Matt 236

April Fools has been cancelled this year due to the Corona virus.

With none of us likely to visit a park in current situations, I decided to create a new thread to Try and keep things upbeat. What are everyone’s most memorable theme park visits? Where did you go to and what made that place or trip so special? Be as specific as you like, make a list. Was it the circumstances or the atmosphere that made it so? I’ll make a start. 5/ Blackpool Pleasure Beach September 2014 I had just gone through a Bumpy time of family related health issues, so this trip couldn’t have come at a better time. Blackpool was TPM’s most ambitious meet-up to date and the park proved to be my first major non-Merlin Park at the time. many of my Blackpool trips have had somewhat special circumstances, but none more than this one which really pushed the boat out for me on both a progressive and social level. 4/ Cedar Point- August 2018 For years it had been a goal of mine to get out to the states and this was the trip to do just that. Cedar Point is easily my favourite amusement park, from it’s selection of modern and traditional attractions, not to mention beautiful location. But one of the things that made this trip stand out was seeing how remarkably different American culture is. Long roads going for miles, vast landscapes and flags on pretty much every street. 3/ Chessington -April 2013 The trip that started it all, and one of the most important of all time. This was the first trip with the TPM community. The one which would pave the road for future meets and trips to come. Getting to meet so many different enthusiasts was simply amazing and further helped build my already strong interests in theme parks and other attractions. 2/ Phantasialand- September 2016 Any visit to Phantasialand is memorable full stop, especially this visit. Given the circumstances of my personal life then, I wouldn’t be forgetting this trip anytime soon. I was simply blown away by this place and everything it had to offer (excluding Temple and that Wakoblando). Taron was definitely something to remember too, 1/ Disneyland Paris- April 2015 I don’t think any trip ever has (or ever will) reach the Crazy excitement levels seen here. At that point of time I was crazily obsessed about visiting Disneyland Paris. So much, I even made a several part series known as Disney and the Creek. April 2015 was when the dream finally came true, thanks to Peaj (and a handful of TPMers). Everything from the trip was truly memorable, from the ‘chest belting’ singalongs during the journey to that last Earl of Sandwich before leaving. Not only were the parks truly magical, but everything during the whole visit was so memorable. I’ll never forget that.

Thanks, and Challenge accepted. Hoping to add some different uploads over the coming weeks and will definitely add pre-2018 Duel theme to the list.

With the park’s unlikely to open anytime soon, I decided to create a piano medley based off the soundtracks from Thorpe Park Resort. Created the arrangement myself.

With McDonald’s and Primark closing at this point, I doubt anyone here will be getting out anytime soon unfortunately.

Unless you’ve been living under on a distant island or on a galaxy far away, you will be fully aware of the current pandemic that is happening, causing for much concern and cancellation of next to everything fun, social or entertainment related. Whilst there are definitely bigger concerns out there, we probably won’t get our park fixes again now for at least a little while. This is why I’ve pitched up the idea of 10 Theme Park related things you can do and enjoy in the comfort of your own home whilst waiting for all this to blow over. Feel free to post your own suggestions too. 1/ Theme Park Video/Computer Games The first (and possibly most obvious) thing to do when the parks aren’t open. There are plenty of theme park games, from the obvious Roller Coaster Tycoon Games and Planet Coaster, to the slightly more obscure Theme Park World and Roller Coaster Factory, and even the whacky (yet wonderful) Legoland games. Whilst we wait for this to blow over, enjoy your own fictional parks, simulations and creations! 2/ Watching YouTube Videos Again, another straight forward option. YouTube is literally a library for theme park videos, let alone everything else. You can watch literally anything, from Theme Park Worldwide, Jack Silkstone, Pleasure Beach Experience and many many others. Not a fan of these or vloggers altogether? Then why not watch a POV of your favourite/bucket list coaster or that charming dark ride from Efteling? I know it’s not the same as visiting in person, but in the right ambience it can do the trick! 3/ Listening to your favourite park soundtrack or Album Theme Parks don’t just give us great attractions and experiences, but they also give us some great music and playlists. Whether Imascore you adore or snore, there are lots of soundtracks to listen to and cherish in the comfort of your living room or bedroom. Belt out that Europa Suite or Villa Volta music from your sound system. Or if you prefer listen to the popular music playlists that usually echo through those amusement park entrances. In your living room. Not Coronation street please! 4/ Theme Park (related) construction toys Theme Park toys and gadgets are becoming more common these days. You have Lego Rollercoasters, nano- park building kits and other crazy contraptions that are based off, or at least resemble theme park related items. Definitely worth a shot. 5/ Watching Film/TV shows with theme parks in You could say I am just repeating point 2 again, but I say no. The difference between those are that those films and tv series use the parks essentially as film sets fo centre around or the development of the plot line. Whether that be that underwhelming time the Lampoons visited Six Flags Magic Mountain, that time the Spykids saves the day in Knotts Berry Farm or that time Will embarrassed everyone in the Inbetweeners? It’s all there Indeed and lots to see and adds even more amusement (no pun intended) to compare the accuracies and inaccuracies to how these parks actually operated in real. Silly me, how did I not even mention Final Destination? Ok there you go. 6/ Reminiscing Old Park Trips This one won’t be for everyone, especially if it triggers serious park withdrawal symptoms, but nonetheless may still be something worth doing. Whether you’ve been worldwide, around Europe or generally stuck to just the U.K. parks, there must be that trip, that place or that visit that literally stuck out for you and gave you ever lasting memories. For me, it has to be that first trip to Disneyland Paris back in 2015. I had never been so excited upon visiting a park before and felt simply overjoyed with everything about that trip, from an entertaining park group to some simply hilarious and magical laugh out loud memories both within and outside the parks. Wow! Five years. 7/ Looking at your merch collection Again this won’t be for everyone, but for most, there is surely some item that you have, or at least were collecting at one point. Maps, pin badges, mugs, clothes or even shot glasses. I know this seems like a long shot, but it is these items that help with those connections to the parks and remind of us those wonderful visits we had there and hopefully will again one day too. I’m generally a resin person. 8/ Books from parks and attractions The title alone is rather vague I admit, but there are lots of park books and even articles to read right now. From park guides, brochures, theme park biographies and picture books too. Many have informative content which really go down into the depths of how parks and attractions cane to be. John Wardley’s biography is a strong personal recommendation! 9/ Act It Out! Ok, I’m probably scraping the barrel a bit here and I can see most of you already acting confused as you read this. But if you can’t get down to those memorable attractions, bring those memorable attractions to you. Act it out! Dress up or style as your favourite park characters. Why not re-enact the Hex pre-show or Symbolica’s storyline? Ok, I just got the idea from this video, but it’s still pretty fun eye? 10/ Interacting with park mates and communities Last but not least, but the most important thing of all, stay connected with your theme park mates and communities. It may all seem awkward being separated from next fo everyone right now, but you can stay together through virtual context. Drop messages, video chats and other means. Talk about your favourite rides, debate whether Helix is better than Taron (no fighting please), but more importantly, stay happy and well entertained in this challenging time for everything theme park and non theme park related. Thank you for reading if you survived to the end. We are all in this together!

