Matt N

Hi guys. Often, parks will have a large-scale consensus opinion that most enthusiasts seem to have about them, and in many cases, you might conform to that opinion. However, there might sometimes be cases where you think differently to the hive mentality. For instance, there might be that highly rated park you don't get the hype for, or that panned park that you don't get the hate for. So my question to you today is; what are some parks you like more than most and parks you like less than most? I'll get the ball rolling with my answers: Parks I like more than most Thorpe Park - Thorpe Park is the unloved step-child of the major UK parks, and it's almost become a dirty word for most UK enthusiasts; most seem to talk about the park like it's the spawn of satan, and have absolutely nothing good to say about it. However... I've got a real soft spot for it, and I've personally never understood the hate! The park has a really excellent coaster lineup, and I also think the park has a fair amount of filler, as well as some really great theming in places! Areas like Amity Cove and Swarm Island amongst others are actually really detailed and atmospheric, in my opinion, and I think the park is actually pretty well landscaped in others! I also find something quite magical about the park's whole "island" setting and vibe; I know it seems very minor, but I've always really liked the bridge at Thorpe as a feature, where you cross over to the Dome and see all the coasters laid out ahead of you. It almost feels like you're entering a separate world, which I love; it provides a very pure sensation of escapism, and surely that's what theme parks are all about providing? Overall, though, I really do like Thorpe Park a lot; it's not quite there on Alton Towers for me, but I think it's a pretty nice park in its own right, personally! Oakwood Theme Park - A lot of people despise Oakwood, but I'll admit that I've really liked it on both of my visits; I think it's a really charming little park, with a nice forest setting and a very warm feeling about it throughout! I can't quite put my finger on what causes that warm feeling for me, but the place definitely seems to have a certain charm about it! And for a smaller park, I do think the ride selection is decent; while I don't rate Megafobia as highly as most, I do think it's a fun wooden coaster, particularly in the front row (although I won't deny that the first drop in the back is absolutely phenomenal), and while Speed isn't my personal cup of tea, I'll admit that it's a very impressive ride for the park with some great elements; that airtime hill is spectacular! Between Speed's hill and Megafobia's back row first drop, Oakwood may well have my two favourite individual airtime moments in Britain, which for a park of its size is really quite remarkable! As well as that, you also have a really fun family coaster in Treetops and some other nice bits of filler! Overall, while Oakwood isn't the largest or most expansive park, I've always had a good time there; it's certainly a hidden gem that I like more than most, and a nice little place to spend a few hours, in my opinion! Epcot - Now I wasn't sure whether to include this one, as I know it does have its fans and seems somewhat polarising, however I'll include it due to raw surprise value and due to the fact that I know it does have its fair share of haters. I know that a fair few people don't particularly like this park at all, and in films and TV shows, it often gets mocked as the "dull and boring" Disney park that noone wants to visit, and I'll admit that before my visit, I was unsure if the park would be my cup of tea. There didn't look to be much in the way of appealing ride hardware on the face of it, and sections of it are often dismissed online as somewhat dated. However, to my surprise, this park really gelled with me, and it actually ended up being one of my highlights of our 2019 trip to Disney World! Yes, I'll admit that Future World, although I admire the concept, wasn't my favourite, and did feel a little bit dated as the park's critics point out, but the whole park had a really relaxed, pleasant vibe to it that I really liked, and World Showcase was a stunning enviroment that I absolutely loved, with gorgeous theming and lots of places to explore! The park's landscaping is also absolutely gorgeous, and every bit of it is decked out in vibrantly coloured flowers and plants (although visiting during the Flower & Garden Festival may admittedly have helped there). Admittedly, I do feel that the park lacks appealing ride hardware, however that's not to say that the park doesn't have some great attractions; I loved Test Track, I surprisingly really liked Frozen Ever After, and of course, the likes of Ratatouille and Guardians will have made the park more appealing in this regard by the time I next get round to visiting! Overall, while I'll admit I was unsure if Epcot would be my thing prior to visiting, and was thinking I might be more of an Epcot sceptic, I had a thoroughly enjoyable time there, and I certainly consider myself among the Epcot lovers, personally! Parks I like less than most Disney’s Magic Kingdom - Surprisingly, it took me until my 4th Florida visit to actually visit Magic Kingdom, and by this point, I’d heard a lot of very superlative reviews of it. I’d seen it ranked up there with the likes of Europa Park as one of people’s all-time favourite parks, and it’s many people’s favourite park in Florida, so while I was on team Universal prior to my visit to MK (based on previous experience of Animal Kingdom), I did wonder if MK might sway me onto preferring Disney parks. When I finally went in April 2019, I was super excited… and while MK was nice, don’t get me wrong, I was somewhat underwhelmed. There were some good rides there, but nothing I really loved, personally, and me and my family all thought that the park seemed more aimed at the younger audience than our age group. While I can imagine the park would be amazing with young children, I’ll admit that as a 16 year old (at the time) enthusiast, I was personally a little underwhelmed after all the hype I’d heard. Busch Gardens Tampa - I do wonder if I’d like this more if I went back, and at the time, I very much wanted to like it, but something about BGT didn’t quite resonate with me the way I’d hoped, and I can’t quite put my finger on what. On paper, it has a lot to like; a great coaster lineup, reasonable theming, good landscaping. However, I wasn’t falling in love with it after one visit like many seem to for a reason I can’t quite pinpoint. Maybe it was because my family all hated it, maybe it’s because I didn’t spend too much time there, I don’t know. This is based off of one visit back in 2016, so I would like to give this one a revisit and see if I like it more, particularly with the additions made since then, but for now, it doesn’t rank as highly for me as I’d perhaps hoped it would prior to my visit. But what are some parks that you like more than most and parks that you like less than most?

Sorry to bump the thread, but if you’re nostalgic for the Thorpe Park Rangers, I recently discovered that the National Diving & Activity Centre near Chepstow, an attraction less than 10 minutes from where I live, actually integrated many of the former life-size Thorpe Park Rangers statues into a diving experience at the attraction: This might be one for you to visit if you miss the Thorpe Park Rangers and are into diving!

