d.m.k

Apologies if it's been talked about elsewhere... Shame to see TP trending on Twitter for mask rules. All kicked off by a guest tweeting their daughter was "segregated" as she's exempt from wearing a mask. TP's rules state that mask exempt guests 'are required to sit in the row farthest to the back to reduce the risk of air transmission'. The fact the 'woke brigade' jumped on this as an opportunity to compare this to segregation of black individuals back in our unfortunate past is beyond comprehension. The sheer number of tweets slating TP for this is astonishing. TP seem to have replied with the rules and left it at that, sensible move IMO. Separate from the lunacy on Twitter and thinking about the rule itself. Doesn't it seem a bit overkill? The likely transmission rate between individuals on different rows of the coasters is minimal anyway, I'm not sure there was a need for this rule. I've not heard of it or seen it enforced at TP or any other parks.

Agreed @Peter Ride maintenance was one of my main gripes in a recent post in the topic "2021 Season". I've been visiting TP for years, especially in the last 5-10 and maintenance has got continually worse. I'm judging this based on more breakdowns, late openings, rides down awaiting parts etc. Awful considering the Merlin parks are seasonal and should get their rides sorted in the off season.

It's just business and the legal team making themselves look useful. I wouldn't say I'm disappointed because it was always likely to happen. If they start groundwork on The London Resort in 2022, I'll be interested to hear what comes out in terms of Merlin's plans for their resorts. I know The London Resort would draw in crowds from afar but I see Thorpe has the biggest threat - could be wrong.

Thanks @ben199 and @Coaster for supporting the points I raised in my post. @Glitch, I feel if you re-read my post, you would understand my gripes are nothing to do with the attendance levels at all. In fact, it's great to see so many people out and about after what has been a disaster of a year. Of the 4 points I made, I believe 3 - with the exception of Point 1 on reliability - are simple operational issues which could be addressed. The point you made on the RAP is interesting though. On my recent visit, I had never seen so many guests with them!! Has this been a growing issue over a long time or quickly come about? Almost all rides with Fastrack had an equally long RAP queue.

The 2021 season so far has been an absolute shambles and it's evident from the comments on social platforms. Seems both Chessington and the Towers are suffering with similar problems. We recently visited TP and I got our money back after a terrible day - although it was evident that Guest Services were suffering. This is solely based on opinion but I found the main issues were: Multiple rides down all-day and at least one major attraction "delayed" at any one time. The amount of "technical difficulties" they have with rides at Merlin parks has become evident in recent years. Pre-COVID attendance levels but with COVID protocols still in place. The protocol of wiping down the rides every 30mins - 1hr is ridiculous. The staff were half-heartedly spraying the rides, most the time missing seats while chatting away, using the time as an break. Witnessed this multiple times throughout the day. Upselling of Fastrack was intense. Staff obviously tasked with hard-selling Fastrack. At the start of the day, staff were repeatedly mentioning they were expecting 90min+ queues. General operations were really hit-and-miss. There just doesn't seem to be the desire from staff to get throughput up. Really hoping things improve but we've decided to stay away from the parks for the remainder of the season.

Really happy to hear Slammer is back in operation! I've always had a soft spot for that ride However, I would love to know what the main issues have been with the ride. I do remember following closely the issues that Slammer's sister, Catapult, at Six Flags was having over in America. Many discussions stressed problems with the main beam (between the two passenger paddles) and also the obvious problems with the lifting mechanism. I know Thorpe probably wouldn't be too keen to give this information out publicly, but it would be interesting just to know if the ride has struggled to remain structurally sound, or if the problems are entirely mechanical and/or electrical. After all, I cannot be the only one that looks at Slammer and thinks about how difficult it must have been to design, unfortunately it seems it may have not been designed so well in the beginning.

Why have we had no major clues to what is going to happen!? I know many people have got strong ideas of what they think could happen, but it is getting closer to opening day and we still have no solid evidence of anything! Thorpe, give us some clues!

