MattyB

So finally manged to get Hyperia today. First ride was back row, and it was insane! 2nd ride was towards the back. Also did some rides I haven't done in years. Got 5 laps on Flying Fish, did Vortex & Zodiac ( which I immediatley regretted - getting older and lots of spinning do not go hand in hand), Quantum and Rush. Tidal Wave was a godsend today. Also did Swarm, SAW and Nemesis. We ate at Vibes which was very good, and price was reasonable. I also took some travel sickness tablets with me today which made the difference! More thoughts on Hyperia: Was surprised how much you are out of the seat. Didn't think it needed to be much longer, maybe a helix or additional bunny hop. Queue line leaves a lot to be desired, also think they need some sort of screening on the lift motor as its very loud. Surprisingly quite busy. Colossus broke down and was stuck on the lift when we arrived. Assuming it moved to one train operation as the queue was 60mins for a lot of the day. Stealth was out all day.

THE MOST ADVANCED RIDE IN THE UK?! 👀 | Ghostly Manor Construction Update #6 👻

I would expect a lot of the Merlin staff are probably eyeing up a potential move over to Universal at some point. Considering the redundancies the company is going through, I wouldn't be surprised.

Post from the BBC - Bond and Paddington set to star at Universal park They mention Bond, Paddington and LoTR which is interesting.... Also says that Harry Potter will not be making an appearance

Much excitement!!!!!

Found an interesting YouTube channel by Disney Imagineering. Latest video here: We Call It Imagineering | Let's Ride

So didn't manage to get Hyperia today 😔 Had a surprisingly smooth ride on SAW. Nemesis is awesome and has aged like a fine wine. Did Stealth and Swarm, had a Burger King and a pint, and then went home. I do feel for the park, they have had issues with their last two installations (Derron and Hyperia).

Fingers crossed they can get the train off and reopen for tomorrow 😬

Damn I'm there tomorrow. Not looking good. 😔

Just been checking the app. Does the park not have quiet periods anymore? Just seen Colossus at 70 min, and the other coasters around 40-60 min.

Damn haven't been to the park for a couple of years now, and have booked for Thursday. Hope its up and running

Just a post about some Thorpe Park history some people may not know. In the early 2000's, the park installed its first fast track system, which was very similar to the ones used at Disney. You would put your park ticket in the machine and receive a printed fast track ticket. The system was free to use, and ran for about 1-2 seasons until they decided to follow Universal and charge for the service The machines were ripped out but you can still see remnants of the system today. Tidal Wave: The steel structure with the red roof covering the F&B kiosk was the original covering for the fast track machines Nemesis Inferno had an actual area for the machines included as part of the design. You can see this to the right of the queue line entrance, where the retail kiosk is now located. The ones for Colossus was located where the F&B unit at the bottom of the hill (near Samurai) is now located. Loggers Leap also had machines installed, and these were located next to the entrance to the queue line. Hope this was some fun bits of information from the parks history!

https://www.themeparks-uk.com/blackpool-pleasure-beach-guide/1529-blackpools-pleasure-beach-resort-set-to-open-the-uks-tallest-gyro-swing-in-2026

Ah didn't realise it failed its ADIPS. I vaguely remember it being a great little coaster. Yeah its a bit rough for the UK industry at the moment, with some potential gems shining through (Paultons, maybe Drayton)

Yeah agreed I would have thought they would remove the ride hardware and replace with something else. However it will be a challenge as I think that building was specifically designed to hold the current ride system, (I.e. the shape of the building). Regarding Walking Dead, I would like to see them rip out the coaster (its 30 years old next year!) and putting another dark ride in there. Would think its possible, and would certainly save on building a new structure if they were to go down this route. Don't think Thorpe needs another coaster yet, and if it they were to build another coaster I would prioritise the island next to Swarm or replacing Colossus. Regarding the island next to Swarm, I think a good way to do it would be to put a flat ride there first, and build the necessary infrastructure to connect the island as part of that project. They could then invest more money into a decent sized coaster there rather than having to split it with infrastructure as well (just a thought). I even had the thought that they could move Rattlesnake over from Chessington and putting it on the island as a supporting coaster, as I don't think it fits the Chessington line-up that well anymore (particularly with the 1.4m height restriction).

Really sad to to see this unique park go. Visited when I was a youngster and have some good memories of it. I believe the figures for the Blitz Experience and Victorian Village were made by Madame Tussauds many years ago. Flambards Victorian village sold to history show

Market Square

Had some fun recreating Calamity Canyon & Rattlesnake

So when I visited Efteling end of last year we ate at the same restaurant. Think it was around 15 Euros for a hot meal, plus drink.

