Matt 236

Exciting concept there, knowing by universal Japan standards, it'll be mighty impressive when it's all finished.

That coaster site is massive! It's almost the size of a whole area too. Don't think I've been excited this much for an intamin coaster since Thirteen.

Seems like there's lots of vekoma wallabies here, I applaud your experience

Hope the scenic opens soon as if it's anything like the Yarmouth one it'll be a great fun ride. Closing outdoors areas in this weather seems quite a big step, but then we've been receiving awful rain in the south too much recently.

Visited not one, not two but three brand new parks this weekend (giving a nice splash on to my cred list which probably went up by at least 30), Pleasure Wood Hills, Joyland & Great ayarmouth Pleasure Beach. Pleasure wood Hills was my favourite park, but Yarmouty had my favourite ride, Roller Coaster which is a scenic railway style ride and runs fantastically (my first scenic ride too). Joyland was really just done for the Fred's but isn't a bad tiny park (strong emphasis on the tiny). Reports to follow soon. The only wooden coasters I have left to do now are Dreamland's Scenic (when it opens) & Gullivers Antelope (which is difficult to ride in that park as a childless adult) so I guess I've done all the UK woodies for now

Walibi Belgium sounds an interesting park, one that's either great, ok or disappointing. It's s place I may do one day (but I'll probably tie it in to plopsa if I do). I remember this park so well from the RCT games which I still have!

I found the walk ok, very long but well worth it. The views from the top are worth it though.

What an interesting park! Belgium hogwarts looks very nice though! I still haven't been to a Hard Rock Cafe (I have failed as a musician!)

Yeah I think it is one of those things with different meanings, although my host said lost cause was the main (I've always though the LC was for Lez Coughan).

