Matt 236

I would strongly be in favour of a two meet thing, mainly for reason mentioned above but on the aspect I would love to see another moderate-long distance meet (wish I voted Oakwood as well) as it's great to visit parks I rarely get to visit (hoping I can go), whilst its always good to get visits to Thorpe especially with these fantastic summer night events too.

This is good news for the project. I strongly hope this park takes place so we finally have a world class park on our island (Alton Towers isn't quite world class these days) plus, the last major themepark we actually received (to my knowledge) was Legoland and that's nearly 20 years ago now (digger land & dickens world aren't that big). Plus we could also do with some much needed competition here as everything here is currently pretty much dominated by Merlin (and will probably continue to do so far many years if this park doesn't happen).

I don't know much about the attraction, except its a haunted house style attraction (but of course aimed at young families). I believe it has a walk through section, pre-show and drop tower. Could describe it really as Legoland/kids Sub-Terra ride (as already mentioned). Apparently it's going east of boating school. Wonder will it will be going and could this mean the end of Baloon Schhol?

Add fastrack sales and they may also have the slowest loading Dodgems as well.

Disneyland Paris That was all I wanted

I chose Paultons because I've not been to that park yet, plus there's Cobra and many other exciting additions there. That being said, I don't mind where we go and would be happy for a meet to any of these. It would be nice to go back to Oakwood again as it's such a great park and their after dark events are brilliant (transport could be a problem though) p,us Thorpe is easy to get to for me plus there will also be summers nights running = more rides on Inferno etc.

Banned for not being scared

Banned for not loving Inferno (It was my first looping coaster I ever did and could happily ride it all day).

Just come back from a dog walk. After using a public footpath and going through a gate with the dog to a road where there are no footpaths, I'm there waiting for the right moment to walk up the lane when loads of cars in each direction are going past, some of which are either turning around or pulling out of nearby houses. When the road was clear, I walked out on the road with the dog on the inside whilst I go in the direction of forthcoming traffic (which I believe is the correct way on roads without footpaths). Not far away on the other side of the road, an old man is walking by with another dog. When I start walking up the lane away, he then shouts at me telling me to move my dog from the bloody road. I quickly walk on saying nothing and not batting an eyelid. I hate it when there are people who are arrogant, selfish and think they own places and public services when the road, lane or so it may be is for everyone to use and doesn't belong to them. Whilst I reacted to the incident quite calmly, I feel to have been spoken to like that in a public space to be unacceptable and treated like I'm a useless piece of trash and humiliated too. It just gives me a bitter taste in my mouth. It's not acceptable when people think they are better than everyone.

Currently able to do the 7th & 8th and 28th & 29th June. Plan to try and stay at hotel too, should be a great trip hopefully. Edit- Would be extremely grateful if someone could get me a lift there, will pay you petrol money and buy you a drink too (if anything can be arranged).

Banned MIT Ausdruck Frolich

Banned for riding Europe's steepest drop on a log flume before me

Having been to last years July MOS, I can say I really enjoyed it. Pretty much it's ride time on some of the parks rides from 8pm-11pm which is usually the Bain coasters, but included Rush & Tidal Wave when I went. Then the club part opens in the dome which is open until 3am. Have no idea how the overnight stay part works, but Peaj (and others) may have a getter explanation on that one.

Banned for not being confused by a post that was posted too late and someone else banned the person in which the other person intended to ban.

Thanks for the comments guys, ,Legoland has definitely gone to an all time low this year and I may not visit until November (as my pass runs out then). Definitely recommend visiting Chessington instead though, the place is fantastic and is far better in everything in comparison (review on the way). I'd rather go to euro Disney once than visit Legoland 10 times.

