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2017: A Year In Review

Matt N

TS Member
Favourite Ride
Mako (SeaWorld Orlando)
So, fellow TSTers! Another great year is coming to an end, and today, I'm going to take a look back through 2017 and relive the highs, the lows and everything that made it special. Now, I'd firstly like to talk about the notion that 2017 was a dull year and my thoughts on that notion. I personally think that if you look worldwide, 2017 hasn't been as much of a dull year as many have suggested, and I'll show you why when I review each month individually. I also don't think 2017 was exactly helped by the hype train for 2018 leaving the station long before 2017 even started, because the hype for SW8, Icon (well, Construction 2018 at that point in time) and other rides like Steel Vengeance was already raging by about October 2016! So, let's start by looking back on each month of 2017 individually.
The 12 Months of 2017 In Review
January
The year began on quite a slow note, with January mainly seeing the rides and areas in Motiongate Dubai open amongst other things. The first opening of 2017 was Smurfs Village Express at Motiongate on the 9th January, swiftly followed by parts of the DreamWorks area opening later in January. Towards the end of the month, we also saw the opening of Dragon Park in Vietnam on the 25th January. If you don't know what Dragon Park is, it's the park where Time Machine from Freestyle Music Park ended up. The park also opened with a Vekoma Junior Coaster and a Vekoma Roller Skater.
February
February was the month where some parks in the UK began to reopen their doors. Blackpool Pleasure Beach began WOW Weekends on the 11th February and Paultons Park opened back up on the 12th February. Unfortunately, none of the Merlin-owned theme parks opened for February Half Term. This seems to have been abandoned by Merlin following 2015.
March
The month was finally here! The month where after 4 months of closed season madness, we were able to go into the Merlin parks again! The month started by Legoland Windsor reopening on the 10th March, followed by Chessington on the 17th March, then Thorpe Park on the 23rd March and finally, Alton Towers opened on the 25th March. In terms of openings in March, we saw The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure open at Chessington on the 18th March, we saw the Go Jetters Vroomster Zoom Ride and The Furchester Hotel at Alton Towers open on the 25th March. and we saw Derren Brown's Ghost Train: Rise of the Demon at Thorpe Park open on the 31st March. All of these were well-received attractions for their respective audiences. On a more worldwide basis, we saw Arashi open at Nagashima Spa Land on the 10th March and we saw Turbo Track at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi open on the 29th March.
April
April started with the opening of Legoland Japan on the 1st April. Then, Heidi: The Ride at Plopsaland De Panne on the 2nd April after a 9 month delay, swiftly followed by the opening of Race through New York with Jimmy Fallon at Universal Studios Florida on the 6th April. Then, on the 7th April, Ferrari Land opened at PortAventura, with Red Force, Europe's tallest and fastest roller coaster, being its main attraction. This new theme park was controversial throughout its development and construction, but was quite well received upon opening, with many praising attractions such as Red Force. The park has gained some criticism for being too small, however. Also on the 7th April, Busch Gardens Williamsburg opened its new family GCI InvadR. After that, the name for Construction 2018 at Blackpool Pleasure Beach was announced as Icon on the 11th April. The next ride to open was Gold Rush at Attractiepark Slagharen in the Netherlands, a Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster, on the 13th April. The 13th April also saw the announcement of Infinity Falls, a rapids ride for SeaWorld Orlando. Then, Mystic Timbers opened on the 15th April. The "shed" garnered large amounts of criticism upon the ride's opening, with many citing it as an anticlimax after Kings Island's big marketing campaign involving #WhatsInTheShed. The ride itself, however, was well received, with many praising its airtime and speed. Some even rank it among the best GCIs in the world. Towards the end of the month, on the 23rd April, Boomerang closed at Knott's Berry Farm to make way for a 2018 addition that was announced later in 2017. After that, Motiongate Dubai opened Dragon Gliders, a Mack Suspended Powered Coaster. To end out the month, Energylandia in Poland opened a Vekoma Family Boomerang named Boomerang on the 29th April.
