Last Cred Review

[MannekenPis]

Went to the large fair in Lille today as not far, and I've had a hankering to get on a Chance Toboggan since I first saw one. The fair is huge, loads of big spinny rides that I couldn't go on with my daughter but are a bit much for me these days. Got on a reverchon spinning maus and a wacky worm with my daughter since I was there but it was the Toboggan I wanted.

The cars look so 70s, the fact you are basically caged in , the lid comes down on your head and you can't move, and the whole thing is padded like a lunatic asylum. This proves to be necessary. You then peer out through your narrow cage window and question your life choices.

While looking at photos of these I'd thought that the whole ride looks like a spiral lift hill, but hadn't really addressed my mind to where the actual lift hill is. So I hadn't realised it was a vertical lift hill in a narrow pipe up the hill. Queue more claustrophobia and grabbing my pocket change, but also laughing with my daughter.

You survive that (imagine getting stuck on the lift), then you go down basically an over engineered helter skelter, unable to see much through your window/grill/animal cage. The whole thing is janky as hell and your elbow finds an unpadded bit to bang. But me and my daughter continued to laugh hysterically. What is this?

At the bottom of the spiral you hit the drop, getting some air before slamming into the other side causing your head to hit the thankfully very padded ceiling. I am 5'7" and I barely fit. Round the corner there's a bunny hop so you can hit your heat again, before some harsh brakes and the operator uncaged you, and you are happy to be freed, emerging blinking into the sun, having experienced something I imagine akin to birth.

Very odd, very janky, very uncomfortable, very confusing, very very funny. For the two of us it was costing 8euros a pop or I'd have had another go, to try and work out what was going on. Long may it continue.

 

[Snoo]

Good Gravy at Holiday World

You know.. not bad! Its a kids ride of course and not the best version of this model but a good time for those who'd enjoy it. Plus, theming is fun and hearing the background from Leah Koch on why they did it made it that much cooler. A solid +1 but at Holiday World, you enjoy them even more!

 

[Pierre]

“Roller Coaster” at Holiday World

This was my first “Technical Park” coaster so wasn’t sure what to expect. It looked like it should have been really janky but it was actually pretty smooth for what it was. Nothing majorly thrilling, a few tiny pops of airtime and helixes although one of the helixes was really tight and fast which was probably the best element.

Then came the scariest part. The longest brake run ever without actually braking the train. I genuinely thought the brakes had failed and we were going to rear end the train in the station, turns out they don’t apply the brakes until you’re practically at the turn into the station anyway haha.

 

[WoodCoasterFan]

Visited COTALAND yesterday.

Circuit Breaker
Fun, smooth, and very re-rideable. The tilt track is obviously the highlight. After that there are some moments of good hang time and a few pops of mild airtime.

Palindrome
This was a huge surprise. The transitions had way more whip than I was expecting. Especially in the outer seats, it was comparable to Karnan or Skyrush. Like Karnan, it also has a bit of a rattle. This was only really an issue in the third row, so hopefully it was just a bad wheel. You can definitely tell that the engineering and construction on this is not as precise as Circuit Breaker, but honestly I think I may have liked it more.

 

[Dan Nguyen]

Long weekend, two parks, one closed new credit (Lil Phantom at Kennywood), so to make up for that, I finally rode

435. Twist & Shout at Central Park Finland. For the longest time, this was the elusive VA credit I needed to ride every coaster in Virginia, but with the new alpine coaster open at Massanutten, that's not gonna be a thing for a while for me.

This ride was closed when I was here in 2020, which was a bummer. Glad to see it's running now. I got a pretty good spin and it takes you around 3 times.

 

[toofpikk]

I finally (finally) got on Hyperia at the end of last month. We had limited time at the park as I was catching a flight in the afternoon, and it was my friends first time there. We did all the creds apart from The Swarm, notably Nemesis Inferno was running really well, and The Walking Dead still blows my mind with how they were able to re-sync the block brakes for the narrative. Really great re-skin.

