exmouse

I can't imagine Intamin would phone up B&M and say "Hey would you guys like our help and input in designing a rival coaster". I'm sure B&M have enough expertise to design a ride like this without having to sub contract the work to Intamin. Having ridden Baco it does have hard restraints. I'd far rather have B&M's "hard" restraints than Intamins. Now if it was vest style like Tornado I'd want Intamin to advise B&M. Not as much as they use to. Blackstone have reduced their ownership to 34%. DIC sold off all their shares and another company, CVC Partners, now has 28% in Merlin. The rest of Merlin is owned by the Lego family and management.

http://www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=12643268

SANTA CLAUS, IND-----Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari owner and president, Will Koch, passed away Sunday evening at his home. “Will was not only our leader, he was our dear friend,” says park spokesperson Paula Werne. “Our park family is in mourning for this sweet man who worked tirelessly to bring fun and happiness to so many families in the 20 years he ran the park.” Koch died at home of what the family believes to be complications from diabetes. He was 48. “The Koch family wants to assure the public that Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari will be open today and will continue to be owned and operated by his family,” says Werne. “We know that’s what Will would have wanted.” Born and raised in the town of Santa Claus, Koch attended Heritage Hills High School in Lincoln City, and was Valedictorian of his graduating class in 1979. He graduated with honors from the University of Notre Dame in 1984 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. In 1986, he received a Master's degree in Computer Science from the University of Southern California. Koch was Chief Executive Officer of Koch Development Corporation, the parent company of Holiday World Theme Park and Splashin' Safari Water Park. Under his direction, the theme park followed an aggressive growth program including the addition of Splashin' Safari Water Park in 1993, The Raven and The Legend wooden roller coasters in 1995 and 2000, plus The Voyage wooden coaster in 2006, for which he was a designer. In 2004, Koch received the international Applause Award from the amusement industry; the criteria for the coveted award include foresight, originality and creativity, plus sound business development and profitability. Each year since 2006, annual seasonal attendance at Holiday World & Splashin' Safari has topped one million visitors. This year, the park premiered Wildebeest, the world’s longest water coaster. Koch served as president of the Lincoln Boyhood Drama Association, which worked with the State of Indiana to reopen the Lincoln Amphitheatre in 2009 with a new drama honoring the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. He was also a past member of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions; and he served on the Administrative Council of the Santa Claus United Methodist Church. Koch is survived by his wife, Lori, and three children: Lauren, Leah, and William. He is also survived by his mother, Pat, and siblings Dan, Kristi, Philip and Natalie. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to be made to the Lincoln Boyhood Drama Association or the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Funeral arrangements are pending.

I recevied an email from the PR firm stating that Ring Racer will open in August this year. So I guess it might get the record for a couple of months.

After a day at Walygator Parc we spent the evening at a large travelling fair which had 3 credits on offer. The fair is called Metz Foire Du Mai and is held in May in Metz. There were a few crazy spin n spews, making it's début was a KMG Move It, the largest size they make, Xenox a home made baby Move It, and of course a Huss Breakdance being run on crazy arse setting. Normally I wouldn't go near a Breakdance as their dull, but the European Showmen know how to run these machines properly. Coaster Wise there was a powered coaster called Tokaido Express which on full chap was pretty intense, a Big Apple and finally Super Railway a very strange beast where the cars literally straddled the track. It had some serious out of your seat AIRtime and the fact it had no restraints made it even more crazy. There had to be a minimum of 3 people to ride so as to wedge people in a bit more to stop riders from flying out. It was great fun and a must do. It doesn't get much better than a European Breakdance. Way better than a US Tilt a Whirl or a UK Waltzer. This one was good but it was no Tilburg. Quicker and more intense than a Fabbri Booster. If it's on Coaster Counter it's a credit. Slow to begin with But it gets faster And faster And faster Till you take the tunnel Conveyor belts and European fun fairs usually spell disaster. But alas no one got hurt making this a very unfun house. Old school Quite possibly the fastest machine on the green where you can slide to the end and grope a friend. Big ass machine, but dull. Oh lala It's Number 1 Either I've got fat or this has very tight fitting restraints. Never normally have issues on KMG machines, but the ride op nearly cracked my ribs getting the sensor to trigger. As good as it is, it's no Northern Amusements Sueprstar. Suspended ghost train A Mondial Jet Force Thanks to the rubbish £ vs Euro I didn't fancy it as it just looked dull. This appeared to be a home made Move It. No sign of a manufacturer plate anywhere. Another crazy spin n spew. Super Railway. Can't work out if this is another home made ride. Never seen a coaster like it. Some crazy arse out of your seat airtime. Bet Six Flags and Cedar Point would have panic attacks seeing a coaster like this with no restraints. We rode this one twice, it was that good. How hard can it be to make one of these at home? I love a nice truck.

