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.

For a few years now Towers has been subject to a mind marmalising force known as the Ministry of Joy and I think it's only time I reveal some of the hidden secrets after we persuaded a few Smile Assistants we want to help correct others. To do so we had to receive a grand tour of the correctional device. Be warned, what you see and read today is top secret and may correct you just by looking at it. It is your own choice to continue reading this...

Before embarking upon the process we decided to analyse the mysterious goings on by the Ministry. Maybe if we could work out their ways we'd be able to avoid correction.
However, it is very difficult to understand this mess.
Some advocates were being corrected as we watched on.

As we approached we were already being told to join them.

We knew from the start, trying to find out how they correct people without being corrected would be difficult.

Here is a vehicle to make you smiling advocates. Did you know, on Smiler they are called vehicles, Oblivion are shuttles, Air are crafts and the other coasters are trains. Random.

It was time to reach the top and try and understand the mess.

It seems to completely correct you it has two halves... must be two rides.

Crazy.

We were informed by the Smile Assistant Matt that this large tree in the middle is the height tree for X-Sector. Back in 1998 when the lord of Darkness was trying to force people to look down, the Ministry of Joy had to make the tree taller so put more ground under it. By doing so they could build Oblivion. However, in 2011/12 a storm threatened the trees existence so they chained it down because without it they may have had to close Oblivion and wouldn't have been able to build the correctional device that is Smiler. It is also 1 metre taller than Oblivion.

Low and behold the device itself! In the background you can see Enterprise but originally that was meant to leave instead of Submission. Engineering got £10,000 to get Submission back to having its two arm working together which the Ministry couldn't wait for! However, some management people decided it hurt too many people and wasn't making them Smile so they got rid of it and spent the £10,000 on Enterprise.

Under the twisted track is the queueing pen. It is made up of 6 areas, area 1 the Optical procedure room, area 2 the one outside that, area 3 has the shop alongside area 4, area 5 being the back corner and area 6 the new extension up to the toilets. Now, there are 3-5 ways of fully optimising the queue but you are meant to do it in order so 6-5-4-3-2-1 as much as possible so people can work out the queue time. Smile Assistant Dave told us of this time he made it do like 6-5-2-3-1-4 or something crazy and no one could work out the queue time... it has also never been replicated as no one can work out how he did it. In total there are as many as 20 possible queue line possibilities in some form.

Here we see the first lift... the secrets lie within the tunnel.

For the geeks.

These arrows help you to know where correction is... not like you have a choice though.

This door <3 There used to be a set of stairs here. The door is in the baggage room and it was meant for Smile Assistants to use in case a vehicle stopped on the brake run before the first lift. However, some staff took the fun too far and were opening it going boo, knocking on it and so on. So, they moved the metal staircase around the corner to which it now leads to nowhere and the door is permanently locked.

The first of 14.

So elegant. (I fear I'm starting to be corrected...)

Ah the glass floor. Smile Assistant Matt told us it works better with the lights on and was meant to help correction. But, due to delays on the Swiss side of things the whole tunnel was rushed to completion. It was originally meant to continue the Optical Procedure but this never happened. They'd love it to get completed but don't think it ever will.

Here is where you leave the station.

If you wave at the Smile Op and they wave back at you with their foot, that is because upon dispatch they have to hold two buttons down for 5 seconds before Correction can begin. And you all thought they were just being weird (yeah they are).

We then went into the pit. Yes, it is mainly made of concrete.

And track.

And muddy arrows.

Confusing.

The reason parts of the supports go into the concrete and others like this tiny one are encased in footers is because the support wasn't long enough (due to the groundwork issues) so instead of waiting for new pieces they used the materials they had (a lot of concrete obviously).

The Marmaliser.
It was all starting to get too much!!! So we went for a walk.

We came across this chained up tree.

On the walk a witch stopped us and said "You will either get corrected or for every geek who comes to visit this tree Nemesis will slowly be destroyed." I couldn't let this happen!
So 7 goes later followed by a further 4...

We were corrected.

And Nemesis keeps going strong!
So remember one thing guys,
Smile. Always.

For a few years now Towers has been subject to a mind marmalising force known as the Ministry of Joy and I think it's only time I reveal some of the hidden secrets after we persuaded a few Smile Assistants we want to help correct others. To do so we had to receive a grand tour of the correctional device. Be warned, what you see and read today is top secret and may correct you just by looking at it. It is your own choice to continue reading this...

Before embarking upon the process we decided to analyse the mysterious goings on by the Ministry. Maybe if we could work out their ways we'd be able to avoid correction.
However, it is very difficult to understand this mess.
Some advocates were being corrected as we watched on.

As we approached we were already being told to join them.

We knew from the start, trying to find out how they correct people without being corrected would be difficult.

Here is a vehicle to make you smiling advocates. Did you know, on Smiler they are called vehicles, Oblivion are shuttles, Air are crafts and the other coasters are trains. Random.

It was time to reach the top and try and understand the mess.

It seems to completely correct you it has two halves... must be two rides.

Crazy.

We were informed by the Smile Assistant Matt that this large tree in the middle is the height tree for X-Sector. Back in 1998 when the lord of Darkness was trying to force people to look down, the Ministry of Joy had to make the tree taller so put more ground under it. By doing so they could build Oblivion. However, in 2011/12 a storm threatened the trees existence so they chained it down because without it they may have had to close Oblivion and wouldn't have been able to build the correctional device that is Smiler. It is also 1 metre taller than Oblivion.

Low and behold the device itself! In the background you can see Enterprise but originally that was meant to leave instead of Submission. Engineering got £10,000 to get Submission back to having its two arm working together which the Ministry couldn't wait for! However, some management people decided it hurt too many people and wasn't making them Smile so they got rid of it and spent the £10,000 on Enterprise.

Under the twisted track is the queueing pen. It is made up of 6 areas, area 1 the Optical procedure room, area 2 the one outside that, area 3 has the shop alongside area 4, area 5 being the back corner and area 6 the new extension up to the toilets. Now, there are 3-5 ways of fully optimising the queue but you are meant to do it in order so 6-5-4-3-2-1 as much as possible so people can work out the queue time. Smile Assistant Dave told us of this time he made it do like 6-5-2-3-1-4 or something crazy and no one could work out the queue time... it has also never been replicated as no one can work out how he did it. In total there are as many as 20 possible queue line possibilities in some form.

Here we see the first lift... the secrets lie within the tunnel.

For the geeks.

These arrows help you to know where correction is... not like you have a choice though.

This door <3 There used to be a set of stairs here. The door is in the baggage room and it was meant for Smile Assistants to use in case a vehicle stopped on the brake run before the first lift. However, some staff took the fun too far and were opening it going boo, knocking on it and so on. So, they moved the metal staircase around the corner to which it now leads to nowhere and the door is permanently locked.

The first of 14.

So elegant. (I fear I'm starting to be corrected...)

Ah the glass floor. Smile Assistant Matt told us it works better with the lights on and was meant to help correction. But, due to delays on the Swiss side of things the whole tunnel was rushed to completion. It was originally meant to continue the Optical Procedure but this never happened. They'd love it to get completed but don't think it ever will.

Here is where you leave the station.

If you wave at the Smile Op and they wave back at you with their foot, that is because upon dispatch they have to hold two buttons down for 5 seconds before Correction can begin. And you all thought they were just being weird (yeah they are).

We then went into the pit. Yes, it is mainly made of concrete.

And track.

And muddy arrows.

Confusing.

The reason parts of the supports go into the concrete and others like this tiny one are encased in footers is because the support wasn't long enough (due to the groundwork issues) so instead of waiting for new pieces they used the materials they had (a lot of concrete obviously).

The Marmaliser.
It was all starting to get too much!!! So we went for a walk.

We came across this chained up tree.

On the walk a witch stopped us and said "You will either get corrected or for every geek who comes to visit this tree Nemesis will slowly be destroyed." I couldn't let this happen!
So 7 goes later followed by a further 4...

We were corrected.

And Nemesis keeps going strong!
So remember one thing guys,
Smile. Always.

For a few years now Towers has been subject to a mind marmalising force known as the Ministry of Joy and I think it's only time I reveal some of the hidden secrets after we persuaded a few Smile Assistants we want to help correct others. To do so we had to receive a grand tour of the correctional device. Be warned, what you see and read today is top secret and may correct you just by looking at it. It is your own choice to continue reading this...

Before embarking upon the process we decided to analyse the mysterious goings on by the Ministry. Maybe if we could work out their ways we'd be able to avoid correction.
However, it is very difficult to understand this mess.
Some advocates were being corrected as we watched on.

As we approached we were already being told to join them.

We knew from the start, trying to find out how they correct people without being corrected would be difficult.

Here is a vehicle to make you smiling advocates. Did you know, on Smiler they are called vehicles, Oblivion are shuttles, Air are crafts and the other coasters are trains. Random.

It was time to reach the top and try and understand the mess.

It seems to completely correct you it has two halves... must be two rides.

Crazy.

We were informed by the Smile Assistant Matt that this large tree in the middle is the height tree for X-Sector. Back in 1998 when the lord of Darkness was trying to force people to look down, the Ministry of Joy had to make the tree taller so put more ground under it. By doing so they could build Oblivion. However, in 2011/12 a storm threatened the trees existence so they chained it down because without it they may have had to close Oblivion and wouldn't have been able to build the correctional device that is Smiler. It is also 1 metre taller than Oblivion.

Low and behold the device itself! In the background you can see Enterprise but originally that was meant to leave instead of Submission. Engineering got £10,000 to get Submission back to having its two arm working together which the Ministry couldn't wait for! However, some management people decided it hurt too many people and wasn't making them Smile so they got rid of it and spent the £10,000 on Enterprise.

Under the twisted track is the queueing pen. It is made up of 6 areas, area 1 the Optical procedure room, area 2 the one outside that, area 3 has the shop alongside area 4, area 5 being the back corner and area 6 the new extension up to the toilets. Now, there are 3-5 ways of fully optimising the queue but you are meant to do it in order so 6-5-4-3-2-1 as much as possible so people can work out the queue time. Smile Assistant Dave told us of this time he made it do like 6-5-2-3-1-4 or something crazy and no one could work out the queue time... it has also never been replicated as no one can work out how he did it. In total there are as many as 20 possible queue line possibilities in some form.

Here we see the first lift... the secrets lie within the tunnel.

For the geeks.

These arrows help you to know where correction is... not like you have a choice though.

This door <3 There used to be a set of stairs here. The door is in the baggage room and it was meant for Smile Assistants to use in case a vehicle stopped on the brake run before the first lift. However, some staff took the fun too far and were opening it going boo, knocking on it and so on. So, they moved the metal staircase around the corner to which it now leads to nowhere and the door is permanently locked.

The first of 14.

So elegant. (I fear I'm starting to be corrected...)

Ah the glass floor. Smile Assistant Matt told us it works better with the lights on and was meant to help correction. But, due to delays on the Swiss side of things the whole tunnel was rushed to completion. It was originally meant to continue the Optical Procedure but this never happened. They'd love it to get completed but don't think it ever will.

Here is where you leave the station.

If you wave at the Smile Op and they wave back at you with their foot, that is because upon dispatch they have to hold two buttons down for 5 seconds before Correction can begin. And you all thought they were just being weird (yeah they are).

We then went into the pit. Yes, it is mainly made of concrete.

And track.

And muddy arrows.

Confusing.

The reason parts of the supports go into the concrete and others like this tiny one are encased in footers is because the support wasn't long enough (due to the groundwork issues) so instead of waiting for new pieces they used the materials they had (a lot of concrete obviously).

The Marmaliser.
It was all starting to get too much!!! So we went for a walk.

We came across this chained up tree.

On the walk a witch stopped us and said "You will either get corrected or for every geek who comes to visit this tree Nemesis will slowly be destroyed." I couldn't let this happen!
So 7 goes later followed by a further 4...

We were corrected.

And Nemesis keeps going strong!
So remember one thing guys,
Smile. Always.

For a few years now Towers has been subject to a mind marmalising force known as the Ministry of Joy and I think it's only time I reveal some of the hidden secrets after we persuaded a few Smile Assistants we want to help correct others. To do so we had to receive a grand tour of the correctional device. Be warned, what you see and read today is top secret and may correct you just by looking at it. It is your own choice to continue reading this...

Before embarking upon the process we decided to analyse the mysterious goings on by the Ministry. Maybe if we could work out their ways we'd be able to avoid correction.
However, it is very difficult to understand this mess.
Some advocates were being corrected as we watched on.

As we approached we were already being told to join them.

We knew from the start, trying to find out how they correct people without being corrected would be difficult.

Here is a vehicle to make you smiling advocates. Did you know, on Smiler they are called vehicles, Oblivion are shuttles, Air are crafts and the other coasters are trains. Random.

It was time to reach the top and try and understand the mess.

It seems to completely correct you it has two halves... must be two rides.

Crazy.

We were informed by the Smile Assistant Matt that this large tree in the middle is the height tree for X-Sector. Back in 1998 when the lord of Darkness was trying to force people to look down, the Ministry of Joy had to make the tree taller so put more ground under it. By doing so they could build Oblivion. However, in 2011/12 a storm threatened the trees existence so they chained it down because without it they may have had to close Oblivion and wouldn't have been able to build the correctional device that is Smiler. It is also 1 metre taller than Oblivion.

Low and behold the device itself! In the background you can see Enterprise but originally that was meant to leave instead of Submission. Engineering got £10,000 to get Submission back to having its two arm working together which the Ministry couldn't wait for! However, some management people decided it hurt too many people and wasn't making them Smile so they got rid of it and spent the £10,000 on Enterprise.

Under the twisted track is the queueing pen. It is made up of 6 areas, area 1 the Optical procedure room, area 2 the one outside that, area 3 has the shop alongside area 4, area 5 being the back corner and area 6 the new extension up to the toilets. Now, there are 3-5 ways of fully optimising the queue but you are meant to do it in order so 6-5-4-3-2-1 as much as possible so people can work out the queue time. Smile Assistant Dave told us of this time he made it do like 6-5-2-3-1-4 or something crazy and no one could work out the queue time... it has also never been replicated as no one can work out how he did it. In total there are as many as 20 possible queue line possibilities in some form.

