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Lots of improvements and subtle changes made to the ride lately: -New siren in the pre show area. -Walkway from pre show to station is darker and more intense. -New dispatch sequence (lights dim to near pitch darkness, plus either new audio or louder audio) -New speakers on the lift hill -Lots of special effects at the end of the ride (generator), with flashing lights, loud audio and air blasts. -Even LOUDER fog horn in post show -Changes to the exit corridor, with more stuff throughout It's great to see lots of tweaks being made to get this right. For me, the corridor between the pre show and station is a real highlight - genuinely unnerving walking through near darkness, hearing that each area you walk through had been compromised, and all lights going out behind you.

Or anything else, for that matter!

I'm already lawyered up, please expect a court summons in the post... Sorry you had a bad time though. (Imagine there's a sad face here, the emoji tab seems to have descended into madness)

@ChessingtonSam I have a huge fear of heights but will go on pretty much any coaster - I won’t however go on the London Eye again. With coasters you actually don’t really notice the height much and you are only at the highest point for a few seconds. I did Rameses Revenge before I conquered my fear of big coasters so might be a good start - but honestly the best thing (which I know isn’t easy) is to just do it. It was the guys here at TPM that helped me get over my fear of big rides - even holding my hand! My niece was absolutely terrified when I took her to Thorpe for the first time but started her off on Inferno which I think is a good starting point - it took a couple of visits but now she goes on all the coasters without holding on and is a mini geek. Would you ever consider going to a TPM meet? No one would pressurise you to go on anything but you’d have support there from people who’ve ridden the coasters countless times which might put your mind at ease. You can conquer your fears - I did it at 32 years of age and used to be terrified of pretty much any ride - I’d be the one holding the bags and waiting for my sister to come off the big rides

Presented without comment:

They don't need a new ride anyway. They have the best and scariest attraction of all time in the Walking Dead. Why try and beat that?

Land of the Fence

Zero denotes the amount of effort that will go into this.

I got my rides on Wicker Man yesterday (3 to be precise), and, well, it's good, but I have one major problem with it. Let's go back to what I was expecting from Wicker Man: As a coaster, this is what Wicker Man is. It's a fun family coaster; it's got its moments of fun and 'woah' bits, but it's quiet low-key: there's nothing during the course which made me, as someone who would be an older member of the family, think 'Wow, that was fun'. It was all very bog standard. And that's fine, as that gives a coaster for the younger age of the ride's market (6-8 years old) a perfect coaster to ride. But then that's where's the problem lies, as they've done sort of done a Th13teen again. The pre-show (which might I add, I thought was brilliant) is, in my opinion, too scary and over the top for that age range. 6-8 year old me would have HATED it, to the point I'd have been afraid to go on the ride. The pitch black brakes at the end of the ride are equally going to be unnerving and too creepy there too (and would have benefitted from something actually happening in there anyways aside from a blast of smoke). I don't know how well I've explained this, but I remain really unconvinced by this for now. We've got a coaster, which I enjoy, and fills in a gap in the market. We've got a theme and pre-show which I enjoy. But the two don't work together, creating a weird identity crisis of a proper family ride once again trying too hard to be scary. And unlike Th13teen, this isn't something which will die away in time, since the scary stuff is present in the attraction. Maybe I'm making something out of nothing. Maybe 6 year olds are braver these days, I was a wimp back then, I'm over-exaggerating, or whatever. But to me, there is a clear divide in the ride experience which is given and the ride experience it is styled towards. HOWEVER. I did ride with some people who have ridden it before, and they did say it was running noticeably slower today; both from an off and on ride perspective. That was regardless of time of riding (about 12pm, 2pm, 4pm) or where I was riding (near the front, back, middle respectively). So maybe I've caught Wicker Man on a bad day, in which case, I look forward to being able to catch it on a good day. For more positive stuff: -I love the queue -I love the audio -I love the statue -I like the trains -The random effect on the brakes at the end did catch me off guard on my first time. So yeah, to round off. I got the coaster I was expecting. And it's a good representation of what a 'low-thrill' family coaster can do. But with the presentation of the theme and story, they've got a mismatch on their hands. Hopefully I've caught it on a bad day. But if I have, one has to wonder if that was bad luck, or how many more bad days there are to come...

Clearly up there with Phantasialand then

Mystery River retheme is still a work in progress. The park originally had an end-of-April opening date target, but they're pushing that back due to the weather. Here's a fun little before and after visual of a major theming element: Before: After:

That was a lovely post @alexander - it’s taken me until now to reply so apologies. Adams funeral was a lovely service but very emotional, as funerals are. I think I’m still in shock with the speed that everything happened. I struggle daily but I guess that’s to be expected. Right now I have little interest in theme parks - this time last year, Adam and I were planning our trip to Blackpool and talking about going to Phantasialand and Efteling (been meaning to make a blog about our Euro trio but it’s too hard at the moment). I’ve visited just one park this year and that was because my niece wanted to go - and that was emotional. We had talked about going back to some of the places we visited last year and it hurts that he isn’t able to do that, that he’s gone and that his kids and his family have lost a brilliant person so young I’m not sure how active I’ll be on the forums in the foreseeable future but I just want to thank people again for their donations, people who have left lovely messages and the community in general because I know Adam enjoyed attending the meets and chatting to you guys. Special thanks to @he who shall not be named who has been a brilliant friend throughout everything. Cancer is such an evil illness and hospices and charities do so much. I lost my mum to cancer in 2011 and now Adam so I’m thinking of ways to fundraise for MacMillan or Cancer Research - any ideas would be great. I considered sky diving but I have a fear of heights....and planes.....and falling ?. I did look into abseiling down the Spinnaker Tower but that things massive.