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I miss this and wish SW could fight to bring it back.

Day 2 & 3 - Alton Towers After a very short night (we stayed late at Blackpool and then couldn't find the entrance to Alton's hotel resort for some reason...), I was very excited to walk in Alton Towers for the first time. Heard of the park ever since I became an enthusiast back in 2005, when I couldn't hear but praise about the creativity and quality of the rides. Even with the recent backlashes I was still very curious to experience Alton for real. First impressions: the Mainstreet is alright, however I am quite impressed with the gardens and Castle! The place certainly has a distinct charm, and feels more authentic than most amusement parks. It's just very pleasant and relaxing to walk around. We went to the back of the park and chose to begin the day with Rita. Great launch, but I really feel there is some missed potential here. Intamin launch coaster racing in the woods sounds really, really good on paper. In the end, the actual layout feels rather ininspiring and the forces rather soft. Decent ride, but I can't help but wondering what could have been. I apparently forgot to take pictures of Thirteen, but I found it enjoyable really. Smooth and fun outdoor section, fairly solid scenery. Obviously knew for ages about the drop trick, but still enjoyed it for what it is. Hex was next. Really liked the pre-show and queue in general. The actual ride is classic, but enjoyable Mad House action. It is a nice touch to walk in and around the castle after the exit. A long, very long walk leads our group to the most anticipated zone of the trip: Forbidden Valley! Galactica - I remember loving Superman Ultimate Flight at SFGAdv despite its reputation as a rather tame Flyer, so was looking forward to the one that started it all. I enjoyed gracefully gliding through the short and low to the ground layout, but I thought it lacked a truly breath-taking moment. I guess that's why Pretzel Loops were invented then! Nemesis - Going straight to the point with this one: Nemesis lived up to the hype for me! I just love how well this smaller invert breaks the generic B&M formula of "loop, zero G, another big inversion then corkscrews". I feel every portion of the layout flows so well and the terrain interaction makes the whole thing even more impressive. Most of the layout is intense, though not to the extreme levels of complete gray/black-out, except for that insane downwards helix right after the first corkscrew. Helixes are generally for me a monotonous affair, sometimes intense, but most often lacking a 'sudden' element to make it truly exciting imo. (Not sure if I worded that well) Not Nemesis'. With the sudden acceleration and change in height, that helix has such a wonderful dynamic and feels like being caught in a whirlwind! Definitely a 'favourite coaster moment' in my books. Dark Ride Shooters are most often good fun, and Duel is no exception. Having only done it once and trying too hard to get a high score (and of course, failing to do so), I was too distracted to really appreciate the theming. I think it was quite good though. We then proceeded to Wicker Man, but its Q was approaching 2 hours so we walked even further to The Smiler. I have to admit I was always perplexed by this record-breaker, inversions don't over-excite me and the original Gerstlauer Infinity has 14 of them. It does look quite appealing off-ride though. The whole scenery made out of mostly concrete and metal fences is really weird to me, but it kinda... works? I mean it feels a little out of place compared to other Alton Towers, but isn't short of entertainement value. Got a 2nd row middle seat, and the first half wasn't actually that bad. Mostly smooth upside-down action and a decent pop of airtime squeezed somewhere in-between. The second act was some headbanging galore however, putting me on defensive riding mode the whole way through It's kinda worrying for a relatively young coaster really. At this point the group split off, and I chose to head straight back to Forbidden Valley hoping for some re-rides on Nemesis. Oh yeah. In the end, managed 10 consecutive laps on Nemesis! Was a perfect way to conclude the day. The following morning, we went straight to the Wicker Dude for some early hotel guest ERT, but the thing was down, and we ended up waiting over an hour on a surprisingly busy Monday at the park. To be honest, I was actually unaffected by the hype and hype backlash around the ride's construction and only followed the whole thing from a distance - as you may know I was more preoccupied with the endless Hyperion updates showing the same pullouts every time So I sat aboard the train expecting something in the range of InvadR, nothing overwhelming, but a fun family woodie type of coaster. And it felt just like that. I found Wicker Man to have rather good pacing (even that flat turnaround did not bother me very much), little airtime but an emphasis of laterals in a ride that feels a little short in duration. Nice use of the terrain, too. I also didn't watch the preshow stuff beforehand. Pretty impressive video mapping imo! The ride happened to break down right during the lap of some in our group - another half-hour gone due to an ordinary smaller GCI somehow not working properly! Thankfully though, we were compensated with Fast Passes, which were duly utilized later that day for some walk-on rerides on Wicker Man. Customer service was really decent overall during my visit I might say. Despite the issues here and there, still felt there wasn't much faffing around and that the staff was actually trying their best. We then tried - and eventually failed - to get the remaining creds. The hour-long Q at Spinball Whizzer was partly responsible for the failed cred hunt. Noticed some distinctive structure shuffling each time a car goes through some specific sections of the layout which made me worry about how comfortable the ride would be. Turns out it was a pretty intense spinner! Threw me around quite a lot, and the whole experience was wonky, but fun. I feel guilty for thinking this is more exciting than Winjas, despite the latter's wonderful theming and tricks. I like how Alton created a nice zone to enhance Oblivion's drop. It really is an elaborated build-up for the big moment. Not sure if that's an unpopular opinion, but despite all that, the ride itself wasn't as thrilling as, per example, Griffon. The drop definitely feels better at the front, however even there, I thought it wasn't as much of a deal as the whole build-up suggests. Still an enjoyable machine though. At this point, we only had about 2 hours left, so we decided "m*rde with the +1 creds, let's re-ride the good stuff instead!" Which we duly did. Along with the aforementioned Fast Pass laps on Wicker Man, we returned to Forbidden Valley for a final time. My best attempt at capturing both B&Ms in action. I was really impressed with Alton Towers in the end The valley and forest background are just superb, it is so unusual to wander a bit and to end up in a quiet, relaxing grove inside an amusement park. I appreciate a lot the park's emphasis creating an intricate ride storyline and atmosphere. The coaster line-up has some good depth and variety. However only Nemesis provides a truly breath-taking, superlative experience in my opinion. With AT's ride height restrictions, it was always going to be a tough act to follow and subsequent Secret Weapons did a reasonably good job, while never reaching the creative peak of Nemmie. Maybe I'm getting spoilt, but I can't help but imagine the park could have been even better with a more ambitious Rita, or a truly ground-breaking woodie. Despite those nit-picky considerations, Alton Tower easily becomes one of my favourite parks. It's a charming place that I would really, really recommend to my GP friends!

