KarlaKoaster

It's so good to see IAAPA back, and it must be really nice for the industry because it's such an important event for networking etc. I love IAAPA - I love how it encompasses not only the ride manufacturers but the people who make the food, costumes, lockers, coaster wheels and everything in between. Makes you appreciate how much goes into running a theme park. Great to see your coverage!

It can be both It's probably the important part of a legit coaster that they are testing before it goes somewhere. I agree with MrRC that this looks like it could be part of the new Tilt Coaster.

The park have to live within their means and although SLCs are generally rough, they're also compact, impactful and affordable. There's more to a coaster than smoothness which is why so many SLCs have been built. Most enthusiasts don't understand that, and most have unrealistic expectations. They have the new trains with vest restraints so it shouldn't be too bad. I think this park looks really nice, they've put a lot of thought into it.

Has anyone been to the parks in Dubai recently? I'm trying to work out where in the world to go next and Dubai is on the shortlist, but I will be honest and say these parks have always sat a bit weird with me. I read that Riverland is like a ghost town now with closed shops and restaurants so the resort seems like it could be quite depressing. I know the Emirates also has Warner Bros, Worlds of Adventure and Ferrari World, and of course the Expo, but would be interested to hear your thoughts.

Secret Life of Pets looks great. Sort of an old school style ride with a lot of depth of detail and a lot of reridability. Fingers crossed this is the replacement. I didn't mind Shrek, honestly I was in tears of laughter the first time I did it, but it has definitely run its course now.

No, I don't think anyone forgot, we've known about that for a while The track is already on site and being installed so the only surprise for me is that it's not opening sooner. I think it's being manufactured by Setpoint, so I'm not expecting it to be a thriller, but I think the concept is super cool and I can't wait to see the end result.

Wow, what a great video. I didn't know about the restaurant/bar thing, but the way I understand it is they would only use that when taking the trains off the track, for example for annual maintenance. Most parks would just have a roller shutter at the back of the storage building, Phantasialand move the pool table and take the train's carriages through the skylight. God, it sounds so ridiculous when you say it like that

Happy to say that the park is reopening on 2nd October

Oh they're not publishing one? That's a shame, it could have been the most interesting report they have ever produced. Obviously it would have been all over the place statistically, especially as a lot of their figures are guestimations, but surely it would have been a useful resource and a useful way to see how different countries' approaches to covid affected the industry, plus their editorial analysis is always interesting.

You were, but not everybody was - one post said 'you'd think that identical trains would have an identical height requirement' so I was explaining what that was not the case. It's because there's one restraint for two people, so they're trying to minimise the size differential between riders to avoid the situation where a small child with their parent would have a huge space between them and the restraint. This is quite often the fact with Wild Mice and why modern mice have individual restraints.

I guess height limits are not only based on manufacturer specifications (ie, the height range for which their restraints are designed for) but by the state or country that approves the ride for operation (some will be stricter than others) and also the park itself taking into account how extreme the layout is. Some parks and countries will be stricter than others.

I had a terrible visit to Parc Asterix once, but then my next visit was amazing. I'm not sure I would have the confidence to ever say 'never again' unless I felt the park was genuinely dangerous, but I've never had that experience.

That's what surprises me, though, that it's only four people. Maybe I'm just used to western people not following the rules though.

I do everything I can not to buy them, but they're a nice option to fall back on if otherwise I wouldn't get on a ride/rides. I agree you're paying money for nothing essentially, but if I were to visit a theme park, pay admission then hardly get on anything, I'm essentially paying admission for nothing too. I can only think of a few examples where I've got Fastpass; Parc Asterix (15€) when I could only visit on a busy Saturday, Thorpe Park (approx £5 x 3) when it was unexpectedly busy and the queues were a non-covid-compliant mess, and Halloween Horror Nights when it was my only way of getting on everything. I'm glad to see the back of Fastpass, it was an unmanageable mess and I hated planning my days in granular detail two months before I visit. Genie+ at the moment is reasonably good value and not the devil incarnate but it is another twisting of the screw by Disney. I found Boobash far more objectionable. But I am not keen on it excluding some rides and you having to pay extra. Would I pay for Genie+? Probably yes, it will be the only way I can ride everything. Would I pay for the extras? Probably not, I would attempt to rope drop those.

