Skydiver

After seven weeks of downtime, Skydiver returned to operation in early October 2023. The timing mattered: the reopening coincided with the start of Halloween Fright Nights, one of Walibi Holland’s busiest and most visible periods of the year. The 60-metre paid attraction had been closed since mid-August because of a technical fault; from Saturday 7 October, guests could book flights again.

For Walibi, the reopening meant that a striking thrill experience in Wilderness was back just before the Halloween rush. Visitors still had to buy separate tickets, with the regular price set at 38 euros per flight and a cheaper morning rate outside the Halloween season.

The news was not only about the end of a malfunction, but also about Skydiver’s position in the park. The 21-year-old attraction sends riders into a harnessed dive and reaches 120 kilometres per hour. Looopings described it as the fastest attraction in Walibi Holland. The reopening closed a technical chapter and returned Skydiver to the park’s Halloween line-up at a moment when every major thrill ride mattered.

In early September 2023, Looopings reported that Skydiver had already been out of action for three weeks. Walibi confirmed that the closure was caused by a technical fault and that there was still no firm reopening date. Guests could feel the gap in the line-up: the paid Skycoaster is one of Walibi Holland’s most extreme experiences and requires a separate ticket on top of park admission.

The problem was traced to an electrical control cabinet. According to the park, the required part was difficult to obtain because of the global chip shortage and shortages of other electrical components. As a result, the attraction had to remain closed while the park was moving toward its busy Halloween season.

That timing made the defect more visible. Skydiver opened in 2002, was built by Funtime and lifts riders to 54 metres before sending them into a dive at up to 120 kilometres per hour. Because of that mix of height, speed and limited capacity, a longer closure stands out for thrill seekers. The article captures a moment when technical dependency and parts availability directly affected the park’s ride offering.

When Walibi Holland welcomed guests again at the end of May 2020 after the first coronavirus closure, Skydiver remained noticeably shut. The issue was not the ride system itself, but the way the paid attraction operates: team members have to secure riders in harnesses, which brings them very close to guests. In July, Walibi finally received permission to reopen the 60-metre skycoaster.

The restart came with visible precautions. Staff wore face shields and plastic gloves, while riders had to disinfect their hands before flying. Face masks were not used. For guests, it meant that one of the park’s most extreme upcharge experiences returned, although the operation still clearly reflected the unusual conditions of the pandemic season.

Skydiver is not a regular queue-and-ride attraction. Visitors pay separately for each flight and can ride solo, in pairs or in groups of three. The harness dive reaches about 120 kilometres per hour, and the attraction stands in Wilderness opposite Untamed. Its reopening shows how even a relatively small, specialised attraction could require complex operational decisions during the coronavirus period.