Ian
TS Team
- Favourite Ride
- Dizz, Bobby’s Yarn Land
Having just got back from the park, here’s a few observations from me.
The exterior of Walking Dead that I saw today certainly leaves a lot to be desired (though conscious it’s still very much work in progress). Not that I had high expectations to begin with really! It’s clearly going to be a quick rehash!
No bag stores removed that I noticed on Swarm, or SAW.
This may have happened last year and I missed it, but the station on Swarm has had the charred wood cladding stripped from the roof, leaving behind the shiny galvanised steel frame beneath. The holes at either end where the wood would have met the wall have been filled in with expanding foam. I’d like to think this is going to be put back at some point, but if not, someone please give it a coat of brown paint!
DBGT has also seen more changes again this year. I’ll wrap it in spoilers in case anyone really cares!
In terms of general availability, Samurai and Quantum were both closed all day I think. Rush put in an appearance with one arm around 2ish.
Colossus was being a full on diva, running one train and going down serveral times throughout the day. Again, this may be from last year, but a few of the supports have had a kick of paint. This seems to be limited to ones within the footpaths and only goes as high as you could probably reach with a small step ladder! The lift supports look to have had a clean, or at least had some of the grease marks from the chain wiped off. It’s certainly an improvement, but realistically the whole thing is in need of a fresh coat.
Slammer (RIP) looks to have been untouched, aside from someone sticking a bit of gaffa tape over it’s name on the ride restrictions sign. Seriously, could no one find a screwdriver and a spare 10 minutes to take this down? Was quite surprised to see it still standing. Maybe scrap metal prices are down at the moment
If you want food from somewhere other than KFC or BK I’d say it’s slim pickings too. A lot of the smaller kiosks seemed to be shut up, limiting you to either a hot dog, kebab or doughnuts.
The entrance has also seen a fair knocking around this year (I assume this is all new?). There’s still one giant queue out the front. This leads to the two former ticket booth buildings, which have been repainted blue and the windows boarded up. There now seems to be a door through where the security checks are taking place. Tickets are then sold from a few windows to the right of the turnstiles (I can see this getting busy on peak days). Only one of the two old buildings was finished, but judging by appearances it looks like it’ll mirror the finished one.
The park have also placed a lot of boulders around the bollards where the plaza meets the car park, presumably a measure similar to the new fences around Towers. They have also blocked off access from the left and right behind the old ticket booths, so it seems the only way in now is through the bag check queue.
The exterior of Walking Dead that I saw today certainly leaves a lot to be desired (though conscious it’s still very much work in progress). Not that I had high expectations to begin with really! It’s clearly going to be a quick rehash!
No bag stores removed that I noticed on Swarm, or SAW.
This may have happened last year and I missed it, but the station on Swarm has had the charred wood cladding stripped from the roof, leaving behind the shiny galvanised steel frame beneath. The holes at either end where the wood would have met the wall have been filled in with expanding foam. I’d like to think this is going to be put back at some point, but if not, someone please give it a coat of brown paint!
DBGT has also seen more changes again this year. I’ll wrap it in spoilers in case anyone really cares!
The tunnel scene between the two train rides has been replaced with a strobe maze.
In terms of general availability, Samurai and Quantum were both closed all day I think. Rush put in an appearance with one arm around 2ish.
Colossus was being a full on diva, running one train and going down serveral times throughout the day. Again, this may be from last year, but a few of the supports have had a kick of paint. This seems to be limited to ones within the footpaths and only goes as high as you could probably reach with a small step ladder! The lift supports look to have had a clean, or at least had some of the grease marks from the chain wiped off. It’s certainly an improvement, but realistically the whole thing is in need of a fresh coat.
Slammer (RIP) looks to have been untouched, aside from someone sticking a bit of gaffa tape over it’s name on the ride restrictions sign. Seriously, could no one find a screwdriver and a spare 10 minutes to take this down? Was quite surprised to see it still standing. Maybe scrap metal prices are down at the moment
If you want food from somewhere other than KFC or BK I’d say it’s slim pickings too. A lot of the smaller kiosks seemed to be shut up, limiting you to either a hot dog, kebab or doughnuts.
The entrance has also seen a fair knocking around this year (I assume this is all new?). There’s still one giant queue out the front. This leads to the two former ticket booth buildings, which have been repainted blue and the windows boarded up. There now seems to be a door through where the security checks are taking place. Tickets are then sold from a few windows to the right of the turnstiles (I can see this getting busy on peak days). Only one of the two old buildings was finished, but judging by appearances it looks like it’ll mirror the finished one.
The park have also placed a lot of boulders around the bollards where the plaza meets the car park, presumably a measure similar to the new fences around Towers. They have also blocked off access from the left and right behind the old ticket booths, so it seems the only way in now is through the bag check queue.
