Benin

So what with Terry getting some improvements, Nicky wanted to go along again, so with some speaking to Fred, we ventured off for a visit... Arrived to a balmy 0 degree temperature, meaning that the Monorail was out of action and with 2/3 bus/coaches available, we walked to the entrance, where they now send ERT people to the gates on the side further away from the bus stop (toilet end) and naturally have alllllll the APers queue up for one gate. How comes we can't use the turnstiles anymore? It's silly and does provide some aggro from guests... On the other hand, someone had listened to the minor complaint Nicky put in last week about the now mis-leading AP entrance sign, and it has now been covered up... It seems that they are taking even minor things on board this year... Off we went to Blivvy, which we didn't ride last week and it was still brill if not freezing at the top as per normal... Plus the mist didn't help, but I reckon it will be interesting to ride it when construction of SW7 is in full swing later in the year, providing some good views of the site... Then we headed to the opposite end of the park for some early morning Nemesis. Upon arrival, the new policy of letting normal guests into the entire park at 9:30 reared it's head, and made me wonder who thought it would work, with a queue for Terry going to the Nemesis entrance which in turn inter-mingled with a non-ERT queue as well... It's confusing for everyone involved and I hope this gets abolished quickly, the idea is right, the current application of it, is not... Nemmie back row far right, it's still brilliant and running sooooo good... Love it... It was time for Terry, and the changes most certainly improve it, see my post in the relevant topic, but it is so different to the version I rode last week and it does show that Towers do seem to care a lot this year about improving faults. It was never gonna be gotten right first time, and I'm glad they have paid attention to the faults and changed it for the better... On to the next ride, which was Duel, again a decent score in amongst the new look and lighting... Once they get their hands on the finale, it will be a brilliant ride... The Runaway Train was next which was as per the norm, before heading up to Hex, another ride missed out on last week... On the way we surveyed the damage caused on Wednesday and concluded that closing the park was the right idea, and they were relatively lucky (or unlucky) that the tree outside the Flume didn't fall in a way to cause massive damage to the game buildings, BK or the Flume entrance... Still, good to see how much effort the park has made to clear up... Unfortunately Hex seems to have gone the complete opposite route to lighting this year, it has never been bright in there, but mass lack of the group moving forward and late arriving caused the video to begin before the doors were shut and just annoying times all around... It just needs a couple more Volts in the lights during the breaks between the set pieces and then it will be a lot better... Still over-shooting but still great to ride everytime with randomers who get SO confused... Interestingly, the chapel was open today, possibly as the ruins themselves had been shut due to wind damage, including a fully broken listed window. Which of course HAS to be replaced... Oh well, improving the ruins is always good... Then there was Charlie, where once again children were awed by the ride... It's amazing how being old and cynical can change conceptions of a ride, but still, least it isn't Bubbleworks Thirteen was next, which has seen a few more gravestones and music in the final switchback section, a nice touch that would normally be unheralded in this modern view of "MERLIN ARE EVIL!" but hey, little touches are the best... Rita can go away though... Lunch was called, and ham sandwich was had whilst Fred and Nicky (who had already eaten her ham sandwich) ate some Fried Chicken... Which was apparently good with top notch service that makes even Woodcutters seem slow... Nice happy staff as well... We then visited the Medical Centre as Nicky was complaining of foot issues, whilst Fred grabbed an Ice Cream from the themed van outside, which plays HOTMK jingles, hence is made of awesome... We decided we wanted to watch the new Pirates show, so faffed in Sea-Life for a bit before grabbing a seat and awaiting the brilliance that was the wonder of a UK theme park show... It's not on the scale of Disney, and is SUCH a panto at times, but wasn't that bad really... It's silly and daft and I guess kids enjoy it... Maybe? I dunno... But the cast whilst never changing, always seem quite good... Exceptionally camp pirate was exceptionally camp as well... Whilst I preferred Suprisingly Curveavicious Pirate more when she was meant to be a girly girl, to each their own... Hopping onto the Skyride (SKYRIDE, SKYRIDE) back to the Valley, we elected for the rather short queue of Air, which was running VERY slowly in the morning, but was back to normal speeds upon our arrival... We purchased Nemesis bears and a resin statue with a generic park Tumbler glass as well in the shop, I ADORE the merch atm, it's sooooo good (especially the new ride bracelets the shop outside Galleons were selling, though £6 is arguably tooooo much)... We wanted Donuts, but the Valley queue was long, so we walked back to Duel, and re-rode it (With me and Fred not bothering to shoot, allowing me to realise the ABANDON ALL HOPE sign being visible) and through Haunted Hollow we went to Mutiny Bay... After some duck entertainment, it was back to the Valley for another ride on Terry, where it all went to pot upon the point in which the bars did not release manually and caused a great kerfuffle, where only 10 of us were in one lift, confused by the lack of everyone (Who presumably, were cramming 30 people into the other lift, would not want that) it resulted in the unsurest ending of the 5 times I've now ridden it... With that, another Terry review was given to the staff, and we parted ways to venture home... A good day overall with the park not being too busy however was very very cold due to the rather troll weather... Oh wells, we left with the last event being the Pirates dancing to YMCA, those are the memories that stick with you more... Ride Count Oblivion Nemesis Terry - 2 Duel - 2 Runaway Mine Train Hex Charlie Thirteen Sharkbait Reef Air

