Benin

Sounds classy, but it's still the shipping containers right? I can see the OUTRAGE on Facebook now as posh families from the wilds of Crawley imagine a wonderous hotel filled with magic and fairies and end up sleeping on top of each other in a shipping container whilst the local Staines Massif throw things at wildlife... It's a Merlin thing isn't it? Bare minimum? The Hotel doesn't work with our new target market? Change the name and do nothing else... Then again, Dockyard Hotel doesn't have the same amount of gravitas to it does it?

Is the twist that the maze doesn't actually happen and it was just an illusion of a potential future?

Hunger Games Scare Maze confirmed...

You mean using the money that had been taken from Zufari? Chessie being given more than £5m on the park sounds unlikely given recent years mind... The website's page on the development doesn't state that RMT or Falls are separate either, so not exactly something that proves that the various projects are costing more than £5m in total...

Tbh, thinking about it (and looking at the pics that were posted after my original post this morning), would moving the Carousel to where the current island of trees that appears to be possibly being removed be an option for the park? It would certainly allow the Carousel to actually have a decent pride of place rather than tucked away... That said, it looks like a basic refurb of the building at minimum, possibly to make them look more like the Sweet Shop refurb of this year? You can tell as the Donut Shack roof is covered in new pieces of roofing and the Toilet block looks a lot fresher... My worry here is that the work on Market Square (however good an idea it actually is, as it's always been a rather weak area like Merrie England was back in the day) will detract vital money from the areas that desperately needed the attention (RMT and Falls)...

Although with it closed next year, who knows where that queue will go? 60 minutes for Driving School?

What the hell are they doing in Market Square? That's rather surprising that half the buildings are covered in scaffolding...

They do, mainly because there's only 2 major coasters open in the park... But at the same time it is primarily a family event... Don't expect walk-ons for Nemesis, and expect the usual long affair for Air...

I'm guessing the construction work in the Zoo is still preventing people from accessing Zufari from the Zoo... Agree on should have the Carousel open...

Any proof of Chessie doing building work is worthwhile posting... Although I'm guessing it mostly centres around the Monkey & Bird Garden work rather than anything else?

We might be surprised that Chessie are actually doing something? I mean like, RMT and Dragon Falls only needed for the stuff to be redone to the same standard as it was before, but considering Merlin's fondness for 'the cheap' or 'the bare minimum' when it comes to theming there's not exactly many reasons for enthusiasts to be excited about when it comes to Chessie... Sure an aviary walkthrough for the Monkey/Bird Garden would be good (as it should've happened back in 2011, but budget cuts), but the park has a LOT of work to do on itself to actually stop the rather bad plunge it's taken the past two years... Having some rockwork theming is actually the least of the park's worries currently, though it was the last straw for many fans as to how the park was going... The thing is, we know what's due to happen with RMT, and that's the rocks are coming back... But the question is, in what FORM are they coming back? Bear in mind the original set of rockwork was brilliantly done in order to make one of the most basic track layouts going quite interesting, and linked well with the overall theme and queue-line itself... But what have Merlin done to lead us to believe that the same level of intricacy will continue onto the new rocks? People are negative at Chessie quite simply because they haven't been good enough, and need to actually prove that they will improve... Problem is, we've also heard it time and time again from the same park that 'next year will be different' and 'it will improve'... It rarely did... 2010 has been the exception to the rule this past decade... And it's embarrassing that one of the UK's top parks is in the state it's in today, with poor operations, half the place falling about and piss-poor designed new attractions (including Land of the Dragons)...

Half Term announced: http://www.altontowers.com/events/half-term/ Usual fare, Moshi Monsters are back, so expect it to be ridiculously busy... Sub-Terra also joins the ride line-up though X-Sector remains off limits (though it'll probably be a construction site again this winter so what else would you expect?)

Does it really matter if Towers does get a new coaster before Thorpe? Tbh, neither really need a new coaster that desperately, and both need to focus on their other offerings in regards to the look of the park, events, entertainments and just general upkeep... EDIT - Though it is more likely that Towers will get a new coaster sooner rather than later, as they need a junior coaster to bridge the gap Beastie left many moons ago, in regards to major coasters, neither park desperately needs a new one...

YEARS ago... Like, nearly a decade ago... Which was probably around the same time I last actually rode the thing...

