Dan9

Inferno's music was very Hans Zimmer-y in parts. Interested to see where they got that from, or indeed whether it was new.

Oh yes, the O2 shows were fantastic. Can't seperate them on enjoyment. Two varied setlists, two brilliant performances, better stage, band seem like they're more into it, FRICKIN' SUNBURN, FALLING DOWN + HOST. Probably the best two gigs I've ever been to actually, better than Wembley and Reading even. Helps that The 2nd Law is MUCH better than The Resistance though. I hated Unsustainable for ages, that was until I saw it live. Jesus... (And Explorers is awesome *huff*) Also, you. Justice. 17 minutes. Do it... 7:23 is just

'Disgusting' is a bit much, it's not like on the quieter days they use staff to badger you at every entrance to buy it like they might on busier days (or at least I've only ever seen that on busier days). Also if it really was that dead, the extra waiting time to the main queue caused by fastrack would be minimal at best, so it's hardly affecting anyone that badly. Can't believe I find myself fighting Marc's corner so often these days.

Ok, so a hazy review of the mazes... The Asylum Having been pretty underwhelmed the previous two times I'd done this in the past, I didn't expect much. I didn't get a lot either, but this year was a much better experience. To be fair to the actors, they were actually really good today. Much better than I've seen in previous years, but it's way too light in the building. You could see every actor coming from a distance, and whilst they put the effort in, it was difficult for them to really muster a 'shock' factor or create the kind of intensity it supposedly used to have. It felt a lot longer this year though, and the actors did keep me entertained but maybe not in the way they're supposed to (especially when one seemed to get bored and decide to absolutely take out the woman in front of us - the whole group was laughing!). It might just be my general attitude to mazes though, I find it hard to get sucked into an atmosphere with the knowledge of where I am in reality. 7/10 Experiment 10 Didn't expect a lot from this considering once you know the 'gimmick' there isn't much else to shout about. Yet even so, it still managed to be worse than expected. The introduction is pretty good, but the 'maskmen' did absolutely nowhere near as good a job of creating a sense of panic as they did last year. Last year I got marched and thrown around, it was incredible mayhem. This year some guy just opened one of the boxes and waited for me to walk towards him, before just pointing at it. It's a good thing I already knew where I was going. Inside the 'cells', the sound affects from last year were missing. So yeah, that happened... we didn't get the tunnel this time, we just got a random empty corridor. No actors to be seen. After this it did pick up, for about 3 seconds. Some guy made me jump or something. Yeah. After that we just sort of walked into a room with the strobe light, not a lot really happened. Then when the large group had re-assembled (after a minute of faff), we got shut into the TV room. Mmhmm. Then we had to get out as fast as possible or something, but people seemed to have already taken the hint and started strolling out before the saw lady got released, and when she did she just seemed to stand there. Wow. Do I even need to do a summary here? 2/10 The Passing I quite liked this, but I'm still not sure where my money went. I seem to be learning more about what actually happened reading JackR's review of it. We got bagged, sent into a room with a TV, and then started crawling through a tunnel. Hold on, when did I die in all this? Oh well. Despite my bag constantly falling off, the tunnel part was quite enjoyable considering there was just two of us at the time with me leading, totally blind. The slide especially was excellent fun. I have to admit, I genuinely can't remember all that followed. I remember being specially picked on by quite a few actors in the next few corridors which made it a lot better for me personally, but after that I really struggle. I guess that's enough in itself to tell you that it can't have a left an enormous impression. It's got potential and I certaintly enjoyed it whilst doing it, but my inability to explain what actually 'happens', in the plot and the action, means it struggles to leave the mark it was meant to. 5/10 The Curse Now this was more like it. Having been consistently the worst maze of the last three Fright Nights, The Curse skyrocketed to the top this year. It really was excellent. Actors were EVERYWHERE. They were well-hidden, organised and absolutely determined to make them remember you. I literally had a good nine or ten seperate actors individually trail and torment me throughout the maze. The guy who sets about your legs from the floor as you try to avoid another actor made everyone hysterical in their own seperate way. I was laughing all the way through, as is my response to these kind of attractions, but it was definitely a good thing. 9.5/10

This is such a timeless post, I can remember myself reading it every year since 2007.