I'm with Saz on this one. I'm pretty sure that Merlin have some two-year marketing technique when it comes to all major investments. That would mean that they would want to continue emphasis on The Swarm into 2013. Although I'm stating this, I have no idea what this "evolution" could be

There really is no argument in trying to say these prices are justified due to the economy or location. I stay at the Towers' hotels about 2-3 times a year and have always got a good deal - paying the same amount for these rooms at Thorpe, is just simply not acceptable. I also believe a two day visit would only be needed during special events, most likely Fright Nights. I can't wait to see the prices for these dates though! It's such a shame, I love Thorpe; I just think Snoozebox was the wrong decision.

I've been an annual pass holder for 7 years. In that long time, I've seen some ridiculous pricing strategies, but The Crash Pad really is taking the biscuit. As I said, I believe it to be very unlikely that the prices will deflate. The price they are charging for peak times is what I would have expected if they would have built a multi-million pound themed hotel. But, just like you have said, I do love the parks and I hate to Merlin-bash. One positive, the idea of a "crash pad" does suit Thorpe very well. I just hope they get the guests through the doors!

Having a look at the booking system, pricing up a few random dates across the year, I am actually disgusted at the price they think they can charge. I honestly hope, that with time, these prices decrease. In my opinion, however, this will not happen. It may be on the outskirts of London but this place is a temporary hotel. I have experienced Snoozebox customer service before, be prepared for Holiday Inn style, but the staff are just younger and less inclined to help. There is no contest here, the Tower's hotels offer MUCH better value for money! I think it's a massive shame that they have embarrassed themselves, equal to Storm Surge standards

Sourced from an individual from the organisation who installed the Saw:Alive lighting. Thorpe are currently working on and have requested strobe lighting domes be placed around the park during Fright Nights this year. Covered with the perspex (as per the Oblivion drop lighting at Scarefest 2010) the boxes apparently will be set to flash randomly. I was quite satisfied to hear this and really hope it does go ahead. Any sort of lighting around the park will probably be better than last year! Lets just hope they can pull it off

I'm actually shocked and pleased that they have gone to the effort of getting the fire effect working. IMO, Thorpe seem to be doing a better job than the other UK parks at 'park extras', especially if they are attempting to get Tidal's fire effect working by next season too - it's something not heard of very often by the parks recently. Anyone else think it will come quite close to the left-side of the train too - closer than expected?

I totally agree with you. I understand that Thorpe do have a hard decision to make and I don't have a solution myself, but then I haven't been running a theme park for years on end. The situation has been brought about because of stupid behaviour by a vast minority, and in the interests of health and safety, Thorpe think this a good idea - but they are wrong. Age discrimination IMO is just as bad as any other. If members of a certain religion had been the cause of accidents on the ride - we wouldn't be expecting signs outside stating 'No groups of Christians without a Muslim present' or visa versa. They need to understand that in today's society, discrimination of any kind is unacceptable. From my own experience, I went to Thorpe on Easter Sunday. The restriction was in place and travellers in their large family groups, of course were allowed to ride. The result; boats full of people standing, attempting to splash other boats, rocking the boats, screaming obscenities at the top of their lungs etc. I saw the same groups leaving at closing time, not removed from the park after those actions - Thorpe need to sort it out.

On my visit last Thursday, Saw: Alive really shocked me. Having been on around 5 times previously, this season it was a much better experience. No photo meant we were thrown straight into the action. Police officer shouting at me (at the front) to hit a large red button on the table near the CCTV screens, as I did this, a loud sound blasted from the speakers and we were ushered into the best experience on the maze I've ever had. Many more close encounters and more actors with pig masks (terrifying) were in new locations and were not holding back their acting skills. Honestly? The first time I've enjoyed Saw Alive for what it's meant to be, a horror maze

I booked a family and friends discount ticket yesterday over the phone, confirmed my email twice but still have not received the email reference. As I am visiting Sunday, do I have to do anything or can I just take my card and annual pass and still confirm I bought the ticket? I believe the booking is pretty much the same as advance booking. Thanks in advance