Here we see the first lift... the secrets lie within the tunnel.

For the geeks.

These arrows help you to know where correction is... not like you have a choice though.

This door <3 There used to be a set of stairs here. The door is in the baggage room and it was meant for Smile Assistants to use in case a vehicle stopped on the brake run before the first lift. However, some staff took the fun too far and were opening it going boo, knocking on it and so on. So, they moved the metal staircase around the corner to which it now leads to nowhere and the door is permanently locked.

The first of 14.

So elegant. (I fear I'm starting to be corrected...)

Ah the glass floor. Smile Assistant Matt told us it works better with the lights on and was meant to help correction. But, due to delays on the Swiss side of things the whole tunnel was rushed to completion. It was originally meant to continue the Optical Procedure but this never happened. They'd love it to get completed but don't think it ever will.

Here is where you leave the station.

If you wave at the Smile Op and they wave back at you with their foot, that is because upon dispatch they have to hold two buttons down for 5 seconds before Correction can begin. And you all thought they were just being weird (yeah they are).

We then went into the pit. Yes, it is mainly made of concrete.

And track.

And muddy arrows.

Confusing.

The reason parts of the supports go into the concrete and others like this tiny one are encased in footers is because the support wasn't long enough (due to the groundwork issues) so instead of waiting for new pieces they used the materials they had (a lot of concrete obviously).

The Marmaliser.
It was all starting to get too much!!! So we went for a walk.

We came across this chained up tree.

On the walk a witch stopped us and said "You will either get corrected or for every geek who comes to visit this tree Nemesis will slowly be destroyed." I couldn't let this happen!
So 7 goes later followed by a further 4...

We were corrected.

And Nemesis keeps going strong!
So remember one thing guys,
Smile. Always.

For a few years now Towers has been subject to a mind marmalising force known as the Ministry of Joy and I think it's only time I reveal some of the hidden secrets after we persuaded a few Smile Assistants we want to help correct others. To do so we had to receive a grand tour of the correctional device. Be warned, what you see and read today is top secret and may correct you just by looking at it. It is your own choice to continue reading this...

Before embarking upon the process we decided to analyse the mysterious goings on by the Ministry. Maybe if we could work out their ways we'd be able to avoid correction.
However, it is very difficult to understand this mess.
Some advocates were being corrected as we watched on.

As we approached we were already being told to join them.

We knew from the start, trying to find out how they correct people without being corrected would be difficult.

Here is a vehicle to make you smiling advocates. Did you know, on Smiler they are called vehicles, Oblivion are shuttles, Air are crafts and the other coasters are trains. Random.

It was time to reach the top and try and understand the mess.

It seems to completely correct you it has two halves... must be two rides.

Crazy.

We were informed by the Smile Assistant Matt that this large tree in the middle is the height tree for X-Sector. Back in 1998 when the lord of Darkness was trying to force people to look down, the Ministry of Joy had to make the tree taller so put more ground under it. By doing so they could build Oblivion. However, in 2011/12 a storm threatened the trees existence so they chained it down because without it they may have had to close Oblivion and wouldn't have been able to build the correctional device that is Smiler. It is also 1 metre taller than Oblivion.

Low and behold the device itself! In the background you can see Enterprise but originally that was meant to leave instead of Submission. Engineering got £10,000 to get Submission back to having its two arm working together which the Ministry couldn't wait for! However, some management people decided it hurt too many people and wasn't making them Smile so they got rid of it and spent the £10,000 on Enterprise.

Under the twisted track is the queueing pen. It is made up of 6 areas, area 1 the Optical procedure room, area 2 the one outside that, area 3 has the shop alongside area 4, area 5 being the back corner and area 6 the new extension up to the toilets. Now, there are 3-5 ways of fully optimising the queue but you are meant to do it in order so 6-5-4-3-2-1 as much as possible so people can work out the queue time. Smile Assistant Dave told us of this time he made it do like 6-5-2-3-1-4 or something crazy and no one could work out the queue time... it has also never been replicated as no one can work out how he did it. In total there are as many as 20 possible queue line possibilities in some form.

Here we see the first lift... the secrets lie within the tunnel.

For the geeks.

These arrows help you to know where correction is... not like you have a choice though.

This door <3 There used to be a set of stairs here. The door is in the baggage room and it was meant for Smile Assistants to use in case a vehicle stopped on the brake run before the first lift. However, some staff took the fun too far and were opening it going boo, knocking on it and so on. So, they moved the metal staircase around the corner to which it now leads to nowhere and the door is permanently locked.

The first of 14.

So elegant. (I fear I'm starting to be corrected...)

Ah the glass floor. Smile Assistant Matt told us it works better with the lights on and was meant to help correction. But, due to delays on the Swiss side of things the whole tunnel was rushed to completion. It was originally meant to continue the Optical Procedure but this never happened. They'd love it to get completed but don't think it ever will.

Here is where you leave the station.

If you wave at the Smile Op and they wave back at you with their foot, that is because upon dispatch they have to hold two buttons down for 5 seconds before Correction can begin. And you all thought they were just being weird (yeah they are).

We then went into the pit. Yes, it is mainly made of concrete.

And track.

And muddy arrows.

Confusing.

The reason parts of the supports go into the concrete and others like this tiny one are encased in footers is because the support wasn't long enough (due to the groundwork issues) so instead of waiting for new pieces they used the materials they had (a lot of concrete obviously).

The Marmaliser.
It was all starting to get too much!!! So we went for a walk.

We came across this chained up tree.

On the walk a witch stopped us and said "You will either get corrected or for every geek who comes to visit this tree Nemesis will slowly be destroyed." I couldn't let this happen!
So 7 goes later followed by a further 4...

We were corrected.

And Nemesis keeps going strong!
So remember one thing guys,
Smile. Always.

For a few years now Towers has been subject to a mind marmalising force known as the Ministry of Joy and I think it's only time I reveal some of the hidden secrets after we persuaded a few Smile Assistants we want to help correct others. To do so we had to receive a grand tour of the correctional device. Be warned, what you see and read today is top secret and may correct you just by looking at it. It is your own choice to continue reading this...

Before embarking upon the process we decided to analyse the mysterious goings on by the Ministry. Maybe if we could work out their ways we'd be able to avoid correction.
However, it is very difficult to understand this mess.
Some advocates were being corrected as we watched on.

As we approached we were already being told to join them.

We knew from the start, trying to find out how they correct people without being corrected would be difficult.

Here is a vehicle to make you smiling advocates. Did you know, on Smiler they are called vehicles, Oblivion are shuttles, Air are crafts and the other coasters are trains. Random.

It was time to reach the top and try and understand the mess.

It seems to completely correct you it has two halves... must be two rides.

Crazy.

We were informed by the Smile Assistant Matt that this large tree in the middle is the height tree for X-Sector. Back in 1998 when the lord of Darkness was trying to force people to look down, the Ministry of Joy had to make the tree taller so put more ground under it. By doing so they could build Oblivion. However, in 2011/12 a storm threatened the trees existence so they chained it down because without it they may have had to close Oblivion and wouldn't have been able to build the correctional device that is Smiler. It is also 1 metre taller than Oblivion.

Low and behold the device itself! In the background you can see Enterprise but originally that was meant to leave instead of Submission. Engineering got £10,000 to get Submission back to having its two arm working together which the Ministry couldn't wait for! However, some management people decided it hurt too many people and wasn't making them Smile so they got rid of it and spent the £10,000 on Enterprise.

Under the twisted track is the queueing pen. It is made up of 6 areas, area 1 the Optical procedure room, area 2 the one outside that, area 3 has the shop alongside area 4, area 5 being the back corner and area 6 the new extension up to the toilets. Now, there are 3-5 ways of fully optimising the queue but you are meant to do it in order so 6-5-4-3-2-1 as much as possible so people can work out the queue time. Smile Assistant Dave told us of this time he made it do like 6-5-2-3-1-4 or something crazy and no one could work out the queue time... it has also never been replicated as no one can work out how he did it. In total there are as many as 20 possible queue line possibilities in some form.

Here we see the first lift... the secrets lie within the tunnel.

For the geeks.

These arrows help you to know where correction is... not like you have a choice though.

This door <3 There used to be a set of stairs here. The door is in the baggage room and it was meant for Smile Assistants to use in case a vehicle stopped on the brake run before the first lift. However, some staff took the fun too far and were opening it going boo, knocking on it and so on. So, they moved the metal staircase around the corner to which it now leads to nowhere and the door is permanently locked.

The first of 14.

So elegant. (I fear I'm starting to be corrected...)

Ah the glass floor. Smile Assistant Matt told us it works better with the lights on and was meant to help correction. But, due to delays on the Swiss side of things the whole tunnel was rushed to completion. It was originally meant to continue the Optical Procedure but this never happened. They'd love it to get completed but don't think it ever will.

Here is where you leave the station.

If you wave at the Smile Op and they wave back at you with their foot, that is because upon dispatch they have to hold two buttons down for 5 seconds before Correction can begin. And you all thought they were just being weird (yeah they are).

We then went into the pit. Yes, it is mainly made of concrete.

And track.

And muddy arrows.

Confusing.

The reason parts of the supports go into the concrete and others like this tiny one are encased in footers is because the support wasn't long enough (due to the groundwork issues) so instead of waiting for new pieces they used the materials they had (a lot of concrete obviously).

The Marmaliser.
It was all starting to get too much!!! So we went for a walk.

We came across this chained up tree.

On the walk a witch stopped us and said "You will either get corrected or for every geek who comes to visit this tree Nemesis will slowly be destroyed." I couldn't let this happen!
So 7 goes later followed by a further 4...

We were corrected.

And Nemesis keeps going strong!
So remember one thing guys,
Smile. Always.

For a few years now Towers has been subject to a mind marmalising force known as the Ministry of Joy and I think it's only time I reveal some of the hidden secrets after we persuaded a few Smile Assistants we want to help correct others. To do so we had to receive a grand tour of the correctional device. Be warned, what you see and read today is top secret and may correct you just by looking at it. It is your own choice to continue reading this...

Before embarking upon the process we decided to analyse the mysterious goings on by the Ministry. Maybe if we could work out their ways we'd be able to avoid correction.
However, it is very difficult to understand this mess.
Some advocates were being corrected as we watched on.

As we approached we were already being told to join them.

We knew from the start, trying to find out how they correct people without being corrected would be difficult.

Here is a vehicle to make you smiling advocates. Did you know, on Smiler they are called vehicles, Oblivion are shuttles, Air are crafts and the other coasters are trains. Random.

It was time to reach the top and try and understand the mess.

It seems to completely correct you it has two halves... must be two rides.

Crazy.

We were informed by the Smile Assistant Matt that this large tree in the middle is the height tree for X-Sector. Back in 1998 when the lord of Darkness was trying to force people to look down, the Ministry of Joy had to make the tree taller so put more ground under it. By doing so they could build Oblivion. However, in 2011/12 a storm threatened the trees existence so they chained it down because without it they may have had to close Oblivion and wouldn't have been able to build the correctional device that is Smiler. It is also 1 metre taller than Oblivion.

Low and behold the device itself! In the background you can see Enterprise but originally that was meant to leave instead of Submission. Engineering got £10,000 to get Submission back to having its two arm working together which the Ministry couldn't wait for! However, some management people decided it hurt too many people and wasn't making them Smile so they got rid of it and spent the £10,000 on Enterprise.

Under the twisted track is the queueing pen. It is made up of 6 areas, area 1 the Optical procedure room, area 2 the one outside that, area 3 has the shop alongside area 4, area 5 being the back corner and area 6 the new extension up to the toilets. Now, there are 3-5 ways of fully optimising the queue but you are meant to do it in order so 6-5-4-3-2-1 as much as possible so people can work out the queue time. Smile Assistant Dave told us of this time he made it do like 6-5-2-3-1-4 or something crazy and no one could work out the queue time... it has also never been replicated as no one can work out how he did it. In total there are as many as 20 possible queue line possibilities in some form.

Here we see the first lift... the secrets lie within the tunnel.

For the geeks.

These arrows help you to know where correction is... not like you have a choice though.

This door <3 There used to be a set of stairs here. The door is in the baggage room and it was meant for Smile Assistants to use in case a vehicle stopped on the brake run before the first lift. However, some staff took the fun too far and were opening it going boo, knocking on it and so on. So, they moved the metal staircase around the corner to which it now leads to nowhere and the door is permanently locked.

The first of 14.

So elegant. (I fear I'm starting to be corrected...)

Ah the glass floor. Smile Assistant Matt told us it works better with the lights on and was meant to help correction. But, due to delays on the Swiss side of things the whole tunnel was rushed to completion. It was originally meant to continue the Optical Procedure but this never happened. They'd love it to get completed but don't think it ever will.

Here is where you leave the station.

If you wave at the Smile Op and they wave back at you with their foot, that is because upon dispatch they have to hold two buttons down for 5 seconds before Correction can begin. And you all thought they were just being weird (yeah they are).

We then went into the pit. Yes, it is mainly made of concrete.

And track.

And muddy arrows.

Confusing.

The reason parts of the supports go into the concrete and others like this tiny one are encased in footers is because the support wasn't long enough (due to the groundwork issues) so instead of waiting for new pieces they used the materials they had (a lot of concrete obviously).

The Marmaliser.
It was all starting to get too much!!! So we went for a walk.

We came across this chained up tree.

On the walk a witch stopped us and said "You will either get corrected or for every geek who comes to visit this tree Nemesis will slowly be destroyed." I couldn't let this happen!
So 7 goes later followed by a further 4...

We were corrected.

And Nemesis keeps going strong!
So remember one thing guys,
Smile. Always.