I had a rather interesting thought about Exodus. With Exodus having some rather big, impressive-looking inversions within it as its primary elements (including what many are saying will be the world’s tallest inversion, although I’ll admit I’m unsure on that one given that that record currently sits at 197ft; I’d certainly nominate it for the UK’s or even Europe’s tallest inversion, though), as well as being a more traditional sit-down coaster in style (unlike, say, Saw with its beyond vertical drop and more compact cars), could they potentially have built it to fill the niche of big multi-looper that Colossus currently occupies as well as to break the UK height record, as opposed to the airtime coaster niche that hypers more traditionally fill? I know that Colossus would have the 10 inversions as a substantial boost over Exodus, so it’d still be far from redundant by any means (the most I can see Exodus having is 3, by the looks of things), but now that the ride’s key selling point of the world inversion record has long since been beaten over at Alton Towers (and a newer version of the same layout is being built at Flamingo Land), could the park be psyching Exodus up to replace it as the park’s “big, impressive inversion coaster”? It’ll be a much bigger, more dominant ride than Colossus is at present, with some much larger inversions, and although we obviously can’t judge yet, it looks like it’ll satisfy the demands of the modern market more than Colossus does at present (for instance, less restrictive restraints and greater negative g’s; even if there’s no straight airtime hills on Exodus like Colossus’ bunny hill, I do think some of those elements have a fair shout at working negative g’s into them, whereas I stayed firmly in my seat for the entire ride last time I rode Colossus, even over the aforementioned bunny hill… not a scrap of airtime to be found anywhere, unfortunately). So seeing as Colossus doesn’t seem to be an overly loved ride from what I can gather (while I won’t deny it has its fans, it doesn’t really seem to have a huge fan following, and not too many like it a huge amount), as well as that it’s Thorpe’s oldest thrill coaster and it has been usurped at its original purpose even within the UK, my question is; could Exodus have been built to fill its niche in 2024 so that they can remove Colossus in preparation for their next coaster in the late 2020s or so? Let’s say this hypothetical coaster comes in 2028, 4 years after Exodus; that would likely see Colossus removed at the end of 2026, by which point it’ll be 24 years old. That isn’t overly young for a coaster by any stretch… What do you guys think?

Does this mean that the theme will be an apocalypse theme or something?

Sorry to double post, but I've actually been having a look at Old Town on Google Street View, and that made me realise that even if they don't retheme Old Town when Exodus opens, it will totally change the dynamic of that entire section of the park to a far greater extent than I'd previously anticipated... currently, Saw & Colossus absolutely tower over the section where Exodus is going, and Exodus will be more than twice the size of either...heck, every element before the splashdown is taller than the highest point on either! Looking at the concept images, you think it's just going to be another coaster on the skyline, but when you actually look at the area and visualise the ride there... this is going to look nothing short of absolutely monstrous, and I'll admit that does rather excite me! I know size isn't everything by any means, but it must be said that in my opinion, pure size does add something to a ride's presence!

On a side note, why is it that everyone is expecting this to be incredibly intense, out of interest? I'll admit that the more I look at the layout, the more I'm not personally seeing it myself; don't get me wrong, I'm sure Exodus will be a great ride that'll be great fun and really well-received, I am excited for it, and I think it'll be a great addition, but I'm not sure that it'll be overly intense or an absolute airtime machine, personally. I know it's both tall in height and fairly short in ride duration as far as hyper coasters go, but a lot of the elements seem very high and drawn-out (all the big inversions/elements pre-splashdown didn't seem too far from the lift height based on the images I saw), which leads me to believe that a fair bit of momentum could be burned off negotiating them, and at those elements' highest points, there won't be a ton of speed, or at least, not blisteringly fast pacing. I remember reading the comments of the most recent (and often considered to be most accurate) NL2 recreation of the plans, and the only part of the ride pre-splashdown that the creator described as having "strong ejector" was the first drop; they described there being strong ejector on the first drop, moderate airtime exiting the immelmann, floater on the outerbank and hangtime in the dive loop. Admittedly, they did describe the outerbank and final hill after the splashdown as having "STUPID ejector" (I believe this is where the alleged -1.8G came from), but this was without any kind of trim or equivalent speed removing device; my personal suspicion is that the splashdown could be akin to Diamondback's or SheiKra's, where the ride scoops the water out of the lake and shaves some speed off the train. I'm sure you'll still get decent airtime there, but I don't think it'll be quite as strong as some are expecting. I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade here; I'm as excited as anyone to see this take shape, I think it could ride very well, and given the brief, site and budget, I'm not sure they could really have done any better! However, I'm not sure that I'm quite subscribing to the belief that it'll be obscenely intense or an absolute airtime machine from start to finish, personally. Don't get me wrong, it seems like it'll have a fair bit of airtime in places (more than most, possibly all, current UK coasters), but perhaps controversially, I don't think it looks to be an absolute airtime machine myself; other sensations look to take centre stage, with the airtime more being sprinkled in as a side dish. Or at very least, it doesn't look like a coaster designed solely with the purpose of delivering airtime in the same vein of many other hyper coasters. I'm not saying that's a bad thing by any means (it certainly makes the ride stand out compared to other hypers!), but that's just my personal take.

Great stuff; thanks so much for the insight @JoshC.!

Sorry to double post, but I’ve altered the topic title to something that is (hopefully) less confusing…

Hi guys. Disney and Universal are arguably the two biggest names in the theme park industry, and their brand of park is quite a different product to any others on Earth. While many parks seem to have the big coasters as their main selling point, the big 2 aim for a more holistic experience, with the coasters often being sidelined in favour of a greater emphasis on different elements, such as dark rides, shows, and immersive themed environments. As such, these premium parks often don’t tend to build especially extreme coasters, particularly in the case of Disney and particularly in more recent years. Don’t get me wrong, the big players have built thrill rides, but they often don’t tend to be absolute monsters like you’d find in other theme parks, and many of these thrill rides were built some time ago. However, a new for 2021 ride bucked this trend in quite a big way. Last year, VelociCoaster opened at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in Florida, and it has seemed to go down a real treat thus far. Guests are loving it, and from what I can tell, it packs the lavish theming and experience factors that you’d expect from a premium tier park. However, in a notable departure from other recent coasters built in Disney & Universal parks, it looks to be a pretty extreme ride from a hardware perspective too. It has the dynamic elements, high forces and fast pacing that many more traditional theme park rides have, and at 155ft tall and 70mph, it’s hardly an insignificant ride in terms of size! Guests seem to be loving it thus far, and having such an extreme ride arguably gives Universal a key advantage over Disney, and opens them up to a greater range of guests. So with that in mind, my question to you today is; do you think that VelociCoaster’s success will push Disney to build more thrilling rides in order to keep up? Personally, I’m undecided. I could see arguments for both sides of the coin; I see very valid reasons as to why Disney might be spurred to up the thrills a bit, but I can also see very valid arguments for them not bothering and sticking to what they’re doing now. In terms of why I could see them building more thrilling rides in response to VelociCoaster; even though Disney has gained a reputation among many for being the more family-friendly of the big 2, their previous record suggests that they are not as averse to building thrill rides as you might think. While they haven’t built any massive monsters, I’d argue that the likes of Rock’n’Rollercoaster prove that Disney are not averse to building coasters with elements like intense launches and inversions, and even recent Disney coasters like Guardians and Tron are hardly kiddie coasters; those two look like a notable step up from your Big Thunder Mountains and Seven Dwarfs Mine Trains, for sure. As such, Disney installing something a bit more thrilling to combat VelociCoaster isn’t out of the realms of possibility, in my opinion. On the flip side, however, Universal has always seemed a bit “edgier” than Disney (for lack of a better word), and has always seemed a fair amount more interested in the thrill seeker market than Disney has ever been. So with that in mind, one does have to wonder whether Disney would be interested in building more thrilling rides. Their current paradigm of mostly appealing to younger families is seemingly working very well for them, so why deviate from it? But what are your thoughts?

