JoshC.

For all the geeks out there, Phantasialand have announced that Taron is 1320m long (making it the 9th longest coaster in Europe, and "the longest multi-launch coaster in the world without an inversion"), and 117 kmph / ~73mph, making it the 7th fastest in Europe.

It hasn't been confirmed either way yet. However, if this page is accurate (which I believe it is), then I think we can infer that Containment will be an upcharge attraction.

I've wanted to complete my BelGerAnd2 "trip report" for a while, mostly for sake of completion, but I've really struggled to figure out what to say about Phantasialand. It's easy to sing the praises for the park, and most of those praises would see me reiterate myself. So let's get those out of the way... Maus au Chocolat and Chiapas are the perfect examples of how to a shooting dark ride and water ride respectively. Black Mamba is a great coaster that really turns into a beast in the afternoon, and Winjas is a fine example of how to blend coaster and 'other' elements into one ride. Colorado Adventure is a neat little family ride, though nothing *that* special in my books. River Quest is disgustingly terrifying and yet amazingly fun, and the new theming it's received thanks to Klugheim is great (though I wish they disguised the lifts a bit better). The Berlin area is generally fab too. The park's general atmosphere, theming, sense of showmanship and storytelling is surely one of the best in Europe. And, in an unusual twist for me, I'll focus a bit more on the negatives... Mystery Castle I honestly do not get the fuss over this ride. I went into it last year with no real idea of what to expect and was left disappointed. Though after hearing there's 2 cycles, one of which is not great, I was left with a glimmer of hope. But this year, I realised that what I had previously experienced was in fact the 'good cycle', and I had the joy of experiencing the not-so-good one. Disappointed is probably the best word that describes my feelings about this. Underwhelmed also springs to mind. But at least the queue is fantastically themed! China Though the China area looks good, the two dark rides (a madhouse and omnimover) are far from good. The madhouse is definitely my least favourite one I've been on, and the omnimover is more outdated than anything else. The trouble these rides have is that whatever park they were in, they would only ever be 'okay' or 'passable' at best, and so their quality - or lack of - sticks out like a sore thumb in Phantasialand. I know not everything can be sorted out all at once and these are on the potential hit list, but that doesn't mean it's acceptable. Temple of the Nighthawk Jack and Matt seemed to adore this because of the new music it has. But I still found it awful and boring and just generally a waste of space. Again, it's another ride like the Chinese duo; it's lack of quality sticks out so badly within the park. And, unlike China, it feels slightly forgotten and neglected, almost as if the park are just waiting to axe it. Operations Perhaps a bit of an odd one, but one thing I noticed during our visit was that some of the operations weren't great. Not really talking about throughputs or getting through the queues here, moreso how they dealt with them generally. Queue times weren't that accurate (especially on the not-so-big rides) and queue boards weren't updating properly (the boards were advertising a 6pm close for a few hours when it was in fact an 8pm close, leaving some confusion). And when one of the Winjas coasters closed, they still allowed the queue to split, creating confusion in the queue and havoc in the station area. Something that should have been dealt with better, especially since the side that did close seemed to have a problem which didn't have a quick solution. Klugheim Not to leave this blog post on a negative note, let's talk about Klugheim. It's reason enough to make the effort to go to Phantasialand. Taron might not be everyone's cup of tea, and it might not break into everyone's Top 10, but I can see it being appreciated by almost all of the enthusiast community (and the general public as well). Raik is a solid family coaster, and Klugheim in general is a fantastic area to explore. Oh, and the staff uniforms for that area are just incredible. Also, much to whole group's excitement, we got to (albeit briefly) speak to Chris, one of the park's managers who was seen in build up videos to Klugheim's opening. He was a super nice guy, and he let us queue up for front row on Taron at the end of the day, despite them closing the front row queue. Only wish we had more time to talk to him because he genuinely seemed so passionate and excited about the coaster when we saw him in the station area; very hands on too! I really hope that despite my laziness in writing this up, and focusing a bit too much on the negatives, the absolute joy I had at Phantasialand is still shining through somehow. Yes, there's a couple of niggles and a few rides that are getting past their shelf life, but recent investments indicate that when they kick the bucket, something incredible will come in its place. I genuinely cannot wait to go back, and I really hope more and more people but Phantasia on their radar!

