Matt 236

If I wanted to spend £15 on spinning, I would go to a Weatherspoons.

Following on, I would like to express my experiences of Face It Alone, during its years of existence. 2014/ After hearing the strange and interesting stories of the event’s first year I decided to try out Face It Alone. I managed to experience it on not one, but three mazes. Before each maze, there would be a gathering at the then Calypso BBQ, where several actors and staff/management would be. The rest of us were given champagne, whilst we waited for our maze with anticipation. The usual waiver applied. Cabin In The Woods/ This was my first ever face it alone (FIA). I went in somewhere towards the middle, the actors shouted and screamed at me (ofc). They made me lick the wolf, one pushed me along the route whilst another did a piggy back. From what I remember it was a very rough, rocky and intense experience. Studio 13 My second one seemed more favourable and was at the end of the then TPM Fright Nights meet. At least one actor pulled me through the set pieces like an over aggressive acting agent, whilst others screamed in my presence. Several female actors threw makeup materials all around my face whilst laughing and squeezing. Saw Alive/ My third and final FIA of 2014, which happened by accident due to last minute changed plans. In the first room I was asked to go against the wall whilst an actor shouted at me. In the second room, two female actors screamed at me to go into the bath. Later one, there was a half-naked woman in scene four or five. Before beginning l, I was asked for my name, which was used by actors screaming it at me several times during the experience. 2015/ I managed one FIA this year, with the new concept. I preferred the old concept with champagne and maze choice, but it was ok. There was a ceremony towards the start, where we would have hoods on our heads, before actors confirmed which made it would be. This would be. The Big Top The order we all went in would be completely different, as would the length and experience, as some would get through sooner than others. There was no poncho either. Things would include being asked to crawl on the floor, crawl under a clown and escape a chainsaw. I also had a pie of shaving foam thrown in my face. This FIA basically saw a TPM takeover of the event and would also be where I first met @Martin Doyle. 2016/ Last and least. The same ceremony system commenced. Saw Alive whilst not necessarily terrible, this was my weakest run-through. The actors put my head in the toilet, taunted and got close to you as you went around the experience. And after this point, it all ended. There were some crazy and intense experiences, which I won’t forget.

And Rocky’s imminent fate has been confirmed. Good news on the EIA though.

The new name is about as strong as the O2’s roof. Fins & Infinity we’re better IMO.

I remember my Face It Alone experiences very fondly. They we’re intense, hands on and completely different on each run through. Managed to do Cabin In The Woods, Studio 13 and Saw in 2014, Big Top in 2015 and Saw again in 2016. I think my first run through on Saw was my favourite, because of the variety of actors and encounters in there. My 2016 one was probably my least favourite because it seemed rather toned down. I definitely preferred the setup in the first couple of years, where you could choose your maze and then drink champagne before enduring such a crazy experience. Would love to see it return one day, though this seems unlikely.

This is exciting! And now the park are leaning towards having the highest quantity of coasters in the world.

SBNO for the time being, but then scrapped. No, this one won’t be going to Chessington.

Congratulations on passing your PHD Dr C.

Must’ve done this the same time they concreted the lake. Helium in rides? Now that’s a scheme that could take off.

Hard to know right now, but Blackpool I’ve done. Merlin lot, Paultons and a return to Blackpool should be on the cards along with other uk parks maybe. Abroad wise, fingers crossed for Orlando in October and Disneyland Paris in May/June time. Would like to get to Plopsa for their new ride and maybe some other European perks. Would like to get back to Europa, Efteling and Phantasialand for sure.

Well I’m glad that’s not one ride less, shall have to see what it looks like come opening. Can maybe see Timber Tug getting a new home elsewhere in the resort, but maybe not Rocky which is a shame, but has maybe had a good run. Think we may have an interesting season ahead of us, especially with the new events and potential construction beginnings.

So last weekend, crazy me decided to venture to park opening inspite of no Big One, Nash or Valhalla (still). Inspite of these closures, park offering/reliability was reasonably good. Don’t get me wrong, those (advertised) closures were highly disappointing, but given some of the horror stories I’ve heard before this could’ve been worse. Operations were alright, one train on all bar Avalanche, Icon & Steeplechase (can you imagine) wasn’t great, although queues weren’t particularly long during most of the trip. The park has been a hive of activity, with PMBO’s re-tracking underway, Valhalla awaiting reopening and some other updates around rides such as Avalanche and Alice. I object Enzo’s existence. Upkeep was a mixed bag, with some areas looking relatively fresh and others leaving room for improvement. Some areas/attractions could do with some TLC, but given the season turnover and budgeting we probably can’t have it all. All in all, better opening than expected, given how disasterous it could’ve been.