Hi guys. The new year is upon us (happy 2022, everybody!), and as the new year is ushered in, rides around the world are getting another year older. And to be truthful, the ages certain rides are hitting… scares me a little. The Smiler, a ride I remember riding in its opening year? 9 years old! The Swarm, a ride I remember feeling incredibly cutting edge and modern when I first rode it? Hitting double digits this year, at 10 years old! But that’s besides the point. The new year being upon us got me thinking; when I first got into theme parks, rides of certain ages seemed old, yet rides that are the same age now still seem pretty new to me. For instance, I remember that one of the first projects I discovered was the RMC conversion of Medusa at Six Flags Mexico, which was midway through construction when I first found out about it. Medusa was 13 years old when it closed, and at the time, I thought of 13 years old as pretty old, and it seemed as though many 13 year old rides simply weren’t living up to what’s popular today. But now? The rides that are currently 13 years old are rides that opened in 2009; I always think of 2009 rides as being fairly new! There are many rides of that sort of age range that are still ranking pretty highly, and even through the sphere of woodies, I can’t think of a single 2009 woodie that I would think of as being ripe for removal in the way Medusa was in 2013. As a wooden coaster case study, Troy at Toverland is turning 15 this year (2 years older than Medusa was when it shut) and is still one of the most highly regarded woodies in Europe; no one’s getting their chainsaws out to remove or RMC that one any time soon! I could think of tons of case studies to fit this argument. Gwazi was 16 years old when it was removed, and many thought its removal was a long time coming. But the wooden rides that are 16 years old now are things like Voyage and El Toro, which both still rank comfortably among the top woodies in the world in polls! Corkscrew at Alton Towers was 28 years old when it closed, and at the time, I gather that it was thought of as pretty terrible; rough and generally not very exciting. But now? The Alton Towers coaster hitting 28 in 2022 is the almighty Nemesis, a ride that most still love and consider among their favourite UK coasters, if not their favourite; I can sense that no one will be thrusting the bulldozer upon Nemesis any time soon, in spite of the fact that Corkscrew, which was in many ways equally iconic, met its end at the same age. And while I know Nemesis is a pretty unique case, I can think of similarly aged rides that are still really, really well liked in a similar way. Before I ramble too much, my point is; is innovation in quality slowing in the industry? Are rides seeming to age less quickly, and are they maintaining greater longevity? Or do you think that’s just my own perception? From my perspective, I do think innovation in quality seems to be slowing, as it seems like newer rides are staying highly rated and relevant for longer than the rides that came before them, and more rides that are now getting on a bit age-wise are still ranking really highly compared to a few years ago, but what are your thoughts?

Sorry to bump, but Drachen Spire has been cancelled, and BGW's 2023 project is now looking like it'll be an enclosed coaster replacing Curse of DarKastle. BGWFans has now done their expose on DarKoaster, as it's been coined, and it looks interesting! Here's the link to their site: https://bgwfans.com/2021/project-darkoaster/ If you don't want to read, the basic gist is: Intamin Family Launch Coaster based entirely within DarKastle's building. Physical track itself contains 2 launches and various twists and turns. However, the ride is made longer by a very interesting trick, that has never been done before on any coaster. When the ride hits the final brakes for the first time, a switch track will suddenly come into play and fire the train down an s-bend that connects it back up to the start of the ride. As such, the ride does two laps, and this is facilitated through Intamin's new rapid switch track technology. Here's a video mockup that BGWFans did in NoLimits: What do we think? I'll admit that I'm a touch surprised that they haven't incorporated any trick tracks (e.g. a drop track), but I think it looks like it could be a really cool ride! That double-lapping trick in particular is a phenomenal optimisation of space, in my opinion, and I think it could open up many possibilities in terms of upping the capacity on coasters that do two laps!

Sorry to triple post, but Attraction Source has pointed out something very interesting; a hybrid coaster is apparently shown in the concept art, within the medieval section: https://www.facebook.com/213894828494/posts/10158874116593495/ Could the London Resort be building an RMC?

Cheers, both! I’ll admit I’m surprised at how far Thorpe Farm was from Canada Creek/Old Town; given the distance, surely a train from the bit by Rumba Rapids and the area that now houses Nemesis Inferno would have made more sense? I’m also surprised at how close Thorpe was allowed to build the farm to Thorpe village, as well as just how far away it was from everything else… Thorpe Park was strangely a lot bigger in the 80s, as according to the book, they also had a walk-around attraction about war planes going around an entirely separate lake! Was Treasure Island Railway a separate ride to Canada Creek Railway, or was it the same ride, but a marginally different route? Also, does the park still own the sites of Treasure Island and Thorpe Farm? Could they potentially function as future ride sites if the park wanted? Sorry to ask so many questions; I’ll admit that learning about pre-Tussauds Thorpe does interest me, because as someone who didn’t visit for the first time until 2014 (by which point the park was quite comfortable in the skin of a thrill seeker haven), I find it hard to fathom the prospect of Thorpe Park ever having had these kinds of attractions and being that kind of park. 80s Thorpe Park sounds like somewhere my thrill-hating Nan would have quite liked (she’s said to me herself that her thrill threshold doesn’t extend beyond Pembrokeshire’s Folly Farm, and often moans about how Chessington’s peak was when it was primarily a zoo), while I wouldn’t dream of taking her to modern day Thorpe Park, or even a more family-friendly place like Alton Towers or Chessington! I guess it puts into perspective just how much the 2000s changed the park…

Hi guys. Sorry to bother you all, but I've recently been re-reading Making Thorpe Park by Chris Atkinson (an excellent read, by the way!), and when discussing the earlier years of the park, it talked quite a bit about Treasure Island, a pirate-themed train ride and show (I think?) that the park operated under RMC. The land is allegedly not in use anymore. So my question was; where exactly was Treasure Island, and does the park still own the land? I'd also be intrigued to know about Thorpe Farm, but I know that was near Canada Creek/Old Town, as the Canada Creek Railway used to run to Thorpe Farm until 2006.

I know that this seems like a random thing to ask, but; is there a possibility that Exodus may actually end up being the final ride name? I only ask because I know there's a precedent for Thorpe doing this (Stealth started out as "Project Stealth"), and I personally quite like Exodus as a ride name; it has a real ring to it!

