Some rides are bad because they're boring, or painful, or terribly profiled. Some rides suck but at least have one or two slight redeeming qualities. ...
Some rides are bad because they're boring, or painful, or terribly profiled. Some rides suck but at least have one or two slight redeeming qualities. The Big One is a ride that is all of those terrible things, and has absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever. All that height and speed completely wasted on a layout which delivers nothing but pain, that first drop ruined by the profiling and sheer roughness of the track. Hills and turns which offer no airtime, no force, nothing but endless bouncing and slamming side to side. Somehow the sections that have been retracked are even worse than the sections that haven't been retracked. The whole thing is a massive, long, painful piece of shit, which admittedly seems apt for BPB. Somehow my recent ride on a non-wheel seat was even worse than my wheel seat first rides a few years back. One ride which I can safely say I will never ride again in it's current form, i'd actually rather be attacked by tigers.
Icon really is an elite ride, which is strange to say when it's at the toilet that is BPB. I'm a massive fan of Mack Rides thrill coasters in general,...
Icon really is an elite ride, which is strange to say when it's at the toilet that is BPB. I'm a massive fan of Mack Rides thrill coasters in general, and this one delivers some fantastic ejector airtime, some whippy transitions, a fantastic hangtime-filled heartline roll and a few moments of good positives. Highlights for me are the top hat after the first launch, the junior Immelmann, the 2 bunny hops before the second launch, and the classic airtime hill in the second half, all deliver some excellent airtime, particularly in the back row. Which is the best spot I think, either the ordinary back row with the slightly larger seats which enhances the airtime, or of course on the absolutely superb Enso car, which really elevated the experience a lot, Shame it's so expensive though. Icon really is awesome, one of the best rides in the country and the only ride at BPB which would make me want to return to ride it!
An excellent pair of duelling family boomerang coasters. The layouts are actually really fun, and for a small ride it pulls some pretty good positives...
An excellent pair of duelling family boomerang coasters. The layouts are actually really fun, and for a small ride it pulls some pretty good positives in the sweeping turns, both forwards and particularly backwards. Both sides are pretty much the same in terms of ride experience, and both allow a lovely view out across the park and beyond at the top of the lifts. Theming is fairly minimal around the area, which is a little disappointing, save for the giant minifigure of course, and the billboard is a nice touch as well. But feel like they could've done a little more there. And whilst the ride is extremely smooth, the trains are not all that comfortable, slightly too narrow and the seats are very upright which isn't so good for taller riders. Obviously won't cause an issue for the vast majority of people who go to Legoland though. Overall they're a good fit for the park, add some good coaster capacity, and definitely a good investment for Legoland!
An excellent pair of duelling family boomerang coasters. The layouts are actually really fun, and for a small ride it pulls some pretty good positives...
An excellent pair of duelling family boomerang coasters. The layouts are actually really fun, and for a small ride it pulls some pretty good positives in the sweeping turns, both forwards and particularly backwards. Both sides are pretty much the same in terms of ride experience, and both allow a lovely view out across the park and beyond at the top of the lifts. Theming is fairly minimal around the area, which is a little disappointing, save for the giant minifigure of course, and the billboard is a nice touch as well. But feel like they could've done a little more there. And whilst the ride is extremely smooth, the trains are not all that comfortable, slightly too narrow and the seats are very upright which isn't so good for taller riders. Obviously won't cause an issue for the vast majority of people who go to legoland though. Overall they're a good fit for the park, add some good coaster capacity, and definitely a good investment for Legoland!
Like a lot of B&Ms, The Swarm is like a fine wine - only gets better with age. It's still extremely smooth 11 years on, and now more than ever there's...
Like a lot of B&Ms, The Swarm is like a fine wine - only gets better with age. It's still extremely smooth 11 years on, and now more than ever there's some moments of real intensity, in particular the turn past the crashed helicopter into the corkscrew, but also the bottom of the first drop. That drop is fantastic as well, probably the highlight of the ride, really hangs you if you're on the front, whereas on the back you get whipped down nice and fast. I prefer the left side of the train for the spectacular views into London on a clear day. Elsewhere the theming is great, the park have tarted the ride up a bit over winter so it's looking nice and fresh round there. There's some water and fire effects occasionally too although they're hideously unreliable and nearly always don't work. Love the soundtrack as well. As an excellent 2024 update as well, the vest restraints no longer lock in one place, they now let you hang right out which massively enhances the ride experience as well as the comfort, has really made a big difference!
Possibly the smallest coaster in the country. Makes a wacky worm look like a giga. I get it's a kids ride but it really is tiny, at least most other k...
Possibly the smallest coaster in the country. Makes a wacky worm look like a giga. I get it's a kids ride but it really is tiny, at least most other kids rides have a little something to offer the cred hunter, this really has nothing. It is very comfortable though so I'll give it that!
