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Sidders

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Posts posted by Sidders

  3. 2014 Season

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Nah I'm not buying it; the tart-up or the advertisements said tart-up will broadcast. I'm agreeing with pluk's fear here, that it will look ugly, like it was so painfully evidently bolted on years after the original building was erected. It's just so Thorpe though, to not bother doing it to any aesthetic par Disney or Universal might commit to, and yet claim they're worthy of being mentioned in the same breath. I don't understand why they think it'll improve the look just by plonking something modern and distracting in front of something old and bland.

    It really doesn't work like that.

    400px-ArcelorMittal_Orbit%2C_April_2012.

  5. Next Big Thing - 2016 Development ?

    in The Past

    Posted

    An educational coaster would be a boon for Thorpe indeed, though I'm not sure how it would fit in...

    Even so, the topography of Thorpe itself isn't much to really play around with is it? I mean it's not like Towers and you have a giant valley, a terrain woodie wouldn't really have much in the way of terrain...

    I meant the trees and the lakes. When Saw was built, the entire area was cleared. What's to stop them from keeping some of them and only remove the ones necessary for the layout or the emergency vehicle access?

  6. Next Big Thing - 2016 Development ?

    in The Past

    Posted · Edited by Sidders

    That would be great sidders but seeing as Expedition Everest cost in excess of $100,000,000 I don't think the Merlin one will be as good unless they did something very creative but cheaply :P

    That's not the point Ethan. My comparison to Expedition Everest was purely speed-based. A coaster that can travel at 50mph doesn't have to cost $100,000,000. The point was that a family coaster doesn't necessarily need to be the speed of the Flying Fish.

    Okay, wasn't sure. I don't particularly pay attention to what non-UK parks have hence why I was curious. I disagree that it doesn't add much, I found Scream a very good ride; which was different enough to not feel similar to other coasters at SFMM but like I said, also a different kind of experience, so I disagree that it'd be too much like Colossus with a gimmick. But then again, isn't that what they all are? Swarm, a looping coaster with a gimmick, Inferno, a looping coaster with a gimmick, based on what you're saying. Just because of a different seating position...

    Get out.

    For me, Thorpe need to stick with something reliable, and put their own stamp on it. I'm not asking for the world's most anything, but to get the postcode's first something would be a bit **** as well. I think they need to bring something reliable and relatively unseen to the table and make it uniquely British. This would be very easy with a Mack Megacoaster รก la Blue Fire or Helix, or a GCI/GG (not RMC thnx), as they're yet to touch these shores and they have nothing but rave reviews by all riders. A Wooden coaster that utilises the parks topography to it's full potential would be equally well received, as the last wooden coaster built in the UK is 18 years old.

  7. Heide Park

    in International Attractions

    Posted

    Heide always, always, gets cheap knock offs of the UK parks. It's lazy and they've done it since they've owned it.

    They seemingly went a little bit away from that with Krake's theme. And at least they don't play thorpe parks music everywhere anymore or use Ritas advert for Desert Race.

    They're getting there, slightly. But still have a long way to go and another park which'll benefit massively not being under UK ownership.

    ****, I forgot about Desert Race. Such a dire piece of kit.

  9. Heide Park

    in International Attractions

    Posted

    I've been following the construction of Merlin's latest coaster under the radar a bit. Withholding my judgement because, I thought, I would wait until it was finished. But the more and more I saw, the less ad less I was inclined to say anything. And I must agree with Josh, Mark, Jamie... the general consensus really. I wanted this to be amazing, especially since my four month Erasmus exchange starts in two days and will give me plenty of time to romp around Europe riding these coasters, but Flug der Damonen seems a little... misfired. Here's my thoughts:

