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Mitchada04

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  1. Mitchada04
    It's been a while since I've done a trip report but here we go. Another road trip which for me meant I would hit 200 creds! WOO.
     
    Where do we start? A French park with an inverted Vekoma boomerang cos why not.
     

    We left Dover on a meh British weather Saturday arriving in Dunkirk the Sunday morning. Before heading to the park we went into Calais for a meander as this is where we were staying. Apparently asking for a pain au chocolat is difficult even though it's how we both say it. Language barriers are great.

    Calais had this

    And this. Cos culture is nice

    Much nicer than the first thing you essentially see at the park.

    Bagatelle was an odd park. I don't know if I liked it or not. They had two coasters made by a company no one knows off cos they basically only made these two coasters.

    A bright orange torture device (that wasn't awful)

    A one adult per boat log flume which shows you the border around the park with local basketball courts.

    A pirate themed area aka a pirate boat, orange ferris wheel and a chain with a no entry sticker on to stop you leaving the park border.

    An actually okay rapids with moments of decent theming.

    An Autopia type ride but with a really good layout. Best ride here.

    A brand new air race with themed surrounding buildings on lovely fresh tarmac

    A normal sized log flume with stupidly fast lift

    One of these but allowing adults to ride

    And the 2nd of the 2 random coaster manufactures coasters.
     
    They also have; a monorail which leaves the park and shows you goats, a spinning wild mouse which was horrific, a single seater tea cups ride for kids, an awful simulator and I'm sure some more awful stuff.
     
    Didn't take many photos as the park entertained me so much I ended up watching the F1. So definitely visit. This put me on 198 creds. Yay.
     
    We did however have a nice evening in Calais

    I had alcohol

    There was this

    This stunning building

    And we played a few games of pool at the hotel with you guessed it...

    Alcohol. Woop.
     
    I will try and do the rest of the trip when I get time but it might take a while
  2. Mitchada04
    As part of the 2-4-1 deal TPM was given for the new VIP experiences, a group of us went down to go behind the scenes and ascend 127 feet.
    We began our day going into Stealth's bunker where the launch system sits. The size of it is ridiculous! There are a few photos of Inatamin accelerator hydraulic systems around the internet but they don't do it justice! It also makes the coolest noise ever when it launches unfortunately, no picture were allowed down here so here's one of everyone's favourite Stealth element.

    I also really like this photo

    Next we headed up to the console where we saw people press buttons and how the system registers where a train is at any one time. For anyone who loves codes, Code Bronze is where it doesn't launch (because the dog is out of the 3mm tolerance on the 3 tonne catch car), Code Silver is a rollback and Code Gold is a stall at the top of the ride.

    We were however allowed out onto the platform thingy of the station to take pictures



    Yes, we also got to wear fancy hi-vis jackets alongside our steel toe capped boats.

    Still amazes me that this thing is 3 tonnes!
    We then headed under the station to watch a launch and here the dog fall into the catchcar (that's what the lovely ping noise it makes while moving back and forth before launch is) and then down the metal path to the warehouse.






    In the workshop we were lucky to see one of the trains that is operational this season (don't ask me why it was in there and not operational, surprisingly that wasn't a question that came to mind). In here we saw them drop the dog and realised how little actually touches the catchcar to launch it. There was also a cannibalised train which they rebuild over the season so over winter they only have to strip down one train as the other is done during the season. We were then meant to head to Saw but we overran at Stealth (2 hours we were there for ) so were given The Swarm's workshop before our lift hill walk.

    Wee!

    With 10 of us around this hatch taking pictures, people soon began to wave and shout at us

    We waited around for it to close and then watched the magical transfer table move!

    Although it may look slow, you have to remember it's carrying a ridiculously heavy train and it is moving as fast as possible as this was requested by the park and B&M set it to the fastest safest speed.
    The track locks into place

    We all ran away


    And in it came!
    Like other B&Ms, the wheel bogeys are left completely open making it easy to inspect and change without having to move the train (like you have to on those wretched Intamin rides) so the train runs on a set of wheel in the middle and two rails where a slot between the seat runs along.

    And out we went

    To the control booth

    Sun setting

    To ascend this!



    Still going


    Higher

    And we made it

    And what a view it is!






    Quick panoramic of the park

    And it was time to come down
    Few things, the park went to B&M and asked how they'd go about making it backwards. They considered alternating rows, one whole train backwards and the other forwards and in the end when with what we have due to the queueing situation. B&M supplied four new chassis for it and they do still have the other four for when it went forwards so it may return but for now it will remain as it is as it's still proving popular. The engineers do try and keep the theming in working condition and even want to replace the sign as its peeling away but budgets say other things and it's not always possible for them to fix effects such as the water spray and fire as their job is to get the ride operational and often by the time they've done that it's open and they can't get to the effects. The gas tower was also mentioned and they are looking into bringing back the fire especially with ABL now open but again budget and time says otherwise.
    Was a great day and the view from Swarm's lift is amazing!

    Goodnight Swarm.
  3. Mitchada04

    Bellewaerde

    By Mitchada04,

    Welcome to the park down a road behind some houses on some grass where we parked next to a tree. Look who's in Jack's bag!

    No temple not open yet.

    Jack is unimpressed by lack of temple.

    Correction- the temple thing that's now a mine shaft is open!

    Correction- it's an awesome tomb!

    See the awesomeness.

    Temple of awesome mineshaft tomb with broken on board audio.

    Well I'm glad I tried one.

    Really doesn't feel like you tilt much at all on ride.

    The excitement!

    Look at the fun!

    the lion mascot, called Lion approves (although he approves of most things...)

    Shocked face!

    Probably what we all pulled when we saw this coming.

    Must be a shocking life

    The local enjoyed it!

    He was coughing spreading his Europeness... ewwww.

    Oh no.

    Aww

    Tigers are the best.

    The elephants laughed in disagreement.

    The Lion probably approves of this, they said it was magic, I think there was a wild animal in their once.

    called Houdini. They say he's dead, I don't think he is.

    There's Houdini! A real wild one!

    "Just you wait till you get round here..."

    "We'll move here so you still don't get too close"

    Houdini magiced us away to Niagra Falls.

    A water ride, of dryness. Seriously, are Europeans afraid of water?

    These guys weren't afraid! But they might be imported.

    Fire.

    This Leopard disapproved of the non natives.

    So we went to India to ride the traditional rapids you find there.

    The holiday in Mexico had ended when we got back though.

    Temple must have taken them. Oh well time for 2.5 hours of driving that should've taken one! Thanks you accident prone natives in your cars!

    Toot toot Brussels!

    Very nice place

    I'd play where's Wally... but it's too hard.

    Nice surprise.

    Nom nom! Dunno why but people love going to a restaurant to eat guitars.

    Till next time where we get stuck in more Brussels traffic!
  4. Mitchada04

    Blackpool Dramatics

    By Mitchada04,

    Welcome to the theatre. Please take your seats, the show is about to begin!


    This will definitely be the Big One.

    Orchestra ready!

    Water effects ready!

    It's time to...

    Immerse your senses in the biggest spectacular of all time!

    The 4D experience with a Blackpool Tower Post Show!

    It's a small world from up here. Only the most realistic effects are used within this show.

    Quick the bad guys have arrived! (sorry I didn't have time to finish this set off)

    Vikings are bad guys with a hatred for pirates.

    A fight scene so early on you ask? The ending won't be that good so it's okay.

    Take to your horses

    And ride away like brave cowards.

    Watch out for the flying dog though!

    NOT SHAUN

    Dora has finished exploring though and finally saves the day!

    And all is calm in Lancashire Town Play once more.

    Too quiet for Wallace and Gromit...

    Streak away!

    And no, this isn't a family friendly play.

    Because we have the biggest big one

    Impossible speed effects being used

    But don't worry, we have lights

    Waltzer

    Pleasure!

