JoshC.

Angry Birds at Thorpe Park clothing range. Maybe 'Chuck's Speedy Getaway' is still a possibility Reference being TPM's April Fools

Very recently updated my background; really love this graphic!

But what if you don't like any of the parties, but still care about the outcome / politics in general? I certainly did not want UKIP to come first, but I wouldn't have wanted to vote for any other party either. Should I have to vote for the party I dislike the least to have a 'right' to complain?

I'm sure discussion of the hotel, the 'Thorpe should get a dark ride' and 'Will Slammer finally be closed down for good?' will replace all of those. And no doubt a Fright Nights *This year +1*' topic will start earlier and earlier too.

They've literally changed a couple of signs and stuck a model of a bird near it? How on earth can that make it look "absolutely horrendous" compared to what it was before? :S

How so? We've got the 'Island like no other' tag line and the park are trying to create an atmosphere which feels special. Hearing the music being played makes me feel like I'm going to a magical place, builds the excitement up, and so forth. I genuinely think that listening to that music will make people think they are on an island like no other. Even if you think it doesn't suit current-day Thorpe, surely you would agree it suits more than The Noise?

My first year counted 10% if my overall degree. Pretty sure it's a Maths / Science thing at my uni; dunno if it's like that anywhere else... I'm glad that it was like that. First year of a maths degree is so vital; you build the foundations for everything you need to know for the rest of your degree. If it wasn't like that, it would be too easy for so many people to coast along, think they could scrap 40%, then fail. What's more, you'd then spend more time ensuring everyone is comfortable with those building blocks, because many people won't ingrain such things in their brain like they should. To be honest, I think that should be how things are across all unis and all subjects. I expect that some degrees don't rely on you being totally comfortable with the ins and outs that you learn in first year. I know that in some degrees (philosophy for example), you can get away with understanding very little in your first year, and hardly building on it at all for the rest of your degree (focusing on breadth rather than depth, essentially). But still, I think having that first year of your degree count for even 5-10% would make all the difference, give people incentive to work harder and make a university degree feel more valuable.

Top work Thorpe.

Hmmm, not gonna lie, I was expecting an audio change. And, in some ways, I kinda wanted an audio change. Would have been interesting to make the audio a bit more comical and light-hearted for such a scary and imposing ride; almost like how Tidal Wave creates a comedy out of a tragedy. Think, if pulled off right, it would have worked really well. I guess I'm more in the minority with the opinion though! I wonder how much guest (or even enthusiast?) views played a part in deciding whether to keep the audio or not?

Huge posters advertising upcoming events, which will be changed on a monthly basis.

Do they? Where? The only time I've ever seen them compare themselves to Disney is when they say that they are "The second largest theme park operator in the world". So it's not even a direct comparison, they're literally just stating a fact about visitor numbers, and then people will think to themselves 'It's popular, so it must be good'. It's just words really. I still don't quite get the claims that this is "lazy", "unimaginative" or "dreadful" being made by people in general. As in, people's opinions are that's it's lazy, but they're not saying why... Maybe the choice of theme is lazy, and a quick appeal to families, but I wouldn't say the final product comes across as lazy. The metal plates on the walls are simple, and maybe they could have been positioned to look a bit more realistic, but I guess it's a game and cartoon - things aren't meant to be totally realistic. You've got to let there be a bit of make believe and stuff. I'm not a big fan of the signs, more could have been done there in my opinion (and, when you compare it to a lot of the other signs on park, they don't feel as good), which is a shame. Be interesting to see (well, hear) what the audio's like in an area - it can make or break it really! The budget is an interesting one, but I wouldn't say that Thorpe's only concern is the profit. That's a Merlin thing. Thorpe really want to focus on customer satisfaction this year, and no doubt there'll be some smaller changes along the season (for the entire park, not just this land) to reflect this. I'm not going to go with the old 'Well, it's not for you' or 'What would you have done?' comebacks either; those points have been argued to death enough times already! Whilst this isn't the peak of originality, the pinnacle of theming and a bit of an easy way to appeal to families, I don't think there's anything wrong with the area, and I wouldn't exactly call it lazy.

Towers Nerd are doing live updates for CBeebies Land today - http://live.towersnerd.com/ Have to say, looks like it's really good. I personally can't make comparisons between the old area and now as I never went in there, however it does seem to be good quality all in all. I wonder if it still has the 'soul' and 'life' in it though when you're in there (certainly looks like it, but you can't tell from a photo!)?

A small selection of photos from TPM's Facebook... Also, a photo from Thorpe's Twitter, which shows Thorpe Divisional Director seemingly doing a small opening ceremony... All in all, it looks good in my opinion. Yes, this isn't a thematic masterpiece that we'd see in the likes of Phantasialand, Disney, etc., but it looks and had a bit of humour to it. I bet younger kids will lap it up too, which is obviously the key point of the area. Can't wait to go down next month and try it all out. So, a promising attraction which I think shows that, with bigger budgets and bigger projects, we'll see grander things to come soon (and if there's a small ceremony for ABL, fingers crossed for bigger opening ceremonies with the big attractions, ey?)...

Keen.

Costumed character alert! From Thorpe's Twitter account.

http://www.scruffydogltd.com/sharks-sighted-thorpe-park/ Article on Scruffy Dog's (the makers of the shark) website about the shark. It really is coming together nicely, and I think that once it's finished, it will look really striking and be exactly what the park are aiming for. By the sounds of it, it won't be completed by the end of the month (which is a shame, since Thorpe said that the feature would be finished in May), but I guess a couple of extra weeks in the short term will do good in the long run.

No idea to be honest. In the back of my mind, I'm thinking the limit is either 6 or 10 guests (no idea why though ). Best thing to do would to be to ask Merlin.

From here: http://www.merlinannualpass.co.uk/perks.aspx Looks like the cheapest way is to book through the perk, since an adult ticket when booked online for Thorpe is about £24.99. Since most guests won't have a MAP, it makes sense for the park to advertise that the "cheapest" tickets are from the main online booking.

Following the persuasion from some members, and the fact that the poll station was on my way home from the bus stop, I voted today. Well, 'voted' - one spoilt ballot.

I imagine the 'retheme' will consist of new signage and new audio, and nothing else. Considering that, I guess they decided to not close it for any period of time. Shame, as it would have been nice to see more theming in the area. But I guess there's still a case of 'waiting and seeing'

Unfortunately, this time at least, I just can't be bothered to actually go down and all that. It is something I've considered doing though!

^I just quickly took that quiz. Says I most side with the Scottish Nationals, despite the fact that I don't think Scotland should become independent... On a serious note, I'm exercising my right to vote by not voting. At home, I live in a very Conservative-strong area and, unfortunately, I'm somewhat anti-Tory. Even the European Elections will led to so, so many Tory voters. In fact, it's so Conservative-strong, I just don't see the point in adding my vote. Any difference my vote would make would likely end up being superficial anyway, so I just don't see the point. Whatever happens, it's not like me voting or not voting makes a difference, so may as well just let time past until we're in an anarcho-communist situation. Then I'd be happy.

Sidders showing his true UKIP ways?