Matt N

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?

Why do we think they’re not aiming to get back to the 2009-2011 peak? Did the park experience any significant problems during this period or anything? Also, great to hear about Slammer potentially getting removed; I reckon they might put a new flat ride in there!

Building upon what I said within my ridiculously long ramble (once again, I'm incredibly sorry about that...) about how I predicted that B&M wouldn't necessarily have pulled off anything any better than what we're getting had they been given the same site and brief to play with, I decided to have a go at building a similarly specced B&M Hyper within a site similar in size to what Mack had to play with for Exodus, to give you guys some idea of what I feel B&M might have come up with within the brief that Exodus seems to have followed. I apologise for the slightly shonky trackwork in places, but it was something I cobbled together quite quickly to show a basic idea of what I feel B&M may have done with the brief; I know the profiling isn't the funkiest or most adventurous, and B&M's actual work would have been far more fun and interesting, this is just to offer you all a basic idea: To clarify a few things that I can sense may be asked: The bit I left blank was supposed to represent the bit they've left for the plaza within the real proposal; I tried to make this ride fill as much of a similar area to Exodus as possible. I built the ride to a height of 236ft, the exact same as the real proposal. Track length is 3,310ft, top speed is 82mph, and ride duration looks to be 30-40 seconds from lift to brakes, so broadly similar to what Thorpe are proposing. The bit with the water splash rings and trim brakes is supposed to represent a splashdown; sorry if it's a bit clumsy-looking, but PlanCo doesn't do real splashdowns with water brakes, so it's the closest thing I could pull off. In terms of the deceleration rate in this section; I went for 4m/s^2. The ride has 2 trains with 7 rows/28 riders each. I don't know about you, but as much as I would have loved a B&M Hyper at Thorpe, and I think a big, sprawling out and back would appeal to me a fair bit more than Exodus looks to, this makes me pretty glad they went for the ride they did instead of trying to cram a B&M Hyper into a brief that's not overly suited to one. I could only fit one singular speed hill into this layout (no full-size parabolic hills), and the rest of it mainly consists of drawn-out, high curves (I can sense Thorpe would have wanted a visually impacting ride regardless of whether it had high inversions or not, so I purposely didn't go for low elements like B&M may have done if left to their own devices) in a similar vein to Thunder Dolphin if it didn't have the building. While I wouldn't say something like this would have been a poor ride by any means, I suspect that had Thorpe come out with something like this, people would have been somewhat disappointed, and it would have made people gaze longingly at foreign B&M Hypers thinking about what could have been; it looks to have less airtime than many UK coasters. In that regard, it makes me all the more chuffed that Merlin and Mack pulled off what they have within the plot, because as I said, I think we have the best possible outcome we could have gotten from a hyper built within the project's constraints, personally. TL;DR: I had a go at building a B&M Hyper within the brief that Exodus had, and it had very little airtime, instead looking more like Thunder Dolphin sans the building. This makes me very happy that Thorpe went for the ride they did instead of trying to cram a B&M Hyper into a brief not overly suited to one.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Burger King getting demolished in favour of the ride maintenance shed?

Thank you; I'm glad you liked it! And with regard to the comments I noticed you added about Exodus after I initially wrote this comment; I completely agree! I do apologise for what a long, rambling mess it is, though; I'll admit that the length of my post is perhaps ironic given the length of the ride I'm talking about... I just timed myself reading my post, and I took approximately 6 minutes and 54 seconds to read it in full (I'm so sorry...). For some perspective; assuming a full ride duration of around 1 minute and 30 seconds (based on what people have said and various NL2 creations I've seen), the ride would have done approximately 4.6 full cycles in the amount of time it took me to read my post... if we're going with the lift to brake run duration of approximately 40 seconds (at an optimistic guess), the ride could have negotiated the main thrilling body of its circuit approximately 10.4 times...

