Mark9

Dubai is alright, it's got a Waitrose and everything. For me its a principle thing. Just because the Middle East is far worse does not in anyway excuse the stance that the Polish government and Polish media is currently presenting. Until this stance is softened, I'd rather ride an RMC in a more welcoming country like the Netherlands and Sweden.

Wish I could go, unfortunately as Polish politicians have declared LGBT enemies of the state, I couldn't possibly visit with that kind of hatred running through the country. Some things come above rollercoasters and this is one of them.

Thats every single Spanish guest unfortunately. All I remember about PortAventura is the little _________ *Insert own swear word here* pushing past us at every opportunity. Horrid. Yes, this one in particular drives me nuts. 'I went to this obscure theme park in the middle of Lativa and it was running two trains on one of its rollercoasters, MERLIN NEVER DO THIS' Oh sod off.

People that spoil things. 🤪

A lot of my opinions are completely opposite to yours. I find Superman proper dreary compared to Air. Considering what it could do and what it does do, it's a real let down for me. Especially as its one of the busier rides there, it doesn't deliver. I liked Raging Bull and was gutted we only got on it once. Different enough from the other hypers to make an impression. V2 is tedious to me. Goliath on the other hand excellent, Batman the Ride sublime. We suffered a power cut unfortunately so will have to go back..

Lets just hope it actually gets built this time. This poor Intamin has been pretty neglected since 2011, just sitting in fields and car parks just wanting riders.

All the positivity is in the European theme park topics currently. There was a brief rest-bite when Wicker Man and Icon opened but they weren't enough. Unfortunately Thorpe has fallen quite a distance from its heydays in the 00's when there was hope of enthusiasm and big projects from the park. Now-a-days a bouncy castle (which Chessington doesn't even advertise with theirs) is the best we get. Things like Slammer and Loggers just being abandoned are symptoms of a far bigger issue that Thorpe faces.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-49095935 A story so short that it goes straight into the Smiler crash after two sentences.

Great conversation about Chessington guys. I went yesterday, it's nice to take a few years break from parks as Chessington is looking really good right now (to me at least). Of all three ex Tussauds parks, it looks in the best position for the 2020's. We pretty much looked around the entire Zoo and theme park and there's small bits of improvement all over the park. There's obviously some flaws such as Toadies which looks baaaad but on the flip side, Sir Squirtlot was on which I haven't seen for years. They need to make a statement on Bucaneer because saying its run aground is coy. Park was relatively quiet with 10-20 minute queues across the board. Saw some shows, had a pint or two at the hotel which I think is Merlins best hotel as far as the theme and view stands. Lord Lorikeet I like these little tributes across the park to the past. Ashok here, the wood carvings near the penguin enclosure from a tree that was cut down to expand the area. They are charming and respectful. Wanyama Village is the best part of Chessington. It's what separates theme parks from amusement parks. Chessington is easily our best answer to the European competitors IMO. I liked how fresh a lot of the park actually looked. Rattlesnake had a slight refurb a few years back with all the snakes fixed and now looks much nicer then it did through the 00's. The animatronics still need work Wasn't much of a fan of Bucaneer just being left around near Griffins. This park needs a successor to Fury. It can't cope with the demand and has never been able to. As the ride offering decreases, they need to get some investment in. I like that they are refurbishing rides one by one through the place and I approve of the effort in the Zoo offering. The place still needs some ride investment. With so much on the market, when will Chessington actually build something fresh and new?

I'd say you were done out of a lot more then £20 to be honest.

It's fascinating how many of us have now managed to get over to Cedar Point over the last year and how all of our experiences have been so completely different. It really highlights how unique all our coaster experiences are. Whilst I'm not necessarily in line with your views (TTD really annoys me for example), I have huge respect for your love of Arrow rides. When I rode Magnum, at first I was terrified but on the second each air time filled moment was filled with joy and I came away with it being a highlight. What other multi launch coasters have you done? Whilst Maverick is a great ride, there are elements of it I find.. frustrating.

Its very much under the radar but Chessington has its own Bouncezilla type attraction now.

We asked 100 people and they all agreed that you're completely wrong here. When Quantum just decides to go out of control every now and then its like a perfect glass of wine.

