Mark9

And yet I started my post with a compliment.

It’s a shame you’ve gone from one of the most interesting trip reporters on this forum to someone who just wants to throw shade at others.

Welcome to a bit of self congratulation. I'm going to be 30 in two months and this birthday represents 20 years of being into rollercoasters and theme parks. Instead of getting smashed and wondering where my life went wrong like a lot of thirty year olds normally do, I'll be out celebrating at Heide Park and finishing my B&M collection (before Fenix and Valkyire open, those rascals). Everyone loves lists right, so I decided to put together my top 100 rollercoasters and talk about them in a sentence or two. I hit 250 last year at Walygator and am currently on 253. Unfortunately this was a little too early to include Oblivion: The Black Hole or Icon but does include the Wicker Man. I wanted to do this now before I hit Cedar Point where I imagine my top ten will be smashed to pieces. So I hope you enjoy the first installment or at the very least, comes across as slightly interesting. 100. Thor's Hammer - Djurs Sommerland. (First ridden 2013) Whilst this is nowhere near the best Gerstlauer bobsled out there, it's a nice, safe, dependable ride that gives a good starter coaster for young riders. 99. El Diablo - PortAventura (First ridden 2012) The thing with this ride is it doesn't feel complete. There are parts of the ride I really like that really are let down by the stretch between Lift 2 and 3. It's a real shame that this couldn't be the support coaster to Dragon Khan and Shambhala that it needs to be. As it stands, it's an okay curiosity and nothing more. 98. Scorpion Express - CWoA (First ridden 1992) This is the most important rollercoaster in my top 100 as it was the very first. Yes before Nemesis, before Katun and Alpina Blitz or even Corkscrew at AT, there was the Runaway Mine Train. My memories of that first ride are pretty hazy this point. I know I was tricked onto the ride by my uncle and I know that I was scared out of my wits. Even though this is no Colorado Adventure, four year old Mark came off astounded and so impressed. Even though it's re-dressed now and is far less themed, it still makes an impact. It was my favourite ride to operate when I worked at Chessington, the first day I operated the ride by myself, the last ride of the day gave me a round of applause and they are memories that I will never forget. 97. Runaway Mine Train - Alton Towers (First ridden 2000) Another Mack, this time the Alton equivalent. I've always been rather fond of the mine train but I'm afraid it seems to be getting slower and slower each year. Ever since its crash in 2006 its always come across as a shadow of its former self which is a shame as its original layout and interaction with the Rapids is second to none. 96. Blue Flyer - Blackpool (First ridden-2012) I must admit to not being that well learned on the Blue Flyer, having had one ride on it however I remember it being pretty impressive for a family wooden coaster. Will make the effort to ride a bit more on the next visit. 95. Flying Dutchman - Efteling (First ridden - 2017) How could one not be impressed by the Flying Dutchman, well the inside in any case. This was my first ride at Efteling and I was simply blown away by the dark ride section of this water coaster. It's a shame that it falls to pot once it emerges into the sunlight but for all intents and purposes, the inside is fantastic. 94. Seven Drawfs Mine Train - Magic Kingdom (First ridden 2015) The inside section of this rollercoaster is worth the ticket alone, it's a shame that the rest of the coaster is somewhat.. short though as just when it feels like its about to get going, you hit the break run. 93. Rip Ride Rocket - Universal Studios (First ridden - 2011) (Wow its amazing how bad from photos from 2011 look now) Falling off that lift hill to 'I will Survive' is an experience I will never forget. Which is good because the rest of the attraction is completely unmemorable. It's an okay coaster but its not really deserving of being a Universal coaster. 92. Batman La Fuga - Parque Warner (First ridden - 2007) I know what you might be thinking, how could a B&M be so low?! Well to be honest, I've never got on with the Batman clone. Whilst the intensity sure is there, the bang bang bang of inversion has never really appealed and its rather basic layout always leaves me feeling a bit cold. 91. Cobra - Paultons (First ridden - 2009) Cobra is so silky smooth it feels like you're about to take a nap. It's a great coaster and fits right into Paultons but if you're looking for something a bit more aggressive, this is not the place to go. And with that its 100-91 complete. I hope you enjoyed your nice nap if you got this far (or read at all). Feedback would be lovely. Until next time.

