Benin

Back in 2001... Wonder what he'd think of the park now

You know it's Halloween when enthusiasts complain about the use of floodlights <3

So awesome

Day 3 And lo, the final day approached as we groggily awoke for one last B&M whorage session. However there was some unfinished business to attend to first, so we checked out the hotel, dumped off our bags and headed in to Baco once more. It was announcing technical difficulties… This turned out to be the addition of the second train however, so we waited it out and before long we were winging our way out of the station on the front row. The pre-show began, the brake fins dropped, the tension built... We didn’t move… Baco seemed keen to not be out-done by its B&M brethren who had both suffered breakdowns prior to today, so decided enough was enough or that it was too early to be working (to which me and Mark agreed) after a late night. #BacoFace We were rolled back into the station before being told to get out and wait by the exit. After some time, we left, not being arsed to hang around a broken Intamin when there were B&Ms to ride. And so the whoring session began, with 3 goes each on Khan and Shambhala; jumping between the two in the process and enjoying every moment of them. We then decided to head back towards Baco because I didn’t want it to be the last ride of the trip and leave a bad experience in my head, so we headed around the park via El Diablo, some ice-cream and some more Halloween characters for one last attempt at Baco. Back on the front and it miraculously worked this time, though how good a miracle it was not really agreed upon. Many say it’s better in the front/inside seats, it is really, but does that stop it from being several seconds of pain, bounce and wondering why we wanted to give it a second chance (clearly, our trip to Bakken taught us very little)? The answer is a resounding no, and we longed for the apparent roughness of Khan once more. Post Baco Red Ear A quick train ride later, and that’s exactly where we were. Though Shambhala took more precedence this time as it was much easier to re-ride compared to Khan, but that’s down to the heavy load of g-force more than anything wrong with the ride. So after 4 more goes on Shambhala (bringing the total rides of it to 20) it was back on the train to the entrance and time to venture back out into the real world of delayed flights and rubbish European airports. https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/q77/s720x720/563137_10153314757995220_127835768_n.jpg " /> So the final thoughts… The park is very good really, though lacking in dark rides is the main issue here, as it mostly has a decent assortment of flat rides spread (thinly) around the park. Hopefully the 2014 is a nice big indoor attraction of SOME kind, regardless of what it ACTUALLY is (aside from a splash battle, but I’m not too sure if it is one). Out of the big 4 coasters, 2 are fantastic, 2 are rough as hell, with El Diablo, Tomahawk and Tami-Tami decent supporting cast to them. The shows are excellent across the board even with the language barrier existing as they are pretty generic in theme/story, but all those involved in the shows were entertaining and deserve plaudits. This especially rings true to those walking characters, who when they could on the quieter Friday put in a hell load of effort into their interactions, whilst the Halloween ones put in just as much. The Express Pass however, was an absolute god-send to us, especially considering the situation of queuing in Spain. And it allowed us to take our time around the park instead of just standing in stuffy cattlepens being walked past. The interesting thing is that despite the cheapness of the unlimited and the one-shots, there were no queues for Express to the degree we see on busy days in the UK parks; perhaps they really limit the numbers over there due to the hotels? Or is it just that the country is broke? Regardless, an excellent weekend away, and a rather excellent park really. Good theming, good shows, (some) good rides. Good job Port Aventura.

Playdays? Annoying? That show was

Yeah for some reason at the start of the season they decided to change it to selected outlets... Not one of their best ideas...

For the potential food poisoning I'd want a Merlin one...

Lack of park theming is to be expected when it's a staff only driven thing... Would've thought the deal would have allowed a few film props to be added about the place...

It's a day many thought would never come, then again it was built with minimal plans due to the age of these rides and every test seemed to result in something going wrong... Well done to the park for finally getting it complete and rideable...

Decent idea, guessing it's two portions or sommat of their ribs, one is not exactly Man Vs Food...

Baco made my eyes water, but probably for different reasons than the usual wind in face experience on most rides...

People consider Detonator no longer having THAT FN music/announcements a plus?

Or possibly replacing the cables and gears for new ones... Or even just starting winter maintenance and stripping the entire ride down now since it won't open this season...

I remember when Chessie had those on Fury... Happier times... Also nice to see the park looks no different to usual, it's so depressing that our two major parks don't bother with actual physical Halloween theming... And rather unfinished to boot...

