General Discussion

So I watched this tonight and was wondering whether everyone else has seen it? For those that don't know, it's a documentary about Seaworld's killer whales and all the trainer incidents that have happened in recent years. It's a VERY harrowing watch (there's a scene showing a trainer who narrowly escapes a killer whale who is repeatedly pulling him to the bottom of the pool that is utterly terrifying), but I think an essential one for anyone 'into' the theme park world. I went to Seaworld's a few times, and I have to say I feel a little guilty about it, and much as I'd love to go on Manta, I'm not sure that I could go to the park anymore. Not preaching, I just think …

Pretty much what it says on the tin. Mine Is Detonator, still gives me many, many butterflys in the queueline! So which scares you the most?

So IAAPA is upon us and there are some great new rides on display! All photos are coutesy of TPR New El Loco Trains! Model of Thunderbolt by Zamperla, now in red. Mack's new Drop 'N' Splash Train of the New junior GCI woodie going to LEGOLAND FLORIDA! The Lightning Run train of the reopening Kentucky Kingdom! Firechaser Express Train. Goliath Woodie train! Video footage of the just announced tallest, fastest, longest GCI woodie ever, Viper at Wanda Park, Nanching, China! The Smiler, Now an off the shelf gerst model! Just announced the future worlds supposed tallest coaster a Polercoaster 525ft tall. vine of the mack Drop 'N' Splas…

Just downloaded the THORPE PARK app for Andorid, it has been a long time coming... Overall opinion, this is a very good app, lots packed into and it has been well worth the wait. I like the options to show you the way to places and you can take the challenge of certain rides. Suggestions for improvements are: IT says you need to be 140 cm to ride X On Wet Wet Wet, if you are less than 0 cm tall, you must be accompanying children? A find my car locator would be nice What are the opinions of others and is the IOS version giving the same functionality or do the features differ?

An article on the BBC this morning which is interesting in places about the technology of roller coasters http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24553630 Now, I'm sure the same thing was said when Vekoma cobbled together two inversions on a corkscrew, but could it be approaching the truth at long last? Where can the industry go when speed, height and inversions have already been pushed to such extremes? Will the future all be virtual? Will the current records last for all of time? Are there no other records or innovations worth chasing for the cost? I don't believe it for a second!

Hey all, I have been looking around the net and I have noticed that as early since the 80's rides have had ORP but I have been wondering how was it done back then before digital cameras? did they have to pay before to get your photo or did someone have to take it manually and how long did they take? Thanks Mr Fish

Today at school I had to do some research for graphics and one of the links I ended up on was this: http://www.kdt2.com/ Of course, me being me I explored the site and found some of the amazing projects in the theme park world that they had worked on. From theming right through to special effects there are some greatly recognizable projects. I then had a free lesson and with nothing else to do decided to research some more of these design/theming websites that have worked on theme park projects outside of the Merlin Studios we all know. Firstly I came across: http://www.primeplay.com/ Very interesting to see all the different types of design for a generic indoor pla…

Hi guys I was wondering will there be a trip to Blackpool Pleasure Beach for Walk The Big One as I am sure many of you would like to do this its £35 per person? Reply if you think this would be a great thing to do. PS : If in wrong section can an admin move it to the correct section.

Great article posted by Theme Park Tourist with details of a park planned by Tussaurds before they took on Alton instead. Really worth a read through, one thing particularly worth mentioning though... What's that? It's a racing woodie, that's what. Shame the local authority were so adamant they wouldn't allow any of this development, I'm sure in the long run it would have been great for the local area. Planning really is the scourge of theme parks in this country.

Well, they are slowly cropping up all over the place, so a topic about them seems appropriate. The latest one to open, Hades 360, had an inversion thrown into it when it was refurbrished, replacing an airtime hill. Here's a POV from the lovely TPR: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtfZYEnS8dE Looks awful. Otherwise, not much against the inversion actually; though to lose an airtime hill for it is a shame.. Discuss...

I have seen other forums do this when I have snooped over, and I have seen top 10 best coasters on here, so lets talk about the worst coasters we have been on. It doesn't have to be a top 10 as per say, just one particular coaster you hate with a passion and say why you hate it. The one coaster I hate is Space Mountain in DLP, the last time I went on it I felt like my head had been violated and I had a bad migraine for about 3 hours afterwards. Yeah its not one I'm going to go on again. SO what's yours!

Thought this would be an interesting to see peoples opinions so choose your answers via the pole and give your reasons below.

Thoughts and opinions? I just purchased a Premium Membership for £15.99 a month

I have recently been wondering what is in fact classed as an Inversion, because Thorpe Park advertise the Swarms Inclined loop as an Inversion but I do not think it is. Were as Some people count Saw The Ride's Over banked turn after the Immelmann as an inversion but I am not really sure. do you guys think an inversion has to be over a certain amount of degrees like over 135. I have just been wondering.