Dark Forest clearly isn't working for Towers; it's time for a retheme me thinks... #LightFields

The end of the first VR section does have a (themed) message saying this. The second VR doesn't, and I reckon any sort of message would kill the ending. I imagine the greatest concern with noise cancelling headphones is what happens in an emergency, and staff genuinely need to get everyone off as quickly as possible.

Why doe it have beat Wodan though? Why can't it be a fun ride in its own right with no comparisons to other coasters 18 months before it opens... The 'Alton is fighting against lots of restrictions' argument fails when they've managed to build the likes of Nemesis under the same restrictions.

Seen some people suggesting that there could be similarities between this and SW8 what with the Mystery Shed here and the pre-ride indoor section of SW8. Not necessarily saying I agree with the theory, but certainly not something to completely dismiss, depending on what happens in the Mystery Shed...

On the whole, this ride has probably been more reliable than Air was in its first month of opening. And I'd wager it will be for the next few months. Let's just try and be a bit patient and not try to look for every flaw.

Saw is one of the most iconic and we'll known (horror) film franchises of the 21st century. Might not have been in the limelight so much over the last couple of years, but it's still is well recognised. Of all of Merlin's IP investments, I'd argue it's the one with the most meaning.

If a staff member knows something about the future of any Merlin theme park, the chances are they won't be allowed to tell people about it. So regardless of how convincing someone sounds, if they're telling you about the future, it's likely the future of some alternate universe...

Personally, I'd have found the idea of using the monster puppet in the live action sequence very cheap, and not make much sense with the story. The live action sequence is great in theory. You escape the train and try to get away from the gas-infected humans who are trying to get you (/warn you of more danger but we don't know that yet). So you try to go down the underground train tracks (though we are warned not too; "stay off the tracks") to safety, and come across the fracking piece of equipment and frantic workers. And then out of nowhere, a train comes hurtling towards you, before you're saved by one of the demons (which caused the train to crash / go further underground). It's meant to be a case of not knowing what is and what is not safe. We've been warned of the dangers of fracking and the stuff that is deep underground, but those who are warning us actually ended putting us in more danger, before we're saved by the so-called bad things. But now in a haze of panic and confusion, the safest place seems to going back the way we came, hence why we're ushered back on the train. But then, from there, everything goes wrong and it turns out the demons were bad after all.. So using the monster puppet just would have made for a much more generic "Oh look, there's a demon here, best run" moment, rather than a moment a genuine fear, panic and confusion. It's a shame they didn't use it for filming the second VR segment though. Admittedly, this idea seems to go over a few too many people's heads (in my experience). Maybe things are a little too fast paced for people to take it in? Maybe it's a bit too clever for its own good? Maybe they just haven't found the sweet spot for getting it right every time? Who knows. But either way, it's a shame that the live action portion isn't getting mixed reception, as that can be a real highlight of the attraction in my opinion.

I've only done one other SLC (Vampire at Walibi Belgium), but the restraints on Condor had much less head room. I'd imagine Condor's restraints are different-ish to most SLCs though; no doubt someone who has had the 'pleasure' of riding more can confirm though.

I hate you Adam.

Plopsa have now officially confirmed it won't open until Easter 2017. I wouldn't worry too much; I don't think it's fair to say that they're even off their feet. Obviously the park will have a bit of bad press go there way and it will be a stressful time for management, but I can't see them particularly struggling this year.

Aside from the silly 'first ever' claim, I reckon this is a good move for the resort (given that they wanted to pursue a 4th piece accommodation to their line up).

+1 Wins the award for 'Worst Restraints' for me also. Physically having to rearrange your ears so they're not folded in against the OTSR is not pleasant.

If the six month thing is true, then they might be scheduling the cable replacement for September (six months after start of sesason), when the park is closes mid-week anyway, causing even less disruption. If I was a betting man, I'd place bets on Stealth's closure being down to a different reason. It experienced many problems on Saturday, and even if this is a 'quiet' time in summer, I don't think they'd actively choose to close down their major coaster for a week now.

