JoshuaA

Remember when Thorpe used to be like the second best theme park in the UK? Well, past tense is fun..

I think Vampire for now is safe, I don't see the park removing it for another 5 years or so and even then I don't think its too much of a maintenance nightmare (especially now with the vekoma trains.) I think the next ride to face the Black Buccaneer fate is gonna be Rameses; Its rarely open, not very popular and overall I'm kinda shocked they haven't sent it to the scrapyard yet.. I think Samurai will soon face that same fate.. Merlin really don't like flat rides..

**Sorry for hyping up halloween in may** It seems like Tulleys have something exciting up their sleeve for this year.. I am very excited to see what this new attraction will be! I'm not gonna rule out a scare zone or another show but if this is the ninth maze then that is beyond exciting!

Flat rides have seemingly been neglected by Merlin recently, quantum is just the tip of the iceberg.. Merlin don't seem bothered to add them either.. Flat rides give such good support so I really don't understand why Merlin aren't investing in any for their parks at the moment.. Its really a shame Quantum is taking so long to open, though I guess it doesn't seem hopeless like Black Buccaneer or Enterprise (rip).. I really think Merlin need to get their sh** together with their flat rides. Maintain your current ones properly and add in new flats, flat rides can draw in guests and aren't expensive to build.. Its that simple..

I think some of the Six Flags ones look kinda bad like TC or Joker but I think besides those examples they look pretty fine. Wildfire and Goliath actually look better aesthetically than some B&M's IMO, Goliath's stall under its lift hill looks amazing. Remember too these things ride really well and are fairly cheap (Wildfire was no more than 9 Million)..

You have to admit it was pretty funny seeing someone strut their VIP pass on a lanyard while acting like they're some sort of celebrity around the park, I think with that its sad to see the loss of free comedy that we all received from this incredibly idiotic product.

In a ideal world next year the park would invest in a identical replacement and maybe spruce up the area while they are at it. I think that is wishful though, lets hope.. I wouldn't be upset if they re-did Tomb Blaster next year instead as that ride is currently a pile of garbage.

Yeah I think if Valhalla is still in the mess it was last year then Hex easily is the best dark ride in the UK. I think Alton struck gold with Hex, using the parks history and location to build tension for a Vekoma Madhouse just works so well. The ride to this day still makes me shiver due to its eerie atmosphere (especially in the pre-shows) Alton is by far my favorite Merlin Park at the moment, I feel like Alton is very clearly the crown jewel in Merlin's UK lineup. But to be fair when its competition is.. Its not saying much (bar the dungeons, stuff them)

They really pushed the boat out for this, like Europa style refurbishment. I bet it looks even prettier in person.

If your idea happened it would be pretty random and probably would leave most guests with a "what the fu** is that theme about?" reaction. I would like a American Horror Story themed RMC with 8 zero g stalls, doesn't mean its ever going to happen.. What is the ideal ride for one isn't something that is going to appeal to the masses or/and not realistic.

If Varney hates Chessington then he must seriously loathe Thorpe..

I guess in many ways having a IP makes sense in the current UK market, look at Peppa Pig World, Cbeebies Land or even Thomas World. I think their best bet would try to use IP's from ITV that would appeal to the younger market because that seems to be where the money is. If this project ever comes to fruition I think it would be a hugely positive addition to the current UK industry. It would hopefully push Merlin to actually give a shi* about their investments (especially in Thorpe which wouldn't be too far from this park)..

Top ten before Cedar Point and Six Flags Great America (not gonna include rides from my trip to Over Texas as that was 2012 and my memory is sh**) 1. Shambhala: Awful park, great ride. Consistently my favourite. 2. Wodan: I love GCI, can't wait to get back on this thing soon. Not sure if I prefer Blue Fire though. 3. Nemesis: This thing was hauling ass the other day. 4. Blue Fire: IT IS A MACK. 5. Wickerman: Wodan but a bit smaller. Still amazing though. 6. The Smiler: Little rough but very fun and unique Gerst. 7. Red Force: Sexy ass launch 8. Silver Star: Fun in the back on the final bunny hills. Gives some floater air but depends on the day 9. Dragons Khan: Painful but intense and it looks sexy. 10. Inferno: My current favourite at Thorpe. Especially good towards the end of the day in the back row.

Just rode Nemesis the other day and I have to say it was running really well, and both of my rides on it were just after opening so I was pretty blown away how intense it was! Nemesis maybe 25 years old but it certainly still holds it ground as one of the best rides in the park (and Alton have a pretty respectable lineup)

I think more transport is a step in the right direction as current buses are a pain in the ar**..

I think its probably unlikely they will actually get it but if they do it will be a great addition! I presume this has lap bars so it will probably ride a lot better than Colossus and it isn't like its near anyway. Overall I think it would be a great addition for the more northern theme parks. I would rather have this than a Volare any day of the damn week.. Hero makes Infusion look like fun..