The changes most certainly improve the ride greater than imagined tbh... Whilst it still gets a mixed response (don't most rides?), the addition of the new video clips pre lift and the extended sequence before the drop just help tie a few bits together... Other improvements include the metal detectors beeping, air cannons in the ride and the post lifts, and more intense ticklers which cannot be avoided with raised legs... All in all, it's still not perfect, but it's certainly better...

Considering I saw that with absolute minimal prior knowledge to the story aside from "KIDS KILL EACH OTHER LOL" it was a good film tbh... Jennifer Lawrence

A MUCH, better POV of Ozzy...

No way to talk about Jack Dann... ^Banned for banter...

Oh Katun What? There's a Swarm article? But.... KATUN!

Think an issue with dark rides is that sometimes they are difficult to get right first time unless you've had a lot of experience with them (see: Disney and Universal), but even they sometimes don't get them right straight out the door and seek improvements... Speaking of which, I've been informed that Terra has had some further improvements, including a new briefing pre show before the lifts, and an extended ride cycle... Intriguing...

Opens 30 minutes early, but how long does it usually take for them to add the new train (when they also run it at least once or twice empty just to check it?)...I dunno, it's half one half dozen the other... Would rather them be prepared for the 10am rush than have to stop loading to do sommat that should really have been done at 9am that morning...

It's the same forum where some members stated that the Pleasure Beach Annual Pass was better value than the Merlin one...Need I say any more?EDIT - Yes I do, here's a picture off TTF...If that doesn't prove that it was dangerous to be in the park, I don't know what is...

Defo are Nemmie ones, can't remember for Blivvy...What awesome paperweights they will make...

Bit slow putting it out on the social sites today...Typical reimbursement there tbh... Does look a bit windy outside actually too...Shame... Maybe they can do more work on Sub Terra now though?

Source?Power cuts aren't unusual around the park, but it's weird how if it has closed due to snow, that it's settled there, whilst here in Stoke it's barely doing that...

It's weird how there's been no pictures taken of Jumbos yet... Maybe everyone's just so embarrassed about it no-one can bring themselves to photograph it?

It's been soft opening recently, so here's a few pics...http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyril_groue/sets/72157629726446047/with/7040031857/And also a poor quality POV...https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=353869704658747Looks like a typical B&M, fun, re-rideable and the theming is lush... I look forward to riding it...

Why the hell is it snowing?

I think the trim brake is mechanical like with all B&Ms so is only used when it's actually needed...Didn't feel it at all over the 9 rides...

They might not have even decided what to put there yet... Sub Terra was only really pushing forwards last year as an full fledged ride, and that's a medium investment...Let them have a break after Swarm at least...

Everytime someone posts a picture of that GCI concept, a part of me dies thinking we got Saw instead...Damn unmarketable Woodies...

I doubt the marquee will become redundant because of the hotel, Towers still has one, Chessie still has one...

Sub Terra is anything but a walk through... More like a 100m dash...

Nah, Saw Alive is a completely different kettle of fish to Sub Terra...Although, I wonder if such a ride would be as successful at Thorpe...

If I had a quid for everytime someone has mentioned NWO being removed or rethemed I wouldn't need the government's help to get me through uni...

A ride isn't a ride till it's killed a pigeon...

SWARM TERRA!Blates why Merlin are using Sub Terra as a test of the waters and seeing how such a ride is to be received... Although a Thorpe version is liable to be more scary (cos it's not a family park)...

11th year of operating/10 years old... etc etc