May
Looking back, May was actually a pretty big month for theme park-related happenings in 2017! It all started on the 6th May, with the openings of DrageKongen at Djurs Sommerland and Hydrus at Casino Pier. Then, on the 9th May, an 11-year-old girl unfortunately died in an incident on Splash Canyon at Drayton Manor, with the investigation still ongoing. Then, not much really happened until the 20th May, when Furuvik in Sweden opened a Family Boomerang named Fireball. The 20th May also saw the opening of 2 Joker clones in the Six Flags chain. The day after, on the 21st May, we saw our first signs of vertical construction on SW8 at Alton Towers. Then, on the 25th May, Volcano Bay opened at Universal Orlando Resort. The new waterpark received very mixed reviews upon opening, with guests praising the waterpark's landscaping, slide lineup and food options, but criticising the implementation of the TapuTapu wristband system, which caused long wait times to go to attractions. This left guests with nothing to do while they waited. Next, on the 26th May, GaleForce finally opened at Playland's Castaway Cove after a year-long delay. The ride was received quite well upon opening, but received criticism for its rattle and its jolty trackwork, which later saw the ride get completely retracked during the 2017/18 off-season. Also on the 26th May, Lego Ninjago World opened at Legoland Windsor, with the Lego Ninjago: The Ride, a Triotech hand gesture dark ride, as its star attraction. The ride has been well received for its use of innovative technology. To end out the month with a bang, Pandora: The World of Avatar opened at Disney's Animal Kingdom on the 27th May. The area received critical acclaim upon its opening, with many comparing it to Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida.
June
June started with the opening of Voletarium at Europa Park on the 3rd June. The attraction has garnered praise for its stunning queue line theming, but has been criticised by some for its sound quality. Then, on the 10th June, Pegasé Express, a Gerstlauer family launch coaster, opened at Parc Asterix in France. After that, on the 16th June, Kraken reopened at SeaWorld Orlando after being retrofitted with VR and having its queue refurbished. The ride was renamed to Kraken Unleashed, and its VR was well received, with some citing it as the best VR coaster. The ride's use of a Spot Saver queue system has resulted in long wait times, however. Also on the 16th June, Tayto Park opened their log flume Viking Voyage. Yet again on the 16th June, SeaWorld San Antonio opened Wave Breaker: The Rescue Coaster, an Intamin jetski coaster. Then, on the 18th June, Sarkanniemi in Finland opened Hype, a Premier Sky Rocket II. After that, on the 20th June, Phantasialand officially announced F.L.Y, a new launched flying roller coaster, for 2019. The 20th June was also the day that Wildfire at Kolmarden reopened for the first time since October 2016. 3 days later on the 23rd June, Mine Blower, a Gravity Group wooden roller coaster, opened at Fun Spot Kissimmee. The ride was praised for its intensity and airtime, but was criticised by some for its roughness.
July
July kicked off with two major ride openings on the 1st July; Symbolica at Efteling and Lech Coaster at Legendia! Both rides were well received by those who rode. Then, a week later on the 8th July, Alton Towers opened the CBeebies Land Hotel. Also on the 8th July, Happy Valley Chongqing opened in China! Opening day attractions included a B&M Wing Coaster named Flying Wing Coaster and a GCI wooden coaster named Jungle Dragon. Then, on the 21st July, The Park at OWA opened in Alabama, with Rollin' Thunder, a Zamperla Thunderbolt, as its star attraction. The month ended with the closure of Georgia Cyclone at Six Flags Over Georgia on the 30th July in order to make way for an RMC conversion that would be announced in August.
August
