JoshC.

I honestly hope that they still have some sort of log flume after SW7, if what is being implied becomes true. Losing a log flume temporarily is bad enough; losing one forever would be a poor decision in my eyes.But otherwise, all sounds very interesting.

Whilst I don't fully know Liam, I'd guess that around Christmas time they're slightly reduced, so that might make it more worthwhile. Other than that, I wouldn't think there's a 'best time' to buy one. :blush:Also, whilst I don't have any figures, as of yesterday, the positions of the greatest roller coaster are unchanged since Fred's post, but Th13teen has been on a big rise (probably due to the FB push that there's been).My personal rankings, after my visit yesterday:Nemesis Th13teenAir OblivionRita:lol:

So...Tuesday 16th meant one thing for me - Alton Towers! It had been over 5 years since my last visit, and I had been waiting since the moment I left to go back. Strangely, I did not get at all excited about the trip. I knew it was coming, I was looking forward to it, but I didn't have 'that feeling' prior to the trip. It was just another day as far as I could tell...So, we hit the road at 5 in the morning and made good time getting there, arriving just before 8, an hour before ERT. We had a stretch and wander round and made our way to the Monorail gates. It was then, watching the TVs showing the rides, that I got excited and it has sunk it that I 'was really here'. The Monorail opened a little later than was expected, apparently, but it didn't matter, we were first ones on it. The weather at 8am. It was meant to be cloudy and rainy, and that's how it seemed to be going.Strawberry Monorail!We queued up at the Advanced Ticket Collection to collect my cousin's and uncle's tickets. However, much to our annoyance, it didn't open till ten to nine, meaning that queues were already building at the turnstiles, despite us being there way before most of the people there. Granted, it makes very little impact to the day, but it's just annoying knowing, if they opened the Advanced Tickets point earlier, we could have been in there that little bit earlier. This also brings me to another issue I have, with ALL Merlin parks, the AP entrances. Call me stupid, but wouldn't it make sense to have an AP queue, a queue full of some of Merlin's most loyal customers, move quickly, or at least quicker than the ordinary queues? It happens at Thorpe, it happens at Chessie and it happens at Alton. I was a tad annoyed that my uncle and cousin got in the park a good minute before us, despite them have a longer queue to get in, because of the slow procedures of getting AP holders into the park. Fortunately, this was probably the only problem I encountered from the Towers in my visit.Corkscrew <3Standard fanboy shot.A very nice image for the entrance to the park I think.Now that's outta the way, I can get onto the actual park. It's going to be slightly mundane in the sense of it's going to be me going through what I did in what order, but it will be much more deeper and interesting than that (I hope!) - it just helps me remember all of the day's doings. :lol:With the original plan to do Oblivion, Hex and possibly Rita for the ERT, which would then set us up for Th13teen once it opened, we were going to stick to that. However, on a last minute spur, we opted to do Nemesis. I dunno why in the end, but there we go. A tad unsure on the best way to get there, a staff member told us to go down Haunted Hallow and then through Gloomy Wood. Not necessarily the quickest route I think, but certainly an entertaining one!Haunted Hallow is just that nice light heartedness that I love about a theme park. It's interactive, engaging and humorous - yet it's got that underlying tone of it being something a bit more serious and sinister. I don't know when it opened, but I don't remember going through in 2006, but it is certainly a nice little touch there! These two little characters were a specific highlight.After what felt like a lifetime of walking (I've gotten in a bad habit from Thorpe it would seem, of being able to walk half metre from one ride to the next...) I started hearing that roar, that music - it could only be my favourite ride in the country, Nemesis. The theming on this thing is superb!Wait, what!? A cat in the Forbidden Valley. Ah well, added some more humour to the day I guess! tehe Have to agree with that sign.I have some serious love for this.Vertical Loops on B&M Inverters are quite photogenic.First ORP of the day, and I look ugly...A long walk around the queue and we were greeted by a nearly empty station and a train just leaving - just the way we like it! We headed straight for the back row and after a small hold up, we were winding up the lift hill. It was a bit rougher than I remembered, though I sort of expected that, but the ride was simply incredible! It just flows so well and everything fits perfectly together. Riding it again made me realise just why this was my number 1 ride. Needless to say, I bought an ORP (which was an increasing trend during the day, with 2 photopasses bought, due to the rarity of my visits) which isn't the greatest expression of me as I caught my ear somewhat painfully before the photo was taken..ah well!After a very looong walk, we reached the secret government facility known as X Sector. This was perhaps the most disappointing area for me on my last visit, due to be