JoshuaA

This year May not be over yet but it has been one long roller coaster ride and sadly not an enjoyable one other . As this horrible time remains  dominated by a  never ending pandemic, here’s some rides that may be a reminder and summarisation of how 2020 is going. Hold on tight and remain seated, you are in for a very bumpy ride!
1/ Meanstreak- Cedar Point  Tall, long and dominating. The whole presence of this attraction should deliver something great to live up to it’s name. Sadly that is not the case. This coaster uncomfortably drags you along a rough and uncomfortable circuit which proves to become more and more uncomfortable as experience more of the ride. It seems to never end and go on and on without end. You are relieved when you finally get off, but the physical recovery is long and winding. Not to mention the whiplash will still be with you during whatever you decide to ride next.    Sadly there is no RMC conversation at the end of this year!   2/ Temple Of The Nighthawk- Phantasialand  On a personal level, comparing  2020 to the last few years of my life is a bit like visiting Phantasialand and going from riding Taron and Chiapas to experiencing the park’s infamous indoor coaster, Temple Of The Nighthawk.    This coaster takes up a large footprint of what isn’t a massive park, sticks out like a sore thumb and greatly clashes with much of the other amazing offering. It’s a long slow paced attraction taking you on a long and mundane layout through forceless twists and turns in the dark. You don’t know where you are going yet it lacks any sense of any excitement or direction. Not to mention three waves’ I mean lift hills to endure also.   Many want this gone and to be ripped out, but that’s unlikely to happen for a while given the building’s mixed usage and complexities. So like many negative things, the Nighthawk is currently here to stay without it’s demise in sight. 
  3/Most Pinifari Coasters Rough, bumpy,uncomfortable and generally unreliable, the perfect candidate to what is a disappointing year it has been. Yet despite this these coasters are still scattered around countless parks both large and small, with several years yet before they head into the big headache in the sky!
4/ Fairy Tale Castle Liseberg Though it was removed a few years ago, this weird and random attraction epitomises 2020 given how bizarre it has all been. One moment we would see a cardboard Peter Pan fighting a cheap Captain Hook, followed by a fat “trumpesque” like emperor figure. All whilst listening to the “ripped” Droomvlucht music playing. It should be amicably pleasant, but fails this in countless areas leading to something memorable for the wrong reasons perhaps.   5/ Son Of Beast Just like 2020, Son Of Beast had the intention of delivering greatness just from it’s  name, however became proned with problems and something of a massive write off, as far as success goes. The Beast should’ve been something spectacular and lived up to its predecessor but it just didn’t. It was painful to pretty much everyone who did it and was met with more positives than negatives when it met it’s demise. This year will be the same bar Rhona sadly continuing. 
6/ Saw The Ride- Thorpe Park Saw is a torturous coaster, 2020 is a tortuous year! Likewise they both begin with something of a hopeful prospect but this is ruined to plummeting down hill with a series of jolts, bumps and many moments of discomfort. Sure there was that brief moment of an airtime hill towards the middle, but in general this is followed by more pain and discomfort until it is suddenly over. The headache afterwards lasts even longer.

  7/  Hero- Flamingo Land You are seated uncomfortably when you go up the spiral lift. You know you are in for a bad experience when it’s already rough and shaky already. The ride essentially sees you ride through a poorly profiled track and layout whilst locked down in your torture vehicle wishing it to end sooner rather than later. When it’s finally over you will have no intention to talk about your experience ever again!     This year hasn’t been fun for sure. What rides make you think of 2020? 
  I don’t own the pictures.

After a boozy evening sailing down the rhine the night before, it was finally time to visit Phantasialand. A park I have heard so much about.
Now Phantasialand seems to really draw very different reactions from people, some people think its the best park in the world. Some people think its great with flaws, and then you have those who think it is shockingly over-rated. Anyways, once into the park. Something really made me think, I knew this would be a paragraph-worthy rant, so lets jump in.
 
(for your information, I didn't take many pictures due to time constraints. Tut Mir Leid)
 
The Entrance:
When you think of a park entrance, you think of Europa Park's main street, you think of Gatekeeper towering over Cedar Point's gates, you think of Towers Street. Most of these entrances really leave a great first impression. Now, Phantasialand has easily the worst entrance of any major park I have been to. It feels so underwhelming, its next to River Quest and Mystery Castle. And it just looks, kinda amateur. Its just awkward, and really I was questioning whether I was visiting a major theme park.
People rave so much about Phantasialand's theming, and sure they have some brilliant themed rides, but they can't even have a half-decent park entrance?
It feels like a staff side entrance, never mind the main entrance. I know space is a issue here, but I really think the park should completely reform the entrance at some point if they can. It would really help.
 
Taron

 
So after entering, I couldn't help myself. Taron had a big queue, but I did not care. This was going to my first ride.
 

 
My only other experience with a blitz-coaster is Maverick, which is my #2. I adore its transitions, its launch, and its laterals. Now Taron seems to be heavily touted as great due to its theming. Though there has been a ever-growing group of people who have labelled it over-rated or slow. Is it the great ride everybody says it is? Yes, in my opinion, yes.
Taron is simply not as intense as a coaster like Maverick, but it makes up for it in having brilliant theming and interactions throughout the entire ride. It also has much better restraints. The ride is a spectacle, on ride and off ride, in the front row it is surreal. Now launch wise, I find the first one to be fun, its not too intense but it was more forceful than I was expecting. The second rolling launch is brilliant, it feels like you are being catapulted forward. Now element wise, the ride is basically just a bunch of turns. But if you've ridden Maverick, you know those transitions can be incredibly fun and give pops of sideways airtime. Sadly besides a pop or two from the turns, Taron lacks on the airtime front. It has two hills toward the end, but those are ruined by trims. I rode in the back, the front, and the middle. In all seats the airtime on those hills were pretty non existent. 
 
Despite the lack of airtime, Taron is a outstanding coaster. Its long, its well themed, it has a lot of interaction with Klugheim, its fun, and it is re-rideable. I rank it at #2 pushing Maverick down to #3. I ended up getting 4 rides in, which proved hard as Taron is not a reliable coaster! Intamin strike again!
 

 
Feng Ju Palace
I kinda rode this by accident. I didn't know what it was going in. Its a fun madhouse, nowhere near as good as Hex but its fair.
 
Tikal
This was fun. Very long cycle, good views. Very fun family drop tower.
 
Colorado Adventure

 
I have ridden my fair share of mine trains. From the original at Over Texas, to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, to Cedar Creek at Cedar Point. Colorado Adventure blows them all out of the water. It is long, well themed, has a brilliant indoor section, interactions with Chiapas, and is lowkey intense at points. I really wish I was able to ride this more than once, as it was a brilliant family coaster. Oustanding.
 
Crazy Bats (Temple of The Nighthawk)
I'll give it some credit. This ride made me laugh, but for all the wrong reasons. The exterior for one looks like a B&Q DIY job, and the queue line has enough black walls to rival The Dungeons. Once you get to the ride, its a meandering boring mess in a black box with darkness to hide the lack of theming. I like long rides, but Crazy Bats just goes on and on. I hope this is the next ride to be axed, as its one of the worst coasters I have ridden.
 
Winjas

 
I only rode one side, I can't remember which one. But they look fairly similar.
Winjas is a top tier spinning coaster, its quirky, its weird, and its fun. I love the elevator style lift, I love the tilt track finale, and I love just how weird the ride is.
I would say I still prefer Dragon's Fury as its more intense, but Winjas is still a brilliant spinning coaster and a fun supporting coaster in the lineup.
 
Maus au chocolat
What a lush dark ride. Maus Au Chocolat is very cutesy, the queue line is adorable in itself, and the smell pods are strong and sweet. 
The ride itself is akin to the Toy Story Mania, and its a fun experience. But I do think its a smidge too long. I like how Phantasialand have long rides, but in this case it just gets a bit repetitive. But that aside, its a very charming dark ride that is just great fun. I would rank it as one of my favourite dark rides for sure.
 
Raik
Raik is a fine Vekoma Boomerang. Honestly its amazing how they fit this in. It has beautiful surroundings, and its a very solid supporting coaster.
 
Mystery Castle

 
So props to Phantasialand. This ride looks very cool. The queue is even more cool. The ride itself is very fun, its a intamin drop tower, though its bounces more like a S&S. I like the theming elements during the ride, though honestly its not as forceful as other Intamin drop towers out there. Though due to it being enclosed, and well themed, its probably one of the better drop towers out there. I only rank Detonator and Hurakan Condor higher. I do wish the cycles were longer though, the ride had no queue and it could of really gone on for longer.
 
Chiapas:

 
Everybody raves about Chiapas. And they have good reason, this is the future of log flumes. The disco room, the backwards section, and the finale are just brilliant.
Its a long flume, it has fast lift hills, it really is what log flumes should aspire to be in the future. Overall a brilliant supporting ride, it was a shame it was so cold as I would of gotten more rides in! The theming and interaction with Colorado Adventure is another huge positive.
 
Black Mamba

 

 
Black Mamba is a very interesting invert. It starts off pretty normal. Drop, loop, zero g roll. But then it has a Jr immelmann. The ride is a very compact invert, and it does a lot of diving into tunnels. The inversions are really the only moments where the ride pops up above ground level. Its really cool!
I found the ride to be much better later in the day, in the back row it is very whippy! I also love the finale, I know a lot of people find it slow. But I like the constant turning in and out of tunnels. Its very disorientating. The break run is also very cool, being in utter darkness.
Overall Black Mamba is a ride that I still am working out where I rank it, I think I prefer it over Inferno, Raptor, and Batman. Though I'm still deciding about if I prefer it over Nemesis. In the end I got 4 rides on it all on different rows. The back row was my favourite. Overall I liked Black Mamba much more than I was expecting. I feel it gets a bit overshadowed by Taron now, but by itself its a very unique and fun invert.
 
Shows:
So during my day I saw the parks Ice Show. This show was fun, had a lot of fun elements to it. Though it certainly is on a lot smaller scale than the Ice Show at Europa Park. 
It definitely reflects how Phantasialand is a lot more of a smaller and intimate park.
 
Food:
I had one meal here, it was wurst and fries. And honestly I don't think I can judge the food off this one meal, but it was good. It wasn't anything mindblowing or amazing, but it was fine. And I'm sure there is more unique and interesting options in the park, and if I came back I might have a more fully-formed opinion.
 
Operations:
Phantasialand had mostly good operations on my visit. Taron had good dispatches, Black Mamba had good dispatches, and most of the other coasters were pretty fast. My main gripe with the park had to be 1 train operations on Black Mamba for the second half of the day. I know the queue wasn't very long, but it just felt a bit annoying. Especially compared to the consistent operations down in Europa Park. Even when its quiet.
I would say the park has probably the third best operations I've seen. Behind Cedar Point and Europa, certainly one of the better parks, but not quite the best.
 
Rides were also very reliable, the only rides that had downtime was Taron and Raik. Overall I found the downtime to be minimal, which is a positive.
Staff were very polite and efficient, overall I was very impressed.
 
Covid:
Phantasialand really is a difficult park for social distancing. It is small, has tight pathways, ect. So with that social distancing was a bit impossible at points. Though masks were worn at basically all times by everyone. And the park did a good job of enforcing the masks. 

 
 
Final Thoughts:
Phantasialand is a great park. I really enjoyed it. Though I don't think its a perfect park whatsoever. I feel the newer areas/rides are really the standouts here, Chiapas, Chocolat, Klugheim. Though some of the older rides like Temple Of The CrapHawk and China really show the more dated part of the park. 
I also found the park to not be the prettiest to be honest either. Most areas are well themed, but its not quite scenic and full of flowers like Europa Park for example. The theming is brilliant, but most areas of the park aren't really as serene or quite as magical as Europa. Klugheim is very close though, and the way the Taron dives in and around the area is absolutely amazing. I would probably rank Phantasialand as my #3 park. Though once F.L.Y opens and Crazy Bats is bulldozed, then I could see it easily jumping to #2. I don't believe it can overtake Europa Park though. 
 
Phantasialand is brilliant, though the sheer size and scale of Europa Park really can't be beaten. Though Phantasialand definitely packs a lot of greatness into a fairly modest sized park, and for that, you have to admit it kicks a lot of ass.
 
 
 
 

After a boozy evening sailing down the rhine the night before, it was finally time to visit Phantasialand. A park I have heard so much about.
Now Phantasialand seems to really draw very different reactions from people, some people think its the best park in the world. Some people think its great with flaws, and then you have those who think it is shockingly over-rated. Anyways, once into the park. Something really made me think, I knew this would be a paragraph-worthy rant, so lets jump in.
 
(for your information, I didn't take many pictures due to time constraints. Tut Mir Leid)
 
The Entrance:
When you think of a park entrance, you think of Europa Park's main street, you think of Gatekeeper towering over Cedar Point's gates, you think of Towers Street. Most of these entrances really leave a great first impression. Now, Phantasialand has easily the worst entrance of any major park I have been to. It feels so underwhelming, its next to River Quest and Mystery Castle. And it just looks, kinda amateur. Its just awkward, and really I was questioning whether I was visiting a major theme park.
People rave so much about Phantasialand's theming, and sure they have some brilliant themed rides, but they can't even have a half-decent park entrance?
It feels like a staff side entrance, never mind the main entrance. I know space is a issue here, but I really think the park should completely reform the entrance at some point if they can. It would really help.
 
Taron

 
So after entering, I couldn't help myself. Taron had a big queue, but I did not care. This was going to my first ride.
 

 
My only other experience with a blitz-coaster is Maverick, which is my #2. I adore its transitions, its launch, and its laterals. Now Taron seems to be heavily touted as great due to its theming. Though there has been a ever-growing group of people who have labelled it over-rated or slow. Is it the great ride everybody says it is? Yes, in my opinion, yes.
Taron is simply not as intense as a coaster like Maverick, but it makes up for it in having brilliant theming and interactions throughout the entire ride. It also has much better restraints. The ride is a spectacle, on ride and off ride, in the front row it is surreal. Now launch wise, I find the first one to be fun, its not too intense but it was more forceful than I was expecting. The second rolling launch is brilliant, it feels like you are being catapulted forward. Now element wise, the ride is basically just a bunch of turns. But if you've ridden Maverick, you know those transitions can be incredibly fun and give pops of sideways airtime. Sadly besides a pop or two from the turns, Taron lacks on the airtime front. It has two hills toward the end, but those are ruined by trims. I rode in the back, the front, and the middle. In all seats the airtime on those hills were pretty non existent. 
 
Despite the lack of airtime, Taron is a outstanding coaster. Its long, its well themed, it has a lot of interaction with Klugheim, its fun, and it is re-rideable. I rank it at #2 pushing Maverick down to #3. I ended up getting 4 rides in, which proved hard as Taron is not a reliable coaster! Intamin strike again!
 

 
Feng Ju Palace
I kinda rode this by accident. I didn't know what it was going in. Its a fun madhouse, nowhere near as good as Hex but its fair.
 
Tikal
This was fun. Very long cycle, good views. Very fun family drop tower.
 
Colorado Adventure

 
I have ridden my fair share of mine trains. From the original at Over Texas, to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, to Cedar Creek at Cedar Point. Colorado Adventure blows them all out of the water. It is long, well themed, has a brilliant indoor section, interactions with Chiapas, and is lowkey intense at points. I really wish I was able to ride this more than once, as it was a brilliant family coaster. Oustanding.
 
Crazy Bats (Temple of The Nighthawk)
I'll give it some credit. This ride made me laugh, but for all the wrong reasons. The exterior for one looks like a B&Q DIY job, and the queue line has enough black walls to rival The Dungeons. Once you get to the ride, its a meandering boring mess in a black box with darkness to hide the lack of theming. I like long rides, but Crazy Bats just goes on and on. I hope this is the next ride to be axed, as its one of the worst coasters I have ridden.
 
Winjas

 
I only rode one side, I can't remember which one. But they look fairly similar.
Winjas is a top tier spinning coaster, its quirky, its weird, and its fun. I love the elevator style lift, I love the tilt track finale, and I love just how weird the ride is.
I would say I still prefer Dragon's Fury as its more intense, but Winjas is still a brilliant spinning coaster and a fun supporting coaster in the lineup.
 
Maus au chocolat
What a lush dark ride. Maus Au Chocolat is very cutesy, the queue line is adorable in itself, and the smell pods are strong and sweet. 
The ride itself is akin to the Toy Story Mania, and its a fun experience. But I do think its a smidge too long. I like how Phantasialand have long rides, but in this case it just gets a bit repetitive. But that aside, its a very charming dark ride that is just great fun. I would rank it as one of my favourite dark rides for sure.
 
Raik
Raik is a fine Vekoma Boomerang. Honestly its amazing how they fit this in. It has beautiful surroundings, and its a very solid supporting coaster.
 
Mystery Castle

 
So props to Phantasialand. This ride looks very cool. The queue is even more cool. The ride itself is very fun, its a intamin drop tower, though its bounces more like a S&S. I like the theming elements during the ride, though honestly its not as forceful as other Intamin drop towers out there. Though due to it being enclosed, and well themed, its probably one of the better drop towers out there. I only rank Detonator and Hurakan Condor higher. I do wish the cycles were longer though, the ride had no queue and it could of really gone on for longer.
 
Chiapas:

 
Everybody raves about Chiapas. And they have good reason, this is the future of log flumes. The disco room, the backwards section, and the finale are just brilliant.
Its a long flume, it has fast lift hills, it really is what log flumes should aspire to be in the future. Overall a brilliant supporting ride, it was a shame it was so cold as I would of gotten more rides in! The theming and interaction with Colorado Adventure is another huge positive.
 
Black Mamba

 

 
Black Mamba is a very interesting invert. It starts off pretty normal. Drop, loop, zero g roll. But then it has a Jr immelmann. The ride is a very compact invert, and it does a lot of diving into tunnels. The inversions are really the only moments where the ride pops up above ground level. Its really cool!
I found the ride to be much better later in the day, in the back row it is very whippy! I also love the finale, I know a lot of people find it slow. But I like the constant turning in and out of tunnels. Its very disorientating. The break run is also very cool, being in utter darkness.
Overall Black Mamba is a ride that I still am working out where I rank it, I think I prefer it over Inferno, Raptor, and Batman. Though I'm still deciding about if I prefer it over Nemesis. In the end I got 4 rides on it all on different rows. The back row was my favourite. Overall I liked Black Mamba much more than I was expecting. I feel it gets a bit overshadowed by Taron now, but by itself its a very unique and fun invert.
 
Shows:
So during my day I saw the parks Ice Show. This show was fun, had a lot of fun elements to it. Though it certainly is on a lot smaller scale than the Ice Show at Europa Park. 
It definitely reflects how Phantasialand is a lot more of a smaller and intimate park.
 
Food:
I had one meal here, it was wurst and fries. And honestly I don't think I can judge the food off this one meal, but it was good. It wasn't anything mindblowing or amazing, but it was fine. And I'm sure there is more unique and interesting options in the park, and if I came back I might have a more fully-formed opinion.
 
Operations:
Phantasialand had mostly good operations on my visit. Taron had good dispatches, Black Mamba had good dispatches, and most of the other coasters were pretty fast. My main gripe with the park had to be 1 train operations on Black Mamba for the second half of the day. I know the queue wasn't very long, but it just felt a bit annoying. Especially compared to the consistent operations down in Europa Park. Even when its quiet.
I would say the park has probably the third best operations I've seen. Behind Cedar Point and Europa, certainly one of the better parks, but not quite the best.
 
Rides were also very reliable, the only rides that had downtime was Taron and Raik. Overall I found the downtime to be minimal, which is a positive.
Staff were very polite and efficient, overall I was very impressed.
 
Covid:
Phantasialand really is a difficult park for social distancing. It is small, has tight pathways, ect. So with that social distancing was a bit impossible at points. Though masks were worn at basically all times by everyone. And the park did a good job of enforcing the masks. 

 
 
Final Thoughts:
Phantasialand is a great park. I really enjoyed it. Though I don't think its a perfect park whatsoever. I feel the newer areas/rides are really the standouts here, Chiapas, Chocolat, Klugheim. Though some of the older rides like Temple Of The CrapHawk and China really show the more dated part of the park. 
I also found the park to not be the prettiest to be honest either. Most areas are well themed, but its not quite scenic and full of flowers like Europa Park for example. The theming is brilliant, but most areas of the park aren't really as serene or quite as magical as Europa. Klugheim is very close though, and the way the Taron dives in and around the area is absolutely amazing. I would probably rank Phantasialand as my #3 park. Though once F.L.Y opens and Crazy Bats is bulldozed, then I could see it easily jumping to #2. I don't believe it can overtake Europa Park though. 
 
Phantasialand is brilliant, though the sheer size and scale of Europa Park really can't be beaten. Though Phantasialand definitely packs a lot of greatness into a fairly modest sized park, and for that, you have to admit it kicks a lot of ass.
 
 
 
 

This trip has been in the making since the beginning of this year. Long before lockdown, long before any of the crazy crap went down. If I'm being honest, I was sceptical about this trip for months. With covid being such a heavy force, I did not believe I would make it to Germany. Even over the past few weeks, so many countries have been thrown on and off the quarantine list, I was scared about Germany being thrown on last minute. I got very lucky that it wasn't.
 
Friday the 28th of August:
Now I had a afternoon flight to Cologne. This usually would be very easy for me, living in Crawley, I am a few miles south and a 5 minute bus ride from Gatwick Airport.
Though when looking for flights to Cologne-Bonn, I could only find options from Heathrow. This meant I had to trek down to Heathrow, which is a shame. Considering I am literally down the road from one of the biggest airports in the country. Oh well, first world problems eh? Anyway the M25 wasn't too bad, and gotta love a sunny afternoon flight right?
 

 
Kinda wish I was going here ngl.. 


 
I was pretty excited to see my plane had Europa Park on it. I will be back to you Europa, I promise.
 
That evening was mostly just checking in, walking around, and a schnitzel. Because schnitzels are the best thing about Germany and Austria and you know it. Who cares about culture, landmarks, or anything else?

 
Saturday:
Saturday was my sightseeing day. Now the most iconic thing in Cologne is the biggest, and the only thing to survive the war.


The Cathedral is huge. A impressive sight. It can be seen from most of the city, and overall its just cool.
The Old Town around it is even nicer. Tons of cobbled streets, many restaurants, and overall a lot of charm and quirkiness.
Cologne may not be the prettiest city in Germany, but it definitely has charm. Though my highlight had to be their chocolate Museum..

 

 
 
 

 

 
As a hungry bast***, I approve of this museum. Perfect for those who love to get their cavities refilled like myself.

 



 
Its a shame 2020 sucks tbh.
 

 

 
You can even get your own creation done at the Chocolate museum for 5 euros. I got a bar of white with a bunch of nuts in it. Cos I like nuts, get over it.
 

 
This day was finished by a river cruise down the rhine. Because it would be rude not too. Sorry for the bad photography, I was drinking beers left and right.
 

