Matt 236

I guess this means Shanghai Disney won't open until 2017 now .

Indeed it has. Probably a good job I'm not going now as plans to go that day fell through with this being the last nail in the coffin. Really really wish they'd stop doing these late minute opening hour cut backs as some people they've got to abruptly change their plans or worse, waste three hours done nothing.

Thanks so much for creating this. I have never realised how crucial & prominent the Fifth Dimension was in setting the bar & standard for dark rides and Themepark park standards at the time. A group of ride creators building a Disney style dark ride on limited budget & resources yet trying to obtain a similar level of magic is remarkable, from things such as lights in pipes to replicate space, the creative Mack transit system (which still exists) to the swamp scene even. The changes just a year later mentioned is interesting, in the way they tried to enhance the ride with re-recoded dubs, especially some of the suggestions of him using different accents amongst replacing the giant Gorg at the end, it's just such a shame the ride was such a technical struggle and it didn't receive the understanding by the gp as well as first hoped. The designers of this ride definitely had more creativity in their fingers than the current ones have in their whole body and makes me disappointed I never got to experience this amazing sounding ride in what was likely the golden age of Uk theme parks. I'm assuming Layout wise: The lights to space was where the boulder is now The zappomatic scene is where the mummies shooting scene is now The Gorgs & ice are where the tomb shooting bits are now The Swamp was where the Sphinx is now The giant Gorg scene is where the snake finale is now. Such an interesting watch.

Merlin uk council relationships in summary, Thorpe Park & Runnymede council Can build a lot of things they want,high limit is around 130ft (except special conditions like Stealth), but they can't go much underground (if at all). The end result however must be very similar to what's been proposed Current park council relations good. expected Success rate for planning 90% Alton Towers & Runnymede council Have fairly strict height & sound restrictions hence why Nemy was built in a pit, Blivvy was built underground, Rita has some dark green track and Thunder Looper left after 6 years. However have a fair share of Terran areas to play with to build new rides, don't need to stick as strict to the plan as thorpe do and have areas in the park such as Adventure land, mutiny bay & Cloud Cuckoo where planning isn't necessarily needed (unless it's something massive). Often meet in the middle when it comes to needs. Current relations, mixed, they're strict but eventually reach agreements, expected success rate for planning 65% Chessington & Kingston council Also have strict planning rules, no over tree height rides, nothing too noisy either. Unlike like towers lack areas for 'creative' expansion, council generally don't get on well with the park and expansion has been much harder since Transylvania due to Vampire's noise issues etc. Many plans have been made but been either refused or unschievable. Current relations, not good, hated and ignored needs. Expected success for planning 40% General,y expectations anyway.

Today wasn't the best of days unfortunately as many rides broke down during evening and remained closed all night, 14 in total plus Big Top was shockingly disaponting not to mention only managing 4 rides somewhat. Containment however was really good, as were Csbin & Saw Alive but can't save what operation wise has possibly been my worst trip for 4 years.

Went to Thorpe today and was possibly my worst trip there for 4 years years, at least from an operational point of view, lots of ride breakdowns, mixed operations and many rides shut down completely at the end of the night including Colossus, X, Slammer, Swarm & depth charge, there was 14 rides closed by the end of the night before closing. Mazes were very hit and miss. Big Top was shockingly poor today, waited 2 hours due to breakdown and the tunthrough severely lacked the greatness of Thursday's preview, even Blair Witch mk1 was better. 3/10 Cabin Best maze by a long shot, actors were on a roll and really in character. 10/10 Containment Proper good attraction, really felt involved in the games which involved people sorting puzzles, a bit like an escape room with some live/scare actors in really. Just about worth the £8. 8/10 Blair Witch As good as preview night, actors are very good but the light of WC16 ruined settings a little, though couldn't be helped really. 7/10 Saw Alive Much better this year, really grown to this maze this year which may be my second favourite now. 8.5/10 Did some BTS with southpark on Saw Alive & Big Top and was really interesting seeing the mazes and vsn definitely appreciate them more especially the former and interesting the changes the maze has gone through since its existence. Was a good event. Also got an evac from Cabin too which was interesting how everything suddenly stopped and the actors going from scaring you to going out of character and guiding you to the exit. Overall some good bite but some negative bits too, going back in a weeks time for the meet which will probe be my final trip this year due to major commitments, so hopefully ride operations will be much better as a whole, the BTS, cabin, containment and company made up for what doodle otherwise been a terrible day.

I'm in Cabin's queue now and Slammer has been dead all day as far as I'm aware. It's also got a sign outside its entrance explaining its unavailable. The ride may have well packed up for the year now, or worse, for good.

I did Space Mountain for the first time in September and absolutely loved it. The pure steampunk theme & build up really helps this attraction for me and the semi outside station with dual loading helps too. The ride experience is superb with all the meteor effects and lasers and considering its in for another major refurb, things can only get better hopefully.

I'm hoping those medals are more-so indicating a possible redesign of medals or even just a random end of season sale, however there is no smoke without fire as I have heard some on/off aggressive rumours of X & Slammer 'possibly' leaving (take this with a pinch of salt) which hope doesn't happen. I'm hoping Slamner doesn't go (yet) as its a unique exciting attraction and though when it's broken it's messed up, the ride works quite reliably when it is running. It's possible following the Smiler, Merlin will be more ruthless with ride running and if Slsmmer suffers another major failure/mechanical failure they will just close it for good.

