Dan9

Out by 6:30 It was still full cattlepen at that point though, fun for the staff.

If I was looking for a 'nice coaster for youngsters', Saw would NOT have been my first idea... I wouldn't go expecting an enormous change in priority. Sure they might not only install big coasters, but they won't want to lose the 'nation's thrill capital' tag. Can't see this becoming a major thing.

So it begins.

Aghhh I had a feeling this would happen, the event that I've most wanted to happen and I'm out of the country, first world problems blah blah.

If the possibility is there, Europa is a must for any fan of theme parks. Even if you aren't a seasoned keen-bean world-travelling enthusiast, I'd dare you to go there and not fall in love with the place. Everything about it emits charm and class.

Track looks brilliant being so close to it, quite hyped now!

Saw was very squeaky when it first opened but then it died down after a few months, seems it's a pretty standard feature of some new Gerstlauer's. And Josh (on a phone, forgot to quote!), they'll do all sorts of settings during testing as part of finding the most efficient way of running it. I wouldn't make any judgements about operations until it's open.

Oh it's definitely in your face, but it's a new way of doing it for them. The entrance view is something that would stick in your mind, it looks iconic, as opposed to something just stuck in a corner or in the middle of a path somewhere. I'd put Magnum and Wicked Twister in the first category, and probably Mean Streak. Magnum might offer something else experience-wise, but stylistically it is just a big and brash hyper coaster. This is probably just down to our own personal way of categorising. I don't really see the 'cookie cutter' experience that you're seeing with Gatekeeper though, unless I've misunderstood? Some other rides, definitely, but the keyhole inversions mean it can't really be in that category for me. It's got purpose. Also, you'll have to ignore the Alvey part of this video, but there's plenty of good off-ride parts so...

Cedar Point in not theming all their rides shocker. Whilst it isn't a one of a kind experience, is that such a terrible thing? Cedar Point in the past have only gone for 'standout' records like height and speed, but whilst those are the rides you go for, they haven't got as many you'd want to 'stay' for. I don't think it matters at all whether it's been done before, for Cedar Point, this looks like a great investment. That image of the entrance view already looks spectacular, and gives it it's own little unique twist; flying through the keyhole inversions would give you a great feeling of being 'part' of the whole experience. That image would stay with you. Regardless of whether it's not themed or not particularly 'special', it's incredibly imposing and I think it adds a great deal more depth to Cedar Point's MUSTBECONSTANTLYINYOURFACE line-up than for example, a 0-100 in 0.8 seconds, 26 inverting jumbo-strata-man-eating-7D-plasma-powered-top-spin... coaster.

I doubt it's anything other than standard procedure. After the first few runs they of course have to then go through the 'results', you wouldn't just keep sending trains round and round instantly without knowing how it's affected each part of the ride. Of course it's probably unlikely anything would go massively wrong, but it's what testing's for. I'm sure as the next few days pass they'll gradually move onto more consistent running.

Well when you're comparing any ride to one regarded by many as one of the best in the world, most probably wouldn't fare well.

Returning to Port Aventura in the summer, just a few days after Disney. Shambhala!

Possibly an alteration requested with noise in mind? But with Oblivion's lift nearby, that would seem odd. Are there any residencies near the X-Sector side?

I'm out...

What a ridiculous 'adult' you are, please take yourself and your petty, ignorant views somewhere else.

Loving the album way more than I expected to after all the pre-drama. It's just a really fun one to listen to, all the variety works a charm. Especially loving the three little ukelele interludes. Glad they decided to work with synths a bit too, the outro on this works really well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llSCay8pFJM

The plan was to not know about any of it.

Urgh...

Since Rameses was installed, the 're-branding' phase of the mid-00's and the Merlin takeover have provided two opportunities for an attitude change to the ride. The fact that it's still there shows that both Tussauds and Merlin consider it to be a suitable ride for Chessington. If it was going to be removed for being too much of a 'thrill' ride it would have left years ago.

The natural effect of taking a photo of a screen. I assume the quality is much better in person. Even though it's something you'd expect to have been done over the closed season, I'm glad they've been implemented now rather than leaving it for the rest of the season, something I'd feared before. As a side note to the previous discussion, I'm unaware of how Alton Towers' boards used to run, but the three times I've been this season they've been completely useless.

There was actually about 7 or 8 people waiting in the next group, but we asked for it and we got it. Kudos to that staff member. One of us was seperated and chased around the final room for quite a few minutes before being allowed to leave.

So, The Sanctuary in a group of 3 is pretty great.

I'm a bit lost on this one. Can you explain further why you consider it all to be a gimmick and why it will either add nothing or weaken the attraction experience? It's clear now that the theme is unusual, but I think that's an incredibly unfair branding considering it hasn't even been finished and you say yourself you don't know much about it. Would you rather have had something easier to understand but considerably lazier and lacking in depth, originality or intrigue such as Saw or Thirteen?

There's a good reason the last thrilling flat they installed was in 2005...

Yes, once the brakes stop the train after a roll back, they release and allow the train to naturally roll back into the station, as can be seen as 2:24 here... Colossus on the other hand would have to be pulled externally over the turnaround and into the brake run.