Benin

British media in over-sensationalist shocker!

It's not just the work on RMT and DF though... It's the poor operations, the over-reaction to any event that goes wrong, the poor maintenance that leads to such events, the state of Bubbleworks, the decision to have Zufari have a minimum height limit, the general choices made regarding Zufari are poor which lead to be an attraction that just reeks of "could be better", the idea that Madagascar is a good show, getting rid of the 3rd train on Vampire because the staff aren't good enough to run with 3 trains, expanding the hotel into the zoo meaning that they cannot further develop that area, that epic looking plans are made then cancelled for budgetary reasons, etc, etc, etc... The problems are far, far beyond the issues between RMT and DF being re-worked on...

Was in Brighton today so unsurprisingly took a spin on it (opened on Thursday)... Since I had rather enjoyed Tivoli's it isn't hard to assume I also enjoyed this one... I do wonder if it could be a success in a park that isn't pay per ride... Maybe a Merlin park could grab one of the 4 seater 8 arms variants in the near future... For the longest ride cycle, go for arm AA...

I think that's one of the most depressing things, how optimistic the park seemed 3 years ago and it really looked like the park was going places... Now, a shadow of itself...

There was no chance of them having a preview period because of the delays though... Yes it should've been open in March for the park opening, but then those issues that came up during construction weren't forseen... How can anyone forsee every potential problem? It's quite simply impossible to be able to predict every single issue that a ride can endure... I'm sure Intamin didn't expect their lapbars not to be able to hold in those of certain dimensions... I'm sure Arrow expected their brakes to fail on Pepsi Max... And so on and so forth with most ride breakdowns... Machines break, especially complex ones... It's an unfortunate fact of life... Smiler is having teething issues just like Saw, Thirteen and Stealth... Hell, at least it's not Intimidator 305 which kept having issues because they didn't forsee that the wheels would go because of the high amount of friction and heat that took place on the ride...

It's been open for just over a month... So essentially it's had what, 36 days since opening, not all of which it has been open for various reasons... That is not months... Considering the rush to do it as well (which is not the fault of the ride manufacturer) because of the various other issues, no wonder they're having bugs in the system... If it's still breaking down constantly in October, then yes fair enough, but it's barely had a month of operation...

Well, at least the zoo is still open... *cue mass lion escape*

If this was true, then every ride that was (in rather basic terms) simple in track and design, would never break down (or crash, interesting Tranan's brakes failed recently, there was nothing special about them, yet there you go, see also Pepsi Max Big One's brake failures as extreme examples of systems that should be easy to build that failed)... Unfortunately, however 'simple' the ride might appear, these are still complex machines... Consider the amount of sensors, computer calculations and the like, it shows that even the most basic would be prone to breaking down for whatever reason... Indeed, a lot of shut-downs these days (heading into opinion waters here) are no doubt mostly down to the over-bearing nature of safety sensors tripping out for whatever reason and the automatic reaction is (naturally) to shut the whole thing down... When I was at Towers last week, Smiler was stuck on top of the lift, which meant that the ride system wasn't allowing it to descend back to the bottom for some reason... That in itself must be a real strain on the ride PLC...

Millenium Force is one of the most boring coasters in existance... So Mega-Lite or Wooden coaster please...

B&M though, so ergo not applicable in building new rides that break down constantly simply because

Chessie still want to use the Maurer Sohne approach to design by getting children to draw random non-sensical lines then?

Smiler (like any new ride) is being very on/off throughout the days... Seems a lot is down to the vertical lift though... But look at how complex rides are these days, there are a lot more bugs to sort out (especially as a ride with as many blocks and such as Smiler)...

Latest OUTRAGE at Chessie is them having the cheek to charge a £10 to feed the giraffes when Colchester Zoo does it for free! (Via Facebook) FFS MERLIN!

Even TPR like Nemesis... It takes a special kind of person to hate it based on that...

It's probably just a coat of arms type thingy... Not a deep insight into the background of the area, this isn't Disney you know!