 

 
Overall a very quirky city. its not the most beautiful, or the most historical, but its a fun place that has its quirks.
Anyway next blog I will deep dive into Phantasialand. Prepare folks, its going to be a long one..

So I was recently lucky enough to head across to Poland to visit Energylandia In Zator. The main reason to visit the park ofcourse was the hotly anticipated new for 2019 RMC Hybrid Zadra. So for this write up, I will be sharing my full thoughts on this well received in the coaster community coaster and where it matches up to my top coasters.
 
A brief history and background!!
 
Zadra is Rocky Mountain Constructions second “hyper hybrid" ibox track coaster with the first being my personal number one coaster Steel Vengeance. It is also the third RMC installation on the continent behind Wildfire at Kolmarden and Untamed at Walibi Holland. Zadra is also the very first RMC Ibox track coaster to be a ground up installation. Previously, RMC would use the “topper track” design that features on rides like Lightning Rod and Wildfire for their ground up designs whereas the “Ibox" track design would be used on conversions of pre-existing wooden coasters. So this was the first use of Ibox track for a ground up model. At opening, Zadra would break the records set by Steel Vengeance for the tallest and fastest Hybrid coaster by a whopping 1 FOOT and 1MPH. Zadra will lose the record for fastest when Iron Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa opens (also by 1mph!!) and will see its height record matched by the new Florida hyper hybrid. It will also lose the record it shares with Steel Vengeance for steepest drop (90 degree) on a hybrid when Iron Gwazi opens by 1 degree!! Zadra initially was going to open at the park in 2020. However, as a result of it being completed ahead of schedule, the park was able to open it at the end of August 2019. This is even more impressive given a portion of the structure was blown over in a storm during its construction!!
 
Heading to Zadra/ Dragon Zone

Zadra is located at the very back of the park in the new expanded area the park has built into. So on entering Energylandia and walking through what could best be described as a glorified fun fair, you will find an underpass to take you to the other side of the road and into “Dragon zone" (or Dragon Castle) and you will find a new Medieval themed village with a few stores and eateries with Zadra towering above the lot of it on the right hand side. This area is charming enough with its audio (featuring an appearance from Hall Of The Mountain King!!) and the odd show going on. This area also features two family coasters and a kiddy flat ride. To get to the star attraction, you will walk through the entirety of this themed area where you will then find the entrance to Zadra on the right.
 
The queue!!
 
There has been a lot of enthusiasts who have visited the park and cried blue murder over the sheer length of Zadras physical queue line and I can now safely say, they are not unjustified in their comments!!. I have ridden many coasters in my time and not once have I found a coaster that has a queue of such a ridiculous length to walk through than what Zadra takes to navigate. Coupled with the fact there are NO short cuts whatsoever to cut off some of the queue, you WILL have to deal with this walk every single time you ride Zadra. This massively hurts the rides reliability unless you are as fit as a fiddle and just enjoy walking for a ridiculous amount of time. The queue takes 5-7 minutes to navigate and I kid you not, equates to half a mile worth of walking when you convert steps into mile. If you are familiar with the FLY queue and the length of that queue than that may give you a slight idea what to expect with Zadra. It also does not help when theres a fair few stairs to climb up and down to get to the ride aswell. So yes. I would advise getting fit before heading out to ride this thing However!! Whilst the queue is insanely long, it is relatively aesthetically pleasing on the eye with the medieval style walls in certain places and also allows for some wonderful views of the coaster. So this is a big positive for those who enjoy video taking and photography.
 
The lockers
 
So after finally reaching the station buidling for Zadra, you will be faced with the locker area. Energylandia offers a fairly decent locker set up in where you pay around the same as £1 and you are given a wristband for all day lockers. You will scan your wristband and then you will be allocated a locker to store bags and loose belongings in. The lockers are double sided so you will collect your belongings from the other side of the wall on exiting the ride. No belongings are allowed to be left in the station.
 
Operations/batching
 
On placing your items in your locker, you will climb the stairs and head to be batched. Zadra (as well as Hyperion) uses a pretty neat loading system where there are four screens which count down the amount of riders who can go through into the station. One screen is for the front row line. Another screen is for single riders and two more screens are for the rest of the train. Once the counter shows theres seats for you, you will go through to board the coaster. A tip if you want the back row. Try to make sure you get yourself in a position where you are in front of the door to the station and as soon as it opens, make a beeline for the back. You can NOT request a row from my experience whilst in the station. Depending on what mood Energylandia are in, they will run it on one or two trains. So if you are wanting the front row, be aware that you will be waiting a long time if they opt to run it on one given the length of the coaster.
 
Operations on Zadra was very bizarre on my visit. They opened on one train and then when the queue got longer it put a second on but then half an hour later, they took the second off when the queue went back down. Then the real “what the hell!!?” moment came later on where one hour before closing, they swapped trains around which wasted well over 15 minutes of my time. Its also worth noting that if the ride is walk on, they will wait until the train is near full until they send it. So abandon any hope of a “zen ride" on it before going to ride!! A part of me feels the train swap I mentioned earlier was a way of building the queue up a little.
 
The trains
 
So after all the effort it took to get to this point, it is now time to head into the nicely styled station of Zadra and board the train. Zadra ofcourse uses the standard RMC trains so you will be greeted with the usual policy of fasten your seatbelt but let the operator put the bar down. Although on my rides, the staff insisted on doing the seatbelt aswell. The trains feature the standard RMC restraints of a lapbar and a pair of shin guards. As I have mentioned previously with my reviews on the other RMC coasters, these restraints cause me personally no bother at all. However, if you are a larger rider or have larger legs then they can cause major discomfort. Its also worth noting that the shinguards on Zadra are slightly thicker than the ones on Untamed and Steel Vengeance. So be aware of this if you found the restraints on those two painful. The operators on my visit also seemed to be hell bent on causing me as much pain as possible. As in, literally slamming the restaint down on me and trying to put it as far down as possible. Compared to how I was treated on Steel Vengeance and Untamed, this left a very sour taste in my mouth. Hopefully in future visits, this wont be the case.
 
The coaster itself

After being given the clearance to dispatch, you are on your way!!. The train glides out of the station and dips down to the right before latching onto the loud (the mark of a Hyper Hybrid lift hill!!) 206 foot lift hill. Ascending this hill, you are greeted with some amazing views of the area around you. With the local countryside to the right and front of you and the new Dragon zone area to the left. You also will get some views of the all new Aqualantis area.
 
The train ascends this lift hill at a quick speed and sooner than you think, you reach the top and hit the 200 plus foot vertical drop!! This drop is a pure and utter stunner!! You are raised out of your seat the whole way down regardless of where you sit and as it drops into the wooden structure, it creates one hell of a head chopper moment. This drop feels exactly the same as that on Steel Vengeance in terms of the physical sensation and you WILL feel the force at the bottom of this drop but given the head chopper at the bottom, this rides drop just about edges that on big Steve!!
 
Speeding through the woodwork, you will turn slightly to the right over a small speed hill where the camera for your onride photo is to the right. This speed hill is then followed by the highlight of the coaster. At a massive 76mph, you will bank upwards aggressively to the left in a massive turn around before levelling up at the top before plummeting back down to ground level. This element is an amazing combo of intensity and airtime. As you bank upwards, you are right on your side feeling grey out level of force and when you hit the top and drop down you get a beautiful sustainted pop of ejector airtime. This is the absolute show stealer on Zadra. On exiting this element, the train will shoot up into the Zero G Stall and boy is this a cracker of an inversion. You enter and exit the element at a great speed and experience some stunning hangtime. The height of this element also adds to that hangtime sensation massively. The best inversion on the coaster.

 
Still travelling at a breakneck pace, the train then sharply turns left into its outwards airtime hill which sharply throws riders from right to left before navigating some turns before hitting the massive airtime hill. This airtime hill is utterly brilliant. Going through it offers a good mix of ejector and floater airtime and is a good solid intense moment.
 
Following this, the train shoots up into its second inversion which is a Zero G Roll in the middle of the wooden structure. It takes this element at a quick pace and coupled with the rider being surrounded with the structure, it is a real disorientating element and offers great headchoppers. Yet another great element.
 
Speeding out the structure, the train shoots through a double down element which offers two pops of solid ejector which feels like shades of the Untamed and Steel Vengeance airtime. The ride will then race through an S turn which throws the rider around even more before it enters a very fastly taken Zero G Roll before turning to the left and into the very aggressive breaks. Brace yourself for these breaks as you will be lunged right forward into your restraint. Let the speed it hits the breaks at tell you how fast this coaster navigates its 1316 metres of track!!. The ride then heads back into the station and you are free to exit and ride again!!....if you really want to make that walk again that is!!
 
Overall thoughts

 
Zadra is incredible. Absolutely incredible. I at the time of updating this have now done three trips to Energylandia and each time it has got better and better.
 
Whilst I do not think Energylandia is a particularly great park (for now!!) Thanks largely to its glorified fun fair feel, they have absolutely struck gold with Zadra. Zadra is a perfect mix of intensity,airtime,hangtime,speed and transitions. Loads of people have been dismissive of the airtime on Zadra by watching POV videos of it but let me tell you that the airtime on this should not be underestimated. It is not all about the airtime like what Untamed is but my lord it still has some strong moments of it.
 
What makes Zadra great to me is its use of speed throughout the whole course. It really does not lose any steam from drop to breaks and of anything, it could have gone on much longer if it wanted to with the speed it hits the breaks at. It really is paced wonderfully and has a flawless layout.
 
Surprisingly, I found the front row of this coaster to be the best row on it by an ever so slight margin. With Untamed and Steel Vengeance, I go for the back but on Zadra, I found the front to be where its at. You still get a good drop there and you feel the speed and airtime very well in the front. The back row however gives one heck of a pull over the drop and over the massive turnaround element. So both rows definitely excel over the other in some regards.
 
The million pound question when Zadra came around was “is this going to be the Steel Vengeance killer?”. In my own personal opinion, the answer to that is no as Steel Vengeance has all of whats great about Zadra AND Untamed in one package. The extra 30 plus seconds on Steel Vengeance is to me is what clinches it. Whilst I prefer Steel Vengeance, it is by an ever so slight margin and if Zadra lasted an additional 15-20 seconds, it may well have been the coaster to displace Steel Vengeance. On my initial rides on Zadra in 2020, I was also convinced I also preferred Untamed over at Walibi but having now done additional trips to both of these hybrids, it really is now a no contest that Zadra is not only the best RMC in Europe but also HANDS DOWN the best coaster overall in Europe. It really does offer such an unrelenting ferocious coaster in what is a relatively short ride time. I personally would rather a 40 second coaster that has no dead spots and ferocious pacing than I would a coaster that is a minute and a half and farts about for most of it. So Zadra to me is just ideal.
 
One negative as I mentioned earlier is that the rerideabillity of Zadra is greatly harmed by the excessive length of the queue. Even if you love riding a coaster over and over, its just so hard to motivate yourself to walk all the way back round Zadra to do so.
 
The other silly negative negative is the fact front row riders are required to wear goggles in the front. This is also present at Hyperion. To the best of my understanding, this was in place BEFORE Covid but was bought back post Covid (it we can call it that) so makes zero sense how we could do without them for two years but magically need them now
 

 
That being said, Zadra is a stunning coaster and takes its place at number 2 on my top coaster list. It really is a great coaster from start to finish and once again showcases that RMC are the top dog in the coaster industry and that other manufacturers need to up their game to keep up with them. Please get yourself out there to ride it whenever you can and you will not be disappointed in this absolute masterpiece.
 
10/10

 

Some love it, others love to hate it. That’s Thorpe Park! Home to numerous attractions, some are delightful, others are worse than that Hunchback Of Notre Dame sequel and a few are just alright. 
  Here’s my honest and “potentially” spoiler inducing opinions on the Island’s current offering.   27/ Wet Wet Wet 
Literally says what it does on the tin. You go down a slide and then get wet, wet, wet. Mind blown, who would’ve thought it! Next you’ll tell me it’s only intended for kids. Oh wait, it is.   Pros/ It’s existence    Cons/ It’s not for adults. Sorry Martin!   26/ Amity Beach  Who needs Brighton when there’s a whole  beach to explore on here. If you ignore the ageing rock-work and everything behind, it  feels like being at the sea side minus the good parts. Forgot the kids? Keep walking!   Pros/  It’s flat settlement gives you a view of the better attractions when you enter the park   Cons/  Serves no purpose for the majority of park goers    25/ Lumber Jump  “He’s a lumber jump and he’s ok, he sleeps all night and he works all day!” Ok, I’ll cut to the chase, I haven’t actually ridden this and it had to go somewhere, so here it is! Yay, mini drop towers!   Pros/ Ideal if you are a kid or hate large rides!   Cons/ Somewhat out of place and largely overlooked by adults, unless your a donut!   24/ Derren Brown’s Ghost Train Rise Of The Demon  One of the thins once largely talked about was how Thorpe was lacking a proper dark ride/experience attraction. Sadly this wasn’t the ride that would resolve this.   Don’t get me wrong, there are some cool features such as the floating carriage and added finale. However a lot of the attraction is purely a tonne of ideas executed in the wrong way, temperamental and already dated technology plus one of the most bland and tedious attractions to queue for! Not to mention it’s budget, resources and evidential failure have prevented Thorpe getting any noticeable investment until the end of time!   I’m usually someone who loves dark ride type attractions, but not this. Such a shame one of the best themed shops was paired with one of the worst rides. Plus given the state of things, I can’t really see this surviving much longer, if it hasn’t already received it’s death certificate. Darn I miss Wicked Witches Haunt!   Pros/ It keeps you out of the rain and has a shop themed almost as good as the Disney store   Cons/ Almost everything, making it the biggest failure in theme park history since Disneyland’s Rocket  Rods but actually much worse in the long run!   23/ Timber Tug Rockin Tugs are remarkably popular and pleasantly themed in some parks. Sadly this isn’t one of them and sits as a reminder questioning most of the park’s choices in recent years!   Pros/ It’s better than Derren Brown’s Ghost Train (for what it’s trying to be)   Cons/ The ride looks like it came from a sea life attraction and was shoehorned into whatever space was physically available. Oh wait! 22/ Storm Surge  This ride seems to have a cult of hatred from enthusiasts. It’s literally located slap bang in the middle of the park, looks worse than Staines on a Friday night and spends most of the ride soaking your feet like some strange paddling pool. Still theres some positives. It’s fun for groups , gives you decent  views whilst you slowly ascend with a foot massage amongst a short part of the ride actually being  enjoyable.    Pros/ It’s the nearest I might ever get to Florida    Cons/ If I wanted to get my feet wet I’d jump in a puddle!   21/ Depth Charge  Many Thorpe classics from the pre-Tussauds/Merlin eras have bitten the dust over the years. Depth Charge since however long  has managed to the bullet. It’s lengthy queues, low throughput and short duration don’t put this high on many lists. Even the staff probably don’t enjoy working on it.    However as RMC’s (not the manufacturer) footprints on the park lessen over time, one must still look in awe over this attraction contributing to what’s there today and remembering park  days of old. This might well be the last of it’s time to meet the bulldozer!   Pros/ The ride hasn’t changed a bit in it’s almost 30 years of existence    Cons/ Some of the better RMC era attractions met wits end before this one! 20/ Mr Monkeys Banana Ride The lone surviving attraction belonging  to the parks long forgotten mascots. The banana ride isn’t the biggest or the best of it’s ride type but for now leaves guests with one of the last examples of what the park used to be before taking on it’s thrill seeking routes.   Pros/ Is conveniently located opposite Inferno’s shop/exit    Cons/ It’s not much of a pirate ship!   19/ Zodiac  The ride that turned Thorpe upside down. Primarily because it was the first inverting ride for the park. The original was actually replaced in 2006 with a newer model from Drayton Manor due to reliability issues. It isn’t as scary as it looks, however  the lack of restraint can be intimidating  and may make you feel more nauseated than a heavy night out in Staines!   Pros/ An ideal ride to progress with for wannabe thrill seekers    Cons/ Likely a flat supporter because it no longer goes 360    18/ Angry Birds 4D Years after the Pirates finished their voyage, a new flock of inhabitants took over the theatre. The attraction is simplistic yet effective and follows a quest between good and evil featuring a few effects along the way. It’s cheesy but makes for a pleasant break from the thrills.   Pros/ Offers some great staff interaction on a good day    Cons/ Watching Pirates 4D in German is still marginally more enjoyable    17/ King Pig’s Dodgems  Essentially a fairground ride but fun nonetheless. The setup of bird verses pigs helps for some fun and tactical bumping. The rubbery smell is strangely appeasing.   Pros/ The Power pedal feels decent   Cons/ The old ride bell sounded better  16/ Saw-The Ride  We’ve reached our first coaster. Sore, I mean Saw. They really nailed the horror theme with the waiting times, gum infested queues and rough rattly experience. I actually like (not love), the indoor section and the airtime Hill is quite fun too I suppose. As for the rest, it’s a little bit uncomfortable. Yay to the park’s most successful ride!
  Pros/ It features one the few working Park animatronics    Cons/ Shamefully stands where a GCI should’ve been alongside a saved Loggers (RIP)   15/ Rumba Rapids  This attraction features some of the most rapid (pun intended) history of the  surviving attractions. It’s theme was simple yet effective when it opened in 87 before becoming more vibrant and whacky with Ribena sponsorship fifteen years later. Sadly the ride has become watered down (I’m sorry :p), thanks to removed effects, an absence of TLC and an unsuccessful retheme in recent years! Sadly the track record of these rides hasn’t helped either.   Pros/ Doesn’t soak your feet like Storm Surge   Cons/ Water quality leaves a lot to be desired, plus doesn’t run at night anymore   14/ Samurai This is a sick ride, because it can make you vomit. I almost did on my first time  which I blame on  sweets and cola. The U.K. has lost a lot of flat rides over the years, especially top scans which makes Samurai top class now. I rarely ride but I know others do and they like it a lot.   Pros/
Has cheated death more than James Bond    Cons/ Worse at parking than Mr Fish 13/ Storm In A Teacup  Bow ye tops lads because we’re on to a right Classic now! Before the Tetley invasion the ride was known as the Teacup Twisters before losing it’s handle when it was rethemed to fit in with Stealth. It’s also the oldest attraction, having opened in 1986. This ride needs a pin!   Pros/ Probably the most iconic surviving RMC attraction    Cons/ The cups are difficult to spin these days, especially being stiffer than Merlin’s Park budget   12/ Rocky Express Some say it has cult status with Park fanboys and you’d be right. Rocky dominates what’s left of this ailing area giving off a perfectly balanced cycle to the soundtrack of Beetle Juice. It’s almost enough to distract you from the Loggers graveyard next door!   Pros/ The best ride in the park that features trains in the theme    Cons/ Doesn’t get enough ridership due to being in a ghost town these days (pun intended) 11/ Flying Fish  The park’s only non-thrilling roller coaster. Originally from outer space and the across the pond, the Fish lives on in it’s third  form. Lacking the interaction and scenery from it’s last home it’s a bit like a movie remake, it isn’t as good as the original but still serves enjoyment value.   Pros/ Snazzy yet comfortable trains   Cons/ The announcements are almost as annoying as YouTube ads! 10/ Colossus  A ride that put the park on the map and firmly lead the park into the thrill market. Ten inversions lie ahead to riders, some more comfortable than others and that’s if you can fit in the trains which are more tightly packed than a cotswold sleeping bag. It breaks records but breaks down too sometimes.   Pros/ Features some of the best park landscaping    Cons/ Might have one of the worst designed coaster trains. Thanks Intamin!   9/ Vortex  Part of the flat pack that began the park’s thrill seeker journey. It may not reach the levels of newer model types such as Loke but still holds it’s ground relatively well. It’s dome and lakeside views make for some fitting interaction.   Pros/  If you look at the floor correctly when it lowers, it’s like you are lifting up   Cons/ The ride’s restraint system has a grudge against people of a certain build  8/ Rush When playground swings become less exciting Rush is the best thing. The lap bar restraints certainly provide a unique feeling especially on it’s top three swings!   Pros/  This ride actually still intimidates me to this day    Cons/ Sky Hawk is better because you can actually see the seat numbers    7/ The Walking Dead The Ride A ride which has seen  almost as many regenerations as Dr Who. It started backwards, then forwards and then became horror themed returning it’s original height restriction, so backwards. However I actually enjoy this ride and the new theme makes it something of an experience now.   Pros/ The park finally has an experience attraction it has always needed   Cons/ I think the park might have just a few too many dark themes now! 6/ Quantum  Arguably the most underrated ride in the park. As most attractions dominate the sky line, Quantum quietly waits in the corner for riders before doing it’s thing and what the ride does is great indeed. It’s fast, thrilling but most importantly fun. If I had to bulldoze all of Lost City and save just one attraction I would easily choose this. No joke.   Pros/ Packs quite a punch   Cons/ Was closed for almost all of 2019. I feel robbed! 5/ Tidal Wave  Given the state of things, this may be the best (operating) water ride in the country. It’s position dominates the surrounding area with criminally underrated theming, even if some has been ruined a little! But more importantly it gets you soaking wet, like a hundred tipping buckets hitting you at once.   Pros/ The soundtrack is something of a masterpiece   Cons/ Can only be ridden for two months of the year for most because it isn’t America!   4/ Detonator  I’ve done drop towers across the world and few come close to this one. You get some great aerial views here before you are released with a unique free fall feeling perhaps comparable to a reverse rocket lunch!   Pros/ A free fall like no other!   Cons/ The original music was better! 3/ The Swarm  Swarm is a quality ride. It’s smooth, reasonably themed but most importantly a B&M which has already become better with age (not Dragon Khan). Shame it wasn’t as successful as first hoped.   Pros/ The ride works better running forwards   Cons/
It’s station is an apocalyptic mess given the removed and dilapidated theming  2/ Stealth  Launching into second is the park’s accelerator (and arguable icon). Stealth really dominates the park  and can even be seen from the M25! It may be a one trick pony to some but the launch packs a punch and the views/feelings from above being astounding. I actually prefer this to Red Farce and I’m not saying this because I mostly detest Port Av.   Pros/ Probably my favourite accelerator coaster that isn’t Top Thrill Dragster   Cons/ It Isn’t Top Thrill Dragster 1/ Nemesis Inferno  The ride that made me fall in love with Thorpe Park again, not to mention B&Ms. I still remember first going on this and given I did it six times on the same trip perhaps says volumes in it’s self. All these years later and Inferno has only gotten better with age.     Pros/ The mist tunnel is sublime when  running properly    Cons/ The Inbetweeners  Thorpe Park episode has some inaccuracies     Thanks for a reading a review like no other!   TLDR- some photos not mine.

