James6

Oh my god, that is ridiculous... I wonder if any modifications could be done to return the height restriction to 0.9m.

^ Minimum is something like 20 seconds I think and then ride time, about 2 minutes?It used to be able to get 1650 with the old trains, although 4 extra seats per train, no seatbelts and no air gates probably had a say in that.

To be honest, this isn't such a bad thing considering how much Fastrack's have been over-sold in the past, hopefully this will reduce the numbers. Also, it's a LOT more than it was, but isn't it still cheaper, or at least closer to Alton's and Thorpe's now?

One positive from today?Colossus was running the fastest and smoothest it has in years

God this is turning into a serious and pointless discussion, certainly nothing to sarcastically "love enthusiasts" over... And to finish, whilst yes it's measured in MPH on the actual stats section, at the bottom in the text bit it says that Rita's top speed is "67 KPH."

^ Things like Vampire opening in 1989, Rita's top speed 67kph etc. Little things like that.

LOVE it when people take things out of context, DEFINITELY said I had let it ruin my life.

Doesn't the inaccuracy of quite a lot of the information annoy you a little?

Awesome TR, but don't get your hopes up for the Top Trumps, whilst it's a nice idea, they suck.

Wow, awesome that Rita is on there as I do like it, just never prepared to queue the length it gets so that should work quite well.

Firstly, apologies for the lack of pictures, was trying to hide my (extreme) geekiness from my attending partner today... Emphasis on the 'trying' to However, exclaiming how and why the new Merlin Parks Top Trumps cards were wrong didn't help my cause . Neither did yelling 'OMG look at the new zombies' half way through Duel... *facepalm*We arrived about 9.50, 2 of us decided to walk, 2 of us decided to get the shuttle, sadly I was one of those that chose to walk and ended up arriving later and exhausted. Yay.Then, after experiencing the lovely new turnstiles, we were in. Now, I know (and love) how big and spread out Alton is, but I'm afraid, they have extended some of the paths. It is the only option. Haunted Hollow is now twice, if not three times as long as last year, I'm sorry it's just how it is. We arrived to a temporarily delayed Air, so decided on a quick go on Nemesis, hey-ho, we turn our backs and Air is back in operational condition. After the walk it seemed to much effort to turn our whole bodies around again so chose to carry on for Nemmy which was a lovely walk on and running fantasticabulously. Also, the person I was with for most of today had never visited today and my persuasive skills have gone up a good few levels, and seeing as the person had only ever been on the Flying Fish before, getting them on Air and Nemesis seemed a certain success. Apparently running around the park on all fours for the rest of the day was not a large enough incentive to bribe them onto Oblivion.So yes, a walk on-Nemesis and 5 minute queue for Air before heading back for Duel. Now I have in the past criticised this ride as much as anyone, but now, it is actually a great ride, great theming, music and now, smoke throughout the whole ride, enough where you can see the whole of your laser beam. Next time your on it, try looking at the car behind you, 5 people shooting lasers frantically looked e.p.I.c.Next, onto a 5 minute queue for Runaway which, whilst great fun, is sucking at this moment in time Please, get some more motors on the train and give the track a bit of work. I'm asking nicely.Marauders Mayhem, and Spinball followed, SRQ of course. The cars seem to have had quite a bit of work and areas which have been bumpy (not rough) in the past seemed to be smoothed out.A solo ride on Oblivion followed, although irritatingly they have changed the line for SRQ, hopefully just for February, which confused me into leaving the short Main queue for a hopefully shorter Single Rider Queue which must have taken twice as long, still, it only took 10 minutes. It was irritating though how, out of I think 4 shuttles, every other one was being sent empty, and on one station, I'm guessing the throughput must have been like 2, maybe 3 pph. -.-Hex was next and twas also pretty awesome, was nice to be in a group where everyone stayed silent, audio still sucks in the vault though. Was pretty pleased when the newbie said she loved it though, made me feel like it's not just us geeks who appreciate it.Twirling Toadstools was next, although made some strange sounds from within and was slightly irritating as I think the lovely old dear operating forgot to press the correct button, we were raised but not oscillating for half the ride.Further rides on Nemesis, Duel, Runaway, and even a visit to the Sealife followed. And wow, the crabs have made that quite a bit worse. The crabs don't even seem that spectacularly big when in such a large tank with nothing going on.Piccies!You guys better appreciate this, but I conceded to the geeky devil on my right shoulder and video'd the hand for ya'll... the things I do for you eh ?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GEdwEUGAZYhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjLarLugjAsThis looks awesome by the way, everyone in the queue was just looking at it. Tank of suck.New food hut seems to have also been put in the Congo queue.My camera fails in bad weather. Thanks for reading, OR , thanks for scrolling to the bottom and looking at the pictures :PAND, I know the video's suck, but hey, how much better can you do when your attempting to not seem nerdy recording a moving hand. :PRide count3 x Nemesis3 x Duel2 x Runaway1 x Marauders Mayhem1 x Oblivion1 x Spinball1 x Air1 x Hex1 x Twirling Toadstool