I love how the lighting on the ceiling is controlled to create different moods and effects. There are some really great rides and experiences - somethings which are desperately needed to balance out a certain Aussie Park that's currently too thrill heavy.

I’m sorry but that junk market setup for the entrance is just a complete embarrassment for what is meant to be a world class park.

There is a lot currently happening at the park, so here is one big update for everyone. ENTRANCE CHANGES Firsly, the biggest change. And if you thought the entry process at SW couldn’t get any worse, think again. They have changed it (probably make it more efficient, but I can’t see it being in the busy periods). The big walls, lightijt framework and path you have to take isn’t good. Once you’ve had your photo taken, you go left for tickets and right if you have a pass. I was there not long after opening and they weren’t using the left entry point as they have done for many years. And the exit process also forces you have o see your photos. l SEA JELLIES Check out my full update here: In summary, I think it’s looking great RAY REEF The attraction has partly removed, with the northern entrance open. The southern area of the exhibit is currently having the flooring currently repainted VIKINGS REVENGE No changes with the ride itself, but the rock fountain has been turned back on and makes the area look better CREATURES OF THE DEEP Tne whole area has now reopened, but I definitely think some of the creature need a repaint or fixing. Hardly any of them were moving or making noise, and some were very faded. LAND RECLAMATION Still plenty of machinery on site doing their thing OTHER WORKS This area next to Seal Harbour has been fenced off with construction on the pump house underway Jet Rescue is closed for maintenance It seems that Storm has some new theming And these toilets are under refurbishment PARK MAP I haven’t looked at the new park map since the changes, and I’m glad to see they haven’t done the angle style and instead went from straight above. Did notice they have included a path, zoning the land, so this may indicate towards three new attractions or more at some point.

