Shockwave

So am I! I guess they got bored of the old-school RCT image. I'm really looking forward to going here in the summer now, it looks like a great park to spend a day there.

Great photos Jake! All those capital cities look really beautiful, I had a friend go out to Budapest a couple of months back and he had a great time.

Ignore the face.

Great report from Belmont Park, Mike! Had a great time there when I did Seaworld and the Dipper on the same day about 2 1/2 years ago. Wish I checked out Mission Beach though!

Wow, didn't expect that ending to be quite so sudden! This gets better and better.

^Maybe the Yakuza didn't get their protection money from both parks this month. So they stole a big crane and used it to take all the cheese.

I always take my own cheese when I'm at a theme park. A bit like this guy:

Hanno, those are some great photos of El Toro, I'm counting the days till I can ride that in July!

Out of the three I've been to, Windsor is far and away the biggest and Cali's is the smallest. At Windsor there's a big walk down a hill from the ticket booth just to get to the main part of the park!

Yeah it was supposed to go the airtime hills round the back of the ride or along those lines I think. I really should get out there and ride that coaster one day, I've heard nothing but good things about it!

I'm wondering when the theming of the lift/first drop will be done? I think it was supposed to be a volcano from the artist's impressions, so hopefully they'll do it quicker than Marineland did the volcano on their coaster.

^Funny you should mention that, because at one time Stealth could have very well been an Xcelerator clone! One of the plans for the park's future develoment circa 2003/4 included a "landmark" coaster with exactly the same layout as Xcelerator. Seems as though the design was changed further down the line to what we have now.

^That's just the effect of the camera angle/photo editing. It's definetly not the Leaning Tower of Intamin!

Great photos Divv! Legoland first...the enclosed cars on Jungle Coaster look ridiculous! They might as well enclose the whole ride and make it more interesting instead of getting guests to ride around in a wheeled greenhouse. Did those rapids have a big drop in them like the Legoland Billund ones we saw but couldn't ride last year? I'm hoping next time I go to Thorpe Park that Saw will be problem free! I'm on 599 coasters and it's sod's law that this one might end up being 600!

^So that's TPR Viagra out of the question then.

Awesome! I was playing volleyball in a tournament once in Pompano Beach, FL, and during a break in the games I noticed the "resident" Manta Ray gliding off the coast. The locals had named him "Big Ben," but that was the first time I had seen him. I ran into the water, and was able to swim alongside him for about 10 feet or so. It was an incredible feeling...especially since he was so close to shore. The funniest thing was hearing a couple shocked tourists tell me how crazy I was to swim with a shark. hehe. Also, I am now officially referring to their new coaster as Ray. The three trains will also be referred to as Charles, Liotta, and Rachel. So yes, guys, you will soon be able to ride Rachel Ray at Sea World Orlando. Personally as a Brit, I'd call one of the trains Winstone. I also watch WWe, so another would have to be called Mysterio. I'd call the last one Ban and everyone who rides it must do so wearing shades.

^^Nice photos, looks like the turnaround after the first drop is gonna be fast and furious!

14/20. That's a good balance between having a life and liking rollercoasters.

^Glad you got on it this time Robin! I'm gonna try again in May sometime, so I can get it done next time around.

Great photos Cameron! I got up early to watch the race and I'm really glad I did. Didn't spot in the crowd when they were doing the panning shots on the TV, but you got a really good spot to watch the race! I was delighted to see Jenson win and Rubens complete the 1-2. Brawn could well be the team to beat if their diffusers are declared legal next week, the other teams could have a lot of catching up to do!

How to make a drunken pyramid (I'm on top).

Looks like Italy might just be worth a trip next year, this is looking very good!

Great photos, was nice to bump into Robin, Steve and meet new folks that day. I was one of the many poor sods who missed out on Saw that day, but I'll be back when they've sorted the problems with the ride with some free entry and free fastpasses to hand. I'm also gonna have to say that I'm disappointed in the way that Thorpe Park have handled things. I can't help but think that they really didn't have a Plan B after Saw broke down. With Stealth off limits, no Slammer, Colossus intermittent and Nemesis Inferno only running one train until the afternoon, one has to question the logic of opening the ride before what the park denote as the main season has officially begun. The Friday 13th date was a fantastic PR tool, but on this occasion it has all backfired spectacularly. Anyway, rant over. Hopefully I'll get to meet up with those of you that I did meet again, possibly at Thorpe Park with an open Saw ride!

Thanks Robb. That's as much as I expected given what you're doing apart from the parks. I'm gonna look into doing a few other things while I'm there and see if it would make a worthwhile break - visit Camp Nou, Montjuic Park, look around Barcelona, etc etc.

This might well be doable! Had a great time at Port Aventura & Tibidabo just over a year ago, and it would be nice to go back. PM has been sent.