So due to the corona virus, I thought I would actually post on this blog (for my own amusement as well as others)
This blog today will rank every Tulleys Maze ever to exist (bar a few that I did not sadly get to experience)
Here is the few attractions excluded from this list:
 
Field Of Screams- this was a maze in the park's former cornfield (where The Wreckoning currently is)
I sadly didn't get to experience this or some of the future reincarnations
 
Dr Plagues Trail of Terror- This is the 2012 successor to Field Of Screams
Woodshock: Rottin since 69'- Another Field Of Screams incarnation I sadly did not get to experience
ItsCurtains- This is one I really regret not being to able to walk through. This was the original Clown Maze that debuted back in 2009. This maze apparently was incredibly confusing with the classic curtain maze being the staple of this attraction. This is now Twisted Clowns 3D.
 
Anyway, onto every haunt I have been through!
Ranked from worst to bet, this was hard list!
 
The Wreckoning: (present)
Tulleys have done quite high quality attractions throughout the years, this makes finding a 'worst' maze hard.
The Wreckoning sadly falls short compared to other Tulleys attractions. It just doesn't quite work.
 
It certainly brought some interesting ideas though, and I think with some extensive tweaks this could be a great maze. Coven wasn't my favourite in its opening year and look at that maze now. If they give this the coven treatment next year I could see this being a highlight attraction for the park, I think this year though it just got a bit upstaged by another new maze..
 
Pandemonium's 3D Carnival: (2016)
The clown maze at Tulleys has always been chopping and changing. Back in 2016 they debuted the 3D element, this element is incredibly cool though the maze only had its second half in 3D, which meant you had a awkward pause in the maze and the pacing kinda didn't work because of that.

Silver Scream Drive In Scare Zone: (2014)
I think this one gets forgotten about really easily. Silver Scream was located next to the entrance of Twisted (before Chop Shop and The Colony were there) and it was a lot of fun. This scare zone is where the 'popcorn girls' originated from, the girls who walk around with their disgusting flavoured popcorn. 
It is not higher due to the fact it was pretty short and small, but it still has a left a mark on the park today with the popcorn girls still coming out every now and then.
 
The Tunnel (2014)
Before The Colony was the incredibly suspenseful and long, The Tunnel.
This maze's first half was just long dark tunnels with short spaces and extended pitch black darkness. The maze at points made you feel the walls to find the way which was unnerving for 10 minutes at a time! The second half was a long Wastelands style strobe maze, it was long and incredibly confusing to the eyes after the stupid amount of darkness. The maze was very fun though I have ranked it this low due to the first half having little to no actors. But when its so dark and claustrophobic, I'm kinda glad they didn't have actors in that first half.
 
The Volt (2015)
2015 was a huge year for Tulleys. With Nightshade, The Colony, Chop Shop, and this maze debuting, it was a big year for them.
Unlike the huge highly themed Colony or Chop Shop, The Volt was a very minimalist attraction in comparison, the theming was really not all that good.
The maze didn't really focus on theming though, it was a 5 minute pitch black maze meant to create anxiety with the electric shock gimmick.
The maze was all about the idea of the shocks with the actors being somewhat of a afterthought, overall The Volt was unique and certainly was a interesting concept.
I do think The Dark at The Howl (2015) did this concept better and I can see why the concept was not brought back after the initial year. 
The reason it isn't lower as it actually was quite scary, like the shock element was very psychological and it meant actors had a very easy job of scaring.
 
Chop Shop (Present)
 
Chop Shop is such a hard maze to rank as on its opening year it was amongst my favourite mazes ever, but sadly over the years it has kinda ran out of steam.
I decided in the end to rank it by its current incarnation which isn't bad, it has such great theming in the first half and the maze certainly is enjoyable. 
 
Creepy Cottage/Haunted House (present) 
The Creepy Cottage was my first haunt at Tulleys and I always have had a soft spot for it. 
Its tight corridors, amazing theming, and good use of a small cast really makes this maze for me.
Its not the scariest, its a bit cheesy, but its such a classic that makes me smile every year. It can also pack quite a punch depending on the cast!
 
 
The Cellar: (Present)
Arguably the signature maze from about 2009 to 2012, The Cellar has spanned a very long time at the event. The maze has seen an extension and a cage section since opening, but besides that it is completely the same as it was in 2009.
The Cellar remains a long jump scare focused assault, with some theming here and then to compliment the experience.
 
The reason it isn't higher is that I think the event has really grown a lot since 2009, and Cellar in a way has became a little dated. It still is a brilliant maze though that certainly is a classic. 
 
VIXI (Present)
This is gonna piss some people off, but I like VIXI.
I think it was a trailblazer for the industry and its something completely different to any other maze at Tulleys.
When you have so many haunts like Tulleys it is so important to have a maze that is so different, Vixi really impressed me last year.
The experience seemed to have a good amount of actors and the maze actually made me want to go again!
I think Vixi gets a bit over-hated if I'm being honest.
 
Twisted Maze: (2012-2014)
Twisted Maze was honestly such a fun time back in 2014. It didn't focus on scares but it had a lot of funhouse elements including a section where you walk through a slanted corridor, a huge check room with actors in matching costumes (this room was a lot bigger than the current check room), many elevation changes, darkness, and a bunch of curtains. This maze was not very scary but it was buckets of fun and honestly it was my fav maze when I visited in 2014 (that is very nostalgia flavoured though..)
Though I do admit its future incarnations are superior (barring Pandemonium)
 
Nightshade Circus (2015) 
This maze was really a push up from Twisted. The maze had severe layout changes along with a new entrance with a themed facade (it is Tulleys after all!)
The Nightshade Circus introduced a lot of UV lights into the clown maze as well as refining the classic Tulleys Clown Maze formula with a brilliant layout and a curtain maze or two!
 
The Nightshade Circus also had some new music as well as a really fun finale which is now sadly absent.
 
Twisted Clowns 3D (Present)
Very close with Nightshade but ultimately Clowns 3D is probably the best edition of the park's clown maze.
The Bungee scare really lights up the first half of the maze and the 3D element being consistent throughout most of the maze makes it very trippy and fun.
This is very biased though considering I've worked in here for the past two years 😉
 
The Colony (2015-2018)
The Colony was utterly epic compared to The Tunnel.
The maze has so much theming and it never seemed to end. It was easily the most impressive maze back in 2015.
I think this maze certainly is missed, it was a absolute monster of a attraction.
 
Coven Of 13 (present)
I was incredibly harsh on Coven upon its debut back in 2016. Let me just pull up that review to show just how harsh I was..
Every year since the maze has got progressively stronger for me. In 2017 I lukewarmly liked it, and my run through in 2019 with the new finale honestly blew me away.
The maze really feels complete now. It is long, has a great finale, great scares, and a nice variety of inside and outdoor sets.
This now makes Coven a maze that I think will be a staple in the lineup for many years, it also is quite unique with its all female cast.
 
Haunted Hayride (present)
The heart, the soul, and the lungs of Shocktoberfest. 
The hayride never seems to get old, even with some of the scenes like the billboard being the same since its debut..
It is just such a brilliant attraction that sums up everything that Tulleys is about. The Hayride is here to stay and easily the most iconic attraction at Shocktoberfest.
 
Wastelands (present)
Probably one of my favourite mazes to ever grace the earth, I adore Wastelands.
Its not even the maze, its the area around it, the queue, and the show. Its more than a new maze, its a immersive scare zone, show, and a brilliant maze.
Wastelands to this date is probably the most epic, the most immersive, and the best attraction to grace Shocktoberfest.
 
Anyway hope you enjoyed this list. Make sure to stay safe everyone!
 
 

 

Halloween! It’s usually my favourite time of year. Parks are open longer, the darkening evenings lead to more night rides and the parks play host to scare mazes, spooky shows and creepy theming. Maybe all three.
  Now 2019 is far from my best and favourite year of Halloween. I haven’t visited as many attractions this year, due to numerous commitments and setbacks unexpectedly happening to me lately. However I’ve tried to enjoy and make the best of what I have been able to do.     Fright Nights
Last year’s event was something of a travesty. Lots of attractions, but absolutely nothing to note about quality. Blair Witch was probably the least terrible maze there. This year the event was a noticeable improvement. Creek Freek is easily the best maze of the event. It’s pacing, set design and length seem to fit it perfectly, easily making it the best maze the event has seen for years, which probably isn’t easy to be fair. Platform 15 was surprisingly good and I love the new ending they have for it. Terror At Amity High makes a great change from just scare-mazes and I hope this continues.  The event was mostly enjoyable but there is still way to go, before we start getting onto the lines of previous years. Atmosphere seemed to be lacking and a need for better parkwide lighting and audio are definitely required. Whatsmore seeing Saw Alive delapidated didn’t help either as that’s yet another abandoned attraction. Living Nightmare is already getting stale besides it’s reasonable set design.   Liseberg Halloween/
I had always wanted to go to Liseberg’s Halloween event, and this year seemed to be the best year to go. The park don’t hold off when it comes to decorations, with pumpkins and other bits of spooky theming scattered throughout. The cheesy entrance tunes are also thrown out for some catchy spooky tunes!  There were five mazes and two scare zones. I got to six of those. The scare zones were quite impressive, by utilising not only scare actors, but set pieces they can interact with as you pass by. Some of the reactions from others were simply priceless. The mazes were scattered around reasonably, with Vinden near the marquee, Skogen just off the entrance, Zombie next to Balder and The Experiment between Helix and the big wheel. Vinden was my favourite, as you went up an elevator into a building (presumably unused staff areas) and get bombarded with numerous scenes including a power area and other industrial areas. The Zombie maze was surprisingly good and really built up tension as you went around the maze. The use of Bill Wither’s Lovely Day really sets the scene well. The Experiment was probably the weakest maze, but still really well done and good use of the Atmosphere queue line. The ride was closed with the rapids.   The park’s permanent scare attraction Hotel Gasten featured some more spooky touch ups and still proves to be an excellent scare attraction amongst it’s immaculate set design. The park sure does look spooky at night with it’s lighting and features Halloween attractions for a calibre of ages.  It was great to get back on the park’s attractions after so long too. Balder is just relentless and I forgot how phenomenal the airtime is on it. Valkyria is a great addition to the park and is themed to such a great level in this park. It is probably my favourite dive coaster overall. Helix is still great, but I think I’m more Team Taron now. Lisebergbanen is still as fun as ever, even with the new trains. Loke is still my favourite flat ride. The rest are hit and miss.  The original Fairy Tale dark ride was removed to makeway for Valkyria. The fairy tale is over and the real world replaces it. If there’s anything scarier than any of these mazes, then it’s riding a scooter, falling off and crashing into a fence leaving you with a braised ankle!   Tulleys Farm Shocktoberfest  Pretty much the finale and final major halloween  event for me. I didn’t visit last year, but am happy to confirm it has retained (if not increased) it’s high standards from last year.  The new Wastelands Maze is simply excellent and by far my favourite maze of the whole event. I love the whole pacing and interaction of the whole maze which works so well. As does it’s occasional outside show. The Wreckening (formerly The Colony) was also very good, although some parts were a little questionable.  I really enjoyed the other previous mazes such as Twisted Clowns, The Village Coven of 13 and The Cellar. Chop Shop was still an enjoyable contender too and the Hounted Hayride was as great as ever,varying from scary and action packed scenes, to more comical ones such as the crazy nuns at the end. The cowgirl really tried chatting me up on my go, which seemed ironically appropriate. We also saw the Circus Of Horrors show which was both fascinating and gruesome. Not for the faint hearted, although Doyle definitely enjoyed his seat choice! Well that’s it for Halloween 2019. Maybe next years will be more spooky, but we shall have to see, although this year there hasn’t been a single event I have not really disliked. Until next time.   Adios!

When going to Chicago the nearest park worth giving a sh** about is certainly Six Flags Great America (unless you're willing to drive to Cedar Point).
They have been rapidly expanding in the past ten years or so with coasters being added left and right, heck Great America have probably got the best deal out of any Six Flags park in the past ten years.
They received a kiddie woodie (wasn't too fussed on getting that cred), a B&M Wing, a RMC, a freespin, and recently a S&S launch.
 
This park really gave me Thorpe Park vibes. The park is fairly compact with a lot of the rides being kinda on top of each other.
Whizzer is right next to Maxx Force and Maxx Force gets quite close to Raging Bull and Raging Bull is next to Demon and Demon goes up right close to X Flight, ect, ect.
Just like Thorpe a lot of the rides are very packed in to the space and walking around is fairly easy with that in mind.
 
Goliath:

 
Goliath is the park's groundup RMC woodie and despite not being anywhere near the level of Steel Vengeance the ride is pretty insane.
The ride's first drop is certainly the highlight with a very steep angle and the signature ejector RMC's are known for.
Other than the drop the ride has one more airtime moment before the dive loop which also gives great ejector.
 
On the inversion front the dive loop is good fun and the zero g stall is orgasmic.
Sadly the ride is kinda neutered by its shortness but I would still rank it in my top 10 because it still kicks ass.
 
I think if this thing was longer and had more airtime I would like it more, though Zadra will probably show us what a longer Goliath would ride like anyway.
Overall my favourite ride in the park but its short length makes it worse than New Texas Giant and Steel Vengeance IMO.
 
V2:
I have to admit I really was a fan of Wicked Twister, I really enjoyed the powerful launches and the spikes were brilliant fun.
Vertical Velocity managed to wow me even more due to one of the spikes actually being just plain straight which gave the ride a brilliant drop if you were in the back!
 
The ride like Wicked Twister is just a lot of fun and not anything mind-blowing, but V2's tight footprint and fun launches give it a pretty pivotal position in the Great America lineup.
 
 
The Joker:

 
S&S Freespins.. A incredibly divisive coaster model that due to the mass cloning seems to be fairly disliked,
people seem to hate these things and honestly I don't know why.
 
I loved The Joker, I actually preferred it over a B&M Hyper, don't @ me..
Why do I like this ride and model? Let me explain.
 
The Joker is a incredibly unpredictable and re-ridable coaster that always left me wanting to get back in line for.
Its a short ride but it packs a punch and you never quite know how your cycle is going to treat you, it might be a fairly tame cycle or you might get brutally spun for the duration, you never know.
I know some people hate this coaster because of this but I liked it, I thought it made the coaster more re-ridable as every ride is vastly different from the other.
 
When the ride does give you brutal cycles its utter insanity, heck this is the only coaster that me feel flat out scream, you feel so out of control on this thing.
I think for its footprint The Joker is brilliant for this park and I would love this ride at a park like Thorpe Park.
 
 
 
Batman: (no pics cos idgaf)
Batman at Great America is the first of the Batman clones (and the first invert)  and overall its a fun ride.
I certainly prefer Raptor and Nemesis but its a solid invert with good intensity.
 
The one thing that made me a little annoyed with this ride was pi** poor operations and stacking which made my Europa Fanboy heart break.
Despite the Six Flags operations the ride was a solid invert that blows Inferno out of the water.
 
 
American Eagle:
American Eagle is the parks huge racing woodie built by Intamin. The ride overall was incredibly fun though it certainly shows its age.
The ride has some brilliant airtime moments and a brutal turn-around, overall I found the bunny hills toward the end to be a particular highlight.
The operations on this ride were honestly pretty shocking to be honest though- lengthy stacking, only one side operating for most of the 3 days despite a lengthy queue!
Sure Gemini only runs one side a lot of the time but Gemini never had a queue and its throughput is still pretty great with just one side.
The queue with one side operating on American Eagle was literally painful to watch.. 
 
Overall a great classic woodie though I would like GCI to perhaps re-track some of this ride as it certainly shows its age! 
I would also like Six Flags to be less like Six Flags.
 
 
Viper:

 
Viper.. Despite a unoriginal layout, what a brilliant wooden coaster.
This ride is just plain fun with great airtime and overall just a complete classic that certainly stills remains a gem in the lineup.
The ride is rough enough to have character but is smooth enough to be enjoyable, it really is what a wooden coaster should be.
Unlike other rides in the park Viper had a really good crew running it and the theming was also pretty decent for Six Flags.
Overall a complete classic that deserves to stay in the park for years to come.
 
Raging Bull:

 
I wasn't expecting much going in, what I got was booooorrrrrinnnnnng.
If you think Silver Star isn't all that great you'll fall asleep on Raging Bull, Silver Star at least has a great second half and is actually interesting!
Raging Bull is nicknamed by many as 'Raging Dull' and honestly it lives up to the name, the ride is just a bunch of forceless turns with a few airtime moments that give no airtime.
I actually prefer Titan at Six Flags Over Texas, that ride was kinda boring but the helixes after the mid course made me grey out every time, Raging Bull was literally forceless.
 
Don't get me wrong this isn't a bad coaster, but its certainly one of the worst if not the worst B&M Hyper.
I get why it has a twister layout due to space but they could at least could of made this more.. Interesting?
On the upside the crew on this were hauling with operations, they ran two trains and managed to dispatch trains before the other train even made it to the final breaks! That is pretty amazing for Six Flags! 
 
Dark Knight:
Dark Knight is a pretty fun enclosed wild mouse, It certainly doesn't have the most intricate theme, but its fine.
Nothing less, nothing more. I think having a indoor coaster is good for the park though.
 
Superman:
This ride was kind of a tragedy to me. Let me explain.
Superman is a great B&M flyer that completely blows Air out of the water, easily one of the top rides at the park and something you'll wanna ride a fair amount.
 
Then you remember this is Six Flags. It takes YEARS for trains to dispatch (like 4 minute+) and this ride team seemed especially unmotivated and miserable.
What could of been a 10 minute queue was 30 minutes, and the staff seemed about as cheerful as someone at funeral.
 
Its a shame cos Superman is probably my favourite B&M at the park and maybe even the best B&M of the trip.
It really sucks that the operations are god awful and so dreary, hopefully the team in other years are nowhere near as bad as this years.
Sure a bit of stacking would be okay as flying coasters aren't the easiest rides to load but Superman was just stupid with stacking trains on sitting on the brake run for what seems like eternity.
 
Overall an amazing B&M ruined by really depressing operations. That pretzel loop is sexy though.
 
 
 
Demon
Demon was a fun arrow coaster, I probably wouldn't rank it above Corkscrew though due to Corkscrew's really fun airtime hill.
Unlike Corkscrew, Demon had some cool theming throughout its layout and it interacts with X Flight towards the end which is cool.
All in all, a fun ride but nothing to shout at.
 
Whizzer

 
Whizzer was a fun family coaster but I wouldn't say its anything to scream about.
Its got a cool lift hill and a fun tree hugging layout, like for a family coaster its cool.
The operations were truly awful though- stacking was nearly as bad as Superman and it made a 5 minute queue at Europa into a 40 minute queue as staff just stood like statues in the station.
 
Not the best Schwarzkopf (Shockwave is the sh**), though Whizzer is a fun family coaster.
 
X Flight
 

 
X flight as a whole just reminds me of Swarm.
They both have a similar-ish layout, similar stats, and just overall I would rank them about the same.
X flight feels a smidge bit longer and the layout doesn't have that awkward turn around like Swarm does so I think I give X Flight a slight lead, though honestly they are about the same in my rankings.
If you have ridden Swarm you know its a very graceful ride (perhaps a little too graceful) and the ride overall is all about the wing sensation, these wing coasters aren't really built for high forces or crazy elements.
 
Overall X Flight pretty much rode how I thought it would, its a fine coaster and its something different in the lineup.
 
 

 
 
Operations:
After such great operations at Cedar Point and Europa I think Six Flags was a bit of a shock. Cedar Point and Europa are incredibly efficient with operations and Six Flags Great America just weren't.. These ops were probably the second worst I have ever seen at a major park, only behind Portaventura. If you haven't guessed from this review, I value operations quite high when I visit parks so this kinda got on my nerves.
 
 
Overall: 
Six Flags Great America overall is a park with a great lineup of coasters (especially now they have Maxx Force) which is certainly a fun time for credit whores.
I do think when it comes to operations and beauty Great America really is very lacking which means this park is really about the rides and nothing else.
On the upside the food is pretty decent and Six Flags is pretty reasonably priced, so in terms of cost its a pretty good deal.
 
I think Great America is a park that you should do at least once if you have the opportunity, I don't think its a park I would visit again unless they added another big coaster but its a good park nevertheless. I'm certainly not itching to go back like Cedar Point but its certainly a good park.
 
Anyway hope you enjoyed,
peace.
 
 
 
 

When going to Chicago the nearest park worth giving a sh** about is certainly Six Flags Great America (unless you're willing to drive to Cedar Point).
They have been rapidly expanding in the past ten years or so with coasters being added left and right, heck Great America have probably got the best deal out of any Six Flags park in the past ten years.
They received a kiddie woodie (wasn't too fussed on getting that cred), a B&M Wing, a RMC, a freespin, and recently a S&S launch.
 
This park really gave me Thorpe Park vibes. The park is fairly compact with a lot of the rides being kinda on top of each other.
Whizzer is right next to Maxx Force and Maxx Force gets quite close to Raging Bull and Raging Bull is next to Demon and Demon goes up right close to X Flight, ect, ect.
Just like Thorpe a lot of the rides are very packed in to the space and walking around is fairly easy with that in mind.
 
Goliath:

 
Goliath is the park's groundup RMC woodie and despite not being anywhere near the level of Steel Vengeance the ride is pretty insane.
The ride's first drop is certainly the highlight with a very steep angle and the signature ejector RMC's are known for.
Other than the drop the ride has one more airtime moment before the dive loop which also gives great ejector.
 
On the inversion front the dive loop is good fun and the zero g stall is orgasmic.
Sadly the ride is kinda neutered by its shortness but I would still rank it in my top 10 because it still kicks ass.
 
I think if this thing was longer and had more airtime I would like it more, though Zadra will probably show us what a longer Goliath would ride like anyway.
Overall my favourite ride in the park but its short length makes it worse than New Texas Giant and Steel Vengeance IMO.
 
V2:
I have to admit I really was a fan of Wicked Twister, I really enjoyed the powerful launches and the spikes were brilliant fun.
Vertical Velocity managed to wow me even more due to one of the spikes actually being just plain straight which gave the ride a brilliant drop if you were in the back!
 
The ride like Wicked Twister is just a lot of fun and not anything mind-blowing, but V2's tight footprint and fun launches give it a pretty pivotal position in the Great America lineup.
 
 
The Joker:

 
S&S Freespins.. A incredibly divisive coaster model that due to the mass cloning seems to be fairly disliked,
people seem to hate these things and honestly I don't know why.
 
I loved The Joker, I actually preferred it over a B&M Hyper, don't @ me..
Why do I like this ride and model? Let me explain.
 
The Joker is a incredibly unpredictable and re-ridable coaster that always left me wanting to get back in line for.
Its a short ride but it packs a punch and you never quite know how your cycle is going to treat you, it might be a fairly tame cycle or you might get brutally spun for the duration, you never know.
I know some people hate this coaster because of this but I liked it, I thought it made the coaster more re-ridable as every ride is vastly different from the other.
 
When the ride does give you brutal cycles its utter insanity, heck this is the only coaster that me feel flat out scream, you feel so out of control on this thing.
I think for its footprint The Joker is brilliant for this park and I would love this ride at a park like Thorpe Park.
 
 
 
Batman: (no pics cos idgaf)
Batman at Great America is the first of the Batman clones (and the first invert)  and overall its a fun ride.
I certainly prefer Raptor and Nemesis but its a solid invert with good intensity.
 
