JoshC.

Upgrade me from maybe to yes for both please.

Intamin do make nice sounding launches. That is all.

Looopings are reporting that Rookburgh could be a...Vekoma flying coaster? http://www.looopings.nl/weblog/7351/Nieuwe-attractie-Phantasialand-wordt-spectaculaire-flying-coaster.html Would be a disappointing ride choice in my opinion, especially over a dark ride which would likely be epic. But given how tight-lipped and secure Phantasia are over their future, I'd be surprised if correct rumours leaked out this early on.. If it is true though, I expect we'll see Phantasialand management swing their full force of hatred towards fansites forever more.

Enthusiasts acting self-entitled and thinking they're better than other people 'because they're enthusiasts'.

It's 2.1 billion - http://www.looopings.nl/weblog/7326/Nieuwe-attracties-in-Disneyland-Paris-investering-van-2-miljard-euro.html Which is still obscene really. Spending on average €210 million (approx £180m) a year for 10 years is mad. To put that into some form of perspective, Merlin have probably invested somewhere between the £200-£300m on attractions in ALL their theme parks and Legoland parks in the past decade (not including new park openings and hotels). And even if you did include hotels and new investments, it can't be anywhere near the £1.8 billion Disney are planning on investing in one park...

The train for the train crash is still there; if you stand in the right place at the right time, you can see the lights for it (unless they have recently turned them off / covered them).

No water effects today, but around the ride are barrels with pieces of tree pointing to them. Looks like it could have potential for water to trickle down from the top into those barrels (be that rain water of planned effects), but not sure really. Top half definitely won't move though. It looks and feels very Chessington, even if it is a bit out of place in location, and the announcements are bit bland. It had a 10-15 minute odd queue today as well, so it's a shame they didn't get a bigger carousel to help deal with the crowds that it will get in that area.

Feel like this photo needs sharing, to emphasis the lengths Phantasialand go to... Also, on top of the River Quest overhaul and new pieces of theming around Chiapas and the Mexico area, they've done some tarting up around Africa, given Black Mamba some new seats and made Chiapas' switches "more comfortable", by using hydraulic cylinders instead of pneumatic ones (see here all you budding engineers - https://phantasialandblog.de/mission-off-season-chiapas-die-drehweiche/). Sad times as those switches were incredibly ridiculous </3

Coming 2018 presumably Why are Phantasialand so good at making everything? More info over on loooooooopings http://www.looopings.nl/weblog/7334/Phantasialand-kondigt-nieuw-themagebied-Rookburgh-aan.html

Adam's review above really hits an important note - Ghost Train is still fundamentally the same. It's still a VR-heavy attraction with a story about fracking and bad things happening (I disagree that the new VR goes away from the story, it fits in more in my opinion). If it wasn't your cup of tea last year, it still won't be this year. In saying that, it is improved, and I do think that even those who don't like the attraction that much should at least be able to appreciate some parts of it in some way. Lots of thought and effort clearly went into rectifying last year's faults. Obviously there shouldn't be a need to rectify faults this badly, but we are where we are. For me personally, I enjoy it, moreso than I thought I would this year. And there's enough to keep me coming back to it for a while, so I'm happy.

The IMA Score disliker club seems to have a loud voice at the moment... It's fair to say that some of the audio they've produced is very similar. Galactica definitely seems inspired by Helix for example (though I don't see how people are saying Smiler and Helix are similar?). And even the short snippet that Thorpe released of the entrance / dome music sounds like Taron's theme out of the Klugheim soundtrack. But as a whole piece, the entrance music sounds very original - certainly different to most things IMA have done.

It's been revealed that because NeuroGen has such a low throughput, you can reserve a place online for a 5€. If there's spaces on-the-day, you can experience it for free. For some comparison, The Clinic cost 15€ outright. Bit of an odd system, and I assume it means it'll be a time-slotted attraction. But if this is as scary as they say it will be, I guess it's only going to appeal to a small market, so having the lower throughput and upcharge to reflect a higher quality experience makes sense.

https://www.thorpepark.com/blog/what-is-the-sound-of-the-island Thorpe have confirmed that IMA Score made the new entrance / dome soundtrack, and have hinted that there is more to come! Exciting times for our ears!

