JoshuaA

This could one of the worlds best roller coasters tbh. I've only ridden one RMC (NTG and that was 2012) but I remember it being smooth, long, and full of airtime. If NTG is one of the weaker ones then Steel Vengeance will probably kick serious a**. This thing seems to never end.

X No Way Out wasn't exactly a good or popular attraction though.. From what I remember usually it was walk on and the whole ride usually was 3 minutes of chavs talking about how "dark it was" with the occasional painful backwards jolt that would bruise your legs.. Plus the ride even in the dark and backwards was tame and generally more painful and boring than actual fun.. X as a family coaster was easily the most popular and meaningful time of its life.. The ride as a thrill attraction really was a joke- hence why they changed it to market to family's which actually gave X somewhat of a purpose.. I hope Thorpe do the best with a bad situation here and theme it really well but overall I think by Fright Nights this will be a walk on ride that families can't go on (too small) and if the ride is standard Merlin last minute theme job (too dull and tame for teens/adults)

I have to say that I do think X really was the glue that gave something for the family/younger teenagers to do- so its loss will overall in the long-term hurt the park. I think as a thrill ride X will seriously disappoint, the ride is a small Vekoma family coaster with a fairly tame layout due its constant break runs.. X as a family attraction honestly I think was the best years of its life as it actually had some fun in it.. Okay it wasn't amazing but it filled a huge hole in the lineup and it seemed popular with the public. If they wanted to appeal to the thrill market they could of least maybe installed a new flat where Slammer was? Or maybe give Colossus some new trains? Something that won't be 100% irrelevant in 5 years would of been nice.. When Angry Birds is the best investment to happen in your park in the past 5 years you know you have fu**** things up..

I wonder if they're going to announce a X re-theme? Just a wild theory of mine...

Alton have been working around their limits for years now.. Smiler, Nemesis, Air- all these coasters use their space and restrictions to their advantage. Wicker Man honestly is one of the most boring looking layouts to date.. They had quite a bit of space with The Flume and they really could of been creative if they wanted too.. Smaller GCI's can be fun, though Wickerman I feel like with its layout really looks to have minimal airtime and more of focus on its theming and effects that will probably be neglected and forgotten about in 2019.. It is also a massive shame we're getting probably one of the worst looking GCI's built in recent history.. Maybe it'll be good on opening day who knows? Then I will eat my words. Alton and Merlin could of built a incredible layout if they wanted to.. They have shown glimpses of genius in previous projects.. Like fitting Smiler into a tiny pit.. I guess people might of been less harsh on Wickerman if a coaster with an actual decent layout wasn't opening a hour down the road in the same year..

I honestly think for the next coaster's theme I would like something simple but effective. I think we have enough dark and drab themes in the park so I guess I would like something more up-beat and fun. I actually like Stealth's theme in that regard- its simple, but overall the theme has some quirky music and the area has a fairly up-beat feel to it. I wouldn't mind Colossus getting the axe though.. I guess a tacky horror theme ride would be better than the unintended neglected theme Colossus currently has.. For Loggers, I guess they could go for the neglected feel.. wouldn't take much effort..

When you get stuck on the motorway (was heading to Chessington) and you get stuck stationary for 5 hours..

That airtime hill at the start looks incredibly fun. With the Mack restraints that could easily be the best airtime moment in the UK.

Lets hope this is not going to be another Tomb Blaster.. I actually quite like Duel so I really hope they don't fu** it up. The music really is a bad move- Duel's theme is awesome, I don't know why they would wanna change it.

I have no idea what happened though I guess the majority of the mazes at the park are long as hell anyway so I guess it would been stupid if they extended some of them (Chop Shop could do with a extra scene or two though) Anyway I guess last year was more of a low-key year for Tulleys anyway. I'm guessing this year will see more of a lineup shake around, like 2015 did.

Brilliant investment. This certainly will be relevant and a long-term investment that will really totally shape the park's future. its nice too see more abandoned and drab themes in the park, because who needs fun in a theme park eh?

