JoshC.

So after all that, the park have decided to go back to their old slogan, Hard Gaan. Because, y'know...

More photos of an airtime hill featuring AIRTIME From Club PBE Facebook From Temleh on Coasterforce Oof.

Ooh, another thing I forgot to mention.. On the 'An Island Like No Other' track (which I believe specifically plays on the bridge?), there's a nice mix of all the sounds of the island. There's a nice section after The Swarm noise which is surely perfect for Swarm - hope that this year new music for Swarm is on the cards, and that it ends up being a longer version of what we can hear there!

The third, and final, part of Nemesis TLC has been taking place... https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=402095776883777&id=215306002229423 Regardless of anyone's opinion of how the TLC is being presented, this IS good and great to see they did follow through with it.

This ought to Mack up for the loss though... From Inawe Media I think this is largely the second half of the coaster (though feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!)

Gold standard effort from Liseberg, as first piece of track on Valkyria was installed this week...

Since there's snow place to go, I'll lend you guys some support from SkyScraperCity...

Coincidental that Thorpe knock out a video shortly after enthusiasts discuss how there's nothing to talk about / no interest in it... Certainly captured interest on social media. For those who didn't work out the message, it's binary and says 'SAFE ZONE X 05/03/18 09:00'. So there's our announcement day.

That was my thinking too. I guess if it was more coaster than dark ride and had a different enough theme, the distinction could be made. Launch coaster seems more likely than that, thank goodness.

Efteling have more formally announced their intentions for expansion: By 2030, they want to expand the park by 8 hectares, of which 3 hectares will be done for the 2020 new attraction (which they're still keeping secret for now). Planning permission had been put in today, and they've worked closely with locals, so the granting of that seems little more than a formality now. 2020 is still rumoured to be a major coaster, and I keep hearing a launch coaster crop up. Another one I've heard recently is a Mack suspended coaster a la Arthur, which would be very Efteling..

Ferrari Land is getting 5 new kids rides this year, including a Zamperla family coaster (called Junior Red Force for the lolz). Other rides include a couple of spinning things and a little drop tower thing.

For anyone thinking of paying Toverland a visit this year, Avalon and the new entrance area (which they're calling Port Laguna) will be opening July 7th... Plenty of details and concept art here too (best one of new entrance area attached) - http://tvlfansite.nl/2018/01/18/toverland-onthult-in-het-nieuwe-entreegebied-port-laguna-kan-echt-getoverd-worden/

Be interesting to see if The Welcoming opens during the main season at all. Logic being that they advertise a family coaster with a heavy theme, and for those wanting the extra scary factor, they can experience the maze. Stops the thrill seekers being as disappointed that way. Then open the Smokehouse in 2019. Doubt it'll happen (except maybe on the odd special day), but doesn't seem out of the realm of possibilty.

Things do seem to have tightened up recently. After the Derren Brown leak in 2015, rumour mill very much seems to have dried up. No one really knew what Ghost Train was before it opened (and even after 2 seasons, people don't really know what it is now..), no one knew what Rise of the Demon was - leaks just didn't spring up. The Walking Dead was a poorly kept secret, but I don't think Thorpe were that bothered by that, as it was a big reveal to the masses (majority of the GP had no clue). I guess it's a mix of lack of knowledge being leaked out and lack of care though. No one was wanting or asking for an X retheme, no one was wanting a 'Year of The Walking Dead', etc. If people really cared, I'm sure someone would do enough digging to find out, then leak it for the street cred.. Happiness is always around the corner - we just need a Jart post..

