Matt 236

With Fly/ Rookburgh likely to open next year, comes the big question. Which attraction/s will be the next to be removed/demolished? Previous rumours and speculation has cited that either Geister Riksha (Chinese Dark ride) or TOTNH and Hollywood are on the chopping block. Some have speculated/heard it is the former that is being spited, however an interesting development has occurred with the park’s Fantassima dinner show, which shares the same building as the latter. From Phanta Friends. The park have built a brand new entrance for Fantassima, which is now accessed from the street. Looks quite pretty from the front. Not sure on the park side entrance. An interesting decision from the park, but what does it mean? 1/ Temple and Hollywood will be the next to go and an alternative entrance for the show is necessary. It is possible that the building won’t be completely demolished and instead keep part of/ all of the building. This could well be due to being one of the nearest areas to the park nimbys. 2/ The Park just wanted to make a nicer/more secluded entrance to their premium dinner show. The newer entrance makes it more exclusive and removes the needs of entering by the park. Whichever attraction/s are for the chop next, I expect we will know by December/January time. No park announcements, just the sudden arrival of construction/demolition vehicles. I am no construction expert, but, I have always wondered if it is possible with modern machinery if a large building can only be partly demolished, with an even bigger building attached to the remainder of the old building. What if The Hollywood Tour isn’t being demolished but is instead getting rethemed?

Unless you have Tesco club card points, online is the best way from the park’s main site as you save quite a bit of money from the ‘on the day price’. The Mouse is definitely dead and not coming back! Mandy invested in mouse traps of course! Nothing was closed on my last visit.

Interesting move getting Nick Hutson in to do the park’s new soundtracks, but they should just keep the seasoning to the meat in Fins.

I’m in the half of enthusiasts yet to visit Poland, so am still considering whether next year or 2020 is the best year to hit these? Legendia honestly looks a surpriding nice park. Sure, they only have a couple of standout rides, but fingers crossed they are an up and coming place. Lech honestly looks great and gives me much optimism on how much Vekoma have upped their game recently ( just like Mack). Somewhere like Drayton would maybe benefit from something like this! The dark ride looks ok too. That Dragon Riders attraction just looks horrific, and just when I thought the Blackpool Waltzer was bad enough. I have a love-hate relationship with certain flat rides, largely down to almost vomiting on Samurai five years ago.

Whilst both come close (like really close), I think Icon wins by a finger nail! The ride features an excellent pacing of features and elements whilst it interacts with nearby rides such as Big Dipper and Steeplecase. Yes, the launch isn’t as powerful as ‘say Rita’, but that’s not really the point on these kinds of rides. Wickerman is still fantastic though and proves there is still demand for experience attractions in U.K. parks, making it what is arguably the most immersive attraction in a U.K. park since Hex! Icons wins,but they are both winners for different respects!

Maybe I should give up the puns. Just thought I would say Fly looks like it is on track.

I misread that as pants. My apologies. TTD in Cedar Point can run five trains at once, however that would never work on Stealth, as they would need to create a bigger station and launch area to accommodate for all of that. Even then, it would probably only still be able to run 3/4 trains at a time anyway. Still better capacity than Red Force though.

TPM meets are lots of fun and this one should be no exception. You get to meet people of different ages and opinions, but everyone has one main thing in common, they enjoy theme park type attractions. Its not just sbout getting on tonnes of rides but the social side too. From laugh out loud memories to plenty of banter and shenanigans. Still thinking if I should dress up for this meet up. If yes, what as? Being myself is perhaps scary enough for some people!

The idea of the park having two tall B&Ms is certainly a bizarre and interesting one. However I guess one has been built for airtime and the other for speed. Behemoth probably looks the better from POVS. Leviathon looks like a less impressive Fury325 in some respects. I wonder how Shambhala and Silver Star compare? Vortex does look and sound a better swinger than Iron Dragon and hearing it have longer queues too alone probably shows how Better it is. That crazy flat reminds me of the old Claw Of Doom rides on RCT3! How did atmosphere and operations compare to CP? I’m guessing if you were to visit this park on the same trip as say CP, you would need to apply for a second Visa in Canada too? I guess it’s a two 2-3 day park?

Don’t like the sound of Dead Wood Creek, someone is clearly trying to bump me off!

I’m so disappointed in Chessington! They declined my offer to buy Burnt Stub Mansion! I offered five crayons and a milk!

