StealthFan

Thats a shame because I am a huge fan off Toothless. This has the potential to look really awesome though and can't wait to see some concept art.

I imagine everyone will look like this while riding. [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]

I think it would look really dumb if they put the most ordinary trains possible on this ride.

^Wow I love those trains! If they are even half as good as the rendering they will be come of the nicest trains out there.

Interesting to read how you enjoyed Helix more after riding it. I do think it was better at night but still didn't blow me away. Great updates though but I wouldn't complain at more Balder

Interesting. I don't really know a whole lot about the Ninjago line of toys but I imagine this will be very popular. I have no idea what the ride will be but it does sound like something Simworx would make.

I approve of this update because at the start of it you pretty much murdered Olaf! I personally wasn't impressed by Helix at any point but I look forward to reading what you thought of it after the second day.

Looks like the park have picked a perfect area for redevelopment. Now if they want to have someone in a golf cart to drive me up and down the hill to ride the finished product it will be amazing!

Ive always enjoyed the Big One. I always make sure to ride it when I visit but I can't deny some day it runs like turd.

I love how there is just a bunch of guys sitting on garden chairs underneath the tunnel/building. I imagine its a great viewing point though. I look forward to hearing reviews of this ride when it opens and I'm sure it will be a great success for the park.

I wouldn't mind seeing a Mack Spinner in this location of a Young-Star. That being said I haven't been on a Mack Mega Lite yet so would be interested to go and try one.

Given that its Phantasialand I'm pretty sure they would theme the track if they could. Guess we will just have to settle for super heavy themed supports.

No your not the only one, I did think it was a bit strange when I first read it but once I actually opened the thread and read it it made a lot more sense.

Its good to see Gardaland getting another hotel. I did enjoy the current hotel they have. Its nothing special but it was still very nice. Im sure adventure themed rooms will definitely help attract the families more to the park. I look forward to seeing the finished product.

Im pretty sure Falken was the coaster that had the amazing juddering lift hill as well. I think it was Falken I had that allergic reaction that day too Big Dipper at Blackpool Pleasure Beach got its layout extended in 1963 and thats the closest thing I could think that even comes close to it.

I don't know why but I laughed at the fact Freddy and Jason have name tags. I can hand on heart say though "An American Werewolf in London" scared the crap out of me as a child so even if I did do scare attractions I wouldn't be doing that at all.

^I think they should have rounded it up to 60 personally

So Robb can do a "Anna and Elsa ride Tusenfryds newer and better Maelstrom" video!

I hope all of this doesn't cause them to close off or remove the awesome cave part of the ride so that if you wish to enjoy the ride without the VR you can still enjoy its Europa awesomeness.

If we read in the news of some form of concrete shortage in Germany I can take a guess where most of it has gone.

Attendance has definetly been effected by the accident but every ride was open other than The Smiler. I don't imagine this has effected any future developments the park has planned too much though. I can actually believe that sadly.

Im not fully convinced it is picking back up yet. I was at the park over the bank holiday weekend and everything was walk on or around 10 mins on both days I was there. Im sure in time it will pick up though but for now I will just enjoy the non existent queues. I was thinking about that while I was on park and then I realised they are doing what Drayton Manor did with Thomas Land. They had staff at the main entrance to CBeebies land that seemed to be stopping group of teenagers entering the land unless they had kids with them which is something I 100% support.