Looks brilliant IMO Hoping the final result looks as nice as those pictures, this appears to be a fantastic place to stay over at in towers and a great alternative to the other hotels. Definitely more excited by this than CBeebies land ()

Slammer-up first side Seven Dwarfs Mine Train or Snow White's Scary Adventure (Wdw)

In terms of the ride, I have mixed views currently. The coaster sections look great fun, the theming and scenery are of excellent standard and the animatronics are very well done and look very realistic in motion to the characters they are creating. Whilst the pacing is ok, the witch at the end aka queen (as mentioned above) is rather confusing and in a way a little anti-climatic to ride and I think should've appeared earlier on, unless there's more story after the ride or something. I also though there could be more animatronics too tbh. Still looks a very good coaster/themed ride and a good substitute attraction to the former Snow White Scary Adventure ride which was ripped out for the meet and greet a couple of years ago,

Thanks Han, Unfortunately Crossed Ribs is no more which has been replaced BurgerKitchen. Although I haven't (properly) tried it, I can say I'm not very impressed with it. Having grown up with Legoland for almost all my life, I have noticed many changes there through the years and this years ones are very dull and there isn't much character left there now. It just upsets me how the park has suddenly become worse (this year) with less soul & atmosphere. The park was generally a better place before 2006.

Frozen (by a centimetre) Anna or Elsa?

Wow, that's a very interesting selection of information that I never knew happened within the circumstances of Detonator. I find it astounding on how the ride was almost not to be . May the ride remain for some time as I love it.

