lewis97

Yes, there are trim brakes on both bunny hops. In fact, I believe the cause of the train stalling for the first time in 2013 was due to the trims on the first bunny hop being deployed when the train was travelling too slowly.

That video first shows footage just after the collision, before cutting to some footage taken of the valleyed train before the collision. Only two trains were involved in the incident.

Following on from the above; two trains on The Smiler have collided at the bottom of the batwing element. The situation is still ongoing with ambulances and an air ambulance on site, and with X Sector and the surrounding area shut down. It seems an empty train was first sent out which stalled, before a full train of passengers was dispatched, getting stuck at the top of the first lift hill before somehow being allowed to continue through the circuit.

13th-17th July will probably be one of the worst times to go this year. It's the last week of school for most so there are lots of school trips everyday of the week, so much so that Thorpe have previously deployed some serious crowd control measures. If you can get there any earlier I'd strongly advise it, but if you don't have the choice, fastrack will almost certainly be worthwhile.

This is supposed to be a major investment for Thorpe so I'm hoping for something a bit more impressive.

There have been a few somewhat exciting developments during the past few days. A planning application for an extension to Air's shop have been submitted, which will see the current building become a Rollercoaster Restaurant. Also, today a Screening Opinion was submitted by the local council which alludes to a wooden coaster/hybrid being the resort's next major investment. TowersTimes has reported on both: http://www.towerstimes.co.uk/blog/2015/04/22/new-restaurant-plans-revealed-for-forbidden-valley/ http://www.towerstimes.co.uk/blog/2015/04/23/first-clues-to-secret-weapon-8-revealed/

The main section of the lift is up. Source: ROJApers Twitter

It's been confirmed in the press release that there's no eating involved, however the nearby food outlet has been renamed the Bush BBQ and will be serving 'Meal Worm Mayonaise' and 'Critter Coleslaw' - whether these will actually contain any insects remains to be seen.

Sorry to put a dampener on things, but it's been suggested that the video is fake and uses concept images from Paramount Murcia. The youtube channel links to a Facebook page which isn't the official one as well. Admittedly it's certainly an impressive effort if it is indeed fake.

May be wrong, but I think that support in the second image might be at the base of the middle lift support, inside the concrete pillar.

When it went in there was a fluorescent green catwalk on the other side of the track and something which resembled a trim on the track.

The kiddie coaster has been rumoured for a while now, so whilst RCDB have got that bit correct I very much doubt we'll see a ride that meets the claims in the Notes section on that page

Do I spy a carriage?

The final piece of track is in position and its bolts are being tightened!

More track has been installed, but you can see that there's still 2 more sections to be erected.

Awkward... It was released back in September on Hapa Forum... (I added the enlarged section)

There are a few more photos on Holiday World's Facebook, including the one below showing that the entrance of the elevated spiral is up and also the majority of its supports.

^There was never a full planning application submitted, I believe it was just outlined in Thorpe's MTDP. The possible reason for Thorpe going with a dark ride as opposed to a rollercoaster is in preparation for Paramount London, which is becoming an increasingly real prospect for them.

The track has finally been detached from the crane. Thunderbird is well and truly topped off!

A new video went up on the minisite today. Short but intriguing.

It attaches to the track near enough at the point it is going vertical, according to the layout released with the announcement.

I've been following Thunderbird's construction from over in the UK, so have naturally spent a lot of time staring at the webcam. A few days ago it would seem someone got hold of the controls and had a play with it, as it gave a nice tour of the entire park. It appeared as though they were perhaps looking at how to position the webcam once construction moves to the vertical loop, as it ended up in the position below. Thought someone on here might have noticed as well, but it doesn't look anyone did. Hopefully this provides you with some idea of what to expect when the webcam is repositioned. But then again, it did end up like this at one point.