JoshC.

5 minute demo of Flug der Dämonen's soundtrack. Here's hoping that Merlin and IMAscore have developed a good working relationship and we see them collaborate as much as possible!

Banned for calling Inferno 'The King of Thorpe Park' in your signature. She's obviously a gal...

You are indeed! Funnily enough, I'm planning on writing a blog post about Detonator and it's history sometime next week (it's surprisingly richer than you may think!); keep an eye out for it...

Just to say, my problem isn't wholly about the car park issue (as I have no clue if they're doing their best with it due to very limited experience with it...). However, the compensation they give does annoy me slightly. You complain, so you get free Fastrack. It's the standard reaction from Guest Services. That's what I have a problem with. Sure, it's nice for those who get it, but Fastrack can have issues, and handing out free ones like sweets isn't going to help... Even if they gave you money off food or a cheaper ticket (if you don't have a MAP) or some occasions, it would be an improvement.

The point is, this is typical Merlin. You complain, they don't do anything more than give a 'standard apology', and bung Fastrack tickets at you to make everything feel better. And we all know how much of an issue Fastrack can be. I remember in 2012 when I complained about the ratio of Fastrack guests to ordinary guests being let into Experiment 10 (30 Fastrack guests to 0 normal queue at one point). Nothing was written down and they simply said 'it shouldn't be like that', and I had 10 Fastrack tickets offered to me...

Was looking forward to reading this report! Air Meeting looks really nice and the themed announcers is such a brilliant touch; would love to see a similar idea implemented as much as possible. Plus, themed uniforms are just lush. Alpina Blitz looks sexy as and I hope parks take note of this. Cheap, simple hardware and you create a beast of a ride. People say B&M are the Rolls Royce of the coaster world and that Intamin produce quality rides. But when you look at rides like this, Blue Fire and Helix, you get rides which looks great, can be cheap and ride excellently. Hopefully the next couple of years really puts Mack 'up there'. Also interesting about Rodolphe's sheer honesty about the park that you mention. Taking Merlin for example, I don't think if a group of 4 Americans, say, emailed asking for someone to talk to about their latest attraction, they'd get someone who's quite as open about the park and where there failings are. Always nice to hear there are people like that.. Seeing the installation of Alpina Blitz put Nigloland on my radar of places to visit instantaneously (then again, what park isn't on that list at the moment for me...). Shame it's so out of the way. Had a look on Google Maps and there just doesn't seem to be any easy way to get to it!

Following photos are from Coasterforce's Twitter... CF also tweeted that the queue line is "more extensive" than they thought, saying that lights, smoke and the maze are beautiful. Seats are also as comfortable as the Blue Fire ones it would appear. Already made up my mind now - DEFINITELY going here next year.

Banned for being from Essex.

Those Pax coasters look really...weird. Just checked out Formule 1 on Youtube and looks surprisingly wild for a coaster of that scale. What sort of height restriction / market is that particular coaster geared towards? Certainly seems like it could said to be a 'big coaster' in a similar style to how Rattlesnake is at Chessington. Obviously difficult to tell from a selection of pictures, but the coasters feel very RCT in how they've been placed. Looks like a cute little park though!

According to RCDB, it's about 4500ft long (so a bit longer than Lisebergbanan) and will be the 7th longest coaster in Europe. EDIT: Beaten by Benin. Though it will be the 7th longest, not 6th.

Th13teen's shutter seems to be like Inferno's mist - very hit and miss, and can completely change the experience depending on whether it works or not. It's interesting really, I would have thought the shutter system could have been synced with the drop system, so that if the drop system works, then the shutter will also work. Seems not, but I would have thought that such a thing was physically possible, so it's curious that's not the case...

Really shouldn't do that with any ride really, let alone one at Chessington where they're quite hit and miss at the moment still!

I don't quite get the logic in creating the full experience a year after the ride opens? I know it's something that Tripsdrill did with their Gerstlauer, but it's just a unusual way of going about it... Anyone know why exactly some parks decide to that?

Banned for playing an instrument.

Banned for having a better avatar than me

http://liseberg.com/en/home/Amusement-Park/Rides--Attractions/New-2014---Projekt-Helix/ Only thing I can find on their site about the seats; no mention of height restrictions that I can see.

Double post ahoy... So this is testing now, but I believe this is the first video showing the tilting of the seats. Because of the positioning of the seats and the potential speed of just a freefall drop, it seems like the brakes kick in quite early. Shame. Then that 'flick' of the seats to face outwards again doesn't look exactly comfortable either. And there's what seems to be a loose hinge-thing for one of the seats? Rides can normally be summed up with a handful of words, and this ride's words are looking to be 'Oh dear'...

Very true actually! I think I was more trying to get at the point there's very few rides which have an actual 'upbeat' theme; there's more rides that are themed to destruction / lost worlds / disasters and so forth. There's the likes of Swarm, Saw, Lost City (which in itself doesn't have much theming really, but is themed around an old city that was once lost and is not somewhat destroyed, etc.), Amity Cove (humour-filled and excellently done-so, yes, it's still got the look of something destroyed. Can't really categorically say 'It's got an upbeat theme' or 'It's got a destroyed theme' since it intertwines both beautifully) all having more destructive themes in the background, as well as some rides which just don't have a theme whatsoever. I just think the idea of there being an actual area which is fun, a bit childish and hopefully has a bit of humour involved will be welcome to the park. I reckon that the area will give a different feel than anywhere else in the park.