Updated Top ten 1. Nemesis - Alton Towers 2. Steel Vengeance - Cedar Point 3. Blue Fire - Europa Park 4. Untamed - Walibi Holland 5. Helix - Liseberg 6. Katun - Miribilanida 7. Wodan - Europa Park 8. Alpina Blitz - Nigoland 9. Tatsu - Magic Mountain 10 Taron - Phantasialand

Who wants to go? The only rides we need to do are Quantum (the god of rides), Inferno, The Swarm, Detonator and Tidal Wave. The rest are all deadweight.

^ My write up on SV last September Just throwing it out there that on my first ride of Magnum, I found the restraints really painful particularly on the smaller air time hills. It was only when I went back on that I got 'how' to ride it. Now the question is should I have had to go back on to understand the best riding position or should it have been the first try. I'm not well versed on Arrow hypers. I maintain that the RMC restraints favour certain body types over others. And I wonder if its to do with the death on New Texas Giant. Whilst they were Gerstlauer trains, I wonder when RMC did their own that they thought the leg guard was a necessary evil.

I was making a reply to your post but I don't think you're going to move beyond the 'RMC are overhyped' angle. We can just agree to disagree without calling me 'mate' right? (Although I do look forward to when you ride your next RMC)

Ooh, that's good. So will you now concede that basing a company on one ride like you did earlier was a bit silly and actually RMC aren't the Derren Brown of rollercoaster manufacturers. An apology would also be nice. ?

When I say to people I'm going on a holiday with a week of rollercoasters, they ask what do I like about rides. At first I said it was the rollercoasters and all the different rides but as I've grown up it is completely all about the immersion and escapism. And nowhere is escapism more true in the Netherlands which has seen massive park expansions in the last ten years. Theme parks are fully upping their games and as I've wanted to revisit Efteling and take my first trip to Toverland, 2019 seemed like the right time to take a visit.. so... Walibi Holland We had a game plan here, to hit Lost Gravity first and all the other rollercoasters before trying out Untamed. This plan fell completely apart when both Untamed and Lost Gravity delayed opening. So instead we tried Goliath first Goliath . For those that know me, I'm not a massive fan of the earlier Intamin rides. I don't have a high opinion of Expedition Ge Force and as much as I like Millennium Force it isn't a ride with much content. Goliath was a pretty pleasant surprise. It's got a lot going on but weirdly has a lukewarm reception in coaster circles. Lots of air time, two big helixes, a pretty amazing turn around after the large hill where the train turns to its side to corner. I was pretty impressed with the ride staff too who ran a very efficient ride. For those that have been on EGF, the loading takes a long time. Here, the staff were fast and the trains never stacked. This gained a 61 minute queue through the day but luckily we only queued 10 minutes for both of our rides. 7/10 El Condor The true highlight of Walibi Holland is the stunning El Condor, the worlds first Vekoma SLC. Now we only queued 10 minutes luckily for this but later on in the day this had a 90 minute queue. It was as rough as expected and if you have done an SLC, you know exactly what to expect. 4/10 We took a walk round the park as the parks Rock and rollercoaster clone now had an hour queue as did the Vekoma boomerang. Lost Gravity and Untamed still weren't open so we took a ride on the kiddy coaster and the Vekoma Madhouse which was very cheesy with its early 2000's sound effects. The ride was good though, the same as Hex really just a bit less themed. I enjoyed this surprisingly. It was after having a little look around that we saw that Lost Gravity was open. We queued 97 minutes for this.. This is a more extreme Mack then most with thrilling inversions, good air time and a very different layout. Think of a Gerstlauer eurofighter but with even more aggressive drops. Later on in the day we took advantage of the single rider queue (majority of Walibi Hollands rides have them) and got on in about ten minutes. The outer seats on this are slightly rougher then your average Mack ride but it is very good. The main queuing cattlepen. 8/10 And wallah, straight after it was over to the now open Untamed. This ride reminds me of the entirety of Margate with large love letters all around the queuing area and on the rides main lift hill. One issue with the queue is because it's mainly a dirt pathway, in the rain everyone just gets a bit muddy on their trousers. It also has no cover so we just end up soaked by the time we got to get on. In the sun I can imagine it might be a bit much. The ride is absolutely fantastic. I genuinely find it incredible that this company just installs hit after hit. When people hype things up to a degree, I normally try to keep myself controlled and not read into the praise. It makes me glad that I can come to each ride with a completely open mind and just enjoy the ride for what it is. And Untamed was outstanding. Everything I value about rides sits in this attraction such as the great drops and air time, the insane pacing which particularly at the end of this ride is non-stop and breathtaking. For me it just lacks the length of Steel Vengeance but is worlds above Goliath at SFGA. 10/10 and easily a top five rollercoaster. Rest of the day was just trying to lap up the other rides and get some credits such as the Vekoma Boomerang which was far above others of its type. And so, Walibi Holland is an interesting park. I'm not sure if I'm particularly bothered about getting back as to be honest its not so much a theme park as it is an amusement park. It's clearly going from strength to strength and its future is fully secure with Untamed being one of the best rides in Europe. Toverland With no exaggeration, Toverland is one of my favourite parks in Europe. Considering the park only opened in 2001, it has gone from strength to strength to have one of the best rollercoaster line ups and themed areas I could possibly want. This is what a theme park is to me, beautiful areas and rides that look beautiful, ride well and a place where you can just relax, sit back and just immerse yourself. Fenix Fenix represents the last of the B&M's in Europe for me to ride. I initially completed this on Flug Der Demon last year but then this and Valkyria opened. Fenix is quite unlike all the other B&M wing riders I've done. The others are pretty... slow is a fair assessment. But this one absolutely zooms through its layout and is by far the fastest and most intense wing rider I've done. We managed front row on both sides and also near the back of both. The main drawbacks is the initial start of the ride is just a bit empty box. They've attempted theming with an ice dragon head breathing smoke at you but this start is 'lacklustre'. Once you finally get going though, what follows is an intense start with great air time, massive helixes and an enjoyable ride. 7/10 I love a list so.. 1. Gatekeeper 2. Flug Der Demon 3. Fenix 4. Raptor 5. The Swarm 6. X-Flight Troy Excellent GCI. When people criticise Wicker Man for being too short I sort of understand it, especially from people who have ridden Troy. It is an action packed thriller of a woodie that has a long length and great air time moments. Dwivelwind 8/10 Wow. What a ride this is. We managed eight rides during our day and each one was better than the last. This thing spins like absolute crazy and is so re-rideable. Very much a big surprise and a highlight of the trip. And the final main ride of the trip is the Booster Bike which is okay but pales into significance to the other rollercoasters. To get an idea of how beautiful this place is though, here's a few photos fro Avalon which I adored and could have spent hours in. What an enchanting and magical place. So yeah, Please go. We also went to Efteling and Disneyland Paris which were both excellent days out. I love Efteling so much, its a real gem of a theme park and Baron 1898 just makes me squeal. Love it. Many thanks.?

