Mark9

5) Thorpe Park TPM meet 2013. There was something just so special about this trip. Whether it was the fact it was snowing, freezing cold, the most awesome people on a trip or just everything put together I don't know but it was just brilliant. To Peaj and Dara riding Tidal Wave and being drenched for the rest of the day or sitting in Calypso BBQ with hot chocolates and coffees. 4) Disneyland Paris Fandaze 2018. The end of the 25th anniversary celebration really but this was a trip where many rare characters made an appearance as well as meeting the (at the time) CEO of Disneyland Paris, Catherine Powell. It was a long day but a fantastic one. 3) Europa Park 2006. I met my future husband on this trip so it has many, many special memories for me. Travelling through Rust to the Lidl from the Tipi village. Getting drunk in a field and several of us falling into a lake. Getting on Silver Star for the first time. Travelling the diamond mine and avoiding the bears, seeing the metal dragon. Such a great trip. 2) Walt Disney World 2011. When building up to Florida, it was Universal and Seaworld that I wanted and craved. But once the trip was over it was the Disney parks that captured my heart. This was the trip where my boyfriend and I were chosen to be in the Jammin' Jungle Parade which was utterly wonderful. I'll need forget this amazing trip. 1) Chessington 1998. I wasn't an enthusiast of any kind, I was just really obsessed with them. I used to draw pictures of the Vampire with its classic bat trains all the time. This was a trip long time coming and I remember sitting outside the Bubbleworks, eating my McDonalds and looking up and watching this beautiful train swoop through Transylvania. It caught my attention and has shaped my theme park life really. To this day I love the Arrow suspended rides but Chessington is where it all started.

After all of this, we will see which companies really don't deserve our custom (wetherspoons, cineworld etc). I'm glad all of the theme parks have given their food to the NHS or elderly/vulnerable.

So how will you all be surviving the dark days? I am classed as a key worker so will still be at work as things currently stand. I have Animal Crossing for the Switch, a few other games to get through, Disney+ is out Tuesday and some netflix series to get me through.

My 2020 plan is to survive this year so I can go to some theme parks in 2021.

Thats what happens when a party bases their entire campaign on Brexit, when all the voters care about is getting Brexit done. This conservative government doesn't give a single toss about the population. The French government has pledged that not a single business will be lost. Our government would happily destroy everything to satisfy the big players. It's disgusting but its what the country voted for so that's what you bloody get.

They've only announced up to the 19th of April at this point. I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being June 15th.

Having ridden its brother, the Baaaa Epxress at Europa Park, I can safely say this in my top ten rollercoasters, right under Untamed.

Well this is the crux, the government is currently saying business as usual. All our parks are currently running (Blackpool with its on the hour cleaning, Paultons, Flamingoland has no plans to close) so therefore they are following what the elected bodies are saying to do. I don't blame them for continuing. I expect that to change today as the amount of deaths double and the official number of infected people jumps by around 400 people.

You were three when the original Chessington classic went. I was four. God I miss the Fifth Dimension.

It's a nasty virus that is wiping out 200 lives a day in Italy. It's a virus that doesn't show signs immediately so you can be a carrier and spread to 100's of people before you show symptoms. It has no known cure, it's not really known if you are immune once you've had it. Thats the danger. Read up about South Korea where it was relatively contained until Patient 31 spread it to thousands of people and then it became out of control.

From Monday all six Disney resorts will be closed. Universal Florida has also announced it will close from the end of this Sunday till the end of March. Every country needs to do this to stop this spread frankly. There's no point Europe closing every border and we just carry on saying 'some of you may die'. It's completely irresponsible and risks the spread carrying on for far longer.

Everest will have to have an absolutely huge refurbishment to get the thing to work independently from the rest of the structure.

I'm jumping on this bandwagon. Bottom ten rollercoasters 10. Top Thrill Downtime. I can feel the eyebrows rising at this already. Frankly, it may have been better then sex in 2003 but right now it spends most of its time closed. For something that takes up that much space, is so dominant on the horizon and so famous, its open to close ratio is way off. The ride don't get me wrong is pretty good but it's so much hassle to ride and its just not worth the time it takes for something that short and is so risky. The risk isn't worth it. 9. Blue Tornado. I'm not an SLC hater and even if there was two or three in my worst list, I wouldn't put them all in here because frankly, its all the same thing. Blue Tornado is far and away the worst one just because its slightly longer and has more head banger moments then the others. it's not well looked after. 8. Superman The Escape at Magic Mountain. WHEE YOU LAUNCH BACKWARDS, WHEE YOU CAN'T FEEL THE SENSATION BECAUSE YOU CAN ONLY SEE WHERE YOU'VE BEEN AND CANT TELL THE HEIGHT. It's better when you come back down the tower and back into the station as you can actually feel the speed. But it just misses the original intention of the ride. 7. Saw: The Ride at Thorpe Park. I find this ride pretty grating at times. A lot of my bottom rides have in common the dread that comes before riding. That feeling of 'is it going to hurt me' Rides should not have that and Saw has it in a couple of places. it doesn't help that I feel the layout is pretty lacking and short. 6. Stampida at PortAventura. It's our heroes at KumbaK again, here to wreck a potentially good ride with their awful trains. I'm glad nobody wants there business anymore because they shouldn't be allowed near rides again. 5. Green Lantern at Magic Mountain. I feel like I'm being unjustly cruel as this was more of a guilty pleasure then hate but I have to face facts. Would I feel worried about whacking my head riding this again. Yes I would. Would my fiancé ride it again? No. Has it been closed for ages because of a potential law-suit. Yes it has. Therefore decision made. 4. The Mighty Canadian Mine-Buster at Canadas Wonderland. I probably would have liked this had it not destroy my crotch. It's out and back layout is fine but I did't have any enjoyment as the restraint continued to try and kill me. 3. The Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. I'm not here for previous record holders and that nostalgic kick they have, I'm here for cold hard honesty. This thing sucks. Airless hills that just go on and on, a first drop that just wrecks your spine, a mid course break run that slows you so much that the following helix is just like an awkward road roundabout. I like the ending where the train swoops through the scenery into the end. But its too little, too late. 2. Rustchebanan at Bakken. Destroyed by Kumbak really, this ride used to have a break-man to control the speed but then our heroes swooped in and added magnetic breaks all over the ride to completely kill the pacing and create this vile thing. The final nail in the coffin is the restraints that get tighter and tighter as it goes. Nah. 1. Tornado at Bakken. Contraption of evil. Rough, vibrating, painful. Restraints that cut into your shoulders and leave scars. Man, this things a travesty. Would you like a launched lift hill into a shed that quickly descends into pain after pain. Definitely my least favourite rollercoaster of all time.

