Is it just me or has there been a gradual trend towards actually good family coasters of late? Of course Disney lead the way: we had Seven Dwarfs Mine Train back in 2014, and more recently the Frozen themed Wandering Oaken's Sliding Sleighs but I've noticed other attractions are following suit. LEGOLAND Windsor Resort here in the UK just opened the actually-really-fun-for-a-kids-coaster Minifigure Speedway, Drayton Manor are opening a 'launched family thrill coaster' at some point this year and even Universal have given some TLC to their Vekoma junior coaster as part of their Dreamworks land ..read more

As much as a lot of my love for theme parks is rooted in childhood nostalgia, I've personally never been one of those enthusiasts who pines for the 'good old days' whenever a park dares to remove an older attraction in favour of adding something more up to date and new. I absolutely appreciate a classic attraction, but I also understand that parks have a finite amount of space, and I'd much rather something exciting and new to enjoy rather than watching something rot into an almost unrecognisable version of its former self.  But, despite my praise of innovation and new product developmen ..read more

Having returned from yet another visit to my favourite theme park in the world, Phantasialand, I am once again reeling at the near perfection of the place. In a world where a lot of theme parks are derivative and either stacked with IP or take 'inspiration' from one another, every time I leave I am blown away at just how special and unique Phantasialand is. The place oozes originality and works to inspire awe from in every facet, from immersive hotel experiences to coasters that are equal parts thrilling and themed - it really does have it all.  Or does it? Often I am blinkered by my fan ..read more

Another year, and a fresh horizon of brand new coasters and theme parks to get out there and explore. Usually I love January for that very reason as it's an opportunity to cosy up and get stuck into trip planning, but between going away for New Year's, getting engaged, celebrated Sam's birthday, getting my car fixed and heading to Phantasialand this weekend, I feel like I haven't had time to stop, let alone sit down and map out what the year ahead looks like. Until now, I suppose. There's also a lot on the horizon for us in 2024, so the reality is I don't know which of these trips will actual ..read more

Going into 2023 was a weird one for me. Exhausted from the intense ridiculousness that was a yeqr of epic travel across the USA & Europe in 2022, I knew I was never going to top it for variety and breadth of experience. I'd usually enter each year with a stringent plan of what I'd like to do, where I'd like to visit and what new creds I'd like to get on for the year ahead, to the point of militancy and making myself ill trying to make it happen, or worse being absolutely distraught if plans fell through. I entered 2023 with an eerie calm, a blank canvas of possible trips awaited and for o ..read more

Our second haunt of the weekend last week took us to the excellent FEAR Scream Park, located in the South West of the UK just outside of Bristol. This was my third time visiting this event, with two new attractions since I last darkened their doorways back in 2021 so I was very excited to see how things had changed in just a few short years.  Similarly to Tulley's Shocktoberfest, FEAR has a very 'music festival' vibe in its setup - with the entire park itself dotted with pop up bars, streetfood and bonfires giving the whole place that delicious crisp Octobery smell throughout the whole e ..read more

It's spooky season once again, and once again I find my October weekends jam-packed with the biggest and best scare attractions the UK has to offer, so of course we were heading back to Dr.Frights Halloween Nights! Conveniently located just outside Northampton, Dr.Frights has long been one of my all time favourite UK haunts - purely for the atmosphere of pure terror and chaos they're able to create inside a humble marquee in the grounds of a Northampton garden centre. Their creativity never ceases to impress me and it's very clear that the creative minds behind the event love horror movies as ..read more

As far as this crazy hobby of ours goes, I think it's fair to say I've been doing this for a loooong time now, and for me I've always felt like Halloween and scare events go hand in hand with theme park enthusiasm. I love spooky stuff all year around, but try to keep visiting scare attractions as something 'special' to do in October, and as such it's something I look forward to year in, year out. I've been actively visiting parks as an enthusiast since I was 14, and I visited my first scare event when I was 16 - namely Thorpe Park Fright Nights, and that visit had me hooked for life. We have ..read more

Once again the most spookiest time of year is upon us and I am so ready to get my scare on across some incredible 2023 UK Halloween events! As we treated ourselves to a spooky little jaunt to Orlando a few weeks ago I sadly won't be travelling to Europe for any spooky fun over there this season, but I'll instead be focussing my efforts on experiencing as much of what the UK has to offer as my calendar (and bank balance) will allow! Between Halloween season staples, revisiting attractions I've neglected over the past few years and trying out some new-for-me haunts I cannot wait to see what t ..read more

It's a theme park enthusiast discussion that's been ongoing since the dawn of time (aka the early 2000s on coaster nerd forums): park announces a new ride, releases concept art, maybe an animated visual or POV, and before the place has even had a chance to drill a support into the ground there's replies from enthusiasts complaing how it looks slow, or short, or poorly paced, or not exactly what they specifically would like to see from the park.  And it's one that's always baffled me. Having ridden my fair share of rides, as I'm sure many of you have, I will never understand the blind con ..read more