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The C. View

A blog by JoshC. in General

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About this blog

Detailed, sometimes rambling, entries about rides and attractions..

Entries in this blog

Why X:\ has No Way Out of my Heart

Back in 1995, Thorpe Park was an extremely different place. Rather than being an island screaming out to the world about its thrills and spills, it was a quaint little family theme park, that kept itself to itself. Instead of the skyline being dominated by the likes of Stealth and Swarm, a large diving pole was the centre point, with Loggers Leap and Depth Charge being the highest rides on park at 60ft and 40ft respectively (and yet wouldn't really obstruct the skyline from outside the park too
JoshC.

JoshC.

3

Why Thorpe shouldn't have left at the Dead End.

With Fright Nights, Scarefest and all other things Halloween drawing ever nearer, I guess it's time for some Halloween-themed blog entries! Dead End was seemingly a one-off scare zone that hit Fright Nights in 2010, and Thorpe's first attempt at a scare zone since about 2002 / 2003, when the event first started out. Located on the pathway next to Zodiac and The Crust, it was perhaps a typical Merlin scare zone, in the sense that it wasn't technically a scare zone, but rather a set route with a
JoshC.

JoshC.

2

Why Saw is actually a really good coaster.

Back in 2009, we were graced with arrival of a new coaster at Thorpe, yet again breaking the overall investment the park had spent on one attraction - £13.5 million, beating Stealth's £12 million (which, as we know, has now been beating again by The Swarm's overall investment). Before Saw - The Ride opened, fans were buzzing from excitement, and were hoping that the ride would perhaps be the park's best themed attraction, or at least the best since Tidal Wave opened in 2000. After all, Euro-
JoshC.

JoshC.

7

Why Angry Birds Land is better than Diagon Alley

Next month, Universal Studios Florida introduce their 'Diagon Alley' expansion to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It sees the headline attraction 'Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts', the Hogwarts Express, as well as numerous shops from the Harry Potter universe. As to be expected, everyone is excited about the development. However, why should we be so excited? We've got a newly opened area which is much better than Diagon Alley ever could be - Angry Birds Land at Thorpe Park! Trav
JoshC.

JoshC.

8

What was the thing with The Antelope?

Back when I was about 8 or 9, I visited Gulliver's World (Warrington). The trip was unplanned really, and only lasted a couple of hours (well, from 10 til after lunch). However, the one thing that has always made me remember this trip is The Antelope - one of only 2 wooden coasters to be built in the UK in the past 50 years. At the time of riding, I'd never heard of Antelope before (heck, I'd only heard of Gulliver's Warrington a couple of days before my visit!), nor had I heard any reviews
JoshC.

JoshC.

3

What 'The Passing' Needs to do to Make Everybody's Grade.

The introduction of Thorpe's new maze to Fright Nights this year has been quite a hot topic. Since 'The Passing' was announced, many were left fearing (or, depending on your views, hoping!) that their underwear would be stained brown after going through a maze which puts a bag over your head and simulates your death. However, reviews have been mixed, with some feeling as though it is not worth the additional charge, feeling as though there's many wasted opportunities, whilst some - like mysel
JoshC.

JoshC.

2

The Walking Dead: Breakout Review

Following the recent-ish announcement of The Walking Dead coming to Thorpe, I thought I'd share a review of TWD: Breakout, Movie Park Germany's 5 Euro upcharge scare attraction.  And also share some expectations I have for Living Nightmare and Sanctum as a result..   I have to say, I was really looking forward to this.  Movie Park are well known for this Halloween event, and they continually bring in big name IPs as well as original concepts (this year, they've got an 18+ maze themed t
JoshC.

JoshC.

0

The Walking Dead - The Review

So, I figured I may as well give a bit more insight about my views on The Walking Dead - The Ride.   I know plenty of people have pretty much written it off already, and it's almost trendy to hate the idea, but I do think it's worth going into this with an open mind.  The overall experience is good, well themed, and does justice to what the ride and building was designed to achieve.     The entrance portal is nice.  It is standard run down Thorpe style, but it is still good. 
JoshC.

JoshC.

