Benin

Major rides done, we decided it would be nice to relax and hence walked around for a bit before deciding the ride the Monorail...MonorailRather airy trains and gives some nice views of iSpeed and the rest of the park, however, we did sit on the wrong side of the train so missed most of these... And the fact it’s at the back of the park and doesn’t stop again to me makes little sense or point... Oh well, it was an air conditioned sit down...We decided to grab a bite to eat to keep going, and enjoyed a terrace meal on the lake, feeding sparrows and wondering why loud noises were coming from the opposite side of us... So we headed over to investigate...MonosaurusThis dinosaur themed monorail ride is SO stupid... Go around, look at stationary models, have a long walk through the exit... It makes Legoland’s SkyRider look good... The models were entertaining but only due to the stupid poses they were in... Silly ride...3/10More faff ensued before we elected on heading towards the flight themed area (me neither) of the park...ColumbiaThese two S&S Towers are quite a landmark for the park personally, and appear a lot in images and posters... However as the Drop side (Discovery) was long, we went on the shot tower instead... And like every other S&S tower, it was exactly the same ride experience... Good, but nothing special...7/10All other rides finished, it was time to photograph and ride Katun, getting 3 more in and lots of pretty pictures... Mirabilandia is a very good park in the end, with two class coasters and a solid back-up of rides... Whilst it has no themed areas as such, the theming the park has works very well, and the chart music works a lot better in this respect as it’s rather background and a good mix of listenable things... Complete opposite of Thorpe’s singular genre choice really...I enjoyed the park, and can only wonder why people don’t mention Katun as much as they should...

Day 5 – More Mira and Driving to VeronaSo Mirabilandia do a rather epic deal atm, you get 2 days worth for the price of one, even if you really have to commit to it but getting a wristband, wearing it through the night and bringing it in the next day... But we did it for more Katuny goodness...Two more rides on Katun (including front row which had spited us the day before) followed a walk towards iSpeed and extended faff times in the arcade (Terminator 3 pinball ftw)... None of my opinions had changed on these 2 rides, but there was one new ride for the day...DeliriumHonestly, I have no idea what ride type this is or the manufacturer... The easiest way to describe it would be a massive tilted flying jumbos like ride... You could control your height (and get similarly high amounts of airtime) and the tilting aspect of the central arm provided an interesting experience... A bit uncomfortable on the seating but was still a good bit of fun...6/10After this we headed off to Reset to see if it was any better, and it wasn’t really... Oh well...So one last ride on Katun was to be done before some lunch and the trip up to Verona... Which one again involved a massive detour, I really disliked the directions and road-signs... Maybe next time a Sat-Nav can happen... But we eventually got there and were greeted by the strangest hotel on the trip...Indeed, it was probably preparing me for uni once more, as it had more in common with halls than a hotel, with 6 rooms including a massive upstairs empty room, a kitchen (lacking oven) and just essentially everything needed to live... It was quite cool, and it’s balcony was put to great use after a quick trip to the supermarket (and me and John’s long search for a Lidl)... Chat about rides and life happened amongst the drinking... I was later attacked by Mirabilandia duck, which kinda says it all really...

Day 6 – Chilling in VeronaThe original plan for this trip was to do all 4 of the major Italian parks, including Movieworld Studios, right is effectively next door to Gardaland, however, we must have angered the Coaster Gods, as the opening times for the park changed for the worse, meaning it was shut midweek and we had very little alternative as to what to do...So we sat in our hotel room all day and chilled... I like days like this on holiday, as it allows everyone to either sleep/read/sit or just do whatever without any need for rushing or walking... We did venture out for extra supplies of food midway through the day, but aside from that didn’t do anything until the evening, where me, John and Mark hit the town to see what it was like...A rather depiction of Italian roads I feel... Random canoeing in the river is random... Looked fun though... And just what could lay beyond this rather dark and dingy hallway? Why it’s Juliet’s Balcony of course, from that rather popular play of Shakespearian standards... Dunno why Verona have claimed it, but they have... DEAL WITH IT! Meanwhile, in Verona... Most epic looking music venue ever! The Arena is slap bang in the middle of the city and has more restaurants than you can shake a stick at... And who was playing?George Michael... Hungry, we elected to eat at the weirdest theme/name for a restaurant in Italy... Even this place has Spider Crabs... And as John is demonstrating, the biggest menus I’ve seen in a long time...Talking of big things, here’s the drinks... Totally extraordinary... Unfortunately so much ice made it practically undrinkable after a while, but still, epic size is epic... Spag Bol, Italian style... Do try the Oreo and Kinder Ice Cream... It’s AMAZING <3 Unable to get into the concert, we wandered back towards the hotel, only to find... OMG I’M SO THERE!Next up – Gardaland...

