JoshC.

Yeah, random I know, but I'd just like to say that that's the one thing I actually admire about you. It takes a lot of guts to be honest and straight to the point, and you're one of about 3 people I actually know who's like that. :)Anyways, my rant..Well, it was my prom last night. As said somewhere else, it was a bit of a fail really. The actual 'prom' event of it (so basically, excluded the awards ceremony) was only decent because they had a mini casino there, which was epicly fun. I decided not to go to an after party, as I do not drink any sort of alcohol for personal reasons which I prefer not to go into. All the after parties seemed to involve people just getting wasted for fun, and I didn't really like the idea of being around loads of people being wasted, nor having people try and spike my drinks. So I didn't go to any. Everyone seemed to be getting on my back about it and asked why I weren't going to any and persuading me to go to there's. Even after I said no they do not stop and it's just peed me off. So yeah, just a bit annoyed really.

Glad you had a good time! :(Our one was a bit of a fail. The hall looked like an explosion of Poundland. The DJ took no requests and played music most people didn't like. The food was bad. :DThe only good thing about it was the roulette table, where I spent at least 2 hours there (just a shame it weren't real money! )

You know you're a fanperson when...You keep Ride Counts.You take photos of ride in the light.You break the rules theme parks set.You go to theme parks to buy sunglasses and not to go on any rides (like I did today).

Here's a pic from Tuesday:Notice something? The 2 empty seats? The 2 empty seats that at this very time last year would have been filled due to Single Riders? Personally, I think SR needs to come back. It worked very well last year and would obviously make the ride seem more full, and please quite a few of people - not necessarily just fans.

Yeah, never really thought about it that way. :DAh well. Apparently, the school looks lime Poundland exploded, so it's going to be good fun of course...

100% agree. Funny that. At my school, we see 'Ball' as American / Australian and 'Prom' as English..

It was used as an excuse about Eurovision. "Sure, you can win a singing contest, but we can win world wars."Honestly.

I thought they were £13?

Wow, great find James! :)Never knew that MBE were the manufacturers. That photo must've been from it's first couple of years, quite surreal looking at that pic actually..

Quantum running fine. Zodiac still down; no engineers in site.Slammer was down, though did start testing at 4-ish.

Copied from RG for ease :PMy first proper PTR (ish)! :(Got to the park pretty early, about 40 minutes before opening. Took some photos of the entrance and that...After hanging around till 9:50, thorpeparkjack arrived. After hellos and that we headed straight to Inferno. This side of the park was dead. Literally no one around. Got first ride of the day on Inferno, front row, to ourselves. Then went straight to the back. 4 rides later our luck had run out and we had to get off. There was no queue and we could have easily gone round again, but couldn't be bothered. Went over to Stealth and had a 5 minute wait for front row on the 'Goalercoaster' car. Then did a rather nice ride on the Teacups, first time on the epic Number 2 for Jack. We both felt sick afterwards and opted for Rumba Rapids. One of the shocks of the day was the fact the lights were on! It shows how the theming has literally just been draped over with black cloth or just left there. Extremely tacky. Of course, photos were taken (sorry about motion blur):Also took a Stealth pic, which I got told off for. (I forget there was about 5 staff watching me )After 3 rides, took another Stealth piccy..Detonator followed, which was as fun as ever. Then a ride on Loggers, which was at it wettest of the season in the tunnel! One ride on Rush and then came X:\WTF...The rumours that were flying around that the lights were turned on in the ride were true. We had a look at the '45min' queue, which ended up being a walk-on. And, amazingly, it was. The idea is a 'trial' for something different. I tried for some photos, but they were all fails. The lights on on dimly, not full-blown. 4 rides later and we went over to Vortex and Quantum. Zodiac would have been done if it weren't for it breaking down..Headed back over to Canada Creek for CCR. Ended up doing photos of Loggers first..Oh, and Saw...And ColossusLunch was had at the Noodle Bar and then CCR came. Saw pics were inevitable..That concludes all the photos.Loggers was done again for another wet go. Trodded over to Rush for another go. Then did X:\WTF for the fifth time. Photos were tried with phone this time, and failed miserably. Ended up doing Flying Fish. The ride op was epicly good and an amazing laugh. The rest of the staff were very friendly as well. Did that twice, with 4 circuits each go. Colossus was saying 20min, so we checked that out. Did that, for a slightly faster and quieter than normal ride. Rush had a short-ish queue, so did that again and called it a day at about 3:30. Was an amazing day. See you next week Thorpe.

