Mark9

First AP day, few things to note. Park doesn't look quite ready, especially around Stealth. Both the diner and the shop look rough and ready. The join between Amity Cove and Angry birds Land currently looks terrible with a silly game added next to the KFC which is an abominaton on the eyes,. The flat rides really struggled today. Samurai, Slammer and Zodiac didn't open at all (all three should be scrapped), Vortex looked abysmal and could barely make it anyway above top swing. (The highest it could get) Quantum seemed to be having large issues with the restraints, having to be rechecked again and again. Saw Rush and Detonator broken down as well. Rush was also on a very short, 3 top swing setting. The real saviour was as per usual the B&M's and water rides. Both B&M's were on two trains and both running extremely well. The weather was perfect for the water rides too. All in all, a good start to the season but they need to get those flat rides going before the busy season really gets going.

What the hell was wrong with the old restraunt?! Are Merlin just mad or in their quest to make everything generic and the same and branded, ruining any sense of individuality the parks have.

Probably because roller coasters are the single biggest thing that attracts customers to a theme park. No one sits there and goes my god I need to get on Quantum ASAP. Thorpe have just gone for the extreme on the map,

Why waste time on a Dodgems fastrack when you can go to a local fair, pay about the same amount and get a longer ride with probably faster cars.

The new map according to Alton Towers guide. If true, much, MUCH improved.

I'm a fan of the new map. Catches your eye, easy to follow, puts the five roller coasters at the forefront. Good stuff.

Splash Mountain by a country mile. I can (and have) listened to that soundtrack for hours.

In 2012, I was assigned to write a feature for Colossus's tenth birthday. The article itself was my best work if I don't say so myself. It was my intention that I would be able to do a similar piece when it came to 2003's blisteringly hot but underwhelmingly* tepid Nemesis Inferno in 2013. But this did not happen. No matter what I wrote, constructed or thought about, inspiration abandoned me and I just couldn't put together a piece that would do Inferno justice. And the problem comes down to one sticking point; There is just nothing special about Nemesis Inferno. Nemesis Inferno, distinctly middle of the road. But worry not fellow Thorpe fanboys and coaster nerds for the story doesn't end there. It is for that reason that for me, Nemesis Inferno is one of Thorpe's very best roller coasters and one that I get the most pleasure out of riding during a visit. Let me tell you a tale about a ride that was hyped to the max, but could never reach those lofty heights. Back in 2002, Colossus had done unexpected things for Thorpe, it's visitor numbers rising and rising and the construction of a brand new Inverter would have been a spectacular thing indeed for English enthusiasts. Remember, we are talking about a time when Nemesis most definitely ruled the roost in the UK and unless you were up for travelling to America, Italy or Spain, chances are it was your only shot. The hype surrounding Inferno was definitely something different, particularly when it was associated with the Nemesis name. I can remember at the time, discussion on Inferno's finale helixes being discussed as potentially as intense as Nemesis's helix after its first inversion. Talk about building the hype. Of course, come April 2003, Inferno opens and it isn't quite as good as it's predecessor. My favourite description at the time was a ride on Inferno's front row was not as intense as a ride on the Happy Halibuts of Octopus Garden. Talk about damning a product. At the time, with only Colossus complimenting Inferno, it came under harsher criticism then it probably deserved. With only two major roller coasters** to keep customers happy, Inferno came under the limelight in a way that many rides do not. After all, inverters had really boomed in the 90's with the Batman clones being installed all across America and rides that dominated their respected parks like Katun, Montu and Alpengeist. By 2003, with new types of rides starting to dominate such as sky hogging mega coasters and Intamin's brand new launch technology breaking record after record it's easy to see why Inferno was not enough and why Inferno could actually be seen as a bit, old hat. This is all hindsight of course. With the addition of Stealth, Saw: The Ride and The Swarm, things have increasingly changed at Thorpe and of course, so has Nemesis Inferno. As higher, faster and more attention grabbing rides have been added, Inferno has become more of a support roller coaster. When everything else goes to hell in a hand basket, Inferno is the old reliable. Always the ride with minimal queues, always the ride that eats through queues like it's going out of fashion and always the ride that delivers a smooth, intense experience. Never really pushing its customers too far but always delivering its promise of an enjoyable and satisfying ride. I know there are those that will disagree. A B&M inverter should be the absolute pinnacle of intensity, nothing should be considered more when riding this ride type. If that is the promise then Inferno doesn't deliver. Luckily, just up the M1 and left a bit is another roller coaster that does fulfil the necessary criteria. At Thorpe however is a ride built on the tail end of a coaster boom, one that is loved by a small but vocal minority. And for me personally, it holds some very special memories. It was my very first B&M and by default my first B&M inverter, it was the first ride that I really followed construction of and I know full well that it is my most ridden ride thanks to many Single rider sessions in 2004. More then most then, I can say that Inferno is an average ride at best. But even average is better then the majority of roller coasters out there. And that's good enough for me. Thanks for reading, Mark9 *I made up a word just for this review. Now that is dedication for you **I know people will say X:/ No Way Out was a major roller coaster. it just isn't OKAY!

