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I went to an EA run event earlier in the year with one of those dinners afterwards. Typical sort of lot who'd spend more time and money patting themselves on the back for a job well done than actually doing anything.

My Thorpe rankings are.. 1. Nemesis Inferno, for me my number one off ride like the theme, the soundtracks both old and new the booming low frequency in the queue and the base in the station that adds to the area and the interlocking corkscrews element path views. On ride I like the speed it carries throughout l, the twist and turns and the rush of blood to the head as you walk down the stairs recovering from the forces. 2. Swarm, A very close number 2 torn between right or left side but my past few visits tend to ride the left rear when possible. Off ride swarm island is in my eyes the best area of the park which says a lot with broken screens graffiti all over the station etc but anyway an area well done and I actually quite like the current mishmash of music the area currently has between the old and new music. On ride great first drop followed by the near miss elements and forces feel a tad too restricted with the vest restraints which is the only reason it’s number 2 as I like a looser restraint. 3. Colossus, I always enjoy the interactiveness you get walking along the paths to this ride. Are the trains terrible YES are the restraints even worse OF COURSE but I enjoy the layout and the length of ride time you get with Colossus plus at the time was quite a big deal for Thorpe. I don’t find it too rough to the point I’m not able to enjoy it. 4. Stealth, Now as much as I appreciate the ride and maybe never experiencing a front row could be a reason why it’s not higher but I value a ride that has a longer ride time and for me it’s a do once if there’s time and no queue, love the launch just personally prefer longer coasters. 5. Walking Dead, I always have fun on this with watching others reactions down the corridors and when they have the Zombies in the canteen, I know this isn’t meant to be a funny theme but with that along side a fun little coaster that’s good enough for me. 6. Saw, Love the theme the area the layout of the ride and wish I could enjoy this thing unfortunately I just don’t enjoy how rough it is no matter if inside or outside front or back row the pain I get after with head, neck and shoulders mean it’s a once a year job for me which is a shame, any tips appreciated I’m only 5,11 and have no problems with Colossus but can’t not manage to look after myself on this one. 7. Flying fish, does what it’s meant to do well great starter coaster for nostalgic reasons always have a ride on this.

I remember reading somewhere that John Wardley was most upset when it burnt down "before he could get his hands on it", so I would like to think that it would have survived with a John Wardley revamp until at least the 2010's. Also Josh you are correct with the RnR clone infrastructure issue. I remember speaking with the development director about why it didn't get built, and that was the reason he gave. He also stated the idea was a quick response to the fire, as they had heard on the grapevine that Disney Paris would be getting RnR (in 2002)

For what it's worth, I've heard that Blackgang's new attraction won't be a roller coaster. Not necessarily. Alton Towers have a General Development Order in place which means they don't have to submit plans for certain things in certain areas of the park. I think X Sector is part of the area the GDO covers, since for Smiler, all they needed planning for was the station building.

My money's on 2025 now, which will mean - finally - 2024 will see the new IP with the "Stath Lets Flats" area taking over Angry Birds land, with the long rumoured 2nd Detonator tower being installed, a record breaking 5 Frog Hoppers, a Miami, and Ramases Revenge being installed inside the 4D Cinema (it's currently in storage in one of the Shark Cabins).

Jack Silkstone has confirmed in his livestream that it’s been unanimously approved by the council! It still needs to go to the Secretary of State due to the EA’s objections, but this is still a huge step!