    Sorry about the lack of intervals. The show loses speed if it takes a break.

    Like it's just trying to fill time

    The interval would be boring anyway. Would definitely try and kill you.
    Time for the sparkling dazzling all glitzing finale!

    Tadah.

    Here comes the staff bus to take all the alcoholics who wrote this beautiful production home.

    BYE!

    Come back next year or we'll come get you...
  5. Mitchada04

    Busch Gardens

    By Mitchada04,

    Welcome to part 2 of my Florida adventure at...

    Busch Gardens!

    What a beautiful day it was

    So let's leap into the action!

    And begin the day with

    Gwazi!
    I know many people detest this ride, but I love it! Yes it's a bit rough, but for me it is still a thrilling enjoyable ride! For me it will be a shame if it goes.
    ]
    The death of Gwazi is not yet confirmed but for Timbuktu it sure is.

    Glad Scorpion isn't leaving though, it is a good fun ride.

    Up on The SkyRide we saw a hippo,

    Some flamingos

    And a Cheetah hunting!

    But before all of that, the Congo is calling with the mighty Kumba roar!


    Kumba is one of the most highly rated B&M's out there and deservedly, but it doesn't have massive theming pieces which people seem to love at the moment. It is just perfectly styled as the above picture shows, whilst there is no direct theming it is a themed or well styled ride. It just works.

    Montu is the opposite, it is heavily themed.

    But also fits in. Another great example of how to do a roller coaster well.

    This Hyena is tired of rides for now though, so we will take an animal break.








    Hang on, that's not an animal! Guess it's ride time again!


    Can you do this Oblivion? No. No you can't.


    After a quick cool off from the heat it was time for Busch Gardens latest addition...


    It is such a beautiful looking ride. The green and yellow combination is great!



    It is a great family coaster! Has the punch of an Intamin launch, silky smooth, fast paced ride with some excellent pops of airtime and speedy changes in direction. Can't compare it to Maverik but this is certainly great fun!

    And away they go!

    It may not look it but it was Christmas time...

    This sign says so!

    This brings us to the end of our 2nd adventure! Next up is a world of Lego and gardens, so from me and the meerkats we will see you there!

  6. Mitchada04
    With the weather looking okay, the only chance I'd get to visit this year, and having heard that the first Saturday is quiet I headed to Chessington today. Had a great day and it was indeed very quiet! Longest we queued was 35 minutes for Vampire with most other rides being 10-20 minutes. Operations also seemed slightly better on some rides (still generally shocking compared to other parks but an improvement none the less). Didn't venture over to the Hotel side of the zoo so I have no idea how well that development is coming along. The only ride I witnessed break down was Rattlesnake, twice. Once when I was about to board everything just stopped, and second time when I was on the ride break run before the station so I sat there for 5 minutes. Other than that a great day and some photos taken:


    The sky was very fitting for a Halloween event!

    Sir Arthur's Kobra

    Rattlesnake working...

    Rattlesnake not working.




    It was going so fast it's blurred.

    In we go

    We made it!

    These poor people didn't. R.I.P



    The count wishes you all a happy Halloween!
  7. Mitchada04
    Can I have your attention please, due to some people climbing the lift hill the ride is currently unavailable. 

    We have E-Stopped the ride, padlocked it and thrown away the key! 

    And left the trains stranded.

    On Colossus, each wheel unit is inspected heavily every seven days. Fact

    Colossus is dirty, also fact  

    GEEK SHOT!

    And up we went! Trying to be all artsy but the ride was sinking which made it hard (fact! They blast air into the ground to stop this)

    I love the shots you get from these walks! Plus the VIP hosts are always lovely!

    The chain is actually huge. I always forget how huge

    The lift hill wobbles a lot too, which adds a great thrill element!

    Noisy antirollbacks

    Saw facts! The ride didn't have the lift system in place to evacuate at first, this was something Thorpe helped design with Gerst and is known as the Thorpe Amendment and is now used on all post Saw eurofighters

    There is also a hawk noise effect that sounds every 20 minutes. This was put in to try and scare off the pigeons. It doesn't have that effect, but the sound effect still works!

    London skyline just about

    The engineers decided to run a train on Inferno. For the fun of it clearly

    Hey Swarm!

    Sun breaking through and Ghost Train shed! Few things on it.
     
    They have a 6 year contract with DB then it will be reviewed. It's cost can't be published yet as it isn't finalised as they're still paying for all the delays, tweaks etc they're having to do. It initially was set out to be £25 million ish, it's more now due to the issues and could keep rising till next year! They also built a cherry picker into the building not on purpose. Good job. It can join Smiler's one.
     
    Other bits: IAC is on a 3 year contract so runs out end of 2017, possible retheme for 2018 attraction. Next year is probably a flat ride of some sorts. They have begun weight testing on the island behind Swarm for the next big ride and working on the plans. A coaster seems to be most likely apparently. AB contract is also up sometime soon but they want to keep that one, especially as the film got okay reviews! 

    Read and learn guys

    Night night Colossus!
     
    Next time... Florida  
  8. Mitchada04
    That's none of the above. But we're at Paultons! This bird is happy because of this.

    Paultons is lovely


    With some great landscapers!

    And a volcano!

    Want a really cool retheme of a section? Look no further!

    Simple, yet great

    Really wacky

    And fun which is perfect for families

    Themed staff area too

    And a little aquarium type thing

    Just really fun!
    Rest of the park is standard. The modern entrance is still nice with a HUGE toy shop, gardens always lovely, main street type thing cool, peppa pig really popular etc.

    And now this! 2 new coasters, a few new flats and a car ride plus loads of theming, animatronics etc.

    This dinosaur has a hard skull, to protect his head getting damaged and ending up spending so much money on stuff when you can get a real bargain

    Wooosh

    Oh no, water effect!!!

    Woosh

    Baby dinosaur

    Woosh

    I feel safe now!

    Dinosaur meet and greet!!!!

    Final woosh!
     
    Paultons is great. It's better than Chessington in my eyes, they invest wisely and are developing a lovely park! Dark ride and proper water ride please then we'll be good. Go Karts still look rubbish and are hardly used. The next thing though is going over by the back of Peppa Pig, next to the Meerkats. There are markings out there already, I've read it is going to be a small/medium ride, maybe a Peppa expansion (if they do then fair enough, they haven't done since it opened). Go visit is all I can say.
     
    Next up, my annual coaster climb, this year, Colossus!
     
     
     
  9. Mitchada04
    Oddly placed sign in the trees

    Odd water slide effect at the entrance.

    "You calling my park odd?" Yes.

    The Lynx didn't want to argue

    That's a Fishing Cat. Odd that it wasn't fishing.

    Odd chimp (because there's one of them ) looks at Appocalypse.

    This seems more humpty bumpty

    Compared to this. This is just weird.

    But a good weird.

    How odd.

    BEST ENTRANCE EVER!!!

    AND QUEUE!

    This is odd.

    But so much fun!

    Rainy Shockwave

    With odd straight bits.

    Designed with a ruler.

    Seats were a bit bumpty.

    Odd dip before the lift hill.

    Poor dinosaur. Clearly wan't a good enough oddity for the main park so got stuck on the train route.


    What a strange looking cloud. How odd, it rained in England.

    Slowest turn from lift to drop on any water ride. Wouldn't be Drayton if it didn't have an odd feature.

    Free Radio dodgems were very odd! Especially as it took them longer to check all the cars were empty than load the ride. Odd procedures.

    Urgh. Not odd, not humpty bumpty, just rubbish. Will be getting my vote for best UK ride

    Something normal

    Phew. Oddness best IP on a ride ever! It's literally the sign, that's it!

    Odd, quirky, but great fun

    YAY MORE THOMAS!

    Percy loved this idea!