It's outrageous that Griffins Galleon didn't win this.

I'd like to congratulate Benin on finally toppling Marc as the biggest (read, most likely to post) poster on TPM. Well done, Benin. You have won a free ride on Colossus.

Is Ms Powell a special kind of idiot?

I really hate bobsleigh roller coasters, hence Bobbahn's appearance. To be honest though, after the top twenty and the bottom ten, everything else pretty much just fits around and could easily be in a different place the next day. It's very hard to start comparing things like G'Sengte Sau with Colossus for example. Two very different coasters doing totally different things.

They may want to change it on their booking website then, both dates said 10-5 when I booked yesterday.

Just like last year, is my top 91 roller coasters for the Mitch Hawker Poll. Due to the way that Mitch Hawker is set up, I've disregarded what I normally look for in rides and gone for what the ride is just about. Nemesis Alton Towers UK,y,y,1 Katun Mirabilandia IT,y,n,2 Blue Fire Megacoaster Europa Park DE,y,y,3 Shambhala Port Aventura ES,y,y,4 Kumba Busch Gardens Tamp FL,y,n,5 Juvelen Djurs Sommerland DK,y,y,6 Expedition Everest Disney Animal King FL,y,n,7 Favorite Wood Coaster Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,8 Manta SeaWorld Orlando FL,y,n,9 Black Mamba Phantasialand DE,y,n,10 Superman la Atraccion Parque Warner Madr ES,y,n,11 Oblivion Alton Towers UK,y,y,12 iSpeed Mirabilandia IT,y,n,13 Piraten Djurs Sommerland DK,y,y,14 SheiKra Busch Gardens Tamp FL,y,n,15 The Smiler Alton Towers UK,y,y,16 Dragon Khan Port Aventura ES,y,y,17 Euro-Mir Europa-Park DE,y,y,18 Speed: No Limits Oakwood UK,y,n,19 The Swarm Thorpe Park UK,y,y,20 OzIris Parc Asterix FR,y,n,21 Nemesis Inferno Thorpe Park UK,y,y,22 Rock n Roller Coaster Disney's H Studios FL,y,n,23 Chinese Fireball Islands of Adventu FL,y,n,24 Hungarian Horntail Islands of Adventu FL,y,n,25 Silver Star Europa-Park DE,y,y,26 Kraken SeaWorld Orlando FL,y,n,27 Big Thunder Mountain WDW Magic Kingdom FL,y,n,28 Minetrain Ulven Bakken DK,y,y,29 Euro-Sat Europa-Park DE,y,y,30 Hollywood Rip Ride Ro Universal Studios FL,y,n,31 Fav Wild Mouse Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,32 Dragon's Fury Chessington UK,y,n,33 Colorado Adventure Phantasialand DE,y,n,34 Temple of Nighthawk Phantasialand DE,y,n,35 Incredible Hulk Islands of Adventu FL,y,n,36 Winjas - Fear Phantasialand DE,y,n,37 Batman The Ride/Clone SF & Other Parks **,y,n,38 G'sengte Sau Tripsdrill DE,y,n,39 Expedition GeForce Holiday Park DE,y,n,40 Space Mountain Disneyland Paris FR,y,y,41 Montu Busch Gardens Tamp FL,y,n,42 Revenge of the Mummy Universal Studios FL,y,n,43 Skatteoen Djurs Sommerland DK,y,y,44 Fav Powered `Coaster' Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,45 Thor's Hammer Djurs Sommerland DK,y,y,46 Lynet Farup Sommerland DK,y,y,47 Polar X-Plorer Legoland Billund DK,y,y,48 Raptor Gardaland IT,y,n,49 Matterhorn Blitz Europa-Park DE,y,y,50 Journey to Atlantis SeaWorld Orlando FL,y,n,51 Abismo Parque de Atraccio ES,y,n,52 Crush's Coaster Walt Disney Paris FR,y,y,53 Tarantula Parque de Atraccio ES,y,n,54 Tornado Parque de Atraccio ES,y,n,55 Stealth Thorpe Park UK,y,y,56 Big Thunder Mountain Disneyland Paris FR,y,y,57 Fav Arrow Mine Train Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,58 Fav Mack Supersplash Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,59 Poseidon Europa-Park DE,y,y,60 Goudurix Parc Asterix FR,y,n,61 Daemonen Tivoli Gardens DK,y,y,62 Trace Du Hourra Parc Asterix FR,y,n,63 Mammut Gardaland IT,y,n,64 Indiana Jones et le t Disneyland Paris FR,y,y,65 Shock Rainbow Magicland IT,y,n,66 Air Alton Towers UK,y,y,67 Space Mountain WDW Magic Kingdom FL,y,n,68 Colossus Thorpe Park UK,y,y,69 Thirteen Alton Towers UK,y,y,70 Pepsi Max Big One Blackpool P.B. UK,y,n,71 Shockwave Drayton Manor UK,y,n,72 Cobra Paulton's Park UK,y,n,73 Winjas - Force Phantasialand DE,y,n,74 Steeplechase Blackpool P.B. UK,y,n,75 Cagliostro Rainbow Magicland IT,y,n,76 Vild-Svinet BonBon-Land DK,y,y,77 Rock n Roller Coaster Walt Disney Paris FR,y,y,78 Vampire Chessington UK,y,n,79 Avalanche Blackpool P.B. UK,y,n,80 Fav Vekoma Corkscrew Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,81 Cheetah Hunt Busch Gardens Tamp FL,y,n,82 Rita Alton Towers UK,y,y,83 X Thorpe Park UK,y,y,84 Schweizer Bobbahn Europa-Park DE,y,y,85 Sonic Spinball Alton Towers UK,y,y,86 G Force Drayton Manor UK,y,y,87 Saw - The Ride Thorpe Park UK,y,y,88 Sequoia Adventure Gardaland IT,y,n,89 Tornado Bakken DK,y,y,90 Furius Baco Port Aventura ES,y,y,91