1

The Swarm - Forwards vs Backwards

As we know, following a poor response to marketing of Swarm last year, Thorpe decided to "revisit" Swarm's image and increase the "'thrill factor' for visitors". This was despite very positive reviews for Swarm as it stood last year. So, along with the new billboard theming elements, the back two rows have been turned backwards. Now, in a way, it's very hard to do a comparison between the two. They are, essentially, the same ride - they follow the same layout, you more or less experience th
JoshC.

JoshC.

1

The Story Behind Detonator

As we know, next month will see Thorpe Park give a slight retheme to their 115ft drop tower, Detonator. A general shift in target market has to led to the perhaps knee-jerk reaction to bring in a family-themed area, and the easiest way to go about that would be an IP. So we have 'Angry Birds Land', and Detonator will become 'Detonator: Bombs Away'. Who knows what this slight retheme will bring? Well, we will find out in little under a month's time anyway. With most eyes focused on the futu
JoshC.

JoshC.

8

The 2017 Challenge

Parks in the UK have been subject to much scrutiny over the past couple of years.  In fairness, a lot of the scrutiny and negativity that the parks receive is justified; there are things which do happen which shouldn't happen.  And when we compare to our European cousins or American brothers, it does seem like UK parks aren't up to scratch.  But at the same time, there is an awful lot of nitpicking that goes on at times.     However, despite this overwhelming negativity, a large majori
JoshC.

JoshC.

4

Symbolica Review

To me, Symbolica was the biggest new European attraction for 2017 for theme parks. It's not exactly a difficult feat to achieve, with little of note actually happening this year. But I found the prospect of Efteling, a park known for creating highly detailed and love dark rides, investing their biggest sum in a ride ever, much more exciting than Port Aventura sticking Ferrari Land at the edge of their park and adding a taller and faster Stealth to their line up.   It's difficult to rev
JoshC.

JoshC.

1
Hansa Park Trip Report

Storm Clouds Over Hamburg - Day 2, Hansa Park

Lo and behold, Day 2 of 2 is here! After staying the night in Lubeck (in what was apparently a non-smoking hotel, but in a room which smelt strongly of cigarette smoke), I was energised for another day. The weather was cold and windy, but no rain. The journey from my hotel to Hansa Park was much simpler than the previous day: a direct train from Lubeck to Sierksdorf, and then a walk to the park. The walk was again very straightforward - pretty much a straight path which takes about 10-15 m
Heide Park Trip Report

Storm Clouds Over Hamburg - Day 1, Heide Park

Rewinding just over two years ago, I and a few friends had booked a trip out to Hamburg, which would include one and a half days at Heide Park - plus a stay in their hotel - and a day at Hansa Park. It would coincide with two of our birthdays too. What better way than to spend a birthday at a new park?   At the time, this Covid-19 thing had just turned up on the British doorstep, and concerns were growing. But the idea of a lockdown was a far away thought. Obviously, come March, that a

Soquet Premiere Grilling - Day 4, Parc Asterix

And now the big one, Day 4 - Parc Asterix! And this was, in fact, my first visit to Asterix.I'll start as ever with the Covid measuresFace coverings were obligatory on all rides and in queue lines. There were hand sanitising points at the end of every queue (just before you board the ride), as well as at ride exits and dotted around the park. There were social distancing markers in queues, but no one really followed them much tbh. However, park security had a major presence in queue lines, regul
JoshC.

JoshC.

3

Should Thorpe Park Welcome Families?

Since the turn of the century, we've seen Thorpe accelerate from a quaint family theme park into a park which offers one of the largest array of 'thrill rides' in Europe. During this period, there has been quiet on obvious shift in target market - from families looking for a nice day out to young adults (which arguably is the 16-34 region in this case) looking to do something for a day. Many question the viability of this strategy, mainly from an economic perspective. However, are Thorpe righ
JoshC.

JoshC.

3

Premiere Soquet Grilling - Days 1-2, Parc du Bocasse & Festyland

With the 'new normal' in full swing and parks open again, I'd been itching for a European trip again. With my Heide/Hansa trip back in April cancelled, and my June Europa trip delayed before I booked, the Covid situation had dented some big plans for new parks for me.However, wanting to remain cautious, I didn't want to swing into big parks, and risk not visiting them in case something happened (having to self-isolate, a park randomly closing, etc). So something I bit smaller was needed. Back in
JoshC.