I reckon a RMC wooden twister (similar to Wildfire at Kolmarden) would be pretty cool. USP as the UK's first wooden twister coaster....

So I visited Efteling for the first time recently. This park exceeded my expectations, and I was going to say its a Disney quality park. However, considering Efteling is older than Disneyland, should I be saying "are the Disney parks Efteling quality?" We spent 2 days at the park arriving around midday on the first. We didn't realise there was a national holiday, so the park was quite busy, however queue times averaged around the 30min mark, with Danse Macabre having a 60min queue pretty much all day for both days. Symbolica - Loved this ride, the level of theming was very high, and refreshing to see they didn't resort to using screens inside the attraction. There is a bit where all 3 cars face a balcony, which would have been an ideal place to put some screens, however there was a lovely diorama with butterflies so props to Efteling. Also great to see the park celebrating their mascot Pardoes by giving them their own attraction. I also loved the fact that you can choose between 3 different alternate endings, however we only got to experience the one. When we returned to do a re-ride at the end of the 2nd day the ride had closed for technical issues and didn't reopen. Vogel Rok - Awesome indoor coaster, decent amount of theming in the queue. Quiet forceful in some places. Joris en de Draak - loved these dual coasters, probably one of my favourites of the whole trip. Loads of fun pops of airtime. Loved the little details, such as the flag spinning at the end to signify the winner and the flags dropping in the station on the winning side. Droomvlucht - loved this ride, the sets were impressively large. Also was not expecting the spiral ending. Pagode - I've never been on this type of ride before, and we rode it as the sun was setting. Beautiful views across the park. Python - I was surprised at how well this rode and was quite forceful. I think its great that Efteling decided to completely re-track and keep its first major thrill ride, where other parks would have removed it. De Vliegende Hollander - this ride was amazing, the level of theming in the queue and the station blew me away. Reminded me of PoTC. The bit of the ride that goes into complete darkness with the fog actually made me a bit claustrophobic, and the ships "jumping" out of the dark were a nice touch. The coaster portion was decent, and we got lightly splashed at the end. The area theming was amazing as well. Baron 1898 - decent ride, amazing theming. Probably the only "let down" ride of the trip (and I use that term loosely as it is a world class ride) as the only other dive coaster I have been to compare it to is Oblivion. Carnaval Festival - loved this, reminded me of Small World (although the tune is not as offensive as Small World haha) and Toyland Tours. Love to see these old school attractions still running. Fairytale Forest - we spent around 2 hours in this, and we missed a lot. We underestimated how big this area is! My standout for this first visit was the Indian Waterlillies. Danse Macabre - this attraction was the standout attraction for me of the whole trip. I don't think there's much more I can say about it other than its incredible. We waited both days until it got dark to ride this as the darkness really added to the atmosphere. I would say Efteling have knocked it out of the park with this ride, its so well done. Probably the best POV I have seen online is the DLP Welcome one (link here: NEW RIDE Danse Macabre FULL ON RIDE - Efteling - World Premiere Dynamic Motion Stage). Park Ops - this is an extremely well run park, each of the F&B units had at least 3 staff in them, and the park and toilets were spotless. All of the attractions were running multiple trains/cars and the queues moved quickly. On our 2nd day we guesstimated they had a gate figure of around 10-12,000 and the park just swallowed it up. Each attraction appears to have been built with throughputs in mind, and considering the park doesn't run a fast track system they appear to do well with this. I got asked by a member of staff on a coffee unit what I thought of the park, and when I gave my feedback (which was positive) they said "thank you". I got the impression the staff were really proud to work there, and took ownership of it. We ate at the pancake restaurant Polles Keuken (amazing pancakes, although I would recommend pre-booking as the walk up queue can get quite long). The thematic elements in the restaurant added to the whole experience. We had lunch/early dinner at the Het Witte Paard restaurant. This was was around 15 EURO for a decent hot meal and drink which is amazing VFM in my opinion. In fact, the whole experience I felt was really good VFM, with park tickets costing 38 EURO and parking 12 EURO. My only gripe is that the hot drinks were all one size (small) and were 5 EURO, but this wasn't a big deal. We also ate at the Fabula Restaurant which was very good. The indoor play structures looked a lot of fun for the kids. We visited the Winter area that they had just finished setting up which was very well done. Park merchandise was very good, and I spent a small fortune on gifts, something I rarely do at a theme park. They also sell the various scents from the attractions which was a very unique thing to see. Parkwide and attraction sound/music were on point and very memorable. Entry to the park was quick and efficient, and the park entrance building is amazing! Construction on the new hotel looks like its progressing well, and I'm sure will be an awesome addition once it opens. Attractions we missed: Fata Morgana - closed for maintenance Villa Volta - didn't get time to get round to it Pirana - didn't get time to get round to it Raveleijn - they were running one show a day and we set an alarm to ensure we would be there on time. However we forgot we set the alarm and the alarm went off when we were in the middle of the queue for Baron. Stoomtrein - didn't get time to get round to it Max & Moritz - didn't get time to get round to it I'm sure we missed a whole lot more as the park is massive, but gives me a reason for a return trip! All in all, an amazing park. This park and Phantasialand are filled with magic, wonder and whimsy which I think is missing from a lot of theme parks now. We stayed at the Center Parcs De Vossemeren onsite hotel which is around a 1 hour drive from the park. We payed 40 EURO (each) a night for 3 nights which included access to the waterpark and breakfast! We took a day out of our trip to chill at the Center Parcs which was awesome! Can't wait to see what Efteling do next!

