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

Down by Samurai will be the other access point. Thinking about it that'd make more sense for a stand out entrance area as there's more room to play with. But yeah, that's the loop you're looking at.

Inferno did open towards the end of the day.

Really like this one I got last week.

It is going around Loggers train route. You can see from Samurai all of the track being lifted up. Space is tight in CC for two cattlepens, so I'm thinking they might use Loggers queue for Platform and then some metal fences to guide you to the entrance which I assume will be the gate to the left of naughty but nice or that'll be the exit. Either way, yes. Big Top just wasn't finished in time that's all. It had some really good effects and now they've done it once hopefully this time it'll be fine.

That'd be like one train op, ride is about 15 mins long

The fourth has been there a while but being tested out of hours. It was only signed off by ADIPS a few weeks ago and began running.

It has run 4 trains I think. And I've heard a fifth is on site, and while it'll never run 5 they'll have a spare.

So smoothly it is now officially open. Surprise! Talk about not setting a date and then just opening it. I wonder if they'll set a date for Toothsome Chocolate Factory which is now rumoured to be opening in a few weeks or if that'll join Hulk and Kong in just opening one day.

Rides are subject to availability. It's on the website and scroller signs before you go in saying it will be unavailable. It should be back up soon from what I've heard. Like a week maybe, not down all summer.

Stealth won't still be shut, not from the current issue at least launch room will probably be no photos but other than that it was fine last time.

I know I've already done it, but I can't wait for this again! That launch room is a geeks dream and an engineers amazement. It's stunning, and yeah, the engineers get really chatty if you do. And the whole VIP team is great, I'd be happy to pay the £50 for this. Really hope lots of you can make it, it's such an experience, and you'll give it a tiny bit more slack when it's always breaking down, especially after you see the computer system it uses to record all the date

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!

Urm, did June not happen?

Well Slammer was open this morning. It's now saying closed again, but it did open so it was probably just a standard procedure to manually release the compressed air to lower it or something.

Just the way the bottom of the shed is boxed up and the others show the supports coming through makes me think drop track. Plus the height. Could add in a really cool show thing though!

If they could design it well with the lift facing the locals then the rest tucked to the other side, it could be a good sound barrier. The bigger issue I feel would be the dense structure a woodie brings, which on that side Swarm and Stealth don't.

It'll be interesting what the next MTDP shows, and if they look at going over the standard 850 metre limit for coasters. Will also be interesting to see what thy highlight Loggers as, assuming that any plans for it happen after this year/early next. I'd still love a proper woodie. Anyway this could fit on that island behind Swarm? If not, a nice big GCI there please, or a family thrill one around the Loggers route if that does go. Tah.

300 Universal passholders will gain access to the grand opening, early one morning much like with Kong. The date is apparently 16th August, so there's your opening date. Standby queue signs are now working, softs could start any day now. *sighs in relief*

Big One is definitely one of my lowest ranked coasters. It just annoys me in many ways. Oblivion is pretty naff but people love it for some reason. As a coaster, I'd put Baron as pretty rubbish too. El Condor is the worst SLC, still enjoyed it bizarrely, have no idea why. That Zierer at PWH was pretty rattly too, so much vibration. No loss that it's shut. Rally looking forward to getting back on Shamu Express, as I'm sure it'll hhave degraded more since 3 years ago. Innocent isn't it, that's how they get you!

Scarezones for this year posted on FB. Freak Show, no doubt using old Carnival props, but a good cheap way of giving something new. Not sure where it'll go, I'm guessing it'll be more like Zombies was than being on a normal pathway? And Dark Apocalypse! Really liked this one last year, had a good story and atmosphere! Would be nice if they could open up Sub Terra too, maybe push it as a Scarefest attraction too. As for the mazes, really need to try Terror of the Towers, never done it so probably should now. Skin Snathchers could be interesting, an I'm intrigued to how they make it unique, as Terror is groups and spooky I hear, Sub is intense action on your own, and Molly added something else, so will be interesting to see how they balance. Sub Species <3 As long as they don't mess this up, it's worth the trip alone for this maze. I'd like to see them change it a bit, but at the same time don't go mad, it's sublime as it is! For the families, Halloween Playland filled with spooky attractions? Am I reading into it too much or is this going to involve some rides? Maybe based around Cloud Cuckoo? And more news coming soon, could be the Alton ancestors, or, what about Hex? I'd heard it was going to open in the summer, what if it'll open for Scarefest? It's spooky, family and if it has had a bit of work could be quite exciting. I have no idea, just food for thought! Oh, and the park is open till 9pm. Confirmed. Glad they haven't slashed that.

I don't think it's the issue one bit, but they've actively closed Stealth at least 3 seasons at this point for a cable replacement. Even without midweek closures, September would have been illogical. And this closure could be for 2 weeks, maybe waiting on a part. So surely now would be the best time to do the cable too as it's already down and might just be sitting around waiting. That would cause even less disruption.

Nah, surely it'll be the hotel expansion they're building atm at the back of the original Towers Hotel. Those construction noises could have been anything from minor anchillary to prep for the new flat ride.

Why not do the cable now anyway? It needs to be done presumably, is usually done towards the end of July, so why not throw it in and do it all now. Better than having to close it in a few weeks again. Also, now is the best time since start of June to be doing this, as the parks are quiet at this point in the holidays, always have been.

I'm gonna try cobble this together before Florida, just to see how much effect it has on this. Nemesis: My night rides on this last year essentially locked this into place for now. Plus some amazing ones this year, and just it's Nemesis. Oz'iris: I haven't come off a ride this impressed in a while. It's stunning all over and is a worthy podium sitter. Manta: I still love this ride, and can't wait to get back on it! Simple and elegant with great force in parts. Hulk: Down 2 I'm more excited to ride Manta than I am the original Hulk, new Hulk is different, but say old Hulk was still there the hype would be for Manta. Good luck new Hulk, the top is always open for grabbing. Mummy: Thrilling dark ride coaster. It'll be a sad day when Uni remove it. Tonnerre De Zeuss: First woodie in a LONG time I've got giddy with joy on. Troy is great, but doesn't have the classic feel to it. Stealth: I thought the buzz would wear off, but I get more of a thrill from it everytime I think. It's great! So many great memories with Stealth, and my engineering side loves it too! Everest: Great. I can't remember too much, which excites me that it may be better than what I remember! Or, it could go the other way White Lightning: So much fun wrapped into a compact coaster. SW8 should have been a family woodie like this. Blue Fire: The launch is great, such a smooth ride, great last inversion and pops of air. So, Mamba, Montu, Kumba, Troy are out but close. Kraken and WInjas are close too. Let's see what Florida does, oh and good luck to rides like Helix and Shambhala that everyone seems to love. We'll find out next year on them...