It will feature a world record 125 degree first drop!

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More details will be posted as they arrive but from what I can gather from the information so far, it will mostly be for Holiday Village guests, however there are said to be daytime activities for all.

From now until the end of the season, the ride will only be operating on weekends, a move which has been made by the park to save money on running and staffing costs. Surprisingly though, the ride has been given new seatbelts which the park hope will help attract a buyer.

I’m not so sure anyone would want to buy a ride that when operating you can hear from three counties away!

Firstly, the removals! We will be seeing the end of Flamingo Land’s biggest cause of noise polution, Tidal Wave! It hasn’t been running too great for a long time now and I think now is the best time to get rid of it! There is also a possibility that Sky Flyer will be leaving the park but that one isn’t a definite just yet and more than likely depends on what the park can get to replace it.

Right, the new additions! The type hasn’t been confirmed yet, but we will be seeing the park’s 8th coaster arrive in 2009. A woodie, a spinner, an el loco? I’m not fussed which we get but hopefully it will be something a bit special.

In typical Flamingo Land style, they wont only cater for thrill seeker but families as well, which is why we will also be seeing a new childrens ride in the form of either an S&S Pirates Plunge or a Junior Swing.

Owner of Flamingo Land, Gordon Gibb has also been spotted looking around Slammer at Thorpe Park so there is a slight possiblity we will also be seeing that type of ride at the park in 2009.

So things are shaping up to be quite impressive, lets hope we aren’t disappointed!

The acrobats themselves are fantastic, I don’t have one bad word to say against their performances but the one thing that lets the show down is the stage! It is pretty much just a thatched summer house and I think if the park spent a little money and used some imagination, it could become one of the best theme park shows in the UK!

I’m thinking something along the lines of the Polynesian show at Portaventura (Photo below) where the actors look like they really belong in their surroundings! Plenty of fire effects, maybe some live bongo playing and Flamingo Land would have a show that would be pretty hard to beat!

The problem that seems to be occuring quite a lot is the confirmation letter not generating and users being left with a blank screen, leaving them panicking that they have paid but wont be allowed to enter the park!

If this does happen to you, just take the booking reference with you and there should be no problems getting in.

Flamingo Land do have a new team in to manage the future of the websites so hopefully the problem will be solved with them some time soon.

Wild Mouse’s footprint isn’t huge, far too small for a good rapids ride at least so if anything, it could only really be replaced by one of those travelling stlye rapids rides that always look terrible. The only way around it would be to extend the ride into the holiday village, which I can’t see happening.

Another reason I can’t see this one happening is because Wild Mouse was only refurbished in the closed season, has been repainted and has received some new theming. Why would the park bother doing that if they thought it could be leaving?

I think chances of this rumour becoming a reality are slim to none, although I would like to see a rapids ride somewhere in the park in the future. Only if it was to be a highly themed ride though.

Nothing has been confirmed as yet, but there are several possibilities that have been leaked and with 2008 being relatively quiet with regards to major attractions, I think we can expect something a little bigger in the new season.

How does a new coaster sound? Well there’s a good chance that’s what we will be getting! In what shape and form is something that only time will tell but there are four possible options that have been mentioned.

A Woodie is something that has been in the pipeline for a while now and will no doubt happen at some point. Could 2009 be the year it finally comes? I’m not so sure. It’s probably a little too early for it but until confirmation that it isn’t coming arrives, I want to believe it will.

A Vekoma Splash Party has also been proposed as an attraction for the highly successful Splosh area of the park. This type of ride would compliment Splash Battle, because riders of this coaster also have water guns to aim at the people below. Would it clutter the area too much though? Splosh is already an extremely wet area and I think more water being fired everywhere would probably be a little too much, especially for a park in North Yorkshire where it rains more than the sun shines. I’m hoping this isn’t the one the park go with.

A Maurer Söhne Spinning Coaster almost came in 2007 but plans were changed at the last minute. Why they were changed I don’t know but in my opinion, it would be the perfect ride for the park. This type of ride is so much fun for both families and thrill seekers and is something the park is really missing at the moment. If plans were resumed for next season, I would be one very happy enthusiast.

An El Loco is the final coaster possibility that we know about. Like the spinner, it is a fantastic ride for everyone but is more of a daring attraction, as it features many different inversions that might put younger visitors off. It’s a coaster that would need some pretty impressive theming for it to look more than a mess of steel though. Are Flamingo Land capabale of doing that? Well, you only need to look at the Lost Kingdom area to find the answer to that one. El Loco is another attraction I would be more than happy with and one that would no doubt pull in the crowds, probably even more so than Velocity and Kumali did.

I have high hopes for the park in 2009 and am confident something great is on its way but only time will tell.

Personally, I have probably been one of the worst culprits for being negative about the park. My experiences in the last couple of seasons have dampened my spirit, even though the park keep pushing their own boundaries with new attractions. The problem is, whilst great new rides do attract more visitors, they are not what make the day special, not for me at least.

I leave a theme park feeling like I’ve had a great day when something new has happened, something I wasn’t expecting. This hasn’t happened at Flamingo Land, it has just been same old same old! What could make that though? Well entertainment always works well and Flamingo Land aren’t short on good shows. They have the bird show, the sealion show, the Professor Bubble’s show and my favourite, the Bongo Warriors show. The problem comes when like me, you have seen them over and over for the last few years. What would really make my day special is entertainment that isn’t planned. Something like street entertainers walking around the park and interacting with guests. That would be fantastic and very memorable.

So what exactly has made me become so negative? It isn’t just the lack of entertainment, but the lack of customer service the park offer. Slow ride loading, swearing in front of families and pretty much staff not being one bit interested in helping the guests enjoy their day are all things that seem to be regular occurrences at the park. That is what has broken my spirit.

However, look at what the park are doing. They are adding fantastic new rides every year and working on other areas in the park on top of that. Not everything can be improved instantly, so I’m confident that in time, customer service will become a priority and staff will learn that some things just aren’t acceptable.

So despite the negativity, the future at Flamingo Land is still looking very bright and I’m looking forward to what they have up their sleeves next!

Over the next few days, the three blogs will be open to the public so we can get your input and ideas whilst we test things and make sure everything is working how it should be before we officially launch.

If you do have any feedback or come across any errors, please use the comment feature below to let me know so that I can get any problems fixed as quickly as possible.

For Flamingo Land enthusiasts, I hope to see you all become regular readers and contributers over the coming weeks and months as we bring you the latest park news and rumours, with a few ideas and personal opinions along the way.