I find the obsession with flat rides fascinating. How many go to Thorpe because they are desperate for a ride on Samurai for example. The only flat ride that I have ever seen maintain its popularity is Rush, everything else from Blade to Rameses, Rodeo (RIP) to Detonator always has minimal queues. It's good for ride counts but not good if a flat rides purpose is to divert queues away from the rollercoasters. And then there is the question of what flat ride would be significant, with a high enough throughput and impressive enough to cope with Alton Towers business, especially when its next to Oblivion and the Smiler.

I'm with you Josh. Compared to the horrors that Alton and Chessington have unleashed, Thorpes record is near exemplary. I bet they quickly learned their lessons when Vortex opened three months late in 2001 and since then, Thorpes rides have always opened on schedule.There's no "quick get the queue line built" like Alton.

Mack and Intamins are sinmilarily priced (depending on the kind of ride you want). Intamin work out more expensive from maintenance point of view, therefore a Mack would be a better investment. To be honest though, I don't think Drayton will go down that road.

We got more, for instance there's no metal box thing at the top of that promo image whereas in real life we do have that. We win

Does Health and safety go mad? Or is it the park knee jerking to some report it may have got somewhere along the line. A caution uneven step sign would have been more then adequate but for the park to just cordone it off with an ugly metal fence.. hmmm.

The bars did the wobble when it was at Chessington. It's nothing to worry about though, no ones plunged to their deaths yet.

I'd only get mildly irritated at Chessington, Sochi gives me the opportunity to ride Blue Fires yellow brother AND be arrested. And to make this on topic... Yay, go Liseberg. I can see my hotel I'm staying in.. just praying we have a room overlooking Helix. That would be so so so sweet.

*Cancels trip, goes to Sochi instead.

hehe, 69.

I'll try and be as polite as possible Holly. Suffice to say I don't have to go and run a business before I have a viewpoint on how Merlin operates. I won't even need to compare with Disney to prove my point either. Oh, so you mean the process of letting a rides theming getting so beyond repair that the only option is to tear it all down, replace it with the bare minimum and then stick small cactuses around it. If that's how a business works, I'm surprised my Waitrose hasn't just torn all the light fittings down, hired convicts and let them do the work. Who needs to look presentable when a cactus and a bog standard, brown repaint will do. Oh okay. Well considering the majority of us want Chessington to be a successful theme park with rides that fit their surroundings, rides that are looked after and maintained to a high quality as well as worthwhile additions maybe we are expecting too much. I'll tell you what though, if a multi million pound company like Merlin cannot afford to give Runaway Train a decent look then maybe we really are in trouble. I suppose we'll have to make do with several new Legolands in Asia to compensate. Yeah.. that sounds great. It's a brown Flying Fish with a scorpion that shoots water at you. It's not that hard to imagine what that experience will be like. Yeah, most of that is because the small businesses are not able to compete with the larger businesses that are dominating the market. Large businesses like Morrisons are down on profit because they are not adapting fast enough to an increasingly changing online market. Places like Woolworths closed down because of the size of the business being too big for the lack of profit the stores were bringing in. Go and run Paultons or Drayton and come back and tell me why they have been able to remain successful despite a biting recession and the hand of Merlin dominating the theme park market in the UK.

For the purposes of this post I'm not defending Merlin in anyway. As is said time and time again, Merlin only see themselves competing with Disney in terms of size. Merlin would never even consider spending 80 million pounds on a Vekoma family roller coaster for example, Expedition Everest would be far too ambitious for a company like Merlin that likes to spend money very carefully on safe attractions. No, it's nothing to do with Disney this. It's everything to do with Merlin and its lack of interest in its own parks. Back in 1986 when Runaway Train was first constructed, it was probably built on far less of a budget and in far less time then Merlin have had with this Scorpion attraction. In my eyes they have truly squandered an opportunity to give new life to Runaway. Where's the proper refurbishment such as a new train with individual lap bars like Flying Fish had? Where's the actual theming? That water effect and fire effect will last a week knowing Merlin's track record. So then what. I want to be enthusiastic about it I really do. Runaway was my first real ride so I have very nostalgic views on it. And I want it to be excellent. But Chessington don't seem to want to take that extra step, to even attempt to compete with European parks or even places like Paultons or Drayton.