JoshC.

^Fastrack ratios will likely be different for different rides, depending on the capacity of the ride. The way I've understood how Fastrack used to work (on a normal day) is that anyone waiting in the Fastrack queue waits - at a maximum - a third of main queue time IF there was no Fastrack guests. So, if there was an hour long queue without Fastrack, then Fastrack guests would wait at most 20 minutes. Of course, this means the main queue is longer, since you need to add in the Fastrack users. It's a weird system, and could well be different now. If they're implementing a similar system when RnR is going on, then that's just going to cause so many complications and goodness knows how it would work. For Reserve and Ride to truly succeed, they need to dive in and get rid of the standby queue, and force people to use it (for free of course) or buy Fastrack. Having three different methods of queueing is complicated, confusing and just cannot physically work. I hope that this trial works a treat, showing that the actual computer system works, meaning that they can at least give this another try.

Just a reminder that this is starting in 25 minutes! Mr and Mrs Ice Breaker will happen first, so just after half 7, and the little Quiz will *probably* start at around half 8. All the rules will be explained in Chat. See you there guys!

Couple of pictures which I found on Screamscape (unsure of original source): Layout Logo Website - https://www.carowinds.com/swarm (Was tempted to make some sort of Swarm joke here... ) Looks pretty good; don't like the name though. I don't get this American thing of having a word the adding the ride's height on the end.

Operations Director, Andy Walker, has taken the ice bucket challenge: Will be interesting to see how many of his nominations go online (and how far up the Merlin chain it makes it!)

Kind of in order, since for anything after Inferno, it very much depends on how I feel: 1) Swarm (forwards) 2) Inferno 3) Swarm (backwards) and X 5) Rush 6) Detonator(: Bombs Away) 7) Saw 8) Loggers Leap 9) Stealth 10) Tidal Wave Whilst I haven't actually ridden Tidal Wave for many years, I think it's sheer spectator value gives it a Top 10 spot. Thorpe Park wouldn't be Thorpe Park any more without seeing the huge splash, hearing WWTP Radio or seeing the theming.

Congrats to all on their results. For the most part, GCSEs don't matter too much; as long as they're enough to get you to the next step of life (college, job, whatever), then you're fine and should be happy! Toofy - given how close you are to the geese boundary, you should be able to take Geography A-Level fine; especially if you say how close you were! Pidge - if the grade is provisional, it may mean they're awaiting moderation of coursework, want to double check something or something else; it's unlikely to be because you don't have the certificate. Check with your school's exam officer / your English teacher to be sure though!

It'd probably be a whole lot better than it is now..!

They have done Thursday preview nights in the past; the 2010 and 2011 preview events for FN were definitely on Thursdays, with the first official day being the Friday.

Nice idea - hope people take them up on it! As for price; I'd expect an extra £20-£30 for a bolt on (at a maximum). Given that it's saving guests £10 per visit (£5 for the visit, £5 for the car parking), and they're getting a Fastrack package worth about £15-£20, Thorpe will probably want to entice people to buy it to visit more. As for Fastracks at Fright Nights, whilst I only visited once, I thought that the Fastrack queues were rather short during the night, so actually had little affect on the main queues (since there were times when the Fastrack queue was none-existence. Then again, maybe I visited on a quiet-ish night. Much better than 2012 at least!

Interesting how my opinion's changed on this.. I did like X:\NWO, possibly due to the fact that it was 'that bad it was good'. However, I do prefer X now; much more fun and rerideable as well. As much as I'd like to have just one more ride on it, I don't miss it. Still, my opinion hasn't changed about me missing WWH / CCR / The Flying Fish, as well as the jetties, equally..

Number 2 was the lie. I used to own a Samsung phone, but recently upgraded to the HTC One Mini 2. Old-style TVs are the best, and I do indeed have two pairs of glasses (though only ever wear one...)

Happy birthday Benin - I hope you're having fun collecting more creds in Germany!

I'll do some stuff now, to occupy myself instead of insulting you further Jason ... 1) I don't have a flat screen TV because I prefer the old style TVs. 2) I own a Samsung phone. 3) I have two pairs of glasses. (Yay for being boring with my options...)

