JoshC.

I guess when I said at the start 'wouldn't say its a park that anyone has a huge itch to get to' I guess Cedar Fair agree too. What a shame and probably been on the cards pre-pandemic hence why Orion went to a different park instead.
 
I can see Rail Blazer moving to another park in the chain and potentially Gold Striker. But Patriot, very unlikely and Flight Deck has limited options within the Cedar Fair chain.
 
Demon and Grizzly are toast. 

Awesome TR mate!

The trouble with long cred runs that involve a tonne of driving is if you don't share it you can get super affected by it. Especially when most of the drives in between American parks are stupidly long. Doing 2 full weeks of it in Germany wasn't fun come the end of it.
 
I liked Hershey, definitely good to see love for Lightning Racer.

Very nice Josh!  Hope you had a great time in the US.
 
Such a shame about the last minute re-planning, but I imagine that was a good move?
America is a BIIIG place isn’t it. 
 
looking forward to reading more!

Thanks for this sweet review!
 
Hershey is definitely a park on my bucket list and interesting to note the pros & cons here. 
 
No bags in the queue seems to be a recurring theme in American parks it seems. 

I’ve always heard interesting things about this place. In terms of photography and the like, they seem to be the strictest. 
 
Karnan looks great though. 

I'll be off over to the East Coast area; Six Flags Great Adventure and Hersheypark, then down towards Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens Williamsburg!

Great reports, Karnan looks great, shame about its reliability. Where you off to in the states? Il be out there end of May to Cedar Point and Kings Island.

Nice write up, and a nice trip down memory lane!
 
It's funny, I don't have too many memories about Sun Scream, aside from it being "a thing". I remember watching the stunt show, and never being as interested or excited by it as some of the stunt shows in previous years at the park.
 
It was a mix of something and not a lot at the same time. But then, it was an excuse to open late and just create a bit more of a vibe on park, which it certainly succeeded in doing! Sometimes it's easy to overcomplicate things, but Sun Scream was a nice simple event which added a little bit of extra value to the park's season.
 
 
I don't know if this happened during Sun Scream or just summer more generally, but I do also remember having people dare you to press a "big red button" with the slogan "What's the worst that can happen?"...where either nothing would happen, or "something" would happen and you'd win a prize. That was a bit of a laugh if nothing else.

Flug must be the most marmite wing-rider in Europe. I personally loved it and really liked the different order of the elements and how it uses the hill around it to gain momentum and create a different kind of pacing.
 
Krake is okay, bit bare bones but its success clearly prompted the dive machine rise in popularity with its smaller trains and snappier inversion style. 
 
I generally had positive feelings on Heide. it's a good day out if not outstanding.

Awesome report mate!

Great post Josh! Love it.
So glad you managed to get there on a quiet day and the storm didn't ruin it!
Colossus looks absolutely brilliant.

A naughty double post...
 
Here's the extended post I mentioned chatting about Face it Alone: 
 
Looks like my write up from my Original Face it Alone is on my old-old laptop, and I dread to think how long that will take me to find and boot up. But still, you've inspired me to re-write it up...keep watching this space!

Now this is a proper trip down memory lane - thanks for sharing!
 
I really enjoyed Face it Alone. It was a cracking experience that really differentiated Thorpe from other scare events in the UK for a short period of time. It was unique, worthwhile and a joy for the niche market it targeted. And most importantly, in my eyes, it was something which let Thorpe justify Fright Nights as a premium Halloween event, which had something for everyone.
 
It certainly changed over its 4 years of being offered (and some of those changes were for the worst). It's a shame that it stopped, though it would be great to one day see Thorpe try something a bit more extreme again. There's clearly demand for these more extreme experiences, and they can certainly fit it into their line ups imo.
 
I never did Cabin though for Face it Alone. It's great to hear what exactly happened during your run!
 
My runs were:
2013: Saw Alive
2014: Studio 13
2015: Big Top
2016: Big Top
 
All were very different and interesting in their own way. I don't think I ever posted my experiences / reviews at the time (because of how they were asking people not to, to keep the element of surprise). But I did write them up...I'll have to try and track down where I saved them and post them! If not, I can recall parts of my runs, so will share them a bit later.
 
I also think I did an extended post about Face it Alone a couple of years back on here, discussing some more of the ins and outs of the experience and why it changed and left the line up. And again, if I can't find it, I can remember some details, so will add some more.
 
Watch this space!

I'd be curious if this is a general feeling you have, or a feeling which is highlighted when you're specifically at Thorpe? I know sometimes I feel old whenever I visit Thorpe, sometimes too old.
Another thing that makes me feel old is that I joined theme park forums when I was 15. If a 15 year old was to join the forums today, there's a good chance they would have been born after Stealth opened. I remember watching it being built, as well as The Flying Fish and Model World prior pretty vividly. Jeez.
 