But if we want this to be a regular thing (as in, every day of Summer with all rides operating as normal operating hours, which is what I would guess is the dream end game), then it needs to draw a decent amount of crowds (as in, not CrashPad or enthusiasts)... A couple of thousand would be a good start per night... It's certainly not a bad thing it's being expanded, but you just have to hope that the event is a success beyond enthusiasts loving it due to being able to gain high ride counts...

I actually managed to collate (the majority) of my tat recently... So have fun... Clothing HoodiesStealth x2 Valhalla Disneyland Paris Mickey Mouse ShirtsAir Beast Blue Fire Cedar Point 2009 Cheetah Hunt Colossos Coney Island Death Eaters Potter Land Diamondback Dogmatix Duelling Dragons Farenheit Fluch von Novgorod Griffon Katun Kennywood Kobra Krake Kraken Mammut Maverick Mickey Silhouette Paris Mystery Mine Nemesis Inferno Nemesis x2 Oblivion Pirates of the Caribbean Revenge of the Mummy Rita Shock Silver Star Smiler Stitch Disneyland Paris Swarm Talocan Thorpe Park Adrenaline Junkie Top Thrill Dragster Tower of Terror Tower of Terror Mickey Head WDW Jedi Kermit Winjas Wodan Xcelerator UnderwearDogmatix Kaa Toy Story Alien HatsStormtrooper Mickey Mouse Beanie Krake Cap Nemesis Cap Rock n Rollercoaster Cap Universal Studios Disneyland Paris Bags Blue Fire Nemesis Inferno Rock n Rollercoaster Disneyland Paris Stealth Mugs Mack Rides Nemesis Oblivion Vampire Disneyland Paris x Donald Duck Starsigns Thorpe Park Beanoland Kobra Thorpe Park Rangers Colossus Stealth Thor’s Hammer Bubbleworks Wild Artic Kitchenware Disneyland Paris Plastic Cups x4 (Frontierland, Discoveryland, Adventureland, Fantastyland) Grumpy Dwarf Bowl Dogmatix Tablemat Thorpe Park Rangers Bowls x2 Thorpe Park Rangers Glass Walt Disney World Hot Drink Cups x3 Chessington Cup x2 Kennywood Cup x2 Fridge Magnets Nemesis Inferno Alton Towers Walibi Revenge of the Mummy The Flume Fluch von Novgorod Diamondback Kennywood Raptor Alton Towers x2 Legoland Windsor x2 Colossus Chessington Oakwood Knotts Drayton Manor Manta Griffon Universal Studios 2009 Oblivion x3 Dollywood Mutiny Bay Blackpool Pleasure Beach Bon Bon Land Disneyland Paris x5 Walt Disney World Shrek 4D Phantasialand SeaWorld x2 Thorpe Park x2 Megaphobia Detonator G-Force Dragon’s Fury Islands of Adventure x2 Rainbow Magicland Camelot Parc Asterix x2 Paultons Krake JackRabbit Busch Gardens Swarm Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Universal Studios Disneyland x2 Cedar Point Port Aventura Mirabilandia Nemesis Amity Cove Farup Sommerland Air Tower of Terror Six Flags Superman Vertigo Shot-glasses Air Alton Towers Animal Kingdom Beast Busch Gardens Cedar Point Colossus Diamondback Disneyland Europa Park x2 Farenheit Farup Sommerland Firehawk Hansa Park Krake Magnum XL-200 Manta Maverick Mickey Mouse Paris Millenium Force Mystery Mine Nemesis Nemesis Inferno Oblivion Parc Asterix x2 Phantom’s Revenge Rainbow Magicland Raptor Rip Ride Rockit Rita x2 Saw Seaworld x2 Shock Smiler Son of Beast Stealth Stormrunner Thorpe Park Top Thrill Dragster Tower of Terror Tripsdrill Universal Studios Cuddly Toys Merlin BearsKrake Nemesis Oblivion Raptor Scream Smiler Swarm Thirteen Thorpe Park Vampire Legoland Billund Bear Thor’s Hammer Rainbow Magicland Cat Farup Sommerland Hedgehog Dogmatix Abenteur Atlantis Turtle Euromaus Halloween Euromaus Kennywood Sign Walibi Mini Thorpe Park Bear Legoland Windsor Christmas Dragon Stationary Mack Rides Folding Ruler PensAbenteur Atlantis Air Alton Towers Bellewaerde Bubbleworks Chessington Colossos Colossus Disneyland Paris Lightwater Valley Katun Kobra Krake Nemesis Nemesis Inferno Oblivion Plopsaland Revenge of the Mummy x3 Rita Saw Scream Stealth Swarm Thirteen Universal Studios Vampire Walibi Shockwave Pencil Posters/Postcards PostersSkunx Haunting Drayton Manor PostcardsAlton Towers Dragon Falls Retro Harry Potter World Revenge of the Mummy Katun Traumatizer Polar X-Plorer Disney Dreams x9 Corkscrew Last Day Flyer Statues Nemesis Resin Statue Alton Towers Glass Paperweight Thorpe Park Glass Paperweight Disneyland Paris Wall.E Statue Pins Air x2 Alton Towers Alton Towers Mini Set (6 pins) Batman WB Movie World Beanoland x2 Cat in the Hat Island of Adventure Chessington x2 Colossos Colossus Crush’s Coaster Disney Dreams Disneyland Paris 2013 Disneyland Paris 20th Dollywood Drayton Manor Duelling Dragons Expedition Everest x2 Expedition GeForce Farenheit Fluch von Novgorod Hersheypark Katun Krake Land of the Dragons Lynet Magnum XL-200 Moteurs Action Stunt Show Mr Toad’s Wild Ride Mystery Mine Nemesis Vote Oblivion Oz’Iris x2 Phantom Manor Pirates of the Caribbean Rameses Revenge Rattlesnake RC Racer Revenge of the Mummy Rip Ride Rockit Rock n Roller Coaster x2 Scream Seaworld Silver Star Skunx Space Mountain Mission 2 Storm Runner Stormforce 10 Thorpe Park Tidal Wave Twister Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Simpsons Halloween Valhalla x2 Vampire Walt Disney Studios Wildcat Misc. Alton Towers DVD Plopsaland Sticker Book Plopsaland Playing Cards Europa Park Top Trumps Skunx Guitar Cushion Smiler Cushion Asterix Cushion Euromaus Cushion Rainbow Magicland Lanyard Europa Park Lanyard Plopsaland Lanyard Halloween Horror Nights Lanyard Walibi Lanyard WAB Vs Skunx CD Disneyland Paris CD Scream/Colossos CD Winja’s CD Wodan CD Euro-Mir CD Pirates of the Caribbean Keyring Silver Star Keyring Alton Towers Bookmark Disneyland Paris 2013 Bookmark Europa Park Guidebook Phantasialand Guidebook Black Mamba Book Big Thunder Mountain Vinylmation Europa Park Duck Legoland Snowglobe Holiday Park Sticker Expedition GeForce Cable Wodan Block I have even more than that which has been packed away into the house and I couldn't find them...

