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Well, well, well. Deary deary me. I think this was possibly my second (maybe third?) visit to Thorpe Park this year and of course I always have to have my obligatory ride on DBGT. In fact, the ride was a walk-on at about half 12 (the person on the gate wasn't even checking tickets, so I just walked straight though even though I hadn't actually booked!). I rode DBGT at the start of the season, and they had implemented some changes to the second-preshow that I thought were absolutely fantastic. A little more backstory, tying together all of the plotholes and having a member of the infected burst into the room warning people not to ride. Now... I'm not sure if this is just because I visited during the extreme off-peak days... however this second-preshow was skipped in its entirety. Instead, we were directed straight through onto the train after the talk from Derren at the start. Onto the VR section now. I know lots of people have had issues with the VR headsets on here before and I assume I have just gotten lucky until now... however my headset today was absolutely awful. Constantly drifting, sometimes just locking the camera into place so I couldn't even look around (which, might I add, was absolutely horrendous and triggered immense motion sickness every time I tried to look around). I sat down after being directed onto the train and immediately put on a headset where the audio wasn't coming through one of the headphones... so immediately got up and found somewhere else. Other than the technical issues, the first VR section was exactly as normal. Then we de-board the train as normal, and get hurried along into the big train room. Now, as we skipped the second pre-show... we obviously didn't have any 'codes' or anything to give to the actors in this room, which made the entire situation totally pointless. We were taken off the train, directed into a large room where people were just pacing up and down freaking out, the infected come out, and then we get directed straight back onto the train again. No participation from the audience, just straight back onto the train. Look, I totally understand that there's probably a potential lack of staffing... but the whole 'remembering the code to get out of the room with the infected' bit is kind of the entire motif of the ride. Without that, you're basically just watching VR. Anyway, back onto the train for the second and final VR section. Again, VR and audio issues galore. We had the super-extended VR part two (I assume there was some sort of technical issue and hence we were held up), but aside from all of the VR and audio issues... I actually really liked the extended VR section. It's a real shame they don't let this play out in its entirety all of the time. I really don't jump at the jumpscares on DBGT anymore, but some of the jumpscares in the extended VR Part 2 section really got me (and I couldn't even look around because my VR was stuck again!). For part two I had to change my headset three different times during the actual VR segment and had members of staff asking me what the problem was - pretty sure after they got me settled again they radioed in about all of the issues as I could hear people talking on the radio about them... so other people must've had the same problems as me. And then... the grand finale. *sigh* This, for me, has always been the highlight of DBGT... but not today. Nobody made any attempt to direct people's attention to the ouija board and the audio was so low in the fake shop that nobody even knew what was going on. It was just me and my friend observing the ouija board and even when the infected person came out... nobody even looked! 😂 Which brings me on to my biggest pet peeve about DBGT which I've always been very vocal about - the demon costume. It needs to make a return. I don't care how much it costs. Bring it back. Having no mention of a demon in the first VR section, no mention of a demon in the large train room section, and oh! Suddenly there's a demon thing that nobody has talked about walking around the train in the third VR section!... oh and it's gone again. The storyline is totally discombobulated. Either stick with the demon storyline or abandon it altogether. 'Rise Of The Demon' my arse. More like 'The Demon? What Demon? Oh, There He Is! Oh No, Gone Again!' It truly gets worse every single ride. Also... I mentioned it earlier in the year but it's even more apparent now - the Ghost Train shop is virtually completely empty now. Which I can't help but wonder why? Are they just not ordering new stock to the shop because they're planning on closing it soon or do they just not see the point of restocking because it doesn't get a lot of footfall? I can't imagine it being the latter, because DBGT can get very, very busy at times! I'd be interested to hear what everyone else thinks. Sorry for the long one, folks! 😂

