Mark9

Looks amazing. I WANT B&M, SOMEONE GIVE ME B&M

That sounds actually like my definition of a perfect ride. I think it explains a lot why I prefer family attractions or rides with stories actually becuase a lot of the time, an intense ride can rarely have the well themed queueline, well themed 'coaster area' or the throughput to match. The rides I chose really reflect different areas of rides. You've got the low throughput spectacle ride Detonator, which interestingly, despite the rides quality is the one ride people would queue the least for. I'm the same on that account except I'd queue a maximum of ten minutes for it.Dragon Falls is the ride which all three of you are happy to queue for (aside from fastrack issues ). And it's the queue with small benches as you go along.I find Air incredibly hard to queue for and I think that's because from the entrance you can't really see just how far back the queue goes. It has a high throughput but, I do find it somewhat of a chore. For similar reasons, I find Tomb Blaster equally as hard to queue for. It just feels so lumbering and you spend so long just standing outside, waiting to move again.Both of Expedtition Everest and Silverstar are throughput monsters and even with full queues are quite joyful experiences.

Reading through this topic so far then, I can deduce one thing. Queueing for rides is far more then just the throughput of the attraction itself.It's actually quite interesting just how much goes into it. As Pluk describes a queue that just goes back on itself over and over again isn't fun unless the queue moves a lot which means you (or you would) love Europa Park as despite its cattle-pens, the queues move like lightening.Or you could be like Peter and I where having something to look at distracts you from the queue itself.Or maybe you are you more of a Sheepie where you can give up a high through-put if the attraction itself has another spectable and bang to make the long queue worthwhile. I'd actually like to try a little experiment with you guys in that case. I'm going to list half a dozen rides and I'd like you to tell me what you feel when you queue for it. How long would you queue for it? If you haven't ridden then you don't need to discuss it.Tomb Blaster, Air, Detonator, Expedition Everest, Dragon Falls & Silver-Star.Thanks guys.

I've accidentilly joined this crack squad stuff. Woopsie

The sight of that queue makes me cringe..

Why does every music video on you tube descend into a discussion slagging of match of Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga..

I've just swopped the top two around as I've just realised that Tower of Terror is just so perfect and cinematic and atmospheric and fun and awesome that it deserves top place.

You know, after reading your report I don't feel any little niggling to go to Heide Park anytime soon. The only ride I find myself interested in is Krake and even with that, I can do similar in this country. It's interesting that your report reminds me of similar ones on Gardaland....So yeah, thanks. I'll go to Hansa soon though.

Back before it got raped by fastrack, stealth and storm surge, Tidal Wave had a much longer queue then present. It's also perfectly understandably for Tidal Wave to have a three hour queue in 2002.

This. Disney is a juggernaught.

So not content with being the best park in Europe, Europa have decided to be the best park in the world. Europa Park

You clearly didn't find your laughing place

No, you'd ride Euro-Mir or Euro-Sat!

I think Air's actually a really nice ride. It doesn't have the mind blowing element of Manta and Tatsu which in a way helps it. Air is supposed to be trying to simulate free-flight which it wouldn't do if it was trying to throw you around in all sorts of directions.

I remembered at work today that I made that last post and all I can do is apologise to you. Vodka does indeed make Mark very aggressive.That being said, I still think even if Woolworths had been running Alton it would still be as popular as it was in the 90's because Alton has a very strong brand prescense in the country. Merlin owning it is neither here nor there.To be fair though, with the Air thing, drunken Mark never stated that he likes Air, he just pointed out that the public love it.

It's okay, the project isn't cancelled just because the wing-rider track wasn't heading to Chertsey..

It's also probably down to movement. I refuse to queue for Fury in a 45 minute queue because I know how little I'll be moving whereas a Vampire, Nemesis or Thunder Mountain queue will be easy because you move a lot constantly. That probably adds to my enjoyment even more and I'll notice the time moving less.

Thats fine with me actually. Thorpe can continue down the blind avenue of constant thrill attractions whilst Alton can at least try and innovate with family friendly rides.

There is so much crap in this topic now it's unreal. Where are people coming from when they post this stuff. Firstly:- All the ground work has been done in the last 30 years and has NOTHING to do with Merlin. From John Broome adding a double looping rollercoaster in 1980 to Tussauds throwing in Europes first inverted rollercoaster. Merlin have added pirates, a random cuckoo area and a family rollercoaster with bells and whistles. Merlin, if anything, are sucking off Alton's reputation, and sucking it dry. I mean honestly. Are you for real? Air, to this day remains one of the most popular rollercoasters the UK has ever seen. 10 seasons on it will have the busiest queues of any ride on park despite its large throughput. Yeah, so what enthusiasts don't rave about it? The public love it. And what, Thorpe throw coaster after coaster after coaster at their park and somehow they are better. Quantity isn't everything and Inferno, Stealth and Colossus can't hold a candle to Nemesis, Oblivion and Air in terms of ride quality. Sheepie, once again hits the nail right on the head. Alton Towers, if anything, have been incredibly daring by making their new rollecoaster a family friendly attraction. It's only the advertising that has let the ride down. Family parks will have always have the edge on thrill parks because, to put it simply, rides are there to be enjoyed not just to always scare you silly.

See, this annoys me. Realistically a brand new rollercoaster is going to last another 20 years and will make back its return within the first few seasons. Look at rides like Oblivion, 13 years on and it's still the ride with the most merchandise in Alton's shops. Same with Air, same with Stealth.I know there's a fine balance between getting a good ride out there and having the budget to do it, but when it all said and done, these aren't little things that will last a month, they are million pound experiences which will be seeing the park through at least two decades. Sometimes parks attitudes astound me.

Ok, recently I've been thinking about rides in slightly different terms. It's probably Disney still on my brain but I kind of see the way parks run in different lights now. When I rode Space Mountain I was intrigued and amazed that in that building were two identical coasters running side by side. I'd never seen that before and it got me wondering what they were thinking when it was being built. "This rides throughput isn't high enough, lets build two of them".And it got me thinking further about rides like Spinball Whizzer, Rattlesnake, Samurai and other low throughput attractions throughout the UK. Is spectacle and making an impact more important then just getting people on and off the ride in the shortest time possible.So, to start of us, I'd like to know your views on this.Q1) Is throughput one of the most important factors when parks open a new ride?I don't mind where discussion goes on this, you can take it down any avenue you wish. But I am intrigued on what people's views are.

The ridiculous part is Frog Hopper and Berry Bouncer are 0.9 metres tall at absolute minimum and yet at a metre tall I can go ride and ride a 180 foot Hollywood Hotel Tower of Terror. Our H&S is a bloody joke.

Oh Sweeet Jesus....Why are we stuck with such tripe! It's so frustrating what they are doing over-seas and we get Storm Surge and Thirteen. ARGHHHH