I know you say when you visit a park these days, there's a couple of moments where you feel like the odd one out. But that feeling was expanded at Fright Nights (during half term too I think?). It certainly makes sense that the feeling would be highlighted more in that case.
 
It could also be one of those psychology things. Are you feeling like the odd one out because you think you are, and so are looking for evidence to support that? And so, in turn, you notice all the younger groups, and don't see many people who look a similar age to yourself / are older?
For anyone reading who doesn't quite get what I mean: you don't see many yellow cars on the road these days, do you? But now that thought is in your head, you will be more acutely aware of yellow cars and notice them a lot more, and realise that - whilst they're not common - there's certainly a fair few about!
 
Maybe during your Towers visit have in the back of your mind to exclusively look for groups of adults in their later 20s/early 30s...maybe you'll be surprised with how many you see?
 
 
To stop with the psycho-analysing and answer the more direct question: no, you can't be too old for theme parks. I think there's certain social norms which can be at play (for example, going to a children's park alone can seem suspect in some people's minds...but that's completely different). Theme parks (and moreso rides) are a unique blend of escapism, thrill, story telling and holiday all in one, along with other options - such as the idea of 'collecting' ridden coasters/visiting/number of rides - if you so choose. Few hobbies offer such a blend, along with additional versatility and flexibility.
 
I don't think you can be too old for any of the things theme parks offer. It's just whether you feel like the combination it offers is what you want, or if you want a narrower focus. One thing I've noticed over the years of being on forums is some people who were (and still are!) really interested in theme parks have similar other hobbies too. A couple of examples...
-Live theatre and similar (escapism and story telling)
-Skydiving / mountain biking / more "extreme" sports (thrill)
-Travelling (self explanatory)
 
Maybe that's another reason why there's seemingly less people who visit parks? As people get older, they get easier access to / realise other hobbies which share similar traits to visiting theme parks, and focus their attention there a bit more? That diversification then means they spend less time at parks, and then the concentration/percentage of younger people visiting parks decreases.
 
Another thing which I note as well, is that specific park enthusiasm is much more concentrated with younger people. Unsurprisingly, there's very few 15 year olds which are interested in theme parks more broadly: their focus is on one or two parks, and usually their local park. But after say 15 years of continual visits, that local park won't have the same appeal or interest, and are likely more interested to parks more broadly. Again meaning they spend less time visiting their local park, and instead visiting a broader range of parks (again meaning that the average age of certain park visitors feels very young, and the late 20 / early 30 somethings all feel very old whenever they visit).
 
I feel like I've waffled an awful lot and not said much. But in short:
-You're not too old for theme parks (and if you are, I only have a maximum of 3 years left before I am...)
-Thorpe Park is probably the park in the UK which would highlight this feeling the most
-I think people's interests in theme parks spreads in one way or another as they get older, which can mean there's a skewed view as to how old park visitors are

I'd be curious if this is a general feeling you have, or a feeling which is highlighted when you're specifically at Thorpe? I know sometimes I feel old whenever I visit Thorpe, sometimes too old.
Another thing that makes me feel old is that I joined theme park forums when I was 15. If a 15 year old was to join the forums today, there's a good chance they would have been born after Stealth opened. I remember watching it being built, as well as The Flying Fish and Model World prior pretty vividly. Jeez.
 
I know you say when you visit a park these days, there's a couple of moments where you feel like the odd one out. But that feeling was expanded at Fright Nights (during half term too I think?). It certainly makes sense that the feeling would be highlighted more in that case.
 
It could also be one of those psychology things. Are you feeling like the odd one out because you think you are, and so are looking for evidence to support that? And so, in turn, you notice all the younger groups, and don't see many people who look a similar age to yourself / are older?
For anyone reading who doesn't quite get what I mean: you don't see many yellow cars on the road these days, do you? But now that thought is in your head, you will be more acutely aware of yellow cars and notice them a lot more, and realise that - whilst they're not common - there's certainly a fair few about!
 
Maybe during your Towers visit have in the back of your mind to exclusively look for groups of adults in their later 20s/early 30s...maybe you'll be surprised with how many you see?
 
 
To stop with the psycho-analysing and answer the more direct question: no, you can't be too old for theme parks. I think there's certain social norms which can be at play (for example, going to a children's park alone can seem suspect in some people's minds...but that's completely different). Theme parks (and moreso rides) are a unique blend of escapism, thrill, story telling and holiday all in one, along with other options - such as the idea of 'collecting' ridden coasters/visiting/number of rides - if you so choose. Few hobbies offer such a blend, along with additional versatility and flexibility.
 
