JoshC.

The fire effect was introduced mid way through the 2012 season; about July time I believe.

And if none of us knew about it, then it might have also been a poor marketing campaign and they're doing another one to try and get more publicity.

Genuinely thought those black skulls were Darth Vader masks at first...

To be fair, I've never moaned that a coaster looks slow from a POV... My first point is more about the fact the POV almost doesn't feel real; some sections just seem to be taken too fast to be real. But given its not, then I guess that's nothing but a good thing...provided the ride is still comfortable in some way.

Is it just me, or does that POV feel sped up a bit? Like the pacing seems unusually fast and almost uncomfortable? It looks fun and given all the reviews of RMCs I've read, I'm sure it'll be well received. But I'm still not sold on the first inversion; they always seem awkward and it just doesn't feel right to me.

Well at least it seems like there won't be any signalling problems...

A video from Mack, showing the ride off nicely... Walibi Belgium's management / owners have also confirmed that they're going to be continuing investment into the park and adding more new attractions within the next couple of years (keep in mind this was the park's first *new* attraction in about 13 years!), and that they'll be going for 'new' / recording breaking rides. Along with Walibi Holland rumoured to be getting a major new ride in 2019, and a new ride next year, and the much forgotten Walibi Rhone-Alpes getting some love, it's seemingly an exciting time for the Walibi group.

Phantasialand have said that Klugheim will break six world records: " Taron is the world's fastest multi-launch coaster.- Taron is the longest multi-launch coaster in the world.- Taron has the world's most intense LSM launch.- Taron's layout features 58 intersections, during the ride it will cross its own tracks 118 times - a world record!- Raik is the fastest and longest family boomerang in the world." Not really anything we didn't know / that surprising, even if some of these are a bit sly... Also, Taron apparently has a height restriction of 1.3m, which is nice.

Is Ghost fundamentally the same ride system as Sub Terra? Given the rumours of problems with the restraints and seats on that (hence why it spent much of last season closed), it could explain why Merlin aren't keen to invest in another one in the UK?

Please say you did Hotel Tartuff of hilarity too? I really hope that I can get the better setting on Mystery Castle when I next visit. What I assume was the shorter cycle just feels a tad underwhelming.

^^ I guess it's just a case of different perspectives. Flume and Ripsaw are confirmed goners; essentially they don't exist as rides at the park now. So I wouldn't see it as a 'closed ride' in the same fashion I wouldn't see CCR or CEC at Thorpe as closed rides. My phrase "perfect ride availability" was more referring to no rides being outright closed for your visit; there were no rides that were closed that are meant to be open for 2016. Again, I guess it comes to different perspective. You had multiple rides on the two most popular coasters at the park, did the other major coasters and a few fillers. Certainly a high ride count in my books, especially for the tail end of half term.

Nice to see you had a good enough time despite your previous uncertainties about the park this season. However, a couple of points... The way you word the closed rides makes it sound so bad. But the majority of members on this forum will know that all of those rides are meant to be closed anyway. So you had perfect ride avaliability during your visit. And, to be honest, listing Ripsaw as a closed ride when it's been removed is just stupid really - it's not a ride at the park any more, so how's it a closed ride. And if you're listing rides which are closed since you're last visit, then doesn't that take away the point of the mentioning them (as rides can be closed for the odd day here and there for technical problems)? I get that the 10-5 opening is naff, and you said it a couple of times. But this feels like a cheap shot at the park - assuming you spent all day at the park both days, and did ERT, you had 16 hours at the park over two days. Given your high ride count, it doesn't seem you were particularly rushed either. So you can hardly say you didn't have much time with the park in that respect. Maybe it's just humour on your part which I've misread, but it just reads as you trying to slip in another cheap shot. And that's the thing with some of your trip reports. I find that sometimes when you write them, it's like you're just looking for things to complain about, or just trying to put a negative spin on everything. It just feels like a bit of a shame at times, as it's clear you've enjoyed your visit, but reading your report it feels like there's just way more negatives then there actually were

Flash's loop is about 50m / 164ft, and is of course still the world's tallest vertical loop. Yay for technicalities.

Pretty much the complete definition of off topic, but if anyone was curious, this thing (called Flight of the White Dragon) is now open testing: So Flying Aces no longer has the 'tallest loop' record. But it still has the completely pointless 'steepest (non-vertical) lift hill on a coaster' record. Yay. EDIT: Apparently the park doesn't open until September. Whoops. And some translations suggest it's called the much less awesome-sounding 'White Dragon in the Sky'.

Looks fun enough. If the 'lift hill' is more a launch and gets a bit of speed, it'll be a lot better. Mix in the large set pieces, the general feel of the area and maybe an effect or two in the building / sound tunnel and it'll be a neat family coaster that'll fit right in at Alton. Nothing ground breaking or special, just a fun ride that'd get 'Europe's first launched wooden roller coaster' tagged onto it to draw a bit more attention to it.

I agree that Fastrack should never be considered as an essential thing. But if you see it from the perspective of someone who is visiting for their first time, doesn't visit theme parks regularly, and isn't planning a visit again any time soon. If the park is busy, then buying Fastrack seems like a logical option to help try and maximise the day. In that respect, whilst it's not essential, it's a huge, mighty helpful thing to offer, especially if it's limited. And I guess that's the whole point of it. Fastrack should be a product which is hugely limited, but, as it stands, isn't limited enough. But that extreme limited availability shouldn't happen by just making it ridiculously expensive. Yes, make it expensive, but not to the point where it becomes a rich man's product. I wonder just how different guest satisfaction would be if the park were to 'double the price, half the number' of Fastracks? Yes, it means there's less Fastrack users, but how much will that affect the overall queue times? Not that much I'd bet. And then less people will get Fastrack tickets, despite the obvious demand for them, and people might be put off by the price, leading to cries of the park being too expensive. So whilst it make queue times slightly shorter, you may end up with more unhappy guests in the long run. Of course, I'm not saying this would be the case, but it's certainly not implausible in my books.

Remember, it's only entered administration - so there's still a chance that it will pull through and have a good-looking future. For the time being though, I of course agree: make the visits whilst we can and support the place as much as possible!

Yes; it disappeared around 2011/12 I believe.

People also seem content with taking expensive shots at Merlin too... (I don't know if Thorpe sell shots during MOS club nights so this joke might make no sense and be a complete fail but oh well)

The 'First Plaice Queue' sign was introduced a few seasons back, but I don't think I've ever actually seen it used. It replaced the SRQ sign / queue, which was rarely used anyway.

The question of if this'll even have an IP is more on my mind. You only have to look at how strong a brand Smiler is to see that Merlin (or, Towers at least) can create a good in house IP. However, given how reliant Merlin have been on IPs lately, and that they've only made two non-external IP attractions in the UK since Smiler opened (Galactica and Pandamonium), it's hard to say they won't be tempted to go for one...

I can only do Saturdays really, but if it is a Sunday I'll see what I can do.

Interested!

"But if I wanted to look at grass, I'd go to a garden centre, not a theme park" Alton Towers - the park where you can do both!

I think once this eventually opens, word of mouth will play a massive part in getting people in. Once a date is set, the social media push will come again and that will hype up enough people to get the initial jump in gate figure for the first few days/weeks. Word of mouth will then spread and - assuming it is well received - people will hear "You've got to go there and do it", which will just continue and improve numbers all the more.