Mark9 Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Not so much my own website, rather my own blog. My latest one is on just how wonderful Nemesis at Alton Towers is.The Many musings of Mark9 Fred, Luke_A and Sidders 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidders Posted August 20, 2011 Report Share Posted August 20, 2011 Quality read on Nemesis Mark, as always. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 Perfect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam T Posted October 22, 2011 Report Share Posted October 22, 2011 I think its great read! Very interesting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted November 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 So... Slammer?The Mark9 view on Slammer Luke_A and Sidders 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke_A Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 So... Slammer?The Mark9 view on SlammerWhat an awesome read! I've always loved Slammer for the unique ride experience that it creates; it's one of them marmite rides, some people love it, some just hate it. I see Thorpe as quite lucky to have the ride, although I really don't think it'll have much longer left due to the amount it must cost for the park to maintain... and then there's the safety issues with it if there's a power cut. It would actually make more sense to take it out at the same time as X:/, then a nice plot of land would be left, even though I'd hate to see it go. :(Brilliant read as always though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraX Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 So... Slammer?The Mark9 view on Slammer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenC Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 These days, park enthusiasts take it for granted that an incredibly rare ride type is swinging away in a park, within a stones throw from the M25. In Pokemon terms its up there with Zapdos and Articuno. Nice article Mark! It's a shame that the Sky Swatter didn't work out, but it's great that manufacturers like S&S push the boundaries and choose to innovate rather than just replicate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidders Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 Slammerrrr. :blush:Such an underrated ride, as you said in your article, Mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted December 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 To finish off 2011, I've just written a little piece on Saw the ride.http://mark2262.wordpress.com/2011/12/30/saw-the-ride/Let me know what you think. Luke_A and Sidders 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamY Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 Interesting read, as ever Mark. However - and let me make clear first I overall don't like Saw - I might question a few points you made. A TV screen where Jigsaw explains the idea behind Saw and whether we are brave explorers and that we are not worthy to live the lifes we lead. That would mean something to me if I hadn’t voluntarily gone into the queue, you know, chose to ride the thing. With this I think it's just a person's mentality towards the ride - suspension of disbelief is important in all forms of themed entertainment from rides to theatre. If you went into one of the best themed rides in the world - say, Revenge of the Mummy's queue, you could brush it aside and say "well clearly this isn't an ancient tomb, and it isn't a film set either". So perhaps you're being a little unfair. If you go in with an open mind and go with it, I think it works to a certain extent. Do you consider yourself a true adventurer when venturing into the depths on Tomb Blaster? Second, on the theming front. Whilst it isn't great by international standards, or say Nemesis, I think it's some of the best Thorpe have done. People say Tidal is good, but I always see it as rather broad brush - there are nowhere near the number of details on it as there are on Saw. I like things like the brain chunks, CCTV cameras, frayed cables, all the junk in the station, the hanging bits and bobs around the trap inside etc etc. Even if you do discount the traps and blood spats ect, you mentioned the station as being good. To me, the whole concept of theming is to invoke an atmosphere and mood - and Saw's station accomplishes this masterfully. It's the only reason I can take some enjoyment from Saw - the atmosphere is good inside the station. It's the same as Th13teen for me; ride may not be up to much but the experience saves it. Lastly on some of the little things like the sound during the first block run with the Billy puppet. I agree when first opened it drove me mad that you couldn't hear it, but since they seemed to turn it up I can hear it perfectly clearly and quite enjoy it. I agree it's perhaps a design flaw that the spiel is delivered there though because I do feel like I've missed out if I'm on the first train. So like I say, I'm by no means a fan of Saw. As a ride it is crap. But I think it has a few redeeming qualities, and you have perhaps been a bit overly critical in your words, but as ever I respect your stance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted December 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 I think I just let out my critical elements on Saw but I take your point. This suspension of disbelief has come up between us two before with Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.I find that rather mythical actually. The way to suspension of disbelief is how much do the park (or the film for that matter) want to convince me that this is the real deal. The gunshot works (although having been in a breakdown with the thing going off ever few minutes, its definitly lost the effect it once had) as does the first drop in the dark. But everything else 'feels' half arsed. From the traps hidden away to the video screen.I could write a novel on Tomb Blaster Adam. Lets just say it gets away with murder because its aiming far lower with its ambitions and I remember it back in the day as 5th Dimension and Terror/Forbidden Tomb. Kids won't see through the faults in the same way that with a 1.4 metre ride, the stakes are so much higher. And so much greater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 