JoshC.

(It might be worth checking out my post here, which may give further explanation as to why I'm positing this! Sorry if some may feel this was more appropriate to be posted in a PM)
With regards to Theme Park World as a member has had an account banned previously, for reasons I do not know. This new account is in effect a constant advertisement of his site / page; perhaps a polite suggestion to him to change his username to something more suitable / related to his name, nickname or something quirky is in order. This would no doubt please members who have issues with the site (and perhaps the member) and also help the person be more inline with the rules, which I do believe state a member's username must in some way relate to their real name?
Secondly, on a slightly related note to the post I made in Theme Park World's thread, forums should be welcoming and encourage people to talk about their enthusiasm. Whilst this site does do this rather well, I do think the 'Tips for New Members' thread (http://forum.maniahu...rs/page__st__20) could perhaps do with a bit of a clean out; after all, the arguments that are in the middle of the thread are hardly a good example for new members, also considering two members there have been banned, and such members there have high post counts (I'm all for freedom of speech, worth pointing out, but I do think that such topics should be kept as simple as possible).
Also, is there any way of setting up an automatic Private Message for when a new member joins, welcoming them to the forums, and pointing them to important introductory threads, such as the 'Tips for New Members' and 'Introduce Yourself', and perhaps a link to the forum's rules? It would be a nice touch and help members out, help continue the growing community that is here and also help ensure that younger members and potential, so-called 'n00bs' are helped out as much as possible.
Sorry for the completely random points; just something I felt I needed to get off my chest!

I think that a fine line needs to be reached between people's opinions on the person and the views of their site. Many people will no doubt have judgements of Theme Park World / Confuzzled as a member (and perhaps by extension, as a person), and will expect his site to mirror such judgements.
As I said in Chat last night, an increasing number of younger teenagers are having a go at these sorts of things (heck, even I had a go at one a couple of years back, which was a waste of my time really, but ah well). Being the generation brought up with technology that we are, these sorts of thing are common not only with theme park fan sites, but also in general.
The trouble with some of these sites is that they go for ideas which are perhaps too broad in aim (I won't name other names, but Theme Park World for example; suggests ALL theme parks, which no doubt this member - nor anyone really - can achieve). Yet people will try and ultimately fail and be criticised harshly. Then we also have sites claiming they'll get exclusive after exclusive, high quality media and so forth - again, something which cannot be achieved by a teenager by themselves on a free-hosted site. Some sites also steal other's works without credit, don't list sources or just make stuff up, which again is something criticised largely and gives these sort of sites 'bad names', if you will. Again, I will use the example of Theme Park World's recent 'Facebook Problems' topic, which seem to more be a less-than-subtle way of trying to get his Facebook page promoted even more; a simple 'Oh, sorry guys, this link is no longer working, I don't know why, can anyone offer any help?' in this thread would have been better, but oh well, live and learn and all that.
I have no problems with these such sites really, as long as they are run responsibly and to a good standard. If such a site steals others' works, spam other forums about their site, or whatever else, I will lose respect for it - which goes for all sites really; theme park orientated or not. After all, where would sites such as this one be of it didn't start off small?
No doubt the people who run and make these sites enjoy doing it, otherwise they wouldn't be doing it. Perhaps it's a way of showing their enthusiasm or knowledge of the park, or just 'something to do'. Personally, I'd much rather not see these dozens of sites (most of which probably won't expand beyond an okay Facebook page) and instead see more good quality conversation and discussion in the 'major sites' that we've got, with new ones that are set up growing well due to them being well thought out and have a dedicated person / peoples behind them. Of course, that is an idealistic scenario, but I think it would in general make theme park sites better in the long run.
Perhaps if major sites and their communities were more welcoming to newer members and 'n00bs' (NOTE: I am not saying that everyone on every major theme park site is unwelcoming here, but there are certainly members across the majority of forums who almost go out of their way to be unnecessarily unwelcoming for no apparent reason) and gave some members a chance instead of ignoring them just because they are n00bish, some may not feel the need to create such sites, and in turn discussions such as these would not be happening. Another thing worth remembering is how everyone is of different ages, different maturity levels and so forth - every new member isn't going to be a theme park expert who knows the best way to post and such; going back to the live and learn thing I talked about earlier.
Okay, I'm rambling a lot here, but I will continue nonetheless. Constructive criticism is the best way to go for these sort of sites. For example, I'm currently confused about Theme Park World - is it a Facebook only site at the moment? Is there any particular focus of the site / page; all parks, UK parks, Merlin parks? Also, I think it is perhaps over-zealous to say the site brings "the latest news before anyone else"; especially when the site has yet to achieve that. Perhaps the page could serve as some sort of 'information check point', which can round up the news for the past however many days / weeks, and has a variety of sources, complying all the news into an easy to reach point? But then you have to ensure everything is accurate, there's a variety of sources so you're not just posting what another site has using different words, etc.
I do unfortunately think that this site / page will be another which fails to make it past the 'okay Facebook page' stage. However, there's no need to strike people down for it; after all, we all have a common interest and should support the like-minded as much as we can in continuing their enthusiasm. When people make mistakes, help them out. Perhaps with this specific member people may feel they have given him chances and helped him out enough and have decided that they've had enough. Whilst this opinion is more than fine, rather than making every chance to have a dig and such, help keep this particular forum as friendly and nice looking as possible, and try and keep quite. Take any issues to moderators and Private Messaging, try and get all of this sorted, and just help everyone get along.
Okay, I'm pretty much finished now. I understand that this is completely off topic, perhaps a little unnecessary, and what I am saying will not agree with everyone. I was going to write a final word to moderators / admin on what I think should be done to help this issue, but as I had a fair bit to say, I've posted it in the 'Feedback' topic here: http://forum.maniahu...140#entry141340

