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Had a great day at Thorpe today! Queues were 5-30 minutes for most of the day for the main rides and the all the main coasters were on two trains! Stacking is still present on Colossus and a tad on Swarm, though it seemed much better than last time. I think after 3 rides on Saw today I have to say I think the Saw team deserve a medal, the batches were lightning quick and the queue moved really damn fast. All of the main coasters didn't break down/close throughout the day despite the horrible rain, overall very impressed.

How the tables have turned......

I understand that BPB have once again taken the decision to close two hours earlier than advertised today, due to weather. Their attitude frankly stinks and they aren't deserving of increased gate figures when they show such disregard for the paying customer. They never ever learn.

I did enjoy The Walking Dead: The Ride. However, I didn't appreciate the loss of X, a decent family coaster, to enable this coaster to exist. It's a big shame as it was one of the most light-hearted rides there. I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with the horror themes, but just not at the expense of a good family coaster. I actually had a go at designing a new 'Walking Dead' ride for the park myself, seeing what it could be like if it were a new coaster and not a retheme of X:

This is something I posted on a FB chat page, but thought I'd share here for your thoughts as well: I have mixed feelings on DBGT. In its favour it is unique and a do mostly enjoy it. However I feel there is lost potential. Its biggest issue though is narrative and immersion. The ride chops and changes what the theme and story of the ride actually is. Here is how the ride pans out. 1. Derren introduction makes it explicit you're preparing for a theme park ride. 2. You see the hanging carriage with a Victorian theme, suggesting a time period to be immersed in... 3. ...which is immediately undermined by making carriage modern inside. I know this was deliberate, but it begs the question what's the point? Illusion for illusion's sake. You go from modern (Thorpe) to Victorian (hanging carriage) to modern again! 4. The first VR section is consistent with the carriage and the story continues as a modern 'ghost train' 5. The middle section is also consistent and keeps with the modern story... 6...but suddenly the final VR section is now showing park guests with headsets, making it explicit that you're on a ride again. It's hard to be immersed in a rise which veers between being: A. Victorian B. Modern C. A ride invaded by monsters. The twist that the carriage is modern inside and old outside is not terrible, but surely that's the wrong way around for interesting theming? To use a different theoretical example, imagine that you had another dark ride which had a modern themed queue and the station was themed to pirates. The ride then starts and magically transports you back to modern for the rest of the ride. Guests wouldn't be going "wow, what a twist", they'd wonder what happened. Turn that the other way around, and have a modern station but the ride takes you back in time to see Pirates, that is a bit more interesting, right? I get the logic in the train changing from modern / Victorian. However, theme parks are at their core about transporting you to 'the other' (so a different theme / time / place. What is seemingly backwards about DBGT is that the queue is 'modern' with mentions of fracking, then the carriage is 'Victorian', but then we're magically transported back to the time period we started off in! It's a bit backwards. This is why I feel that a simple switch from a modern and abandoned tube carriage with a Victorian interior would be more 'magical' and therefore more interesting. It takes guests to a new place, where the current ride takes you super briefly to a Victorian carriage before taking you back to modern immediately. Here is my proposal: 1. You start in Thorpe Park in an abandoned warehouse = modern 2. You see the hanging carriage which is now a modern tube train. The story is now that the train has been experimented on for paranormal purposes. 3. You step on board and now it's Victorian. You've been taken back in time by the mysterious carriage, and the ghosts are after you! 4. Events pan out as they did before but all in a consistent Victorian theme and plenty of ghosts. The second VR section omits the headsets on other virtual people. 5. The shop ending remains the same, because it's the best bit of the current ride. I'm obviously not suggesting the is is viable to change the carriages now...but it's how I'd have done it with the same ride system. What are your thoughts?

Running very well too - did it a few times tonight, top swing vortex is still one of Thorpes top flats!

I've been getting into photography recently so obviously Ive taken loads of pictures of rides because I'm a geek.

Walking Dead - I actually really liked X but the theming for TWD:TR is different league, it’s the first time the things had a full transformation since the beginning and I think they exceeded the expectations of most!

It's no good for people who travel a long way to visit and base their visits from the opening hours; for example, I travel hours to visit so will choose times where the opening hours are more appealing. To lose 2 hours ride time with nothing offered in return is, for me, a complete no-go. Regarding staff, I hardly think that losing 2 hour's wages will improve morale - quite the opposite in fact. I've never known any other UK park operate like this.