Matt 236

It's okay guys, Paultons is doing perfectly fine at the moment! Nothing to worry about. Blackpool could be doing much worse for what is an independent park, but two hours for a glorified one train monorail? Think I'll pass. Give me Silverstar anyday!

Just noticed this meet is looking likely to be thr Sunday when I'm working. This not only means I probably won't be going (and letting down Gruffalo), but I won't be making my anniversary TPM meet sadly.

Europa is definitely a park every enthusiast needs to visit at least once. Never have a been so blown away and impressed with a park, where the theming, atmosphere and entertainment are so good the rides are almost secondary. Unfortunately getting there is one of the few (but major) flaws of the places as the nearest airport is at least an hour away. And if don't have a driver in your party you are literally stuck between either fiddly public transport or park shuttle (which will spike trip budgets considerably). However it's all worth the effort in the end, not to mention there's rumours of a train line connecting the park in the future. Anyways, back on topic. Project V latest. Source-Michael Mack Twitter Apparently there will be two flying theatres and the film will be called Flying Over Europe. It's also going to be using a fastpass style system too, mostly due to it's location near the entrance of the park. There are no plans to implement a similar system onto other rides and it won't be operational during the beginning and end of park days.

Can't wait to hopefully finally enter the realms of Port Aventura this year, considering I've been wanting to go for the best part of five years. Whilst I'm more excited for Khan and Shambhala, I'm curious to see what Back is like, given it's a rough reputation. And with Ferrari, it's sure to be the hottest trip of the year as well!

SHAPES OFFEND ME! In all fairness it's no surprise people are thrashing chains and whips on Merlin after doing this special one off. It's just the modern life we bond with sadly.

Either that or you and Matty Moo sneaked an early ride onto it recently after a kebab and a few beers

I personally hope Cabin goes and is replaced with something new and different. It was good whilst it lasted, but I've found the maze comparatively stale in the last two seasons and not as enjoyable as it once was. The broken/never repaired tunnel hasn't helped things but I think the maze has past it's time now at the resort. I strongly hope a rebrand/shake up is in the works as the park needs it, not to mention the last couple of years haven't been as good as events in previous. Big Top version two was one of the few major positives I can take from last year's event I'm afraid, as much of the rest wasn't great, whether that be crowd control or the quality of mazes like Cabin and Platform. Which were weaker than previous mazes at the event.

What an outrage! How could this sort of thing happen at the start of the season from such a major. You'd never see anything like this anywhere else. I'm not visiting the park anymore! Of course not. These things do happen sometimes and if this means Stealth can run acceptably for the rest of the year that's fine.

Indeed. The Penguin Show lasted lasted little more than two seasons, theritcally less given the show wasn't running at the start of last season due to trying to promote Pandamonium. It will be interesting to see how long that one lasts too. Its safe to say this is a sign of the park's current lack of direction and short term plans which isn't remarkably surprising, especially with the moderate theming effort done too. The UK could easily do with a large stage as it would provide much entertainment and amusement to guests if done right. Shows like Ravelijin, Europa's Greek Ice Show and the numerous ones at Port Aventura, show evidence park's can pull off great shows that aren't Univerdal or Disney. At at the moment, Pirates Of Skeleton Bay is the nearest thing we have to a proper stage show. Which is a very good and entertaining show but not quite on the same levels of shows other major parks pull off. The UK used to have so many different show and entertainment offerings in parks, shame this isn't really the case anymore. It's likely the stage will be mothballed this year (unless it's ever used for Halloween).

I can't give you a definite answer, but can confirm there are variable open hours based on park's busyness. If the park shuts at 6pm, the park is likely to be reasonably quiet, however if it's closing at 8pm, then the likelihood is it will be pretty busy. I should also mention, these closing times are often minimum and if the park receives higher crowds than expected, then closing will usually be pushed back. Park close is confirmed around 3/4pm everyday and you can see the provisional 2017 opening hours here. ridewise, all I can suggest is go around area by area, arrive for opening and don't rush around. Europa is full of impressive gems and details everywhere you look. Europa has some of the best operations of any park in the world! Must do rides I would recommend are: Blue Fire, Wodan, Silverstar, Arthur, Poseidon, Eurosat, Euromir, Geisterschloss, Pirates Of Batavia and Fjord River Rafting. However there are plenty of other amazing attractions out there to explore.

Funny you should mention that, as I've heard the show is not coming back this year, for reasons I'm not sure of. Source-Uk Theme Park Review

According to a 'who am I' game, I must attend this meet. Ok Gruffalo.