    It means we'll get duelling bubble people

    Back to the oddities. The bats are just weird.

    Oddly placed lights.

    The odd stand up with no floor wasn't working. So quite normal really.

    So let's have some more humpty bumpty goodness!

    No Merlin, this isn't a colour you seem to know of. It's green.


    Lot's of green!

    It has a splash zone, that doesn't get you wet. Really odd.

    And just in case you'd forgotten where we were. The oddity makes it good fun, the weather made it interesting, if you made it to the end of this then the word odd will probably annoy you from now on. How odd.
  10. Mitchada04
    I have intention of writing a bumper Halloween blog post with all the scare events I'm visiting. But to do this I should really catch up. So from a good 3 months ago, here is Efteling and their 13 hour day celebrating summer nights or something.

    We were staying in the very nice Loonscheland Hotel. Our room was suitable for up to 5 people, not sure how comfy that would have been but for the 3 of us it was fine. Very nice bathroom, comfy beds. All good. We had a view of the service yard. Fresh breakfast each morning was great though with breads etc.


    Climbing frames and goats made it even more fun!

    1st July. First day of the festival and Symbolica opening. We used our ERT to wait for it to open

    Pardoes (?) happy to get a ride about him

    And the hoards arrive! We made the first batch of guests (should I brag about this?) and it's a very nice attraction. Fun for everyone.

    Enough of this. Let's start the party! Commencing at 6pm, there was a parade

    Which was basically of all the entertainment that'd be on offer that night

    So each land had an offering and a timetable of different events. There was so much going on it was fab


    And a marching band. Think there was one near the front too

    So Ravelijn land had sword fighting

    And other stuff. Was like a mini Warwick castle

    We then went and got some food from this pop up stand area, was nice. And then these guys got involved, with an amazing repertoire of music they were much entertainment. As can be seen, Josh has a video  

    Carnival had a random sing-a-long session.

    The area by the rapids had these dancers and Flamenco

    The Swiss (?) area by Bob had this guy, Steinbok. He was very popular, a comedic singing act. Had like a cult following it seemed.

    Was a very nice atmosphere though

    The best in my eyes were the street performers in Arabian Nights land.

    This guy not giving ice cream (it was free if you could grab it from him)

    Some magic act. And I think I might have been roped into buying an authentic rug?

    Flying Dutchman had one of those not moving people who then does move.

    And then it started to get dark!

    Steinbok still holding a crowd!

    And then the beautiful fountains. They had 3 shows on that night, Aquanara as normal, symphony 1 and symphony 2 which were different music configurations from the attractions around the park! We ended up seeing both symphony's and had an amazing night. Possibly one of the best theme park events I've attended. All included in your ticket price



    It must have now been 11:20 but the park were in no rush to kick us out. So much so they had all the acts from throughout the park at the exit area saying bye to everyone, taking photos etc

    The entrance is annoyingly large and doesn't fit in my photo.
     
    Next time, Liseberg and the city of Gothenburg!
  11. Mitchada04

    Efteling+Bob

    By Mitchada04,

    Although we were at Efteling for 2 days and the evening of Baron's opening I didn't take that many photos of the park. And of Bobbejaanland I took like 5 in total, so this report will have a Bob ending. Random fact, the name works because Efteling has a ride called Bob.

    We arrived at the village, checked in a walked to the park for one reason. It was 7pm, park closed at 8. Let's ride Baron I guess.

    First impressions, it is gorgeous. It's not a ride, it's a piece of architectural art! It looks great.

    Was kinda expecting it to look a bit bigger though, but I was open minded to the mini dive machine

    Unsurprisingly it had a queue of 60 minutes (as we waited for front too which was nice, they let everyone in that queue ride in that row although trains were going out with just one row being used towards the end)

    It was very slow moving. They hadn't quite grasped 3 train op on it so the next two days only ran 2.

    But it was pretty

    Nearly there! The whole queue is outside with inside all being preshows.

    Was alright. Story and experience great, ride just missed some punch.

    Detail was ridiculous

    Bird invading my photos.

    That night we went into Kaatshuvel, nothing was open bar one very nice kebab shop. After we went to the Efteling Hotel because their bar was still open. The guy in there was great and it looked like a nice hotel! We were in the village though, quite a walk but nothing bad.

    Next morning we went on the pagoda thing.

    Lovely area

    Coaster central

    I really liked this. Simple yet clever

    Vogel Rock entrance, great little indoor coaster with effects and fab music

    This show with a huge animatronic!

    Lunch at an amazing pancake place! Also had amazing profiteroles!

    More dragons

    Very rude to keep yawning though.

    This is the worlds largest pirate ship. Doesn't matter though, I've done Europes largest the day before so didn't see the need.

    Flying Dutchman <3 was really surprised by this ride!

    Sploosh

    More Baron

    Wood

    And a bigger fountain show!

    So much water

    Baron told us we were running late the following morning, especially after Peaj left Bucky in the room and we'd checked out.

    It's all I took photos of really

    This was the village entrance. Went back after our final day for dinner

    Josh loves napkins.
    So that night we went to the last hotel place. Had a free breakfast in the morning which was a cheese, meat and bread platter. Better than nothing!

    Rode this not so good ride

    Was just dragged out after the first loop

    Looks a mess too

    And here is broken Kong who found Bucky. Wish I'd taken more photos at Bob now as it would have made such a good sarcastic report. Possibly the oddest park I've been too... Oh well, that concludes Belgerand for me. Next up I've no idea, Wales
  12. Mitchada04

    End Of Season Finale!

    By Mitchada04,

    Some people went to Thorpe. Some to Towers to watch some fireworks. Some to Blackpool to ride some things at a time rowdy youths should be in bed but are instead in Blackpool riding things (interpret that how you wish).
    Last year my season ended at the last night of FN (we'll ignore Florida as that never closes) and it has been that way for many seasons. This year I decided to do something different, Kempton Park Fireworks!

    A lot of other people did too.

    Just a sea of heads.

    But it had a different atmosphere to a theme park. Funfairs always do. It was lively, fun, just pure enjoyment!

    As we weren't scared of standing on the wet mud we got a lovely clear view!

    See.

    Flash

    Boom

    Fizzle

    Just look at them.







    TADAH! There were more but I was enjoying it too much to take loads of pictures. The display was good with the theme being superheroes so many superhero themes were played. It all worked well, only thing was the finale where no one actually knew it had finished as it just ended abruptly but the music still played. Other than that a great display!
    But... that wasn't all. Obviously there was a fun fair in place and many rides which I hate had to be done.

    Although I love these.

    I'm talking about the Ferris Wheel.

    OMG A DUCK. Oh and a KMG but meh.

    This was running really meh for normal people which was great for me as I hate Twisters

    Saving my Funhouse money for Alpen thanks.

    Extreme (Funfair people probably know the technical name, tristar maybe?)


    Much better than Vortex.

    Extreme again. It's like Time Machine but less quirky.


    Where'd all the people go?

    Oh Body Count must have taken them (again don't know the technical name, it's kinda like Dragons Claw)

    Fun.
    Now as the season draws to a close I leave you with the most amazing thing ever. Didn't ride it it was so awesome.

    FOGT!!!!!!!!
  13. Mitchada04

    Europa Halloween

    By Mitchada04,

    This year it was decided we'd upgrade our trips in October and visit a foreign scare event. Europa was chosen having won the Scar award for the best international event the past 2 years.
     
    Tth
    But it wasn't just for their scare event, it was also for the entire park!

    There are pumpkins everywhere, it feels like a different park


    Pumpkin cake

    Halloween special parade



    Special musical for the season based on Ghost Castle. Rides had overlays from the Pumpkin Coaster (Eurosat), coffee cups completely done up, Pirates in Batavia had a Halloween overlay with the audio and speech, 2 daytime walkthroughs; Jack the Ripper and another one that uses part of the night maze Temple of the Undead. And with all the theming on park, music and everything it was just amazing. A proper Halloween do up.