Next stop on the tour was Walygator Parc. The reason for going to this park was for their new, 2nd hand, B&M inverter The Monster. The press release I was sent said it was opening end of April, so the trip was planned in mid May to allow for initial bugs to be ironed out. A quick check on the website 2 weeks before confirmed they were on target to open the ride at the end of April. However once we arrived at the park and reached the back end it became blindingly obvious they were months away from opening the new coaster. The track was a long way off being complete, there was zero landscaping done and the stairs from the station didn't reach the ground. I was seriously unimpressed that their website showed it was opening at the end of April when it was never going to happen. Had we known we would have gone to Nigloland instead. Anyway here are some pix. Entrance Plaza Has this pic been seen before? The reason for our visit The reason our visit was a waste of time Will this even open in 2010? Another construction shot. And another More Gatorness Entrance to the World's longest theme park attraction. Little did we know the sign with the number 45 on it, wasn't warning of the queue time, but the ride time. Bye, see you in 45 minutes. YAWN!!!!!!! The highlight of the 45 minute boat ride. No fruit machines here, booooooooo!!!!!! Wave Swinger Just one of many rides in need of maintenance. The arms of this Polyp didn't lift, it was more like a Scrambler. I didn't photograph the drop tower that was missing all it's seats. Nor the themeing that didn't work on the boat ride, nor the kids play area that appeared to have collapsed into the lake. Entrance to Anaconda. It was no where near as bad as I expected, I kinda enjoyed it. The front and rear cars were out of bounds, filled with sand bags. All the other rows had a sand bag in the footwell. I did get concerned at one point. As we were going up the lift hill, smoke started pouring out from under one of the cars. We were expecting flames any minute. But the ride remained in tact. So not as bad as Rattler, but not as good as Ravine Flyer II Best coaster in the park. At least this one didn't derail, unlike the one in Littlehampton last weekend. The RCCGB was enjoying ERT on their Big Apple when the front car partially derailed, leaving the riders stranded. Don't you just hate splashback? Anyone got any mint sauce? Photo taken out of spitting range. Now I'm getting really hungry. Does this make the park Elissa approved? Random themeing. Topple Tower broke down a couple of times, but we did get on it. Not as well themed as the Dollywood one. Final coaster in the park. Rather strangely, it was smooth. Next stop French Fun Fair.

Two of us did walk away with injuries. A mate fell over on the large swinging thing, he miss timed his body weight, fell over and skidded along the platform as it carried on swinging. Not sure if his face or knee came off worse. Meanwhile on the do it yourself wave swinger I managed to smack my ankle into one of the fence posts as I'd been swung out so far. Will upload pix from Walygator in the next couple of days.