Sorry to double post, but unsurprisingly, the opening has now been officially pushed back to 2025: I think they’ve got a far better chance of meeting 2025 than 2024, personally; 2 years seemed like a phenomenally short amount of time to build a new park from the ground up, whereas 3 years seems perhaps more achievable, in my opinion. On a side note, it would appear they’ve altered the concept art a fair bit; the British and French flags from the huge dome buildings are gone, for a start! Could this be the altered concept coming out of the SSSI designation?

Hi guys. Many parks across the world aspire for unique attractions in order to stand out from the competition; even close to home at the Merlin parks, the aspiration for uniqueness is a key pillar of the creative process. I don’t know about you, but I think Merlin are one of the most innovative companies out there. They don’t stay within the mould when designing attractions; they think outside the box, and nearly everything they build is very much outside the norm for a ride of its type. But my question to you today is; how important is uniqueness, in your view? How important do you think it is for parks to shun cliches & norms and think outside the box? Is uniqueness absolutely vital, in your view? Or do you not think it’s important at all? Or are you somewhere in between? Personally, I think uniqueness is somewhat important to an extent, but not super important; it’s far from the be all and end all, in my opinion. I do think uniqueness is important to an extent. Without uniqueness, the industry would be totally stagnant, and progress would never happen! The desire for uniqueness has produced some of the industry’s most loved and revered attractions, so for that reason, I definitely think uniqueness has at least a certain degree of importance. However, I don’t think uniqueness is necessary in every case, personally. Perhaps controversially, I don’t have an issue with more “conventional” attractions that follow a pre-existing design philosophy as long as they’re executed well. Cliched themes? I like them! Cloned rides or rides designed using a very similar philosophy (for instance, many of B&M’s models)? I like the consistency, and look forward to a proven ride experience! My point is; as much as an experience might be cookie cutter, the mould exists for a reason, and to have become the mould for that genre of attraction, a ride must be pretty good, so as long as it’s fun, I don’t personally see the issue with imitating another attraction. As they always say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so if something has clones, or has become somewhat of a cliche, then it must be a good sign that it works! I’m a firm believer in the phrase “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, so if the mould works, I see no real reason to deviate from it too much. As much as I do value and admire those who break the rules and think outside the box, I also think that staying inside the box can be great and valuable too; if a base concept is proven, then you can work harder on refining it to make the best version of it! But how important do you feel uniqueness is?

Welcome to TPM @CineramaMax!

I'm surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet, but Coaster Chall recently posted a very interesting video about what Drayton could be receiving in 2022, as well as what could be coming in 2023: If you don't want to watch, Chall's inside source is suggesting that: Drayton Manor's 2022 addition will be a Viking-themed area on the triangular plot of land near to where Vertigo and Buffalo are located named Viking Village. The addition is set to be fully revealed in March 2022, with an opening apparently set for 1st April. The rides installed will be a Zamperla Disk'O Coaster, a Zamperla Nebulaz and a pony ride-style attraction (think George's Dinosaur Adventure at Paultons) themed to Viking battle horses. As well as this, Vertigo will apparently be kept, rethemed into the area and included in park admission, and Buffalo is also being rethemed to the Loki Serpent Snake. Away from Viking Village, markings are already being taken for a new roller coaster, and Looping Group are currently scouring for different manufacturers to build it. However, the ride is said to have 800m of track, forwards and backwards sections, and a swing launch somewhere within the ride. In terms of a location, the combined location of Apocalypse, Pandemonium and Test Track is apparently being eyed up for this coaster, and it's rumoured to be a 2023 addition, functioning as a phase 2 expansion to Viking Village. Isn't this all very exciting? Take this with a pinch of salt, of course, but Chall's inside source within Drayton Manor has been incredibly reliable so far, correctly predicting nearly all of what happened with Adventure Cove in 2021. So for that reason, I'd say that what Chall is saying has a high chance of being true, personally!

Hi guys. Size is often used as a marketing tool by parks, but many enthusiasts (myself included) believe that size isn't everything. For my money, it's not the size that matters, it's what you do with it. So my question to you today is; are there some coasters that work against that traditional assumption that "bigger is better"? Can you think of small coasters that you think make the most of the size that they have, and also some larger coasters that you think squander their size somewhat? I'll get the ball rolling with my suggestions. For a smaller coaster that makes smashing use of its size, I'm going to nominate Mine Blower at Fun Spot Kissimmee. They crammed a fair few airtime hills and a fairly large inversion into a coaster that is only 80ft tall and a little over 2,000ft long, and takes up a very compact footprint little larger than some backyards; I find that a hugely impressive use of size, personally! It's an absolute whippet of a coaster, and I think Gravity Group deserve huge applause for the sheer amount of thrill they crammed into Mine Blower's somewhat diminutive size and stature! On the other end of the spectrum, for a larger coaster that squanders its size somewhat; I loathe to say this slightly, as it's an older ride now and I do think its layout doesn't entirely deserve the hate it often gets, and it also wasn't really built for airtime, but the first coaster that came to mind for me here was The Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. While I digress that the Big One wasn't built for airtime, and was also only the world's 2nd hyper coaster, I don't think it does a huge amount with its sheer size, and I'll admit that the ride was one of my biggest coaster disappointments when I first came off it in 2018. I don't think I've ever had a single hint of airtime on the Big One, and while I'll admit that the ride does have its moments in terms of speed and intensity, a fair amount of it is spent meandering around not doing a huge amount. I'm probably being unfair given BPB's tight footprint and the Big One's age, as well as BPB's design focus on visual impact over thrill, but it was sadly the first coaster that came to mind in this category for me. But what are some coasters that you feel make the most of or waste their size?

Hi @Supervolt; welcome to the forums! (I apologise for not seeing your post earlier...)

