JoshC.

FTW - for the win. Standard internet abbreviation. F&C - Fish & Chips. FCC - Fried Chicken Co. All pretty common abbreviations here which are easier to say; just like with KFC. I hope BK does leave Thorpe to be honest. In my experiences, the Merlin owned food outlets aren't slow at all, bar Bar 360 and similar 'restuarants'. In my experiences, Burger King has never been particularly great, especially compared to quality of the other places at Thorpe, and a Merlin equivalent of it would well received I think.

TTF have posted an article with regards to The Smiler's merchandise - http://old.towerstimes.co.uk/news/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1360264498&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1,10,11 So, the shop will only have Smiler merchandise, nothing else, and there's 82 different products!? Looks like my wallet will end up being very light after my trip(s) to AT this season...

Isn't horse meat a regular thing in other countries, such as France, anyway? I think the thing I'm concerned about is the misrepresentation of the product, which should be the only concern for the public. Anything else is over reaction and fear mongering in my eyes.

Well maybe it should burn to ground ASAP, then none of this would be happening? But I do agree, I seem to be the only so far who has expressed a great dislike to Slammer as a ride. All other negative comments are about the reliability / operations - so I don't see why people think there's great negativity towards the ride itself? I'll leave the Slammer discussion alone now - think I've gotten my opinion across too well!

Have a pint on me then; that should build your confidence back up a bit!

A couple more photos from Cedar Point's Facebook:

I'd wait until it looks less of a construction site before jumping to any sort of conclusions. It'll look much better when it's not a construction site and has trains flying through it. <3

The fact that on the TV advert mentioning Smiler they say 'New Ride opens May 2013' in the small print makes me think they're confident that it will opening in May. Of course, some may say 'Well, they must have been confident about it opening in March originally, so that means nothing', but the fact that they accepted it wasn't going to open then makes me hope / think that new schedules that were made would leave plenty of time for the ride to be finished fully - I don't see why they would advertise a new date if they weren't confident of the ride being open then. In other words, I expect the ride will open in May, no worries.

Mexican Cantina was my favourite last season; but Amity Kebab and Roast Relish! Bar 360 is for when I'm feeling rich, but is still very nice. Presumably we're going to be getting a Burger Kitchen this season? BK is going at AT and Chessie, and I think there were only banner signs for the Canada Creek one near the end of last season, so would make sense. If BK does go, hopefully we don't just get two Burger Kitchens - would like to see some variety! As for PH - never go. Too expensive, too busy and not a wide enough variety compared to regular Pizza Huts.

http://www.newsparcs.com/en/article/00006007-how_bolliger_mabillard_established_its_strong_reputation_interview_with_director_walter_bolliger A great article about B&M, featuring quotes from Walter Bolliger. Nothing particularly groundbreaking, but still an interesting read!

It's interesting you claim that there's hate for Slammer from this forum / online forums in general, yet the most recent Theme Park Awards had Slammer voted as the UK's best flat ride by members on this very forum. Just a bit of food for thought for you.

I've only just read your Raptor vs Swarm battle Mark, and I have to say, I really enjoyed it. Usually I don't like seeing comparisons between rides due to all the different factors that are taken into consideration when they're being designed and such, but I think the way you compare them in 'rounds' works really well! Do hope you do more in the future. Would be particularly interested in seeing a battle of some B&M Inverts.

The trouble with the uniqueness argument is that it just doesn't hold. Look at X:\NWO. I think it's the only totally backwards in the dark coaster in the world (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). But it seems likely with all the rumours that it will be turned forwards. So just because something is unique, doesn't mean it's immune to removal.

Oh Mack. This ride looks incredible. Plus, love the colour of that track! *Adds Etnaland onto list of theme parks I want to go to*.

Towers have just released 3 new photos of Smiler - specifically of the 'Staffordshire knot' element. My particular favourite... The others are on the 'Construction' part of Smiler's minsite - http://www.the-smiler.com/the-ride/ EDIT: Beaten to it...

Pointless task? Yep, because guest experience means nothing at theme parks...

I don't know when I expect it to go, but the sooner Slammer has another hissy fit and Thorpe decide to shut it down completely, the better. I know many have different opinions to me on this, but Slammer is just slow, boring and uninteresting. The low throughput and (presumably) high maintainence costs just don't seem worth it...

Wow, that looks great! March - hurry up. I want Zufari times.

I can't see Loggers' lift there. What I can see though is the entrance to the tunnel remaining pretty much as I remember it from last season!

Eye don't think cats would be the purrfect retheme for X, but you never know!