For a few years now Towers has been subject to a mind marmalising force known as the Ministry of Joy and I think it's only time I reveal some of the hidden secrets after we persuaded a few Smile Assistants we want to help correct others. To do so we had to receive a grand tour of the correctional device. Be warned, what you see and read today is top secret and may correct you just by looking at it. It is your own choice to continue reading this...

Before embarking upon the process we decided to analyse the mysterious goings on by the Ministry. Maybe if we could work out their ways we'd be able to avoid correction.
However, it is very difficult to understand this mess.
Some advocates were being corrected as we watched on.

As we approached we were already being told to join them.

We knew from the start, trying to find out how they correct people without being corrected would be difficult.

Here is a vehicle to make you smiling advocates. Did you know, on Smiler they are called vehicles, Oblivion are shuttles, Air are crafts and the other coasters are trains. Random.

It was time to reach the top and try and understand the mess.

It seems to completely correct you it has two halves... must be two rides.

Crazy.

We were informed by the Smile Assistant Matt that this large tree in the middle is the height tree for X-Sector. Back in 1998 when the lord of Darkness was trying to force people to look down, the Ministry of Joy had to make the tree taller so put more ground under it. By doing so they could build Oblivion. However, in 2011/12 a storm threatened the trees existence so they chained it down because without it they may have had to close Oblivion and wouldn't have been able to build the correctional device that is Smiler. It is also 1 metre taller than Oblivion.

Low and behold the device itself! In the background you can see Enterprise but originally that was meant to leave instead of Submission. Engineering got £10,000 to get Submission back to having its two arm working together which the Ministry couldn't wait for! However, some management people decided it hurt too many people and wasn't making them Smile so they got rid of it and spent the £10,000 on Enterprise.

Under the twisted track is the queueing pen. It is made up of 6 areas, area 1 the Optical procedure room, area 2 the one outside that, area 3 has the shop alongside area 4, area 5 being the back corner and area 6 the new extension up to the toilets. Now, there are 3-5 ways of fully optimising the queue but you are meant to do it in order so 6-5-4-3-2-1 as much as possible so people can work out the queue time. Smile Assistant Dave told us of this time he made it do like 6-5-2-3-1-4 or something crazy and no one could work out the queue time... it has also never been replicated as no one can work out how he did it. In total there are as many as 20 possible queue line possibilities in some form.

Here we see the first lift... the secrets lie within the tunnel.

For the geeks.

These arrows help you to know where correction is... not like you have a choice though.

This door <3 There used to be a set of stairs here. The door is in the baggage room and it was meant for Smile Assistants to use in case a vehicle stopped on the brake run before the first lift. However, some staff took the fun too far and were opening it going boo, knocking on it and so on. So, they moved the metal staircase around the corner to which it now leads to nowhere and the door is permanently locked.

The first of 14.

So elegant. (I fear I'm starting to be corrected...)

Ah the glass floor. Smile Assistant Matt told us it works better with the lights on and was meant to help correction. But, due to delays on the Swiss side of things the whole tunnel was rushed to completion. It was originally meant to continue the Optical Procedure but this never happened. They'd love it to get completed but don't think it ever will.

Here is where you leave the station.

If you wave at the Smile Op and they wave back at you with their foot, that is because upon dispatch they have to hold two buttons down for 5 seconds before Correction can begin. And you all thought they were just being weird (yeah they are).

We then went into the pit. Yes, it is mainly made of concrete.

And track.

And muddy arrows.

Confusing.

The reason parts of the supports go into the concrete and others like this tiny one are encased in footers is because the support wasn't long enough (due to the groundwork issues) so instead of waiting for new pieces they used the materials they had (a lot of concrete obviously).

The Marmaliser.
It was all starting to get too much!!! So we went for a walk.

We came across this chained up tree.

On the walk a witch stopped us and said "You will either get corrected or for every geek who comes to visit this tree Nemesis will slowly be destroyed." I couldn't let this happen!
So 7 goes later followed by a further 4...

We were corrected.

And Nemesis keeps going strong!
So remember one thing guys,
Smile. Always.

For a few years now Towers has been subject to a mind marmalising force known as the Ministry of Joy and I think it's only time I reveal some of the hidden secrets after we persuaded a few Smile Assistants we want to help correct others. To do so we had to receive a grand tour of the correctional device. Be warned, what you see and read today is top secret and may correct you just by looking at it. It is your own choice to continue reading this...

Before embarking upon the process we decided to analyse the mysterious goings on by the Ministry. Maybe if we could work out their ways we'd be able to avoid correction.
However, it is very difficult to understand this mess.
Some advocates were being corrected as we watched on.

As we approached we were already being told to join them.

We knew from the start, trying to find out how they correct people without being corrected would be difficult.

Here is a vehicle to make you smiling advocates. Did you know, on Smiler they are called vehicles, Oblivion are shuttles, Air are crafts and the other coasters are trains. Random.

It was time to reach the top and try and understand the mess.

It seems to completely correct you it has two halves... must be two rides.

Crazy.

We were informed by the Smile Assistant Matt that this large tree in the middle is the height tree for X-Sector. Back in 1998 when the lord of Darkness was trying to force people to look down, the Ministry of Joy had to make the tree taller so put more ground under it. By doing so they could build Oblivion. However, in 2011/12 a storm threatened the trees existence so they chained it down because without it they may have had to close Oblivion and wouldn't have been able to build the correctional device that is Smiler. It is also 1 metre taller than Oblivion.

Low and behold the device itself! In the background you can see Enterprise but originally that was meant to leave instead of Submission. Engineering got £10,000 to get Submission back to having its two arm working together which the Ministry couldn't wait for! However, some management people decided it hurt too many people and wasn't making them Smile so they got rid of it and spent the £10,000 on Enterprise.

Under the twisted track is the queueing pen. It is made up of 6 areas, area 1 the Optical procedure room, area 2 the one outside that, area 3 has the shop alongside area 4, area 5 being the back corner and area 6 the new extension up to the toilets. Now, there are 3-5 ways of fully optimising the queue but you are meant to do it in order so 6-5-4-3-2-1 as much as possible so people can work out the queue time. Smile Assistant Dave told us of this time he made it do like 6-5-2-3-1-4 or something crazy and no one could work out the queue time... it has also never been replicated as no one can work out how he did it. In total there are as many as 20 possible queue line possibilities in some form.

Here we see the first lift... the secrets lie within the tunnel.

For the geeks.

These arrows help you to know where correction is... not like you have a choice though.

This door <3 There used to be a set of stairs here. The door is in the baggage room and it was meant for Smile Assistants to use in case a vehicle stopped on the brake run before the first lift. However, some staff took the fun too far and were opening it going boo, knocking on it and so on. So, they moved the metal staircase around the corner to which it now leads to nowhere and the door is permanently locked.

The first of 14.

So elegant. (I fear I'm starting to be corrected...)

Ah the glass floor. Smile Assistant Matt told us it works better with the lights on and was meant to help correction. But, due to delays on the Swiss side of things the whole tunnel was rushed to completion. It was originally meant to continue the Optical Procedure but this never happened. They'd love it to get completed but don't think it ever will.

Here is where you leave the station.

If you wave at the Smile Op and they wave back at you with their foot, that is because upon dispatch they have to hold two buttons down for 5 seconds before Correction can begin. And you all thought they were just being weird (yeah they are).

We then went into the pit. Yes, it is mainly made of concrete.

And track.

And muddy arrows.

Confusing.

The reason parts of the supports go into the concrete and others like this tiny one are encased in footers is because the support wasn't long enough (due to the groundwork issues) so instead of waiting for new pieces they used the materials they had (a lot of concrete obviously).

The Marmaliser.
It was all starting to get too much!!! So we went for a walk.

We came across this chained up tree.

On the walk a witch stopped us and said "You will either get corrected or for every geek who comes to visit this tree Nemesis will slowly be destroyed." I couldn't let this happen!
So 7 goes later followed by a further 4...

We were corrected.

And Nemesis keeps going strong!
So remember one thing guys,
Smile. Always.

For a few years now Towers has been subject to a mind marmalising force known as the Ministry of Joy and I think it's only time I reveal some of the hidden secrets after we persuaded a few Smile Assistants we want to help correct others. To do so we had to receive a grand tour of the correctional device. Be warned, what you see and read today is top secret and may correct you just by looking at it. It is your own choice to continue reading this...

Before embarking upon the process we decided to analyse the mysterious goings on by the Ministry. Maybe if we could work out their ways we'd be able to avoid correction.
However, it is very difficult to understand this mess.
Some advocates were being corrected as we watched on.

As we approached we were already being told to join them.

We knew from the start, trying to find out how they correct people without being corrected would be difficult.

Here is a vehicle to make you smiling advocates. Did you know, on Smiler they are called vehicles, Oblivion are shuttles, Air are crafts and the other coasters are trains. Random.

It was time to reach the top and try and understand the mess.

It seems to completely correct you it has two halves... must be two rides.

Crazy.

We were informed by the Smile Assistant Matt that this large tree in the middle is the height tree for X-Sector. Back in 1998 when the lord of Darkness was trying to force people to look down, the Ministry of Joy had to make the tree taller so put more ground under it. By doing so they could build Oblivion. However, in 2011/12 a storm threatened the trees existence so they chained it down because without it they may have had to close Oblivion and wouldn't have been able to build the correctional device that is Smiler. It is also 1 metre taller than Oblivion.

Low and behold the device itself! In the background you can see Enterprise but originally that was meant to leave instead of Submission. Engineering got £10,000 to get Submission back to having its two arm working together which the Ministry couldn't wait for! However, some management people decided it hurt too many people and wasn't making them Smile so they got rid of it and spent the £10,000 on Enterprise.

Under the twisted track is the queueing pen. It is made up of 6 areas, area 1 the Optical procedure room, area 2 the one outside that, area 3 has the shop alongside area 4, area 5 being the back corner and area 6 the new extension up to the toilets. Now, there are 3-5 ways of fully optimising the queue but you are meant to do it in order so 6-5-4-3-2-1 as much as possible so people can work out the queue time. Smile Assistant Dave told us of this time he made it do like 6-5-2-3-1-4 or something crazy and no one could work out the queue time... it has also never been replicated as no one can work out how he did it. In total there are as many as 20 possible queue line possibilities in some form.

Here we see the first lift... the secrets lie within the tunnel.

For the geeks.

These arrows help you to know where correction is... not like you have a choice though.

This door <3 There used to be a set of stairs here. The door is in the baggage room and it was meant for Smile Assistants to use in case a vehicle stopped on the brake run before the first lift. However, some staff took the fun too far and were opening it going boo, knocking on it and so on. So, they moved the metal staircase around the corner to which it now leads to nowhere and the door is permanently locked.

The first of 14.

So elegant. (I fear I'm starting to be corrected...)

Ah the glass floor. Smile Assistant Matt told us it works better with the lights on and was meant to help correction. But, due to delays on the Swiss side of things the whole tunnel was rushed to completion. It was originally meant to continue the Optical Procedure but this never happened. They'd love it to get completed but don't think it ever will.

Here is where you leave the station.

If you wave at the Smile Op and they wave back at you with their foot, that is because upon dispatch they have to hold two buttons down for 5 seconds before Correction can begin. And you all thought they were just being weird (yeah they are).

We then went into the pit. Yes, it is mainly made of concrete.

And track.

And muddy arrows.

Confusing.

The reason parts of the supports go into the concrete and others like this tiny one are encased in footers is because the support wasn't long enough (due to the groundwork issues) so instead of waiting for new pieces they used the materials they had (a lot of concrete obviously).

The Marmaliser.
It was all starting to get too much!!! So we went for a walk.

We came across this chained up tree.

On the walk a witch stopped us and said "You will either get corrected or for every geek who comes to visit this tree Nemesis will slowly be destroyed." I couldn't let this happen!
So 7 goes later followed by a further 4...

We were corrected.

And Nemesis keeps going strong!
So remember one thing guys,
Smile. Always.

The Castle is full of history. And Merlin.

Welcome to Warwick Castle. Oh, follow these signs for the distances labelled and you can go to Merlin places of magic. Historic.

Don't you just love being ticketed.

Some decent shows. I really like the year round Annual Pass show at the Stables Ticket Office.

So much rich history. First date though... 2015

More NEW stuff! Very historical the year of 2015 is.

Look it's old!

Really old rope fence. 1340 that.

Artsy shot of a thing that's old.

Yes everyone's favourite thing! Merlin just have many of these everywhere.

Is it a bird?

Yes.

Unlike Towers, they don't want stuff to catch on fire like some old skyride stations enjoy doing.

Oh... it's 1100 years. My mistake. Use this old piece of technology that King Henry 8th used to find out more!

I knew the automatic door was an invention of the 1200s!

Merlinism!

Josh and his new friend approve of such things.

Whilst Jack has no idea what's going on (as per usual)

So he is killed.

This guy is trying not to laugh at the death.

Let's look at some rich history.

Firing catapult thingy.

This looks old.

It is 1350!

Like these books. So old they've retired!

This tree has given up it would seem.

"I want to leave. Urgh Merlin"

"Don't even mention Merlin, I'll peck you"

"I'm sworn to like Merlin... Doesn't mean I do"

"I see you looking at me. Please take me home!!!!"

And this is what happens to the birds who diss Merlin. Warwick Castle won't have any left on show at this rate.

Machinery fun!!!

And it's not black.

Towers.

Warwick. There's no difference really. (And yes, Jack is now alive)

Quick suit up!

ATTACK!!!!

Oh no... they've given him a weapon.

He's too happy by that.

Not a partner in crime as well! We are stuffed.

Guess I'll just save the day.

OFF THE EDGE!

No one will find him down here.

Nice view too.

I'll end with this photo because why not.
MERLIN CASTLE! PIZZA PASTA BUFFET OPENING SOON

The Castle is full of history. And Merlin.

Welcome to Warwick Castle. Oh, follow these signs for the distances labelled and you can go to Merlin places of magic. Historic.

