Coaster

One of these would fit in at Thorpe in my opinion but it would have to look a lot less "funfairy" and not hold people upsidedown for quite as long as that!!

So what is the music being played? And a shame to hear that another part of the park's history has been hidden

The train looks fantastic but I must admit it is a bit of a letdown that the ride isn't having lapbars. Oh well, I like it overall and the optical illusion on the back of the train is a good idea

Whilst I like the new billboard, I don't think that it holds the level of attention to detail that the other pieces of theming have - hence why I voted the plane wing as the best near miss. With that said, I think the billboard is a great addition

If you haven't already, I would reccomend going to Pleasure Beach Experience to see all the latest updates for the new Wallace and Gromit ride that is opening on the 24th April. - The ride is open during the Easter holidays, but on a limited throughput I believe - http://www.pleasurebeachexperience.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2586&start=350 (I do not take credit for these photos)

Or they could always have replaced the theming, like this: (Above got too old and was falling apart so they replaced it): Now surely if Pleasure Beach can replace their theming on such a scale then the multi million pound company that is Merlin can... Not good. Dragon falls looks dire and will never be the same again. (Unless they replace the theming!!)

Ah. Sorry

Huh? Sorry for pointing something out that I thought deserved a mention, I forgot how negative some people are.

It was fine last weekend on Sunday, but then the park was almost dead. I'm yet to see it on a busy day.

What is it with all the merlin parks this year and being way behind with their investments?

This really is horrendous, why are parks removing all the theming from their older rides? I know it might be unstable and that, but it would be a lot nicer to see it replaced. Not happy, especially when they have cut the budget of Zufari to do this!! Runaway mine train probably won't have tunnels anymore!

Yeah but it was a darker shade of blue this year and I thought it stood out more than previously.

No, theme music is important as it sets the mood and general feel of the ride. Only playing it in between chart music would ruin it.

I always find that when Merlin rides get a spruce up it is always half a job and it leaves it looking almost as bad as it did. Let's hope this time they will go for it!

I don't think that the bad year was the fault of The Swarm.

Yeah it was a new announcement I think, last year they had one that simply said "Thank you for riding stealth - please release your seatbelt" or something like that.

Good for her!

That video is good marketing - it's a shame the videos on the queueline TV's are so unconvincing and don't give off any sense of panic. They should be like this!

It looks awful now, unthemed and there is no character! They should have left as it is minus the Burger King logos (and obviously anything Burger King owned.)

No, I think they are the old trains but they have just been heavily refurbished. I like them, it's just a shame the old thorpe park logo is gone (I knew it would be, just a shame)

It's worth mentioning that Tidal wave has recieved a repaint on the trough after the drop. Whilst not a major change it does look nicer. There is also an announcement now asking people to remain seated with their arms inside the boat on the final turn.

Very expensive but then it stops too many people from buying it which is a good thing. What would be a better thing though is no fastrack...

I think it is appauling to shut the rides just because a celeb is on it. They don't need special treatment!

No, it was on a one train service. A shame really, we would have gone on it a lot more as it is one of our faves there but when nearly everything else had a really short/no queue it wasn't really worth waiting for. Plus we wanted to beat our record of 10 rides on The Swarm in a day, I think it's safe to say we safely beat it, even if most of the rides were in the rain!

I think it will kill the adrenaline a bit braking the ride straight after a corksrew, but I won't knock it until I have ridden it! As for the whole ride, it looks great - but only if it has lapbars. With over the shoulder restraints I could see it easily becoming the most painful ride in the UK. (Ok, maybe not as bad as The Ultimate, although I still like that...)