Since the turn of the century, we've seen Thorpe accelerate from a quaint family theme park into a park which offers one of the largest array of 'thrill rides' in Europe. During this period, there has been quiet on obvious shift in target market - from families looking for a nice day out to young adults (which arguably is the 16-34 region in this case) looking to do something for a day. Many question the viability of this strategy, mainly from an economic perspective. However, are Thorpe right to focus on the young adults solely and try and turn away families, or should they open their arms a bit wider and accomodate for families as well? I think the first point to raise here is that, no matter what anyone's personal opinion on Thorpe's focus on young adults, the strategy has worked. Despite a poor season in 2012, for reason which may or may nor relate to this, Thorpe have had years of booming success, and have been able to invest heavily in their maor attractions. So clearly they have had some success with this strategy. However, just because there has been success, it doesn't mean it cannot be improved, not does it mean that it is foolproof. Thorpe Park seem to be focusing on becoming a thrill park / an 'experience' park. The majority of their additions since 2000 make that obvious. This is something which should most definitely be encouraged and should continue; there is not really any park in the UK (can't think of any in Europe either off the top of my head) which has a primary focus on thrill rides. This does not mean that the park shouldn't add non-thrilling rides as well, but that's a different topic really. With this is mind, it must now be asked - who likes thrill rides? Now, for some reason, it is straight away seen to be the young adults. Probably because we're young in life, up for trying things and so forth, and it does seem to be a general case that many of those who like thrill rides fit into that particular age bracket. However, it's not an exclusive thing. When most kids are 10, they hit the 1.4m barrier, and when they're 12, they're 'old enough' for Thorpe's mazes. These kids will want to try the thrill rides, and whilst thrill ride after thrill ride may be a bit much, the more 'up for it' / slightly older kids will see Thorpe as somewhere right down their street. So, maybe focusing on those over 16 is a bit high, though with the quickness that kids grow up these days, what is targetted at a 16 year old may well interest those who are 12-13. Then there's also adults. When you 'get on in life', it doesn't mean you dislike these thrill rides. In the 'mid-life crisis' years, you're up for trying new things, showing to everyone you're not as old as your age says you are and so forth, and going on thrill rides is a great way of showing this. So again, there will be interest from those above the age of 34, though maybe the young adult target market / marketing strategies will deter people a bit. So, with this knowledge, should Thorpe Park welcome families? Well, yes and no; it depends on what you define as a family. If by family, you mean everyone - from the toddler up to the grandparents, then no, Thorpe should try their best to deter that sort of family from visiting. Whilst there will be a select few rides the young children and the older generations can ride, there won't be enough for them to have a worthwhile, enjoyable day. Now then, there's nothing wrong with that, as it's just Thorpe's direction. Just like Chessington should discourage people who just want thrill after thrill from visiting. There's nothing particularly wrong in that. (Just to point out, I'm not say that all the kids' rides should therefore be removed, as no matter what. children will still visit, and there should be something for them to do. However, Thorpe just aren't focusing on them, so, when possible, such people shouldn't visit. There are also cases when the elderly still like thrill rides; nothing wrong in that as well.). However, a family full of people from the age of 8-55 is a completely different story. There will be enough for them to do to enjoy their day, as they will like thrill rides. If Thorpe introduce a family-friendly major coaster and a couple more 1.2m rides, it would be perfect for this age range family (as it stands, those in that age range who are under 1.4m / not wanting to do many thrill rides may find their day drag on after a while..). This opens up a wider range of possibilities for the park, and creates more chances for more profit, which is what a business wants at the end of the day. Imagine this. A park which has a range of thrill rides, some of which are highly rated amongst coasters and rides in Europe, and maybe even the world, which welcomes families which are up for a good day out. You can still target the young adults wanting a day out with friends, and can still work in club nights and after-hours events for them to enjoy and draw them in. But then you can also target families who want to enjoy themselves; the things like the stunt shows Thorpe hold are examples of events which such families would enjoy too. I can just see it working so well for the park. So, all in all, I think Thorpe should begin to welcome families. Use either 2013 or 2014 (or both?!) as a test - see how families respond to it. If X:NWO gets a reduced height restriction, it can be used as a way of testing the water and drawing such families in who might have been jubious in the past. Introduce a major 1.2m coaster (a woodie or air time filled machine) and market it as just an all out fun ride. Expand the target audience to be much wider, and boom, more guests and more profit for Thorpe, and the chances for better experiences for all. Win-win surely?

Normally I'd agree here. However, the fact that the park say a lot of thought is put into decisions, but the rides team are working on how to actually make the queueing system work (when the idea was first seriously thought of likely a few months ago at least) makes me a bit concerned, especially when that's been my biggest concern. The fact that it's the rides team working out how to do it makes me doubt we'll see any major modifications to the queue itself (as in, the addition / removal of pemanent fencing). Personally, I would have thought that would have been the best option for this, but oh well. I'm more than happy to proven wrong though, and hope that I am of course. I just wouldn't have thought that how the queueing of this will work would have been the last thing to be sorted out.

This would also decrease throughput as well, wouldn't it? I think X could get a maximum of 4 or 5 trains on at any one time, and be getting a (theoretical) throughput of around 1000. Ignoring the break runs would probably cut the number of trains, and even by making the actual cirtcuit shorter, surely reduce the throughput. Not something I'd want them to do tbh. Plus, the random stopping and starting of X is great and adds to the experience. If they splash enough money into this, I'm sure they could add something to make it a bit more exciting too.

Are you just scrolling over the 'Rides' bit on the top bar? As they haven't changed it there yet; they have here - http://www.thorpepark.com/rides/full-ride-listing.aspx All in all, yeah it probably was never an 'Extreme Thrill' in recent years, though no doubt for it's first 7 or so years it was still pretty big. I guess the park want all their 1.4m attractions to be classed as extreme though? EDIT: Also noticed that the mini description has changed from 'The ride that takes no prisoners' to 'The ultimate ride challenge for thrill seekers in the making'. Certainly points towards a lower height restriction and a form of 'step up' ride!

I totally agree with you there pluk. To me, my biggest fear about the whole turning backwards of two rows has always been how the queue system will work. Personally, the easiest (if that's the best word to use?) way I can see it happening is if they scrap the front row queue and replace it with a backwards one. But then you inherit its problems, such as the ticket system which didn't work, not being able to judge how long the queue is inside, causing congestion, and so forth. I also think the backwards rows could well be more popular than the front row was, so that little queue they've got just before the baggage point may not be large enough even. So really, the station queue 'section' needs modification - and to do that right, you need time to plan it, and time to theme it properly as well. The way to do that is to make the queue section up to the batcher wider, and then have it split into two - one half for the backward rows, the others for the normal ones. And that's not something which can be done just quickly, and not necessarily something which is efficient to do if this change ends up not being permanent. Reagrdless of what I think of select rows being turned backwards, I fear that the queue system in general could end up becoming a real nightmare. I just hope my fears go unfounded.