(It might be worth checking out my post here, which may give further explanation as to why I'm positing this! Sorry if some may feel this was more appropriate to be posted in a PM)
With regards to Theme Park World as a member has had an account banned previously, for reasons I do not know. This new account is in effect a constant advertisement of his site / page; perhaps a polite suggestion to him to change his username to something more suitable / related to his name, nickname or something quirky is in order. This would no doubt please members who have issues with the site (and perhaps the member) and also help the person be more inline with the rules, which I do believe state a member's username must in some way relate to their real name?
Secondly, on a slightly related note to the post I made in Theme Park World's thread, forums should be welcoming and encourage people to talk about their enthusiasm. Whilst this site does do this rather well, I do think the 'Tips for New Members' thread (http://forum.maniahu...rs/page__st__20) could perhaps do with a bit of a clean out; after all, the arguments that are in the middle of the thread are hardly a good example for new members, also considering two members there have been banned, and such members there have high post counts (I'm all for freedom of speech, worth pointing out, but I do think that such topics should be kept as simple as possible).
Also, is there any way of setting up an automatic Private Message for when a new member joins, welcoming them to the forums, and pointing them to important introductory threads, such as the 'Tips for New Members' and 'Introduce Yourself', and perhaps a link to the forum's rules? It would be a nice touch and help members out, help continue the growing community that is here and also help ensure that younger members and potential, so-called 'n00bs' are helped out as much as possible.
Sorry for the completely random points; just something I felt I needed to get off my chest!

The Thorpe Park Annual Pass currently stand at £85 (though could go up in the new year) - source: http://www.thorpepark.com/prices/annual-passes.aspx?tabnum=2
In theory after two visits, if you pay the full £43.20 (which will no doubt go up next season), the pass has paid for itself. However, if you use BOGOF, half price vouchers or book in advance, then the price goes down, as you probably know. According to the official site, if you book online, you can get tickets from £25.92, which would mean you'd realistically have to go 4 times for the Thorpe Annual Pass to be worth it. If you also ever consider buying Bounceback (which this season are £15, £18 for Fright Nights or £6 for the next day..I think), then there's plenty of ways to save money.
The benefits of having a standard Thorpe Annual Pass are that you get 20% off food, drink and shopping. There are no Early Rider Times like Alton Towers, or any other benefits. However, with the Snoozeboxes next season, it could be a case of there being ERT for 'hotel guests' and AP holders - though no one really knows about that at the moment. Another benefit would be not having to worry about when to go, booking tickets, etc.
Personally, I think you'd be better of not buying a Thorpe Park Annual Pass unless you make at least 5-6 visits next season. Having it may give extra incentive, yes, but it's no guarantee. I think it's possible to book online and then use your ticket to get a Bounceback (though you may want to just check with the park beforehand just to be sure, or someone on here may know), which would mean you'd be looking at about £41 to have had 2 visits. Do that again, it becomes £82 for 4 visits and so on. It may be a bit of a hassle and require a bit more forward thinking than with an Annual Pass, though.
If you're planning on possibly getting an Annual Pass in the new year and can afford one in January, it might actually be worth getting a Standard Merlin Annual Pass, surprisingly. At around that time of year, they're big on doing special offers for the Annual Passes as it's just after Christmas - the past couple of years in January time, you've been able to buy a Merlin Annual Pass for half price, so around £78! That would give you much greater freedom and choice for less money, so it would be worth keeping an eye out for those offers (like the Merlin Annual Pass page on Facebook if you have; best place to keep track of the special offers). Of course, they may not do such a thing this year, or may do it at a different time, but it never hurts to keep an eye out.
Hope that helps!