Welcome Back (if you didn’t get bored last time). Previously, I left you with a Cliff hanger on whether we managed to get on Top Thrill Dragster. I’m afraid this is going to be a bit of a disappointment, because we didn’t return to the park. On the second day (at least). Day 2- A Pointless Day Although our hotel package included park tickets, these were only valid for three days, so at least one of our days was to be away from the park. With adverse weather forecasted (and CP having a reputation for closing everything in storms), Tuesday was going to be our non park day. Ohio is generally less touristy than other American states/cities such as Orlando, New York and Los Angelies. The only major attraction where we were staying was Cedar Point, but there would be other things to do. One of the first place we visited was Wendy’s. This fast food outlet is quite popular in America and quite a few outlets exist as a result. They haven’t existed in the U.K. now for quite a number of years. I went for a Chicken Burger meal, which turned out to be remarkably delicious (more than I was expecting). This medium is bigger than a U.K. large indefinitely. When we finished up, we headed to the Sandusky Mall. The crazy thing about Malls are they a very American concept, however they seem to be a dying breed these days (largely due to people buying online more). Quite a few have closed up in the last few years. Sandusky Mall is quite small (by American standards), but offered an adequate selection of stores. It was also considerably cleaner than your typical U.K. shopping place. There were quite a few stores there’s from J.C Penney and TJ Maxx. To say they had a lot of Harry Potter products would be an understatement. We next went into a Target, which is one of the bigger and more familiar stores in the states to buy lots under one roof. It was a bit like cross between Wilko and the long gone Woolworths. Later on, we found a smallish horror themed entertainment complex which included a scare maze as part of it’s lineup. Not too bad maze at all, with a decent length and selection of interactive features and theming. Reminded me of a longer version of Creepy Cottage. Afterwards, we grabbed some Dunkin Donuts (which were ok), we had a little drive around to see what else was here. A fairly impressive water park and a derelict Toys R Us, were some of those sights. We had a short break back at the hotel, before heading out to Pizza Hut. The garlic bread was delicious, however I’m unsure on my choice of Pizza. Maybe I didn’t choose wisely. Day 3- Back In The Park, The third day away and we returned back to the park. That morning, it was time to give a US McDonald’s breakfast ago. The Mc Muffin was nice but I prefer the hash browns back home. After the National anthem, we headed straight back to SV where we had a ride on the back. Even more amazing than the last time, the forces on this ride were insane. This time, we generally did some re-rides but also went on some of the smaller things too. Millennium was just as amazing on the front row, Rougarou remained an impressive floor-less and Magnum was actually enjoyable. Like really enjoyable that I liked this a lot more. On our last visit Top Thrill Dragster had been closed, due to launch cable replacements. However thankfully, it was now back up and running. We managed two goes on this, including one on the front. That launch is certainly impressive! It really does shoot you out of that station with tonnes of acceleration for sure. The views uptop are great too. TTD is probably my favourite accelerator coaster (not launch coaster) and much better than Red Force. Sure it’s just a one trick pony, but that doesn’t detract anything from the ride and what’s it is trying to achieve! Five train operation though is very efficient! The difference between something like Stealth and TDD compared to something like Taron and Maverick is, rather than delivering a palette of elements, its main intention is to purely just reach key speed and height quickly and efficiently. Some of the other rides we tried included the S&S shot towers, including my first downwards launch one. Both were definitely amongst the better ones around, but I definitely preferred the one with the downwards launch. We also did the park’s railway which was great. A long scenic route and traditional steam, featuring a great number of skeleton animatronics too. There was also a park museum which was both charming and interesting to look around. I love parks that have pride in their past, present and future and is something more parks should do! We also had another ride on Vengeance, after waiting a while following several shutdowns. We set at the front this time! That evening we went to the TGI Friday’s in Cedar Point’s Hotel Breakers. The portions were definitely bigger and offered more richly packed burgers. Despite this, I may still prefer the U.K. one, but that may be because I’m more familiar with them here. We also explored the boardwalk area of Cedar Point shores. Everything was lovely, apart from the bugs, which there were billions of! Day Four- Returning to Shores Thursday would mark our third and final visit to the park through our hotel deal (Or Would It!)