Coaster

A shame, I was thinking about going to it.

Makes me jealous, a new wooden coaster like that in the UK is long overdue. 26 million euros is a big risk for a park that isn't recognised already, I hope it pays off!

Fair enough, I obviously read the point wrong, as you said it meant bugger all which suggested that you didn't care as you already saw it in bad condition. I think that people refer to Merlin so much because they are the biggest theme park operator in the UK, so they are a good comparison point, maybe sometimes it's unnecessary but what else can be used to draw comparisons to? Personally I don't see what's wrong with it, it's not as if they are going to care anyway!

No, I just can't understand why they would install a B&M floorless, which is probably a brilliant coaster, and not even bother to cover over them! Well I would certainly notice, people care about how things are presented and it's just stupid to leave them there! Also, what you seem to be saying is that because the ride was in a poor condition when you last visited, you don't give them any credit for repainting it - in which case, the same could be said for people who haven't been to Alton Towers since Oblivion was repainted yet you are defending that. Commenting on the appearance of rides isn't Merlin bashing, it's more just saying that they look awful, which the GP do notice, look at the Facebook comments on the latest picture of Colossus in the snow at Thorpe! I don't see what's wrong with commenting on something that you think should be changed - if nobody highlighted the faults of the park then they wouldn't know what customers want.

Interesting article about the work that goes on at Blackpool Pleasure Beach throughout the closed season. Anyone who says they don't do maintenance, read this! Taken from Blackpool Gazette: http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/features/getting-ready-for-the-new-season-at-the-pleasure-beach-1-7088414 Also another article with a progress update on Skyforce: http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/business/local-business/2m-red-arrows-ride-on-track-for-its-big-take-off-1-7088542

Aero Nomad (3) Atlantis Submarine Voyage (3) Balloon School (1) Boating School (3) Dino Safari (3) Dragon's Apprentice (3) Duplo Valley Airport (3) Fairy Tale Brook (3) Fire Academy (3) Hill Train (3) Jolly Rocker (3) Laser Raiders (4) Lego Star Wars (3) Loki's Labyrinth (0) (Out!) Miniland (3) Orient Expedition (3) Pirate Falls Treasure Quest (3) Pirates of Skeleton Bay (3) Raft River Racers (3) Squid Surfer (4) Spinning Spider (3) The Dragon (4) Vikings' River Splash (4) Loki's Labyrinth - RESET Aero Nomad (3) Atlantis Submarine Voyage (3) Balloon School (3) Boating School (3) Dino Safari (3) Dragon's Apprentice (3) Duplo Valley Airport (3) Fairy Tale Brook (3) Fire Academy (3) Hill Train (3) Jolly Rocker (3) Laser Raiders (3) Lego Star Wars (3) Miniland (3) Orient Expedition (3) Pirate Falls Treasure Quest (3) Pirates of Skeleton Bay (3) Raft River Racers (3) Squid Surfer (3) Spinning Spider (3) The Dragon (3) Vikings' River Splash (3)

Yes but Six Flags are doing something about it! It's more the fact that they didn't even bother to paint over the lines, if they'd completely hidden the fact that it used to be a car park then I don't think it would matter.

New rides are nice, but if the park spent money on improving the appearance, customer service and operations then I would be more enticed to return than a cheap investment. I've got nothing against second hand rides if they are good, but Storm Surge is a clear example of money that should have been spent on other things. (I know it was already owned by Merlin but there must have been shipping costs etc.)

It's meant to be Storm Surge, sorry shouldn't have included Colossus.

They really aren't good with names are they?

Verbolten? (Busch Gardens)

It was good last year, not too busy at all - unlike 2011!

Air (4) Congo River Rapids (3) Duel (5) Gardens (6) Hex - The Legend Of The Towers (5) Nemesis (5) Nemesis Sub-Terra (6) Oblivion (5) Ripsaw (6) Runaway Mine Train (3) The Smiler (6) Th13teen (5) The Smiler + Gardens -

Air (4) Congo River Rapids (5) Duel (5) Gardens (5) Hex - The Legend Of The Towers (5) Nemesis (5) Nemesis Sub-Terra (5) Oblivion (5) Ripsaw (5) Runaway Mine Train (4) The Smiler (7) Th13teen (5) The Smiler + Gardens -

Yeah, I've heard plenty of people in the queue for Colossus at Thorpe commenting on how rusty/old it looks, and it's not even old yet!