Imagine those sort of operations on a MAURER

Smiler is damn fab It's wonderful, not perfect, but just, damn solid and a real hit with everyone... I'll do a full report tomoz... EDIT - REVIEW TIME! It's hard to review something that has had numerous reviews already, without repeating everyone else constantly, but quite simply, the Smiler is a solid coaster that has really brought something to the table that has captured the minds of everyone who visits the park... The GP are just as incredulated by the ride, and who can blame them? If there's one thing Smiler is, it's a construction marvel, such a mass tangle of track in that area is a great feat of engineering... To think 8 years ago Black Hole stood there is ridiculous, and Smiler is just one big twisted sight of metal with the two yellow trains providing a great addition to the darkness... It's certainly a ride designed for off-riders overall... The Marmaliser is certainly more noticeable for near-misses off the ride (though the Inoculator arm is very good on-ride) and indeed, people say there is a lack of thematic elements, but how can you provide that without it detracting from the ride or indeed make it more obvious? IMPOSSIBRUUU! The queue then, it's a concrete cattlepen yes, BUT, do you notice this? I (and many others in the queue) spent the entire time looking up and around at the ride, one thing I had before I rode was a crick in the neck because of 2 hours of this... It can be claustrophobic but it's only till you stand in the queue do you realise why the adjustments to the fencing were required before it opened... The track gets damn close at times... The music, is fab... I can also see why some hate it, but it's so fab and LOTS of people hum it... I want it in my life more... Besides, when the ride gets going, you can't hear it anyway because of the Gerstlauer ROAR <3 The projection mapping room is made of awesome as well... Simple, but effective sums it up... I think this room is the reason why many dislike the clinical plain nature of the station, because of the sheer change in atmosphere... However, I like it, especially the dispatch system... Simple, but effective... So the ride, the first ride, I felt one jolt which was akin to the one on Vampire's straight before the 2nd lift, nowhere near the Cobra Roll, the second ride in the back row, there were 3/4 jolts of URGH (including the Cobra Roll)... However, these aside, it's mental, completely and utterly mental... The near misses with the track and the craziness really help the ride push itself up to the limits... The break at the vertical lift is REQUIRED however, it may result in a 'two rides bolted together' opinion, but without that break, there would be a lot more problems with people feeling sick after the ride... Overall, I would say Smiler is a fantastic addition to the park... Not the best ride on park or a Nemesis beater, but it is a damn solid ride... It's not perfect, but the unique theme (including the fab Candy Cave <3) really provides a great overall experience... There is a worry about it getting rougher in the future, but that's for another day... One final mention, the duelling element is amazing... Like, seriously, both on and off ride... It's a shame it's not constant, but when it DOES happen, it's just made of pure win... The best aspect of the ride right there... 8/10

Lol, massive difference between that roar and the constant awful noises of Spinball's brakes... Especially in the queueline that goes right past them... Spinball is very evidental of the old DIC Tussauds, where things were plonked with no actual thought, hence why I find it a burdenous ride in all senses... Poorly located and as Mark said, a ride with such a low throughput it doesn't fit in well at such a heavily visited theme park (as I'm sure people who have visited Walt Disney Studios can attest to)... It is loud, it is at odds with the surrounding area, it doesn't fit and hasn't done for the 9 years of it's existance... A view that has been quite common amongst many... Seems that my ideals behind how a park should present itself are fairly different to yours... No need, I'm going today... Although pictures WITH audio eh? AND gifs? The future really is now isn't it? Unless you mean you'll take a Vine? In which case I'm sure 7 seconds if enough to demonstrate anyone's point on this random discussion about if Spinball is loud enough to be a burden around the entrance... If they do remove it, Mack Youngstar pls...

Shame you can't hear a picture though... Doesn't have to be visible to be burdenous...

There are a lot of reasons why it's always got the longest queues on park, mainly because it's the first ride people see so instantly go on it (especially families) and it's on a major pathway, meaning near enough every guest in an average day walks past it... I call it the 'Truckers' effect...

Wasn't that relocation earmarked for 'Coaster Corner' at Towers though? The Thorpe link is as Marc said, 2+2=5...

Towerstimes have stated that Towers are apparently looking into it moving... Not the most reliable source these days is it? Especially when the only link to it maybe going to Thorpe is that "THEY'RE CHANGING TO THE FAMILY MARKET!"... We already have the superior UK Spinner down south, and the last thing Thorpe needs is another low throughput coaster... There are a fair amount of options available elsewhere with better throughputs if they really want to get a thrilling family coaster... A GCI perhaps?

What is the best park entrance in the country then? There are much more to theme parks than just rides... Presentation and location is just as important in all senses, Spinball (and Rita, but that's not the focus here) are both a product of the minimal investment, maximum return, with little (to no) thought to their placement, and how they would affect their surroundings... The Americans just focus on rides (for the majority)... And most of those parks are cookie cutter places with minimal atmosphere... Never underestimate the power of using the area beauty to the advantage of the park...