Robin Hood
Specific Type: Wooden
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The entry into the 21st century proved very eventful for the park now known as Walibi Holland. Premier Parks, Inc. purchased all the Walibi Parks, including Holland, in 1998, subsequently renaming the park, then-called Walibi Flevo, Six Flags Holland in 2000. Along with this rebranding, Six Flags introduced thirty new attractions as a part of their European expansion, performing a similar expansion at its sister park, then-called Six Flags Belgium. The vast collection of new attractions added to the park included four new roller coasters, three of them from the Holland-based manufacturer Vekoma. In addition to a standard Boomerang and LSM launched coaster, Six Flags Holland added a wooden roller coaster from Vekoma known as Robin Hood.
Nestled in the back of the park’s Sherwood Forest themed area, Robin Hood is a Vekoma wooden coaster, one of three ever built. Named after the notorious English bandit, Robin Hood takes riders away from the bustle of the park, riding along the edge of the woods as if they were Robin Hood racing through Sherwood Forest. The ride was designed by the now-defunct Stand Company, who operated out of Cincinnati, Ohio. Oncoming riders board the medieval-themed train, then leave the station built as if it were a castle. The train gains some speed as it takes a left u-turn into the lift hill, slowly pulling riders to the top of the 105-foot hill. Riders slowly begin to crest the top of the hill, and soon enough, they find themselves plummeting towards the ground, reaching speeds of nearly 50 miles-per-hour. The train swoops upwards and to the left, before dropping riders to the ground again. After traversing a small bunny hop, the train flies up again and turns left once more before barreling towards the water. The train swings right as it goes up another hill before swinging riders into the sides of their seats with another sharp left turnaround. Beginning their return journey, riders fly through not one, but two bunny hops, seemingly small in comparison to the large hills they sit beside. The train flies up and takes a sharp right turn, hugging the support structure of one of the ride’s large turns, before sharply dropping into the on-ride photo camera before leaping over two more bunny hops. Riders are soon racing through the support structure of the ride, taking a relatively unbanked turn, throwing riders to the left of their cars. The train swings upwards and to the right before hitting the brake run, relieving the intense lateral forces of Robin Hood. Riders soon unload, excited and exhilarated by the wooden coaster, and possibly even prepare to face the challenge of Robin Hood once more. |
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