Sheepie

Are they still only playing the short loop? To clarify, the theme is basically repeated twice but the second time around it has a bit more oomph with extra drums. Could someone clarify?I agree with Mark, whilst I liked the idea of a loading music and then fading into the dispatch theme, the old silence and dispatch was so dramatic. Inferno's station used to be very imposing and full of drama in those first few seasons. Now it literally feels like a tin shed as much as it looks. Shame!

The development at Alton Towers have made it clear that they like to do something different when building major attractions. You can call them gimmicks but then you could call anything that's not your conventional sit-down coaster a gimmick. I know I would personally Alton spent their money into creating a complete experience but I know that's not going to happen, and they'll continue to throw money at new technology and to be different from the rest.That's all well and good, but it saddens me to think that something that should be a creative experience is being done for the sake of being different and controlled by marketing. The thing what's upset me with Oblivion is that the queueing is an integral part of the experience of this ride in the same way Expedition Everest's queue is paired with the coaster. One without the other is not a complete experience. With the queue plastered with adverts, I feel as though part of the attraction has been perverted.Alton is number 1 in this country but like Chessington, it relies on its older secret weapons to carry the park. Alton is fortunate to have the rich history and beauty otherwise I wouldn't be so sure of its position within the UK.

Just to clarify, it wasn't Gaga's idea to sell the album for 99p or whatever. It's actually one of the ways Amazon promotes the site in the hope that people stick around and buy other things. Amazon takes the loss of the profit from each unit sold, the Record Label still gets paid the same amount for each unit sold by Amazon.They've been doing this a lot lately.

So it's the last episode of Doctor Who this week before the summer break. So much has happened this series already and I'm sure the summer is going to be an agonising wait.A Prequel to A Good Man Goes To War has been released by the BBC. Mild Spoilers here, so watch with caution. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiB3SdlQ6sI And also a trailer for the episode below. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vna3NcIZS3w SFX has rated the episode as "a true 5 star episode", you can catch their teasers for it here.Can't wait to find out who River really is!

I wouldn't be surprised if the new maze did replace Hellgate this year. From reports it sounds as though the actual maze itself has seen better days and it's always good to refresh older attractions. Thorpe already have 4 mazes on park which is epic really when you consider Alton still only has the one, free maze.

Thanks for posting all of that Rave, I never knew the Paradise Pier was getting a fitting re-furb- sounds great. I'm not personally a fan of all these attractions being built on franchises, however I'm glad the resort is finally getting the major investment it deserves. ;)I'm a bit confused by the Mermaid ride really. there are some fantastic scenes and awesome animatronics (not sold on Aerial though) but it literally goes from Ursula's lair to Kiss the girl and then the ride ends. If you didn't know the story (which I appreciate would be very unlikely) then you'd be forgiven to think that Ursula saved the day.

Aww Mark. Well done for finishing your TR mate, they were great. What an emotional journey. You've made me so excited about my trip but also dreading the trip home already.What I love about World Showcase is that you can see a very familiar attraction....Credit to allears.net.Yep, Tower of Terror. They designed the tower to visually fit in with the Morocco area of World Showcase. It's details like that which set Disney apart from the rest. I'd highly recommend taking a look around Allears.net, particularly the blogs, they're a great read, especially if you're a theme park geek like me.I've decided I'm going to use Wordpress for my Trip Reports. I want to try something different. ;)Don't worry Mark, you'll be back in Orlando before you know it!

Merged with existing Saw thread.As Marc said, the ride opened again today. Thanks for posting though.

I just thought I'd post this video of Alton. I thought it showcased Alton very well and made me think about what a special theme park that we're lucky to have in the UK. I loved the contrast between the rides and then the beauty of the gardens. I'd love to try and get down there during Scarefest.

For the life of me I cannot deduce the technical names for what I want to explain, but I shall try, so bear with me! :PIf you think of a ball and socket joint in the body. The Ball is underneath each car and as it progresses up the lift hill, it falls into each socket; so if the car were to be stopped on the lift hill, it would be supported by the ball and socket joint. These are anti roll backs. I'm sure you know this already.Basically the "ball" under each car is tested just as it comes into the station, you can often hear it drop. There is a little raised piece (humped back whale I believe it's called?) on the track that lifts the "ball" up and allows it to drop back again. For whatever reason, if the ride senses that the "ball" hasn't dropped back down, the ride operator is notified by a light on the control panel.In this case, they are to send the car around empty as it usually rectifies itself. If it doesn't rectify itself then they would need to call an engineer. It's unfortunate that there were two cars like it during your visit. It sounds as though the ride team were doing what they were meant to though. Hope I explained that well enough.

Excellent trip report Pluk! You should do more in the future. ;)I do agree with you on your Vampire and Bubbles disappointment. It's a shame because at points Vampire can still be an impeccable attraction- when I rode it last November it was probably the best rollercoaster I'd ridden all season. Thank you thank you thank you on the vampire ride operator comment. It really is too loud. There are some people who are trying to defend the loudness of it, but like you said, it hurts.I certainly think there is one train that feels rougher than the other two, there are times when I ride it and it's not too bad at all and there are others that beat me to bits. I could go on and on about Vampire's faults, but I can't help but enjoy the ride, people adore it and it's arguably still Chessington's most Iconic ride.Once again thanks for posting, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. :PEdit: Embedded the picture for you.

