I've followed the construction of Epic Universe since the beginning. With the high risk of spoilers online, I decided to visit in its opening year. What a hot mess. One of the most disappointing park days I've had for a very long time. I've no real desire to come back

It takes 32 minutes to walk to the station from my house. At 7am, it takes 7 minutes to drive. At 8am during half term? 8 minutes. At 8am during term time? 25-40. Walking is often quicker

This is the case on c2c and the Elizabeth line (although bizarrely, only outside the core stations on the latter)
I don't think it's much to do with the TOC but I could be wrong about that!

Hehe they have definitely improved thank goodness. Ripsaw though was an absolute soaker and I didn't think we'd see the likes at Alton Towers again. I'm not sure if I'd like to be wrong about that or not 🤔

A wet ride? At Towers? I er, have my doubts 😆

Well worth, it's a busy but solid park

My top 5 'new to me in 2024' coasters:
1. Toutatis, Parc Asterix
2. Voltron, Europa Park
3. Steel Vengeance, Cedar Point
4. Maverick, Cedar Point
5. Gold Striker, California's Great America
Hyperia didn't quite make the cut at number 6 😊

Today's random roller coaster 🎢
Credit 201: Trace du Hourra, Parc Asterix 🇫🇷
First ridden: 30-Jul-2022
Ride count: 2
The last steel bobsled, this is a good layout but best experienced solo if you can. Being crushed to death ruined my first ride on this and I didn't like it until my second ride 😆

It's just added realism, flapping its wings before takeoff 😏

Today's random roller coaster 🎢
Credit 642: Road Runner Express, Six Flags Magic Mountain 🇺🇸
First ridden: 27-Sep-2024
Ride count: 1
A solid junior coaster with some OK theming but what really made this for us was the staff. Such a nice to change to see so much enthusiasm while operating a kids ride

Today's random roller coaster 🎢
Credit 266: Impulse, Knoebels
First ridden: 29-May-2023
Ride count: 3
A little incongruous as a modern steel coaster with inversions in such a classic historic park but I think this is under-appreciated. It's fun, forceful and for us, had no wait.

Saturday's random roller coaster 🎢
Credit 88: The Smiler, Alton Towers
First ridden: 30-Sep-2020
Ride count: 49
One of the UK's few long and intense coasters and one that definitely divides opinion. I enjoy it despite the rough spots and the single rider line is very useful. Shame no lap bars though

When building a new attraction, you could just put up boring construction barriers that say "new and exciting, coming soon!" Or, you could be more interesting and do it like this 👍

Interesting! This would be a reasonable excuse. Most other parks though, not so much 😛

Since I can't edit posts here, that's meant to be 2024, not 2022 ☺️

Friday's random roller coaster 🎢
Credit 492: The Branson Coaster 🇺🇸
First ridden: 08-Jun-2022
Ride count: 1
Something a bit different! Not as long as nearby Copperhead, but riding this at night with the lighting effects, fireflies in the trees and lightning in the distance? 👌 Unforgettable experience

American Eagle as seen from the Raging Bull station

Thursday's random roller coaster 🎢
Credit 548: American Eagle (Blue), Six Flags Great America 🇺🇸
First ridden: 15-Jun-2024
Ride count: 1
Just the blue side because the Americans don't like racing their racing coasters 🙄
This is...a colossal waste of wood. Promising start, very dull otherwise!

Today's random roller coaster 🎢
Credit 145: Toos Express, Toverland 🇳🇱
First ridden: 01-Jun-2022
Ride count: 12
An indoor junior coaster with a surprising amount of kick to it, especially in the back. Definitely no shame here 😆

Today's random roller coaster 🎢
Credit 631: Viper, Six Flags Magic Mountain 🇺🇸
First ridden: 27-Sep-2024
Ride count: 3
Nobody seems to be riding this old classic any more, empty queue every time. I don't get why, it's an absolute blast, super intense, quite smooth, just a shame about the midcourse

Today's random roller coaster 🎢 is, unfortunately:
Credit 70: €uro Coaster, Hyde Park Winter Wonderland 🌲💩
First ridden: 06-Dec-2019
Ride count: 2
I used to wonder why you didn't see more of these, until I rode it. At least some bad coasters are funny because they're bad... Not so here I'm afraid 🤕

This is possibly the best setting for a roller coaster of all time...

Today's random roller coaster 🎢
Credit 211: La Souris Verte, Parc Saint Paul 🇫🇷
First ridden: 31-Jul-2022
Ride count: 2
A very spinny wild mouse, if you can load it the right way. It's definitely one of the busiest rides in the park so skewing it with only two of you on one side sadly isn't easy.

Today's random roller coaster 🎢
Credit 551: Dreamcatcher, Bobbejaanland 🇧🇪
First ridden: 03-Aug-2024
Ride count: 1
A strange name for a strange ride. The whole thing is basically one massive helix. It gets quite intense in parts but is easy to ride. Smoother than Vampire but definitely shorter!

Yesterday's random roller coaster 🎢
Credit 91: Spinning Racer, Fantasy Island 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
First ridden: 15-Jun-2021
Ride count: 2
A short visit to the park from this SC2000 which somehow was a lot more fun than most examples of this model have been.
Had to dig out an old phone to find these pictures!

Fond memories of the security guard at Lost Island very apologetically demanding I throw away my banana. The ice cream I had to replace it with wasn't quite so nutritious, I suspect 😛

Today's random roller coaster 🎢
Credit 97: Speed: No Limits, Oakwood 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
First ridden: 10-Sep-2021
Ride count: 12
One of the earliest Eurofighters, this unusual layout offers maybe the strongest airtime of any UK coaster. Now receiving a repaint, let's see if they fix the concerning noises it makes 😬

A lot to unpack here!
This used to be the 'Beastie' at Alton Towers from 1983-2010.
Cedar Point has a stellar coaster lineup but I wasn't a huge fan of the park itself. I found Kings Island a much more enjoyable visit.
I won't comment on US politics but I don't see things changing all that much!

Mine Blower traversing its Inversion over the entrance at night, train is illuminated by the camera flash

Today's random roller coaster 🎢
Credit 225: Mine Blower, FunSpot America Kissimmee 🇺🇸
First ridden: 24-Feb-2023
Ride count: 1
I was curious about its infamous reputation for roughness. It's pretty bad, but not as bad as I expected. I still honestly enjoyed it. That was before the retrack though...

Today's random roller coaster 🎢
Credit 250: Flashback, Six Flags New England 🇺🇸
First ridden: 27-May-2023
Ride count: 1
Not my finest milestone. I normally like Boomerangs, but this head-smasher was an exception 👎
Originating in China from 1985, New England is its third home. Explains a lot!