Well its a bit later than I originally planned but here it is, the Alton Towers part of my trip report. Obviously the park isn't haven't its best season this year but I still had a fantastic trip. The ride were running well, queues were low, reliability was fantastic and I just felt super relaxed. I could go on and on but I will let the photos and video do the talking. All aboard the "Moo-norail" First stop was Duel which has seen better days. It may be the new eco friendly lighting Merlin is installing in a lot of attractions or due to the high increase in H&S related things but I noticed a lot more of backstage areas and dead space than I ever have before. Quick "flying" visit to Air. Which some how took me all the way to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. A ride I don't think gets much love but I do enjoy it, especially the glass elevator. If you haven't experienced the ride for yourself check out this POV below. [youtu_be] [/youtu_be] Hex is definitely high on my favourite dark rides list and has been ever since my first ride. Due to it being a huge people eater I don't think I have ever queued more than this for it. but I don't feel I will have any issue with any form of queue today. Even saying 15 mins for a queue was optimistic. After all these years Oblivion still manages to scare the crap out of people. Is this train about to start its annual strip down or nearly finished? Only you can decide! Its small touches like this I feel a lot of newer installations miss out on. Touches like this around an area can really add a lot to the whole atmosphere. As I am in X-Sector I will talk about the Smiler as its hard not to ignore a massive £13 million. With the ride not running and all of the effects turned off it is eerily quiet in the area. During this visit staff were stationed at the ride entrance to turn people away and answer any questions guests had. I did feel a bit sorry for them as they got a lot of crap but they also tried to ignore the fact the ride was even there. I get it, it was a terrible accident and shouldn't have happened but you can't ignore the fact that it did happen. When guests have the inevitable questions about it that your not allowed to answer you can always direct them to guest services. As queues were not an issue I took a ride on Sonic Spinball. Which was spinning more than I have ever experienced before. Its not Dragons Fury or Winjas but it was running really well and I really hope it continues to. I didn't visit the park last year when CBeebies Land opened so I was really looking forward to checking it out. From walking into the area I was really impressed with how all the rides and attractions have been transformed. They all look fantastic, clean and well thought out which I really didn't expect. I am assuming because this is an IP area standards are required to but higher than normal (especially as this is a BBC IP) but this area is truly fantastic and I would like to believe Merlin will continue like this with future investments IP or not. New for this year was the Octonauts coaster. It lives on the site of old Beastie coaster and of course is a new credit. This ride actually had the longest queue on park by a county mile with queues up to 45 mins! So before anyone asks, no I do not have this credit. This is the CBeebies blob. I don't know what its called so I will name him Bernard. DING DONG! This is part of the CBeebies "walk of fame" which feature hand prints/paw prints of some of their most famous starts. This is arguably the most famous of them all. Postman Pats cat Jess! Time for something to eat. For the first time I ate at Woodcutters and discovered they did Gammon steaks. This instantly sold me on eating there again! Well done Windows........ After lunch it was time for some Intamin fun! I know this ride gets a lot of "hate" due to the retarded way it was advertised but I really do love this ride. Yes its not the most thrilling ride in the world but I think its a hell of a lot of fun and a great family coaster. Plus I really love the theme of the ride. I just wish there was some more theming around the ride and queue line to really finish it off. I never understood why they called this ride Rita. Creative must have gone on their holidays or something. I do think it looks better as part of the dark forest though. Rita isnt really a ride I go out of my way to ride but it was running better than I've known it too on this trip and didn't try to chop my head off. I blame Intamin cable for this horrible walkway! You can't go to Alton Towers without taking a ride on the Sky Ride. "Yay for not needing to do large amounts of walking!" The park did a pretty good job of removing most of the Smiler logos from around the park but a few have been left here and there. Anyone care to take a guess where this one is? "We are on a log flume, we are on a log flume" Did I cover the song? Hell yeah I did! [youtu_be] [/youtu_be] New at Alton Towers for this year is Nitrogenie Ice Cream. To put it simply its ice cream made with liquid nitrogen. And for what I consider an extortionate price you can have some fillings with it. Honestly I didn't think it tasted very good and it made my chest hurt for a good couple of hours after. I would much rather just go the Burger Kitchen and buy ice cream from there. I can truthfully say this tasted exactly how it looked. Watch one of the genies making ice cream below [youtu_be] [/youtu_be] I needed to lay down after that questionable ice cream so another ride on Air seemed like a good idea. It would be nice to see this ride get the next repaint after Oblivions recent refurbishment but over all the area does still seem pretty nice and as its soon to have "Food Loop" it can only get better. Now of course I'm sure what everyone has been waiting for when it comes to Alton Towers and thats Nemesis! Nemesis Sub-Tera obviously...... The ride had recently re opened after modifications made to it by ABC during my visit which caused all sorts of issues. The modifications to the restraints made even chunky people not be able to ride. Since the trip the ride has been closed again and hopefully the issue will be rectified. I personally LOVE this attraction, it is one of Merlins best themed attractions and I do think it compliments the Nemesis story very well. I know a few effects have been removed or broken since it opens but it does stand up well still. Of course though it will never live up to the myth, the legend, the phenom that is Nemesis! I am literally the first person EVER to take this photo. Since The Smiler accident the park is crawling with these signs all over the place. Literally hundreds of them have been placed around the park on every single attraction. Only a one train wait for the back row. Don't mind if I do! Now please enjoy the following photos of the best B&M Invert EVER! Everyone likes to be reminded of that good old Vekoma. Before leaving I took a quick trip over to the hotels to take a look at the parks new ariel ropes course. It all part of the Enchanted Village/Forest Expansion. And contains many of the obstacles you expect from an ariel course. There is 2 courses an upper and a lower course which are both very well priced. I really can't wait to go back and give it a try. Plus it looks like they have allowed space to expand the whole attraction if it does well. Well thats it for my trip to Alton Towers. Since this trip I have been back and had another fantastic trip. If you can please go to the park and support them as they have been taking a beating recently thanks to the crappy UK media. Don't let one freak accident effect your experience. I hope you all enjoyed this trip report! -Craig

I had a Meccano kit that looked exactly like the front of the train. They really are some amazing looking trains for this very unique coaster.

I have to agree I can't say the idea appeals to me massively but I will be happy to give it a try. I think it would be weird if they just put POVs of their other coasters on the VR headset just to mess with your mind.