Benin

I wouldn't call it crap, certainly a ride only the Americans could pull off, but of course depended a LOT on how good the 'Skipper' was. If they weren't bothered, the ride wasn't great.Think though behind this closure is certainly costs. To have the fire go off so regularly in rather large quantities must have been draining the ride's bill excessively. Add in the fuel for the boats and what-not and must have cost an arm and a leg to operate in comparison to everything else...Just hoping it won't be replaced by more Potter. No doubt it will be though. Wouldn't be surprised if Twister is next to get the axe too. All the 'classic' films are slowly moving on which is the price a movie park pays. The themes aren't always popular forever so you do need to advance sometimes to keep the guests coming, even if it does mean removing some classic (and possibly loved rides, hard to tell when nostalgia takes over the mind as to whether or not people actually care) rides or attractions. Not the first time Universal have removed a classic attraction (Kong), and they replaced it with a BRILLIANT coaster. Fingers crossed for the same eh?For the record, the first time I rode Jaws, the explosions made me feel ill (mixed with dehydration). So we never got on that well anyways.

A so called "thrill park" to have a Spongebob or Happt Feet 4D Cinema show?Just get rid of the cinema... Even replacing it with nothing could potentially be better... Sure they could even potentially squeeze some form of ride in there (albeit small)...

Well after that strangeness of a rather repugnant sounding film. Here's my take on Sherlock Homes - Game of Shadows.The first film is really enjoyable, and the second film continues this with aplomb, with the relationship between Holmes and Watson crafted brilliantly between everyone involved on the film, with Downey Jr. and Law being amazing as the duo.Of course a strong villain like Moriarty needed a strong actor, and this was definitely provided by an excellent Jared Harris. Certainly provided a foil for Holmes in an entertaining way.Elsewhere, Stephen Fry decided to appear and say hello (with arguable more than was neccessary), and attempted to steal the show by being, well Stephen Fry.Story wise, much like the first we plodded from place to place with it all linking up in the end. It is very much the same thing as the first film but if you enjoyed that then you will certainly enjoy this one. Great set pieces (the armory and forest scene being stand outs) and acting make it just as good as the first.8/10

Odds on the 10'000th post being absolutely useless?It's more likely than you think...

Tidal Wave (and Amity Cove for that matter) when it originally opened had an absolute WEALTH of detail that nothing has really hit again in the UK... Of course after time some of these details have gone due to Fastrack, other construction and sponsorship, but it was one of the best themed areas when it originally opened in the history of the UK...As for Saw, I (naturally) agree with Mark, it's over-rated much by a lot of people, it's excessively rough and is no better than Speed or Rage... It didn't help that when it opened I also did Mystery Mine in the same year so it was straight away in the dark of something better, and the lesser known Fluch also opened in 2009 which is MILES better than Saw...Some of the details Adam listed I have never seen tbh... Maybe because I've never been in the indoors section of the queue that much? I didn't ride it till a few months after opening and walked straight onto it which probably didn't help, but the way people went on about it I expected a good majority of the queue to be indoors, not two corridors and a very open staircase... Neither of which are particularly themed that well unless you enjoy blood theming... The station is dank and moody yes, but there are much better claustrophobic stations in the world, again Fluch and even Black Mamba do this to better levels than Saw...I guess for me it's the fact that it's a shed disguised as a shed... Not every abandoned Warehouse is a massive block designed on RCT... It's a poorly designed ride from start to end really, from the idea of theming it to Saw which removed a LOT of the money which could have been better spent on theming, to the roughness of it after a year, especially when other Gerstlauers aren't anywhere near as bad...

Left unthemed but surrounded by trees (eventually), so it's not all bad...Foundations are like that since they're reusing the original BBW ones as well, so hey, who said theme parks don't recycle? :PIt is EXTREMELY similar to BBW's drop as well when you look at this picture...

Closer to home, Valley Mania have a good interview with two Marketing people regarding the park's rebrand and future... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnu-rTWOMIM

Verbolten is taking real shape atm... The finale drop having been built and is VERY Big Bad Wolf like...BGW Facebook/TPRLooks good... Shall defo provide a good finish like it did for BBW...

Wasn't it ALWAYS going to be delayed? And after the Vortex late opening incident with Watchdog, they were just covering themselves just in case?

^To be fair, even Merlin should have at least a time plan and management chart... And even the best laid plans can be set back for whatever reason... Step forward Thirteen for example...GANNT CHART ME!Though... Constant stalling? That to me sounds slightly wrong... Granted it certainly will be put through it's paces constantly and it won't run at its full speed but wasn't it on Nemesis where B&M had that undeniable confidence that it would not stall during tests? Maybe for other companies where testing does other things, but it just doesn't sound right to me testing a ride with it constantly stalling...

Went to see Wicked yesterday...Clue is in the title as to my view on it...

And people say Merlin's modern photoshopping is awful...

As Josh said, it's blooming Christmas, the builders are entitled to a holiday too you know...They're at the theming stage, so no doubt the helicopter will be the most likely next massive scenic element as well as the continuation of the station and other bits... Probs start seeing the vehicle buildings popping up in January as well and once those are done the pathways/fencing/etc can be done in February/March as will the testing...

Christmas in Lewisham? Sounds DREADFUL...Yesterday was good if weird considering the extra person this year... More presents means more mess but the usual food was good... Watching DVDs and Ratatatatatouille was good fun, need to break out the Xbox games at some point to ensure they work...Christmas Eve was much superior tbh, what with the constant Christmas film day me and Nicky had... Was FAB <3

The best idea for a Top Spin (if Thorpe were to get one) would be something alone the lines of Phantasialand's Talocan, which would kinda work with a Swarm like set of theming (as long as BOTH sides would have something to look at)...But the odds of that happening are quite low due to the lack of space really...

Does Thorpe need ANOTHER maintenance nightmare of a ride though?(Yeah I'm posting on here on Christmas, and what?)

Billund construction has begun, and the drop mechanism is up...

The weekend's gonna be packed... Simple fact really... But doesn't the park open midweek again? Meaning it may not be TOO bad...

I'm guessing the new B&M Hyper Trains and the Vekoma Giant Boomerangs are the answer...

Well... 1 out of 3 is better than nothing ;)One thing this ride WILL do to that area of the park is make it look even more congested and bunched up... With a mixture of this, Comet, Great Bear and Sooperdooperlooper; the area will look very cramped in the main pathway...Aesthetics matter whether it's a theme or amusement park... Look at Six Flags Magic Mountain and the often ridiculed Scream on the car park... They matter wherever you go...

More Skyrush construction...http://keystonethrills.wordpress.com/2011/12/23/hersheypark-skyrush-construction-update-64-12-22-11/Everytime I see that overbank my neck twinges...

Depends on what this ride is... If it's indoor then they would be no noise issues to speak of as long as the building was correctly sound proofed (unlike Black Hole's tent when the coaster was there in some cases)...

IF this is SW7 (I am yet to be fully convinced), they better not take anything away from Oblivion... It would be such a shame for the park to have Oblivion lose everything that it does so well it being intimidating and what-not...Hopefully the plans will be about soon... Could be a good New Years with WLB being announced, plans for SW7 would be the icing on the cake...

If it looks as good as Thirteen's then we are well and truly onto a winner here...It's MASSIVE! Like HUGE! Potentially the tallest station ever... Love it

That's quite cool, like looking at old plans and seeing what did and didn't make it... Looking at Inferno's original bland old station compared to now for example, Colossus' original entrance was between the Cobra Roll...*Prays for Staffordshire to do the same*