JoshC.

Not updated on the Android app yet, so I can't really judge the map on a dodgy grainy image. Seems more suited to the new brand, but I'm not entirely sure at the moment. And EC!, by the looks of it, the colours of the rides aren't going to be wholly representative of what they are in real life...

One more suggestion from me about this ( ): After a while, there'll be members with loads of awards, which could end up cluttering the signatures a bit at the bottom. Is there any way to have coloured medals, so say if you've attended 5 meets, instead of having, for example, 5 silver medals, you have 1 gold medal? Then 6 means you have 1 gold, 1 silver, etc. Not sure if that's even something which is possible / already in place, but think it'd be quite cool if that could / is happening!

I spy with my little eye, something beginning with 'ugly Smiler queue line extension'... Photo from Tatenhill Aviation

^That was my original thought and I was somewhat sceptical about it. However, it could be a continuation of the small performances that happened last year, where lesser-known artists / comedians / etc. are showcased as well. Or even a mix of that and Be Discovered. Could be quite nice!

http://thorpepark.com/shark-hotel/ 'THORPE PARK Resort Live!' is going to be happening as well...

I think, if you want to award post counts, it should be 100, 250, 500, 1000 and either stop there, or carry on in thousands from that point. I think they're pretty respectable milestones and there's enough 'lower ones' to encourage part-timers to post more regularly, whilst stopping continued spam. I like everything else, all seems pretty fine to me. The only other one I would suggested is an award for having a particularly highly liked post (maybe 5 likes and 10 likes?). It shows you've made a good-quality post that people have enjoyed, so could encourage more good quality posts. Also, it's more of an 'award', something you've achieved, as opposed to an achievement you can kinda 'unlock', if that makes sense? Just an idea.

That stunt show

I like the idea of an Awards Bar, but remain somewhat sceptical about ones relating to user posts, as it could lead to people nonsense-posting 'just to get the award'. Could work either way, as it is nice to show people who are being dedicated to the forum, but at the same time, could go the wrong way.

^I'm sure 25 fanboys on park will increase the busyness of the park dramatically...

Double post alert! Press Release about this all http://thorpepark.com/press/releases/2014/06-03-2014-HHD-THORPE-PARK.doc (Opens as a Word Document) Really trying to push the whole 'Something to do for the under 1.4m too'

I'd much rather a ride where you can vary the ride experience and is just sheer fun than a bog-standard, fairground ride, which offers the same experience every time, and would essentially be a step backwards for the park, considering they got rid of a Twister-like ride 10 years ago. Unlike a dodgems ride, it would be a needless addition. Plus, I doubt there's enough room for a Twister and associated queue line in that space. KEEP THE TEACUPS!!

I love the ambient music on Swarm's island; absolutely amazing Also a big fan of some of the stuff that Inferno used to have for Fright Nights. X's music last season was really good too.

David Cameron phone pictures just keep on coming...

From living with a people doing a variety of subjects, it very much depends on what you end up doing at uni which determines how many deadlines you have to keep up with. For example, last term, I was having to do 3 Assignments every fortnight (two of which were due at the same time each time, which was annoying), as well as having to chip away at doing an essay (yes, Maths students have essays too ). This term has been a bit more relaxed for me, but the past couple of weeks have been a nightmare, with essays to do, Assignments to hand in, a presentation next week, as well as revision for exams which are just over a month away. However, other people seem to not have many deadlines at all, and just have bigger project due in about once or twice a term. Then there's others who have loads of essays due in in the same week, so unless you start them early, you just have a week of pure misery, with 9 other weeks of doing very little. Then there's some people who just do exams pretty much, so have very little to worry about in terms of deadlines. As with anything, if you keep on top of things to the best of your ability, you'll be fine (even if it is really stressful!). (Oh, and Tommy, I'm sure you'll have plenty of work to do in second year and beyond; enjoy it whilst you can... )

http://www.toynews-online.biz/news/read/yoohoo-friends-teams-with-chessington-world-of-adventures/041931 For those of you unaquainted: http://yoohoo.auroraworld.com/ I've noticed some toys in Merlin shops the past couple of yeas which I think are YooHoos. But still, a needless sponsorship for no apparent reason. Yay?

I hit the 1.4m meter barrier between the 2003 and 2004 closed season (so when I was 9; wow I feel a bit old now...) Great marketing from Thorpe. When I first read this, I thought it said opening day, not opening weekend, so was a bit concerned.. But nah, it's a very good move from the park me thinks.

Woah! Looks like I won't be going then. Had to do a bit of planning to make sure I could justify the cost; should've acted quicker it seems. Ah well, an extra £40 in my pocket is probably a good thing for a student Glad to see it's been popular though!

It's a preview weekend spanned over 2 days. Yes, it's a shame they aren't opening for an extra hour, but if it means the park is better prepared for full opening, then all the better.

I didn't actually know people walked on that thing?! Not the most pleasing thing to the eye, but I guess if they want to be safe rather than sorry, that's the simplest thing to do. Could be worse.

To be fair, if we wanted to be facetious about it all, Saw did technically open on time, even if it was just for an hour.. I can see that my point did ignore a couple of points, but the general point I was getting at is that Thorpe have never left anything till the last minute, and other than the 2011 AP event, have never opened anything new half-done or anything, Why would there be concern that Angry Birds Land would be rushed, incomplete and poor quality given that track record?

That wasn't Opening Day though; that was the AP Preview Event. Admittedly, Storm Surge was a bit of a mess for the Preview Event, but other than that, everything else has been fine.

The trouble with a wristband system is you'd need to give wristbands to those who ARE going to be riding the rides (otherwise one could easily get a wristband and then take it off when they get into the park). This then makes everything more difficult, adding a few more costs to the general running of the park, and makes it more difficult for guests. A wristband system would just be silly.

Other than the waterfalls mid way through the slide, it is essentially the same. Storm Surge isn't good, we all know that, but it's not exactly like we were promised much more than a ride which would just spin you round and get you slightly wet. Regardless, my point still stands - under Merlin, Thorpe have managed to get everything open on time (bar X last year, which was Vekoma's fault, so I'm not *really* counting that)

The promised quality of Storm Surge wasn't exactly great. We all knew it was going to be a cheap ride that looked cheap and felt cheap. It was just meant to be a ride which everyone could ride really. Got we were promised really...