I'm still thinking of a summer job at TP, but have pribably left it too late now! XDIf that fails, it'll end up being a week or so at the account firm I did my work experience...

I could probably do Tuesday if you'd want to meet up Jack?

ERT is for hotel guests only. I think it is just Wild Asia they get entry to, but I don't know that for sure..If you enter at the North entrance (one by Wild Asia), you do get in the park from 9:30 onwards, but you can only queue for rides (or the entrance of Wild Asia) but cannot ride them till 10.

I'm planning a trip on Wednesday; anyone wish to join me?

Woo! :PSomehow, for prom, my dress shirt has ended up costing more than my suit..Oh, and there was at least 3 grammatical errors on my invitation slip!!

Off to Thorpe today for the morning and for lunch.

Ah, thank goodness.

Huh?Are you being as sarcastic as me there?|Sorry, I/m tired.

It's scraping by is the term I'd use. The more I think about it, the more I think Thorpe were actually right for once. It is the world's scariest roller coaster. The utter thought of how much work will need to go into sorting out the effects is enough to give anyone nightmares...(We all knew this topic would result to Thorpe bashing. Shall we move elsewhere; BPB perhaps?)

I completely remember this. It really is a shame.The unfortunate thing about the blades is I'm counting down the days till they're not working again..

I know this is old news for many, but I too have got John Wardley as a friend suggestion on Facebook!

Oh right, fair enough. :unsure:However, in theory, would my point still stand if we were take £20m for Nemesis nowadays?

Right, I am going to voice my opinion on the matter as well - even though I am a bit late for it. Very unusual for me, I'm going to be sticking up for the parks slightly; shall play devil's advocate a little. Ends up being a pretty fair account..Firstly, before I forget... I'm not that good with economics really, but, if inflation means £10m for Nemesis in 1994 is equivalent to approx. £20m in 2010 (I do hope I've read that rightly), then that would that Th13teen, would only have been £7.5m in 1994? From the reviews I've heard in comparisons to Nemesis, that seems fair. Sorry if I've read that completely wrong though, please correct me if I've got the wrong end totally.Moving on, Thorpe and Chessie are on top form this season. I know I have many pessimistic attitudes towards the parks - especially Thorpe - but it is hard to say they are not doing very well. Both have had rebrands that suit their directions perfectly. For Thorpe, I may not be their biggest fan of the rebrand, but it is amazing. Their reliability has improved through the roof. For Chessie, they are ticking most of the boxes, and even making some new ones up along the way. Now, the negativity. Thorpe, it's the effects!! When I went today, I got a little dribble of water on me in Rumba Rapids. For a water ride, it is unacceptable. I haven't seen Saw's blades swing all year. Half the Bose speakers I see don't work. So on and so on. Chessie, haven't been as much, but I do think they need a spruce up. RMT for example.2010. Been a funny old year. Thorpe. They got Alive. I'm against the idea of a all year round maze and think it is a rubbish scare attraction. However, it suits the market. Also, notice how I say it fails at a scare attraction. For an attraction, it is amazing! With the right people, it is a great laugh! Chessie. Wild Asia. A new ride. It's about time most people would say. After countless years of the theme park stagnating and the zoo developing, something seems to have changed. As Mark and Mikey have brought up, whether a larger project will be as successful is unknown, but I'll give my views on that in a second. Also, the Wanyama Village bit. Very nice. Alton. Dark Forest. Again, the park's stagnation had to end sooner or later. They've got, from reviews I've heard, a pretty decent ride in the end with Th13teen. Also, a bit of Rita retheming shows they are putting effort in. Sonic Spinball. Nice new retheme and something that pleases guests. A pretty decent win in the end.So, where do I think everything's gone wrong? The marketing. Mikey said it - they make everything out to be the best thing since sliced bread. Of course, this is what marketing is meant to do usually. But it is because of this it fails. If Th13teen had been marketed as the family coaster it is, we'd be fine. If Saw had been marketed as "one of" the scariest rides or even Thorpe's most terrifying experience, we should have been fine (yes, more theming would have been good, but you can't have everything). But it is the struggle to make it seem the best and actually make it the best that we find ourselves fighting with Merlin about. Also, when it comes to fanboys, we're bound to nit pick. The GP probably have a different view to the park we do.In the end, I feel we're in a pickle. New rides need to be marketed more cleverly - rather than being 'the' best, they should be 'one of' the best; they should take a leaf out of supermarkets' books.. Then that way, they actually could put their money where there mouth is. Then, the park's can worry more about their own individual problems and hopefully seen them resolved - permanently.

And it has happened before. *Wishes for power cut on next ride on Flying Fish*