Day 2 A lovely buffet breakfast began our long second day at the park, which was coincidentally the first day of their Halloween event. At 10 we walked very quickly past Baco and through Sesame Street. In order to faff longer, we popped on the wonderfully named Magic Fish ride, one of those Wave Racer things which was reasonably enjoyable. Afterwards we sat in that pathway leading to China and mused until Khan roared into life, and we duly skipped the queue twice before doing exactly the same on Shambhala once it had opened (because who DOESN’T love staggered openings?). The Spanish Goons were out in force! It was VERY busy Venturing into Mexico wanting some El Diablo times (and being denied), we decided to faff around for Templo del Feugo and it’s first show at 12. We quickly did the Spinny Serpent Sombrero ride nearby and joined the queue for Templo. Let in at 12 we ventured through the well-themed queueline and to the batching area to wait for the show to begin. And waited… And waited… 30 minutes later the doors opened and the show began. This was a rather bad introduction to this attraction for me, but the actual show made up for it by being equal parts entertaining and being at a Rammstein concert (all it needed was Feuer Frei!). There was rapturous applause at the end, very contrasted to Armageddon at Paris where the reaction was sobbing from children. A must see show. It was now lunchtime and time for the Sesame Street Halloween show, so we did both at once. It wasn’t very good although the hostess improved things somewhat, as was the fact that both Bert and Cookie Monster looking excessively high throughout. Afterwards we ventured back to China for 2 more goes on Shambhala before our next show began, the Rock Symphony, which began with a full advert for the .REC maze, possibly terrifying all kids in the audience. The show was quite good, with the usual stunts and stuff usually saved for Ice Shows and the like, and a particularly annoying theme song. However the standing ovation it received from the audience was entertaining as hell. The applause just refused to stop for ages, then people stood! Me and Mark found this absolutely hilarious. After the show we hit up Khan again, before heading to El Diablo and then Stampida’s red side. I suggested the Log Flume as I’d never done it before and it was weird, clearly inspired by Dragon Falls’ massive long and dull turn and the top throughout the entire course. Shopping followed before dumping it all back in the hotel for a quick chill and more faff. ZZZZZAP! Back on park, it was back to China (again) and a good old fashioned ‘whore the B&Ms until it gets dark and then use our front row passes’ time! We did Khan 5 times and Shambhala 6 including the front row on each during the space of a few hours. Both were running insanely well during this time, Khan especially since it decided it wanted to be like Nemesis for a night, whilst on Shambhala we spent most of our time being blinded by the cameras. Eventually we got to 9:30 (so about 3 hours of B&M whorage) so it was time to head back to the entrance and see if we could use our front row go on Baco, but it was shut due to the Parade and Lagoon Show. So we thought, sod it and found somewhere to sit to watch both. Before that though there was the Rather Gay Vampire Show, which involved some dodgy musical numbers for some reason. Oh well. The Parade was pretty basic, with various actors and floats, probably the most disappointing show in a way but then again we were sat right at the end of the course which may have made a big difference. The Lagoon show was interesting, starting with a World of Colour rip off, then fire, then a Dragon, then Jet Skis, then a Tron Man with those water jet shoes. It was all very weird and then it kind of just ended. Bonus points for setting the lagoon literally on fire though, if only it had spread to Baco………… And that was it, an OBSCENELY long day at the park but god those night rides on the B&Ms were absolutely fantastic. And with some rather entertaining moments throughout the day as well, it was depressing that we had one more day left and it would involve Baco…

I thought the point of previews WAS to judge something? Hence if things are crap, you can change them in time for the main show...

IMAScore

Thorpe doing what most companies do and retweet anyone who mentions anything positive about the park? #suchexplosive

They have sponsored Halloween events before... Not exactly the end of the world... Hell, Thorpe have a sponsor this year... As for Skelvin, that was dire, bring back Duel Live's 2009 version!

Even banners that just say "THORPE PARK FRIGHT NIGHTS!" would be an improvement... One of the main reasons why I'd like to see the park get permanent fences at the entrance, because it looks dire... Legoland have started doing it as well and it doesn't give a great first impression... Isn't this an ample moment to shout 'cost-cutting'?

I would assume HPH is closed for the Halloween changes, something that's never happened much before I think...