Dragon is an excellent family coaster. The dark ride section is really nice, plenty to see including the incredible animatronic lego dragon which is j...
Dragon is an excellent family coaster. The dark ride section is really nice, plenty to see including the incredible animatronic lego dragon which is just amazing. Then the booster wheels kick up and you go into the fun, albeit short, coaster section outside. It gets some decent speed through the helixes and at the back of the train, there is some family friendly airtime to be had on the 2 drops. The second one into the tunnel is particularly fun. The trains are comfortable enough with decent legroom, and the common lap bar with nicely spaced ratchets means it's almost impossible to get stapled. It fits it's target audience perfectly and is proof that coasters don't need to be big or fast to be great fun.
The fact this even exists is pretty mind blowing to me, all credit to the designers way back when, and the operators for keeping it going. It runs unb...
The fact this even exists is pretty mind blowing to me, all credit to the designers way back when, and the operators for keeping it going. It runs unbelievably smooth, not just for a portable ride but for any ride, there isn't a hint of a shuffle or rattle on the track. You get a great view from the top of wherever you happen to be riding the coaster in (Hyde Park and London in my case), before an intense drop and 3 of the most intense inversions i've experienced, particularly in the back. I find the pullout of the 3rd loop the most forceful but they all hit. Then there's another excellent drop before the last 2 loops, which aren't quite as intense but still hit nicely. It does meander around a little after that but the turns offer some more nice positives and it stays relentlessly smooth. The back is definitely more intense but I actually really enjoyed the front too, the shoulder pads didn't come down anywhere near as far so it was a lot more comfortable. Speaking of, the pads are the only thing wrong with it really, they are pointless and at the back they really did come down a long way, it wasn't comfortable. But it didn't ruin the ride for me. It really is a terrific coaster and worth every pound of the many, many pounds you spend to ride it
I got some crazy spinning on this, probably the most intense spinning i've ever had on a coaster, obviously had the car weighted just right. With the ...
I got some crazy spinning on this, probably the most intense spinning i've ever had on a coaster, obviously had the car weighted just right. With the lasers inside it made it a really fun experience. Ran nice and smooth as well. Really shows that even the most standard of rides can stand out with some simple additions and a bit of luck!
Some rides are bad because they're rough, or the trains are uncomfortable, or the layout is poor. This one is bad simply because the track is awful. I...
Some rides are bad because they're rough, or the trains are uncomfortable, or the layout is poor. This one is bad simply because the track is awful. I've never come across such a poorly profiled attraction. It's not rough, but the way it flops aimlessly around every turn, pointlessly banking in the most terribly unnatural way. I can sort of see why some may think it's quirky, hell even fun, but I certainly don't. It's a shame because the layout has some moments that could be decent, but it just isn't. The trains also have pointless OTSRs so that's always a negative. Reverchon only made one of these, long may it stay that way
This is a great powered coaster. Really good long layout with some nice helixes and some great interaction with the log flume. 2 lap special as well w...
This is a great powered coaster. Really good long layout with some nice helixes and some great interaction with the log flume. 2 lap special as well which is always good fun. Really comfortable trains as well, individual lap bars and tonnes of space even for tall riders. Very enjoyable ride
Speed is a seriously underappreciated coaster. Brilliant first drop that's very very intense, followed by the craziest ejector hill in the country, th...
Speed is a seriously underappreciated coaster. Brilliant first drop that's very very intense, followed by the craziest ejector hill in the country, the speed it goes over that is mad. The rest of the layout is good fun and really intense, definite grey out territory on the loop and finale helix. For a Eurofighter that's getting on a bit, it's still pretty smooth, particularly in the back row, with just one really bad jolt in the helix. The front is less comfortable for some reason but still a lot better than Saw the Ride. This and Megafobia give Oakwood a brilliant one-two and easily some of the best airtime going. A ride not to be missed!
Always enjoy these Tivolis with their crazy long trains and janky transitions, and the location right in the trees makes this one of the best ones. Al...
Always enjoy these Tivolis with their crazy long trains and janky transitions, and the location right in the trees makes this one of the best ones. Always good fun
I like that you get 3 laps. That's about all I can say about it other than its probably my most embarrassing cred. Not even sure it should count as a ...
I like that you get 3 laps. That's about all I can say about it other than its probably my most embarrassing cred. Not even sure it should count as a coaster but I will count it anyway. Still not the worst coaster at the park as long as Creepy Crawler is still there
Quite suddenly, Nemesis Inferno has become extremely intense, possibly even more intense than it's Alton Towers sister. The loop in particular is a gr...
