Matt 236

Ok, theres a possible chance I could go to this, but it all depends on the following. 1/ a lift there and back 2/ cheap hotel room and so done to share with 3/ I get cover for work

The first one

It's such a great shame to hear my favourite non Merlin park is being operated so poorly. You'd think they'd at least try and get drenched up and running (quicker) and try and acknowledge the complaints of people going (which at least the Berlin parks seem to notice these days). I guess the way Oakwood is currently being managed and operated that it makes thorpe look like Alton towers and Alton towers like Disneyworld. Can't believe Bounce was only fixed recently, nearly a year after my trip which didn't do the throttle launch. Hopefully 2015 will be a better park year with the (final) launch of the sleepy hollow area with new rides. Who knows, may be the management will even wake up too and see how poorly the place is bring run and how it needs some TLC.

Somewhat the third one

Only done five B&M's (unsurprisingly all from uk Merlin parks) but here goes anyway 1/ Nemesis 2/ The Swarm 3/ Air 4/ Oblivion 5/ Nemesis Inferno Whilst inferno gets to the bottom of the list, it's proved greatly in the last couple of seasons. Doubt I'll get another new B&M cred anytime soon, especially this year unless we get another for 2015, I win the lottery or find a genie. 2015 could be promising though

I'm probably a bit late but can't say I'm too in favour of the way Fright Nights 2014 is working, at least for pass holders. Having just 1000 spaces a day for premium and VIP isn't fair in my opinion as it just limits the amount of pass holders who go in. Ok, granted the park gets very busy during most event days (near the brink of capacity in super peak), but it means there's a strong limit and last minute plans can't be done if all spaces are sold out, meaning you may need to go to the strengths a a day ticket if you really want to go. Standard passes have it worse in my view. Ok, I can understand charging £5 per time for each standard holders due to similar reasons states above and us even. But £10 is just a rip off and almost insulting to pass holders. Ok, the standard pass is still good value for money which price wise has remained fairly stable (don't think about hiking it Merlin) but this is still not good. Who knows, in a few more years down the line, the park may start charging standard holders £15, £20 or even exclude them altogether. Although there's now a fright night pass offering unlimited entry in these times, it's still a rather backwards step in fright night organisation for me and I just hope they put this right sooner rather than later. Thorpe this year have done some great park updates, angry birds, summer nights, opening hours, entrance screen and numerous other things. I just find it a shame they sort of dropped the ball for fright nights entrance and ticket operations. At least I know what I'm voting for now in the forum rewards .

Matt Creek- the ride Rocky Mountain construction hybrid (wood and steel) Gerstlauer trains Hilly Terran with plenty of rocks The lift hill rollbacks make an interesting sound A couple years later, the ride is rough bumpy and creaky because it wasn't maintained that well

Banned for having Saw as your avatar

I live in Canada Creek However technically I'm 30 minutes away in Watford

Helix Efteling or Phantasialand?

King pigs by a country mile Viking River splash or Rumba Rapids?

Noel Gallagher Fastrack or paid parking

Despite doing just one this year, summer nights have certainly beenf a gastric this year and a big improvement in last years seeing live dj's plus the addition of teacup and Dodgems Inaddition to the coasters, tidal and stormy. Wish I could've done a few more and hope they return next year (without a price hike) and just as good if not better than this years.

How to improve forbidden valley

Thanks Scarycoasterboy for this ultimate trip report. What's the park like compared to any others in the uk? I love the way you wrote the report which teases the reader in to thinking they're about to see the ultimate (rollercoaster ride) and then it suddenly switches to something else.

Pencil (erase the. Mistakes) Paint or crayons?

Thanks Mark9. Despite it's mostly mediocre ride offering (mostly ageing funfair rides), it's a loverly park and the nicest part is definitely the shows and it's hillside location with mountains and sea in the distance. If the place was heavily refurbished with updated/replaced theming and better rides (cough 'small B&M' cough) it would probably be an amazing place to visit.

Scorpion express Azteca hotel or enchanted village?

