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BenC

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  1. BenC

    Posted

    On 02/03/2018 at 9:57 AM, BaronC. said:

    Congrats Ben!  The level of dedication to get something with Thorpe on it is incredible (though it's a shame they couldn't agree to get the official Thorpe logo on the medal, especially after last year..).

     

    Can we expect you to be at the Thorpe Triathlon this September or the Chessington 10k Wild Run in November?  ;) You'll actually get to go through the parks then! 

    Ha - agreed, it does look rather like Merlin don't want anything to do with it, short of opening up their car park and collecting the fee. The Thorpe logo on the medal would have been great!

     

    The Thorpe Triathlon seems more linked in with the park, given that participants actually get to run through it. Not sure a dip in a freezing lake in September is especially appetising though.

    On 02/03/2018 at 10:15 AM, Benin said:

    When you doing the Disney runs?

    Now I could get on board with this - some great medal-ware to be had with Disney! Just got to wait for my toenail to grow back first...

  2. Mark9

    Posted

    Quote

    I'm not sure what they've done to Kumba for example but it felt like the wheels were squares. It was running quite roughly throughout whilst was slightly disappointing as I'd previously loved it. Montu was fine but it really doesn't compare to Oz'iris, Monster, Nemesis. It's first half is fine, but the second half is just the train wondering around finding its way to the ending. Sheikra is excellent. So much force and air time throughout.

    Completely, 100% agree with all of this. Spot on.

    Quote

    I know some don't like pretzel loops but I absolutely adore them. MORE PRETZEL LOOPS PLEASE.

    Completely, 100% disagree with this. What are you smoking?! ;)

  3. BenC

    Posted

    14 hours ago, wegloo said:

    I despise marineland simply due to the fact that the drop tower ruins the view of niagra falls from one side. 

     

    I may be visiting darien lake this year, and your reports are always a great read, which I'm sure will help my decision on whether or not I go.

     

    Completely agree about the view from Niagara being spoilt @wegloo - the upside is that the drop tower itself offers a fantastic alternative view...!

     

    I'd definitely say visit Darien - the coasters (bar Ride of Steel) are a bit meh, but I really liked the feel of the Park overall. Nice place.

     

    5 hours ago, Mark9 said:

    Great trip reports as always BenC, whenever I read your reports, I always get insprired to go to a park, Darien Lake has never been on my radar but, its certainly of interest now.

     

    To the Intamin hyper thing, maybe the spate of incidents back in the noughties created a bad atmosphere around the ride type. Could only be a coincidence though. B&M hypers have never had trouble selling, as you know some parks love them so much they build bigger ones..It is a shame Intamins kind of stopped, whilst I never really felt the love for Ge Force, Piraten is such a joy to ride. 

     

    Thanks @Mark9!

     

    I suspect you're right on the Intamin incidents dampening sales... Darien's Ride of Steel alone has had two such high-profile accidents; one from 1999 where a (20+ stone) rider was ejected from the (aggressive) bunny hops at the end, and another from 2011 where a military amputee (both legs) was ejected in the same place. The first case resulted in injuries and now shouldn't happen again because of the addition of seat belts on the ride; the second resulted in death but the rider shouldn't have ever been allowed to board given his disability.

     

    And I love all of the Intamin lap-bar airtime speed machines, but it must be said that Piraten, at only 101ft, is still tops... :wub:

  4. EC!

    Posted

    Great report!

     

    I have never seen an Intamin Impulse Coaster that looks like that one with non-vertical forward track... a bit of research suggests that it was originally a standard 90 degrees backwards and 90 degrees forwards layout, but the ride broke the city's planning restrictions (being over 150ft), so less than a year later Discovery Kingdom had to modify it to be that weird looking thing in your photos!

  5. Mark9

    Posted

    On 14/12/2016 at 10:36 AM, Benin said:

    You forgot the two fantastic dark rides in Garda, Ramses and Corsair...

     

    I'd also now add in Movieland Studios, which is generally ridiculous yet charming in a weird way, and it's only down the road from Garda! Worth it especially for Magma, U-Boat Simulator, Kitt Jet, Terminator 2 and the multiple shows (the Rambo one in particular)... Plus a dangerous water park for those who want to complete the day...

     

    There's also a Togo Stand Up in Italy should anyone visit, and I know certainly next time I go the home made place near Vienna is on the agenda...

     

    Would second all of this @Benin - the Garda dark rides are fantastic, and Movieland is well worth a visit for the Hollywood Action Tower (first gen Intamin drop) alone. Kitt Super Jet is also fab. And the Togo at Cavallino Matto in Tuscany... beautiful setting, painful ride; also featured in my 2015 Blog here.