Sorry to bump the thread, but I have some of my own controversial opinions I'd like to share. I apologise in advance if any of these are controversial or triggering... but I guess that's what this thread is for, right? I prefer Rita to Stealth, and it's not even particularly close (of the 79 coasters I've done, Rita is currently #14 and an 8/10, while Stealth is #41 and a 6/10). Building upon that, Stealth ranks 4th of Thorpe's big 5 for me based on my most recent experience with each (behind Inferno, Swarm and Saw). Standup coasters, while not my favourite coasters or the most comfortable coasters by any stretch, are not as abysmal as they're often made out to be, and I actually prefer them to flying coasters from a comfort standpoint. (This is based on DMP's Shockwave for standups and Galactica and Manta for flyers) Blackpool Pleasure Beach's Avalanche is surprisingly good fun and my 2nd favourite coaster there behind only Icon; it makes me sad that the bobsled genre is seemingly dying a death, as I genuinely like Avalanche a lot! I prefer Thirteen to Expedition Everest, of the backwards coasters of that style I've done, and by a fair distance (Thirteen is #18 and a 7/10, while Everest is #28 and a 6/10). Building upon that, Everest is only my 4th favourite Walt Disney World roller coaster, ranking behind Rock'n'Rollercoaster, Slinky Dog Dash and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, in that order. I prefer Gringotts to Forbidden Journey of the two Potter dark rides in Orlando, and I'd say it is my 2nd favourite dark ride of all time behind only Tower of Terror. (the much revered Spider-Man is a very close 3rd, however) Runaway Mine Train is my 6th favourite coaster at Alton Towers, and a huge guilty pleasure of mine; those helixes have no business being on a family coaster, and it just puts a huge smile on my face every time! (The rides that rank lower are Smiler, Galactica, Spinball and Octonauts, in that order) I did not especially enjoy Olympia Looping, in spite of it being hugely praised; while it (surprisingly) didn't make me grey or black out, it was too intense for me and made me feel pretty nauseous like no other coaster has done, and I also found the restraints to be some of my least favourite ever; those shoulder bars tightened so much it actually caused me to wince in pain during the ride. I'll admit that was perhaps the most disappointed I've ever been by a coaster. I prefer Universal parks to Disney parks by a fair bit; while I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Disney (I loved Animal Kingdom and Epcot in particular), the Universal parks have that special something for me that the Disney parks lack. IOA and USF are my 2 favourite parks in Florida, and IOA is my favourite park of all time. Wicker Man is my favourite wooden coaster in the UK by a considerable distance, and my 2nd favourite in the UK overall behind only Icon (I can sense Icon being my British favourite might perhaps be another hot take!). I think it's terrific fun and hugely rerideable; it absolutely blitzes through the layout, and packs fun twisty sections and surprising airtime, in my opinion, as well as being fairly smooth and comfy as far as wooden coasters go! In spite of finding sections of it impressive, I didn't particularly enjoy Valhalla, and I can think of water rides in the UK alone that I prefer, let alone Florida. So, those are some of my most uncommon takes! If you want justification for any of those, ask away!

