Benin

It was playing... It was good... If URGH ROMANCE </3

Went yesterday, not toooo much to report on... Lots and lots of random bits of work seem to be on the agenda this year, Creaky Cafe looks really good, the green not as in your face as the pictures make it seem, inside it's a bit basic really but it's a definite improvement... The facade work in Translyvania is weird, allllll the way along the front up to the backside of Chips Ahoy... Interesting to see how that develops... Lots of old theming on the floor, tempting to take some home really Didn't see any work on Vampire's gate (indeed, a train was casually chilling down there though)... Zufari might be lucky to open in March, LOTS of dirt hills and such... But you can't see much from the Wanyama area because of this so... Not much to report because of the sheer lack of places to get to at the moment... Hocus Pocus has had the usual repaint of everything though, and Bubbles looks worse every year, nothing ever changes sometimes...

This There was also a trailer for Despicable Me 2... ALL ABOARD THE HYPE TRAIN!

To be fair, Storm Surge does look like a giant, multi-coloured, unthemed pile of turd... So that was rather accurate...

Groundwork takes the longest time to do... Especially looking at that little 'slot' section... Also, how black does Blivvy look?

Apart from a LOT of work on the top end of the site, including some dug down gaps for the track and your aforementioned footers...

X Sector was never confirmed to be open for half term (because March or May opening, it still would have been a construction/testing site)... I have a feeling most of the merch might well be logo only with minimal name (at least I hope so, I at least want a magnet for work <3)

I don't get the panic... There are worse animals we could eat, and we eat effectively EVERY SINGLE ANIMAL ON THE PLANET ANYWAYS... Oh it's not beef... Oh wells... British Media Over-reactions </3

Double post, but when there's long slender track penetrating a giant wall, who cares?

Roast & Relish Amity Kebabs Merlin's own food stuff is so, so damn good these days...

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...