Sheepie

You know what, that lead into that first inversion is going to be insane. I'm actually scared!

Right, injecting some pop back into the music topic! Kelly Clarkson's fifth album: Stronger is released in the UK on Monday 24th. Just over a week to go, yay! After a severe change up with her Label RCA, she has said that it has been the easiest album to make and people at the label were on board with trying something different and all people involved had the same intentions.With that in mind, they went for a very different vibe for the lead single, which is much more of a grower and not what you'd expect from Kelly, right out of the gate with a new album. Song is available to download next week. Woo! :DThe second single will be the one that really blows up everywhere I reckon, it's called, What Doesn't Kill You, which Kelly gave her fans the chance to listen to, here: The clips of all tracks on the album are on Japan's itunes store, who actually accidentally put the album up for sale for a short while- oops. Only a matter of time before the album leaks in full, I suppose. Surprised it's got this far though!

Who else is visualising the layout from that photo? I drew it out in my head!

The 1994 Project at Alton Towers (Nemesis and Toyland Tours) came to a cool £12M. Just using a very rough guide by using a calculator online (assuming a 3% rate of inflation since 2006), that figure comes to a steep £17M.That is without taking into account the rising cost of pretty much everything you can think of. You would need a figure approaching £12M in today's money to build a decent dark ride. But anyway, I think £20M is a staggering amount for a company that is still millions and millions of pounds in debt!Edit- Wow what a fantastic photo!

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Such a British attitude.. "It's not that bad" at the prices they're charging for people to get in, things like this should be perfect. Glad to hear about the amount of work they've spent on it though, though there are still many zoning issues with the audio.

Park audio has been a bit of a lucky dip across park ever since the park installed "Project Link" for the 2007 season.

Due to the nature of the evacuation surfaces, if you were to be evacuated from a ride then it would be extremely painful on your feet and you could cut open your feet on the sharp edges of the metal flooring.

Really enjoyed your review Josh. Makes me want to go through it again! You know, I've got a feeling the variations on things could be on purpose, such as one actor telling you to "get in and not come out" in a almost advisable tone- this could be part of the story behind that character for whatever reason. I had the backstory of being experimented on when I went through the maze. This is what made the concept so sinister for me. What reminded me of it was the way we were told to breathe deeply and await for further instructions, as though we were being told lies and actually were breathing in something rather poisonous which was not "decontaminating" us at all. From research I did a while ago, there were various accounts on how the victims of the Halocaust were lied to with a number of cruel "excuse" stories as to why they were being led in to this chamber. I just find it chilling and shocking, which totally reflected that part of the attraction for me, also.

That is not guaranteed though, I have read many reviews and also our own experience where you do not rejoin your group for the entire attraction. Don't bank on seeing the people in your group until the exit.

My auntie told me a little story about one of her friends a while ago, with their attitude towards talking about relationships and sexuality with her children. They're about 7, the children, so they're around the age where comments get passed around at school about this word, "gay", without them truly knowing exactly what it means. She had brought her children up to be so open- minded, they know all about the different sexualities, in terms that it is okay for a man to marry/ be with another man and the same for two women.One of the children went home crying because someone at school said it was wrong and that their mum had told them lies. Apparently she said to them that there are some really ignorant people in the world and that not all people are as open- minded, but told them that it is perfectly alright to be different. I just found it really touching that those children are going to grow up with such an accepting attitude towards sexuality and relationships. So rare to see parents take on this approach as well.

In all seriousness, how can you cope at a theme park in boots? How big of a heel are we talking here?!

The thing is with many of the American attractions, whilst their detail in set design and general themeing is incredible, they tend not to be that scary due to the constant streams of people roaming through them. Not like our groups being dispatched every so often. This takes away from much of the isolation and you can therefore see where many of the actors are ahead of you before you've got to them.

