CharlieN

I had envisaged 2020 being my first proper year of theme park travel. I had plans for Phantasialand, Poland and the Swedish trio. But it looks like Europa in December may be my only foreign trip this year - if this mess is cleared up by then.

I reckon this is much more likely!

Some positive news at last: Shanghai Haiching Ocean Park and Happy Valley Shanghai are reopening. You’d assume many other Chinese parks will follow suit soon.

Goodness me. Hyper Ride Roulette sounds like an outlandish excuse for ride downtime to me.... Another season I’ll pass on, I think.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I considered staying in Cologne itself as there are some really cheap hostels/hotels in a very good location but the price of travel to the park for two days outweighed that. I will look more thoroughly into both suggestions above but pillows and lifts don’t really bother me. (Actually I’ve never been to a Disney park so the prospect of a fake ToT is appealing!) Location is key really and proximity to the shuttle is ideal.

The cladding is corten (weathering) steel which gets that rusty appearance once oxidised. This means it is corrosion resistant and very durable. It can look nice when done right - although this looks hideous in my opinion. It would seem very strange to cover corten steel with another material/paint as it’s purpose is to withstand weathering. So I reckon that this is pretty much the finished exterior, bar some detailing. On a completely different note, I hope to go to Phantasialand in June and I’m wondering if anyone’s aware of any cheap off site accommodation near the park or in Bruhl itself? Thank you 😀

Ha, that’s very true Josh! I should probably add that it’s very likely I’ll be in Japan for the start of 2021 so I might have to be less ambitious...

Definitely: Thorpe Chessington Alton Probably: Phantasia EP Maybe: Poland Sweden I doubt the latter two will happen and Poland may be a 2021 trip, but there’s still potential.

^ It looks like a wonderful sweatshop. Long hours, little pay, poor workers rights... But I do agree, the marketing is so charming.

Ah, has been corrected. I was so excited I didn’t even check the account!

Someone’s had a go at creating the park’s upcoming double launch coaster on no limits: It seems like a great, long layout. I really like the idea of the slower, low to the ground section before the more intense section following the second launch too.

When I first visited Alton Towers there was Blade, Submission, Enterprise and Ripsaw - a decent flat ride offering. It’s such a shame that only Enterprise remains. Aside from the coasters, there’s very little to do at Towers anymore...

Judging by height, capacity and the plans, it seems like this will be a SBF-VISA Drop’N Twist. For a long time Chessington was THE family theme park in the UK - now it’s clear that Paultons are the trend setters, with Chessington stuck in 2012.

In the midst of this preposterous announcement I’ve finally realised what a swing launch means! Always seemed like those triple launches should have a proper name...

I’ve only just got round to reading this - but I really enjoyed it. The first paragraph particularly resonates with me. It was roller coasters and thrills which got me into theme parks, but I soon realised it was the escapism which kept me coming back. I suppose it’s somewhat depressing that a 17 year old craves escapism... but we all do surely. Anyway, great read about two parks I’d love to visit.