Causing a bit of a gap to the long speculated trip reports of certain members visiting several new major parks [surprisingly not Benin in this case], you may be wondering what the Creek will be able to provide to contend with this. If you were hoping for reports of new visited parks and the like, you may leave feeling rather disappointed [there are big plans in the works for the near'ish future though], however what I will offer instead will be in the shape and form of unique and different theme park activity. Having been a big fan/enthusiast of parks and coasters for a long time, there is something I had always wanted to do at a park for a long time in my life; that was walking up to the top of roller coaster lift hill. Following the foreseeable cancellation of my Towers lift hill walk [due to the unfortunate accident of a certain ride], I instantly booked myself a coaster climb on one the coasters at Thorpe [whether it's a good idea to this the day after a heavy night clubbing and drinking is another story however] Judging from the [poorly quality] picture above you can tell right away which ride I went for; Colossus After having experienced my chosen ride at the end of the day before closing, I waited patiently outside the ride's exit [as instructed by the details on the email I'd received when I booked it], where I was soon approached by a member of Thorpe's stuff and when clarifying my name, I knew my experience was about to begin. Being directed in to the Swarm's control booth with others taking the walk [a dad and his son], we were given an informative talk about the ride's generally statistics from basic things such as opening in 2012, being built by Bolliger & Mabillard and costing 20 million to more complex and interesting facts. When it comes to dispatching the ride, the operator in the control booth must press both green buttons with his hands in-addion to the platform staff pressing the other four buttons. If one of these buttons isn't pressed the ride will not dispatch. Interestingly, there are four positions staff can be allocated to on this ride, control operator, baggage room, front and back of station, where are total number of seven staff are required on two trains operation and six on one train operation. The ride's console is a lot smaller and advanced from the park's older consoles [inferno's apparently strikes similarities but is noticeably bigger]. Not only can individual rows of restraints be released individually [no need for the recheck all bars here] but the computer system can also calculate how many trains have been running on the system and give a general count of throughput. Speaking on throughputs, one train operation on Swarm allows for about 600 people per hour [pph] whilst two trains allows up to 1200 PPH. As you can witness from the photo [and the giveaway on the booth] the ride was on just one train at the end of the day, however this was to ensure final checks on the ride's others train which would be checked up through the evening/night and then run on the circuit the next day whilst the existing train would then receive it's inspection. Interestingly whilst the work shop is located on the right to the station building, there is a giant cold fridge in there too [ I forget why though]. Other interesting things the console allows [pictured above] is to open/close gates, stop and start the ride and also stop and start on the lift hill too. The ride was naturally locked down when we were there which only the engineering crew would be able to open to stop any possibility of the ride operating whilst we were there. One of the other proceedures of loading aside from the buttons and thumbs up is all seats must be closed and locked for dispatched regardelss of them being with or without riders. The second part of the console, this allows the operator to speak to through the tannoy systems, and press automated announcments such as weather closing and reopening. There's naturally a phone too for the operator to contact platform staff. like all ride's alike, the ride uses CCTV throughout the surrounding area which is to used to ensure the ride is working correctly and that no one has trespassed in the surrounding area [which would result in an e-stop]. Before doing the actual part of the lift walk, everyone was instructed to put on safety harness vests, which involved putting the main part on your chest whilst adjusting and tightening the giant clip and then getting your legs through the holes then adjusting them. This was finalised by the ball hold which would connect to the coaster wire itself. Then it was time for the walk itself to begin. This gaint bit of machinery operates the lift hill of the ride. The harness I was wearing was connected to the chainwire at the side, which involved in the positioning of the clip. Every so often, you would need to push the clip through a check point area so to ensure maximum safety. If you folded the clip in, then it would stick you to position. The design of this safety figure has been designed to prevent slip backs, so if you accidentally trip up on the way up or down, the clip safely locks you in place preventing any major accidents from happening. One of things talked about was the actual meaning of the ride's project name LC12. I naturally put it down as Lez Cougan, however the actual meaning of the acronym was infact Lost Cause. Mentions of other project names such as Project Odyssey [Colossus] and Project Dylan [saw] were also mentioned briefly there too. And many steps later, we finally reached the top. It was a very nice day so I was able to get some pretty good views of the park and surrounding area whilst I was up there [including Heathrow]. Who Thought Thorpe was so beautiful I learn't many interesting new facts on my climb which was great to hear whilst taking in the stunning views below. These included, 1/ Stealth & Rita were originally supposed to be one big coaster however due to some difficulties in planning it, this was split in half. So Thorpe got one half [the better half IMO] whilst Towers got Rita. 2/ The reason why Nemesis Inferno was themed like a volcano was because of the fire that took place on the site the ride replaced [Tropical Travels]. 3/ If Thorpe were to build something massive on the empty island next to Swarm, they would need to remove something equivalent in size [my tour guide described the park's landscape as being like a Lilo. I naturally had to ask/enquire about WC16 [Thorpe's new dark ride] during the climb. However unsurprisingly he wasn't able to provide much information except that it would be the first kind of ride to ever exist in the world and that it would be a top class ride. Even facts down to when it would open [spring or summer] could not be provided. He did mention there would be more interesting in vestments on the way within the park and that Thorpe's target was now all age groups. When it came to Fright Nights, he said that this years one would be bigger and better, however couldn't confirm completely if there would be any new attractions or face it alone returned [but hinted the former was likely]. On the operational front, the ride cannot operate below 5 degrees or in winds over 35 MPH, there's a wind tracking device at the top of the hill which is sort of in the form of a micro wind turbine. The main Thorpe hotel is expected to open around 2018/2019. It was mentioned how a spruce up of the entrance would be liked [depecting a very RCT style appearance] and hinted that a redesign in the future would probably happen however the dome would remain for the foreseeable long term due to it's complex structure and helpful functions within the park. One of the most eager questions I asked I did manage to get an answer for though was the future of the now closed Chief Rangers Caroulsel? When dismantled the ride was stored temporarily in the staff car park for a while, however unfortunately the ride will never be able to return to the park. This is because it's going to a different park. Which though wasn't said however apparently it isn't close to any major European parks and the country of location is unknown [so tracking of the ride will likely be extremely difficult]. I am happy to confirm though that many prominent items from the old ride have been salvaged including the old ride centrepieces which are apparently now located in the education centre. The other horses on the ride are believed to have been kept to use on the ride's new home. I asked on what the forseeable future for Mr Monkey might be and he reckons the ride is here to stay as a tribute and lone survivor of the Ranger area that once dominated the park. When it came to potential rides going, the answer was generally that Thorpe like to keep their rides and that Samurai was closed so that they could give it out the attention it needed to work again as it was still a popular ride at the park. When it came to Colossus's 'potential' repaint he was unsure on whether it would get fully done and did agree that ride presentations are an important aspect of rides. He did however hint towards the possible return of the railway in the future and the re-theme of Rumba though. Proof this is real A pic of me and my guide I'm a long way up! After this unique,interesting and insightful experience, I gradually made it down from this giant coaster back to the ground where I thanked my host before grabbing my belongings and making my way. The Big Question Was The Walk Worth £50? Just about, in this experience, not only do you get to go up and down your coaster of choice, but you are presented with stunning and amazing views of the surrounding area not just in the park but on for many miles throughout the landscape. You also learn a lot of new facts and information on different things in the park from the operational and management side to how the park works as a whole. Seeing the control cabin of one of my favourite coasters was another interesting sight and I enjoyed my time doing this experience where all the VIP team were extremely friendly and helpful and this was no rush or pushing ahead on the experience at any time. I will probably do another lift walk here at somepoint in the future [not sure when though] on Colossus to see how it compares and look how different the ride works from an operational view, B&M were described as the creme de la creme of coasters when I was there. If you're in to different theme park experiences and wish to experience a lift hill walk, I would definitely recommend experiencing one on The Swarm!

You double posted and commented on your own avatar. 6/10

It will be an Intamin coaster with multiple launches. The reason for the covering is probably lay due to weather and protection during construction (I expect more rock to appear on this project).

Potential candidate for the best looking 2016 ride in Europe right there! This monster looks phantastic!

TPM boy band on its way! Bellewarde is t a park I'm likely to visit in the forseable future but it definitely has an interesting selection of rides there from what you've said.

