Benin

And best themed ride of 2013 goes to.... Bellewaerde Park in Belgium, this indoor/outdoor Zierer coaster will boast a long pre-show (think Legoland's Dragon) before going outside and back in... The concept art and theming so far look BRILLIANT...

Erm, yeah, whatever the hell that means... Personally, since I'm not the one calling other people pathetic for not sharing the same opinion as you, I'd like to think I'm rather safe from any SCARRRRRRY wrist slapping I might get from the 'big boys'...

Allowing other opinions, it's not for everyone...

Why are other opinions so offensive and 'wrong' to you? You're assuming a lot about other people's opinions on here and generally posting a lot of rather and undeeded personal attacks on those who have a different opinion... To call someone pathetic and then have a go at them for being abusive? Priorities are certainly not in order, and your arrogance and dislike of people disagreeing with you (indeed, we ALLLL have our own little sources and many of us have experience working at the parks, we know our stuff) is just extremely off-putting to everyone involved... You mention giving you respect... With your style of posting, you ain't gonna get any of that from me...

The thought of some enthusiasts having shares in Merlin scares me...

Wrong, http://www.sixflags.com/newEngland/rides/Catapult.aspx, but thanks for playing... There's a reason you won't find another of it's kind anymore, S&S don't make them anymore, which is another step towards Slammer's downfall as of course the original designed for the ride and ride alone components for the ride CANNOT be purchased by the park... Hence they go externally, hence effectively every repair they make on the ride is a bodge job, patching it up until something else goes on it and they have to put that back together as a bodge... Eventually, it will be full of components that were not designed to withstand the ride's pressures, and then what'll happen? It'll probably be taken out back and put out of it's misery... As said, just because it's unique (to Europe) doesn't make it immune if it continues to be the mass headache it has been for years and years... Hell, one of the reasons NWO might well be going forwards to because they're sick of it closing for essential cleaning, so there is no real reason why an unreliable ride for months every year is likely to withstand the test of time...

Colossus has magnetic brakes, which don't work in the same way as launching Linear Induction Motors (ESPECIALLY on Wicked Twister, due to the backwards and forwards motion)... Not all magnetic components in rides work the same, hence the difference between LIM and LSM launching systems (although the end product between the two is similar)... As for the troll business, well, you could act a little less like a pillock... See in: What a lovely person... [/rolleyessmiley]

There are indeed some people who want to see the ride go, because they dislike the ride experience, which is fair enough, I wouldn't mind seeing half of Thorpe burn for that reason alone... What a lot of people agree on though, is that IF the ride continues to be the money pit headache inducing breakdown burden it has been for 7 years (as Mark9 said, it's opened on opening day ONCE in it's operation, that's not good is it?) then it would make logical sense to the park to stop wasting their money and remove it for something more reliable... I'm a fan of the ride experience myself, but I wouldn't exactly blame Thorpe if they gave up on it, I would've done by now...

Ignorant, bigoted, outdated views in the 21st century </3

I think it'd be a safe bet that Slammer has had more downtime in it's own life than the rest of those 3... Potentially combined (although more of a push)... Dunno why we should follow your example when you are effectively saying we are wrong in thinking Slammer is the most likely thrill ride to be on the chopping block for removal in the near future, because looking at it, and its problems, and how it's more often shut than open, the rest of us could be quids in if we placed a bet that it would not last 15-20 years... If this is how unreliable it is when it's just warming up, I dread to think how it will be in the future...

Storm at Etnaland...

That knot is lovely, the pic from Oblivion's pond especially... But I would like sommat else to look at now...

Fury, at night, in the rain... Amazing scenes

'Looked after' is a bit of a loose term when it comes to Slammer, more like dragged along the line of death... And you don't seem to understand maintenance, as in some cases, sheer accidents CAN happen in any form of engineering situation, regardless of maintenance systems in place... I doubt Thorpe expected Swarm to throw bolts onto the queueline, and whilst that is a minor example, Rush threw a massive steel ring on the floor too, so yeah, it CAN happen...

Changing for the better =/= Removing theming that has fallen into disrepair because of lack of park maintenance.. Modifying and replacing NEEDS to be done anyway, hence why the ride and its rocks failed their tests... Maybe if the park had fixed their stuff up a bit more regularly, the area wouldn't look dire today... Removal of theming is the best thing that happened to the ride? Strange concept to say the least... And then to say people can't see that Chessie needs bringing up to date... Erm... No... Wrong basically, as everyone and their mum can see Chessie needs to improve itself (something it is doing with Wild Asia and Creaky Cafe) but how is the removal of ride theming rather than fixing it up so that it FULFILS the H&S requirements the better option? Madness...

As pluk said, ANY ride could die at ANY moment, they are machines, and as such something could fling itself from the ride that's integral to it working... Of course, how permanent the death is dependant on what component came off, and whether it's viable to fix it... I would guess Slammer is at the more likely to be ignored if it dies again at the end of the scale, whilst Swarm is at the "being molested modified because it wasn't good enough" end...

Sauce? Cos, just... The only 'improvement' to the ride it made was the ability to put a set of evac stairs on the main lift, aside from that, it looks horrid all bare and naked... Indeed, the top of Falls needs SOMETHING, because it's so boring up there... #bringbackthefallsrocks

I think the lack of dead late openings are the reason our eateries aren't particularly 'quality sit down 3 course meal' like (though that is really the high end version of what you want, and with time lacking at parks, few eateries akin to that are common)... At least the buffets can be digested at Chessie/Towers, one of my main issues with Thorpe is that the only option to wait for your food to digest is to go stand in a ride's queue or do bugger all (Which to be fair, is all there is to do at Thorpe anyway)...

Key word bolded, as things could so easily change and Slammer is put out of it's relative misery... I would think another batch of long downtime would cause park officials to consider it being value for money...

0 minute queues are commonplace throughout the park midweek out of holiday season... Have been for years... 300 people days

Of course, if a park were not to turn to the original manufacturers in a situation where they would need a part, they could void warranty (Slammer is not an issue as S&S realised how much of a headache design it is)... And of course, just because these external replacement parts are cheaper, doesn't mean it doesn't result in a bodge job... And cause massive amount of difference to how the ride runs (See Slammer's handbook covered in post-its and appendices)... Personally, I would not condone a park to just "go for cheap" unless it was the only viable option to getting a ride up and running, but as we can see with Slammer, this in turn can cause just as many problems... Because these universal components may not be designed to cope with the excessive work done by theme park rides (the state of Samurai is a good example here, as it was never meant to be a permenant attraction in the original design process, as such, after years of operating a high levels at Chessie, it was effectively buggered for the rest of its working life)...

I wasn't aware mountains were yellow foam in real life...

Probably because Colossus isn't just faded, it's covered in oil as well... Therefore looks filthier... Then again, Runaway could do with a repaint, when was the last time that happened?

It also involves buying the Sun </3 Though it's not really a thing needed on an enthuisiast forum, as most of us here have an AP so get in for free anyways...