Seeing the video of Harmonious actually makes me less excited for it I know it's just a sneak peek though and there's nothing quite like being there. I'm excited for the restaurant too. The projection technology they are using looks pretty amazing.

I think they're fun although I agree they're at the risk of saturating the market but it's easy to see why. I'm actually surprised we haven't seen an out-and-back style version of these (or the Intamin Zacspin), you know, quite a bit taller, goes out one direction, then back in the other with smaller camelbacks arranged under the first (sort of like an Ultra Twister footprint, but longer). I feel this would be a more complete experience, could have plenty of cars running, still have a small footprint and not require any turns. (PS, with the bamboo supports, does Tumbili count as a hybrid coaster )

The mouse has a 1.4m height limit because of the restraints as it's a single lap bar for two riders which leaves a big gap if an adult rides with a child. I wish they'd just change the restraints or come up with some kind of solution but this is Merlin so that won't happen. And yes while this coaster will appear underwhelming to most enthusiasts, Chessington is barely a step up from a Legoland and also has huge problems adding rides (more so than even Alton Towers) due to its location. I am looking forward to it as a pretty quirky, unique coaster. The 1.4m height restriction is a totally wasted opportunity though and would exclude a lot of people who might have ridden it otherwise.

Chessington World of Adventures has applied for planning permission for a new area, code-named 'Project Amazon', which will include a launched shuttle coaster. Weird thing 1: This coaster appears to be a B&M, not a manufacturer you'd expect from this family park Weird thing 2: This is a small-scale winged shuttle coaster, not a type of coaster you'd expect from B&M Height restriction is confirmed as 1.4m, train confirmed as seating 24 riders. Train would launch backwards into a beyond vertical spike, then go forwards through a turn, inline twist and then a spiral around a themed animal structure before going backwards. Construction would start in November with a view of opening in 2023 (19 years after their last coaster!). This has already passed a public consultation. Regarding B&M, this very much seems to be using a hammer to crack a nut, but we've seen recently that B&M are looking to diversify and they are a good manufacturer to work with. The track in the planning application definitely appears to be B&M and Raptor at Gardaland was used as a benchmark for the environmental sound impact part of the application. Theme is rumoured to be Jumanji due to the shape of the paths around the area which match that of the board game. Full planning details

Not a huge surprise. Maybe in normal times it could have reopened faster, but I know even getting a single spare part for a single ride at the moment can be a huge struggle so when you factor in the potential damage to rides and infrastructure it must be a herculean effort to come back from that.

It's in the POV at about 30 seconds, but it happens straight after the station at the beginning of the ride. The station is at ground level, and after the short trop track you launch outside through a trench.

No I thought that at first but there's no water there at the moment. Not sure if they're still putting the finishing touches to the area or something, hopefully they'll fill it at some point.

Oh wow. It doesn't look too high but seems to cover a lot of park. How horrible that first they have to deal with covid, then they have to deal with this too. Same for the whole country (and Germany) - the scenes from there have been terrifying.

It appears construction is moving at pace on phase 2 of Super Nintendo World which is expected to include a Donkey Kong coaster. It will be located between the Mario Kart and Forbidden Journey showbuildings to the top right of the existing land. I do love Universal's 'get s*** done' approach to expanding their parks, especially with the pandemic ongoing. Source: @PUSJJJJ on Twitter Source: @LCASTUDIOS_USJ on Twitter Source: @LCASTUDIOS_USJ on Twitter

The gate should be locked, but the park should have made sure access was made available to the emergency services by the time they arrived. It just sounds like a complete meltdown in response really.

Yes, it's not surprising because more often than not when an accident like this happens, it's not normally just one mistake but a series of mistakes. See also: Smiler (Alton Towers), Thunder River Rapids (Dreamworld) etc.