Don't you just love being ticketed.

Some decent shows. I really like the year round Annual Pass show at the Stables Ticket Office.

So much rich history. First date though... 2015

More NEW stuff! Very historical the year of 2015 is.

Look it's old!

Really old rope fence. 1340 that.

Artsy shot of a thing that's old.

Yes everyone's favourite thing! Merlin just have many of these everywhere.

Is it a bird?

Yes.

Unlike Towers, they don't want stuff to catch on fire like some old skyride stations enjoy doing.

Oh... it's 1100 years. My mistake. Use this old piece of technology that King Henry 8th used to find out more!

I knew the automatic door was an invention of the 1200s!

Merlinism!

Josh and his new friend approve of such things.

Whilst Jack has no idea what's going on (as per usual)

So he is killed.

This guy is trying not to laugh at the death.

Let's look at some rich history.

Firing catapult thingy.

This looks old.

It is 1350!

Like these books. So old they've retired!

This tree has given up it would seem.

"I want to leave. Urgh Merlin"

"Don't even mention Merlin, I'll peck you"

"I'm sworn to like Merlin... Doesn't mean I do"

"I see you looking at me. Please take me home!!!!"

And this is what happens to the birds who diss Merlin. Warwick Castle won't have any left on show at this rate.

Machinery fun!!!

And it's not black.

Towers.

Warwick. There's no difference really. (And yes, Jack is now alive)

Quick suit up!

ATTACK!!!!

Oh no... they've given him a weapon.

He's too happy by that.

Not a partner in crime as well! We are stuffed.

Guess I'll just save the day.

OFF THE EDGE!

No one will find him down here.

Nice view too.

I'll end with this photo because why not.
MERLIN CASTLE! PIZZA PASTA BUFFET OPENING SOON

The Castle is full of history. And Merlin.

Welcome to Warwick Castle. Oh, follow these signs for the distances labelled and you can go to Merlin places of magic. Historic.

Don't you just love being ticketed.

Some decent shows. I really like the year round Annual Pass show at the Stables Ticket Office.

So much rich history. First date though... 2015

More NEW stuff! Very historical the year of 2015 is.

Look it's old!

Really old rope fence. 1340 that.

Artsy shot of a thing that's old.

Yes everyone's favourite thing! Merlin just have many of these everywhere.

Is it a bird?

Yes.

Unlike Towers, they don't want stuff to catch on fire like some old skyride stations enjoy doing.

Oh... it's 1100 years. My mistake. Use this old piece of technology that King Henry 8th used to find out more!

I knew the automatic door was an invention of the 1200s!

Merlinism!

Josh and his new friend approve of such things.

Whilst Jack has no idea what's going on (as per usual)

So he is killed.

This guy is trying not to laugh at the death.

Let's look at some rich history.

Firing catapult thingy.

This looks old.

It is 1350!

Like these books. So old they've retired!

This tree has given up it would seem.

"I want to leave. Urgh Merlin"

"Don't even mention Merlin, I'll peck you"

"I'm sworn to like Merlin... Doesn't mean I do"

"I see you looking at me. Please take me home!!!!"

And this is what happens to the birds who diss Merlin. Warwick Castle won't have any left on show at this rate.

Machinery fun!!!

And it's not black.

Towers.

Warwick. There's no difference really. (And yes, Jack is now alive)

Quick suit up!

ATTACK!!!!

Oh no... they've given him a weapon.

He's too happy by that.

Not a partner in crime as well! We are stuffed.

Guess I'll just save the day.

OFF THE EDGE!

No one will find him down here.

Nice view too.

I'll end with this photo because why not.
MERLIN CASTLE! PIZZA PASTA BUFFET OPENING SOON

Welcome to part two of a bored, slightly humorous random blog post on a Sunday Evening!
*PRE-WARNING, THIS IS ALL A-BIT OF FUN, PLEASE READ THIS LIGHT HEARTED*
Last week, I introduced you to The Merlin Rollercoastermatic Universe, (which is like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, just less Iron Man and more disappointment).
There's been two main phases since Merlin's take over in (2007/08), the first one is named, hype, and you can read about it here!
The second phase is called, unoriginal;
The Unoriginal Phase (2012-2015)
The Swarm^ (B&M, Built in 2012) -
The Swarm started off well, the plans showed us that the UK is getting it's first B&M in 9 years and the theming looked incredible, but unfortunately, Merlin had to step in and create an USP for The Swarm, something all new rollercoaster's had to have now, apparently. Thus the tagline 'The Europe's tallest/UK’s first winged rollercoaster' was created.
The Swarm was received well, but didn't bring the guest in, was it because the GP didn't know what a 'winged rollercoaster' is, or maybe The Olympic's being in the same year? No one really knows the answer, but a year later, to try and give this already unoriginal layout and theme another lease of life, they turned two rows of seats backwards and re-marketed it as the new attraction for 2013...
The Smiler* (Gerstlauer, Built in 2013) -
Let's be very honest here... The Smiler's whole planning, construction, and opening was more messy than me after 5 rounds of Tequila. The opening was delayed, not once, not twice but THREE TIMES. The groundwork being so poor, it feels like you've visited the Alton Towers Waterpark, not The Smiler, and that theme song that just haunts you for the next two weeks.
The Smiler USP was very clever, 14 inversions, with most of them being hidden during planning, just a shame 8 of them try to paralyse you. Whats unoriginal about it you say? If I wanted a poorly built ride to disable me, I'd ride Saw The Ride.
Flug der Dämonen^ (B&M, Built in 2014) -
Flug der Dämonen didn't have a USP, that is because it really was The Swarm 2, the ride cars are identical, the theme is identical, most of the ride elements are identical... apart from that cool looking inversion!
It wasn't a world's first, or Europe's first... it was just, a really good rollercoaster, that happens to have ugly white coloured track.
Oblivion: The Black Hole (B&M, Built in 2015) -
Talking of ugly white track, finishing our wonderful unoriginal phase, is the most unoriginal rollercoaster of them all!
Heide Park got a dive coaster, then a winged rollercoaster... Gardaland got a winged rollercoaster... now it's getting a dive rollercoaster, did they get them buy one get one free or something?!
The layout looks fun though! Just a shame the marketing and name of this rollercoaster, is literally two rides from X-Sector, and Oblivion 2.0.
So that brings us to the present day, Oblivion: The Black Hole hasn't opened yet so we're unsure how the story will unfold, so expect an update in April time, but that is our two phases!
What is the next phase? I hear you say...
Well unlike Marvel who have released phase 3, we're really unsure what Merlin is going to do.
2016 is going to be Thorpe Park's & Merlin's next big investment, which we all thought was going to be a rollercoaster, but turns out, to be a dark ride... Alton Towers has rumours flying here, there and everywhere about Wooden Valley Coaster, and our lovely European parks might get a flying coaster called, Air - The Blade.
Who knows?
Thank you all for reading.
Trolley Dolly (Liam T)
Key:
* - World's First
^ - Taller than 100ft
USP - Unique Selling Point

Welcome to a bored, slightly humorous random blog post on a Sunday Evening!
*PRE-WARNING, THIS IS ALL A-BIT OF FUN, PLEASE READ THIS LIGHT HEARTED*
While watching some POV's, I was thinking about since Merlin took over, and how their four (I'm leaving Chessington out of this as they've not seen a new rollercoaster since 2004) theme parks have had rollercoaster investments in 'phases', much like the Marvel movies! Introducing, The Merlin Rollercoastermatic Universe;
There's been two main phases since Merlin's take over in (2007/08), the first one is named, hype;
The Hype Phase (2009-2011)
Saw - The Ride^ (Gerstlauer, Built in 2009) -
Labelled as 'the world's most terrifying coaster', the only terrifying thing was how many break downs it had when it opened and it's ability to stall very easily.
The hype very quickly died, when many riders found out, that this ride is really a death trap by knocking the sense out of them at the bottom of the drop.
Th13teen* (Intamin, Built in 2010) -
This rollercoaster was also labelled 'the world's most terrifying coaster', unfortunately the terror comes in the form of bad marketing, large trim breaks and the fact the only exciting element about it, was revealed on GMTV...
Raptor^* (B&M, Built in 2011) -
The only rollercoaster in this phase to live up to it's hype, Raptor was a prototype from B&M, the wing coaster, covered top to bottom in theming... it's long, it's themed, and it's a world first? What's not to love!
Krake^ (B&M, Built in 2011) -
Finally ending our hype phase, was this lovely Dive Machine that comes in the form of Krake, it was tall, looked fun, and was longer then our lovely Oblivion! The only problem?
Heide Park advertised the ride falling into the mouth of an Octopus! But when it opened, it seemed like the Octopus theming has disappeared, a public out-cry called out for this theming to be construction, and next season it was... the public gets what the public wants!
Next week, we'll discover the second phase, Unoriginal.
Key:
* - World's First
^ - Taller than 100ft

Arabian Adventure
 
It's winter: the nights are drawing in, the days are getting shorter, and it's altogether a bit chilly. So what better excuse than to have a quick break away to the UAE; land of sand, sun, Sheiks... and coasters! Thanks to a bargain return BA flight booked relatively last minute, I enjoyed 4 pleasantly warm (28°C) days at the end of November in the Emirates, seeing the sights, enjoying the food, and riding the rides. Read on for the highlights, and lowlights, of my Arabian Adventure.
 
This trip report covers all of the Parks I visited:
 
Sparky's FEC, Dubai Wonderland, Dubai Sega Republic, Dubai Yas Waterworld, Abu Dhabi Ferrari World, Abu Dhabi  
I was based in Dubai for my visit, and all of the Dubai Parks were within easy reach of the Metro. Like most of the buildings & infrastructure in Dubai, the Metro is very new, with the first line having been opened only in 2009, and a second one following in 2011. The city's tram is so new, it was only 2 weeks old when I visited! Dubai is also very easy to get around via the relatively cheap taxis, which are ubiquitous.
 
Yas Island, which houses both Yas Waterworld and Ferrari World, is located in Abu Dhabi, and the only means of getting there is via car. Given that the UAE has a less than impressive road safety record (supposedly you are 7x more likely to have a road accident vs. in the UK), for these Parks I opted to avoid driving myself and got a taxi, which took just under an hour each way.
 

 
So, on with the report. Hold on tight - it's a long one. And the first (mini) Park I visited was Sparky's:
 
Sparky's Family Entertainment Centre, Dubai

Sparky's FEC is a very new addition to the Dubai amusement scene, having only officially opened in March 2014. Owned by Saudi Arabia's Al Hokair Group (who run 55 indoor recreation centres in Saudi and the UAE), the complex is based on the top floor of the Al Ghurair Centre - one of the more modest Malls in Dubai, but still comparatively large compared to anything in the UK. The site houses an ice rink, 5D cinema, dark ride, go karts, soft play area, many arcade games... and a coaster!
 
Entrance is free, and rides and arcade games are on a pay-as-you-go basis. The minimum top-up on the Sparky's card was 50 AED (£8.77), which got me 2 rides on the coaster and 1 go on the 5D cinema (which incidentally was very well done, if quite jumpy... damn zombies).
 

 
The coaster was simply called Roller Coaster, and stood seemingly deserted when I walked up to the entrance gates: I had to ask an attendee tending to another ride to come over and open it up for me! Truth be told, the FEC wasn't busy, so I suspect it makes sound business sense to employ fewer "roaming" ride operators than have more of them all fixed on certain rides for the day.
 

 
Roller Coaster is an I.E. Park Spinning Coaster - indeed, is one of I.E. Park's very first Spinning Coasters. Riders sit back to back on Maurer-style spinning cars, with a simple lap bar to hold them in. Squarely aimed at the family market, the ride features 2 lift hills and weaves its way around the top of the FEC.
 

 
And perhaps surprisingly, the ride was good fun from start to finish. I wasn't expecting much to start with, but Roller Coaster had a good amount of spinning, a few airtime-inducing drops (when sat at the back) and was altogether a very comfortable ride. Not half bad for a new model, so I.E. Park should be commended. It looks pretty good too (pictured here above the ice rink)!
 

 
Sparky's won't take up any more than an hour or so of your time due to the small choice of attractions and even smaller crowds, but I'd nonetheless recommend paying it a visit if you're in the area. Roller Coaster is a decent attraction, and the supporting rides make for a more entertaining visit to a shopping mall than normal!
 

 
Wonderland, Dubai

Wonderland is situated to the north of Dubai city, only 10 mins drive from the airport. Before venturing off to find it, I questioned whether it would even be worth a visit: it was a little out of the way, looked as if it had only one operational coaster (a Vekoma Roller Skater), and the reviews on Trip Advisor were not even slightly encouraging (11% approval at time of writing). But not wanting to judge the place before I'd seen it myself, I took the Metro to the nearest stop, Dubai Healthcare City, and walked up to the Park entrance.
And this is what I found:
 

 
And this is what the car park looked like:
 

 
And there was no activity going on at this Beijing Jiuhua Amusement Rides Spinning Coaster:
 

 
And this contraption looked like it would kill anyone who tried to ride it:
 

 
Undeterred, I walked up to the very-far right booth at the entrance to speak to the attendant, and asked if I could buy a ticket. He was a local Emirati guy in traditional dress, but was a man of few words.
 
"Park is closed today", he said - even though their website stated it was open from 10am to 12am. When I asked why, he said that there was a "big new attraction coming", and they had to close the whole Park to construct it. "What sort of ride?", I asked, somewhat surprised. "A big one which spirals around a lot", he said, gesturing with his hands. I couldn't see any construction going on.
 
"When are you opening again?", I asked. He shrugged.
 
I then asked if I could have a look around the deserted Park to take some photos, but unsurprisingly he declined. The only snap I got was of the view into the Park from the entrance gates (below).
 
"Water park is open today", he said, pointing over to the left. And then he sat back down again.
 

 
But I had a good look at the water park, and it didn't look very open to me. Cutting my losses, I left Wonderland feeling more than a little frustrated.
 

