Mark9

such wit what homour much funny

That says more about UK rides then it does about Saw.

Pocahontas wasn't a box office hit, Avatar was. Pocahontas doesn't have two sequels coming soon, Avatar does. Pocahontas was fifteen years ago and would have made sense when Animal Kingdom opened. Avatarland is much more current. Pocahontas has never really had the success that The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast or Snow White did. I would have loved a Pocahontas land themed area, I imagine a Log Flume ride themed around "Just around the Riverbend" for example. But realistically Disney are just as much a profit making company as any other. Avatarland does have potential to be a great thematic experience but people are getting a bit bogged down on the film being a bit cack. So was Cars so film quality doesn't necessarily dictate area/ride quality.

I've been going Chessington for years, they aren't good enough anymore so I have chosen not to go this year. I normally make at least five visits there a season but the quality and experience has rapidly deteriorated over the last four seasons.

IP's can be used effectively though, you can see that at Drayton with Thomasland which is far better and immersive then Cloud Cuckoo Land. It's how you use the IP and Merlin haven't always done the best jobs with them.

Kumba

When I was a teen, I used to ride things like Vortex, Zodiac, Depth Charge and Tidal Wave all the time but as I've grown up I ride them less and less because they've either been trashed by the park or they aren't as fun as they once were. I never thought I'd say that about an entire park as I generally love visiting Theme Parks and I've always had the rose tinted glasses on when it comes to Chessington. The hell with them. They are an utter shambles and represent poor value and poor care for their customers. Whats the point of visiting a park that has the capabilities of running Seastorm, Bubbleworks and Safari Skyway but don't because of apparent refurbishment. The last time they took a spanner to Bubbleworks they trashed it and made it an abomination. It's laughable that they are using Runaway and Falls as reasons not to open these rides. Developed?! What does that even bloody mean.

Coaster Top ten for 2013. 1. Expedition Everest. Round of Applause. Yay! 2. Superman la/ Attaccion de Acero. I'm starting to wonder if anything can ever take this down as my favourite B&M. After six years it still remains strong in my memories. 3. Katun. Awesome ride. People need to ride this. 4. Nemesis. Another awesome B&M. Starting to develop a bit of rattle after 20 years of solid operation. 5. Oz'Iris. Three B&M Inverters on the trot you say? Why Not. I love the narrative of the ride and the uniqueness of the layout. 6. Blue Fire: Megacoaster. I had a huge fear that after four years it would be rough or jerky. None of the above. It remains silky smooth, enjoyable and features my favourite inversion of any ride I've been on so far. 7. New for 2013, Juvelen. Someone once said that a family coaster shouldn't feature in anyones top ten. Rubbish, complete rubbish. When a ride is this good and that enjoyable, why shouldn't it be up there with inverters and rides over 100 foot. I adore Juvelen. 8. Kumba. Pure B&M old school goodness. It has a bit of shake to it but that adds to its character far more then it detracts. 9. Shambhala. Rising this year, this is a very reridable attraction and full of airtime and joy. 10. Manta. I know people don't like pretzel loops for being too intense, but for me they are out of this world. The rest of the layout takes on an Air floaty approach which works well with the start of the ride. Dropping out of the top ten is Black Mamba. Bottom Five of any rides. 1. Tornado. Just awful. I don't think this deserves to exist anymore although I am aware there are people out there into pain and torture. 2. Furius Baco. Yuck. 3. Sequoia Adventure. Compared to the Intamin dreck above it, this seems like a great coaster in comparison. 4. Shamu Express. Beyond insulting. Rubbish too. 5. Primevil Whirl. Doesn't deserve its place at a Disney theme park.

