General Discussion

What do you mean we don't have an Intamin thread?! Oh well, here goes... Intamin last year announced several new ride types to their offering. They've now uploaded some videos... Ultra Splash: A take on Mack's PowerSplash (aka Pulsar) model Giga Splash A take on Mack's SuperSplash model (see SuperSplash at Plopsaland) Vertical LSM coaster: A take on Premier's Sky Rocket II model Hot Racer: A take on RMC's single rail (Raptor) concept. Unlike RMC Raptors, a specific focus on launches (something RMC have said they wish to avoid with the Raptors altogether)…

I'm sure one was done last year, let's have a generic one anyways to bump it annually... So IAAPA is off once again, so far the most interesting things to come out of it is Maurer Sohne announcing a Wing-Coaster concept and Mack testing spinning cars on Blue Fire... Who knows what might come up the next two days... Seriously, a spinning car on Blue Fire?!

I was having a look at buying a MAP and I was wondering if there will be a half price annual pass sale at the begining of 2013? I would like to get it cheaper and still be able to save money Thanks

So I was snooping around TPR of all places and I found this which was interesting. Seems very exciting, A win, win I feel as RMC get tonnes of extra contacts from Vekoma expanding their business model to around the world and Obviously Vekoma it just puts their name out there more. What do you people think of it, I feel it is quite exciting!

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?

IMO the UK needs a new thrill park. Given the chance of complete control, tell us what you'd build, how you'd theme it, what you'd call it etc. It can be your "MTDP" if you will. No rules, go wild.P.S (I did search around to see if there already was one of these, didn't see anything but apologies if there is!!!)

Okay, so we have "Your Thorpe Park", "Your Alton Towers", but what if you had unlimited money and a huge plot of land? What themes and attractions would you have? Go into as much detail as you want!

Hi guys. 2024 is set to be a pretty big year for UK roller coasters, with four different roller coaster-related projects happening for next year. These are: Hyperia at Thorpe Park, a Mack HyperCoaster that will be the UK’s tallest and fastest roller coaster. Nemesis 2.0 at Alton Towers, the rebirth of the much-loved B&M Inverted Coaster that is widely accepted to be the most revered UK coaster. Drayton Manor’s new coaster, an Intamin lift and launch coaster with spinning trains. Legoland Windsor’s new coaster, a duo of Zierer family shuttle coasters. It’s certainly a big year for UK roller coasters when you look at this motley crew of u…

Hi guys. I was reading a Merlin-bashing thread over on CoasterForce earlier, and I noticed a really interesting series of posts that a poster made in that particular thread talking about their recent trip to Alton Towers, in which they made numerous comments inferring that Alton Towers is not an especially relaxed park visit for them: The full series of posts I'm referring to begins here: https://coasterforce.com/forums/threads/wtf-merlin.38748/post-1132260 Their post really inspired me, and it got me thinking about some of the more relaxed and more stressful theme parks I've ever been to. So with that in mind, my question to you today is; what are …

Thought this would be a nice topic to discuss this company that post loads of Facebook (and because it's hard to guarantee at first what they're working on). But for those that don't know, Scruffy Dog is a theming company based in Birmingham. Their first project that got us lot knowing of them was the Shark structure at Thorpe. Since then they've done a lot of work with Merlin working on the FN mazes, IAC, hotel interiors at Chessington, some stuff for the Woodland Village at Towers, new sets for Lego City and Heartlake City. Here's some of the Lego stuff in their paint workshop. MBV And Shark So they've done quite a lot of work for Merlin and a lot of…

It's time to vote for the best coasters in the world, first poll is for the best woodies.Voting deadline is 5th December.http://www.ushsho.com/bestrollercoasterpoll.htm Coaster fanatics have their trusty helper here: http://www.coasterfanatics.com/sec_poll/

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

Hi guys. In a Thorpe Park trip report thread I was just reading over on CoasterForce, Serena from CoasterForce made this really interesting post: “Okay, I'll bite. Families with young children who go to Thorpe Park simply don't do their research. It's not the parks fault if they have a disappointing day. It's like going to a vegan restaurant and moaning there's no meat options. If you look at their marketing, Thorpe don't bill themselves as a family park. It's almost always groups of young adults / teens in their photos. That's their target demographic, clearly. When talking about "what is there to do for families…

So due to boredom I have decided to make a thread to rank the Merlin Parks. This will be by recent investments and just how each park fall in the hierarchy. I think this will be a lot harder than Cedar Fair and Six Flags as Merlin is pretty even with their parks tbh. I'm gonna be ranking all of the abroad parks but I will lump the Legoland's into one category because ranking them individually would take a while. A Tier: Alton Towers Easily the most loved Merlin Park. When this park receives a coaster, its usually very high quality and unique. They usually have good in between years to boot, with constant money being thrown into their hotels, t…

choose which one is better

Home haunts, yay or nay, have you ever been in one, worked in one, share videos, pictures and experiences here!