I don't think I've ever posted my top 10 coasters on here, so here's my list with a little explanation as to why each ride is where it is, as well as each ride's score out of 10 for how much I enjoy it relative to the other coasters I've done. Before starting, I should probably clarify that I don't rate coasters purely based on intensity; fun factor and rerideability are the two most important factors for me. My very favourite coasters are all rides that are thrilling enough to give you a kick out of riding them, but not so intense that they put you off reriding or do things to your body, and they're also all reasonably smooth and comfortable to a point; I'm not personally a fan of overly rough rides. I've also noticed that I personally like airtime coasters the most, or rides with at least a certain degree of negative g's or "out of your seat" action of some description (so hangtime might also count). Matt N's Top 10 Coasters as of December 2021 (Coaster Count: 79) Mako - SeaWorld Orlando: My first and last rides on this coaster were in August 2016, but the 3 rides I had on Mako stick out to me as 3 of my favourite coaster rides ever even 5 years on; my first ride in particular gave me a hit of pure joy no coaster has since! As for why this coaster sticks out compared to the rest; where do I begin? As soon as you board the train, the restraints are some of the most gorgeously comfortable coaster restraints I've ever sat in, and when the ride itself kicks into motion, there's so much amazing stuff going on; the sustained airtime is phenomenal throughout, with the first drop, first big hill and speed hill sticking out as 3 particularly biblical airtime moments (I know floater is often considered weak airtime nowadays, but 13 year old me remembers it feeling like I was being catapulted into space, and floating in the air for what felt like forever!), and even away from airtime, the sense of speed is amazing, and the ride is so blissfully smooth, negotiating each element with what feels like flawless precision! And on the whole, while it may not be an intense g-machine, Mako is a coaster where I felt a strong urge to run back round and give it another go each time I did it, more so than any other coaster I've been on; I think the balance between thrill and fun factor/rerideability is just perfect! Prior to riding this, I was a little lost as to why enthusiasts revered airtime so much, but Mako was the coaster that converted me, and made me understand that love for airtime that most enthusiasts have! I'll admit that I'm unsure if this should still be number 1 what with how long it's been (with some of the amazing coasters below like Icon, Wicker Man et al, I worry that this wouldn't stand up if I were to ride it today), but I've decided to keep it here for now on the basis of the memories. What do you guys think? 10/10 Icon - Blackpool Pleasure Beach: Controversially, I do really love Icon! I’ve ridden it 4 times on 2 separate visits to Blackpool in 2018 & 2019, and it’s really struck a chord with me, hitting all the right notes each time! It’s fast, it’s thrilling enough to give you a kick but not too intense to be fun, it’s smooth, it’s rerideable, it has some amazing ejector airtime, the trains are lovely, the rapid transitions are great, and on the whole, I see little not to like about Icon from my personal perspective! Sure, the launches aren’t the punchiest (although I don’t personally think they’re as feeble as they’re often made out to be), and the ride as a whole isn’t exactly an intense, pedal-to-the-metal g-machine, but I just find it tremendously, tremendously fun, and it puts a smile on my face and gives me an urge to reride every time! And surely coming off a coaster smiling and wanting to go round again is the most important indicator of enjoyment, is it not? 10/10 Wicker Man - Alton Towers: I’m not usually a hardcore wooden coaster fan like a lot of enthusiasts, but I’d have to say that Wicker Man is most definitely a ride I make an exception for; I find it tremendously fun, fairly smooth and comfortable in wooden coaster terms, and very rerideable! The ride is really, really fast, it has some smooth yet exceedingly fun transitions, many surprising pops of ejector airtime, and as I’ve said with the rides above, it strikes the perfect balance between thrill and fun factor, in my opinion! And on the back row in particular, this coaster is a real hoot, with some excellent airtime moments, although I think every row is fun on Wicker Man, personally! Overall, I think Wicker Man is a hugely fun ride; even if it isn't the most intense coaster, it always puts a huge smile on my face! 10/10 Mine Blower - Fun Spot Kissimmee: I know that 2 wooden coasters in my top 5 might possibly contradict my earlier statement about not being a hardcore wooden coaster fan, but Mine Blower is the other ride that I’d say I make an exception for! I should preface what I say about Mine Blower by saying that I only had one ride on it, in the front row, with a practically empty train. However, in spite of this; Mine Blower did impress me, and I think there’s a lot to like about it! The ride is fast-paced from start to finish, and I absolutely love that bouncing, darting sequence of airtime moments the ride incorporates! I also love the ride’s sole inversion; that zero-g roll provides a really excellent moment of sustained hangtime! I know it’s in stark contrast to the more abrupt, erratic sensations in the rest of the layout, but I really like how the start of the ride contrasts with the rest of it! I was slightly worried about Mine Blower’s roughness prior to riding, as I have a low roughness tolerance and I’d heard numerous reports about Mine Blower’s roughness, but on the front row, I’d personally say I didn’t find it overly rough; no more so than something like Wicker Man, anyway. One slight caveat I admittedly have is that I don’t like the trains as much as the GCI trains; the restraints are a bit tight, and I think the GCI rolling stock generally feels a bit more comfortable, in my opinion. Overall, however; even though I’d say Wicker Man just edges it for me in terms of woodies (the trains are far more comfortable, and I also really like the smooth twisty bits on Wicker), I was very impressed by Mine Blower, and I’d say it’s a more than worthy candidate for a favourite woodie! 9/10 Oblivion - Alton Towers: Perhaps oddly given the one-note nature of it, Oblivion is a coaster I've really grown to love with time! This could admittedly be a tentative opinion until I get back on SheiKra, but to be honest, I actually think I like Oblivion more nowadays; I love how concise it is, and although it doesn't do a lot, I think Oblivion does everything it has in its arsenal extremely well! The sense of speed on the drop is phenomenal; my dad always says to me whenever we ride it together that Oblivion feels like the fastest coaster he's ever done, and I can certainly see why he thinks that, as it really feels like you're flying at warpspeed through that tunnel! The airtime is also great, in my opinion; the drop itself provides an excellent moment of strong sustained airtime, and the hill into the brakes also provides a surprising bonus pop! The ride is also really smooth and comfortable, in my opinion; for a coaster of 23 years old, I think it's aged phenomenally, and I think that as OTSRs go, B&M's traditional ones are about as unobtrusive and comfortable as they come! Overall, while it might be short, I think Oblivion is certainly sweet! 9/10 Montu - Busch Gardens Tampa: My memories of Busch Gardens Tampa are getting hazier with time, as it’s close to 5 years since my first and only visit, but I do remember very much liking Montu! I remember it being relatively smooth, as B&Ms mostly are, but also packing a real punch! It was a long ride, but one that kept its momentum throughout, and it had many awesome inversions and moments of positive force! The one ride I had certainly sticks out as my favourite ride I’ve had on a B&M invert, and I remember really liking it at the time, but I’m unsure whether I’d rank it quite as highly now, as my tastes have changed slightly towards rides with more negative g’s and a wider variety of forces on offer as opposed to rides with little aside from positive g’s. Still, Montu is a fab invert, in my opinion! 9/10 SheiKra - Busch Gardens Tampa: As I alluded to in my musings about Oblivion above, this is probably a tentative ranking until I get a reride on SheiKra, but in spite of me now saying I rank Oblivion a bit higher, I did still really like SheiKra, from memory! The ride is massive, which adds a certain element of fear to it, and I remember the drops and big, swoopy elements being really nice! I really do need a reride, though; based on my recent experience with Oblivion, it might well end up pushing SheiKra up a few spots… 9/10 Nemesis Inferno - Thorpe Park: This coaster has really grown on me in recent years, and perhaps controversially, I'd now say it is my favourite of Britain's two Nemesises (Nemesi? I don't really know what the plural of Nemesis is...) by a marginal amount (as for how marginal; Nemesis is the coaster directly below!)! The reasons I like this coaster marginally more than Nemesis are that it's smoother, more consistent in terms of keeping up the pace throughout the layout, and also that it doesn't have any sustained greyout moments like Nemesis' helix (perhaps controversially, I'm not a greyout fan; I often think too much intensity can take away from a ride, personally). And in terms of Inferno as a standalone coaster on its own merits; I think it's a great one, personally! The ride is nice and fast throughout, thrilling without being overly intense, fairly smooth (I only got a slight bit of headbanging on my last ride), and on the whole, it's a coaster I like a lot! It's not quite up there as one of my very favourites as I don't rate coasters focused solely on positives as highly as I used to, but Inferno's still a hoot, for my money! 9/10 Nemesis - Alton Towers: As much as Inferno may just have pipped it among British inverts, I still think there's a hell of a lot to like about the original Nemesis! Firstly, I admire its raw brilliance as a structure and a feat of engineering; it still blows my mind how John Wardley packed so much into that pit! I also have a long relationship with Nemesis, and it’s my most ridden coaster of all time, with me having had 24 rides in total since 2013, so I do have a lot of love for it, in that regard! And when we go to the layout itself; as much as Nemesis isn't quite as smooth and consistently paced as Inferno, in my opinion, there's still a lot to like, in my opinion, and I think there's some great elements in there, personally! However, I'm controversially not a fan of Nemesis' much revered helix; as much as I think the pacing and design of it are excellent, I don't personally enjoy the sustained grey out moment it always gives me. Overall, I still think Nemesis is a fantastic inverted coaster that I always really enjoy; even if I don’t rank it quite as highly as others, that’s simply because as I said about other rides above, I don’t personally rate coasters focusing exclusively on positive g’s quite as highly as I used to. 9/10 The Swarm - Thorpe Park: This might surprise you based on its current placement, but prior to riding Mako in 2016, Swarm was actually my favourite coaster. And I won't deny, there's still a lot that I love about it; the sense of speed is phenomenal (you really do feel like you're flying!), the winged seating does add something, and I think the ride has some phenomenal moments (the first drop is absolutely amazing, and the negative g forces in that last inversion are just blissful, in my opinion!)! However, I've been going off it a little as of late, and I can think of numerous reasons why it doesn't rank as highly as it used to for me. For starters, I'm growing less keen on the restraints; I didn't used to mind them, but they seem a lot tighter nowadays, and they also seem to come down on you further during the ride. Also, while I wouldn't call Swarm rough by any stretch, it does seem to be getting a touch rougher and losing that silky smoothness I always loved about it; the outer back ride I had in September seemed fairly juddery to the point where it did take away from the ride a bit for me, and while the inner seats were much smoother and more enjoyable, even those inner rides seemed to have a slight grind/rattle that the ride never used to have. Finally, the helicopter helix has started inducing a somewhat unpleasant sustained greyout that I haven't been particularly enjoying (I love the rest of Swarm, but as with any sustained greyout, I just sort of grin and bear this moment and wait for it to be over), which takes away from it slightly for me. Sorry if I sound very picky there, and I could well have had hit Swarm on a bad day in September (noone else seems to pick up on many of the things I mentioned there; am I going mad?), but I just felt I should explain why the ride isn't higher given that it was my favourite coaster for 2 years pre-Mako. For now, Swarm's highs are great enough and its lows are inconsequential enough to narrowly keep it in the top 10, but Inferno has superseded it as my favourite Thorpe coaster now, which I never thought would happen a few years ago, and with me hoping to visit Europa next year, time will tell if Swarm stays in the top 10. 9/10 So, that's my top 10 coasters! I apologise if any of that is controversial, and if you want to question me on any of that, ask away! P.S. Here's the rest of my list in case you're wondering where a certain ride is that's missing: https://captaincoaster.com/en/tops/192