Quite suddenly, Nemesis Inferno has become extremely intense, possibly even more intense than it's Alton Towers sister. The loop in particular is a grey out moment every time for me, either up into it on the front row or as you exit it on the back. The last 2 helixes are very intense too, a great finale to the ride. The pre-lift section is fantastic as well, particularly when the fog is working, a very unique start to a coaster. Unfortunately the other thing it's developed of late is a fairly strong rattle at the back of the train, particularly in between the corkscrews and the turn after the zero g roll. Not painful or anything, just irritating. Not so strong at the front though. Overall a strong ride for Thorpe Park and a decent example of the trademark compact B&M invert.
Standard Zyklon layout but very smooth and not too trimmed. First drop is fun, as is the helix, the rest of the layout doesn't do a whole lot though. ...
Standard Zyklon layout but very smooth and not too trimmed. First drop is fun, as is the helix, the rest of the layout doesn't do a whole lot though. The harness, whilst not uncomfortable, is rather unnecessary. Good fun though, and the lack of roughness and non-instant brakes help it out a lot. Always love a nice view of the sea and Southsea Esplanade as well
Rides like this have no right to be so fun, it's basically a wacky worm with an extra dip and spinning trains, but you get good spin on the back and t...
Rides like this have no right to be so fun, it's basically a wacky worm with an extra dip and spinning trains, but you get good spin on the back and the drop really yanks you, great pop of ejector airtime. Nice and smooth too and a lovely location on the seafront. Not a comfortable ride though, trains are very tight and that ejector is a bit painful with the hard plastic seats.
First DropInversionsIntensityCapacityHarnessDiscomfort
I came off Shockwave the first time and said I have no idea why I enjoyed that, but I did! There's no doubt that the restraints are very uncomfortable...
I came off Shockwave the first time and said I have no idea why I enjoyed that, but I did! There's no doubt that the restraints are very uncomfortable, and very awkward. There's no doubt that this plus only running 1 train means the dispatches take forever. There's no doubt it's short. And there's no doubt that the brakes hit so hard at the end that you see those who aren't expecting it fly forward into their big uncomfortable restraint, which must hurt a bit. But both rides I had were just great fun. For a nearly 30-year old ride, it runs surprisingly smoothly all the way round, the first drop is really good, and all 4 inversions are very intense and taken at a really good speed. The highlight being the zero g roll which is pretty crazy, but actually feels really well profiled. Not to mention how unique the ride is. Stand ups have long been out of fashion but I hope Drayton can keep it going for a while yet, and I actually hope it stays as a stand up rather than getting the floorless treatment. Just a great fun, unique ride and i'm very pleased I finally got to experience it
This is the perfect junior coaster. Themed to every kids favourite train book and show, and every adults favourite kids book and show, it could never ...
This is the perfect junior coaster. Themed to every kids favourite train book and show, and every adults favourite kids book and show, it could never lose really. But the layout of this ride is brilliant for what it is. Nice pre-lift section, then a fun helix that's taken with some good speed, before the highlight of the ride which is a snappy right turn into a hill which gives a nice little pop of air. Then you get the joy of going round again. Great family ride this!
This is the best of the family boomerangs i've done. Good fun layout with some fairly intense moments going forward. Nice view from the top as well, a...
This is the best of the family boomerangs i've done. Good fun layout with some fairly intense moments going forward. Nice view from the top as well, and the drop down is always fun on these. I still don't like Vekoma's lap bars, too bulky and not very generous if you're tall, but the seats are at least comfortable. Good fun ride
As a coaster, bar the second helix which is kinda fun, it's pointless. But the new vikings theme is great and the location by the lake is lovely as we...
As a coaster, bar the second helix which is kinda fun, it's pointless. But the new vikings theme is great and the location by the lake is lovely as well. The motors also make a great sound as they huff and puff the train round the layout
I like to call this Poundland The Ride. Anyone who's walked through a discount shop's Halloween aisle before will know what I mean. Lots and lots of t...
I like to call this Poundland The Ride. Anyone who's walked through a discount shop's Halloween aisle before will know what I mean. Lots and lots of tacky zombies dotted around, some not-so-special effects, and the 3 zombies in cages on the final brakes are particularly comical. Add to that the preshow which kills the capacity of the ride, very boring 10 mile walk from the preshow to the station, the equally long exit corridor, and the fact I don't care for the presence of scare actors, and it's safe to say I'm not a fan of the theme. It's a shame because I really enjoy the actual coaster, really smooth, some nicely paced turns, and I love the effect where the train stalls and appears to need restarting, that's very clever. I can only imagine how enjoyable it was as X, and how enjoyable it would be with an Imascore EDM soundtrack and a load of lasers and strobes, and the return of the corridors to the queue line they were designed to be. But unfortunately as long as it carries the WD theme it'll just remain Poundland The Ride to me
I will admit, the first time I rode Taron, I was just a bit underwhelmed. The ride was very good, and the whole area of Klugheim is amazing, but I did...