 
Sega Republic, Dubai

Sega Republic is a relatively new FEC located on the top floor of the Dubai Mall. The Dubai Mall is the "world's largest shopping mall", with over 1,200 (count them) stores, including all the luxury brands you could want, along with a Debenhams, M&S, and Hamleys. Annually it hosts more visitors than New York City . So there's more than enough demand for an indoor Theme Park and Sega Republic stepped up to the mark, opening in 2009.
 
Much like Sparky's, Sega Republic operate on both a pay-as-you-go basis, where rides range in price from 15 AED to 30 AED (£2.63 - £5.25), and a pay-once basis, where a "Power Pass" for all rides is available at 175 AED (£30.65). Payment is handled via a Sega-bespoke smart card system, where ride entrances have only Sega-card readers and don't accept cash: Sega-cards must be topped up at designated payment booths prior to riding.
 

 
It's a pretty big FEC at 76,000 sq ft, and sprawls across 2 floors. As standard, the Park opens from 10am to 1am (11pm at off-peak times), so there's lots of opportunity to visit. And the Park's headline attraction is the rather good Gerstlauer custom spinner, Spin Gear.
 

 
As with the rest of the Park, Spin Gear is themed around Sonic and friends, and features an enclosed dark section in the second half of the ride that is not visible from the outside. It's a good length, smooth family spinner - the local riders opposite us in our car certainly seemed to enjoy themselves.
 

 
The standard of presentation is really rather good, with Doctor Eggman goading Sonic / presenting safety information in the queueline videos.
 

 
And the cars are very comfortable too, with a snug lap bar restraint to hold you in. So in all, Spin Gear can be recommended: it's a solid attraction that's much larger than first appears, and produces some good lateral forces. Well worth giving a go.
 

 
A side note on Sega Republic: prior to boarding any ride, riders are forced to stand and read a laminated sheet of paper with detailed instructions / safety information / rider restrictions printed on it. Ride attendants present this laminate to every rider about to board, which was fine given the relatively low crowds, but would be a throughput nightmare if there was any sort of queue.
 
I've never seen a Park do this before - highly conservative, and probably highly unnecessary.
 

 
Sega Republic had a good selection of flats to support the main 'coaster, include Xyclone, a gyro-swing-esq ride, which goes a full 360° and inverts riders over the top. Good fun, although a little painful being slammed back onto your restraint every time the carriage comes down having gone over the top.
 

 
My favourite flat was the innovative Halfpipe Canyon, which rode a little like a standing-up-pirate-ship. Huge amounts of fun, the ride puts 4 riders in 2 teams of 2, who compete against each other on their respective green or orange skateboard. Once the ride begins, the skateboards start to swing much like a pirate ship. Once the boards have reached their highest swings, they also rotate 360° for added disorientation. Teams gain points for stamping left-right-left-right on the plates underneath them at the points where the skateboards reach the top of the halfpipes - the most points wins.
 
Halfpipe Canyon: huge re-rideability - some people were running around for second / third / tenth goes - and very entertaining. If you ever see one of these, hand over your money!
 

 
Yas Waterworld, Abu Dhabi
 
And now onto the Parks in Abu Dhabi, both based on Yas Island. Yas Island is - much like the Palm in Dubai - an artificial block of land, located just off the coast of Abu Dhabi. It's still half completed, but the stats are staggering: the idea for the island was conceived only in 2006, but was built and opened for business just a few years later. The F1 circuit is the main draw, but the island has just opened a large Mall, and is home to both Yas Waterworld, and more famously Ferarri World. Total investment in the project is estimated at US$40 billion - that's 9 zeros - $40,000,000,000 . We opted for Yas Waterworld first.

Yas Waterworld opened only last year in January 2013, and has already been named the second best waterpark in the world, behind Disney's Typhoon Lagoon. Pretty impressive, and it's easy to see why - for me the Park is right up there with any of its American counterparts in terms of number, quality and variety of flumes & rides, and the standard of presentation across the whole Park is top notch.
 

 
For example, I don't think I've ever seen such a glorious mess of flumes as this (below) in any water park I've been to! These snake flumes were all provided by WhiteWater - the company behind our own revered Storm Surge. I think they've innovated a little since the advent of their Spinning Rapids Ride: these 6 slides include both cool new Rattler sections and a SuperBowl.
 
WhiteWater actually provided 12 out of the 14 attractions for Yas, and the Park is great advert for their products. One of the star attractions is the Liwa Loop AquaLoop, which I'm happy to confirm is one of the most heart-in-mouth water slides I've ever ridden. That moment when you're standing atop a trap door, knowing there's a freefall drop of several tens of feet below you and then a loop, hearing a calm female voice counting down "3...2...1..."? Scary bananas. WhiteWater also supplied a Freefall Speed Slide and a 6-lane Whizzard racer, which were both a whole lot of fun.
 

 
Judging by queue length alone though, it was ProSlide who won the popularity contest at Yas with their ginormous HydroMagnetic Mammoth Water Coaster installations that went by the names of Dawwama and Falcon's Falaj. Both slides use LIMs to propel the 6-person rafts up, as well as using gravity to push them down again into features such as this massive 20m funnel.
 
And you can't even blame low capacity for that queue - ProSlide claims a throughput of up to 1,080 per hour on their 6-person Water Coasters!
 

 
Hugely wet, hugely fast, hugely fun. And the uphill LIMs are a big improvement on e.g. Alton's Master Blaster water-propelled method.
 

 
But the real reason for visiting Yas Waterworld was to have a go on their Vekoma Splash Party coaster, Bandit Bomber.
 

 
It's a pretty bold decision by the Park to install a water-based steel coaster in a wet environment, especially given that previous attempts by other manufacturers (notably Setpoint) can hardly be deemed a success - Carowinds and Hersheypark can tell you more. The track layout sprawls across the Park affording riders a good view of the slides below, and the real fun comes when the 4-person trains roll through the "splash zone". In this area, riders on Bandit Bomber can choose to press a "trigger" button attached to the seats to dump a load of water on the queueing guests below. Guests below can retaliate thanks to ground-based water guns pointing up at the track.
 

 
It's a great idea, although unfortunately marred by the fact that on some of the trains, the hardware wasn't working (meaning no water was dumped, even if the triggers were pressed at the right time by riders), and that many of the riders seemingly had no idea that they had a trigger at their disposal, choosing instead to completely ignore the splash zone interactivity.
 
Whilst this was a shame, for those riders who did know what they were doing, and had been lucky enough to get a working train, Bandit Bomber was a lot of fun - anyone who's used the pay-per-use water guns located to the sides of Storm Surge or Tidal Wave will know how gratifying spraying a complete stranger with water can be.
 

 
And for everyone else, Bandit Bomber was still a solid family ride, with a decent twisty layout that afforded some good negative-G-inducing drops and swoops. Extra points to Vekoma for producing a really smooth ride, too - their latest steelies are so much improved vs. their back catalogue (their 2013 suspended family coaster Orkanen is one of the best family rides out there). Guests were running around back to the ride entrance to try it again; a thumbs up from me.
 

 
Yas Waterworld, then, is an excellent Park with only a few flaws (location is a bit in the middle of nowhere, and it's not cheap at 240 AED - £42), so I'd encourage anyone in Abu Dhabi, or even in Dubai, to make the trip over to Yas Island to spend a day there. The themeing and attention to detail is superb, and for my money the range of attractions and quality of the environment makes this a notch above more established local rivals such as Wild Wadi or Aquaventure.
 

 
Ferrari World, Abu Dhabi

Last but not least - Ferrari World. This had been by far my most anticipated Park due to its scale ("world's largest indoor Theme Park") and its speed machine ("world's fastest roller coaster"). As we had only a day on Yas Island, we didn't get over to Ferrari World until 4pm, having spent the morning and a fair amount of the afternoon in Yas Waterworld! Doing both Parks in one day does however have the advantage of being able to use the Yas Park Pass - a snip(?) at 365 AED (£63.87) - which bought us entry into both attractions.
 

 
The first thing to say is that the huge red structure which houses this Park is really, well, huge. It is so huge, in fact, that it's almost too big for the number of attractions that Ferrari World offers - around 15 if everything is operational. Walking from one side of the place to the other takes a considerable amount of time, but it wouldn't be difficult to polish the Park off in just half a day - as we did!
 
It's clear however that the Park are aware of this and are still investing. The 200ft drop tower that sits in the middle of the structure is currently under scaffolding (although it was unclear whether this was for renovation or to dismantle it), and the flume ride was boarded up with large "Coming Soon" signs plastered all over it. Local news suggests that the Park plans to install 7 new rides over the next 3 years, with the general manager claiming that some of these will be "iconic". Gringotts coaster, anyone?
 

 
But let's get straight to business - and the reason most of you probably came to read this trip report in the first place.
 
Formula Rossa is a breathtaking, pant-wetting rocket of a ride, and gave me the biggest adrenaline rush I've had from a 'coaster in a good long time; maybe even ever.
 

 
Made by Intamin, the coaster somewhat trumps sister hydraulic launch rides Stealth and Rita by boasting a launch of 0 to 149mph in ~4 seconds. That's basically Stealth's launch, and then Stealth's launch again. What follows is a 171ft hill, and then one of the longest layouts in the world (6th longest at the time of writing - Lightwater's Ultimate comes in at 2nd), mostly consisting of high hills and wide turns.
 
Although Ferrari World is an indoor Park, their star attraction of course launches off into the desert outside. And the Park provides a great viewing platform for potential riders to assess what they're letting themselves in for...
 

 
Two things happen in the station to keep the ride safe and operational. One: the train wheels and chassis are sprayed with water via automatic misters to cool it down in between launches. With temperatures in the summer averaging over 38°C, Intamin have had to adapt to the local climate. And two: riders are presented with red glasses, to keep any windy desert sand away from delicate eyes when moving at 149mph. All riders are required to wear these.
 

 
This ride is - unsurprisingly - all about the speed. The layout is fun, but with the transitions so wide and the hills relatively tall, not especially forceful. It's just fast. Bloody fast.
 
I rode Formula Rossa twice; once in the 3rd car (of 4), and once in the front row. In the 3rd car, the speed was palpable, with facial features distinctly wobbling and riders' screams literally taken from mouths.
 
On the front row, the ride morphs into an even more intense beast. Words cannot describe the sheer thrill of the launch: it really pushes the limits of human endurance on a Theme Park ride. My face turned into a rubbery mess, my arms - which were over-confidently in the air until about halfway down the launch track - were pinned back down into my lap bar, and my eyes streamed from the speed (even though I had the glasses on). In many ways, I am thankful for the trims on the hill after the launch - if the train continued to career around the track at the launch speed, it would have been a very uncomfortable experience indeed.
 
For me, the rush was comparable only to the huge adrenaline shot I experienced when skydiving over Salisbury Plain a few years ago - with a vertical terminal velocity of about 120mph. I have never experienced a Theme Park ride like it.
 

 
The riders' expressions say it all.
 

 
The Park's supporting attractions are the Fiorano GT Challenge racing coasters, from Maurer Söhne. Located on the other side of the Park, these dualing car-themed coasters use LSM technology to launch riders at a more family-friendly 59mph.
 

 
The trains are themed to Ferrari F430 Spiders, and feature comfy lapbars common to their spinner rides (a la Sonic Spinball). With a launch straight after the station, 3 further launches around the 1km track, and a handful of stop-start magnetic brake sections, the ride was both thrilling and a lot of fun. The ride layouts weaved in and out of each other, with red, yellow and green lights situated to the side of the tracks to inducate the (green) launches, (yellow) hairpin turns and (red) braking sections.
 
The ride ops didn't mind re-riding here, so we had a good 10 goes on Fiorano GT Challenge, on both the left (black) and right (red) sides - the left proved the favourite.
 

 
Other attractions at Ferrari World included the Scuderia Challenge simulators, Speed of Magic 4D dark ride, Viaggio in Italia Soarin-style attraction, newly-installed Tyre Twist teacups ride, and Karting Academy go-karts, which operated on a time-slot basis (we asked for a slot at 4:30pm, but were told the next available slot was at 7:30pm, so gave it a miss).
 
One of the largest-footprint rides inside the giant Ferrari building is Bell'Italia, a tour around a mini-Italy in a tracked Ferrari 250 California car. This ride proved to be a little embarassing, as the majority of "mini-Italy" had either been removed, or was in a state of disrepair. We were just driving around a load of empty green banking; Verona was little more than a sign saying "under renovation". Really quite poor.
 
Unfortunately, the Bell'Italia experience was somewhat reflective of Ferrari World as a whole; the two major 'coasters notwithstanding, the Park is a little in a state of disrepair at the moment. It is badly missing supporting attractions, with the closure of the drop tower and water ride not helping matters. The main Ferarri building is vast and needs more inside it to justify a gate price of 250 AED (£43.75). Although Formula Rossa and the Go Karts had queues, crowds were low (much lower than Yas Waterworld), which did little to lift the atmosphere - it was all a bit empty and flat.
 
I have hope for Ferrari World, though. Its coasters are both of real quality, and they have the infrastructure to build upon and grow. Yas Island is not even finished yet and Abu Dhabi has great potential to capitalise on tourism in the same way that Dubai has done. Fingers crossed the owners can keep the venture afloat and the Park doesn't go the same way as other expensive IP-led ventures such as ill-fated Hard Rock Park.
 

 
Burj Khalifa, Dubai
 

 
OK, so this is clearly not a Theme Park... but you, esteemed reader, may still be interested. This is the Burj Khalifa, and I was lucky to get in a visit to "At The Top" during my trip. Much in the spirit of all things UEA, you may not be surprised to hear that this is the "tallest building in the world". Tom Cruise famously sat on top of it. To put some numbers around it, the Burj Khalifa is 828m tall. That's insanely tall. If Nemesis Inferno's track was stretched out vertically from start to end, it still wouldn't be as tall as the Burj. London's The Shard could be stretched 2.5 times its height, and it wouldn't be as tall as the Burj.
 