This basically... Was a bit of a needless post... This sort of topic isn't one where silly comments about people being potentially confused belong, due to the very nature of the situation...

This basically... Was a bit of a needless post... This sort of topic isn't one where silly comments about people being potentially confused belong, due to the very nature of the situation...

OM NOM NOM!I cooked me some delicious chicken... Not to be modest or anything, but it's damn juicy perfection...

Nah, the term for straights is 'breeders'... Get your info right

All major rides bar the water ones done, we hit up the Main Street quickly to browse, as well as photo Shock as it is such a photogenic ride (and it wouldn’t be the last one)...Time for some Rapids then...Drakkar90 minutes I’ll never get back... An awful queue of just constant cattlepens which lead onto the WORST loading procedure for a Rapids ever... Since the dawn of time they have used rotating platforms, so why Rainbow thought they didn’t need one I have no idea, loading 2 at a time and unloading 1 is bad enough, but when the boat coming off the lift literally crashes into stationary boats and causes people to fall, there’s a real issue there...However, the ride made up for itself quite well, with plenty of effects and drops getting us sufficiently wet to enjoy it all... The tunnel finale was very much an anti-climax, again can only hope something (like a Dragon perhaps as inclined towards in the ride’s name) gets added in there... Hell even some fountains would do...Whilst the queue didn’t mar my enjoyment, I’ve marked it down for the poor use of the cave (even Excalibur’s had moving things originally) and the stupid loading/unloading... The ride itself is awesome though...7/10After that long queue of doom, we lost a lot of time, so elected for dinner first before more rides, and I had my first piece of pasta on the trip, Penne... Was good...Then it was decided we would do Huntik again, but as we reached the front of the queue, it broke... DISASTER! However a natter with a ride staff who was brilliant (told us why it was broken, how long it could be in English, and tried as hard as he could which I thought was good to see), gave us 30 minutes to find something to do... Shock was packed so we elected to do the shopping then and return... But not before taking lots of night photos...Straight on through the exit, and once again it showed off, such an amazing ride and is a real gem in Rainbow’s crown of rides...After getting an on-ride, we headed home on the dangerous roads, leaving the fireworks behind and able to muse about the park itself...It has a lot of potential, and whilst some parts seemed to have suffered to ensure other rides are a classy as possible and working, I feel that the park will solve these issues as soon as possible in the future, and hopefully expand to have more transport links, hotels and rides... As it does lack a quality high throughput coaster here... Maybe a B&M? Italy does those well...Next up, Driving to Ravenna...

After this we elected to buy some ice creams/lollies from the nearby shop and sat on the opposite side of the lake from the entrance, before deciding on braving the rather pink children’s area for the kid’s coasters... Firstly was...AmerigoIt’s a Big Apple... Without the apple, or multiple circuits... Even for those, it was turdio...3/10Recently the park opened up it’s final ride, so we went to experience it...Maison HoudiniUnfortunately, this had a boring and long queue... Constant cattlepens in front of the house meant entertainment was short, so much we resorted to Marvel Top Trumps (old school version) just to keep going... It also seems to have a throughput issue in that the ride holds more than the pre-shows can, which is really bloody confusing to me...That said, the pre and post shows were rather cool, the pre-show especially, even if the language barrier causes some issues, similarly on the ride itself, but it does enough different compared to other versions for me to like it... Though the music doesn’t build up to the ending, and a few other niggles, it’s not the worst but not the best...6/10Hunger had set in after the burdenous queue, so we headed off to find something to eat, eventually choosing the simple fast-food place near the Flying Island...All this effort for just a restaurant... I really love the park for this, making sure the effect isn’t lost in the long run... And as each one had it’s own personality it never felt forced or contrived... So good...Back to the kid’s area we went, for the final dark ride of the day...BelievixRainbow’s attempt at Peter Pan used the Winx Club IP, which I think is quite popular amongst the girl population over here, and evidently in Italy, as this had 50 minute queue to endure outside some fake trees...The ride itself only allows two adults, which isn’t to the ride’s audience an issue, as it’s a family ride, and also makes very little sense... I think as well many of the models inside were meant to be animated, rather than static, but at least it’s better than Charlie... Shame it lacked a narrative...5/10And then the final coaster of the day, the Vekoma Junior...BomborunI liked the trains on Ben 10, so I was surprised that they are to be found on all new ones it seems... Already a good point on what is essentially an average ride... Another IP but barely any theming on this... A shame that the park constantly contrasts so much between things...Still, enjoyable ride...6/10