WARNING: This post ended up being longer than I expected, so I apologise in advance for its length. I also apologise if I repeat myself a bit in places; concise writing isn't my strong point... I apologise in advance for the long ramble, but I have a potentially controversial opinion; the proposal is really growing on me quite strongly, and I have to say that after a bit of thought, a bit of hindsight and perspective, and a more detailed look at the layout, I'm now really quite impressed with it and in genuine awe of what Merlin and Mack have pulled off here! I think this ride, although not what I was expecting, is actually a true stroke of genius on Merlin and Thorpe's part when viewed in context, and is something to really be proud of and get excited about! I won't lie, my original hope was for something with a greater focus on airtime. Prior to Thursday's consultation, my fantasy for Thorpe's next coaster was a sprawling out and back B&M Hyper, or given the site, perhaps a B&M hyper twister. (A typical out and back would be easier said than done from Old Town for sure, and would certainly have required Thorpe to think outside the box). Upon the Mack hyper rumour beginning to circulate after Thursday's consultation, I then began to have visions of a Mack hyper twister with loads of twisty airtime hills and fun turns; something akin to an upscaled Alpina Blitz, or perhaps a twistier DC Rivals. So in that regard, I'll confess that I was certainly torn when I initially saw the layout, and not instantly enamoured like I'd perhaps hoped. The layout isn't what I was expecting, nor what I was personally hoping for or what I would have chosen; it doesn't look to have much of an airtime focus on the face of it, and while I'm sure it will have airtime (and quite strong airtime at that) in places, I maintain that it doesn't look like an airtime machine per se in the same way that many other hyper coasters are. However, when I took off my B&M Hyper airtime goggles and saw this ride for what it is, I grew more and more impressed by it, and more and more excited to ride it. Yes, I do feel that like many of you, I would probably have vastly preferred British Shambhala or British DC Rivals to this coaster if based purely on personal preference, but looking at things with a little hindsight; within the space, and within the tight budget that Merlin/Thorpe had to work with, I'm convinced that this is just about the best outcome we could have hoped for. I actually feel it's a genuine stroke of brilliance from Mack and Merlin, because it looks like they've managed to fulfill the basic criteria that I felt Thorpe's next coaster required (a ride that makes a statement, is fun and rerideable, and is easily marketable) with not a ton in the way of resources with which to pull off such a beast of a ride. When you're sat at home on Google Earth looking at Thorpe Park and scoping out coaster options, it's very easy to say "I think it'll be a 250ft B&M Hyper like Shambhala, that will have a big row of airtime hills going either over the lake or around the back of the park. Or it might be twisty with a load of twisted airtime hills, like the Hot Go hyper". Believe me, I know that... because that's exactly what I spent the bulk of the rumour phase doing! However in hindsight, I think things like this should be viewed in context. In terms of the site; they simply wouldn't have fitted a big old out and back coaster in there without some serious outside the box thinking. Sure, it could have been done, but it would have been tough. If I'm being honest, I don't think Old Town was the ideal site for a Thorpe hyper, and I think putting the station on the island next to Swarm and having it run round the back of Swarm towards the front of the park would have been a far more ideal fit for a hyper, but that's for another time. In terms of budget; as much as I was one of the keenest advocates for British Shambhala, I simply don't think Merlin has the cash to build such a ride, in hindsight. With that context in mind, my point is; if you look at the space, cost and length Exodus had to work with, as well as the height they had to build to, I'm really, really impressed with what Merlin and Mack have pulled off here, personally. While it doesn't look to be overtly packed with airtime as such, the airtime potential is still there in places, and the ride looks to have some elements that could ride very well; for instance, I can't wait to experience that first drop, or that overbank that rolls into an inversion! To put it simply; while Exodus doesn't have a huge amount of elements, the elements it does have look like