In person, it's really quite impressive. It towers above Dubai's already screamingly tall skyline. The building houses 30,000 people, in both office and residental space. And for 165 AED (£28.87), tourists can take the (ear-poppingly fast) elevator up to floor 124 for a simply stunning view of the Emirate.
 
I picked my time slot to visit a couple of weeks before I arrived in Dubai ("At The Top" sells out weeks in advance), so I was primed for a good sunset at around 5pm. It didn't disappoint.
 

 
Watching the sun set over the city, desert and sea, from nearly a kilometer up in the sky, was a very cool moment. And as you might expect Dubai just lights up at night, yielding awesome views such as the below. Magnificent.
 

 
~
 
So, there is a wealth of Theme Park fun to be had out in the UAE, with clear highlights of my trip being Formula Rossa, Sega Republic and Yas Waterworld. The region is growing so rapidly that in many areas you can almost smell the investment being pumped into the place. That's not to say it's been an easy ride, however - the recession in 2008/2009 hit the sector hard, with projects like Universal Studios Dubailand barely making it off the drawing board. Indeed, when I was travelling down to Abu Dhabi from Dubai, I could see from my taxi the entrance arch to the proposed Universal Studios standing alone in the vast desert around it - very bizarre.
 
One large reason to be excited for UAE's Theme Park future is the development of Dubai Parks and Resort, a massive £1.7bn entertainment complex located towards the south of Dubai city centre, slated to open in 2016. Parques Reunidos - operators of Parque Warner Madrid and Mirabilandia - have been appointed to run two of the three Theme Parks due to open at the resort: Motiongate Dubai (a 4 million sq. foot Hollywood-inspired Park, with studios such as Dreamworks already on board) and Bollywood Parks Dubai (a 3-million sq. foot Bollywood-inspired Park, with major Mumbai studios on board).
 
The third Park in the complex is from a more familiar operator: Merlin Entertainments. Legoland Dubai, a proposed 7th Legoland Park, promises more than 40 attractions upon opening over an area of 3 million sq. foot. Construction boards have already gone up and are again visible from the E11 road to Abu Dhabi, so if all goes to plan, I can see many reasons for a return trip in a few years' time. And I haven't even mentioned the near-future opening of IMG Worlds of Adventure, featuring a Mack launched coaster...
 
Thanks for reading!

https://translate.google.com/?hl=en&tab=TT (may be useful. Also any apologies to fluent German speakers, Google translate still doesn't do that well but it copies nicely back into Translate)
Willkommen in der letzten Reisebericht des Jahres. Hierfür haben wir nach Deutschland in London reiste.

Sieht aus wie Hyde Park.

Englisch Wolken. (Nicht jetzt lila und blauen Stuhl, zurück zu Erlebnisinsel)

Auch das Zeichen ist in Englisch. Es ist Winterwunder dumm!

Ach, mein Lieblingshotel. Alpen. Der Barkeeper ist genial!

Nur in Deutschland

große Schaukel Sache. XXL.

Es ist grün und rot, wie Weihnachten

Nachtzeit kommt in Deutschland schneller.

Lieben Sie die Wolken in diesem

Hübsche Lichter. Oh und es heißt Sprungschanze

Fliegen Sie über Deutschland

Fliegen in der Luft

Was ist das?

Leitungen Turm 2

Fantastische

Und hier drüben ...

WILDE MAUS XXL

schauen, es ist die große Schaukel wieder. XXL

hallo dort

Luft. Sogar klingt besser in Deutsch

ich werde verlassen auf einem Thriller. Auf Wiedersehen
Wir sehen uns in 2015!

https://translate.google.com/?hl=en&tab=TT (may be useful. Also any apologies to fluent German speakers, Google translate still doesn't do that well but it copies nicely back into Translate)
Willkommen in der letzten Reisebericht des Jahres. Hierfür haben wir nach Deutschland in London reiste.

Sieht aus wie Hyde Park.

Englisch Wolken. (Nicht jetzt lila und blauen Stuhl, zurück zu Erlebnisinsel)

Auch das Zeichen ist in Englisch. Es ist Winterwunder dumm!

Ach, mein Lieblingshotel. Alpen. Der Barkeeper ist genial!

Nur in Deutschland

große Schaukel Sache. XXL.

Es ist grün und rot, wie Weihnachten

Nachtzeit kommt in Deutschland schneller.

Lieben Sie die Wolken in diesem

Hübsche Lichter. Oh und es heißt Sprungschanze

Fliegen Sie über Deutschland

Fliegen in der Luft

Was ist das?

Leitungen Turm 2

Fantastische

Und hier drüben ...

WILDE MAUS XXL

schauen, es ist die große Schaukel wieder. XXL

hallo dort

Luft. Sogar klingt besser in Deutsch

ich werde verlassen auf einem Thriller. Auf Wiedersehen
Wir sehen uns in 2015!

https://translate.google.com/?hl=en&tab=TT (may be useful. Also any apologies to fluent German speakers, Google translate still doesn't do that well but it copies nicely back into Translate)
Willkommen in der letzten Reisebericht des Jahres. Hierfür haben wir nach Deutschland in London reiste.

Sieht aus wie Hyde Park.

Englisch Wolken. (Nicht jetzt lila und blauen Stuhl, zurück zu Erlebnisinsel)

Auch das Zeichen ist in Englisch. Es ist Winterwunder dumm!

Ach, mein Lieblingshotel. Alpen. Der Barkeeper ist genial!

Nur in Deutschland

große Schaukel Sache. XXL.

Es ist grün und rot, wie Weihnachten

Nachtzeit kommt in Deutschland schneller.

Lieben Sie die Wolken in diesem

Hübsche Lichter. Oh und es heißt Sprungschanze

Fliegen Sie über Deutschland

Fliegen in der Luft

Was ist das?

Leitungen Turm 2

Fantastische

Und hier drüben ...

WILDE MAUS XXL

schauen, es ist die große Schaukel wieder. XXL

hallo dort

Luft. Sogar klingt besser in Deutsch

ich werde verlassen auf einem Thriller. Auf Wiedersehen
Wir sehen uns in 2015!

2014 is almost over, which can only mean one thing...it's time for my review of Thorpe's season! In a way, it kind of feels silly to do a 'season' review on behalf, since I've "only" made 8 visits this year (by far my smallest Thorpe tally in memory!), so there's a few gaps here and there, and my views may not be fully representative of the season. However, I hope this review will end up giving a nice roundup of the season, and my views on what's gone down. If anyone wants to see my reviews of previous seasons, they can all be found HERE (once again, apologises about the pictures no longer working - darn Facebook!). And with all that out of the way, let's "get ready to go...looking good...3 2 1..."
New for 2014 - Angry Birds Land
Rewind a year ago, and I said that for 2014, "There's been talks of a new 4D film, the return of the Canada Creek Railway, the movement of Vengeance to the park and ...at least one of those things should happen." Fortunately, one of those things did happen.
I don't quite know how ABL has been received by the public, but enthusiast opinion is certainly more on the negative side. However, I must admit, I side with the side that, on the whole, it's an okay investment for the park. The 'land' is very small - it seems almost silly to call it an area of a theme park given how small it is. The 4D cinema, whilst a bit over the top with the effects, is a nice break from the bombardment of rides and is certainly a vast improvement on Time Voyagers (though that's not saying much, mind!). The Dodgems are good fun and, whilst nothing special, a nice filler ride for everyone to enjoy. Personally, I think that Detonator is the biggest waste in the area; new audio was needed, and a bit more of a feel around the ride was required. But instead we end up with a new name and cheap logo plus a random bird plonked nearby - still feels out of place unfortunately.
So yeah, all in all, I don't think ABL is a bad investment. I think it will work in the long run (Angry Birds will no doubt continue to be popular, and with a major film set for 2016, I can see a second wind for it coming up), and brought life into what was a lifeless area. Many say that it's destroyed Amity Cove - but let's face it, there's a huge difference between Stealth-side Amity (Amity Speedway) and Tidal Wave-side Amity (the Amity Cove). A divide is necessary really, and this gives a chance to divide the sides further, which would be a good thing. For the future, I'd like to see the Teacups given an Angry Birds theme, since it feels a bit out of place at the moment, and the well-known Angry Birds tune be made more prominent throughout the area - it's something I was looking forward to hearing if I'm honest!

Detonator - needs more work...


These metal plate theming bits are...okay. Not my first choice thematic feature for the area though!

King Pig's Wild Hog Dodgems - a bit bare, but good fun.
New for 2014 - Other Stuff
Though a quiet year on the rides and attractions front, there were a few new and improved things around the park...
The Shark Hotel replaced the Crash Pad, and is Thorpe's own attempt at a shipping container hotel. Indeed, the shark idea was my favourite of the three concepts (the other two being the Pier and crashed ship). I do quite like the look of the shark - it's quirky and different, and likely a nice talking point for people visiting. My only criticism of it is that, on the inside, you can see all the framework - a bit of a shame in all honesty, but I guess there's got to be limitations to everything. Maybe not the most spectacular thing ever, but I have a fond spot for it if I'm being honest.

Bite me.
Then there's the improved entrance. It must surely be a short-term solution, as the whole ticket and entrance plaza needs a big rework in my opinion. Baring that in mind, I think it's an okay solution - the video loops they play do a nice job of showing off the park, and presumably do help build a bit of atmosphere and anticipation for guests. Also great to hear the original Thorpe entrance music being played once again!

Hard to get a decent image of the screen, so here's the best I've got..
The few other touch ups around the park (Stealth Diner and shop, Mexican Cantina extension, etc.) are also welcome additions, now giving more indoor seating, and improved chippy on park - I never really liked the old Fish and Chip place for some reason; maybe the old look of the place just put me off? - and meaning every major attraction has their own sort of shop to some degree. The small things ey!

Stealth shop looks quite nice really.
The Coasters
The Swarm remains top dog for another year. For me, it just had everything I want, and it's just a beautiful roller coaster to me. After being able to climb its lift hill this year and do a couple of behind the scenes bits and bobs, I have no doubt that Swarm will have a place in my heart for years to come... With it looking very likely that I'll be breaking into Europe next year, I somewhat doubt this will be my favourite coaster next year, but hey, I'll let it bask in its glory till then.

Looking up

A pretty sweet alternative view of the ride in general

Pretty helicopter.

Standard picture.
X also saw some changes, with new audio and a new lighting set up. I think the reason why I like it so much is because it's so different to anything else the park offers - it's a bit of fun and a laugh. It doesn't try to do anything special and it's not a serious ride. Something that the park needs more of in my eyes!
Inferno was as solid as ever, and it was nice to see the mist and lights working for the majority of my visits. Also interesting to see the workshop area as part of the John Wardley meet too; geeky moments I guess! I still have a soft spot for Saw, even if it does leave many with a soft spot on their head after riding. Again, got to do a nice backstage tour of it, which was great fun and really interesting. Colossus remained as uncomfortable as ever. Stealth was alright too I guess; I'm not too fussed about it though to be honest.. .

Dear Thorpe, all I want for this closed season is this sign cleaned / replaced. Lots of love, JoshC.

Arty-farty Saw photo.


Put my camera through its paces by taking photos of Saw from the Loggers queue line. Funny results followed.
The Other Rides
Won't really put any specific focus on any other rides now because: 1) too much effort, 2) I haven't visited enough to say that much and 3) I don't want to put you to sleep any quicker.
So yeah, in short... Slammer didn't open with the rest of the park, but managed to remain consistently open (more or less) when it eventually did open. Big thumbs up to all those involved with getting the thing to live again, and to actually stay alive. Personally, I think the ride just needs binning - I don't find it exciting and it just seems to be a waste of resources in my opinion. It seems Thorpe/Merlin think otherwise - as do many enthusiasts - so let's hope for their sakes their faith in the ride lasts for a few years before it eventually conks out. When that day comes, I'll happily be the first to volunteer to take some explosives to the ride.
Rush, Samurai, Loggers, Zodiac and the like all did well during the season, and I think they're all good rides that add to the line up. On the other hand, I've been disappointed by the likes of Vortex, which is showing its ages, Rumba Rapids and Depth, rides which I do enjoy, but really need some TLC to make them look nice again.

A working Slammer - a slightly less rare sight than usual.
"What about Storm Surge?" you might be asking yourselves. I didn't ride Storm Surge this year, and this picture sums up my views on the ride nicely...

I'd much rather look at a building.
The Big Easter
I unfortunately didn't attend this season's Easter event, due to revising for exams. However, by the sounds of it, it was a great event for the park and their new direction. All the reviews of the Brainiac show were great, so I'm glad to hear that's returning for the February Half Term event. I look forward to seeing what Thorpe come up with for next Easter (and fingers crossed I'm actually able to make it!).
Summer Nights
Summer Nights returned for a second season, which is great news. This event is just a brilliant idea from the park and works a treat. I know some say that opening till 10 should be standard for the park during Summer, and maybe that should be the case one day. But right now, I don't think the park would be busy enough to warrant it - making it a separate identity is the best thing for now. The event has definitely gained popularity, and I'd be curious to see if they'd consider adding two trains to the coasters if the event become much more popular.

