Marc

Inferno certainly isn't ready, there's scaffolding around the track in some places!

Because id assume market research concluded that some people are happy to pay less upfront for a pass which is subject to restrictions - its not like Merlin are the only ones, disney do something similar (https://disneyland.disney.go.com/passes/) Six flags have a pass which don't include parking and Cedar Fair offer a Platinum pass which offers benefits over the standard one.

Why? Why should someone who choses to pay less for a standard pass get the benefit of what someone who pays extra to get a premium pass?

Thing is they have to be consistent, they charge pass holders an event fee for fight nights / summer nights so it makes sense to charge for this too. I do think it would be good id Merlin standardised this across the parks though, either way, just to avoid any confusion.

Yep same rules as usual.

Thing is, 10 years ago the park was coming to the end of what was years on continuous investment which was realistically never going to continue at the pace it was But going to your list - I think some (not all) of them are possibly a bit harsh though.. 2007 - Agree more could of and should have been done - it looked ok with the pools / sand till that was all removed. Could be improved with little cost. 2008 - Agreed 2009- Yep 2010 - Wouldn't say it was a flop, whilst it was clearly short team it complemented Saw and the park during its busiest times 2011 - Agree 2012 - Very weird one - not the rides fault IMO but a good solid reliable coaster - probably exactly what the park needed - I'm sure its still not had a whole day closed?! 2013 - Again weird one - Crash Pad was a cheap hotel but is pretty unique and obviously gets good feedback 2014 - Think Shark Hotel is an improvement - it has more identity to it is quirky and added more rooms, was often fully booked so people must like it? Angry birds land - opened up an otherwise dead part of the park (amity was already pretty split to be fair!) and added much needed family / indoor attractions. 2015 - I think will be a good addition in a obviously low budget year - another needed indoor / family attraction. Is the IP bad? Everyone knows of IAC and sounds like it will add a pretty unique compared twist compared to normal horror mazes we get. Have high hopes for 2016 still and looking forward to seeing that progress.

I do somewhat agree that Merlin should standardise these kind of things across all its theme parks.

That's really what this comes down too. You cant expect to buy a standard pass and get the same perks as the more expensive premium one.

No, the shows part of your entry into the park

Surely (in theory) then virtual wait should be the same as any physical wait. During trials any virtual waits only hit such high lengths because the standby queue was still there - so they couldnt allocate the rides true throughput numbers to the system, if they were to try this without a standby queue theres no reason the virtual waits wouldnt reflect what the normal physical wait would be.

Why would the park continue to invest money and resources into this if it was as bad as you make out? I'm sure they have a much better idea of where they are with this that you imply.

I Maybe wrong but I'm sure I saw it stated somewhere! Maybe Twitter.

No idea how they will know - but if you are caught and thrown out you wouldnt have much argument against it.

The park have made it clear if caught doing that you could be removed from the park for queue jumping though.

I think if it was to be used long term on more than a trial basis it would certainly link up with a paper system.

Even my Gran has a smart phone.. literally. But thankfully they thought of that with the ticketed system!

Believe that is correct - and I doubt Saw is far from 1000pph either.

https://www.thorpepark.com/tickets-passes/reserve-n-ride/overview/- This page states it will be back next year, on the top 5 coasters.

Can't see it making a difference - rides have already been testing and will almost constantly run in the run up to open season anyway - only difference this year is some will have riders !

They may well loop if a train isn't dispatched - but after each dispatch the sequence restarts, you can tell this as the lights do exactly the same thing every ride

X's sequence starts when the train is dispatched.

Maybe its because I've got a premium pass but I do agree theres been a tonne of overreaction to all of this. When you purchase a Standard Merlin Pass its clear in the terms and conditions that your not granted access to special events at Thorpe Park - Whilst its true the charge isn't in place at towers, you could say the same for Fright Nights (and id much rather a 1 of charge for the event than thorpe charging per maze) Merlin / Thorpe have to ensure theres value to buying a premium pass, if you want entry into these events pay the extra and buy a premium.

Yep am quite looking forward to it tbh - Stealths one of my favourites too so cant wait to get back on that!The fee don't affect me as I have a premium pass but personally wouldn't think twice about paying £5 - you cant get much with £5 now a days!

That said you do get alot more attractions on the pass now than you did on the tussauds ones.

The BPB which often runs at a loss?