Matt 236

That’s not even a proper question, Mr Pibb. Always. Thanos with six infinity stones or Obi Wan with the ‘highground’?

So it’s officially a ‘no deal’ then! Might as well move onto the rest: First five awards not that surprising, but glad Icon made one of the top spots. No Wickerman Man? That’s a little surprising. Our flat ride selection is literally ‘better than nothing’ right now. DBGT ROTD ‘seems’ to have become second best dark ride but first on worst ride, it certainly proves how unsuccessful it has been. However I do wonder if anyone voted it twice! International Park category is spot on. Europa well and truly deserve first place purely for how quickly and professional they have been when dealing with ‘this years’unfortunate events. Very few places out there would be near as efficient. Phantasialand and Cedar Point also deserve their runnerup spots, one for boasting some impressive rides whilst the other is Phantasialand. Steel Vengeance is a ‘worthwhile’ winner as best International coaster. All I can say is “get yourselves to Cedar Point” if you can! Everything that came second also deserves its spot! I’m happy that Wickerman won best 2018 attraction. Sure, there are better coasters out there (and maybe even rides that opened), but the attraction for Towers and the UK has caused excitement and interest that hasn’t been seen around for sometime. ’Disapointing’ Merlin moments go like cheese and crackers right now so the results don’t surprise me one bit. Fright Nights was baaaaaddd (like really bad). 2019 additions seem interesting yet bizarre, except Rookburgh which will probably be remarkable, may e more-so if it actually opens next year. Didn’t expect to see Rutluntica on there either, but it’s probably going to be amazing. Well done to Mack for winning best manufacturers! I will hold off posting on the member awards because they aren’t quite ready yet and we don’t know who’s going to win those. Maybe Mr Fish!

I honestly can’t believe youwould day such a thing! I just adore the whole ‘rundown’ and ‘shipping container’ look the park has. Not to mention their consistency of theming and upkeep. I’ll just ignore those B&Ms for a moment. Better bring the topic back to Efteling then, it has intruiging ‘waste disposal’ areas too.

When it takes over three minutes to dispatch a train, then there will be lots of trains stuck on the brake run. Yet some people complain Mamba is slow.

Angry Birds 4D Experience (4) Colossus (5) Depth Charge (5) Detonator: Bomb's Away (5) Flying Fish (5) King Pig's Wild Hog Dodgems (5) Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride (5) Nemesis Inferno (6) Quantum (5) Rocky Express (5) Rumba Rapids (5) Rush (5) Samurai (5) Saw - The Ride (5) Stealth (5) Storm in a Teacup (5) Storm Surge (5) The Swarm (5) The Walking Dead - The Ride (5) Tidal Wave (5) Timber Tug Boat (5) Vortex (5) Nemesis Inferno + Angela Bird -

Europa and ‘worldwide’ Disney park’s say hi (Tokyo especially). If you want a ‘magical’ and visually stunning park, then Efteling is definitely for you. If you want somewhere with good coasters, LiseberG or Cedar Point will be more your cup of tea. There is no ‘one size fits all’ as parks are concerned.

Definitely sounds an impressive and exciting list of meets, 2019 is looking great for TPM meet-ups. I will try and make as many meets as possible, although this generally depends on my schedules and commitments next year. Working 70% of weekends (without leave) doesn’t help.

I guess we don’t have a deal then! I vote no confidence!

Amity Beach (3) Angry Birds 4D Experience (5) Colossus (5) Depth Charge (5) Detonator: Bomb's Away (5) Flying Fish (5) King Pig's Wild Hog Dodgems (5) Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride (5) Nemesis Inferno (7) Quantum (5) Rocky Express (5) Rumba Rapids (5) Rush (5) Samurai (5) Saw - The Ride (5) Stealth (5) Storm in a Teacup (5) Storm Surge (4) The Swarm (6) The Walking Dead - The Ride (5) Tidal Wave (5) Timber Tug Boat (5) Vortex (5) Amity Beaxh- Inferno +

From what I am aware, the park built an access walkway to the China area when Klugheim opened. Whilst it is currently only used to be staff/personnel, it is strongly believed access to the China area will be re-routed from there, should the area be the next under to be under the hammer. The Ling Bao entrance might still be usable if the Taron access area is still viable. If not, they may be able to use the Matamba entrance instead. It seems highly unlikely they would close Ling Bao during the construction, at least completely. Another factor the park would need to reconsider is the re-routing of the Colorado entrance, as the main area is within the 'potential' China demolition zone. If China is the next area for redevelopment, it is expected that Geister, the food stands and square above will be demolished, along with the last remaining part of the Silver Mine building (which is believed to be used for storage). Ling Bao, Jenja Palace and the Mandschu Restaurant (possibly) are the only buildings expected to survive. We won’t find out which area (if any) is next until the Park reopens, when the ‘chosen’ area is probably already a pile of debris.

