MikeyT

So I stopped posting updates for a while because it was pretty much more of the same. But over the last few days, Wizarding World has been soft opening to select guests. Here is a walk- through of the queue for Forbidden Journey. Don't watch if you want everything to remain a surprise. I cried! Lol.

Had a shocking experience on this yesterday. I was almost embarrassed. House lights on where they shouldn't be, complete darkness where lights should be on, literally no special effects worked apart from that little generator thing in the Octagon room. Music quiet everywhere. As for the the Vault room- well, it spun, and that's about it.Poor show for Alton really.

This is still a fantastic ride, now 12 years old. The feeling of approaching that drop and just watching the track disappear, it's scary! Brilliantly designed, too- I personally prefer it to Sheikra at Busch Gardens, which just didn't have the same impact for me. Can't wait to see the ride and the whole of X Sector get that seriously deserved attention.

Finally got my chance to ride Thirteen. Absolutely loved it overall; I came off shaking the first time I came off the ride yesterday. It's such a quick ride, there's so much happening, I reckon it'll take a few rides for most guests to take everything in.I'll mention a few of the negatives now to get them out of the way; the queue is so boring, with very little in the way of things to look at in parts. There are some really small touches in the queue, but in all honesty you really have to look hard for them to find them, although there is a creepy atmosphere in the air that is sort of infectious.The black cloths on the ceiling, are, seriously, pretty awful, it's a shame because the station building is an actual scenic masterpiece apart from this, I wanted to look up and see a gothic chandelier looking all majestic and rustic. Or even just some beams or something, pretty much anything would be better.There seems to be an odd mish- mash of things going on. I heard people around the ride, including a friend of mine, mention what the tesla coil had to do with a forest, or the scaffolding, and those syringe pens that seem to be pooping up all over the Merlin Attractions.However, don't be put off, I think it's wonderful. Great fun. Highlight of the ride has to be the helix at the end.... I actually clapped, and I never do that on rides! PAH! Crypt is brilliantly themed, and actually doesn't need much more going on in there in my opinion. From videos it looks as though there needs to be more happening, but literally as you've noticed what's around you, the ride continues again.It's a fantastic family attraction, that will cover a huge spectrum of people, brilliant throughput, too. Today we queued from the entrance, with full extensions open, and waited 90 minutes. I probably wouldn't queue that amount of time again, but I was impressed at how quickly the queue moves. Can't wait to go on it again.

Welcome Peep! Hope you enjoy posting here. Alcohol, cinema and theme parks, yeah I like you already

As for the audio and elephant, I'm guessing it's a case of the engineers forgetting to turn the audio on, and the elephant is literally controlled by a tap round the back of the ride, on that particular day though, the weather wasn't the best, so I'm guessing they had it on low so not to get the guests too wet.

Just watched that CF documentary, and I really enjoyed it! It's always nice to hear Graham and Rob talk about the park, I particularly liked what Graham was saying, makes me look forward to the future even more. :)I look forward to visiting the park over the summer to check out the Savannah experience.

The thing with that announcement is, I can see what they tried to do with it, and is actually themed, unlike the generic ones. Although the generic ones sound 100% better. My main issue with it, is the bloke who did that announcement, but that's a personal issue, it just makes me cringe having to listen to him say it.The announcement was changed about half way through the 2009 season after an incident with an idiot guest who decided to be pedantic about the original announcement "please keep hands and arms inside", so, to cover themselves, they had to change it to include "arms and legs".

Just have to say that I'm loving Colossus this year, had a brilliant ride on it yesterday, the new wheels make the ride a lot quieter, and it now seriously flies around the track, which you can really notice going through those heartlines- I felt like a bullet going through a rifle!Although the station music and announcements were not working (instead- the Heide Park version of the soundtrack was being played) it's great to see that the Medusa water feature is still working, it looked brilliant.

Had a few rides on Saw yesterday, effects were hit and miss as always, but overall I really enjoyed my rides on it. I think I may prefer the back now, I find it slightly smoother than the front, though I still come off the ride with that trademark headache that quite a few Eurofighters seem to have.

There will more than likely be a couple of meets over the summer, so don't worry too much if you're unable to attend this meet. Is anyone up for a meal after the park?

When they changed the colour scheme, they wanted the ride to look like some kind of machine- a device that Rameses looks you into, and well... gets his revenge. Of course there's the whole backstory about Moses/ the parting of the Red Sea.

