KarlaKoaster

Ooh, I posted this in December, do I win anything hehe. Thanks for confirming that it came from an official source, I'm surprised it has a vest restraint as their Mega Coaster restraints are almost perfect but I'm really looking forward to giving this a ride as the layout is so strange! (and hahah BDG, that would be an awesome name)

Wowie, do you want some salt to go with that chip on your shoulder? No need to be so preachy about it, I didn't realise. You knew what I meant, I'm just talking about the paint effect added to the track, and rust or not my point is still valid. There's no need to be so condescending.

That's exactly the kind of train I'm expecting, although are we sure that's not just a fan-made mockup?

It took months because they had to paint the primer on with rollers/brushes. If they add the rust effect, this will just be done with spray paint and won't take long at all. I'm not saying you're wrong, but it won't "take at least two months" to apply the rust effect

If I ever get evacuated from there, I'm totally gonna slide down the handrail on those stairs.

Looks like it. I guess this will be topped out very soon as the other sections are assembled on the ground so it's "just" a case of plopping them on the top

It's similar (same make and model) but will be quite a bit different layout wise and not quite as big. I thought Mako's layout looked quite boring at first but it's definitely grown on me and the overbanked turn looks great.

Thanks for all the pics! I really like the train from all angles, and you can really see how the sides of the car look a bit like fins from certain angles. I quite like that it is an abstract/very stylised interpretation of a shark, it looks really sleek and modern.

Aww that car looks lovely! Interesting to see at least the first car has a kinda side on it. Wonder if we'll see that on all the cars, or whether it's just on the lead car. I'm happy they're the four across version too, although I can see the benefits of the staggered seats having ridden Shambhala.

If the bumps are REALLY that bad, there might be bonus airtime

Um... now...? This thread is full of construction pictures.

Although I am sick of ramshackle/abandoned buildings at Thorpe Park (Amity, Swarm, Saw etc) this does look quite classy as ramshackle/abandoned buildings go.

Wow, it will be quite something to see them lift the next section up! I guess as the tower gets narrower at the top it's not so heavy and cumbersome. I really like the railings on the launch track, even they seem quite nicely designed. BTW I guess it's just the camera/angle that exaggerates the wiggles on the "straight" track before the brakes? Thanks for all the pics

Not sure if this is going to be happening anymore since we all thought the finished color was on the right, however from the Ariel picture we can see that all that section is now fully white. So i really get the feeling this is going to remain white, without the rust. It does look nice in both colors though. I would guess that any rust effects will probably be painted by different people than the 'proper' paint (possibly Merlin Studios?). Not ruling it out altogether but it's just something worth bearing in mind

I don't think they've finished the repaint yet, and will be applying the rust effect later.

Considering what log flumes and water rides are like nowadays, STR always seemed like bit of a wasted opportunity. By the way, I had no idea how bad the accident on it was.... even just reading the description is pretty horrifying.

I saw this on Theme Park Worldwide's Facebook page... hope it helps! The path by the Revolution is quite narrow so not sure how it will cope on busy days but we'll see

Yep, you're right, and as the Big One goes to show, you don't even need huge space for even massive coasters, all it takes is moving a couple of rides and being a bit creative with where the ride goes. BTW apparently the ride is planned for 2018 now, not 2017 as I said in my post

Yes it looks really nice! I know Amanda Thompson isn't very popular with enthusiasts but I love what she's done with the park and think it's looking really nice nowadays.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach has now reopened and there is now a huge, gaping space in the middle of the park for their new 2017 ride. The space has been created by removing the Tom Sawyer Bridge which was one of the main routes across the park, and replaced by a new bridge which is closer to the Avalanche (which had supports changed to accommodate this). It goes to show how parks like Cedar Point are nowhere near running out of space when a park as packed as Blackpool has so much space to develop just by moving a bridge. Pictures from Theme Park Worldwide

It says 'newest bending technology' so I guess they're just referring to the fact that technology has moved on a LOT since 1995 and everything is designed to a finer margin than it was 20 years ago. I know a lot of people look down on Vekoma, but they are kind of a big deal in that they're one of the biggest manufacturers in the world, plus it is a press release so is going to lay on the superlatives..... it's probably best not to read too much into it

That's a shame! Can't be too fussy as it is a huge coaster, though.

While the engineers do their best to maintain the rides to the highest standards the fact of the matter is they are not given the money to take care of theming etc. Prime example of rides that until recently have not been taken care of as well as they should do due to funds are Safari Skyway, Tomb Blaster, Loggers Leap, Colossus, Nemesis (station mostly), Hex, The Dragon. That's a few rides that have been left to get in an absolute state due to the money not being granted to allow them to fix it. I've spoken to engineers at various parks over the years and they all take immense pride in what they do but they can only do so much with the resources given to them. As for Octonauts station well the less said about that the better........ I agree, and I'll add Dragon Falls and Scorpion Express to the list, where the rock theming fell into such disrepair that lumps of concrete were coming off and foam was showing through the cracks to the point it couldn't even be repaired and had to be removed.

I guess the rust is applied in a completely separate stage, possibly even by a different company (eg, Studios might be doing this). Plus even if they are painting it white, don't worry, with the way Merlin are with looking after their rides, it'll be rusty again within a couple of seasons

My last couple of visits to DLP have been amazing. I think the resort is really turning a corner... it's a shame that they did let it fall into disrepair and also that the customer service there was so poor, but I genuinely think they've turned it around and I think it's a shame people still give the resort a bad time. Mud sticks though, I guess.