Err, thats because it is. 15/10 doesn't do it justice.

Wouldn't be surprised if it is extended though. My trip last Tuesday was supposed to be 10-4 but was extended. The parks been way busier then the last few years so really they have no justification for a 4pm close frankly.

I don't know whats more shameful, the way their Twitter team are replying to people or trying to get the Daily Mail's attention. Yep, its the Daily Mail call out that is really disgusting.

They need to change their policy and get Thirteen and Rita open at 10. There is no fall back whatsoever and like today, to have Oblivion as the only major rollercoaster open, is damaging their brand.

If all you care about is ride counts, just ride Duel for two hours.

That's the best use of faint praise I've ever seen.

Are you ever not on holiday?

The Worst GCI in modern history. Wicker Man will be **** we all know it. Doesn't look very interesting, not very fast at all. Just three ways Wicker Man has been described over the closed season on this forum. There's a wealth of material, of people lining up to give the first modern woodie in the UK in 22 years a good kicking. The point where coaster enthusiasts have already ruled themselves judge, jury and executioner on a ride way before anyone had even had the chance to ride. Here we are a good two weeks later from the preview event and I think there's proverbial egg on peoples faces. I remained quietly optimistic, keeping expectations in check. What I expected was a well paced, fun, mildly thrilling family wooden ride and that's exactly what I got. I knew this wasn't going to be Wodan, it wouldn't be the airtime machine that Megafobia or Tonnerre De Zeus are. But what I did get was the best rollercoaster Merlin have ever built.. Now before you decry my last sentence as hyperbolic nonsense, understand something. I love a thrilling rollercoaster but what I really love is an inventive, interactive, original layout. I love getting on a ride, hearing the people around me screaming, loving every moment, hitting the break run and then shouts of amazement, the joy that emanates from the riders. Hit the break run on Nemesis, Inferno, Swarm, Oblivion and you hear nothing, just complete silence. It's just another steel rollercoaster going through the motions. But for the first time in a long while I heard something from a UK ride. People love the Wicker Man. They can't believe that such an old looking ride (bare with me) can deliver thrills, excitement on such a scale. Europeans and Americans are used to the thrill of a wooden rollercoaster but the UK has forgotten that wooden rollercoasters are more then a match to their steel counterparts. For me, this is the first time that Merlin have hit the nail on the head and got it right. So why is it so good? To start off with, I like how little of it you can see from around the resort. There was a lot of discussion around Alton's limitations and how they get around them and Wicker Man is another example of that. The way the ride seems to work on several different levels to gather pace and momentum is right out of the Nemesis/Smiler handbook, the way the ride descends to the bottom of the Flume lake, or the oddity of the lift hill, the way the ride dips through the Wicker Man structure three times, each time getting more and more intense or the way the compact layout eeks out the ride length perfectly. The queue line which features very few switchbacks and naturally uses the terrain to get you close to the structure or the balcony which overlooks the majority of the ride giving great photo opportunities. The mercifully brief pre-show which I thought was perfect for the ride, telling us the story without getting bogged down in details. At its core, this is a very simple story on a pretty basic woodie but the ride is more then the sum of its parts. The soundtrack which I really like slowly builds up in drama the further into the queue you go. This feels like the kind of ride that you couldn't get anywhere else, tapping into legend in the same way that Hex does. This is right out of the Towers rule book and is all the more stronger for it. At the moment the rides biggest issues are operational. The park hasn't really got to grips with how to run it yet with very slow dispatches and numerous breakdowns. It only ran for two hours on my visit (didn't help that Nemesis was down all day, curse you Towers) and when Wicker Man was running trains didn't seem to go out very quickly. I don't think the way rows are labelled is very clear in the station either, the darkness and moodiness of the station means people can't see the numbers hanging above their heads and numerous times people were just wondering back and forth lost. If you've ever ridden a GCI woodie you know what to expect here from the Millennium flyer trains. They are comfortable enough to ride in whilst durable enough to take it when you go slamming from side to side on the rides cornering. I won't cover the ride in too much detail as frankly it differs massively from front to back but what I will say is that when this thing beds in, those back row seats are going to be absolutely fantastic. Our first ride was row 5 and then onto row 8 and the difference was staggering. I have two main worries. The first is the effects. Lets face it, Merlin are hit and miss with this and as you can see from the Smiler most of it no longer works. No sprayers, no screens, no car wash. The effects on Wicker Man tell a story far more then the Smiler and the danger of the Wicker Man structure having no fire or smoke must be pretty high; I'd be surprised if they still work by June. That's ignoring all the smoke effects before the lift hill, on the first drop tunnel, in the break run. If Towers want this ride to continue to have the positive reaction it currently has, it is essential they stay on top of this. That being said, I think the strong layout helps but on an effects driven ride, that can only do so much. My second concern is the rides longevity. Wooden coasters aren't steel coasters, they need consistent maintenance to keep them from getting too rough, too shaky, too unbearable. I question whether Merlin can give this ride the love it needs five years, ten years down the line. Based on their track record with Colossos for example, they let that go SBNO for two years. I don't want to see that happen with Wicker Man, in my view it's the closest to perfection Merlin can ever get. So its safe to say, I'm a big fan of the Wicker Man and I call it a triumph for the UK industry. When people were lining up to rip it to shreds, I stayed positive and optimistic and whilst I don't want to say I told you so, I told you so. My biggest hope that comes out of this wooden ride though is that parks like Paultons, Drayton, Flamingoland, hell even Thorpe and Chessington look at what can be done with a ride like this and build their own. The wooden ride genre is big in America, China, all across Europe and yet here, they are seen as dangerous and unsafe. Telling people I work with that I was going to Towers to ride a wooden rollercoaster, they thought it was a disaster waiting to happen. I can only hope that the Wicker Mans success leads to more and more and who knows what that could lead to. Thans for reading and as for a score, Wicker Man is a solid 8/10. I can't wait to get back up there. Next time I'll be Enthusiastic Icon.