Now they dropped the fire marketing crap they could do 'The world's first experience to fuse GCI and boring'

I honestly think Rameses is a ticking time bomb at this point. The ride has aged very badly and its very unreliable and the cycles seem to get worse by the days.. I think a simple re-paint or spruce up would generally be the tip of the iceberg, and if even Merlin did do that the ride will probably collapse in the next few years anyway.. I think Merlin will probably remove it soon and replace it with an another flat or something. Just get a flat ride and tack on a semi-disingenuous and desperate USP and we have ourselfs a Merlin addition..

I honestly don't see Saw Alive going anywhere (not this year anyway) I'm guessing it really depends on the agreement with Lionsgate to which I have no idea when it runs out. I guess its nice to see a extra attraction in the summer, well at least their not pulling a Alton on us.

Closing one of the most popular and reliable rides in the UK for two hours is seriously just plain laughable.. I can understand some staggering in places like PA (they usually close at around midnight).. But in a park that closes at around 4-5PM its pretty much daylight robbery with the prices they charge.. You know you have fu**** up when Chessington is better value than you..

I think Thorpe's smaller investments recently have been completely directionless and tasteless. Outdated or completely out of place IP's really does not the help parks lineup or overall atmosphere. Europa I think really showcases what GOOD small investments are; the re-theming of their kids area or Columbus Dinghy (upgrading attractions/areas and making them enjoyable) You don't have to tack on a desperate USP to make a good investment..

I hope Living Nightmare (a good maze) isn't dragged into this.. I know its next door and all, but the park already have Ghost Train and IAC to soak up sh** tons of staff/actors, so adding a maze on hopefully won't happen. If they do decide to add Living Nightmare I seriously think Merlin haven't learnt a single thing from Sub Terra, Saw Alive or even IAC now..

True. Though its a shame Angry Birds stands out as one of the best investments in recent memory when Angry Birds itself was a 4D Cinema, some Dodgems and some terrible theming plonked next to Detonator IAC I guess too could be seen as non dreary but the throughput is pretty depressing.

I wonder how many decades it'll take before we get a positive/fun/non dreary theme at Thorpe..

I really enjoyed The Welcoming but in the long-term I think its going to really hurt them with the loss of a food-place in a quite popular area (probably going to be quite crowded in that area due to Wicker Man) I do find it a tad odd though as Alton have bucket loads of spare space to house scare attractions.. A restaurant probably would of been a better long-term use of the space as they could of easily re-homed The Welcoming.

This is easily the worst Merlin marketing gimmick yet.. Galactica's at least was semi-true.

I generally think the rest of the maze isn't anything to shout about either.. The final corridors and the facility section is okay I guess, though its really nothing good or amazing. The first half of the maze though has a lot of black walls and the theming in some points generally borders on not trying IMO. I agree that Thorpe's current lineup has some great theming- Big Top, Platform, Saw, I feel like Cabin stands out as a weak point when it comes to theming. If anything it shows the growth in the event. Living Nightmare I think really shows what Thorpe can do with the event.

Not exactly Thorpe's most well done or immersive theming really though? Living Nightmare is a absolute beautiful attraction with detail throughout the maze that generally shows the lack of detail or effort that Cabin had IMO. Even those stickers looked incredibly tacky in the maze, well it might of worked if the spinning tunnel wasn't down for like 3 seasons..

Wild Mouse probably doesn't event take up the space of most flat rides, so I have no idea why BPB used the whole "we have no space" excuse. They could of bulldozed Infusion if they needed space as nobody would care about that one.. If they were going to scrap a ride last minute with no respect it should of been Infusion or that really tall red monorail..

Shocking. I guess it might of been hard to maintain and its probably run its course but its such a classic I never thought we'd see it gone this early. I'm gonna miss it so bad next season, its just such a crazy and insane ride that leaves you with the "WTF?" feeling after every ride. RIP