OlivusPrime

Whenever I feel like my life is headed nowhere and that my work is pointless, I remember that people who write these exist.

How much had the ride deteriorated by 2005? I must have first rode it that year or the year before, but I remember very little, and what I do remember is only positive (bearing in mind I would have been 10 or 11 at the time). Was it purely down to the building's structural integrity, with the theme then coming afterwards? Surely the damage must have been pretty extensive for them to consider refurbing the whole thing, especially when perfectly adequate scenes are there to begin with.

I'll be interested to ride Hex after its refurbishments - I first rode it in 2009 and, apart from the parking issues, have never noticed much deterioration in the whole experience (not sure if it mostly occurred before then?). Those signs are a good example - I never noticed them being faded to begin with, so good on them for taking the effort to replace them.

Bizarre, hope someone snaps it up before it gets dumped or lost.

Looks like I need to eat my hat! The refurbishment of the Nemesis alien is exemplary of how these attractions should be refurbished - remaining true to the original intention whilst injecting a visible lease of new life. I'd hope for the surrounding Nemesis theming to get the same kind of treatment, but unfortunately it's unlikely (why replace rusty scenery when it's meant to be rusty?).

Thanks for the replies guys, all helpful. The biological theme of the ride, together with the idea of the masses being hypnotically drawn to the site, are thematic aspects that I definitely want to explore, since I feel they say something (not quite set on what!) about the public's innate thirst for thrills. On the topic of the trains, I believe I read a making-of document up for auction on eBay that claimed that the track is a bone-like substance generated by the creature, with the trains then being digestive organs sent along to gather nutrients. Again, raises questions regarding the public's consumption of entertainment vs. a larger entity's consumption of the public.

A fair point, but then Colossus isn't located in a park starved of investment.

I vividly remember visiting Thorpe around Colossus' 10th anniversary, and a friend with me thought it was 20 years old, or even older. Regardless of its operating state, the ride's appearance and area has been generally neglected enough over the years to age it more than it should have.

I decided to put this in General Theme Park Discussion, since this idea could easily be elaborated upon through discussion, but it's also something of a personal request. I'm in my final term of a film and television course at uni, and I've chosen to write my dissertation on the artistic qualities of rollercoasters, using Nemesis (and potentially, for comparison, Nemesis Inferno) as a case study. When I say "artistic qualities", I mean it in the broadest possible way: The architecture of the coaster itself. The ride's theme, both in terms of visual elements and of deeper thematic implications (e.g., what Nemesis' backstory implies about our natural inclination towards thrillseeking). The ride's narrative, both in terms of its story and the way that the area and queue are used to evoke certain emotions and ideas. The sensations when riding a rollercoaster. The ride's temporality, I.e. how adjustments to the ride, its area, and the other rides that surround it over time may change the effect of the ride. I still need to pin down a specific question or title, but I'm pretty set on writing along these sorts of lines, seeing as how there is very little academic writing on the rollercoaster as a piece of art, especially outside of Disney and Universal. I guess my two questions are, do you folks have any comments or questions regarding this topic, and do you know of any good books/readings that might assist me in my writing? I've obviously already got John Wardley's biography and I've watched plenty of interviews with him, plus I'm looking into buying Theme Park Design & the Art of Themed Entertainment and Electric Dreamland, but any further written works would be helpful.

A red wall is all fair and well until we discover Nemesis' backside hasn't been painted for next season...

So ED92 has chimed in on a rumour that has been floating about since earlier this year - that Paris' Space Mountain will be getting the Hyperspace Mountain overlay in 2017: http://www.ed92.org/single-post/2016/09/15/ATTRACTION-HYPER-SPACE-MOUNTAIN Personally I hate the idea, and think it's a shame that the type of ham-fisted market-focussed retheming that the other parks seem to be encountering at the moment is slowly making its way to Paris. Moreover, I would be afraid that, what with Paris' limited finances, the overlay would end up staying much longer, if not permanently, and would nix the chance of restoring the original idea behind the ride to a modern standard next year. This is the sort of thing that I think VR is good for, though.

Can't wait to return to Paultons on the 22nd with a group of friends, the changes since I last visited in 2010 look staggering. Would someone be able to suggest a rough time you'd expect to leave the park (having hopefully done everything significant) on a September weekday? We're booking advance trains and I have no idea how busy the park will be, trying to decide between leaving around 3:00pm or 4:00pm (leaning towards the latter).

I suppose this makes Duel Merlin's best operating UK dark ride by default... we seem to be slipping back into the dark ages. EMERGENCY EDIT: Forgot Ghost Train, before the horde consumes me. Still, not a lineup to be particularly proud of.

Anyone know whether the extended version of Sub-Species will be put on again this year? That might be the deciding factor for whether I do Fright Nights or Scarefest.

Thought I'd post these here as I scoured the net for a decent Air logo for a while before scanning one in from a ride photo and de-backgrounding it. These were done very hastily and sloppily before anyone complains about how messy they are.

It was pretty funny to hear how many staff members preferred Air when I went to Towers with my family a few weeks back. Whether it was a case of "the customer is always right" or not, we must have had about four different staff members say that the VR isn't anything special over the course of the day.

I have a lot of fond memories of visiting Paultons with the family many years ago - I think the last time I went would have been around 2010. The place has always been very well kept and charming, and it's wonderful to see it getting so much attention these days. Going again later this year with some friends for a birthday, and your pictures have only added to the excitement!

I can't help but think of this.

Thank ye kindly, but the link on the website doesn't seem to work anymore and going by the filename I assume it's the theme music, rather than the industrial-esque ambient track I was after.

That poster seems remarkably apologetic considering most fans of the ride probably haven't cared for it in 11 years. Odd that they've geared it so squarely towards teens/adults, regarding the classic imagery also.

Every time I visit I forget how great the ambience in the Oblivion queueline is for building tension. Is there a slim chance that anyone might be able to provide it?