AstroDan

You know, for the most part I would agree when comparing with parks like PA. But actually, PA is horribly overrated.They do not invest incredibly in rides for starters. Their area theming is superb, I would agree there - and FiestAventura is probably the 2nd best park show I have seen in Europe (behind Mysteria 2009 at Europa-Park) - but the park food at PA is expensive (around €11 / £9.50) for a basic fast food meal, which wasn't very good really - and the gate price is €44 which is £38. Barely different from Alton/Thorpe, and the online rate appears the same when here you save a fair bit.Throughputs at PA are often very poor - especially on F. Baco. Equally, their last major ride was indeed F. Baco - since then they have added Sesame Street Land and that's about it. Shows are far superior. The park is also covered in graffiti (see Stampida, Tutuki Splash as examples) and ride theming in some places is very poor (see D. Khan).It's definitely not PA we should be looking to. It's Phantasialand, Europa-Park and many of our German parks that really set the bar.Thorpe Park's fireworks event looked decent, suited to Thorpe Park. I wasn't there, and from videos it doesn't look near the quality of Alton Towers (or indeed, the duration - Altons show was 23 minutes with a 15 minute pre show beforehand) - but it's still a decent event for the target market.

Just come back from Alton's first fireworks display of the weekend.It was excellent. I would say it was *slightly* (and I mean, a whisker) weaker than the 2010 show - but only due to the fact that the Th13teen section in last years show was that good. The sheer number if fireworks this year was far higher, and the lasers they were using were amazing. The Towers themselves also looked stunning afterwards! It's one of the prettiest sights you ever will see.Some rides were closed from 6 until 8pm due to the display.The running order was as follows:18:00 - Pre show music begins on the lawns18:45 - Fire jugglers on several raised platforms around the lawns, louder pre show music.18:55 - Laser pre show19:00 - Main fireworks19:25 - Fireworks end.21:00 - Ride close22:00 - Monorail closeIt was really busy, but Alton had the following in operation to assist crowd/traffic control which was far better than 2010:- Extra access routes around the park open- A LOT of theme park staff offering directions- Special exits open from theme park - Mutiny Bay, Runaway Mine Train and Air.- Special drop off/pick up point set up taking up 50% of Express parking. Very convenient- Traffic lights in operation at Farley Gates and Staff entrances- Special fireworks map available showing exits and car parking, information and other.The theme park is likely to reach around 30,000 guests on Saturday!

Construction just keeps motoring on this!Lots of juicy pics on this thread on the EP-Board forum:http://www.ep-board.de/die-neuheiten-2011-2012-f42/2012-holzachterbahn-in-island-t5342-s1180.html:D

I thought the first 1/2 of this attraction was incredible. There was general panic amongst my group upon being batched, which helped inside the maze to create that tension.I loved the splitting up, the separating and the crawling. This created a genuine level of stress and the actors in there, with their gas masks, really added to the experience. The group was scared and fearful. Beyond this point, I would say it was only what went before that kept the stress level up through the maze. Not a lot seemed to take place in the last half, and the exit, although hasty due to an actor touching my neck, I don't feel gave an ending that was as good as the start. Overall, definitely the best maze at TP this year (by a mile) - but it's a shame there wasn't anything really impressive in the second half.

I am not talking about the mazes. And Exp 10 would not suit Alton Towers in a million years either. Their mazes suit them and I guess Thorpe's suit Thorpe!I am talking about lighting and general parkwide ambience. I felt the 2011 FN ambience much diluted compared to say 2005, or even 2008 when I last visited.Asylum just doesn't do it for me - it's just a room with strobes and mental patients. I just didn't find it scary really, although I know others do. I prefer more scripted/drama led and theatrical mazes which have scenes as a focal point.As for a Birds of Prey Show, well it's an additional piece of entertainment which I can hardly criticize.

I really enjoyed Experiment 10, especially the first more "interactive" parts. That said, overall, it gave FN mazes a new level and completely overshadows the others.Asylum, Se7en and The Curse sorry, but they're just rubbish. None of them did anything for me and the white tents are just hideous. The park seems to do very little to Halloween-itself up compared to Alton or Chessington, though. Some of the musical changes were nice, but many were inappropriate - such as that on Flying Fish!

Hello, boys.

Perhaps it's been improved since 2009, then. But I wouldn't be overexaggerated to say that the outside seats in the 2nd half of the train are beyond the realms of acceptability. I got off (as did others) with a pounding headache on both occasions. I also rode on the inside seats on row 1, and it was OK. However, it's no wonder they haven't sold any more.

The ride is very rough but it doesn't detract from the experience?I think not!! It's bloody horrific on outside seats.Thanks for sharing your reviews. I agree with you about the number of good rides though. PortAventura lacks a decent dark ride and frankly, only has one truly decent coaster... at least next year there'll be two.I actually feel PortAventura is one of the most overrated parks in Europe. As much as it has beautiful area theming, the on-ride is for the most part nothing special and queuelines are usually cattlepens with a roof over them. Great shows, mind. And the Water Park is fun, too.

The main thing with Rita is that in April 2005, it was before I was a seasoned theme park pro. I was very interested in them (always had been) but still hadn't really been to many theme parks. Given that Rita was my 2nd launch coaster (Thunder Looper was my first) - I had no idea the launch would be so breathtaking. I hadn't done research beforehand or anything. And it blew me away. Obviously, Rita doesn't have the "staying power" of something like Nemesis as much at its job at Alton Towers is a good one.

