JoshC.

Haven't watched the video (cos spoilers), but I always find it a shame when parks spoil their own attractions. Hope it doesn't show too much. *puts Mod hat on* With Fright Nights fast approaching and more members than ever going to the Media Preview, if people want a spoiler thread set up to help avoid spoilers, whilst still allowing spoiler-conversation to flow, please go ahead and set one up for now...

Wing over drops (or should that be The THORPE PARK Inversion? ) need to be taken at a slow speed, otherwise they'll be uncomfortable and create awkward amounts of g-force. Lost Gravity has a very similar style inversion mid-way through the ride (even though it's not a wing rider), and there's a MCBR before it which basically brings the car to a halt for it. So that's why they can't really do anything dramatic prior to the drop. Remember that though the wing over drop is common on wingriders, in their own individual locations, they are special, they are a visual spectacle and they are exciting and different. Though Heide Park is nearby with Flug, this will still be unique enough for 98% of guests. So it's completely fine there. Also, B&M wingriders aren't really rides that are designed to be forceful. They are there for graceful, drawn-out elements that look as-good-as (if not, better than) they ride. Though there's nothing stopping a park wanting to get a forceful wingrider, it is unlikely to happen. Though it is true that this offers little different compared to all other wingriders.

The boat ride is largely outdoors. It does have an indoor section (I think it starts or/and finishes inside) though. I spose technically speaking that would be Toverland's first dark ride experience. But when half the park is indoors, and even some of those ridss there are in buildings of their own, we could be pedantic and say they have loads of 'dark rides'... The Avalon area will also include a new a la carte restaurant called The Flaming Feather.

Unprecedented 5th post in a row... The announcement has confirmed a King Arthur style theme. The area will be called Avalon (a mythical island from Arthur legend). The coaster will be called Fenix, and the boat ride will be called Merlin's Quest, and last ~12 minutes. The rumoured layouts posted ages ago are correct, making Fenix the tallest and longest wing coaster in Europe. Some pictures from the park... Fenix has 6 rows. This just loves awesome I'm so excited for this in case you couldn't tell. Truly fantastic investment from the park. Some more photos from the park and the story of the ride are over on Looopings - https://www.looopings.nl/weblog/8529/Toverland-onthult-details-en-ontwerpen-van-spectaculaire-wing-coaster-Fenix.html

After re-riding Gruffalo several times with my little brother, I really do think Chessington have hit the nail on the head with this attraction. There are still flaws, and I'm not a fan of the 'you need to look in a specific direction for every scene' thing it's got going, but it does work. Most importantly, I think they've got something that is timeless for the next generation to enjoy for years to come. Gruffalo is a popular story, and even if you haven't read the book, you get the gist of it quickly. The ride sparks imagination and wonder for younger children, and is something which I think it always will do. It is also something which an older audience can enjoy and appreciate. Sure, it's not the same heights as the original Bubbleworks, but that's an extremely high bar to reach. But it's definitely a fantastic investment, one which will truly last, and arguably the best thing Chessington have done this century.

So I visited the park yesterday, and noticed a fair few closed rides. On top of Dragon Falls and Peeking Heights (which was obvious), there was Rameses, Black Bucaneer, Galleon and I'm fairly certain Zufari opened a lot later than 12. And no Lorikeet Lagoon. Is that all standard procedure for off peak days or is something up? Yesterday was absolutely dead though. Everything was walk on all day. The restaurants had way too much food prepared and I'm sure most of it would have ended up in the bin.. Good to see the park open and stuff of course, but it certainly felt like they were operating at a massive loss...

To be fair, if I'm paying £100 for a tiny piece of metal, I'd want it to be delivered by a courier with at least 5 years experience along with 2 bodyguards. Not sure you can get that for £2 though

Don't think the theming picture is getting enough love. Thorpe have demonstrated time and time again that they can do excellently themed set pieces in their mazes, and almost always do. The snippets we've seen from Living Nightmare prove that it'll be no different. As my the maze I'm most looking forward to this year...The Big Top is my choice. As I've explained in the past, though I'm sure I'll enjoy them, I have reservations about TWD mazes. I'm looking forward to Platform's improvements but after last year, you need to keep expectations realistic. Saw will be Saw, and Containment will be Containment. It feels like Thorpe are trying to make Big Top their headline thing, the maze that'll be back year-in, year-out, and will always deliver. Essentially the equivalent of what Asylum was, and what Tower of the Terrors currently is. And if there's supposedly enhancements / changes, I'm all geared up for them...

It's concerning that I'm quadruple posting without batting an eyelid... Another new video from Toverland: Dragon / castle / knight theme seeming more and more likely, which would be a lovely fit for the park. Still hasn't truly sunk in for me that tiny Toverland is getting a (albeit small) monster B&M next year...

Lumber Jump is still there and open. And though Rumba Rapids is closed for the rest of the year, it is back next year.

