JoshC.

Given that the plans valued the project at £2.3 million, yet we got everything that was including in the plans, it's a bit weird (unless there was some sorta crossover whereby the plans were changed before submitted, but the value of the project wasn't?). To be honest, for under £1m, I think the cinema experience alone is worth it. Shame though; double the budget could have seen some very nice things!

http://www.altontowersguide.com/gallery/behind-the-scenes/the-smiler/ Behind the Scenes / Lift Hill walk of Smiler!

Whoops, just deleted that post after realising that You're Next has been taken off this season's adverts, which would mean it's not returning. :S I agree with you that TCM Would be a good choice though!

Unfortunately, I won't be making this meet. Really, really want to, but it's just not feasible. I hope it's a great success and that this is the first of many 'more exotic' trips to come!

You see, the trouble is, I don't think if you simply spruce up the park, it'll make people want to visit. It definitely will make people who are already there want to visit again, but it won't necessarily entice people to want to go there in the first place. They'd need more. In the case of Thorpe, they've had such large amounts of investments (the last time there was nothing new was 1997; before a fair few members on here were born!), so people could well 'expect' something new, otherwise they won't feel the need to go there. Whether that new thing is a new ride, a new show, some gimmicky event, whatever, they'll need to get something new to entice people in. Simply sprucing up areas won't be enough (unless it's a large retheme). It will have to be a slow process - adding new things and sprucing things up until such a time they've given people enough reason to want to return that they can afford to just take a year to not add anything new. And I just don't think that year will come for another 2-3 years.. The care of rides is certainly one of the highlighted problems with Merlin's parks. Of course, they can't take all the blame, but still, it's something which really needs to be addressed. We don't want to see more cases like Loggers tunnel, Dragon Falls theming, RMT, etc.

They wouldn't put another attraction on Swarm's island - simply because there isn't enough space! Lost City has always been a mish-mash of very loose themes and if Thorpe were to ever go back to themed areas, that'd be the most difficult one to sort out (certainly wouldn't envy the creative team that would have to do it!). I'd like an Air Race at Thorpe, but at the same time, the place has enough rides which spin, twist and flip you. Would be a good ride for the current target market though, given it's only got a 1.2m restriction.

Pretty sure I've seen this mentioned before, but no pictures: (Photo by TowersStreet). You can pay to charge you phone whilst on park. This one is near Dark Forest, and there's one by Forbidden Valley as well.

My only trouble with the new branding, as it stands, is that it can feel 'too professional'. I feel like there's a bit of life and soul missing in it; there's no real character - just a kinda corporate idea. Despite all the old branding's flaws, you can't question the fact that it had life and character. Not even asking for much; just something that splashes some sort of life or humour or something into the place.

"polygon-like shapes" So 2D shapes. It's a shame that all this effort went into background research, and the final result feels like it's missing something to tie it all together.

Don't think anything had been said either way yet. Only thing that's been confirmed so far is that the event itself is being called Howl'o'ween now.. From what I heard about it, I hope it does return!

I like you already! Welcome to the forums.

Was seemingly the Azteca grand opening today... Restaurant Entertainers (All images from Chessington's Twitter).

Aww man, I thought the Fright Nights meet was met meant to be a killer get together.

Couple of pictures from inside the preview room, as uploaded by Towers' Facebook... There's more, but they more show the exterior.

Why did this never happen?

Well it is meant to marmalise your mind and body, so it was clearly designed to beat you up so it fits the theme!!

http://gardaland2015.it/en/interviews A new video, "Interviews", is on the minisite. Marco Rinaldi, the news presenter, seems far too happy about all this. I think TG "O" should get a more serious-looking presenter to report on this shocking news story...

Saw is the only coaster I've greyed out on (admittedly, this was on a hot day, was my 4th ride of the day and I was a bit dehydrated). It's certainly no Nemesis, but it is an intense ride to me.

Considering Thorpe essentially lost a maze last season (same amount of attractions as in 2012, but since Blair Witch was classed as a scare zone, one less maze), I personally think Thorpe would be mad to take away Asylum and not replace it with something else. I don't particularly think that Asylum's queue (after the fencing of the Fungle spot occurred) is that terrible. It just means people have to walk around the Carousel, which is no big deal in my eyes. Yeah, it's a bit of a pain, and it looks terrible, but it doesn't do any harm. EDIT: They stopped using the Fungle queue because the area was fenced off for cosmetic reasons (season-round, the fence looks a bit better than the random, deserted ride). I doubt they'd bring Freezer back, simply because they've got the Lionsgate deal; seems rather pointless having the partnership and not making full use of it! If they can get the right IP, they could very easily keep Asylum the same anyways.

Double post but oh well... I've noticed on the Eventbrite page that there's only 1000 tickets per night for Premium and VIP MAP holders. Has there ever been a limit like that before? Seems a bit odd to restrict the number of people with those passes that can get in. Of course, I've no idea how many people have Premium passes, but surely there's got to be quite a lot, and many will want to be going to FN?

Yeah, they went back to 10pm openings last season. There was talk about some of the smaller rides closing early (other than the likes of Loggers where it has to close early because of lighting of whatnot), but I think most rides stayed open till 10pm anyways.

In case anyone is a bit confused, the layout previously posted were confirmed over Efteling's Facebook to not be the official ones, but more to show the location of the coaster. The exact quote was: (Sourced from Towers Street). So we have no idea on the layout - exciting times!

I like it! I know some people may dislike the idea of news broadcasts and how it's copying Swarm's idea in that respect, but I think it's sufficiently different. Yes, the reuse of Oblivion's logo and that is just silly, but I do think the actual idea of the ride will be different enough to what there already is; even if it is drawing on inspiration from other rides..

Assuming that ordinary guests are still allowed to eat at Bar 360 after park close like last season, then I don't see why it can't be extended to all guests?