Or something you can cut after three seasons.

Intrigued as to why you said Shambhala is 'an already mincing ride'. Is Shambhala effeminate in some way? You've had a completely opposite trip to both times I've visited and it's kind of interesting that because you've had a good trip you think everyone else is just talking rubbish about the place.

Few quick words from me. This is a great little coaster and will hopefully open the doors for smaller parks who were maybe thinking of getting a woodie and weren't sure if the hunger for one is there. It's great to see guests loving a ride like this, something that's accessible for all and full of great moments. For many UK people this will be their first modern wooden coaster and it really nails it. Great theme, great use of effects and really solid ride. Once the reliability is sorted out, I can't wait to get lots of rides on it as it's very enjoyable and the park is onto a winner.

I think they're quickly learning that their cuts are too severe. Yesterday was supposed to be a 4pm but from the very beginning, the park was advertising a 5pm close and they've already announced this weekend will be 6pm close. I still think Rita and Thirteen should be open at 10, there's absolutely no back up if Wickerman fails to open on time.

Sounds like a lot of faff though.

This is the battery I wish to charge on this garbage ride.

They even added to gay boat ride? Holy moses.

Yesterday showed two things that are now pretty obvious. 1. Wooden coasters can drive demand. Yesterday was probably the busiest day on park since before the Smiler crash. 2. This open rides late thing/have limited capacity should never be the case at the weekend. All having Nemesis, Galatica, Rita and Thirteen closed until 11 did was put Towers at risk because with Wicker Man having reliability issues and Smiler/Oblivion open late was causing nothing to do for the first hour. It then forced Towers to add an extra hour on till 6pm anyway negating the initial first hour of limited offering.

We've got two high quality rollercoasters being built, one from a manufacturer that hasn't opened a rollercoaster in the UK for years and a ride type that hasn't seen any attention since 1996. Regardless of which is better, I'm glad that the mould has been broken and that something different is now there. Wicker Man is probably more important to me to be successful, I'd love to see more woodies open in the UK whereas the chances of another Mack like Icon opening are pretty remote.

From this.. to this...

I wish Disney weren't destroying all the things that I liked about California Adventure.

Such a size queen.

And with that the 2018 season is finally really here. Go Nemesis (and to a lesser extent Rita and Spinball).

I mean, where to begin. It's so brilliantly amateur. The worst part is knowing this is going to boost attendance massively and is going to be the most successful ride since Storm Surge. Ah well, it's the ride the British public deserve.