therooboy

Re Goudurix I have visited Parc Asterix twice & have avoided that dreaded ride. My back & neck thank TPR for prior knowledge of this coaster. I got enough pain from Space Mountain & Rock N Roll Coaster in Paris to give a ride constantly rated even rougher a big miss. And that new yellow paint job didn't have a hope of swaying me. My hope every year on the poll - Eejanaika doesnt fall below any of the 3 above in the poll.

I rode EG this summer & also last year, many times & thought it was really great, but i definitely preferred Goliath at Walibi World both years i rode them, due to all the reasons people here have listed why they like Bizarro. This is why i am very eager to ride Bizarro as it seems like a bigger brother to Walibis Goliath. I could see a trimless EG being my number one coaster. Looks like my next trip there should be on a TPR trip. Can someone verify if this is true?

Parc Asterix Plopsaland De Panne Europa Park Holiday Park Alton Towers Efteling Walibi World

I visited both for the first time last year & enjoyed both, but Europa Park really left a much bigger impression on me & i am returning there this summer. Heide Park was a really nice park, but besides Colossus (one of the best woodies ever ridden) i didn't really rate anything else as worthy of a revisit. They have plenty to fill one day, but thats all. One thing i will give Heide Park over Europa Park, was Europa was one of the busiest parks i had ever been to. Heide was busy, but nowhere near as much as Europa Park. I went to Europa on a weekday when it wasn't holidays & got to ride all the main rides, but only once each (bar Euro Mir which i did twice). At Heide I got to ride Colossus countless times, plus all the other rides i wanted to multiple times. Still would and am choosing Europa over Heide.

We only have 4-5 hours to play with. I am hoping somehow i can squeeze in Asterix the day before we leave Paris. If i cant do that , i have to chose one to do the following day. As it is the middle of summer i assume both will be very busy, especially the line for Zeus . I would say i'm a reformed credit whore Boomerangs & SLC nowadays get overlooked often (but not always). However i don't like to miss out on any new unique coaster/ride experience.

Travelling to Europe in the middle of summer & am visiting a few parks. But can't decide if i should visit Plopsaland for Anubis or go to Parc Asterix on our travel day from Paris to Brussels. Drive right past Parc Asterix, Plopsaland is 1hour30 extra driving. Have been to Parc Asterix (and love Tonerre De Zeus) but not Plopsaland. I have been on coasters such as Formula X & Rage which i liked, but nowhere near as much as Zeus, one of my favorite woodies. Anubis looks cool, but does Plopsaland have anything else besides a Super Splash for a thrillseeker. Anubis looks good though, & some of those small European coasters really rule (Heibe Fahrt for one). Going to Europa Park, Holiday Park, Walibi World, Efteling & maybe Alton Towers (all of which i have visited once each before) & one of the above parks. I await your valued opinions Thanks

Agree with you Rob. On my only trip to Japan i experienced excellent service & to the minute transport everyday .....except when i visited Fuji Q. I actually like the park & its coasters, but Fuji Queue it is. Anyhow i queued 3 hours at the end of the day for a 3rd ride on Eejanaika, risking missing the scheduled return bus, but i had a feeling from my day it would be late & it was ...40 mins. It summed up my anti-Japanese culture day experience.

Scenic railway is OK. But not worth the travel just for that ride. Its very slow & actually rough at the end when it briefly picks up speed on the end bunny hops. Its really only good for a nostalgic ride, to have a view of St Kilda beach & circumnavigate the park. I wouldn't care too much about only riding 9 of our coasters. Alot of them are basic mad mouses & galaxis. As we both agree MovieWorld has the 2 best Aussie coasters, the next best 5 i have ridden here would be Big Dipper (Luna Park Melbourne, similar to Geauga Lakes) Bush Beast & Demon (both Wonderland) & Thunderbolt & Eureka Mine Ride (Dreamworld)...all are no more.

Nah, not the same layout (Matterhorn blitz doesn't even have a backwards drop or turntable) the only common element is that weird tipping lift. Mack actually have an image of the layout of Scooby Doo on their website: http://www.mack-rides.com/lang-en/c121/default.html So basically the first half plays out as a ghost train with a few dips, then its the vertical lift, then you drop out backwards into a huge dark "warehouse' with tons of lasers and a rock version of the Scooby Doo theme blaring, and the rest of the layout is like a standard wild mouse. At the end however it has a little suprise.... If you weren't well ridden then it could potentially be your #1 (It was my #2, behind Superman Escape prior to my trip to the US) so now it is just my #2 Australian coaster. So I'd struggle to put it at #1 by any means, but it is definitley one of those 'surprise' coasters. Edit: I had a search through the ballots to see where people put it, one person had it at #2 out of about 300 coasters (George from bannister.org)....I think it is a case that not many people with large track records have been able to place it. But then again, I've only been to a handful of parks; and there's not really a competition for my number one. Haha. -Afterburn -Goliath (SFOG) -Maverick -Scooby -Kentucky Rumbler That's pretty much my top 5. I've ridden it & rate it 68 out of my 140, its a really greatly themed mad mouse, the ghost train section & lasers section with pumping music as well as the backwards drop n lift make the experience. Similar to say Revenge Of The Mummy, where the coaster part alone is average, but the sum of all parts makes it better. I rode Matterhorn Blitz at Europa & besides the same lift trick, it wasn't anything but a mad mouse, whereas Scooby was a great ride, even though it was a mad mouse. Its my #2 Aussie coaster too, but that's more by default due to lack of choices.

