Matt 236

And here’s a reminder of what the dome used to look like.
 


 
It’s not perfect but definitely better than the mediocrity shown in the newer pictures. Everything looked so much better pre-2019.
 
 

Can understand a lot of the woes there.
 
I think the people calling it Poo Fire for the sake of humour and opinion are being a little silly. I completely understand why some people might dislike the ride given it’s not the biggest,fastest or even most exciting (gasps) but that doesn’t mean it’s no good.
 
Whilst I personally prefer Helix and even Icon (controversial maybe), there are still a lot of things I like about the ride, from it’s launch/dark ride section, ride interactions and last inversion. Not to mention it’s a throughput monster (pre-covid at least).
 
On the note of unpopular opinions, here’s mine. Blackpool has the best collection of dark rides in the U.K.

New 2020 perspectives. Now including bloggers and vloggers.
 
- People who think preferring Nemesis Inferno to Nemesis is some kind of hot take and controversial. It's really not.
- There's a certain level of humour out there that think calling a ride 'Nemesis Inferior' or 'Poo Fire' are the peak of humour. The only rollercoaster name adaptation that is acceptable is 'Intrimidator'
- LONG videos. I'm sorry, most people don't even spend 30 minutes in the Alton Towers Gardens so how in the hell can I be expected to watch a 42 minute video on the subject, NO.
- RMC THIS, RMC THAT. My god, can we just have an old style wooden rollercoaster that people just leave alone. RMC are a fantastic ride manufacture but there is room for both types of ride.
 

I literally want to live in the Chiapas plaza. 

Top five restaurants (Matt Creeks post was criminally ignored)
 
 
5. Woodcutters at Alton Towers. I never have a bad time here. When I think of nostalgia and feel good, this always comes in there and makes me happy. It's pretty decently priced and big portions.
 
4. Tiffins at Animal Kingdom. This is at the higher price bracket but Ive never not had a fantastic meal here. It's slightly more clinical then the others above this on the list and less about ambience, more fine dining. Its absolutely top quality though.
 
3. Cowboy Cookout at Disneyland Paris. On the surface this is a generic Barbecue quick service, typical American fare. But what I really like about being here is the ambience. It's one of the easier places to grab a bit to eat (when its open) and I like the live band that play every now and then. The ribs are also lovely. 
 
2. Flaming Feather at Toverland. We were lucky to be there on a really warm day so that helps. We sat outside overlooking Fenix with delicious food and one thing I value in restaurants is how relaxed I am. Important to be chilled out at theme parks. 
 
1. Sanaa at Kidani Village, Animal Kingdom Lodge Disney World. Ok so technically not at a theme park but this is my go to for when I want high quality food, amazing atmosphere and theme. The view of the animals, the ambience, the bread service. It's the greatest.
 
 
Top B&M Inverters
1. Nemesis 
2. Katun
3. Raptor 
4. Monster
5. Batman the Ride at Six Flags Great America
6. Oz'Iris
7. Black Mamba
8. Chinese Fireball (RIP)
9.  Nemesis Inferno
10. Silver Bullet
11. Hungarian Horntail (RIP)
12. Montu
13. Batman the ride (backwards) at Magic Mountain
14. Batman la Fuga at Parque Warner
 

Coaster groups are very white male dominated. Especially the forums. Only about 1 or 2 forums actually have a half decent female presence, but that is down to a fair amount of work on the members part to become an established part of the community and then part of the site's team. A lot of the time the females at meets have been dragged into it by boyfriends or family members. Very rare to see girlfriends dragging their other halves along (does happen though).
 
BAME is even lower in numbers. I might not even need additional hands to count how many I've seen or met on meets over the 17 (Jesus I've been in this game a while). 
 
At the end though you cannot flat out force people to join a forum on what is an incredibly niche interest. People like theme parks as a general visit thing but do they LIKE them? 
 
It's an incredibly difficult situation for many industries. Engineering has a very similar issue in terms of a lack of numbers in diversity as it was always seen as a bloke's thing to do (current company has 1 female in the engineering side, the rest are admin or finance). And with a lot of management at the companies being an old boy's club made it hard for any women involved to advance unless you had the right people in charge (this isn't a point at the running of this forum). But you've got to build the interest in it first before demanding that there be diversity, as you are then potentially promoting people to senior roles who aren't always best suited for them as a tick boxing exercise.
 
If there's one thing I have noticed about the coaster community; it's the very prominent number of LGBTQ+ members. Which is a fantastic positive to consider.

