Matt 236

Had my first ever visit to Gröna Lund last Saturday.

It’s a nice little park, and really impressive how much they’ve managed to cram into such a small space.

Monster is a brilliant little B&M Invert. It’s amazing how well they’ve made it fit in the park - it just looks like it’s always been there. The underground station is really unique, and so is its layout for an invert. That airtime hill completely took me by surprise and was easily the best airtime moment I’ve had on an invert before. It’s silky smooth and definitely sits high on my invert list.

Unfortunately, I got spited by Insane, which didn’t operate all afternoon/evening while I was there. I was particularly looking forward to it since I’ve never had the chance to do a Zac Spin. Not sure why it was closed or how long it’s been down?



As a big drop tower fan, I was really impressed with their lineup - three towers all offering different experiences. Definitely the best drop tower selection I’ve seen at any park, and it makes sense given how limited their space is.



The S&S tower was solid. It starts with the “shot” mode, then slowly takes you to the top for the drop. I like the towers that do both rather than just one or the other.

Ikaros is an Intamin Skyjump, and after doing some research in the queue I learned Falcon’s Fury is the only other one, which I've also ridden. Surprised Intamin hasn’t sold more of these. The views were fantastic, but I found the ride itself pretty forceless. Hard to compare directly to Falcon’s Fury since it’s been 10 years, but I’m pretty sure Ikaros breaks lower down and swings a lot more on its return. Falcon’s still looks more intimidating though.

Fritt Fall was my favorite of the drop towers - an Intamin the same as Apocalypse and Condor. These never fail to deliver and this was no different.

The park also had a nice bar with views over Stockholm. You’re not allowed to leave the bar areas with drinks though so they can “watch” you, which made me laugh.



‘Vilda Musen’ the parks Gerst bobsled is decent, and Twister the gravity group woodie was okay. Smooth and a decent family coaster, but nothing to write home about.

The day ended on an annoying note. The park closed at 10pm, and while I was at the front of a queue for my last ride, the host came down the queue to tell us their boss had said they had to close now and we wouldn’t be able to ride. The time was 21:57. Bit annoying since it was still before 10 and I was already in the queue, but it is what it is. On the way out I also saw them turning people away (already in the queue) for one of the drop towers too.

Its a great compact little park with a great selection of rides, Monster being the obvious standout. Not somewhere I’d rush back to without a good reason to or in the area again, but I enjoyed my time there and do recommend a visit 😃

Six Flags Great Adventure was the first major park I visited recently, as part of a larger north-east/mid-western park trip with a friend.
  At the time of planning this trip (late 2024), there were strange and concerning reports that Kingda Ka and other attractions would be closed at the park for the next season. These reports were unfortunately true. In-light of being spited at least two former major attractions, expectations for this place were noticeably diminished. However thankfully a mostly enjoyable visit was had.   It’s an interesting park in how it’s not too far from New York, yet in the middle of nowhere, amongst a safari attraction too. Upkeep was mostly decent and operations mixed, though some of the clientele made for a more hairy queuing experience.   El toro is certainly the show stopper here, incredible woodie with some rough and intense moments. The B&M collection is mostly excellent, Dare Devil thankfully opened and was better than Wonder Woman and the Flash was overall fun. The park also had a random DC show, Skull Mountain wasn’t anything special.   Still worth visiting if you’re in that area.

Thorpe top this for me for reasons similar to the above. Rides are often operated well, especially the likes of Stealth & Hyperia and reliability has been better than from previous years. 
 
Towers contrary though has seen a noticeable decline in operations and reliability lately. Some rides like Thirteen still smash it but it’s not like how it was. 
 
Chessington is hit and miss, but I’ve seen some poor operations lately, with rides like Rattlesnake operating so badly now and too many rides on low or reduced capacity now. 
 
LEGOLAND is ok, but I still find it exaggerated where staff have to say “you’re secure” after checking a simple door or restraint once or even twice. It’s the most safety exaggerated park out there I’ve done! 

I'm really impressed by the ride teams at Thorpe. We really take for granted how hard they work to keep the rides moving so efficiently. It's really telling how good we have it, The Swarm probably had the worst ops but they were still only stacking trains for about 10 seconds per cycle (and that is an exaggeration). 
 
The Hyperia team must have been chosen by the goddess themselves, because they run that ride so well, never stacking, always dispatching as soon as they can. Also shout out to Inferno's team who were doing a great job. They need a batcher though as lots of trains going out with two empty seats next to each other.
 
And finally, the older I get the more I see myself preferring Thorpe's coaster line up to Altons. As much as I like Nemesis Reborn, I think the rest of the line up is either gimmicky nonsense, run awfully or just dull. Whereas Inferno is running the best Ive seen it (honestly, it's so good right now), Stealth and the Swarm are just so much fun, Hyperia manages to be open (  ) and I still love hanging out around Colossus and hearing that music.
 