underwhelmed by a back row Oblivion and missing out on the anticipated Submission to a huge queue. Of course, only Oblivion was on the ERT, so Submission had to be saved for later. Much like Nemesis, the queue was a walk on - just a shame it was a blooming long walk! I remember from my last visit the queue line videos being a real highlight of the entire trip, so it was a slight shame missing out on them, but you can't win them all I guess. Greeted by a car moving out the station, we headed straight to the front row we disappointingly missed out on last time. As I said, I was underwhelmed slightly by Oblivion previously, but I was surprised just how much the front row experience adds to it all - it certainly moved up in my ranks after that front row ride. However, it's just too short and too much of a one trick pony. That, and when you are waiting to get back in the station you here 'There is no happy ended, etc etc' you're left thinking 'Err, oops, looks like there is' - it just spoils the whole atmosphere, and the whole story. I like the theme, I like a front row drop, but it's just not doing it for me. Anyway, photos:Approaching the not-so-secret secret government area.The hanging on the drop also seems to be shorter than I remember, strange..Pit of pitness.I'm a bit red in this ORP! :$I love this marketing campaign, simply brilliant. However, the Lord of Darkness can compel me as much as he likes, I'm not going to vote Oblivion!It was nearing 10, which meant it was nearing the time for Th13teen to open. We walked over there with the hope of a relatively short queue, being able to beat guests who were not part of the ERT. By the time we got there, there was a long queue outside the queue and it quickly became apparent the ride was not open. We decided, however, to join the queue (which was just under Rita's launch track) and bide our time. By about quarter past-ish, it was open and we were pouring in the queue, which oddly had no extensions open. From the time it had opened, we queued about half an hour with it on 2 trains, though I was expecting them to have had 3 on when it opened. As for the whole experience of Th13teen... I thought the queue line, though slightly unimaginative like some other queue lines at the park, was nice. I liked the subtle theming around and how it keeps you away from the ride, keeping as much as a mystery as possible. The audio I loved - it built up the atmosphere, and way always interesting to listen to! Then, getting to the station, I love the Tesla coil they've got, along with the girl's scream and the counting to thirteen - it is all just amazing! I've heard some people moan about the roof being little more than just black sheets basically, but I think it adds to the whole idea of the ride, with the restoration works and that. Whilst it's not brilliant, it's certainly better than the fake scaffolding and such which makes it just feel incomplete. One downside I think is the onboard and offboard announcements, by what I assume is meant to be some sort of Wraith. It slightly feels out of place and a bit dull - it just doesn't work, but I guess that could just be me.Now, the actual ride. I'm going to echo what many people have said: the outside is little more than a glorified mine train. Now, I know some say this is a bad thing, but I like mine trains - so a glorified one is all good in my books! I'm not a fan of the trims, like everyone else. It wouldn't be too bad if it wasn't painfully noticeable, but you can feel the train slowing down so much, it's just cringe-worthy! That first drop should be something special, not a missed opportunity. I was, however, a big fan of the zig-zag bit prior to the second lift hill. As for the inside, I knew what was coming, so nothing shocking. It did, though, take me by surprise still, and the actual drop did feel a bit, well, short. I was expecting it to last a little longer or something; personally, I think it is slightly weak, though that could have been because I knew what was coming. The backwards section is fun as well. Oh, and I absolutely love going back into the station. "How should we get them back in the station? Should the train just casually roll in? Naa, let's launch them in!" Being caught between the switchback and the offload station to get the third train on was interesting to watch, but they could have at least let us off first rather than wasting five minutes of our time stuck in the train helpless. Anyway, photos:%20http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/300915_2354159216459_1324550230_2825249_6890866_n.jpgCan't say I wholly agree, but true to a degree.I really like the signage; it's perfect!'If you go down to the woods today...' don't forget to pick up your van.Saw this in the queue and it made me chuckle. However, I strongly disgaree.The ladder is the type of subtle theming I liked. The scaffolding, not so much.Rita was quite photogenic from the queue line though - keeps you entertained that little bit more I guess!Unlike with the other two, this was my first time on the ride, yet the ORP was the best looking shot of me so far. How interesting..*Okay, I've been at this for nearly an hour now and I'm starting to get a little tired. I'll return to think soon, hopefully tomorrow where you can have the joy of my venture down to Cloud Cuckoo Land, my eerie first experience in Hex and so much more! Hope you enjoyed this first part *

