Matt 236

I’m surprised Nemesis doesn’t feature on that poll. Then again, I rarely follow a theme park community that insists on banning people if they prefer Pepsi to Coke (amongst other silly reasons). Glad Helix & Taron made the cut though.

Well that was awkwardly hilarious. Certainly looks like that wasn’t supposed to happen.

I think it’s currently estimated for a late June opening from what I last heard. If this thing isnt running in August, then there’s something very wrong there. Once the tunnel is sorted, this beast should be ready quite soon I expect. The park just needs a major dark ride type attraction now. Rather badly if you ask.

0 chance in that 1

The chances of Paramount Park ever opening are equivalent of Loggers opening this Summer.

Should definitely be there for the Chessington part of the trip, but shall see whether I can join you at Thorpe too. Tomb should be attending too.

Either that or someone in HR needs a spell checker. 2020 would make sense though for a large investment though.

Clearly up there with Phantasialand then

I haven’t visited WMSP since I was really young so definitely need to get back there at somepoint. The ride selection sounds and looks pleasant enough for a park of that size. I think they have an interactive dinosaur walkthrough attraction there now.

I haven’t really noticed the impact on fastrack this year at the park, although that’s probably because I’ve visited on mostly quiet days, but this new system sounds like a noticeable improvement so far. Whilst I’m not the biggest fan of paid queue systems, if they are managed properly they can work out well for both sides of the fence. Parks like Phantasialand and Liseberg seem to have a pretty good method for their fastrack equivalents and neither seem to over advertise these either. As far as I’m aware. I havent visited Towers yet this year but can only presume Spinball still has fastrack?

By anything it was more of an observation. Whilst there have often been ‘peak only’ outlets the choice available was still comparatively limited, especially to any visitors that don’t fancy pizza buffet or chain stuff. Even opening just one (I.E Sombreros) would make a noticeable improvement. If Sticky Sisters is open all the time then that too will help. Churros though sounds great. Don’t think the park (or others in Merlin) have done something like thrn before.

I guess in all fairness everyone has their own favourite (and least favourite) parks. I think part of the reason why is these parks seem to be pushing the boats out in terms of theming and experience. Not to mention they are likely the most visited European parks by enthusiasts. I’m probably in that bubble considering they are all my top three. There are definitely more great parks out there though in Europe. Liseberg, Plopsaland and Gardaland (maybe). Tover Land might be one to watch out for too amongst others. Disneyland Paris is self explanatory. Anyways, keeping this topic unpopular now: 1/ Walking Dead is better than Derren Brown’s Ghost Train 2/ Walking Dead is the best ‘small’ investment since 2007 3/ Saw is rougher than Colossus Throw the tomatoes if you like then

Good to see Fins serving up fantastic food. One thing I couldn’t help but notice recently was how few food places were open last week. Fish & Chips, Burritos, Cornish, Peckish and Grill all closed. The only food places open were Fins, Pizza Pasta and the chains along with Donut Factory and Nitrogenie. Even then, they’ve reduced staff for Pizza Pasta as you no longer get lead to your table or given cutlery. I know it was an off peak day, but such a shame to see F&B at the parks being squeezed so much now financially.

Whoops. Awkward typo. Too excited for Wickerman and Steel Vengeance. Probably.

As long as this doesn’t have drastic impacts on throughputs and airtime, this isn’t terrible news. I do wonder whether Blue Fire and/or Icon will feature these? If not, must be an internal/Swedish regulation.

Looks nice. Lets hope it’s a good Intamin. This place has two other coastes due in 2020 (including an RMC), so they are definitely not standing still as far as investment is concerned.

Based on the photographs I am both impressed and disappointed from this project. The station, tunnel (interior) and theming on the (actual) drop look really nice. However the (remaining) lack of theming on lifts 1&2 and tunnel entrance are nothing but disappointing should they remain like that.

Amity Beach is usually operation from early/mid May until early/mid September. Legoland water areas are likely operate on a similar basis.

Burrito Bar sounds promising. Are the prices above with or without AP discount (if there is discount) Shame about the upcharge for extra toppings, but I guess lots of places do that nowadays. My local Burrito place charge an extra £1 for guacamole and chorizo. Worth it for the guacamole though. I will wait and see with Sticky Sister, but it would be a massive shame if they don’t deliver especially for the loss of lattice fries.

I do think Symbolica is perhaps one of the most underrated dark rides out there. Never before have I seen an attraction packed out with so much intricate details. The set pieces, animatronics and effects are top notch. It’s packed with both magic and mystery yet remains re-rideable. It is definitely up there as one of (if not) the best european dark ride to date.

Hearing how badly Blackpool have been doing at the start of the year is hardly surprising. Not only is their biggest new attraction for years not only open yet, but the weather has been poor and their PR team leaving a lot to be desired (it seems). One just needs to look at the number of times the park has shut much earlier without notice, which means a noticeable amount of visitors will probably leave with a sour taste in their mouth with no intention on returning. Icon needs fo be a success, otherwise I will be concerned as to what future the park has. These midweek closures are really bad and just show how poor things really are right now.

Taron is just simply bliss. It’s just as amazing to look at as it is to ride and one of my favourite coasters. I prefer Nemy but still like Mamba, which is well themed (even more-so) after the rockwork update. Chiapas is my favourite flume ride, the disco room is fab! Haven’t had the pleasure of Ripsaw Falls so unfortunately can’t compare that one. Phantasialand seems to be one of the best parks to combine both amazing theming and ride layouts. Apparently the China area (especially the hotel) has seen some updates recently, which imply this could be the next area to be redeveloped.

I could probably think of worse names to be fair. I’ll be another for the ‘calling it Ghost’ club I expect. I still call Knights Kingdom Castle Land and Duplo Valley Duplo Land half the time, purely because I’m more familiar with their former names.

Comparing Merlin to Disney in some ways is a bit like comparing Tesco to Waitrose. There’s some similarities between the two, but the latter generally offers a more premium price and one could argue is more upmarket. Whilst Merlin will never be up there with Disney, there’s no doubt that they can create quality attractions. Swarm, Wickerman and Gruffalo first come to mind. However what’s affecting these are limitations in budgeting, marketing and structure. The parks desperately need a complexion of themes that are upbeat, comical and mysterious. Less-so modern day dark/abandoned and bright garish themes. I understand the demographic have previously asked for these, however what was hot topic five years ago may be relevant today. Budgeting is another thing, as the parks typically only get funding for new attractions (investment levels rotated), basic maintenance and ‘essential’ safety improvements. Sometimes the parks really have to push for extensive upkeep (see the TLC scheme) which should never have to happen like this. The under prioritised upkeep from Merlin is the real reason little things like Vampire’s chandeliers and mothballed/removed rides have been happening. Merlin have the full ability to run all parks as high-level leading european Parks. Whilst they may not necessarily reach the heights of say Efteling or Phantasialand (which are operated differently), they have the potential to be near their league if they willing to pull out the right stops. It’s such a shame they choose not to and continue to tighten already stiff budgets, just because they want to make a massive profit, please shareholders and build dozens more Legolands. The parks themselves have a difficult fime through such limited budgets, however there are people who work in these parks that are definitely trying the best they can, even though they are basically expected to clean a toilet with just a broken toothbrush and almost empty cleaning bottle.

Fast & Furious Supercharged has now soft opened at the resort. Reviews so far seem to be mixed to negative, which may possibly be down to it’s unoriginal and bland storyline and being ‘yet’ another attraction that is nothing more than just screens. Some rumours suggest this may be one of the last attractions to ‘fully’ rely on screens. But let’s see what happens.