     

    Great report as ever @Mark9! Intrigued as to why you felt that Shock exemplified an "almost amateur approach" from Rainbow Magicland though; if anything I thought that Shock was one of the few things about the place that was genuinely well executed...!

  6. BenC

    Posted

    4 hours ago, Matt Creek said:

    Thank you Ben for another exceptional park report.

     

    Out of the suspended coasters you've ridden, which one would be your favourite?

     

    Thanks! If you mean Arrow suspended coasters, then Vortex would be my favourite, due to the terrain and layout - and it's been maintained pretty well, so it's still very smooth. That said, the original Vampire created an atmosphere (especially with those bat cars) that has not been matched since.

     

    If you mean the wider family of inverts... where do I start? Any of Katun (Mirabilandia), Oz'Iris (Parc Asterix), and Nemesis (Towers) could take that title for me... and I have a weird soft spot for Giant Inverted Boomerangs, so Stunt Fall (Parque Warner Madrid) would get an honourable mention...

     

    4 hours ago, Matt Creek said:

    This is certainly a park I would like to visit in the future. Would getting there without driving be difficult and would this be an expensive trip compared to anywhere outside of Europe?

     

    Getting across the Atlantic is generally always more expensive than getting to anywhere in Europe, which is why I jumped at a £356 return flight! But once you're there, costs are pretty in line with any European trip. You can get one-day entry to Wonderland for $39.99 if pre-booked in advance online right now, which at £24 is even cheaper than the equivalent pre-booked day ticket for Thorpe...

     

    As with everything North America, cars are easiest, but in Wonderland's case it's also not difficult to get there via subway & bus: https://www.canadaswonderland.com/hours-directions/directions.

     

    2 hours ago, planenut said:

    I managed Leviathon six times solo before the GP came in.

     

    Wow...! :lol:

  10. BenC

    Posted

    On 4/23/2016 at 9:36 AM, Mark9 said:

    Mostly agree when it comes to your rollercoaster reviews; spot on. Funnily enough I prefer Silver Star, far easier to ride then Ge Force in terms of reliability, restraint system, capacity and operations.

     

    I can't disagree that Silver Star significantly trumps GeForce on all of the above (reliability, restraints, capacity, ops)... but the ride itself (layout, forces, speed) for me just doesn't compare. I love riding both (I could sit on Silver Star all day!), but GeForce strikes me as a better coaster.

     

    On 4/23/2016 at 9:36 AM, Mark9 said:

    I haven't been on Sky Scream, but I have done Superman at Discovery Kingdom and really liked it too. They're surprisingly fun rides considering how... cheap(?) they look.

     

    They certainly look cheap (I don't think the compact layout and inelegant support structure helps), but I was really surprised at just how well engineered and polished the whole thing was. Very precise acceleration / deceleration, and very comfortable to boot.

     

    On 4/23/2016 at 9:36 AM, Mark9 said:

    You've inspired me to look into revisiting, your photos do the park a lot of justice.

     

    Thanks Mark! I'd encourage a re-visit; I think overall Plopsa are doing good things to the place :).

  11. BenC

    Posted

    Glad you liked the report Matt!

     

    On 4/21/2016 at 7:31 PM, Matt Creek said:

    Geforce sounds like a good coaster, but not a great one. I'd probably take Shambhala over that any day. Or Silver Star for that matter.

     

    In my view GeForce *is* a great coaster; it's just not the leaderboard-slaying ride its hyped up to be. I would easily take Shambhala over GeForce, for example.

     

    But enjoyable though Silver Star is, GeForce ranks several rungs higher for me. Silver Star looks gorgeous but is fairly boring in comparison...

  12. BenC

    Posted

    I agree with Mark Ben, your blogs have really helped me shape an idea of where I want to go in terms of Europe (and Asia) in the next 5 years, and your blogs are always a good fun to read through. Without them I'd have never heard of half the parks/attractions you've gone to, let alone some of the rides within!

     

    A lovely thing to hear; thank you :). Part 2 coming up soon...!

  14. Benin

    Posted

    Nice roundup Benin!

     

    I take issue with DiVertical being "worst water ride" though... it might be unreliable, but it's a great ride!! The drop is superb, and the lift mechanism genuinely un-nerving. Based on my ride, I'd take an Intamin water coaster just as willingly as any Mack... if anything the ride is smoother.

     

    Completely agree on Troy being a total winner [the soundtrack is nearly as fun as the ride], Oz'Iris being under-rated [it's bloody good, and so close to us], and Movieland being a completely bonkers, probably IP-infringing, fantastic place to spend a day. I also enjoyed Baron but do wonder whether, in contrast to Oz'Iris, it's perhaps a tad over-rated...

