Matt 236

Right, time for a much needed update to my top 10 lists. Theme Parks: 1/ Europa Park 2/ Phantasialand 3/ Efteling 4/ Disneyland Paris 5/ Liseberg 6/ Port Aventura 7/ Alton Towers 8/ Blackpool 9/ Paultons Park 10/ Thorpe Park Coasters: 1/ Helix 2/ Taron 3/ Shambhala 4/ Wodan 5/ Nemesis 6/ Blue Fire 7/ Black Mamba 8/ Baron 1898 9/ Balder 10/ Furious Baco Honourable Mentions: Red Force, Joris, Thirteen and Nemesis Inferno. That ride has improved so much recently, it is unbelievable. Dark Rides: 1/ Tower Of Terror (Paris) 2/ Pirates Of The Caribbean (Paris) 3/.Symbolica 4/ Ratatouille 5/ Valhalla 6/ Hex 7/ Fata Morgana 8/ Droomvlucht 9/ Maus Au Chocolate 10/ Gruffalo River Ride Adventure Honourable Mentions: Duel, Villa Volta, Derren Brown's Ghost Train and Wallace & Gromit Water Rides: 1/ Chiapas 2/ Valhalla 3/ River Quest 4/ Flying Dutchman 5/ Grand Canyon Rapids (PA) 6/Fjord Rafting 7/ Pirana Rapids 8/ Tidal Wave 9/ Drenched 10/ Tutiki Splash

Unfortunately I will be away during this time so will not be attending I'm afraid.

I'm probably in the minority that is somewhat excited for this coaster. Whilst the layout and design perhaps seems like it could have done more, the groundworks and theming look intriguing indeed and I don't think I've been as excited for a coaster since the Swarm. Can safely say I've not actually found a wooden coaster I dislike. Even Stampida I had some liking too and hopefully it will be the same here.

The weather guarantee is definitely a great move from the park and with poor forecasts ahead it is certainly a great time to implement this. Closed rides aren't fun for anyone, but if the rainfall/wind speed is beyond the maximum amount a ride can safely run then it can't be helped unfortunately.

Always got to love a view from above, which just shows how intricately and creatively the majority of the park is constructed. Sounds a great idea if the park do update videos again which showcase the construction site. Will make the closed season fly by.

If you want to ride Dragon Falls and Peeking Heights before the area retheme, you will need to be quick as both will be closing on Sunday 10th September. Falls will eventually reopen next year as Tiger Falls, however Peeking Heights will be going extinct

Safe to say this looks to be a great quality mid-thrill family coaster for the park. And much needed given how few attractions the park actually had now. Cant wait to hopefully ride next year.

Very mixed about this announcement as I don't think Efteling necessarily needs a fastpass type system in there. However should it work similar to the current system DLRP have, they it could be handy and not affect things too much.

Not been a great time for ride accidents lately, especially on Gersts recently. Hopefully no major injuries.

Make the most of the park, get to the shows and parade early plus allow time for shopping. Must do attractions in the parks are: Parc Disneyland Big Thunder Mountain Phantom Manor (Hyper) Space Mountain Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters Star Tours-The Adventure Continues Pirates Of The Caribbean It's A Small World Peter Pan's Flight Disney Studios Ratatouille Tower Of Terror Rock N Roller Coaster Crush Make most of Magic hours if you are staying on site. These are usually from 8am in the main park which includes the Fantasy and Discovery attractions. If you are not staying onsite you won't be able to access them unless you get an annual pass. For food, I always find the best places are in the Disney Village. Planet Hollywood and Annette's are good calls. Earl Of Sandwich is one of the best places too.

Certainly looks an interesting place to visit. Ive always wondered about this place and am considering it as part of a cultural trip in the future. Does the park have much on the dark rides front?

Yeah, a fourth maze certainly certainly doesn't sound too much of a quiet one for Towers. Hopefully the offering will be top notch, last year's event was particularly good, especially the Monsters walkthrough.

A Beauty and the Beast dark ride would certainly work and be ideal, given it's location, as would a water attraction for Frontier. Aside from the New York Marvel rethrme (which I feel mixed on), I think the Studios Park will be getting fixed up first as the park is in a somewhat confused state bar a few attractions. Whilst all good, the future of Tower does concern me which could become a Guardians Clone. Swear there was a rumour of a Frozen dark ride being built and one they were thinking of spiting the Snow White attraction. I hope not.

Sounds like Monster is the only thing really going for this park then. Shame the park is seemingly unloved by it's owners. I'm guessing it's probably only worth visiting if combined with other park trips or cultural stuff?