The one thing that made me a little annoyed with this ride was pi** poor operations and stacking which made my Europa Fanboy heart break.
Despite the Six Flags operations the ride was a solid invert that blows Inferno out of the water.
 
 
American Eagle:
American Eagle is the parks huge racing woodie built by Intamin. The ride overall was incredibly fun though it certainly shows its age.
The ride has some brilliant airtime moments and a brutal turn-around, overall I found the bunny hills toward the end to be a particular highlight.
The operations on this ride were honestly pretty shocking to be honest though- lengthy stacking, only one side operating for most of the 3 days despite a lengthy queue!
Sure Gemini only runs one side a lot of the time but Gemini never had a queue and its throughput is still pretty great with just one side.
The queue with one side operating on American Eagle was literally painful to watch.. 
 
Overall a great classic woodie though I would like GCI to perhaps re-track some of this ride as it certainly shows its age! 
I would also like Six Flags to be less like Six Flags.
 
 
Viper:

 
Viper.. Despite a unoriginal layout, what a brilliant wooden coaster.
This ride is just plain fun with great airtime and overall just a complete classic that certainly stills remains a gem in the lineup.
The ride is rough enough to have character but is smooth enough to be enjoyable, it really is what a wooden coaster should be.
Unlike other rides in the park Viper had a really good crew running it and the theming was also pretty decent for Six Flags.
Overall a complete classic that deserves to stay in the park for years to come.
 
Raging Bull:

 
I wasn't expecting much going in, what I got was booooorrrrrinnnnnng.
If you think Silver Star isn't all that great you'll fall asleep on Raging Bull, Silver Star at least has a great second half and is actually interesting!
Raging Bull is nicknamed by many as 'Raging Dull' and honestly it lives up to the name, the ride is just a bunch of forceless turns with a few airtime moments that give no airtime.
I actually prefer Titan at Six Flags Over Texas, that ride was kinda boring but the helixes after the mid course made me grey out every time, Raging Bull was literally forceless.
 
Don't get me wrong this isn't a bad coaster, but its certainly one of the worst if not the worst B&M Hyper.
I get why it has a twister layout due to space but they could at least could of made this more.. Interesting?
On the upside the crew on this were hauling with operations, they ran two trains and managed to dispatch trains before the other train even made it to the final breaks! That is pretty amazing for Six Flags! 
 
Dark Knight:
Dark Knight is a pretty fun enclosed wild mouse, It certainly doesn't have the most intricate theme, but its fine.
Nothing less, nothing more. I think having a indoor coaster is good for the park though.
 
Superman:
This ride was kind of a tragedy to me. Let me explain.
Superman is a great B&M flyer that completely blows Air out of the water, easily one of the top rides at the park and something you'll wanna ride a fair amount.
 
Then you remember this is Six Flags. It takes YEARS for trains to dispatch (like 4 minute+) and this ride team seemed especially unmotivated and miserable.
What could of been a 10 minute queue was 30 minutes, and the staff seemed about as cheerful as someone at funeral.
 
Its a shame cos Superman is probably my favourite B&M at the park and maybe even the best B&M of the trip.
It really sucks that the operations are god awful and so dreary, hopefully the team in other years are nowhere near as bad as this years.
Sure a bit of stacking would be okay as flying coasters aren't the easiest rides to load but Superman was just stupid with stacking trains on sitting on the brake run for what seems like eternity.
 
Overall an amazing B&M ruined by really depressing operations. That pretzel loop is sexy though.
 
 
 
Demon
Demon was a fun arrow coaster, I probably wouldn't rank it above Corkscrew though due to Corkscrew's really fun airtime hill.
Unlike Corkscrew, Demon had some cool theming throughout its layout and it interacts with X Flight towards the end which is cool.
All in all, a fun ride but nothing to shout at.
 
Whizzer

 
Whizzer was a fun family coaster but I wouldn't say its anything to scream about.
Its got a cool lift hill and a fun tree hugging layout, like for a family coaster its cool.
The operations were truly awful though- stacking was nearly as bad as Superman and it made a 5 minute queue at Europa into a 40 minute queue as staff just stood like statues in the station.
 
Not the best Schwarzkopf (Shockwave is the sh**), though Whizzer is a fun family coaster.
 
X Flight
 

 
X flight as a whole just reminds me of Swarm.
They both have a similar-ish layout, similar stats, and just overall I would rank them about the same.
X flight feels a smidge bit longer and the layout doesn't have that awkward turn around like Swarm does so I think I give X Flight a slight lead, though honestly they are about the same in my rankings.
If you have ridden Swarm you know its a very graceful ride (perhaps a little too graceful) and the ride overall is all about the wing sensation, these wing coasters aren't really built for high forces or crazy elements.
 
Overall X Flight pretty much rode how I thought it would, its a fine coaster and its something different in the lineup.
 
 

 
 
Operations:
After such great operations at Cedar Point and Europa I think Six Flags was a bit of a shock. Cedar Point and Europa are incredibly efficient with operations and Six Flags Great America just weren't.. These ops were probably the second worst I have ever seen at a major park, only behind Portaventura. If you haven't guessed from this review, I value operations quite high when I visit parks so this kinda got on my nerves.
 
 
Overall: 
Six Flags Great America overall is a park with a great lineup of coasters (especially now they have Maxx Force) which is certainly a fun time for credit whores.
I do think when it comes to operations and beauty Great America really is very lacking which means this park is really about the rides and nothing else.
On the upside the food is pretty decent and Six Flags is pretty reasonably priced, so in terms of cost its a pretty good deal.
 
I think Great America is a park that you should do at least once if you have the opportunity, I don't think its a park I would visit again unless they added another big coaster but its a good park nevertheless. I'm certainly not itching to go back like Cedar Point but its certainly a good park.
 
Anyway hope you enjoyed,
peace.
 
 
 
 

When I say to people I'm going on a holiday with a week of rollercoasters, they ask what do I like about rides. At first I said it was the rollercoasters and all the different rides but as I've grown up it is completely all about the immersion and escapism. And nowhere is escapism more true in the Netherlands which has seen massive park expansions in the last ten years. Theme parks are fully upping their games and as I've wanted to revisit Efteling and take my first trip to Toverland, 2019 seemed like the right time to take a visit.. so...
 
Walibi Holland
 
We had a game plan here, to hit Lost Gravity first and all the other rollercoasters before trying out Untamed. This plan fell completely apart when both Untamed and Lost Gravity delayed opening. So instead we tried Goliath first
 
Goliath
.
For those that know me, I'm not a massive fan of the earlier Intamin rides. I don't have a high opinion of Expedition Ge Force and as much as I like Millennium Force it isn't a ride with much content. Goliath was a pretty pleasant surprise. It's got a lot going on but weirdly has a lukewarm reception in coaster circles. Lots of air time, two big helixes, a pretty amazing turn around after the large hill where the train turns to its side to corner. I was pretty impressed with the ride staff too who ran a very efficient ride. For those that have been on EGF, the loading takes a long time. Here, the staff were fast and the trains never stacked. This gained a 61 minute queue through the day but luckily we only queued 10 minutes for both of our rides.
7/10
 
El Condor

 
The true highlight of Walibi Holland is the stunning El Condor, the worlds first Vekoma SLC. Now we only queued 10 minutes luckily for this but later on in the day this had a 90 minute queue. It was as rough as expected and if you have done an SLC, you know exactly what to expect.
 
4/10
 
We took a walk round the park as the parks Rock and rollercoaster clone now had an hour queue as did the Vekoma boomerang. Lost Gravity and Untamed still weren't open so we took a ride on the kiddy coaster and the Vekoma Madhouse which was very cheesy with its early 2000's sound effects. The ride was good though, the same as Hex really just a bit less themed. I enjoyed this surprisingly.
 
It was after having a little look around that we saw that Lost Gravity was open. We queued 97 minutes for this..
 

 
This is a more extreme Mack then most with thrilling inversions, good air time and a very different layout. Think of a Gerstlauer eurofighter but with even more aggressive drops. Later on in the day we took advantage of the single rider queue (majority of Walibi Hollands rides have them) and got on in about ten minutes. The outer seats on this are slightly rougher then your average Mack ride but it is very good.


The main queuing cattlepen.
 
8/10
 
And wallah, straight after it was over to the now open Untamed.

This ride reminds me of the entirety of Margate with large love letters all around the queuing area and on the rides main lift hill. One issue with the queue is because it's mainly a dirt pathway, in the rain everyone just gets a bit muddy on their trousers. It also has no cover so we just end up soaked by the time we got to get on. In the sun I can imagine it might be a bit much.

The ride is absolutely fantastic. I genuinely find it incredible that this company just installs hit after hit. When people hype things up to a degree, I normally try to keep myself controlled and not read into the praise. It makes me glad that I can come to each ride with a completely open mind and just enjoy the ride for what it is. And Untamed was outstanding. Everything I value about rides sits in this attraction such as the great drops and air time, the insane pacing which particularly at the end of this ride is non-stop and breathtaking. For me it just lacks the length of Steel Vengeance but is worlds above Goliath at SFGA.
10/10 and easily a top five rollercoaster.
 

 
Rest of the day was just trying to lap up the other rides and get some credits such as the Vekoma Boomerang which was far above others of its type.
 
And so, Walibi Holland is an interesting park. I'm not sure if I'm particularly bothered about getting back as to be honest its not so much a theme park as it is an amusement park. It's clearly going from strength to strength and its future is fully secure with Untamed being one of the best rides in Europe.
 
Toverland
 
With no exaggeration, Toverland is one of my favourite parks in Europe. Considering the park only opened in 2001, it has gone from strength to strength to have one of the best rollercoaster line ups and themed areas I could possibly want. This is what a theme park is to me, beautiful areas and rides that look beautiful, ride well and a place where you can just relax, sit back and just immerse yourself.
 
Fenix
Fenix represents the last of the B&M's in Europe for me to ride. I initially completed this on Flug Der Demon last year but then this and Valkyria opened. 

 
Fenix is quite unlike all the other B&M wing riders I've done. The others are pretty... slow is a fair assessment. But this one absolutely zooms through its layout and is by far the fastest and most intense wing rider I've done. We managed front row on both sides and also near the back of both.
The main drawbacks is the initial start of the ride is just a bit empty box. They've attempted theming with an ice dragon head breathing smoke at you but this start is 'lacklustre'. Once you finally get going though, what follows is an intense start with great air time, massive helixes and an enjoyable ride.

7/10
I love a list so..
1. Gatekeeper
2. Flug Der Demon
3. Fenix
4. Raptor
5. The Swarm
6. X-Flight
 
Troy
 
Excellent GCI. When people criticise Wicker Man for being too short I sort of understand it, especially from people who have ridden Troy. It is an action packed thriller of a woodie that has a long length and great air time moments.
 
Dwivelwind

8/10
 
Wow. What a ride this is. We managed eight rides during our day and each one was better than the last. This thing spins like absolute crazy and is so re-rideable. Very much a big surprise and a highlight of the trip.
 
And the final main ride of the trip is the Booster Bike which is okay but pales into significance to the other rollercoasters.
 
To get an idea of how beautiful this place is though, here's a few photos fro Avalon which I adored and could have spent hours in. What an enchanting and magical place.

So yeah, Please go.
 
We also went to Efteling and Disneyland Paris which were both excellent days out. I love Efteling so much, its a real gem of a theme park and Baron 1898 just makes me squeal. Love it.
 
Many thanks.?
 

After a gruelling 5-hour drive from Six Flags Great Adventure the night before, the third day of our USA trip was spent at Kennywood.
 
The park has appealed to me since seeing Phantom’s Revenge on an “extreme rides” TV program and with the promise of historic rides and coasters, plus an old-style hyper coaster I was already very excited for this park.  But would it deliver?
 
I am pleased to say that Kennywood is one of the most amazing parks I have ever visited.  The place is full of historic rides such as a Turtle Chase, a working Noah’s Ark as well as three wooden coasters, plus lots of historic flat rides.  The atmosphere was incredible with everything painted in vibrant colours, and it was so lovely to see how proud the park is of their history.
 
As we were dispatched on the Whip (yes, a functioning whip!) a pre-recorded announcement proudly told us the ride was over 90 years old and had been in three locations during its time at Kennywood; every historic ride was the same with signage and announcements proudly telling us that it was the last of its type, this many years old etc.  Racer even had a reference to the National at Blackpool for being another Mobius loop.  As a long-standing fan of BPB who is not happy with the way the park has changed, the pride that Kennywood takes in their history resonated very well with me.  Despite building a huge new coaster they haven’t forgotten (or tried to hide) their heritage, in fact they’re very happy to acknowledge that it’s what makes the park special.
 
The way the park is landscaped is brilliant with it making the most of the hillside and rides intertwining making for such a unique charm that you just don’t find anywhere else.  The wooden coasters all had strip lights on them, I would have loved to stay at the park after dark but it unfortunately wasn’t possible.
 
The staff at Kennywood were all fantastic however I didn’t feel that operations (in terms of through-puts) were anything to write home about.  They weren’t terrible, but when you have Phantom’s Revenge and Thunderbolt running one train until the afternoon with fairly long queues, as well as Racer loading both trains with one member of staff (?!) it got a bit tedious.  Things did pick up in the afternoon, but dispatches on Phantom’s Revenge were still very slow when it was running two trains.  On balance however, Jack Rabbit ran very efficiently with two trains and a queue that we expected to take an hour only took us 15 minutes!
 
As a result of the operations plus limited time we sadly missed the Bayern Curve, my biggest regret of the trip is waiting 20 minutes for the awful Garfield ride but missing this!
 
I would like to emphasise that the operations in no way put me off returning, but had they been better (and if there hadn’t been a few ride closures) Kennywood would now be my number 2 park.  Everything else was so good it outweighed this and the place left us all on such a happy note, I would definitely return and look forward to hopefully getting on Steel Curtain one day.
 
Onto the ride reviews;
 
Phantom’s Revenge
This ride is INCREDIBLE.  After the classic lift-hill you go down a much smoother (and IMO less impressive) version of PMBO’s first drop, but the second drop is when this coaster really gets going.
 
You crest the hill at moderate speed, but are then launched out of the seat and don’t land until you reach the dip at the bottom.  Bearing in mind you’re going down the side of a hill and also encounter a near-miss with the wooden coaster whilst being out of your seat, it made for one of the best moments I’ve ever experienced on a coaster.
 
Following this, you go into a very forceful (and smooth) turnaround before hitting absolutely insane bunny hills.  The ride’s restraint system is very unrestricted which really works to its advantage here, as you’re launched up into the restraint without any hint of discomfort and the force of the turns work well to pin you back down before the next bout of airtime.
 
Phantom’s Revenge is just an incredible all-round coaster, it’s exactly how a smooth coaster should be; it throws you around and has variety in its elements, but never slows down or feels like it’s dragging on.  10/10.
 
Thunderbolt
A very good wooden coaster with a unique layout; you start with a drop down the side of the hill (again making very good use of the terrain) before starting the main lift-hill.
 
The ground-level turns combined with the fact that there are no seat dividers make for an interesting ride experience if you’re sat on the left, it’s worth bearing in mind that they do not allow single riders (meaning that we saw people waiting on the platform for an odd-numbered group before they could ride) due to this.  It’s just a proper classic wooden coaster and feels as though it’s been very well maintained.
 
Racer
Racer is a very good racing wooden coaster, but not a patch on the Grand National IMO.
 
It runs much smoother and the ride feels like it’s in much better condition, the trains and restraints are also much better.  The layout however doesn’t produce much airtime aside from one drop, but it’s still a very enjoyable heritage wooden coaster and I’m appreciative of the fact that Kennywood have kept it in near-perfect condition.
 
The ride’s station has a plaque proudly displaying that it was restored to its original 1927 appearance; it’s just amazing that they care about details like this.
 
Jack Rabbit
This ride made very good use of the terrain like Thunderbolt and contained an insane moment of airtime.  The ride doesn’t have lap-bars as such, but instead has a seat-belt and a static bar which partially covers the seats.  Operations on this were very quick and the staff were fantastic at interacting with guests etc.
 
Exterminator
Exterminator is a standard spinning mouse but with it being inside and having some decent effects, it’s by far the best of the ride type that I’ve been on.  A good example of taking a standard layout and turning it into something special.
 
Whip
Just incredible.  Having never got the chance to ride Pleasure Beach’s, it baffles me that they decided to rip it out and replace it with the world’s worst set of Dodgems?!  It’s a disgrace to be honest, what were they thinking?
 
Anyway, onto the ride itself, we were dispatched with the spiel telling us about the ride’s history and on we went, the force generated on the turns was substantial and it was just a huge amount of fun.  So, so good.
 
Kangaroo
Another classic flat ride and once again they were proud to tell us it was the only ride of its type left, it basically consisted of hydraulic arms going around with a “jump” part-way round the circle.  A very simple but effective ride, and again just bags of fun.
 
Rapids
I think we got soaked on these but can’t remember 100%.  I’m sure they were good though, because Kennywood.
 
Noah’s Ark
Incredible, amazing, a piece of history that’s been kept up-to-date whilst not losing its charm.  So many cool effects and UV scenes in there, it was lovely.  *Insert standard dig at PB boarding theirs up and using it as an entrance here*
 
Turtle
As above, a very fun piece of history and the only one left in the world.  Going around on this with Thunderbolt and Phantom’s Revenge flying past around us, you could just feel the history of the place and I had a “moment” of appreciation for just how amazing the park is.
 
Also, the announcement is brilliant, “Turtle!  Turtle!”
 
Garfield’s Nightmare is a disgrace.  From my understanding, it used to be a historic River Caves style ride but they’ve turned it into a terrible 3D Garfield thing with the weirdest scenes and nonsensical audio ever.  Horrendous.
 
Ghostwood Estate was a decent enough shooter-style dark ride, but had probably the most terrifying dinner table in the world.
 
Swing Shot (like Rush at Thorpe) was decent, unfortunately the Black Widow was closed as was Sky Rocket.  As mentioned above I’m gutted we didn’t do the Bayern Curve, but all the more reason to go back, I guess!
 
Overall Kennywood is absolutely incredible and I would 100% recommend visiting, particularly if you have an appreciation for historic rides.  Everything from the atmosphere and vibrancy to the sound of the rides, the pride they take in the park and the hillside location, it’s just such a special place.

When going to Chicago the nearest park worth giving a sh** about is certainly Six Flags Great America (unless you're willing to drive to Cedar Point).
They have been rapidly expanding in the past ten years or so with coasters being added left and right, heck Great America have probably got the best deal out of any Six Flags park in the past ten years.
They received a kiddie woodie (wasn't too fussed on getting that cred), a B&M Wing, a RMC, a freespin, and recently a S&S launch.
 
This park really gave me Thorpe Park vibes. The park is fairly compact with a lot of the rides being kinda on top of each other.
Whizzer is right next to Maxx Force and Maxx Force gets quite close to Raging Bull and Raging Bull is next to Demon and Demon goes up right close to X Flight, ect, ect.
Just like Thorpe a lot of the rides are very packed in to the space and walking around is fairly easy with that in mind.
 
Goliath:

 
Goliath is the park's groundup RMC woodie and despite not being anywhere near the level of Steel Vengeance the ride is pretty insane.
The ride's first drop is certainly the highlight with a very steep angle and the signature ejector RMC's are known for.
Other than the drop the ride has one more airtime moment before the dive loop which also gives great ejector.
 
On the inversion front the dive loop is good fun and the zero g stall is orgasmic.
Sadly the ride is kinda neutered by its shortness but I would still rank it in my top 10 because it still kicks ass.
 
I think if this thing was longer and had more airtime I would like it more, though Zadra will probably show us what a longer Goliath would ride like anyway.
Overall my favourite ride in the park but its short length makes it worse than New Texas Giant and Steel Vengeance IMO.
 
V2:
I have to admit I really was a fan of Wicked Twister, I really enjoyed the powerful launches and the spikes were brilliant fun.
Vertical Velocity managed to wow me even more due to one of the spikes actually being just plain straight which gave the ride a brilliant drop if you were in the back!
 
The ride like Wicked Twister is just a lot of fun and not anything mind-blowing, but V2's tight footprint and fun launches give it a pretty pivotal position in the Great America lineup.
 
 
The Joker:

 
S&S Freespins.. A incredibly divisive coaster model that due to the mass cloning seems to be fairly disliked,
people seem to hate these things and honestly I don't know why.
 
I loved The Joker, I actually preferred it over a B&M Hyper, don't @ me..
Why do I like this ride and model? Let me explain.
 
The Joker is a incredibly unpredictable and re-ridable coaster that always left me wanting to get back in line for.
Its a short ride but it packs a punch and you never quite know how your cycle is going to treat you, it might be a fairly tame cycle or you might get brutally spun for the duration, you never know.
I know some people hate this coaster because of this but I liked it, I thought it made the coaster more re-ridable as every ride is vastly different from the other.
 
When the ride does give you brutal cycles its utter insanity, heck this is the only coaster that me feel flat out scream, you feel so out of control on this thing.
I think for its footprint The Joker is brilliant for this park and I would love this ride at a park like Thorpe Park.
 
 
 
Batman: (no pics cos idgaf)
Batman at Great America is the first of the Batman clones (and the first invert)  and overall its a fun ride.
I certainly prefer Raptor and Nemesis but its a solid invert with good intensity.
 
The one thing that made me a little annoyed with this ride was pi** poor operations and stacking which made my Europa Fanboy heart break.
Despite the Six Flags operations the ride was a solid invert that blows Inferno out of the water.
 
 
American Eagle:
American Eagle is the parks huge racing woodie built by Intamin. The ride overall was incredibly fun though it certainly shows its age.
The ride has some brilliant airtime moments and a brutal turn-around, overall I found the bunny hills toward the end to be a particular highlight.
The operations on this ride were honestly pretty shocking to be honest though- lengthy stacking, only one side operating for most of the 3 days despite a lengthy queue!
Sure Gemini only runs one side a lot of the time but Gemini never had a queue and its throughput is still pretty great with just one side.
The queue with one side operating on American Eagle was literally painful to watch.. 
 
Overall a great classic woodie though I would like GCI to perhaps re-track some of this ride as it certainly shows its age! 
I would also like Six Flags to be less like Six Flags.
 
 
Viper:

 
Viper.. Despite a unoriginal layout, what a brilliant wooden coaster.
This ride is just plain fun with great airtime and overall just a complete classic that certainly stills remains a gem in the lineup.
The ride is rough enough to have character but is smooth enough to be enjoyable, it really is what a wooden coaster should be.
Unlike other rides in the park Viper had a really good crew running it and the theming was also pretty decent for Six Flags.
Overall a complete classic that deserves to stay in the park for years to come.
 
Raging Bull:

 
I wasn't expecting much going in, what I got was booooorrrrrinnnnnng.
If you think Silver Star isn't all that great you'll fall asleep on Raging Bull, Silver Star at least has a great second half and is actually interesting!
Raging Bull is nicknamed by many as 'Raging Dull' and honestly it lives up to the name, the ride is just a bunch of forceless turns with a few airtime moments that give no airtime.
I actually prefer Titan at Six Flags Over Texas, that ride was kinda boring but the helixes after the mid course made me grey out every time, Raging Bull was literally forceless.
 