I will admit, the first time I rode Taron, I was just a bit underwhelmed. The ride was very good, and the whole area of Klugheim is amazing, but I didn't quite get the hype for it. This was early in the day, and i'd had a 90 minute wait in sweltering heat, so when I noticed later in the day that it had just reopened after downtime and only had a short queue, I had to give it another shot. And oh boy, did it blow me away. When people say Taron warms up, Taron really warms up! Both launches are superb, though the second really does hit, my second favourite launch only behind Stealth. Both halves of the layout have some amazingly whippy transitions, and there's 3 really strong moments of ejector airtime, which stand out even more because this isn't really an airtime layout. Even the trimmed hills at the end gave some nice floaty stuff, not as good as feeling like you're going to be thrown into a rock wall, but still fun. And even after a long ride, you still hit the brakes with some good speed. All of this whilst speeding round an incredible themed area, with numerous head choppers and even a little sprinkle from the waterfall at the end of the second launch. And Intamin's train design is one of the best ever, super comfortable and the lap bar really makes you feel exposed to what's happening. A truly spectacular coaster in a truly spectacular themed area, and don't forget, if like me you get off and it's missing that little something, go round again a few hours later. It will blow you away as well
I know what you're thinking: What makes a 30-year-old mack powered coaster so special that it gets 5 stars? Sure, it's a custom layout, has good inter...
I know what you're thinking: What makes a 30-year-old mack powered coaster so special that it gets 5 stars? Sure, it's a custom layout, has good interaction with the river rapids, and even has some nice theming, but really, 5 stars? Well, it's simply because the staff on this ride are the very best i've ever come across. Not just once or twice, but on every single ride, they're just brilliant. You get interactions aplenty, shoutouts, extra laps sometimes, plenty of choo choo action. It's not right that a 30-year-old mack powered coaster is that much fun for grown adults, but it's certainly always a highlight of a visit to Alton Towers
Completely standard wild mouse, with some nice mexico/western style theming. A few amusing props down in the queue, and plenty of sheds around the lay...
Completely standard wild mouse, with some nice mexico/western style theming. A few amusing props down in the queue, and plenty of sheds around the layout. It runs pretty fast too, not a lot of trimming most days. It's certainly not a comfortable ride though, the lap bars are bulky and very solid, meaning when you hit the instantaneous brakes you get thrown straight into them. And it's even worse if you're on your own in a row, where the centre bar is between your legs. Yeah, ouch. Capacity is also abysmal in a park which gets very busy. Kinda fun though, apart from the ball crushing
Of all the rides I've ridden, none have left me awestruck in quite the same way as FLY. Let alone doing so before I even rode it. The whole area of Ro...
Of all the rides I've ridden, none have left me awestruck in quite the same way as FLY. Let alone doing so before I even rode it. The whole area of Rookburgh is absolutely spectacular, walking down into the area off of the main street is like something out of a movie, and the whole area is as well. It's the little details for me, the smoke coming out of grates in the floor, the supports have extra pipework on them to fit in with everything else, i could go on and on and on. By far the best themed area I've ever seen. Once you've stood in awe for a few minutes, you can enter the pretty long queue line, where you get some amazing views of what you're about to ride, so I don't mind that it's so long. The locker system they operate is very intelligent, very easy to use, and it also adds to the whole idea of the AirRail company, check in the baggage, go through security etc. Then you enter the station, again amazingly themed, and board the very comfortable trains. Vekoma really knocked it out of the park with the loading system, and the way you transition from sitting to flying. You go through a short preshow section, still in seated position, until you reach the launch, where the train rotates, and then you're off. Both launches are very good, I do feel like the first had a little more kick though, it really gets going on there. You then enter a layout that is the absolute perfect balance between forceful and the enjoyable sensation of flying. And you really do feel like that, it's pretty incredible. You get a fantastic mix of positives, airtime (yes, airtime on a flying coaster, and it's good airtime too) and some slightly higher up parts where the train slows a little, and you get to look over the whole of Rookburgh. There's a few nice effects on the way round too. This coaster is pretty much perfect, and I really hope somewhere else gets a Vekoma flyer at some point because the whole ride system is exceptional. However, I really doubt any subsequent ones could top the masterpiece that is F.L.Y.
I don't much enjoy these family boomerang rides, the trains are pretty cramped for the taller person, and the backwards bit never agrees with me much....
I don't much enjoy these family boomerang rides, the trains are pretty cramped for the taller person, and the backwards bit never agrees with me much. However Raik gets points for continuing the areas spectacular theming, and for it's interaction with Taron. Also credit to the park for installing a decent family coaster as well as their flagship thrill ride. One and done, but at least it looks great. On a quiet day, you may also get lucky and go round twice. Never seen a boomerang operate like that, so fair play to them!