In general Thorpe is just a better experience all round. Better hours, better rides, better food, better operations. I would have never said that 20 years ago, but now, to me, Thorpe is in a different league. 

I did a Hyperia coaster climb this evening.
 
There was some chatter when it was made live about the cost being expensive (£120). It is, no beating around the bush. But it is worth it. My experience was about 3hrs all in, and included lots of time spent scaling the ride, time spent in the console and time spent around the turnaround outside the station, with lots of opportunities for photos, fabulous hosts and a great vibe. 
 
Find attached a variety of photos (of me). I'll write a proper TPM article later.

Depends on the park for me, especially if such place has x amount of rides that requires a minimum number of people to ride in order for it to operate. 
 
some parks when quiet feel pleasant to visit, enabling numerous re-rides and getting lots done, assuming they don’t have silly operating hours (glares at Towers). But then again, with empty paths, areas, fewer or no entertainment (depending on the park), it can definitely impact atmosphere and environment. Making it feel more flat and empty as a result. 
 
Not sure where everyone else is on this, but I find parks on average the most enjoyable when they are between the busier end of quiet and the busier event of lively. But that might just be me. 

Depends on the park for me, especially if such place has x amount of rides that requires a minimum number of people to ride in order for it to operate. 
 
some parks when quiet feel pleasant to visit, enabling numerous re-rides and getting lots done, assuming they don’t have silly operating hours (glares at Towers). But then again, with empty paths, areas, fewer or no entertainment (depending on the park), it can definitely impact atmosphere and environment. Making it feel more flat and empty as a result. 
 
Not sure where everyone else is on this, but I find parks on average the most enjoyable when they are between the busier end of quiet and the busier event of lively. But that might just be me. 

This weekend I went to Paulton’s fan day, the park certainly put on a lovely event. 
  Several tours/BTS were carried out throughout the day, from seeing Cobra’s ride workshop, Storm Chaser’s OP cabin/train workshop process, the new construction area and much more.    We had over an hour of ERS in Tornado Springs and Ghostly Manor (more on that soon) as well as a lovely buffet in Mel’s Diner and a Reveal/Q&A with park management.    The biggest news/reveal of course was the new Vikings area (Valgard), which will include a new coaster, flat ride, restaurant and also re-themed Cobra (soon to be Raven). Surprisingly, the new coaster will be a Gerstlauer eurofighter, but hopefully the park will carry it off well, I find the smaller ones the better rides usually.    Vague hints of a new water ride the following year were revealed, but not much else. Very exciting still. Magma will be a goner later this year. At least for Paultons. The lodges are several years away still.    They also did a Q&A and showed how they build Ghostly Manor, which given the areas footprint/show building is impressive they got that all in. They also did a silent disco, but I left at that point.    So, Ghostly Manor? My thoughts? It’s a lovely compact dark ride mixing screens and scenes nicely (they have 10 of them), plus the queue line is nicely done too. Whilst it doesn’t hit the same way as Alty Mans or Danse Macabre (which I did days earlier), it’s a decent addition to the park and great to see them finally obtaining a dark ride. Should suit the park nicely.    Interesting times ahead perhaps. 

This weekend I went to Paulton’s fan day, the park certainly put on a lovely event. 
  Several tours/BTS were carried out throughout the day, from seeing Cobra’s ride workshop, Storm Chaser’s OP cabin/train workshop process, the new construction area and much more.    We had over an hour of ERS in Tornado Springs and Ghostly Manor (more on that soon) as well as a lovely buffet in Mel’s Diner and a Reveal/Q&A with park management.    The biggest news/reveal of course was the new Vikings area (Valgard), which will include a new coaster, flat ride, restaurant and also re-themed Cobra (soon to be Raven). Surprisingly, the new coaster will be a Gerstlauer eurofighter, but hopefully the park will carry it off well, I find the smaller ones the better rides usually.    Vague hints of a new water ride the following year were revealed, but not much else. Very exciting still. Magma will be a goner later this year. At least for Paultons. The lodges are several years away still.    They also did a Q&A and showed how they build Ghostly Manor, which given the areas footprint/show building is impressive they got that all in. They also did a silent disco, but I left at that point.    So, Ghostly Manor? My thoughts? It’s a lovely compact dark ride mixing screens and scenes nicely (they have 10 of them), plus the queue line is nicely done too. Whilst it doesn’t hit the same way as Alty Mans or Danse Macabre (which I did days earlier), it’s a decent addition to the park and great to see them finally obtaining a dark ride. Should suit the park nicely.    Interesting times ahead perhaps. 

Studios/Adventure world still has some way to go on the park front, but this actually looks great. 
 