Depends on the attraction. I always find the best dark rides try to entice you into particular settings. Whether that’s the ballroom in Symbolica, the battle scene in Pirates. Or the likes of attractions such as Rise Of The Resistance or Forbidden Journey, which I’m yet to experience. Screen-based rides can be great when done right and the best ones use scenery, effects and even animatronics in order to achieve this. However they can come across as a cheaper (cost cutting) alternative to classic rides, where cheap screens are plastered over the ride instead of building set pieces. Hopefully the future of dark rides will involve a combination of screens, set pieces and animatronics.

Guessing Covid really impacted the interest and priorities of this place. Almost in the time-frame Iron Gwazi was build and eventually opened maybe? Veloci-coaster certainly looks sublime and having enjoyed Taron & Maverick (not sorry), I truly look forward to experiencing this (hopefully October). Most of the new additions there certainly look to catch the eye and it’s been a firm Bucket-list park for me for too long now. More so since The Wizarding World area has been open. I did my waiting, twelve years of it. In Azkaban!

Only ever attended one of these events (maybe the last?) and found it to be a fun and entertaining event. Looking forward to see the park push out more events outside of Fright Nights.

Remarkable. Besides the substantial waiting times, I have only ever heard great things about this ride. It certainly sounds the masterpiece and look forward to hopefully riding this sometime in the foreseeable future. Disney have created some truly phenomenal attractions, although the likes of Web-slingers at DCA raise for some concern.

It’s been a while. Angry Birds 4D Experience (5) Black Mirror Labyrinth (5) Colossus (5) Depth Charge (5) Derren Brown’s Ghost Train (2) Detonator: Bomb's Away (5) Flying Fish (5) King Pig's Wild Hog Dodgems (5) Lumber Jump (5) Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride (5) Nemesis Inferno (7) Quantum (5) Rocky Express (5) Rumba Rapids (5) Rush (6) Samurai (6) Saw - The Ride (5) Stealth (6) Storm in a Teacup (5) Storm Surge (5) The Swarm (6) Tidal Wave (5) Timber Tug Boat (2) Vortex (5) Zodiac (5) Stelf Rules (Stealth)+ The Zamperla boat ride in Old Town-

And cut. It looks like Hollywood tour is no-more. The park have removed all mention of the ride, which has remained closed since 2020. According to Towerstreet, the park’s guest services team have confirmed the closure. The ride was dated and famous (for maybe the wrong reasons), but I’ll miss it a lot for it’s weird and bizarre traits. The park really could do with a new dark ride, and this would be the ideal place for it. Pity Fantassima exists and still needs a new home, given it’s the weak link holding that area from being redeveloped.

This is most adequate news to hear. Maybe if we’re lucky it will have a throughput higher than 300 PPH. Jumangi.

Apparently they have started painting more of the track in that ‘beautiful’ generic grey colour. Watching this ride’s construction really is like watching paint dry.

In a surprising yet unexpected position, it has been confirmed that Efteling will be removing their Spookslot (Haunted House) attraction after the summer season. It will make way for a brand new indoor attraction (presumably a dark ride). Source-https://www-looopings-nl.translate.goog/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB&_x_tr_pto=wapp Whilst not everyone’s cup of tea with some left a little confused by the attraction, I find this news rather saddening. Sure it wasn’t the best thing there, but it had much charm, character and history. It will be missed! https://youtu.be/1YQlUKLcYcI

No, can’t honestly see this happening for the reasons largely mentioned above. Disney World is ‘primarily’ aimed at families, hence why most attractions are in the medium-family thrill category as the new additions in Star Wars Land and Avatar Land for example have proven. Pretty much all the other Disney resorts have ‘thrill based’ parks not particularly far away and they are all able to generally operate successfully without this affecting their product and demographic.

My bucket list essentially: 1/ Veloci-Coaster- Universal Orlando 2/ Iron Gwazi- Busch Tampa 3/ F.L.Y- Phantasialand 4/ Untamed- Walibi Holland 5/ Kondaa- Walibi Belgium 6/ Ride To Happiness- Plopsa De Panne 7/ Takabisha - Fuji Q Highland 8/ Pantheon - Busch Williamsburg 9/ DC Rivals - Warner Bros Movie World Aus 10/ Intimadator 305- Kings Dominion

It seems that some inspiration was taken from Disneyland Paris, given this will be a ‘lucrative’ hotel right by the entrance. All gone full circle. Judging from the concept, it does look very pretty and should further enhance the area if carried out as planned. The thing I want to know is if they any plans for the Efteling hotel? As both appear very similar in their design and function.

Small coaster? Think I’m also going to have to say Backlot Stunt Coaster. What is packed into it’s space is absolutely sublime and amazing. That helix alone warrants it’s position here IMO. And big coaster wasting space? Valeavn comes to mind. It just doesn’t really do anything outstanding or different to any other dive coasters or the other (and much better) B&Ms within the same park. Blivvy has the drop, Valkyria has the variety and Baron has the theming/backstory. This one just exists tbh.