Plenty of parks own a Vekoma Boomerang. Walibi Holland is one of the very few that gave theirs a soundtrack. Speed of Sound, the Dutch park’s shuttle coaster in Biddinghuizen, runs a synchronized music track through speakers built into the train — turning one of the industry’s most standardized layouts into a 47-mph ride-along concert.
Key Stats
| Type | Vekoma Boomerang (steel shuttle coaster) |
| Opened | April 22, 2000 (as La Via Volta) |
| Reopened | 2011 (as Speed of Sound) |
| Height | 116.5 ft (35.5 m) |
| Track length | 935 ft (285 m) |
| Top speed | 47 mph (76 km/h) |
| Inversions | 3, each completed forward and backward |
| Ride time | 1:48 |
| Max g-force | 5.2 g |
| Capacity | 760 riders per hour |
From La Via Volta to Speed of Sound
The coaster opened on April 22, 2000 as La Via Volta. It ran until 2007, when the park announced its shutdown — the train was sold to Pleasurewood Hills in England, where it now operates on that park’s coaster Wipeout, while the bare track stood in place at what was then Walibi World. In January 2011 came the surprise: the ride would return with a brand-new Vekoma train under a new name, Speed of Sound, with design firm P&P Projects handling the rebuild and theming. It reopened in April 2011, complete with the onboard audio system that defines it today.
Ride Experience
A catch car drags the train backwards out of the station and up the first spike, which is enclosed in a tube — then lets go. The train screams back through the station and into the three-inversion gauntlet: a cobra roll straight into a vertical loop. Momentum carries it up the far lift hill, where a chain hauls it to the top before releasing it to run the entire course in reverse. Block brakes in the station shave speed on the return pass, letting the train drift partway up the first hill once more before rolling back to a final stop — all of it scored by music pumping from the cars themselves.
How It Stacks Up
The Boomerang layout packs 5.2 g into its 935 feet of track — force on par with rides on our highest g-force coasters ranking, even though its 116.5-foot spikes are a fraction of the world’s tallest coasters. Speed of Sound also offers a single-rider line and Walibi’s Fast Lane virtual queue.
FAQ
Why is it called Speed of Sound?
The 2011 relaunch rebuilt the ride around music: a synchronized soundtrack plays through speakers in the cars for the whole 1:48 cycle, so the name nods to the audio gimmick rather than the 47 mph top speed.
Is Speed of Sound the same ride as La Via Volta?
Same track, new identity. The coaster opened as La Via Volta in 2000, sat dormant after 2007 (its original train went to Pleasurewood Hills in England), and reopened in 2011 with a new Vekoma train as Speed of Sound.
How many times do you go upside down?
Six per ride — the cobra roll and vertical loop are traversed forward, then the whole layout repeats backward.
Photo: TBloemink via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)