JoshC.

One thing I've been a bit confused by with the new map is that all of the 5 major coaster appear quite equal. I'd have thought that Stealth would have stood out the most, especially in this style of map, since it's the icon coaster. I get that in the year of the new coaster and the year after, the new coaster is more of major focus and the 'icon' ride gets sidelined a little bit, but I find it interesting that there's a lot more equality between the coasters at the moment.

Look at what Thorpe's Marketing Director Jason has been tweeting... Linky - https://twitter.com/JasonPWills/status/444219006095208448 Oooooooh....

Having thought about it some more, and seeing a full-sized image, I do like the new map. It's fresh and easy on the eyes. However, I don't like the fact that the 5 big coasters are essentially made out to be the only worthwhile thing on the map; everything else feels very forgotten about and very 'meh'. It needs a bit more emphasis on the other rides (specifically the water rides I think; they seem to be quite a big for the park) and a bit more of soul and life thrown into it. But yes, I do like it, and it is a step in the right direction. Also, here's what I assume is the reserve side: Saucey - http://thorpeparkmania.co.uk/news/13-03-2014/New-Brand-Unveiled

Tweeted by the park's Marketing Director. Nice promo image as well!

It looks like it's replaced The Showcase; the small enclosed area which houses The Asylum entrance during FN.

A cinema with Fastrack is still pretty dodgy to me; how long are we meant to wait for the film?! And yes, dodgems as well will be something I want to...dodge when it's busy and Fastrack is available for the ride...

Rush is a thrill ride and has a 1.3m restriction. But yes, Inferno has regulalrly been said to have a 115ft maximum height since being built. Here's a nice little info-graphic from the park:

It's an improvement, which is nice. However, I have two issues with the map: -Things are missing. When you don't have graphics showing your rides (like Quantum, Rocky Express), you lose the point of the map. It's meant to give you a visual representation! Other rides, like Rush and Slammer, feel swept under the carpet too. -Where's the soul? At the moment, I'm seeing 'We have 5 amazing coasters!' and 'we have other rides'. The old map had quirkiness at least. It just feels so corporate to me. It needs some life chucked in. As I say, it's an improvement, but it's like in fixing some poor features of the old map, they've created new ones. Lose-lose really

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.