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It's clear that getting the effects working has helped a lot then, but I can imagine what a pack poker and leg tickler are like added to what I rode and it is nowhere near good enough. I still think a lot needs to be done to the storyline and execution to ramp up the fear and give the whole thing any point.

Wodan looks sickeningly good. Why can't we have things of that quality here? Don't know about visiting, consider emigrating.

I've never found one with OTSRs either.Child was within height restriction (and would be here too). Height, though, does not give any indication of strength to brace against the forces. That's the problem with using height as sole restricting factor in determining who can ride rather than common sense, but you can't quantify common sense so it is generally not used!

Unlucky, 15mins not too bad thoughDidn't do a ride count: X1 unless statedNemesis x3Air x2N:ST DuelRMTRapidsFlumeSeaLifeTeacupsHeaveHoSkyride x2Rita x213 x 6 (!) Ice AgeHexOblivion x3EnterpriseSpinballNutty SquirrelDoodle-Do-DerbyTractorsRiverbankThink that's about it. And we were far from rushing about!

Should have come to ERT then, coz that's pretty much what we did!!

Blimey, I went on the right day then! Mon was walk on for Oblivion (and everything really, except Spinball first thing which we obviously avoided at that time) all day.Was a great day, I don't know if it was just the sun literally showing the park in a good light or if they have done a lot of subtle work to make it look so good, but it really was beautiful.We arrived just after opening, no heavy upselling on Towers Street and an Ice Age character meet going on it was a great feeling to the place. Straight to a walk on front row Nemesis which by Nemesis standards really wasn't great, very rough and jerky, slow and forceless. I've never had that before and didn't know it ever rode like that. Late afternoon we had two more goes though and it was back to its best again, I love that ride.They hadn't got round to opening Nemesis ST yet so we went for a wonder. Duel, as Benin said, has seen massive improvements. It is very dark, subtly and effectively lit and the scenes change pace well with the speed of the car. Makes such a huge difference and was thoughly enjoyable.Rapids and RMT were as good as ever, great interaction with the RMT op and a very wet rapids. Then the Flume, which really lets the side down. It's knackered. Bumping alnog the bottom of a half full trough is not a whole lot of fun, I still think it can be fixed up rather than torn down, but one of the two needs to happen.We got to Dark Forest just as 13 went down, spilling all it's people into Rita, resulting in a 15 minute queue. For the first time ever I found Rita's restraints really painful, even though the ride itself was quite smooth. 13 opened as we got off so walked straight on, once at the front, once at the back. I liked it a lot more than I did last year, was probably overall my most enjoyable ride of the day. I still swear at the trims as they destroy the outside section each time and think the crypt is such a wasted opportunity for effects, but the drop and earilly cold underground section are so much fun.I've given my thoughts on Ice Age elsewhere, I loved it. Hex is properly knackered, sound is poor everywhere except the octagon, but the effects in the octagon don't happen. The madhouse is so creaky it destroys the effect and half the lighting and all the smoke doesn't happen. Needs fixing.Walk on Oblivion was it's usual solid self, so we went round a few times. Enterprise doesn't feel like it is going quite fast enough to keep me stuck to the floor, or maybe it's that I weigh too much? Didn't bother with Submission as it hurts!Spinball was rough, the farm was charming. We did another lap including the terrible N:ST and Air which I find is getting rougher and rougher which really detracts form the feeling of flight.Overall, the place and our day were fantastic. I didn't find an unhelpful or unfriendly member of staff, it was empty yet everything was at full capacity (Air three train/2station, Nemesis 2 train etc), Ice Age character meets were happening throughout the day, the pirates show ran three times and they were there at close interacting with guests, as was the hilarious man in his motorised boat. All this stuff is so good, especially on a quiet day. This is how you run a themepark. Quite why they insist on leaving you with the sour taste of a £6 parking charge at the end of the day instead of building it into the ticket price is beyond me though, I'll never come round to that being acceptable.

I voted excellent, because it absolutely is.That does not mean it's perfect though, it really is too short, the near misses are a bit of a non-event and a few bits don't actually work (flames, eye lights, sound timing and the wing mist has already packed up a few times).It is so much fun to ride though, with a lot of different experiences on various seats, smooth but surprisingly forceful in places and some superb bits of theming, it can only be excellent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=267mdBoIm2U http://www.kiiitv.com/story/17166721/3-year-old-falls-from-carnival-ride

...and find out they don't. It needs a lot of work.

