JoshC.

Via @derekburgan on Twitter: CATTLEPEN IN GRINGOTTS! (And that's another reason why Angry Birds Land is better than Diagon Alley )

Just a suggestion... Peaj is obviously a busy man, so is it worth, in future, other people volunteering to write an 'official' trip report for meets? I always like reading trip reports in general, the the Meet ones in particular are great (either to relive memories or to see what I've missed out on!). Plus I think having an official TR always looks good for newer members if they're thinking of going on a trip. In the past, I've thought about doing a TR, but then end up not doing it as I know there's going to be an official one - and the fact I've usually left an hour or two early - but if I was told to / asked to do an official one, that'd give me more of an incentive.

It was last rethemed the same year they got Colossus. It's in dire need of a retheme and considering Thorpe have been focusing on families and guest experience lately, I don't see any reason why they can't get a new attraction and retheme it. Sure, it's extra money, but it'll be money well spent.

Obviously going to be rethemed around Saw next season then.

I personally felt that Single Rider never really worked with Stealth. Too much faffing about and by the time staff realised there was a spare seat, it took so long for them to get a single rider, let them drop off their bag and then get to their seat that it would just hold up the ride a little bit. If you're going to have a SRQ on a ride, the queue lines needs to be incorporated; it's too difficult to shove it in with a Fastrack queue, exit queue or disabled queue. In saying that, I thought SRQ worked well on Saw, and I rarely found it possible that you'd be able to jump in the main queue from the SRQ as staff would always be watching to ensure you didn't do that. I just don't think SRQ will ever really work at Thorpe. Just not enough space for it to work in my opinion. It's a shame really, but I just can't see it ever working.

Presumably Ricky was more referring to a maximal theoretical throughput, as opposed to a theoretical one. Human flaws (with both staff and guests) will make it very difficult to achieve those throughputs. I think it's very rare that you ever get a ride reach (or exceed) maximal theoretical throughputs!

Stop medalling in other people's baniness.

I've made it no secret that I've liked the Shark from Day 1. However, I do see people's concerns / dislikes about it. Personally, I thought it looked a bit more vibrant and colourful than the photos show. It doesn't really look like junk in person, more like a collage of metal. On the other hand, I'm disappointed that the inside received no "scrap pieces", showing all the metal framework. It looks a bit dodgy and untidy really; would much rather have seen it given more piece on the inside for a more complete feel. It still looks great from a distance, but close up, perhaps not so much.

I could see it being popular during the days where Summer Nights are occurring in the evening. After all, some people will turn up for the 10am-6pm/7pm day, then stay for the extra 3 hours for Summer Nights. Some people will be more than happy to take an hour away from doing rides to experience the Flow Rider, given the fact they could be spending 11 hours on park! They were still offering the 2 for 1 offer on Sunday as well.

The Thorpe Park Mania logo at the top of all the forum pages has disappeared for me. Anyone else got this issue? :S

Given the angle of that photo, I wouldn't be surprised if The Swarm was the reason it was destroyed, not fixed!

Didn't like the Angry Birds 4D Experibance.

