Benin

Given Efteling's history as a family based park, it was never going to be an absolute thrill ride, anyone with the expectation of that would be bitterly disappointed by a ride like Baron... For Holland (and Efteling itself) though, Baron is perhaps a new benchmark and turning point in their side of the industry, since the biggest ride really prior to it is Goliath, and that was when Six Flags owned Walibi! I certainly know that when it was announced I thought it was a joke, "How could Efteling fit a B&M into their park?" I said, with people concuring with me about that question... By the looks of things, they've managed to do what many thought was less likely than Hartenhof being built this century... I often think as enthusiasts that our well-travelled side of life often does get the better of our opinions... There might be bigger or more intense variants on Baron (certainly none look as well themed as it mind), the layout might be 'dull' comparatively to other parks who have the space or don't particularly care about the overall aesthical effect a towering ride might have on the nearby area... But do the locals care about a bigger Dive Machine ride hundreds of miles and £3'000 worth of holiday away? Krake is probably my favourite example of this issue, and perhaps is why I like the ride so much... It's because of the atmosphere it created with the guests, something I didn't experience with Sheikra or Griffon, there was a tangible excitement about Krake, lots of spectators getting excited over the prospect of riding it, and many enthusiasts would probably go "why get excited over a tiny Dive Machine?"... If other rumours are to be believed though, Efteling were very impressed with B&M over the construction of Baron (when originally rumours were said that the higher management weren't particularly impressed with the idea, what with the whole massive clash of ideals), so impressed they might consider them again... If Baron means more B&Ms in Holland, then it is perhaps the best addition that country will ever see...

Imagine if it was like this a couple of years ago and they reported every single breakdown at Thorpe? They would fill the entire paper with it...

Usually, when Towers are running one train (or limited capacity) it's because one of the trains is buggered... They don't tend to hide behind 'demand' as an excuse...

What's the point in spending thousands on backup generators that you will rarely ever need? Bear in mind that the ride will have a train in the station, its not that simple (and risky) to do... Dispatching another train during a power cut, even with a backup generator could cause massive problems...

The fact they've used the term "spooktacular" says to me that its something for Halloween... Maybe something similar to the Krypt maze they had a few years back...

Sees webpage is unilad...... Ignores...

I was aiming to make some form of joke, but since I can't, there's no point...

They did keep it secret though... Who would've guessed that it would do that thing? There were absolutely zero rumours about it (though I don't tend to read the German forums)... I'm gonna change the topic title (Oh, I can't... That's pretty daft then that I can't edit a topic I created, silly TPM)...

I know it's because it's pretty much attacking our hobby/interest and stuff, but even that's a very daft thing to even say... The media have done far, FAR worse than jump on the back of Merlin over this stuff...

No different to say National Rail trains being stuck mid-journey due to the heat messing up the rails... Neither are particularly stories to panic over... I would assume an hour to evacuate the entirity of the Monorail given the scale of it would be about right...

The biggest issue is that it appears even the BBC has followed into the clickbait world... Very disappointing really...

Mein Gott! Hansa's definitely on the list next year then...

Well, it is the summer after all, lots of newbies join now...

Sounds like pretty much every other coaster at Efteling then, not breaking any top 10s, but will be solid and above all fun... Which is of course, what we want from rides... Fun, a few people tend to forget that...

No one here knows anything about when the ride will open... It will open when Merlin and the park are happy it is safe to run and not before...

Bus from train station... Or a taxi...

I'll believe that when I see it... Even though Hansa tends to have lots of things happen on lift hills (Fluch stops halfway up to have a man shout at you for example, something not seen anywhere else)...

I think a bigger DM wouldn't suit Efteling one bit... I prefer the smaller ones though, Shakira and Griffon did nothing for me... Plus it allows parks with more strict height ceilings or space issues to have one, which can only be seen as a positive... I'm sure the Dutch will love this as much as the Germans love Krake...

The official opening video (coverage starts from 21 minutes in, ride stuff an hour in)... I wish the UK parks did more events like this, opening ceremonies in general, rather than open the park with zero pomp to it...

If you're available today from 11:45, there's a livestream of Baron 1898 as it's the media day today... Linky - http://www.efteling.com/baron-livestream

It wouldn't surprise me that there are some who wear the lanyard as that badge of "I'm better than you", plenty of adults do it who are clearly not under the 'geek' or 'enthusiast' bracket... I think people's moans aren't about the lanyards, but about the people wearing them, especially if people have had experiences where these passholders are playing the "but IIIII have an Annual Pass" card for some reason... I couldn't care less mind...

Do they ever run two trains on Orange these days? They really messed up the station when they redid it...

Does TPM care if people take photos from Storm Surge's lift hill, given it takes half a hour?

One week remains... They're even changing the fencing: Before After Even that shows the difference some little changes can make to an area, the smaller fences look much better...