My thoughts tonight (Don't read for spoilers) Big Top A maze of two extremes, started well went down hill got better when the ring leader appears but still lacks the greatness of Asylum & Studio. Cabin Virtually identical to last year, but still my favourite MBV Weakest maze of the night, acting is ok but is too short now without the hospital scenes. Saw Alive This has grown on me slit, more theatrical than before so was good fun. Blair Witch Some improvements again but there is still room for more Fright nights overall Once again has its pros and cons but did really enjoy it again. I like that small pieces of theming have no started appearing at this event & considering the problems big top has faced it can only get better through time really.

One of the things I remember from VIP experience was the 'Stealth & Rita were supposed to be one ride' thing and though there are things that make sense, I'm still struggling to believe this potential myth. Back on topic, Thorpe's next big thing should be a coaster but one that aims towards the thrilling end for families. Something along the lines of Blue Fire & Helix with good theming and marketing could work, or even a woodie, Plopsas getting one and that's a park that attracts a similar age group to Paultons.

That Shed some light on the topic then.

Paultons (though I haven't visited yet (MC16)) looks it's already a better park than Chessie. They have great rides, great theming, decent upkeep making an overall well loved park that is slowly turning from a regional park to leasing one in the uk. Despite its falling quality, operations, theming, upkeep etc, it seems Merlin have a strategy to keep it higher than the likes of Paultons. Unfortunately it's the wrong one as its only aimed at getting more guests. Rather than do rightful things like ripping out Toadies for a thrilling major family coaster, replacing Tombs with a better 21st century dark ride amongst other things all the park seem to be doing as adding more non-themepark stuff like more accommodation rather then invest and improve the park it'self which is getting closer and closer to breaking point, the day when vampire fails forever, Tomb shortcircuits and something happens in rattlesnake and falls leaving just scorpion, fury, bubbles & Zufari. Rumour has it yet another hotel could be coming to Chessington in the possible future, or lodges like EV or both.

Really hope 2017 will be the year we see something major added to the park (even at the expense of another ride). If WC16 is a success this will look more hopeful, but then again seeing how well their last big thing Zufari ended up, my optimism is currently on the low side.

Looks like this park is really rolling out on the investments, three coasters in one year? Need I say more.

Take this with a pinch of salt, but someone said to me that if WC16 turns out to be a success, there are plans to remove Tomb a Blaster & possibly close Falls for a while to build a big brand new ride. Could we be seeing this in 2017?

It's a shame the Flume [much like Tidal Wave] won't be seeing the year out, however I can see why their doing this as the park in the present day is in a poor state following the Smiler accident and considering the ride is: 1/ Potentially less popular this time of year due to temperatures 2/ Must close at dusk for safety reasons 3/ Is likely one of the park's most expensive rides to run [Rita costs more to run but somewhat has the popularity to keep running it] Then the park must be ruthless with their decisions to try and prevent further loss and problems as guests numbers this year are likely to be down by at least 20% even if Christmas somewhat turns on to be a success. This isn't the first abrupt/negative cutback we've seen at the park's this year and I'm sure it probably won't be the last. If Dragon Falls closes however, they've made a foolish decision though.

Infusion is alright, but not a patch on Nemesis Inferno [or even Vampire]. Big One has a nice big drop [not to mention being the tallest in the Uk] but most of the ride is forceless . Blackpool's best rides for me are the woodies, Steeplechase & Valhalla.

I'm just hoping it won't be an immersive tunnel because for a major ride, it would be a bit of a let down, the photo op thing is strong proof and hope it won't be one. I'm hoping for something like Ratstouille in all honesty, but the building shape and size says to me the ride as a whole could be a prototype altogether. As for Chessington's next big thing, I reckon Tomb's days are numbered and as a result the ride will be leaving soon to be replaced with a new dark ride attraction (it's almost 30 now).

Looks a beauty so far, yay more B&M goodness!

Doesn't surprise me at all, they need to either replace or just get rid of it as the ride no longer works, and when it does it shakes you to death like its about to fall apart. I suppose no ones heard any updates on Tomb which to my knowledge is still closed. Something major must be up with that ride to be down since late August. Edit- just checked the site and Tombs like Skyway will also remain closed for the rest of the season. Seems like the ride has had it, like most of the park.

In terms of UK park no.1, that currently goes to Alton Towers. Alton Towers for feels more than a themepark, but in a way an experience, it boasts some great prominent coasters, some interesting supporting dark rides amongst other bits and Bob in the realms of the historic gothic Towers & gardens complexes. Yes there park is lacking the magic it probably had 15 years ago but it's still a great place. Thorpe & Blackpool would be after this, I like Thorpe's Island design and variety of rides whilst Blackpool features many historic rides & the amazing Valhalla. Chessington is only just in my top 5 at the moment and once I do Paultons (next year fingers crossed), it probably won't be unless they up their game. I rate LLW higher than Chessie in the present day.

Wow! that report makes Towers seem like a ghost town and just hearing it makes me feel how sad that a once bustling park is heavilly desserted. Towers has hit a new dark age it seems and the Smiler has severly scarred the park. It may not be until 2017 that I expect the park to receive a full recovery and appears SW8 as a result has been delayed, or worse cancelled as a result especially as I heard an application or something was supposed to be submitted in August but never happened.

This definitely looks to be a massive overhaul for the Hulk, by the sound of the new trains,track,station and queue, it'll almost be a brand new ride once it's done. I guess to an extent, Hulk [mk-1] has indeed become the first B&M in the world to hit the scrap heap. I don't know whether to be sad or happy in regards to this news.

The area is definitely starting to take shape, this should hopefully be an amazing addition to paultons and perhaps a game changer to them.