Tom

Currently in my first job where I've had to manage other people and it's all going far better than expected! Also found out I'll be graduating with a 1st Class Honours Psychology degree from the University of Birmingham so I'm incredibly happy about that! Looking forward to my graduation and continuing with my new job this summer! Fab stuff

This was on their twitter Concept art is simply that, a concept. Even that seems to change

From personal point of view it depends who is saying it, and how they are saying/asking it If someone was to shout 'gay boy' at me, I would take offence If someone was to ask 'are you gay?', that is completely fine and I would never expect them to ask if I was 'homosexual' or LGBT(Q) etc The problem with the word 'gay' is when it's used to mean stupid. E.g 'That's so gay' If someone calls you a homophobe for asking 'are you gay' obviously without malicious intent, then they're over-reacting in my books Edit: The necessity of some people to ask someone if they're gay or not is a whole other point

You completely missed the point of my post in that enthusiasts have a sense of entitlement and ridiculous expectations, hence the rides stated Edit: On my phone and didn't see the last few pages before posting

I have messaged you and anyone else involved Any messages which do not constructively add to the discussion will be deleted.

I think Insider's frustration is that particular members have a mindset of unreasonable expectation from Merlin and a sense of entitlement. For example feeling entitled to ride Ripsaw and The Flume at Alton Towers and listing them as 'closed rides' is ridiculous as you enter the park full well knowing they are no longer attractions at all Discussion is about understanding other people's point of views and offering your own, rather than simply complaining all the time Edit: A lot of people are guilty of this so excuse my examples, they are not meant to be malicious or be personal

If you have an extreme opinion about something (that you haven't even seen in person) then expect an extreme response

So challenge people on that topic and create discussion. No sense using the DGBT topic to explain why you're critically reviewing a ride you haven't been on.

The ramp finally makes sense!

Potentially it's the fact you're saying it is awful rather than it appears awful Because if you haven't actually been on it, it's not correct to say 'is'

I hope Thorpe are clever and have printed tube-like return time tickets!

It's long, fast, and terrain-y so I'm sure it'll be a hit

I understand the negativity, but feel as though it's slightly unnecessary People shouldn't lower their expectations of Merlin's newest attractions neccesarily, but understand that they are not Disney, Universal, etc

Burn for whoever cleans them!

Which area was The Flume a part of?

I feel like saying 'Are they' would be a better word choice in future if that is what you meant!

Ghost application may have just been a way for Lego to show the council they can and will expand

Star Wars Land taking shape More photos on Micechat here

Thanks! It's worth a visit for sure

Didn't see much point staying elsewhere as we got a cheap hotel deal due to the timing of the visit - Easy access into the theme park is never a negative It's a lot smaller than Europa both in terms of number, size of attractions, and space. I preferred aspects of it to Europa and felt that the newer attractions were better themed and more immersive than say Wodan or Blue Fire.

Oh yes that was a gem too Well the two settings I saw were 1. A launch to the top, then launch downwards with bouncing 2. A launch 3/4 of the way up in the dark before lowering all the way to the bottom, then setting 1 As the ride lowers all the way down again after the first drop, it may be like rameses in that they do one setting after the other?! I have no idea, even the longer one needed just a little bit more

Hansa TR - TL;DR - Kärnan is fab and the rest of the park is slowly on its way to fabness

Did a TR for this park - TL;DR - Colossos is a stand-out attraction, the park is good but maaaaybe a little too Merlin-y

