JoshC.

Yes and no I guess. The Stealth incarnation of 'a launch coaster at Thorpe' had been in the works since around late 2002, to my knowledge. Maybe earlier even, depending on the sort of relationship that was had with Intamin at the time and the confidence that was had in Xcelerator (which opened in summer 2002). The Hulk style coaster from Premier was the first time Thorpe had plans for a launch coaster. And that idea probably stretches all the way back to the late 90s shortly after Tussauds took over and planned to turn it into a thrill park. Plans were submitted and I t

The valley wooden coaster did have plans submitted in early 2003, but were withdrawn. I think there were loads of potential problems which meant the plans probably would have been rejected. Presumably they would have at one point intended to to tweak and resubmit the plans, but that never happened. I'd say Rita was a replacement for that coaster in the sense of they wanted a new thrill ride for 2005, and it opened in lieu of the wooden roller coaster, which was the first plan. A launch 'icon' coaster had long been the plan for Thorpe. Presumably that simply fit in with

Ahhh, this old chestnut. The story is quite simple, but a sort of Chinese-whispers effect has led to some confusion over the years. That image is from the MTDP from around 2003. The MTDPs only show loose ideas that the park have at the time. That drawing, for example, shows the top hat being the other side of the Stealth area. The layouts mean nothing; they're just there as a rough indication of size. When Thorpe were drawing up ideas for Stealth, they wanted a longer ride, more akin to Xcelerator (hence why the MTDP shows that). Ultimately, it never happened, for a va

Soooooo, The Ride to Happiness, presented by Tomorrowland, anyone?

There's some rumours going around that the theming feature (which obviously once housed the stuff for the fireball explosion) is being replaced. Certainly those photos make it look necessary. I doubt the fire feature would ever return of course, but it would be nice to see a nicer looking theming feature take its place.

Picture the scene. It's some point in 2021 and you're allowed to leave your house. You might even be allowed to leave your county. Depending on how much the rest of world hates us, you might even be allowed to go abroad! And you've decided to go to some parks... So yeah, Covid-pending, do you have any parks you'd like to get? For me, the following feels pretty achievable... -UK Merlin parks -Paultons Park (for Tornado Springs) -Phantasialand (for FLY) -Walibi Belgium and Plopsaland (hopefully at Halloween) I'd also like to do Hansa Park a

How Detonator made it to the final two is beyond me given the sillyness. Then again, I don't like pirate ships, so... Detonator: Bomb's Away (4) Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride (2)

The whole project looks fantastic and genuinely just one of the best complete coasters out there. In some ways, it gives me Taiga-vibes, except with Taron-esque amounts of theming. Intamin's recent track record is much more positive too. So I fully expect this will be one of the most universally praised rides out there, similar to the levels of Taron, Steel Vengeance, Helix and Lightning Rod. Especially since, like the first three of those rides, this will have an extremely high ridership across both European and American enthusiasts.

Bringing PY on board last summer does seem to have been a wonder move for this project. This is certainly the most optimistic I've ever felt about this project ever happening. And I think a large part of the reason it's at the stage it is now is because of PY's influence and lead. I still won't believe this will happen until I see construction start. And even then I'll still have an air of doubt. If it ever gets to a stage of opening, I don't see it being the quality or draw that they expect, at least for the first few years. But who knows...

Work is still happening with Aqualantis and theming, but they've also started on their mine train: (from FOMO Coaster Facebook) I've heard conflicting reports about whether this will open in 2021 or 2022. I expect 2021 will still happen, especially as it's right between Dragon Zone and Aqualantis, but we'll see

The park have been very forthcoming with updates. Here's the latest, which does come with a light spoiler warning... https://www.instagram.com/p/CJOlhaXq17g/?igshid=nyj1bqj2js1j

Track is complete: Their Spinning Sunday series (of which this video is the 9th) is worth a look for loads of updates of construction.

The name is confirmed to be Kondaa It made its first test run a couple of weeks back: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=external&v=381612839605104 It's also expected that it will form an entirely new area (which Walibi Belgium call Worlds), rather than being an extension to the neighbouring Exotic World. All very exciting stuff.

However you're celebrating, in whatever Tier, TPM wishes you all a Merry Christmas. Hope you're staying healthy, and looking forward to a, hopefully, more enjoyable 2021! Now get off TPM, ignore that silly ride game for a day 😉, and get on that Zoom call with those family members who you can't meet today (whether you want to or not!)

Depth Charge (3) Detonator: Bomb's Away (3) Flying Fish (3) King Pig's Wild Hog Dodgems (3) Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride (3) Quantum (3) Rocky Express (3) Rumba Rapids (3) Rush (4) Samurai (3) Saw - The Ride (3) Stealth (3) Storm in a Teacup (3) Tidal Wave (3) Timber Tug Boat (2) Vortex (3) Stealth - TTB + Make it sillier