Ani-Mayhem sounds great. https://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201807/6202/

I managed to find an even older photo on the parks website. This is used for their 5 minute helicopter tours. The photo is so old it has the pirate ship, corkscrew and original water park slides

What part of this being Dreamworld is difficult to understand?

Have to say that’s my thoughts too. If I was looking for rides I’d just go down the road to MW and DW, better rides and don’t cost a fortune. A show imo is for the show experience which is show events, exhibitions, games, showbags etc, rides play a minor role in that, but I have no issue with other show elements expanding at the expense of more rides

It reeks of a cheap US tourist attraction where you have to get your green screen photo of the view you will actually see when you get inside before you’re let in

Its funny to read all these comments given the rides are a side note of what the show is actually for/about. I hardly think they are killing the show by giving more space to woodchop which is a major part of the actual purpose for the show.

February 24 and March 3.

Cockburn ARC, which is ten minutes down the road, is also worth checking out. Popped in to AW, today, to try out my new mirrorless camera. The park wasn't empty, with the after school crowd coming in to get some relief from the 30 degree heat. Ironically, it was beautiful weather when I got there and it was lightning on my way home.

Hello everybody! Today I headed down to Adventure World and I’m deciding to do a little more so summary of my day rather than a review. (I’ll be doing my summary split into rides and my experience with them today). (DON’T READ IF YOU WANT PHOTOS, THERE ARE NONE) Started the day off, entering through the front gates at 10am. Went to go rent a locker, put all my shit in it and started to get ready for an AWesome day. Headed to the Abyss first, me and my mate went back seat in order to warm up as we didn’t want to hurt our necks on front seat. (All rides that I didn’t go on were due to my mate not wanting to, those being Rampage, Freefall and some water slides. Abyss. Wow. After a year and a half of not riding Abyss let alone coming to the part, I can unfortunately say that my baby has ages, and certainly not for the better. This might be due to just pure expectation of it being smoother and since I ridden more smoother rides now. Nonetheless enjoyed riding it so much today. In total being at AW from 10-5, I managed to have about 30 rides today on Abyss. Did I mention the queues? No? Oh probably because there were none. Every single ride today was a walk-on besides the Grand Prix. I’m guessing I had around 25 or so rides in backseats and the rest in the front. Front was very, very turbulent like always but I’m not stupid and understand how to brace myself. Same workers were on shift all day and we’re very interactive and seems to be very sarcastic (in a good way). Unfortunately there was only one train operating today throughout all day, but it didn’t really matter considering queues were not considered a thing today. The workers continued to say to me and my mate, “Not you two again!” and at the end of rides “Is everyone still alive?” and the ride op would answer “Good!” to anyone who replied with “Yes”. Once the riders have gotten off of the train she continued to scream “Don’t come back!”. I continued to joke around with her all day. Kraken. Couldn’t be fucked running up the hill today so only went on three time. Operators were efficient and rides were always a walk-on. Was much fun but was very cold for us all today! Water mountain (I think that’s what it’s called I forgot). All these slides were walk on the fastest I’ve ever seen them operate. First time seeing all the new theming and I love it and think it looks great. I like the water effects on Rocky Ralis and like how it adds to the ride being such a small thing. Goliath. What you’ve been waiting for correct? Wow. Amazing. Gorgeous. Airtime. Vomit. Now, very funny ride. Made me laugh pretty much every time I went in, not only because once there was a five year old next to me swearing and saying every “naughty word” he could think of. Now theming. Looks great just as the photos of course. When I walked into the park and saw it swinging I was like holy fuck it actually