    The park also looked stunning at night!


    A few more nice photos





     
    Horror Nights!

    28 euros for 3 scare zones, 5 mazes, loads of roamers, 3 rides, a VR experience, special ice show, a travelling ghost train and a brilliant atmosphere!.
     
    You enter through a scare zone, Dead End street. This was the best of the 3 with plenty of actors, fire, mist, theming and an interesting way to enter the park.
     
    Once in you have 4 of the 5 mazes laid out in a square shape with a stage in the middle.

    The mazes were literally big white tents. But inside they were themed amazingly! Big Shoe was a clown based maze with a casino scene, outside alley, crazy spinning tunnel. You had no idea you were in a tent. There were a few good scares but from the event it was clear they don't go for the jumpy scares but more interactive side. As we don't speak German, we had no idea what was being said but even with that they were still great.
     
    The other mazes: 10 was new for the 10th anniversary of Horror Nights, apparently based on previous mazes you went through portals into each new section. One was a Chinese restaurant, apparently from a maze they had called Takeaway!
     
    The Cave: Unleashed was stunning in how you really felt in a tunnel. However, this one felt really really short but had some great costumes and a brilliant puppet, like the snake one in Cellar at Tulleys.
     
    Nightmare: This was our least favourite, felt short again but had no flow or any idea what was going on, and from the queue you saw the finale of the maze so clearly when people were exiting. Again great costumes and theming though.
     
    Temple of the Undead: Good length and tricks for actors to jump out, one really dark corridor with string which gets some people, good use of strobes and quite disorientating.
     
    So overall the mazes aren't very scary, but they are a spectacle for what look like white tents on the outside!
     

    This Ghost Train was also open and included in the ticket. 3 levels, really old school in feel with a few staff as actors and a female Jigsaw doll. Great fun and just added to the excellent value of the event!

    An unadvertised live show on the centre stage. The standard dancing from the Europa ents team, but also a music set from Leon Fuller, who works on the music for the event and the Horror Nights 10 song. Brilliant atmosphere.

    Horror on Ice VII, a raunchy ice show with fire, foam, everything you could want from 30 minutes!

    There was so much to do that we only just did it all in 2 nights.

    Projection mapping on Poseidon's station made it look like it was dripping in blood

    Night ridesss


    And the satellite was having a rave too!
     
    Coastiality: Adventure Atlantis had a VR Halloween overlay where you thought demons and zombies. It worked really well, you'd tap on the headset to shoot and spin your vehicle like normal to move around the VR world. It was really popular too! This is my eyes is more what VR should be used for!
     
    So with all of this, and an already 15 hour day we decided to hit the Vampire Club. Only 5 euros and you get to witness the Poseidon station overlaid as a club with the EP ents team dancing on podiums, Leon Fuller doing live sets and a decent drinks menu at decent price. It was so weird to be dancing on a board that is over some Mack track.

    Not the best photo, but it was really good!

    Crazy to think.
     
    Overall the whole park looked great in the day and the night event was a brilliant scare event for the vast mix of things you could do, all the roamers, theming, costume quality. Brilliant value and by far my favourite event I've been to so far. Only niggle is 7:30-11:30 is not enough, they could easily stay open till 1am and you need it with all the stuff. If you go, you need 2 nights!
     
    As usual, Europa did great
     
     
     
  14. Mitchada04

    Europa Park

    By Mitchada04,

    Been a long time! But a busy few months lie ahead for me and theme parks so time to revive this blog! 
    Europa Park is one me and Jack had talked about for a few years, the place of dreams almost. Finally, it happened! This is one of those trips worthy of a realistic report, not some sarcastic attack at the park like I usually do.

    We arrived in Basel to get a 100+mph train into Freiburg, followed by a double decker train to Ringsheim and a short "bus" (was a coach) ride to the park.

    What a lovely sight to walk in on!

    Just looming in the distance

    Ed and Jack were ready!

    Water fountains were ready!

    Let's go!

    First up Silver Star. I like the Mercedes F1 tie in, it's intimidating, trims aren't as bad as I was expecting but the airtime just got repetitive, twists were great though!

    This twist though 



    Meanwhile over at Epcot, I mean the silver ball at EuropaPark... Eurosat sits around. This thing is bonkers, so glad it's hidden inside. Caught me by surprise each time we rode! Totally get why people wish X was like it.

    It's also huge!

    Cheeky bit of lunch in Greece. Food on park is great, so much choice and it's not hugely expensive for a theme park!

    I don't know why, but this is now such a guilty pleasure ride of mine

    Looks great!


    Theming!!!!

    Really nice station too!

    Meanwhile, in Portugal there is this. A ride that is newer than Poseidon, yet does less and does nothing for me. 

    It photos well

    But that's about it
    Annoyingly I didn't take any photos of Spain, other than the jousting show with added drama

    Bad guy drama


    It's okay, it had a happy ending!
    Whilst we're talking about shows. They have so many! Lots of 30-40 minute shows, this in itself takes over a day to complete. Plus, on the larger shows they have mimes entertaining the audience as you enter! 

    You had Bombay Nights in Holland with the Pirate's of Batavia ride going around the stage!

    A live action Italian film set stunt magic show thing

    An electronic bird show

    In the same room as a bubble magician guy who smokes as part of the show.

    A musical show in the Globe Theatre, because Shakespeare was known for his musicals.

    A dome screen show where you lie in sleeping bags! Plus, an ice show, flamenco, open and closing show, 2 4D films, a little French dance/magic show and a parade



    Ed being boss.

    Just this. Quality.

    What's this?

    A mine train that even with VR has a higher throughput than any Mack mine train over here!

    Bears for bare banter.

    Okay, I'll move on from that one.

    Anyone still needing a lift to any meets this year, there are two options. This. 

    Or Jack in his purple sportscar! Can seat another 2 people, it's speedy and laps Silverstone regularly so must be good! Feel free to get in touch with Jack for more details

    Then there was this thing. Odd is one word I suppose. 

    Next please.

    Yup, this guy looks like a trusty op. We'll do this then.

    I want them everywhere. This is ideal for family parks!

    Great coaster section! Fab dark ride.

    And great visual in the plaza of the kingdom. Lots of these please thanks.

    So many photos it's hard to fit them all in. So let's look at the hotels.

    Bell Rock is gorgeous.

    Colosseo really cool!

    The other 3 really cool!

    And not bad views from the bars

    Back on park this guy thought he'd set fire to his house. As you do, red fire and that.
    So that's it! Europa Park! Stunning park with great rides, operations, atmosphere, just everything! I have loads of photos so if you do want anymore just request in the comments and I'll post more  
     
    Oh, guess you want to see something else first though.

    Me and Jack with ED  that's why you're all here.

    Or maybe for what this is...


    Lots of artsy fartsy photos thanks to a back path that I think used to be an extension but is now open to public for photos, round the back of Wodan village.





    This inline is crazy. The little pops of airtime, fast changes of direction, it's all just great. LOTS more of these in the world please, I bow to our new Mack overlords.

    Wodan for me though was the best ride on the trip. The indoor queue has some great effects, and is just a really nice place to queue.

    It just looks intimidating.

    Has a spectacular entrance


    Just loved it!
    Bye bye Europa, it was fab. Should be back for Horror Nights!

     
     
  15. Mitchada04

    Florida 2K16

    By Mitchada04,

    As its been a long time and I have some time over Christmas I thought I'd finally do this one, only got back like 4 months ago...

    This to me is a homing beacon. See this and boom, happiness!

    We had a lovely view of Hollywood Studios fireworks too. And as that's basically the only thing there, woo first park done.

