Cobra at Walibi Belgium: Height, Speed & Stats

Cobra at Walibi Belgium in Wavre is the Belgian entry in one of coaster history’s biggest franchises: the Vekoma Boomerang, a shuttle coaster design duplicated dozens of times around the world. Cobra opened on 28 April 2001, shortly after the Six Flags group acquired the park then known as Walibi Wavre.

Fittingly for its name, the ride’s centerpiece is a cobra roll — a double inversion the train hits at speed both forward and backward. Add a vertical loop and the return trip, and riders go upside down six times in under two minutes while pulling up to 5.2 g.

Key Stats

Height	116.5 ft (35.5 m)
Speed	47 mph (75.6 km/h)
Length	935 ft (285 m)
Inversions	3 (traversed forward and backward)
Max g-force	5.2
Duration	1:48
Capacity	About 750 riders per hour
Manufacturer / model	Vekoma / Boomerang
Opened	28 April 2001
Park	Walibi Belgium, Wavre, Belgium

Cobra's train mid-way through the double-inversion cobra roll at Walibi Belgium — The train snakes through the double-inversion cobra roll that gives the ride its name — Photo: Rémih via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

A Coaster That Almost Went to Madrid

Cobra has an unusual origin story: the ride was originally intended for Parque Warner Madrid in Spain. Instead, after Six Flags took over the Walibi parks, the Boomerang was installed at Walibi Belgium for the 2001 season. In 2008 the ride was renovated and its original red-and-blue color scheme was repainted into the red-and-yellow livery it wears today.

Walibi Belgium — the original park of the Walibi chain, whose name comes from the three towns it straddles (Wavre, Limal and Bierges) — has since surrounded Cobra with bigger hardware, but the Boomerang remains one of its most recognizable silhouettes: two angled spikes bracketing a knot of yellow inversions.

Carved cobra statue and ride sign at the entrance to Cobra at Walibi Belgium — A carved cobra guards the ride’s entrance sign beneath the coaster’s supports — Photo: Martin Lewison via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Ride Experience

The train is winched backward out of the station up the first 35.5-meter spike, then dropped. It blasts through the station at 75.6 km/h into the cobra roll’s two snapping direction changes, rises through the vertical loop, and coasts up the second spike. There, a catch and release sends the whole train through everything again in reverse — the moment the backward cobra roll hits is where the ride earns its 5.2 g rating, enough to keep company with the highest g-force roller coasters in the world.

At roughly 750 riders per hour from a single 28-passenger train, the queue moves slower than the ride — a classic Boomerang trade-off: enormous thrills from a footprint barely bigger than a tennis court.

Overview of Cobra's vertical loop, cobra roll and angled lift spike at Walibi Belgium — The full Boomerang layout — vertical loop, cobra roll and angled lift spike — seen from the park’s midway — Photo: Jérémy-Günther-Heinz Jähnick via Wikimedia Commons (GFDL 1.2)

FAQ

How tall and fast is Cobra at Walibi Belgium?

Cobra’s lift spikes reach 35.5 meters (116.5 feet), and the train hits 75.6 km/h (47 mph) through the station.

How many times do you go upside down on Cobra?

Six times per ride. The layout has three inversions — a cobra roll (two) and a vertical loop — ridden forward and then backward.

When did Cobra open?

Cobra opened on 28 April 2001 at Walibi Belgium. It was originally destined for Parque Warner Madrid and was repainted from red-and-blue to red-and-yellow in 2008.

Photo: Jérémy-Günther-Heinz Jähnick via Wikimedia Commons (GFDL 1.2)