Matt 236

Another recycled Merlin coaster. Oblivion concept & logo + inferno background + thirteen marketing = standard new Merlin coaster at secondary park. Whilst I love B&M's this just sounds very samey. Efteling dive coaster for the win!

The above photo does show that what we will hopefully receive when the area opens opens will be SN improvement of that park area. Whilst there's a bit of contrast at the mo from the bright coloured building FFS and run down amity ones, it certainly adds more life to what's been a bit of a dead/lifeless area of the park since pirates closed. Angry birds land does look like it'll be quite nice when finished, obviously nothing spectacular plus it's a difficult area of the park to add much or enhance due to its complex layout (plus there's no way of those buildings being removed/rebuilt on Merlins watch at least) but it'll be a nice area which will appeal to most target groups. Angry birds land beats LEGOLAND's investments this year any way.

Chocolate eggs Thi3teen or Saw the ride?

Middle earth Old Chessington (pre 1998) or new Chessington (post 2010)?

Dark ride (we need more in the uk) Hex or Valhalla?

Hopefully this new Chessington that's appearing (post 2010) will add some new life to the park. I guess the following rides will likely be in line for major refurbishment/retheming or even replacement in the next 5 years. Dragon Falls Bubbleworks Skyway TombBlaster Toadies Pirates Cove Truckers

Banned for not being in the top 3 places of most likely to be banned on the previous forum awards.

Banned for keeping a two month window of no posts on this topic.

I'll be doing this meet and if things work out, I'll crash at either the travelodge or shark as well.

I will try and make this one as I've never been to Blackpool and this trip sounds very exciting. Should have a final answer shortly to confirm my attendance. Edit- would it be possible for lift (pretty please) from someone? I'll give you petrol money etc. as otherwise, I probably won't be able to go.

Whilst Colossus currently looks a mess (with its dirty paint faded track and messy queue line), the ride has been running at its smoothest during the last couple of years. Apart from the cobra roll, I've found the ride pretty smooth on all my five rides this year.

Providing the bird models aren't exclusive to the signs, this makes expectations of the new area slightly better so far. Whilst I'll wait til the areas done, it does look a bit like Balamory around that area like some have mentioned. Also, still no citing of the dodgems yet, hopefully the approval gone through now.

Zodiac was closed all day Tuesday with no signs of life on the ride all day. Haven't seen the ride down as much since the mid Tussaud's era when they still had the original ride. I think the return of the park scroller on the site would be a great move, as it gives guests planning to visit updates on events, disruptions and closed rides and are more prepared for worst case scenarios.

Went on the tea cups on Tuesday and the central wheel on my cup was very stiff. Could barely move it during the whole ride and struggled to get a decent spin from it. I think the ride needs some work done to it, because the tea cup wheels are so stiff there now and also one the turn table platforms with the cups on hasn't been spinning all season. Legoland's Spinning Spider is far easier to spin on the wheel and can reach a fast speed when done right. I love storm in a tea cup, but they need to grease the wheels and get that other turn table working so it became a better ride.

So it seems only only two uk coasters made the top 100. Shame inferno, Swarm and a Fury got so low. I remember a few years back when fury was in the top 50. The uk definitely needs some new groundbreaking coasters now. I wish Merlin would knock this world first thing on the head and just plan on making a decent coaster with a great exciting layout.

Went to Amity Fish and Chips at Thorpe when I visited Tuesday. The interior is quite well done IMO and features pictures on the wall of stealth and items that relate to the American 50's theme as well. The exterior (seen further up) is nothing to go to town about, but it does the job and looks ok with stealth in the background. I had fish and chips (probably the obvious choice) which my food was served at the till pretty quickly. Alternatives on the menu are pies, sausages and a vegetarian option, for those who don't fancy fish. The food there was delicious, the batter nice and crispy and no waste on the fish I had either. The chips were nice and chunky and delicious (maybe only second to lattice fries) and the curry sauce was ok too. 7/10 Not bad value for money, however it did slightly concern me that my pass discount was only £6.12, considering its £6.95 full price and it looked more like a10% discount price (would be more like 5.50 at 20%). Definitely a lot better than Legoland's new Burger Kitchens (in comparison) which look bland, soulless and dull (especially the Lego City one which looks horrible on the outside).

Hex for me is definitely the best uk dark ride. The queue line build up, theming, surroundings, story, narration, effects and the brilliant sound track make for a remarkable attraction and one of the few experiences at a Merlin park that is almost on a Disney standard. That said, I've not been to a Disney park yet ( shock ) which is something I'm desperate to achieve in the near future as the rides there look far superior to the uk in theming, story, experience and up keep (bar a selected few). Honourable uk dark ride mentions, X, love the lights sequence, it feels like a night club themed coaster Spirit Of London, love the story telling/ theming of the ride. Feels like one of those brilliant Tussaud's and Wardley dark rides Still haven't done Duel or Sub Terra, plus I am still yet to visit Blackpolol where a good chunk of uk dark rides are housed including Valhalla, which I've heard a lot of good things of. My opinion could change if/when I do these rides. It's a shame the uk hasn't seen many dark rides built in the last 10 years, as considering the bad weather and that most parks have noise/sound restrictions and/or lack of space, these attractiones would be brilliant for our parks and I think chessie and Thorpe at least could do with a decent dark ride style attraction,. I'd rather see a major dark ride than a coaster at Thorpe tbh. Storm surge dark ride/ Charlie and the chocolate factory (bring back toy land tours)

In the night garden ride looks rather dull and disappointing at the moment. As for the rest of the area, it still looks like a farmyard covered in bright colours from an exploding paint factory.

Looks loverly. Definitely more appetising than the burger kitchen restaurants. Hopefully the food there will be good.

Florida Gringotts coaster or Seven dwarfs mine train?

Facebook Burrito or Kebab?

Definitely B&M Space Mountain or Rock N Rollercoaster?

Looks a good addition to me, was thinking the entrance could do with some improvements as it currently a bit worn and dated.

Skyway has very much been run down since I started visiting the park in 2006 I which the ride has looked run down, the trains rattly (some with doors that don't close) and also that' it's route doesn't really work for it anymore. Whilst the station changes sound promising, the ride needs to be retracked with a slightly different (and more interesting) route, new or heavily refurbished trains and a repaint of the track and station area. In reality we'll be lucky if we see the trains alone refurbished in the near future.