Stay strong everyone! We will get through these challenging days somehow. I wrote a blog about some suggestions. https://forum.maniahub.com/blogs/entry/931-10-theme-park-related-things-to-enjoy-right-now/

Towers have just announced they will delay their opening, so I expect anytime now (maybe even tonight) an announcement that all the other parks will close up.

Think my bucket list Is looking a little bit shorter now. Might visit some parks in the fictional RCT universe. Aside from that, who knows.

Thank you Matt for keeping us updated. These are indeed strange and challenging times we live in, but hopefully one day we can look forward to seeing these meets running again soon.

Add Fantasy Island and Drayton Manor to the list of parks/attractions closed. They won’t be the last.

So the London and York Dungeons will close any day now due to the outbreak. I can see the parks follow any day now. update. So will Shreks Adventure.

I can see the parks closing/delay opening any day now, especially with everything else Corona related. Also, West-end shows and the like have no suspended performances until further notice also.

Difficult to say whether how great the final product is, but it certainly looks an improvement on what the ride has been the last few years at least. The added storyline certainly gives the ride an extra element and generally seems like a nod to the Terror Tomb days. The music is noticeably less distinctive but seems to work well enough for what’s there.

Well, I think I know what’s winning best coaster in this year’s forum awards now.

Guess we’ll have to wait until 2021 now? Oh. Well.

I promise this isn’t me. I promise! I am not at the park today anyway.

Definitely seen worse map designs, but could definitely be better too. To be fair, the design has been similar (if not the same) since 2019. The accuracy isn’t amazing, but then again which maps actually are these days? Have definitely seen worse for sure.

Honestly baffled how far and extreme everything is going now because of the virus, however if it drastically reduces the chances of it spreading, that can only be a good thing. Wake me up when this is all over!

Disneyland Resort will be closing from the 14th March due to the virus. https://wdwnt.com/2020/03/breaking-disneyland-resort-temporarily-closing-on-friday-due-to-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/ Honestly don’t know when this is going to end as it’s really going out of hand.

This is already looking an absolutely gorgeous coaster.

I just like Blackpool Pleasure Beach anyway. Sure it’s not the best park out there by any means, but the park atmosphere, variety of rides and everything just make for a well rounded park and it’s probably the nearest thing we’ve got to the likes of Cedar Point or Kennywood. I am quite aware this well depress some. I do think the Big One recently has been riding the best it ever has done too.

Colossus was being built during my park hiatus years, which is probably a pity really. I am old enough to remember riding Tidal Wave during opening year with it’s fireball effect and then returning to witness the damage after the fire. Twenty Years ago, wow!

This park is literally the definition of real life Roller Coaster Tycoon! By next year (at the latest) I expect them to have more coaster than Magic Mountain, making them the park with the highest number of coasters in the world.