! Back to Steel Vengeance we go, followed by another round on Maverick! Operations were definitely slower this time round, which was a pain, but it was still a great ride. Most operations were very good though, least whilst I was there. We returned to the Smoke House again, this time opting for some Brisket Beef which was delicious. We also snuck in another Magnum ride somewhere in the middle. This is definitely a ride I’ve enjoyed the more I’ve ridden it! Whilst Doyle went wind sailing, Matt Wise and I tried out the water park Cedar Point Shores. They had quite a interesting selection of slides, including a racing body slide with enclosed parts amongst a raft slide with a steep drop! One of the craziest rides they had there were those slides where you stand up and then you plummet through a trap door into tie slide below! Honestly one mad but enjoyable ride, and perhaps one of my favourites there. And yes, I did say the ‘Wrong Lever’ speech during my ride, however to not much effect I’m afraid! Not a bad water park at all I say and definitely one of the better ones I have visited. My only complaints are the lack of changing facilities (which there wasn’t enough of) and the Lazy River being closed! Now back in the park, we went on some of the other attractions around the Boardwalk side including Max Air and the Wind Seeker. Max Air was great fun, it packed it’s forces and is probably my second favourite afterburner ride after Loki. Can’t say I was a massive fan of the Wind Seeker. Whilst I didn’t hate it, I just found the whole experience overwhelming with strong gusts blowing around whilst at the top. Maybe it’s me! We revisited Wicked Twister and Gate Keeper once, Swarm has some better elements , but Gate Keeper for is still the better coaster. Raptor was revisited and retains it’s place as my second favourite invert (of four (I need to go on more)). Valravn was revisited before indulging in the park’s gift shops. I don’t know if it’s me but I just didn’t enjoy this coaster as much as the other major ones here. I certainly enjoyed it more on my second time but it still seems to just lack something. The second half of the ride is probably better IMHO. The last ride of the day would be Steel Vengeance (shock horror), where we were trying for a night ride! The park closed at 8pm each day we were out there, but it didn’t get dark until around 9pm earliest. Those poor SV staff! This time we went for the back again and it certainly disappoint. Not to mention it was just about dark enough to be classed as a night ride! The whole area looks pretty during the night! That night it was Five Guys Night, where we ordered so close to closing, we had to exit through a fire escape (not the first time I did that on this trip)! Five Guys was ok, but a little bit disappointing, not because the food was bad but it was exactly like the U.K. ones (which is believed to be a direct import). Least it’s probably better value for money and they have full fat coke (which may well be ditched in the U.K. thanks to Jamie Oliver)! Day Five- The Final Surprise Friday marked the final day of the trip after 5.5 days. Once we checked out, we were stuck between doing mini golf and other small things or another third to half day at the park. We chose the latter! We paid at the hotel reception (which was more than we’d like but could’ve been worse). Off we went! We headed once again for SV one last time, before getting a few things done. Woodstock Express was one of the last creds to get at the park and I can safely say it’s a very enjoyable young family coaster. That isn’t sarcasm. I promise! We also did Pipe Scream, which is a fun family flat but is definitely not a coaster! We grabbed an ice cream/smoothie from one of those ‘choose your own toppings’ places. Mine was delicious, but given one of the machines exploded contents over me during dispensing was annoying to say the least! During consumption, we noticed the ‘soon to be removed’ Witches Wheel Ride suddenly and strangely lower back to ground earlier than normal. Suddenly we noticed the lack of audio and realised the park had experienced a power cut! Annoying to say the least, but it was interesting to see how quiet and different the park felt in those few moments. It was amazing how relaxed a lot of guests seemed to be about it, whereas back home they would be up in arms! Around an hour later everything was getting back and running, so we went on Sky Hawk again first and then did the park’s Rapids. This thing was crazy, wet and wild! They have waterfalls that almost cover your whole body! The boats were large although strangely they weren’t running many. They have spotters here too! We headed over to Gemini Red, where we lost again but least we got the cred! It may not be the best coaster out there but it’s definitely a fun ride and seems quirky in a number of ways! Our last ride (as random it is) was to be Iron Dragon, which was a little better than our first go but still nothing spectacular. One day I hope to ride Ninja, Vortex and/or Bat, hopefully all three. Corkscrew was our last ride of the trip, followed by another ice cream/ smoothie before returning to the car and departing Cedar Point once and for all. On this visit anyway! A visit to Wendy’s marked the last States meal. We returned the hire car immediately after and took the bus to the terminal. Security and departures was generally hassle free time round. For two of at least. Poor Doyle. We boarded plane one (of two) thankfully to no delays and probably the nicest of our flights. Our flight back was perhaps the worst but it was still acceptable! The Ending Point: Some say Cedar Point is the holy grail of theme parks! Not only is it arguably one of the best in the world but boasts many of the best coasters in the world! For me, Cedar Point is currently my second favourite park (number one amusement park), largely down to it’s vast impressive collection of rides (especially coasters), amongst mostly very good operations and their park seems generally well kept. Most areas look immaculate and it seems they jet wash the paths frequently! One must remember that CP is a completely different type of park than say Disney or Efteling. It’s not trying to create immersive lands and attractions, but deliver generally impressive rides. This isn’t to say they don’t have places of charm. The western areas around Professor Delbert’s and near Steel Vengeanve are beautiful. If thrilling, tall and fast white knuckle rides this is definitely the park for you! If you are more into immersive experience attractions over rides with impressive layouts, it’s definitely still a park worth seeing though as there’s plenty to see and discover here! Although fairly short, this trip to America was highly enjoyable, not just as Cedar Point is concerned, but everything from the food to cultural differences. Who knows when I’ll go state side again? Maybe 2-3 years hopefully if things go to plan. One things for sure, I won’t be forgetting this adventure anytime soon! **Walks off into sunset**