JoshC.

1

Premiere Soquet Grilling - Day 5, Dennlys Parc (The End)

And Day 5 brings an end to the trip, where we spend a few hours at Dennlys Parc, which is about an hour from Calais...   Covid MeasuresFace coverings on rides if you're over the age of 11. Some queues had social distancing markers I think, and people kept at a sensible enough distance. The visit was the day after face coverings has become compulsory in shops again across the whole of France, so I expect that the idea of social distancing might have been on people's minds a bit if it was
JoshC.

JoshC.

1

Premiere Soquet Grilling - Day 3, Parc Saint Paul & Jardin d'Acclimatation

"Day 3? What happened to Day 2 though Josh? Have I missed a magnificent report of a wonderfully obscure French park that most people don't care about?" I hear no one ask.  Well, it's been edited into my previous blog entry, to save me hogging all the blog entry space     When this trip was planned, it was prior to the Formule incident at Parc Saint Paul. For those who don't know: a woman fell out of one of their roller coasters (Formule1), dying. The ride has a poor history, also
JoshC.

JoshC.

1

Polishing off Creds - Legendia

It feels like half of the European coaster community has decided to venture over to Poland this month, following the opening of that small coaster Hyperion, and with rapid expansion taking place at the two major Polish parks - Legendia and Energylandia. But how do they actually fair?   We flew to Katowice on a Saturday evening, arriving at our hotel late, giving us the perfect opportunity to arrive at Legendia Sunday morning. Legendia is based in Silesia, an old mining district of the
JoshC.

JoshC.

3

Polishing off Creds - Auschwitz & Krakow (No Creds)

No creds or parks to report on in this blog post, but there'll be a few visitor attraction things. So yeah, still give it a read...   Monday morning came and, for whatever reason, no parks seem to open on Mondays in Poland during off peak (Legendia only opened Friday-Sunday, Energylandia closed on Mondays). So, in an unusual twist for my trips, we planned a full day of non-theme park stuff and culture.   The first stop of the day was Auschwitz, which was just over 30mins away
JoshC.

JoshC.

0

Phantom Fantasia - 30 Years On

As we'd expect, 30 years ago, Thorpe Park was a very different place. In fact, it wasn't really until 1983 that the park saw investment in 'theme park rides'; until then, the park was a more educational/leisure area. One attraction which opened in 1983 saw Phantom Fantasia - the first incarnation of what many knew as Wicked Witches Haunt. The ride was rethemed into WWH in 1994, before its untimely closure in 2000 due to the infamous Thorpe Park Fire. Whilst I never got a chance to ride the o
JoshC.

JoshC.

4

Ninjago - The Brief Review

It's been a while since I dedicated a whole blog post to a ride review, but this seems like a suitable time to do one.   WARNING:  There will spoilers.  If you don't know what the ride system is, or want to completely avoid knowing what some of the effects used in the ride are, turn back now.       For those completely unaware, it is a 3D-screen based shooter ride, where you use hand motion to 'fire'.  Sitting in rows of four, with your 3D glasses, a lap bar comes d
JoshC.

JoshC.

2

NeuroGen - Walibi Holland's Dark VR Experience

After visiting Walibi Holland last week, I got to do an attraction that I've been keen to try for quite a while now...NeuroGen.   For those unaware, Walibi Holland is quite an..in your face park. They quite clearly are targeting the young adult market, and are unashamedly brash. Think of what Thorpe was doing in the early 2010s with the 'fatheads', except not quite as awful, and with the balls to follow through and stick with it. Their current slogan of #HardGaan (Go Fast) keeps in lin
JoshC.

JoshC.

0

Liseberg

So I visited Liseberg back in July, and I just wanted to share a few thoughts on the park...  Majority of my photos were like so bad so I'm just stealing photos from the park's website to break things up.   Ultimately, I was left a bit...unfulfilled? by the park.  I don't know how to describe it.  The quality of some of the attractions at the park is really good, but the park itself just do 'it' for me.   Helix Let's get this out the way.  Helix is truly fantastic.  It's
JoshC.

JoshC.

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