Benin

Amazing scenes... This marketing is great, Swarm's marketing last year was great (until the stupid limbs falling off stuff)... More of the same please...

I really, do not understand the thought process behind it... Especially as most evidence posts towards it being because the ride wasn't a booming success... Thorpe is really run by idiots isn't it? YOU HAVE A GOOD RIDE THAT DOESN'T NEED ANY STUPID GIMMICKS! IF YOU WANT TO GET PEOPLE IN, HOW ABOUT MAKING THE ONE-OFFS WANT TO GO BACK INSTEAD OF OVERSELLING AND PACKING THE PARK? Sigh... I don't think I can be bothered to go to Thorpe this year...

They did have a Pizza Hut, as did Towers... Merlin told them to go away, why they're still at Thorpe, I'm not sure, must be some different contract going on...

The smiley face is the current associated logo with the ride, if you look on the Towers/SW7 websites, it's all over there...

Just a warning, assuming you visit Salou, it's a dump \o/

I think Mark's point is that the idea of the bridge is good... The execution... Is lacking... Especially when this lovely view of the park is ruined by two cack and rusty water slides... Also, just cos you're a student doesn't mean you can't visit new parks abroad, what do you think I used MY student loan on?

PWETTY Off Facebook...

Still require a fair amount of modification would be required imo, if only to help withstand the extra stress, strain and vibrations that will occur because of the going backwards situation... The change in direction will cause a lot of knock on effects towards these factors which in turn could cause further problems (do we really want more bolts falling?)...

#BunnyGate Yeah, the 'power' of social media rears it's ugly head once more in the case of bad PR for theme parks, and it's Chessie receiving the brunt of it this time... The problem? Some person from an animal shelter complained about the park's lack of effort regarding taking in some rabbits that had been abandoned (not given to) at their doorstep... Naturally being a zoo and unable to take in said rabbits due to laws and legislation, it seems they called the shelter in to deal with it... A member of staff apparently (according to the shelter person of burden) stated it was "not my problem" when the rabbits were picked up... Naturally with Chessie 'rejecting' the rabbits, this has caused outrage as the poor animals designed for outdoors life might have frozen/been eaten to death (assuming Chessie left them in the car park) unattended... The FB page is like reading the Daily Mail, with people stating they will boycott the park as they let someone else (probably more qualified for the job of sheltering rabbits, as Chessie are not a shelter, they are a zoo) do it for them... Amazing scenes really, and once again proves the mob nature of the country ("Ohhhhh someone's complained about something, I will too!") and the general ignorance of people making assumptions about the situation and not attempting to understand why Chessie could not take the rabbits in... And breathe...

And herein lies the issue... It's perfect... For Crash Pad, a bunch of shipping containers... It's amazing the difference in effort between Swarm and this... Let's not make the bar too low guys...

The best PR to come out of Merlin since... Well... Ever... Still cheesey, but it's silly, doesn't hype up the ride at all and of course pushes the logo out into the public eye even further... Excellent...

Unless the trains were always meant to do this (which I highly doubt) then no, from an engineering perspective, it is NOT that simple...

How is going through a near miss backwards any better than going forwards? Isn't the entire POINT of a near miss the whole going towards it thinking "we're gonna hit it, we're gonna hit it" then the 'narrow' avoidance... Going backwards will just result in "oh, a scenic element we avoided, that's a surprise"... Once again, the logic of this idea falls down quicker than a person ejected from an Intamin mid-ride...

Abenteur > Huntik

I've felt that Sea World San Diego's Manta would fit that bill nicely... Low in height, two launches, high throughput... http://rcdb.com/9819.htm Plus it's a Mack, what's not to like?

HINT HINT CHESSIE!

Yeah just steps, cos it's a sit-down variant it doesn't need any fancy platforms...

So feck all then (Y)

Because lowering the throughput of a ride (remember, there will NEED to be a designated back row queue, as not all guests will want to experience it, and with two rows gone there will be a reduction in throughput) is something Thorpe and it's already horrendously long queues and over-selling of Fastrack REALLY should add... I prefer the logical option of improving the park getting people to come back and spend money, not wasting money on a gimmick because the new ride wasn't as successful as they thought (because they've put themselves in a market with the lowest level of disposable income during a recession)... It's basically a knee jerk reaction that the ride was a 'failure' to the park, and as such needs some extra 'pull' to guests... Of course, providing an exceptional day out has nothing to do with returning guests who will happily part with their money...

Isn't the lack of decent near misses (only REALLY good one is the inline through the station) the reason for the added theming rumour also making the rounds? Backwards would lose visual aspect of the first drop at least... That's one of Swarm's best aspects watching the drop slowly unfold in front of you... Back or front that works extremely well for different reasons... Visual impact is the least of my concerns though, it's all about how the ride impact affects everything... Especially as bracing for the elements is a bit awkward when you don't have a floor to support your legs... Just think it's an incredibly daft, naive and stinks of desperation ideas... Just like when Six Flags do it...

2010 was Wild Asia AND Wanyama... HUGE investment year that was...

I listed my reasons to you personally and on the board before Marc... For a company that prides itself on sheer absolute comfort and experience, why would B&M agree to this? Intamin yes, but B&M? Not just visual impact, it's the ride impact as well... There's a lot of other factors that have been mentioned by myself and others which makes such a change on a new ride immensely confusing and just plain strange, especially if they make their old backwards coaster go forwards... If it happens, I'll be very disappointed with Thorpe, not angry, but disappointed...

Does the Swarm have a tail though? I really hope they don't ruin the best new rides in the country for years... Just because it wasn't as successful as they hoped it would be they want to turn it into a gimmick (added onto what can already be termed as a gimmick but is actually an integral part of the ride so it doesn't count)... Sigh...

To be fair, if any park could make that attraction amazing, it's the Macks... But since they already have the best interactive dark ride in the world, they don't need it...