KarlaKoaster

Probably the SLC and the wooden coaster, both at Movie Park in Germany. Also Furious Baco is painful, but that is just through vibrations rather than headbanging. It's a horrible sensation though. Goudurix was fairly bad of course, but at least when I rode it there were just a couple of brutal bangs rather than it being constant.

I agree in that I actually thought in a way TTD seemed faster to me because not only do you get that initial kick, but then you feel it accelerating, accelerating, accelerating... it's like it goes on for ever. I enjoyed my ride on Dodonpa (only did it once though), but I kind of appreciated the sensation of speed and the acceleration of TTD more.

Wow blimey, thanks for the update. I wondering yesterday what progress had been made as they seem to be moving at quite a decent tempo. BTW Screamscape have said in their latest update they now believe that the rumours of it not being B&M appear to be false and that unpainted track has been spotted in Clermont, possibly for Hulk. I've not seen any pictures of this though.

Haha yes, and Paulton's coasters both look really fun. But Taron... wow... REALLY fun!

Yes, that's a good point! It seems a bit silly (but AMAZING) that they would install two coasters for a single season, but it would make total sense for them to have done the groundwork for a future coaster seeing as it will be a lot harder to do the foundations etc once Taron has been installed.

I think alcohol makes asshats even more of an asshat, but like you say, unfortunately there are people who just like to play the 'big man' and end up ruining it for everyone. Unfortunately when you have a park open at night full of tens of thousands of people, one or two people will misbehave. Hopefully the fact they've been arrested will make them think twice in the future.

I'm in the UK and have heard of Jimmy Fallon like many of the American talk-show hosts. Having said that, although I know of him, it's not really an attraction that appeals to me. Still, I didn't like Twister that much, so it isn't a huge loss to me.

Nope, I think all that has been confirmed is that it will still be Hulk, will have new trains and new theming elements and there was a permit applied for so that they can upgrade the launch. My gut feeling is that it'll be the same layout, but smoothed out a bit, but the lack of track at the normal steel plant in Clermont is a bit mysterious.

Wow, amazing photos of what looks like a great park! I love that huge chains like Universal and Disney have to tailor their parks to the local tastes and cultures and I'm glad this is the case with HHN too. It sounds like they have come up with some really creative ideas rather than just applying a new IP or theme to existing ideas. Your night time photos are great, and I'm glad you had fun

Flying coasters, because boobs.

I Imagine they would be ripping out footers already too if major layout changes were planned. My thoughts exactly, plus surely we would have heard about a new layout before the refurb happened, just like we heard about the launch and new trains. I think it will be basically the same layout, just tamed down a bit so that it ages better and is smoother. The big mystery for me though is where is the track because it hasn't been seen at Clermont, right?

I am sure that the Congo River Rapids at Alton Towers did too. Plus of course Gatekeeper at Cedar Point did if you count them demolishing Space Spiral Thanks for the construction pictures, I am a massive fan of rapids so am excited to see another one in Europe. I've not been to Tusenfryd for years so will have to try and get back soon. I love Norway

Thanks for that article! This is such an ambitious project. It is looking like virtually the whole ride will be replaced and reopened by Summer next year. I wonder when new track will start arriving?

Yup Plus didn't they market Smiler as a fully immersive psychological attraction?

Does Derren Brown have much of an international following? It's an interesting IP, not really sure what to make of this ride or even whether I should be excited. Merlin's marketing efforts normally are too OTT for me to really enjoy a ride for what it's worth so I'm always ultra cautious because otherwise it's a huge anticipointment (favourite example: Thirteen)

So, they've scrapped the trains and removed the second half of the ride... why oh why did someone not 'do a Roller Coaster Tycoon' and press dispatch to blow up the trains when they come off the end of the track?

I don't think Hulk necessarily NEEDS so much of its track replaced, but they're doing it because it's probably the most economical solution long term. The coaster is such a workhorse for the park for all the reasons mentioned, and Universal were probably at bit of a crossroad in that do they throw money at it papering over the cracks, or do they just bite the bullet and do it properly. It's like when your car starts becoming unreliable. You can try and keep on top of fixing it, but sometimes it's just best to say 'yeah, I'll get a new car' rather than throw money into a bottomless pit. With the launch needing work I guess they're killing two birds with one stone. BTW I'm pretty sure track on Nemesis has been replaced over the years, particularly on the helix. So a lot of track replacement probably happens on a lot of coasters that we don't even know about. I think with Hulk being so popular it makes sense for them just to do a root to tip rehab on it so that it's reliable and doesn't need much work over the next few years.

Such a great theme for an area! The Da Vinci flying machine theme in particular is fantastic, but the whole area should look great with hot air balloons, planes and flying machines

I think the new launch has been all but confirmed as this was mentioned in the original permit application along with the new queue line theming elements. There are pictures of a gigantic crane near the first half of the ride here: http://www.coasteroftheday.com/cotd-park-trip-report-blog/the-incredible-hulk-deconstruction-at-islands-of-adventure so it looks like they'll be starting to take down the first half of the ride soon

Great report. It's great the administrators are investing in the park rather than trying to wind it down. It really looks like it's working though and has breathed new life into what was a poorly run park.

I think DIsneyland Paris' Big Thunder Mountain is one of the best I've ridden. It's thrilling for kids, fun for adults and what I love is that you can squeeze three people into a row so you can all ride together. It's such a timeless ride too and was one of my first 'big' roller coasters. Have to say though that kids and families are really spoiled nowadays and there are so many great coasters the whole family can enjoy.

Thanks for the update Your image isn't loading though, I'd love to see it, and my normal trick of opening in a new tab doesn't seem to work. I don't think the whole ride will be replaced because otherwise they wouldn't be marking certain sections of track, they'd just tear it down, but they're definitely doing this refurb properly!

Didn't someone say a few pages back that the new track is just from the cancelled UAE Hulk clone? That could be why there's no track at Clermont Steel, and also why Universal have seized the initiative and are doing such a comprehensive rehab. There is less than a year to make these changes so I can't imagine the layout is going to change because otherwise they would need to do foundations and groundwork which takes a lot of time, plus as has been said surely there would have been a permit applied for to do this? It's also a bit strange that they mentioned there would be new trains but nothing has been said about the track even if the layout was staying the same. Even if they were using the same foundations they'd have to use the same bolt locations or change the footers I guess? It's a lot to do, although I am already surprised how much they're doing. PS, @BisketsnGravy said there's "not much progress" on the track removal, so there is more left than the picture makes it seem, so it isn't nearly all gone, I guess it's just the angle the pic was taken from.

I know what you mean, but they made a pretty exciting coaster out of Colossus at Magic Mountain and the layout of that was originally pretty basic, so honestly I think they can turn their hand to anything layout-wise

B&M: I guess Nemesis Inferno. It just doesn't really make much of an impact on me and seems quite forgettable Intamin: Furious Baco. Definitely not forgettable! The vibrations were just crazy. GCI: Gwazi. Even on its second year I thought it was horrid. I've loved every other GCI I've ridden.