Hethetheth

I dont think that comparing parks to Disney is that unfair though. I mean we can be realistic but I dont see what is wrong for aspiring for better for parks. I'd like parks to at least head in the direction of Disney quality.

I wonder if it also had anything to do with profit, cash and spreading themselves thin. Merlin might be 2nd largest in size to Disney, but that doesn't mean their profits and cash are proportional. If Phantasialand makes money it is spent on Phantasialand. If Merlin parks make money it has to be spread out and budgeted across numerous other parks, and I would surprise me if that money was proportionally lower than that of Phantasialand. E.g. if Phantasialand makes £1 million then it gets to spend it on itself. If Merlin makes £10 million, but has 20 parks (for the sake of this analogy) then each has the equivalent of £500k, but Merlin might choose instead to reinvest that in their 21st park instead. With the above example Merlin are still 'larger' and more profitable than Phantasialand overall, but not per park.

Nothing booked for any of these yet, but these are my intentions anyway: Likely / Planned: - Europa Park - Phantasialand - Toverland - Efteling The above would be a week-long trip, which I've wanted to do for my 30th birthday. Possible: - Alton Towers - Thorpe Park (probably Fright Nights) Maybe: - Tivoli Gardens It's been since 2016 that I visited a new park, so I'm keen to hit Toverland and Tivoli for that reason, but the later might not be possible due to time constraints.

/\ likewise, I only knew it existed from online forums and never saw any adverts for it.

"New" is doing a lot of work here.

Amity Beach (5) Angry Birds 4D Experience (5) Bouncezilla (3) Colossus (5) Depth Charge (6) Detonator: Bomb's Away (5) Flying Fish (5) Jungle Escape (5) King Pig's Wild Hog Dodgems (5) Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride (5) Nemesis Inferno (6) Quantum (5) Rocky Express (5) Rumba Rapids (5) Rush (5) Samurai (5) Saw - The Ride (5) Stealth (5) Storm in a Teacup (5) Storm Surge (5) The Swarm (5) The Walking Dead - The Ride (5) Tidal Wave (5) Timber Tug Boat (5) Vortex (5) Wet Wet Wet (5) Zodiac (5) Depth Charge +1 - unloved gem Bouncezilla -1

Amity Beach (5) Angry Birds 4D Experience (5) Bouncezilla (1) Colossus (5) Depth Charge (5) Detonator: Bomb's Away (5) Flying Fish (5) Jungle Escape (5) King Pig's Wild Hog Dodgems (5) Lumber Jump (3) Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride (5) Nemesis Inferno (8) Quantum (5) Rocky Express (2) Rumba Rapids (5) Rush (5) Samurai (5) Saw - The Ride (5) Stealth (7) Storm in a Teacup (5) Storm Surge (5) The Swarm (5) The Walking Dead - The Ride (6) Tidal Wave (5) Timber Tug Boat (8) Vortex (5) Wet Wet Wet (5) Zodiac (5) Stealth +1 Bouncezilla -1

Amity Beach (5) Angry Birds 4D Experience (5) Bouncezilla (4) Colossus (5) Depth Charge (5) Detonator: Bomb's Away (5) Flying Fish (5) Jungle Escape (5) King Pig's Wild Hog Dodgems (5) Lumber Jump (5) Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride (5) Nemesis Inferno (5) Quantum (5) Rocky Express (4) Rumba Rapids (5) Rush (5) Samurai (5) Saw - The Ride (5) Stealth (6) Storm in a Teacup (5) Storm Surge (5) The Swarm (5) The Walking Dead - The Ride (5) Tidal Wave (5) Timber Tug Boat (6) Vortex (5) Wet Wet Wet (5) Zodiac (5) WD:TR +1, actually rather enjoy it. Bouncezilla -1, bouncy castle...really?

This is the year I've felt least enthused to go to Thorpe Park, and this year I've missed it the least. Nowadays what keeps me returning is the simple fact it's the biggest park near to me rather than anything else. Visits to Thorpe since 2015: 2015: 2 2016: 5 2017: 4 2018: 3 2019: 1 The reasons are simple. 1. Thorpe are taking rides away and replacing them with nothing. 2. The only additions are temporary upcharge experiences or rethemes. What I do miss though are Stealth, Inferno, the Swarm and Walking Dead, which I actually rather like despite the bizarre retheme choice. I look forward to Fright Nights next year also.

I saw this topic in Coaster Force and though this could prove interesting. ‐----- For me the 2010s mean quite a few things depending upon which country or continent or even park I look at.Europe:The Good:I am extremely pleased that parks are developing more coasters which are focused on providing thrills rather than trying to break records or out-do other parks. Rides like the Smiler and Formula Rossa appear to outliers, and I'm pleased to see rides like Taron, Lost Gravity, Baron 1898, Wicker Man etc. being opened.Generally mainland Europe's parks have been doing well with some of my favourite major parks expanding with an array of different ride types and not just coasters. The likes of Symbolica, Popcorn Revenge, Maus Au Chocolat, Pulsar and Chiapas suggest that other rides are improving, not just coasters.The Bad:The UK....oh, the UK. It's not been great has it? The 2010s have been bad over here. There have been great coasters added to some parks (Wicker Man, Icon), but on the whole the 2010s have been about the closure of classic rides and the decline in quality of others. Many of those lost were already butchered in the 2000s (Bubbleworks), whilst others were ruined and closed within the decade (Loggers Leap). Alton Towers was the only park to see successful major additions, whilst others saw mostly rethemes or the odd coaster. Compared to the 1990s boom (2000s boom for Thorpe) this was pretty shocking.The Ugly:I hope the trend of VR dies with the decade. Derren Brown's Ghost Train was at first an admirable disaster as it attempted something new, but now it has declined within 3 years to become an utter catastrophe of a ride. VR additions to other rides have also added very little beyond cheap CGI and longer wait times.

I have limited sympathies though as it still relates to the design of the ride in the first place. When a pirate in Pirates of the Caribbean breaks the ride is still pretty much a good experience. The experience does not lean heavily on one animatronic. If the demon suit breaks or VR doesn't work (or the train crash scene fails and is replaced by metal fences) then the entire DBGT experience is ruined instantly. At the end the day the attraction is essentially a projection of Derren Brown, a hanging train set piece, 2 videos, a bunch of metal fences and a man jumping out at you.

2x Efteling 2x Alton Towers 2x Phantasialand 1x Thorpe Park I clearly cannot go as often as many here! Very envious.

The shop ending used to be cool until it was replaced with a man in a shirt.

I always feel you are rushed past it, which is a shame as it's the best part of the whole attraction.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're saying those who dislike the ride are homophobes? I'd like to know what you like about the ride?