    SeaWorld is a gorgeous park

    I love just walking around it

    Woosh

    A wanna be Manta

    I still love Kraken. Love the way it loops around the park corner...

    And has a new distant friend!

    And a new sealion show! Great fun, prefer pirates but probably just for the nostalgia

    But Mako is what draws you here

    It's a really good fun ride, looks great around the park

    And has some good theming in its plaza.

    Flippy Whales conjuring up a storm too...

    Time to leave I think!

    The tree of Intamin oddness?

    Oversized B&M

    Weird Mack cos that's the norm now


    More Intamin oddness

    Obligatory heat blurred Kumba pic

    A good Oblivion. And its red.

    A white tiger secluding himself from the orange ones. In this modern day politically correct world too. I'm sure PETA would have a fit

    And a Zierer. All about this one tbf. Look at it all green and that fence too.

    I liked this ornate structure too. Such a nice table

    We also did this, but it's Merlin so we won't go there.

    Oh, too late. This guy wants out

    That's better. Fun Spot is such a great bonus place. And we all had $25 to spend as a gift from our ticket supplier
     
    Now it's somehow known that 'I don't like Disney' so I apologise now.


    Could be worse though. I could have gone to a Disney park.

    Hang on

    Seems familiar

    I mean it's nice but...

    Oh it's alright. They have two of these. No big player then

    Oh no I'm at a Disney Park. Must be Animal Kingdom

    Can't be, it's night and they're still open

    And a nightime show that sucks in every way...

    It was Animal Kingdom all along. Oh no. I can only apologise for this mistake and will ensure the next one is Disney free.
     
    Coming later this week, a bumper Universal blog! Gotta balance the world out now you see.
  16. Mitchada04
    In this final instalment of my Florida adventure we look at 3 parks in the dark, SeaWorld, Universal Studios and Island's of Adventure.

    So let's begin!

    With SeaWorld's beautiful tree!

    Because it's Christmas!

    So even the lake was full of trees!

    There was an ice rink

    Red SkyTower

    A Christmas train set

    Decorations

    Mythical beasts

    Penguins

    Another tree

    And fountains!
    So SeaWorld is beautiful at night especially with Kraken and Manta!

    And welcome to Universal Studios!

    Where the minions were lit up!

    A concert under Rockit

    Lit up Optimus

    Their Christmas tree

    Water screens

    With minions, lasers and fireworks!

    Bye bye Studios

    Here we come Islands!

    Where the Discovery Centre lit up the lake

    Suess was bright as ever

    With one fish

    And a cat

    Down in Hogsmeade Dragons were challenging

    And the lake was glowing!

    One of the best area entrances got better!

    With night time adventures

    And the Discovery Centre up close

    A Lagoon of Toon!

    Home to Dudley

    Popeye

    And partying dogs

    But watch out

    (terrible image) Doctor Doom is about!

    But so is Spidey! We're safe again

    Watch out

    It's not going to work

    The Hulk.
    And that concludes my Florida adventure. I hope you've enjoyed reading all my entries
  17. Mitchada04
    Having noticed the lack of FN trip reports I thought I'd make one for my visit after surviving the storm of 2013!
    The park opened late, didn't affect our visit as we arrived at 1. The only things we noticed was they had moved Cabin's queue entrance to the Colossus side due to a huge puddle on the normal side, and a few metal fences had fallen over at the Inferno end of Blair Witch. The park was very quiet with the longest queues we noticed being 45 minutes for Saw and an hour for Asylum. Due to the walk on rides we did these all night and only ventured into the Cabin. The staff were once again great with The Swarm operator turning the lights of in the station on some dispatches which looked great! Slammer, Samurai and Loggers were closed all day but apart from that we didn't witness any breakdowns. So a great evening and a great ride count:
    Swarm: 3 -2 forward 1 backward
    Saw: 2
    Colossus: 3
    Nemesis Inferno: 2
    Stealth: 5
    X: 5
    Detonator: 3
    Rumba: 1
    Cabin: 1
    Rush: 2
    Picture time!

    Theming!

    My camera was working too fast so there are a few photos like this.


    You're Next were utilising the blurry effect last night.

    The woods survived the storm just about

    It's on fire!

    The Swarm will save it...

    Oh that's on fire too.

    This is what the station looks like in the dark.

    Loved this, the one in the Stealth plaza is also lit up and has smoke which blows across the launch track.

    The water is so clean it sparkles!

    Action!

    Colossus with no train

    Colossus with train.

    Colossus with lanterns.

    Towards the tower of light...

    Purple Stealth

    Blue Stealth

    Green Stealth

    Orange Stealth (my favourite)

    Blue Stealth with a train at the top.

    And I leave you with a question, what is this a photo of and where was it taken? (answer in the comments section if you want )
  18. Mitchada04
    It was the end of July, time for another trip

    Norwegian was really cool to fly with, comfy seats, free wifi and cheap. Gatwick to Landvetter, easy.

    After a very easy bus journey and dropping our stuff in the hostel, we were on park queueing for Balder

    This is possibly the smoothest Intamin I've been on. Made some pretty cool noises over the airtime hills too and the tunnels were fun especially at night

    Eh

    Liseberg banana train! This was really fun, especially in the rain where it gained some serious speed

    Swing on a hill, Rush but a bit cooler

    Some nice views

    A horrid device. Unless you ride it like a chairswing like I do

    The park then gets really nice at night




    The next day was really wet.

    So we went kid cred hunting

    And did their haunted house maze thing. Upcharge but cheaper if you have an unlimited wristband. Not very scary but very well themed


    The rapids were pretty fun. If a bit spinny

    This was torture. The queue was long and the ride cycle even longer

    And all the views were ruined by rain

    And then the sun came out.

    The park is littered with game stalls. But some are quite well done like this Balder ski ball one

    Loke

    And a photo of Helix

    Oh yeah, I won the group a 2kg Toblerone

    Was actually a load of mini ones, but still very nice

    Our final day we wandered the city

    Some of the buildings were lovely

    And historic trams!

    For our big like group meal we went to Hard Rock

    Which was cool and really large

    Including this virtual bowling alley

    And this

    Back to the lovely city






    A wall had to be climbed

    Gained some amazing views from the additional few metres


    Chilled in the harbour for a while




    And then it was time to get our bus back to the airport

    And that's Gothenburg.
     
    The city is stunning and well worth a visit especially if you're already out there. Liseberg, decent place but lacks a dark ride especially now the only they have is gone. But if you like flat rides and a few coasters you'll be fine!
     
  19. Mitchada04
    Lots of people always go on about wanting to go to the greats of Florida for Disney and Universal. More people are able to visit DLP but there's a little place in this country that makes you feel like you're at Disney or Universal. Thing is, I couldn't quite work out which company clearly secretly owns this park. Of course, it is the one and only Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach. So let me show you why I'm not sure if it's Disney or Universal.

    From the outskirts it doesn't look great. But hey, Universal don't theme their rides all the way around when they don't have too. And this path was cold along the beach so you wouldn't want to go there anyway. Think of it as a cast members rat run!

    Oh yes, Splash Metal Mountain! 3 lift hills, 3 drops in a metal mountain frame!

    Heck, that could even become the Universal globe on top of the structure.

    Cattlepen to deal with the huge crowds!

    And timed maintenance on off peak days so it can have full throughput for those busy summer days.

    Argh!!!! Watch out for Jaws in Amity!

    Right next to the land of Frozen! Hi there Olaf

    Oh my favourite the vehicles from automobile and automobile 2! It's the finale of the the FORMULE 1 between Thunder McKing and Chuck Hicks!

    Nice to see Universal using the old school Simpson characters again! You could learn a thing or two Orlando.

    There was a fun house! Probably Minion related.

    It's just like an inside version of Wishes or Dreams!

    Disney needs to use the Mulan IP more, glad to see it being used here.

