CGM

Here's your washing machine, or dryer, as the case may be: Nope, that's a washing machine. In the UK we don't tend to go for top-loading models, they're extremely rare here. Also, I don't think this video has been posted yet which has some excellent footage from opening day: All credit to Alton Towers Memories.

It doesn't. But you posted the argument, so what's your point? If you have one... My point is that it's not a traditional woodie as you suggested in your report and that I think it should be embraced as a modern and exciting new take on the wooden coaster. However, I'm not in the "El Toro is a steel coaster and shouldn't be on the Mitch Hawker wood poll" club. I'm just debating over the technicalities of what is a "traditional" woodie.

I wouldn't call it a traditional woodie at all, the manufacturing techniques for the track are a massive departure from the norm. It's true that wooden coasters normally run on sheet steel but they're nailed to wooden laminates which are glued on site. The steel acts to protect the wooden track beneath and to provide a low friction surface to run on, it's not really very structurally important. In the case of Outlaw Run, the entire top layer of track track is a pre-fabricated steel box section. This requires vastly different manufacturing techniques and a whole different set of skills to make. It's far more rigid than a wooden laminated top layer and will add a lot of strength to the track. It will also stay smoother for longer than a traditional woodie. I think you would really struggle to perform some of the elements that Outlaw Run has with traditional laminated track. Personally, I don't see why it's so important that it's seen as a traditional wooden coaster. As long as the coaster's awesome, why does it matter? I don't see Intamin woodies as traditional but it doesn't mean they're not great.

As someone who has actually ridden Shambhala, I think it's fully deserving of its high ranking. I preferred it to Nemesis but would put it behind Expedition GeForce, so these results reflect my opinion quite nicely. I think it's worth saying that I didn't expect Shambhala to be that great at all. Having ridden Silverstar and finding it forceless and boring I was expecting more of the same, but Shambhala pleasantly surprised me. It's not an intense coaster as such but the first drop lasts forever and the amount of sustained floater airtime it offers is incredible. And for people that say that B&M don't do ejector airtime, the speed hill has it in spades. Shambhala is like a refined cocktail of airtime. An Intamin coaster such as EGF is more like a hard spirit. If you don't go for cocktails, that's fine but that doesn't mean the people that do are wrong to do so. In any case, I'd recommend riding it before passing judgement, it definitely surprised me.

Furius Baco I'd heard mostly terrible reviews of the ride and I was expecting to be shaken to death and for it to be awful. It turned out to be one of my favourite coasters. The launch was fantastic and there's no other coaster I've been on that can match it for intensity. It just feels so much faster than anything else. I had no issues with roughness at all and I was genuinely shocked at how good it was. I suppose we got lucky getting seats in the front row. I hear it's further back that you get the vibration issues.

1. Balder 2. Expedition GeForce 3. Shambhala 4. Nemesis 5. Grand National 6. Dragon Khan 7. Furius Baco 8. Swarm 9. The Ultimate 10. Dæmonen

These are all of the launch coasters I've ridden best to worst: Furius Baco - I got the inside front seat and I have never ridden such a relentless coaster. The launch feels so much more intense than the stats suggest and the incredible sense of speed doesn't let up until it hits the brakes. It's just a shame that it can only be enjoyed in the front row. Rita - A very solid coaster. Great launch, nice pops of ejector air. It's one of the few rocket coaster with a proper layout following the launch even if it is a bit on the short side. I think it could be improved a lot if lapbars were introduced though. Kanonen - Its launch is more of a sharp push but it's so compact and twisty, it provides a ride like no other coaster. Stealth - It packs a punch and it has great views but it's just too short. Particularly if you've just queued an hour and a half for it. All you get is a launch, a top hat and half an airtime hill. Rock n' Rollercoaster (DLP) - Proof that Vekomas in the dark are a great idea. Velocity - It's bearable in the first few rows but towards the back, you will be rattled to death. Space Mountain: Mission 2 - Proof that Vekomas in the dark are a terrible idea.

I highly doubt they are looking for a US park and there was nothing in that article to indicate as such (unless something was lost in the translation). Efteling is very much a European park and I don't think that a European style park would work in the US market just as Six Flags demonstrated that US style parks don't work in Europe (Mind you, they can't seem to get their US parks to do too well either). I would expect them to be looking at parks in Northern Europe although none spring to mind that are being offered up for sale. However there are a number of parks over here such as Camelot who are struggling, hopefully they'll set up shop in the UK. We could do with some decent theming

Wow! Those maps are insanely detailed. I don't know how you can draw so precisely. This is one of the maps I've done. It's hand drawn but I coloured it on my PC. The park isn't huge. It only has 8 rides if you count the slides and the funicular and in real life it probably wouldn't keep you entertained that long but I couldn't fit any more onto the paper

I don't know about anyone else, but when I read "gliding experience", I immediately thought of this. http://www.rcdb.com/ig3457.htm?picture=10 Could it be that perhaps the flyer's just wishful thinking? I think it's a bit much to automatically assume that it will be a flyer just because of one word in the description. If seaworld are getting a Mountain Glider, I would hope that they've done something about the capacity

I went to Diggerland about a week ago and it's great. In fact I enjoyed it so much, I'll probably be back this weekend. That digger-based ride is insane, it is the most home made feeling ride ever but it's actually pretty good. The op spins you round in huge circles facing the ground then does a drop sequence or two where get some pretty good air. The best thing about it is that you're facing the op the whole time so they can see your reactions and psyc you out You can read a photo trip report I did of Diggerland on Towers Times here There's a video of the digger bucket ride on Youtube

Audi R8 A Carver 1 (Who doesn't secretly want one of these?) Aston Martin DB9 A Discovery 3 And this

Yes, I love Smart cars. To some Americans , you probably won't get them at all because you're used to your SUVs that take up 2 and a half lanes and do 0.5 miles to the gallon. If you were European, you'd understand that small cars are cool, and the epitome of small cars is the Smart car. In fact, over here big American cars aren't viewed in the best favour as they're just seen as pointless wastes of money as they are generally terrible, terrible cars. Why waste money on something like a Lincoln Navigator which is ugly, expensive, guzzles fuel, can't offroad and handles like an oil tanker when you could buy something much cheaper, more practical and just better. In terms of practicality, the Smart's about as practical as it gets. It's cheap, has low feul consumption and so is cheap to own, easy to park and despite what some are saying has adequate boot space. If you only need two seats in your car, why would you need the boot space of an SUV? It's also brilliant for city driving as it can sneak through little gaps and (with the old model at least) can be parked sideways-on. As for looks, it is by no means an ugly car. Although I prefer the old design, it's still much prettier than 99% of what comes out of the states. (Although it seems that Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge are finally getting their act together). Anyway, that's my view of the car. So if I were you, I wouldn't care what other people think of it, if you think it's the car for you, then go for it

Yes, that is quite worrying, looks like some guy came along with a circular saw and helped himself to a chunk of track. I hope that they get that sorted out but knowing Cedar Fair...

Yes but if the person in front of you gets the last cheeseburger, you can't tap them on the shoulder and say, "Hey the cheeseburger provides the best eating experience, as a burger enthusiast, I am entitled to take this from you as it is clearly wasted on you, member of the General Public." It sounds stupid in that context but that's what some people try to do when it comes to coasters