Makes post heavily implying that there is some casual sexism and racism at play in the running of this site. Blames the responder for pulling the race card. Genius.
 
I can't speak for the admin, but this is a small site which is basically used by those who find it, and in turn modded by those who are here. There's no marketing, there's no targeted effort to attract anyone in particular, it's just here. The mods can only be selected from those who are here and who apply, it's not like it's paid or advertised elsewhere.
 
What just might put new people off getting involved is obnoxious hateful posts, like some the ones you make. Even if the recipient of 'banter' (or whatever you would call it) is in on it, how does it look to outsiders? Not welcoming
 
The content is theme parks and basically devoid of race in any meaningful way; as it's largely anonymous I don't see how we could ever know the demographic that is here and you don't know who you are engaging with. I suspect that might be why @StevenVig hadn't really thought about race in that way in the community as he said? I might not be as alert to it myself, would be interested to know if there has ever been anything here that you have found offensive or discriminatory if you are happy to talk about it? 
 

I mean the coaster community certainly is male dominated, I can only comment from my perspective but I guess you can’t force people to be interested in something if they aren’t, although more diversity would be nice it can’t really be forced as we all like different things. 
 
My sewing and dancing groups by contrast tend to be female dominated, and the current admins/staff are all female.

I guess the only thing that can be done for a hobby/interest forum is to ensure there are no barriers to entry, and we all make an effort so that new members are made to feel welcome and treated with respect.

Energylandia taking the opportunity for some light-hearted corona=updates:
 
 

Things are far from perfect right now for many people. I’ve had several trips delayed/cancelled, life plans on hold and continue to be furloughed for the time being.
 
Whilst it’s really easy to just go on a rant and wave about everything not working out, I just try to remember a few things. There are a lot of people in a much worse position, whether they have lost their jobs, battling an illness or have lost a loved one. 
 
2020 has been an awful year for almost everyone, but I’m trying to focus on the first 2.1 months of the year which were actually enjoyable. Plus one day, there will be something to look forward to again. For everyone.

Sorry to divert from the media rant, but...
I confess when I saw this, I was a little confused. I think anyone who had big plans this year is frustrated/annoyed/upset. And I don't think it's unreasonable for people to have a moan online about it to vent those feelings.
 
But then I've seen a ton of drama on social media within the 'enthusiast community' crop up this week. Claims, with evidence, of people being homophobic, racist, bigoted and who knows what else. Digging deeper, I saw many self-entitled people going on and on about how unfair things are, I've seen people making statements like "parks abroad are open, so why aren't our's". Some absolutely crazy things, coming from adults who are all just within their own crazy bubble. It's mental, and a bit disheartening.
 
It made me happy though that at least forums like this aren't like that. Sure, TPM has never been perfect, and sadly it's quieter than ever on here, but for the most part these days, it's drama-free and pretty civil. Lords knows I'd prefer that over whatever happens on Twitter and other social media pages.
 
I stopped following a few people involved in the crazy drama, so hopefully I won't see any more of it and continue to live in blissful ignorance about the situation forevermore... 

@JoshC., your order has arrived.
 
Decided to create a piano cover of Duel’s original theme. Created through listening and without sheet music. Requests welcome. 

I am really getting quite sick and tired of seeing enthusiasts moaning and crying about POSTPONED trips to theme parks this year thanks to the pandemic.
 
Look, I know this page is ofcourse a forum dedicated to a theme park and I myself am very proud of being an enthusiast. However, I do feel some enthusiasts on social media really need to look at what's going on in the world before they go on an Ian Beale style "IVE GOT NOTHING LEFT" sulk about postponed park visits. People are losing their jobs and with that, the abillity to make a living to pay the bills. More importantly, many people are losing loved ones to this virus. So with all that happening, I personally find it hard to feel sympathy to a bunch of people who are crying over not being able to visit parks that will STILL BE AROUND when all this is said and done. Those who are losing loved ones do not have that luxury. I have a friend who lost her nan recently and was not even allowed to attend her own nans funeral. So yes, forgive me if I find it hard to feel sorry for having to wait a little longer to ride the likes of Shambhala,Taron, Zadra,Taiga and Iron Gwazi or going to flaming Disneyland Paris.
 
Rant over. Again I know this doesn't apply to all enthusiasts but I am seeing enough of it to really get on my wick.
 
It's not just postponed park trips. It's also the sulking over canceled festivals and concerts. People should check their priorities as far as I'm concerned.