I’d take a guess, but I’ll wait for things to blow over!

The first half is definitely the scariest half. I would compare it’s level similar to Wickerman’s pre-show and parts of Valhalla if that helps. It might be quite scary for anyone under 7. Also Efteling is a pretty big places so there’s more than just the ride. Ravelijin (live show) and the Fairy Tale Forest are just some places, you can spend hours in the latter.

I think Mark and Martin cover the key areas here but I’ll mention a few things anyway. Flights with Icelandic air from Gatwick to Cleveland via Reykjavik is a good way of going. Not bad at all and think they are pretty reasonable as costs go. May or August are the best times to go, but I would check calendars in advance for both parks as the May still be closed days. 2020 for a new coaster is likely, given the park’s anniversary. You will probably need two visas, one for the Ststes and another for Canada.

Interesting thoughts on Liseberg. Its definitely a very pretty place which is often tidy and well kept, especially within it’s City location. I generally prefer Helix to Icon, mainly due to it’s layout and pacing, but will say there are some things I prefer on Icon, like it’s second launch. Balder is definitely a fun ride, however it’s lack of styling drags it down a little. Lisebergbanen sure is a crowd eater, I think Loki is my favourite flat ride. Shame to hear operations didn't seem to be that good. Last time I went they seemed pretty efficient, although maybe that has changed since things like the Helix seatbelts which is a shame if that’s the case. I cannot comment on Valkyria yet, but hope to return for it next year. It is definitely true of it being one of the easiest parks to get to though. It’s just one bus ride from Gothenburg Landvetter and boom! You are literally outside the park entrance!

**blows off dust and cobwebs** From The Park that brought us Fury 325, comes another new addition for 2019. Copperhead Strike! This will be a launch coaster from Mack rides, featuring five inversions and two launches, one of which is actually on the airtime hill itself (interesting). The ride will reach speeds of 50 MPH, which may sound remarkably slow, but I will honestly say it’s more about the layout than speed on these types of rides. Check out the trailer and POV videos below. I like how Cedar Fair are theming up some of their newer additions.

I should really stop clicking my fingers so often these days.

One could even be pedantic with Black Bucaneer, as it’s been repainted drastically at least once, including this year. Chessington could be put into the collowing Eras as far as investment is concerned. 1987-1998 The Magic Era 1999-2005 The Quirky Era 2006-2009 The Stagnant era 2010- present The Adventure Era

That webpage

It’s a shame but no surprise either. Hocus Pocus Hall has been in a dire state in the last year or so, with it’s absence of glasses, broken/ageing effects and terrible dubbed pre-show. It was probably a matter of time before it was replaced or mothballed as the glasses were not returning. With some simple and regular maintenance and upkeep, HPH could have well lasted noticeably longer than it has, but clearly corporate side chose not to. I suppose 15 years isn’t that bad for a walkthrough attraction. Least the marketing is quite fun and creative though. 7 million anyone?