Hyperia, though, eh? Some think it's the best in the UK, Europe, the world, even.
We had 90 mins left in the park, and waddled up to it's pretty garish entry plaza to see a 110 minute queue. Unfortunately I can't analyse queues and guess the actual queue time quite as well as I used to be able to, so we decided to just buy fast track and have a pint if we had time to spare after.
Up we went - the fast track queue itself being half an hour, into the wonderfully inviting cage of frustrated, aggravated, tired humans waiting for a 60 second adrenaline kick, before being the first at the batcher.
'Can we sit at the back?' I asked.
She sighed.
Row 10.
Nice.

Like many people here, I don't really get scared of coasters anymore, but rising up quite quickly on that thing with the tinny soundtrack beating away at your ear drums really made me quite tense. That first drop is really stupid, and I found myself laughing hysterically round the entire layout.
I haven't seen it mentioned specifically, but I think the magic of the overbanked turn is the fact that as you peel up and away from the rest of the layout, you don't see coaster track for a solid few seconds. It's just you and the trees and your giggling friend next to you.

So, best coaster in [country] [continent] [planet]
I hear it. But also, come on.

The trims are a killer.
The coaster ends, waaaaaay too early.
We came in nodding to each other going 'hey, that was pretty good' but I couldn't help myself to immediately compare what kind of coaster the money spent on Hyperia could've been instead. Mack's are expensive these days, and a really good RMC or even hyper coaster would've been a more appropriate fit in the park in my opinion.

Having said that, Hyperia is definitely different to pretty much everything else in the UK. But it suffers from being too short. And that leaves a pretty sour taste in your mouth as you crawl back into the station after the stupidly long brake run.

Best in the UK?
Maybe.
Probably.
But if the best coaster feels like it's been cut off a bit compared to something that feels like a full experience, is this a feeling that rubs off with more re-rides, or makes you resent the (lack of) investment?

Guess I'll have to go ride it again.

 

[zongafan53]

Was at Dollywood yesterday for the first time in a couple years.
346: NightFlight Expedition
Is this a coaster? Sure. Whatever, Either way, I'm a big fan of this thing. I got three rides, once in an about 70 minute queue first thing in the morning and then two more rides with Time Saver, thanks to a very kind friend who was working at the park.

The queue is okay, though felt fairly slow in the standby, a couple of rooms with some visual interest but mostly feels like just waiting in vaguely industrial buildings. The ride itself is VERY cool. I like the look of the ride having a cartoony style from the sets and screens throughout, it's very whimsical and cute. It feels like a supercharged version of the Boo Blasters look and feel. The story takes a bit of a backseat, this is a very vibes based ride.

The ride system, to be blunt, is the star of the show and extremely impressive. The flume segments are easily my favorite part of the ride, specifically the lack of a trough and the track being only vaguely visible underneath kept this feeling like a ride that was barely on track while being entirely controlled. I felt like I could very easily submerge my entire arm in the water of the final scene, it has a level of immersion and a feel you are just in an actual boat while being fully controlled. The coaster parts aren't of much note, it essentially felt like the drops you would experience on a flume ride. I had also assumed from the descriptions people said that the screen portion would be much more substantial, but I didn't mind it. Whatever simulator movements were happening were well executed. I also thought the lighting and speakers on the vehicle themselves were awesome, the soundtrack is very nice. I also loved the fact that you don't see any other vehicles on the track, it has a really neat intimate experience.

My biggest gripe with this ride is that it felt a little short, time wise. An additional scene or two of the rapids section would have really elevated this thing to the next level. I also wish that there was maybe an outdoor scene or something like how most Pirates of the Caribbean rides go by an indoor restaurant, I felt like it could have added a bit to the experience if off ride you could see what this ride is all about. Even in the queue and station all you really see is just the ride vehicles and nothing else. I did note that there wasn't really anything for movement of props, no animatronics, really just focused on the ride system and lighting around, though I was mostly fine with this as I found the just general use of the ride system and the water ride aspects to be what made this ride for me.