I have massive respect for his honesty here. Theme parks are to escape reality but as all those pictures show, everything around you just reminds you of what is happening. 

You seem like the competitive type Mark; why don't you have a crack at winning this one?

Might as well start another bandwagon.
 
Best Theme Park Restaurants 

5/ Rollercoaster Restaurant- Alton Towers. Probably my favourite UK park restaurant, I love how they’ve used the  ‘food loop’ Concept and that the place is
also dedicated to past and present coasters. I personally enjoy the food here too. 

4/ Tivoli Foodhall-Tivoli Gardens. Great variety here, plus the Smorrebrod (cultural delight) were absolutely delicious.

3/ Silver Lake Saloon- Europa Park. I love the food and I love the atmosphere and think I’m a sucker for most Wild West style places. Reminds me of Smith and Western a little. 
 
2/ Polle’s Keuchen- Efteling. This place is something of a masterpiece to the point where the food is almost secondary. Charming surroundings, meet and greets and amazing thematic set-pieces Which perform often. The pancakes are great too.
 
1/ Rutmoore’s Tavern- Phantasialand. I adore the cosy setting and theming plus the food is divine. It’s like stepping in time to another world or something!
 
The Worst Theme Park Restaurants 

5/  Woodys Burger Bar-Oakwood Theme Park. Bland quick service food, the burger was tasteless and inedible to the point it makes Burger Kitchen look like Five Guys.

4/ Aus Fastes Des Rome- Parc Asterix. Barely food and more processed than Jedward’s auto tune. Cold, tasteless, bland and did I say processed? I didn’t favour to much of Astérix’s food but this was something else!

3/ El Paso Dinner Buffet- Port Aventura.  P.A has become infamous for it’s terrible food quality and that is true. Expensive, inedible food that makes eating a chore as, opposed to enjoyable. I ate something so bad here I thought I was going to vomit!

2/ Jerome’s Grill- Port Aventura. I’ve had some lovely Pizzas in my time dining, the one I ate here wasn’t one of them! Disgusting, plastic, oily and more tasteless than a series of love island. Probably the worst pizza I’ve eaten, those cheap supermarket pizzas are gourmet compared to this travesty. 
 
 
1/ Piratengrill- Plopsaland De Panne. I never thought Port A.V. could be topped for disgusting food. Apparently not. The burger here tasted terrible to the point I struggled eating. To make matters worse, it was horribly expensive and they took so long serving I thought I’d be seeing CHRISTMAS there.
 
I miss going places.

On the Dutch theme, Efteling plan to be reopen by May 20th: https://www.efteling.com/nl/blog/nieuws/20200508-efteling-gaat-weer-open
 
They will be open before then, with very small crowds (relatives of staff, maybe passholders, etc), and slowly building up so staff can adjust to new routines. The plan come May 20th is that the park will be at most at 1/3 capacity. Their Bosrijk Holiday Village is already open, since people stay in their own self-contained cabins. 
 
Also, a few images that have been circulated by the Dutch Theme Parks and Attractions Association, who have put plans in place for how Dutch parks should go about when opening. These measures have been approved by European safety board TUV:

(Image of Joris en de Draak at Efteling)
Some form pole can be used to check restraints. I've also heard (but not seen a link) that staff are allowed to use feet. 
 

An example of how Python (a 28 seater / 14 row / 7 car train) could be loaded. The idea is that a maximum of 14 guests from a maximum of 5 families can board any given train, with certain rows blocked off.
 
Other things in place are standard 1.5m distances between groups, encouraging paying by card/apps wherever possible (Netherlands, similarly to Germany, use cash a lot more than we do in the UK), blocking of every other urinal and sink in toilets, etc. Efteling have also been redesigning and rebuilding some of their cattlepen queues.

Might as well start another bandwagon.
 
Best Theme Park Restaurants 

5/ Rollercoaster Restaurant- Alton Towers. Probably my favourite UK park restaurant, I love how they’ve used the  ‘food loop’ Concept and that the place is
also dedicated to past and present coasters. I personally enjoy the food here too. 

4/ Tivoli Foodhall-Tivoli Gardens. Great variety here, plus the Smorrebrod (cultural delight) were absolutely delicious.

3/ Silver Lake Saloon- Europa Park. I love the food and I love the atmosphere and think I’m a sucker for most Wild West style places. Reminds me of Smith and Western a little. 
 