From yesterday, my more (possibly too) comprehensive thoughts. I like the idea, I hate the execution. I actually don't know what it was all about or what is supposed to have happened, and as an enthusiast I kind of already know what it is supposed to be about, so that really is quite damning of the execution.My ExperienceWith only a couple of minutes queue I was not able to get much of a back story from it, I'm guessing a short queue will be something to be expected in the future (!) so to rely too heavily on queue time to set the point of the attraction is a mistake. It should be for enhancement / entertainment only.Bags in, stand on spots, move into lift, lift clearly doesn't move (those lights are far too direct, along with lack of movement the effect simply does not work as it stands), video plays giving a suggestion of what it's all about (looking at an egg? it might be dangerous?), but is nowhere near explicit enough.]Move through, we are strapped into our seats (no explanation is ever given as to why, from a story point of view, we are being strapped into a seat). Lights flash, seat drops. No idea why/what caused the seat to drop. Quick glimpse of some sort of cave, sit in darkness while slowly lifted back into place. Told to rush out.2nd lift - slight shaking, and banging. I was looking for the splitting panel effect and just about spotted it (pathetic, looks like the panel has just worked loose and isn't supposed to happen). How they thought this would ever be the finale to anything I have no idea.As we left my non enthusiast wife's first words were "is that really it?", and I had warned her it was supposed to be bad! Kind of sums up what I expect the geeral public view is likely to be.What I was expectingAs I've said here before, an alien encounter + drop kind of affair, and I still think this is what they were aiming for but have missed spectacularly. I had presumed we would be lowered down to see the egg, it starts hatching we get pulled up to evacuate, just as we get there the hatched Nemesis/its Mum pulls us down into darkness for effects, then we are successfully rescued. It would make a whole lot more sense. They clearly can't do that now because they've built it and would have to pretty much start again to mae that work.How to fix itChrist knows, but it needs a lot of change. No amount of tinkering / throwing effects at it will be enough, it needs a comprehensive rethink to the story (starting with actually having one) and how that story is delivered (less rushed for a start, throughput will have to be sacrificed and somehow ending on a high - possibly with the abandonment of that second lift which is simply not fit for an ending). With the way it is built we are stuck, narrative wise, with an egg in a room, a cave bellow it and the fact we are already underground and having to be strapped into a seat. How you shoehorn that lot into a story that makes any sense is beyond me.I don't know who was in charge of this or what they spent, but whoever it was shouldn't have been and if the figures that have been thrown around here are correct what the hell have they spent it on?I feel bad being so negative as this sort of experience attraction is exactly what I love them doing and they should be doing, but the way this has been put together is so ill conceived it boggles the mind.

Felt a bit less than that to me. Would guess it is 10 mins, plus a 5 min turnaround so a showing every 15 mins.

It is superb; really well executed and immersive effects, crisp visuals even with the cardboard glasses and a fun film. If I was going to be hyper critical I'd say it is a little repetitive even in such a short space of time (yeah, we get it, snot is wet) and could be edited a bit better to give a little more narrative and little less constant frantic action to pace it better. But really I think it is about as good as it could be, very much the stronger of Altons new attractions for this year.

Swarm really is something for you to look forward to, I'm sure you'll love it.Swarm doesn't ride anything like X2, as it is not actively trying to tear the skin from your corpse as you ride. X2 is more of an experience, but The Swarm is by far the more enjoyable solid ride.

After overhearing some suites muttering some unmentionables by the exit earlier (just after a fairly lengthy downtime) I think you are quite right!!I've given it a go today, it's not good but should be salvageable. Salvaging it though is not going to be achieved by throwing effects at it, it needs a coherent story and suitable ending to have any point. I'll have a proper opinion when I've got time.

That's great, and if it hadn't been replaced with crap I'm pretty sure we'd still have a 4d cinema operating today at Thorpe instead of a big empty wasted space.I went to visit Justa today, he's still a funny guy.

I don't think it's now any harder to get in or out of now, it's just the same. ie a pain in the arse.I thought the crazy speed it was running at Fri actually helped smooth it out, not that I've ever really suffered with whatever pain it causes others.

My lowlight from Fri was probably being subjected to a poor (is there any other kind?) Nicki Minaj remix on Quantum. Not good.

I'm going to Alton tomorrow, and am pretty much as excited to get on Nemesis again (for what must now be well over my hundredth time) as I was to get on the Swarm for the first time. It's that good.

Was great to meet so many of you, and to meet The Swarm so intimately too. Many thanks to you lot for organising it and Thorpe for hosting it.Till the next time....

Maybe they are making room for a fast track vending machine right by the entrance to the queue line? it's only a matter of time!

Anything that stops a turnstile scrum is a good thing, I'm all for staggered opening and closing to stop the rushes. Always amazed at how much of a hurry they are in to get you out at closing - the eating and drinking places could coin it if they encouraged us to spend once the rides are shut and there's nothing else to do other than sit in heavy traffic.

We had a cheeky cycle 6 earlier, which was much much better than whatever it usually is.