Well it's obviously more important that you get yourself sorted out. Need to take care of your health, mate

Steve can you please put a shirt on or change your display pic, nobody really wants to see your nipples, as lovely as they are

Just to reiterate exactly what has already been said, all members are welcome to attend the meet if they wish. However, members who have become banned may not attend.It's nothing new or strange to ask, members become banned for a reason. Of course people may visit the park when they wish, with who they wish, but we kindly ask that you do not bring along banned members to the actual meet.If anyone wishes to discuss this further, please contact any member of the team who will honestly be really happy to explain further. Please keep it off here though, this is not the place to discuss forum politics, any further posts about the matter will be deleted.

I would advise people in future, if you do happen to get hold of any media from the parks, that they kindly keep quiet about it and respect the park's wishes. Stating on a public forum that you've aqquired a piece of music, but not allowed to share it never creates a good impression of yourself, no matter what your intentions are.

Benin that is absolutely fantastic! I'd love for that to come true, there are parts in there that genuinely made me laugh. Such a joy to read.I've come up with a brief backstory for my idea, which I'll post now, and add other bits as I go; I don't have the energy to do a scene by scene ride through right now (and plus I haven't completely worked out what I want in each scene )Remember this is a backstory, most guests won't ever read it, and it doesn't need to be read to understand the story, but there are elements throughout the ride that suggest certain aspects to it. Here goes:An impressive clock tower stands proudly above all, marking the entrance to a delightful Transylvanian village. Beyond the light- hearted ambience that fills the air, something terrifying lives. You can sense it behind the eyes of everyone that takes residence there... lives led in fear, the unknown... who will be taken next?One village resident, certain not to become a victim himself has not taken a step outside his home for decades; not since his daughter was taken. Oh, the many faces of a broken man...Dr Chessington is a wonderful man; skittery, odd and bubbly on the surface; with years of emotional torture only making him kind, caring and considerate to others. Quite a genius he is, too, responsible for many inventions such as the Garlicator - a device that gives the whole body a fragrant smell of garlic.For years, the concept of time has troubled and intrigued Dr Chessington. Inventing the time machine has become an obsession. Turning his home into a research facility, with an array of obscure and strange experiments attracting many local residents, eager to discover exactly what Dr Chessington is up to.And of course, not wanting to seem arrogant, Dr Chessington has now opened his home to the residents of the village who wish to find out for themselves. Setting up an elaborate tour, all who have the pleasure of experiencing it will get access to all areas and gain a better understanding of Dr Chessington.

Aww Michaela! Are you able to borrow somebody's Merlin magic pass? If not I'm sure someone will be able to team up and usea BOGOF with you

Wahh I want to come;)

Wahh that image will constantly play on my mind Mark! So creepy!

Fixed :angry:Haha really though, people have met some of their best friends from here, and we all love meeting new people, it's good for the community and it's great for you to spend some time with people whom of which you share a common interest.

Jumping on the Doctor Who bandwagon, I loved yesterday's episode, hopefully The Moff can follow through next week and deliver on the fantastic story he's set up.I had a nightmare about it last night, as did my brother, he couldn't sleep. He loved it though, he's watched it 5 times now. See children really do love being scared

I'm currently being a geek and trying to redesign Bubbleworks. Trying to keep it as realistic as possible in terms of budgets. I'm imagining the station as a pulsating laboratory full of strange contraptions, erupting and giving off strange and wonderful smells. Theme of the ride starts off as the factory tour thing, but instead, it's home to an odd character who is inventing the time travel machine.As you travel around the ride you accidentally get dragged in to an experiment that goes wrong, dragging you into different places in time. I've come up with the basics for a short preshow just before the station. Space is an issue though,

Looking forward to this! Can't wait to see people again and everyone please urge newer members to come, you'll all have a great time, I promise

I agree with Benin on this, the ride needs to be totally gutted and they need to start from scratch. That way no comparisons can be made to the previous incarnations. I would perhaps keep some of the props if they are relevant to the story, but it needs completely different set design, colour palette, a darker atmosphere.I do have an idea that I think would just do wonders for Bubbleworks, I'd love it to have an atmosphere that's somewhere inbetween a Rhoad Dahl novel and a Tim Burton film. Something a bit fairytale, and strange. Also I think it should have nods to Professor Burp, playing homage to the history of the park.