I hope you all had an adventurous day, aploligies I could not join you. Ill be at Thorpe March. Tidal Wave? Depends how crazy I feel on the day.

Certainly looking like it's going to be a decent medium thrill family coaster for the park. Liking the colour scheme so far and should the theming resemble any of the above impressions, this is going to a superb addition to the park. Slightly surprised Gerstlauer haven't sold many more of these models so far, given the success of Fire Chaser and it would be ideal for many parks like Drayton Manor.

Could be worse, much worse. Least another Mack mega will exist in Europe and judging from the park currently, it looks like it needs something like this too. Train looks perfectly decent for what it is, if a little plain. white lights would be nice, but who knows.

I've heard that Arrow suspended coasters have an apparent life expectancy of 25 years, something which is currently known as a shelf life recommendation. It is mentioned in an article about the Big Bad Wolf at Busch Gardens Williamsburg which closed in 2009 after 25 years. This can be found Here and is an interesting article which is worth a look. The final page goes in depth to why this attraction ceased to exist. Back to Vampire, the ride will be 27 this year (28th season) and given it's position, is still technically the park's headline attraction. However unfortunately I fear there will be a time in the near'ish future where maintaining and servicing this iconic ride may no longer be practical. A task that presumably gets slightly more difficult as each closed Season arrives.

There will be a time somepoint in the future where Colossus will most likely be replaced, as unfortunately one day the ride will be too old to operate and not to mention the ride's apparent structural difficulties (relating to the ground situations). It's also worth mentioning there is only one major area of park expansion currently, two if poor Loggers has gone forever. Further infilling at the park is currently not an option as the formation of new land often means existing land must be flooded to compensate the loss of water. A wild guess of when Colossus screws out of the lineup, would be when the coaster reaches 25-30 years of age, given the timeframe when most other steel coasters before have kicked the bucket, whether that be Corkscrew, Rattlesnake (PWH) or Big Bad Wolf. This would imply it could be around 2027-2032 (assuming Thorpe hopefully still exists) when the ride is potentially up for removal and replacement. Based on current trends should they continue, the park would've seen at least two large investment years between then, with the island next to Swarm used for one of these investments. But this is all very far ahead in the future and who knows what will happen then. Colossus in the present is almost 15 years old in it's sixteenth year of service (scary how long it's been around now) and theoretically middle aged (as steel coasters go). Will the ride receive more than escential maintenance year such as a paint job or adjustments? Probably not. All I can say is, enjoy the ride now whilst it's around. For some it may not be the best or as good as Swarm or Stealth for example, but it's the ride that put Thorpe on the map.

And here is the new evac platform for those wondering. Not the prettiest thing, but if it means the ride can continue operating for the foreseeable future, it's certainly a good thing. Hopefully Vampire still has several years of life left, especially considering the ride is almost 30 now, technically surpassed it's life expectancy in 2015 and loose rumours suggest it won't be around much longer due to mechanical struggles. Perhaps the new proposed Juvelin coaster is intended as a technical replacement.

Well, whatever they get I just hope it's comparatively better then Shockwave and G Force, which are the worst coaster duo I have ever ridden. I wont miss Buffalo if it's for the chop. In other news, Thomas Land is getting 'yet' anothe new attraction this year (whilst the rest of the park is stagnant). Still, I suppose it's their best asset right now and they need to. Compete against Beeb land and Peppa land.

Potentially good news! Disneyland Paris has been comparatively behind the other resorts whrn it compares to progressions. It's also the only resort without a major expansion plan in the present too. TBH prices are always going up at the resorts. Recently WDW rose prices for their parks, Magic Kingdom is now $115 in moderate season and $124 in peak.

I live in my home, which is next door to my neighbours house which is next door to mine. Second homes include: Chessington Legoland Inferno's cave The Chessington South Train Line The midlands TGI Fridays Disney Land Paris The Metropolitan Line

Well it's an improvement at least. Beats wandering around a half closed theme park I guess. Legoland Windsor apparently isn't going beyond 6pm for closing times, so Merlin problems galore continue again!

Unacceptable! They could've at least showed us the full extend of the damage they are doing to this once great attraction.

I always try to link or give citation when giving the source. Ketchup is my favourite!

The above status is probably just teasing us because the park will be open again next month. A giant Top Spin would perfectly compliment the line up, alongside a freshly repainted Colossus snd second Detonator tower with a tidal wave fire ball going off in the distance. What a show!