they could be pretty incredible, in my opinion! Not to mention that I also think it looks about as dominant as a hyper this compact could have done, which will really help with marketing and making it look impressive; great move, Thorpe! Also, as much as I was initially hoping for a B&M Hyper Coaster; when putting aside all fantasies of British Mako or Shambhala and looking at things through the same brief that Exodus had to work within (in terms of the restrictions in space, cost and length, as well as the minimum height to build to), I'm not necessarily sure that B&M would have come up with anything more highly received. Don't get me wrong, I love the B&M Hyper I've done to bits, and I think under ideal circumstances, they could have done a terrific B&M Hyper at Thorpe that I and many others would have adored, but based on what I know about B&M as a company, I think they would have really struggled with the Exodus brief, particularly in the context of the B&M Hyper Coaster, a ride type that traditionally thrives when working with a large amount of space, a long track length and a large amount of money if wanting to build a ride of any significant height; although it's a tall ride that on paper would have worked perfectly at Thorpe, the ideal brief for a B&M Hyper Coaster is almost the polar opposite to the brief Exodus had to work with (minimum height aside, of course). And if you look at the site they're using, the length they were constrained to and the type of layout Exodus has, favouring big, dominant elements built for sheer visual impact... speaking realistically, I'm honestly unsure if a B&M Hyper would have lived up to expectations. Imagine for a second that this had been a B&M Hyper. Assuming a ride of the same height and length and utilising the exact same footprint, I imagine that it would have struggled in a number of regards. For instance, I don't see B&M doing some daringly twisted drop like has been done here, so a decent bit of your track length would need to go towards some giant 180 degree turnaround directly after the drop, probably going about where the huge overbank is on Exodus; if the ride is dropping from a height of 236ft, it would probably need to be close to 200ft tall to be vaguely rideable in terms of forces, so a lot of track would be needed for this. After your turnaround, you could maybe fit one parabolic hill in at a push, but looking at Exodus, I'm honestly unsure if the site length would be long enough without extending the footprint... so you'd have to do another giant u-turn. Maybe repeat this pattern once more, do the splashdown to shave off speed, and then you're hitting the brake run, which would probably have necessitated a fair bit of track to get it high enough off the ground based on recent B&M creations and how I know B&M doesn't like to brake too forcefully at the end of a ride. No space at all for any of those brilliant parabolic floater hills within that footprint and length constraint. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure this ride would have been excellent, even if only for the raw speed of it, and B&M would have done something crafty with the turnarounds to make them really fun, but rightly or wrongly, I feel like that would have had enthusiasts gazing longingly at B&M Hypers abroad and tutting about what a rubbish example of the ride type it was, which Thorpe certainly wouldn't have wanted. With Exodus on the other hand; the ride looks so unique, and so creative and daring in terms of its elements, that it looks like something really special that can't be compared with anything else. They've utilised the space and length phenomenally and pulled off a genuinely excellent-looking coaster, in my opinion; while not the longest of rides, some of the elements look like they could be absolutely sensational, and it's actually turning heads around the world and making people abroad jealous, which I think is a surefire sign that they've done an excellent job, personally. I know I've rambled on a bit here (sorry to waste your time...), so I'll wrap this up. In conclusion; my stance on this coaster has changed considerably since yesterday, and after a bit of thought and reflection, I can't wait to see this take shape, I'm absolutely pumped to ride it, and while I know it sounds overly sentimental, the creativity and innovation shown in this ride makes me really quite proud to be British. I understand why people might be disappointed, but viewing this ride in context, I'm absolutely chuffed with what I'm seeing! Bring on opening day; I can't wait to try Exodus out, and I'm confident it'll be a huge, huge hit!