Katun is MILES better than Raptor (CP) and Montu... There is NO comparison... It IS awesome... etc...Though more on that later Have something to tide us over...Day 2 – Rainbow MagiclandEver since I first found out about Rainbow I’ve followed the construction with interest and a hint of desire, indeed, solely based from the concept art it looked like a brilliant park with grand theming and some good rides to start with, even if it the rides weren’t themselves world class from look, why put all your eggs in one basket and risk closure (looking at YOU Hard Rock Park)...Indeed, a small minority seem to feel like this park won’t work for whatever reason and think it will be brought out by a larger company in the future...I say that’s wrong, from spending 12 hours at the park (10-11 opening times) and seeing that it was well and truly packed on a Saturday, if they can keep up these gate figures and merch sales, I see no reason for it to fail...So what about the day? Well after a hour long drive from Rome along a rather dull and boring road (we didn’t use the tolls, so perhaps those routes would be easier/quicker/nicer) and straight away your eyes are drawn towards Shock, and remain so throughout the shaded parking, ticket booths and turnstiles all the way along... If anything, Shock (and a few other buildings and rides) is a brilliant focal point to the park...After getting in and walking down the Main Street it’s really obvious what park the Rainbow company were inspired by, see if you can guess from the pictures...That’s right, it’s Islands of Adventure... But if you’re gonna rip-off a park, you might as well do a good one right? And besides, whilst it holds similarities between the two parks, they are different enough to provide completely different experiences, mainly as Rainbow has a much wider pathway to accommodate the crowds it does (and will in the future) get...At the end of the pathway, we were greeted by the park’s mascot and an awesome little dance number welcoming us all into the park...I love it when park’s do this... It makes it much more of an event rather than just opening gates and letting people run off into various directions, it really gets people pumped for the day and needs to be something that the UK parks need to look at a bit more...Show over, and the attention turned back to the big red number staring us in the face, time for the first coaster of the trip...ShockThis was only really my second Maurer X-Car coaster, and since the only other one was G-Force at Drayton, Shock didn’t really have to do a lot to make me list it higher... Whilst the nice entrance belies the unthemed queue and station, 15 minutes wait for not to be ignored on it, with a potential 5/6 cars being able to go onto the track, hopefully in the future the park will use all of them if they need be...Once off, the ride goes off for a meander around the grass in front of the station, possibly the first example of the time and budget cuts Rainbow suffered in order to open the park on time, hopefully the future will hold something interesting to go in here, otherwise it’s quite a pointless piece of track and a waste of money and steel... Then the launch happens and you forget straight away about the pointlessness... I discovered earlier in the year on Fluch von Novgorod how good rolling launches are, and Shock was no exception, the sudden acceleration hitting quickly as you reach the crest of the massive airtime hill, lifting away from the car before back down into the rather strangely designed non-inverting loop, keeping it’s speed well whilst exiting into the tiny overbanked turn, arguably the best part of the ride, purely based on the speed it takes it at... So fast it could easily cause issues in the future, but damn it’s worth breaking the cars for it...Lifting back up into the MCBR before a long sweeping 360 helix into the inline before hitting the brakes and providing a short and sweet kick to the morning...It’s a rather simple ride and layout, and certainly is short but sweet... Some parts are lacking with the station, queue and pre-launch, but maybe the future will provide these little things to make it a more complete ride... 8/10After a good start to the day we elected to walk towards the park’s second biggest coaster and the only indoor one, the Maurer Spinning coaster...CagliostroThe very impressive Impressionist style building sets a very high standard for the ride, although the completely external queueline manned constantly by a security guard is a right shame... After about 20 minutes though, we were walking straight onto our purple car and quickly off up the lift hill, popping quickly outside before the inky blackness of the massive building again...Here in lies the ride’s problem, why have such a massive ditch AND building, when most of it won’t be used? The layout in outside is rather small and compact, and really doesn’t do anything of any worth or value... Indeed, when you’re finale is a lift hill to the station, you know something’s up... I have heard that there is meant to be things inside, but it would need a lot of these to make it worthwhile... 4/10Another short walk led us to our next ride, and one I was looking forward to the most, the dark ride known as...HuntikOnce again this park produces a brilliant building to house something in, a recurring theme throughout the place, but Huntik is something extraordinary, with the massive Ox and Crocodile statues guarding the ride’s entrance, a sense of awe and wonder already sets in before the queue even begins...Inside, it’s like Laser Raiders at Legoland, a massive load of cattlepens in a single room, UNLIKE Raiders though, it is wonderfully themed, with artwork, ruins and tv screens explaining the show and ride perfectly... Yes this is an IP ride, but is certainly proof that these things can work when you have the full support and effort put into it... Whilst this may have caused other parts of the park to suffer, it’s so worthwhile in the end product...Not going to go into details because that would spoil the surprise, but needless to say, the stream of effects, animatronics, 3d and the interactive element work together seamlessly to create a world class ride right up there with Spiderman at IOA...The only issue is the vandalism already caused on it by the guests... But as that’s not the park’s fault itself, I see no issue in it gaining full marks on a ride that has so much going on that to get it as near perfect as it is now (it does have minor faults which are most definitely first year issues), is an amazing thing...10/10Minds blown, it was time for the 3rd coaster of the day, the Vekoma Mine Train...L’Olandese VolanteHaving never done another other version of these outside of Disney, I was curious as to how it would ride... The answer was awful... How a brand new ride can rattle THAT much was beyond comprehension, it was rougher than some SLCs that I’ve experienced, which is certainly something for a Mine Train...Add that to the distinct lack of theming aside from the relatively cool volcano thing, it was certainly nothing worth writing home about... Maybe another victim of the budget cuts...4/10Another walk past the high diving show on the lake (which we briefly watched end, it looked cool what with jet skies and other elements) led us to the rather multi-coloured Drop Tower...MystikaThis is a weird tower and no mistake... Not sure who makes it, but I can certainly say it rides a lot better than it looks... Loading and dispatch is James May slow, and whilst it brakes early, it helps remove a common problem amongst taller drop towers, in that it loses the thrill midway through the actual ride...Good amount of theming on it as well, especially the garden centre queueline... Very enjoyable in my view... Lots of happy faces means it works well, and it probably the third best ride at the park...7/10