“Ghost Ship” Has Come In to Morey’s Piers Revealed to Guests on Saturday, May 29, at Noon The Wildwoods, NJ – May 28, 2010 – On Saturday, May 29, at noon, guests of Morey’s Piers can experience a “Ghost Ship” for the first time. The new attraction, shrouded in mystery and code named “Project 5292010,” is now revealed as a frightfully haunting walk-thru known as “Ghost Ship.” The attraction is a 14,000 square foot cargo ship named “Ignis Fatuus,” the result of a “Philadelphia Experiment” gone horribly wrong, that apparently crash-landed into Morey’s Piers, at the site of the former miniature golf course. Ghost Ship is a completely immersive experience featuring costumed actors and animatronics – an attraction not seen on the Wildwood boardwalk or the Jersey Shore in a number of years. “The Ghost Ship was reincarnated from the original Seaport miniature golf course that our father, Will Morey Sr. and architect Fred Langford, dreamed up in the early 80s. Numerous ideas came forth, but in the end we decided to get back into the custom-built, classic boardwalk attractions business,” noted President Will Morey. The construction began in January 2010 under the direction of Jack Morey. Over 100 designers, technicians, and builders took part in the formation of Ghost Ship, costing well over $1 million to construct. “To the Dreamers and Dream Builders, we cannot thank them enough. From concept artists, architects, engineers, graphic designers, writers, scenic painters, special effects experts, actors, and artisans to carpenters, electricians, steel workers, laborers, and numerous other trades that all came together for one specific purpose: to build the world’s best haunted walk-thru attraction right here in Wildwood, USA,” says Jack Morey, Executive Vice President. Ghost Ship presents a new twist on the “Philadelphia Experiment,” the famous conspiracy theory about an experiment that supposedly made a U.S. naval ship invisible. Lasting nearly half an hour, Ghost Ship involves live actors (the total number of which will remain a mystery) in a haunted setting. The ride is included as part of the Morey’s amusement wristband. Without a wristband, the ride will cost 12 tickets per visit, or $11.40. The ride is NOT recommended for children under 12 years of age. Asked if the attraction was really scary, Jack Morey replied, “We just may need to hand out ‘Depends’ upon boarding!” ###

Last week I went on a bit of a crazy long way round mainland Europe tour. The tour would involve visiting, France, Germany, Belgium, UK, Germany, Finland using a minibus, the Channel Tunnel and good old Ryanair. The first leg was to take our minibus via Channel Tunnel to France to visit Nigloland. But due to an incident in the Tunnel, involving a full evacuation and the fire brigade, our crossing was delayed by 3 hours. This meant there was no way we'd make to Nigloand. So thanks to RCDB and a Motorola Droid we found an alternative park. And so day 1 of the tour started at Dennlys Parc near Calais. Dennlys is in the process of building an Intamin compact coaster, which was sadly far from ready. But the park did have one small coaster, and more importantly a large playground with lots of rides that adults could enjoy. The park map Entrance area Looking very picturesque The French kids were like slave drivers demanding we spin them faster and faster. All they lacked were the whips. New coaster construction pic. There will be an Intamin here soon. By the looks of it very soon, the ride is nearly ready. We like parks with playgrounds for adults. Hope I don't here the cracking sound of a childs leg, like the last time I saw one of these in Denmark. The parks only functioning coaster, Furio Next stop Walygator Parc

I think this is the park that's operated by a travelling showman under a lease. The 10 year lease runs out this year and he's not looking to renew and will take most of the rides with him. The site owners are confident they can find someone else to take over the park, if not they will try and run it themselves.

I went to this fun little park last year. The Dark Raver is a Meteorite with a dance sound track and trippy disco lights. Wild Eagle is an up charge, the 1Euro is the price of the flight. It's good fun but not hugely intense, the brakes kick in too soon so only a short section is taken at full speed. Still worth doing once. Not wanting to high jack the thread, but here's a link to my trip video http://www.coastertouring.com/Fort%20Fun.htm

Have been tidying up my parents loft and have stumbled across some 8mm film and slides. Amongst the stash is footage of our family holiday to Legoland Billund in 1987. It was pretty much a day trip to the park as we had a 19 hour crossing on the ferry from the UK to Denmark, then spent a day in the park before enduring another rough 19 hour crossing back to the UK. This is probably the longest journey I've ever made to a single park. And I thought the 8 hour drive to Magic Springs was bad. I have very little memory of our trip to the park, except I do remember cooking the bread on a stick over an open fire. I was pleased to see health and safety hadn't shut this down when I returned to the park last year. Anyway on with the photos. Our ferry to Denmark The crossing The luxury cabin for 5 Panning for gold to pay for a new 80's perm Locked up for crimes against fashion, even in the 80's. Even the boats looked old fashioned back then. Oh wait, they're the same ones as today. Before the observation tower was given the rusty theme. Duplo Town You won't find this in Windsor When Miniland was very mini The monorail More mini Miniland Chuff a chuff a chuff a chuff a woo woo Didn't see this ride on my visit in 2009. Didn't see this band on my visit in 2009. Sitting Bull. Happy to report from 2009 visit that "He's Still Sitting" yeah yeah yeah. Oh he's still sitting while I just fade away. Mount Rushmore mini bridge in mini Miniland There's gold in them there hills. Dinner in Duplo Legoredo More mini Miniland Yum fresh cooked bread on stick. Don't let Health and Safety see this photo. Yes I passed my driving test. This ride no longer appears to exist. But the footage from that 8mm camera does and will be coming to screen near you, soon.