Teacups are still an addition for Summer Nights - good thing too, since it's relatively popular during the day..
Summer Event - Huh?
Last year, I said: "Despite Sun Scream obviously being popular enough to last many seasons, I think it's time to think of something a little different now". However, when I said "a little different", I did mean they should at least do something! Unless I completely missed it, there was no specific summer event this season that filled the role Sun Scream had done for the seasons beforehand.
The park seemed popular enough from marketing alone and such, but it seems like a wasted opportunity, especially with the family market. Hopefully it's just a one-off, and next season gives us some decent event for the summer. It would certainly help encourage the crowds to visit during what is one of the busiest periods of the season for the park, and a chance to stand out from the crowd a little bit.
On the other end of the scale, I guess they could partner up with MoS for another event. Mash Up seemed good during Easter 2012 and 2013, so why not bring back that back? Speaking of MoS, still haven't been to a MoS night - they're just not my thing! - however, I'm glad to see that they're still proving popular and successful.
Fright Nights
The biggest change for this season's Fright Nights was, of course, the farewell of The Asylum, and the introduction of Studio 13: The Motel. It's been said a hundred times already, but I may as well say it again - last year's controversy over Asylum was NOT the cause of its removal. The park were planning on getting rid of it even for last season's event - let's hope that that myth doesn't become fact to many.
Another thing which has been said a hundred times already is that I wasn't really a fan of The Asylum. It was a maze of strobe lights which gives you a headache, with no apparent story line other than 'you're locked in with scary people' and very repetitive. So I was glad to see the back end of it. Studio 13's premise sounded exciting and very promising, and it was great to see the park come up with a non-IP maze which still fitted in perfectly with the park's overall theme (which I still love by the way).
Personally, I loved the maze. Great nods to the past, good theming, a story which followed through the maze and overall a good idea. In fact, out of all the mazes I've done, it's the maze where I've felt most apart of the story. It's such a simple idea (you tour through a studio where a horror film is being filmed, then all of a sudden, you're IN the film), which makes it easy to execute, yes, but it was executed so well that it just a beautiful maze.
As for the returning mazes, Blair Witch went from zero to hero, which was great. I hope this gives the park more confidence with scare zones and outdoor attractions. Cabin and Saw remained good attractions, though I think Saw needs a bit of an update, as it feels kind of tame compared to the rest. My Bloody Valentine was yet again the worst; no real scares or anything - just dark, cramped spaces all the way. It will scare many, yes, but you can't just simply rely on that! It will be interesting to see what happens to the maze next season now the arena is in use - will it just move elsewhere, move out of the containers and into someplace else, or what?
I also did Face it Alone again this year. I can't sing the praises of this experience enough - if you like scare attractions, it is well worth giving it a try! I'm so glad the park have continued to look into other scare ideas than your bog-standard conga line maze, and here's hoping that things like Face it Alone, the Overnight Experiences and original maze ideas continue for many years to come.

Fright Nights proved to yet again been the most popular time of season.

Me with The Director.
Reserve n Ride
The second season we've seen RnR now and I remain in the minority who like the idea. I'll keep my views here short and sweet since I've argued them to death throughout the year in the appropriate topics - the idea is a nice one and has a lot of potential. The system itself seems to work now; they've slowly managed to iron out technical issues. What the park need to do now is try the system as it was intended - with no standby queues. That way, they see how viable an option this actually is. Make sure there's enough non-ride stuff to do too; that'll help (and, in fact, is a good idea in general!).
Food and Merchandise
As mentioned above, I've gotten into a bad habit of falling in love with the new Fish and Chip place, nice and unhealthy. My lunch of choice usually varies between that, the Mexican Cantina or Bar 360. For the most part though, all of the Merlin-owned food places are good quality and value at Thorpe, which is good. I'll no doubt try the punnily-named Peckish and the new Pizza-Pasta joint in the new season though, because why not ey?
As ever, the merchandise at Thorpe helped empty my wallet. The new resins were all great, and the Swarm billboard is my personal favourite of all the Merlin resins. Then there's the brilliant new clothing items which give some geeky nods (ride opening years and such), which I just love! The new Angry Birds merch is good to see too, even if a bit overpriced in my opinion. Then again, on the whole, merchandise is reasonably priced I think, so I'm not really complaining. Would like to see more bears at Thorpe though - please?
I guess the VIP packages fit into merchandise sort of, so just a quick mention of them. Whilst the main ones are a bit too pricey in my opinion, the lift hill walks and backstage tour are okay, especially if you can get a deal on them (and they do indeed do deals on them at points in the year). Again, really glad to see the park doing cool things likes this!

The Inferno shop has a makeover too. At least I was spending time in shops, and not just money...
Chief Ranger's Carousel - RIP
Whilst no official note has been made, it seems that CRC has left us after 20 years of service. It's sad to see a ride so rich in Thorpe's history leave. However, in all honesty, it's surprising it stayed as long as it did, especially during the years when families were just not in the park's target market. It's not like the ride has a specific appeal the 99% of visitors anyway - time to let go and move along in my opinion!

A Carouselfie.
A Look Ahead
2015 brings us...well, we don't know. Potentially nothing of note. We have gathered that Pizza Hut is being replaced by Pizza Pasta, and that building is getting an extension. I have no doubts that we'll see some touch ups around the place (Canada Creek still has a lot of the old branding about, some rides are in desperate need of TLC and I expect Thorpe know that), and there'll be a few little things to keep us happy. However, it seems like 2015 could be the first season since 1997 where Thorpe don't bring us any new attractions. Then again, Angry Birds Land didn't have plans submitted till January, so who knows?
Of course, we'll all be able to gawp at the construction site for 2016's exciting new development - maybe that in itself will be enough to keep us happy next season?
That's it for me; another season well and truly done with. Thanks if you read it all (and sorry for the length)! As ever, any comments / thoughts / criticisms are welcome!

Earlier this year I sarcastically explained why Nemesis is king of coasters. This time round I'm going to explain (in a serious-ish way) why Spiderman is my favourite dark ride of all time. (As always these are my opinions, if you do comment at the bottom explaining why you disagree I will hunt you down and get revenge oh and there might be some spoilers on the ride experience, you've been warned)
Islands of Adventure, the park that made Disney have an E-ticket attraction ready to be deployed at each of their parks in case of its success. Okay, this didn't happen in 1999, IoA didn't pull in the guests it was expected too. But it was still a huge leap in the theme park industry with some excellent attractions (especially for 1999). Most notably, Spiderman.

Hidden behind a façade is a ride building that brought to light a new style of dark ride. Simulators were a thing, pyrotechnics were a thing, 3D screens were a thing, but no one had combined these together in one show building until 1999. 3 years of development, a range of companies working together to create a masterpiece. Spiderman was born. A ride of this calibre is still thought of as an amazing technological design today. Just last year I rode Transformers for the first time and thought "wow!" the 4K screens, perfect 3D animation and flow is just flawless. So to have a ride like this 15 years ago shows just how advanced it was and still is. Maybe I'll never be able to change my opinion because of the fact it has been that awesome for so many years. I was only 2 when this ride was built, the industry hadn't even built a 10 looping roller coaster. But Forbidden Journey is a masterpiece is many ways, a huge dark ride that is technologically amazing and immersive. What is it that Spiderman has over the new boy on the block?
Maybe it's because I was a huge Spiderman fan as a kid. I first rode it when I was 5. I thought I was in the action, it was actually happening! It instantly became the ride I wanted to ride again and again, work out how it works, it sparked my interest in rides. Every time I've been to Florida since I've learnt more about how the ride works, the technology, what to expect etc. but it still delivers. When I went to Florida last year I gave Transformers and Forbidden Journey the chance. I knew the basics of the ride system, that Transformers was like Spiderman and FJ was just pure awesome, but nothing more. I went on those two rides like I did with Spiderman many years before, curious as to what was inside. Both of them are great rides, but neither of them had the same affect as Spiderman. I rate FJ second only to Spiderman and Transformers 4th, just not 1st. Spiderman sits their firmly and is unlikely to ever be toppled. Some people would say I never want Spiderman to be beaten. Nope, if a ride can beat the enjoyment and thrill I get from Spiderman everytime I ride it then it will go first.
Let's move onto the ride itself. The queue, it's the Daily Bugle! You're in the offices!!! (see this is my Spiderman love as a kid coming through). So naturally I geek out in it. But, FJ's queue is much more impressive. It's filled with technology, it's a tour of Hogwarts in a queue that never stops moving! Transformer's queue is a walk through the N.E.S.T facility, buttons to press and stuff. I'll admit, the Spiderman queue needs modernising (or at least some painting!) They updated the whole ride to include 4K screens and update the animation, it was closed for 2/3 months so the fact they didn't do anything with the queue is annoying. So nowadays I take a point from Spiderman because of this, but the ride claws it back fantastically!
Anyone who has been on Spiderman and Transformers will know they both use the same system from Oceaneering with Dynamic working on the switch tracks. Both use the Universal patented "squinching" technique for the 3D. But they both offer different ride experiences. Transformers is stunning, somewhere in that ride you go up a lift to the second floor and then back down. I didn't know this before I rode it and still can't quite work out where it happens it's that well done. The action seems more fast paced, the simulated speed in that ride is sublime! This is where it loses to Spiderman though. The story is very fast in Transformers, action packed and disorientating. It relies so heavily on screens that the transition between screens is essentially another screen. There are not external effects, transitions without screens are just simple tunnels or something. This is where Spiderman triumphs!
Spiderman is a ride heavily relying upon screens. No doubt about it. Some people dislike this in a ride but I think Spiderman does balance it quite well. Transition between screens adds to the story, you see the Statue of Liberty head that all the bad guys have stolen, you have a truck flash it's lights at you (with Stan Lee in the driving seat). Since the 4K update, in some of the scenes it's difficult to work out where the screen begins and ends. Electro's lab is the best at this. When you enter you see his lab panel at the back which at first looks so realistic like a set. the transition between scenes also utilises the "scoop" vehicles abilities brilliantly. One part you spin through a tunnel (because Oceaneering made awesome vehicles that can spin 360 degrees, vibrate, tilt, do basically anything). It's just a wonderful experience, with fire. One lovely fireball. Must go off every 20 seconds or so but Universal aren't worried about the gas bill. I think the finale scene on this ride is my favourite from any ride as well, the falling. It's unbelievable!!! Seriously feels like you're falling 400ft (actually it's only 6ft but this just shows how great the vehicles work with the screens to enhance their capabilities).
I think the difference is, Spiderman is a fun action packed adventure. It gives you time to absorb the story whilst continuously developing it. Transformers is non stop, but it is so fast I lost track of who had the allspark at some points! So Spiderman, a ride of pure fun, adventure, excitement, thrill, just brilliant! I want a ride to beat it for the pure fact I want their to be another ride out their that provides (for me) the same enjoyment I get from riding Spiderman many times. Oh, it is also the one dark ride I will ride when it's dark outside (even with a walk on Hulk just metres away and I adore Hulk as a ride).
If Thorpe create even a smaller scale version of a ride like Spiderman that uses screens, excellent transitions, effects and a storyline that can incorporate many characters and the sense of elevation change and just. Actually, no. Only do that if you're going to go all out on it.

Oh, it's also very pretty at night. And to put it in perspective, I put this ride above any coasters I've ridden as well (because dark rides can be more thrilling than coasters).
Any comments are welcome and I'm happy to discuss opinions Thanks for reading a very wordy, quite serious report (it's okay I'm going to WW soon, a classic me style report will be on its way...)

Earlier this year I sarcastically explained why Nemesis is king of coasters. This time round I'm going to explain (in a serious-ish way) why Spiderman is my favourite dark ride of all time. (As always these are my opinions, if you do comment at the bottom explaining why you disagree I will hunt you down and get revenge oh and there might be some spoilers on the ride experience, you've been warned)
Islands of Adventure, the park that made Disney have an E-ticket attraction ready to be deployed at each of their parks in case of its success. Okay, this didn't happen in 1999, IoA didn't pull in the guests it was expected too. But it was still a huge leap in the theme park industry with some excellent attractions (especially for 1999). Most notably, Spiderman.

Hidden behind a façade is a ride building that brought to light a new style of dark ride. Simulators were a thing, pyrotechnics were a thing, 3D screens were a thing, but no one had combined these together in one show building until 1999. 3 years of development, a range of companies working together to create a masterpiece. Spiderman was born. A ride of this calibre is still thought of as an amazing technological design today. Just last year I rode Transformers for the first time and thought "wow!" the 4K screens, perfect 3D animation and flow is just flawless. So to have a ride like this 15 years ago shows just how advanced it was and still is. Maybe I'll never be able to change my opinion because of the fact it has been that awesome for so many years. I was only 2 when this ride was built, the industry hadn't even built a 10 looping roller coaster. But Forbidden Journey is a masterpiece is many ways, a huge dark ride that is technologically amazing and immersive. What is it that Spiderman has over the new boy on the block?
Maybe it's because I was a huge Spiderman fan as a kid. I first rode it when I was 5. I thought I was in the action, it was actually happening! It instantly became the ride I wanted to ride again and again, work out how it works, it sparked my interest in rides. Every time I've been to Florida since I've learnt more about how the ride works, the technology, what to expect etc. but it still delivers. When I went to Florida last year I gave Transformers and Forbidden Journey the chance. I knew the basics of the ride system, that Transformers was like Spiderman and FJ was just pure awesome, but nothing more. I went on those two rides like I did with Spiderman many years before, curious as to what was inside. Both of them are great rides, but neither of them had the same affect as Spiderman. I rate FJ second only to Spiderman and Transformers 4th, just not 1st. Spiderman sits their firmly and is unlikely to ever be toppled. Some people would say I never want Spiderman to be beaten. Nope, if a ride can beat the enjoyment and thrill I get from Spiderman everytime I ride it then it will go first.
Let's move onto the ride itself. The queue, it's the Daily Bugle! You're in the offices!!! (see this is my Spiderman love as a kid coming through). So naturally I geek out in it. But, FJ's queue is much more impressive. It's filled with technology, it's a tour of Hogwarts in a queue that never stops moving! Transformer's queue is a walk through the N.E.S.T facility, buttons to press and stuff. I'll admit, the Spiderman queue needs modernising (or at least some painting!) They updated the whole ride to include 4K screens and update the animation, it was closed for 2/3 months so the fact they didn't do anything with the queue is annoying. So nowadays I take a point from Spiderman because of this, but the ride claws it back fantastically!
Anyone who has been on Spiderman and Transformers will know they both use the same system from Oceaneering with Dynamic working on the switch tracks. Both use the Universal patented "squinching" technique for the 3D. But they both offer different ride experiences. Transformers is stunning, somewhere in that ride you go up a lift to the second floor and then back down. I didn't know this before I rode it and still can't quite work out where it happens it's that well done. The action seems more fast paced, the simulated speed in that ride is sublime! This is where it loses to Spiderman though. The story is very fast in Transformers, action packed and disorientating. It relies so heavily on screens that the transition between screens is essentially another screen. There are not external effects, transitions without screens are just simple tunnels or something. This is where Spiderman triumphs!
Spiderman is a ride heavily relying upon screens. No doubt about it. Some people dislike this in a ride but I think Spiderman does balance it quite well. Transition between screens adds to the story, you see the Statue of Liberty head that all the bad guys have stolen, you have a truck flash it's lights at you (with Stan Lee in the driving seat). Since the 4K update, in some of the scenes it's difficult to work out where the screen begins and ends. Electro's lab is the best at this. When you enter you see his lab panel at the back which at first looks so realistic like a set. the transition between scenes also utilises the "scoop" vehicles abilities brilliantly. One part you spin through a tunnel (because Oceaneering made awesome vehicles that can spin 360 degrees, vibrate, tilt, do basically anything). It's just a wonderful experience, with fire. One lovely fireball. Must go off every 20 seconds or so but Universal aren't worried about the gas bill. I think the finale scene on this ride is my favourite from any ride as well, the falling. It's unbelievable!!! Seriously feels like you're falling 400ft (actually it's only 6ft but this just shows how great the vehicles work with the screens to enhance their capabilities).
I think the difference is, Spiderman is a fun action packed adventure. It gives you time to absorb the story whilst continuously developing it. Transformers is non stop, but it is so fast I lost track of who had the allspark at some points! So Spiderman, a ride of pure fun, adventure, excitement, thrill, just brilliant! I want a ride to beat it for the pure fact I want their to be another ride out their that provides (for me) the same enjoyment I get from riding Spiderman many times. Oh, it is also the one dark ride I will ride when it's dark outside (even with a walk on Hulk just metres away and I adore Hulk as a ride).
If Thorpe create even a smaller scale version of a ride like Spiderman that uses screens, excellent transitions, effects and a storyline that can incorporate many characters and the sense of elevation change and just. Actually, no. Only do that if you're going to go all out on it.