The great thing about all these buildings is that they’re all on one street as well, so you only have to point in a direction and walk and be amazed... I cannot get over how nice Rome is... Especially when Gelato is involved... So delicious... Even if it melted quicker than I could eat the thing... It was so bloody hot all week, even up to levels of unbearableness at some points, but we survived at least...Back to the buildings... Hints to the next day were abound as after a bit more wandering we decided to make use of our 4 euro Metro ticket and head over to the Vatican... Another really nice area, and because it wasn’t too busy when we went it was rather peaceful and enjoyable to just sit and enjoy the sights... Whilst I refuse personally to pay to enter a place of faith (especially one of my own), it would maybe have been nice to see the Chapel, but due to time constraints was never going to happen... All the more reason to return really... When the evil looking monk appeared we thought it would be a good time to go and headed off to find some food... In Italy you have to really search if you don’t want pizza or pasta, so if you don’t like those, don’t bother going over there... EVERYWHERE does it... And often in large sizes... And to complete this part, is John and his tumour pizza (a Calzone)...Next up to Rainbow (RAINBOW) Magicland...

Merlin's coming after Blackpool first it seems...
Source MeThat is insanely good value and rather surprising to say the least... Merlin to be in charge of Blackpool in the next few years?

^Redoing Vamp's station as well? Two birds one stone... Love it...P.S. Send some flames towards Trucks please...

Moved into Stoke, house is soooo roomy...This is gonna be a fab 3rd year...

Releasing the inner Raptor...

Releasing the inner Raptor...

All major rides bar the water ones done, we hit up the Main Street quickly to browse, as well as photo Shock as it is such a photogenic ride (and it wouldn’t be the last one)...Time for some Rapids then...Drakkar90 minutes I’ll never get back... An awful queue of just constant cattlepens which lead onto the WORST loading procedure for a Rapids ever... Since the dawn of time they have used rotating platforms, so why Rainbow thought they didn’t need one I have no idea, loading 2 at a time and unloading 1 is bad enough, but when the boat coming off the lift literally crashes into stationary boats and causes people to fall, there’s a real issue there...However, the ride made up for itself quite well, with plenty of effects and drops getting us sufficiently wet to enjoy it all... The tunnel finale was very much an anti-climax, again can only hope something (like a Dragon perhaps as inclined towards in the ride’s name) gets added in there... Hell even some fountains would do...Whilst the queue didn’t mar my enjoyment, I’ve marked it down for the poor use of the cave (even Excalibur’s had moving things originally) and the stupid loading/unloading... The ride itself is awesome though...7/10After that long queue of doom, we lost a lot of time, so elected for dinner first before more rides, and I had my first piece of pasta on the trip, Penne... Was good...Then it was decided we would do Huntik again, but as we reached the front of the queue, it broke... DISASTER! However a natter with a ride staff who was brilliant (told us why it was broken, how long it could be in English, and tried as hard as he could which I thought was good to see), gave us 30 minutes to find something to do... Shock was packed so we elected to do the shopping then and return... But not before taking lots of night photos...Straight on through the exit, and once again it showed off, such an amazing ride and is a real gem in Rainbow’s crown of rides...After getting an on-ride, we headed home on the dangerous roads, leaving the fireworks behind and able to muse about the park itself...It has a lot of potential, and whilst some parts seemed to have suffered to ensure other rides are a classy as possible and working, I feel that the park will solve these issues as soon as possible in the future, and hopefully expand to have more transport links, hotels and rides... As it does lack a quality high throughput coaster here... Maybe a B&M? Italy does those well...Next up, Driving to Ravenna...

