JoshC.

I've heard rumours swaying both ways towards whether the next major coaster will be 2015 or 2016, so I remain 50/50 in that area. One thing which remains apparent to enthusiasts, and possibly non-enthusiasts, is that the non-coaster year investments at Thorpe haven't exactly set the world on fire. After the past 10-12 years Thorpe have had, throwing attraction after attraction, investment after investment, would 2 more non-coaster years affect the park in a more than negative fashion (especially if they're similar to past ones we've seen)? I dunno. As for what I want, I don't know. I believe near the end of last year, pluk set up a 'Next Big Thing' thread, where I mentioned about either a woodie or just a plain and simple, fun coaster with plenty of air time could be good ideas, but they both had negatives to them. I still remain of the exact same opinion really. Like many enthusiats though, I'd love to see a ride which focuses mainly on airtime (and that's not just directed at Thorpe, that's directed at the UK in general). If that could fit in with Thorpe's idea of their next big coaster, especially as they can go up to 50m for this one, that'd be great. The one thing which continuosly hangs on my mind, however, is that the MTDP stated how the "2012" and "2015" coasters would not exceed 850m in length. Presumably, regardless of whether the next coaster opens in 2015 or 2016, it would be under that restriction, and possibly could not be changed even with a specific application (I dunno too much on planning constraints though, so don't take any of that too concrete...). I personally would not want an airtime monster if it's going to be 'short and sweet' if you will; I'd want one which goes on and on for a long period of time. Ditto with a woodie / RMC hybrid - why get one when it would be short compared to many other woodies? So basically, I don't have a clue what I'd put in at Thorpe next. They have a large variety of coasters at the moment, and other coasters which I think would add to the current line up perfectly would not shine under the current planning constraints I believe the park are under.

Dunno really, just not my cuppa tea.

Nice view of Stealth, nice sky, but that rope ruins it somewhat. 4/10. Oh, and Mer... It was Saw, but it was taken in the middle of summer on probably one of the hottest days of 2009. Guess that's what I get for using a 3MP camera phone though

Just realised that the July date is thrthe same day as the Black Cherry Fair, which is something I always do and usually ends up being as nice family day. Will end up as a maybe for everything then.

Yes.

The vertical loop with 'top hat' on Full Throttle at SFMM has been completed: (Credit to The Coaster Guy's FB) Looks okay I guess. Them supports though...

Just something I want to point out... When people post photos that aren't their own, can they credit who it belongs to? I know I've been guilty of it in the past, and it can sometimes annoy people if they haven't got credit for their own photos, and would hate to see people on here get in trouble for something like that.

As it is, Rumba needs a bit of TLC. The cave feels like a bit of a mess, needs some sorting out. Then just some form of water effect during the ride apart from the tunnel and the finale; nothing too extreme, just a bit of fun. I do enjoy Rumba and is one of the few rides left of park where you can simply enjoy it with a group of people. It just needs a bit of work to be brought up to standard. Seeing the touch ups and improvements made this season, I'd hope that in the next year or two, we could see something of some substance.

The indoor MCBR is meant to be crossbows; you hear a crossbow noise at the same time as the air, but it's sorta drowned out due to the noise of the air. I honestly don't think it was meant to recreate / resemble any of the traps from the films - I'd bet my bottom dollar it will be exactly the same if the Saw IP gets dropped.

"Rate the avatar of the person above you." => gives a rating / score. So, James. ORP of Swarm - instant 8/10. Go for a goofier look for a higher score.

Last week the park was rather quiet as far as I'm aware, no doubt due to the cold weather and snow. I dunno what it's been like this week, but it's warmed up a bit now, so it's probably getting slightly busier. People may have put off trips till the end of Easter break due to the weather. I'd say for Thursday expect queues of up to an hour for the major coasters (and maybe X, due to the reduced capacity and that), and around 30 minutes for the flats. Could be a little more, could be a little less - a bit of an unknown at this stage I'd guess though!

Rush seems to always have a dodgy start to the season, whether it be opening late, having some downtime, only swing open, etc. It seems to work better as the season goes on, at least I think so. Replacing Rush would be needlessly costly and pretty much pointless.