Overall, this is basically exactly what I wanted the park to get. A modern dark ride experience that really shows off what this park can do, with a bigger budget than something like a Six Flags but willing to fully commit to an original story in comparison to a Disney or Universal. It feels like a great thesis statement for Wildwood Grove, which seeing it's expansions over the years I like that land more and more every visit. I didn't have much of the reliability issues that some have experienced, I think there may have been some lighting effects not on and the motion simular screens had some panels with odd colors.With this and the new Phantom Theater, I am very hopeful for the future of dark rides at non Disney and Universal parks in the states. I hope that this is the beginning of a large push for Dollywood focusing more on dark rides. I do really hope that this is the beginning of Dollywood building more dark ride and theming first experiences and not just a one off and back to their usual grove of Lightly Themed Coasters With Nice Stations. I would describe this as a low B tier dark ride with a ride system that bumps it way up into the low A tier. This and Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare are neck and neck for being my favorite non Disney or Universal dark ride. How this ranks as a coaster is beyond me though. TL;DR, an insane ride system combined with a short, solid but not mind blowing dark ride.

Also, I got on Lightning Rod for the first time since it's lift hill renovation. I've long been a huge fan of Lightning Rod, the original launch speed version is an untouchable coaster experience for me. I went in expecting disappointment, but got something still pretty awesome. The first few elements are noticably slower, not too intense I will say. However, once you do the double up that leads into the ending, man this thing still RIPS. It's still quite a fun ride overall, I like it a lot but it's definitely less good than it used to be. Thunderhead is running EXTREMELY good, it is absolutely hauling and has a nice level of roughness. First time getting a Big Bear night ride, INCREDIBLE night ride I cannot recommend it enough.

 

[James F]

I have just come back from Florida and I had originally intended to do a full trip report, but as it was a family holiday I was a bit distracted from taking as many photos as usual.

I had a great time, but it was busier than I expected for this time of year. As 14 days visiting theme parks (some of them multiple times) can be overly repetitive to to read, I have decided to just share my thoughts on the new-to-me creds from each park.

Islands of Adventure

Turned out to be one of the quieter crowd days of the trip, still with such a stacked park it still felt like a bit of a rush to get everything done,

#329: Hagrid's Motorbike Adventure

After seeing an advertised wait of 50 minutes just after park opening, we came to the conclusion that the queue was only going to get worse so we shrugged our shoulders and hoped it would be worth the wait. While a 50 minute wait was easily justifiable for me, it's different for family members who haven't ridden a coaster for over 10 years. The queue only turned out to be 35 minutes and luckily for me, most of my family are Harry Potter fans so they had at least some incentive to ride.

As expected Hagrid's is an all round people pleaser. Universal and Intamin truly delivered on making an exceptional family thrill coaster, easily one of the best coasters in it's category. The launches are punchy, the sense of speed is carried, despite the stop-start nature of the ride and the storytelling is present throughout. While I prefer my coasters to be a little more intense, I can see why this is the most popular ride in the park. 8.5/10

#330: VelociCoaster

Easily the most anticipated coaster of the trip ... Velocicoaster ticks all the boxes for my ideal coaster. Having ridden a fair amount of Intamin LSM coasters now, I did wonder how it would stack up to the rest. It terms of wild and dynamic moment it's a cut above Taron and Maverick, but it falls short of Taiga. They do say comparison is the death of joy and it would be unfair to ignore the level of theming that makes a Universal coaster stand out.

Overall, VelociCoaster delivered on my high expectations, did it blow me away? well no, but there was a huge bar for this coaster to cross. I was lucky enough to score a back row ride and I must say that there are little to no dead-spots here. The first half looks a little underwhelming on video, but in reality provides some good pops of airtime and has some decent forces, but the second half is what earns VelociCoaster it's reputation. The tophat is fantastic and is the best of the all the launch coasters I have done, the stall is a little too quick for my liking, but I like the snappiness of the transition. The outerbank was stronger than I expected and the famous Mosasaurus Roll deserves the hype it gets, the sensation is similar to the final inversion on Blue Fire, but faster and over water - which is a bonus.

Sadly I only got two rides on it, but the more I sit back and think about this coaster, the more I like it. 10/10




It terms of other rides, they were all as brilliant as I remember them from 12 years ago. The Incredible Hulk was riding great, even better than it was on my last visit due to the retrack. The Adventures of Spiderman is still one of my favourite dark rides and the insanely wet Popeyes and Ripsaw Falls are also some of the best water rides in existence. Islands of Adventure is no doubt one of my favourite parks, I just wish it wasn't so far away.

 

[CookieCoasters]

Hyper Coaster - Land of Legends Theme Park



Queue line / station

The queue line has some decent theming that doesn’t quite fit together. You first enter a gift shop which has an exterior resembling a train station, but then the initial queue switchbacks are surrounded by ruins. On the final queue stretch which you leads to the ride’s station, you are surrounded by an actual train and some static workers on one side, and a well-maintained train station facade on the other side, which contrasts the prior ruins. The interior and exterior of the station is also clearly meant to have a worn look to it, so the theming overall lacks cohesiveness. The ride’s station itself is also fairly bland with a generic playlist playing rather than an energetic score which would suit a ride of this stature. The train departing and entering the station received applause from both staff and guests religiously which was an odd quirk I’ve not noticed for a coaster before; not a complaint though.

Trains

The trains are the same as you most commonly find on Mack’s thrill coasters, with ergonomic seats and a comfortable overhead lap bar. Sometimes these lap bars tighten mid-ride in response to positive g-forces, but that was not the case on Hyper Coaster, allowing for plenty of true “out of your seat” time. I found the ride to be considerably better in the rear rows (except maybe on the first camelback), so the majority of my analysis will focus on the ride experience in those seats.

Layout

You get a nice view of the Land of Legends complex and the mountains off into the distance as you ascend the 200ft lift. The first drop is exhilarating, although not to the same degree as Hyperia’s (which has a strong case as the world’s best first drop). The initial angle isn’t too steep, leading to some moderate floater airtime in the rear rows. Where the drop really shines is about a third of the way down as you start to twist. You are whipped around aggressively as you turn to the left and continue twisting downwards into the first valley. The combination of floater airtime and laterals is delightful here. You then enter the ride’s massive vertical loop, which provides some decent positive g’s upon entry and exit, and some light hangtime at the apex. This element actually hit better when the coaster was running a little slower, as that allowed for more hangtime. Compared to Full Throttle’s giant vertical loop, the hangtime was considerably less sustained here. After exiting the loop you are thrown into the ride’s first camelback, which provides very good sustained ‘flojector’ airtime. In the front rows the airtime is strong as soon as you start to level out, whereas in the back rows the airtime gets gradually stronger and peaks as you start being yanked down the hill. I was surprised that even once the ride had warmed up, this camelback never felt like it was delivering true ejector.

The following element is a lightly banked wave turn, which surprisingly delivered slightly sharper airtime than the first camelback, and again was well-sustained. The bank to the left added some light laterals which distinguished this element from solely airtime-focused camelbacks it’s sandwiched between. The second camelback is significantly lower in height than the first, and offered the strongest airtime moment of the entire ride. Although I’m still not sure the airtime was quite true ejector, it was a glorious element and the fact the airtime was getting stronger and stronger with each successive element up to this point gave Hyper Coaster a great sense of pace. You next start the ‘back’ portion of the ‘out-and-back’ layout with a banked turnaround, which offered positive g’s solid in power and decently sustained. The ride continues adding some variety with a very whippy zero-g roll: the better of the ride’s two inversions. It’s not the most extreme example of this type of inversion, but the combination of sharp airtime and sudden laterals is a great sensation not felt elsewhere on the ride. Hyper Coaster re-focuses on airtime for the next two elements: one twisted and one straight bunny hill. The first offers weaker but more sustained airtime, whereas the second delivers a strong burst of flojector airtime as you twist into a downward turn. This turn provides the strongest positive g’s on the ride, before you zig-zag through an s-bend followed by a small overbanked turn, which again delivers solid positive g-forces. Finally, you step up into the final brake run, ending with a very minor pop of air.



Final remarks:

• Hyper Coaster is very smooth throughout. Next-to-no hint of a rattle or vibration. Very re-rideable.
• It’s a really well-rounded coaster, offering plenty of laterals, positive g’s, and sustained airtime across a satisfyingly long layout. I generally prefer sustained airtime over small punchy pops and Hyper Coaster excels in this regard.
• It’s a very well-paced ride, with basically no dead space. All elements hit well - often really well - which is impressive for a coaster as long as this one.
• Despite having lots of thrilling elements, the ride scarcely feels out-of-control or truly ‘extreme’. I would’ve liked some of the airtime moments to hit harder, the zero g-roll to feel a little more unhinged, and the vertical loop to make more of an impact in the hangtime arena.
• Hyperia is the only other Mack Hyper I’ve ridden, and they are very different. Hyperia is more extreme, more bombastic, more novel, but lacks the satisfying length of Hyper Coaster.
• Overall, I think Hyper Coaster is world-class: it’s impressive how consistently exciting the ride experience is and how varied it feels while relying mostly on fairly commonplace elements. I think to be a perfect 10/10 coaster its force profile would just need to be dialed up a little more so that it really wowed you.

 

[James F]

𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐜 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞

#𝟑𝟑𝟏 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐥𝐟

Given it's fairly low capacity we made a beeline for this Mack Spinner. It's fine for what it is, I thought the backwards section was fun, but the whole coaster does feel like an afterthought from Universal when you consider the short length and budget theming. 6/10



#𝟑𝟑𝟐 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐬 (𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧)

I had heard good things going into this, but I wasn't convinced it would be a top 10-worthy coaster as claimed by some. Based on my experience, I thought it was really good, but not "elite status". The main things working in this ride favour is the airtime and duelling visuals, which are a lot of fun and make it a coaster worth travelling for. There is plenty of airtime throughout, which surprisingly keeps it's strength until the very end. The main issue I had was the rattling; while I wouldn't say I was overly sensitive to roughness, the vibrations felt in almost every valley were annoying. The double-kick style of launch didn't really do it for me either, I understand why others might like it, but I found it a little awkward. 9/10

#333 Stardust Racers (Yellow)

My opinion is echoed from the green side, although I have a slight preference for the yellow side as I prefer taking the barrel roll downhill. 9/10




Unfortunately on this visit I didn't manage to ride the remaining two coasters, but I did manage to do one of them the following week, which I'll post about later.

 

[James F]

Magic Kindom (05.10.26)

#334 Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

It wasn't worth the sweaty 50 minute wait in the Florida sun, but I'm glad I can finally tick it off after missing it 12 years ago. The physical ride feels like a glorified kiddie coaster, but you can't deny that it looks great. 5/10



Busch Gardens Tampa (08.10.26)

#335 Iron Gwazi

Heavy rain was forecast all day in Tampa for our visit to Busch Gardens, the worst of which would be during the afternoon. With this in mind, Iron Gwazi had to be done as soon as. Despite my first ride being an early morning cycle, Iron Gwazi still kicked ass. It reminded me how much I missed the RMC experience. While admittedly some of the elements towards the end needed to warm up, the stand out elements in the first half still delivered. Fortunately the weather wasn't as bad as predicted meaning I got some afternoon rides in as well.

The first drop is great in any row, but it's on another level towards the back. Strong and sustained airtime the whole way down. The first outerbank is brilliant as expected, I prefer the one on SteVe, but it's still very, very good. The "death roll" is fun and fairly whippy, but not quite as crazy as I expected. The wave turn above the station is the highlight and it might just be the best moment on all of the RMC'S. (at least of the ones I have ridden). The second half needs time to warm up, but when it does it offers the typical ejector airtime pops expected and while it doesn't look like much the zero-g stall is quite memorable.

After 6 rides I was coloured impressed and came to the conclusion that it would crack my top 10. 10/10



#336 Tigris

I have never ridden a Sky Rocket II, based on what I had heard I wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised! Thankfully the "comfort collars" were removed so I could enjoy all that sweet ejector airtime and feel the uncensored hangtime of the inline twist. My poor mum on the other hand was not the biggest fan and it took me a while after to convince her to ride anything else that day. 8/10

#337 Phoenix Rising

I know they're people who think Nemesis Reborn is too rattley and I never understood them, but now having ridden this 2024 offering from B&M ... I now understand the feeling.