Hi guys. With Omicron sending countries into lockdown, closing parks in some places and wrecking people’s theme park travel plans, I thought we could do with a little positivity around here this evening! So why don’t we take a journey into a land of dreams? Let’s go to one where COVID preferably doesn’t exist and you have an unlimited pot of money and an unlimited amount of land with which to build your dream theme park. Planning restrictions are also non-existent, so height and noise restrictions are no object either! So my question to you this evening is; if you were given the chance to build the theme park of your dreams, what rides would you put into it? And if you want to elaborate a little further than what I’m suggesting and go past mere rides; what sort of park would your dream theme park be in terms of themes, name, areas etc? In terms of my dream theme park; off the top of my head, I’d do something similar to this: Coasters B&M Hyper Coaster - I love a good B&M Hyper Coaster, and I think one would work beautifully as a headline attraction of my dream park, going near the entrance; I can just imagine guests entering the park in perfect parallel with a row of parabolic hills that would provide beautiful sustained floater, and I can also imagine that this coaster would have a big capacity, to really devour those opening time queues! In terms of a theme; I’ve always loved the idea of a B&M Hyper being themed to a protector of the park, and being given the name Emperor! Intamin Blitz Coaster - I’d love a coaster like VelociCoaster in this park, with heavy theming, but also some nice airtime moments and inversions too. I can definitely imagine a top hat, with a twisty layout packed with some twisted airtime moments and fun inversions! As much as I specified Intamin, I do think a Mack would fit this brief nicely too. GCI Dueling/Racing Wooden Coaster - Based on the one GCI I’ve ridden, I’d have to say that I really like the ride type, and I’ve always thought that GCI’s dueling coasters, such as Joris at Efteling, looked like great fun, so I’d definitely plump for a duo of dueling GCIs, personally! In terms of what type of layout I’d go for; I’m unsure if I’d go for dueling or racing, but if it were racing, I’d go for two out and back-style layouts like Joris’ two sides have, and if it were dueling, I’d go for two twistier, more spaghetti bowl-style layouts. These would definitely be mid-size GCIs as opposed to anything too huge, though, as I think they’d make a nice starter thrill ride! B&M Dive Coaster - As much as I know that these aren’t the biggest enthusiast favourite, I think they’re very popular rides, and based on personal preference, I do really like them! I’d certainly build one with the original restraints, and I’d probably make it a bigger 200ft model with 10-across seats. I’d chuck in a couple of inversions, and maybe an airtime hill or two as well, and of course at least 2 vertical drops (the big one, and one off the MCBR). Maybe a splashdown element as well. I’d also deck this out with tons of theming Baron-style, to really increase the overall experience factor. Mack PowerSplash (Could also count as water ride) - I’ve always thought that Pulsar looked like a really fun water ride, and I think a Mack PowerSplash would be quite a good filler thrill ride, personally, as well as filling the void traditionally filled by a shoot-the-chutes! I’d probably go for the Pulsar layout (with a turntable for high capacity), but I might go for a PowerLoop depending on how I felt! Intamin Family Launch Coaster - I can imagine a ride like Juvelen or Hagrid’s working really well in my dream theme park, with heavy theming, launches, some fun twists and turns, and maybe a drop track! Mack Water Coaster (Could also count as water ride) - As much as I’ve got the Mack PowerSplash above, I also think a traditional water coaster would work really well; I can imagine something similar to SeaWorld Orlando’s Journey to Atlantis, with some really nice dark ride sections, but a more extended coaster section than Orlando’s JTA. Vekoma Suspended Family Coaster - I can imagine a ride like Flight of the Pterosaur or Orkanen working wonderfully in this park! Possibly something more like Orkanen, with a height of roughly 60 or 70ft, some fun helixes and turns, and possibly some near misses too! Unlike the existing SFCs, I’d also go for 2 trains and a brake run, just to up that capacity a bit. GCI Junior Wooden Coaster - I’ve always really liked the way that Stampida and Tomahawk over at PortAventura coexist with one another, so I’d try and cram a GCI Junior Wooden Coaster in alongside the dueling GCIs so that the kids could race alongside the older riders at some point during the dueling coasters’ course! Mack Powered Coaster - This may come across as a rather intriguing choice, but I’ve always felt that Mack Powered Coasters are one of the most universally appealing ride types a park can buy; whenever I ride Runaway Mine Train at Alton Towers, I see a really wide range of demographics riding it, from the youngest kids right through to the teenagers and older adults, and everyone seems to come off with a smile on their face, and I’d certainly want that type of ride in my park! In terms of how I’d build it, I’d go for a nice long, sprawling RMT-style layout, and I’d definitely have some fun RMT-style helixes in there! Heck, I might even go for dueling Mack Powered Coasters Max & Moritz-style, to add a fun element of interaction and also double capacity! ART/Mack Kiddie Coaster - As kiddie coasters go, I’ve always liked the look of the ART/Mack model, so I’d definitely want to put something similar to B-a-a-a Express into my park! Thrilling Flat Rides Gyro Drop Tower - I love a good drop tower, and I think the big gyro model that rotates would be a brilliant landmark flat ride for this park, personally! In terms of manufacturer; Intamin seems like an obvious choice, but I do love Funtime’s model, so I’m undecided! I would definitely want to put some tilting seats on it; maybe a mix similar to Highlander at Hansa Park would work, so that those who don’t want tilting seats can still ride, but those that want that extra fear factor can still experience it? Intamin Mega Gyro Swing - I’ll admit I wasn’t a huge fan of the Gyroswing-style attraction I did at Paultons Park earlier this year, but they are undeniably popular rides, so I would build one what with how well-liked they are! I think Intamin’s model looks like the nicest to me; those overhead lap bars look lovely! I’d also maybe look to integrate some special effects and heavy theming into this one! S&S Screamin’ Swing - As much as I may have said above about not especially liking the Gyroswing I did, I absolutely love a good Screamin’ Swing, and I think this would make for a nice non-spinny flat ride that offers some great speed and weightlessness! Pirate Ship - Pirate ships are arguably a theme park classic, so I’d definitely look to integrate one in here! In terms of manufacturer; I don’t think I’d really care, as they’re all fairly similar. Maybe the Intamin Bounty, as they’ve manufactured quite a few other rides and I could get a nice package deal, but any would do! Dark Rides ETF Ride Systems Trackless Multi Mover - I’d love a large-scale trackless dark ride similar to Symbolica at my dream park, personally; I can imagine it working so well, and being a staple family attraction! In terms of a theme; I’ve personally always loved the idea of a modern take on the Haunted Mansion concept done using the trackless technology, so I’d go with a spooky house/spooky mansion theme. In terms of a name; I think Macabre Mansion would do the job nicely! Intamin Ultra Tower (https://www.intamin.com/product/ultra-tower/) - I know building an unbuilt ride concept seems like a risk, but I’ll admit I do like the sound of this one! Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios is one of my all-time favourite rides, and this sounds like a new take on the concept, so I’d absolutely love one for my dream park! Vekoma Mad House - I do think these are quite fun filler dark rides, and the illusion is always great fun, so I’d certainly try and put one in here! I’d do some nice pre-shows (maybe 1 or 2, Hex-style) to set the scene, and get a nice musical score composed for the ride itself! Interactive Dark Ride - As much as I know interactive dark rides are often considered gimmicky, I think they are popular, and I also think they can be quite fun rides! In terms of shooting system for this; I’d probably go with regular guns, but I do think Ninjago hand gesture shooting might be cool too! And I think I’d probably go with an omnimover for the ride system, to keep the capacity nice and high; I feel like the interactive dark ride is a ride type where the omnimover system would work well, as they’re not usually the most story-driven or triggered effect-driven rides, with effects usually being triggered by riders’ shooting of targets! ETF Ride Systems Mystic Mover - I feel like a second trackless dark ride would work really well, and I think this smaller ride system would do well as a dark ride for the younger kids! Water Rides Mack PowerSplash (Also coaster) - See above. Mack Water Coaster (Also coaster) - See above. Intamin Rapids Ride - I love a good rapids, personally, and I think one would be a great fit in my dream theme park! In terms of what type of ride it would be; I’d ensure it had heavy theming and some nice waves, water jets & waterfalls, and I’d also go for an elevator lift and drop similar to Infinity Falls! Slow Boat Ride - Even though I’ve filed this under water rides, this wouldn’t be a ride that would get you wet. It would instead function as a gentle, story-driven ride aimed to appeal to everyone, with some nice animatronics & theming and a nice story. This could be an indoor dark ride or an outdoor ride depending on how I felt, and I’m not sure about a manufacturer, but it would definitely be story-driven and not wet. Family Flat Rides Gerstlauer Polyp - I haven’t ridden one of these, but I’ve been told they’re great fun! Teacups - These are arguably a theme park staple, so I don’t think I could go without a teacups ride! Caterpillar/Musik Express - I do quite like this style of ride, so I’d definitely try and integrate one in. I could maybe see some nice theming going alongside this one. Intamin Parachute Tower - I think a family drop tower would be a nice fit for those who aren’t quite so into the big drop tower elsewhere in the park! Intamin Flying Island - I’ve always liked the look of these as far as panoramic attractions go, and a flying island would be quite novel! Other ETF Ride Systems Panorama Pedal Plus - When I was a child, I always loved Squirrel Nutty at Alton Towers, and this looks fairly similar in style, so I reckon this would make for a really nice gentle ride! Intamin People Mover P6 - I think a monorail would be great for transportation at this park, as well as for some nice panoramic views! So that’s a basic overview of some of the rides in my dream park! In reality, there would probably be quite a few more than that, as I’m missing quite a few things like kids’ flat rides, but those are just some of the main rides that come to mind off the top of my head! But what rides would you put into your dream theme park? And do you like the sound of my dream park?

