Tom

As a note; I really don't know how anyone can say the ride 'duels' with itself. If anything it interacts and that is purely coincidental (for the moment anyway)... There are some real golden times when it interacts really well and looks incredible; very visually impressive. Really the whole ride is very visually impressive except from looking at in underneath with a metal grating an inch above your head.

Thanks a lot Ellie. I feel old, 2008 seems like way too long ago to have been part of this community.

^ This I 'sprained' my ankle about a month ago and it was incredibly painful to walk on for at least 2 weeks afterwards; I think I broke something but I never had it checked out and it got better so I'm hoping all is well. I do regret it now though as it could easily cause issues later in life!

If Loggers had a refurb what would you like to see changed/replaced? I can imagine even some good animatronics wouldn't go a miss; maybe even a plot line about a logging mill? I think I'm just dreaming of this. (Yes, another MiceChat link.)

I can agree about Nemesis, although I've always found the zero-g, for lack of a better word, 'janky' (note, not rough) but always thought that was just because it took the inversion with such speed. I can see that would be a perfect position to have the fire in front of you and then you swoop down towards it, but from the way I've seen Merlin operate I'm guessing the timing would be a total fluke. The fire seemed like a last minute introduction, and whilst really effective and eye-catching, it did really feel like 'Lets add something here, everyone loves fire'. So possibly one of the only redeeming features of the inverse for me felt like Merlin had lucked out. - I don't know why that should put me off enjoying the excellent theming, but I guess it's like going to McDonald's and ordering something you usually get and it for some reason tasted better than usual; it sort of makes you question whether it's a turning point for your meal or it was a one time thing.

I've had a long hard think and a few conversations about THE SWARM today and I felt I needed to make a post. It's come to my attention I don't enjoy the Zero-G or Corkscrew elements of The Swarm particularly. I think the Wingrider train makes the inversions lack any kind of natural flow and therefore (for me) ruin the experience of them. Don't get me wrong, there are so many other parts of the ride I find fantastic, particularly the first drop, helicopter turn, and inline twist over the station; and the wingrider trains are probably the reason for the enjoyment of these things. A zero-g for me is about the floating zero gravity feeling (Isn't that what the name suggests?), but The Swarm doesn't give that feeling, it seems to shoot high into the air, awkwardly hang and then drag you back down all the while being awkward. In my head it seems to stop at the top and then start again, a real unatural break in the ride especially after it has only just began! The corkscrew doesn't suffer from the same issue, but I still find something strange about it that isn't quite as enjoyable as it has been made out to be in the past. At first I really loved the wingrider concept and it does a lot of things extremely well, but I think it also limits a ride's ability to perform certain 'normal' inversions or elements well, my main example being the Zero-G which is pretty much ruined in my opinion. For reference: An example of how I think a zero-g should feel is highlighted perfectly by how majestically Nemesis and Nemesis Inferno, and any other B&M invert flows through the zero-g.

Please Thorpe, no togo. Disclaimer: I know Thorpe won't be getting a Togo.

It's open; queued an hour and 15 minutes the first time and just joined it again so I'll edit how long it took.

Yes; I suppose it says a lot about staff morale these past few seasons.

^ How is this a thing, do people actually do this now?

Yeah at the time of deconstruction Perilous was in a bit of a rusty old state. I'm welcoming the new family attractions even if the theme is very bland and 'been there'; a safe addition.

Indeed. In an anti-rant I've finally got time machine working on my macbook!

Jetlag makes me feel like I've just thrown up, very dehydrated and just overall gross feeling, bleh. Oh but welcome home me.

Boardwalk attractions opened up in Knotts and someone important wore this suit: Love it. The picture is from Micechat.com who cover a lot of Disney Cali, Knotts, Sea World San Diego, and Six Flags Magic Mountain stuff.

Unfortunately I'm out of the country, damn! Ahh well thanks anyway to THORPE PARK for the amazing opportunity and the Mania Hub team for organising. Hope everyone enjoys!

Get there early and ride Baco, have a horrendous headache and go back to bed for the rest of the trip. But seriously I would suggest starting by heading left and doing Stampida, followed by Hurakan Condor when that side of the park opens (11 when I went), ride Shambaaaaaaaalllllaaaa, Khan, then whatever. But this could be totally wrong.

^ Just a few posts above.

Should we start a competition? The person who chooses the closest time to The Smiler's actual opening gets to be Marc for the day.

It was getting complicated looking for the appropriate topic so I'll use this one: Knew about the expansion for a while but this concept art really sells the Springfield area for me. I'm surprised and glad that Universal are pumping money into this as well as Transformers The Ride, and the huge Harry Potter Expansion. Anyone who's been to the park will know the lake is a bit weird and the rides around it don't really have themed themed areas, so it makes a lot of sense! I'm also keen for Duff. http://micechat.com/30403-universal-orlando-resort-orlando-parkhopper/

Haha backwards back row Tatsu would be insane. That pretzel loop...

Nah, Loose Women has way more hot men on the show for no reason.

I think at Six Flags New England it was about $5 extra for a season pass with parking included, than to pay for a day ticket and car park. Brill.

I think I visited once last year and I don't plan on going this year. If Merlin did discount passes including every park except Chessington, I would get one.

I'm enjoying my examless year very much, good luck to everyone taking though!