Long Post Incoming. The council have released a document explaining their reasoning as to why the committee should approve the application. It is a rollercoaster of a document, the council talks about how the application is inappropriate for the location it is in. (I will get back to this at the end of the post) The most interesting part of this document is the fact that the council acknowledges that “The timings for the responses from the Environment Agency have largely dictated the timescales for determination of this planning application”. This extract basically says that the EA take 8-12 weeks to respond. We are fed up with waiting and they recognise Thorpe need to open it in 2024 in order to recover from covid. I am glad the council recognise this fact This highlights that even if the EA do respond. The first objection will not be overcome; so eitherway they will have to go to the Secretary of State. The council do not think that it increases the flood risk and the EAs claim does not have substance. As discussed earlier, the development is not appropriate for the area it is built in, so they have to assess it for very special circumstances where they can build in a green belt area These are the reasons why thorpe have to build in this green belt area (the council reviews each one in detail in the document and weighs each one up) They believe that the development outweighs any harm. The council recognises that it is a theme park and in order to expand they need to build on the land which is already existing as part of the themepark. They recommend to the committee that the application is approved under the following conditions (pretty standard, included for reference) plus any conditions the EA have… OVERALL: Glad to see the council recognising that they need to invest more and build more as a themepark and that they recognise that a theme park will always expand on its land and they put certain issues behind them. Now the SOS will have to review the application (most likely) as I’m sure there are a quite a few applications like this, I think it will definitely go to the office of the Secretary of State and there will be a dedicated team for these issues. Looking for a December approval? Who knows, glad to see 2024 the council want it open by. When it does get referred to the SOS, there is a way to view the application status for the public, previous small cases have taken from 6 months to over a year to approve

Planning Committee will be talking about Exodus on the 5th October and the agenda says that the planning committee will be recommended to grant planning permission!

Chiapas > Valhalla Maybe an indoor area with a combination of attractions wouldn't go amiss. Kill off many birds with one stone and get one of those Mack Suspended Coasters and a Flume system. Would be a shame to waste it on a Flying Theatre.

Gosh its been years. Firstly, the top ten new rollercoasters of 2022:- 1. Wildfire 2. Velocicoaster 3. Monster 4. Goldstriker 5. Jetline 6. Kvasten 7. Hagrids Motorbike Rollercoaster thing 8. Flight Deck 9. Wild Mouse (Grona Lund) 10. Railblazer And finally, my current top ten rollercoasters. 1. Nemesis - Alton Towers. The saving grace of the park at the moment. The most consistent ride out there and one of the very best. It will be severely missed next year. 2. Steel Vengeance - Cedar Point. One of the finest rides ever built. 3. Blue Fire - Europa Park. One of my favourite rides and operationally the most perfect attraction. I love it. 4. Untamed - Walibi Holland. A sublime rollercoaster and one I really need to get back to. 5. Helix - Liseberg. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it the last time I rode and its definitely one that gives a beating to your thighs. The ejector air time is something else. 6. Katun - Miribilandia. A near perfect big rollercoaster. Very intense. 7. Wildfire - Kolmarden. I still am amazed that this random Zoo in the middle of Sweden has one of the finest rides in Europe. It stick outs like a sore thumb, but it must be one of the easiest RMC's to re-ride in the world. 8. Wodan - Europa Park. This one just grows and grows. Remarkably consistent and always deliver a fantastic ride. 9. Alpina Blitz - Nigloland. A fantastic ride and severely under-talked about. A really great ride. 10. Taron - This had to make it in there, I find it one of the most exhilarating non looping coasters in the world. Hopefully, with the pandemic pretty much done, there will be a lot more new parks and places visited in 2023. Onwards and upwards!

