Mark9

I'm certainly not Ricky, it just so happens that this discussion seems to be taking place in the Thorpe 2015 topic, thats all. That isn't what anyone here is saying at all. It's more that the company is so over confident, such is their dominance of the UK market, that they don't even see new parks remotely as a threat. So what does that say about Merlin as a whole. Will they become complacent, whats the incentive to add good new investments if people will come anyway. Will prices just rise and rise above inflation because people will return like sheep anyway. Will we see cutbacks in operations with less staff and more one train operations because, hey, people love Merlin they will come back anyway regardless of how terrible their visits may become.

So.. as a normal guest without ERT, you're gonna have a hard time riding Smiler or the Cbeebies attractions without a hefty queue then.. Or is that an attempt to manage the queues that side of the park more effectively.

Their arrogance is enough to put me off visiting for a long time. In fact their ignorance that people will come regardless of how crap the places become is a dangerous road to go down as it is, their reaction to a potential threat just concretes that fact. I want to post a far more sweary post that expresses my true feelings but I'll be told off by the powers that be. Again.

Loving the arrogance. Makes me glad I won't be renewing my annual pass any time soon.

I never brace myself on Colossus and always have a smooth enjoyable ride. I find it more seat dependant, then brace yourself at certain moments dependant.

Gee Flipper, way to blow the surprise of the B&M dive machine for 2015 next to Depth Charge.

You are fast becoming my favourite trip reporter. =)

That's fine, it's not like there's a lack of children on this planet these days :-) Surprised about g force love though, that thing is pretty universally hated.

I've always the front of every carriage fine. It's when you venture to the back that you encounter real roughness and leg room issues.

That's one hell of a queue you're in..

I doubt it. But then what is it about parks like Efteling, Liseberg and Tivoli Gardens that attract people from all across Europe and what is it stopping the Merlin trio from doing the same (ignoring the obvious such as harsh budgets, going backwards and being so damn insular). For example, Alton is up there with Tivoli as it has the fantastic garden area and despite what some may say, has the ride hardware to boot. What it doesn't have however is good transport links and an unsupportive local community who are very vocal against the park. I'm deliberately ignoring Thorpe though, it doesn't have enough in its cannon to even take down Paultons, let alone some of the giants across the pond.

I heard lobotomies could do that, particularly as Baco gives them out for free.

A family roller coaster takes up much less room then a dark ride.

It's rather apt that the Baco trains are themed as barrels because the ride is akin to being locked in a barrel and thrown down a hill. It's been mentioned that being in a certain seat at a certain time of day on a certain day of the week on a certain month of the year can give an enjoyable ride but thats not how the majority ride roller coasters. The Spanish love it but then half of them haven't woken up till gone 9pm, hence the long opening hours. I also think the Spanish mullet gives excellent protection against Baco's jerkiness and shakiness.

I'm cool with that outcome. Alton, Thorpe, Chessington and Legoland are all going backwards whilst the Pleasure Beach is getting a new lease of life of late. Good to see the classic rides can outdo the newer, bigger stuff.

That Khan trim is sacrilege to a ride that just gets tighter and tighter and more and more intense. I'm sad to see that. As for Baco, such a limit pusher that its layout is a circle of eight with a shed. Brilliant. Remains my dead last least favourite ride because there should have been another way. It's shoddy, painful, shaky, unreliable and requires you to sit in one of two seats to be in an anyway enjoyable (and even that sucks compared to other wing riders and launch coasters). Rubbish, awful, shoddy, yuck and euch.

Your expectations are completely unrealistic.

Blah blah, Thorpe are rubbish blah blah.

Oh wow, it's only taken nine years for EVERYONE TO SEE THE LIGHT!!!!!! Oh. Ok then, never mind, nothing to see here folks.

Thanks for the trip report there. This park was a surprise highlight of my earlier theme park years and it still surprises me that its relatively ignored in coaster circles. De Acero has spent years near the very top of my top ten coasters and I'm glad to see it still impresses, even if you thought Batman was better. I didn't think Coaster Express was that bad when I went but even back in 07 it had a reputation for being rubbish. Maybe I was just so young and naive back then. Thanks for the report. =)

I'm fine with this. It won by 4% which is peanuts and if anything, Nemesis gave the new boy a run for its money.

I'd like to thank you for posting the trip report twice here Benin, just in case we missed the first go Your opinions pretty much echo what I felt back in 2007. Tarantula is an excellent ride, but it's not a particularly good spinning coaster which numbs the experience slightly. Fury does do it so much better. I loved Abismo back when I rode it, shame to hear it has a slight rattle to it now. I hated Tornado when I rode although in hindsight it probably is one of the better Intamins out there. Did you ride the random shooting ride under Tarantula? Benin Edit - OMG we can edit comments to our blogs... MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Yeah I fixed that double posting thing...

Well yeah duh. 100 million plus is what it would take to do a Harry potter area justice hence why the UK parks would never touch it. Ironically, an area of that magnitude pays for itself quickly with the huge jump in attendance and return visits (not to mention the amount of merchandise and butterbeer people are willing to wait hours for). Still, we have Angry Birds so whose complaining.

Because our parks resent paying more then a tenner for their new investments, imagine asking them to stump up 100's of millions for a single area.

Maybe you should just go to Alton Towers then LC.