Matt 236

This is just terrible news! I’ve only Roodie a few times, but he’s such a lovely guy and doesn’t deserve this at all, especially given he has young kids. I too want to donate (when I’m position to do so) and will try and share his story. Wishing the best best for Roodie and his family.

Well I certainly didn’t see this happening. Hopefully the retheme will be a step up over the former Circus setting. Still going to miss the Old 99 regardless though.

Good to see so much dedication in this park, which despite obtaining a popular IP are also continuing to develop original attractions. I am also curious about them mentioning announcements for their next big thing too.

Certainly a step up from showing the movie on a big screen, hopefully it’ll actually be good. I guess I’m in the minority that actually liked Cheesy Dibbles.

They remind me of snake skin for some reason. Hopefully the trains will look even better in the daylight whilst running on the track. It’s also never too late for BPB to stick their name in front of the trains. It has been done before.

Yes Yes Yes! DLRP/WDS finally gets a much needed expansion and upgrade. The concept art look great and it looks like Motors and the Tour will also be spited which is no real loss, plus there looks like a new lake too. Tower’s appearance is some reassurance too. I believe the expansions are starting from 2021 which makes sense since RNRC will become Ironman next year and New York will reopen with it’s Marvel retheme. Maybe there will be a time in the future where can for sure no longer call WDS the weakest Disney Park. Only minor downside is prices for tickets and passes will probably sky rocket but can’t have everything.

Bobblejaan building new stuff? Well I never! Loopings mention it’s Gerstlauer so I expect it will be similar to Gold Rush in that case.

Wow, that is taking bigotry to a whole new level. Ridiculous move. I wonder how they will get over this? Phantasialand really does have a difficult and troubling relationship with quite a few of the locals.

Bumper Steel Vengeance update! Surprised not that many are that interested. Photos courtesy of Coasterforce Looks absolutely amazing. I for one feel particularly excited about this new ride at Cedar Point.

Hoping by the way Valkyria has been progressing lately, this ride will be about the same in terms of construction process. If not, I guess there must be delays which would be a shame.

Lovely Gold track there, this is definitely flying up right now.

I think it’s safe to say this announcement has been very divided. Whilst some dislike the market and direction, others are without doubt dead excited. I will leave now

I don’t have a major issue with the vest restraints, but if they can make them less tightening, it would be much appreciated. Still looks good.

Flaming hot it looks!

Believe it or not there are actually attractions out there which greatly enhance a ride experience purely on theming and effects alone. Disney aside, rides such as The Flying Dutchman (Efteling) and Anubis are examples that high quality items (aside from ride hardware and layout) can still offer a great experience. Whether Wickerman is one of these remains to be seen. As for the ‘first woodie in 21 years’ one could argue Scenic is basically a brand new woodie (given how it was completely rebuilt). However it must be remembered that it was listed (just before that tragic fire) and had to be built virtually identical to the original. Also Woodies need structure material replaced on fairly regular basis too. The Wood on Blackpool’ woodies now certainly isn’t from the 1930’s/1940’s. I believe they did originally consider building it around the cross valley site but chose the Flume due to the ride reaching the end of it’s life. Unfortunately a noticeable chunk where the Flume resided was part of the Gardens and had to be restored. Whilst Wardley did reprofile one or two areas (very slightly) one has to remember he took on more a consultant role in Thirteen and Smiler (as opposed to to Nemesis and Oblivion). The new trains look neat though.

The Wild Mouse closing was a massive shame and it will be missed (myself includied), but one unfortunately has to remember the challenging industry now where liability of incidents is unfortunately much worse now. gone are the days of guests going to first aid and getting something. Instead, more people may submit these on social media and even submit these to the press. This is unfortunately a reality we live in more-so now. According to others, the Wild Mouse underwent a noticeable amount of updates the closed season before last (including new breaks), yet the ride suddenly shuttered around last September. Some say the ride’s insurer pulled out and the park couldn’t find a new/affordable one. Given the maintenance achieved, it does seem very possible the Mouse’s spiting was out of the park’s choice. Moving on, I am more excited for the opening of Icon, because it gives the park a modern thrill coaster from one of the best manufacturers out there. And considering the ride’s layout and interaction with other rides it should hopefully be something special. The grade I status on other attractions hopefully is reassurance alone they have many years left. I would much rather they open Icon and remove the mouse than try and keep it open and become bankrupt in a couple of years. The company doesn’t have as much financial fat as others in the industry currently.