Don't get me wrong this isn't a bad coaster, but its certainly one of the worst if not the worst B&M Hyper.
I get why it has a twister layout due to space but they could at least could of made this more.. Interesting?
On the upside the crew on this were hauling with operations, they ran two trains and managed to dispatch trains before the other train even made it to the final breaks! That is pretty amazing for Six Flags! 
 
Dark Knight:
Dark Knight is a pretty fun enclosed wild mouse, It certainly doesn't have the most intricate theme, but its fine.
Nothing less, nothing more. I think having a indoor coaster is good for the park though.
 
Superman:
This ride was kind of a tragedy to me. Let me explain.
Superman is a great B&M flyer that completely blows Air out of the water, easily one of the top rides at the park and something you'll wanna ride a fair amount.
 
Then you remember this is Six Flags. It takes YEARS for trains to dispatch (like 4 minute+) and this ride team seemed especially unmotivated and miserable.
What could of been a 10 minute queue was 30 minutes, and the staff seemed about as cheerful as someone at funeral.
 
Its a shame cos Superman is probably my favourite B&M at the park and maybe even the best B&M of the trip.
It really sucks that the operations are god awful and so dreary, hopefully the team in other years are nowhere near as bad as this years.
Sure a bit of stacking would be okay as flying coasters aren't the easiest rides to load but Superman was just stupid with stacking trains on sitting on the brake run for what seems like eternity.
 
Overall an amazing B&M ruined by really depressing operations. That pretzel loop is sexy though.
 
 
 
Demon
Demon was a fun arrow coaster, I probably wouldn't rank it above Corkscrew though due to Corkscrew's really fun airtime hill.
Unlike Corkscrew, Demon had some cool theming throughout its layout and it interacts with X Flight towards the end which is cool.
All in all, a fun ride but nothing to shout at.
 
Whizzer

 
Whizzer was a fun family coaster but I wouldn't say its anything to scream about.
Its got a cool lift hill and a fun tree hugging layout, like for a family coaster its cool.
The operations were truly awful though- stacking was nearly as bad as Superman and it made a 5 minute queue at Europa into a 40 minute queue as staff just stood like statues in the station.
 
Not the best Schwarzkopf (Shockwave is the sh**), though Whizzer is a fun family coaster.
 
X Flight
 

 
X flight as a whole just reminds me of Swarm.
They both have a similar-ish layout, similar stats, and just overall I would rank them about the same.
X flight feels a smidge bit longer and the layout doesn't have that awkward turn around like Swarm does so I think I give X Flight a slight lead, though honestly they are about the same in my rankings.
If you have ridden Swarm you know its a very graceful ride (perhaps a little too graceful) and the ride overall is all about the wing sensation, these wing coasters aren't really built for high forces or crazy elements.
 
Overall X Flight pretty much rode how I thought it would, its a fine coaster and its something different in the lineup.
 
 

 
 
Operations:
After such great operations at Cedar Point and Europa I think Six Flags was a bit of a shock. Cedar Point and Europa are incredibly efficient with operations and Six Flags Great America just weren't.. These ops were probably the second worst I have ever seen at a major park, only behind Portaventura. If you haven't guessed from this review, I value operations quite high when I visit parks so this kinda got on my nerves.
 
 
Overall: 
Six Flags Great America overall is a park with a great lineup of coasters (especially now they have Maxx Force) which is certainly a fun time for credit whores.
I do think when it comes to operations and beauty Great America really is very lacking which means this park is really about the rides and nothing else.
On the upside the food is pretty decent and Six Flags is pretty reasonably priced, so in terms of cost its a pretty good deal.
 
I think Great America is a park that you should do at least once if you have the opportunity, I don't think its a park I would visit again unless they added another big coaster but its a good park nevertheless. I'm certainly not itching to go back like Cedar Point but its certainly a good park.
 
Anyway hope you enjoyed,
peace.
 
 
 
 

The second day of our USA trip took us to Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey, my first Six Flags park.  Having heard a lot about the park over the years I was expecting El Toro and Kingda Ka to be the stand-out rides, but wasn’t expecting too much in terms of overall park presentation and operations.
 
As it turns out, the park was presented very well for the most part with a nice plaza (past the entrance), lots of greenery with some moderate theming and there was a viewpoint looking across to El Toro with Kingda Ka in the background which was absolutely stunning.  I would say that some of the more recent coasters felt shoehorned in and that perhaps the park doesn’t put the same level of quality into their more recent attractions in comparison with some of the older ones.
 
The park was fairly quiet on our visit with fantastic operations for the most part which surprised me.  All coasters were running two/three trains, staff on Bizarro were literally giving people seconds to enter through the gates before closing them and rushing the trains out even with a 5-minute queue.
 
Now, onto the ride reviews;
 
Kingda Ka
This ride has been on my bucket list since becoming an enthusiast, purely for the fact that it’s the world’s tallest roller coaster.  I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of how it would differ to something like Stealth, but in my opinion it was incredible.  The launch was strange as it felt like it was broken up into phases.  It launched to a speed, then stayed consistent before having one final burst just before you reach the end of the launch track; it was unexpected and surprised me a lot the first time.
 
In terms of the height and speed, it was everything I expected really and justifies being short through how impressive it is (a merit I can’t give to something like Stealth or Rita, for example).
 
Overall a very good coaster, I did prefer Top Thrill Dragster (it’s worth mentioning that I hadn’t ridden Top Thrill at this point in the trip) but Kingda Ka is still fantastic.
 
Zumanjari: Drop of Doom
Possibly the best single drop tower I’ve ridden, it was quite unnerving being attached to the side of a coaster and it felt as though it just kept going and going, as I was thinking “we must be about to hit the brakes” it just kept dropping.
 
It is a bit of a farce that it affects Kingda Ka’s operations, though.
 
El Toro
One of my most anticipated coasters due to the promise of insane levels of airtime and yes, it delivers.  The first three hills are absolutely MENTAL.
 
The ride delivers incredible airtime, the turns have force and whilst there are some tamer sections, they feel needed before the next moment of crazy airtime/fast paced turns.
 
One particular hill dropping into the ground level turns provided crazy levels of unexpected airtime, the coaster then meanders its way into the brakes at the end.
 
Overall, I really liked El Toro but I didn’t enjoy it as much as most people seem to.  It suffers from the same issue I have with Balder, which is that it doesn’t feel like a natural wooden coaster.  The turns don’t flow with the hills in the same way that a GCI does, for example, and it feels very much a case of “airtime, airtime, airtime, turn, airtime”.  With that said, there’s no question that it has some of the best airtime around and is overall a very good coaster.
 
I found it strange how the ride had obviously been fitted in around Rolling Thunder, only to remove that ride a few years later.  There are random gaps in the supports (and even a part where track from RT remains in place!) – weird.
 
Bizarro
A very good, solid B&M multi-inversion coaster.  It wasn’t a stand-out ride for me but did everything it needed to; the fire effects added a lot too as you could actually feel the heat from them.
 
Runaway Mine Train
I mean, it’s Arrow, so it’s already a winner in my books.
 
Of course, it had strange transitions, funny square turns, but it was good fun and there was one airtime hill which came from out of nowhere which nearly ejected us into the lake below!
 
Skull Mountain
A family coaster in the dark except that there were gaps in the building and a weird coloured laser.  The queue line and station were well themed, the ride not so much.
 
Nitro
I’m not sure what to say about this really, it was my first experience of a B&M hyper coaster and whilst I enjoyed the ride, it wasn’t a stand-out for me.
 
Everyone raves about the floaty-airtime on these but we didn’t really get that with Nitro, there was some airtime but I was in the seat going over the top of most hills, the ride lacked character and whilst there was some force in the dips, it just felt like a standard smooth B&M coaster but on a larger scale.
 
Not a bad ride by any means, but I’d take the charm and rattle of an Arrow hyper over this any day.
 
Batman: The Ride
WOW.  This ride absolutely blew me away, the force and combination of elements in the layout was fantastic, the “pullover” of some of the corkscrews in the back few rows was just insane.
 
It’s just proper old school B&M, an incredible ride.
 
The Dark Knight Coaster
I really enjoyed this, standard layout but the theming and effects made it something special IMO.
 
Superman: Ultimate Flight
Dull and boring but the signature inversion was good.  Better than Air.
 
Green Lantern
Amazing layout with some different elements to most B&M coasters, awful stand-up trains ruined it.  Ouch.
 
The Joker
Yuck, yuck and more yuck.  I’m not sure why people like these but it felt as though I’d been put in a blender.  Disgusting coaster, the only jokers are the people who decided to build it.
 
The log flume and rapids were good fun and we ended up soaked, the park also had some decent flats and a good Marvel themed dark ride… definitely worth making time for if you’re there.
 
Overall Six Flags Great Adventure exceeded my expectations massively in terms of park presentation and operations.  The coasters were excellent for the most part, the park had a good atmosphere and I’d definitely return if I did another America trip in the future that covered that area.

Ever since I was young I always have dreamed of visiting Cedar Point.
Sure it doesn't have as many coasters as Magic Mountain but I feel like Cedar Point has undeniably the better lineup in terms of quality over quantity.
The park also a lot more history than Magic Mountain and is very popular with enthusiasts from around the planet.
Very recently I had the pleasure of visiting for 4 days from Chicago which is a trip I will never forget.
 
Anyway I'm gonna start off reviewing the coasters as that is really what Cedar Point is known for.
 
Blue Streak:
(View of Valravn while in line for Blue Streak)

 
After entering the park it rained heavily resulting to many rides being down.
One of the rides that was open and near the front was Blue Streak, the parks classic out and back woodie.
The ride pleasantly surprised me with its fairly smooth ride experience with some great airtime moments. 
The ride isn’t too long in length but it’s a fun ride that families and enthusiasts will enjoy.
 
I would certainly compare this to something like Big Dipper at BPB, classic but very fun.
It never really gets much of a queue too so its pretty easy to get a bunch of rides on this thing.
 
Rougarou:
(Taken on another day hence the sun)

 
After Blue Streak I was pretty set on doing Raptor/Valravn but getting on either of them was a futile effort.. After realising this I walked over to around Millenium Force to see Rougarou, completely walk on.
I literally walked right into the station and right onto the train which was midway through loading, it was crazy!
 
My overall thoughts of the ride is that it’s pretty good!
It’s nowhere near as painful as Dragons Khan and I really enjoy the more twisty approach the layout of the ride has instead of inversion after inversion.
The ride certainly has a rattle but by no means is it rough!
I wouldn’t say it’s extraordinary but I think this ride gets a bit of a bad rep. It’s not top 5 for Cedar Point by any means, but it’s fun.
 
The ride like Blue Streak seems to never get much of a queue even on the busiest days which means you get a ton of rides in!
 
 
Millennium Force:

Millennium Force is one of the most decisive rides in the world.
It has some hardcore fans, it has its naysayers, and it also has people somewhere in between.
 
After a 10-20 minute queue through the rain I finally got on this iconic coaster,
And.. This a complicated one to talk about.
 
So I like Millennium  Force- it’s fast, smooth as butter, has a great drop and some decent floater airtime.
The problem with Millennium is that it only really has three proper airtime moments so don’t expect Shambhala levels of air here..
It’s not too forceful either, it’s all about just gliding through the long course gracefully with a bit of airtime chucked in.
 
Millennium Force I think fits the “jack of all trades, master of none” phrase. It doesn’t really do anything the BEST in the park but its still a very good coaster.
Don't expect Maverick style intensity or Shambhala levels of floater air, everything after the drop is just fun and not exceptional.
I think in a way Millennium Force being on the tamer side is a good thing,
especially when Maverick and Steel Vengeance are in the exact same park.
 
On another note the restraints on this thing are pretty neat and leave you feeling pretty exposed,
they are a little nutty for us guys though.. Rip future children..
 
 
Gemini:

After walking up to Steel Vengeance and seeing it broken down I decided to ride one of the parks five arrow coasters.
 
Now Gemini is probably the most odd coaster at Cedar Point.
A modestly tall hybrid coaster that duels (but only duels every blue moon)? Yep!
Despite its weirdness I actually quite enjoyed this coaster. It’s not the best layout but the coaster has some airtime and overall it’s a really classic ride.
The ride certainly isn't the most intense thing ever made but it has more airtime than Millennium Force in most rows so its cool.
 
Fun fact: The Blue side actually was my 100th credit!
I also got stuck on my second ride on the red side! The train stopped on the MCBR which caused a 5 minute delay.
Luckily I got a free line skip from this so I got another ride on Maverick!
 
 
Steel Vengeance:
When I saw the announcement for this ride a couple of years ago I said this thing would kick ass.. And holy crap..

 
I had very high expectations for this coaster, like stupid high. I would be disappointed if this wasn’t my favourite coaster! 
So after a fairly decent wait I got into the funky looking trains and the rest was history..
 
Steel Vengeance is unbelievable,
There is airtime before the lift hill, airtime on every hill, airtime where you wouldn’t expect airtime to be. This coaster has so much airtime it probably has more of it than every UK coaster combined! It’s stupid. 
The ride just feels relentless, even the mid course doesn’t really do anything to stop the insanity which is this coaster..
 
Layout wise the first half is more focused on large scale elements while the second half of the ride stays very low to the ground and uses the ride structure to create some headchoppers.
 
On my first ride I was hysterically laughing throughout the entire thing, how could a coaster be so relentlessly fun? Every hill delivers so much airtime and every element keeps you interested.
This coaster's layout is pure perfection, it just ticks all the boxes for everything that you could ever want in a coaster.
 
Now a few people have complained about the restraints and honestly I can understand how it would hurt.
Being around 5’7 and fairly slim I found no issue with the restraints but I can imagine that it could be not ideal for those who are taller or larger.
Besides that I think Steel Vengeance is actually flawless. It’s got a kickass layout with the BEST airtime of any ride I have ever experienced by miles, great inversions, a long length, and headchoppers to boot.
 
Easily my favourite coaster I have ever ridden,
Steel Vengeance is a MUST ride for any enthusiast.
 
Magnum XL H20:
So my only other experience with a arrow hyper is The Big One..
 
*sad violin music*
 
Going into magnum I wasn’t expecting much considering how boring and painful Big One is, fortunately Magnum exceeded my expectations
Magnum is really everything Big One could of been!
 
Fun, full of ejector moments, and just overall a enjoyable experience!
The ride has one hill or so at the start that doesn’t deliver much but every other hill throws you out pretty brutally which is good for those who like a bit of ejector air.
Sure its not the smoothest ride on the planet but the ride gives so much airtime I didn't really care.
 
Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the ride due to its remote location.
Due to being fairly out of the way from the park the ride never really gets much of a queue either which is great if you wanna lap this thing!
 
Due to the torrential rain the ride was temporarily introduced as “Magnum XL H20” which was very fitting when the tunnels were dripping with water! This made for a cool unintentional water effect.
 
 
Maverick:

 
Maverick is the ride that managed to completely change my mind on a manufacturer, Intamin.
 
My previous experiences with Intamin had been rides such as Colossus (why?), Furius Baco (just no), Rita (just burn it).
My only good experience with this company is probably Red Force or Stealth and both of those rides aren’t really anything to write home about.
 
Maverick definitely has opened my eyes to the potential of Intamin, this coaster is nothing short of spectacular.
First off the queue and ride itself is probably the prettiest the park has to offer. The queue for this ride is also mostly in the shade which is good on a hot day/rainy day. 
Once on ride Maverick is a pretty intense coaster that has the best banked turns I’ve experienced and a few airtime moments that are absolutely fab, not forgetting a brilliant first drop and second launch.
The ride like SV is relentless, crazy element after crazy element. The airtime moments are full on ejector like SV too.
 
Unlike other Intamin coasters Maverick utilises the new soft vest restraints which make the ride experience much more comfortable. I really wish rides like Rita got these as it would make the ride much more tolerable.
 
The more I rode Maverick the more I questioned if this was my favourite coaster. In the end I decided I prefer Steel Vengeance but only barely.
After riding Maverick I can see why American enthusiasts love to suck the **** of Intamin so much.
Brilliant coaster.
 
Gatekeeper:

 
Now I’ll admit that I don’t like Swarm.
It’s kinda short and force less, don’t get the love for it.
Gatekeeper overall is really just a much bigger and better version of Swarm (take away the theming).
I like it more than Swarm, it’s definitely a good coaster, but not my thing.
 
Like the wing over drop is great and the coaster has that cool inversion over the park entrance which is cool.
But still when it comes to forces and the fairly tight B&M vests it’s just kinda okay in my books.
Overall I think B&M wings are just not my thing in general, they are too forceless for my taste, though Gatekeeper is currently my favourite one.
 
I'm also not a fan of the ending of this ride, like that helix? Why? Other than that section the layout is actually pretty decent, I especially like the dive loop.
Raptor:

 
Raptor is a pretty hard one for me to rank.
I enjoyed the overall forcefulness of it but I wasn’t a fan of cobra roll and some of the other transitions which made me think it hasn't perhaps aged all that well.
I feel like Nemesis overall has aged and rides a lot better than Raptor, Nemesis in comparison is pretty butter smooth.
Despite it being a little brutal the ride has some great moments like a really forceful zero g roll and an incredible helix which is my favourite moment on any invert, period.
 
If the cobra roll and transition the brakes were smoother I probably would rank this ride above Nemesis,
though sadly these transitions really held the ride back for me.
 
I would rank Raptor as a lot better than Batman and Inferno but I would say just a little behind Nemesis due to its roughness.
On another note the ride didn't get too much of a queue which made re-rides easy!
 
Valravn:

 
My only other dive coaster is Oblivion so this has to be better than that right?
Well, barely?
 
Valravn has all the right stats and a pretty great layout, though the ride itself is highly underwhelming.
 
I think the rides awful restraints play a role.
There is a time and a place for B&M vests, dive coasters are just not made to have these things.
The restraint neuters the main appeal of the ride (the drop)!
Even worse the station only loads one train at a time which makes the throughput seem like a lot less than Oblivion..
 
I think Sheikra and Griffon will ride way better than this, the restraints really hold this ride back and prevent you from really feeling any of the drops.
 
To clarify,
Not a bad ride.
Just could be so much better!
On another note, Valravn’s last inversion is incredibly fun!
 
Iron Dragon:

 
Another one of the many arrows this park has in its lineup, Iron Dragon is certainly more of a scenic ride than anything and that’s a good thing in a park like Cedar Point.
 
I found the ride to be pretty good for it’s age and the ride looks brilliant!
I would probably rank Vampire above it due to the new trains and more intense ride experience but Iron Dragon is certainly much more scenic.
 
Sure its very tame but I think this ride has its place in the park and it doesn't seem to take up too much space.
 
 
Top Thrill Dragster:

 
“What the fu** am I doing?”- My exact words when waiting for the launch in the front row on my first ride.
Top Thrill Dragster is my first strata coaster, and holy crap did it deliver.
 
Dragster is a massive one trick pony but when it does that trick so damn well, I can’t complain.
The launch is incredibly intense and smooth (unlike Red Force) and the ride has a decent throughput for its ride type.
The staff are very good with the dual loading which makes the queue a little more bearable.
 
The rides launch is incredibly forceful like Stealth’s but isn’t rough like Red Forces and the ride has a very comfortable lap bar which leaves you feeling pretty exposed!
Overall Top Thrill Dragster only has one trick up its sleeve but that trick is executed perfectly which makes it my third favourite in the park.
 
The only really downside to this ride is the downtime. Though with its hydraulic launch that is to be expected.
I also found the queue-line to be a little unbearable on the sunny days due to it being COMPLETELY exposed with no shade whatsoever.
 
Cedar Creek Mine Ride:
Cedar Creek kinda falls into a similar category as Iron Dragon; very pretty and lovely views but by no means anything worth shouting about.
Its a fun mine train that is better than El Diablo but by no means it is something I rode more than once (hence no pictures of it).
 
I think in the future this ride might be removed for a new coaster due to its fairly large footprint, the ride also doesn't seem too popular with the public anyways.
Overall a classic ride but I see it biting the dust somewhat soon due to its fair sized footprint and its fairly low popularity.
 
 
Wicked Twister:
If placed at most other parks this ride would be one of the signature attractions, though at Cedar Point this ride kinda gets overlooked.
 
Wicked Twister is the tallest inverted coaster in operation (not even joking) and is a incredibly fun impulse coaster.
It’s not MaverBae or SteelVengBae but it’s a great coaster with forceful and fun launches.
I do prefer V2 at Six Flags Great America (spoilers) but Wicked Twister was still a great coaster! I really enjoy the twisting spikes and sheer height of this thing, its just a fun time.
 
I was surprised how this thing never got a line tbh, I think it really speaks about just how the packed the Cedar Point lineup is.
 
 
Corkscrew:

 
I didn't ride Corkscrew until Day 3 and going in I was expecting to be in pain and bored.
This was surprisingly quite fun, not the best coaster but it was enjoyable.
 
I preferred this over Demon actually, the airtime hill after the drop caught me off guard, that element actually gives good airtime!
The ride overall I found to be pretty smooth for a arrow looper and overall quite fun.
 
This ride also looks really really pretty on the midway!
 

 
Operations:
Cedar Point overall had pretty great operations. 3 trains on all B&M's, well done dual loading stations on Maverick and TTD, 2-3 trains on Steel Veng, overall very solid.
Stacking did occur but operations were still pretty great considering the amount of trains they ran.
Its no Europa but probably the second best operations I have experienced, very good!
 
I really enjoyed the running commentary some of the staff gave while in the queue, it was something very different to the UK.
For example while in line for Magnum while waiting for the train to come back one of the staff had a microphone and was listing some of the stats and started quizzing the queue on the rides history. I found this really cool and it made the queue much more fun.
 
This also happened on rides like Blue Streak and Gemini and seemed to really mostly happen on the quieter days.
I have to say props to the staff running the rides for doing things like that as it made the short wait feel even less like a wait at all.
 
I think as a whole Cedar Point delivered really good operations but its certainly not as good as Europa. But that is a hard act to follow.
 

 
 
Conclusion:
Cedar Point is a park with good operations and one of the best if not the best coaster lineup on this planet.
Its not surprise why enthusiasts worship this place and I think every enthusiast should visit this park in their lifetime.
 
I think I still prefer Europa Park in terms of the full package (food, atmosphere, theming, ect) but Cedar Point is easily my second favourite.
 
I hope you enjoyed this review,
Six Flags Great America next.
 

 

 
 

 
(so much airtime I can barely open my eyes!)
 
 

 

 
 

Ever since I was young I always have dreamed of visiting Cedar Point.
Sure it doesn't have as many coasters as Magic Mountain but I feel like Cedar Point has undeniably the better lineup in terms of quality over quantity.
The park also a lot more history than Magic Mountain and is very popular with enthusiasts from around the planet.
Very recently I had the pleasure of visiting for 4 days from Chicago which is a trip I will never forget.
 
