Kerfuffle

Well assuming Ghost is still happening, this could just be to make way for its construction? Like how CCR closed while SAW was being built.

Yeah it's not like the entire UK population have VIP passes is it? Those things are a fortune for good reason!

Figured this could be a good thread idea so thought I'd plug this. You could be a gamer. You could be an eagle-eyed photographer. What if you were both? Well if that is the answer and you just happen to be a PC gamer, just how many times have you mashed the F12 key immediately after witnessing an awesome view? If you have any screenshots that are worth seeing, post it here! ...and you can almost guarantee that the majority of screenshots might be from Planet Coaster. That game is beautiful in every way. I have the proof and honestly my first thoughts when I saw this were very simply "How hadn't I seen this before??":

I know most people remember Blur for their tunes from the 90s, I'm one of them, but their 2015 album 'The Magic Whip' shows there's nothing wrong with new sound. This track cements that with a catchy beat, really nice bassline and overall a a lot of punch.

Always great to see an expansion at Disney! Three lands really shows they're going for it! In other news, while what's been happening inside is still unknown (although let's be honest it'll likely be the same treatment the Haunted Mansion received in 2015), the refurbishment of Phantom Manor is rapidly escalating on the outside. (ED92 on Twitter) ...aaaand POOF. The whole of Ravenswood Manor disappears behind a mess of scaffolding! How ghostly... (FeedYeti) Meanwhile, Disney have done their usual sketch and themed signs have appeared around the site. (TravelToTheMagic) Lots happening at Disney this month!

Excellent. Now if you'll excuse me I'll be trudging on over to google images to make up for my unobservance... Anyway stupid question and sarcastic comment aside, I can safely say I'm hyped for when this opens! Hopefully Towers surprise me this year. (Bonus points for wishful thinking...)

Is the queue finished though? We don't want another Smiler moment now do we?

This is just my personal view but usually an immersive story can be there when multiple rides within a themed area basically tell the same story but from different perspectives. While I agree with preshows a lot, this can also be indicated through various references to the other attractions associated with the theme. Now this is all pretty hard to put into words I know, so I'll just point out that one of the best examples of an entire themed area telling one story is DLP's version of Frontierland. They literally took the Haunted Mansion and deliberately redesigned it with a Western theme purely for the purpose of storytelling. As a result, Big Thunder Mountain, Phantom Manor and the rest of the area all form together into one massive ghost story of the Ravenswood family and the rise and fall of Thunder Mesa - Big Thunder Mountain acting as the source of the wealth gained and Phantom Manor of course being the home of the mine's founder - Henry Ravenswood. I mean for god's sake, not many people know of the secret tunnel the miners used to remove gold from Big Thunder for themselves, knowing Henry Ravenswood was taking most of it. The entrance to this "tunnel" is apparently located in the gift shop. And wasn't one of the purposes of the BTM revamp so that it fits in with Phantom Manor a bit more? I haven't been to DLP since 2004 so I wouldn't know if Henry, being the owner of Big Thunder Mining Co, is mentioned somewhere on the ride, namely in the queueline. Even Phantom Manor has the obvious touches like Big Thunder Mountain looming over in one of the scenes, as well as some hidden ones such as, from what I've heard, a small portrait of Henry Ravenswood himself. It's the little hints Disney either hide away in a dark corner or even have right in front of your face that can really bring a story to life. So the question is, why can't Merlin do this? Or indeed when have they done this, even on a smaller scale? Well to answer this, let's just refer back to some past attractions. If we're only talking UK rides, Scorpion Express is probably the only Merlin development that has "story" written before you in big bold letters from the moment you enter the queue...in a real way. Given that the queue is littered with proclamations which CLEARLY narrate past events of Scorpion Valley right before you, as well as the Governor also telling the same story through a mock radio station, the story here is easy to understand and, through a kid's point of view, probably turns a simple mine train coaster into some kind of adventure. However, the missed opportunity here is one that lies only around the corner. While Rattlesnake doesn't exactly have a story (because let's face it, it takes 5 seconds to get the slightest image of the silver mine being abandoned due to the threat of a venomous snake in the tunnels), since Scorpion Express' opening, it's had a little potential for expansion. It's difficult to explain and put into action, but it's nothing more than a gut feeling that SE and Rattlesnake could become connected if the work was put ever in. Also while many others have been thinking the exact same thing for the past 7 years, I'll just say The Swarm could've easily been designed to fit in with Amity Cove. Tidal Wave's audio DOES include some nutter warning of the invasion of an alien race. Well considering Lez Cougan was also portrayed as a nutter, the buildup would've been similar, however with a completely different outcome. The Forbs anyone? Anyway, staying on the topic of Wicker Man, while we're obviously not 101% aware of the story it's going to tell, whether it has one or not, just out of opinion it's obvious the ride could've easily had a loose Pirate theme, ultimately giving much deeper meaning to Mutiny Bay as an area. References could've included something along the lines of a hostile mob of pirates arriving at the Bay in a torrent of cannonfire (*cough* Battle Galleons *cough*), various other past events transpire...and then the coaster would expand the story even further by moving onto present and future events of the story. Saying that, the theme for Wicker Man is still very interesting at the end of the day, I have nothing against it, and I am anticipating on how Towers are going to pull this off.

BRIT Awards had a great lineup this year and some well-deserved winners! ...and if anyone's wondering why Murdoc wasn't there to accept the British Group award for Gorillaz...well...

Observing all the moaners in this thread like

Can I illustrate a rant in one picture? Because this sums up my life with a few people at the mo and it just baffles me how people can think this is fair...

So much nostalgia in 45 minutes

It is fair when they get excited about an attraction with "world's first" plastered all over it.

At least the Duel ones have sound effects! The fact Tomb Blaster's don't is what makes going through it so awkward nowadays...

Whoever's in charge of lighting seems to like the colour purple a little too much... Why not paint the whole bloody thing purple if it's apparently such a big deal?

Can't help but to be slightly concerned for the music really. I mean while they could just be covering up most of the production, to me this just looks like one man, a keyboard and nothing more. I'm not surprised it isn't IMAscore seeing it isn't a huge project but we can only wait a little longer.

Well you know, considering previous marketing strategies don't fool anyone anymore...

Okay so just noticed the site now displays adverts. If it was intentional then fair play, however I feel some need to be filtered out...things like this are awful to look at... Don't worry I'm never fooled by this crap. It's just there are kids here you know

Still haven't heard from Towers regarding preview dates and that's all I'm interested in for now.

Just leaving this here...

Seeing RCT3 again after playing Planet Coaster for a year...

"So Dave, how long before Alton Towers' latest "world's first" feature burns their new ride to the ground?"

So as of yesterday, Phantom Manor is the latest attraction to be closed for refurbishment and is set to reopen in September. Does anyone happen to know what's being done to it?