Let's hope they actually attract people this time...

Vertigo was FAAAAAAAAAAAABish... It did make me rather green at the end of it... As for the Star-Flyer, I would put it down to the wind we had in Copenhagen, though I can understand why people wouldn't like them... Normally they're pretty dull though...

I wouldn't say it's something you can directly blame the manufacturers for, as it's all a product of ergonomic design... As much as companies would like to create products which can be perfectly used by all people big/small/thin/fat/muscular/etc, it's impossible to do so because of the wild variations we get... Hence the result of the 'ideal' human shape which is used in the design of chairs/tables/theme park rides... Colossus really is the exception though, apart from maybe the Maurer spinners, but even then you have to hit the 1.96m mark, which isn't a common occurance... Of course, to solve this leg-room issue we could just build Inverts...

Advertising a 26 year old ride as new really shows how far Chessie has fallen...

It attracts queues because it has an awful throughput... Hence why in the weird world we live in Swarm never seems to have a queue longer than the likes of Saw and Stealth, and of course Tiny Truckers at it's 150pph throughput always is combined with a 45 minute plus queue... The slap-bang in the middle of the park location also means it garners the queues because it's one of the first non-thrill rides people see these days... It's a shockingly embarassing attraction for a park that proclaims itself to be top dollar... The ride itself (or at least, the counterparts that I have experienced) isn't too bad when worked with well, just Storm Surge isn't at all...

And if we hadn't forced that situation, we may have never have seen Emilie de Forestier live... Just goes to show that sometimes, facing your fears makes your life better... Unless it involves spiders... Although, that was technically a Shot Tower rather than a Drop

My one fear with G-Force is that I'll come off with a crushed windpipe...