Day 3 – Driving to RavennaSo after 12 hours of a busy Magicland we needed to begin our trek across the country north towards our next destination and park, so leaving at 12 with car packed up we began the 5 hour journey towards Ravenna...The first half was pretty uneventful, as the roads were empty and as signs for cities were more regular than Magicland’s, we were able to keep track much more simply... After about 2 and a half hours, we reached Perugia, which was elected as our stop-off point...We were all rather hungry, so the search for food began down a long and winding hill, where we eventually arrived at...Yep, it was time for Italian McDonalds, whilst not too different from our own versions, it’s always nice to have a bit of familiarity in your food, as well as some differences...Pistachio McFlurry looked VILE...We trekked back up the hill to our car and began the second half of the journey, where I decided to actually take photos this time...Along our way, we were diverted off the dual carriageway onto the most mountainous road I have ever experienced in a car... It made the route to Towers look flat, and was as beautiful as it was nerve-wracking... We did realise then why so many drivers come to Italy to just drive around, because it’s such a nice countryside and can be extremely relaxing...Eventually we arrived at Ravenna, but not before we got some glimpses of what awaited us on the next day...

Well after a rather epic week away, I’m back with tanned arms and tales to tell of B&M awesomeness, so why waste any time chatting when we can get down to business... Letsa go!Day 1 – Flight to RomeAn early 4am wake up call produced 4 tired heads as my Dad gave us a lift to Gatwick, where at check-in we were greeted with our first queue of the trip, which moved slowly and annoyingly as it got closer and closer to the flight time... After eventually bursting through into security, the unexperienced flyer amongst us didn’t know about the liquid/cream regulations in hand luggage, and provided even more faff and forced us to run to the plane once we eventually got through the checkpoint...A 2 hour flight later and some relatively simple passport control and baggage reclaim, we attempted our first conversation in Italian to get our hire car... It eventually worked, and we walked over to find our chariot for the week... Car achieved, we drove off to our hotel, encountering the craziness of the Italian road users... Indeed, signs and cars mean nothing to them, moving lanes and places without warning or anything, it’s mental and will really sharpen driver’s senses when you’re over there... Fortunately Mark was really up for this and whilst it took time to gain confidence, by the end of the week he was driving like a proper Italian... Another thing I discovered is that the roads in Italy are really confusing, two different exits for one junction on the motorway, the road names were hidden away in the traffic lights and could only have a worse font if they had used Comic Sans... We got lost practically every drive on this trip, so advice here is a Sat-Nav... Get one...Regardless, we (eventually) found the hidden hotel, and after some chillage we walked to the Metro station nearby to begin the trip proper, with some sight-seeing in the rather beautiful Rome... And after a quick journey in the lovely airy trains, we were greeted by this...Absolutely stunning, this really epitomises Rome in itself, brilliantly sized buildings that might be in ruin, but are still amazing to look at and wonder about how they were actually built... Quite a cool thing was that in the Forums they were openly doing digging and other work, which was interesting to watch and provided some real care to the history of the place... Tbh, I could probably fill an entire page of posts of Rome alone, the place is THAT nice to photograph... So many buildings to look at is just amazing...

The great thing about all these buildings is that they’re all on one street as well, so you only have to point in a direction and walk and be amazed... I cannot get over how nice Rome is... Especially when Gelato is involved... So delicious... Even if it melted quicker than I could eat the thing... It was so bloody hot all week, even up to levels of unbearableness at some points, but we survived at least...Back to the buildings... Hints to the next day were abound as after a bit more wandering we decided to make use of our 4 euro Metro ticket and head over to the Vatican... Another really nice area, and because it wasn’t too busy when we went it was rather peaceful and enjoyable to just sit and enjoy the sights... Whilst I refuse personally to pay to enter a place of faith (especially one of my own), it would maybe have been nice to see the Chapel, but due to time constraints was never going to happen... All the more reason to return really... When the evil looking monk appeared we thought it would be a good time to go and headed off to find some food... In Italy you have to really search if you don’t want pizza or pasta, so if you don’t like those, don’t bother going over there... EVERYWHERE does it... And often in large sizes... And to complete this part, is John and his tumour pizza (a Calzone)...Next up to Rainbow (RAINBOW) Magicland...