With regards to the partial opening of Old Town: The Construction Management Plan for Exodus did show the queue entrance for Creek Freak to be where Platform 15's was last year, with a bridge over the Loggers trough. The exit would then be a narrow pathway to the old train crossing by Samurai. However, actual construction for Exodus was never planned to really kick off until November. There will be preliminary work that would have happened before, but the key work wasn't meant to start till November. So, technically, there is no delay But with no approval in place, one has to wonder if they've paused the preliminary work. And one has to wonder why they've changed their original plan for Creek Freak's entrance. It could be purely innocent / a FN design choice, but it does raise eyebrows. However, as has been mentioned, I do have concerns about delays. We still don't have approval. It's not set to be discussed in October, so it's likely that approval from the Council - if it happens - will come at November at the earliest. If that's the case, the park are up against it to stay on their original plan. And that doesn't account for any delays that could occur with groundwork, construction, getting parts delivered in a post-Brexit, Russian-war landscape. If the plan was to open this at the start of 2024, it is going to be very tight, and summer feels that bit more realistic. And yes, this doesn't even discuss the need for the park to invest in other rides and attractions too, which is a huge other discussion.

Was saying to Josh last night - I think we are looking at Summer 2024 now - at best. If it slips to 2025, then I really don't think Thorpe can get by on just "events" for the next 2 seasons. Like I've said previously - I'd be surprised too if all goes to plan with construction and clearance, bear in mind that Loggers is 30 years old, there will 100% be pipes/infrastructure etc. that won't be accounted for underground, plus throw in the fact it's surrounded by water - not ideal.

Visited Thorpe Park today It was an off peak day with limited capacity on Colossus and Saw. DBGT was not operating (due to lack of actors I assume). it being so quiet, made me take a non-event day in. The park lacks consistency, music all over the place. The place looks dire everywhere aging, the overcast weather didn’t help. But certainly everywhere looked so old and dirty. This closed season, I really want them to focus on making the park consistent. Repairs to paint/wood work and theming. If I visited once a year on this day, I’d feel like Thorpe didn’t care and there was no atmosphere

Funny you should mention that because I made a video on this at the beginning of the year: I explained it more in depth in the video but I'll vaguely recap here. My personal rankings are: 7. Flying Fish: Great for a kids ride or for someone who's never ridden a coaster before and wanting to dip their toes in the water... but obviously every other coaster at the park is more thrilling and enjoyable imo so couldn't really place it anywhere higher than last. 6. Colossus: As far as I'm concerned, the worst big coaster at the park. For its age the theming and whatnot is very impressive, but the coaster is incredibly uncomfortable, the restraints are awful and for anyone even slightly above average height will be pushed for legroom. 5. Nemesis Inferno: Granted, Inferno is the better Nemesis of the two. And quite honestly, I do find it enjoyable. However, as someone that sometimes seriously struggles with motion sickness - Inferno has always just sent me over the edge. As a result I'm not able to ride it very often at all, so can't really place it any higher than this either. 4. The Walking Dead: The Ride: I really do like TWD. The pre-show and... post-show? is incredible (by Thorpe's standards). Yeah I get that the actual coaster portion is just your bogstandard Vekoma family coaster, but even the portion where the train 'stalls' and needs restarting just adds to the exhilaration for me. The theming inside of the actual ride portion could use some updating as the zombies just look like your generic fun-fair ghost train style props... but if they ever implemented some actual animatronics to this ride (and proper lighting so you can actually see things rather than 2 second flashes of light) I think it could be insane. 3. The Swarm: The Swarm is incredible. Extremely smooth, the theming is incredible... there really is a lot to love about this coaster. But personally I just find it gets a bit tame and boring in the second half. It's all amazing right up until the helix around the helicopter, and then it totally peters out in speed and intensity. 2. SAW: The Ride: Deciding upon these next two coasters was a real battle. I love everything about SAW. It's got a great queueline, the use of the Billy pre-show is great, some of those tight elements in the layout are insane - it genuinely does feel like a deathtrap (but in a good sense, as that's exactly what the ride is supposed to simulate). Granted it can be incredibly painful and you need to act on the side of caution not to re-ride in too quick succession to avoid a brain hemorrhage, but that's all part of the experience baby! Oh, and I absolutely LOVE that the trim brakes near the end of the layout aren't functional, genuinely. 1. Stealth: Stealth is my baby, man. What it lacks in theming it absolutely makes up for in speed. Stealth takes my breath away every single time I ride and I still get anxiety when I sit down and wait for dispatch. Also... those views you get at the top of the top hat are incredible!