Hi guys. Size is often used as a marketing tool by parks, but many enthusiasts (myself included) believe that size isn't everything. For my money, it's not the size that matters, it's what you do with it. So my question to you today is; are there some coasters that work against that traditional assumption that "bigger is better"? Can you think of small coasters that you think make the most of the size that they have, and also some larger coasters that you think squander their size somewhat? I'll get the ball rolling with my suggestions. For a smaller coaster that makes smashing use of its size, I'm going to nominate Mine Blower at Fun Spot Kissimme…

I am aware that stand up coasters aren't really what everyone likes and that may be the reason they don't continue fabricating them. I have said lots in the Bolliger and Mabillard topic but I want to do a topic on this specifically so that B&M discussions can continue normally without lots of stand up coaster posts dominating it. Personally I think that they should carry on but using new restraints but many may disagree. I believe that there should be a future for stand ups but mainly I'm not going to stay solid with my thoughts I mainly want to see how other people interpret this. Should there be a future for stand ups? What ways should they change if so? Do th…

These two factors are what divide theme park enthusiasts, there will be people who prefer roller coasters to dark rides or vice versa or maybe even both. As you may know by my signature as of November 2016, I prefer the physical feeling you get at amusement parks as opposed to the theme given. I'm not saying I don't like theme because when it's done with a good physical experience, I absolutely love it (e.g. Space Mountain: Mission 2 or Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror). To summarise, my top 15 isn't made by the theme of the roller coasters but instead the actual force by them. So my questions to you all: Do you prefer the feeling of being out …

Hi guys. Over the years, I’m sure that most of us have visited quite a few different theme parks; each year, I personally visit a mixture of old favourites alongside trying to mix the odd new park or two in there as well to enhance my repertoire and increase my coaster and park counts. Trying to visit new parks can sometimes mean that there isn’t enough time to revisit some previously visited parks, however, and as the years rattle on, a park can sometimes get pushed down and down the list until you realise that you haven’t visited in a number of years. With this in mind, my question for you today is; which major theme park have you gone the longest without visiting? Whic…

Hi guys. As technology advances, screens are growing ever more present within dark rides. Initially, it was Universal and Disney who pioneered the use of screens on rides, but regional parks eventually cottoned on, and most new dark rides built nowadays have some form of screen within them. However, screens are somewhat of a contentious topic among enthusiasts, with many complaining that their use has killed creativity within dark rides. So my question to you today is; how do you feel about screens on dark rides? Do you hate them? Do you not mind them? Do you like them? Or are you undecided? Or does it depend on the context? Personally, I don't mind screens at…

I am currently a final year student and would appreciate any information that helps me complete my dissertation. All information provided will remain anonymous and confidential. So I am trying to find out what is it about the newness of rides that excites you and how important do you think it is for TPs to tell a story through each ride? Finally I would like to know if there are some rides that you go on that give you the same amount of enjoyment no matter how many times you go on them and why do you think that is?

Mods - if this is better placed elsewhere, please move! I'm fascinated by what people will pay for on eBay that's theme park related so thought I'd start a topic to discuss/share odd items etc. relating to our beloved Merlin Theme Parks. Some recent auctions I've found - these are "Sold" items, not unsold items with high start prices - real life money changed hands! I've omitted some listings for genuine old-skool memorabilia (Thorpe Rangers etc) as I can see there is actual value in that... I do know that everything has a price depending on how much people want it! Air Pin badge: £82.00 Thirteen Staff badge: £72.00 Alton Towers 2016 & DBGT Staff Ba…

Simulator Theme Park Plunge Kills Six Death on Maurer Sohne Spinning Coaster1 dead in major accident at Tibidabo, Barcelona.All in under a month. This is worrying :PCould theme park bosses possibly be making cut-backs due to the recession, resulting in less thorough checks taking place?

This is the product of 2 former GCI employees. GCI being a company whom makes insane woodies, I am very interested to see what they bring to the coaster community! source: http://skylineattractions.com/