Mark9

Creepy Caves must be on the bigger surprises of the year side of things really. Considering all the pre-opening stuff was pretty dire and cheap looking, the attraction has spoken for itself and delivered. They just need to retain the elements that made it successful for this year and not butcher it in 2018.

All in good time.. The financial struggles have certainly hindered the parks progress but the place has come on leaps and bounds since I first visited four years ago and I would guarantee some investment starting to come in ride hardware before the 30th. Unlike Florida and California though, I find Paris the more relaxing of the Disney parks. I don't feel like I have to rush around and plan every second of the day just to get the best out of it. Whilst some wouldn't like that there's not much to do, I find the place always fills up 12/13 hours easily.

Zone ten looks fricking amazing. Really great to see a park being fully re-imagined and invested in. Exciting times ahead it would seem.

The most loyal customers (season pass holders) should know that some things are out of the parks control and these things are done for good reason and not just to annoy people. I take it you were there so I'd like a few more first hand account before being outraged. What were the queues like for the 30 rides that were open at 5:45pm, was there lots of people still purchasing food and drink, merchandise. Did they literally chuck you out of the park, did you receive any notice that the park would be shutting earlier then planned? If you did, were the staff all smug about it, providing you with the bad customer service that you've said twice now.

From the Pleasure Beach website.. 6.1. The issue of a ticket or wristband shall not guarantee, nor does Pleasure Beach warrant: The availability and/or quantity of any particular ride(s), show(s), device(s) or attraction(s) upon any visit to Pleasure Beach, That access shall be given to any particular ride(s), show(s), device(s) or attraction(s), Exemption from height or other restrictions that may apply from time to time, The opening and closing time of Pleasure Beach, which may vary from time to time at the sole discretion of Pleasure Beach.

Anyone have any idea why Black Holes music AKA Detonators old soundtrack is now playing near Oblivion? Although I love the track it is a bit out of place..

Shamelessly stolen from the Blackpool facebook page. YAAAAASSS! Excitement levels just increased by like 1000% .

Shares in Merlin dropped 20% shortly after that announcement so I guess markets weren't that impressed.

Agree with all the sentiments above Marc's post, when one of the best things you can say about a park is the express pass system, you know its got problems. Shambhala and Dragon Khan are great rides but if you have to encounter so much rubbish to get to them, it really isn't worth it.

Nemesis being so far away from the entrance helps as well. It's always where people get to last and the first area to empty out near ride closure. I simply love how the best ride at Towers has the shortest queue, makes re-rides so easy.

I'd have asked those questions before buying it to be honest. I don't think £125 on a fastrack package can ever be worth the money, regardless of how many rides or mazes you get to do.

To think, how much shorter those queues would be if Rumba was open..

I've only felt ill on one ride, this disastrous contraption at Walygator Parc. It's the combination of swinging and spinning that really didn't agree with me. I once felt sick after eating a Mcdonalds and then immediately single riding Dragons Fury but that was my own stupidity, not the ride itself.

Indeed. Although busy days are a gamble, but I think at least you get better operations. The gamble is how much fastrack is sold I guess but then that also affects the 'off-peak' days to.

It was truly ahead of its time. As coaster enthusiasts we go all over the place to get on different rollercoasters to try new things. No ride this year has been as pleasurable or as intense as Nemesis last night. I'm genuinely surprised because I always knew it was a good ride (one of the best) but it surpassed itself.

Wonder what happened to the second train for it to be out of action for so long.

First post since March, wtf has happened to Alton Towers interest of late?! I know that hundreds of articles and blogs have been written about Nemesis over the years, I'm still going to gush because Nemesis was in a league of its own over my five rides yesterday. It was running on a level that I hadn't experienced before and I had the biggest smile on my face from beginning to end. I've been on quite a few inverters this years and not one can hold a candle to it. It looks in the best condition it has for years and the operations were simply, perfect. Utter joy.

Something that amuses me about Smiler now is that people are point blank terrified of riding the front row. Means its the easiest ride to get the best seats in the house.

First post for three months, woo. It was an absolute pleasure to get back on Hex, I think it is by far the golden standard dark ride in the UK. Everything about it is just pure magic and harks back to the days when storyline and atmosphere was king. I only got one ride but I was completely ecstatic after my ride. It looks in fantastic condition and even though it didn't need a year out, at least some work has gone on and it looks brilliant. I loved seeing the reactions from people during and after the ride, trying to work out what had just happened to them. It's just wonderful.

Indeed. Why make the parks you already own better when you can buy other places and ruin them instead.

I don't think either of those reasons are enough for the ride to be unceremoniously scrapped (although both are probably the reasons that they were junked). The first for example, an engineer for the rides has gone on record that whilst both needed some work, had at least twenty years of life in them. B&M give out life-time guarantees to their attractions for a reason. The second is just pure selfishness. Why couldn't they have gone to another park if that other park was willing to refurbish them? Relocating them to China, Europe, any park in Asia isn't going to affect business in North America in the slightest. Begrudging guests and future guests of the experience of two well liked B&M's is kind of insulting to be honest (well as insulted as being a coaster enthusiast can be). Maybe no one wanted them? But then that begs the question why not put them in storage. Or maybe they were worth more in scrap then they were as a re-sell. This is probably one of the reasons I really don't get on with Universal. Too much dross like Jimmy Fallon or stupid simulators and their obsession with the money maker that is Harry Potter just leaves me completely cold.

I can see where the Fury one would come from, Spinball has got stuck at the top of the immelman turn so it's not impossible for Fury to do that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwTKyLLp4EQ

What a sad end to two such iconic rides (even if I wasn't their biggest fan..)

Gotta maintain that drunk at 3am in a London night club vibe after all.

Good value for money though.