I have no idea what's going to happen to it. The contract with Derren has got to end at some point soon, unless its already ended and has been renewed? I'd love for them to just rip out the ride system and start with something completely different. Its an operational nightmare, its the only ride on park which doesn't open at 10 (and never did even when it was meant to) and requires timed tickets. Its unreliable. Its expensive to run. But knowing merlin and them not having the budget to do so, I think the more likely option would be them try and make something work with what they've currently got. I personally can't see it get to a point where its just SBNO with it being in the middle of the park but who knows. Interested to hear others thoughts on this one.

It's an awkward one, and I'm not really sure what they can do. I think the ride clearly hasn't been a rip-roaring success (or at very least, a rip-roaring success to the degree that the park were hoping for), seeing as it's still on entry via timed tickets as far as I know (correct me if I'm wrong there...), which would indicate that it isn't the most popular ride. It also doesn't appear to be seen as a headline attraction in the same way as the likes of the coasters, from what I can tell, which isn't too good given its age and the money that was spent on it (£30m, supposedly). The problem is, though; I think it was too expensive for them to just leave or do anything overly drastic to it. To abandon a £30m ride (the most expensive ever built in the UK) after only 6 years in operation would be a huge loss of money. So I'm not really sure they can do anything to it without losing a huge amount of money. In an ideal world, I would get rid of it and put a new family thrill dark ride in there that has wider appeal. Perhaps an Oceaneering system, like Jumanji at Gardaland, would work well? Personally, I feel that its appeal was too niche for such a major headline attraction. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with parks building horror dark rides, and I admire Thorpe's nerve for doing DBGT in the first place, but I think there is a reason why not too many horror dark rides with scare maze-type elements akin to DBGT exist, and the ones that do exist are mostly lower budget support attractions within their respective parks rather than bank-breaking headliners like DBGT. That reason is that the appeal of that type of attraction (horror, with scare actors and many scare maze type elements) is quite limited in the sphere of the wider theme park visiting populace, and there's only so much reward you can get from horror fans, hence it's not usually worth spending tons on that type of attraction. I'm a young adult who likes a good thrill; I would consider myself a thrillseeker who isn't scared by much hardware-wise, so I'm right in the park's target market. However... I have not done DBGT because horror attractions are not my thing at all (I know this makes me sound like a coward, but I'm not keen on forced participation, and I have a slight phobia of costumed characters/scare actors... I haven't done TWD:TR since it was rethemed for the same reason), and I know that I'm not alone in feeling this. Something like DBGT will naturally be a lot more polarising than something like a roller coaster or a more traditional dark ride, and I think that's part of why it hasn't been a greater success. Ultimately, I think that it was a huge, huge gamble. It was a pretty admirable gamble; it had a really admirable degree of ambition behind it, and its uniqueness is in many ways quite stunning, but it was a gamble that ultimately backfired quite spectacularly. Overall, I think the ride was almost a bit too ambitious in many ways, with the experimental technology seemingly being quite problematic, and its appeal was arguably too limited for a ride of its scale.

We have a TPM article which details things a bit more. But for here... In short: 1. The Officer Report says that the council have been recommended to grant the application. 2. HOWEVER, as there are objections from the EA still in place, if it is granted, the application has to go to the Secretary of State for review. This could result in the council's decision ultimately being over-ruled. The Officer Report basically supports Thorpe with regards to the EA's objections. It's also noted how frustrating dealing with the EA has been, with them taking 8-12 weeks to respond and log their issues, when the park have been very prompt with giving extra details. Indeed, the original expectation was that a decision would be reached 13 weeks after the application was submitted (back in MARCH), and the EA is effectively the sole reason this has not happened. Thorpe are aware of the potential issues that could come about with the application going to the Secretary of State for review. I don't know what would happen during a review by the SoS, how long it could take or any potential issues / delays it could have. But presumably the park and their planning consultations are confident the application won't be rejected in any case, and are just so fed up with the EA at this point that they're pressing forward. This will hopefully mean they won't lose too much ground in terms of construction and still be able to open it in 2024. So exciting times, but still with an asterisk next to it for now...