August kicked off with the opening of Dahlland at Oakwood, a new land with a not-so-new Pinfari RC40 named Flight of the Giant Peach, on the 1st August. In an interesting turn of events compared to usual, Six Flags Fiesta Texas announced Wonder Woman Golden Lasso Coaster, the world's first RMC Raptor Track, on the 3rd August. Many enthusiasts believe that Six Flags did this to try and beat California's Great America to the pedestal of world's first Raptor Track. Then came the 16th August. As well as being National Rollercoaster Day, the 16th August 2017 was a bumper day for major announcements like I've never seen before outside of Six Flags, with 5 new roller coasters announced. Firstly, Kings Dominion announced Twisted Timbers, an RMC conversion of their wooden roller coaster Hurler for 2018. The announcement was well received, with many enthusiasts being excited by the ride's 20 moments of airtime. Then, Cedar Point announced the hotly anticipated RMC conversion of Mean Streak for 2018: Steel Vengeance. The announcement was met with great excitement from enthusiasts worldwide, and even Planet Coaster cashed in on it by making a Steel Vengeance blueprint for players to install in their parks. Thirdly, Silver Dollar City announced Time Traveler, the world's first XTREME Spinning Coaster from Mack Rides. The announcement was well received, but some enthusiasts thought that the ride would have been better without the spinning aspect. Next, RailBlazer at California's Great America, an RMC Raptor Track was announced. The reaction to the announcement was positive, with many enthusiasts praising the look of the ride's theming, but the ride drew fainter praise than others announced that day, likely due to it being a clone of Wonder Woman. Finally, the replacement for Boomerang at Knott's Berry Farm was announced; a Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster named HangTime! The reaction to the announcement was generally positive, with many commenting on how the ride was a good replacement for Boomerang. To end out the month, Six Flags announced their 2018 additions on the 31st August. Highlights from Six Flags' announcement include the conversion of Georgia Cyclone into Twisted Cyclone for 2018 and the world's first permanent ABC Tourbillon rides for Six Flags Over Texas and Six Flags Great Adventure. Another significant happening towards the end of August 2017 was Theme Park Review hitting 1 million YouTube subscribers. Even though Robb Alvey is a rather controversial figure among the enthusiast community, you have to admit that this is a staggering achievement. Congratulations to Robb and everyone at TPR!
September
September was a relatively uneventful month for new announcements and openings, but stuff still happened. Anyway, Dragon Challenge at Universal's Islands of Adventure permanently closed on the 4th September to make way for a currently unannounced Harry Potter roller coaster in 2019. Another major event I can think of that happened in September was the opening of DC Rivals at Warner Bros Movie World in Australia on the 22nd September. The ride was well received by those who rode it, with many praising the ride's airtime and intensity. The final major event in September was the announcement of Avalon at Toverland. This new themed area will contain a B&M Wing Coaster named Fenix and a Mack boat ride named Merlin's Quest (not related in any way to Merlin Entertainments!).
October
When October dawned upon us, it could only have meant one thing; the halloween season was back! Parks all across the world opened scare mazes and scare zones and just generally got into the spirit of the season! However, October also bought the controversial announcement that Merlin were reducing capex spending in the Resort Theme Park and Midway Attraction branches by £100m on the 17th October. On a more positive note, Icon's first track pieces arrived in Blackpool on the 19th October. To end out the month, Sesame Place announced Oscar's Wacky Taxi, a Gravity Group family wooden roller coaster for 2018, on the 20th October.
November
November was not a particularly eventful month. It was the month where we said goodbye to the UK theme parks until February. It was also the month where SW8's marketing started to heat up. Early in the month on the 4th November, Darien Lake also filed a surprise planning application for a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter for 2018. This ride was later confirmed to be called Tantrum. Finally, on the 24th November, the first pieces of track for Icon at Blackpool Pleasure Beach went vertical.
December
Considering the theme parks were closed, December was actually quite an eventful month! Firstly, on the 8th December, Walibi Rhône-Alpes announced a Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster for May 2019. Then, on the 9th December, the news got out that SW8 had started testing two days earlier on the 7th December, to the surprise of just about everyone in the enthusiast community! After that, on the 15th December, Dorney Park in Pennsylvania announced the closure of Stinger, their Vekoma Invertigo. Finally, on the 22nd December, Alton Towers sent out blocks of wood to the press stating that SW8 would be announced on the 8th January 2018. Then, the year ended.