You could say the same about many rides in the UK though. Fury doesn't like the wet, or when it gets too hot. In fact quite a few of CWoA's rides are badly affected by the rain.Then there is Inferno which doesn't like it when it gets too wet either.

^ Very interesting! Thanks for the info!

If the problem was with just that car then I'm sure it'll just run with a reduced capacity. They may want to check other trains to see if they'll be suffering from similar problems though.

Another video from Cheetah Hunt's media previews has emerged, this time from BGT Nation. Notice the trenches have had a little work done to them and look much better... not perfect, but better. Edit: There are several videos to be found on Youtube. The thing I love most is the huge smiles on people's faces whilst they're riding and after. Seems like a ton of fun!

It's the media preview night for Vengeance tonight! I can't wait to hear reviews start to pop up. When will you be visiting the Dungeons?

Thanks for posting. It looks like a great family attraction. I'm not too keen on how some of those trenches are unthemed and aren't to the same standard as the rest of the ride. Bit of a shame there. Though fantastic themeing has never been Busch Garden's forte.

Merged with existing Alton Towers Trip Plans topic. ;)Hi! Your Headmaster sounds like a right legend!Alton Towers is massive, so make sure you take advantage of the Sky Ride. Are you staying onsite at Alton Towers? If you are, you get an hour of Extra Ride Time between 9 and 10am before the park opens. That way you can take advantage of riding Spinball and Oblivion before the majority of the public.There are a selection of rides available for ERT, they can be found on the website. There is so set way to enjoy the park, though I would personally do Sonic Spinball, Oblivion and then head over to Nemesis during early ride team, so you're ready to ride Air for park opening. Then you can work your way back around the park at a more leisurely pace.Like you said, make sure you take advantage of rides like Hex and other family attractions. Alton has a large variety of rides and attractions and to miss out on them would be to miss out on the overall experience of the Towers. For instance, I love Sharkbait Reef, the park's Sea- Life centre, Congo River Rapids, Thirteen and the Mutiny Bay attractions, just off of the top of my head.If you are staying onsite, I love Marg's at Splash Landings. The Hotel's bar. It really is a tradition every time I visit now, to visit the place and just relax for a while.... or get very drunk indeed. :DOf course, I've just skimmed the surface on things to do and tips. If you have anything in particular you want asking then just ask away. I hope you enjoy your trip!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCa7Xif3pXg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTFl0qR8AIo&NR=1 Love these videos! I can't get enough of them! HA.

Made me giggle!

Unbelievable. These European parks seem to blow most others out of the water, don't they? I love the charm that these parks have yet an undeniable sense of epic scale. I'm jealous we don't have that amount of showmanship in our country.

Hi guys.I'd just like to let everyone know officially, I've temporarily been made moderator on the forums, helping out the team for a while, who are unbelievably busy. I get the general impression from members on here that you think we can do better with running our community. I would just like to say that the moderators and admins are very passionate about this site and its members, but each of them has a right to have their own lives outside of this community and sometimes aren't able to be here as much as they'd like.The team are currently organising a meeting to discuss how we can make our community a great place to be for our forum veterans and newbies alike. I've been a part of this community for 6 years. I've made some great friends on here and had the chance to talk to people who I probably wouldn't have been able to if it wasn't for here. I'm extremely passionate about other members experiencing the same things that I have.Just a quick update about some of the minor changes across the forums that have taken place lately. We've tidied up the Thorpe Park quick questions sub-forum which was looking pretty messy but it can now breathe again! We have also re-arranged the LC12 Sub-forum to three main threads.LC12 News is where you can discuss any updates on construction, planning applications and the process all the way through to ride opening. It's basically your general discussion on the ride. LC12: Name and Slogan is where you can suggest and discuss the name for the 2012 project. Then there is the LC12 Speculation thread, this is where you can discuss thoughts on the theme and story of the ride. Basically anything we don't know about the ride goes in there.As the project progresses and as a result, see an increase in posts and forum traffic, we may re-structure this sub-forum again to make it easier for you guys and for us to be able to provide the best way to keep on top of discussion.I'd like to reiterate that this community, this forum, is yours and if there is anything anyone can do for you, please do not hesitate to contact any of the moderating or admin team. Just to clarify, that is either myself, Michaela, Ryan, Ian, Mark or Marc. I am online most evenings as are most of the other members of the team.I hope you guys are up to speed with things. Happy posting!

The thing is, Dan is being serious, he loves the ride!

I got bored this evening so I got busy. I changed the eyes.

Hi Adam! Welcome to the forums. ;)I'd really love for this to be real and for people who have paid interest to be rewarded. If it's a fanboy then you could question their motives.... asking people to join their "crack squad".... sounds dodgy.