Seems like the end is truly coming for the beach. In honesty, I can't remember seeing the smaller side open for anything but the Curse. As others have said, it usually closes just after August anyways so it's not that different in any way. Though, when it is open, it's still quite busy and popular...I hope it goes, gives more space to the area, especially for The Swarm. Extend the grassy area behind it slightly more, add a few benches and a little fountain or feature and there you go. Though, I think I remember the larger side being a location for a flat ride...

Oh yes, for some reason I imagined myself face forwards..weird!

Well, you didn't announce it really, unless this is what you call an announcement: That is just a cryptic clue in my eyes.

I don't know how often 5 trains are used, but I believe the transfer track is just before the offload station, but just after the very last set of brakes.I think if you look to your right juust before the offload station you can see it.

Well, those words were not mine, just so you know..

Don't worry though, I'll leave you to do all the mechanics and physics calculations when it come to The Swarm and that...

http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/s/2097877_tats_the_way_for_thorpe_park_mad_familyThorpe Park can seemingly be involved in little things now and worm their way into local and national newspapers...

Okay, so 5 trains, each holding 10 people. Taking 1000pph, that means 200pph per train. 200pphpt means that each train does 20 circuits an hour, which means 3 minutes for the train to be loaded, complete the circuit, offloaded then back to the unloaded station. The circuit takes just over 2 minutes to complete, which means that everyone is going to have to get on and off blooming quickly and staff are going to have to be working ther socks off to reach that. So that it certainly theoretical.I'd say somewhere between 400-600 is much more likely on a day-to-day basis...

I'm not signing, but a thought:There is some subtle theming around Storm Surge. You've got bits and bobs on the control box, the pipes close to the Kebab place, and the odd other bit here and there. If they wanted / planned to add theming to the box at the top, surely they would have done it with the money that was instead spent on that theming. After all, I think more or less all of us would agree that theming at the top of the ride would be better than little bits at the bottom of the ride. So, it seems Thorpe could have some sort of reluctance to do so. Also, I'd prefer whatever extra money given to theme the top to go on another ride, one which is more popular, has a longer life left in it or be left for Fright Night theming budget. There's my little two cents. Best of luck with the petition though, take it to Mike Vallis regardless of the number of names and see what comes out - sometimes strange things happen!

One thing that confuses me about the tank...There are some track marks behind the tank, which look realistic as if it has moved on the grass, but only for a short while. How would that work if the tank is real? I just don't get it... Here's a pic of my showing where the track marks start:

I retract the above statement, following the first picture being taken of track today...From Go Merlin: http://go-merlin.co.uk/theswarm/

Track is on park, not onsite. That's all there is to it really...