Must admit I had a strange liking towards studio one, but excellent work on this section. Hopefully we will see similar with the rest of the park in due course. 

Just got back from first trip to Europa. 
 
Wow. Where to start. 
Stayed in hotel Colleseio which was impressive, and to be honest a strange experience in itself that such a lavish hotel was linked to a theme park. 
 
3 days on park and 1 day Rulantica. &nbsp
 
The aesthetics of the park are incredible, it’s impossible not to feel the passion and pride that the Mack family have for their park. Everywhere you look it’s packed with hidden gems and is fresh, vibrant and visually stunning. More so, even after 3 days I know there’s so much more to discover, and the rich theming throughout really does elevate this park. 
 
The ride selection is second to none. I went for the coasters, but fell in love with the dark rides! Pirates detail was impressive, but live all the little hidden gems throughout the park. In terms of the biggies. Voltron was my no1 followed by Wodan and Silver Star, but also really enjoyed blue fire, the last inversion really something. 
 
Heard people talking up the ops for years, and was always questioning why people went on about them so much. Well not any more! Absolute perfection and efficiency. So obvious that the park is all about guest experience, the no nonsense approach in the stations is so refreshing to see, and keeps the queues down to sub 20 even on popular rides on a fairly busy day! 
 
Overall can’t wait to get back, going to be hard to find a park to top the all round package that Europa provides, yes there’s parks with better coasters etc, but it’s the combo of the selection of rides, theming, cleanliness, food and beverage offerings and most of all OPERATIONS! 
 
If you havent been. Get out there!! 

Legend goes that an old woman pleaded with the Monks of Thorpe Abbey for the charity of a coin. They cruelly dismissed her. 
 
Scorned, the old woman screamed a cursed...
 
"For every piece of Kingda Ka that falls, a month of Stealth's life will be taken"
 
And sure enough, after Kingda Ka was removed, Stealth was shut for a month.
 
---
 
All I'm saying, is that if Stealth remained closed, that will be the story for the Fright Nights mazes that will take its place.
Hex Inferno - The Revenge of Stealth

Last weekend (April 12th), I finally got to meet industry legend John Wardley.
 
It’s pretty clear 2025 is not the year to be visiting Chessington. With Project Play under construction and Wild Asia mothballed, under the guise of early construction for the Minecraft area. 
 
Operations were mixed, with mandrills being decent, despite a breakdown and Vampire doing a decent 2 train op, with just two platformers (one of which was batching). Rattlesnake’s operations were atrocious. The less said about the hideous Tiger Rock tunnel changes, the better. It looks more like an industrial estate than a theme park now.
 
Now onto the event. At first there was a Vampire themed buffet in the temple restaurant. Buffets are known for either quality and quantity, unfortunately this one was neither. Burgers were the main event and as expected tasted vile. Salt, pepper and ketchup couldn’t polish this monstrosity. The curry was at least was just about edible. The desserts were comparatively bette. Black died soft serve, sundaes, sweets and jellies comprised the selection. 
 
Thankfully the event improved from here, the VIP team were generally attentive and chatted to everyone and we got a Vampire themed welcome drink.
 
After making our way to the event suite, the main event kicked off. In the first segment John Talked about the different projects he’d worked on. Things mentioned included how the park almost became a housing estate, due to it being a failing attraction, his work with the McNamaras at the (sadly now closed) Oakwood and early ideas for the Vampire. Wardley reckons the ride still has much life left and the trains have less impact on the track than say Nemesis. 
 
On the second segment, John answered attendees questions. He said Universal GB wouldn’t impact the U.K. parks as much as people think and it’s not a David and Goliath battle. He also mentioned as far as developments go at the park. We would be in for a treat. 
 
At the end, one of the park’s long serving ride engineers Martin went through a lot of the ride’s mechanical statistics and gave away a few random ride bits to some who answered the most correct/accurate answers. There was then an opportunity to meet John, have things signed and have pictures with him. 

And now the 12 million pound question, was it worth it? 
 
At £125, even after discount it was perhaps an eye watering amount to spend, regardless of circumstances. On hindsight the food was mostly disappointing and other features were interesting, but I guess the important thing was this. I finally got to meet John Wardley. The man and legend who brought many of the countries most exciting attractions to life and such an inspiration to many. Without Wardley, Chessington may have well become a large housing estate.

Always assume sarcasm.
 
 
Like any project anything could happen to it. But once Universal had to reveal their hand it had far more chance than London Resort ever did.
 
Everything crossed.

I was lucky to experience a valley on Mandrill on Sunday, we just came to a stop at the boost launch area before the helix. I found it quite exciting as we would have to experience the rides swing launch to get it going again. I really enjoyed it as well. Mandrills launches are quite punchy as it is so going back and forth through the section was pretty satisfying.
 
