tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38701040175141841362008-05-03T09:56:27.323ZMSnoreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870104017514184136.post-9743858857650375542007-03-02T19:33:00.000Z2007-03-18T10:20:39.962Z

This article contains spoilers. If you read on, please be aware that surprises or secrets may be revealed in great depth Cry God for Harry, England, and St. George! With Drayton Manor being right in the heart of England, it's understandable that they should have adopted a patriotic stance in the construction of their 2003 ride, and what could be a more English theme than the knights of the

JPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870104017514184136.post-86179513895341388232007-02-25T13:20:00.001Z2007-03-02T17:51:30.592Z

This article contains spoilers. If you read on, please be aware that surprises or secrets may be revealed in great depth It would be easy to think that Disney was the pioneer or dark rides. Rides like Pirates of the Caribbean or Phantom Manor are among some of the most famous theme park rides ever built, and have become the yardstick of the their genres. In reality, the basic idea for such

JPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870104017514184136.post-9970412527264268582007-02-25T12:56:00.000Z2007-03-18T10:21:28.429Z

If I were to say to you that I had found possibly the best Log Flume in Europe, what would you say? How about if I went on to say that it features two forward drops, a backward one, tunnels, excellent theming, animatronic scenery, and a finale that sees water flying around in every conceivable direction? I don't want to put words into your mouth, but I assume you'd say "That sounds splendid, old

JPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870104017514184136.post-65491068108076954722007-02-25T12:48:00.000Z2007-02-28T20:48:55.633Z

Look, my dear cherished reader, at the name of this ride. It is "Wild 'n' Wet". Got that? "Wild". "Wet". Nothing else. One word notable by its absence is "Rapids". That's because it is not a rapids ride; doesn't advertise itself as a rapids ride; and should not be judged as a rapids ride. In fact, if I hear anyone describe Wild 'n' Wet as a rapids ride, I'm going to make them go and stand in the

JPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870104017514184136.post-28708155787284187962007-02-25T12:09:00.000Z2007-02-25T12:10:41.611Z

This article contains spoilers. If you read on, please be aware that surprises or secrets may be revealed in great depth Like a poorly rehearsed pantomime, Valhalla is ham fisted and clumsy. Blackpool's vision for a spectacular dark ride started not long after the historic Funhouse was destroyed by fire. Blackpool wanted this to be the most spectacular dark ride in the world, and although I

MSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870104017514184136.post-50276721631419617832007-02-25T10:59:00.001Z2007-03-01T21:08:27.381Z

This article contains spoilers. If you read on, please be aware that surprises or secrets may be revealed in great depth Wild Western flicks were a celebrated genre for over half a century, celebrating the high noon and tumbleweed culture of the 'Myth of the West' with a famous cast of goodies and badies with nothing in between. It was either the silent 1898 film Cripple Creek Bar Room or the

MSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870104017514184136.post-12864634466984765552007-02-25T10:41:00.000Z2007-02-25T21:12:31.667Z

I remember thumbing through an old Alton Towers Guidebook, remembering how back in 1986, the Grand Canyon Rapids (now Congo River Rapids) was the biggest project the park ever undertook. I remember accounts of how tens of thousands of tons of rock dating back to the Triassic period covering ten acres were forcibly removed with explosives, and how the ride had to have a special lake and power

MSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870104017514184136.post-28953524753580717312007-02-24T16:27:00.000Z2007-03-01T22:35:47.749Z

This article contains spoilers. If you read on, please be aware that surprises or secrets may be revealed in great depth Not so long ago, there were only so many ways that you could get doused in water at a theme park. Log Flumes, Giant Splash rides and Rapids watermarked their way into the staple theme park line-up, and were more often than not as basic as they come, doing little to float your

MSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870104017514184136.post-49256921678382625072007-02-24T16:21:00.000Z2007-03-02T19:05:46.010Z

It takes a special sort of talent to create a bad rapids ride. Even with the most boring layout on Earth, and waves as menacing than a sleeping puppy, somehow they still manage to be enjoyable. Even those that make an extra-special effort to be plumb the depths of acceptability, such as Thorpe Park's Ribena Rumba Rapids, somehow manage to provide some entertainment, admittedly in an ironic sense.

JPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870104017514184136.post-41916495509870729422007-02-24T15:43:00.000Z2007-02-26T21:42:22.867Z

This article contains spoilers. If you read on, please be aware that surprises or secrets may be revealed in great depth Poseidon was the son of Titans Cronus and Rhea, brother of Zeus and the husband of Amphitrite, one of the Nereids, by whom he had a son, Triton. As the god of the sea, Poseidon is often mistaken for Neptune, the Roman god of the sea, and in art is represented as a bearded

MSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870104017514184136.post-37270518356215500132007-02-23T22:21:00.000Z2007-03-18T11:48:25.058Z

Here's a little experiment for you to try. Go out and grab someone from anywhere in Britain. Next, ask them about the old TV game show, "Bullseye". I guarantee that within one minute, they will mention the contestants who would "Win a speedboat, despite living in Tamworth". The point of this joke was that Tamworth is officially the furthest town in Britain from the sea. Nowhere is more "midlands"

JPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870104017514184136.post-90494290149815024042007-02-23T20:35:00.001Z2007-03-01T19:32:40.213Z

This article contains spoilers. If you read on, please be aware that surprises or secrets may be revealed in great depth There is a precedent for what Tussaud's were planning to do to Alton Towers' Log Flume for 2004. Thorpe Park's Thunder River was an unobtrusive, though unspectacular, rapids ride until 2002, when it became Ribena Rumba Rapids. The transformation involved giving the ride a

JPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870104017514184136.post-18779341504556593632007-02-21T20:18:00.000Z2007-03-18T10:22:41.109Z

This article contains spoilers. If you read on, please be aware that surprises or secrets may be revealed in great depth Go to Universal Studios, and you can ride the movies. Go to Chessington World of Adventures, and you can ride the adverts. Chessington World of Adventures' new Bubbleworks is like a 15-minute commercial break without the luxury of a remote control. Like most adverts, it is

MSnoreply@blogger.com