I wasn't planning on doing any form of direct comparisons until the area officially opens, but may as well have a look at this for the time being: Amity Drop n Shop and nearby area last year. Nearby area of Amity Drop n Shop (soon to be an Angry Birds shop of course). Photo from TPM. Now, the photo from last year is clearly meant to fit in with Amity; water damage from floods, old, decrepit, etc. Fits in very well with the theme, and looks quite realistic as well. What we have now is a bright and vibrant colour scheme (too bright some may argue and I can see where that idea comes from...). We've got some simple theming at the moment which, again, fits in very well with the theme. The main difference, as it stands, is that the colour of the building is a lot more textured and rich. It's a shame that we've lost that textured design, as it works really well. But when you look at that bright, white building next to it, the effect is loss, and it just makes the other building look dirty (and not in a good way). There was a mishmash of themes going on, but - once the entrance structure to the land is put in place - that will no longer be the case; there'll be clear definition where one theme ends and another begins. Also, we've got a bit of colour and something a bit brighter and happier in the park. Many people are quick to say 'Thorpe have too many gloomy / dark themes'. They've now got a more upbeat theme about it, which is a good thing in my books. Yeah, maybe it is a bit too colourful, but maybe once the area if finished, the scheme will work well with the theming. It'll be interesting to do another comparison in a month or so when the area is complete!

I present you, Gardaland recycling Oblivion's style and Th13teen's tagline! From Gardaland Park Fan Page

Not going to lie, I am struggling to think of how much more could be done past 3D models (maybe with say some interactive features akin to some of the Wild Asia theming) for something like Angry Birds Land. The only other thing I can think of is full blown anamatronics, which is likely unrealistic. The lack of ideas I can think of though are more likely down to the fact that not going to many parks means I don't know what the bounds to things are. Totally agree about Scorpion Express, which is where I can see why people have concerns about all of this. I think it could be slightly different due to the fact Rovio are overlooking the theming to a degree. I guess at this stage it's a case of playing the waiting game and, for the time being, just sitting on different sides of the fence. As for the budget, the plans suggest figures of £2.7-£3 for "total investment".

The trouble I'm having at the moment is that I do actually like Chessington (well, maybe I should say 'liked Chessington' now, I don't know...). But last year's visit and this year's visits haven't left me think 'I want to come back here'. I hoped that last year was a blip, but it seemed not. At least the people I went with came away with more positive views than me, but for me personally, I just feel so apathetic about the place at the moment. You can tell they are trying, and things like the Market Square revamp are good and nice to see. But then Scorpion Express just screams out missed potential and shows that sometimes trying isn't enough. Zufari had the opportunity to be incredible and, seeinghow Chessington is a theme park and zoo, should be the icon attraction. But again, there's missed opportunity and it doesn't reach the potential it should make. Then there's little things that have just made the visits that little less good. Tomb Blaster for example. Last year, my gun didn't work. This year, again my gun didn't work, and the spare one next to me also didn't work (of course, I did mention it to staff after coming off). From this perspective, you can see why I'm coming away disappointed. The operational procedures on Black Buccaneer are just horrid too.. Little things like that are, for me at least, just taking away from my enjoyment of the day... Due to the missed opportunities with Zufari and Scorpion Express, I do find it hard to get excited about hearing of new projects. After all, my fears are that it will wind up having the chance to be incredible, and then fail to deliver and be an okay experience missing that extra something... Anyways, this is going wildly off the Bubbleworks topic, so... I didn't ride Bubbleworks on my most recent visit.

Best looking resin yet.

I've been doing some thinking about all this now... Merlin have dealt with a fair few IPs in recent years - Saw, Sonic (kinda), Madagascar, Ice Age, Lionsgate in general, Shrek in the future as well as CBeebies Land and Angry Birds Land this year. They've probably looked into more as well (I heard murmurs of Smiler possibly having a Halo IP for example). Anyone remember in 2011 when Shrek almost happened at Alton Towers? It didn't go ahead because Dreamworks thought the quality of the area was poor. So, as you'd expect, Merlin work closely with whoever they partner with to ensure they get the best quality they can. But the Shrek/Towers thing shows if who Merlin are working with aren't happy, they can and will pull out. We know Thorpe and Rovio are working together on this; just look at any article / press release. Some articles also suggest that this is the first of many places to show Angry Birds 4D, so I'd hazard a guess that Thorpe have got exclusivity for a year or two before other parks can roll it out. However, Rovio will want to ensure Thorpe's Angry Birds Land sells the idea. They'll want it to look as good as possible to show to other parks and say 'Look at what you can do if you buy Angry Birds rights off of us'. This investment is just as important to Rovio as it is to Thorpe, possibly more so. So I fully expect Rovio had a lot of input with the land, specifically the theming, so that it shows of what you can do with the Angry Birds theme and rights. Also, look at Lightwater Valley's Angry Birds play area. Okay, it's nothing special, but it shows off the Angry Birds style well. Bare in mind that everything there is designed to played on/with, so has to abide by certain safety standards. Thorpe have 3 times the budget, and Rovio have probably worked more closely with Thorpe than LWV to show of AB4D, and they don't have to create themed structures for a play area, but instead have the option to create ones which look amazing and don't have to played on. Neither party will want to miss out on that opportunity. Also, what we have to remember is the entirety of Angry Birds Land is currently accessible (of course, not the actual rides, but I mean the actual pathways, etc.). I imagine it's not easy to place 3D structures/theming when there's guests everywhere. Instead, I'm guessing lots of it has been made offsite and is waiting to be placed in a couple of weeks before opening when the land is closed off for final touches. I expect all we've seen at the moment are the 'easier' touches to put in place, and the more complicated (and more likely, more impressive) bits of theming will come later. It does seem like the opposite way round to how things are done, but I guess we've got to remember it's not being built during Closed Season. tl;dr - Rovio will have had a say in the theming, and will want it to be as good as possible. I expect we'll see 3D theming in the land, just put in closer to the opening of the ride.