You see, I think it's easy to underestimate how much Mack and Intamin have been innovating. Mack's launch coasters have really taken off. Discounting Blue Fire (which I guess could be said to be almost an advert for the product), it's only really since Helix that they've become a big thing and have gone from strength to strength. And the semi-shuttle variety is working out well for them too. Then they've got the spinning coaster, and even if it is a natural progression, for them to be the first to include launches and 90 degree drops says something. With Lost Gravity they've entered the winged market too (and there's rumours the next BigDipper will be their take on a dive machine too). So they've got innovation with those products and more. Intamin are making constant improvements. With Mack's launch market improving, they've upped their game, with Taron coming about and plenty of awesome looking ones cropping up in Asia too. They tackled the inverted coaster market again with Drage Kongen at Djurs (and more on the way), and their sit down coasters look fantastic (Flying Aces, Soaring with Dragon, Hyperion, etc). It's not as much, but it's definitely something. B&M aren't coming up with much. They've brought out the wingrider (with great success) and one launch coaster (seemingly successful, but I dunno), and they've got the reputation for building reliable, consistent rides. But that's just it - parks will go to them these days with the logic of 'we can get the equivalent of X at our park', and not 'we can create the next big thing with them'. I certainly think they've been left a bit behind by Intamin and Mack in that sense. There's nothing wrong with that either, not by a long shot. And I'm sure B&M would always be open to creating a new craze just like they did with the wingrider. But equally, I really don't see any parks turning to them and saying 'let's build the next generation of 4D coaster'.

I believe that their stance on anything they haven't developed is simply 'we're willing to do anything if people ask us'. That was particularly true with launches, where they explicitly said "no one has asked us" (until Thunderbird came about a couple of years back). So that's as far as they've said publicly I think. Part of me thinks the idea is dead now. Wingriders are doing well enough, and the proper 4D coasters get mixed reviews. And with the Zacspins, free flys and the random Swiss manufacturer making compact 4D-esque coasters, I can't see a park ever opting for one. Doesn't help that B&M seem to have a reputation for not straying far from what they know. And that companies like Intamin and Mack are innovating more and more, whilst slowly perfecting their products.

Surprised we don't have a thread for this yet... To kick this thread off (since opening times are being talked about elsewhere), it has been revealed that, as expected, the Annual Pass Day this year will be on Sunday 18th March. Yay. Use this thread for any discussion of the 2018 season generally (shock horror!)...

What would be interesting (though impossible for us) to compare is the percentage of operating time between last season and this season. More closed days means less wear and tear on rides, more time for engineers to work on the rides, etc. That could mean less downtime, which could see an increase in operating time. And if that increase is significant enough, it could mean that rides are actually open more often. Yes, the latter of those is unrealistic and idealistic, but if in general it means on an open day there's less downtime, that's something at least. And maybe even two trains more often... But yeah, the closed day things isn't great, but it's worth remembering how spoilt we have been in the past with opening days.

Well it looks like this thread is in need of a break... Courtesy of Sky Scraper City, not KitKat

Towers Street are now reporting that the Smokehouse restaurant, which was meant to open on the courtyard this year, will not be built for 2018. The Welcoming, which used the location, is still fully built and Scare Tour are of the understanding that the maze will return in largely the same location for 2018's Scarefest.

I got a lot of hate on Twitter for saying this after riding again at the weekend, so I'm posting it again. As a ride, Mystery Castle is just so dull. The up part is meh, the down part is meh, the theatrical side of it after the ride starts (lights on a ceiling plus a crash of thunder!!) does nothing for me. It's such a shame, as the queue and build up to it are decent, but the ride, are really attraction as a whole, is just bad. I literally walked straight through the queue and walked straight on and I still feel like I wasted time doing it.

I must admit that I did find it a bit forgettable at the start of the season. I liked it, but it isn't perhaps as easily memorized to hum along to and such after one listening (like older Thorpe soundtracks, ITHOMK, etc). But that's why I like the fact they've got the theme running through large parts of the park. You recognise it, which creates that parkwide link, and then it seems to slowly seep in and become memorable. Whether it's intentional or not I don't know, but it really works well as subtly becoming memorable, rather than a 'listen once and it always sticks' piece. As for the CD, it's fab, I really enjoy it, and it's good to see UK Merlin doing this after many years of fans wanting it. A nice touch (which many IMA score CDs do not have) is how it has a little booklet saying where each track is from s little about the thought process and design of the audio.

Here's some nice pictures from Attraction Images: And a ground-level shot from 'therollercoasterproject' on Instagram:

I tried liking it, but internet in Germany said no. So funnily enough, you can blame Phantasialand for that...

My rarest thing on coaster count is a travelling Go Gator, but hard to know if people have ridden it. I also doubt many care. I've got the now-closed wild mouse ride at Gulliver's Warrington, don't know if anyone else has that here. And I only know of 2 other people on here who have visited Plopsa Coo, so there's that. (I expect a wave of Plopsa Coo visitors to shout at me now...)