Benin

I think, when used well and reasonably disguised, screens are a good subsitute for animatronics... Especially from a cost/maintenance perspective, plus the ability to do a whole lot more with little space in comparison... Wish there was like a troll animatronic though in there to make the most of that sequence mind... It's up to the park really to use the screens to their best possible advantage and ensure it doesn't look cheap and a poor substitute for effort and ability...

It looks so DULL... I don't like the new fad of sticking some screens around and you then have a dark ride... It just looks so damn cheap... Don't mind it if the screens are hidden/themed/etc, like on Huntik, Thor's Hammer and the like, but that ride does not interest me at all...

It depends on whether or not you get stapled by it I find... It's ok, other variants are better though...

Inferno says hi...

What a strange concept... In Spain I encountered a general frozen vending machine, is this random piece of new tech fixing a problem we don't have? Frozen coke is a bit blergh...

It would appear that ZacSpins are starting to reopen, SFMM and Grona Lund's for certain, with Kirnu in Finland following soon... Most media reports are pointing towards Terra Mitica having made some modifications to the restraint systems on Inferno... Whether or not these were approved by Intamin or not remains to be 100% confirmed from what I can see/tell (it's all media conjecture atm), but it does look like we can blame the Spaniards for this incident...

I'd probably wager that even Heave Ho's throughputs exceed a fair few of Chessie's rides... Considering things like Jumbos, Griffins, Peeking and Berries don't even hit 200pph...

Imagine if that and the B&M Invert had been built? Oh wells...

It's one of the best bits about Nemmie

What appeal will the likes of Thorpe and Towers have to the European audience? Just curious... As the Europeans are pretty much spoilt for choice in regards to the number of places available to them that already appeal...

Rival park/resort that is arguably better placed to attract the European market and near enough to two of Merlin's parks to deter guests away? Merlin should have alarm bells ringing in their ears if only to have preparations ready instead of being as reactive as always... See Disney suddenly getting Avatar Land to battle Universal & Potter... Reactive business decisions shouldn't really be the way to go...

Either that or they're waiting too announce it in an official capacity... They'd be foolish to reduce the number of mazes considering how popular the event is... Especially given the Lionsgate link a lack of potential ideas cannot be excused...

CBeebies Land has done a fine job in getting guests to visit... Indeed, Disney don't seem to have a problem getting the guests, and they don't have much in the way of big thrilling coasters/rides... With correct marketing and quality, you can get guests to come and ride anything you build... Hex and Duel never really have queues because of their throughputs (Duel) and people not knowing what's inside (Hex)... Hex is a weird one because it seems to rather confuse guests as to what it is, especially with the two pre-shows, which is a shame because it's the best dark ride we have in the country (apart from when the curtain fails to work)... Sub Terra I can't help but feel has no re-rideability either, which doesn't help it's cause, as well as being pushed towards the high thrill level of dark ride... A high quality dark ride could easily change perceptions of them... Indeed, an over-reliance on marketing surveys and the like is really what's making the Merlin parks rather dull and lifeless more so than anything... The parks need to be thinking ahead of themselves, and building something that guests didn't know they wanted until they had ridden it...

Dialogue heavy dark rides </3 I was expecting something along the lines of U-571 at Movieland Studios up by Lake Garda, that's probably why I'm so bemused by it...

A Volare would be tonnes worse than a Zac-Spin *dread* Does Thorpe need another family coaster is a better question, what with Fish and X fulfilling the roles reasonably well so far... Of course they would have Saw as well as a suitable family thrill coaster like every other Eurofighter but they had to get the adult IP in... A dark ride is certainly a bigger priority, it's just a case of are Merlin capable of producing one of sufficient overall quality on a large scale basis (Sub-Terra is done reasonably well for what is essentially a filler dark ride)...

I wanna see more of the Indoor Intamin Freefall... Also, the hell was the Submarine attraction about? Barren is a very descriptive word of this place as well... It lacks a whole lot of stuff at the current time...

List in question: Brighton Pier *dread*

http://www.imascore.com/de/neue-musik-von-imascore-I&#39;m-heide-park-resort IMAScore have done a LOAD of stuff for Heide this year, which is good, cos the mismash of old Tussauds music gave the park no identity whatsoever...

Imagine the difference between Stealth and the likes of TTD/Kingda Ka, even if the acceleration is 'slower'...

Oh ye of little faith... Most parks can be done as part of a summer holiday, though my version of a summer holiday (I.e. Coaster Road-trip) probably differs slightly from most people's versions... Who needs beaches when there's creds to get?

That's because it's moving in a straight line... It's when it does anything else that it goes wrong...

Oh yay, I miss the old preview things we used to get (the Colossus model <3)... Probably to do with the Enchanted Forest then...

Awful queues and operations over a few years made the difference, with crap food and staff in a general sense... Thomas Land helped them turn a corner... Still lack a good coaster though...

There's a lot to be said by having parents who also like theme parks... Baseball is still basically Rounders... Though I went to see the San Fran Giants back when the Home Run record was broken in a big old box... It was a laugh and kinda shows that American sports are all just about getting together and having a natter with friends, hence why they all last FOREVER... Next report, please no bold... Please...

Tis probably the truth of it tbh, the other non-Merlin parks certainly have a lot more focus on the value, of which Blackpool, on a price per ride basis, easily wins out... Drayton is a weird one, but I guess the lure and reasonable quality of Thomas Land wins out... Paultons is an excellent park for the family market too, combining that charming independent owned park feel into a top quality IP area... The Merlin parks have been certainly attracting the negative crowds in a relative growing fashion on the decent reviewer end of TripAdvisor...