So, that was 2017. I hope you guys all had a great year and I hope that your 2018 is filled with Wicker Men and Icons. Or if you travel to the USA at all, hopefully some Outlaws and Time Travelers. Or some RailBlazers and Wacky Taxies. Whatever it's filled with, have a great 2018.

On a side note, 2017 was my first year on this forum. I would just like to thank everyone here for making me feel so welcome on this forum, because to tell you the truth, I was extremely worried about joining an online forum before I actually did. I had seen some theme park forums where new members were constantly picked on and told off by members who had been around for longer, for lack of a better term, for doing things wrong, bad grammar and "spamming", so I was extremely worried about how I would be received online. I actually saw one forum where a new member posted a piece of theme park news before a team member did and got a 1 month ban. But this forum wasn't like that, thankfully. People here welcomed me with open arms and actually respected me. In truth, forums are nowhere near as frightening as they look from the outside.
P.S. Sorry for the long post. Also, tell me if I missed out anything major.
 
Was this online forum where a member posted something Theme Park Review by any chance?
Yes. I didn't want to embarrass any particular forum, but I guess I'll have to. Basically, this was in a thread about HangTime at Knott's Berry Farm, and a new member posted news about the announcement. Robb Alvey then proceeded to ban the member because he apparently always has to be the first one to post announcement news or something like that.
 
Yes. I didn't want to embarrass any particular forum, but I guess I'll have to. Basically, this was in a thread about HangTime at Knott's Berry Farm, and a new member posted news about the announcement. Robb Alvey then proceeded to ban the member because he apparently always has to be the first one to post announcement news or something like that.

Not suprised to read that Alvey is still a proper bully, essentially selling himself and his family as a lifestyle brand to teenagers who don't know any better. He'd be nothing without those more naive posters to buy into the hype. My favourite thing about TPR is his constant reminder that it's a 'humour' site, yet his complete lack of any sense of humour or self-awareness himself when even the slightest thing irks him. There are some right dolts on here, but nobody quite as irritating with any status. ;)
 
From what I've been told from ex-members experiences, Getting a one month ban is nothing compared to what some people have faced on there.

However as I don't want to get in trouble for starting an anti Robb hate speech, The topic is called '2017 a year in review'. Back on topic, eh?
 
So, to jolt us back on topic (like The Smiler's cobra roll exit ;)), what have you guys' best moments of 2017 been? My personal favourite was waking up in the Enchanted Village on my 14th birthday!
 
Seeing the general election exit polls for the first time then waking up the next morning to find they really were true. Not theme park related however.
 
I think some of my favourite moments have been spending days at the parks, got around all the uk Merlin parks and Blackpool so lots of new creds! It's been great watching the construction of the new coasters, specifically sw8! It's crazy to think that at some point this year we will be able to experience them! I can't wait :)
 
My year in review. Woke up. Did stuff. Went to bed.
Can’t see 2018 being any different :rolleyes:

Same here mate. Sometimes I even have enough energy to remember when I was a bit younger and had a life (sort of, maybe). Then you see these younglings all excited about some new giant cardboard head next to a pretty generic rollercoaster at some theme park that's in terminal decline. Not great. Think I need a reefer.
 
Interesting post, especially considering it’s extremely similar to another post I saw on another forum. It’s even posted only an hour or so later - what a coincidence! o_O
 
I’m not sure what’s difficult to understand here. I’m ‘on about’ exactly what I wrote, the fact the post is awfully similar to another I have seen else where and that it’s a coincidence (to add, if it’s inspired by said post, it’s nice to see people being inspired by one another within the community, although I’d suggest trying to differentiate it slightly more so) - nothing to worry yourself about! :)
 
I’m not sure what’s difficult to understand here. I’m ‘on about’ exactly what I wrote, the fact the post is awfully similar to another I have seen else where and that it’s a coincidence (to add, if it’s inspired by said post, it’s nice to see people being inspired by one another within the community, although I’d suggest trying to differentiate it slightly more so) - nothing to worry yourself about! :)

Ah right, one of our posters has been moonlighting on another site (TT probably) and posting similar stuff. Who cares. You're right, I shouldn't worry myself over anything like this. Stick around pal :)
 
I’m not sure what’s difficult to understand here. I’m ‘on about’ exactly what I wrote, the fact the post is awfully similar to another I have seen else where and that it’s a coincidence (to add, if it’s inspired by said post, it’s nice to see people being inspired by one another within the community, although I’d suggest trying to differentiate it slightly more so) - nothing to worry yourself about! :)
Actually @Trademark, now you say it, I was inspired by a post that Owen over on TowersTimes did in 2016 (not sure if he's done a 2017 one), but I tried to make it a bit different.
 
Do you have a link?
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