Anyway I'm gonna start off reviewing the coasters as that is really what Cedar Point is known for.
 
Blue Streak:
(View of Valravn while in line for Blue Streak)

 
After entering the park it rained heavily resulting to many rides being down.
One of the rides that was open and near the front was Blue Streak, the parks classic out and back woodie.
The ride pleasantly surprised me with its fairly smooth ride experience with some great airtime moments. 
The ride isn’t too long in length but it’s a fun ride that families and enthusiasts will enjoy.
 
I would certainly compare this to something like Big Dipper at BPB, classic but very fun.
It never really gets much of a queue too so its pretty easy to get a bunch of rides on this thing.
 
Rougarou:
(Taken on another day hence the sun)

 
After Blue Streak I was pretty set on doing Raptor/Valravn but getting on either of them was a futile effort.. After realising this I walked over to around Millenium Force to see Rougarou, completely walk on.
I literally walked right into the station and right onto the train which was midway through loading, it was crazy!
 
My overall thoughts of the ride is that it’s pretty good!
It’s nowhere near as painful as Dragons Khan and I really enjoy the more twisty approach the layout of the ride has instead of inversion after inversion.
The ride certainly has a rattle but by no means is it rough!
I wouldn’t say it’s extraordinary but I think this ride gets a bit of a bad rep. It’s not top 5 for Cedar Point by any means, but it’s fun.
 
The ride like Blue Streak seems to never get much of a queue even on the busiest days which means you get a ton of rides in!
 
 
Millennium Force:

Millennium Force is one of the most decisive rides in the world.
It has some hardcore fans, it has its naysayers, and it also has people somewhere in between.
 
After a 10-20 minute queue through the rain I finally got on this iconic coaster,
And.. This a complicated one to talk about.
 
So I like Millennium  Force- it’s fast, smooth as butter, has a great drop and some decent floater airtime.
The problem with Millennium is that it only really has three proper airtime moments so don’t expect Shambhala levels of air here..
It’s not too forceful either, it’s all about just gliding through the long course gracefully with a bit of airtime chucked in.
 
Millennium Force I think fits the “jack of all trades, master of none” phrase. It doesn’t really do anything the BEST in the park but its still a very good coaster.
Don't expect Maverick style intensity or Shambhala levels of floater air, everything after the drop is just fun and not exceptional.
I think in a way Millennium Force being on the tamer side is a good thing,
especially when Maverick and Steel Vengeance are in the exact same park.
 
On another note the restraints on this thing are pretty neat and leave you feeling pretty exposed,
they are a little nutty for us guys though.. Rip future children..
 
 
Gemini:

After walking up to Steel Vengeance and seeing it broken down I decided to ride one of the parks five arrow coasters.
 
Now Gemini is probably the most odd coaster at Cedar Point.
A modestly tall hybrid coaster that duels (but only duels every blue moon)? Yep!
Despite its weirdness I actually quite enjoyed this coaster. It’s not the best layout but the coaster has some airtime and overall it’s a really classic ride.
The ride certainly isn't the most intense thing ever made but it has more airtime than Millennium Force in most rows so its cool.
 
Fun fact: The Blue side actually was my 100th credit!
I also got stuck on my second ride on the red side! The train stopped on the MCBR which caused a 5 minute delay.
Luckily I got a free line skip from this so I got another ride on Maverick!
 
 
Steel Vengeance:
When I saw the announcement for this ride a couple of years ago I said this thing would kick ass.. And holy crap..

 
I had very high expectations for this coaster, like stupid high. I would be disappointed if this wasn’t my favourite coaster! 
So after a fairly decent wait I got into the funky looking trains and the rest was history..
 
Steel Vengeance is unbelievable,
There is airtime before the lift hill, airtime on every hill, airtime where you wouldn’t expect airtime to be. This coaster has so much airtime it probably has more of it than every UK coaster combined! It’s stupid. 
The ride just feels relentless, even the mid course doesn’t really do anything to stop the insanity which is this coaster..
 
Layout wise the first half is more focused on large scale elements while the second half of the ride stays very low to the ground and uses the ride structure to create some headchoppers.
 
On my first ride I was hysterically laughing throughout the entire thing, how could a coaster be so relentlessly fun? Every hill delivers so much airtime and every element keeps you interested.
This coaster's layout is pure perfection, it just ticks all the boxes for everything that you could ever want in a coaster.
 
Now a few people have complained about the restraints and honestly I can understand how it would hurt.
Being around 5’7 and fairly slim I found no issue with the restraints but I can imagine that it could be not ideal for those who are taller or larger.
Besides that I think Steel Vengeance is actually flawless. It’s got a kickass layout with the BEST airtime of any ride I have ever experienced by miles, great inversions, a long length, and headchoppers to boot.
 
Easily my favourite coaster I have ever ridden,
Steel Vengeance is a MUST ride for any enthusiast.
 
Magnum XL H20:
So my only other experience with a arrow hyper is The Big One..
 
*sad violin music*
 
Going into magnum I wasn’t expecting much considering how boring and painful Big One is, fortunately Magnum exceeded my expectations
Magnum is really everything Big One could of been!
 
Fun, full of ejector moments, and just overall a enjoyable experience!
The ride has one hill or so at the start that doesn’t deliver much but every other hill throws you out pretty brutally which is good for those who like a bit of ejector air.
Sure its not the smoothest ride on the planet but the ride gives so much airtime I didn't really care.
 
Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the ride due to its remote location.
Due to being fairly out of the way from the park the ride never really gets much of a queue either which is great if you wanna lap this thing!
 
Due to the torrential rain the ride was temporarily introduced as “Magnum XL H20” which was very fitting when the tunnels were dripping with water! This made for a cool unintentional water effect.
 
 
Maverick:

 
Maverick is the ride that managed to completely change my mind on a manufacturer, Intamin.
 
My previous experiences with Intamin had been rides such as Colossus (why?), Furius Baco (just no), Rita (just burn it).
My only good experience with this company is probably Red Force or Stealth and both of those rides aren’t really anything to write home about.
 
Maverick definitely has opened my eyes to the potential of Intamin, this coaster is nothing short of spectacular.
First off the queue and ride itself is probably the prettiest the park has to offer. The queue for this ride is also mostly in the shade which is good on a hot day/rainy day. 
Once on ride Maverick is a pretty intense coaster that has the best banked turns I’ve experienced and a few airtime moments that are absolutely fab, not forgetting a brilliant first drop and second launch.
The ride like SV is relentless, crazy element after crazy element. The airtime moments are full on ejector like SV too.
 
Unlike other Intamin coasters Maverick utilises the new soft vest restraints which make the ride experience much more comfortable. I really wish rides like Rita got these as it would make the ride much more tolerable.
 
The more I rode Maverick the more I questioned if this was my favourite coaster. In the end I decided I prefer Steel Vengeance but only barely.
After riding Maverick I can see why American enthusiasts love to suck the **** of Intamin so much.
Brilliant coaster.
 
Gatekeeper:

 
Now I’ll admit that I don’t like Swarm.
It’s kinda short and force less, don’t get the love for it.
Gatekeeper overall is really just a much bigger and better version of Swarm (take away the theming).
I like it more than Swarm, it’s definitely a good coaster, but not my thing.
 
Like the wing over drop is great and the coaster has that cool inversion over the park entrance which is cool.
But still when it comes to forces and the fairly tight B&M vests it’s just kinda okay in my books.
Overall I think B&M wings are just not my thing in general, they are too forceless for my taste, though Gatekeeper is currently my favourite one.
 
I'm also not a fan of the ending of this ride, like that helix? Why? Other than that section the layout is actually pretty decent, I especially like the dive loop.
Raptor:

 
Raptor is a pretty hard one for me to rank.
I enjoyed the overall forcefulness of it but I wasn’t a fan of cobra roll and some of the other transitions which made me think it hasn't perhaps aged all that well.
I feel like Nemesis overall has aged and rides a lot better than Raptor, Nemesis in comparison is pretty butter smooth.
Despite it being a little brutal the ride has some great moments like a really forceful zero g roll and an incredible helix which is my favourite moment on any invert, period.
 
If the cobra roll and transition the brakes were smoother I probably would rank this ride above Nemesis,
though sadly these transitions really held the ride back for me.
 
I would rank Raptor as a lot better than Batman and Inferno but I would say just a little behind Nemesis due to its roughness.
On another note the ride didn't get too much of a queue which made re-rides easy!
 
Valravn:

 
My only other dive coaster is Oblivion so this has to be better than that right?
Well, barely?
 
Valravn has all the right stats and a pretty great layout, though the ride itself is highly underwhelming.
 
I think the rides awful restraints play a role.
There is a time and a place for B&M vests, dive coasters are just not made to have these things.
The restraint neuters the main appeal of the ride (the drop)!
Even worse the station only loads one train at a time which makes the throughput seem like a lot less than Oblivion..
 
I think Sheikra and Griffon will ride way better than this, the restraints really hold this ride back and prevent you from really feeling any of the drops.
 
To clarify,
Not a bad ride.
Just could be so much better!
On another note, Valravn’s last inversion is incredibly fun!
 
Iron Dragon:

 
Another one of the many arrows this park has in its lineup, Iron Dragon is certainly more of a scenic ride than anything and that’s a good thing in a park like Cedar Point.
 
I found the ride to be pretty good for it’s age and the ride looks brilliant!
I would probably rank Vampire above it due to the new trains and more intense ride experience but Iron Dragon is certainly much more scenic.
 
Sure its very tame but I think this ride has its place in the park and it doesn't seem to take up too much space.
 
 
Top Thrill Dragster:

 
“What the fu** am I doing?”- My exact words when waiting for the launch in the front row on my first ride.
Top Thrill Dragster is my first strata coaster, and holy crap did it deliver.
 
Dragster is a massive one trick pony but when it does that trick so damn well, I can’t complain.
The launch is incredibly intense and smooth (unlike Red Force) and the ride has a decent throughput for its ride type.
The staff are very good with the dual loading which makes the queue a little more bearable.
 
The rides launch is incredibly forceful like Stealth’s but isn’t rough like Red Forces and the ride has a very comfortable lap bar which leaves you feeling pretty exposed!
Overall Top Thrill Dragster only has one trick up its sleeve but that trick is executed perfectly which makes it my third favourite in the park.
 
The only really downside to this ride is the downtime. Though with its hydraulic launch that is to be expected.
I also found the queue-line to be a little unbearable on the sunny days due to it being COMPLETELY exposed with no shade whatsoever.
 
Cedar Creek Mine Ride:
Cedar Creek kinda falls into a similar category as Iron Dragon; very pretty and lovely views but by no means anything worth shouting about.
Its a fun mine train that is better than El Diablo but by no means it is something I rode more than once (hence no pictures of it).
 
I think in the future this ride might be removed for a new coaster due to its fairly large footprint, the ride also doesn't seem too popular with the public anyways.
Overall a classic ride but I see it biting the dust somewhat soon due to its fair sized footprint and its fairly low popularity.
 
 
Wicked Twister:
If placed at most other parks this ride would be one of the signature attractions, though at Cedar Point this ride kinda gets overlooked.
 
Wicked Twister is the tallest inverted coaster in operation (not even joking) and is a incredibly fun impulse coaster.
It’s not MaverBae or SteelVengBae but it’s a great coaster with forceful and fun launches.
I do prefer V2 at Six Flags Great America (spoilers) but Wicked Twister was still a great coaster! I really enjoy the twisting spikes and sheer height of this thing, its just a fun time.
 
I was surprised how this thing never got a line tbh, I think it really speaks about just how the packed the Cedar Point lineup is.
 
 
Corkscrew:

 
I didn't ride Corkscrew until Day 3 and going in I was expecting to be in pain and bored.
This was surprisingly quite fun, not the best coaster but it was enjoyable.
 
I preferred this over Demon actually, the airtime hill after the drop caught me off guard, that element actually gives good airtime!
The ride overall I found to be pretty smooth for a arrow looper and overall quite fun.
 
This ride also looks really really pretty on the midway!
 

 
Operations:
Cedar Point overall had pretty great operations. 3 trains on all B&M's, well done dual loading stations on Maverick and TTD, 2-3 trains on Steel Veng, overall very solid.
Stacking did occur but operations were still pretty great considering the amount of trains they ran.
Its no Europa but probably the second best operations I have experienced, very good!
 
I really enjoyed the running commentary some of the staff gave while in the queue, it was something very different to the UK.
For example while in line for Magnum while waiting for the train to come back one of the staff had a microphone and was listing some of the stats and started quizzing the queue on the rides history. I found this really cool and it made the queue much more fun.
 
This also happened on rides like Blue Streak and Gemini and seemed to really mostly happen on the quieter days.
I have to say props to the staff running the rides for doing things like that as it made the short wait feel even less like a wait at all.
 
I think as a whole Cedar Point delivered really good operations but its certainly not as good as Europa. But that is a hard act to follow.
 

 
 
Conclusion:
Cedar Point is a park with good operations and one of the best if not the best coaster lineup on this planet.
Its not surprise why enthusiasts worship this place and I think every enthusiast should visit this park in their lifetime.
 
I think I still prefer Europa Park in terms of the full package (food, atmosphere, theming, ect) but Cedar Point is easily my second favourite.
 
I hope you enjoyed this review,
Six Flags Great America next.
 

 

 
 

 
(so much airtime I can barely open my eyes!)
 
 

 

 
 

I have made no secret that Europa Park is my current favourite theme park.
Something about Europa Park just makes it feel like more than a theme park, it feels 'magical' in a way, the feeling that everybody uses to describe Disney (which ironically IMO doesn't reign true)..
Anyway today I'm gonna review and basically talk about every ride and area (bar the kids areas), get your popcorn folks, this will be a long one..
 
Germany:
The opening area of Europa Park is a great introduction to the park.
It doesn't have many rides but its very picturesque and full of flowers and fountains.
The Germany section usually always has street entertainers too which is neat.
 

 
Voletarium
The main attraction in Europa Park's Germany area is their huge flying theatre, Voletarium.
My only other experience of a flying theatre is the one at Ferrari Land so I was pretty excited to compare the two.
I was generally a fan of the one at Ferrari Land but I can safely say this is better.
 
First and foremost the queue-line for this ride is themed so well it made me question if I was even queuing?
The main ride itself is huge and the experience itself felt longer than the one at Ferrari Land.
Overall I think Voletarium fits really well with the huge vault of dark rides that Europa has in its arsenal, overall a great addition which I think is pretty hard to hate.

Italy:
Italy is one of the smaller areas in the park but like Germany it is stupidly pretty.
The main square overall is just aesthetically pleasing and the area has a few fun things to do.
Ghost Castle is a throughput monster that is quirky and very cheesey, overall a very fun  dark ride.
Volo da vinci is a pretty fun and theming in the station is pretty neat.
Piccolo mondo is tiny but is a very cute little dark ride. Very charming.
 
Italy has a few great shows alongside the rides, this year I saw their "Rulantica: The Musical" show.
This show was pretty damn good. Singing was great, props were great, and there was english translation via a big tv for those who don't speak German.
The show was pretty damn long clocking in at 50 minutes! The show felt more like something that should be on the West End than a German theme park.
 
Switzerland:
Switzerland is probably one of my personal favourite areas at the park.
The running stream, the bridge over the water, the narrow alleys, the swiss houses, it looks sooo good.
Matterhorn Blitz is a very fun wild mouse with a awesome elevator lift and a fun first drop.
Swiss Bob Run is probably one of the weakest coasters at the park. I really hope they give this the "Eurosat" treatment soon. The ride itself looks amazing but riding it is kinda.. Eh.
 
France:
France is probably the area you'll spend the most time in due to housing two big coasters and its closeness to the exit.
The area itself is lush like most Europa areas and the main plaza is one of the prettiest parts of the park.
 
Silver Star

 
Silver Star has always been a inconsistent ride for me.
Some rides on it make me think its top 5 worthy, some rides on it make me think its boring as fu**, it depends on the day, the seat, and the gods.
2 of the 3 rides I had on it were pretty great so I would probably rank it favourably, but I think its certainly a ride that depends on the seat and the day.
For now I would say its probably #3 in the park, Wodan and Blue Fire are certainly better IMO.
 
Eurosat: CanCan Coaster
(ignore this bad picture of the exit)..

 
Eurosat before 2018 was always a favourite of mine. It was pretty rough but overall it was a fun coaster.
It was fast, fairly long, and overall was a fun ride.
Due to its age the ride was pretty rough, the brake run and a few of the first turns were in particular very painful and abrupt.
 
Last year Europa decided to refurb Eurosat, and holy fu** they were not kidding.
This isn't a retheme, a retrack, new trains, VR added, new effects, its everything I just mentioned and more.
The queue line and station are completely unrecognisable, a lot of it you wouldn't believe was Eurosat.
The ride itself now has a ton of new theming elements including a effiel tower on the spiral lift hill and a bunch of colourful lights during the main ride.
The ride is also now butter smooth and rides like a B&M, any roughness that was there is now gone.
Eurosat CanCan coaster took what was fun about Eurosat and just ran with it, the whole experience is fab and it makes me wonder what rides will be redone next.
 
Madame Freudenreich
Woah, what was a disgustingly boring mess is now a very fun attraction that is just pure fun.
How the hell did they make such a bad attraction so good? The finale with the birthday was just all too cute for me to handle.
I would now say this is one of the best dark rides out of the 800 dark rides this park has.
 
Greece:
Greece is right next to France and is home to the very picturesque Poseidon.

 

 
Poseidon
Poseidon aesthetically is awesome. Its bunny hop over the rocks, its station, just so lush..
Sadly the first coaster section is pretty uncomfortable and I think needs retracking.
The finale with the drop and the bunny hop remains very fun.
 
Greece also is home to Pegasus which is a very neat family coaster,
you also have the park's shooting dark ride which is always good fun.
 
Russia:
Home to Euromir and the best ride in the park, Russia is a pretty neat (but small) area.

 
Euromir: 
Euromir seems to be a very marmite ride.
You either adore this coaster or you plain think its boring.
 
I think its a great ride to be honest. Sure its got a lot of meandering before the main coaster, but when you do reach the actual coaster it is actually very intense!
If you go backwards for the rides finale then you get a lot of positive G's on the turns.
Euro-Mir I think is easily the #5 or #6 for me at the park- great ride.
Also who doesn't love a good German rave? 
 

 
Also in Russia is the beast, the best, the absolute best ride I have ever ridden..
Go home Fury 325, Steel Vengeance, you have nothing on Snowflake (aka bench) at Europa Park.
My favourite section had to be the drop track and the sea serpent roll.
 
Adventureland (Africa tbh)
This is a pretty nice area with a large lake.
There is a boat style ride that goes around the lake alongside a little raft ride, overall pretty insignificant.
 
 

 

 
Luxembourg:
My rolls are bigger than this area.
 
England:
Really more of a support area.
I think  a RMC themed to brexit would liven things up here.
They do have a few fun flats though and a really good acrobatics show
 

 
Austria:
Austria is towards the back of the park and is home to their log flume and their splendid powered coaster.
Best thing about the area is the world of diamonds.
 
 
Arthur- In the Minimoys Kingdom:
Home to a few flats and obviously Arthur.
Arthur like always is a truly magical coaster and dark ride.
The ride never gets boring, its a utter gem.
I really hope Mack sell more of this ride type, Arthur showcases just how much this ride model can achieve.
 

 
 

 
Spain:
Spains biggest claim to fame is its shows and a few flats.
The stunt show is pretty damn good and kolumbusjolle is a great flat ride.
The area like England is a tad small.
 
Scandanavia:
Sadly this area wasn't finished on my visit at the park though what was finished looked great!
Fjord was still open though and I have to admit that Fjord is awesome, easily my favourite rapids.
 

 
Portugal:
Portugal really only has one ride worth talking about- ass.
Alantica Super Splash is good fun when its hot, probably not as fun as Poseidon but overall its a neat ride.
 
 

 

 
Iceland
Like France this is a area you'll probably spent a lot of time in due to it housing two of the biggest coasters.
Besides the dynamic duo you have Whale Tours which is a fun water ride, but we all know why you go to Iceland..

Wodan 
Wodan remains my favourite in the park.
Wickerman is certainly fun, but Wodan is just absolutely crazy.
It has constant pops of airtime and just feels relentless throughout.
Its easily the most intense ride at the park and never fails to leave me breathless after riding,
 

 

 
Blue Fire
Blue Fire remains the butter smooth coaster with the heartline that makes you its bitch.
I really enjoy the re-rideability of this ride, its one of those coasters you can just ride over and over.
I think it is easily is the second best ride in the park.
 

 
I hope you enjoyed this review despite its length (not as long as Euro Mir's lift hill)
Next review will be Cedar Point!
 

 
 
 
 
 

*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

*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

My second year at Tulleys started off with high hopes following a brilliant event last year. We were fortunate enough that it didn’t rain on our visit however all the queues and plenty of tables are under cover if it had of rained.
 
The whole event was just as immersive as before with street actors being the first to greet you as they roam around the open areas and even lurk in the bushes! 
 
Before you continue, note that this does contain SPOILERS so avoid reading further if you don’t want to know what happens in the mazes.
 
On to the haunt reviews in the order we did them:
 
The Creepy Cottage
We started off with the least scary maze to get us in the mood. It felt similar to last year, had quite a few scares from the actors. The cottage was quite dark and atmospheric in places. Not too scary but the groups were well spaced so we never caught up to another group resulting in good actor interaction. Many of them are chanting gibberish that sounded kind of like Latin which was certainly creepy. Overall a strong Tulleys classic.
 
The Coven of 13
The Witch themed maze was pretty much the same as last year. It starts off with the inflatable laser room with actors hiding below the lasers. I had a good jump scare from at least one here! The outdoor section was creepy but you could still see the actors coming here like last year. The actors in the cottage were targeting more scared people in our group, if you show fear you will certainly be picked on more! Just coming out of the cottage some, I’d say late teenage boys were properly jump scared by an actor who made them scream and run which was hilarious. The final scene with the caged witch was just as impressive. I’d still like to see some more separation in the outdoor sections but the rest I enjoyed.
 
Circus of Horrors
A great show which I’ve never seen before. There was a rather camp Vampire as the host who introduced a range of impressive acts; sword balancing, sword swallowing, fire eating, burning limbo, nose drilling, high ribbon acrobatics, contortion, cutting string out a stomach and more. The show was well paced and not too long. I found it very entertaining and in the end, definitely worthy of Tulleys lineup this year.
 
Twisted Clowns 3D
This maze was one of my top favourites this year. The actors in here are brilliant and highly interactive. Practically everyone in the group was picked out by someone. They’re funny yet sinister, making comments about people coming through. The electronic circus soundtrack and bright UV paint make it such a fun maze too. There are a few funhouse elements such as a shrinking corridor, inflatable corridor and a trommel tunnel. In summary a highly interactive maze.
 