I’d expect the environmental agency to still uphold their objections. Going to Secretary of State, will definitely push it to a 2025 opening.. Nether the less, I’m glad to see the council support this application fully and it will more than likely happen at some point. once that application is approved, can’t wait to relax

Thanks! That's interesting. The Single Rider queue would be using the right side of the stairs so sounds like they've ditched it already which is a shame

For anyone interested, documents have been uploaded to the EIA application. Here’s a link to the EIA letter: http://publicaccess.staffsmoorlands.gov.uk/portal/servlets/AttachmentShowServlet?ImageName=313746 The project description describes a 4,000m2 aluminium warehouse, which will be up to 75m*57m in ground space dimensions and up to 20m tall. That’s very tall for a dark ride… for some idea, Sky Lion’s building is 13m tall, and DBGT’s is 10m tall. I also feel that the building is too large in terms of ground space for something like a flying theatre; Sky Lion is actually very compact, and takes up less than 1,000m2 of ground space, so even a double theatre version probably wouldn’t be any larger than 2,000m2 or so. This is 4,000m2; larger than any other dark ride building on park (Duel, the current largest, is about 3,000m2), and also larger than DBGT (2,306m2 according to the planning application). Would a flying theatre, even one with 2 theatres, really take up that much ground space? It could be a dark ride, but my money is on an indoor family coaster of some sort; the building area could definitely accommodate one, and a 20m building height sounds more “coaster” than “dark ride” to me.

I was there yesterday and I must admit I didn't see anything advertising it. It could've just been me not paying attention, but there were no signs outside of the queueline that stated such. But then again, yesterday it was running on reduced capacity and the main queue were directed up the fast track side of the staircase and the main left side was totally unused for whatever reason, so perhaps Fast Track/Single Rider just wasn't in operation yesterday but that's anyone's guess.

Not forgetting that Alton is in dire need of a new water ride now - The Flume was bloody brilliant (granted, Wicker Man is even better) but now all that we have is the rapids, and even that is a shadow of its former self. I would absolutely love a Valhalla style dark water-ride and I'm crossing everything I've got that's what it's going to be!

My money is on a new Dark ride maybe. The building is the same size as Valhallas... Who wouldn't want another Valhalla like attraction in the country!!

They really need some new attractions for next year and year after. If we were to see some sort of smaller ride we would have seen planning permission go in for a March opening. Unless they don’t need it? They could also be wanting to focus on exodus to prevent delays and detracting attention. Lost city rides are coming up to 20 years old, it’s always the same discussion. It’s a ticking time bomb, and the park will need multiple years of investment again.

It is unfortunate that there is no approval and no date for it to be discussed. To be honest, they should have been working on a new coaster several years ago rather than wasting time with black mirror/derren brown. So I do hope they are really pushing and lobbying for this to happen asap as this is what they really need. A new flat ride on the slammer location would be a nice way to tide people over but I doubt will help visitor numbers that much.

