[Helix - The Review]

Mack have always been the old reliable company but I think with blue fire and now with Helix they really have turned a corner. Helix isn't just a big bold ride, it's a well paced, relentless thriller and any park in Europe could do something original and bold with the ride type. Parks like Oakwood, Drayton and Flamingoland could really excel if they asked Mack for one.

They truly are fantastic rides.

[Germany Road(works) Trip - Day 7 - PHANtastic!]

Despite my massive love for Phantasialand, I've not been back since 2006. Your trip report may have given me the inspiration to go again =)

[A Themepark in Europe]

I really like this trip report, so thanks for that Matt. Even though it looks pretty much like a permanent funfair, for some reason I thought it looks really picturesque, particularly with the mountains surrounding the park.  =)

[Drayton Manor: A "Humpty Bumpty" Oddity]

You are fast becoming my favourite trip reporter. =)

[Spain part 1: PortAventura]

That Khan trim is sacrilege to a ride that just gets tighter and tighter and more and more intense. I'm sad to see that.

 

As for Baco, such a limit pusher that its layout is a circle of eight with a shed. Brilliant. Remains my dead last least favourite ride because there should have been another way. It's shoddy, painful, shaky, unreliable and requires you to sit in one of two seats to be in an anyway enjoyable (and even that sucks compared to other wing riders and launch coasters).

 

Rubbish, awful, shoddy, yuck and euch.

[Must be getting creds in Madrid - Day 2 - Parque Warner]

Thanks for the trip report there. This park was a surprise highlight of my earlier theme park years and it still surprises me that its relatively ignored in coaster circles. De Acero has spent years near the very top of my top ten coasters and I'm glad to see it still impresses, even if you thought Batman was better.

 

I didn't think Coaster Express was that bad when I went but even back in 07 it had a reputation for being rubbish. Maybe I was just so young and naive back then.

 

Thanks for the report. =)

[Must be getting creds in Madrid - Day 1 - Parque de Attractiones]

I'd like to thank you for posting the trip report twice here Benin, just in case we missed the first go

 

Your opinions pretty much echo what I felt back in 2007. Tarantula is an excellent ride, but it's not a particularly good spinning coaster which numbs the experience slightly. Fury does do it so much better. I loved Abismo back when I rode it, shame to hear it has a slight rattle to it now.

 

I hated Tornado when I rode although in hindsight it probably is one of the better Intamins out there. Did you ride the random shooting ride under Tarantula?

 

 

 

Benin Edit - OMG we can edit comments to our blogs... MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Yeah I fixed that double posting thing...

[Nemesis: The 20 Year Old Beast]

I thought this was going to be another generic Nemesis write up but it was a nice tounge in cheek attack on the other rides.

 

Nicely played =)

[Why Angry Birds Land is better than Diagon Alley]

Nice piece of satire there Josh =)

[Mon voiture c'est penne! - Petits Parks of France - Day 3]

Shame about Monster not being as extraordinary as Katun, Oz'Iris or Nemesis as on paper it should have everything. You haven't inspired me with this report to go and get my B&M credit, suffice to say I might leave Walygator for a while..

[Mon voiture c'est penne! - Petits Parks of France - Day 2]

Mack have just hit that magic spot where everything is falling into place and they are just building brilliant, perfect rides. Further proof then that B&M and Intamin need to step up their game as the Mack rides are just going to dominate.

[Paultons Park 15/03/14]

Paultons is one of the UK's premier family parks Matt, it's a fantastic place to visit and feels like it has a soul.

Thanks for the trip report, I love Paultons. =)

[Efteling - A weekend of Fairies, Dragons and Pancakes - Day 1]

Needs more Merlin put downs.

5/10

[Islands of Adventure]

My question is. Does Islands of Adventure ever really get busy outside of special events. Both times I went, the only rides that were ever busy was in the Harry Potter area. Walk on Dragon Challenge, no problem, straight onto Hulk, yeah sure why not. Want to ride Flight of the Hippogriff, yeah go for it but remember to join the hour long queue line beforehand.

It would seem to me that despite the attendance jumping up consistently ever year, the other main attractions are still going around half empty on every cycle. Ride enthusiast dream but it must be a conundrum for Universal in how to get people away from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and onto the other rides. And the real interest I real have is when the expansion opens, will Universal Studios have the same problems with walk on Revenge of the Mummy whilst Diagion Alley has two week long queues.

Still.. it's nice to see something so notoriously British, being such a success story.

[Legoland Florida]

SHED!!!!!

So what were the rides like exactly? For instance, how does the Dragon compare to Windsors version =)

[Busch Gardens]

Juvelen is a gem of a ride, it's a family ride through and through. It's a bit like Fury in that respect. It's thrilling for the kids and a blast for the adults. Cheetah Hunts problem could be the inversion and the fact that it has long bits of track that are un-inspiring such as the drop out of the tree figure eight or the zig zag through the waterfalls. Juvelen does that in a much more satisfying way.

[Busch Gardens]

Love Kumba and SheiKra, Tolerated Montu, thought Cheetan Hunt was a mismatch and instead of excelling at being either a thrill ride or a family ride, ended up being in that awkward middle ground of being neither. Shame because I love the look of it, t's truly one of Intamins best looking rides. It just doesn't ride well enough.

[Europa Park Part 4 (FINALLY)]

I've never been a fan of Atlantica Supersplash. I can see why others like it but for me it is just so bland and featureless, especially when Poseidon does the whole watercoaster thing much more effectively.

Silver Star was running very well when I went in May so I am glad to see it didn't disappoint. =)

[Disneyland Paris, Day two. Into the Parc. Part One.]

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.

[An Express visit to Port Aventura - Day 1]

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.

[10 Years of Afterburn]

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.

[Europa Park Trip Part 1]

Shame.. you shouldn't have bothered with Matterhorn Blitz and ridden Eurosat instead. Out of the two, Eurosat is a far superior ride. Hey de ho.

['A Look Back' - Colossus]

My favourite part of that growth is the jump in attendance at Towers thanks to Nemesis

[Europa Park Trip Report Coming SOOOOONN!]

Less talk, MORE TRIP REPORT!

[It's like a fairytale or something... In Bruges - Day 3 - Bagatelle]

Benin:- Goes to the crappy parks so you don't have to