The Chop Shop
I was fearing this maze the most from last year however I feel like it’s been toned down this year. Don’t get me wrong, I still think it’s a brutal maze but last year it was overwhelmingly intense. The lights which used to go off for a few seconds that I found horrible in the narrow corridors has been replaced with a constant, slow strobe. The actors don’t get up in your face with the chainsaws either and aim them lower down. As much as it is a bit of a gimmicky maze, it’s still a horrifying experience that I think I could attempt again now it’s not as insane. The blood stained corridors are endless and you’re constantly looking around corners.

 
The Colony: Dystopia
The epic, extended version of this maze returns stronger than ever this year. Endless fields and pitch black tunnels combined with an army of tribal actors makes this my absolute favourite attraction at Tulleys. There’s a very surreal moment where you leave the fields and enter a completely white container filling with smoke the further in you went. Actors wearing gas masks and bright coloured eyes stopped me and stared directly at me without saying a word. Honestly I thought I was hallucinating at that point and it was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in a scare maze before. In the fields the actors follow you from behind moving in and out of the shadows. There are lookout points, walkthrough huts, campfires, dark tunnels, a catacomb and the end being the narrow chainsaw corridor on the other side of the farm. Even when there are no actors in certain sections, the completely dark and quiet fields and tunnels keeps you on edge making eventual encounters even more frightening. I can’t praise this maze enough, the scale and layout of it is just epic.

 
Horrorwood Haunted Hayride
A special attraction only found at Tulleys, it was very enjoyable. Many scenes remained the same as last year with the highlight being the amazing actors jumping on and off the tractor on the way round. The big effects returned too with plenty of fire, a few air cannons and falling platforms. The only thing I missed from last year were the pole dancing nuns. Still a must do at Tulleys as you get to have a nice sit down ride while the actors come to you.
 
The Cellar: Imprisoned
My other favourite maze at Tulleys has been improved and extended this year. Plenty of animalistic actors jump scare you from hidden corners. A large snake head coming out of the wall at one point was completely unexpected. The new strobed cage maze was brilliant. Very disorientating. Every section of the maze had an actor in there this year.
 
VIXI
Tulleys hooded maze was pretty much the same as last year. The bags completely black out your vision and there is clear instruction from staff before you start. you go through the cold wind to an area where actors sneak up and whisper demonic noises in your ear. You go past some flowing water and then into the flamethrower room. Again you can feel the heat from it every time it goes off. A staff member instructs you to remove the hood at the end so you can remove it yourself. Then you exit, or do you? You go through a meat room with hanging bodies and a cage maze with falling barrels. After getting round the actors here, you exit the maze for good. I’m not a huge fan of hooded mazes but this does have elements for your other senses so it doesn’t feel completely pointless. Personally I just don’t find this type of maze as scary.
 
In conclusion, the event has largely remained up to the same high standard with many improvements made. It was a fun night of entertainment with only just enough time to do everything on offer. Already booked a bounce back to go again!

Liseberg caught my attention in 2014 with the launch of Helix, and has since been very much on my agenda to visit.  With it being my first non-UK park, there were high expectations and I was extremely excited to visit.
 
Firstly, looking at the park itself, it’s absolutely beautiful.  The location in Gothenburg is amazing and I like the fact that many of the rides are built into the hillside, whilst also entwining between each other; it’s very Blackpool-on-a-hill ish.  Helix has a fantastic presence and I really like the way it entwines between Lisebergbanan, the log flume and various other rides.  In turn, Valkyria stands out and the view looking down from the top of the hill is fantastic.
 

 

 
Another thing that struck me was that the park must have a fantastic landscaping team; the gardens were all spotless, as were the buildings, queuelines and surrounding areas.  It really puts UK parks to shame in terms of presentation.
 
 
Unfortunately, I was disappointed with the operations at the park after hearing great things.  Helix runs three trains but has terribly slow dispatch times, it was stacked on all three trains every time I was on the ride and/or watching from elsewhere in the park.  I feel a lot of this is caused by the (unnecessary) seatbelts, as Icon at Blackpool doesn’t really have this problem.  In addition, operations on Valkyria were equally slow with the ride stacking all 3 cars on almost every occasion.
 
On a more positive note, Lisebergbanan is a fantastic queue shifter, as are the Flume Ride and Rapids.  Furthermore, the park was extremely busy on Saturday and Sunday, and I feel the park held together well with minimal breakdowns and generally a well organised feel, even if some of the throughputs were lower than I would have hoped for.
 
Finally, before looking at the rides, catering let the park down massively in my opinion.  The Max burger outlets all had queues out of their pens, meaning we ended up queueing 45 minutes for “fast food” – the other more upmarket options are pricey but the wait times are generally lower.
 
Onto the rides!
 
 
Valkyria
Approaching the ride, it has an intimidating presence with fantastic landscaping allowing you to get really close to the ride’s drop, and a forced-perspective of the ride station at the top of the steps.  The queueline is standard cattle pen for the most part, but there are some theming elements throughout and the theme music plays.
 

 
Inside the station, two faux fire plinths create a fantastic effect, as does a projection of a Valkyrie on the wall at the far end.  The music plays louder in here, and the atmosphere is very dramatic.
 

 

 
Onto the ride itself, the fast lift hill is followed by a wide turn with fantastic views of Gothenburg and the surrounding rides at Liseberg.  You’re slowed down before the holding break is used; I found it holds you for significantly longer than Oblivion, and the views over Liseberg are followed by a sudden plunge into a mist-filled tunnel.  The effect is very good here, as the angle you enter the tunnel mean it acts as a head-chopper; at night, the mist is lit in blue which adds further to the effect.
 
 
 
Following the drop, you enter an Immelmann before taking a fast-right-hand turn into a zero-g-roll.  I found the roll provided a strange sensation, as it’s taken much faster than most yet feels as if you “float” through it.  The turns which follow are fun, with a small moment of airtime offered depending where you are sat.  Following this, I found the final heartline roll to offer another floaty-sensation.
 

 

 
My verdict on Valkyria is that it’s a very fun and floaty coaster, but lacks high levels of G-Force.  Whilst I prefer Oblivion’s first drop due to the restraints, and longer tunnel, I feel that Valkyria is a much better attraction with it being a full-length coaster, and the theming is solid.
 
 
Helix
Helix was the main reason for my visit to Liseberg, and with a similar ride being introduced to the UK it was finally time to go and ride its main inspiration.
 
I find the ride’s presence around Liseberg absolutely stunning, it feels like it’s carved into the hillside and fits in perfectly around the park’s other attractions, whilst also maintaining a stature of its own.  At night, it looks phenomenal with the light only coming from the ride’s trains.
 
Entering the queueline, the ride’s soundtrack immediately becomes audible as you navigate (or queue!) through a high-tech feeling metallic queueline.  It reminded me of a classy version of G-Force’s queueline, but MUCH better.
 

 

 
The ride’s station is fairly standard, but the ceiling dispatch lighting adds a lot; especially once night falls.  The theme music plays loudly in here, but is sadly interrupted by the seatbelt announcement each time the train loads.
 
Dropping out of the station into the first inversion, some hangtime is experienced before turning into the first launch.  With a small burst of acceleration, you are thrown into a zero-g-roll, then a turn/airtime hill before entering the next two inversions.  I found the ride picked up some good force here, to then throw you into the airtime hill.  I didn’t experience much airtime here, however the sensation on the next zero-g-roll felt oddly jerky, as if the train is constantly catching up with itself; I think this is due to the track profile, but I actually really liked it!
 

 

 
The next section was my favourite of the ride, as you are thrown into a mini-airtime hill before entering a “helix” with extremely high g-forces experienced!  The turn that follows this was very weak by comparison, though the tunnel makes it more fun I guess.
 
Entering the second launch, you enter the ride’s tallest inversion.  I found this quite weak, and much prefer Icon’s Immelmann as you experience a lot of airtime coming down from it; whereas on Helix, you turn whilst inverted meaning there isn’t any.  After exiting this you are thrown into a huge airtime hill, which produces fantastic ejector on the back row.  Entering another high-g turn, you navigate some S-turns before entering the final heartline roll, which had some amazing hangtime.
 

 
Overall, I found that Helix is a very good, solid coaster with a decent length.  With that said, I don’t rate it as highly as many others do.
 
 
Balder
Balder was much anticipated by myself, being a fan of wooden coasters.  The ride’s queueline is a horrible mess of mesh and cattle pen but putting that aside, it’s a really awesome ride.
 

 
I was surprised with how steep (and fast!) the lift hill is, and much like the other rides at Liseberg, fantastic views are offered.  The first drop is fantastic and provides some fantastic airtime, a trend that continues throughout the ride.
 

 
The bulk of the ride’s layout is made up of airtime hills taken very quickly, meaning that there’s insane ejector in almost every hill.  A particular highlight for me was the hill taken fully in a tunnel, as it feels like you’re being thrown up towards the ceiling.  In addition, there are a huge number of VERY close head choppers throughout the layout, which combined with being thrown out of your seat at the same time genuinely made me feel uneasy!
 

 

 
Overall, Balder is a fantastic wooden coaster.  It’s much smoother than other woodies I’ve ridden, but the airtime is sublime.  The ride experience improves massively at night, with the tunnel providing a moment of pitch-darkness.
 
With that said, I did find it very formulaic and the layout feels methodical as opposed to out-of-control, making it an entirely different experience to rides like Megafobia.  It’s great fun, but I couldn’t help feeling on the last few hills, “it’d be great if the ride did something different now.”
 
 
Lisebergbanan is a fantastic coaster which makes use of the terrain, much like Helix.  A lengthy ride is experienced, with plenty of force on the corners.  I also loved the three turns taking you down the hillside through the tunnel, though the brake run is brutal!  The ride station is one of the best I’ve ever seen, as is the ride’s capacity.
 
 
 

 
Atmosfear is a brilliant drop tower, whilst not as forceful as some the views are impressive and the height fantastic, and I liked the fact that the drop feels much longer than similar drop towers.
 

 
Loki is an incredible flat ride, and may be my new favourite (was previously Slammer at Thorpe).  The ride’s restraints mean that incredible airtime is offered, as well as a huge amount of force on the way down.  Close interactions with Balder also improve this.
 

 

 
The biggest surprise of the visit for me was Mechanica.  I absolutely adored Bling at Blackpool, like I remembered it being amazing.  But Mechanica was (to put it as politely as possible), utter rubbish.  We had two rides on it and only experienced one good moment, the rest was awkward shuffling from side to side and aimlessly swinging.  The noise it makes is amazing though.
 
Flume ride is amazing, my absolute favourite log flume.  It’s taken at a very fast speed, and the hillside location makes for stunning interactions with the coasters.  I found the last two drops to be a lot of fun, with just the right level of wetness to be fun but not stupidly wet.  Similarly, the rapids were also brilliant fun, and it was nice to see that they still use all their water features unlike UK ones.
 

 
Overall, I found Liseberg to be a really nice amusement park.  It’s clear that they prioritise quality in everything they do, with the rides all being comfortable, well presented and fun.  A very easy abroad park to do for the first one, too.  A few more photos below
 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay I know its only April but fu** you I'm writing this review.
 
So the London Bridge and Tombs is an attraction that has always been on my radar- whether it be the rave reviews from Scaretour or walking past it when the Dungeons was down the road.
So after a trek down to London I thought I might as well experience it for myself- does it compare to The Dungeons?
(apologies for these straight outta snapchat photos )
 


 
**Mild Spoilers**
 
 
The London Bridge Experience
So after a somewhat overly long intro video- you are ushered into the London Bridge Experience.
Overall I found this experience to overall be well themed, well acted, well scripted, and educational- but sadly I feel like a lot of scenes and rooms lacked the crescendo or 'oomph' that the Dungeons has.
 
For example there is a scene in a pub here which the landlord discusses a bunch of murders which references Jack The Ripper. You then hear a scream to which you are ushered out of the pub by the landlord to find a corpse. But then after you see the bloody mannequin- you abruptly move on to the next scene.
This scene in particular had a lot of tension and it constantly felt like something big or Dungeons esque would happen- but it doesn't.
I felt like they really could of added some more dramatic reveal to seeing the bloody mannequin too- we really just walked past it.
 
This was a issue for many scenes- in particular 'the fight verses the Romans' scene had a great script and seemed to be building up to something jumpy- but then it just kinda fizzled out and next minute we were on the next scene..
 
I do have to give credit for some scenes within the experience though- there is a huge scare involving a large moving animatronic that made me jump out of my skin towards the beginning of the experience.
I also really enjoyed the incredibly disorientating spinning tunnel towards the end- it was even worse than the one at Tulleys!
 
I think London Bridge with some more special effects could easily match the Dungeons- but for now I think it really lacks the 'oompth' and the finales of The Dungeon's scenes.
Despite that though- the theming is brilliant and perhaps even greater than The Dungeons. The acting was also top class and the groups were much more intimate than the 30+ groups that The Dungeons has.
 
The Tombs
After nearly throwing up from the spinning tunnel you are warned about the intense scare attraction that awaits you- after a photo opportunity and a intro video, you enter the lifts..
This lift scene built up tension perfectly and the lift had some nice special effects to make it feel like you were actually going down!
 
Once out of the lifts, you form a conga line and you enter the main maze.
The main maze itself was nicely themed and had a huge variety of scenes.
 
A hospital, a Chop Shop style room, a prison style room, and even a clown section- you name it, its in The Tombs.
The maze overall has tonnes of variety within its long layout- I never quite knew what the next room would bring.
 
The acting was brilliant throughout, with actors using various hiding spaces to come out of nowhere or harass us.
My only problem was there was quite a few rooms that were sparse on actors- but the theming and animatronics kinda made up for it.
 
Overall The Tombs was a long and varied scare attraction that I think really made the trip worth it.
 
Conclusion
Overall I think The London Bridge Experience and Tombs are both well themed and acted experiences- though if you want a educational and witty trip back in time I think The Dungeon's is a much more polished and superior experience- though if you want to get sh** scared then The Tombs makes the trip down to Tooley Street more than worth it.
The groups in both The Bridge and The Tombs are also much more intimate so you don't have to deal with the overcrowding that The Dungeons has.
 
Anyway sorry for the six month early post 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Scarefest is a event that has somehow lured me back every year despite the painful drive and the overpriced maze tickets..
The event I think just feels so much more complete and well rounded than Fright Nights, and the mazes on offer feel longer and more fleshed out than the Thorpe offering.
The atmosphere is solid as always, and Nemesis in the back row at night is perhaps the most orgasmic experience of my life.. Thirteen is also a great night ride.
Anyway you're probably not here to listen to me ramble about how good the rides are.. ONTO THE MAZES!
 
This review will contain spoilers, and sorry for the lack of photos- I sadly lost my phone in Sub Species!
 
Freakshow Scare Zone:
Freakshow for sure isn't anything to scream about, but its a fun little addition that brings a lot of atmosphere.
The actors were for sure more funny than scary, but with it being near the entrance- thats probably a good thing!
 
Terror Of The Towers:
Stale enough yet? Well its back again- completely unchanged too!
Look its not a bad maze per se- it has great theming, a long length, and a disorientating and intense finale, though next to the others, it falls flat..
 
The conga line approach also feels boring after the other three, and actors seemed a little hindered compared to the others as they couldn't touch you or be as intimate as Sub Species or Skin Snatchers.. 
5/10
 
Skin Snatchers:
Skin Snatchers is by far one of the best themed mazes at the park, and the theatrical approach at the beginning really sets the scene for the very jumpy and dark sections towards the end of the attraction.
The actors inside like last year were lively and gave some pretty nice touch scares, and the maze built up a lot of tension throughout.
My only niggle had to be the maze seemed a bit sparse on actors in the first section (especially in the gas mask room) though the strong second half made up for it.
The new finale this year I thought was pretty funny and witty, though I think perhaps it wasn't utilised or executed as well as it could of been..
In this I mean we just casually walked past it, and I feel like the actor could of really caused panic if it was timed better..
 
9/10
 

 
Sub Species: The End Games:
 
Sub Species is one of the most hands-on and intense experiences I've ever seen, even in its third year it still shocks me how incredibly chaotic and intense this attraction is.
The maze from the word go sees actors one-by-by dragging guests through one of the three doors, and from that point on, you traverse through everything from a genuine maze section, to pitch black darkness, to crawling tunnels.
 
Actors inside are not afraid to push/shove you, and the actors try constantly to isolate you throughout the maze which amps up the scares even more.
The ending is simple, but effective, and by that point I was desperate to get out!
 
Its rare for me to be breathless from exiting a maze, but Sub Species is for sure one of the best mazes (if not the best) I've done this year.
 
10/10
 
 
The Welcoming: Be Chosen:
 
The Welcoming is new for this year, and with a £8 upcharge, I had high expectations.
The first half is very open as actors dance around the beautiful sets that resemble a village, this opened up the maze really well and actors seemed to know how to pop up from nowhere!
The maze in tone slowly gets darker as it goes on, and the scares ramp up before you're instructed to put on your hoods.
The hooded section was fairly short from memory, but it did well in building up the tension.
The finale sadly fell a little flat, and our group just kinda walked out like "is that it"?
I think with a killer ending The Welcoming could be a brilliant maze, and its easy to see that tons of effort has gone into theming this maze as some of the sets at the start are beautiful.
Anyway The Welcoming is not as relentless as Sub Species per se, but it has great theming and some great scares, it is a shame though about the finale being a massive anti-climax..

7.5/10
 
Conclusion
 
I think Scarefest is by far a must visit for die-hard scare maze enthusiasts as it does house some of the most intense mazes in the country IMO.
Yes I do think it is a little overpriced, though Sub Species was worth every penny.
 
I sadly didn't get to experience House Of Monsters because I'm broke.. Though it seems like a fairly decent attraction for families.
Oh and cheers to The Sub Species team for finding my phone in the end, I was so scared in Sub Species I dropped it without noticing 

draw me like one of your french gerstlauer infinity coasters


 
 

It's no secret to those that know me well that I passionately believe Halloween as a whole is just an overblown annual event which leads to disappointment, scare-less attractions, cringy atmosphere and nothing but annoyance with masses of people flooding the events held everywhere across the country. The problem for me is for over 9 years in a row now between 2008 - 2017, I have only ever managed to attend one event during this entire time of year and that's Thorpe Park's Fright Nights and to be brutally honest, I am now getting tired, bored and frankly sick of the event. 

The event during the 2008/2009 season was excellent with consistent operations, brilliant audio, tons of park-wide decorations, great use of smoke and lighting effects and most of all, every single maze at the time was home-brewed and original, some with inspirations from other IP's such as Se7en for instance. Asylum, Se7en, Curse and Hellgate were awesome! But now however, hardly any of this is prevalent at the event anymore and hasn't been since 2013 when Lionsgate started taking over everything, and now AMC's The Walking Dead. It's gone to the point now that when someone mentions the words 'Fright Nights' to me, all I can picture is long queues, crappy operations, overselling of Fastrack, needless use of IP's, mediocre scare mazes and up-charges everywhere you go. The whole thing now just feels like a giant cash grab and rip off frankly with very little meaning behind it where every year that passes, it's fun-factor is diminishing like a burning flame. Fireworks/bonfire night however does have a meaning and historical relevance behind it in Britain, which is why it's by far my preferred event at the end of each season and I'll never stop requesting Thorpe to bring it back after it's last appearance in 2011.
 
Now, you might ask by this point why am I talking about Fright Nights when this blog is titled 'A Newbie's Trip to Tulleys Shocktober Fest'? Well, it's because this review is going to highlight such a stark contrast I experienced between Thorpe's version of a Halloween event and Tulleys, and I feel it's needed to set the premise of this review, because it's important to note at this point after visiting Tulleys on the 21st October 2017, despite Storm Brian interfering with the weather, that night has restored my faith and excitement in these types of events once again. These are words that I honestly thought I would never say!


 
Similar to my other couple of previous blogs, I warn at the start my reviews are detailed, precise and very long, and this is no exception. So if you're someone who wants to have a quick read, focuses on the main highlights or doesn't want to get bored of reading my analysis by the end of the first paragraph, this isn't for you I'm afraid!


 
So to begin, I would like to start with my overall first impressions of the event upon walking inside the site and the general atmosphere of the place:
 


Initial Impressions and Atmosphere:


 
I've know Tulleys Farm for as long as I can remember ever since I was just 4 years old during the summer when on the other side of the field the wheat maze was open with other smaller activities, as well as picking your own fruit during June for the strawberries and raspberries. But despite this, the way Tulleys have set up this event made the place almost unrecognisable to me. It turns out that instead of the event being held in the small area near the front where the huts, cafe and fields are it is instead directly behind all of this on a massive open grass field on a gentle slope which I have never ventured onto before until now. So whilst in some places it felt familiar, the majority of it felt as though it was an entirely different site to what it's like during summer!


 
Upon the entrance next to the grass field for parking, the entrance stands amongst the trees with flames on either side and giant pumpkin scarecrows lit up in orange, filled with smoke, creating a very natural, dominating yet familiar atmosphere to how I've know Tulleys before. Once going under the entrance hut into the ticket booth area, the entire roof is covered with white canopy tents which I appreciated very much as it ensured we didn't get wet whilst waiting to have our bags searched and collect our tickets on the muddy green fields. It reminded me a little at first of Fairford's Royal International Air Tattoo event every July with the way it was all handled, which was organised very well by the staff, so kudos for keeping the system easy, quick and simple with the large number of people at the event.
 


Once outside the tent and you've got your tickets/wristband, you are instantly surrounded by lots of attractions, food/drink stalls, stages, rides and seating which I guessed immediately was the centre of the whole event as all of the eight attractions were scattered across the field within equal distance of each other. A small detail I really liked was consistently across the fields there were small fires being lit with burning wood to keep guests warm at night and blend into the whole 'festival feel' of the place. The smell of burning wood in these fields felt comforting and familiar, especially as someone who once was part of the Scouts and went on these camping trips all the time! The audio used across the park wasn't blaring or obtrusive anywhere either and instead was subtle, evenly balanced and played quite a lot of Midnight Syndicate's music both old and new across each area which was a nice touch. After their audio was banished at Thorpe Park starting in 2013 with Lionsgate (grrrrrrr), it was nice to hear it once again. Also, there was tons of smoke everywhere across the place with lots of roaming actors interacting very well with guests which was quite amusing to watch!


 
The attractions from this centre are situated down either the south or west sides of the field down slopes. To the left of the square you will find The Colony, The Chop Shop, The Cellar and Twisted Clowns. Directly in front you will see the couple of rides the event has which was a Booster ride similar to the one on Brighton pier, and a bouncer similar to the one which can still be at Hastings years ago, as well as on Brighton pier outside the Haunted House which was nice. And lastly, to the right down the hill, Horrorwood Haunted Hayride, Creepy Cottage, VIXI and Coven of 13, as well as the shop, paintball alley and further food and drink stalls.
 