Wow, the park are flying ahead with construction here. Sorry I'll leave. Honestly though it's perfectly clear we should hopefully get a 2018 opening. A very exciting year for new European coasters indeed. I am wondering how much of the coaster will be enclosed when finished? We shall have to see.

I think with all said and done, the park should just consider it an achievement they actually got it open in the first place. Effort was clearly made here.

Heidi definitely looks a great little woodie, which is great to see open. That Carousel though looks bizarre. Is that new as well? Would you say it's ironic that a ride you've been trying to get for years became cred 200? Plopsacoo looks a pretty little park though. Shockingly, I have still not been to a Hard Rock Cafe.

Not much to see yet, but somewhat exciting. Also loving Vekoma's new track style too. Will be interesting if this ride actually features dark ride sections. Rumours also suggest Nighthawk and Hollywood will be the next attractions to face the bulldozer, which perhaps means Fantasmica will be relocated to Rookburgh.

You definitely chose the right one given the time frames. Fear is the longest of the two and features more fun and exciting elements. Force seemed noticeably shorter for me, even though the trick track is arguably more exciting. I personally love Taron, not just down to it's layout but whole landscaping and theming throughout? Mamba is great too and I found the rating between Nemy and Inferno to be correct. Mystery Castle is certainly a bizarre attraction, as the build up really helps set it up, however the actual ride is a little underwhelming. Experiencing this attraction on a medium queue perhaps offers the best experience. I like Raik (which may be due to impressive theming again), but do find with junior boomerangs, once you've been on one you've pretty much been on them all. Colorado is an impressive mine coaster. It's not quite BTM, but is still amazing. Its a shame you missed out on Maus Au Chocolate and River Quest, as both are equally great rides in their own ways. Not to mention River Quest did get a hefty retheme this year I believe. Creds aside, you haven't missed out by not riding Nighthawk as it's literally 10 minutes of a coaster going up three lift hills in the dark. Apparently they are removing it soon to redevelop the park which lacks in room for expansion. I honestly love Phantasialand and would say it's a park which you need 2-3 days to visit, get everything done and appreciate the place. It's also fairly easy to travel to as well.

Well that's more creeds I won't be getting then. I know they didn't Duel anymore, but will still be a shame to lose them. That's the third attraction I'll miss out on next year's grand adventure.

I don't think I've known a coaster to age or progress as greatly as Inferno. Everytimevive been riding on that ride, it always gives me feelings of amazement and feels so intense and forceful now. Inferno is a ride that never bores me and highly re-rideable too.

This was certainly an interesting read. I've still not had the chance to visit Asterix,but can safely say it's on my list and the things I've heard about that place sound highly interesting. Same goes for Niglo land, which I guess would probably need to be a car job. I love Phantasialand and can safely say it's one of the best parks food. What is it you dislike about Winjas? Can agree about the Efteling theming. The amount of details I managed to miss on my last visit was astounding. I love Dutchman, Dream Flight, Fata, Vogelrock and Baron (despite it's average throughout). I actually enjoy Joris as I think the racing element is fun amongst it's forces. Symbolica I can safely say is a perfect addition to the park and certainly worth returning for. I'm interested to see what Hyperspace brings when I hopefully ride later this year. I like the look of the new trains but the recent 'Disney Cashcowing' does concern me. First Gusrdians, then this and soon the conversion of the Grest Movie into the Mickey ride along with the New York hotel getting rethemed to Marvel. I need to return to Europa, but that's hopefully on the planning block, this time with the intention of an onsite stay.

Bagatelle looks bizarre. I don't know what else to say. Would it be worth the effort to visit outside of the Cred prospect? The Calais structures look decent though which is perhaps a positive.

A perfectly accurate review from the Baron there I say. I certainly found Symbolica to be the perfect modern dark ride, in one that uses lots of modern technology yet without the need of screens as much which I find fantastic and breathtaking. I think the pacing and theming of the ride is top notch and the amount of animatronic and interactive features superb. Symbolica also perfectly fits into the style and character of the Efteling as well.

Might as well update given it's been a while. 10/ Mr Toad's (Magic Kingdom) 9/ Silber Mine 8/ Terror Tomb 7/ TOT DCA 6/ Knightmare 5/ Space Invaders 4/ Back To The Future 3/ Tommy Tinkaboo's Sweet Factory 2/ Professor Burps Bubbleworks (only ever did Imperial one) 1/ The Great Movie Ride