Sadly, most rides since have never really lived up to the overall product that is Nemesis. Although, Oblivion did very well and for me still represents the best drop on any B&M to date that I have experienced (having also ridden Krake and Sheikra in terms of dive machines). Nemesis remains one of the most constant-intense rollercoasters ever built and the fact that it won the recent Alton Towers "All Time Greats" poll by a massive margin, speaks volumes - not to mention it's position at number 5 on the most recent edition of the Mitch Hawker "Best Coaster Poll" - no other UK coaster comes anywhere near its position.The UK has tried to introduce other coasters which may have potentially lived up to Nemesis, and for me - based on "first ride feeling" - I once got off Rita in April 2005 and declared it the best ride ever built. Of course, it's that re-ridability, timeless factor that proves what a genuine top class ride is. And in the UK, there are a few - but of all of them, I would argue Nemesis remains the pinnacle of custom made UK rollercoasters to date.Nemesis and Oblivion are the only rides since 1994 that I would consider the pinnacle of what they were designed to achieve. That's not to say I don't rate other rides, in fact Stealth is my #2 UK coaster but it's not got that incredible, overall package of Nemesis or Oblivion. It feels cheap by comparison. I hope the Swarm and SW7 don't feel "cheap" and are a return to the likes of Nemesis and Oblivion. Those were the days!

Really great pictures, and reviews. I definitely want to visit Mirabilandia sometime. Now to decide whether to go with Madrid or Italy for my next "new" European break. It'll be a while yet, mind - with Disney Paris/EP in October and EP Woodie in April.*Gets calendar out*

Well Europa Park is now #3 best park in the world! And Pleasure Beach the best in Britain.As usual, totally US-focussed.

Some great shots of Katun and the parks. I am interested to know how Katun compares with the likes of Monster and/or Raptor and Montu. Both Monster and Montu were very intense I found, but the lack of terrain action left me rating Nemesis slightly above each.Katun is the only B&M Invert that ever gets close to Nemesis on the Hawker poll (most recently, Nemesis at #5, Katun #9). Mirabilandia is the only park with two coasters in the Top Ten mind you...! iSpeed is #10 (although this seems to directly reflect that TPR visited and all loved it, so it immediately gets loads more votes).As I said on TTF (notice you posted some pics on there, too!) - I don't understand why I have never bothered with Italy or the Italian parks. I am a seasoned traveller, did a French degree and lived in Strasbourg (near EP) for a year... but Italy has never drawn me in. Don't quite know why... I have done Spain, France, Belgium Holland, Germany etc. but still not ventured into Italy!! I ought to, really.

Not a chance they would do that in season. I reckon they will get all the footers in that aren't in or around Atlantica and Blue Fire, plus as much structure as possible up - so that once the main season ends on November 6th, they can then set to work. I would imagine that all the track work will be complete by the New Year. Atlantica and Blue Fire are both closed during the parks Winter season anyway (26th November - 8th January) but Iceland and Portugal will still be open during that time (there's a giant Big Wheel opens in Portugal and Snow Tubing in Iceland, for example).

I don't generally mind getting the Freaky Fastrack. I won't have been to FN in 3 years when I go this year, and given I pay £10-£12 at Alton for the mazes, paying £14 at Thorpe feels like much the same thing. So it's usually Ok for me. If I went FN yearly, I probably wouldn't mind, given that the mazes change little.

Yeahhh ENTRANCE MODEL:

For me, Hellgate was the best of the mazes in 2008. They are all just so hit and miss. In 2008, I did Se7en and barely saw an actor at all.

Perhaps some credit actually that AT/Merlin listened and acted upon the criticism. Some people are still just moaning about what they did to the ride - it's all completely gone now.

I find RNR dull also - although Paris was superior as the lights were more entertaining than the signane etc. in Florida. I much prefer Space Mountain, albeit sadly rough. I just adore the theme of SM!

99% of the Fanta sponsorship has been removed. They realised they made a mistake. The only thing that refers to Fanta is the top of the Rehydrator - which you only see on the ride. Previously, it was a giant Coke logo anyway so it's no difference.

I once went to Alton, a few years ago, when I was stressed, and sunbathed and read in the lower parts of the gardens for around 3 hours. It's a beautiful and remarkably tranquil environment. Indeed, I would suggest that in no other theme park are there such vast areas of tranquility and peace. Some parks do have long, winding pathways (Efteling, for example) - but not with such few guests as the Gardens at Alton Towers.They wouldn't mind one bit. Take a picnic if you go to the Gardens - but even sitting in Corner Coffee is pretty pleasant!

I can't believe your views on Whirlwind! Yes it's rough, but due to the f act they only allow 2 adults in the car, the spinning is outrageous! Last time I visited the park, I rode 8 times. The spinning through the immelman is absolutely wild (no other spinner I have been on spins to this degree) and if you weight correctly, the spinning on the far side before the helix is also crazy! The first drop is also quite intense.It is hideous to look at, and in terrible condition but I find it great to ride. I actually find some other MS Spinners quite boring.

1. To have a cute boyfriend.2. To own an apartment or house in the village of Rust, Germany (those of you in the know will get me!)3. To have good health for the rest of my life.

It's nice to see some mention of Sharkbait Reef. It's not often talked about, but it really is one of the best themed attractions in the UK and probably the best themed attraction Merlin have yet installed in a UK park.