Shouldn't see any need for planning permission to show a tank which can be moved and that. The tank could easily be repainted too if they wanted to keep it I guess.

Oblivion (and Air) are both sand filled.

Or Rumba Rapids, now that it has it's pre-tunnel waterfall back..

So, I went to Thorpe Park yesterday with some old friends from secondary school. The park seemed to be off form on the day, and if it weren't for the company I was with, I'd think I would have felt somewhat disappointed with the day out..We got the park at about 9:20 for a 9:30 opening. As ever, Inferno was on the cards to start the day (and we felt almost confident of a reride due to the quietness that there was). But, before we get to all that, a couple of pre-entry photos:It was a scorcher today, despite rain being predicted at some point.I had to get a photo of the LC12 stamp, even if it did take 3 attempts with my friends jogging me... :shifty So yeah, we got into the gates and the usual beginning of day rush occurred, with people piling all over each other. We took a gentle stroll over to Inferno, with most other guests being distracted by Storm Surge, Tidal Wave or headed over to Saw. JoshC. approved of the emptyness surrounding the area.So yeah, we walked through the queue and reached the silent station, see a train half way through leaving. Fair enough we thought, probably just a sign to show the ride is actually working. Being the first ones there, we opted for the front row. I smugly thought to myself how I have more luck than thorpeparkjack... Anyways, the second train came into the station and stayed there. The staff were happy to talk amongst themselves, but tell us nothing. The train went off empty (by this time, more people were arriving at the station..) The other train arrived with a couple of staff members on and, after they unclipped all the seats for about 10 people, the gates finally open! I can't lie and say I didn't enjoy front row Inferno, it was pretty sweet. As the ride ended, we were hoping to be able to move rows and get what seems like now as the sacred reride. However, it seemed as if the staff hadn't got their finger out and were still testing the other train - in other words, it was one train operation meaning no reride for us. Can't say I wasn't a little bit peed about that, considering with both trains working, a reride would have been possible. We got to the photo unit, which wasn't actually showing any photos, just the Inferno logo. Oh dear, not the greatest start. Using my keen eye, I had realised whilst on Inferno that Saw wasn't open, which disappointed me, as it has been doing well for most of the season. Also, I had realised Storm Surge had broken down and staff were evacuating people from boats on the lift hill... That, and having Stealth down meant that what rides were open were going to get right busy..We went for Rumba Rapids times instead, which left me pleasantly surprised when I saw that the waterfall before the tunnel had returned - leaving 3 out of 4 of us soaked! We had the classic reride to ensure everyone in our group was wet.I tried to get a photo of the waterfall, but failed...A closed Stealth.As we were rather wet to say the least, we opted to go over to Loggers Leap to continue the wet themes. I noticed that by this time, Saw was testing. Due to how, somewhat surprisingly, quiet Loggers was, we were able to get a reride on this too - I was happy.The little grassy bit before the tunnel was flooding for one reason or another...We were now thoroughly soaked. We decided to not do another water ride, but instead do Samurai. We had noticed Saw was carrying passengers whilst we were on Loggers, but everyone was leaving the queue and it was testing again...An empty Saw car.Spin Samurai, Spin!After an intense ride on Samurai, leaving half the group feeling a bit ill, we opted to do a slightly gentler (in the eyes of all the group) ride, Slammer. It had no queue, but due to the poor loading, we were there for a looong time. I was pretty bored half way through to be honest - personally, I find the ride little more than a short filler.After a little wander round, we opted to do 'Techno X', which is certainly warming to me more now. Oh, and one more track tie has been painted to glow in the dark! *OMG, WOWZ* We just had a long break and chat now, sitting on the little grassy area by Stealth, before having lunch at 12.The Swarm site has 2 drillers on site now.The group decided to split for lunch, with half going to the Pizza Hut Buffet whilst it was relatively quiet, and me and another going to the Mexican Cantina opposite. First time I've properly been to the Mexican place, and I really enjoyed it!We both had a Chicken