Just come back from Europa and regretibly missed the CanCan Coaster by just a day. Can’t remember the last time I was spited something so much. On the s note, it looks beautiful from the outside and the French area as a whole looks terrific. Things to note: 1/ Food Loop looks like it’s got new lighting 2/ Volatarium is stunning and kicks Ferrari Land’s one to the curb 3/ Jim Knopf Marks a charming yet refreshing update to the former 99 ride system 4/ Madame Freidrich’s Curiodities is such a charming dark ride. An attraction about dinosaurs wearing clothes made from an old lady on paper shouldn’t work, but it seems to perfectly here. Such an upbeat happy attraction with a lot more life and character than the ageing Universe Of Energy ride. I love how EP is retheming stuff with more upbeat brighter themes. Unlike some other parks. 5/ The absence of the fire damaged was slightly noticeable but didn’t drastically affect the enjoyment or trip duration. It still makes me sad though, seeing that empty patch of land in the middle of the park and a partially naked rapids. 6/ The Park shows were of good quality and variation, especially the park’s Rutluntica musical and Paddington on Ice. How they managed four dress changes in audience view in a few minutes was astounding! 7/ Wodan and Arthur still amazing and have aged well. 8/ Blue Fire isn’t as good as Helix and Icon, but is still a great ride, looks beautiful and has an amazing throughput. That last inversion though is phenomenal! 9/ Silver Star isn’t as good as Shambhala but everything after the mid course brake fun is excellent and arguably better than the ending of Shambhala. 10/ If anyone wants good reasonable food, the Pizza Pasta place between France and Italy is somewhere I recommend. 11/ Bench is still hilarious. 12/ Rutluntica is progressing well. It’s amazing how large the site and hotel will be, which are a surprising distance from the main park and other hotels. They have a preview centre too. 13/ Operations are naturally excellent. Trains dispatched on average every 30-40 seconds but maybe as quick as 20 on some. I did notice some slightly stricter nods to safety though, such as more warning labels and restraint checking. However in this age of paramount safety and exploitative social media, it’s to be expected. 14/ Ireland is a fun area for younger guests. BA Express is perhaps the smallest coaster I’ve been on in a park. It honestly makes Octonauts look thrilling! We spent five days there, which felt plenty of time whilst there. The park hotels look amazing and I vow to stay in one in the future. Silverlake Saloon is a nice place to chill and eat after close. Reasonable cost and quality I’d say. if I haven’t said it already, Europa is a park everyone should visit at least once, even you aren’t into parks that much!

Blue Streak is lovely classic coaster. Reminds me of a cross between Nick Streak and Dipper. Corkscrew may may not be the best coaster there, but I did like the classic feel of it especially given these rides seem to be gradually disappearing. Seemed smooth too. Interesting points on Gemini as I found it a fun little ride, yet we lost each time we did both sides. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the best ride around but I think is quirky in many respects. There were definitely reliability issues as we also witnessed it closed/late opening at least twice. Magnum for me was a ride I enjoyed the more the more I went on it. I didn’t enjoy my first ride, but came off loving it after my third. It’s a much better ride than Big One (except maybe the drop) although it’s location is an interesting one. Good views of the waterpark. I adore Maverick and Steel Vengeance. I love the intensity, pacing and surroundings of Maverick whilst Steel Vengeance I love how relentless it is. Both are literally in my top three. Cedar Point arguably has the better rides than SFMM. It’s not stopping me from going though.

Good to hear Towers are delivering again on the operational point. Sounds like Oblivion in particular is performing better now amongst Nemy being even more efficient. I’ve usually found Wickerman and Thirteen the most efficient and Galactica the least. I think the VR needs to go as it’s really affecting throughputs,unless they opted for a Europa style system ala Alpen Express. Blackpool’s operations felt better last time I visited. Icon had the best operations and Grand National by far the worst. I guess in America it depends on the park as some likely perform better than others. Wickerman is arguably the best best ride Towers have built since Hex.

Well definitely looks a very attractive and impressive dive coaster and the drop looks very good on this too. I do Wonder how it compares to Oblivion, Baron and Valravn? Apparently the park are enforcing a ‘no bags in queue’ system for bags here (like a lot of American parks are currently doing). However the lockers are cheap (so I’ve been told) and last upto three hours a time.