I've given up worrying about my weight now to be honest. When I was younger, I was borderline anorexic and underweight. I then became overweight and have stayed overweight for goodness knows how long - probably about 8-9 years now. In terms of BMI, I was probably classed as obese. These days, I'm probably simply classed as overweight according to BMI (body fat I have no idea) and weigh somewhere in the region of 13st. Since starting uni, which led to me eating more healthily and eating less, and going on jogs more regularly, I have lost some weight, but it doesn't show really - maybe I've toned up a bit, but it doesn't seem like it. I have lost an inch or two from my waist, but it's only really something I've noticed from wearing my jeans; it doesn't physically show. Peaj - good luck with everything! If I were you, something I'd always keep in mind is you're not unhealthy really (in my personal opinion, it's better to be a little bit overweight than a little bit underweight - if it had to be one or the other that is), so even if you don't lose as much weight as you want / tone up as much, as long as you're trying and have the intention to continue, you're all good and there's nothing to get hung up about if you don't do 'as well as you wanted'!

Bit crude maybe, but oh well...

The bridge near Stealth will probably come when the coaster on the next island opens up. I have heard the odd case from non-enthusiasts about not being sure how to get to Swarm; though it was literally the odd one case, but seems to be a bit more common. Maybe as the park continues to expand size-wise, a couple of signposts here and there to major rides might be a good idea?

I'd ride it, and as others have said, it would probably fit in in somewhere like Adventure Island. Wouldn't put it in at Thorpe. Too funfairy. Sure, they're a thrill park, but Thorpe should be considering things which will continue to bring people in - a ride like this would get old quickly, and is too common. They need things which are special (not necessarily unique) and won't wear off quickly. One final thing, and it's the thing which stood out most to me... What makes you think they'll be a 2014 ride?

Isn't it only on passes issued at Chessie during the January Sale? If so, it could be a mistake on their system there during that period. It's not affecting anywhere else, and it's not a general problem with passes from Chessie. It should eventually be sorted so people who are unaffected by it should stop worrying about it.

I think many people find it scary as well due to the high level of media attention it got in its first couple of seasons when it was breaking down with people on it. Of course, that then gets over exaggerated to 'People were stuck upside for hours in the freezing cold!' Whilst I agree that it looks intimidating, I just find the general ride experience somewhat boring...

It was open today. I saw it on one swing in the afternoon but I think it was on two swings in the morning - not too sure though.

So, I went on X today, and well...I'm a bit disappointed. First thing first - my expectations. I wasn't expecting anything amazing, but some loud music, some nice lights in different sections and for it to be a bit of fun. In turning it forwards, I knew it wouldn't be a great coaster by itself, just something that was a bit random. As a note, anyone wishing to have the experience unspoiled should stop reading now... When the ride first starts and you go up the lift hill, my first thought was 'Wow, this looks good'. You can hear the music in the distance and see the lights - this should be quite fun. You then start, and you realise the 'music in the distance' isn't really in the distance, it's as loud as it's gonna get. The light show is nice, but after a short while, the impressive of them wears of and I quickly began to feel they weren't there to wow you, but to light everything up in a slightly more creative way than turning the lights on. The breaks don't feel random any more; they feel like you've broken down. I think their effect is only suited to the ride being in the dark in honesty. As said, the wow factor of everything wears off quickly and the ride begins to bore you, instead of intrigue you (as the ride did as you continued previously). I feel quite biased in reviewing this, having a weird soft spot for X:\NWO, and I almost instinctively think to myself 'well, when it went backwards, it was like this...', which I guess is only natural. But I feel they've almost done too much. Personally, I think adding the lights and such and turning it forwards was too big a change - the ride is now a bit of bore and doesn't give you any sort of buzz. I guess the thinking was 'Turn it round for the kids and add rave-esque stuff for the adults'. Whilst I can't comment on how kids find it, the rave stuff just isn't any cop for the older target market - this is coming from someone who hates nightclubs too. The music isn't loud enough (or memorable enough...), and the lighting effects are only nice. I think it would have been better to just make the trains go forward OR add in the extra lights (and get new trains with individual lap bars if it would lower the height restriction). As I say, both changes just makes it too weak of a ride in my opinion. I guess it hasn't even been open a week though. Hopefully the sound and lighting will be tweaked as time goes on until they've found something right. Just a case of playing the waiting game... X - 5/10

On reflection now, I do think the backwards rows idea on Swarm is brilliant - it makes the ride even more re-rideable and just seems all round great. The queue system isn't great though, and on busier days, I expect it to be a nightmare for staff and guests. Speaking of queues, there was one point where the Fastrack queue for Swarm was longer than the main queue! Made me chuckle...