I would say that is extremely unlikely. The ‘upcoming’ Hotel Charles Lindbergh is planned to be located in the brand new Rookburgh area, which is replacing the already demolished Atlantis simulator rides along with F.L.Y. The ‘potentially rumoured’ demolition project is expected to be for either The Temple and Hollywood complex or the Geister Riksha dark ride, the latter seems more likely due to the Fantassima situation and long rumours of the China area being upgraded. Most of the left side of the park just needs complete redevelopment. One must question though, that if the new area does not open until 2020, does that mean the ‘demolition’ project will be pushed back too, as a result?

Amity Beach (5) Angry Birds 4D Experience (5) Colossus (5) Depth Charge (5) Detonator: Bomb's Away (5) Flying Fish (5) King Pig's Wild Hog Dodgems (5) Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride (5) Nemesis Inferno (5) Quantum (5) Rocky Express (5) Rumba Rapids (5) Rush (5) Samurai (5) Saw - The Ride (5) Stealth (5) Storm in a Teacup (5) Storm Surge (7) The Swarm (5) The Walking Dead - The Ride (5) Tidal Wave (5) Timber Tug Boat (6) Vortex (5) Wet Wet Wet (2) Walking Dead+ Wet Wet Wet -

Amity Beach (5) Angry Birds 4D Experience (5) Colossus (5) Depth Charge (5) Detonator: Bomb's Away (5) Flying Fish (5) King Pig's Wild Hog Dodgems (5) Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride (5) Nemesis Inferno (4) Quantum (5) Rocky Express (5) Rumba Rapids (5) Rush (5) Samurai (5) Saw - The Ride (5) Stealth (5) Storm in a Teacup (5) Storm Surge (6) The Swarm (5) The Walking Dead - The Ride (5) Tidal Wave (5) Timber Tug Boat (6) Vortex (5) Wet Wet Wet (4) Storm Surge+ Wet Wet Wet -

I think it’s pretty clear though why people bash Colossus. Colossus bashes people.

Polle’s is probably one of my favourite places to eat at any theme park. It’s not just the lovely pancakes there, but the amazing cosy atmosphere too, including the show in the middle of the restaurant that goes every so often. Efteling is a park full of charm, character, dedication and history. It’s ‘essentially’ a national treasure for the Dutch and is just as much a nature park as it is a theme park (thanks to it’s beautiful location). If you are one for ‘experience’ rides, charming attractions, fairy tales, dark rides and ‘natural’ settings, this is definitely the place for you. The landscaping, upkeep and attention to detail is comparable to Disney (in some cases maybe better). If you are one who prefers fast, thrilling and tall rides, Efteling may not be for you ‘so much’, but it’s definitely a park everyone should try and visit at least once in their lifetime. Even if they are not park enthusiasts!

*Meanwhile Elsewhere* Efteling re-tracks Python (despite not being that rough) Phantasialand re-imagines River Quest (with new theming, effects and soundtrack) Europa continue improving and reimagining attractions I.E Madame Freudenrich, Can Can, etc. Etc. Liseberg ‘quietly’ replace the trains for Banen Asterix begin retracking for Tonnere Colossus despite it’s roughness is a park icon for Thorpe and deserves a lot more than what it gets. The park ‘should’ take pride in it by adding new trains, effects and giving the whole area a ‘massive clean’, repaint and thematic elements. ‘However’ the park management don’t see this as necessary as it ‘apparently’ can’t be seen as worthwhile or marketable. So they invest their money better in other things like ‘gimmicky’ events, ‘short term’ attractions and other things that the park didn’t really need. But ‘oh’, it’s clearly paying off for them when 90% of their customers are complaining about ride unavailability, comfortability and the ‘supposed’ future of Loggers Leap returning (if only). And yet they wonder why numbers are doing so badly compared to other places? Don’t worry everyone, I’m sure they know what they are doing, so they will probably raise prices yet close more shops, restaurants and attractions when it’s not ‘super peak’. “Four months of Rumba operation” you say!