If you're disappointed in the length of this ride as well as the element choices compared to a "regular" hyper coaster, I've got a potential comparison for you that I'd say shows promise; I actually think that in many ways, Exodus is quite comparable to Goliath at Six Flags Great America. Now I know that Goliath is an RMC woodie, a totally different kettle of fish to Exodus, a steel coaster that's looking likely to be a Mack Hyper Coaster, but I think that the two actually share many similarities with one another: Both are fairly large rides; while I know Goliath is only 165ft tall with a 180ft drop, that height is still nothing to be sniffed at, in my opinion, particularly for a wooden coaster. Exodus, on the other hand, is 236ft. Both lack "traditional" airtime elements in stark contrast to others of their type. Both rides' layouts consist primarily of a few big, high elements strung together in a "bam, bam, bam" type pattern, with no low elements in between. (Isn't Goliath primarily the big u-turn, the dive loop, the zero-g stall and the smaller u-turn before it hits the brake run?) Both rides have length cited as a key con; the main thing I always hear cited as the main drawback of SFGAm's Goliath is how "cripplingly short" it is, and similarly to Exodus, it motors at pace into a very long brake run. In fact, as a point of reference, Goliath actually has no more "main" elements than Exodus does, if not slightly less. The reason I bring Goliath up is that in spite of its length, Goliath is often rated very highly. Many members who've been to the USA and ridden Goliath cite it as among their favourite RMCs due to how strong its pacing and individual elements are. Yes, it might not be the longest RMC on Earth, but I've heard that it really delivers in a big way on a pound-for-pound basis; the elements it has are apparently incredible! And if you look more widely; Goliath certainly holds its own over on Captain Coaster (https://captaincoaster.com/en/coasters/goliath-six-flags-great-america)! It currently ranks #51 in the world, with a score of 94.5% (meaning an average rating of around 9.5/10, or somewhere between 4.5/5 and 5/5), and if we compare it to European coasters and UK coasters, Goliath would rank #18 in Europe and #2 in the UK; it's only 4 spots lower and less than 1% lower than Nemesis, for reference. In terms of the UK, Goliath is certainly far closer to Nemesis in rating than it is to the next highest ranked UK coaster (Icon, at #98 in the world and #28 in Europe, for reference). So my basic point is; length and different element choices may not let this coaster down as much as some think. I know that comparing Exodus to an RMC woodie may seem like a moot point, but if the ride is anything like Goliath in how that ride is shorter and lacking in "traditional" airtime elements, but packs a huge punch on a pound-for-pound basis and delivers huge thrills within the elements it has, then I think we could be in for a real treat here!