Apologies for getting around to this so late, but as some of you might know, I went to visit Drayton Manor last Thursday for a first look at the Vikings area. And I’ve got to say, it’s really nice! Let me break down each element of it individually… The Area The area looks really nice. The whole thing has a really nice wooden look to it, and considering that this area of the park was mostly unused land before, I think they’ve tarted it up very well! It all looks very neat, there’s lots of nice little touches around the area, and on the whole, it just looks really nice; good work, Drayton Manor! There have been a lot of comparisons with Tornado Springs at Paultons Park thrown around about this area. Do I think Vikings is as heavily themed and detailed as Tornado Springs? No. But I think it works really well as it is, and arbitrary comparisons with Tornado Springs don’t really do it justice; all of the wooden buildings, the rocks and the landscaping look lovely, and make for a very nice overall effect, and I do quite like the area soundtrack as well! I should also add that I think the new pedestrian entrance, which enters into the area, looks really nice; it’s been finished off very nicely, fits into the Vikings aesthetic surprisingly well, and I also think that it is more centrally located than Drayton’s old one, which works well. All in all, I think the area has been done very well, and works very nicely: The Rides During my visit, I was able to ride Thor once, Loki once, and Jormungandr four times. I’ll talk about each one individually in a short paragraph… Thor I was a little bit skeptical about riding my first Zamperla Disk’O, as I have quite a low spin tolerance, but I’ve got to say that it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting, and I did quite enjoy it! Riding up the ends was quite fun, and even though the airtime hill in the middle didn’t really give any airtime, it was still a fun element! As I said, the ride was not as nauseating as I’d feared, and the riding position felt less weird on ride than I thought it would, as well! Theming-wise; there’s not loads going on, but the ride looks nice enough, with a nice wooden aesthetic throughout the queue line and the area, some nice shields, and a nice Viking helmet on the ride vehicle as well! Overall, I thought Thor was a fun ride, and nicely themed too: Loki I was intrigued to ride Loki, as it’s the UK’s first Zamperla Nebulaz, and a rather unique ride. I’ve got to say, it’s a brilliant visual centrepiece, with all the arms interacting with each other making for a very captivating display! In terms of how it rides; I thought it was… strange. It’s not the most nauseating flat ride I’ve done by any means, but I’m sorry to say that that repeated lurching sensation did make me feel a bit odd, and unlike Thor, I’d argue that this ride is perhaps more intense than it looks. It does look really cool, though, and the fact I’m not generally a flat ride person isn’t something that it can help! It’s quite nicely themed as well, with some nice shields and patterns and a generally nice wooden aesthetic to it: Jormungandr Unlike the other two rides, Jormungandr was not new to me; I had done it in its previous incarnation in 2018, and it’s safe to say that 2018 me would have been very surprised that I was riding it in a new Viking-themed form in 2022, as I remember making special effort to ride it in 2018 on the pretence that it was being “removed imminently”. In terms of the ride itself, I’d remembered it being a perfectly fine, if not overly remarkable, powered coaster, and my rides in 2022 very much reinforced this view; I rode it in various different rows, and while it’s no Runaway Mine Train or Alpenexpress, it does its job perfectly well, in my opinion. There are actually some moments where it gains fair speed; those helixes are good fun, as is the s-bend sequence towards the end! The ride does very much blow hot and cold pacing-wise, however, more so than I’d remembered; it feels like it’s nearly going to stall going up some of the inclines, and there’s other bits where it just sort of meanders aimlessly along straight bits of track at a speed that I dare say feels more monorail than coaster. Overall, though, I think it’s a perfectly adequate coaster for what it is; it’s perhaps showing its age a tad, but that doesn’t really matter given its role within the area and Drayton Manor at large. Also, I have got to say that I think they’ve spruced the ride up very well; the new train design is great, I love the way that the track is now framed within the entrance to the Vikings area, and I think they’ve made the queue and station look very nice, with a really nice Viking soundtrack added: So overall, I think Vikings is a lovely area, and I think it bodes very well for Drayton Manor’s future in themed attractions! The overall finish is very nice, and there are some really nice details; I’d thoroughly recommend a visit! In terms of my visit to Drayton Manor as a whole; it was only my second ever visit to the park, with my first being in 2018, and it was an absolute stonker of a day, with 30 rides being completed in 6 hours on park! That’s a new personal best for me ride count-wise; the park was dead, with nothing on more than a 1 or 2 cycle wait all day! I did do a longer trip report of my whole day, but in terms of some key pointers from the day: Apocalypse is a great ride, but very much gives off the impression that it’s limping to the finish line. Only one sit-down tower was operating; the other 4 looked completely broken, and as though they hadn’t operated in some time. It is a really great tower, though; I’ve never quite gotten the hype for it, but it does still provide an awesome gut punch, and it will certainly be missed! Adventure Cove, the other recent area, also looks lovely, with some very vibrant colours throughout and a nice soundtrack that feels almost like WWTP Radio from Amity Cove at Thorpe Park! I was somewhat disappointed with Adventure Cove River Rapids, however; I came off it absolutely bone dry, and while I accept that I could have ridden it on an off-day, the opportunities for wetness were minimal. It was drier than both Congo River Rapids and Rumba Rapids, by my reckoning, which surprised me. It is a nice relaxing ride to sit down on, though, and it looks very nice, so I probably shouldn’t be so harsh! The Haunting is very impressive! The story is very well told, and the attraction has a surprisingly dark, foreboding tone throughout; as someone who is quite easily scared, I was legitimately somewhat unnerved by it! Shockwave seems to have gotten a fair bit rougher, with some nasty ear bashing present in quite a few sections; I had a sore ear for a good few days after my visit. I maintain that I don’t find the standup riding position that bad, however, and that zero-g roll is a truly epic inversion! Stormforce 10’s backwards drop is a real soaker! The initial drop and the final drop aren’t too bad, but the backwards drop got me fairly drenched! I have no idea why that second drop is such a soaker compared to the other two… If you want to read my more in-depth trip report, here’s the link: