JoshC.

This. I think my feelings on CCR and whether it should open again or not have been perfectly clear since the moment it's closure was announced... (stuff it; if Slammer mucks up again any time soon, just close it permanently and reopen CCR with the savings... )

That specific quote seems to also be (partly) mentioned in this article - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-22689609 (which itself has parallels to NST). I'd be interested if this Mr Sim rode NST before or after the tweaks that were made, which, from what I've heard, could make a world of difference to opinion. Anyways, that itenery looks great. It's a shame that the 'big parks' with all the money don't really bother to celebrate things like this in any way; if a small park like PH can do something that sounds so great, then pretty much all parks should be able to.

That is probably the most depressing sight I've seen at a theme park...

Can't wait till my trip in July to try this out. All in all, it seems like an amazing addition to AT's line up, and if the reviews I've heard are anything to go by, it is a great ride. I'm not buying into any hype (especially the whole 'better than Nemesis' stuff), because of 'new ride syndrome', but I am excited. Anyone heard any rough ideas on throughput along the grapevine? I read 600pph on Facebook, though surely that's utter rubbish.

Woo, glad this was able to happen! Unfortunately, it's the day I come back from uni and because I have to collect results in the afternoon of that day too, I probably wouldn't be back in time for it. So gutted as I was one of the people asking for it and would have loved to have been there. Have fun though guys!

Currently the quoted queue time is a lovely 3 hours... http://www.ridetimes.co.uk/

Great to see. Can't wait to here some (non-spoiler) reviews in the coming hours!

Well, behind closed doors they better be confident it will open tomorrow, considering the minisite still states 'Join Us May 2013', otherwise they've led themselves to a massive muck up...

'You've Been Framed - TPM Edition', or some amusingly unamusing name like that maybe? XD

The general view I seem to hear and read of the backwards rows is that they're good, but people prefer the forwards rows. From Thorpe's perspective, I can't see them lasting more than 2-3 seasons (so just before the next coaster) before they'd consider just going back (and no, there's not a pun there ). That would also be long enough for B&M to conduct any research they may want to conduct on the backward rows (forces, stress on the trains, etc.)

I doubt it can be resolved, as the issue seems to more be because of Facebook changed image URLs as opposed to an issue with the forums, which is a shame indeed

As much as I appreciate X is better for the park as it stands, I MUCH preferred X:\NWO.

Oh the days of GCSEs when you have a ridiculous number of exams making it neigh-on impossible to be examined to your full potential...how I do not miss them! Good luck with them! My first exam was on Saturday and went pretty well I think. In theory, it's probably my easiest module of the year, but the exam was harder than normal this year. Should be fine though. Got 5 exams in the next 4 days which will be a bit of a nightmare, and tomorrow will probably be the worst of the lot, with 2 exams (which is unfortunate, as one of them is the most important exam of the year, and the one that I'm worst at). Woo, fun fun fun...

Unfortunately, Tornado is an Intamin (and so by definition will be rough, uncomfortable and generally rubbish) and not Gerstlauer!

For me, it's too hard to choose what single ride I miss the most. WWH was just one of those ride which everyone could enjoy (even if the finale did scare me...), and it's a true shame it burnt down. I do wonder how long it would have had left anyway, but that's beside the point. Then the original Flying Fish was just amazing. From the old-style trains, the fish fountain and all the foilage around. Despite the new Fish being the same, it can never replace it the old one, and I think the lack of foilage and ponds is the main reason. I wasn't expecting the same level of foilage, nor was I expecting it straight away, but I hoped it would grow into something similar - 6 years after opening, that just has not happened... Then there's CCR, which I just adored. And also the Jetties to and from the Farm. Maybe not a ride per se, but it was something which I really enjoyed and has a lot of nostalgia for me. So yeah, no one single ride I can pick out that I miss the most, and a lot of that could well be down to nostalgia I guess.

I don't have an issue with the roofing of the queue really. However, it looks like a quick fix job and that they've salvaged rusty metal sections from the tip, so not a good look in that respect. I just want to see this ride open now, for the sake of the park...

Smiler won't open this Bank Holiday weekend at all - http://www.altontowers.com/the-smiler-faqs/ Can't see them making the advertised May opening now unfortunately...

So THAT'S where Merlin source the beef for their burgers at the Burger Kitchens...

The park have been awarded a 'TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence' - http://www.thorpepark.com/press/releases/2013/23-05-2013-TripAdvisor-Excellence-Award.doc (opens as a Word Document). Well that's good!

No washing machine?! But...but... Washing machines? (Image from TS's Facebook)

This was tweeted by CoasterForce earlier. May not be much, but at least there's some form of compensation for Annual Pass holders as well if they still went today (which doesn't always happen!)

http://forum.maniahub.com/topic/9917-next-big-thing-20152016-coaster/page-4#entry147676 That post has everything that I think we 'know' about the next coaster and its opening date. This season has seen a lot of focus on the entertainment side of the park, so I wouldn't be surprised if the next coaster opens in 2016 to focus on the entertainment and accomodation strategy. However, from planning documents, it remains unclear as to when the next coaster is planned for.

According to some members on TST who have phoned up, it has failed a H&S check today... Oops. EDIT: And according to members of TTF who are on park. the H&S checks are to do with fire exits, evacuations from the buildings and such, as opposed to the ride. So, in theory, it could open Friday/Saturday, or at push, tomorrow even.. Make of all that what you will!

I'd be very interested as to the reason for this delay; 'teething problems' is of course very vague. The fact that just yesterday Ben and the other competition winners were told that they'd be able to ride on Thursday before the public after having pushed it back from today is...interesting (I wonder what's happening with that now?!). The park have seemed fairly confident that the ride would open tomorrow, so either this is a last-minute problem, or they've just been too optimistic. Without knowing full details, it's hard to criticise AT here in my honest opinion. If this is something really unexpected that happened today / yesterday evening, then I guess it's just really bad luck. If they've been too optimistic with this date then, well, AT deserve some of the slack that's coming their way really. Also, I think they need to lay of the 'WE HAVE OVER 50 ATTRACTIONS' stuff; the whole point of tomorrow (and probably the next few days) would be Smiler; for enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts alike. Either way, this is a PR disaster for the park, and one they don't really need...