Walibi Rhône-Alpes is a French

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

located in the commune of

Les Avenières Les Avenières () is a former commune in the Isère department in the Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Les Avenières-Veyrins-Thuellin. Geography Les Avenières lies on the lef ...

, in the Isère department. It is the largest theme park of the

Rhône-Alpes Rhône-Alpes () was an administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the river Rhône a ...

region. The park contains more than 33 rides and it covers an area of 35 hectares. Origin of the first Walibi park, the park was created in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

by Eddy Meeùs, a Belgian businessman. The name " Walibi" comes from the three municipalities in which the Walibi Belgium park is located:

Wavre Wavre (; nl, Waver, ; wa, Wåve) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, capital of the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium. Wavre is in the Dyle valley. Most inhabitants speak French as their mother tongue and are called "Wavriens" and " ...

, Limal and Bierges. The park had an income of 8.8 million euros in 2005, and it greets over 400,000 visitors yearly. Walibi Rhône-Alpes also contains a 13,000 m²

waterpark A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other bar ...

called L'Île aux Pirates (previously Aqualibi). As of 2006, the park is owned and operated by Compagnie des Alpes, which also owns many theme parks and ski resorts across Europe.

History

The park opened in 1979 under the name Avenir Land. The Walibi group would acquire the park in 1989, renaming it Walibi Rhône-Alpes. In 1986, Walibi introduced water rides with the creation of a waterpark called Aqualibi. It would be given a makeover in 2006, becoming L'Île aux Pirates ( French for Pirates' Island), and featuring a Caribbean theme.

Sale to Six Flags

In 1998, the park would change hands once again and it became part of the

Six Flags Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined of any amu ...

chain, as part of the American company's international expansion.

Sale to Star Parks

However, six years later, in 2004, Six Flags sold most of its European parks (including Walibi Rhône-Alpes) to Star Parks. The exception was

Warner Bros. Movie World Madrid Warner can refer to: People * Warner (writer) * Warner (given name) * Warner (surname) Fictional characters * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs'' * Aaron Warner, a character in ''Shatter Me ...

, which was sold back to

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

and renamed Warner Bros. Park and later Parque Warner Madrid in 2006. The Walibi parks would be transferred to Compagnie des Alpes the following year, and they've belonged to the French company ever since. Like its sister parks in Belgium and Holland, it began to go down a more themed route in the 2010's. Despite being a smaller park, the park still received regular investments including 2 roller coasters, Timber (anchoring a farm-themed area) and Mystic (anchoring a horror retheme of the front right of the park). The water park closed with the park after the 2019 season and will be replaced by Exotic Land for the 2022 season.

Rides and attractions

Coasters

*Timber - The Gravity Group -

Wooden roller coaster A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also ...

- 2016 *Generator -

Vekoma Vekoma Rides Manufacturing is a Dutch amusement ride manufacturer. Vekoma is syllabic abbreviation of Veld Koning Machinefabriek (Veld Koning Machine Factory) which was established in 1926 by Hendrik op het Veld. History The company originally m ...

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...

roller coaster *Woodstock Express -

Zamperla Antonio Zamperla S.p.A. is an Italian design and manufacturing company founded in 1966. It is best known for creating family rides, thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin-operated rides commonly found in ...

Wild Mouse roller coaster (formerly ''Zig Zag'' and later ''Scratch'') *La Coccinelle -

Zierer Zierer Karussell- und Spezialmaschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG (Short name: Zierer ) is a German company located close to Deggendorf. Zierer manufactures Tivoli and Force line of roller coasters, as well as panoramic wheels, wave swingers, flying ...

junior steel roller coaster * Mystic -

Gerstlauer Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GmbH is a German manufacturer of stationary and transportable amusement rides and roller coasters, located in Münsterhausen, Germany. History In 1982, Hubert Gerstlauer, a former employee of the Anton Schwarzkopf ...

Infinity Coaster The Infinity Coaster is a roller coaster design by Gerstlauer. A variant of the popular Euro-Fighter model, the Infinity Coaster allows for higher capacity through longer trains. The coaster also features a magnetic rollback system on rides with ...

- 2019

Thrill rides

*Le Galion - Swinging

pirate ship Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

*Skunx Tower - Drop tower *Stock Car -

Bumper cars Bumper cars or dodgems are the generic names for a type of flat amusement ride consisting of multiple small electrically powered cars which draw power from the floor and/or ceiling, and which are turned on and off remotely by an operator. Bumpe ...

*Tomahawk -

Chance Rides Chance Rides Manufacturing is a roller coaster and amusement ride manufacturer. The company was formed on May 16, 2002, when the former Chance Industries Inc. emerged from bankruptcy. The main office and manufacturing facility are located in Wich ...

Inverter *Airboat -

NebulaZ

Family rides

*Surf Music - Family water slide *Bamba - Calypso ride with 16 two-passenger gondolas *Le Grand Soleil -

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsule ...

*Carrousel - Merry-go-round *Melody Road - Car ride *Mini Ferme - Small area where guests can interact with different farm animals *Radja River -

River rapids ride A river rapids ride (or river rafting ride) is an amusement ride that simulates whitewater rafting. History The river rapids ride concept was proposed by Bill Crandall (general manager of AstroWorld in Houston) and developed by Intamin. AstroW ...

*Tam Tam Tour - Relaxing tow boat ride in a jungle decor *Wab Tour - Miniature railway ride

Children's rides

*La Chevauchée *On Air *Be Bop *Qwads *Wab Band Tour

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walibi Rhone-Alpes Amusement parks in France Compagnie des Alpes Former Six Flags theme parks Buildings and structures in Isère Tourist attractions in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 1979 establishments in France Amusement parks opened in 1979