As everywhere else around Europe and the US, there are different activities, festivals and events you could join.

If you haven’t yet made any plans, Walabi — an amusement park — has organized one of the biggest Halloween events in Belgium.

Hallowen Walabi consists of 8 haunted houses, 7 scare zones, 4 shows and 8 nocturnes.

Check them out for yourself. Do they seem spooky enough?

8 haunted houses

• Black rose
• Bloc H
• Mine Blast
• Lumberjack
• Quarantine
• Panic Hourse 4D
• Blood Bar
• Mini Monster Maze

7 scare zones

Each scare zone is decorated around a specific-scary theme. Be aware of tombstones and graves, skeletons, witches, zombies and contamination. Do you think you can escape and make it out on time?

• Gaz Town
• District H
• The Circus
• Metamorphobia
• Quarantine Zone
• Cemetery
• Phantom Land

ENJOY THE DAY… (Between 10am and 6pm) and … FEAR THE NIGHT (From 6pm) by purchasing tickets here.

But keep in mind that the Halloween Nocturnes are not recommended for sensitive souls!

Halloween for children

If you thought about visiting the park with your whole family, there is no need to worry as families with small children can also enjoy the events until 5pm without getting too frightened. The youngest can face hidden dangers and small fears in specially created zones.

What’s more is that children can also obtain an Anti-Monster Badge. If you show this badge to the monsters in the park, you’ll be amazed by its power to scare them away. How awesome is that?

Check out all the other possibilities and plan your day/night. Halloween Walibi theme is ongoing until 4 November.

The post The biggest Halloween event in Belgium appeared first on Brussels Express.

Both Aqualibi, the indoor swimming/leisure complex, and the adjacent Walibi, one of the best-visited theme parks in Belgium, have undergone a major, multi-million-euro refurbishment.They have now reopened to the public just in time for the upcoming busy summer season. The aim, says a spokesman, is to create “more fantastic moments for the public” and to “continue to be at the summit of theme parks.”

As both Walibi and Aqualibi are two of the most popular visitor attractions in Wallonia, the move will give a much-needed boost to tourism in the region.

The transformation is a new chapter in the history of Walibi, which first opened way back in 1975 and is one of the country’s oldest theme parks. Currently, about 110 people are employed fulltime on site, rising to 1,000 during the peak season. It all amounts to an investment, so far, of some €12 million with a total of €100 million foreseen in the overall investment plan for the next five years.

The spokesman said they were enlarging the park by 4.5 hectares and will be creating eight new themed zones with individual landscaping, four new restaurants offering different culinary experiences, and 10 new rides.

In addition to Aqualibi being given a Caribbean-style theme and brand new 700 square metre zone for children who cannot yet swim, Walibi has opened its first “Exotic World.” The water park Aqualibi has been completely remodelled in what is called a “Caribbean style”, along with the new “Kiddie Bay,” a first for Aqualibi. Kiddie Bay is a zone for kids who cannot swim with 36 water animations, 70 water sources and 5 slides.

Walibi, meanwhile, now boasts “Exotic World”, another first for the theme park, which was inspired by an exotic tiki theme with exotic decorations. At the heart of the new zone is “Tiki-Waka”, a family fun-coaster for children from 1 metre in height. Tiki-Waka is 21m high, 564 metre long and is the longest and tallest attraction of this style (Bobsled Coaster) ever built. Manufactured by German attraction builder Gerstlauer, Tiki-Waka, reaches a speed of up to 55 km/hour. The aim is to give children who are more than 1 metre high their first roller coaster experience.There is also Tiki-Trail, an adventure trail over the fun-coaster. A total of €7.8 million has been invested in Exotic World.

Commenting on the new attractions, Jean-Christophe Parent, Managing Director of Walibi and Aqualibi, told Brussels Express « We are very pleased to present the first important phase of our investment plan.”

Parent added that “this very important” re-development and investment will give both regular and new visitors to Walibi and Aqualibi “even more reason” to visit both parks in the future.

Expansion of the site has been based on customer satisfaction surveys completed by visitors and studies into future sociological and technological trends and visitors, Parent says, will be “more immersed” in the park than in the past. The aim is to increase daily visitors but the maximum figure is 20,000 with Parent saying, “It’s important that people feel comfortable here.”

The park was founded in 1975 by Eddy Meeùs under the banner « Walibi Wavre ». In its early years, it was known as a water-skiing area. About a decade after, in 1987, a waterpark, Aqualibi, opened next door. In 2006, the park was taken over by CDA Parks, a French leisure group.

The post Wallonian tourism is set for a big boost with the reopening of Walibi and Aqualibi appeared first on Brussels Express.

A long-time pioneer in the amusement park sector, Walibi has been delighting families for decades after opening some 42 years ago. Conveniently located near the motorway network, it attracts around 1.3 million visitors a year.

But the coming years will see a massive transformation both at Walibi and also Aqualibi, the adjacent leisure/aquatic complex, both situated near Wavre in Brabant Wallon.

With an investment of €100 million, the entire park will get a major makeover (partly shown in the artists’ impression above), with several new attractions coming on stream every year, including what is promised to be the biggest and fastest rollercoaster in the Benelux.

From this year until 2023, the park will add new attractions annually.

By the time the ambitious project is finished, 75% of Walibi’s park will have been transformed. « The metamorphosis will be historic, » according to Jean-Christophe Parent, its Managing Director.

One of the planned new features is a rollercoaster, so big it will be visible from the motorway. The transformation of the whole site is said to be “unequalled” in Belgium with the goal being to “reconfigure the site, transform it and make it the reference of Belgian amusement parks targeting all ages.”

As well as new attractions each year there will be a new theme for each area of the park. It all starts this year with the installation of a new family coaster, located near the “Challenge of Tutankhamon” plus the creation of an exotic theme and adventure trail.

Three other zones will be given a “thematic renewal” and there will also be an indoor interactive family attraction, a coaster reserved for children and a large “conceptual” restaurant.

There are expected to be ten rollercoasters at the park, a record in Benelux.A new family attraction, slides and the renewal of the area near the “Flash Back” attraction will complete the overall investment plans.

Meanwhile, similar ambitious plans are foreseen for Aqualibi which is also set to “write a new page in its history” with the creation of a 700-square metre aquatic playground for young ones. This will be especially aimed at children who do not know how to swim. This expansion will allow Aqualibi to reach an area of 7,000 square meters.

The works in Aqualibi are already well advanced and, along with Walibi  it will be closed until the Easter holidays.

Commenting on all the changes, Jean-Christophe Parent said, « This ambitious development plan will enable us to further establish our position as the largest and most exciting amusement park in Belgium for visitors of all ages. Walibi has always played a pioneering role in offering his audience new unique sensations.” 

He added, “We are confident that in the future, families and young people looking for an exciting day will be fulfilled.  » 

Good to know:

There are three Walibi parks: Walibi Belgium, Walibi Rhône-Alpes (France) and Walibi Holland (Netherlands). The three Walibi parks have been part of the Compagnie des Alpes Group since 2006.

The post Top Belgian attraction Walibi set for multi-million-euro facelift appeared first on Brussels Express.