Coaster

When there is a queue of hundreds of guests waiting to enter the park, and there are nine booths on each side (so 18) in total, I consider it a complete joke to only have 3 booths open per side! Took us 40 minutes to get to the front of the queue (as we were with someone who didn't have a MAP) meaning we basically lost the first hour, which would have been the only quiet time due to school trips! On the plus side, they kept the coasters and Ghost Train open until 5:30pm.

There was no booting, but powercut or not it wouldn't be a very good day!

Doesn't sound like a very good day today, Ghost Train, Stealth, Colossus and Inferno are all closed it would seem.

30 minutes now!

There is no reason why a dark ride can't use water-based transit, likewise roller coaster transit. That's not to say that all indoor coasters are dark rides as it depends on a number of different factors. For example, I see no reason why rides such as Valhalla, Bubbleworks and River Caves can't be classed as dark rides just because they use water-based transport.

Is that before or after the main queueline was opened?

Surprised they're allowing videos showing most of the interior to appear online: http://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/attractions/derren-brown-promises-virtual-reality-ghost-train-will-give-fans-ride-of-their-life-a3290111.html (Obviously the above link contains spoilers!)

The same issue is present on Zufari - great to see some progress! Does anyone know if the attraction is running on full capacity at the moment?

Great to see they've extended!

Yeah, just means that I found it "alright" rather than "good" or "amazing."

That I didn't enjoy it enough to rate it 5, but I felt that 4 was too harsh considering that they tried a completely new concept.

What's so hilarious about 4.5 though?

If I wanted bizarre jokes I'd go to the Jokes topic.

Tripadvisor has named Paultons the UK's number one theme park; https://paultonspark.co.uk/blog/2016/07/6756/tripadvisor-names-paultons-park-as-the-uk-s-number-one-theme-park Seems well deserved considering their recent investment and the state of most other UK parks at present. Well done Paultons!

I doubt it would be possible for a number of reasons, one being that the dive under the shop comes quite close so a taller train probably wouldn't be an option. I would be happy to see the new style trains on it.

Am I missing something with the 4.5 joke? I fear this is Oakwood's attempt at improving their current financial situation, however there are so many second hand coasters that would have been better for the park than this IMO. Even if it rides well (unlikely but can't judge as I haven't been on it), it is likely to be maintenance heavy due to the fact that it's an old Pinfari, which for a park that already struggles with getting rides open isn't ideal.

Valhalla has the wow factor for me, whilst Hex has the atmosphere, and I'd go as far to say that I prefer rides such as Duel, Hobs Pit and traditional ghost trains (obviously not the ones on the back of a lorry but the amusement park/old style ones). I'm sure plenty of people will be amazed by DBGT, I'm not saying that it's a bad attraction but whilst I found it enjoyable it's just not really my cup of tea.

The ride system may be impressive but considering the riders are wearing headsets and the complex part isn't seen anyway the effect is somewhat lost. I'm glad Thorpe invested in a high budget dark ride and I have respect for the fact that they tried something new, but it just didn't have the "wow" factor that other dark rides have for me. I had hoped that the VR would be less prominent as I'm really not a fan of it, in fact I'd much rather have a ride system with physical theming/effects rather than the headsets. A few other points I'd like to bring up: - Where was the "minds wanted" theme that featured so prominently in the marketing? - The dolls didn't feature at all (unless they are one of the 12 VR features?) - The VR was completely different to that seen on the original trailer - What did the brain in a jar (in the marketing) have to do with this?

It didn't have much but there was the smashed window which I think is still there? It may count as an existing structure, not sure though.

Maybe the existing structure could be the rest of Ripsaw's theming, to make way for a possible flat? Just an idea.

I'm not sure why people are complaining about spoilers in a spoiler topic, ridiculous really.

It's a clever effect, however unless I missed it there isn't any explanation for the fact that a Victorian train carriage suddenly changes into one from the underground?

That sign was out yesterday so it doesn't necessarily mean it's closed all day.

I've written a more in-depth review in a blog post but I'll cover it (very) briefly here; it was better than I was expecting, however it hasn't convinced me anymore on the use of VR on rides. It was executed well for the most part, and several elements were good, but it didn't have the "wow" factor for me and I much prefer traditional ghost trains/dark rides with heavy use of effects and physical theming. I also didn't find it remotely scary but others seemed to!

It was odd, we were told 1 hour and 30 minutes when we joined the queue but it didn't take over 30! It did have at least one technical issue as it was down when we arrived mid-afternoon, luckily it opened again though!