Nachos each. With AP discount, it came to £3.88, which considering the size of the dish, is probably one of the best values deals on park! By the way, it does look more appetizing it real life, it's just a poor shot.We plodding through lunch, taking about half an hour and not even finishing it! The group re-met and after more chatting (and me getting about 3 refills from the amazing AP drink refill...) we did some wandering around, and ended up at the Flying Fish, which had no queue. I was fortunate enough to get back row, and we also got an extra circuit, because the platformer seemed to forget about the water squirting he did on the previous ride, which left everyone on the train a bit disappointed.. Anyway, we got quite wet from it - more wet than you get on Storm Surge anyway, now they've gotten rid of the free water squirters and that...As we were getting off, I spotted Les Coogan (I guess that's the character's name in general) running away. I moved slightly quicker than everyone in my group, who were still looking at our ORPs from the Fish. I noticed that Les was being chased by a 'police officer'. Les slowed down to a walk, whilst the police officer slowed down to a brisk walk shouting at Les. Les then stopped by what will be the entrance to Swarm's island pointing, jumping and shouting 'LOOK, LOOK!' before running off again. The officer then started chasing after him, then they disappeared out of sight, which was slightly freaky.. I guess they were going off for a break or something, as we didn't see them in Neptune's Kingdom. My friends had also seen the thing and were shocked, wondering what on earth had happened and were obviously taken into the story, believing it. They had trouble believing me when I said it was advertising! What I liked even more was, after they passed Flying Fish, we were the only people around - the only other people that could have seen it were those on Depth Charge, who may have overlooked it even. I really found that a great touch; acting realistically when next to no-one is around - adds to the belief. In honesty, it is the best acting I've ever seen at Thorpe. Unfortunately, I was only able to get one shot of the goings on..This seemed to be when Les broke into a run...After all that, we opted to do Depth Charge. It's a little favourite in our group; we enjoy racing each other okay! When we got to the top, and promised not to 'cheat' (as in push against the sides at the beginning to give a little head start, my trick the first time we did the ride as a group a couple of years ago...), we all ended up cheating, though I was probably last to leave. However, what with me being a little heavier than everyone else, I still just reached the bottom, and also got the furthest on the ground.. losers..! (I'm not at all competitive, am I?) Due to the extreme busyness of the park at this time and after a bit of general wandering, we left at 2..So yeah, it was a bit of an odd day. Reliability had gone downhill massively, but there were some real highlights from the park too. As I said at the beginning, if it hadn't have been for the company, I would have felt a bit disappointed and almost on a bit of a downer. However, having to only pay £3.88 for the day out makes it that little bit better. I look forward to seeing how the park is next week, before my Chessington and long awaited Alton Towers trips later in the month...

So now the only way to get wet is getting lucky with the shower or hoping people have money to burn to pay for water canons...Nice one Thorpe, nice one...

It probably is. All the actors are part of the entertainments team, and some have probably been in FN mazes, Saw or Saw Alive. :rolleyes:Pretty sure I've seen one of the other guys who played the 'LC12' guy in Saw Alive previously.

Just an interesting point to throw into the height thing..Island C, ie The Swarm, was meant to be the 'up to 50m coaster', with Islands A and E being up to 40m. Pretty sure I read somewhere in the plans for this coaster that, because the coaster high points were carefully planned, they wre allowed to swap them round.

In the video there is a wall of fly posters with missing people, probably links in with that? I'd hope that it ties in with a ride it first competition like there was on the Saw minisite.

In honesty, if it was called 'Swarm', people would end up saying 'Let's ride The Swarm' and with 'The Swarm', people will end up saying 'Swarm' a lot. In that case, it's lose-lose.I don't mind though, I love the name, and I didn't have myself as someone who would like rides named as 'The ____'.

Love the name, the theme idea, the concept art, the minisite - love pretty much everything so far.That is all.