I'm aware of that, but... best... in the country...? Seriously ?

As amazing as Slammer is, best in the country? Really?

Not that it's going to make any difference, most people called them fastrack's anyway, and they were originally called that to begin with.

1. Nemesis (No contest)2. Th13teen (Again, no contest, LOVE this ride)3. Dragon's Fury From then on it's a bit of a mish mash, Rush, Colossus, Hex, Rattlesnake, Oblivion, even Rita... Although like others, it's a lot harder than you'd expect, or hope...

I went in the summer and it worked well getting to BTM first for a fastpasses and then as it's the most popular ride, not wasting getting fastpasses for any other ride.There are food outlets everywhere, but they are expensive.Crush's Coaster is extremely over-rated IMO and isn't a patch on Fury. It'll also have a huge queue no matter the time of day, so be aware of that. ToT and BTM are simply immense and also, don't waste getting a fastpass on Indiana Jones as the the queue goes down for the last few hours where you can ride as many times as you wish. It's a pretty awesome ride IMO :DI'm sure none of that has helped or makes sense as I'm tired and moody but hopefully it has and you'll have an amazing time. :DYou will realise the unbelievable difference in quality between the 2 parks.Oh and Space Mountain, even I who can usually take a fair beating, (I love Colossus) found it unbearable and rode it only once when there was no line. I found out after that apparently the second row in each car is much smoother, so give this a try, I wish I had as the internal theming looked pretty immense.

I have to say I disagree, whilst the ride is bumpy it's more in a 'shimmying' kind of way and not in a way where you'd bash your head. Secondly, I think the trains are actually quite comfortable? And whilst the restraints are much more restrictive than need be, they actually fir your body quite well, IMO. Fingers crossed 2011 is a good year for Vampire.

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I personally really like Colossus, in the front row, it is phenomenal IMO. BUT there is too much variation in ride experience for it to be a permanent favourite for me, in addition to the shocking restraints and throughput and the fact it always has a huge queue.Theme music = Majorly epic though

I'd love to see the plans themselves to see just how insulted Dreamworks must have been to withdraw completely, I'm surprised that they couldn't have even reached a compromise.

Firstly, it wouldn't be a "thrill" park as you call it, I think it's a pretty laughable title to be honest. *Cough* Thorpe *Cough*2 of my biggest focus' would be capacity and theming. I will go into more detail at another time but for now it's all about ride systems. :)A Vekoma Mine Train for me would be a must, I just absolutely love them.Along with that I would consult with Vekoma on how extreme a ride could be made using the swinging concept as I really do adore it. If it's not possible to make it a thrill ride I would still have one as a family coaster. :)A Spiderman type ride is also a must. I would also ask MS what can be done to make a spinner good capacity, maybe a quadruple station? Ahaha More thoughts will follow...

Why remove Rattlesnake?In my opinion I'd just get the trains fitted with individual lap bars reducing the height restriction to 1.2M.

Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland Paris, physically my favourite ride in the world, without question. Phenomenal.Robin Hood at Walibi Belgium, phenomenal Woodie with a load of airtime, a great layout and is also quite smooth. Weird restraints though.Challenge of Tutankhamon at Walibi Belgium, physically one of the best dark rides I've ever been on, look it up on Youtube and you'll see why.Agreed on the Mondial Capriolo, great rides Only rode one a couple of weeks ago. Inferno at Terra Mitica, ridiculously short but I really did enjoy this ride.

I think it was probably to strengthen the queue fences surrounding the "cage" , I remember even on opening day the closest one to it had already been knocked out. Such an epic effect though.

^ Too true. I do also find it hilarious it is that Chessington can be a bore, and yet Thorpe isn't...