I can no longer say Icon looks a good ride. That’s because it looks like it’s going to be phenomenal one. Those twists, turns and airtime hill look absolutely stunning and being in Pleasure Beach the interaction between others looks to be one of the best out there. Regardless as whether it’s better than the likes of Helix, Blue Fire etc. The UK now finally looks to have a worthwhile multi-launch which is great to see especially for those unable to go abroad. Edit- forgot to mention, nothing really to add. Only the trains have now arrived. Courtesy of St Chads Hotel.

Looks like it will go well in my collection amongst pet rocks,diet water and Umbrella shoes.

Shame to hear Rage has aged a bit. Given it’s compact footprint and layout it was a neat little coaster last time I experienced it. The park arguably holds the best Pinifari ever made but the Barnstormer is pretty good too. Haven’t visited now for a few years (a return may be due soon). Apparently the ghost train is more watered down now which is a shame, but least the other dark ride sounds ok. For what they have (space and resourcewise) they don’t do bad for a tiny park and considering they build some of their own rides (Ghost Train, Time Machine, Cow Junp) is certainly an achievement on its own.

Love it or leave it but the WDC are on an IP adding spree of late, adding popular properties into parks. Marvel in particular. Following on the likes of Pixar Pier and Mission Breakout, the next attraction to receive the IP treatment will be Rock-N-Rollercoaster which is expected to be rethemed with an Ironman theme sometime around 2019. concept art- courtesy of the DLRP Facebook page. Although it’s already been confirmed, the park have also released new concept art for the reimagined New York Hotel which is to be receiving a new Marvel theme. Certainly looks rather modern and different from other hotel rooms. I'm very mixed about Rock N Rollercoaster’s retheme. I’m a bit sad one of the original attractions is going (especially being a musician) but the design ideas sound interesting. Also if this is the first phase to develop the lacklustre backlot area of the Studios Park it can only be more of a good thing surely. The last I heard on Tower was, it’s ‘currently’ now safe from the Marvel treatment and there are rumours the facade will be getting an overhaul in the near future. Edit- Mr9 has beaten me to it.

Count me in for the day and the meal. plus Tomb as well.

On the upfront this is mostly good news as Duel has been in quite a state the last few years. The promotional images look ok, but I worry for the result in person. What if the wrong kind of UV lighting has been used and the original effect is ruined. I do worry of riding only to find the UV emphasises the whole building (including out of house areas and the warehouse shell) much like TombBlaster does. We will have to wait wait and see I guess. Let’s just hope TLC have done this one properly and given the attraction the treatment it deserves. As for the soundtrack, I’m very mixed as I actually liked the current theme tune.

In all fairness 2009 and 2011 have been their best attendance levels of recent years (despite the love-hate reactions with what opened then). The last few years have unfortunately seen a dip in attendance which hasn’t really reached the levels of Pre-2012 yet. I think the issues of that 2012 were purely down to Olympics and bad weather though despite the perceiving that Swarm was a failure. It wasn’t and usually gets one of the higher satisfaction ratings. The Park ideally need a marketing image which focuses on the thrilling elements but does not overlook it for families either. I for one would like to also see a consistently between dark and upbeat themes.

I’m pretty sure Merlin’s last business statement classed Thorpe Park as aimed towards young adults, if this is the case then the marketing seems to make sense. Thorpe did seem to go down a path of appealing to all ages around 2013 time, however given attendance levels are still lower, perhaps they are again focusing more towards the thrills. Whilst Lego and Chessington are short distances away, younger families have (and will) continue to visit, so hopefully they won’t isolate them completely if this is the case. The irony that one of Thorpe’s best attendance years was when Storm Surge opened.

Excellent. And just before my birthday too