It's also worth mentioning that behind you in this centre there is also a stage where a live band is held and plays several chart music hits which was nice, including many which fit in with the Halloween theme. Further down the hill on the right there is another live band too performing for guests. Inside the tents across a few areas, you could buy pumpkins which I presume the farm has grown for guests to purchase at the event, some of which were enormous and very heavy to handle! It's the smaller things with simple decorations like pumpkins that can make a big difference sometimes to the overall feel of an event. It adds to the Halloween theme, unlike Thorpe who still for some reason think little/no decorations = Halloween atmosphere.
 


With all of these points taken into consideration, this has a very different vibe and feel to it all compared to what Fright Nights is, and really, I loved it! The whole place felt just like being at a festival with all the canopies for the queues, muddy fields, live music, great theming, large variety of food and drink stalls, the many small campfires everywhere and the consistent feel the place had where nothing seemed to stick out like a sore thumb anywhere. Compared to Fright Nights, the only fair comparison to be made here is that Tulleys clearly know how to create a better atmosphere at night for their customers which is more relevant to Halloween and better organised than Fright Nights has ever been.

Food & Drink:

As mentioned above, all of the food and drink available at the farm was available through these temporary food stalls which you typically find at most events similar to this, but the variety and close proximity between them all was quite convenient and was all situated in the centre. Everything from hot drinks, takeaway food, sweet snacks and even a hog roast were available for guests and the variety offered was quite good.

Although, the prices were a little too much for what I expected to pay. I went to the noodles bar and ordered pulled pork curry noodles and a large spring roll which came to £10.25 altogether without a drink and a regular cup of coffee was £3. So whilst the variety was great and you get large portions, the prices here did feel too high compared to what I would comfortably pay for typically and was the only area where I felt ripped off slightly by the whole event. £3 for a regular Americano was too much! Not surprising, just thought it’s worth noting to those who have yet to visit to be prepared with enough cash in their wallets.

Operations:

As a whole, Tulleys demonstrated to me exactly how you should manage events with lots of people going through the attractions. There was only 50 VIP and only 200 Fastrack ticket holders in the entire field that night, which meant the queues for Fastrack were extremely small or non-existent most of the night. Dispatches were fast and frequent for all the mazes, especially for the Haunted Hayride and every bit of effort was made by the staff to keep the queues to a minimal as long as possible throughout the night. When you consider all mazes at Fright Nights in the evening have Fastrack overflowing for all attractions, some of which can actually be longer than the normal queue, this was a really pleasant surprise for me.
 
If there were a slight niggle I had with the handling of letting people through the mazes, it’s that some of the groups put through each time were quite large, some as much as 20 people at once. And if you are leading the group, if you’re a fast walker through these types of attractions, it’s not uncommon for you to at some point through the maze bump into the group ahead. Whilst it wasn’t a major issue considering all of the attractions were excellent, it did hinder the scare factor a little when too many people are in the same room with you. I wish the dispatches were a little slower when the queues were shorter at the start and end of the evening, but I suppose you get that with any scare maze really.

Fairground Rides:

As mentioned above in my initial impressions section, there were just two rides available at the farm in the evening, so with the time available between 5pm - 11pm, I only did the Booster catapult ride which is identical to the one which can be found on Brighton Pier. One ride costs £6 and you get throttled several times both backwards and forwards and at night, it was really great fun and very intense! Plus, despite the wind speeds reaching 42mph gusts in the evening, the ride still ran flawlessly without any problems and didn’t stall at any point as a result (unlike Thorpe who now fear Flying Fish and Banana Boat will stall with just 20mph gusts).

So if you are planning on visiting this year or maybe next year if these two rides remain, I do recommend trying Booster at night and you’ll have the peace of mind that even if it’s raining or winds reach 42mph, you’ll still find it open.
 
Scare Attraction Reviews:

Now onto the best part and that’s with small mini reviews of all eight scare attractions available at the farm. As a whole, I must report the quality, length, amount of fun and scariness in these attractions is far superior to any maze I have done at Thorpe Park’s Fright Nights in the 9 years I have attended the event! All of them were excellent and had their own unique qualities behind them, one of which used a really cool effect which reminded me of a scene from one of my favourite films. Another reason is because every single one of them was original and didn't need an IP to market itself and I'm a big fan of original ideas as it sparks innovation in these types of attraction.

So to begin, I’d like to start with the ‘least excellent’ one which was Twisted Clowns:

Twisted Clowns - 6/10

I should admit at the start clowns as a whole do not scare me one bit and never have done, so before walking through the entrance I wasn’t expecting an enormous scare factor behind it and true enough, it didn’t scare me at all this one sadly.

You are given at the start 3D glasses which act as a filter to bring out the colours inside on the walls and props present inside and quite a lot of the artwork present popped out quite well, especially with the luminous colours. Throughout the whole of the maze, you wear them and walk through several dark rooms with lots of these UV paintings to fit in with the theme, to which I must point out they are all hand-painted which I really appreciated and admired when inside. Think of the rooms similar to Hocus Pocus at Chessington only with a different theme.

In addition, actors inside were jumping and appearing all over the place, including one which jumped on a bungee swing from the ceiling which really took me by surprise the first time with how close they hovered over me! Whilst the actors at no point touched guests, they interacted with them brilliantly with lots of props from swings, car horns, wigs and clothing to name a few. The makeup they wore was also nicely done and had popping luminous colours on their faces similar to all the dozens of paintings throughout the maze.

But as a whole, this just didn’t deliver any real or genuine scares for me sadly, which is a shame because I love 3D mazes like this. However, I will say the quality of the actors jumping all over you with props inside, the amount of work with the paintings which went into this and most of all, the incredibly long length of this maze were the best qualities it offered.
Other smaller details like a themed safety announcement at the start, to Midnight Syndicate’s audio used inside, to the huge number of actors present did make this a lot of fun to go through.

I suppose the bigger problem is Big Top at Thorpe whilst might be a lot shorter than this one is ultimately better in lots of ways. Elements such as better audio, better disorientating rooms and a great finale make it better than Twisted Clowns and therefore, this is the only maze Tulleys could do with some improvements on next year I feel and was a little disappointing.

VIXI - 7/10

When I discovered this involves you placing a bag over your head to obstruct your view the entire time, the first thing that came to my mind was “Oh no, It’s Tulleys version of that damn awful The Passing maze at Thorpe Park back in 2012!” But after going through it, whilst it did feel very similar The Passing for 3/4 of the maze, the quality of the scares delivered and surprise factor was far superior in comparison and I happened to really like it as a result!

From the start you must place these black bags over your heads as though you are about to be sent to the gallows for execution and ultimately death, again, very similar to The Passing at the start. But these bags used are with a much thicker material as it is impossible to see through them in any way possible. But once you start the attraction, you must follow the rope on your left side which will guide you through the maze and over all the hurdles for the first 75% of the maze.

Whilst you can’t see a thing out of these, the interaction and tricks this maze plays on you inside is brilliant. Various sound effects are used everywhere and effects such as smell, wind, water, fire and very uneven surfaces were used. In addition, actors interacted with you from both sides of your ears, so it became quite unsettling at one point with all the effects and actors in play and really got my heart racing being unable to see anything!

But the best section is towards the end of this experience. The last corner you turn with the bag still on your head is into a room which was very hot inside and within seconds it became apparent why that is. There is one giant flame thrower inside the centre of this room which goes off every few seconds and the noise of it is incredibly loud, so much so that the heat, light and shock made myself and several others scream the fist time it went off! It’s a simple but incredibly effective scare used and you are less than 1m away from the flame, so you can really feel the heat from it.

Finally, in the last quarter, you are asked to take the bags off your head and give them to a staff member. Now, like The Passing, you are lead to believe this is the end, but oh no, there’s more! You go down this pitch black corridor, turn the corner and you are inside a very dark warehouse with what appears to be burnt bodies of corpses lying on a table and an actor behind it with a giant knife and blowtorch. He instructed us to go down the stairs quickly, only to encounter behind a metal cage even more fire effects, this time less than a metre away which was another excellent jump scare for guests. After that, you zig-zag down the ramps and find yourself outside once again and the experience is over.

The concept of this maze might sound simple and remind many who did in at the time of The Passing, but the interaction with guests in this one and the effectiveness really pays off and was tons of fun, and was the first maze in probably about 4 years which really got my heart pounding at certain points due to the unknown which awaits ahead due to the fact you can’t see anything. Then to top it all off, the ending finishes the maze perfectly and the use of fire in this maze was executed perfectly and was a great use of the effect. Plus, this was also a very long maze, lasting at around 11 minutes inside according to the timer. Thumbs up overall!

Creepy Cottage - 7.5/10

This was the maze I was most familiar with because it has been at this event for years now and I remember a few times during Autumn when visiting Tulleys years ago seeing preperations being made for it in time for October, so was most intrigued to see what it was like inside. Whilst it did have it’s moments of scariness to it, the selling factor behind this was the attention to detail inside and overall creepiness it delivered, which also explains why it’s available for younger kids too during the day. The best way to describe it is imagine walking through a much smaller, cramped and longer version of the haunted house from the play and film ‘The Woman in Black’.

From the start where you are greeted inside the first room, you are immediately surrounded by lots of theming and details everywhere which hint at it being just like an old historian haunted house, with the furniture, fireplace and props inside with all the cobwebs and candle lights present. As you progress through each room, the corridors and roofing is very small and narrow, so you do feel quite claustrophobic inside and it’s incredibly dark too.

The atmosphere inside doesn’t feel chaotic like Big Top, Living Nightmare and Saw Alive are. Instead, it has an eerie, cold and creepy feel to it all with very subtle uses of sound effects and music used inside and in every room making it feel very abandoned. It also made me quite tense throughout because you expect something to either appear out of nowhere all of a sudden or an effect scaring you, but as said above, this maze relied purely on feeling unsettled inside than being jump scared.

The quality of the props and attention to detail was very noticeable with every corner of every corridor and room looked after, from the wallpapers, to the chandeliers and lighting, to the physical objects laying around everywhere and the surface of the flooring and smells inside. One prop particularly caught me out and that was what appeared to be a child’s doll of Chucky. It too me 2 walk through’s to notice it! Plus, towards the end of the maze, you need to walk through a corridor with loads of corn field plants surrounding you, almost as if you are navigating through the maze Tulleys have during summer which was a nice touch.

The only disappointment was the ending as it just involved a small room with an actor inside surrounded by more props. Nothing seemed to stand out in this room which indicated it as the finale, just another room added at the end simply.

So whilst it might not be the most scary out of all the mazes, it was certainly the most unsettling and eerie feeling maze with all the actors inside each room dressed to fit the theme of an abandoned cottage from the last century, so it’s good for me!
 
The Colony - 7.5/10

This was quite an interesting concept for a maze as it incorporated elements which were both used outside and inside and the overall vibe from this maze is one set back in time to the medieval ages and honestly, a novel which is going to be implemented into a ride next year at Alton Towers. It certainly delivered on scare quality and the length of this thing was mad! On average, it takes between 15-20 minutes to pass through all of it!

The first corridor you pass through is almost like an abandoned underground mine with the lighting and planks of wood holding the ceiling and walls together and then you instantly go outside onto the field which is guided by very high wooden planks similar to that which you can find in Alton’s new maze ‘The Welcoming’. Whilst I haven’t done it yet, the overall look and feel for the outdoor sections looked similar to this from the pictures looking down at it on the Sky Ride.

Once navigating your way through outside, you go back inside through these huts and buildings with lots of lighting, audio and smoke effects present, as well as actors hiding in the shadows. From here onwards, you are constantly going inside/outside and it’s an equal balance between the two overall. Some outdoor scenes were really interactive and involved you having to crawl under and through narrow gaps, which was a nice touch you don’t often get with other scare mazes as they tend to be wide and open to pass through many people at once.

The actors in this maze were excellent. When each approached you, they all spoke in what I can assume is Latin as I couldn’t understand any of what they were saying, but their body language gave hints to what they were trying to communicate with you. By this point, it isn’t necessarily super scary, but unsettling similar to Creepy Cottage.

When navigating your way up and down the field with indoor and outdoor sections, towards the end, you pass through a corridor which has two pathways and in the centre of these two paths you can take, a chainsaw guy in strobe lights interacts with you, very closely I might add too! After that, you are outside again and the experience is over.

The best quality of this maze was the length and variety delivered by several different scenes and actors, and it provided a consistent and very enjoyable experience from start to end, especially with the finale. Although, the scares weren’t quite up there to get me really nervous with this one.

I mention this gave me an impression of Alton’s new coaster for 2018 and considering we now know it’s going to be themed on Wicker Man, this maze kept making me think of that from start to finish. Heck, there’s even a bleedin’ scene with honey bees’ nests hanging from the ceiling you must pass through! Just a fun thought I had with this maze which kept making me think of it, but overall, I really enjoyed this one as it feels to me what Sanctum should have been.
 
The Cellar - 8/10

Probably the best way to describe this is imagine Creepy Cottage mixed with The Colony. This was excellent!

Already the start is nicely done with the safety announcement in the greeting room which was funnily themed and spoken as though it was a witch, and you were passing through their home. After that, you hold each others shoulders and it’s worth noting this is the only maze at the event where you are required to do this. All the others are free-flowing.

From the start of your journey, the rooms and corridors are incredibly cramped inside with low ceilings and narrow walls and the number of actors present in this maze is the highest out of any of them, which really made the experience quite intense inside.

Probably the most frightening section for me was at the first walkway which involved the inflatable cushions you must pass through similar to I’m a Celeb near the end just before you climb the hill to go down the slide. Because you are limited by how fast you can move due to it pushing against your legs, it was obvious something was going to jump out of nowhere, and long behold, there was. To the right of this walkway, an enormous and very heavy serpent’s head jumped out of the wall and was big enough to cause me to nearly fall over to the side as a result. It was very heavy and nicely detailed, but my, I personally can’t stand snakes myself and seeing a giant head of it grab my shoulder like that really got to me by that point as it was very unexpected! This is a great element to the maze and took me by complete surprise the first time.

After that, you navigate your way through various further rooms which had some very narrow walkways and overall, this was extremely dark inside with hardly any lighting visible, just tons of actors hiding in the shadows waiting for the perfect moment to scare you. Some of which had some excellent detail to them all and used several effects which made guest jump, including some very powerful air canons.

The ending however was a little weak and didn’t stand out from the rest of the maze, but the number of actors used in this maze coupled with the length of the attraction made up for that. The best moment was the giant serpent’s head near the start as it genuinely terrified me the first time!
 
Coven of 13 - 8.5/10

Coven of 13 overall was a combination of The Cellar, Creepy Cottage and The Colony as elements from each of these attractions were used throughout, but the best part by far was the start where you need to pass through what I can assume is a deep swamp in the middle of a forest.

This starting scene where you navigate through the marsh was a great use of smoke, lasers and sound effects as when you passed through the walkways with the inflatable pillows again, there was a layer of mist which helped with the theme of treading through a swamp up to waist level. Probably the best way I can describe this effect is similar to that scene in the first Alien film where John Hurt ventures through a cave with all the eggs and describes a layer of mist above a blue laser effect. When watching it back after trying this maze, it looks identical to that effect used!

After navigating your way through the swamp scene with actors jumping out and scaring you, you head through more corridors with plants and trees obscuring your path and they are set up in a way which it hides the ceiling and wall panels very effectively, so much so that it definitely felt more like being in a forest that a plain, ordinary corridor.

You go immediately outside after that and cross into another building which has been themed on a small mini haunted house with some very effective lighting, atmosphere and props used. It did honestly feel just like being inside a mini haunted house as the rooms were a little larger in comparison to Creepy Cottage, bud sadly, the scares in this bit weren’t as effective as a result. However, the attention to detail and quality of the actors made up for this scene, so all is balanced.

After that, you go outside again and this next section felt the weakest section of the maze. All you do is navigate around a central campfire through different areas around the perimeter of what was the shape of a semi-circle. Each section had it’s own actor in to scare guests, but it felt too open and predictable to deliver any proper good scares sadly, especially when you can see what awaits ahead.

Finally, you go through inside one last room and that’s what looks like an actor being burnt to the stake in a giant wooden fire and the use of smoke, lighting, heat and audio added to this scene, but like before, just not enough scares here. Also, it’s reminiscent of Wicker Man again and SW8. Sorry! After that, you go outside again and it’s all over.

Whilst the scares were certainly prevalent throughout the first half of the maze, the 2nd half felt a little tame in comparison unfortunately and fell apart a little. However, the use of effects in that swamp scene at the start were delivered brilliantly and that’s why this is my 3rd favourite attraction as a result.
 
The Chop Shop - 9/10

Before trying this I knew it was going to be an intense maze as many have told me it’s the best maze at the event and goodness me, it was certainly the scariest one! The whole theme of rotten meat, blood and flesh makes me feel physically sick, which is why the gluttony scene from Se7en years ago at Thorpe really made me want to vomit when passing through it and I wasn’t expecting anything different here. But what I didn’t expect was the intensity behind this maze which is hidden quite well behind those walls, with the exception of the noises from several chainsaws present.

The start of the maze isn’t too bad as it’s an exploration through a garage with lots of machinery, equipment, vehicles and tools on shelves everywhere and the lighting is dim, quite reminiscent of scenes from Saw The Ride and the workshops in the Saw films and the actors did a great job at introducing you to their chopping shop. But after this, it gets worse and scarier as a result.

Once out of the garage, you instantly go through what I can presume is a freezer with lots of frozen meat, including hanging pigs and cows amongst blood everywhere over the floor and walls. Then, an actor breaks through the door in front with a chainsaw and scares the group and this is only just the half-way point!

From here onwards, it gets even worse because it’s an endless array of zig-zag corridors, rooms and flaps to pass through, all under a constant strobe light. Around several corners, actors are hiding, all with their own chainsaws waiting for you to walk past them. Then, to make it even worse, some rooms have the lights turn off temporarily for about 3 seconds, so you are in complete blackness for a short period of time and all you can hear is the sound of a chainsaw either in front or directly behind you, some of which got as close as 6 inches away from my face! It was truly and honestly terrifying and this lasted for 2/3 of the entire maze, so it became extremely intense at certain parts and got my heart racing the fastest out of any other attraction that night as a result!

The only advice I can give is do this maze once it is dark outside because the 2nd half has an open roof and if light leaks inside, it can ruin the effect slightly of those dark moments. So if you want a moderate experience, try it before sunset. If you want an extreme one, do it once the sky is completely black. Best maze by far and also the scariest!
 
Horrorwood Haunted Hayride - 9.5/10

This was without a doubt the most fun during the entire night and is the best attraction out of everything you will find at this event. It’s very unique, incredibly interactive, long, innovative and ultimately fun. Nothing else out there can be compared to this!

Whilst it might not have been necessarily scary, the whole idea you are transported through the fields on a tractor ride with various scenes themed to different genres in the movie industry was an excellent idea and was reminiscent of Studio 13 slightly in some areas. Every scene has unique visual and audible effects, the entire ride changes it’s audio depending on what scene you are in and probably the best part was the actors in each scene climb onto the tractor with you and interact with guests using their character. Characters such as clowns, cowboys, hotel butlers, witches, pole-dancing nuns and zombies clambered onto the vehicle through each scene and played their characters perfectly in sync with the audio and movement of the truck. It’s a very consistent and funny experience which I greatly appreciated.

In addition, each scene had great props and sets used such as falling billboards on guests, flame effects which were incredibly loud and powerful, deaf-defying loud bangs, great uses of audio SFX and lighting used and best of all, the chainsaw people themed on I believe the story of the three little pigs getting extremely close to the guests and even revved the machines against the benches you are sitting on, creating the impression they are cutting through the wood you are sitting on!

I don’t want to give too much away of what each scene involves for those who have yet to try it, but I very strongly recommend you try this as the must-do attraction of the evening. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed by it one bit!
 
Conclusion:
 
So there we are, all my reviews for each attraction, the atmosphere and overall impressions of the event.

After going to this and leaving the evening, I didn’t in any way feel angry, tired or disappointed like I usually tend to with Fright Nights in recent years. Instead, I felt lively, thrilled and greatly surprised by the whole night because it’s as if I have finally found after 7 years of searching something better and worth it’s value for money compared to what I was typically used to during Halloween and it feels great! Tulleys Shocktober Fest has surprised me hugely with what they offered as I never imagined they were able to pull off such a quality event like this before, especially knowing it for years as a farm with pick-your-own fields and a maze during summer.

Tulleys has proven if special events are executed very well, it has the ability to change minds of sceptics like me who for years have detested Halloween for all the wrong reasons. In return, I have started to get excited for Halloween once again after this amazing evening I had! The only problem with this however is because Tulleys have set a new bar far higher than any Fright Nights delivered these last 7 years, I am likely going to detest Fright Nights even more now as a result unless there are some radical improvements and changes made to the event which aren’t focused on compromising customer experience for bigger numbers on Merlin’s many dozens of net-profit Excel spreadsheets at their head office.

Tulleys, like my blog on Liseberg back in May has proved to me again there are places out there which value customer experience above profits, and it's these types of places I appreciate the most. I can happily say I'm absolutely going to attend Shocktober Fest again next year, and likely many years to come now. Well done Tulleys for creating a quality Halloween event for guests.

It might have taken me several years to finally try it, but my word, the wait was absolutely worth it! 

Tulleys Shocktober Fest - 8.5/10

(Some pictures from the event below I took):
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afternoon all.
 
As most of you would know, I've been on this forum for a good 5 years, starting as a complete weirdo before blending in nicely as time went on. Some might say I've made a lot of contribution to many discussions and therefore have been a decent addition to the community. But most importantly I've met a lot of amazing people on here and therefore made a lot of new friends over the last few years.
 
However, in explanation to my lack of activity on here recently, I can confirm to those who don't know that I've suffered from depression for the past year. It's caused a lot of problems with some friends, through falling out or just leaving them altogether, it's caused my usual happy mood to take a nosedive and it's also affected my motivation to do a lot of things...including contributing to this forum.
 
...and that's why with a heavy heart I need to log out and take a break. Maybe for a month, maybe a year...maybe forever.
 
Not that anyone here has done anything wrong and I don't want to offend or upset anyone, but I feel like I've been on this site for so long that it's just started to get pretty dull for me, not just because my motivation's been in jeopardy but also over time I just think my interest for theme parks on the discussion side of things has faded and not a lot changes on here anyway. I'm also not saying I'm done with forum life because strangely enough I seem to be settling in well over on the Planet Coaster forums where, as players of the game would know, discussion is always on point over there with new content (ie. suggestions) flying in every day.
 
Right now I just want everyone reading this to know that this was never how I wanted things to turn out. If I were to take one thing from my time on this site it would be very simply that the majority of people on here have been some of the most amazing people I've ever met and I'm more than grateful for you guys. But then there are one or two people I've also met on here who started out great and then turned out to be fuel to the fire that is my mental health, one of those people once turned out incredible to me...and then for the past year we've fallen out repeatedly and now it's getting to the point where it's actually mentally crippling me. And I need a break from here to let this all blow over.
 
Hope everyone understands. It's been great being on here in the long run but I'll hopefully return when the maelstrom in my head clears.
 
Kerfuffle