^That photo was taken before the food cabins opened up. They've had some signage and stuff added to them; it's not much, but they do look a bit better now.

Huge shame for the park after the big push they've put into marketing it lately. But yeah, at least getting it open with all the theming will happen, which is a big plus.

http://www.richmondshiretoday.co.uk/exclusive-man-learning-difficulties-falls-seat-85ft-lightwater-valley-ride-apparent-safety-system-failure/ A somewhat concerning story for LWV. If the article is accurate, then the staff reaction to this is particularly awful..

May as well. New ones in bold. Bare in mind I rate things for overall experience... Coasters: 1) Taron, Phantasialand. Left me laughing and smiling during and after every ride. Maybe because I haven't done many long coasters that feature plenty of airtime that it's at the top, but I don't think I've actually enjoyed any coaster more. 2) Baron 1898, Efteling. Finally decided; prefer this to Swarm. 3) Swarm, Thorpe Park 4) Nemesis, Alton Towers 5) Joris en de Draak, Efteling 6) Troy, Toverland 7) Anubis, Plopsaland de Panne 8) Black Mamba, Phantasialand 9) Goliath, Walibi Holland. Been thinking about this for a while, and whilst it lacks any sort of atmosphere, it's still a good coaster. 10) Nemesis Inferno, Thorpe Park. Near misses for the last two places include Winjas and Lost Gravity. Platform 13 at WalHol might have even made it if the coaster section was better... Non-Coasters: 1) Chiapas, Phantasialand 2) Maus au Chocolat, Phantasialand 3) Derren Brown's Ghost Train, Thorpe Park 4) Hex, Alton Towers (might be closed but it still counts right...right?) 5) River Quest, Phantasialand. To be fair, I hate this to the point where I wondered if I actually wanted to do it. But it's perhaps the only ride which genuinely terrifies me... 6) Nemesis: Sub Terra, Alton Towers (yeah still counts) 7) Jungle Mission, Bellewaerde 8) Radju River, Bellewaerde 9-10) Meh, nothing notable enough

Old Town is an area which spans from Slammer all the way to Saw (so includes Samurai, Rocky and all those pathways). The 'area under development' piece on the map is in the place of Loggers, to let people know that the Loggers site is under development, as opposed to just mysteriously disappearing. A woodie at Thorpe isn't too absurd a suggestion since there were plans for a GCI on Saw's site originally. And if Towers can get one, anything is possible. Anyways, on the topic of CCR, as has been mentioned, a lot of the track seems to have been removed lately. And if it is for Fright Nights, then that's an interesting development to say the least.

New link since the one above doesn't seem to work: https://www.altontowers.com/activities/events/scarefest Skin Snatchers sounds like an interesting story, but I'm not quite sure how it's going to work. Like story wise, it just sounds like a really complex thing to get across in a maze environment. I'm just having visions of actors rubbing bits of latex 'skin' in my face screaming "THIS WILL BE YOU NEXT" or something. But who knows, it might work. If they focus more on a generic hillbilly style then there's plenty of potential; Twisted Attractions did that style brilliantly a couple of years ago for House of Insomnia for example. Glad Sub Species is returning, since I really want to try that out. Shame that they've decided to keep TotT, but I guess they need one 'softer' maze. On a different note, interesting to see that the park and maze ticket is set at £50 when bought online. Rather steep, especially when you can buy Fright Nights tickets, included 5 mazes, from £28 (with the option of a 6th for another £10)...

'Street food corner' has opened up over the past couple of days, just in front where Crust was... The cart serves some (fancy-ish) beer and cider, and some pub snacks. The huts serve Aussie steak burgers, noodles (with a variety of sauces and flavours), and some chips, again with a variety of sauces to choose from. There's also a picnic area behind the huts. It should be said that these are premium in price - £6 for steak burger, ~£4 for noodles and £3 for a portion of chips I believe - but this is a reflection of the quality of food. A nice thing for the park to be trialing in my opinion!

He obviously poured a bit of cider into one of the oil holders.