Katun is MILES better than Raptor (CP) and Montu... There is NO comparison... It IS awesome... etc...Though more on that later Have something to tide us over...Day 2 – Rainbow MagiclandEver since I first found out about Rainbow I’ve followed the construction with interest and a hint of desire, indeed, solely based from the concept art it looked like a brilliant park with grand theming and some good rides to start with, even if it the rides weren’t themselves world class from look, why put all your eggs in one basket and risk closure (looking at YOU Hard Rock Park)...Indeed, a small minority seem to feel like this park won’t work for whatever reason and think it will be brought out by a larger company in the future...I say that’s wrong, from spending 12 hours at the park (10-11 opening times) and seeing that it was well and truly packed on a Saturday, if they can keep up these gate figures and merch sales, I see no reason for it to fail...So what about the day? Well after a hour long drive from Rome along a rather dull and boring road (we didn’t use the tolls, so perhaps those routes would be easier/quicker/nicer) and straight away your eyes are drawn towards Shock, and remain so throughout the shaded parking, ticket booths and turnstiles all the way along... If anything, Shock (and a few other buildings and rides) is a brilliant focal point to the park...After getting in and walking down the Main Street it’s really obvious what park the Rainbow company were inspired by, see if you can guess from the pictures...That’s right, it’s Islands of Adventure... But if you’re gonna rip-off a park, you might as well do a good one right? And besides, whilst it holds similarities between the two parks, they are different enough to provide completely different experiences, mainly as Rainbow has a much wider pathway to accommodate the crowds it does (and will in the future) get...At the end of the pathway, we were greeted by the park’s mascot and an awesome little dance number welcoming us all into the park...I love it when park’s do this... It makes it much more of an event rather than just opening gates and letting people run off into various directions, it really gets people pumped for the day and needs to be something that the UK parks need to look at a bit more...Show over, and the attention turned back to the big red number staring us in the face, time for the first coaster of the trip...ShockThis was only really my second Maurer X-Car coaster, and since the only other one was G-Force at Drayton, Shock didn’t really have to do a lot to make me list it higher... Whilst the nice entrance belies the unthemed queue and station, 15 minutes wait for not to be ignored on it, with a potential 5/6 cars being able to go onto the track, hopefully in the future the park will use all of them if they need be...Once off, the ride goes off for a meander around the grass in front of the station, possibly the first example of the time and budget cuts Rainbow suffered in order to open the park on time, hopefully the future will hold something interesting to go in here, otherwise it’s quite a pointless piece of track and a waste of money and steel... Then the launch happens and you forget straight away about the pointlessness... I discovered earlier in the year on Fluch von Novgorod how good rolling launches are, and Shock was no exception, the sudden acceleration hitting quickly as you reach the crest of the massive airtime hill, lifting away from the car before back down into the rather strangely designed non-inverting loop, keeping it’s speed well whilst exiting into the tiny overbanked turn, arguably the best part of the ride, purely based on the speed it takes it at... So fast it could easily cause issues in the future, but damn it’s worth breaking the cars for it...Lifting back up into the MCBR before a long sweeping 360 helix into the inline before hitting the brakes and providing a short and sweet kick to the morning...It’s a rather simple ride and layout, and certainly is short but sweet... Some parts are lacking with the station, queue and pre-launch, but maybe the future will provide these little things to make it a more complete ride... 8/10After a good start to the day we elected to walk towards the park’s second biggest coaster and the only indoor one, the Maurer Spinning coaster...CagliostroThe very impressive Impressionist style building sets a very high standard for the ride, although the completely external queueline manned constantly by a security guard is a right shame... After about 20 minutes though, we were walking straight onto our purple car and quickly off up the lift hill, popping quickly outside before the inky blackness of the massive building again...Here in lies the ride’s problem, why have such a massive ditch AND building, when most of it won’t be used? The layout in outside is rather small and compact, and really doesn’t do anything of any worth or value... Indeed, when you’re finale is a lift hill to the station, you know something’s up... I have heard that there is meant to be things inside, but it would need a lot of these to make it worthwhile... 4/10Another short walk led us to our next ride, and one I was looking forward to the most, the dark ride known as...HuntikOnce again this park produces a brilliant building to house something in, a recurring theme throughout the place, but Huntik is something extraordinary, with the massive Ox and Crocodile statues guarding the ride’s entrance, a sense of awe and wonder already sets in before the queue even begins...Inside, it’s like Laser Raiders at Legoland, a massive load of cattlepens in a single room, UNLIKE Raiders though, it is wonderfully themed, with artwork, ruins and tv screens explaining the show and ride perfectly... Yes this is an IP ride, but is certainly proof that these things can work when you have the full support and effort put into it... Whilst this may have caused other parts of the park to suffer, it’s so worthwhile in the end product...Not going to go into details because that would spoil the surprise, but needless to say, the stream of effects, animatronics, 3d and the interactive element work together seamlessly to create a world class ride right up there with Spiderman at IOA...The only issue is the vandalism already caused on it by the guests... But as that’s not the park’s fault itself, I see no issue in it gaining full marks on a ride that has so much going on that to get it as near perfect as it is now (it does have minor faults which are most definitely first year issues), is an amazing thing...10/10Minds blown, it was time for the 3rd coaster of the day, the Vekoma Mine Train...L’Olandese VolanteHaving never done another other version of these outside of Disney, I was curious as to how it would ride... The answer was awful... How a brand new ride can rattle THAT much was beyond comprehension, it was rougher than some SLCs that I’ve experienced, which is certainly something for a Mine Train...Add that to the distinct lack of theming aside from the relatively cool volcano thing, it was certainly nothing worth writing home about... Maybe another victim of the budget cuts...4/10Another walk past the high diving show on the lake (which we briefly watched end, it looked cool what with jet skies and other elements) led us to the rather multi-coloured Drop Tower...MystikaThis is a weird tower and no mistake... Not sure who makes it, but I can certainly say it rides a lot better than it looks... Loading and dispatch is James May slow, and whilst it brakes early, it helps remove a common problem amongst taller drop towers, in that it loses the thrill midway through the actual ride...Good amount of theming on it as well, especially the garden centre queueline... Very enjoyable in my view... Lots of happy faces means it works well, and it probably the third best ride at the park...7/10