Tidal Wave (and Amity Cove for that matter) when it originally opened had an absolute WEALTH of detail that nothing has really hit again in the UK... Of course after time some of these details have gone due to Fastrack, other construction and sponsorship, but it was one of the best themed areas when it originally opened in the history of the UK...As for Saw, I (naturally) agree with Mark, it's over-rated much by a lot of people, it's excessively rough and is no better than Speed or Rage... It didn't help that when it opened I also did Mystery Mine in the same year so it was straight away in the dark of something better, and the lesser known Fluch also opened in 2009 which is MILES better than Saw...Some of the details Adam listed I have never seen tbh... Maybe because I've never been in the indoors section of the queue that much? I didn't ride it till a few months after opening and walked straight onto it which probably didn't help, but the way people went on about it I expected a good majority of the queue to be indoors, not two corridors and a very open staircase... Neither of which are particularly themed that well unless you enjoy blood theming... The station is dank and moody yes, but there are much better claustrophobic stations in the world, again Fluch and even Black Mamba do this to better levels than Saw...I guess for me it's the fact that it's a shed disguised as a shed... Not every abandoned Warehouse is a massive block designed on RCT... It's a poorly designed ride from start to end really, from the idea of theming it to Saw which removed a LOT of the money which could have been better spent on theming, to the roughness of it after a year, especially when other Gerstlauers aren't anywhere near as bad... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamY Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 Gah, Benin ninja'd me again @ Mark:I suppose that's true actually. Tomb Blaster doesn't set you up for anything and then surprises to a certain degree, but Saw takes itself so seriously that you come out slightly unimpressed. I often find that with horror films themselves actually, they're so uptight and made to seem so intense that they can't live up to it. Perhaps like Th13teen.Now I've had a chance to read yours as well Benin that's interesting to hear about Amity, I'd never heard that before. Would have liked to have seen it but was too young to be looking for stuff like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicky Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 This isn't regarding your last post but your one about Up.Watched it again recently after reading your post and completely agree with how you compare the beginning sequence to Bambi. Brings up so many feelings in such a simple way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted January 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 Almost like I read this topic before, I've written a little something about the original Amity Cove and Tidal Wave back in 2000. I got a little bit over-enthusiastic actually. But as a youth, Tidal Wave was sublime and it is something I wanted to reflect in my blog.http://mark2262.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/the-wwtp-adventure/ Sidders and Luke_A 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidders Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 Love the way you write these articles, Mark. Such a Thorpe fanboy in a past life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted January 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2012 Love the way you write these articles, Mark. Such a Thorpe fanboy in a past life Well you know, one has twinges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted April 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 http://mark2262.wordpress.com/2012/04/02/the-swarm/ I had an ephiopny in TPM chat the other night. And so I put my thoughts into words and decided to talk about The Swarm. Link as above and as always, comments as very much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchada04 Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 Brilliant review. Really describes the whole ride in a great depth. Love the first photo of the train going through the inline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidders Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 Love it Mark Made time to catch up on everything I've missed and started reading everything from "The Italian Dilemma" onwards. Love this quote: There’s this belief in the film industry that your film can look as beautiful as the night sky but if the story is a crock of **** then so is your movie. Hey Avatar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 Oh Katun What? There's a Swarm article? But.... KATUN! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted May 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2012 I look back over the history of the Arrow suspended rollercoaster, check it out. As always comments and criticism welcome. http://mark2262.wordpress.com/2012/05/17/the-arrow-suspended/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted June 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 http://mark2262.wordpress.com/2012/06/09/dragon-falls/ Written a little piece about Dragon Falls. Comments welcome pluk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pluk Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 All very true, but even Dragon has seen 'damage' done to the ride aesthetically. This is what Buddha should look like.... Now he is exposed, and the lifthill behind is not exactly in keeping with the theme and beauty of its surroundings. Why they let these things happen I do not know, it must have cost about as much to tear down that large structure as it would to referb it (making the assumption that the reason behind them doing anything during the last 10 years is purely to reduce costs). It is only a matter of time before every piece of theming needs some costly maintenance and with the current thinking of the place it will all be stripped away instead. How long before Chessington looks like an inland Adventure Island? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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