The Cars IP is hardly the best thing out there but California Adventure proved that a dodgy IP can be a successful land with a popular attraction. Now I'm not saying Avatar land will be amazing or even good but it is/was a successful film in the box office and Disney could pull it off. Besides, Avatar does fit in with the themes of Animal Kingdom, how looking after the land should come before deforestation and global wealth. No we lost Dragonland to budget cuts and then this is the alternative fifteen years later. Personally I'm looking forward more to the night-time show around the Tree of Life more then Avatarland. Love me a bit of Disney night time show.

I've always seen two trains on Swarm, Colossus, Inferno and Stealth when I've been on busy days. It's the off peak days where they don't think it will be busy and then it suddenly is where issues seem to come about IMO.

I hope not. We want this event to be a success otherwise it risks having hours cut, rides potentially closing earlier, less actors roaming in the mazes and on park or even less days where the event is running.

I take it you don't mean the gigantic shed ruining every photo of this supposed themed ride..

Gonna be dead. John Lewis Partnership has limited the numbers to around 6000 people for the trip.

It was time for the Stars in their cars parade. Not great to be honest. Part of the problem here is that it's just generic cars and aren't that exciting to look at. It also blocks off the entrance/exit to the park so want to leave, nope you get stuck. Want to get on Tower whilst its quiet, no you have to wait for the Parade to pass. Not the greatest planning. Not long Remy, Not long... With the parade over and the two shows not starting for a while, we headed back to Toy Story playland and had a go on RC Racer. Luckily the queue was only 10 minutes long as the ride is so short it does push its luck. Not a bad effort by Disney, it's just a shame you have to queue in the shed area next to the station instead of the cool race track part of the queue line. The ride itself is comfy enough with enough speed to satisfy even the most hardened coaster fans. After that it was Slinky's piece of rubbish which is the most useless kids rides ever constructed. It's actually a little bit insulting. Shortly before we rode. Cinemagique and Animagique followed. Love them both with Animagique having the edge. Any attraction that has Donald in a tizz is a winner for me and I particularly liked the show. Our final stop was Tram Tour which felt as useless and convoluted as the Florida version. The main problem is both have been cut down from their original intent. Here, with Ratatouille construction the tour feels in two halves. A long jaunt over to the water canyon followed by a tedious return journey through a set of a film know one even remembers let alone heard of. We queued a good half an hour for it and it wasn't worth the wait. The queue was only that long due to only running two trams. With day at Studios over it was time for steak in Disney village before returning to Disney Parc for a trip on Dumbo and another showing off Dreams. Love that show.

Magic Hours just gives you part of Fantasyland and Discoveryland. All the times we went in for it, it was dead so there would be no point in the park opening for it. Buzz is crap in Florida so it is far superior in Paris IMO.

Double post because..

Had two rides on Smiler yesterday. Both were smooth and awesome. So far, so good, no Saw "I want to murder you" roughness yet.

I can round up my trip for you if you like. Shambhala - Awesome, as good as I remember and a proper crowd pleaser. Dragon Khan - Better then I remember. NOT samey, NOT too American. Just pure class from start to finish. Furius Baco - Abomination in ride form. Not a single enjoyable moment for me in any row, any seat. Just atrocious.

Admittedly when I saw the title I immediately thought you were talking about Inferno is a fine rollercoaster. Its lucky that not every rollercoaster has to be the best ride ever and Inferno has its place at Thorpe Park as the old reliable, the one that always works and eats through people like candy. It's my favourite Thorpe rollercoaster and this year has proved itself to be a great roller coaster; It's never ridden better then this year.

Add Baco trains to Rita.

83rd best topic on TPM.

I'll try to attend if we get rid of the name Maniacs.

Big fan of the lack of pre drop. What a colour scheme though, it looks so eye catching.

I don't know many people not going to Spain this month..

I can see Tidal Wave being added to that list as well. Rumba and Tidal Wave don't have very high ridership during Fright Nights and as some of the more expensive rides on park to run, they are logically the first to close. Surprised Tidal Wave isn't first on the list but then again they run that ride very oddly. On those freezing temperature days in March, Tidal Wave was one of the last to close.