Update, you'll hate Untamed.

See here's the thing with hype. We all get to rides at different ages, different levels of coaster counts and different likes and dislikes. I personally think Expedition Ge Force is garbage but I see I'm the minority and don't declare the thing over-hyped anymore. It's just not my thing. This works in other ways too, I enjoy Goudurix but the coaster community thinks it's one of the worst rollercoasters ever built. Over the years, coaster fans seem to imply that they are the enlightened ones when they don't enjoy a ride as much as others do. I see it with Nemesis all the time. I'd love it if we could just accept that we don't like a ride as much as others do and keep the overhyped word to a minimum as hype is a very subjective term. We won't though because it's also a very emotive word.

I've ridden Goliath at Six Flags Great America as well, I use Steel Vengeance as the example because that is the one most people will talk about for years to come. You need to make a bit of a distinction frankly, I'm sorry you don't like them. The majority of people do like them. You're right, they don't just admire the technical genius of converting old wooden, the 'consumers' as you put it just bloody enjoy them. I just thought that because I'm on a forum that says they like rollercoasters, that I might be able to say how much I enjoy the sheer technical brilliance of changing a ride layout completely and delivering new experiences as opposed to talking to a work colleague and saying I like the big drops and upside down bits. I thought we were a bit beyond that. Also, please don't patronise me with 'broaden your views.' We're having an adult conversation, not trying to one up each other.

I find this review fascinating. It's almost like the company was hyped up to such a degree for you that no matter what Untamed did, you were never going to get the praise or where the love comes from. It's even more intriguing that you love the ride but don't see why RMC are so universally loved. From where I stand, I admire their ingenuity. I don't even want to think about the challenges of turning old woodies into brand new rides and I think they've done an excellent job worldwide. Changing a boring, meandering wooden coaster like Mean Streak into one of the most loved rollercoasters is no small feat. The skill involved is beyond just building a new ride. I look forward to your Zadra and Wildfire reviews.

I think I'm in the minority in that I like Sierra Sidewinder. ?

Thats great but what about Quantum and Enterprise? THIS IS AN OUTRAGE.