  15. Mark9

    Oh Blast..

    in Team Blog

    A group blog by in General

    Posted

    Nice post, Mark9 :)

     

    I'm 100% with you on the design, theme, and aesthetic - one of the most striking attractions in operation today. And this for me is just as important as the hardware itself.

    But it rides like Vekoma chose hexagonal wheels instead of the usual round ones. I endure it, rather than enjoy it.

     

    Ditto Goudurix!

  16. BenC

    Posted

    DiVertical actually opens?!!!!

     

    Ha - funny you should say that, because it did spend the morning down with engineers all over it, and staff standing outside telling people that it "might be open" later on in the day... thankfully it did.

     

    Where would you rate the parks from the whole trip in terms of favourites?

     

    Interesting question, and quite hard to answer... I think as an overall package, Gardaland leads the way in Italy, for its scale, themeing, and recent excellent additions - I had a great day there. Certainly rivals Towers as Merlin's best property. But honourable mentions should go to Miribilandia, Rainbow Magicland, Etnaland, and Cinecittà World (it just needed more people...) - all worth a trip out there for.

  18. BenC

    Posted

    Surprised that Cinecittà World was so quiet. I thought it really was the next big thing for Italy and was being given huge amounts of attention, though I guess it's hard to judge these things when being an enthusiast and this getting attention for it's 10-looper.

     

    You and me both - I thought that being a Saturday in August, and so close to Italy's capital, it would be packed... but I'd be surprised if the gate figure for the day broke 4 figures :(

     

    Fingers crossed it beds in and receives some serious marketing attention... otherwise it might end up being another Hard Rock!

  19. BenC

    Posted

    Gardaland is worth a trip Matt absolutely! Their dark rides are also top notch - they have a long and well themed Egyptian omnimover shooter ride called Ramses, and special mention should go to I Corsari, which is a hugely detailed (and again, very long) Pirates of the Carribean-like boat ride. You actually walk down into the bowels of a life-size pirate ship to access the ride; really impressive. Spoilers abound, but there's a good full length POV (11 minutes!) here.
     
    Garda also has an Ice Age 4D cinema, in case you can't get enough of it at Alton ;).

     

    Mammut (Mine Train) was fine but nothing more - well themed, and with a good downwards helix section, but too much Vekoma roughness for my liking...

  21. JoshC.

    Posted

    Nice report again Josh, and I completely agree with you on Loup Garou - it's a really underrated woodie, and my favourite sort; one that puts a big grin on your face.
     
    I think the Park have made the best of a bad situation with Psyké Underground; it's had more than its fair share of issues including riders stuck at the top of the loop, a 4 year SNBO period, and numerous noise complaints meaning the Park had to first enclose the loop section, and then continue to enclose the entire rest of the ride structure. Given that there's fewer than 10 Schwarzkopf shuttle loops operating today, kudos to the Park for keeping Psyké alive... even in the strange themed form it's in today!

     

    And who couldn't love the launch soundtrack... Start the Systeme!

  22. BenC

    Posted

    Thanks everyone! :D

    @JoshC - as you said, POVs can do a ride a disservice - especially for a speed demon like Formula Rossa! Towards the end of the ride is definitely slower, but it's all comparative - the train still slams into the fin brakes at the end with quite some force. The bunny hops in the final section of the ride are some of the most airtime-filled parts of the layout :)

  23. Benin

    Posted

    It's definitely a park of 2 halves, with comparative excellence (Colossos, Scream, Krake, setting around the lake, much of the old / original areas, Hotel Port Royal) juxtapositioned against awfulness (Desert Race, colour schemes, the 2 old Vekomas, strange zoning / areas, Desert Race again).

    Not sure that Flug der Damonen quite sits in the "awful" bucket, but it's definitely not B&Ms best work: the slowness of it all and the uncomfortable judder during the "Demonic Knot" element are distinct detractors...

  24. Benin

    Posted

    Nice awards!

     

    Efteling (Best Park), Helix (Best New Coaster), Sky Fly (Best New Ride) - I'm with you on all of these. And I've not ridden Bandit, but Coaster Express - another RCCA classic - sits at the bottom of my "all time worst rides" list, so can believe you on that.

     

    But Heide Park sitting in the Honourable Mentions of Worst Park? Sure, it's a Merlin clone-a-thon, and everything seemingly needs to be painted white and green, but it's got some great rides (Colossos, Scream, Krake) and the setting around the lake is really rather lovely... :blink:

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