Good morning. With Monster becoming my 351th rollercoaster credit it also has the distinction of being my 50th B&M in total. And as a celebration of my absolutely, 100% favourite rollercoaster manufacturer ever, this blog will be relatively brief and a look through the 50. 1. Nemesis Inferno - 2003. Ah Inferno. Not the bang start but as a ride this has got so much better over the last two decades. Great solid ride. 2. Nemesis -2004. My favourite rollercoaster, one of the best B&M's ever built, in fact just one of the best rides ever constructed. Renewal secures its future for years to come. 3. Oblivion - 2004. One hit pony but it is a great hit. Ironically, one of the best dive machines out there despite the advances the ride type has made. 4. Galatica - 2004. This is okay. One of the weakest in Europe and other of its type are far superior. 5. Silver Star - 2006. A real grower, I wasn't initially a fan but now I find this a really solid crowd pleaser. Capacity and Efficiency to die for. 6. Black Mamba - 2006. I really like Mamba. It does have a weak finale but the theming and excellent makes this a stand out inverter for me. 7. Superman de Acero - 2007. For a long time this was one of my top five rollercoasters. I really like the long layout and darting off into the fields of Spain is actually better then it sounds. 8. Batman la Fuga - 2007. Not the biggest fan of this version. Just a bit meh and its theming doesn't extend beyond the queue and station. 9. Manta - 2011. Wonderful ride, very intense. I love a pretzel roll, give me more. 10. Kraken - 2011. This has grown on me since my initial ride. It's new colour scheme is a bit jerk but nonetheless, a great example of the flourless ride type. 11. The Incredible Hulk - 2011. The refresh has worked wonders and this is a fantastically intense and brutal Sit-down. Really great. 12. Fire Dragon - 2011 (RIP). The better of the two and I was fortunate enough to ride them when they duelled. Much missed. 13. Ice Dragon - 2011 (RIP). I hate JK Rowling. The loss of these two is enough to hate Universal actually. 14. Katun - 2011. An excellent example of an American style B&M but in the hot Italian sun. Fantastic ride and full of force. 15. Raptor (Gardaland) - 2011. A really nice low to the ground wing rider. Love how B&M nailed the concept with their first attempt. 16. The Swarm - 2012. I love the Swarm and the one I've ridden the most. A little short but has aged wonderfully with a very intense helix. 17. Oz'Iris - 2012. Excellent. Near perfection. Varied, unique and different layout and an absolutely perfect zero g roll. Beautiful theming. Three trains What's not to love? 18. Dragon Khan - 2012. An iconic ride. I think this could do with a retracking as legend has it its starting to show its age. Very aggressive ride. 19. Shambhala - 2012. The TPW famous ride, I remember loving this and its fun layout. I'm not PA's biggest fan but this ride alone would attract me back. 20. SheiKra - 2012. Never understood the dislike for this. I really love the absurdly big look of the ride and have always enjoyed it. 21. Kumba - 2012. Retrack please. It rode amazingly but wasn't great when I went in 2017. Absolutely iconic. 22. Montu - 2012. Really not a fan. After the great start, it just meanders around at the end not doing anything particularly special. Batwing is over-rated. 23. Dæmonen - 2013. Very cute. Yeah it's not substantial but at such a short queue and in such a beautiful location its hard to dislike this ride. 24. Medusa (Discovery Kingdom) - 2014. I really liked this car park coaster. Lovely and unique inversions and pretty forceful. Worth going to DK for. 25. Tatsu - 2014. Fantastic ride. It works so well flying above the hills of Magic Mountain and its strange layout really is unique and inspired. 26. Riddlers Revenge - 2014. Another fantastic, long B&M. Unique in one of the last stand ups out there. Really enjoyed it despite the crippling capacity. 27. Batman The Ride - 2014. Ridden backwards so not a true reflection. This was okay but these things should be done facing forwards. 28. Scream - 2014. Under-rated. American B&M's have an advantage in being very long and forceful. This has had a refresh since my visit so looks great now even if its still a car park. 29. Silver Bullet - 2014. Bit meh. It has some nice moments but its a bit too soft for my liking. Rumour has it that it has got a lot better since I rode. 30. Baron 1898 - 2017. Excellent. One of the best rides out there. The story engages me on every level and I could ride it all day. So much fun. 31. Monster (Walygator) - 2017. American style B&M in a field. Very good as only slightly better then Raptor at CP because it has no mid course break run. 32. Mako - 2017. I didn't think this would be for me but it was actually a lot of fun and a really good hyper. The mid course kills the pacing though. 33. Oblivion: The Black Hole - 2018. I liked this. One of the longer dive machines out there and its got a nice bit of decoration around the drop. 34. Flug der Demon - 2018. One of my favourite wing riders. Really nice use of the landscaping to create a varied and interesting ride. Great air time as well. 35. Krake - 2018. Dull. Almost as basic as Oblivion but without the prototype excuse. I like the Krake monster but thats it. 36. X-Flight - 2018. Wish I'd ridden more, we got a front row on the first ride so it probably wasn't at its fastest. Basically the Swarm but longer and more inversions. 37. Raging Bull - 2018. Very unique. Not surprised no more twister style hypers were made as this is a real odd attraction. 38. Superman Ultimate Flight - 2018. Boring. It has one stand out moment in the pretzel and the rest is just meandering around above the ground. 39. Batman the ride - 2018. The original inverter and absolutely fantastic. You can see why this was cloned so much based on the quality of this version. Hasn't aged at all. 40. Gatekeeper - 2018. I love this ride. Instantly re-rideable and instantly iconic over the entrance of CP. 41. Raptor - 2018. One of the more aggressive rides out there. What it lacks in variety it makes up with its just sheer force and speed. Recommended. 42. Rougarou - 2018. This is just alright. I'm not sure if the flourless really adds anything to a layout based around being stand up. 43. Valravn - 2018. Boring. The vest destroys any air time and in a park full of big drops, it's not really interesting or unique enough to stand up. Rubbish capacity as well. 44. Leviathan - 2018. Great first drop, the rest of it is very much meandering territory. Legend has it Fury 325 does the concept much better. 45. Behemoth - 2018. An absolute classic. Very good ride full of airtime, great setting over the river and a really long ride. The seating doesn't add a whole lot. 46. Valkirya - 2018. Aside from being a longer dive machine, the vest restraint just kills it for me. Why it couldn't have the normal restraints, I don't know. 47. Fenix - 2019. I really like this, its one of the more forceful versions of the wing rider. Great setting as well. 48. Flight Deck - 2022. Interesting getting back on an older B&M. It rides really well despite its age and I hope it finds a new home. 49. Patriot - 2022. Will probably be scrapped. Is now showing its age and it isn't the most inspired of layouts. 50. Monster (Grona) - 2022. I adore this ride. How they managed to fit it in is just magic. The elements are just so odd and you get crazy elements of intensity in some of the oddest places. And therein lies my truth. Here's to the next 50.