So I visited Phantasialand for the first time recently. We did a road trip and took in Efteling, a Center Parcs and Phantasialand. First off, F.L.Y and Rookburgh. Wow! My jaw dropped when we walked in through the hotel entrance. The area is stunning, the level of detail reminded me of the level of detail at Disney Sea. The way the coaster interacts with the land is amazing. Loved the various elements (steam coming out of the manholes, the zeppelin, train etc). I found F.L.Y to be a bit more intense than I had anticipated, however the ride was smooth, and I loved the small dark ride section at the start. Both launches were great, and the near misses were very well done. The IMAScore soundtrack tops off an amazing experience. Taron - this ride was insane, and I can totally see why so many people love this coaster. Again, the area theming is stunning and the ride just keeps on giving. Both launches took me by surprise at how powerful they are. Its one of the few coasters I've ridden where we got off and ran straight back round for another go! Black Mamba - again, theming was stunning. I found this ride reminded me more of Nemesis Inferno rather than Nemesis in terms of intensity, however was a decent ride. Colorado Adventure - this took me by surprise at how crazy this ride was. Was expecting a tamer Thunder Mountain, however the part in the dark took me by complete surprise. Winjas - these were fun, loved the trick track sections and the elevator style lift system. Again, the area theming was very good. Maus au Chocolat - having ridden Toy Story Mania I wasn't sure if this ride would work as well, however it was very good, and the level of theming in the queue line and ride was amazing. I think this ride type would do very well at Alton Towers. Geister Ricksha - I do love the old school omnimover attractions, and we got to ride two on this trip (the other being Carnaval Festival at Efteling). Would say Geister Ricksha is definitely showing its age, however was nice to see a different take on the haunted ride theme. The China area of the park was stunning. Talocan, Chiapas and River Quest were all closed for maintenance/cold season. We didn't do Crazy Bats as I'm not a fan of VR on rollercoasters (I had a bad experience on Galactica). We also missed Raik (as I'm getting on in my years going backwards on a coaster is not as fun as it used to be haha) and Mystery Castle (the person I was with doesn't like drop rides, however I will probably ride on my definite revisit). General Park - so, the toilets in the Berlin area are probably the best theme park toilets I have ever seen . Park ops were pretty decent, staff were friendly and helpful. Park was spotless in terms of rubbish and graffiti. I do love the fact that each area is screened off from the other which adds to the immersion, and can totally see why they have won the amount of awards it has. Park was very quiet with 5min waits for most things. Loved their version of "Main Street", the waffle place was delightful. And being able to sit along the street and soak in the atmosphere was very cool. They were setting up for Wintertraum, and it looked amazing. One of the things I think the park could improve on is its merchandise. It felt a bit lacklustre. We stayed at the Charles Lindbergh Hotel for 1 night. Thought the price was quite reasonable considering it included 2 days park entry, x2 F.L.Y priority passes each (even though we didn't need to use them), a 3 course dinner and breakfast. Also the views from the hotel were stunning. Unfortunately we couldn't walk around Rookburgh at night as they were testing the light show for their winter event, however we had awesome views from the observation point at the top of the hotel. The bar/restaurant was excellent, and the outdoor section of the bar gave some amazing close up views of F.L.Y. All in all, an amazing park, can't wait to see what they do next!

Just returned from my first Efteling/Phantasialand trip. Will write a full report at some point once I've recovered, however Danse Macabre is incredible!

Visiting this park next week for the first time. Can't wait!!!!!

Yep correct. Also CCR and the water ferries as they were quite large capacity rides/attractions.