JordyC

Crush's Coaster - Walt Disney Studios

Cliff

Excellent report and fantastic photos! I really love all the details of Toy Story Land, and Slinky Dog Dash looks like a lot of fun! Thanks for sharing!

Tears

^ Couldn't agree more! And knowing Phantasialand, it is guaranteed to be yet another stunning experience.

Efteling introduces wands in and around Symbolica The Efteling will sell interactive wands next autumn. With the so-called Twinkeltoortsen visitors will soon be able to activate special effects in and around the newest Efteling attraction Symbolica. That was announced by the Dutch theme park. The Twinkeltoorts is the magic weapon of Pardoes de Tovernar, the main character of Symbolica. He treats guests to a guided tour through the secret rooms of the Palace of Fantasy. In the attraction, the jester keeps the striking attribute in his hand. "With an interactive Twinkeltoorts you will be able to bring the magic to life at seven points in the themed area Fantasierijk", says design coordinator Peter Koppelmans. "In the scenes of Symbolica, the interactive torches clearly respond to the magic of Pardoes." He promises that the work will take place as much as possible outside the opening hours. A year after the opening, the Efteling is still not entirely satisfied with the dark ride of 35 million euros. "Certainly at a new attraction like Symbolica we keep a close eye on whether there are any improvement points," says Koppelmans. Multiple new lights, a moving car in the queue and a floating cake have been added in recent months. From today, passengers will also feel falling drops in one of the scenes. "This way we want to immerse our guests even more." Source

Thank you! The main issue I had with DBGT is that for basically 90% of the time you are watching a horror movie through a VR headset. They could have made this ride so much better in so many ways, in my opinion. The coaster lineup is indeed very good at Thorpe Park. Such a shame I wasn't able to experience Colossus, though..

Thanks! Thorpe Park has always been pretty high on my bucket list aswell, and it certainly did not disappoint. I hope you will get out there someday!

Force

Hyperion has finally started testing!! [fbvideonew] [/fbvideonew]

^That is gold!!