Maybe they should take the hint and use a better designed tall boi instead?

That shop is HUGE too -almost as if they thought DBGTROTD was the future of theme parks 👀

What a mess. that’s interesting the shop is near empty now. It really wouldn’t surprise me at all if it closed soon. Even just the shop for now, and the ride in a year or so.

Weird, I visited today too and having lots of 30/45 minute queues (although obviously not as busy as the summer days - I only ever tend to visit mid-week and typically most rides are only ever 5-10 minute queue times at most... maybe I just get lucky), I would definitely not say the park was 'quiet' by any means 😂 I saw lots of schoolkids running about, but the last hour of the park was extremely quiet and was nice to get a few re-rides in before heading home. DBGT seemed to be operating inconsistently throughout the day (I managed to get two rides on it... I hate how that ride gets worse and worse with every re-ride. I'll write a more thorough review on that in the topic shortly). The way they were batching people at SAW was interesting to say the least. Bit of a free-for-all in the queueline (nobody on the actual door batching people into the building) and only directed up the fast-pass stairs. No doubt about it being reduced capacity, it was ridiculously tedious. TWD had no actors in, but then again that's totally to be expected on a mid-week day in the very off-peak season. The SAW audio was very, very nice. They seem to have gotten rid of the constant, blaring SAW theme playing 24/7 and only playing the snippet on dispatch. Means that the Billy pre-show can be heard pretty much perfectly, which is an absolute bonus. Detonator was operating very, very well today to be fair. The operator seemed to absolutely love his job, and was holding people at the top for multiple minutes at a time! Definitely agree that the park needs quite a bit of TLC over closed season, lots of areas of the park are in dire need of a bit of loving.

nah there working on disney logic, it be ready for 2034, with a new cake in the meanwhile