I have definitely been hearing rumours of a ‘third’ hotel being built (either in the Rookburgh or Klugheim areas), so this is surprising but no unexpected. The idea of a Steam Punk Hotel is just fantastic and will fit with the park and area perfectly. I also wonder where they are going? What if the ‘Wuze Wall’ at the back will not only act as a sound barrier, but the hotel area too? Could Fantissima still see a new home here? It’s difficult to say what’s happening and going to happen, but current rumours suggest the following: New Park entrance planned in the future Fantassima to be relocated to the hotels or new ‘purpose built’ theatre Silverado Theatre to be demolished and rebuilt China Area to be rethemed into an Asia area Geister Riksha is the next attraction to be removed, the park has hinted in the past of a new dark ride coming Loopings also have an article about this development, however some of the wording implies, the project could not be open now until 2020. Can’t rush perfect if that is so.

Just got back from the Efteling/Netherlands and definitely struggled to leave (quite literally because our flights back got cancelled and had to be rescheduled). Key points from the park: Park was decorated with lots of little Christmas decorations, from a Vogel Rock Santa hat to several trees and ornaments in the main path Warm fires and numerous entertainers were scattered throughout the park, including a choir and Live musicians A large tent (with bar and ice rink) and a small Ferris wheel comprised of additional attractions, Park was lively on the weekends but literally dead in the week, with queues rarely excieeding 20 minutes (even on Symbolica) Bob Saw some of the longer queues in the park (probably because it’s getting demolished and has a low throughput) Villa Volta featured an ‘impressive’ projection mapping show on it’s facade at night (although riders had to use an alternative exit) Vogel Rock’s audio was ‘experiencing’ some major difficulties, on one train the music didn’t ‘synchronise’ properly whilst on another the music wasn’t working at all Dutchman and Pirana remained closed during the trip due to maintenance Apart from Baron, you have to take your bags on all the rides now Python is now incredibly smooth since it’s retracking It also snowed on our third (and what should’ve been our final) day, making it the ‘true’ Winter Efteling Park looked beautiful as always at night. The park’s dark rides as always were simply beautiful (Carnaval maybe less-so). From the magnificent set pieces of Droomvlucht, atmosphere of Fata, Villa’s effects and the ‘sheer perfection’ of Symbolica. A similar ride system at Phantasialand would make a perfect replacement for Geister Riksha (assuming it’s getting ripped out next year). The Coasters in general are fun and highly enjoyable all around. Baron compensates it’s small drop and layout which immense details and story telling (which makes it one of the better coaster out there), Joris is great and throws a trick or two. Bob for me is probably the weakest coaster, but is still fun and will be missed.

Dubai at the moment doesn’t massively interest me compared to other places, but I’m sure that will change in the future. The strict rules out there affecting Brits does also put me off a little. The Orlando park’s for me hold their positions largely down to their significant presence alone, and the fact they are worldwide park ‘icons’. Magic Kingdom is the busiest and (arguably) most famous park on the planet Epcot has world showcase and ‘seems’ to be more unique than the rest Animal Kingdom just looks gorgeous Hollywood Studios has the original Tower, RNRC and soon Star Wars Universal Studios- Harry Potter, that is all (amongst the other cool dark rides and Marvel Island) Busch- features some interesting looking coasters including three B&Ms Sea World has B&Ms The rest is probably adequate too. Ticking these off the bucket list will be a bigger sigh of relief to when Phantasialand bulldozes Temple Of The Nighthawk.

Top 10 parks I ‘havent’ visited A.K.A. My Park Bucket List: Uk & Europe 1/ Tivoli Gardens 2/ Parc Asterix 3/ Gardaland 4/ Tover Land 5/ Heide Park 6/ Grona Lund 7/ Walibi Holland 8/ Energylandia 9/ Legendia 10/ Lightwater Valley Worldwide: 1/ Universal Studios Resort Orlando 2/ Magic Kingdom 3/ Epcot 4/ Animal Kingdom 5/ Busch Gardens 6/ Sea World Orlando 7/ Hollywood Studios 8/ Tokyo Disney Resort 9/ Disneyland Cali 10/ Kings Island Slowly ticking them off (maybe).

It’s pretty clear this is all fake news then! Now if you can excuse me, I have a contest to enter.

Matt Creek’s Drag Race?

Hope you all had a wonderful time. Sorry I couldn’t join, but hopefully will return next year!

Might Be worth ‘finally’ getting to Helsinki now for this Taronesque style coaster. This park isnt too too far away from the City either, as I’m aware.

Coaster Studios (Tyler), a well known American Youtuber/enthusiast recently uploaded a video timing and comparing operations of Thorpe Park’s main coasters. See the video below. Anyone want to guess which rides have the best/worst operations?