Hi guys. Television has been a huge part of society for many, many decades now; it's been around for far longer than I have, and many aspects of popular culture as we know it revolve around and/or were started by TV. A TV is viewed by many as an essential within the home these days, and at a guess, I'd say that the vast majority of people in the developed world at very least own a television. However, I've noticed a vast change in people's TV viewing habits within the last few years. The more traditional scheduled approach to TV watching seems to be decreasing in popularity, with streaming services like Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime amongst others increasing in popularity, and almost becoming the norm nowadays. So my question to you today is; is traditional TV dying? In 20 years' time, will we still be watching TV channels and looking at TV schedules to see "what's on"? Or will that become a relic of the past within a few years, with the new on-demand approach having taken over completely? And more generally, what are your thoughts on on-demand TV and its rise in popularity? Personally, my answer is yes; I do feel that traditional TV is dying, and I do feel that on-demand could have rendered it obsolete before too long. Within the last few years, I've noticed quite a drastic and abrupt change in how both my family and people I know more widely view TV. When I was a young child, the TV world revolved around terrestrial TV, and even when I was in my early teens, it seemed like everyone watched terrestrial television, and while on-demand streaming services existed, it seemed like they were something that very few people had access to or used. From my perspective, the likes of Netflix didn't properly blow up until I was getting on for my mid teens (I was maybe 13 or 14, at a guess? For reference, I was born in 2003.), but a few years ago, it felt like TV viewing habits shifted rapidly and drastically towards on-demand services, and that shift has only gotten more drastic since. While most people I know watched terrestrial TV a fair amount a few years ago, their viewing of terrestrial TV has decreased substantially in recent years in favour of streaming services, particularly in the case of younger demographics. While we as a family watched a fair amount of terrestrial TV when I was a child, we watch very little nowadays; almost everything I watch with my parents now is on Netflix. And although I'm not a huge TV viewer in general, practically everything I do watch is on demand nowadays. I know that plenty of people do still watch terrestrial television (older demographics in particular still seem quite reliant on traditional TV), but the amount does seem to be rapidly decreasing, particularly among younger demographics; this may just be who I know, but I know very few people below the age of 40 or 50 who still regularly watch terrestrial TV (or at least, watch more terrestrial TV than streamed TV). More and more things seem to be moving towards streaming services; while they mostly used to have old films and TV shows on them, the popularity and prevalence of "Original" series has increased exponentially in recent years, and things like reality TV shows and even live sport, which would traditionally be more suited to terrestrial TV, are moving towards primarily being on streaming services. Even traditional TV channels and services are moving towards an on-demand model; for instance, Sky has introduced on-demand services, and BBC3 recently moved to primarily become an on-demand streaming service. A good case study of this shift for me is the topical TV of the current period; Christmas TV. I felt that TV was quite a topical subject to bring up right now what with it being Christmas time; Christmas TV & film has become a surprisingly large part of the festive period. My dad was telling me yesterday that when he was young, the Christmas period seemed to revolve around the TV schedule and what Christmas TV was on and when, and even when I was a younger child, I seem to remember the Christmas schedule and what programmes and specials were on over Christmas being a big thing. However, within the last few years... the discussion has shifted from "what's on TV this Christmas?" to "what's being put on Netflix this Christmas?" or "What's good to watch on Netflix this Christmas?". It's really interesting to see, and the Christmas TV schedule doesn't seem anywhere near as relevant as it used to be, from my perspective. Perhaps controversially, I'm personally quite happy with things moving towards on-demand. I think streaming services are a brilliant invention, and ensure maximum flexibility for TV watchers. Gone are the days where families would fight about what to watch on TV, or the days where your TV watching habits would be solely determined by the whims and timings of a schedule. I'd argue that on-demand satisfies everyone; each TV watcher can watch whatever they want at whatever time they want to (within reason), and I think that's absolutely superb, personally! But what are your thoughts? Do you think that terrestrial TV is dying, and are you happy about the rise of on-demand services?