Mark9

^ 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.

Before this season really gets going (Netherlands in two weeks), these are some current standings. (I'm listening to Klugheim soundtrack for reference) Top Five water rides 1. Chiapas 2. Splash Mountain at WDW 3. Loggers Leap (RIP) 4. Tidal Wave 5. Popeye thing at Islands of Adventure Top five Dark rides 1. Flight of Passage 2. Radiator Springs Racers (who knows what genre this thing really is tbh) 3. Hex 4. Fairy ride thing at Efteling 5. Dinosaur Top five Rollercoasters 1. Nemesis 2. Steel Vengeance 3. Blue Fire 4. Helix 5. Katun Top five theme park soundtracks 1. Chiapas (the thought of being in the Chiapas plaza with an ice cream sandwich in the sun is my idea of theme park heaven) 2. Main Street USA DLP 3. The Smiler 4. Euro-Mir 5. WWTP radio at Amity Cove (pre Stealth)

Yeah, I really like Parc Asterix too. it should gather more interest once the Intamin opens.

It's not my favourite rollercoaster ever but it really is awesome. First ride, I wasn't expecting that experience and was genuinely terrified. Second ride was just wonderful, just full of everything a well paced rollercoaster needs.

Maybe Hagrids should have been built inside then. ?

I'd call Hagrid a glorified, everything but the kitchen sink family coaster myself but we can all be brutal at times. ? Just to clarify, I don't think either approach is perfect, Galaxys Edge at Disneyland has seen a massive attendance drop across the resort because of how Disney overplayed just how busy it was going to be. Universal seem quite happy with everyone piling into Hagrid based on how quiet the rest of the park was on those ten hour queue days.

Not drinking water.

Just to clarify, they could have opened the ride three hours earlier (Disney down the road are opening Galaxy Edge at 7am with Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom also opening at 7am to try and spread the demand and attract People away from a Hollywood studios). But also to add, Universal could have done more to keep down the nine hour queue down. Look at the way Disneyland opening Galaxys Edge, severely restricting access to the area and advising guests on just how busy it could be. I'm not to clued up on the exact ride, however was this ever soft opened? If there was chances of huge downtime, should they have delayed it by just a little bit to soften the impact.. because ten hours is just way to long for an intamin family coaster no matter how you spin it. None of this is a problem and obviously different parks and different situations. Just the approaches for guest experiences are vastly different.

Aww, please don't paint it silver and black. Tedious, boring colours.

I wasn't really getting excited for this but now that its moving, it looks better then I was expecting.

Guarantee it closes because of structural problems.

Maybe Merlin know Thorpe is dead in the water at this point and won't invest properly into the place until they know what to do with it (sell it hopefully).

Is that an unpopular opinion? Do Americans prefer Wodan over Mystic Timbers? Do Europeans prefer Mystic Timbers over Wodan. I've never heard a conversation where the two come up in direct competition to be honest.

I remember when Samurai at Chessington was replaced by some trampolines. Dark days.

If it was more like Magnum, I'd try and be at Blackpool every weekend. That ride was brilliant.

Sounds dreadful.