Drop

Thorpe Park - June 2018 Hello everyone! From June 23th to June 26th 2018, I went for my first ever time to the United Kingdom to visit the major theme parks the country has to offer. I spent my first day at Thorpe Park, my second day at Blackpool Pleasure Beach and South Pier, and my third and fourth day at Alton Towers. On June 23th, I visited Thorpe Park. I heard some fairly good reviews from this park, but like always, I try to keep my expectations at a normal level until I visit the park myself, to avoid disappointment. But I really enjoyed this park. Most of the rides are well themed, even though most of them have a dark theme. I would have liked some more "happy" theming at this park, if that makes sense. But I guess dark themes adds to the thrill factor of the rides, and that is definitely what this park is: A thrill park. Granted, there are a few family rides, but the main focus at Thorpe Park is clearly the big thrill rides and coasters. Also, I loved the audio that was playing around the park! Definitely one of the best park soundtracks I have ever heard. Of course, the main reason for visiting this park - like I mentioned earlier - are the coasters. But Thorpe Park has much more to offer: they are home to an awesome collection of flat rides, a unique dark ride and one of the wettest water rides I have done. The weather that day was absolutely perfect. Combining the beautiful sunshine with it being a Saturday in June, it resulted in the park being very busy. Queue times exceeding 60 minutes were not an exception. And yes, that was for all the rides, not just the main coasters. So I decided to buy the Unlimited Fastrack. With the Fastrack, the longest I have waited was about 30 minutes for Derren Brown's Ghost Train. Most of the other rides were a 10 minute wait. Welcome to Thorpe Park! Depth Charge may well be the first ride you notice when you exit the dome. First ride of the day - Rush. I am usually not a big fan of flat rides, but I gladly make an exception for this one. They are awesome! Thorpe Park is also home to an enterprise, .. .. and a magic carpet ride, called Quantum! Sadly, Colossus was closed all day.. I was really looking forward to riding this.. Oh well, a reason to come back! No quadruple heartline rolling today. And even more flat rides! Saw - The Ride (7/10) Saw - The Ride is one of the better Euro-Fighters I have done. It starts with a little dark ride section, where you are welcomed to "Play a game". Then it suddenly drops you straight down into an in-line twist (that provides excellent hangtime), something I was not expecting at all. Next, you come outside and prepare for the vertical ascent, after which you drop straight down into various different inversions. After the inversions, there is also a massive airtime hill that gives some strong ejector. This coaster was full of surprises for me; I didn't know about the indoor section nor about the awesome airtime hill. Also, the ride was pretty well themed. I am not a big fan of horror themed rides, but I guess it worked out. I would have rated this coaster a lot higher, if it wasn't such a headbanger. This really took away from the experience, which is a shame, because the layout is very good. It is time to face your fears on Saw - The Ride. There is a really good near-miss element on the bottom of the vertical drop. It is one of the better Euro-Fighters I have done. After the vertical lift hill, you drop straight down into various different inversions and an ejector airtime hill. It is such a shame that this ride isn't the smoothest one out there. The coaster was very well themed, though. Prepare to drop! I am still surprised about the indoor section that I wasn't expecting. The Walking Dead - The Ride (5/10) Adding a horror theme to a family coaster to make it a thrill coaster. It certainly is one way to do it. But let me be honest, I wasn't a big fan of it. Seriously, the scare maze to the exit of the ride was better than the coaster itself. There were some cool effects during the ride and the theming was well done, though. Apart from a few minor jolts, it was also fairly smooth. The ride had some airtime here and there, but it was mostly just 'escaping the zombies' in the dark. If only the coaster were as good as the scare maze to the exit.. Thorpe Park is also home to a little kids area. Tidal Wave was next. It looks nice and quiet now, but not for long. You will get absolutely soaked on this ride. It is one of the wettest water rides I have ever done. There are some nice areas around the park. Storm Surge had a 100 minute wait for the regular line. The Fastrack queue was completely full, so sadly I gave this a miss. The weather was beautiful that day, so I can see why the water rides were so popular. Get ready for the splash! I'm a Celebrity - Get me Out of Here! was closed all day. I love theming like this! Next up was Derren Brown's Ghost Train. I won't spoil this for anyone, because there are quite a few 'unique' things that happen during this ride. But let's just say that I wasn't a massive fan of this. Granted, the VR was something different, but I prefer a normal dark ride, if that makes sense. At least it was something different, and in my opinion the only way to use VR at a theme park! Nemesis Inferno (7/10) Nemesis Inferno is probably my least favourite B&M Invert. It is still a very good one, but all the other ones I have done are just better. But this one has a funky pre-lift hill section, though. The ride itself has some fairly good forces, mainly during the inversions and the final helix. The interlocking corkscrews were probably the highlight of the ride. It is also a very smooth coaster and the theming is decent. Next, Nemesis Inferno. It is a very good ride, but probably my least favourite B&M Invert that I have done. The coaster does have some good positive forces. Some random people enjoying their ride on Nemesis Inferno. The interlocking corkscrews are the highlight of the ride! The park is also home the a land themed to Angry Birds (not the two birds on top of the sign).. Detonator was a fun drop tower. Nothing too special. The rapids were closed all day, but it was testing. Stealth (8/10) I was really surprised with how much I liked Stealth. It is my second favourite coaster in the park. The only similar coaster to this that I have done, is Red Force. I prefer Red Force over Stealth, mainly because of the lap bars. But Stealth definitely has the better launch, because it has that 'initial kick'. The top hat provided some unexptected airtime, and you are out of your seat during the whole vertical decent -- Awesome! Stealth is also very smooth. It has some theming, but it is probably one of the least themed coasters at the park. The next ride was Stealth. Stealth's launch is one of the best that I have done. Going straight up! You get some floater airtime on the top hat. You are out of your seat the whole way down! I really love the look of the colours that change on the top hat. Stealth was much better than I expected it to be. Flying Fish (2/10) A Mack powered coaster that was pretty smooth, but had absolutely no theming. It's just not my kind of ride. Flying Fish was next. It is a fun ride, but not quite my cup of tea. The Swarm (8.5/10) The Swarm is clearly the best coaster in the park. It is a very intense ride, especially for a wing coaster. After climbing the lift hill, the ride starts with a typical dive drop, found on almost every wing coaster. I really love the feeling of slowly turning upside-down before plunging towards the ground. Next, you enter multiple forceful inversions. About halfway the ride, there is a very intense turn that caused me to grey out every single time. To end the ride, you have an in-line twist over the station, that gives you some excellent hangtime. Also, throughout the ride, there are a lot of near-miss elements that really adds to the overall experience. I liked the ride more in the front, because of these near-miss elements, but it is clearly more intense in the back. The Swarm was also very smooth and I really liked the theming! It is definitely the best themed coaster at the park. I have only ridden one other wing coaster, Flug der Dämonen, and I prefer The Swarm over that one, without a doubt. Overall, it is a fantastic coaster that I would rank just inside my top 15. The time has finally come to ride The Swarm! I really love the typical wing coaster drops! The Swarm climbing its lift hill. There is lots of awesome theming on Swarm Island. The inversions are all very forceful. Don't lose your head! One of multiple near-misses during the ride. This really adds to the overall experience. The hangtime before you drop is one of the highlights of the ride. It is clearly the best themed coaster at the park. More hangtime over the station. This turn caused me to grey out every single time. Paradise or not, I'll say yes to a flight on The Swarm any day! While the back is more intense, the front is the place to be! The Swarm making its path of destruction over the station. The Swarm is clearly the best coaster in the park. One last look at The Swarm to end this report. So overall, I had a great time at this park. The highlight of the day was clearly The Swarm, followed by Stealth. There are a lot of other good rides, but like I said before, I would love to see a ride with a more happy theme. And why not make it a family thrill coaster, right away? A GCI would fit in really well, in my opinion. Thanks for reading!