Enjoying the report, will definitely be there next time you guys hit Asia. Does Bandit still run backwards & do they still have Splash Bandit. I rode White Canyon in 2006 & i was surprised it was nowhere near as rough as i thought it would be ( i expected Asia's answer to Son Of Beast, Mean Streak or Stampida). Seems i was just lucky to ride it when i did.

Scooby is a great themed dark mad mouse with a couple extra tricks , but the real reason to visit is Superman Escape. A must ride for coaster buffs.

Once again Eejanaika is given little love in the poll. #246 compared to X2 up to #28. At least this year X had something new to validate the huge discrepancy. I actually prefer Eejanaika to X (i haven't ridden X2 yet). Another of my favorites is Australia's Superman Escape at Movie World. While still a repectable #35 I think it would be rated higher if/when you guys come downunder & give it a ride. On the otherhand Luna Parks Scenic Railway in Melbourne is ranked way too high for me to understand. It is my homepark & is the only coaster beside a wildcat & kiddy coaster in the state at the only park in the state. Yet i would rate it near the bottom of the list. It was historically great (and is heritage listed) but as a coaster ride in the last 10 years it ranks down near The Grizzly at Great America as being a snoozefest. Great view of the beach & park, but it is really slow for almost the entire ride.

I have a question. This is my first time doing this poll (added 19 parks this summer on my first European trip) & i can't seem to find Zola 7 from FujiQ Japan on the list or in the fav....coaster section. Is there a reason or have i missed it somewhere? Thanks guys.

Same here.

Universals Islands Of Adventure & Busch Gardens Africa are both unmissable. 2 of the best parks anywhere, not just Florida.

I will be there next week. Sounds like stealth is a certainty for first ride, what order did you end up doing all the other rides.

Rooboy, your letter got this reply... World-class? Not for that money (Letters, 11/4) says "nearly every major city has a world-class theme park". This is not even close to being true. The few world-class theme parks that do exist are in regions with high year-round flows of international tourists. In any case, there is no way that a $220 million theme park could hope to reach world-class standards. Disney's Animal Kingdom, for example, cost about $US1.5 billion more than a decade ago. David Hancocks, former director, Werribee Open Range Zoo, Carlton wow i missed that letter. Thanks for putting it up. I disagree with him saying only a few world class parks are close to cities.

The Werribee Zoo have said they would have no problems at all with an adjacent theme park (like SFGadv). The Zoo prefer to keep the safari a seperate entity for those who don't want the theme park experience, but the initial plans shown at the press conference show a blend similar to Busch Gardens. & i'm dreaming of an Intamin & a B&M

Don't get me started on that wheel, that was originally the paramount parks plan for the docklands park with "worldclass rollercoasters" Somehow they changed their minds (or had them changed for them) and instead the Big wheel was announced. It was supposed to be completed for the 2006 Commonwealth games !! I love Melbourne, but i don't see the wheel being a winner at all.

oh wow my letter to the age melbourne made it to print http://www.theage.com.au/letters/?page=3 Wasted opportunity THE negativity towards the Werribee Zoo expansion astounds me. Nearly every major city has a world-class theme park. But not Melbourne (or Sydney). The theme park business is a booming trade and we continue to send those wanting this experience directly to Queensland. Melbourne needs to catch up with the world and improve on the great assets it has. A safari mixed theme park is ideal as it suits all age groups. Two of the biggest attended parks in the world are Busch Gardens Africa and Disney's Animal Kingdom. Both blend the zoo aspect and theme park brilliantly. If it was a $220 million upgrade and not called a theme park, would the outcry be the same? Zoo staff are rightly expected to question many aspects of this proposal, but to dismiss this fantastic opportunity for Melbourne simply because one dislikes theme parks is lunacy. Note: i only used the word luncay as 2 previous letters to the paper used it as a reason to not have a theme park....short sighted would have been better

I rode it when it was fairly new in 1998 and it was the first large coaster i ever rode that i was extremely disappointed in. For the size of it i was hoping for some airtime, but you don't any and then when the train heads upwards its too harsh on your body, it kills any enjoyment you may have felt the downward drop. Tried it again a few years ago, hoping age had changed it, but to me it was just as bad, a little slower, slightly less harsh, but overall boring compared to almost ever other coaster there.

The negative press today from the zoo is nothing to be concerned about. They are just outlaying their initial concerns which is to be fully expected. With the Victorian Government already building the Melbourne Wheel (our London Eye) for $100 million and rising (originally said to cost $40 million). I can't see them skimping on the price for the theme park. The tourism minister makes it sound like the government really want this to happen.

It will be the awesome whatever they choose, i am very excited. I live only 10 minutes away.

i wouldnt go into thinking too much into the drawings for the coasters types, they are just a rough outline. The advert shown on the news showed B&MS (several type) as well as Intamins so it could be anything. The Paramount park we had advertised had the volcano ride from King Island splashed across all the papers (including the exact same pics from the then current KI brochure) and that meant little.

No anywhere but Sydney, they've shut down 3 parks so far this decade and removed Luna Parks coaster. RIP Sega World, Fox Studios & Wonderland. I miss you Seriously though anywhere would be great.