As part of my annual holiday, I would have the opportunity to see and visit one park [just one] outside of the uk and the Merlin circle. But the big question is, which park would it be? Well it's definitely not Port Aventura for starters. Nor is it Europa Park. And it certainly is not Disneyland Paris either [more to come on that tagline later]. But the big question is, which theme park in Europe did I manage to visit this year? The answer to that question is Tivoli World. But the big question, out of all the places to visit, why have I returned back to this average mundane park for? The answer is this, every year my family and I rent a villa out in Spain and despite being home to exciting parks such as Port Av and, Warner and Terra Mitica [places I can only dream of seeing currently], the nearest of those is at least five hours away. This means the only theme park available within the surrounding area is this place. So, having been about a year since my last visit to the park, has much changed at the park since my last visit? The answer to that unfortunately is no! However there have been some minor changes around the park. The first thing to note is the Tokaido [powered] roller coaster which was closed last time I went,however was up and running again when I visited this time. What did I think of it? I didn't, the ride is rubbish. It goes around the circuit 5.75 times, why 5.75? For some reason, the ride starts by going backwards and then eventually launches in the forwards direction. It goes through the circuit [properly] five times before passing it once more looking like it's going to do another lap, then suddenly it slows down, stops and then reverses bcd to the station. This ride never used to do this. Surely getting five laps around is a good and generous thing? Not for me it isn't. Despite having similarities with Scorpion and Fish's layout, except the first helix is missing, the trains have a strange and uncomfortable design where riders sit in two's but one is in front of the other instead of beside meaning they push in to you during the sharp drops and turns. There's also no seat belts either . The ride is also very rattly and rough [no doubt due to it's age] where each lap passing on, the ride becomes more and more uncomfortable, infact by the end, I just wished the finish already. Didn't like this one at all, gone off it in most ways. Makes Flying Fish look like Scorpion Express and Scorpion look like big thunder. Cleanse it with fire! Next up was this ride, a sort of Vintage Cars style ride. TBH it didn't much as wasn't too interesting and the only good bit of the actual ride was around the half way point, where you get a half decent view of the surrounding western stage area. Next up is the Twister [good name choice ] and to consider this one of my park favourites and the first ride I [actually] enjoyed is quite concerning that this park isn't that good [it probably isn't]. Hang on a moment, I thought I was at Tivoli World not Disney. Oh Wait, it's another of those Disney knock off rides [sort of]. Despite not being the most amazing of dark rides [Hex,Duel,Mk1 bubble works], there is something I seem to really like about this ride [having done it 3 times during my visit]. I don't know whether it's because of the ride's general charm with basic but noticeable models, the catchy upbeat soundtrack outside or just the fact of wanting to see euro disney. Moving on, and it's time to take flight on the park's [large] ferris wheel [they have three for some reason]. You can get some really nice views of the park [which isn't a very big place] and surrounding area. Castillo Del Terror, quite possibly the worst ghost train I've ever been on. TBH nothing really works [anymore] and the few things that do seem to only happen after the cars actually passed. The most exciting part of the ride for me was actually when the car went outside of the warehouse building, which probably shows how poor this ride actually is, I've done ghost trains in fairgrounds better than this one. Time for a short break whilst I have some ice cream. OK, back on topic and hang on a moment, we've gone back, back too far! Actually this is the dinosaur walkthrough at the park, which is ok, very well themed [or at least it was when it was installed] but sadly like much of the park, it feels dated, worn and behind it's time. Next up is the Montana Rusa [spanish for Roller Coaster which is an original name imo] which for once didn't have a [long] queue. Did enjoy this ride lot, it's a bit like one of those old cyclone style like the one at Clacton. Time to for another [decent] ride, this time on the drop tower. Enjoyed this one a lot, a fair bit of drop time but still won't beat good old Detty. Meanwhile next door, a green mesh fence has suddenly appeared. I wonder what's going on here? Looks like one it's rides has been stripped down in to pieces. This ride is a Top Spin [which I was hoping to finally ride], however it was closed last year as well so something major must be wrong with it. Tivoli has some loverly gardens positioned in the park, and whilst they're perhaps seen better days, it's still a loverly place to see and walkthrough on each trip there. The Show boat, this a funhouse style attraction where you walk around the boat featuring numerous obstacles and things plus a view outside. They also stage a pirates of the caribbean show here as well, which unfortunately just got boring after a little as it got repetitive. What's that in the distance I wonder? Ratonlandia, what's this? A sort of walk through attraction which depicts living mice. Certainly quite a strange and random attraction to have at a theme park, but at least this bit is now open again [it was closed for several years for something]. Nightime, and now the park really comes to life and despite the saying everything looks better at night, this place truly glows. Time for a Caroulsel ride you say? This was the best at the park [they have many [too many]]. They also sold some pin badges here too. This one however took the mickey The park just seems to come to life at park, sort of transforming from a rather mundane theme park to a magical place with life. There;s also plenty of show here as well including a circus show, which was quite funny and included a space theme plus traditional spanish flamenco with live musicians. This one was also very good. Our last stop will be the Union Express, a railway diorama which was quite an interesting distraction. http://i798.photobucket.com/albums/yy267/mattthemepark/DSCF2006_zps5a6391d6.jpg http://i798.photobucket.com/albums/yy267/mattthemepark/DSCF2010_zpsc205d32c.jpg And that marks the end of the trip. So What did I think about it this time? To be honest, it's much the same as last time, same rides, same settings and apart from the mouse walkthrough and that powered thing being reopen [which I guess you could say the park has gone forward a tad], nothing at the park has changed. It's certainly no Alton Towers, Thorpe or even Chessington, but somewhat has a nice feel at night with all the lights, shows and fountains going on and is a park I don't really go for the rides [which excluding a few are rather average]. I suppose this park is better than the uk ones in some ways, the late nightie hours and closing [which is 2am in summer], the many shows and features that were installed in the park in it's prime [now passed their best] exceed these, but it's still a park crying for some major updating. I don't know if I'll be revisiting Tivoli again yet, [if I go away to the same place next year probably], but hopefully the next blog outside the Merlin circle won't be this one. I'd only recommend this park if you're staying in the Malaga area [considering the next nearest park is 3 hours away]. If you're going there for theme parks, you've probably chosen the wrong part of Spain. Adios

The Burger Kitchen

A massive headache

Hmmm, I really hope Slammer hasn't just died again (forever). I fear if the ride needs any new parts before the 2015 season, then the plug will be pulled. In terms of flats, Slammer for me is only second to Rush.

Whilst I'm not the biggest fan of wood/steel hybrids, I must admit this does actually look very very good and impressive, especially with its duelling element like the old ride. Six flags do like their hybrid coasters currently. I wonder what the next coaster to get the hybrid treatment, Rolling Thunder?

Hates the Smiler

Lives in Andover (lol)