The Thorpe Park Annual Pass currently stand at £85 (though could go up in the new year) - source: http://www.thorpepark.com/prices/annual-passes.aspx?tabnum=2
In theory after two visits, if you pay the full £43.20 (which will no doubt go up next season), the pass has paid for itself. However, if you use BOGOF, half price vouchers or book in advance, then the price goes down, as you probably know. According to the official site, if you book online, you can get tickets from £25.92, which would mean you'd realistically have to go 4 times for the Thorpe Annual Pass to be worth it. If you also ever consider buying Bounceback (which this season are £15, £18 for Fright Nights or £6 for the next day..I think), then there's plenty of ways to save money.
The benefits of having a standard Thorpe Annual Pass are that you get 20% off food, drink and shopping. There are no Early Rider Times like Alton Towers, or any other benefits. However, with the Snoozeboxes next season, it could be a case of there being ERT for 'hotel guests' and AP holders - though no one really knows about that at the moment. Another benefit would be not having to worry about when to go, booking tickets, etc.
Personally, I think you'd be better of not buying a Thorpe Park Annual Pass unless you make at least 5-6 visits next season. Having it may give extra incentive, yes, but it's no guarantee. I think it's possible to book online and then use your ticket to get a Bounceback (though you may want to just check with the park beforehand just to be sure, or someone on here may know), which would mean you'd be looking at about £41 to have had 2 visits. Do that again, it becomes £82 for 4 visits and so on. It may be a bit of a hassle and require a bit more forward thinking than with an Annual Pass, though.
If you're planning on possibly getting an Annual Pass in the new year and can afford one in January, it might actually be worth getting a Standard Merlin Annual Pass, surprisingly. At around that time of year, they're big on doing special offers for the Annual Passes as it's just after Christmas - the past couple of years in January time, you've been able to buy a Merlin Annual Pass for half price, so around £78! That would give you much greater freedom and choice for less money, so it would be worth keeping an eye out for those offers (like the Merlin Annual Pass page on Facebook if you have; best place to keep track of the special offers). Of course, they may not do such a thing this year, or may do it at a different time, but it never hurts to keep an eye out.
Hope that helps!

You have a topic in the 'Site Adverts' subforum for your site. Why not inform us about the Facebook page for your site there?
Pretty sure this topic is more a way of advertising your page as opposed to a genuine topic for Facebook issues. Take it back to the correct topic, please?

I did, several times. I'm wondering if this is some sort of subliminal message, which reminds me:

Okay? Why are you posting this here, this isnt Facebook Support.
What do you expect anyone on here to do about it?
Facebook Support: https://www.facebook.com/help/somethings-not-working
Facebook Community Forum: https://www.facebook.com/help/community

Hi Guys - ScareTOUR will be arranging our annual behind the scenes tour of one of the mazes this year. I know you all want The Passing but logistically that's not going to happen due to the nature of the show (hint - there's nothing to see!!) BUT we will have one of the others. In the past we have done Se7en, the Curse and Experiment 10 so that really only leaves Saw Alive or Asylum
Which maze would you like to go behind the scenes of? Let us know over at our FB page (http://www.facebook.com/ScareTOUR) and why not "like" us while you're there! A full announcement will be made this evening and as usual numbers will be strictly limited. Provisional date for this trip is Sunday October 21st