As a themepark enthusiast, I thoroughly enjoy visiting themepark and attractions and trying out new rides and experiences. However there are many themeparks and attractions out there that I dream of visiting and have yet to visit. So the question is, which ten themeparks and/or attractions in the world would you like to visit that you haven't seen yet and why? For me, the list has to be 10/ Gardaland, Merlin international sister park which has the exciting looking Raptor 9/ Heide Park, I like the look of all those rides plus Kraken too 8/ Disney Land Paris, looks amazing and magical with exciting rides plus the nearest big park to uk 7/ Knotts Berry Farm, lots o…

Just been looking at the On Ride Photo's topic and couldn't see a topic for On Ride Videos so thought I'd create one and we can share your video experiences on rides! Here's 2 from PortAventura with me and Jonny392 on it!

Sorry guys for this being late, once again, but I just completely forgot about it! Anyway, lets get down to business You vote on these three questions: Would you ever ride it? Would it fit in at a UK theme park? Would you put it in thorpe park? The ride up this week is.... ROLLOVER! This is a ride designed by mondial and seats 40 people. As I said in the last topic, this ride is like a topspin. Except, it flips you sideways! The reason I have put this on instead of some zamperla windshear etc. is because we already have topspins at thorpe and this is like a topspin(for all those all wanted one) but it is on a new dimension And as mondial have said: 'The design of…

As a regular theme park visitor for 9 years now, I've had many dreams. Usually nothing adds up and the layout is always different Anyone else had a crazy or normal dream about a park or ride or attraction?

Hi everyone, I have decided to start a series of polls where you can do a series of votes being: Would you ever ride it? Would it fit in at an UK theme park? Would you put it in Thorpe Park? As we all know, the 2013 season has begun and the 2014 season will be here before we know it. People look for 'new' rides at theme parks not just gimmicks **cough** the swarm backwards **cough** so I am basically seeing what you guys would think would be a good new ride at a UK theme park. The rides I put in these polls will all be 'intense' and will be suited for the more extreme parks of the country mainly focusing at thorpe park. The first ride in the series of polls is flying ci…

We've been through a period where very few rides at Thorpe Park and Chessington have been removed. From the list of rides in the poll, please select all the rides you have been fortunate to ride before their closures. I have kept this as Chessington and Thorpe Park as there are too many rides at Blackpool and Alton Towers that have been removed.

Although I have an annual pass, I was just having a look at the merlin theme park's prices. Is it just me or are they ridiculously overpriced excluding 2 for 1 vouchers! Also do you think parks in the UK should have longer hours and be open till midnight like Disneyland is? Thanks guys...

I was just wondering how everyone else feels about the current state of the theme park industry in the UK? My thoughts are that with the majority of theme parks and attractions including the top 3 theme parks in the UK there is a distinct lack of competition in the UK's theme park industry that would find in other countries say for example in Europe or America, I feel like if they were under different ownership things would be much better for theme park industry in the country as currently in honesty I am not entirely satisfied with how they have run the three parks, the key points that make me feel it would be better for the countries theme park industry if the parks we…

As we plunge into another full-throttle year of theme parks and attractions, I thought I would bring up the topic of the Merlin drinks capsule. The drinks capsule has been a successful thing for a couple of years now and Merlin annual pass on facebook have said themselves that they will be releasing drinks capsules to chessington and Warwick castle this month. We have had no further update on this since they released the information of a new drinks capsule way in December 2012: It is said that the drinks capsules will now last the entire lifetime of your pass but this has confused many, I believe that if you purchase a capsule in January and your pass expires in June, …

What do you guys think is the best coaster of each of these types? Inverted coaster Suspended coaster Water ride stand up coaster Flying coaster floorless coaster Eurofighter coaster giga/mega coaster Any type of launched coaster Wing rider coaster Drop tower Any sort of boomerang coaster Woodan coaster Your favorite type of coaster I'm just interested on which rides will score high, and which rides will not. I would probably go with: Oz'lris Big bad wolf Pilgrim's plunge Riddler's revenge Tatsu Kracken Takabisha Millenium force Formula rossa Gatekeeper Lex luthor Aftershock El toro Wooden, eurofighter, and wing rider.

Tell us what you have in your collection, or better still, post a pic I currently own: X3 Alton Towers hoodies X3 Alton Towers T shirts 10+ ORPs X3 Alton Towers keyrings X3 Alton Towers pin badges X2 Alton Towers mugs Several stationary sets X1 Alton Towers bauble I think that's everything