I've got to admit, the more I see of this coaster, the more it grows on me; some of those elements look like they could ride excellently, and I think we could be in for something special here, even if it might not be an airtime machine per se!

OK, so I've had a chance to have a look at the plans, and here's my honest reaction. Is it what I was expecting? No. Is it exactly what I wanted, and what I would personally have gone for? No. Do I think it has the potential to be an excellent ride, and is it something I'm excited to ride? Definitely! Do I think this will be a great, successful investment for Thorpe, and really give them the new zap of momentum they arguably need? Almost certainly! If you want specifics, some initial thoughts of mine include: The UK height record finally being broken is huge news, as is Thorpe Park finally getting a new coaster; put those two things together, and I can't really complain! I'm extremely grateful to Merlin that even one of those things is being done, let alone both, so in that sense, that renders any complaints I have overly nitpicky and totally pushing my luck! There are elements on this that look like they could ride very well; the drop looks superb, as does the big overbank! As much as this isn't a B&M Hyper like I was hoping for, Mack build some excellent stuff, and when taking target market into account, I think most of the new-gen Mack coasters I've ridden have been excellent rides that I've thoroughly enjoyed, so I don't see why this shouldn't be the same! I've got to say, as much as this won't sprawl and dominate over the entire park in the vein that an out-and-back hyper would have done, I do think this will still look very impressive on the skyline; a 236ft lift hill is nothing to be sniffed at, and I think those big, tall elements will make it look very impressive indeed! I said previously that I felt Thorpe needed a ride that sells itself and makes a statement, and even though it isn't some big, sprawling out and back coaster, the visuals make it look very dominant indeed, and based on that, I think this looks to tick those boxes perfectly! As I think I said before during the rumour stages; even though I was predicting a B&M Hyper, I'm not sure that Old Town is the ideal site for a Thorpe hyper (for a hyper, I would have used the island behind Swarm for a station and had an out and back layout wrap behind Swarm and work its way towards the front of the park, personally). With that in mind, I think they've done extraordinarily well with the space and Merlin's budget; they've packed a lot in to that site (which is quite small by hyper standards)! The length doesn't bother me; it looks to have a fair amount of elements, and the ride duration doesn't seem obscenely short to me by any means based on renderings (it's about 30-40 seconds, isn't it?). If it was like Stealth or Oblivion and literally did one hill before flying into the brakes, I would perhaps identify with the criticism a little more, but as it is, the length of this doesn't bother me; I don't even think it seems overly short myself! If I'm being completely honest, I'll confess to being ever so slightly disappointed that they haven't built something with more of an airtime focus (as much as I'm sure this coaster will have airtime, it looks to be focused more on big inversions and hangtime); the UK lacks coasters that focus strongly on airtime, and this doesn't seem to fill that void based on the layout we have. I think a hyper was the perfect opportunity to give the UK a true airtime machine and I don't think this looks like an airtime machine per se, but in Merlin's defence, I'm admittedly unsure in hindsight if they could have even pulled off such a ride within the site being used and the limited amount of money that Merlin have to work with. Also, that is me being unfairly nitpicky, and I don't know how much the average visitor would really crave a huge airtime machine, so in that regard, it's a moot point; I am completely insignificant in the grand scheme of things, so who cares what I think? I'm sure most people will absolutely eat this up regardless of how much airtime it has! Controversial opinion; I'm not sure if this will be as intense and relentless as some are making out. Most of the elements look very big and drawn out; at first glance, it gives me strong Steel Curtain vibes, and while that ride has been received well, I'm led to believe it's not especially intense. Pair that with the fact that Mack coasters don't generally tend to be obscenely intense anyway (this is based off the ones I've done, though; I don't know about the newer stuff like RTH or Hurricane), and I'm not sure this will have the strongest positive g-forces, nor will it have nutty pacing; I think the sheer size of the elements could mean that the focus is more on hangtime and sustained floaty sensations as opposed to spine-separating positive g's and relentless pacing, and it's worth noting that the only real low elements on the ride will have had some speed shaved off of them by the water brake (don't get me wrong, I'm sure the ride won't limp through those elements by any means, but it will certainly be slower than if the splashdown wasn't there). I'm not making that out as a bad thing by any means (in fact from a personal preference point of view, I actually think Thorpe could do with something a little more rerideable as opposed to out and out intense, so I'd be pretty happy with that!), but I don't personally think the ride will be phenomenally intense like some are making out. I'm open to being proven wrong here (and I'm sure some of you will prove me wrong on this, as I seem to be in a minority predicting this!), but that's just my initial thought based on what I'm seeing. That's just a few honest thoughts that leap to mind for me; I apologise if I come across a bit ungrateful and nitpicky in places, but I wanted to provide a balanced opinion and be completely honest with you all, providing both my pros and cons. But to sum it up; exciting stuff, and while it's not what I personally had in mind, I'm sure it'll be excellent!

