We made a visit to the park the weekend before last for After Dark. I'm probably a bit biased as I've been going to the park since the early 90's and always have a soft spot for it, but it was the first time since the pandemic and was a bit worried about what condition it would be in with all the comments you see online.
As everyone has said, Megafobia is so so good following its retrack, definitely back to its original best, but maybe even a bit better than that as the new double-up and double-down are great little additions of airtime. Its a joy to have it being smooth again, as it is so re-rideable. I was worried about it being on a single train operation but we didn't wait more than 20mins, so it wasn't an issue in the end. Got on over 10 rides on it and we could of easily got on a lot more if that was our focus.
In terms of the wider park, I don't agree with comments I've seen around the internet saying that its looking the worst it ever has. To be honest it was actually pretty good compared to previous years. It's certainly not where it was when it was run by the McNamaras but I'd say proportionately it had no more tatty areas than Alton Towers did when I visited there early this year. Most of all there finally seems to be some investment in the place; megafobia obviously, new control and drive on pirate ship, bounce being back, speed being repainted, spooky 3d being redone, drenched boat being refurbished, much better staging than before on the main field, incredible new lighting for after dark and lots of landscaping works to clear overgrown areas. After Dark was great as well and set a fantastic atmosphere, with the only negative being Megafobia closing a bit early (I got the feeling with it on one train they were making sure the queue cleared before fireworks began). Staff were very friendly and had a chance to chat to quite a few, including the park director who was keen to know what everyone thought of the retrack. As has been said Megafobia's other train is being refurbished and should be back next year, which is welcome.
The park seemed to have a bit more buzz about it and you could over-hear people being incredibly positive about Megafobia. I really hope for the park's sake it drives in a bit more trade and the investment can continue. It certainly isn't the 'UK's worst park' as it is seemingly always gets called and it really needs positive word of mouth to get it thriving again like it was in the early 00s.
The cherry on the cake was the best bit of merch - managing to buy 1.5m of the original first drop track from Megafobia. Though its size and weight mean my plans for it have had to change, as it will have to become a garden feature now!