In my experience, Chessington has been awful to visit on busy days for the past 4-5 years. Even if operations go well, their attractions can't cope with the demand they receive. Though to be fair, given it was the opening weekend of their new ride (and a pretty big new ride all things considered), I guess I've should expect things to be busy and get a lower ride count than normal. Though 6 rides in a potential 7 hour day is a bit of a joke.

^Doesn't seem to be a bad shout... http://www.looopings.nl/weblog/7254/Walibi-Holland-geeft-kijkje-achter-de-schermen-bij-nieuwe-attractie.html A brief 'look at how we're shooting the VR' style video has been released. Shows a 360 degree camera strapped to a body on a gurney. Video also has scenes of partying and what could be a car crash scene. So like yeah, could be: put VR glasses on, go partying, get high, get involved in a car crash then you're awake during your life saving surgery. Or something.

Timber Tug Boat will be opening in Easter, as revealed by this sign that has a snazzy logo for the ride...

Few photos from TPM's FB of today, so they're all on here... Admissions hall: New Dome sign: The Island Shop: New signage: (There's one in every themed area) Some nice refreshes - pictures don't do justice to how nice the Island Shop is!

NeuroGen update, thanks to Looopingsssssssssss Still no word on what this is beyond the VR, nor if this is an upcharge attraction like many people think.. Speed of Sound update: The park posted a photo of how Speed of Sound is currently looking following its repaint: For reference, this is how it looked: Can't deny that it does look good, and the blue supports are nicer than the purple. Still an odd decision mind.

^Wickieland is a bit of a weird one for me. It IS good, but parts of it feel...not right? I like it, but something just doesn't quite fit for me, and I can't put my finger on it. Anubis is fab though. On Heidi-related news, it's be revealed that Heidi can't run past 7pm at any time (due to noise restrictions / environmental permit). The park is only open past 7pm on 7 days this year, but it closes at 7 pretty much all of summer. Don't know how much of a problem it'll cause long-term, but it's a shame that the chance of night rides on it are now basically zero.

New map! As noted on TPM's Facebook, the following new things: Updated artwork for Derren Brown's Ghost Train New for 2017 - Timber Tug Boat, located by the old CCR station Amity Beach is now just Amity. New logos for themed areas The Island Shop - A new shop in the dome replacing Sweets and Sounvenirs The Coffee Shack in the dome is now 'Proud to serve Costa' The Donut Factory - a new food outlet near Storm Surge The Hub - a new Events space

Plopsa have uploaded some new photos of Heidiland... Work is progressing on the small children's ride nicely. Goato love their work! Personally I'd say this seems to be their best theming to date; definitely looks like there will be a lot more smaller details here than anywhere else in the park.

Getting back to this year, and it seems like the Cartoon Network contract is up, so Ben 10 has been rethemed and renamed as 'Accelerator'. (photos by Adam on TTSP) It's a shame as the queue line for Ben 10 was awesome all things considered, so it'll be interesting to see if they can replicate that quality. There were also rumours of Hot Wheels being bought in to act as a sponsor which could have worked well, but alas it seems to have no happened.

Efteling have revealed what the ride cars will look like..

Noticed signs around the park saying Gruffalo was opening at 12pm on the 18th, if anyone is keen enough to be considering going on opening day...

The Adventure Tree does look very nice, but something about it felt a little...off when I saw it in person. It was like the tree was a little too short and stubby, and needed to be taller. I thought it might look better when you see the bottom half, but looking at photos, it seems the 'tree stump' on the carousel half is a lot thicker. so it just feels a little bit weird and unnatural. It still looks decent and I'm sure when it's operating it will be fine, and I don't like to complain about something that does look good. But it just looks a bit awkward.