Benin

Dark rides with laser guns don't automatically become disappointing...

Are Rapids and Log Flumes really classed under 'relaxing' rides? I doubt that this dark ride will be along the same lines as Duel/Tomb where progress is slow and arguably dull (especially on Tomb), one would hope it's a very dynamic motion dark ride, even if it's a cheap one...

If a multi-million pound dark ride doesn't provide a more interesting experience than a Carousel then Merlin might as well give up running parks... It's a shame it's not being relocated, as Carousels can provide that much needed "fun for all" quota quite simply for little space usage, something Thorpe needs to do a lot of intelligently in the future... But guess the conflicting we want families (or DO we?) phases are forever going mental... Wouldn't be surprised if they now decided that the Banana Boat should go and get a bigger Pirate Ship in place of it...

There's just something about every single Moffat episode recently that just makes me cringe... The final moments of the finale are a perfect example of it all... Power of love (see also the god-awful Moon episode) and all that, indeed, there didn't seem to be much of a presence from the big bad in comparison to say the last few times they were involved during the T Davies series... As bad as some of his stuff was, at least he could provide a decent over-arching storyline intertwined in, rather than the odd random scene at the end to go "LOOK THIS CHARACTER EXISTS" before the wild Moffat twist... Best episode was Flatline this series...

They are advertising for at least one mechanical engineer...

Juvelen is FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAB... No one is allowed to be negative about it...

Tbh, if it was in the digger area, that'd be good as it'd be out the way... HOWEVER, I think it's being put in where they're doing some digging opposite where the old Explorers Institute used to be...

6 coasters and 6 dark rides? Could have duelling coasters which count as 2 major rides... The dark rides could range from stuff like Mystic Manor to Twister/Earthquake... The possibilities are quite high really...

Big old update... http://www.londonparamount.info/media/1022/paramount_full-set.pdf Turns out the "Leisure Core" will consist of the park (presumably 6 themed areas) and a Citywalk style thing with a 2000 seat theatre, cinema, displays, shops and food... Will take up 45 hectares (111 acres) in total... Also an indoor waterpark will also be built... Another important factor is that they've set aside land for future expansion... Could be an interesting development, though I have a feeling they might also be going for some form of queueless system as a quote of "State of the art technology maximising visitor experience: shortening queues and increasing per hour activity", which could be ANYTHING... Hopefully that just means that they've visited Europa Park and decided that it's what they should follow...

Given my recent visit to Skegness, this sort of incident would not surprise me...

They are planning to have Wodan open this year if I recall (weather permitting)... So the only coaster you'd be missing that's a problem if you do miss it is Silver Star...

It's not like the people who go through this are: Applying to be put through the stuff Sign a waiver that presumably grants the owner rights to do whatever he likes Are still under the watchful eye of the owner, who adapts the haunt to the person The owner deliberately picks and chooses those who apply and only picks people who can actually do it So it's not like he's just letting anyone do this... Daft to have a petition imo...

It truly is pointless, I don't mind the shorts they're doing, but the trilogy ended so perfectly... Silly Disney...

It's not just the wooden coaster the council are seemingly worried about... Besides, it's likely this won't open till 2016 now...

Similar situations could be said for other fansites (such as DLP Magic, TPM and the like)... Whatever floats peoples boats really... I can't think of anything more boring than visiting the same park over and over again these days...

To be fair, the Glass Elevator portion of Charlie is the best part... #damningwithfaintpraise

Horror is too generic a term sometimes... Technically Vampire and Tomb Blaster can come under a horror term... Duel (especially under Haunted House) comes under 'Hammer Horror', and these days is just spooky and very cheesey... Hex is creepy, though I've always felt that's more about the setting rather than the ride/theme... However, both are still relatively family friendly to a degree... Having another Saw like IP would not be family friendly (indeed, was always the weirdest choice for the rather family friendly Eurofighter concept)...

Well of course they are a success, simply because they've opened up 20 million Midway attractions in 5 years (might be slightly over-exaggerating)... Thing is, being 'efficient' in a Merlin way results in the state of the current parks... Operationally, they are an absolute mess and mostly need the 'extravagance' that Disney have... Indeed, their 'efficient' spending in a prime reason behind their own growth and success, because of the minimal expediture for maximum income and short-term success... Between having £30m or £200m on a dark ride, you can probably guess which is the most likely to ooze complete quality... Hell if a ride like Tower of Terror is an extravagance then it's one I could do with a lot more regularly...

Hooray for more bland abandoned building based rides then...

*looks up Huss Booster* Show me a 5 year old that would openly want to ride that please...

Having been this past weekend I've obviously managed to get on Ratatouille... I plan on doing a fuller review soon, but I'll give some initial thoughts to it here... I was of course, doubtful about the ride after watching a POV like many people, but to put it simply, a POV of it does zero justice to the immersion the ride provides... It's truly astonishing the scale of both the theming AND the screens provide... When you then consider DLP got Pixar to create unique animation, get the same voice-actors AND get the composer to rescore for the ride and area, it's no wonder it cost so much... The ride is good fun too, with a good mix of screen and physical theming around the ride, and of course, the delightful details Disney always provide into their rides... It's a fantastic addition to the Studios, and will hopefully be another step into turning the park into less of a forgotten mess of crap (especially once the Tram Tour gets spited)...

Perhaps if Merlin stopped trying to please investors over their guests they'd make more money... Just a thought...