My spoiler-filled review of Experiment 10. It is also on my blog. Here! Hope you enjoy! Some would say that Fright Nights, like many other aspects to our UK entertainment industry, has become merely a brand of which is very much more about style rather than having much substance. Whilst I agree somewhat with that, I thoroughly enjoyed Fright Nights this year. So what is Fright Nights? Essentially, it's all about the mazes across park- and it has 5 of them now, not a bad offering of additional experiences along with a full attraction listing. So let's get right down to it: Experiment 10. Well, I'd read some of the reviews before and I'm glad I did. What none of the reviews I've read have conveyed, however, is just how much you're manhandled in that maze. More on that as I go. Queuing in the arena, pre-recorded announcements and roaming actors give the illusion that this is a secret government facility, in which we are subjects who are volunteering to be used as part of an experiment. The roaming actors were fantastic, asking random people faux questions about their medical history and really taking themselves so seriously, which is all the more chilling. After roughly an hour of queuing, we were into the pre-show room for the attraction which outlines the story for the rest of the attraction. We find out that we're volunteering for an experiment where scientists are trying to eradicate fear from the human brain. This attraction is full of dark humour, walking in to this pre-show room, a series of CCTV monitors show various states of carnage, before quickly the character switches them off in a panic, "nothing to see here, everything is running as planned". I really cannot commend this actor in this room enough, I found his speech funny, unnerving and yet totally had me invested in this story. They've got me. You then proceed; Scientists in gas masks and lab suits literally shout at you, push you to where they want you. Your group is split up onto two sides of this chamber. You're told to await instructions and to breathe deeply. The conviction in which this was said sent shivers down my spine as smoke filled the room, acting as a gas chamber before being plunged into darkness. Definitely some echoes of the Holocaust here, at least for me, whether intentional or not… and if you have ever done any research on it or have seen Schindler's list, I think this alone is quite a hard hitting emotional impact. And then, oh yes, then there are the chambers. Scientists direct you into one of the many chambers. They want you to go one at a time. "One at a time, one at a time", they insist with such sinister conviction, whilst trying to tear my boyfriend and I apart. In other mazes you know there is safety in numbers. Not so with Experiment 10 as many of the unsuspecting victims soon discover. Say goodbye to your usual Thorpe Park conga line. Fortunately for us, they did not manage to separate us, yet this was not without them trying their hardest to do so. Almost knocking me over with the force of which they pushed me about. We're shoved into the chamber on the far right hand side… So we're stood here for a few moments, in darkness, screaming and banging echoing all around, until, the silence. We suddenly discover that all of the other chambers have been emptied. It is this that is the most unnerving aspect of the attraction, the unknown, the total chaos that you know was your choice to participate in, yet you can't help but be totally invested in this story. Just as we notice a small glow of a white light in front of us, an actor plunges their face into the side of the chamber, to what can only be described as a flexible, perhaps latex sheeting. Pretty disturbing. The door opens, and we're lead through the thick smoke by more scientists, again, literally pushing us to where they need us to go. It's all very violent and gives a great impact. Sadly, I cannot comment fairly on the level of scenic design in this maze. It was so densely filled with haze and smoke that I could barely make out any of the scenes I was travelling through. What I did know though, we were alone. Well, alone in the fact that it was us two, and then screams coming from all around us. When we were told crouch down and traverse through a tunnel, a chuckle of disbelief just breezed over my face, though this was wiped clear when a scientist from behind shoved me downwards, forcing me to continue on this twisted route. The tunnel carries on for what feels like an eternity, it actually changes in gradient as well, sloping downwards for a fair amount of the way. A cool effect is that it slowly gets steeper, so you actually start to panic if this is going to turn into some kind of slide. At the end of the tunnel, you are treated by an actor for this predictable, yet totally effective startle scare. Sadly though, I was not able to make out their character as they had disappeared into the bellowing smoke. If I had one criticism of Experiment 10, on our personal route through the attraction, we did not encounter many actors who were physically trying to scare us, yet hearing shrieks of terror from behind, I can't help but feel as though we missed out on some of the best scares in the attraction. Through the smoke, I could scarcely make out glows from lit signage, a lab and bed but just could not comment on where I was throughout the attraction apart from telling you that we were in a room with lots of strobes. Not seeing where you could go did add to the general panic of the attraction, yet sadly seemed to have no pay off, at least for us, as we did not encounter any actors right until the end of the maze. It is clear however, that we were in the minority, clearly, judging the amount of chilling shrieks of pure terror that would be enough to send shivers down your spine. Variety in haunted attractions, especially if an event has a number of them, if an essential part of a guest experience…. I can say that Experiment 10 is unlike any other maze at Thorpe, but also unlike any other Scare Attraction I have done. There have been hints that something was changing for this year's Fright Nights for a couple of months now- including job adverts for a new events manager and entertainments vacancies being available on Merlin's career page, yet it was only when Scare Tour posted their review and stated that there was a new creative team behind the event, that this was confirmed to me. It is very clear that this attraction has come with fresh ideas, daring and controversial in places. They have really pushed the boundaries of what can be done and what an audience can expect from these types of attractions. We exited the attraction to find that everyone in our group were already waiting for us. They went a different route and said that it was populated by many actors, it seems as though the two routes differ slightly in types of scare. This is also evident from reviews of both the media launch and staff preview events, who all say that is a very interactive in that it can be done various times and you'll experience different things. Whilst for us, Experiment 10 did not have that big finale scare, what was so evident that the intensity, the chaos and pure panic built to such a climax, which was enough of a finale for us. I do feel, again, that we were in the minority with this experience, and I think our experience would be very different if we were to do the attraction again. Over the coming nights, this attraction will just continue to be improved and tweaked, until, and I do not say this lightly, Thorpe have one of the most intensely scary and violent Scare Attractions in the country.