    Truly a high quality ride by Disney

    Surprise!

    Ah Phantom Manor

    Frankenstein's Monster from Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue!

    Wacky Disney kids coaster. It's like Heimlich... or maybe it is!

    What's this down here

    Twister! Will be a sad day when it leaves Orlando but here at Great Yarmouth it keeps going strong

    As well as other Universal THRILL rides.

    Monorail to get you from one place back to that place

    With a Dr Seuss like tunnel.
    Lunch approached so we decided to take a walk from one park to find another

    It had a rollercoaster called Spook Express. Was in a mountain, had dark bits, basically space spook mountain!

    So nicely themed!

    And more minions!

    On ride photos taken by someone with a camera. True quality!

    Look at the little snail they had!

    Snails love airtime! I've no idea what Disney feed them but they love it!

    Clearly waiting the Puss In Boots layover for the Goose in the beanstalk.

    So Farm Cruise

    Watch out for the Pirates of the Yarmouth!

    Zoo Cruise.

    Pinocchio dark ride section with It's A Small world playing. So urm It's a small boy?

    Peter Pans not flying flight

    Evolution.

    Like the film as you can see.

    They also had a roller coaster with a flame spitting tower thing at the top (flame wasn't working)

    Prehistoric Twirl.

    So whilst you all scratch your heads wondering if Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach is Disney or Universal I'll leave you with some pictures of Roller Coaster




    Snail Always.
  20. Mitchada04
    Like a seasonal special of a magazine, welcome to my bumper edition of all thing Halloween!
    So this year, it started late September (we'll be doing it in August soon don't you worry, watch you backs Mickey's not so scary thing)

    As per most seasons, it began with the press night at Thorpe

    This is a fab way to try out the new rubbish

    Before these metal fences get full of people

    The two new Walking Dead mazes; Nightmare was lovely to look at, but far too open, far too short and had no ending. Very naff. Sanctum was even worse, like stupidly short.
    Saw Alive is the same, Platform was much better with an actual middle section now. And Big Top is now a very well rounded, complete maze. Roamers this year were awful, bring back the good old roaming style of 2011. Theming was alright in places, places you don't expect. Like by Flying Fish

    Preview night of Tulleys!

    Felt very stale this year. Is it the first time we've not had something fully new? The tag onto Hellements just makes the thing bearable, Chop Shop is still a boredom machine of repetition. Colony and Cellar are still fab though and hayride a good laugh. But I feel they're pushing to have more mazes and losing quality? There'll be NINE next year. Europa has 5. Thorpe have 5. Most events are 5/6. Mad




    The following weekend was back at Thorpe for the meet. Here's a nice photo of Swarm, cloud and Stealth.

    And the Amity effect

    Friday 13th. Would be rude not to go to an event. This started our trip to the midlands for 4 different Halloween events, starting at The Howl!

    I have no photos from inside cos I was preoccupied! However, this event is much smaller than its sister, Tulleys. 5 mazes but all very close together and this really worked in my eyes. They had a few roamers but all the actors going to and from break would like run at people on route too. The clown maze was alright, hotel de basquerville had great sets, but the scares were very front heavy so being at the back did nothing for us. House of Hounds had such a build up, not an amazing middle but the best use of a puppet I've seen. It physically pushed you over in the claustrophobia tunnel. Then there was Squealers Yard and Shed. Squealers is one of the most intense mazes with being physical I've done. We went through as a 3, and the actors were crazy. And it just kept going! Shed was kinda like Cellar in that it had inhabitants and was conga, very well themed as well with some good jumps. Overall a fab little event. I think this is only its third year?

    The next morning

    Hi Mr Scarecrow, do you like all the bunting?

    Scarefest, not to be confused with the later to be visited Screamfest 30 minutes down the road

    Obligatory Nemesis photo

    Expensive lunch

    And bam. Maze building.
    So the 3 in here.
    Terror of the Towers- It's a solid maze, I said this last year and I stick by it. It works. If this was at Thorpe you wouldn't complain, it's only cos Towers make you pay for it and it's next to much more intense mazes. There's nothing wrong with it.
    Altonville- We had an awful run through. No being dragged away, hardly any grabbing, caught up with like 2 other groups. I've heard this a lot about this one though this year. Real shame. It has an ending now though
    Sub Species- Pre-show is still fun, the door scene good fun even if it's cut back slightly now. Seems hit or miss, me and Phill had good runs but Jack didn't. In general this year the actors seem less aggressive but Sub is still fun as it's an actual maze, a game. 2 endings as well now so I got a nice shiny new one, yay!

    Then there's this one. Eh. It looks nice, if the SW8 queue gets some of these set pieces I'll be happy. But batching in like 25 people at a time yeah. All odd. No ending really. Idk. Eh.

    Oh look, a place that knows how to do a scare zone


    Simple yet fun!

    Have a nice Smiler photo

    And off we went to Screamfest!

    5 mazes. As per starting with the clown one. Decent enough, really like this entrance feature though

    Little DJ in a box with lights. He seemed like a cool guy

    Strategic photo to have crap next to it? Maybe. It is pretty naff. Bland walls, nothing happening. Worst new thing

    There was a fire 'show'. Roaming people with fire at other events were better but hey ho.

    Soul Seekers had a great start, got lost in the middle then no end. Love Hurts is brill. Such a cool concept going into the sewers, completing weird tasks by a crazy scientist to perfect matching up singles


    And then the other new maze. Starts with a little tractor ride around a hill, then you arrive at the party to "enjoy" the local corn maize. But, a lunatic has also just escaped jail with his banditos. And it all goes mad. Actor runs through the corn, 4 things that feel finale worthy but it isn't over. So much fun, kept going, glad it was left till last! And that's Screamfest, some good concepts and mazes, then some awful ones.

    Back at Towers the next day we decided to go family friendly with a flash mob from the awesome ancestors


    And House of Monsters! They really need to advertise this more, it's so much fun and worth every single penny of the £5. Cheesy as a slab of cheddar but a great laugh and interesting little maze ending

    A fun photo of Smiler

    Another flash mob

    And off we went to Twinlakes for Xtreme Scream Park

    With roaming actors who know how to pose perfectly. Ta mate

    6 mazes, 2 rides and a load of roaming actors. We were all very much looking forward to this one especially after the stuff we'd heard. Stilton Hall Hotel was insane. 2 floors, a full hotel tour, and some crazy even kinky actors

    Hoodoo Voodoo. The best hooded maze I've done. Was like a funhouse with changing floors, wall texture, actors etc and had a decent post hood section with huge voodoo dolls, and an odd finale

    Just a roamer, but better than the previous nights 'show'

    The Village was long. But a good long. 4 different building, one being a creepy school with a cool blackboard effect. Only thing that let it down for us was the finale or kinda lack off. Something we'd noticed a lot this year in general from events

    First half of Pie Factory we saw no actors, just loads of actor runs and potential. Then we caught up with a chain of people and actors. Shame as this maze had massive potential but ending up in a huge group ruined the second half

    The night ended in jail. There was some really cool effects in here, and again a decent length, plus the façade is just great with the guntower going out onto the lawn of the events like arena. There wasj ust no ending! And that concludes our weekend away!