    This coaster does appear to embody the more cynical opinions of Merlin's recent enterprises; that somewhere along the line, probably after an impressive mood-board, expensive initial concepts, world-class artistic rendering and layout design were completed, it all just fell to ****. It's like they've mashed together the better qualities - layout and theme-wise - of The Swarm and Raptor, and left us all in a very (as Mark quite duly noted) bland middle-ground that wavers between trying the thrill people and maintain its theme. The Swarm gets it: it's got the speed, the sustained G-forces, the theme (sort of), and a real atmosphere. The layout embodies the idea of aliens kidnapping you and disorientating you by flying up, down, around and over. It dominates its area and is physically very impressive. Raptor, though I haven't ridden it, has a similarly very striking physical appearance. It's train is a visual masterpiece, the area looks immersive, and the layout is top-notch. It also encapsulates its concept within the layout; the idea of the Raptor running rampant around the research facility, destroying approximately everything with its relentless twists, turns and dives.

    FDD has none of that. My first issue is the aesthetic. It's copied The Swarm's gorgeous train faรงade. Cheap cheap cheap. Secondly, it only has six rows. Now, I'm sure there are higher science-y powers at work determining the necessity for only six rows, but it makes it look like a meek and feeble sapling in comparison to it's much bigger brothers. Thirdly, colour palette. The ONE ride Merlin had credence to make black/dark over all their other poor colour palette decisions (Krake, Th13teen, The Smiler to an extent), is white. White?! All other visuals for this coaster (concept art, logo, advertisement, associated buildings even) point to a coaster that should've actually looked darker. Now it's bleached - or rather, blanched - and just disappears into a moody overcast German sky; it's not imposing; it doesn't stand out; it looks like it just came straight from the factory without being painted/was copied straight out of a coaster simulator.

    Another problem for me is the layout. What exactly is it doing? Have we missed a back story with this coaster? The Swarm and Raptor have back-stories, so why did Merlin cheap out on this one? In recent times, Merlin have been so, so good at translating the story of the coaster into the layout. I've said before how The Swarm and Raptor do it, but they're not the only ones - Th13teen's layout - to a fair, but not perfect, extent - does the same, and The Smiler practically smashes the nail on the head until it falls out the other side. FDD's train is left to meander from one point to the next ticking a passable number of boxes, not really sure of what it wants to really do. The inclined pretzel certainly looks like it'll pack a punch, but then the ride is over. The best part of the ride looks to be the fortunately-placed airtime hill.

    One big surprise (also negative) is the theming. Where is it?! Even The Swarm's is more consistent than this thing. Just looking at that POV video again you can see a small amount of ground themeing has been done, but where the guests can't walk, it's simply left as per the construction period. Save the new shop and a bit of queueline distractions, it's all very sparse. But then again what could they have done? I'm sure there must have been concepts at some point, but they must've not materialised. Where do these demons come from? How are they here? What are they here to do to the human race? Etc. etc. etc. All of this should've been translated into the coaster environment. It was done for The Swarm, it was done for Raptor. The resultant feeling I get from it is that it's more akin to X-Flight. It's not quite as bad as X-Flight, I'll admit, but it's easily the dullest looking Wing Coaster (theme-wise) Merlin have ever done.

    I'm sorry, I know some arse will pop up with a ten-word post about how I haven't ridden it yet so can't call judgement, but that just won't wash here. No, I haven't ridden it, but I can see it. And while I know it might be a decent ride, it's not a decent attraction, especially for Heide Park. It looks off-the-shelf, a little bit pathetic, doesn't play to the design's strengths at all. You might not think all of this counts, but it does. Strip away the underground tunnel on Oblivion, the terrain on Nemesis, the The Smiler's music; what would we think if Helix was white when it's theme demands it be green? Without the imposing black abyss below Oblivion's drop, Nemesis's speed-manipulating terrain proximity, or The Smiler's world class score, and that's what we've got with Flug der Damonen.

  11. Next Big Thing - 2016 Development ?

    in The Past

    Posted

    Does that not reach about 50mph?

    It reaches 62 mph (wodan) haha, if that did happen it would be the 2nd fastest coaster in the park :P but yeah the apocalypse would be 50mph :)

    And Expedition Everest reaches 50mph as well, but that's hailed as one of the greatest family rides in the world. I'm okay with a similarly spritely family coaster.

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