Mark9

I'd go anyway Josh. I wouldn't let gate figures and hour queues get in the way of enjoying a brilliant rollercoaster.

The SwarmI can't remember the last time that Europe has got its hands on two new type of rollercoasters before any other continent has been able to get one open. Back in September I rode Raptor at Gardaland and my exact words were"It also doesn't help that Gardaland have hit every target with a bullseye when building Raptor. It looks the part, it sounds the part and more importantly, It rides the part. It will be interesting to see whether Swarm, Wild Eagle and X-Flight will be able to deliver as satisfying an experience as Raptor has proven to do."Six months on, just how well has Thorpe done in their version. Well time to find out. Despite hundreds of people in front of us, ready to be taken, the walk over to the Swarm was just like a little stroll over to a brand new ride. No rushing around and stampedes, just calm and tranquility.The Brand new PlazaSwarm takes its cue from Saw and Stealth in that has a very large viewing area. Whilst Saw tries to hide the ride best away that it can and Stealth is just a flat empty area, Swarm is full of little things, little bits of theming and touches hidden around for you to spot. I particularly liked the signs warning you away from entering areas.The Ride entrance is bizarrely next to the rides break run you can see the hapless riders who have survived. The queue is quite a stoll as it double backs and takes you round a very small area very sedately. Televisions are dotted around describing the carnage of a fireball and attacks in central London. Despite the entrance queue board saying 25 minutes, we queued 5 minutes for the first ride and about ten for the second. First go was on the right. I have to say I adored being pulled over the top on the first inversion. That feeling of slowly being dragged under was only beaten by being pulled under when seating on the left. The first drop is gorgeous and the drop under the plane wing is a stroke of genius. It could be a bit of a non event on the right but on the left it is a whole different ball game. I was on the inner side, and even I felt a bit nervous. So the train heads into the second inversion an inline. Bit of a non event compared to Raptor with no leg chopper moments.When the train travels through relatively straight or banked parts of track it picks up speed very quickly like Raptor. The final helix and corkscrew are excellent. If you stretch far enough on the right you can touch the water and the forces are strong on both sides. The corkscrew is delightful and surprisingly forceful. And the final inversion is taken a lot faster then Raptor and somehow loses Raptors great finale. It doesn't work that well on Swarm although the near miss of the top of church is better. And thats your lot.For those expecting this to be the next Nemesis or Kumba they are going to be dissappointed. Whilst Swarm has moments of speed and dizziness, it isn't a ride that will pull your skin from your face. It's designed to be as enjoyable and smooth as possible and you know what, that isn't a bad thing. Thorpe already has two rollercoasters that are forceful (the other two try to kill you) and in a park full to the brim of thrill rides, having a rollercoaster that is just enjoyable is right up my street. I really think, like Raptor, that I could sit on Swarm all day and enjoy every minute. Because it's fun and despite its short ride time, feels satisfying. So now that Raptor and Swarm have shown their stuff, it's time to see what Wild Eagle and XFlight can bring to the table. Your move, Northern America.The Swarm - 8/10

Now thats what I call an over-reaction.

1. In what ways is it an understandable and needed decision. Chessington, Thorpe Park and Legoland aren't closing at 4pm. The park has very healthy attendence mid-week, especially compared to Chessington.2. When would Alton Towers ever be in a position where they wouldn't be able to open the park at all? It's been continous opening from March - October for donkeys years.3. Economic and Theme Park industry returns to normal. Again, no other park in the country is closing so early. No park in Europe decides to close after only 6 hours of operation.What they've done is increased prices whilst reducing the hours. So the price per hour has risen far more then usual and people are getting far less for their hard earned cash. I'd have preferred losing Submission and Enterprise for a season or losing ERT rather then losing an entire hour in the afternoon.

Some of those hours don't make sense. For instance, mid June the hours go like this Fri 8th 10:00am 5:30pm Sat 9th 10:00am 5:30pm Sun 10th 10:00am 4:00pm Mon 11th 10:00am 5:30pm What's wrong with that Sunday? Why are the weekdays surrounding it all 5:30? Why is there a random Thursday in November 6:00 close whilst everything around it is 9:00. Why are Chessington's opening hours longer? Why are the park only giving me five hours opportunity to get on Congo and Unplugged?

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh or Dinosaur get my vote for best dark ride.

Fred says as he ignores the giant tent in X Sector that hasn't been used since early 2005, the rollercoaster boarded away next to Spinball or the Webmaster tent next to Squirrel Nutty. Ignoring the pieces of **** such as Submission and Enterprise which were until short notice supposed to be closed this year or delapidated rides such Flume Unplugged.If it helps I hate both maps.

Well you stole them from coasterforce which got them from facebook, therefore I cut out the two middle men and went right for the source.

Cheekily stolen from facebook, OzSiris is looking stunningly beautiful.

For those that have been lucky enough to ride The Swarm before its opening day, here is the topic to discuss Thorpe Parks new rollercoaster.For those that stumble in here, there may be many spoilers in this topic. Once the 15th hits, this will be the Swarm present day topic. =)

On a scale of 1 to 10, how much better is Harry Potters shed compared to Spidermans?

We'll get a spoilers topic up for you tomorrow Josh.

Yup yup yup. I think the last time there was this much engagement visually for a coaster was, ooh, either Oblivion or Air. Cannot wait.

Gott alove a bit of tangled up B&Mage. I never realised one of Shambhala's camelback hills was over Dragon Khan's lifthill. Can't wait to ride both this year.

Same. I love it. The audio makes it.

14% Bonus. Very happy Mark.

Lets put it this way, if its a load of rubbish, I'll happily take my iphone and listen to Raptor's music for the queue duration. Benin says Krake, but really, Raptor's music just screams wing-rider at me.

Well done for pointing out the obvious and an excellent use of elipses.And well done for also cutting out the rest of my post that gave the other reason why Chessington will keep Jumbos.In fact, did you even read past the first line of my post?

ROCK ON SWARM!

Thing is, you say its outdated but then the Jumbos are key important rides at all the Disney Magic Kingdom parks so there quite clearly is a draw there. The problem with Jumbos is something that lies through every Chessington ride. It just isn't looked after. Jumbos could look amazing, everytime they repaint the elephants, they look like new. But they've let the structure fade into a really dodgy green giving the ride this ancient looking edge.As for keeping it, well it is a popular ride. Throughput plays a part in it, but it is terrific for young kids and far more eventful then Sea Dragons or Carousel.

She was too busy preparing to release her 500th single.

Nah, it's totally at odds with everything else at Europa Park.. and I'm one of the ones that adores Silver Star.

Having been on Megaphobia (brilliant but can be a back breaker) and Coaster Express (Ouch, why do you hurt me so much on a straight drop), I can kind of understand the reluctance of theme parks to go down the woodie route. I wonder how many theme park managers eyes will be on Voodan this year. Afterall, Europa sets the standards in my opinion and if Voodan is as good as it looks then maybe, just maybe...