CharlieN

I agree with your final comment, however can I just clarify what I meant originally. I was never, for one minute, saying that we "can't" criticise them. I was saying that I personally don't believe that they deserved to be criticised to this extent (by which, I mean the sheer quantity of posts). Of course, you have every right to criticise if you feel like that is what is needed - I just don't believe that Merlin have done anything to trigger these 1 and a half pages of criticism. Also, if you are making critism, if you feel it is necessary, then I think there is something very important about the wording of it as it can sound very negative. For example, I believe that saying "Merlin could be better if they lowered their hotel prices" is much more helpful than "Merlin's hotel prices are way too high". Anyway, my point was simply that I didn't feel Merlin merited this bombardment of critism. (But then again, that's all down to opinion). Regarding Maria's final paragraph, I agree completely. Happy customers are paramount to a companies success.

Will this be their 3rd drop tower? I feel like if this park gets one more decent coaster, it would have a much larger appeal. Something compact like a skyrocket.

And your constant use of ellipsis isn't? I don't believe it was daft. I don't think anything deserves heckling and bashing to that extreme extent.

I can think of Walibi and Parques Reunidos. I believe the answer to my question is that Merlin are a decent company who don't deserve this heckling.

Then how have they become the theme park group with the second highest attendance of 2015?

A month on from the original proposed opening date, I can't help thinking that this delay will have had a massive effect for Thorpe's attendance. It's been 30 days that have undoubtedly seen people hold off from visiting the park due to the unavailability of the parks new BIG ride. It's been 30 days which could have seen Thorpe's attendance rise due to a new major investment. Its been 30 days which have left this thread with little to talk about... I'm just hoping, for Merlin's sake, that this ride opens soon!

I've got to confess, the station for Saw terrifies me. The sound effects, the countdown, the screams from around the corner, in fact, I find the dark ride section pretty scary too (me and horror aren't exactly pals). That said, I still ride it every time and face my fears - because it's a coaster and I love coasters.

Looks fabulous. Best RMC IMO (until Wildfire opens). Really makes me think of The cross valley woodie that we never got at the Towers.... It's got so much energy when it hits the brakes though.

Considering the fact that Stealth rolled back on Friday, I doubt it exists. I would have also thought that rollbacks are much less troublesome than stalls.

And I often find with various replys to Jamie's posts, that people look for things to criticise him on. I don't believe that you would have posted that as a reply to any other members of TPM.

I've just been doing some comparing of SW8 to other GCIs. White Lightning at Fun Spot is the closest thing to this by the looks of the plans. White lightning's max height is 67 feet. SW8's is 27 feet. White lightning cost $3.5 mill and has a longer layout than SW8. So, if a taller, longer ride costs $3.5 mill then how much will this cost? This could be pretty cheap even considering the possibility of a launch and lots of landscaping!

Anyone know how many rollbacks stealth has ever had? I'm struggling to make an estimate. I'd love to see one though.

"The ride will be around 200 meters high" This is is so infuriating. I advice you to not click on that link and give The Mirror what they want. Views.

That coaster looks really fun! Again, off topic, but how big is the loop on Flash at Lewa Adventure?

I think it looks very fun. Not secret weapon standard but still a nice little coaster. It's not too short and there's quite a lot of terrain action. My one concern, however, is the drop. It's very slow and there's no banking. I'd previously assumed that you enter the turn from the lift hill at a high angle, so that you could fly through the drop smoothly. Another question for speculation, do you expect the supports to be white or a traditional wood finish? I'm hoping for natural wood as it would fit in with the natural area so much better and look like it was 'meant to be there'. This seems like a back up woodie, and that the decision may have been a hurried one as a result of Towers need for a new ride. I hope that this is a test coaster, if you like, to see if woodies can be popular. If it was to be popular I'd like Towers to reconsider the forbidden valley/cross valley coasters. However, starting with something so small, may just give evidence for a lot of the public that woodies are mundane and boring. (Obviously they're not). I just worry that going small with wood won't convince the public that these rides can be phenomenal. A big woodie, however, would challenge those perceptions...

Hydraulic. For roller coasters: Spain or Italy?

I feel that this attraction won't have an IP. All that is needed is an impressive majestic immersive family-friendly theme. The only big coasters with IPs at Merlin parks are saw and Sonic spinball (not any more) and I genuinely feel like a woodie is not as IP friendly as a steel coaster. However, with Merlin and DreamWorks link I do think that a successful IP could be How to Train Your Dragon. It's a fun, popular IP, that could easily link to Mutiny Bay. In regards to the "Gimmick", I feel that this coaster will not have one. Watching a John Wardley Q&A, he said that he thought there was a turning point with The Smiler's marketing, in which for the majority of the campaign it did not rely on the 'most inversions' gimmick. Therefore I think this coaster may just be a good coaster with no gimmick... but you never know what Varney's got up his sleeve.

Ok, I've been looking at the plans for tree planting and this stood out: 2 trees planted in the building and almost on the track. I assume they would be planted on the roof but still they look very unusual. Am I being very stupid or is there an explanation for these trees? Here's a mock up...

Visited my local funfair today. There was a mach five which we rode. While at the top (when the bottom was loading) my friend was absolutely bricking it. He was shaking and wanted to get down - which is hard 100 or so feet in the air. He never looked at the ride before hand and went straight on, I believe this to be the reason for his fear. So, look at the ride before you join the queue. Understand the ride and you don't fear it anymore.

So, I just made this quick edit of the ride building with its materials. Whilst this drawing is probably useless, it certainly doesn't scream Katanga Canyon or Mutiny Bay. I also added Maple, Cherry and Hornbeam trees as they are common on the plans. why does something about this make me think of the enchanted village? I'm not the best at the park's geography but it isn't that far away, is it? I'd be happy with that theme. (Note that the grass is way too high and not graded enough but Picsart has its limits!)

How may Gravity Group woodies invert? The only one I know of is Hades 360.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was an inversion (very hopeful!). RMC are pioneering the coaster industry and they are taking away from GCI's clients. I don't think it will be long until GCI try and compete with RMC by adding inversions or launches. This coaster may be GCI's guinea pig!

This is the most excited I've been for a long time. A woodie at the Towers! Something makes me think that Wardley may have had a say in this decision... Now then, I wonder what these materials tell us about the theme...

And Angry Birds is drier than Depth Charge!

I really like angry birds 4D. It's much better than Ice age IMO with more affects and seat movement. If the next show is in 10 minutes or less, then give it a go. I find it very fun.