2/ Polle’s Keuchen- Efteling. This place is something of a masterpiece to the point where the food is almost secondary. Charming surroundings, meet and greets and amazing thematic set-pieces Which perform often. The pancakes are great too.
 
1/ Rutmoore’s Tavern- Phantasialand. I adore the cosy setting and theming plus the food is divine. It’s like stepping in time to another world or something!
 
The Worst Theme Park Restaurants 

5/  Woodys Burger Bar-Oakwood Theme Park. Bland quick service food, the burger was tasteless and inedible to the point it makes Burger Kitchen look like Five Guys.

4/ Aus Fastes Des Rome- Parc Asterix. Barely food and more processed than Jedward’s auto tune. Cold, tasteless, bland and did I say processed? I didn’t favour to much of Astérix’s food but this was something else!

3/ El Paso Dinner Buffet- Port Aventura.  P.A has become infamous for it’s terrible food quality and that is true. Expensive, inedible food that makes eating a chore as, opposed to enjoyable. I ate something so bad here I thought I was going to vomit!

2/ Jerome’s Grill- Port Aventura. I’ve had some lovely Pizzas in my time dining, the one I ate here wasn’t one of them! Disgusting, plastic, oily and more tasteless than a series of love island. Probably the worst pizza I’ve eaten, those cheap supermarket pizzas are gourmet compared to this travesty. 
 
 
1/ Piratengrill- Plopsaland De Panne. I never thought Port A.V. could be topped for disgusting food. Apparently not. The burger here tasted terrible to the point I struggled eating. To make matters worse, it was horribly expensive and they took so long serving I thought I’d be seeing CHRISTMAS there.
 
I miss going places.

Blimey, this thread is becoming more corrupted than FIFA.
 
Happy quarantine season everyone!

@JoshC., your order has arrived.
 
Decided to create a piano cover of Duel’s original theme. Created through listening and without sheet music. Requests welcome. 

Might as well start another bandwagon.
 
Best Theme Park Restaurants 

5/ Rollercoaster Restaurant- Alton Towers. Probably my favourite UK park restaurant, I love how they’ve used the  ‘food loop’ Concept and that the place is
also dedicated to past and present coasters. I personally enjoy the food here too. 

4/ Tivoli Foodhall-Tivoli Gardens. Great variety here, plus the Smorrebrod (cultural delight) were absolutely delicious.

3/ Silver Lake Saloon- Europa Park. I love the food and I love the atmosphere and think I’m a sucker for most Wild West style places. Reminds me of Smith and Western a little. 
 
2/ Polle’s Keuchen- Efteling. This place is something of a masterpiece to the point where the food is almost secondary. Charming surroundings, meet and greets and amazing thematic set-pieces Which perform often. The pancakes are great too.
 
1/ Rutmoore’s Tavern- Phantasialand. I adore the cosy setting and theming plus the food is divine. It’s like stepping in time to another world or something!
 
The Worst Theme Park Restaurants 

5/  Woodys Burger Bar-Oakwood Theme Park. Bland quick service food, the burger was tasteless and inedible to the point it makes Burger Kitchen look like Five Guys.

4/ Aus Fastes Des Rome- Parc Asterix. Barely food and more processed than Jedward’s auto tune. Cold, tasteless, bland and did I say processed? I didn’t favour to much of Astérix’s food but this was something else!

3/ El Paso Dinner Buffet- Port Aventura.  P.A has become infamous for it’s terrible food quality and that is true. Expensive, inedible food that makes eating a chore as, opposed to enjoyable. I ate something so bad here I thought I was going to vomit!

2/ Jerome’s Grill- Port Aventura. I’ve had some lovely Pizzas in my time dining, the one I ate here wasn’t one of them! Disgusting, plastic, oily and more tasteless than a series of love island. Probably the worst pizza I’ve eaten, those cheap supermarket pizzas are gourmet compared to this travesty. 
 
 
1/ Piratengrill- Plopsaland De Panne. I never thought Port A.V. could be topped for disgusting food. Apparently not. The burger here tasted terrible to the point I struggled eating. To make matters worse, it was horribly expensive and they took so long serving I thought I’d be seeing CHRISTMAS there.
 
I miss going places.

@JoshC., your order has arrived.
 
Decided to create a piano cover of Duel’s original theme. Created through listening and without sheet music. Requests welcome. 

Corrr, someone's a keen bean..
 
Updated bracket, for sake of completeness:

 
And so the semi-finals:
24. The Freezer vs 4. The Curse
31. Big Top (2016-2017) vs 19. The Asylum
 
Votes will be open until Saturday 2nd May at 5pm! 
 
