IBILAW 2025: Our complete review of Walibi Belgium's XXL Halloween event – New features, Haunted Houses and Bill's Kingdom

From October 11 to November 2, 2025, Walibi Belgium amusement park transforms into a gloomy and terrifying parallel world: Ibilaw. This second edition of the Halloween event, now well-established in the European park landscape, promises an XXL experience with an enhanced and more immersive program than ever. Bill, the malevolent entity who had observed visitors from afar last year, has returned and reopened the portal to his tortured realm.

For this 2025 season, Walibi has pulled out all the stops, offering no less than four Haunted Houses, four Scare Zones, a brand new show, and a devilish culinary experience. The event is designed to get the adrenaline pumping, especially during the 10 extended days when the park remains open until 10 PM (October 11 and 18, and from October 25 to November 1). Thrill-seekers, get ready: chaos reigns and fear is very real.

Ibilaw's Haunted Houses: 4 Nightmares, 4 Levels of Anguish

The heart of the Ibilaw experience lies in its Haunted Houses, themed labyrinths where we confront our worst nightmares. We had the opportunity to test the four offerings this year, each with its unique atmosphere.

Aquarium: The 2025 Novelty and the Audacity of the Aquatic Theme

Located in the new Dock World zone, Aquarium is the big paid novelty of this 2025 edition. This former marine center, closed since the 90s, has reopened its doors despite the strange aquatic silhouettes and creatures that now haunt its cracked basins.

Right from the start, we were impressed by the audacity and originality of the theme. The decorations are very beautiful, plunging us into a humid, bluish, and gloomy atmosphere. The experience is a successful blend of a real aquarium (even if we regretted the absence of fish, or at least other kinds of fish, as we observed) and modern effects, especially very successful video mapping. At one point, we were attacked by a shark on screen, a particularly well-executed effect.

However, we noticed a major weakness during our first visit: it was a bit too dark, with a large difference in brightness, which prevented our eyes from adjusting, and we couldn't see much. We enjoyed Aquarium more during our second visit, at night. The ambient darkness of the evening allowed our eyes to adjust, and we were able to fully appreciate the beauty of the decorations and the atmosphere. Despite its good length and originality, the presence of actors was a bit weak. Nathalie, more experienced, found the experience "nice but nothing more," but we still jumped several times!

Silence: Our Favorite Haunted House, a Model of Psychological Tension

Returning for this edition, Silence remains undoubtedly the best haunted house in the park according to us. The experience takes place in an old abandoned boarding school where the slightest noise can unleash the wrath of spirits. Rated at a fear level of 4/5, this house focuses entirely on psychological tension, a mastered sound atmosphere (including lightning and flashes), and incredibly detailed decorations.

We found the house extremely long, which is a major asset. The first part, in particular, resembles the high-quality sets found in benchmark parks like Universal. The abandoned school atmosphere is incredibly well-done, with the presence of the school spirit and multi-story rooms, even including a labyrinth. We loved the fluo and purple retransmission on the low walls. It's simple, it's our favorite and we absolutely recommend it, even though we noted that the end lacks a bit of decor and becomes too bright.

The Curse of Amun and Mine Blast: When Egyptians and Miners Awaken

The other two haunted houses, though more classic, bring their dose of thrills.

The Curse of Amun plunges us into the heart of a warehouse where the cursed sarcophagus of Semerkhet rests. Amun-Ra's curse is supposed to fall upon visitors. The decorations are very good, but, in all honesty, we weren't scared at all. The most original element is undoubtedly the flashlight provided at the entrance, which flickers and goes out to heighten the suspense. We noticed more actors here than in Aquarium, which is a good point.

Finally, Mine Blast takes us back to an abandoned mine where miners returned from the afterlife await to share their grim fate with visitors. This free experience is a must-do at the park. We particularly appreciated the final effect, the famous waterfall or water jet, which took us by surprise and made us jump very effectively.

Immersion in the 4 Scare Zones: Bill and his Demons

In addition to the Haunted Houses, the Ibilaw universe extends thanks to four free scare zones, where monsters roam the park's pathways.

Innocence: The Most Successful Horror Zone of the Year

Of all the novelties, the Innocence zone is the most delightful surprise of this 2025 edition. This Scare Zone explores Bill's broken childhood and his descent into horror. It is located in the children's area (Adventure World), a macabre and brilliant thematic choice.

The concept is excellent: having dismantled some of the children's rides and repurposed them in a horrific setting is an incredible idea. The atmosphere is perfectly successful, especially at nightfall, with fog, dimmed lights, and the staging of disused rides. We found the atmosphere to be brilliant, both sinister and nostalgic, enhanced by superb actors. Special mention to the actress playing the bearded "little" girl with her stroller, who, for us, is one of the best street actors of the event.

Arachnophobia: The Spider Invasion that Missed its Mark

Arachnophobia was one of the most anticipated novelties, presented as a highly secured zone put under quarantine to deal with a spider invasion. Unfortunately, it's the only one that generated a slight disappointment.

The idea of the street animation is original, however. We witnessed a rhythmic scene where everyone was forced to kneel, an immersive approach that we found good. However, we didn't find the connection to spiders. We were still looking for the eight-legged creatures. We expected giant spiders falling from the ceiling or emerging from the ground, as the theme promised, but they were absent. The idea was good, but the execution of the theme remained incomplete in our opinion.

Basement and Psycho Circus XXXXL: Underground Party and Maleficent Clowns

Basement is another new zone representing Bill's underground lair. Entirely indoors, we found it very well executed. The atmosphere was similar to that of a nightclub, a very Belgian style for those who know it, with a dark and rhythmic party vibe, making this zone a very good animation.

As for Psycho Circus XXXXL, the horror circus, it returns in a revamped version, now located in front of the 4D cinema, with the relocation of the Churas Tower for an even crazier and more visually impactful atmosphere in this zone. The evil clowns still have their effect and contribute to the chaotic atmosphere of this cult zone.

The New Show and the Culinary Experience

To perfect the immersion in Bill's story, Walibi has created a brand new show, Bill: A Fairy Tale. Conceived by Felipe Garcia, this show offers a complete dive into the lore of Ibilaw, blending staging, performance, and narration. We discovered how Bill disappeared, how his childhood turned upside down, and how he took control of malevolent forces to rule this parallel Walibi.

For food lovers, the Freaky Pizza Festival made its grand return, but we also tested the new Hungry Shark restaurant in the Dock World zone, where we enjoyed the shrimp burger. Finally, we got to taste Bill's famous shot, a spicy drink that "blows your head off" (available with or without alcohol for 5€), ideal for warming up.

Strong Thrills and Final Verdict

While Ibilaw 2025 focuses on fear, the park doesn't forget its usual thrills. We took advantage of the nocturnal atmosphere to take a few rides, notably on Kondaa, the mega-coaster that shook us like never before on takeoff, and Mecalodon, the new family coaster in the Dock World zone (65 km/h) which we adored: it's very smooth and very pleasant to ride, even Nathalie found it formidable!

In conclusion, we had a great day at Walibi Belgium. The Ibilaw atmosphere is incredible, even better after nightfall, and the many novelties of this 2025 year are successful (except perhaps Arachnophobia). Silence remains our favorite, but Innocence and Aquarium are magnificent additions. The event is a must-do for the Halloween season in Belgium,