looks like it swings pretty high. Much like how I reacted when I saw Abyss for the first time in person. Wait times were essentially just waiting for the current swing to finish as @Tim Dasco mentioned the other day. The ride starts off, the story themed voice comes on “Brace yourselves for the battle ahead and answer the call of the drums!” the floor lower and you swing forward or backward (depending on where you sit). Intensely speeds up quickly. Holy shit, this is so much closer to a Zamperla Discovery Revolution I thought. I was surprised with how much force was being layed onto my body. Speed, height and feeling as though I’m going to flip once reaching the top. LAP BARS, HONNNNEYYYYYY. I’m in love. Lap bars really do enhance the ride experiences. I’ve never felt so much like I’m going to fall out. You would think you would feel confident putting your hands in the air the whole time after riding once or twice. No. Not for me atleast. I think it’s going to take me a little longer, I’m sure next time I go I will feel confident, but I just like the insecurity that it implies. The hangtime is beatifull. However, I do feel a little wonky about this ride. Every time I went on it until about ride seven, my stomach always felt weird, but not in a good way and it wasn’t like butterflies. I almost felt weak in the stomach like I was going to vomit later. However I’m pretty sure that it was just that I wasn’t used to the thrill as I hadn’t really been on any rides for about a year and a half. HAHA moment of the day was when a male teenager through up in the garden after riding on the same ride Asmara me. I looked at them vimit after it happened a ride later (I’m so weird) and it wasn all pink and was a whole bunch of pink coated lollies. The ride operator said let it all go buddy no shame don’t hold back. I definitely think the ride operators for Goliath today could have been a lot faster. They dragged on and I understand that they were trying to be funny and entertain the kids, but let’s be real here, all of us just wanted to get on. Other than that the staff around the whole park were very enthusiastic and kind throughout the whole time. Kudos to the team. Goliath is a great addition and I’m sure everyone will enjoy it who don’t suffer from motion sickness. I just warn you that it may attack your stomach a little at first. Overall I had an AWesome day and am really happy that I can say that I love AW’s new addition for the season. Sorry for making this summary so long, I guess it really isn’t a summary lol. Whoops. Anyway if you did read this all good job, I don’t know if I would. P.S. If there are spelling mistakes or anything don’t complain I can’t be bothered fixing it all. I’ll tired lol.

Yeah, having lunch now having ridden Goliath. Also got to chat with Andrew Sharry and Ross. The ride and theming looks fantastic. The hang time was just incredible and it's a long way when you look down. The harness is excellent, giving you lots of freedom. The park is empty and the weather has cleared. And Inferno is running - 4 shots, 1 drop.

Hey guys, I went to adventure world today for the physics day and got a few photos of Goliaths themeing, enjoy. And yes I did ride Goliath (3 times to be exact) and omg its amazing ps. I've been keeping up with this thread for ages but this is my first ever post :D.

It is going to be a great ride. The theme was originally supposed to be more GOT meets war craft and as with Abyss. I would have preferred something a bit dirtier/harder/solid, given the nature of the ride but that's just an opinion. Well done to Phillip and the incredibly talented team at Atomiq who of course themed the Claw ride at DW and Abyss and Kraken, Theme builders and James at Creative Works, and with the lap restraints will be a big hit this year hopefully. Fingers crossed for the team as I know they always work EXTREMELY hard on these things for each new season. Good luck and I hope it rocks! M.

Happy memories of when Sea World was fantastic!

Sorry but you 2 are just stupid. I metionioned it was Dreamworld, and that it is the king Jillian theatre in the wild. There was never any looney tunes show and never any fright night event or mazes happening at Dreamworld.

I contacted Goldenway amusements and they said that they are not bringing XXXL because they don't have enough space