20 minutes from my house, they better give me a job.

Kind of makes me doing a full PTR pointless since we went on the same days and I'd probably just be echoing what Benin says, so I'll do a summary of my experiences later. Completely agree about Blue Fire, I can't think of much that could improve it. The elements all flow together beautifully, the restraints are fabulous, and I could probably ride it all day. Smooth with just the right amount of forcefulness, yet pure fun all the way through. And the music...

Classic times of September 2007 - Quantum, Rush, Slammer, Samurai and Stealth all closed.

Pretty sure if they were going to take action as a direct result of that they would have done it by now.

I wouldn't start putting a date on it.

1. Nemesis. Unbeatable. 2. The Swarm. A new ride the UK can be truly proud of. 3. Nemesis Inferno. The first 'big' rollercoaster I went on, still yet to deliver me a bad ride. And now my thoughts are slightly cloudy... 4/5. Air/Oblivion. Whilst Air was hardly a life-changing experience I still think it's really good fun. Oblivion was also great, but after having read rave reviews about 'that' drop for about six years before actually riding it, it didn't quite deliver that special something I'd heard so much about. A shame because it's still a great ride in it's own right, it had just been burdened by so much expectation (Backed up because Air had a much lower reputation, and I found myself pleasantly surprised). It was only one day of riding (a misty, cold day in February at that), so I guess my view isn't quite set in stone yet and there is still hope. Towers anyone?

Love Colossus at the moment, but it can't quite topple Inferno for me.

What other flats do Thorpe actually need though? I've been trying for years and I still can't think of one which would be of enormous benefit.

Thing is, The Swarm's first year is actually going quite well - if you compare it to Stealth and Saw anyway... In all seriousness the ride having technical issues isn't surprising in its first season, even Inferno had a fair amount in 2003 I'm told, but the lacklustre effects on show in peak season is disappointing. I mean I don't claim to know all the causes, but you'd have thought Thorpe would be on top of this by now or at least improving. Hope it doesn't become a trend, the little things are what makes The Swarm stand out from the crowd.

FOOLISH MORTALS.

Massive thanks to Thorpe Park and TPM for the event, it took a lot to get there but it was worth it in the end. Loved seeing everyone again, and reiterating what Mark said already, we were really made to feel welcome on our visit and I think everyone hugely appreciated it. For someone probably still too interested in how the rides work and are run, the ability to ask questions about almost anything was brilliant for me in itself! Really hope more events like this can be done again in the future.

I'll try to be there, most likely arriving between 2-3PM. So yeah, a maybe for now.

If it's is on eight cars and the batching team aren't deluded then the queue normally moves at a bareable speed, or at least it used to.

Standard AP's have been around £140/£150 for about three years now haven't they?

Whilst Raptors and Wild Eagle's aren't part of the theme at all?

They usually use different influences for each individual song, and it's very rare that Muse make albums where one song has similar musical themes to the other, last two albums especially. I also doubt that will change, since it's pretty much what's defined them and made them great in the past. I do hate dubstep, but it's best to wait for the finished product before making a judgement.

Suitably makeshift audio for what is becoming a makeshift ride.

It is there, just above and to the left of the red circle.

If it really was 'absolutely dead' then it was probably cost saving or something, considering the other changes Merlin have made this season. Or they could be taking advantage of the quiet days to be doing some necessary maintenance. A number of possibilities, frustrating when you're there I know but during those really dead days it's fairly understandable I guess... Great to see the park maintaining all the effects, the fountains and audio triggers really do improve the experience leaps and bounds.