For all you selfie fans out there

After accomplishing a sufficient amount of work at uni, I thought it was time for a visit to Legoland Windsor. Supposedly my home park (as this is where my pass is sorted), this would be my first visit to the park for 2014 to see what changes had taken place and to check out the new (re-themed) attractions at the park. In the near distance lies Pirate Shores, the re-themed Pirate area of Legolañd and also the area's 3rd retheme since it's existence. I was rather impressed with the parks recent additions such as the hotel, Star Wars Walkthrough and Duplo Valley and hoping this years updates would continue that good standard. After entering the park, here is the entrance to Pirate Shores (formerly Pirates Landing). The sign looks bright, striking and an improvement of the pirate landings one. The support structure remains the same though. Apart from the slightly changed sign, the first change to notice in the area, is a new selection of models located just in front of the Jolly a Rocker. They're ok I guess, nothing too striking however a pretty good addition theming wise. And now it's time to try out the first re-themed attraction, Pirate Falls- Treasure Quest (formerly Pirate Falls), the 2nd re-theme of the park's log flume ride (however not much actually changed on the 1st). First we are welcomed by This bright new sign welcoming us to the entrance to the ride. The queue area for the ride. This section has seen a number of changes including the rebuilding of the queue shelters. Whilst having a similar design to the original ones, these make look nice and fresh compared to the old ones which did look a little worn. That being said, the empty area in the middle of the queue looks rather dull at the moment, which used to be home to building blocks for kids previously and despite some theming being added, it just looks a mess, dirty and unfinished. The shaft above the drop has also been completely rebuilt in the same style of the original, which was good to see (as the old one was starting to look pretty worn). And finally (it's difficult to see from here), some new models. Almost every model on the ride has been replaced for the retheme, making the ride almost new again. But Here's The Big Question, How does it compare to the original theme? Despite being re-themed in 2010, most of the ride remained the same and though many models were looking rather worn and some effects not always working, the ride was still very entertaining with its humour, creative storyline and animated figures. Unfortunately, I cannot really say the same for the new one as what's been delivered in the new one compared that above can only be described as dry and bittersweet. The ride's new storyline is less amusing, diverts off to pointless characters and situations which don't add to the storyline and lacks any kind of humour. The animatronic side is just as disappointing as there are few things animated in the ride compared to the old one which in comparison to the ride now was flooded with them. Scenes such as pirates mistreating a monkey being replaced with the (apparent) protagonist and antagonist of the new story fighting, which whilst sound effects are included, not a single movement is included in this scene. Whilst there are numerous new water effects on the ride such as squirting skull heads (after the squirting mice) and frog fountains at the drop (Legoland love their water) plus a new piratey soundtrack and improved audio around the ride, this sadly cannot make up for the disappointment in the rest of the ride. It's almost like they had loads of ideas for the re-theme for the ride to start, but then suddenly lost motivation and effort to finish the ride, gave up and just plonked everything in, Compared to Fairy Tale Brook's re-theme, the ride is quite a let down. The only good points are the new audio and sound system and that the ride now looks fresh and new (except a few areas). Overall rating, 3/10. Moving on disappointing Treasure Queuer, it seems Burger Kitchen has now invaded Legoland. Gone is the Crossed Ribs BBQ, an awesome restaurant that sold food similar to Calypso BBQ and existed at the park from day one. Seeing that it looked little more than a metal shed when being built, the facade they've used to conceal it isn't bad and makes it fit in the surrounding area much better. Which is a pity they couldn't hide it from above, even painting it brown would've done the job. The inside isn't any better either. Whilst Crossed Ribs was never (what I call) heavily themed, it was at least more related and coherent to a pirate setting. This interior and design though, has as much coherence to pirate shores as much as Tesco or Primark does. Whilst the area so far isn't that great, let's take a look at the new play area they're building, which doesn't appear to be open yet. And is still under construction. Not a single part of the new area has even been constructed, plus there's still some leftovers from the old (and removed) Rat Trap still in existence. Apparently the play area was supposed to be open for April. However by the looks of things, that will probably be closer to June. Meanwhile in Lego City, Burger Ranch has also been replaced by- (wait for it), another Burger Kitchen. Personsly I think it looks horrible outside, it ruins the character of the area, doesn't connect the remaining rock theming and just sticks out like a sore thumb. Whilst the indoor section is perhaps marginally better than the interior of Pirate Shores, I'm not that impressed by it, although I suppose the fact there's more undercover seating is good for when's there's heavy rain at the park. Amity Fish and Chips at Thorpe (in comparison) looks much better than either of these though and that isn't perfect either. Elsewhere in Lego city, the Xbox gaming zone has had a makeover. Whilst I've never been a fan of the gaming zone (and never will), I can say this a slight improvement over the old one. A big improvement would be to rip it out and bring back an awesome walk through similar to the Magic Theatre! We finish this update with a look at the miniland area of the park, one of the few parts of Lego that are still magical and done right. Miniland is such a nice place to visit whilst at the park, the buildings and creations the model makers have built are excellent. It's a shame this area doesn't always get the love and attention it deserves. However, hopefully those years of neglect will be coming to an end, as part of the area (now completed) will become a brand new Paris area in miniland (although it looks like it has replaced a former area). The attention to detail is incredible and it looks very well done. So far this looks like the only thing the park has done right this year. Hopefully it will look very nice when completed. Overall, although I had a good day when I went, I felt rather let down and disappointed by all the new changes to the park this year except the Paris miniland. Pirate Shores has replaced all the soul and character of the area with bland generic pirate settings, the burger kitchens just don't fit in and the Xbox zone is still an a X box zone, if I wanted to play on an Xbox, I'd just play on one at home instead of using it at a themepark. Legoland was always a park I associated with good theming and upkeep in it's years open (though far from the likes of Disney) and the park always had a 'mostly' well kept look at the best of times. However this appears to have changed for the worse in 2014 with many effects not being fixed and repaired and new outlets with little to no theming appearing. It's saddening to see one of your loved childhood parks ripped of soul and character and not just blandly themed burger kitchens and life-less theming replacing once amazing theming on one of your favourite rides, but also things like the giraffe model being removed from the train just for a marginal increase in capacity and the toilet signs (previously Lego figures) replaced by a more simple and generic design replacing them (m for male f for female). "]http://s798.photobucket.com/user/mattthemepark/media/DSCF1274_zpsaed4990e.jpg.html] Overall unless you have an annual pass and/or live within less than an hours distance of the park, I would perhaps not bother visiting Legoland, for 2014 at least. I've always been a big fan/supporter of the park, but most of he changes at the park for this year are just so disappointing and the park sadly at the moment is little more than a corporate money pit and not really worth entry at half price (forget full price). If you're thinking of going to Legoland, visit Chessington instead as it's much better!

An online source has appeared recently stating the plans to improve the park over the next few years. http://www.independentguidebooks.com/blog/2014/4/20/disneyland-paris-rumour-incredibly-detailed-10-year-roadmap-from-2014 Nothing groundbreaking there from what's seen, however Toy Story midway mania ride addition sounds very interesting as does the Studios Marvel section re theme which Rock N roller coaster will become a Spider-Man themed ride. Also looks like we will be seeing a number of major attractions closed for lengthly times as well with Space Mountain and Star Tours closed at different times in 2015 (the former will be gaining new trains, improved effects and a return to its original theme) plus Thunder Mountain will be closed during the whole of 2016.

Space Mountain mission 2 Peter Pans flight (DLP) or Pinoccios Daring Journey (DLP) ?