Oh, it's also very pretty at night. And to put it in perspective, I put this ride above any coasters I've ridden as well (because dark rides can be more thrilling than coasters).
Any comments are welcome and I'm happy to discuss opinions Thanks for reading a very wordy, quite serious report (it's okay I'm going to WW soon, a classic me style report will be on its way...)

Earlier this year I sarcastically explained why Nemesis is king of coasters. This time round I'm going to explain (in a serious-ish way) why Spiderman is my favourite dark ride of all time. (As always these are my opinions, if you do comment at the bottom explaining why you disagree I will hunt you down and get revenge oh and there might be some spoilers on the ride experience, you've been warned)
Islands of Adventure, the park that made Disney have an E-ticket attraction ready to be deployed at each of their parks in case of its success. Okay, this didn't happen in 1999, IoA didn't pull in the guests it was expected too. But it was still a huge leap in the theme park industry with some excellent attractions (especially for 1999). Most notably, Spiderman.

Hidden behind a façade is a ride building that brought to light a new style of dark ride. Simulators were a thing, pyrotechnics were a thing, 3D screens were a thing, but no one had combined these together in one show building until 1999. 3 years of development, a range of companies working together to create a masterpiece. Spiderman was born. A ride of this calibre is still thought of as an amazing technological design today. Just last year I rode Transformers for the first time and thought "wow!" the 4K screens, perfect 3D animation and flow is just flawless. So to have a ride like this 15 years ago shows just how advanced it was and still is. Maybe I'll never be able to change my opinion because of the fact it has been that awesome for so many years. I was only 2 when this ride was built, the industry hadn't even built a 10 looping roller coaster. But Forbidden Journey is a masterpiece is many ways, a huge dark ride that is technologically amazing and immersive. What is it that Spiderman has over the new boy on the block?
Maybe it's because I was a huge Spiderman fan as a kid. I first rode it when I was 5. I thought I was in the action, it was actually happening! It instantly became the ride I wanted to ride again and again, work out how it works, it sparked my interest in rides. Every time I've been to Florida since I've learnt more about how the ride works, the technology, what to expect etc. but it still delivers. When I went to Florida last year I gave Transformers and Forbidden Journey the chance. I knew the basics of the ride system, that Transformers was like Spiderman and FJ was just pure awesome, but nothing more. I went on those two rides like I did with Spiderman many years before, curious as to what was inside. Both of them are great rides, but neither of them had the same affect as Spiderman. I rate FJ second only to Spiderman and Transformers 4th, just not 1st. Spiderman sits their firmly and is unlikely to ever be toppled. Some people would say I never want Spiderman to be beaten. Nope, if a ride can beat the enjoyment and thrill I get from Spiderman everytime I ride it then it will go first.
Let's move onto the ride itself. The queue, it's the Daily Bugle! You're in the offices!!! (see this is my Spiderman love as a kid coming through). So naturally I geek out in it. But, FJ's queue is much more impressive. It's filled with technology, it's a tour of Hogwarts in a queue that never stops moving! Transformer's queue is a walk through the N.E.S.T facility, buttons to press and stuff. I'll admit, the Spiderman queue needs modernising (or at least some painting!) They updated the whole ride to include 4K screens and update the animation, it was closed for 2/3 months so the fact they didn't do anything with the queue is annoying. So nowadays I take a point from Spiderman because of this, but the ride claws it back fantastically!
Anyone who has been on Spiderman and Transformers will know they both use the same system from Oceaneering with Dynamic working on the switch tracks. Both use the Universal patented "squinching" technique for the 3D. But they both offer different ride experiences. Transformers is stunning, somewhere in that ride you go up a lift to the second floor and then back down. I didn't know this before I rode it and still can't quite work out where it happens it's that well done. The action seems more fast paced, the simulated speed in that ride is sublime! This is where it loses to Spiderman though. The story is very fast in Transformers, action packed and disorientating. It relies so heavily on screens that the transition between screens is essentially another screen. There are not external effects, transitions without screens are just simple tunnels or something. This is where Spiderman triumphs!
Spiderman is a ride heavily relying upon screens. No doubt about it. Some people dislike this in a ride but I think Spiderman does balance it quite well. Transition between screens adds to the story, you see the Statue of Liberty head that all the bad guys have stolen, you have a truck flash it's lights at you (with Stan Lee in the driving seat). Since the 4K update, in some of the scenes it's difficult to work out where the screen begins and ends. Electro's lab is the best at this. When you enter you see his lab panel at the back which at first looks so realistic like a set. the transition between scenes also utilises the "scoop" vehicles abilities brilliantly. One part you spin through a tunnel (because Oceaneering made awesome vehicles that can spin 360 degrees, vibrate, tilt, do basically anything). It's just a wonderful experience, with fire. One lovely fireball. Must go off every 20 seconds or so but Universal aren't worried about the gas bill. I think the finale scene on this ride is my favourite from any ride as well, the falling. It's unbelievable!!! Seriously feels like you're falling 400ft (actually it's only 6ft but this just shows how great the vehicles work with the screens to enhance their capabilities).
I think the difference is, Spiderman is a fun action packed adventure. It gives you time to absorb the story whilst continuously developing it. Transformers is non stop, but it is so fast I lost track of who had the allspark at some points! So Spiderman, a ride of pure fun, adventure, excitement, thrill, just brilliant! I want a ride to beat it for the pure fact I want their to be another ride out their that provides (for me) the same enjoyment I get from riding Spiderman many times. Oh, it is also the one dark ride I will ride when it's dark outside (even with a walk on Hulk just metres away and I adore Hulk as a ride).
If Thorpe create even a smaller scale version of a ride like Spiderman that uses screens, excellent transitions, effects and a storyline that can incorporate many characters and the sense of elevation change and just. Actually, no. Only do that if you're going to go all out on it.

Oh, it's also very pretty at night. And to put it in perspective, I put this ride above any coasters I've ridden as well (because dark rides can be more thrilling than coasters).
Any comments are welcome and I'm happy to discuss opinions Thanks for reading a very wordy, quite serious report (it's okay I'm going to WW soon, a classic me style report will be on its way...)

Earlier this year I sarcastically explained why Nemesis is king of coasters. This time round I'm going to explain (in a serious-ish way) why Spiderman is my favourite dark ride of all time. (As always these are my opinions, if you do comment at the bottom explaining why you disagree I will hunt you down and get revenge oh and there might be some spoilers on the ride experience, you've been warned)
Islands of Adventure, the park that made Disney have an E-ticket attraction ready to be deployed at each of their parks in case of its success. Okay, this didn't happen in 1999, IoA didn't pull in the guests it was expected too. But it was still a huge leap in the theme park industry with some excellent attractions (especially for 1999). Most notably, Spiderman.

Hidden behind a façade is a ride building that brought to light a new style of dark ride. Simulators were a thing, pyrotechnics were a thing, 3D screens were a thing, but no one had combined these together in one show building until 1999. 3 years of development, a range of companies working together to create a masterpiece. Spiderman was born. A ride of this calibre is still thought of as an amazing technological design today. Just last year I rode Transformers for the first time and thought "wow!" the 4K screens, perfect 3D animation and flow is just flawless. So to have a ride like this 15 years ago shows just how advanced it was and still is. Maybe I'll never be able to change my opinion because of the fact it has been that awesome for so many years. I was only 2 when this ride was built, the industry hadn't even built a 10 looping roller coaster. But Forbidden Journey is a masterpiece is many ways, a huge dark ride that is technologically amazing and immersive. What is it that Spiderman has over the new boy on the block?
Maybe it's because I was a huge Spiderman fan as a kid. I first rode it when I was 5. I thought I was in the action, it was actually happening! It instantly became the ride I wanted to ride again and again, work out how it works, it sparked my interest in rides. Every time I've been to Florida since I've learnt more about how the ride works, the technology, what to expect etc. but it still delivers. When I went to Florida last year I gave Transformers and Forbidden Journey the chance. I knew the basics of the ride system, that Transformers was like Spiderman and FJ was just pure awesome, but nothing more. I went on those two rides like I did with Spiderman many years before, curious as to what was inside. Both of them are great rides, but neither of them had the same affect as Spiderman. I rate FJ second only to Spiderman and Transformers 4th, just not 1st. Spiderman sits their firmly and is unlikely to ever be toppled. Some people would say I never want Spiderman to be beaten. Nope, if a ride can beat the enjoyment and thrill I get from Spiderman everytime I ride it then it will go first.
Let's move onto the ride itself. The queue, it's the Daily Bugle! You're in the offices!!! (see this is my Spiderman love as a kid coming through). So naturally I geek out in it. But, FJ's queue is much more impressive. It's filled with technology, it's a tour of Hogwarts in a queue that never stops moving! Transformer's queue is a walk through the N.E.S.T facility, buttons to press and stuff. I'll admit, the Spiderman queue needs modernising (or at least some painting!) They updated the whole ride to include 4K screens and update the animation, it was closed for 2/3 months so the fact they didn't do anything with the queue is annoying. So nowadays I take a point from Spiderman because of this, but the ride claws it back fantastically!
Anyone who has been on Spiderman and Transformers will know they both use the same system from Oceaneering with Dynamic working on the switch tracks. Both use the Universal patented "squinching" technique for the 3D. But they both offer different ride experiences. Transformers is stunning, somewhere in that ride you go up a lift to the second floor and then back down. I didn't know this before I rode it and still can't quite work out where it happens it's that well done. The action seems more fast paced, the simulated speed in that ride is sublime! This is where it loses to Spiderman though. The story is very fast in Transformers, action packed and disorientating. It relies so heavily on screens that the transition between screens is essentially another screen. There are not external effects, transitions without screens are just simple tunnels or something. This is where Spiderman triumphs!
Spiderman is a ride heavily relying upon screens. No doubt about it. Some people dislike this in a ride but I think Spiderman does balance it quite well. Transition between screens adds to the story, you see the Statue of Liberty head that all the bad guys have stolen, you have a truck flash it's lights at you (with Stan Lee in the driving seat). Since the 4K update, in some of the scenes it's difficult to work out where the screen begins and ends. Electro's lab is the best at this. When you enter you see his lab panel at the back which at first looks so realistic like a set. the transition between scenes also utilises the "scoop" vehicles abilities brilliantly. One part you spin through a tunnel (because Oceaneering made awesome vehicles that can spin 360 degrees, vibrate, tilt, do basically anything). It's just a wonderful experience, with fire. One lovely fireball. Must go off every 20 seconds or so but Universal aren't worried about the gas bill. I think the finale scene on this ride is my favourite from any ride as well, the falling. It's unbelievable!!! Seriously feels like you're falling 400ft (actually it's only 6ft but this just shows how great the vehicles work with the screens to enhance their capabilities).
I think the difference is, Spiderman is a fun action packed adventure. It gives you time to absorb the story whilst continuously developing it. Transformers is non stop, but it is so fast I lost track of who had the allspark at some points! So Spiderman, a ride of pure fun, adventure, excitement, thrill, just brilliant! I want a ride to beat it for the pure fact I want their to be another ride out their that provides (for me) the same enjoyment I get from riding Spiderman many times. Oh, it is also the one dark ride I will ride when it's dark outside (even with a walk on Hulk just metres away and I adore Hulk as a ride).
If Thorpe create even a smaller scale version of a ride like Spiderman that uses screens, excellent transitions, effects and a storyline that can incorporate many characters and the sense of elevation change and just. Actually, no. Only do that if you're going to go all out on it.

Oh, it's also very pretty at night. And to put it in perspective, I put this ride above any coasters I've ridden as well (because dark rides can be more thrilling than coasters).
Any comments are welcome and I'm happy to discuss opinions Thanks for reading a very wordy, quite serious report (it's okay I'm going to WW soon, a classic me style report will be on its way...)