As promised, here is a TR - TL;DR - Park is great, everyone go

Germany trip - Part 3/3 From 19th May to 25th May 2016 With Loose Steele Bluth Parks visited: Hansa Park, Heide Park, Phantasialand **Photos to be added at a later date** See parts 1 and 2 for Hansa Park and Heide Park Days 4, 5, and beginning of 6 were spent at Phantasialand General points ⁃ Park open 9-6 (Rides open either 9:30 or 10, and queues close at 17:45) ⁃ All rides were walk-on during the visit, so I won’t review rides in any particular order ⁃ Stayed in Hotel Ling Bao which was beautiful, although because it was quiet there was little dining choice (unless you love expensive buffets!) in either hotel after park close ⁃ The park was smaller than I expected, and incredibly themed to Disney standards (Better than DLRP probably ha!) ⁃ Good ride reliability! Saw Chiapas down once and the Mine Train was closed in the afternoon due to wet weather on the first day, but otherwise I don't think I saw a ride down Kulgheim As I’ve stated in the Phantasialand topic, this area is beautiful and looks so incredibly ready to open, but there are many buildings hidden away that are in the process of being built. The fact is the area is incomplete and having built two attractions which interplay with theming and landscaping so much, Phantasialand have been extremely clever to test that the actual rides work before completely closing up the area with restaurants etc. Nothing worse than building an entire land and a rollercoaster needing to be ripped out of it to be repaired before opening. Didn't take pictures of the area as a load of higher quality ones have been posted on the forums before. Anyway onto the other rides - I will do a short review of rides as it seems to be a well-visited park Black Mamba It's like Phantasialand saw Nemesis and were like 'we want a terrain-y inverted B&M too'. First ride on it, I was incredibly impressed by the theming and winding queue line through Africa, with plenty of views of the coaster itself. The ride itself underwhelmed me a little, I think I expected something more from it, as I had heard such good things before riding. A second ride later in the day on the back row showed that it maybe just needed some warm up time; being dragged round the first drop/turn and into the loop was incredible. Whilst the helixes towards the end of the ride bored me on my first run, I was disorientated and felt a lot of force on them the second time. Overall incredibly well themed, and a lovely B&M invert! Wing's Fear and Force So even after RCDBing these maurer spinning coasters a long time ago, I had luckily forgotten any of their surprises before riding them. First ride was on fear facing backwards SPOILERS Fear - Facing backwards was just incredible; the surprise of the elevator lift hill tilting before being released straight into an airtime hill just had me laughing from the get-go. The visually stunning aspect of the ride is an interacting segment of wild-mouse sharp turns and circles around a ride in the middle of a central hall; this leaves you disorientated (spinning coaster eyyyyy) and too distracted to think what's coming next. Brake-run into immelman and then onto a trick-track section. Even when you think the ride is over there is a hinge-drop track. It is just a ride that is full of elements which make it a truly interesting and disorientating experience without being overly gimmicky (because these are all hidden). I am a massive fan of spinning coasters, so that probably makes me rate them a lot. Force - Disappointing compared to its sister coaster, force does not seem as forceful or long, although I preferred the trick-track element on this side. Once again it's a ride full of surprises during the first ride, and Not ashamed to say these were the most re-rided of any ride on our visit, I just fell in love Temple of the Nighthawk Having read about the past of this ride, it's just so difficult to see why it was ever turned into a jungle-themed ride which just meant the stripping of theming throughout. The ride is just dull and long, but I'm sure for the younger among us is pretty terrifying flying through the dark. Hollywood Boat Ride Guilty pleasure of the trip - The first drop and Frankenstein scenes were particular highlights Maus Au Chocolate Having been on Toy Story Mania, I was interested to see how this would compare. One thing which is welcome change was the amount of physical sets in between the 3D shooting show scenes, as TSM is mostly black space, although I understand they are stylised differently, it was nice that the ride had a backstory as to the need to shoot the mice who have run amuck in a bakery! The guns were a little temperamental at times, but I did really enjoy this ride, and the chocolate smell which is pumped into it. River Quest Oh my god what is this ride, you literally get so wet and almost fall out of the boat. I understand the need for the 1.4m height restriction... Mystery Castle Even though the park was dead, there were 2 actors roaming the queue line at most times and scared me always. First time I thought they were animatronics as they repeated a small sequence of movements, then they would lunge at the un-expecting! The ride was just hilarious, I was shocked at the sheer force of the ascent to the top, and the two cycles which were used almost at random were just as confusing. It's kind of easy to see why there aren't any more Intamin Bungee drops in the world, but I did really enjoy it, and the first bounce is always quite forceful. Talocan Prime example of what theming a ride can accomplish. Talocan is a top-spin, and yet the most incredible ride in the park. Fire, water, music, and timing creates a visually stunning but also intense ride experience. Loading soundtrack also got stuck in my head, another IMAScore success. Chiapas! Phantasialand was first on my radar since the construction of this beast of a log flume. Intamin has basically redesigned the classic log flume with faster lift hills, quick forwards-backwards transitions, and steep coaster-like drops. Not much I want to say except that the music was catchy and got stuck in my head as early as the second ride. It is well-paced flume ride with good theming, music, drops, and a disco room. Only negative would have to be the boats, as I managed to get some incredible leg cramp which made the ride hard to enjoy. I also suffer problems getting in and out of the boats on Dudley-Do-Right's RipSaw Falls, so this may be a personal problem rather than anything else. It was all the hype. More Went to the Ice Show, but as with Europa Park's entertainment I don't really 'get it'. It wasn't even in german, but the whole story was about a girl who was hated in high school until she got a make-over from the popular kids - Are we not past this kind of awful storyline by now? Mine train was great, Feng Ju Palace (Vekoma Madhouse) was terrible, The chinese-themed ghost train was hilarious, and I'm sure there's more to talk about... The park was just incredibly well themed, the attractions were very re-ridable, and I hope Taron and Raik follow on from the park's other attractions.