    As storm *MET office being stupid so want to name everything that has a bit of wind or rain or storm storm name here* I headed down to Dreamland for the first time

    It's a cute little park with some great vintage rides

    The famous "Lets piss off the local flats with a loud coaster" Magic Mouse (no joke, this thing pretty much rests alongside their balconies, even waved at someone who wasn't as impressed)

    And a wacky worm. Technically a bee actually. With 4 or 5 laps. Can't remember but it was too many

    To kill some time we went to a shell grotto. Yup. It is what it says on the door


    Enough of that nonsense, Screamland time! 6 mazes and a photo opportuning shipping container


    The maze in the mirror maze is a joke its so short. But has a cool show start. Brotherhood is a new maze, hooded but different and quite a cool hooded concept. Considering the number of hooded mazes I've done this year, we didn't hate it. Carnival of Freaks, great start with Alfonso, weird ending where they trap you in a room that looks like the start. Crank Jack killed our knees, you are crawling for so long! The ending is cool though, we got so lost we ended in an actor spot and got screamed at (in character). Prop store was annoying, had some really nice old Screamland stuff but with a pulsing strobe so you can't properly see it. And then a very expected photo finale. Final cut and Dead n Breakfast is a cool concept going from one maze straight into another. The smells were authentic like popcorn, and a few cool effects but not as good as I'd been told they were in previous years
    And then to end the Halloween season like a pro, 2 years running.

    Howl'o'ween. Curse of lost tomb is worse, they don't do half the interactive stuff anymore. Roaming actors were a major plus this year, Tomb Blasters queue had like 5 in. Creepy Caves is great. They can't run a timed ticket system at all, we waiting nearly 80 minutes in the queue but the maze was good. Good story, cool concepts and effects. After the first scene I had no idea where we were in relation to the caves.
     
    So overall, a fab spooky season! Hopefully next year will be just as eventful
     
     
     
  21. Mitchada04

    Islands of Adventure

    By Mitchada04,

    This latest instalment even has adventure in the name, welcome to Islands of Adventure!
    Let's take it one island at a time!

    And let us start in the wacky world of Suess!

    Which home to one fish, no two fish, are they red fish or blue fish though?

    And an exceedingly unique carousel!
    Moving on from Suess we enter the Lost Continent! Which now feels even more lost.




    Sinbad, a decent show when you ignore the construction going on behind it.

    Now time to enter the place many will be wanting to see...

    The Wizardring World of Harry Potter!




    This actually moves!

    And the first challenge, Dragon Challenge!



    Champions you are ready for battle good luck!


    Hagrid's hut!

    With a Hippogriff!

    And the masterpiece of the whole area

    Forbidden Journey!

    Yes it is a massive shed behind but up front it is sure impressive!


    Bye bye Hogsmeade

    And hello Jurassic Park!

    Home to

    DINOSAURS

    Of course


    And this beautiful view!


    Wonder what happens here?

    This happens!

    Moving on

    Toon Lagoon!


    Best water ride I have been on.


    And last but not least, Marvel SuperHero Island!


    And The Hulk!!!




    A view from Port of Entry

    And the car park concludes this chapter! Don't worry, more photos of Islands will be appearing in the night time photo edition! But until then, thanks for reading and join us again at Universal Studios!
  22. Mitchada04

    Legoland Florida

    By Mitchada04,

    Today we venture to the bright world of Lego, now in Florida!

    The entrance area is lovely and open and fresh, much better than Windsor's.

    Must be a thing to have dinosaurs at the entrance to LEGOLAND's.

    And some Lego tourists.

    Once again it was apparently Christmas time, still didn't feel like it.

    We begin the journey in their newest land, World of Chima!




    It's a heavily themed splash battle which I'm sure to any viewers of Chima would make loads of sense! But even to someone who hasn't ever seen Chima, the story was clear and effects very good. The only thing it lacked was interaction with the effects because all day you would be the only one on the ride so didn't have anyone to "battle."

    Knight's Kingdom was up next

    Home to the Dragon


    And one of the jousting rides, which we were too tall for.

    Land of Adventure!

    The whole Egyptian theme works much better in the Florida sun

    And Dinosaurs!

    As a wooden coaster!


    Lego City with this very impressive Lego Ford!

    And Flying School

    An awful Vekoma.

    So moving on swiftly


    Jungle Coaster!

    I mean Project X!

    Pirate Ski Show!

    And now to relive a bit of history.



    I know they have to keep this by the State Law I think but I'm still very impressed with the upkeep they have put into these gardens.

    Not even the crazy rabbit is allowed in!

    Time for a look at Miniland.







    Trust Merlin.


    I really liked LEGOLAND Florida and I really hope it is a success. It has got everything apart from a log flume which surprises me, but it is still a beautiful tranquil park like it was when it was Cypress Gardens. Time for another break before we head over to Islands of Adventure. So sit back and have some lunch until next time.

  23. Mitchada04
    Here we are, the park home to Ultimate things like Raptor Attack, Angry Birds and some random stuff.

    Here we see the Ultimate wheel that they have. It's so good that even on busy days they only load half the carriages.

    Much like the annoying Drayton, LWV opens its gates at 10 but the main rides at 10:30. However, you can't even go down towards them from 10 so this happens. And with Ultimate things behind the man a queue of stampeding people formed!

    So we went on the wheel which was opened and then RAN (for people who know me that is an ultimate thing!)

    We ran, we saw, nothing Ultimate happening here. So did Raptor Attack which is Ultimate!

    So we went mining.

    This tunnel really is as small as it looks!

    And this beam really is low! Ultimate theming here.

    Raptor Attack is a generic coaster you find at fun fairs, however in the dark with a really well down internal queue and animatronic raptors throughout the ride it is pretty Ultimate!

    Speaking of which...

    They have a ladybird Zierer Tivoli!

    And yes in the background is indeed a Reverchon spinner!

    Ultimate green spin it was.

    While we're talking about green...

    The green Falls of Terror water slides!

    With a blue sign

    Like this man.

    And parts of the sky! The sky is blue! Ultimate British weather!

    This wall is blue too.

    YAY ABAP AT LWV! YAY

    All the space guys say hi

    To the generic guys

    Not a fan of oversized birds though. Ultimately they aren't real

    Through the rings we go back to the real world

    I will. If it's Ultimate that is.

    Important sign there ensuring you have Ultimate fun. Oh and a meh wood sculpture.

    This guy is a legend. He made a bird fly! Ultimate lad.

    He approves.

    Mr Ferret wasn't too sure though. His day clearly hadn't been Ultimate.

    Urgh camera was facing the wrong way guys. Sorry let's get back to Ultimate things.

    Like the insane Whirlwind.

    And Ultimately awesome skate karts!

    Weeee!

    Ultimate failing going on here!

    These are pretty good.

    Do like their green though.

    At least that way the rides are camouflaged.

    See! You can't see the rides! Ultimate camouflaging skills!

    Just watch out for the train.

    They are living on the edge without train gates so remember to look both ways for an Ultimate day out.

    Here are a few things that I find Ultimately sickening.







    This is my type of thing!

    Speedy tractor.

    Just know it's going to be fast with a sign like that!

    Camouflaged cherry picker. It's difficult to see I know but I'm Ultimate and can see it.

    Real animals

    This was my lunch the following day. After all, it was national hamburger day.

    Not even going to ask. It's that Ultimate.

    Something through the trees. Didn't look Ultimate enough though.

    Few more Ultimate things.

    Blur of Ultimateness.

    No blur.

    OOOOOO. Not bad.

    Ultimate lad up there on the lift hill. Not sure what ride this was. Still wasn't Ultimate enough for us.

    Yes Ultimate things

    So with the Carousel done we'd been on everything bar one ride. They call it "The Ultimate." Don't know why.

    It had a long queue.

    Only one working train.

    Boring signs.

    Not running is boring.

    Stupidly placed chains.

    Safety features like air gates.

    Lift hills everywhere which take an age to complete.

    Stupid thing.

    Just a shame it's so darn good! Ultimate is amazing! Relentlessly awesome! It has some gimmick too, not sure what but it doesn't need it! Best ride on park.

    Well after this bad boy!
  24. Mitchada04
    It may not be a theme park, it may only open its doors once a year to friends and family of staff. It is one of the elusive companies within England that few people get to witness. Hidden away in Woking just around the back of Horsell Common it lies, McLaren. (If you're not a fan of rides skip the majority of this report for something at the bottom).

