KarlaKoaster

I have mixed feelings about the prevalence of IPs at the parks now. The nostalgic side of me is a bit sad how the lines of distinction between each of the parks has been blurred and how we used to have e-tickets that became franchises and not the other way round. But the realistic side of me says money talks, get over it. Re: Epcot, I did love the idea that Imagineers couldn't include Disney characters hence we ended up with hidden Mickeys and Figment, but I always felt that the park was a good idea poorly executed and that places like Futurascope do the whole edu-tainment thing better. I don't know why, but everything there (buildings, attractions etc) seems to be so timeless and exciting, whereas at Epcot, they seem to be having this constant fight for relevance. Having said all that, I do have a huge soft spot for Epcot. Even though I think Diagon Alley is a more accurate representation of the UK than the World Showcase, I do love doing the wine walk and doing the food festivals there. And I have always loved the kitchness of it. It's quite cute really. Even though I would have been as happy (or even happier) for Guardians to be a coaster with space projections and a slight educational edge to it, the reality is that Guardians is a cash cow for which Disney paid a lot of money for, and they will milk it until its proverbial udders are on fire.

I think we can all agree this would be one and a half credits though

I don't think anyone can judge a ride's speed by looking at off ride footage or POVs, especially when it's testing. Everytime we see a new coaster test it seems half the comments are about how fast it looks, while the other are about how slow it looks. Besides the fact there are so many factors at play here (empty trains, different wheel composites, trying different launch speeds etc), it's just difficult to tell how a coaster will feel by just sitting and watching it on a computer screen. For example, I always think Skyrush looks pretty average, but my shattered thigh bones beg to differ - not saying this will be anything like Skyrush, by the way, it's an example of expectation vs reality.

There are going to be a few of these dotted around the course, at least four I think. It seems like a good idea because it cuts down on the amount of supports and groundwork.

I'm really happy to see the new forum live, well done everyone for all the work you did to get it back online and the work you have done since. The ability to react to a post is really useful to me because there are so many times when I want to acknowledge a post but don't want to reply for the sake of replying. Also really happy the topic sub-title is back as that is a great way of seeing at a glance the latest news is within a topic, particularly parks I'm less familiar with and don't normally follow.

I think the same grsupercity

Stick a Raptor train on each rail and bingo, you have duelling Raptors.

What an amazing trip report, thank you. So many great photos covering every aspect of the event, real in-depth information and lots of useful tips. It looks like the resort have done a really good job of creating this Halloween Horror Days event and I'm really surprised/happy to see it included in regular admission. Regarding Velocicoaster, it's a pretty naff name but I guess not really important. The coaster isn't the prettiest skyline-wise, but I am sure we would have said the same had Incredible Hulk been built 20 years after the park opened too. I am not a big fan of the Lost World style grey buildings and walls, but hopefully there will be plenty of trees coming, and I am surprised how much rockwork there is. I saw a fan-created POV and it looks like the first section will be extremely disorientating because of this.

I would imagine it will be a pretty conservative year at best. While I feel there will be more stability (covid will still be around, but the threat will decrease as medication and treatment improves), I think there will be continued cutbacks while parks try and recoup the money lost from this season.

Iron Gwazi, other upcoming SeaWorld parks roller coasters delayed to 2021

Great! Whether this is a great coaster/layout or not, the setting looks really unique which will surely add to the experience. 24 riders per train (artwork showing four-across trains, but seven rows), so we're looking good for tight clearances too. This is one park in Europe I've not been, but I think it's pretty much at the top of my list, even without Monster.

First Drop was a really good magazine when I was a member a few years ago. Is anyone still a member and how does it compare now? Obviously nothing compares to the immediacy of the internet, but it was still a great coffee table read.

OK, I hadn't seen that.

None of the websites I've looked at have said much more than that the people were told to stay in the boat, but I assumed that the 'stay on board' message was only the usual one they'd play out as part of a breakdown. Maybe the log was caught in a breakdown and queued up with other logs and it began to sink. I would be surprised if a cast member walked up to the log as it sunk and told the guests to stay on board, but I'm happy to be proved wrong. Most of the articles I found were just eyewitness accounts, terrible videos or hyperbole.

It doesn't make much sense to start promoting rides that people can't ride for the foreseeable future, and that's assuming they're even able to film from them.

Drayton Manor has filed a notice of intent that it will enter administration. In the UK this is when a company becomes insolvent and is essentially taken over by accountants who will try and either sell the park as an ongoing concern or wind it down meaning job losses and the sale of assets to try and recover money for creditors. Mellors Group (who own Fantasy Island, and are an entertainments company who tour many fair rides in the UK) were rumoured to be taking over 'Drayton Manor Operations Ltd' which might suggest a pre-packaged administration, or possibly a straight-forward sale that fell through (hence administration). This was a lovely park punching above its weight for many years, but has been in a spiral of decline with rides like Pirates Adventure, G Force and the Rapids all closing for various reasons, and long term closures of other major attractions. My feeling is the park will be saved. If Mellors take over, expect to see temporary fair rides parachuted in because that's their business model. Article: https://riderater.co.uk/8332/drayton-manor-going-into-administration/

Certainly not the prettiest element but it looks amazing, so much happening in such a short length of track.

Thanks, that's great to hear, I want to make Disney my first foreign trip as I can easily drive through the Channel Tunnel and was interested to know how well the social distancing measures were being followed/policed. There are always people with selective vision so I'm prepared for a few people to ignore the rules. I'm really happy to hear the park is looking better too. My last visit was near the beginning of the huge park-wide refurb so I could see how worn some parts were looking, but also how much work they were doing to sprinkle some of that Disney magic. It's the most beautiful castle park to me, so it was always a shame to see it become so run down by Disney standards.

I wondered if they'd do a smaller, more exclusive event but it's almost an impossible ask for them to put together events at the moment with so much uncertainty. Plus we've had enough horrors for the year, right?

There's a similar thread here: https://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=19078&p=60152&hilit=roughest+coaster#p60152 Don't take this the wrong way but when you join a forum, it's good to hang out a bit and get to know members first. Introduce yourself, get involved in some of the threads and tell us what your roughest coaster is etc. This would be my advice for any forum, not just this one. Or in fact it would be my advice for any social situation whatsoever.

You are no longer able to take your mask off while walking around eating and Drinking. Disney have closed the loophole by updating their face coverings guidance to say: "You may remove your face covering while actively eating or drinking, but you should be stationary and maintain appropriate physical distancing."

Yeah, although parks here don't generally use metal detectors at the entrance, Thorpe Park has really needed them for a while now. I've not visited for a few years so maybe it's changed, but on my last visit you were just randomly selected to be screened, it was never mandatory to go through them.

Scum. What normal person goes to a theme park with a knife? I literally hate the kind of people this park attracts now. The single bridge in/out of the park clearly caused bit of a problem here in that there was a crowd of people who couldn't leave the park, but also maybe meant it was easier to track down the people responsible.

B&M have been smoothing out their transitions for years now. I think the vests just make an already less-snappy ride yet more passive. I really like B&M though so this isn't a criticism, however I'm not really a fan of their restraints now.

I had totally forgotten about this one, and now this thread has reminded me, I realise I've also totally forgotten the layout. Really looking forward to seeing this one! I feel Intamin have really matured over the last few years but are still those playful rapscallions that we love them for.