Dan9

@chersno1boybrat: @THORPEPARK wondering I got a email earlier saying your open for February half term next year will merlin annual pass holders be ok to come? @THORPEPARK: @chersno1boybrat Hi Lloyd, yes you will be able to, there will be a £5 cost for Standard Passholders and a free prebook entry for Premium

£5 charge for Standard MAP holders...

You know the only reason it has that queue is because it gets through like 300 people an hour, so there isn't really a great benefit to any of the other queues...

The hype continues.

Talocan is rubbish anyway. Any ride which requires you to sit in specific seats to just to get a slightly above average top spin experience (only made so because of external effects) is stupid. Top Spin discussion never gets old.

The 2015 hype is real.

Repetitive how so? I thought the Interstellar soundtrack was great.

I hate you Peter.

Oh deary... I simply made a light-hearted self-referential observation, not a personal dig, so no need to take it as one. Chill!

Well on those two characteristics so can 98% of the entire forum probably.

Me too!

My school was awful for this. The way they spoke to everyone made it obvious they were mainly in it for the 'how high-a percentage of students can we get to Uni?' regardless of whether it was right for them or not. I haven't done Uni yet purely because I don't see the point if it won't be leading me anywhere, but that's just me personally as I'm not 100% on where I want to be going career-wise. Learning life skills at this stage is just as important and there should be less pressure on college students to only focus on getting a degree straight away.

Toy Story 4. It could be great, but I really don't see the point...

HATERS GONNA HATE... (hate hate hate hate...)

Elaborate?

Oh honestly don't bother trying to work out a pattern of which specific row/seat/side is worse or better than another. Yes generally front row inside is 'less bad' most of the time but remember there's three different trains so there's no point trying to make any sense of it. Just assume it'll be terrible wherever you sit and pointlessly hope for the best.

Erm, there were points on Swarm yesterday early evening when there were TWO people in the station waiting to ride. I think it's perfectly understandable their desire to remove a train then...

Staff haven't been told a thing about smoking zones unfortunately, so I would assume guests haven't either and it isn't actually an official rule yet. Hopefully next year it actually comes into effect.

Second train broken, new part, blah blah.

Stealth's second train does actually have a problem, otherwise it would have been on two, hopefully back tomorrow apparently.

The unfortunate way Merlin parks are run. Once the budget for the day is decided and commited to they can't just swap between 1/2 train operation on a whim. It needs a minimum of 2 extra staff and more on top of that to cover all the staff breaks and finding that at 1:30/2pm is near-on impossible with the day already in full swing so to speak. Either that or engineering just couldn't get 2 trains ready because one was being worked on and not in an operating condition at the time. I'm not excusing, just explaining.

Yes. But then yesterday was so quiet there were cars going round on Saw with 2 people in them and even Storm Surge (!) was walk on. So it shouldn't cause too much of a problem.

1. Blue Fire - The most perfect rollercoaster I’ve encountered so far. It’s got the launch, zippy inversions, pops of airtime, near-misses, the soundtrack, the efficiency... the one I wish I could ride every day. 2. Nemesis - Phwoar eh. Still (just) the best invert I’ve been on, its unique intensity is hard-matched by anything else. 3. Wodan - My first major woodie and what relentless fun it is. I can see why other GCI’s might be better but as this is the only representative I have I’m happy to keep it near the top. 4. Oz’Iris - Oooh aaah eeeh... I wasn’t prepared for how good this ride would be, it really knocked me sideways. Right from the first drop to the final zero-g and helix, it’s a really sublime layout supplemented by a fantastic queue line and Europa Park-esque operations going on in the station - I’ll be back for more as soon as I can. 5. Shambhala - Floaty B&M fun that never gets old. 6. Big Thunder Mountain - In one of the most beautiful parks this is the lynchpin of their attack. It gets the longest queues for a reason - it’s a wonderful attraction that everyone can enjoy. And at night it becomes another beast entirely... 7. Oblivion - The waiting and the waiting and the waiting that... also never gets old. Love the drama of the whole thing. 8. Tonnerre de Zeus - Only had one chance to form an opinion on it so it’s hard to rank, but I do know that my high expectations weren’t disappointed. Somehow the first drop was utterly terrifying... the second half of the ride is airtime joy. 9. Space Mountain: Mission 2 - Staggeringly underrated Vekoma awesomeness. Plays mind-tricks on you... 10. Dragon Kahn - Big and brash inversions in the first half, face-moulding intensity in the second. One of the ‘classic’ B&M’s, apparently... ---------- 1. Europa Park - Perfect at everything. 2. Parc Disneyland (DLRP) - Missing maybe one more headline attraction and wish they had more on the food front, but probably one of the most beautiful parks there is. I could not ride a single ride all day and still absolutely love it. 3. Alton Towers - Easily the UK’s leading park, several great rollercoasters and dark rides living in unique surroundings. 4. Phantasialand - Might be a spot higher if I manage to visit again as it’s been a long time now, but you’ve all seen the pictures... 5. Parc Asterix - Has a slight identity crisis in places, but Asterix has a really good thing going on. Some fantastic attractions and great operations, rivals Europa for the best queue lines award as well. 6. Port Aventura - It’s a great looking place and might rival parks higher up the list if it weren’t run by the Spanish. And visited by the Spanish. 7. Walt Disney Studios (DLRP) - It’s quite clearly a mess of a Disney park and needs desperate help DCA style. But it has Tower and Ratatouille and a few unassuming yet charming shows to break up the day. But mostly Tower and Ratatouille... Couldn't be bothered with 7, 8 etc as they aren't really worth it.

Back from le France as well, 6F Calais is a go. Please explain yourself J.S217...

That is the way it works and I assume that's what they mean. At least for their sake I hope so...