Bubbleworks (5) Dragon Falls (5) Dragon's Fury (5) Hocus Pocus Hall (5) Kobra (5) Monkey Swinger (3) Rameses Revenge (6) Rattlesnake (5) Scorpion Express (5) Tuk Tuk Turmoil (5) Vampire (6) Rameses Revenge + Tuk Tuk Turmoil -

Air (4) Congo River Rapids (5) Duel (5) Gardens (5) Hex - The Legend Of The Towers (5) Nemesis (5) Nemesis Sub-Terra (5) Oblivion (6) Ripsaw (4) Runaway Mine Train (5) The Smiler (6) Th13teen (5) The Smiler + Air -

Aero Nomad (3) Atlantis Submarine Voyage (3) Balloon School (2) Boating School (3) Dino Safari (3) Dragon's Apprentice (3) Duplo Valley Airport (3) Fairy Tale Brook (3) Fire Academy (3) Hill Train (3) Jolly Rocker (3) Laser Raiders (3) Lego Star Wars (3) Loki's Labyrinth (2) Miniland (3) Orient Expedition (3) Pirate Falls Treasure Quest (3) Pirates of Skeleton Bay (3) Raft River Racers (3) Squid Surfer (4) Spinning Spider (3) The Dragon (3) Vikings' River Splash (4) River Splash + Labyrinth -

A shame, never got to ride it, and despite the negative opinions I think I may have enjoyed it. People have told me in the past that The Ultimate at LWV is unrideable, yet I've always enjoyed it!

It often gets overlooked that they replace a shed load of wood every year on the wooden coasters, repainted Revolution and Steeplechase, as well as lots of cosmetic work on the park such as the onion on Big Dipper (which has been repainted/replaced over this closed season), cosmetic work to the outside of Alice in Wonderland (also done over this closed season), major overhaul of the Flying Machines which has been ongoing since October, constant repair/maintenance/effect maintenance of Valhalla, and actually maintaining their dark rides, now if a park that runs at a loss can do all this then why can't Merlin? The same applies for smaller parks, I would even say that the standard of paint on the rides at Brean is better than Merlin's! Although sadly they don't even manage this in some cases! Don't get me wrong, I will credit them if they repaint something, as I did with Oblivion at the time and any other cosmetic work to the park, but if they leave things in a state then I think that fans of the park are right to express their frustrations/concerns. I hoped that the Oblivion repaint would be the start of a turnaround in terms of park appearance, but sadly this hasn't been the case yet. The trouble with Chessington (trying to get vaguely back on topic) is that it is based around themed experiences rather than just the ride hardware, and therefore poor maintenance of the park as a whole really ruins the entire experience. Examples are Tomb Blaster, Dragon Falls, Vampire, Dragon's Fury, the Bubbleworks finale scene and many other things across the park which really need addressing! For example (and this is just one of many small points), the roofs of the buildings in Transylvania have green rot/moss all over them, it just looks dire and it really wouldn't cost the earth to clean it up!

To be honest nearly everything in Chessington needs a repaint in my opinion Vampire could definitely do with a repaint, but at least it fits in more than Dragon's Fury, which just looks knackered.

Nick Streak is at BPB, which isn't owned by Merlin (thankfully!)

This would also be the perfect time to repaint the track, and I really hope they do as it is in a terrible state. I'm always against silencing the roars of coasters, but sadly they don't have a choice.

Air (3) Congo River Rapids (4) Duel (6) Gardens (5) Hex - The Legend Of The Towers (6) Nemesis (7) Nemesis Sub-Terra (5) Oblivion (5) Ripsaw (5) Runaway Mine Train (5) The Smiler (6) Th13teen (5) Sonic Spinball (3) Sonic Spinball + Air -