince the group to ignore shopping until the afternoon as occasionally they diverted into the shops and I was trying to be good tour guide by rushing people along so we can beat the weather. Lunch took a few people a long time to get served but it wasn’t until the evening when the groups’ well-orchestrated plan came out. A couple distracted me while the others went and got a personalised gift that they presented at dinner. This was such a lovely gesture that I felt very emotional as it was a great week with awesome people and so a huge thank you again to Robert, Robert, Scott, Scott, Paul, Darryl and Ben.
The final day, welcome to Plopsaland de Panne. The main attraction of course being the Ride to Happiness which was on a delayed start and we knew we had the weather to beat again. Hitting up Heide, K3 and two rides on Anubis while watching for the Mack Extreme Spinner to start, to the Disk-o for a quick ride and there it goes, it’s Ride to Happiness time. 3 rides later and we could relax.
The rain was quite strong as it came in at the end of this session and the afternoon experienced a very painful ride on Anubis. A few members of the group got shelter and warmth while Rob and Scott hit up over 12 more times on The Ride to Happiness. Other members got another 3 more rides on this coaster including myself which became my 50th lap on what has to be one of the best coasters in Europe.
The saddest part of the trip was next as we head back to the Eurotunnel and into England for a big hug with everyone in the group before saying goodbye. Of course we returned into England with the Spice Girls blaring out loud from the speakers for one final dance routine and singalong in the back seats.
This was another great week with awesome people and I can’t wait to go again this Saturday. We still have places remaining on Tuesday 12 July and Thursday 18 August. Book now by clicking the button below, you will not regret it.