I don't think you can be too old for any of the things theme parks offer. It's just whether you feel like the combination it offers is what you want, or if you want a narrower focus. One thing I've noticed over the years of being on forums is some people who were (and still are!) really interested in theme parks have similar other hobbies too. A couple of examples...
-Live theatre and similar (escapism and story telling)
-Skydiving / mountain biking / more "extreme" sports (thrill)
-Travelling (self explanatory)
 
Maybe that's another reason why there's seemingly less people who visit parks? As people get older, they get easier access to / realise other hobbies which share similar traits to visiting theme parks, and focus their attention there a bit more? That diversification then means they spend less time at parks, and then the concentration/percentage of younger people visiting parks decreases.
 
Another thing which I note as well, is that specific park enthusiasm is much more concentrated with younger people. Unsurprisingly, there's very few 15 year olds which are interested in theme parks more broadly: their focus is on one or two parks, and usually their local park. But after say 15 years of continual visits, that local park won't have the same appeal or interest, and are likely more interested to parks more broadly. Again meaning they spend less time visiting their local park, and instead visiting a broader range of parks (again meaning that the average age of certain park visitors feels very young, and the late 20 / early 30 somethings all feel very old whenever they visit).
 
I feel like I've waffled an awful lot and not said much. But in short:
-You're not too old for theme parks (and if you are, I only have a maximum of 3 years left before I am...)
-Thorpe Park is probably the park in the UK which would highlight this feeling the most
-I think people's interests in theme parks spreads in one way or another as they get older, which can mean there's a skewed view as to how old park visitors are

Entering Phantasialand is a weird one as there's actually 3 'main' entrances. 
 
Entrance 1: Berlin. This is the most "main" one in design,  but practically anyone who drives won't use it, since there's basically no parking for day guests. You enter with the carousel directly in front, and then look down Berlin street towards Wellenflug. It's small and tight but pretty cool. 
 
Entrance 2: Mystery. Probably the most used one since the car park is accessed by using the road under the park next to the main entrance. 
 
Entrance 3: China. The car park for this is found by driving past the main entrance, turning left at the roundabout (going past Hotel Matamba) and following the road along.
 
Neither Mystery nor China entrance is great, in the sense that you just go straight into the park. It's a very harsh contrast (like a lot of Phantasialand's transitions between areas). They're practical, certainly not memorable. 
 
Crucially, the park do know these areas all problems. They want to expand the land they own so more people can use the Berlin entrance, and so they can make it a bit grander, but they have experienced issues getting permission to expand.
 
They don't own the land of one of their car parks (I think Mystery, but could be China). It's owned by a local who effectively leases it to the park and refuses to sell. A couple of years ago he tried building his own train through the car park... So it makes it hard to do work there. And even then, there's limited space to expand their car parks, meaning any work done to improve entrances outside the current perimeter costs valuable car parking spaces. 
 
They do have plans and do want to improve, but their hands are very much stuck at the moment. 
 
On top of that, each hotel has a dedicated entrance into the park (though Matamba's only happened this year). None of them are particularly great either. 
 
 
I agree about Maus being on the long side. It is certainly an arm workout!
 
It's probably a toss up between China and Crazy Bats/Hollywood Tour for what sees the chopping block next. Given the investment in Crazy Bats and current rumours, it's more likely going to be the China area that goes first.

I hated the batching system on Hyperion, so sad to learn it's been adopted on Zadra too. Just confusion and faff for no real reason in my opinion. 
 
A shame you don't particularly rate Energylandia as a park. Whilst it's true parts of it have a fun fair feel to it, I think a good chunk of it is a decent park with enough fun rides and okay levels of theming to be considered on par with plenty of other parks out there. And they're forever improving too, which is great to see.

In my defence I'm not just a wimp! 😃 Goudrix has been retracked since I visited and supposedly is immeasurably better than it was before. Imagine your second ride magnified. I'm not going to forgive that contraption its sins.
 
Sad to hear you didn't like Zeus, I thought it was incredible. Hopefully it's just you having bad taste and not that they've let it deteriorate!

Shame neither park seemed great, the redeeming features look interesting.
 
 

I know you're joking, but don't expect them to ever RMC their woodie. It's part of the park's history, is well loved and clearly looked after very well.
 
I got free entry to SeaLife thanks to some free tickets. Otherwise it was about €14 with a Linnanmäki wristband or €18 without.

Gothenburg is a nice city too.  We spent a day going round it and doing general touristy things.  If I'm honest, I'm not that into the whole sightseeing / aimlessly wandering round a city thing, but for those who are into it, Gothenburg is no doubt a good place.  And as has been mentioned plenty of times on here, easy to get to too...

Any idea when a Part 2 might make an appearance?  Always love your blogs to provide some inspiration!

Soon (I didn't realise it had been a month since I wrote the Denmark one.) 

Any idea when a Part 2 might make an appearance?  Always love your blogs to provide some inspiration!