Loved the detail of a twisted "Happy Birthday" theme playing across park. Heard it around the park areas. Sadly, audio is seriously lacking around park, not the tracks themselves but the quality of the link/ speakers, some dipping between their usual themes and FN themes and just not knowing what to play.

Scenic elements will be one of the last things added to the ride, where possible. It's important that all of the essential stuff is done first... they would leave the effects and themeing til last to prevent it from getting damaged during construction.

Does that not then leave two free block sections? You then have the brakes after the turn and then the transfer track section before the station? Sounds like complete overkill on block sections!

Broadditch Farm plays host to an array of seasonal events. It is best known, however, for its amazing Halloween Event, Broadwitch Hauntfest. Nominated on numerous occasions for Screamie Awards, this humble farm near Bluewater, Kent is seriously making a name for itself in the Scare Industry.2010's Spooky Castle was arguably the best Scare Attraction in the UK, with amazing attention to detail in set, props, actors and their make-up. Michael Bolton- respected figure within the scare industry and also the man behind Scare Tour, stated that Spooky Castle was his personal favourite Scare Attraction of 2010, calling it, "perfect". As well as four, unique, intense "haunts" (three of which lasting around 10 minutes), Hauntfest also offers Haunted Woods Tours and a 30 minute Terror Trailer Ride to its list of attractions. For people who love Halloween, but are after something less intense, the farm also offers many interactive competitions and workshops throughout the day, including non-live versions of its attractions.As many of you know, I am going to be a part of this event this year; a Scare Actor, in Containment. I am unbelievably excited, I love Halloween and it's an honour to be part of something as amazing as this. I think y'all know by now, I do not gush over things unless I am truly passionate about it.... let me tell you, the people behind this event are some of the most passionate people you will come across and it shows throughout the event.I'd love to see some of you there, if you're able to, 2011's event is going to be the best one yet.Check out their site for a full list of attractions and activities, including ticket prices and travel information. www.spookycastle.co.uk

I would imagine it'll be bearable until half-term week.

To answer your question, from Nerd:

What Marc means is that if we would ever to do a CWoA site, we'd want to do it justice and make it as unique as possible and different from TPM. At the moment we would essentially be recycling TPM's design and that is not something we want to do. We have tried looking for web designers and the like but we have had no such luck in finding someone who is interested enough to commit.

Spoiler from Nerd's live updates: That sounds pretty epic. Get me to Fright Nights now.Also- moved from Future to Present discussion.

Actually yeah, a question for anyone who has ridden Raptor. From all of the POVs I've watched, it seems as though the train is held for ages at those first set of brakes. Even though there is another set before the station. I'm just a little confused, is all.From what I understood from the plans for Swarm, after the final turn, you have two sets of brakes, the final set just before the station, where the transfer track is. This is why I found it odd to have another set after the in-line. Seems a bit overkill.

It's not confirmed, obviously. But what made me question whether it was an actual block was the addition of an evac staircase. Even if it doesn't slow the ride down as such, it could possibly have the potential to do so if possible. Perhaps it'll be like Inferno's brake run, where they have the ability to stop the train on those first set of brakes if possible. I dunno, just speculating!

Wow, fantastic live updates as usual from Towers Nerd Live. Disappointed that Swarm has a brake run immediately after the in-line. Boo! Was expecting a high speed final turn. I'm impressed with how quickly track is going up though! That in itself is a great marketing tool.