Went to Thorpe today. Wasn't expecting warm weather, though I wasn't expecting it to snow today either! A fair bit of snow, on and off during the day, some times it was blizzard conditions. Most rides were operating, expect Saw and Colossus. Inferno opened late and Stealth was only on one train all day; don't quite know why? We arrived just about 10 to 10 and the park had opened, so we headed straight to X (avoiding Swarm due to what seemed like 3/4 of the park going there...). Review in the appropriate topic, but in short...I'm somewhat disappointed. Preferred it forwards. Stealth was done, and we seemed to get on it before the queue started to build up. As said, it was on one train all day, which feels me with a bit of concern in honesty - it has 3 trains, and both Swarm and Inferno were on two trains, so it wasn't a park-wide thing. Surely it's not the case the other two trains are out of action? Also did Loggers in the snow. Come to the conclusion that the taking away of the tunnel doesn't really affect the ride experience too much (it does a bit, but not a lot), though the sound effect before the first lift (the 'Your adventure is really about to begin' one) feels pointless. It's still a shame that the tunnel reached the state that it got to and needed demolishing partially - LOOK AFTER YOUR RIDES IN FUTURE THORPE! Lunch was had at the Mexican, as per really. The fajitas were lush. Also, I believe if you get a meal deal at any Merlin outlets and want a hot drink instead of a soft drink, you usually have to pay extra or you just can't do it? Well, today you could get a hot drink at no extra charge - was nice to see. Swarm followed. The queue times said 60mins to go forward, 30mins to go backwards, but it was more like the other way round. As it was my friend's first visit this season, we opted to go backwards, and waited about 45mins. There was a poor balance of back row queue guests in the station though; the right hand side was completely filled and probably another 10-15min wait, whereas the left hand side was literally empty, and the ride before ours' hand empty back row seats. That needs sorting. At this point, it had been snowing for a while and going on Swarm, backwards, in the snow was a mighty experience. Loved it. We then noticed that, as usual for about 2pm this season it seems, The Swarm area was very quiet. The backwards queue was about 10-15mins, the forwards queue about 5-10mins. A couple more goes were had, in increasing snowy conditions, and I was told by a staff member if it got any colder, they'd have to close it down. Both goes ended up being front row on the left hand side. Usually Swarm front row brings tears to my eyes, and this was no different. It felt so fast, so forceful, so elegant. Every time I ride this thing it just feels better and better. My friend's opinion was that whilst going backwards was great, forwards is just about better. Saw some preparations for Mash Up on Swarm's island; a stage in the same place as last season. No work was going on in the arena. I do hope the event, starting tomorrow, doesn't get snowed off! Inferno times finished off the day, with a 30 minute queue and a brilliant as ever ride. For those wondering, no mist on today, but I expect that to be down to the weather as opposed to anything else. Finally, here's a couple of piccys of the park in the snow (these were taken on my phone, so sorry if the quality isn't great): Snowy Swarm. Snowy Tidal Wave. Many mad people rode Tidal Wave today. I love the 'hard guy' on the back row on this boat - he looked frozen solid.. I think this was my first time on park whilst it was snowing. It was really rather cold, but it was an experience we both enjoyed, and one which I hope I can experience again - though hopefully not too often..

Yep, it opened a little late, but it when it opened, it was going strong. Pretty much had a 30min+ queue all the time it was open. And as a little Inferno birthday present... Feel the heat SNOW!

Same! This is just another reason to hate spiders...

I thought it was tomorrow? WIKIPEDIA YOU HAVE FAILED ME! (shock horror)