The big hope that that this variant is more infectious but much milder, meaning it takes over and provides enough background immunity to end the pandemic whilst minimising lives lost.

This America holiday keeps getting put further and further back...

If it's taller than the Pepsi Max, that would make it the worlds first RMC with a drop over 63m wouldn't it? Doesn't some checking and it seems that 62-63m is the drop height of a surprisingly large number of coasters, I wonder if there's a specific reason for that.

Thorpe Park have started the planning applications for a new coaster which looks to be on the site of Loggers Leap. They've been handing out leaflets for it. This is possibly a website for it but... a big company using Wix for domain registration and hosting? https://www.thorpepark-consultation.com/...

I'm genuinely interested in the sound of that river caves thing. I love the terribleness of that ride (and the weirdly steep lift hill that makes you struggle to stay in the seats).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-uSCaAT_7I This song will always remind me of a childhood holiday at Blackpool Pleasure Beach when they had this and other 90s dance tunes playing loudly on their radio station during the evening, going on the rides past sunset, then walking back to the Bed and Break...

It's higher capacity than The Rattlesnake at least but it is a bit of a concern for what's likely to be a showpiece ride that everyone will want to go on. Two kids flats nearby is probably a hint that they're expecting big queues and providing something to do for kids who can't/won't go on it. It's ...

Confirmation of an inline twist.

Remains a really strange design. launched family wing coaster with a relatively flat layout that has an inversion.

I guess that means Merlin now consider that there's a likelihood the project will happen at least.

The real motive behind the objections are comically transparent though.

Read good things about Flight of the Sky Lion, apparently it's much more vigorous than Soarin is so sounds like it'll be good fun. I have no doubt it'll have the biggest queues in the park but at least it should help ease off the queues throughout the park. Now we've a flying theatre in the UK, we j...

Spiderman blew me away the first time I rode it. Not sure we'll ever see another leap forward in dark ride tech again

They can't check the age of a small child so you can just tell fibs if asked. Be very careful skirting age restrictions though. They're there for reasons other than size. The younger a kid is, the less they're able to tell that a coaster may be scary and if they panic they could try to wriggle out o...

What looks to be a tame family coaster but with an inversion is interesting, not sure I've ever seen it attempted (plenty of mild coasters with loops or inline twists but it's usually done to ensure that the coaster definitely isn't seen as a family coaster.

The new land looks great, seems like it's getting a lot of positive buzz which is good, hope it proves to be a good investment.

Definitely considering a trip.

That Retrosquad theme is seriously good, Final Countdown meets Hall of the Mountain King.

Might be a bit at odds with the Mardi Gras event...

Hope they can get some ride operators who're able to have some fun and interact with the riders like you get at some fairs.

It's good having some crowd soaks and hopefully they'll have some 'all age ranges' flats too (as most of the rides they closed were those types). Hope there's at least one Waltzer or breakdance ride. In the previous lockdown easing I simply couldn't justify going to the park with family as there wer...

The logo's still terrible but the theming having you launch out of a stone crocodile with jade teeth is neat.

They could have easily have filled in the Ramses Revenge pit, plonked on the drop tower and called it a day so it's good to see them taking care with the theming.

Still won't get my hopes up until there's real building work going but the 2nd gate thing does explain the weird layout with rollercoasters way off to the left. My guess is a park aimed at smaller children. The designs in general are definitely at a stage where it feels they could start building. It...

Patent for a Legend of Zelda boat ride shows a fairly interesting flying boat concept: https://www.themeparx.com/universal-orlando-expansion/?p=24818#post24818 Not too sold on it. Rhino Rally did a hybrid boat ride (albeit with a car) and suffered from reliability issues, this seems like it'd be muc...

Guardians of the Galaxy progressing nicely, despite the cutbacks most other places: They're now testing with vehicles: https://wdwnt.com/2020/11/photos-first-look-at-guardians-of-the-galaxy-cosmic-rewind-push-pull-tests-at-epcot/ There's also pics of the track: https://wdwnt.com/2020/11/photos-first...