What does Bart say? – A Theme Park blog!

It seems to be becoming a trend for theme parks, opening during the winter season. Parks that chose to keep their doors closed after Halloween until a few years ago until spring are increasingly choosing to open their doors during the winter season. Walibi Holland also chose to do this a few years ago. After the atmospheric images of the first 2 editions, I chose to visit Walibi’s winter event this year. Are the Bright Nights worth visiting? You can read about it in.. What does Bart say about.. Bright Nights at Walibi Holland 🕯️

The days before we went to Walibi, complaints rained on Walibi Holland’s social media about attractions not being operational a part of the day, or not operating at all. This was due to weather conditions, and could not be changed by the park itself. The park does their best to get all attractions operational, but unfortunately they do not always succeed. That attractions do not open or open later is clearly stated on their website, but with that in mind, we left for Biddinghuizen with mixed feelings. During the journey to Biddinghuizen, I regularly reloaded the Walibi app to see if the attractions were open, and if they were not, we had to try to make the best of it. Luckily for us, Walibi Holland managed to open all(!) attractions, including the water rides.

Upon entering the park, you were immediately transported into the winter atmosphere. Not only by the music, but also by the decor (think snowy Christmas trees, and lights). And before you knew it, you found yourself in a local snow shower. It was already easy to see that Walibi had gone all out with the Bright Nights. The Main Street and Hall of Fame were lavishly decorated. If you have read my previous blog about the Winter Efteling, you know that I can really enjoy a winter event, especially if it is in an amusement park. After seeing this part of the park, my expectations were high for the rest of the park. 

In terms of entertainment, Walibi pulled out all the stops during Bright Nights. Besides the Walibi Coolest-Friends show on the main stage (I will come back to this later in the blog), you can find various entertainment activities in the themed areas, from Santa’s helpers to musical entertainment. And before you know it, you run into Father Christmas himself. That’s how we (unknowingly) bumped into Santa on our way to the next attraction. A limbo act was spontaneously put on and I struggled to get under it (but I managed to do it!). Not knowing that this was Santa and his helpers, we walked on without taking a photo, too bad! Fortunately, this was later rectified after seeing the Walibi Coolest-Friends show. During this 15-minute show, you see Walibi getting ready for the Christmas party, but the ice queen tries to put a stop to this. She thinks Santa has had enough attention in recent years and thinks it is now her turn. She devises a plan to kidnap Father Christmas in order to draw attention to herself during Christmas… whether it goes well? I won’t tell you, you’ll have to find out for yourself when you visit Bright Nights! 

After the show, there will be an opportunity to take a photo with Walibi, Santa and the ice queen. And say it yourself… who doesn’t want a picture with Walibi in a Christmas jumper!

During the day, there are several activities to do in the park, including laser gaming in the renovated Yummy Tummy restaurant, and on the stage opposite Lost Gravity it is possible to take part in decorating a Christmas tree. Times may vary from day to day, check the Walibi app or map to see what time of day it takes place. 

As soon as the sun went down, it was time for what we had come for: the Bright Nights, rides and lights. The trails are already lit up during the day, but after 16:30, the lights on the attractions come on, creating an even better atmosphere in the park. Keep in mind that some attractions will remain closed after sunset, at the entrance of each attraction it is mentioned until what time it is open. The various roller coasters and attractions got their own light show, and the illuminated themed areas looked a lot better in the dark. Call me crazy, but with Mariah Carey in the background and a cool light show, you can’t skip the Condor. It is not a popular rollercoaster among theme park fans, but this is an experience not to be missed. 

There are also several buttons in each themed area that allow you to activate additional light effects (these can be activated during the day too!), not only the lights but also the entertainment responds to them. One small point of criticism, some paths are very dark and are only illuminated when a light effect is activated. While the park already had entertainment in several places during the day, it seems to have turned out even more during the evening hours. Entertainment can be found in various places that was not yet on show during the day, from actors to luminous creatures. 

Are the Bright Nights at Walibi Holland worth visiting? When most attractions are open, I definitely recommend visiting the Bright Nights. The entertainment is good, and the night rides are well worth it (especially the one on UNTAMED, pitch black!). The park is open from 12:00 to 20:00, but if you arrive around 14:00 you still have plenty of time to visit the park and see the entertainment. Should the attractions not be open due to weather conditions, visiting the Bright Nights is not worth it (yet). As Walibi has mainly outdoor attractions, besides the extra entertainment and the single indoor attraction, there is not much to do when most of the attractions are closed.

At the end of the day, you can watch a fireworks show at the mainstage. We chose not to watch this one due to the travel time we had. But knowing Walibi, im pretty sure they created a fantastic show. Walibi Holland has put on a great winter event with the Bright Nights and they should be proud of that!

Thanks for reading and until the next one!

Bart