After this we elected to buy some ice creams/lollies from the nearby shop and sat on the opposite side of the lake from the entrance, before deciding on braving the rather pink children’s area for the kid’s coasters... Firstly was...AmerigoIt’s a Big Apple... Without the apple, or multiple circuits... Even for those, it was turdio...3/10Recently the park opened up it’s final ride, so we went to experience it...Maison HoudiniUnfortunately, this had a boring and long queue... Constant cattlepens in front of the house meant entertainment was short, so much we resorted to Marvel Top Trumps (old school version) just to keep going... It also seems to have a throughput issue in that the ride holds more than the pre-shows can, which is really bloody confusing to me...That said, the pre and post shows were rather cool, the pre-show especially, even if the language barrier causes some issues, similarly on the ride itself, but it does enough different compared to other versions for me to like it... Though the music doesn’t build up to the ending, and a few other niggles, it’s not the worst but not the best...6/10Hunger had set in after the burdenous queue, so we headed off to find something to eat, eventually choosing the simple fast-food place near the Flying Island...All this effort for just a restaurant... I really love the park for this, making sure the effect isn’t lost in the long run... And as each one had it’s own personality it never felt forced or contrived... So good...Back to the kid’s area we went, for the final dark ride of the day...BelievixRainbow’s attempt at Peter Pan used the Winx Club IP, which I think is quite popular amongst the girl population over here, and evidently in Italy, as this had 50 minute queue to endure outside some fake trees...The ride itself only allows two adults, which isn’t to the ride’s audience an issue, as it’s a family ride, and also makes very little sense... I think as well many of the models inside were meant to be animated, rather than static, but at least it’s better than Charlie... Shame it lacked a narrative...5/10And then the final coaster of the day, the Vekoma Junior...BomborunI liked the trains on Ben 10, so I was surprised that they are to be found on all new ones it seems... Already a good point on what is essentially an average ride... Another IP but barely any theming on this... A shame that the park constantly contrasts so much between things...Still, enjoyable ride...6/10