An Express visit to Port Aventura Day 1 They always say you should keep an eye out for good deals in life, theme parks being no exception, so when Port Aventura had an offer for 50% hotel stays I leapt at the chance to revisit the park, namely for Shambhala. A VERY early Friday morning was the backdrop to our journey via Gatwick and Barcelona, and after eventually finding the coach to the hotel, we arrived at the park armed with quite possibly the best value for money unlimited Express Passes ever (€54 for all 3 days and front row on Shambhala, Khan and Baco). My legion of Spiiiiiiidersssss Our first port of call was to be the legendary Furius Baco. Much tension was too be had as a result of the various tales of the majority berating the ride and it’s experience with the odd few decreeing it as a fantastic unique experience. Unsurprisingly, I was in the former camp… It’s a terrible, terrible ride, we nearly rode it in the back until the ride staff member moved us to the 5th odd row, and I was forced onto the outside seat by Mark. The launch is perfectly fine, but as soon as that’s done the ride shakes and rattles along the track, every flaw amplified due to the vibration affect that occurs due to the nature of the seating. From an engineering standpoint, it’s so clear why the ride is as bad as it is, and why B&M decided to put riders in-line with the track to ensure that the vibration effect on the train is minimalised. Being on the same axis of rotation is the name of the game, and Baco fails completely. It has two pros, it looks nice and it doesn’t last for very long, that’s it. 1/10 Mark was not looking forward to riding this again, ignorance is bliss as they say… We decided to go as far away from Baco as possible and go on some good rides, so it was over to China and Shambhala. The design of which is very interesting, as whilst it dominates the area and Dragon Khan, it also complements the area as well, perhaps because a nicely painted and bright Khan still stands out amongst the white track. Straight on we went even with the 1 train operation (note, Baco had 2 trains and a longer queue than the 1 train B&Ms) and into the bright sunshine we went, catching a look at the construction site next door, but before long we were cresting the drop. To say the resulting ride is brilliant would be quite accurate, although there seemed to be some harsh discussion regarding its place in the Mitch Hawker top 10 last year, I feel that it is justly deserved. Like all B&M Hypers, Shambhala thrives on the floaty airtime that fills every hill; however, a few things really stand out for me against the rest of them. First, the Ampersand turn is a fantastic way of doing things rather than a bland overbank, the mini hill after this with its ejector is also brilliant, the splash is a cool element to look at for the off-riders and produces on occasion a nice cooling effect to riders, the hills after which are excellent due to the way it which they vary the drop height to give some difference to the experience. 9/10 From modern B&M to classic B&M now, as Dragon Khan was next on our list. 9 years ago I remember it being a fantastic ride, and to see if it was still as such we were straight into the back row. Since my visit I have seen a lot of people stating that Khan is rough (to degrees of things like Baco and Goudrix), but I cannot really see the issue. It has rattle yes (it’s 18 years old, rides age, that simple) but these incidents are during the high speed, high G sections so are relatively infrequent. Especially after riding Baco, Khan would easily be considered as smooth. Either way, it’s interesting to see how B&M have evolved between Khan and Shambhala, with Khan having a fair few snappy transitions (the Zero-G and MCBR drop especially) but also a few ‘glidey’ sections through it. Khan was still excellent though, loved it, and I don’t understand where this sudden rattly hate has appeared from. If Khan gets detracted for it, then so should things like Nemesis. 8/10 Big rides done, we went over to find Tami-Tami as Mark had missed out on his last visit to the park. So off we went back into the Sesame Street area to find that the show had just finished and characters were out. So photos happened… After a drink and chill we eventually joined the non-existent queue and quite enjoyed our ride. It’s only a Vekoma Junior sure, but the dense foliage around it really improved the ride somewhat, especially the final helix. Walking back through China we snuck it another go on Shambhala and Khan before El Diablo, where my last ride on it was backwards (rotating cars before it was cool was Port Aventura) and the derided-ness of this ride and it’s lift hills is well known. Indeed, we gained a soft spot for it actually, as you can see what they were trying to do with it, they just used Arrow because cheap times. Maybe if they’d actually had some track after the second lift that went right instead of left there would be more fans of it? Who knows… Next up was another ride new since my last visit, Hurakan Condor, which fortunately had a short enough queue to warrant us bothering. It was ok like most Intamin free-falls, but I’m not a real fan of the excessively tall ones because they do get boring after a while. Though the 4 seater one is considerably better than the Gyro variants. Next door was the new for this year mirror maze Secret of the Mayans, where you are given medical gloves before you enter to prevent smearing the glass, which is weird. Inside it’s actually a very long experience, with a random bit in the middle with some effects. It was alright and good for getting out of the heat for a bit. Back outside, we stumbled across Bert and Ernie, so naturally, photos ensued due to Bert being a depressing muppet. Bert’s either high or misses his sandwich… Onwards we walked to the Wild West area, and a queue for Tomahawk, which has a silly throughput/lack of ability to sit two adults together. But it’s still a surprisingly decent and long ride for a kiddie coaster, with the duelling aspect a novel idea. It was nearly time for the Bird Show, so we walked past Sheriff Woody and the long, LONG way to the show (burdenous park layout), and it was rather entertaining in the end, with lots of banter from the host who didn’t stop talking for the whole thing; a basic bird show really but still decent. Up next was the Wild West Stunt Show with a Halloween overlay. This had fantastic pre-show entertainment, with a scarecrow jumping at entering guests and the excessively camp man in his D&G denim jacket of JOY. Again, pretty basic as shows go, but it was a good laugh. <3 What was next wasn’t much of a laugh, as Stampida since my last visit had new Kumbak trains added, and after Bakken’s Rusty Banana being god-awful, I had a fair amount of fear about it. I was right, the ride rattles through the course badly, a shame because I think it’s a rather well designed ride (particularly where you lose the other train briefly before it’s charging at you), ruined by an awful company who somehow are allowed to do this. Poor show. 3/10 We headed back to China to have some last quick goes on the B&Ms before heading back to the hotel for dinner (which was a very nice buffet). We then sat in the plaza drinking and watching the very good hotel entertainment, with a stand-out moment when a birthday girl was given a cake by Winnie Woodpecker. Our parks would do to realise that such moments will stay with younger visitors for a long time. We were impressed with our first day on the park, but the first day of their Halloween event was next, and the hours of 10am-11pm were very exciting indeed…

Assuming that this is where the hotel expansion is going, I doubt that area will be open at all until it's done...

Offt...

I think it was mentioned the entire side of it has shut now so I would say none...