Walibi Belgium

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Walibi Belgium

Previously known as Walibi (1975-1981) Walibi Wavre (1982-2000) Six Flags Belgium (2001-2004)
Location	Wavre, Walloon Brabant, Belgium
Coordinates	50°41′55″N 4°35′26″E / 50.69861°N 4.59056°E / 50.69861; 4.59056
Opened	26 July 1975
Owner	Compagnie des Alpes
Attractions
Total	±50
Roller coasters	9
Water rides	3
Website	http://www.walibi.com/belgium/be-en

Walibi Belgium is a 64-hectare (158.15 acres) theme park located in Wavre, Walloon Brabant, Wallonia, Belgium, close to the city of Brussels.^[1] It is one of the largest theme parks in Belgium; roughly 1.45 million visitors attended in 2018 (including to the adjacent waterpark Aqualibi).^[2] The park was originally called simply Walibi, followed by Walibi Wavre, before Six Flags took over and renamed the park Six Flags Belgium. The park’s current name was affixed in 2004.^[3] Between 1998 and 2004, Walibi was managed by Six Flags (and featured Warner Bros. media and intellectual property/IP),^[4][5] until Six Flags ultimately sold the park to Palamon Capital Partners [it], which operated the park under their StarParks Group [de; nl] division.^[6] Just two years later, in 2006, Palamon sold the park to Compagnie des Alpes, which has owned Walibi ever since.^[7] Walibi Belgium was the first park in the company’s chain of theme parks, and features “Walibi”, an anthropomorphic “wallaby” character as its mascot. Walibi can be seen in various advertisements and media, as well as a costume character greeting park guests and their kids. The original word “Walibi” is an abbreviated play-on-words, a ”mash-up” of the three local district names within the province of Walloon Brabant, where the park is located—Wavre, Limal and Bierges—with the acronym coming from Wavre, Limal and Bierges.^[8]

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The park was founded in 1975 by Belgian Eddy Meeùs under the banner "Walibi," using the local towns Wavre, Limal, and Bierges as a naming device, and adopting the wallaby, a macropod cousin of the kangaroo, as its mascot.^[8] In its early years, the park featured a water-skiing area, which lasted until 1994.^[8] In 1987, a waterpark, Aqualibi, opened next door.^[9] The park had some Tintin-related themes and rides from 1975 to 1995, when it lost the rights to the franchise;^[10] two examples include The secret of the Unicorn  [fr; nl] and Tintin in the jungle  [nl].

In 1998, the park was bought by Premier Parks (later became Six Flags in 2000), and the name was changed from Walibi Wavre to Six Flags Belgium in 2001.^[4]

In 2004, Six Flags sold its European division to Palamon Capital Partners [it], a London-based investment company.

On 7 November 2004 Six Flags Belgium officially ceased to exist. Any references to Looney Tunes and DC Comics characters had to be removed before the beginning of the 2005 season. The park reopened its gates on 26 March 2005, bearing the "Walibi Belgium" name.

In 2006, the park was taken over by CDA Parks, a French leisure group. In 2017, the park announced a 100 million euro make-over, featuring a re-theme of 75% of the park and adding several new rides. One of them being an Intamin megacoaster.

From 2012 to 2014, the Aqualibi waterpark underwent a major refurbishment, costing €11 million (US$16 million).^[11]

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During 5 Saturdays in a row in July and August, Walibi Belgium has their late night openings. During those nights, the park remains open until 11:00 p.m. and offers additional entertainment. Each night ends with a firework show around the lake, sometimes with a themed show.

One of the events the park is known for is Halloween, traditionally during the last weekends of October and autumn holiday in Belgium. During Halloween, Walibi Belgium transforms into hell on earth with scary entertainment and other festivities. The park started celebrating Halloween in 2000 on a small scale, leading it to be one of the biggest Halloween events in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Since 2008, Walibi Belgium introduced a storyline around the event which is still running in 2013. Every year, the story has an open ending, making visitors curious for the following year. This happens during a finale show, including special effects, music and actors. The park also creates scare-zones, zones in the park that get a Halloween theme. The park is also known for their number of haunted houses during Halloween. For 2012 and 2013, guests were welcomed in 6 different haunted houses spread over the park. The haunted houses the park offers are nowadays known for their often strange locations and aggressive and violent actors.

For 4 to 5 days, the park also has Halloween nights, with the park staying open until 9 p.m. nightly.

• Bellewaerde
• Walibi Holland
• Walibi Rhône-Alpes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Walibi Belgium.

• Walibi Belgium website