All major rides bar the water ones done, we hit up the Main Street quickly to browse, as well as photo Shock as it is such a photogenic ride (and it wouldn’t be the last one)...Time for some Rapids then...Drakkar90 minutes I’ll never get back... An awful queue of just constant cattlepens which lead onto the WORST loading procedure for a Rapids ever... Since the dawn of time they have used rotating platforms, so why Rainbow thought they didn’t need one I have no idea, loading 2 at a time and unloading 1 is bad enough, but when the boat coming off the lift literally crashes into stationary boats and causes people to fall, there’s a real issue there...However, the ride made up for itself quite well, with plenty of effects and drops getting us sufficiently wet to enjoy it all... The tunnel finale was very much an anti-climax, again can only hope something (like a Dragon perhaps as inclined towards in the ride’s name) gets added in there... Hell even some fountains would do...Whilst the queue didn’t mar my enjoyment, I’ve marked it down for the poor use of the cave (even Excalibur’s had moving things originally) and the stupid loading/unloading... The ride itself is awesome though...7/10After that long queue of doom, we lost a lot of time, so elected for dinner first before more rides, and I had my first piece of pasta on the trip, Penne... Was good...Then it was decided we would do Huntik again, but as we reached the front of the queue, it broke... DISASTER! However a natter with a ride staff who was brilliant (told us why it was broken, how long it could be in English, and tried as hard as he could which I thought was good to see), gave us 30 minutes to find something to do... Shock was packed so we elected to do the shopping then and return... But not before taking lots of night photos...Straight on through the exit, and once again it showed off, such an amazing ride and is a real gem in Rainbow’s crown of rides...After getting an on-ride, we headed home on the dangerous roads, leaving the fireworks behind and able to muse about the park itself...It has a lot of potential, and whilst some parts seemed to have suffered to ensure other rides are a classy as possible and working, I feel that the park will solve these issues as soon as possible in the future, and hopefully expand to have more transport links, hotels and rides... As it does lack a quality high throughput coaster here... Maybe a B&M? Italy does those well...Next up, Driving to Ravenna...

Day 3 – Driving to RavennaSo after 12 hours of a busy Magicland we needed to begin our trek across the country north towards our next destination and park, so leaving at 12 with car packed up we began the 5 hour journey towards Ravenna...The first half was pretty uneventful, as the roads were empty and as signs for cities were more regular than Magicland’s, we were able to keep track much more simply... After about 2 and a half hours, we reached Perugia, which was elected as our stop-off point...We were all rather hungry, so the search for food began down a long and winding hill, where we eventually arrived at...Yep, it was time for Italian McDonalds, whilst not too different from our own versions, it’s always nice to have a bit of familiarity in your food, as well as some differences...Pistachio McFlurry looked VILE...We trekked back up the hill to our car and began the second half of the journey, where I decided to actually take photos this time...Along our way, we were diverted off the dual carriageway onto the most mountainous road I have ever experienced in a car... It made the route to Towers look flat, and was as beautiful as it was nerve-wracking... We did realise then why so many drivers come to Italy to just drive around, because it’s such a nice countryside and can be extremely relaxing...Eventually we arrived at Ravenna, but not before we got some glimpses of what awaited us on the next day...

Well after a rather epic week away, I’m back with tanned arms and tales to tell of B&M awesomeness, so why waste any time chatting when we can get down to business... Letsa go!Day 1 – Flight to RomeAn early 4am wake up call produced 4 tired heads as my Dad gave us a lift to Gatwick, where at check-in we were greeted with our first queue of the trip, which moved slowly and annoyingly as it got closer and closer to the flight time... After eventually bursting through into security, the unexperienced flyer amongst us didn’t know about the liquid/cream regulations in hand luggage, and provided even more faff and forced us to run to the plane once we eventually got through the checkpoint...A 2 hour flight later and some relatively simple passport control and baggage reclaim, we attempted our first conversation in Italian to get our hire car... It eventually worked, and we walked over to find our chariot for the week... Car achieved, we drove off to our hotel, encountering the craziness of the Italian road users... Indeed, signs and cars mean nothing to them, moving lanes and places without warning or anything, it’s mental and will really sharpen driver’s senses when you’re over there... Fortunately Mark was really up for this and whilst it took time to gain confidence, by the end of the week he was driving like a proper Italian... Another thing I discovered is that the roads in Italy are really confusing, two different exits for one junction on the motorway, the road names were hidden away in the traffic lights and could only have a worse font if they had used Comic Sans... We got lost practically every drive on this trip, so advice here is a Sat-Nav... Get one...Regardless, we (eventually) found the hidden hotel, and after some chillage we walked to the Metro station nearby to begin the trip proper, with some sight-seeing in the rather beautiful Rome... And after a quick journey in the lovely airy trains, we were greeted by this...Absolutely stunning, this really epitomises Rome in itself, brilliantly sized buildings that might be in ruin, but are still amazing to look at and wonder about how they were actually built... Quite a cool thing was that in the Forums they were openly doing digging and other work, which was interesting to watch and provided some real care to the history of the place... Tbh, I could probably fill an entire page of posts of Rome alone, the place is THAT nice to photograph... So many buildings to look at is just amazing...