    Welcome to McLaren's Motor Show 2014 (although I prefer that name!)

    The general gist of the day is for staff to bring in their vehicles and show them off as well as other companies and groups coming down.

    They use the staff car park to display all of these vehicles like these adorable classic 500s!

    Blue bug

    Or this stunning looking matte black bug?

    Whistling Billy was in town.

    He didn't really whistle, just smoked a lot and coughed.

    Nerd shot.

    Yeah they had one.

    BUBBA GUMPS

    Some of the things that get pimped up are ridiculously awesome!

    So simple.



    It's not all classic stuff though.

    They had this awesome Mustang!

    Loved it!

    And this <3

    GIMME!

    And proper tough stuff


    This was bizarrely amazing! A guy made this moving robot thing (like a transformer). It was just very slow.

    Few more old things.



    Some stupid BMXers.

    Thought they were going to hit the precious McLaren!

    And off towards the MTC. It's a beautiful site

    Absolutely stunning!

    And we'll start with the most important car to McLaren's history.

    Little Bruce's racing debut car!

    From that to this. Such a shame McLaren haven't been doing so well lately.

    But back in the day...

    You had Lauda

    Senna. Prost.



    Winning their first ever Le Mans


    Raikkonen

    Hamilton's championship winning car after they were demoted of all their points the previous season.

    All those added features for down force had to be removed due to new regulations.

    So now we get the much sleeker looking cars (although slower)

    Button's first car at McLaren after winning the championship with Brawn in 2009.

    Some awesome trophies!



    And Hamilton's first F1 car

    In which he won his first race and almost won the championship.

    Sign doesn't lie!

    These don't look as confusing as made out.

    McLaren F1 GTR

    Rear wing Tooned thing

    McLaren Applied Technologies bikes that did really well at the Olympics and Tour De France for Wiggins and Cavendish.

    Some more Special Operations.

    650S

    The stunning new P1

    It's jaw dropping.

    McLaren's are definitely suited to orange.

    McLaren Mercedes SLS

    It's pretty long.



    MP4-12C
    And that's it from the cars. Now to head over to the field where they had a few more activities.

    Like a Helter Skelter! Which was free.

    And some bouncy castles!

    And the one thing everyone raves about at this event, DEMON DROME!

    Good pun here if anyone can spot it

    Vehicles at the ready...

    And we're off!

    These guys are insane!

    They come as close to you as possible. And you feel the whole structure wobble too.

    Wouldn't be a fun fair show without a lady doing something showy off.


    And then two of them went racing!

    Quick take him on the inside!

    Go on!!!!

    It ended as a draw!

    And then it was time for the car!



    That wire is a life saver!

    So there we are, Special Operation over.
    If you're a fan of cars and anyone offers you a ticket to this event it's a must! Bar food and drink all the added features like Pit Stop challenge, Demon Drome, racing simulators and so on are free. Even the tickets are free if you know people in the business. It's an excellent day out which only 4000 people a year get to experience. (Don't worry, theme park TR's will resume next week with Adventure Island and then Blackpool soon after).
  25. Mitchada04
    October is behind us, taking with it potentially the biggest time of the year for events all over the country! Each year I have slowly been doing more trips relating to Halloween events and this year was no different.
    Like previously, it's great to start off at Tulleys on the first Saturday of the month. Tulleys is a great, well established Halloween event and really shows where you can end up from starting with selling pumpkins (this seems to be a recurring story, more on that later!). Providing 8 haunts, 4 of which were new, one changed and 3 well knowns remaining untouched. They have such a mix, Colony which uses length, suspense, darkness, exterior and interior, just about everything. Hayride which mixes comedy with fear, Hellements which tries to be unique but is just bad, Haunted House which is a classic. Then there's probably the best conga maze going, The Cellar. Volt was different, the circus good and Chop Shop okay. But they constantly change their line up with fresh, new ideas. No story feels the same, they're all unique each year.
    Following week Thorpe's preview night arrived. Roll up roll up to an event that wasn't ready in time, filled with glitches and problems all over. It did get better over the week, Big Top was less of a flop, Containment a good concept just not a lot going for it especially at £10 a go, and the other mazes just felt repetitive with jump scares and screaming. I know people talk about cheap tactics, but Thorpe is one of the worst for this with simple tactics, no stories and rushed scenes. Big Top has so much potential, MBV is always a rush, Cabin is nice but can get old quite quick, BWP is the best improvement on park and Saw Alive was pretty good this year too (or maybe the others had got worse...) Either way, Thorpe needs a huge shake up next year for Fright Nights. It's a hugely successful event, they should boom with it, let it grow, go crazy! Not do the same old stuff. A maze with a really good unique story please next year.



    Park is pretty though (or should I say Stealth is).

    Was finally time for Scarefest!!!!! I'd been wanting to go here for a good 8 years but had never made it. And what a year I chose to go!
    Sub Species is the highlight of the Halloween season for me and I'm sure it is for many others. It pushed the limits, many different tactics of scares, suspense, great length. It was just fab in every way! Park looked great as well, Nemesis in the dark was worth the 3 hour drive alone. Scare zones were cool, Ancestors great and the kids stuff looked pretty neat too.

    Perfect

    Great event! Especially considering what the park is going through.
    Was time to round up the Merlin trio of Halloween events, Chessington and Howloween. Urm. Right, this event used to be great in every way, magical mazes, a brilliant park atmosphere. This year though, they might as well have just let the meerkats loose, that'd been scarier. Trick Or Treat wood is just dire. So surreal, but you don't come out laughing like some bad things, you come out thinking why. Just why. Maybe laughing at the fact people are doing it. Curse of Lost tomb was well, people hated on Krypt. You ain't seen nothing then. This was shockingly bad, story was building momentum and just died. We were told it'd be a 12 minute experience, 5 at most it was. Just oh. Chessington.

    Best thing about the event, this projection in the hotel lobby.
    It was time to end the Halloween season, ScareCon: Aftershock based at the Broadwitch Halloween event in Broadditch. The first half of the day was talks from other scare events such as Twisted Attractions and the Screamland team. Their events look great and are definitely on the hit list for next season. Also a few independent events that just take place over the half term week in one location with maybe a maze or two. Was quite cool as lots of these were just a small group of friends with a bit of spare money.
    Broadwitch started like Tulleys, selling pumpkins! That's it kids, sell some pumpkins and in 7 or so years you'll have award winning mazes. They do an event in the day for kids with two little walkthroughs, a corn maze and a tractor ride. We got to go through them all which was fun and showed an often forgotten about side of the Halloween season. But then it was time for the bigger stuff. 5 mazes, Spooky Castle which is their first like the Haunted House at Tulleys, Thirteen, Massacre, Edge which is new for this year and the SCAR award winning Biometrix. We got to go through them all bar Biometrix without actors to have a nosey at them and the sets, and Spooky Castle and Thirteen were already great in this format. Then the show lighting came on and the actors unleashed.
    Spooky Castle: Great maze with many many different rooms from this castle, lots of clever effects and smells.
    The Edge: Based on vampires, set in shipping containers, it utilised its tiny footprint brilliantly and there were some good scares. Theming was topnotch.
    Massacre: Set in the corn field, you are in the incestous hillbilly town or something. Pretty good, different from everything else.
    Thirteen: Based on 13 fears, some are quite funny like walking under ladders, a dentist room, plane crash, dirty toilets. Definitely a different take on fears, and it had some good scares but was more action based than scare based I felt.
    Biometrix: This maze is like Sub Species' test subject. Very physical, very different. Just brilliant and how touch mazes should be with larger groups. Not one of us was left out.
    So Broadwitch is great, only niggle is the actors are very scripted making it hard to reride without it being repetitive. They struggle to improvise and interact as we found out. Other than that a great event and great way to end the scare season!



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