I am actually quite a big fan of Mandrill tbh, I've heard all the arguments about it being the wrong fit and whatever, however every time I go on it, it gives me a lot of joy and the queues for it never seem crazily unreasonable.The team always seem really on it when it comes to batching, loading and dispatching. It also has the B&M quirk of being incredibly reliable, 3.8% downtime for the last 7 days, and beaten only by Nemesis Reborn. 

Thought I would celebrate the arrival of the 2025 season, by recording and arranging the ride’s theme.
 
 

Visited Towers this weekend for the first time this season. 
  First impressions weren’t great, from the misleading car park layout, various delapited areas and the monorail running just two trains. Rather embarrassing to what could be argued to be the UK’s flagship park.    Operations seemed noticeably inferior to previous standards, with Rita on just 1 train and Galactica on just 2 trains and 1 station, disappointing every 5 minutes. Having 3 rides closed ( albeit expected) is also a shame for a park that’s had 4.5 months to sort things out. On the p,us note, the Thirteen team were doing great!   Although not rammed, queues often reached/exceeded 90 minutes. Spinball,oblivion, Wickerman, Galactica and Rita at the very least experienced lengthily shutdowns. This excludes the heavy rain closure that evening where most rides understandably closed for a short while. However closing Spinball in the rain (as opposed to reducing capacity) now is just disappointing.   Despite running the Alton After Dark and being the start of season, there wasn’t any real buzz or atmosphere at the park which I’ve felt previously, even post Covid. The vibe improved noticeably after dusk, but there was just something missing and I can only put it down to further quality retraction from the Merlin machine. I had a Toby carvery breakfast, so therefore didn’t need to eat the overpriced and underwhelming food selection.   I don’t want to be constantly negative about the resort, so I do have some positives. Toxicator is a great addition to the park, it looks the part more than I was expecting and looks great off ride. The setting was the right level of intensity and adds more to the area. Curse is still an exceptional dark ride and epitomises what the creatives can do with the right resources. Although a little rattly, Nemesis Reborn is still fantastic and looks stunning at night.    I really want to be more appraising and positive towards the park, because they have so many great rides. But I can’t sugarcoat the place solely on this. Towers has a lots of operational issues at the moment and with current trends I see things getting worse rather than better. The park ideally needs millions spent on infrastructure upgrades, however this will probably never happen.

Imagine someone revisiting Alton Towers this year after previously going in 2015 who’s not an enthusiast?
 
Essentially they are witnessing an upgraded Ripsaw, plushed up Nemesis and a modified Haunted House. Essentially in their eyes Wickerman is the only new ride they notice since last time besides maybe some bits and bobs in Beeb land.
 
No Blade, no Flume and couple of other missing attractions, amongst some yet to open attractions and some of the most ludicrous park food. In both price and substance. Certainly makes for a rather negative return visit so far. 
 
We shall see how this season goes, but can’t hold too much optimism so far.

So thoughts and notes from yesterday, which was a "VIP preview" for the season, where the park was open 10-3.
 
-We're light on changes. A couple of tweaks to F&B is really all that is "new"
 
-Repaints for part of Colossus and Depth Charge look nice. The small side of the Beach looks nice, also repainted, but it highlights the grime of the large side.
 
-Hyperia grass is nice. Could be extended more. They've added benches to the plaza which isn't a bad idea, but they're atop the wings on the ground, which irks me a bit.
 
-Many new pieces of merchandise, which are the usual high quality we've come to expect 
 
-Hyperia had issues yesterday, in large part due to the cold. Hopefully better today. Stealth had an issue during testing and didn't open.
 
-The park usually stumbles during first day or two of opening, and yesterday wasn't any different, with the cold affecting weather, and reliability being a bit on the weak side, but it did improve. I've been to significantly worse first days. 
 
-There's a few other bits and pieces around the park. Solar panels atop Ghost Train (but you only see them if you look for them on other rides). Walking Dead has had creative tweaks to the post-ride section. Some speakers seem to have been fixed. Tweak to end of day of audio.
 
If 2024 was Thorpe's year of improvement, 2025 is their year of stability. That's not a bad thing. But after a couple of years of multiple changes, it will have a different 'new season' vibe to it. 
 
The kicker for the park this year will be the quality and reach of marketing. That will be what makes or breaks them this year, with little to shout about in the way of new things 

Rest in Pieces. 
 
 

About as excited as ordering a burger kitchen meal. 

About as excited as ordering a burger kitchen meal. 

Ding dong no
 
The sky is dark, the coast is rocky, the island mountainous. Construction is far away.
 
Wait bugger wrong account

Aaaaaand also the soon to be open Epic Universe!!  

If anything it's under-rated, its 3 against 1 in here. 😘