Ahhhhh, now this I've been looking forward to for a while now, especially after the original date for this trip was cancelled due to my appendix deciding to commit suicide... So this trip was rebooked, and the excitement built up once again...
I vaguely remember my trip to Europa 4 years ago, when Silver Star was king, and a demonstration of the constantly moving (if maze-like) queues were abound on every single ride on park... Since then of course, Iceland and it's two coasters have appeared, so as such, it was time to revisit and do it properly... 3 days, on site... Hell yeah...
The plan for departure was simple, leave in the middle of the day, get to the hotel mid-afternoon, chill and prepare for the 3 long days ahead... The flight over went well, and we arrived at Euro Airport and it's confusing border situation... Nevertheless, we got out, and found our shuttle man awaiting us...
This is something that crops up with every Europa trip, how to get to the park from whatever airport you go to... The transport links are crap, there's no two ways about it, which is weird for such a big park in Germany where transport is usually pretty decent... So we were faced with the choice of the relatively burdenous looking route of public transport, or pay top dollar (€99 each way) for a shuttle car straight to the park... We took the latter option, and it was certainly worth it if only for the ease of which it worked... If in a bigger group of 4, it's even more worth it, and it negates the possible transport issue that can occur with trains/buses/etc.
Our driver was nice, and mentioned sights and other things on our trip (in German of course, my broken knowledge of which made for some fun), and an hour later I got my first glimpse of Blue Fire, and much like the sight of Katun in Italy last year, my excitement began to truly build...


So to the Colosseo, what an impressive sight it is, something that can be said for each of the hotels actually, and after a quick check in (where the European hotel tax rears its head, but you get a free guide book for your troubles), we entered a room that looked nothing short of amazing...




And then we looked out of the window, and knew that paying the extra for the room with a view of the piazza was sooooo worth it...



After some marvelling of the view we elected to explore our hotel and the others to boot, but not before grabbing some Smarties Ice Cream from the lobby to truly enjoy the sunshine Mainland Europe had kept to itself...





The hotel is stunning really, it certainly puts Towers to shame, and indeed the lower end Disney hotels too... Hell even Hotel New York at Paris looks crap in comparison to this effort... To see how constant this awesomeness was, we headed towards the trio of Spanish themed hotels via a tunnel...


Which decided to demonstrate how much effort Europa put into EVERYTHING... There is no need for them to theme the tunnel as such, but they did... Extremely well... Brilliant stuff...
Anyways, onto the Spanish hotels, pretty nice actually, each one seems to have a completely different atmosphere and it is brilliant, from the happy Andaluz to the silent and grand Santa Isabel, each hotel tells a different story and has just as much effort put into them all... Simply outstanding...









After sampling Spain, it was time to head to the brand new Bell Rock hotel, which has a path leading from the Colosseo to the back entrance with the lake (and World of Colour esque fountain show)... Again though, completely different atmosphere (that of a cosy family style thing), look, and approach... Each hotel made me want to stay in it, which can only be termed a good thing really...





We headed back to the Colosseo and chilled in the room for a bit, catching our own hotel's fountain show (the first of MANY)...



It then came to our dinner reservation back at the Bell Rock... We headed back and ventured into the restaurant, which they combine both the buffet and a la carte options together. We were doing a la carte, so ended up in a separate area which made us feel underdressed due to the poshness of it all...





The meal was nice though, and we even had a character interaction with some random sea-captain... Who got the couple on the next table to take a photo, which was awkward for everyone involved...
On our way back to the hotel we caught the Colosseo fountains at night, which made them look even more epic...



We then ventured up to the Colosseo Bar (which looks so weird due to the American theme, probably the only issue with the hotel thematically), got some drinks and took in the view of the park looking forward to some early morning Blue Fire...

It is unconfirmed whether The Passing is a totally alone experience, or whether it's a partially alone one like Experiment 10. It is, however, confirmed about the Hessian body bag.
Perhaps it might have been worth looking at the park's site with a bit more detail to read what they said about The Passing before booking?

I guess if the problem is found and resolved quicker than expected, then anything's possible. Even if Thorpe knew it would be a few weeks out of action, it's probably better of them to say it's out of action for the rest of the season (ie about 6-7 weeks) instead of saying it's "unavailable today" constantly / saying it will open in a few weeks time and have that backfire. I guess some could even see it as a bonus that a ride which is meant to be unavailable until next season opens this season (though, really, it isn't a 'bonus', but just shows how well the engineering team is working..). To be honest, the rumour of Samurai moving near Swarm is more unbelievable - where exactly could it go, why would they do it and what would take Samurai's position? I certainly think that that rumour had no legs and was a false lead.
As for Slammer, work is seemingly going on from what members on here have said. Also, some new, blacked-out fencing has gone up near Slammer, which I think happened the last time work went on before it reopened following an extended period of downtime...

This ride now successfully doesn't spin, doesn't get you wet, and yet still manages to have an inch of water at the bottom of the dingies after less than an hour of operation? The ride leaks, the audio doesn't work / can't be heard and is just generally useless it seems.
Last season, the ride wasn't actually that bad, though went a bit downhill towards the end. This season it's been bad, and is now just stupid and pointless. Though 2 years later, our fears about this ride have come to fruition it seems...