It's not rough by any means, but the constant vibrations are an annoyance that quietly chips away the enjoyment of the ride, which is a shame because it's a decent layout and fits the bill as a crowd pleasing attraction. Overall it's decent, but it should be better. 5/10

#338 Colbra's Curse

Having been turned away the first time due to weather, I was a little anxious to get on this as it was my last major cred missing from this park. Overall it rode exactly as expected. I have to give Busch Gardens credit on the theming here, it's a big step above the rest of the parks rides. I like how you get to experience 3 different types of movement rather than simply spinning the whole way through, it helps in keeping anticipation and engagement up throughout the whole layout. 6.5/10

#339 Air Grover

It's a plus one and done, with the usual embarrassment of riding alone and having the ride ops quietly judge me. 3/10

 

[Megafobia Fan]

#109 Infusion, Blackpool Pleasure Beach

This was my first SLC with the original restraints. I'd previously ridden Condor at Walibi Holland and enjoyed it, but my hopes weren't high. I purposely left Infusion to last as it was open late and I was slightly dreading riding it. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised. It was definitely rough, but I was mostly able to avoid headbanging. The transitions are the biggest offender to me, more so than general roughness . The layout is much better than it gets credit for though, the inversions all have good whip to them and there's no shortage of positives.

Whilst constantly having to avoid headbanging took away from the experience, and the roughness wasn't always the woodie kind that makes the ride more fun, on balance it's a decent coaster in my books. 6/10

I think I can now fairly say SLCs are overhated.

The rest of the park was good, despite some late ride openings, which meant I didn't get to make Big One #100 as planned. I'm happy to have Grand National as #100 though, it was better than I expected. Only missed credits were Steeplechase Red, and of course Big Dipper. I didn't get on most of the park's flat rides either, so there's reason to come back!

 

[Changa]

Back from a wonderful trip to Efteling and Toverland! I have visited both before, but Efteling was so long ago and so busy at the time that I barely remember anything about it. I have visited Toverland recently enough that I only had one new credit to gain. But it was a delight to see how much the park has grown and I am looking forward to what they do next with their growing ambition. Efteling was truly outstanding. The level of detail and effort that is put into every inch of the park is staggering, and matched the feeling that I had at Europa Park that they cannot just be motivated by business motives, as they could have put half of the effort in to this place and it would still be world class. Every attraction was genuinely inspiring in its creativity and execution, and every stroll between rides was a visual delight in the light of the low autumn sun. I couldn't receommend it enough to anyone who enjoys rides, as the effort and

Efteling
181 - Vogel Rok - 7/10 - A delightful family coaster that travelled surprisingly quickly for how small initially presented itself. This was delightfully themed both off the ride and on the ride with a unique concept that made for a great experience. Though, this was surprisingly short, to the extent that it felt like half a coaster. Even Walking Dead felt like a longer ride than this. This brought it down by quite a lot for me, as it otherwise is great considering its age and target.

182 - Flying Dutchman - 8/10 - This was quietly one of the most hyped-up rides I knew of, and one that I didn't know much about thanks to never seeing a clear POV. And, unsurprisingly, it was a scenic paradise. The station might be the best I have ever seen, the indoor sections were incredibly impressive, and the ending coaster section was great fun. Even the sound it makes traversing the coaster section sounds like a ghost passing through, and I don't think that was a coincidence given the effort that they have put into everything else! Though, I really wish that this were quite a bit longer. While I am happy that they ensured that every scene was properly realised rather than compromised, I would be overjoyed if they announced that this would be extended. The concept is perfect, and they already have proven themselves already with what they have done, but there's so much more that they can do with it.

183 - Baron 1898 - 9/10 - Another unbelievably impressive ride that makes theming a coaster look easy. The lift supports look far better in real life than they do in photos. The build up to the ride through the pre-show and pre-lift have so much detail and staging to them that it made anything that followed irrelevant. It was already a world-class ride before it had even started. Thankfully, the layout that followed was great for a dive coaster. Forceful, dynamic, and complemented the standout element well enough.

185-184 - Joris en Draak - 7/10 - Exactly as fun as duelling GCIs would seem. Both sides are a chaotic riot that had a decent amount of force without being too much for older kids. For what it's going for, it pretty much nails it. I just prefer Wodan and Wickerman for packing more chaos and variety into their layouts.

186 - Droomvlucht - 7/10 - Well, I count it! Though, as a dark ride, it's stellar. The models are beautiful, the imagery looks lovely and, while it is WAY ahead of it's time in terms of the scale of its execution, it still has an old-time feel to it that complements it's surreal imagery delightfully. I only wish that it was longer so that I could see more of these living fantasy paintings.

