JoshC.

Ooh, good point. Thorpe's numbers were seemingly also affected last season, so I'd be surprised if Towers' drop in numbers was so large that it'd be less than Thorpe. But who knows!

Let's move back to generally discussion Alton Towers... Alton Towers is the most visited theme park in the UK. Yay. Go them.

One thing which I think worth pointing out is that it's been mentioned that this is a "multi-million" pound investment in what Merlin have said is a low investment year. So it's reassuring to see that even low investments do have the backing they need to make them, hopefully, good investments.

Maybe Jart is Derren Brown?

Ground has broken on Symbolica... Efteling have also announced that they received 4.68 million visitors last year. Edging towards that 5 million by 2020 mark..

http://forum.maniahub.com/topic/4780-couponstickets/page-10#entry229119 Though it does seem worthy of a mention in this thread too

Nah; not even a month. Presumably not wanting to commit to anything yet after Chiapas' opening year problems. Given how things are progressing, I'm expecting it to open around May/June time tbh.

Lots of paving and concrete has been plopped down in de Panne... Fr From Plopsa's FB

Seems like a waste to not upload that video using Facebook's / Youtube's 360 degree video stuff. Looks alright, but it feels a bit too CGI to me at the mo? Like I was more wanting / expecting it to feel a bit more real? Obviously can't judge it without being there, but that's been the immediate though that sprung to mind.

Little article about the 12p tickets: http://www.thorpeparkmania.co.uk/news/09-03-2016/Thorpe+Park+for+a+Shilling%21 Great little idea and no doubt will get a few people's attention. If they don't sell out in 5 minutes I'll be shocked.

Photos... Source: http://themepark.nl/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2308487#Post2308487 That first drop looks absolutely fab! I'm a bit unsure on the theming still; some of it looks a bit tacky I think, but some of it looks pretty awesome. Hopefully when it's finished it will come together quite well. Also, some of the soundtrack has appeared... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLKzEdAl4Ck

The original rumour floating around last season was that Loggers, X and Slammer would be SBNO for 2016, and Colossus would close permanently at the end of the 2016 season. Whilst I believe there was some substance to the 2016 SBNO list (things change), I believe the Colossus rumour is completely false. Then again, part of me does wonder just how long it has left.

Very true. My issue is more a general one, when people moan about parks being busy. Being busy, crudely speaking, is good for any park, since that means they're getting the people through the gates. So when people moan about parks being busy, it can come across as though they essentially are moaning about the parking doing well. Moaning about how a park copes when it's busy, and not wanting to visit during such times, is much more justified though. I didn't really phrase my post well, and has misinterpreted others' points too.

A nice graphic of Klughiem, made my Tobi over on PhantaFriends.de https://www.phantafriends.de/topic/377-neu-2016-themenbereich-klugheim-diskussion-2/?page=240 Just insane! Also gives us a look at Raik's layout (if you can make it out!).

Another conversion which seemed to have slip under the radar: http://mobilesyrup.com/2015/12/16/canadas-wonderland-plans-to-combine-virtual-reality-with-rollercoasters/ Thunder Run, Canada's Wonderland. Limited availability, and has apparently been tested a lot outside of the park's opening hours last year.

What was the reduced line up last year? I didn't go to the AP Day, though do remember a few rides weren't open / opened later in the day. But for the main season, am I right in thinking only Slammer opened late (and IAC opened a bit later as planned)? As I say, I can't remember exactly, but I'm pretty certain that the main season opened rather trouble-free?

I'll be there. Lucky everyone. Not spooning though.

My point is more the minimum number of actors *is* enough, surely? Otherwise it wouldn't be the minimum. I of course want to see as many as possible, and preferably more than needed, but as long as it's the minimum amount, I'm...happy(?) with that. I see the concern, and think it's perfectly justified, but I don't think they'd outright cut actors altogether so quickly, if they are indeed part of the experience.

Re Saw's queue line actors. It was originally said when the ride opened that they'd be around during peak times (Easter, Summer, FN, like Ryan said). They lasted a couple of weeks at the beginning of the season, and then came back at FN09 for 'Saw The Ride Comes Alive'. They occasionally were there over the next 2 years (I think they appeared in Summer 2011 briefly) before disappearing in 2012. They were never intended to be a permanent thing, just something to help entertain people during the busiest times. If Ghost Train has actors, I'd fully expect them to be a necessary part of the experience. So the idea of cutting them would surely be out of the question. Then again, I'm still not sure now that there will be actors, since live action does not necessarily mean live actors. I'd more expect themed ride hosts in a similar fashion in Sub Terra, and maybe them encouraging you to make an active choice (something we know there will be in the attraction). That's live action. Interesting view. Surely a minimal amount of actors is acceptable though, since that's the minimum number they'd need to make the attraction to standard? Not saying they should only ever have the minimum number, but it feels like an odd complaint to me. Mazes are difficult environments to control, so it must be difficult to ensure there's always a suitable number of actors about. Especially in something like Asylum where actors surely needed regular breaks because of the strobes, the odd occasion where there were less actors - whilst not good - seems excusable to me.

The (majority of the) cars you see on the road are deemed safe to use. Doesn't mean they won't crash.

When stretchy mentioned about the lack of American parks, I instantly thought it sounded like such a Six Flags thing. Will be interesting to see how long these things last, that's for sure.

Nothing exciting, but this is from Derren's Facebook:

Thorpe have posted a video on Facebook showing Swarm testing; all rows seem to be facing forward!

Considering Towers do it with Smiler I don't think it's completely out the question.

Flying Aces is now open: https://www.facebook.com/CoasterForce/videos/10153350100928639/ Looks pretty darn fun! Lift hill is a bit slow though...