Benin

Europa Park do some serious work every year on 'non-essential' stuff (the Rapids getting an enclosed lift hill comes to mind)... Sure most of the other German parks are similar (though probably not to the same degree of Europa's work)... It's also something not exclusive to rides, as seen by Towers Street looking very much left behind in the 90s... Should there be an incentive for the parks to make sure presentation to top notch though? It sounds like a poor excuse to put it towards fans not gushing at the bit because Forbidden Kingdom has received new tarps...

Refurbs are few and far between though... Should we be complimenting parks for doing something they should already be doing? If Fury gets repainted, then it's good, but I'm not going to congratulate the park on something that they should be looking to do anyway, and only doing it because there's another reason behind it (a la Oblivion)...

Good riddance...

I think the problem is down to that repainting is something that should be done anyway, rather than ignored/left until the thing is completely unsafe... Oblivion is still the only example of a Merlin ride being fully repainted, and that was purely down to Smiler being built across the way... Presentation is everything, something Merlin don't seemingly realise a lot...

I would say though that Christmas events (especially at Legoland) are more focused upon things other than creds being open... Though of course, back in the day they did have the rides open during their Christmas events, but that was over a decade ago, so it's a moot point...

Do they? Very rarely do I go along the Chessie grapevine these days, but even back in the day, Toadies was never often mentioned as part of the "getting removed" lines... It's part of my wishlist of rides Chessie should remove, but it's never been high on the list... Usually it was more a case of "Chessie can't afford to remove rides because of the low capacity already"... Ok then... Chessie needs a massive overhaul really... The years of neglect suffered under DIC are certainly part and parcel of the issues it has today... It's pretty much certain that the park needs pretty much everything from new rides to refurbed areas, yet Merlin don't appear to want to push the budgets for the park high enough to produce the results required... A Gerstlauer launched coaster would be perfect for the park, as it would produce that sort of stepping stone for the kids as they grow up over the visits... What annoys me the most about the park, is that 2010 was not capitalised on... It felt like the park had new life that year, but fast forward a few years, and it's continued a stagnation with only Zufari as an actual addition and not a lot else for the park to shout about... This might be as a result of the way Merlin are currently running things of course, with the excessively tight budgets (and indeed, sudden loss of budget if other 'more important' projects require them) making the management of the park feel rather limited to what they can do... Of course, I'll still champion the removal of most of the crap in the park to be replaced with actually good rides... As it does need a coaster, water ride(s) and flats of high capacity... Even if these attractions do not fulfil the daft USP aspects of Merlin's management, they only need to look towards parks of similar statures to see what a few simple investments can provide (*cough*Plopsaland*cough*)...

Hansa love their twisty vertical drops... 2016 is so far away

Another test, with the holding brake included (not that anyone cares)...

That Rush would be at the end of it's 'lifespan' after 10 years is also a strange claim to make... Zodiac is about the same age now (since it's the one from Drayton) as well... As Dan says, an extra week (bearing in mind there'll be some time for maintenance AFTER half term as well) is not going to make all 4 Lost City flats suddenly die and need replacing... Of course though, if the parks hadn't been so badly treated during the DIC years, then maybe the rides being knackered wouldn't be an issue...

One would expect/hope there are a few more filler rides to be added to that list, the 4 lost city flats near the entrance for example, and Inferno and Det as well should come in... As a line up if all those things were open, would mean only 3 big rides shut, 2 of which would be down to the chill factor potentially being a problem... Have to see won't we?

Saw's gimmick did/does work, but the ride itself is gooseberry fool... Big difference to Mraws (and Swarm originally, though that's a lot more external reasoning, always hated how Swarm got the blame for a bad year)...

The same Six Flags which is calling these fairground "Ring of Fire" rides coasters? Six Flags are well known for their crappy gimmicks, certainly not a company I would look to emulate...

Onrefni? I'd rather not see one of the few non-gimmick coasters be turned into one... The sudden backwards rides gimmick is weird as well, and I don't think Namtab got a lot of good reviews either, beyond being "ok for the one off experience", much like Swarm really...

I.e. People weren't happy that the sale was only for new passes rather than renewals... Merlin didn't help this by only making it clear when you actually hit onto the website...

One would assume so, it's pretty much focused on the area as a whole, with a park as a bonus... Of course, the quality of the park could make Merlin stand up and take notice, even if their current stance towards it is a sort of "don't care" attitude, which is equally a dangerous mistake to make... Paramount will be very easy to advertise as well, especially with the BBC IPs added in as well... What would sound better to kids? Angry Birds or Dr Who? As for Paultons, they need some continued expansion/investment to reach the slightly wider audience that the likes of Lego and Chessie hit... For now it's still firmly within the 'local park' motif that a lot of high quality independent parks are at...

I can't figure why people are thinking the red lights are new, it's always had multiple coloured lights...

The indoor drop is always a highlight on the Eurofighters that have them; Mystery Mine's is good for the sheer starting point (I.e. straight into the drop out of the station, rather than turning a corner into it like Saw), and Fluch's drop propels you into a launch (after some random German storytime)... Fortunately for those two, they don't become awful after a solid start...

TRIPLE POST This is possibly the most gorgeous ride poster ever... I want it...

Dodgy testing video ahoy!

This month, Efteling's project team get to ride Krake...

So aside from Scorpion Express and Market Square's refurb, what else did the £8 million get the park? Honestly curious here... As from the outside, it looks like it's another example of the ridiculous cost of Merlin Studios... And I'm with Josh, Scorpion Express is lazy, the backdrop alone is the greatest flaw, 2d and doesn't even look like a mine (which is meant to be the story, abandoned mine)... It's not just at Chessie mind, both Swarm and Smiler also have lazy elements to the theming, it's just a Merlin wide issue instead...

Scrap standby queues, apart from the first half hour and the last hour(s)... Not a sensible decision... Besides, the assumption the rerides will just make enthusiasts happy is the sweeping under the rug issues we suffer from currently when it comes to Merlin...

Are we really considering Scorpion Express as a major investment? Low standards are low...

So, as always, Europa are doing a number of minor improvements to the park during off-season... They've posted a few pics of this work on FB: A man oversees their new Express Lane, which will essentially be a Travelator in the car park. The Kolombus ride in Spain is slightly gutted for a refurb. The base of Euro-Tower is getting a look-in. Don Quichotte restaurant also sees a gutting. The Italy area sees a repaint. As always, Mack prove time and time again that they know exactly the standard required from any park in the world...

Would appear that the layout in the image of the SFC is a clone of Kvasten at Grona Lund... A very good solid family coaster it is too, a suitable choice for the park...