Ocean

Update: Belgium: Anubis: The Ride Germany: Taron Denmark: Rutschebanen (Tivoli Gardens) Spain: Shambhala France: Alpina Blitz United Kingdom: Icon The Netherlands: Goliath Sweden: Helix

1. Rutschebanen - Tivoli Gardens (1914) 2. Big Dipper - Blackpool Pleasure Beach (1923) 3. Rutschebanen - Bakken (1932) 4. Nickelodeon Streak - Blackpool Pleasure Beach (1933) 5. Blue Flyer - Blackpool Pleasure Beach (1934) 6. Grand National - Blackpool Pleasure Beach (1935) 7. Viktor's Race - Plopsaland De Panne (1976) 8. Steeplechase - Blackpool Pleasure Beach (1977) 9. Looping Star - Bobbejaanland (1979) 10. Revolution - Blackpool Pleasure Beach (1979)

1. Big One 2. Silver Star 3. Shambhala 4. Big Thunder Mountain (DLP) 5. Helix

1. Liseberg (11) = Helix (3) + Balder (8) 2. Europa-Park (21) = Silver Star (7) + Blue Fire (14) 3. Phantasialand (23) = Taron (2) + Black Mamba (21) 4. Alton Towers (26) = Smiler (11) + Nemesis (15) 5. PortAventura (27) = Shambhala (1) + Dragon Khan (26)

My top 10 coasters are shown in my signature, but after my recent trip to the UK it has changed a bit (trip report coming soon). 1. Shambhala 2. Taron 3. Helix 4. Expedition GeForce 5. Schwur des Kärnan 6. Icon 7. Silver Star 8. Balder 9. Goliath 10. Alpina Blitz

1. Red Force - Ferrari Land 2. Shambhala - PortAventura Park 3. Schwur des Kärnan - Hansa Park 4. Silver Star - Europa-park 5. Big One - Blackpool Pleasure Beach 6. Stealth - Thorpe Park 7. Stunt Fall - Parque Warner Madrid 8. Vertigo - Walibi Belgium 9. Expedition GeForce - Holiday Park 10. Superman - Parque Warner Madrid

Update: 2018 Python 2.0 - Efteling Icon - Blackpool Pleasure Beach Wicker Man - Alton Towers Tiki-Waka - Walibi Belgium Tweestryd - Wildlands Crazy Coaster - South Pier

1. Shambhala 2. Schwur des Kärnan 3. Silver Star 4. Big One

1. Black Mamba - Phantasialand 2. Batman: Arkham Asylum 3. Nemesis - Alton Towers 4. OzIris - Parc Astérix 5. Monster - Walygator Parc

Xpress Platform 13 - Walibi Holland

Probably Icon at Blackpool Pleasure Beach