Clearly Number 2. *Shakes fist in anger*

Organized Chat! Some people have been asking for Chat-related games/quizzes/ice breakers/whatevers, so I'll have a go at organizing one. So, this Thursday, 7:30pm. Things will start off with an ice breaker game - Mr and Mrs. Rules are still being finalized and stuff, but the idea is that you'll pair up with someone (preferably someone who you don't know very well), then chat with them for a few minutes over private chat bit to get to know the person a bit better. Then there'll be a series of questions, like in the Mr and Mrs game show, that you have to answer about your partner, to see if you've got to know them any better. The idea will be that you have to PM two sets of answers - your guesses about your partner, as well as your answers about yourself, so that I can compare. As I say, rules are still being finalised. (And if this fails miserably, this was LePaige's idea - so it's all her fault ). After the ice breaker, there'll be a small theme park quiz. Questions will probably be about all theme parks and rides - ranging from Thorpe Park to Six Flags to Disney. All a bit of fun of course, just to see how you measure up to others. If you'd like to take part, give a quick post so I know not to start without you. Or, if people want to see a different time, just say - the majority may decide something else. And if you can't take part in this at all, there's usually a couple of people hanging out in Chat most evenings now - why not drop in and say hi?

Empty dodgems. Would benefit from seeing some action going on there. 5/10.

I think that, when the park closes at 10pm, the shuttle bus riibs till 11pm, so you should be okay.

I've found that, in my experience across the Merlin parks, some staff are okay with letting the odd one or two non-AP people through if they're in a group that's mainly AP holders. Some might be a little stricter, some might not be. As you say, no harm in asking!

The amount he was screaming and playing up, I was beginning to think he was an actor to be honest!

Feel like this thread needs to be used some more... 7 toofpikk expertly modelling the glasses used for the Angry Birds 4D Experience. j.s217 is rolling in Inferno's mist with utter joy. Peaj is approving of such shenanigans.

Thorpe Park asked for students to open their A Level results on some rides: (Notice how Saw has a new film IP... )

Feel like this could come in handy at some points...

As much as it pains me to say anything good about Storm Surge, it is better for the park the park then Octopus Gardens in my opinion. At the end of the day, Octopus Gardens was a collection of dated rides which would look more comfortable in a high street than in a theme park. Their popularity was declining (well, of course, considering the target market), and it just wasn't for the park. Storm Surge, despite its list of flaws longer than the Great Wall of China, is a family ride which can be 'enjoyed' by the majority of people. Now the target market is families, but they seem to be focusing on families where the children at slightly older. Chessington and Legoland have family markets that are more geared towards families with younger children, so it makes sense for Merlin to turn Thorpe to do what they're doing. When a child hits 7-8, they'll likely be 1.2m anyways, so can do a lot of rides there now. Octopus Garden just didn't have a place in Thorpe any more, and I think even if Thorpe had always been a family park, it wouldn't have deserved a place any longer than what it got.

It seems that, despite the Haunted House ride for next season being recommend for approval, the council have refused the approve the ride! Why you ask? Fears over extra traffic... http://www.windsorexpress.co.uk/News/Areas/Windsor/Legolands-haunted-house-proposal-refused-planning-permission-14082014.htm Such a shame. I wonder what Legoland's next step will be... EDIT: After looking through the plans and such - http://www.rbwm.gov.uk/pam/view.jsp?ID=14%2F01251%2FFULL - it seems like there was a LOT of objection from locals, with traffic being one the major concerns. Also sounds like there was a disagreement between how much it would encourage new visitors to come to the park. What's most interesting about the comments received is the ones from the Highway Authority. At first, they didn't seem in favour of the project, but then changed their minds.. I wonder if we will see an appeal on our hands then..

^This is just a list for what people would pick; so it may or may not include ones that are currently there! Just wondering; does anyone know how long the current playlist is? I think for me, what's actually played is less important, but more the length of playlist, to keep it fresh and such.