Yeah I know. Just my first thought was the run down crap all over Phantasialand and not the marvellous Taron and Chiapas.

My head immediately jumped straight to the Hollywood tour ride, The Chinese omnimover and Temple of the night hawk.

We're at that point where people didn't exist when Stealth opened. This is nuts.

Let me introduce you to the legendary, the wonderful, the eighth wonder of the world, the under-side of water! This boat was called the Titanic but it only half sunk. The things I would do to get out of going to my mother in laws for dinner. Would you like a glass for all that water? We're not going down, of course I could be in deNile.. This boat has no life rafts and no life preservers offering you this chilling challenge, to swim your way out.

Isn't snowflake more a right wing buzz word relating to people caring for others or being emotive. People from the right wing often struggle with the idea of caring for others outside of their social circle because the idea of being nice to each other is so alien and foreign, it deserves to be ridiculed. See 'woke' and 'SJW' also. People abusing a system full of flaws and potholes is not snowflake. It's scummy, it's taking the mick but it isn't 'snowflake'.

It took them what, 14 years to fix the Tidal Wave entrance sign only for them to put a Coke freestyle machine in front of it so maybe the lightbulb isn't worth fixing in the first place.

I'm expecting it to be in-between the marmalisation room on the Smiler and the entire indoor queue section from Oblivion the Black Hole.

Yeah, what the hell are they talking about.

Can't wait for sex education the experience xx

My only conclusion is that Thorpe Park fans were so spoilt by 2000-2010, they think that a few years without major investment means Merlin hate Thorpe. Stop and think for a minute. We talk about all these half arsed additions that don't go anywhere but at the same time seem to want these big coasters thrown in without a second thought. Mr Matt, two of those investments were massive with The Swarm and Derren Brown. Whilst they were both relative failures, the money was put on the table. Lots of parks would scream for that level of investment. It's only through this Thorpe sphere that it looks like they've got barely anything. I can only think that Thorpe needs to realign itself. Someone took the mick when I said the place needs to work out what it is and they said thrill rides but frankly, that approach no longer works for Thorpe. The current thrill rides (poor Slammer) haven't exactly gone away and yet they aren't doing the business anymore. The teenage market requires the newest, best product and there's no way a thrill park can sustain that level of investment indefinitely. Either Thorpe adjusts course permanently to engage the family market or they continue to do nothing.

I can' tell you how much enjoyment I get from people moaning at Chessington for not having enough rides open or being really busy when the February half term event is called Animal Adventures.

Top five parks that I love with all my being and would recommend whole heatedly. But please bare in mind this doesn't always have the groundbreaking rides, its all about that sweet, sweet theme as I at heart prefer escapism to just being thrilled. 5. Chessington. Nostalgia is important. Chessington has that nostalgia for me and every time I go I enjoy it far more then a lot of bigger, high budget parks. Whether its exploring the Zoo which makes this the more unique Merlin park or sitting in the hotel bar overlooking the savannah, this feels like the chill out park that I love. Vampire is a classic, Fury is great and the nostalgia for operating these rides will always make it a special place for me. 4. Phantasialand. Wonderful place. Naturally Chiapas and Taron are the standouts. There are parts of the park that are pretty weak such as the awful Winjas Force, Temple of the Knight-hawk and the tedious Chinese Vekoma madhouse. But the charm remains around the rest of the place and its always hotly anticipated. 3. Disneys Animal Kingdom. Immersion is the name of the game and this is the most consistent, natural and beautiful parks that Disney offers. From the wonderful food and drink (siting in Nomad lounge is a pleasure) too the unique Kilimanjaro Safari which is the ultimate E-ticket, a trip to Animal Kingdom has become more and more integral the more I go to Disney World. Pandora has only made the park more important. 2. Efteling. I don't think any theme park is as timeless, beautiful and charming as Efteling. European theme parks can be divided into two categories, the modern like Phantasialand and PortAventura or the classic like Alton Towers and Efteling. This place is gorgeous and a pleasure to explore. 1. Europa Park. Yeah this is an obvious Number one. It's a theme park I've been going to for nearly twenty years and it has everything that I require from a theme park. Whether its escapism with well themed rides or beautiful resorts, Bundles of rides and walk throughs, good food and lots of cheap beer. Yeah this has it all. My personal favourite is walking through the diamond cave and watching Alpine Express zooming through every two minutes. It's wonderful.