Well, I've confirmed my trip for Easter Sunday now so looks like I'll be finding out how busy it'll be soon. I'm calling the park on Friday to book friend's AP discount ticket and I'll ask if the operator has any idea how many people they are forecasted over the Easter period

one-eye-mike, pretty much all schools have broken up now but most kids will be going back on 16th April. Going on the 10th does have the advantage of having longer opening hours, but if I were you, I'd put your visit back till 17th, you'll probably have a much better day with less queuing Got a question of my own, has anyone ever been on Easter Sunday? One of my mates said it was dead last year but wanted this confirmed because he seems to think "dead" is an hours wait for Stealth :L

Went yesterday (Thurs 29th) and probably made the best decision I've ever made about visiting. Staff on the gate said Weds had been a bit busier than they first thought but only forecast 5,000 for Thurs. Turned out the longest queue we found was 15mins for Swarm, which was ridden 4 times, as were almost all other rides However, staff were also saying how advance bookings have gone crazy for over the Easter holidays. Prepare for a VERY busy Easter was the advice :/ and I'm due to visit.

Where has this all come from?! Fantastic ride layout with great theming and crazy looking trains, I've never seen Merlin do something this consistent and of such amazing quality. Whoever or whatever team has been in charge of this project need to be given lots of praise, I hope they know just how well they've done

The bass tone at the end of all promotional videos for The Swarm is amazing - sent a shiver down my spine the first time I heard it.Anyone else thinking (like Inferno) that the bass would work well as part of the despatch music? If they're thinking of having LCD screens in the station, I could just imagine the 'War Is Coming' video with the bass tone being the despatch sequence, here's hoping!

I have always been totally underwhelmed by the firework displays put on by Thorpe and even Alton really. In every interview with Nick Varney, he always states how Merlin are aiming to be "Number 1" in the industry and how they can "put on a better show" than any other entertainments company; well, if I were sitting on the Disney board, I'd be kicking my feet up and smiling. I'm honestly not a Merlin basher just for the sake of it, I love what the company do, but if they actually do want to succeed then they really do have to start putting in real effort into everything they do, especially events such as these. As enthusiasts, we know all too well when budgets are cut, theming is left out etc etc; but events such as Fright Nights, Scarefest and Fireworks displays should be when customers hearts are being won, not the trailing queues in guest services to complain that I've seen during both events. It's a shame, but it's the truth that Merlin see's the way forward as cutting costs in the worst possible aspects of business, the ones which affect guest satisfaction.

I hope they just get this sorted and progress with it at last. I know it's a big decision for the park to add a hotel but surely it will be profitable...The theme looks good and the views of the park from front-facing rooms will be amazing! The only thing I would be worried about is pricing, but surely it would have to be kept competitive with Chessington's hotel, which wouldn't be too bad, we just don't want Alton's pricing!!

I don't know if it's just me but I LOVE the ending of The Swarm video; the low bass tone kicking in with "War is coming", turning into "The Swarm" with a blast of light. I think that last snippet of the video could be used to get people talking... Thorpe have huge potential TV marketing there, I'm just hoping they'll use it! With regards to construction, the track looks too good to wait any longer! Seeing the size of the construction area from photos is so exciting, UK getting another huge B&M coaster after too many years!

I actually had one of the most terrifying moments of my life in Hellgate. I was shocked at the time and still am to this day but one certain scare nearly brought me to tears. I think it was towards the end of the maze with the long corridors and hairpin turns that an actor managed to push with both feet off the walls and (kind of) climb along them, towering over me while I was at the back of the group. It worked as such a fantastic scare with the brilliant acting the actor was putting in that I couldn't get the picture out of my head for days - just shows that the experience really does depend on being at the right place at the right time. I really don't doubt that Thorpe will bring along another fantastic scare maze, the atmosphere rocks at Fright Nights and there's always a scare!