Not strictly true. Wicked Witches Haunt was a family-aimed dark ride; Vortex (and Detonator) were thrill rides. Zodiac was more the attempted 'replacement' (for lack of a better word), since that was geared as a family ride. The fire happened at the start of the transition period from turning Thorpe Park from a family park to a more thrill-focused park. There had long been plans for thrill rides to join the line up in the Lost City area, and for Mr Rabbit to be replaced by a coaster. Because of the fire, Zodiac was bought in in 2000 (under the name Enterprise) to make up for the fact that 2 rides were closed. It's popularity meant it was introduced permanently in 2001. Vortex also came along to help increase the thrill offering, and start the Lost City area (with Colossus already well underway). Detonator was introduced to further help the thrill offering, and to have something in the area where WWH stood. It was originally only meant to be around for the 2001 (planning permission was only granted for a year, and originally Thorpe wanted a drop tower in the Lost City area). But because of it's popularity, Thorpe decided they wanted to keep Detonator as it was and eventually got permanent planning permission. More backstory on what happened with Detonator can be found on my blog... (Though spoilers - some of the information there is wrong. Thorpe were originally going to get a Vekoma launched coaster, not an SLC...) All the info about the Thorpe fire can best be found over with our friends Memories of Thorpe Park.

I reckon with Thorpe wanting to include families more now (as seen in particular with the addition of Timber Tug and Lumber Jump), Banana Ride is pretty safe. Mechanically speaking, the ride is simple and well looked after, so there's no real reason for it to be removed. So it'll be around for a good while yet.

New video from the park... The aforementioned potential 'new details' day is Tuesday, when the park are presenting at EAS. Oh and for all you fans, yes, that music is from IMA Score...

Construction is starting on the new Gerstlauer Bobsled for next year. The coaster is partly taking the place of La Coccinelle, the park's kiddie cred, as the surrounding area, which has now been removed and will reopen next year on the site of the park's old ferris wheel... (Image from looooooooooooooopings) I believe the nearby boat journey ride is closing soon (if it hasn't already) for construction, and the Halloween version of the ride won't be making an appearance this year. But the boat is back next year. The water park expansion is also happening and progressing well.

It was open last year during AP night, so don't see why it wouldn't be this year. Still the same price (so £8 with discount) and presumably it will be just buy on the day. Probably worth checking with Thorpe for certain on that though!

There's a new video on AT's Facebook about The Welcoming (can't link atm as on phone). There's a plank of wood with symbols spelling out 'Gift', a male hand with the 'N' symbol, and the video ends in a way suggest that the maze will involve you being hooded at some point.

Neat investment from the park, and not that surprising really. A bit of a shame that there's not a more exciting family water ride coming, but it still fills a gap. And their concept art always is realistic compared to the final product, so that bodes well too. One thing from the press release though... Looks like someone has been attending the Merlin School of Marketing...

I feel sorry for anyone who has to go to media night, since they'll have to be near some arrogant enthusiasts who think they're special since they get to go to a theme park a day earlier...

In other news, Tobin Bell visited Thorpe Park yesterday and did a brief interview... https://www.thorpepark.com/blog/thorpe-park-meets-tobin-bell

To be fair, Efteling are pretty good with throughputs and their queues are quick moving, with only the old rides like Python and Bob being quite slow. They don't have Fastrack queues, and only 2 SRQs (Baron and Symbolica). So they do focus on 1 quick moving queue mostly. It's also worth noting that Carnival Festival (their omnimover which can get like 2 hour queues on busy days) has recently had an app made, which can interact with stuff in the queue now. Makes me think they're trying loads of different ideas to try and improve people's queueing experience (since there's little more they can do with throughputs), and see what works best.

The outside section of Platform is what needs the most work. It's where the majority of actors are, yet you can see them all as there's no hiding places. And there wasn't enough scope to be able to draw off a 'creepy atmosphere' for that length of time. So if they added in some walls / set pieces to turn that section into a bit more of a labyrinth, that's work well. The tunnel doesn't need much in my opinion. It was bad last year because it was just a long walk in dark. If they included more things to tackle the senses, it'd be fine. For touch, they could have different types of floor (hard floor, soft floor, gravel), and say have bits of cotton hanging from the ceiling, as well as bits of cloth like last year. A couple of extra sound effects / ambient background for sound. Add in a smell somewhere and that's enough to keep you entertained during the whole tunnel if spread out evenly.

BTS Tours never included Fastrack before. So, assuming maze Fastracks are £9 per maze, the price of the actual tour has only gone up a couple of quid. Of course, you have to wonder if the people doing BTS tours care about Fastrack, since they're either in a position that they've done the mazes before and will do them again anyway, or they don't do the mazes outright and just want to see them.

"You're just here for the rides..." - except Efteling is one of the few theme parks that isn't just about rides, and if that's all you do there, you're foolish. But yeah, good to see more Efteling creeping up in the UK media.

Saw V is my least favourite. The Hoffman backstory is good, but the traps are the most nonsense of the series and there's just not much too it. IV is my favourite, and has the best ending - SO MANY TWISTS.