Next month, Universal Studios Florida introduce their 'Diagon Alley' expansion to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It sees the headline attraction 'Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts', the Hogwarts Express, as well as numerous shops from the Harry Potter universe. As to be expected, everyone is excited about the development. However, why should we be so excited? We've got a newly opened area which is much better than Diagon Alley ever could be - Angry Birds Land at Thorpe Park! Travelling all the way to America seems pointless when most of us on this forum can pop down to Thorpe in under a couple of hours to enjoy the delightful Angry Birds Land. First of all, let's look at the rides and attractions in each area. Angry Birds Land has a 115ft drop tower, perfect for thrill seekers, some fun dodgems, which are perfect for everyone, and a 4D cinema experience, which again is perfect for everyone. So, here, we have a land which caters for all ages - we have a ride which is solely dedicated for a thrill audience. As far as thrill rides go, Detonator: Bombs Away! is as thrilling as you can get; there's not many better drop towers around after all. Then there's a good set of dodgems. Okay, so dodgems aren't anything special, you can find them anywhere. But people like dodgems, and if people like something, you give it to them! Finally, the 4D experience is clearly something that's been designed for a younger audience, yet it works for everyone. What's most surprising about it is how immersive the attraction felt - it's a film about a set of cartoon birds, who don't speak, trying to get the precious eggs back from some bad pigs. Yet you feel a part of the film, you can create emotional bonds with the birds, and you feel like you're there with them. For a cartoon, that's pretty darn impressive. Now, Diagon Alley. We have a headline attraction being ride about escaping from a bank. Escaping...from a bank. Just let that sink in for a moment. And this will have loads of goblins scattered about. Not gonna lie, those goblins looked pretty hideous in the films, I imagine they'll look even more hideous in real life. Not exactly a family-friendly thing to have is it? Especially considering this is already a ride about escaping from a bank that you've broken into (great moral values there!). Now, this ride is apparently some epic dark ride/coaster combo. These types of rides are always risks, since some people's expectations can really shape how they react to the ride. Expect a coaster, you may be left unthrilled. Expect a dark ride, you may be left unimmersed. It's a really, really big risk. Then you've got a train ride linking two parks together. Now, it will of course be more like a 4D experience, and this all sounds well and good. But it's not going to be easy to create a 4D experience about a franchise which already has so much going for it; very difficult to create an emotional link to the story. I have so many concerns. Then there's also theming. Okay, Angry Birds Land's theming isn't the greatest, and there's room for more. However, let's step back and look at what Diagon Alley's theming will entail. Firstly, there's a dragon that breaths fire. Fantastic. That's better than anything at Angry Birds Land. However, this dragon doesn't move, from the looks of it at least. Talk about unrealistic! What's the point in having a creature for theming if it doesn't move. You're meant to be in a world where a dragon has just escaped; it's not gonna stand still, lording it over everyone else puffing some fire occasionally. It's going to move. Angry Birds Land's theming at least makes sense; you're in a snapshot of a game, where some birds have just been catapulted, others are about to be, and so forth. It makes perfect sense to the story. Diagon Alley's dragon does not. Then there's all the shop fronts. They're shop fronts from shops in a back alley in London. Where's the excitement in that? The transportation to a whole new world? You can't get that here. It's basically just like walking down a part of London with shops you've never seen before (which isn't exactly difficult). Poor theming really; it's taken realism a step too far. There's other things as well. Harry Potter is an outdated IP. The last book was released 7 years ago. The last film 3 years ago. Even if it's still popular, and there's a spin off film series on the way, the main Harry Potter IP is outdated. It's got little more than nostalgia now. It's time to let go. Take away the nostalgia and all we have is a kid's story that finished many years ago, and whilst still memorable, should be left alone, instead of picked away until its dignity has gone away. Angry Birds is about to get its second wave of popularity. There's a major film to be released in 2016. Mobile gaming is still huge, and a new game could easily make it to the top in 24 hours. Now that's a popular and current IP for you. I think that's all I need to get my point across. Harry Potter is an outdated IP, and Diagon Alley is shaping up to be an overhyped dark ride that teaches bad moral values and a 4D experience which could go really well or really badly. Perhaps not the best family area. Angry Birds, however, is a current, popular, IP, with Angry Birds Land having a quality 4D experience and rides for everyone, which everyone will enjoy. It also teaches good moral values (don't steal, fight for what you believe in, yadda yadda yadda). If that's not quality, I don't know what is. So save your money. Avoid Diagon Alley. Save yourself the disappointment. Take a trip down to Thorpe Park and bask in the greatness that is Angry Birds Land, and smile to yourself that you're in a better place than some hocus pocus area set about robbing a bank. You deserve it.

I vaguely remember it being mentioned on here a while back about a destroyed-looking box atop of the Burger King in Amity looking like it could do with some TLC. Well... It's fixed! (Tried finding a photo of the old box for compariosn, but to no avail.) But yeah, nice to see I guess.

Carouselfie

Even if they don't limit it, at £500 a pass, I'd be surprised if many more than 1000 people could actually afford them!

Okay, I was really looking forward to this and it didn't disappoint. I really enjoy all the effects used; worked really well with the film and certainly felt like a complete experience. It was quite immersive at times at well; I bet younger children will really think they're apart of the film, which is really good too. Quick spoiler with my only complaint: But yeah, all in all, very good; certainly my favourite 4D cinema!

Fun dodgems. Decent speed, decent ride length, easy to control. Not much more you can ask for. Fortunately Fastrack (regardless of how pointless and stupid the idea is) wasn't affecting the queue length that much; it wasn't really noticeable. The batching area is a great idea and makes things so much easier. Would of course liked to have seen a bit more theming around it (or a bit more exciting theming at the very least), but we've got we've got I guess. Would love it if the music was louder, as it seemed a bit on the quiet side in my opinion. But yeah, overall, alright dodgems. Nothing that sets the world alight, but a fun addition to the park's line up.

Well, I've updated this... Board is looking nicer, and there's slightly different positioning on the board now (complete conversion list below ) So it's still a work-in-progress a year on, but it's certainly getting there. Character pieces and other Chance/Community Chest cards are coming soon!

From Twitter (how do I embed Tweets by the way?) Nice to seem Thorpe reminiscing! Now quick, everyone favourite it so it shows that people want a dark ride at Thorpe!

No doubt the unique nature of the attraction (free flow and choosing your own way) got a lot of attention within the scare industry. But yeah, scare attractions are very personal with how people react; what one person finds scary, others will find boring. I imagine the uniqueness played a huge role in how it won the award. I personally also found it the best last season, so it's really good to see it getting that recognition. Hear's hoping that they can sort out the problems with the latter half of the maze this season!

(From Thorpe's FB) Nice!

The Bantremist

I need need need need need need need need need need to go. It just looks phenomenal. And that's a massive understatement.