Looking forward to riding this when I come over to Finland in May. I've ridden 2 other MotoCoasters and absolutely love them. For their footprint they are brilliant. Far more enjoyable than the Zamperla Booster Bikes. AnacOnda, are you a ride operator at Linnamaki? I'll be there on the 20th May.

That's disappointing. I'm sure they held an event a couple of years ago where they got a bunch of enthusiasts to discuss ideas for a future coaster. Pretty sure I read that they wanted to create something to compete with GeForce. When I was there last year recording a piece for BBC radio they were asking lots of questions about wooden coasters. Perhaps the mouse is a stop gap for something bigger next year.

Having just been on a health and safety course relating to sound, I can offer some advice about ear plugs. Make sure you get musicians ear plugs rather than standard ear plugs. Without getting to techy musicians ear plugs reduce sound level at all frequencies, standard ear plugs vary depending on frequency ie. low frequency sounds are attenuated less than mid range frequencies. Standard ear plugs won't do much for low rumbling noise and will cause you more stress and fatigue due to not being able to hear all sounds properly. They give you a distorted impression of the real world. Musicians ear plugs will cause you less fatigue and make it easier for you to have conversations with people. Because everything sounds the same, just quieter, they are better for longer periods of wear.

This development falls within their general development order that allows them to pretty much build any ride they want without having to get additional approval. I did wonder how well know Peppa Pig is outside the UK.

Paultons Park have just announced that in 2011 they're adding Peppa Pig World. This new themed area will be a mix of indoor and outdoor attractions. The themed area will take up nearly 3 acres and will offer 7 brand new rides. The indoor building will be a new state of the art facility with catering, play area and Peppa Pig shop. The Peppa Pig area will be a World's First and a UK Exclusive.

Belantis is a really nice park. Had a great visit there last year. They did need a big new coaster though and this new Eurofighter should be it. For anyone who doesn't know if you view the park from above it's formed to look like a map of the world. The PR manager was telling me they would soon begin construction of the South America part of the park. I'm guessing this new coaster will be part of that area as it appears it'll be just below the USA section. Don't be fooled by the log flume, it's crazy. It's possibly the most insane flume ride I've been on, we got drowned, especially when the boat was virtually going sideways round the whilrpool section. Also they have the nuts spin n spew from Gerstlauer where you operate wings to make your car flip over. It's also possible to do a Segway tour of the park, or just use a Segway on their obstacle course Here's a link to a video of my trip. Belantis Video

I'm sure this is the horse track ride they would mean http://www.themeparkreview.com/parks/photo.php?pageid=56&linkid=8435

Paultons Park are thinking about holding a fan day open to members of all roller coaster enthusiast groups. At this stage it is very much just a thought with nothing set in stone. Some ideas of activities on the day could include - ERT on Cobra and Edge - Scavenger Hunt - Group meal with presentation - Backstage tour - On ride ice cream, water cup challenges. As I say, this is very much in its infancy with no proper itinerary thought out. I'm just trying to find out for the park how much interest there would be in such an event. So simple question. If an event like this took place on a weekend in September, would you go?

Good news, the planning authority decided this morning to grant planning consent for Edge. So it can stay and won't have to be moved. The park has asked me to pass on their thanks to the coaster enthusiast community for their help and support. The comments left on the website helped.

Hey guys, it's been about an hour since I signed up. I've had the Paypal receipt OK, but not any other confirmation email. I've checked all my spam folders. I'm sure the confirmation page said I'd get an email after 10 minutes.

Not in your list, but missing from the park index. Jin Jiang Action Park - MotoCoaster

Don't think it has seatbelts like Superman due to having over heads. It might have a belt that goes between your legs and clips into the overhead as a redundancy system.

Thought I recognised the layout. Formule X was great. I really loved the rolling launch. As Robb says a surprise hit given its statistics.