(186.5 - New Python? - I don't think I count this one. But its a really impressive retrack, the ride is incredibly smooth and decently forceful. It would be a great first inverting ride - 6/10)

Since it is the sole reason that I wanted to go to Efteling, despite the absolutely stacked line-up that the park offers. I have to give my quick opinion on the park's new flagship attraction:

Danse Macabre - 10/10 - I couldn't have been more excited or go in with higher expectations for this. Yet, it met them comfortably. It is absolutely astounding. The presence of the building looming in the background as you walk by, the story leading up to it and how it is presented, the faint echo of the music and cat meows heard "in the wind", the cold feeling of the walls of the abbey, then the shocking scale of the ride itself - larger than it looks in videos and larger than even seems possible for a ride. What follows is carefully curated madness that perfectly fits the story of the ride while capturing the essence of the song. Intamin have developed a very interesting ride system, but are indebted to Efteling to have them showcase their ride off by making such an incredible experience out of it. Everyone's applause at the end of the ride, like they had just seen a theatre show, felt perfectly fitting. I don't know any other ride that manages the contained spectacle that this does, and I can't wait to see what other parks will do with the concept.

Toverland
187 - Fenix - 8/10 - My B&M Wing coaster and comfortably my favourite. The theming for the whole land is stellar and easily Toverland's best work. The layout itself it far more dynamic than Swarm and Gatekeeper, and it's interactions with the water, paths and other rides elevates the overall experience even more. Though I prefer lots of other rides, I am not sure that Toverland could have done much to improve this, it's wonderful.

 

[Hyde]

Top Thrill 2 - Hit Halloweekends last weekend and it was an absolute madhouse, with 1-2+ hour waits on every coaster. We only got on Rougarou and TT2 before getting fed up with the queues and bailing early for drinks in downtown Sandusky, which was a major quality-of-life upgrade. Plenty of rides were also down or late to open (lulz, Six Flags), including Millennium Force, which had a “scare” after someone found a stray piece of metal underneath it. Meanwhile, TT2 ran flawlessly all day. It’s a weird world where Top Thrill is turning into the park’s most dependable attraction.

 

[James F]

Seaworld Orlando (09.10.26)

#340 Mako
How can you not love a B&M hyper? Mako is one of the best ones I have done so far. Strong sustained floater airtime, perfectly profiled camelbacks and for the most part fast paced. The ending could be a little stronger, but the majority of the layout makes up for a less dramatic finale. 10/10




#341 Ice Breaker
A family thrill coaster that might be too aggressive for it's own good. I loved the powerful pops of ejector airtime and the backwards launch up the spike, but I found the restraints really uncomfortable, which is a shame because the layout is strong. 8/10


#342 Pipeline: The Surf Coaster

This went waaay above my expectations. A post-covid B&M Stand Up? I was prepared for a rattley mess, but I actually found an airtime filled delight which was actually smooth. I was aware of the "bouncing seats" but given my height I didn't think I would feel anything, so I was shocked to find my feet several inches off the ride car. There are twists and turns towards the end which provide some decent forces as well. My only minor gripe is that the vest restraints feel tight, but after experiencing Pipeline I can see why they are necessary. 9/10

 

[Eggroll]

Seaworld Orlando (09.10.26)

#340 Mako
How can you not love a B&M hyper? Mako is one of the best ones I have done so far. Strong sustained floater airtime, perfectly profiled camelbacks and for the most part fast paced. The ending could be a little stronger, but the majority of the layout makes up for a less dramatic finale. 10/10

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#341 Ice Breaker
A family thrill coasters that might be too aggressive for it's own good. I loved the powerful pops of ejector airtime and the backwards launch up the spike, but I found the restraints really uncomfortable, which is a shame because the layout is strong. 8/10
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#342 Pipeline: The Surf Coaster

This went waaay above my expectations. A post-covid B&M Stand Up? I was prepared for a rattley mess, but I actually found an airtime filled delight which was actually smooth. I was aware of the "bouncing seats" but given my height I didn't think I would feel anything, so I was shocked to find my feet several inches off the ride car. There are twists and turns towards the end which provide some decent forces as well. My only minor gripe is that the vest restraints feel tight, but after experiencing Pipeline I can see why they are necessary. 9/10

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My feet being off the ground on a standing coaster sounds absolutely terrifying. I'm going to Seaworld Orlando in February so I was happy to hear positive reviews for these rides!