So, what are our final predictions the day before we find out what's in store? My final prediction is: B&M Hyper Coaster UK's tallest coaster (unsure on exact height, but my personal prediction is that it will break Big One's park-billed height of 235ft as well as RCDB's figure of 213ft) Opening in 2024 Let's see how much of that, if any, I get right...

On a different note, it looks as though very little has happened in Old Town since the season ended; Platform 15 is still fully intact, as are the kids' rides. The source for this is Jack Silkstone's recent Thorpe Park winter update: (The Old Town section is towards the start, and takes up the bulk of the video) Also, for some idea of how huge the plot of land they have to work with here is, it took Jack around 3.5-4 minutes to walk the entire length of the potential plot (from Old Town Burger King to the CCR train shed)! This video has also made me guess that this coaster could well end up being one of the most heavily covered UK coaster projects in terms of construction updates; I can sense that the combination of the coaster site being directly next to Monk's Walk and Jack Silkstone's appetite for filming frequent Thorpe Park updates could lead to some excellent coverage of construction!

Hi guys. Ever since Disneyland first opened in 1955, the idea of "magic" has been a cornerstone of much of the theme park industry, and over the years, theme parks have become almost intrinsically linked with the concept of "magic", particularly in the case of parks that err more on the family-friendly and/or heavily-themed sides. Nowadays, "magic" is quite possibly one of the biggest marketing clichés in the theme park industry; many, many theme parks use magic as a key selling device within their advertising and propaganda. Building upon this, my question to you today is; what are some of the most magical theme park moments you've ever experienced? What are some of those moments within theme parks that actually gave you goosebumps, or actually made you feel like a child on Christmas Day, instead of merely promising these emotions to you in an advertising campaign? When have theme parks lived up to the magical propaganda and really made you feel like you're experiencing something special? Let's spread some positivity and magic this closed season by reminiscing about some of our fondest theme park memories! I'll get the ball rolling with some of my answers. There are many, many moments I could have gone for here, but a few that come to mind are: Stepping into Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida for the first time (August 2014) - Now I admittedly think that both Potter areas could have qualified for this, as I adore both and both felt pretty special when I experienced them for the first time, but I have to say, stepping into Diagon Alley for the first time and experiencing Gringotts for the first time when I was 11 years old has easily got to be one of my fondest theme park memories even 7 years on; admittedly, the 3 hour queue wasn't too fond, but the land, the main indoor queue section of Gringotts, the Gringotts ride itself and the overall experience of Diagon Alley left me genuinely speechless in a way that very few things have since. Admittedly, I'm unsure how the land and ride would stack up for me now, but even having already experienced it before in 2016, I remember the whole WWOHP experience feeling like true theme park magic at its finest! Riding Mako at SeaWorld Orlando (current #1 coaster) for the first time (August 2016) - You all know my opinion on this coaster very well by now, so I won't bore you with details of my first ride, but even though this isn't magic in the sense you're probably all thinking of, I couldn't not mention it; the raw euphoria of experiencing that insane first drop and those phenomenal sustained airtime hills for the first time back in 2016 still sticks with me 5 years on, so in that sense, I'd certainly say that my first ride on it and it becoming my #1 is one of my most magical theme park moments! Watching Happily Ever After at Magic Kingdom (April 2019) - As much as I'll admit that the Magic Kingdom didn't quite live up to the hype for me when I first went in April 2019, and that I'm also not huge on shows in theme parks in general, I have to say that my first and only time watching the much hyped night-time spectacular at Magic Kingdom was quite something; I don't know quite what it was, but this show really was brilliant, and something about it really felt magical and gave me goosebumps! Watching Happily Ever After was the very last theme park thing we did on that trip to Florida, and as much as I'm not usually a show person, it really was the perfect way to end the trip for me; it definitely meant that the theme park element of the trip ended on a high! (I'll conveniently brush over the last day, where our trip ended with a mad rush off of the Fantasia mini golf course to the airport when the mother of all storms abruptly began to soak us...) Riding Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios (April 2019) - You know those times where an attraction's been really hyped up and you worry that it won't possibly live up to the hype? My first ride on Florida's Tower of Terror was one of those times for me, but I needn't have worried, because I exited that attraction genuinely awestruck! For me, it was one of those rides where every little bit of it felt absolutely perfect; for starters, the entire queue and pre-ride experience is phenomenal, being crammed full of little details, while also carrying a rather brilliant ambience about it the whole way around that really gave me shivers! The dark ride portions carried on this brilliant ambience, but the icing on the cake was the drop tower itself; I was shocked at the raw strength of the airtime, and I couldn't stop laughing the whole time! Overall, my first and only ride on ToT was a genuine magical moment for me, and I certainly regret only doing it once! Islands of Adventure in general (Various) - I know this is quite general, but on both Florida trips where we've visited Universal, Islands of Adventure has always had this wonderfully magical vibe throughout the entire park that no other park I've ever been to has; it just makes me incredibly happy every time I go, and the combination of that and the park's amazing ride selection and theming are what make it my #1 park of all time! IOA is the absolute pinnacle of fun and magic for me, and I'm gutted that I haven't visited in 5 years, because it holds a very special place in my heart! Pre-entry/entry experience at Alton Towers (Various) - To be honest, I think the whole park at Alton Towers has a certain aura of magic about it, but for some bizarre reason, I've always found the build-up to a day at Alton Towers to be quite possibly one of the most magical parts (Not my favourite part by any stretch, but certainly one of the most "magical"; it's a very different type of magic to the others in this list!)! Even the drive through the Alton village and along the country lanes still gives me this child-like feeling of excitement all these visits later, and when you combine that with a ride on the monorail (or walk down the golden path) and the walk down Towers Street facing the ruins themselves, I really think Alton Towers' entry experience really stirs up feelings of magic for me! So, those are just a few of my most magical theme park moments! As I said, I could have picked loads, but I decided to limit it down to a select few that came to mind at the time of writing! But what have been some of your most magical theme park moments?