So I'm sure most of you know by now I have a YouTube channel (because I go around with. A video camera for no reason ). https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPDJ88NPnIvZ4kIjDCW8QLQ My channel is a mixture of ride videos, vlogs and other things that don't make that much sense. Quite a lot of my vlogs even feature many TPM members too. Below is a compilation of some of my many videos you can find on my channel. Oh by the way, I'm nearly at 50 subscribers (and would like to hit 100 eventually too), so please subscribe (if you have t already) as it would be very appreciated.

What a nice family park, they definitely plop lots of details around the park. How was the woodie construction there?

Do not be discouraged by the white banning!

Seeing these hours cuts imp,it's this was a merlin job, possibly due to the smiler. Still a great shame though we won't see any 7pm closes this summer

Ok, so I've just had a two day extravaganza weekend at thorpe with the wonderful members of TPM and my first ever lift hill walk (more to come on that later). Day 1 (TPM meet & MOS) Busyness- moderate Ride count/ Colossus Inferno Stealth Saw Swarm X 2 Rush Vortex Detty Fish Teacups Dodgems Rumba Loggers Rocky 2x Depth Charge I'm a Celebrity Banana boat Mos Colossus Saw 2x Inferno 3x X 3x Swarm 1x Stealth Pros Operations were generally very good Colossus paint up looks better The new added theming a bits in the park look great WC16 TPM fun Fish & chips were better than Chessie's Thorpe at night is lush Saw reopen Rush's cycle being slightly longer Being held on Detty longer (getting good wc16 views) I really liked the ministry part Tpm being drunk (was great fun and worth a round of applause) Amity kebabs are ok (much nicer than quite a few of your typical town centre late night ones) SNAKEBITES! TPM being drunk Cons Saw not having its effects on at the start of the day (they were on later though) I bashed my head on the slide of IAC (giving me yet another headache that weekend) Colossus night was incredibly rough (my first ride on saw was quite rough but this was worse) X's music was a bit too quiet Inferno was not quite as reliable as it normally is Samurai was dead The pathway near vortex being closed No discount for alcohol for MOS Iac's throughput is dire Losing 80% of my chips (kebab) due to bad handling (I still ate them though) Day 2 Unsurprisingly I woke up with a fair bit of a headache (which wasn't at all surprising). Most people would probably just take it easy and watch TV all day. But me? Of course not, as I was going to have another epic day Thorpe Park! (Not to mention my lift hill walk) Doing inferno, saw & Colossus at the start of the day (because you can tell I take it easy after w night drinking) I had lunch at Fin's before meeting the remaining Tpmers on park who quite a few I think we're a lot more hungover than I was where we had a few relaxing rides together before most went home and I did a bit of my own thing then rejoined the few around before then going my lift walk. Busyness Moderste Ride count Inferno 3x Swarm 2x Colossus Stealth X 2x Saw 2x Quantum Loggers Storm surge Detonator Pros Operations generally good My 'relaxing' Rapids ride with 'hungover' tpm Inferno burger at fins was great (today was inferno day by the looks) Saws effects worked I'm getting in to the teacups new music gradually Cons Storm surge's views of WC16 weren't as good as I had hoped Inferno's mist was noticeably weaker than it was Saturday Vortex loading Having a headache Sunday morning (somewhat expected though) Samurai still dead Rumba in its current state is quite a disappointment I really enjoyed thorpe park last weekend and despite the Sunday headache (which was gone by 12 anyway) was one of my favourite trips do far. Don't think I'll be leaving it four months for my next visit.

I'm sure it'll still be ten times better than Bakken's Rusty. Regardless, it'll be a significant ride regardless of being a top 10 ride or not for the history alone.

It's definitely a park I want and hope to go in the near future and I think with Walibi Belgium's new coaster next year it's becoming ever more tempting

Slightly drunk? Understatement of the year I could't have been too out of it as I never talked about sausage or mash nor did I start impersonating Harry Potter characters (seriously)

Yeah, I've heard and done some research and Tover does seem pretty difficult to get to without a car (and taxi no doubt would cost me an arm and leg each way) so this will likely be got another trip (or when they get another big thing), besides I don't think I'll have time to do it anyway as the earliest flight I. Can do arrives 10:30 and by the time I'd get to the park (Google) it would be around 2:15pm and even with 6pm closing, just over three and a half hours for a park that's already hard to get to and from doesn't seem worth it.

Ok, so as (most) of you guys know I'm going to Efteling for two days early November this year (whether I hype it up like my first Disney trip is another story) Ill be flying to Eindhoven via Stanstead & staying in the NH Wasijik hotel (it's impossible to remember the complete name) for the trip, but just have a few questions I'd be extremely extremely appreciative if answered. 1/ which rides are best done at the start/end of the day? 2/ is there much else around the park to do in the evenings (park closes at 6 both days) 3/ which places would you recommend to eat? 4/ what's the cheapest way of getting tickets? Also I'm considering doing Toverland on the Friday (which is open 10-6 (according to the website)). How easy can this park be reached from Efteling or Eindhoven by train or bus?

Wow! Somepeople do some ridiculous things sometimes, at least it didn't end badly and he was banned (it's people like this that result in over the top rules in our parks). I too was at Thorpe yesterday (and got Stormed by the Surge)