*This blog is getting bumped rip* So I have to admit that during late 2017/early 2018 I was incredibly cynical and skeptical over Wickerman during its construction. the layout to me just looked really mediocre and in a way I just writ off because its layout looked a bit naff to me, I think this was amplified even more due to Wodan being my only experience with GCI and with it being more than double the height and size of Wickerman. " ... So last year as a enthusiast I kinda failed. I only visited Lego, Chessie, and Thorpe, I just didn't get round to going up north and riding Wickerman or Icon. Even worse my only only abroad park was Portaventura.. Yuck.. Thorpe is better than.. This year though I think I am somewhat going to redeem myself. I'm heading to Europa in May and going to Six Flags GMerica and Cedar Point in June, I'm not gonna fail like I did last year.. One trip this year though left me with "would I make it?" and that was Alton Towers. After a bunch of last minute plans I finally headed to ride Wickerman, I would finally be able to form a proper opinion on the ride. So after a 3 hour drive I headed into the park for ERT and a early ride on Wickerman. I have to say it looks pretty sexy from afar.. So I have to admit I wasn't expecting a pre-show, it caught me off guard a little. Overall the pre-show was kinda neat, it certainly was well done but I found it was a little dark for a coaster that has a 1.2 restriction, I also felt on repeat rides it got a little old too.. After exiting the pre-show I was very lucky to be instantly batched to the front row on my first ride, I nearly snogged the guy giving out the rows. So as soon I get off Wickerman I was instantly very impressed- its well paced, fun, full of airtime pops and some fun GCI banks. The coaster is a lot better than I was giving it credit for, its really what Alton needed. The theming around the ride adds to the ride in a fun way (especially in the front row) and the main structure itself looks very cool. The coaster I found had a few minor pops of air in the front but had some pretty aggressive ejector pops in the back, if you want a more intense ride I would say the back is your best bet, especially on the first drop! The coaster runs very much like Wodan, it has a constant fast pace to it and never seems to slow down, its also decently long too. The coaster itself was running three trains on my visit (which is great for a merlin park!) but it did stack quite a bit so don't expect Wodan style capacity. Overall Wickerman is probably my favorite on park and maybe even my favorite in the UK. Its not quite as insane as Wodan but its still a great ride in its own right and is a great ride for those who can't be arsed to go to Europa or Toverland. Wickerman is proof that Merlin can build good rides, hopefully Merlin decide to add more GCI's in the future.. #Thorpe4GCI 8/10 With that last post, I wasn't wrong.. But Wickerman is brilliant for this country and I'm glad I can get my GCI fix closer to home now. 3 rides on this beast only hyped me more to ride Wodan again. Hope you enjoyed the review

I think the main park really needs attention before a hotel..

It looks fab. Probably not going to be a scratch on Wildfire but nevertheless its a RMC so its going to be good.. I swear RMC invent a million new elements with each project... Remember Storm Chaser and its "trick track double up"?

Did Room On The Broom with my nephew last Sunday and overall I wouldn't say its bad, but it could of been way much better. As the post above me has said the small rooms and pace of the attraction feels very awkward and abrupt. I felt like it would been better if it was a free flow walk-through with a bunch of things for the kids to stop and see instead of a bunch of mini shows in cramped rooms. I'm guessing throughput and the amount of staff they have to use for it will be a annoyance in a few years too.. On the upside I did like some of the effects at the start and some of the theming, not bad at all. Room On The Broom for me is like doing the washing up- its not a bad thing, but its not good either, at least its not TWD or Alton Dungeons.. Chessington has been pretty lucky recently tbh, they have somewhat of taken a direction and the park the other day felt a bit more soulful than the wasteland which is down the road..

Like Storm Surge we can hope.. Not sure if they would ditch it as it cost them two arms and a leg to build it. I think it would more than likely be left SBNO when it does get the axe (Sub Terra v2)..

Yeah Detonator is probably one of the best drop towers.. Hurakan Condor is nearly 3 times the height and it barely has half the force. The downloads push that Detonator has is something that makes it kinda unique, most drop towers underwhelm me after it..

Honestly when TWD/X bites the dust I honestly see them just getting rid of the entire building and ride- the ride itself is probably on its last legs and the pyramid probably wouldn't be viable to re-use.. With Slammer gone now too if the TWD's land was opened up they probably could fit a decent sized ride on its plot+Slammer. If this ever happened hopefully Storm Surge would go down with it.. We can hope..

I guess it makes sense this is a quiet year considering we're getting Rulantica later this year and Pirates in Batvia 2.0 next year..

Got to love how much Europa do during the offseason and how much they do in general to improve and upkeep the park. Look at Columbus or Whale Tours.. God, who would of known a generic flat ride would receive a bunch of special effects and theming, fu**ing amazing.