Baffles

So is that what looks like space for a block brake in the middle? Rather bizarre that there is just a straight piece of track before the helix.

*Praying for lap bars* They make SUCH a difference..

So X:\ No Way Out is finally no more.. and the zombies have taken over. Here's some footage from the media event last night. Spoilers.. obviously. [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]

We loved it! Haha [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]

No idea what you are going on about, but then most would disagree with your signature, too. Merlin have themed some coasters very well - Saw, Swarm and Inferno at Thorpe Park are good examples of that. Nemesis, is still subjectively one of the best themed inverts out there. But all some way behind the likes of Taron, Shambhala, and Disney and Universal coasters obviously. What is refreshing about it is that the theme is generally not 'run down' or 'dilapidated', like a lot of Merlin rides, which can sometimes we used as an excuse not to maintain them. The pre show and station on this ride are stunning, with some of the best theming and effects used since Hex.

Here's some off-ride footage from yesterday's preview event. It's a great looking coaster, themed exceptionally well and rides pretty solidly. Not the most thrilling GCI, but over time the ride will sell itself. No gimmicks needed.

No loss really. All of the above attractions have dwindled in popularity over the years. It would be nice for the Frozen area to feature a ride like Everest. It's a beautiful theme, so would be good for the whole family to enjoy an attraction in the land as opposed to just the littler ones, and be something else unique to Paris.

It is an odd theme really - there could have been plenty of names for the ride in keeping with the story they wanted that are not associated with the corny movie of the same name. One of the first things the UK press did was associate it with the movie. For the park marketing department to then have to correct them, I am not sure why they didn't come up with an original name in the first place. Still, can't wait to ride.

You did indeed take a photo of Vampire's old entrance. A lot of the original, beautiful theming has been removed - especially when they added the floorless trains. It has always been more of a majestic ride compared to the likes of Big Bad Wolf, Ninja etc - but was smoother with the original Arrow trains. It used to run three trains and dispatch every 40 seconds or so - a far cry from what it will do now. I wish Chessington would take a leaf out of Phantasialand's book - they are similar size parks, both have tough restrictions in place with the neighbours, and generally both attract a wide audience. The quality of your day out must have been very different. Great report!

Correct me if I am wrong, but we have yet to see a park with consistently great operations run an RMC. I'm sure CP will speed up the whole restraint checking process compared to what we have seen at Six Flags and elsewhere..

Colossus is a bit of a nightmare at the moment - has been running on one train for a while with some awful queue times. Concerning as the busiest period of the year is approaching. Saw queue times are no different to others - so not sure why they are doing that as they have no real way to measure so specifically. Hope you had a good day!

I really do hope Merlin sell the parks to an owner who puts the customer experience first. Their focus is clearly sucking all of the profits from them and expanding midway attractions which are literally all about quantity and not quality. If you have been to one Sealife or Legoland Discovery Center, you have been to them all. Merlin doomed the parks as soon as they bought out Tussauds by selling the land they sat on to an investor, who then charges significant rent halving the profitability. Seems like this was a move to recoup the money they had to shell out to buy them in the first place. It is only Chessington they still own outright, as the land is so valuable. Heide Park pales in comparison to most other German parks. The traditional charm, beauty and quality attractions are just being taken out for tacky IP based rides which are clearly not helping attendance. Fingers crossed Colossos will reopen - but generally Merlin don't spend major money on anything that won't see a decent return on investment.

I appreciate HP is a huge money-maker for Universal, but developing it should not be at the expense of an absolutely incredible, completely unique attraction which is still loved by many. As mentioned above, the reason for removal may solely be down to maintenance. The Hulk had to be rebuilt and the same may now apply to the Dragons which would be twice the cost. Universal are a business, so would it be worthwhile spending that amount of cash on a ride that may not make a return like an HP attraction would? Unlikely..

Aerial update showing a decent overview of the construction site here. And for fun..

Some nice new construction photos. Brake run is now appearing and work continues on the remainder of the foundations and theming feature. Rest of the photos here.

They definitely push down if you don't do it yourself.

Thats looks absolutely awesome. Love this ride system.

Looks great! I believe opening has been pushed back until December, so they have plenty of time.

Ten days after my planned visit, damn. Let's hope for a soft opening!

As Air was the prototype it opened with various differences from today's flyers, including those arm rests - which were less comfortable.

Hi Zach, This particular weekend is actually one of the busiest of the year. Schools are out and the event is always slammed as it's close to halloween. I would definitely recommened Fastrack - it is expensive but totally worth it. The mazes can be really good, but only as good as your typical Six Flags maze.

The lower track sections of the loop where presumably there are higher G's seem to be thicker, but difficult to tell without further close up pics. If you compare an older pic: With a new pic: .. you can see that the main loop supports are different and have a round connector similar to what Valravn has on some parts, eg the main drop.

The later B&M's use this type of connection opposed to the ball and socket joint, mentioned on the previous page. You look at rides like Nemesis and the track literally moves and bends in front of you with the weight of the train. Newer rides do not do this and are clearly a lot more rigid, which I am assuming is one thing the Hulk definitely needs to be with its operational hours.

The tri-support they have placed is the same as the previous one - left hand side of corkscrew.

I have been five times this year and never experienced these issues. The staff are not the best, but efficiency is something that Thorpe Park have never had a problem with. I guess it just may be that annoying time of year when the park is flooded with school kids..