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Hi @Matt N, I was wondering if you're settling in to Uni a little more now, or if you're still getting used to things? What are you studying? I can completely understand the sudden change from the 'school structure' you get at 6th form in to a more "sort yerself out" kind of situation at uni. I went to College rather than 6th form, which I think set me up really well for Uni, better than 6th form ever could have done. Without doing College however I think I would have found starting Uni similar to you to begin with, and I know that a lot of my friends who came from 6th form felt the same as you. It's A LOT to get used to isn't it, it's all very different to school. I hope it's settled down now though and you're starting to enjoy it? I think if I could give you any advice at all from my experience, it would be to ask the staff for help with things. Be bold, and approach them directly - this is kind of a life hack I've taken with me in to work - just ask and I bet they'll be happy to help! Don't forget, you're paying them for this. If you don't ask, you don't get to remember that you absolutely deserve to be there, and you absolutely deserve to enjoy yourself. You've clearly worked really hard to get your place at Uni, doing the subject you wanted to do. despite what people might tell you while you're there, most employers don't give a damn if you get a 1st. Getting a degree is really hard - which lets face it, is kind of the point! Nobody ever gets 100% on any assignment, that's impossible, just give it your best shot and be proud of what you're achieving! The fact you have been passing your assignments is REALLY good! You're on track to get a degree, that's an amazing achievement! What I'll also say though is this.. Someone I went to Uni with dropped out in the first year, and he now has a collection of incredible cars and runs a web design company employing multiple staff... If you're really not enjoying Uni, if it's not for you, then it's not for you - that's ok! Most of my colleagues at work didn't go to Uni, and here we are in the same position as each other. Ugh.. I've rambled...... Be happy Matt. That's more important than anyone likes to say Look after yourself and do what's right for you, not anyone else.

Apologies for the double post..... One more argument in favour of a "thrill park".. No matter how much a Theme Park invests, realistically they don't change that much, do they? If I look back to my childhood, many of the rides I enjoyed as a kid are still at the parks today. Which is great by the way, but bear with me..... One of the good things about Merlin's 3 park cluster near London is that they keep theme park visits suitable and 'fresh' for many years. For example... You'd take your young kids to Legoland for a few years, and get to know the place, ride everything. That's great. Then as the kids get slightly older, Chessington is just down the road. Again, an entire 'new' park to experience for a few years. After a while the kids will want to go on some bigger rides, well... Thorpe is right there next door, and once again offer's a full park of 'new' attractions to ride. A new park to experience every few years! If for example all 3 parks offered a range of thrill and "family" rides, that would be great too, however might guests feel they're always going back to the same places after a few years? I think it's a really nice way for kids/families to have something different to visit every few years rather than keep going back to the same places. You can't beat that "first time in a park" feeling, and that's what kids get with Merlin's London 3.

I think this is a really interesting point, and I agree. I must admit for a few years I did have the opinion that a "family park" would attract people with more money to spend... I always thought that teens and young adults would spend less, and families more.. But now I've got a little Inferno myself.. I'm not actually sure that's the case. I'd estimate I might actually have less disposable income than ever - even back when I worked part time in Starbucks I had more disposable income, and wouldn't think twice about filling up the car and heading to Thorpe every other week, buying lunch and merch there etc.. When little Inferno (I guess I'm going with this now) is old/tall enough we'll definitely head to the appropriate parks, but I can't see we're going to have the money to buy food and merch there very often. Tickets alone will be a budget-blower to be honest with you, and I imagine many others are in a similar position to me. (I know there will be many families with loads to spend, just from my perspective) Anyway... ahem, TANGENT. I agree - I don't see the issue with having a "thrill park" actually. Yes, having a mixture of attractions (like Towers) will attract a wider audience, but they've proven that targeting 'thrill hunters' works. 2009ish was an unbelievable success for them. I don't think Thorpe's problems are that they don't attract enough families. I think the problems are a) the fact it's a bit of a sh** hole... (the "no drugs, our rides are thrilling enough!" sign above the entrance says it all) b) the lack of investment, meaning the "young people" aren't as compelled to book and travel there like they were when there was a new ride. --- It will be interesting to see what effect the energy crisis and cost of living increases have on this situation actually. I expect the traditionally expensive 'family day out' (Legoland / Chessington / etc) might be affected, meanwhile Thorpe with their new coaster might still attract a lot of teenagers who might still live with parents or shared housing etc.

Agree Derren is still very popular in terms of his theatre shows, and I myself am a fan of his. Just not "his Ghost Train" - even at the time though, I don't think Dezza was very "target audience" at Thorpe. The Black Mirror IP is similarly questionable - is there even going to be a new series on Netflix? Could they not have just had that experience but tied it into the Smiler, their own - very successful - IP? Bit of cross park promotion? I do wonder who makes these decisions and hopefully the reliance on short-lived IPs will be a thing of the past (#PrayForExodus) - don't get me wrong, IPs like CBeebies land work perfectly and are spot on, but with the exception of SAW, I would say every ride/area based IP at Thorpe has been questionable at best.

The IPs baffle me to be honest. Thorpe's ones are all so embarrisingly dated now... Actually I'm sure all of them are completely dead in the water now aren't they? Why do they keep paying for them? (I assume they're still paying for them? Who knows). The latest major attraction being "themed around" a magician from years gone by is just bonkers isn't it. Do many of the younger guests even know who he is anymore? Angry Birds is the worst offender for me though. I realise that it's is arguably "still going" to some extent, but really Angry Birds was only a big deal back in 2009. That was 13 years ago... That means all the teenagers at the park were 5 years old or younger when Angry Birds was "a thing". Madness. I'd love to see the back of the IPs at Thorpe. Saw I think still stands up because the ride has almost become Saw, rather than the other way around, but the rest are just so outdated it's hopeless. Was there some beef here or something? 🤔

Quick update, maths at uni has been so much better than civil engineering. So glad I made the switch 😄

I just wanted to praise the way Nemesis Inferno looks at night during Fright Nights this year. The mist was fully working at the weekend with a new orange light in the queueline, it looks incredible and the best I've seen it look after dark for years. The ride itself was running very well by the evening, by far and away the best coaster experience at Thorpe in my opinion.

Had a pretty miserable time at Towers this week. Things feel like they are sliding. The retro squad were bought in to help capacity but in actual fact they are now just replacements for Enterprise and Hex which for all intents and purposes have passed away. Thirteen was running the best I've seen it for about five years with three trains, all seats full and staff working hard. Can't say that for a lot of rides. Smiler was a nightmare and I'm questioning in myself whether I will ever bother with it again. I love the ride but operationally it blows and there's only so much patience I have with it. There was a distinct lack of energy across the resort. Slipping standards. We got a lovely upgrade at ATH because our apparent room wasn't passing health and safety (Whatever that means). So we got upgraded to the Smiler room. Yay. It was a bit dirty with dust and the sheets had marks on them. The complimentary water from the previous guests wasn't replaced so we lost that perk. The shower was awful to use, stiff. Definitely not worth £500 a night. Nemesis was amazing. With it being closed all of 2023 I won't be visiting Towers next year. Without its star ride and so many operational issues, Towers really has a lot to do to turn around the decay.