And my votes:
The Freezer (choosing between two mediocre mazes in the semi-final is not what I expected from this...)
The Big Top

Think we need some more Top 10 variations.
 
Top 10 Theme Park Soundtracks:


10/  The Island Theme- Thorpe Park Resort
The direction of the park has been heavily  questionable over the last number of years, however the introduction of the main theme is one of the few better things that has arguably been introduced. I know this placement will be a mixed-bag to some, but I think the introduction of this music definitely gives the entrance area at least, more of a build up and atmosphere. It does beat the chart music indefinitely.
 
9/ Main Street USA- Disneyland Paris 
One of my most exciting theme park memories was visiting Disneyland Paris for the first time (5 years nearly already?), but nothing could’ve helped boost that feeling than the beautiful Main-street  soundtrack. Comprising a mixture of traditional songs and ones from shows/musicals, the playlist beautifully helps put together what must be one of the most impressive theme park entrances around.
 
N.B I believe the park use the mix from the original park now.

8/ Valhalla- Blackpool
Dramatic and forcefully attention grabbing, nothing pleases the ear more than listening to the main theme of Valhalla. The ride may not be operational for 2020, but least it’s soundtrack still boosts out from the nearby speakers.
 
7/ Droomvlucht- Efteling 
6/ Euromir- Europa Park
One of the weirdest (yet wonderful) pieces of mainstream theme park music to exist. The unique soundtrack greatly complimented the ride, whether it’s in the queue line or going up the lift of forever. It works perfectly!
 
5/ Fata Morgana- Efteling
Efteling stride with some truly magical pieces of music, but not many can overturn the wonders of the score of Fata Morgana. Meaning to be a mirage, the music perfectly blends amongst the many rich scenes of the attraction, whether that be the grand palace suite or town scenes within the ride. The attraction is essentially an Arabian take on Pirates Of The Caribbean, but that doesn’t take anything away from the ride. 
 
4/ Klugheim/Taron Soundtrack- Phantasialand 
PHANTASIALAND real,y know how to master mysterious and whimsical themes in their parks and the music really seems to hit the nail on the head there. What I like about the Klugheim theme is how the music is varied yet developed throughout the area giving enough balance to keep it interesting, whilst also entailing a strange yet uncharted vibe to the area.
 
3/ Phantom Manor- Disneyland Paris 
I am completely aware this is a variation and re-work of the original Hsunted Mansion soundtrack, but there is something just remarkable about this theme working. Whilst I’m yet to experience either of the American rides, the theme from the Paris definitely takes the music a step further by giving a deeper more meaningful and perhaps emotional content. This wraps the whole Frontier Land Story together rather nicely. 
 
2/ Chiapas Theme- Phantasialand 
I adore much of Phantasialand’s music, but the Chiapas theme tops all of it. Mysterious, upbeat and soothing are just some of the words you could use to describe the soundtrack. From it’s main theme to it’s wonderful (yet hilarious) disco room Varient. The Budapest orchestra and IMA score struck gold here!
 
 
1/ Europa Park suite, - Europa Park
This piece of music is honestly gorgeous, atmospheric, cinematic and makes for an amazing soundtrack. You know a piece of music is great when it gives you a positive vibe and always make you feel better after listening. 
 
Tried to give a variety of music here, hence why some things didn’t make the cut.

I think it just boils down to how important the role of theming plays within the park. I think Thorpe Park has theming but in most areas its pretty loose and the areas are just kinda there. The area around Colossus and the cluster of flats in that area is a good example, it looks good for the most part, but its more loose. 
 
Like Six Flags has 'themed areas' too, doesn't make 'em a theme park lol. When I visit Thorpe Park it gives me Six Flags vibes to be fair, and that is not a bad thing. Six Flags Great America is very similar, some areas are themed well (Southwest territory) and others not so much.
 
They do vary a lot though. Parks like Europa are meant to fully immerse you in its world. Then look at a park like Cedar Point which has no theming on any ride (I guess Steel Vengeance and Maverick have some pretty queue lines?). These parks are both brilliant, but they are incredibly different. You go to Europa Park for the experience, for the theming. The rides are kinda like the cherry on top. You go to Cedar Point exclusively for the rides. That I think is the core difference between an amusement park and a theme park (though obviously a lot of parks straddle this line). I think Thorpe sits toward the middle, but is more in the direction of being a amusement park as the theming is more secondary to the rides.