This ride now successfully doesn't spin, doesn't get you wet, and yet still manages to have an inch of water at the bottom of the dingies after less than an hour of operation? The ride leaks, the audio doesn't work / can't be heard and is just generally useless it seems.
Last season, the ride wasn't actually that bad, though went a bit downhill towards the end. This season it's been bad, and is now just stupid and pointless. Though 2 years later, our fears about this ride have come to fruition it seems...

Making everyone walk past Loggers and Rocky seems utterly pointless when there is no need for that barrier but as you said it could be to advertise The Passing more. As for Experiment 10, walking into the barrier must be the new twist that has been heavily advertised for 2012

Few more Fright Night things going on now...

Pretty much confirmation that The Passing will be in Hellgate's old location. Funnily, that is the only fence there - it is literally just blocking the pathway. Seems to more be a way of somewhat advertising it on park..
Experiment 10 has also been built up:

One thing which I've noticed is how the exit is in a different position to last season. Last season you exited to the right of the barrier (so, the left hand side from this picture, just to be clear...), but this season, it is directly in front?

That's not just perspective, there really isn't much space between the exit and the barrier. I also think last season that the exit was ramped?
I dunno if it's just they mucked the positioning up a little bit (it does seem as if all the maze is shifted to the right a little bit) or what, but I guess they're not particularly easier to move..? Only thing I can think of is that they're removing the barrier but just haven't got round to it yet?

Few more Fright Night things going on now...

Pretty much confirmation that The Passing will be in Hellgate's old location. Funnily, that is the only fence there - it is literally just blocking the pathway. Seems to more be a way of somewhat advertising it on park..
Experiment 10 has also been built up:

One thing which I've noticed is how the exit is in a different position to last season. Last season you exited to the right of the barrier (so, the left hand side from this picture, just to be clear...), but this season, it is directly in front?

That's not just perspective, there really isn't much space between the exit and the barrier. I also think last season that the exit was ramped?
I dunno if it's just they mucked the positioning up a little bit (it does seem as if all the maze is shifted to the right a little bit) or what, but I guess they're not particularly easier to move..? Only thing I can think of is that they're removing the barrier but just haven't got round to it yet?

Few more Fright Night things going on now...

Pretty much confirmation that The Passing will be in Hellgate's old location. Funnily, that is the only fence there - it is literally just blocking the pathway. Seems to more be a way of somewhat advertising it on park..
Experiment 10 has also been built up:

One thing which I've noticed is how the exit is in a different position to last season. Last season you exited to the right of the barrier (so, the left hand side from this picture, just to be clear...), but this season, it is directly in front?

That's not just perspective, there really isn't much space between the exit and the barrier. I also think last season that the exit was ramped?
I dunno if it's just they mucked the positioning up a little bit (it does seem as if all the maze is shifted to the right a little bit) or what, but I guess they're not particularly easier to move..? Only thing I can think of is that they're removing the barrier but just haven't got round to it yet?

Just a shout out to the bloggers, you've done some excellent blogs so far guys. One thing I love about them is the variety of opinions and view-points.
It's been an absolute pleasure to read.

Yeah, this really does confuse me - just makes no sense.
As for this whole bridge connection to Swarm, I personally think it's rubbish.

I believe Sunken Garden is the area near the bottom left, with a pool showing in it. Now, how can one build a bridge to Swarm from there without going onto Island A, whilst doing it cost-effectively. You can't really (it is physically doable, but just not worth it). Whilst you could build bridges from Island A, it would be pretty stupid really - the island has nothing, so they would have to build fences to stop people randomly exploring, and make them so you can't see a pile of dirt. Also, I really doubt the park would want that area to have public access in any way when they'd be developing in.
So yeah, I really just can't see that happening..
(Though, every time I say something like that recently, it has happened, so I'll no doubt end up being wrong again.. :-P)

The ride is literally in pieces, with work being done throughout the day.

The sign.

The current state of Samurai. Basically all taken down.
Am I right in thinking that Samurai doesn't get dismantled fully every closed season? Whatever the issue with this, it is a real shame.
It just goes to show that whilst the park has all this room to expand, the main core of the park has areas which need developing, and there's rides which really don't have long left...

^ When did the helicopter get scribbled on like that?
If you look back at this you can see it's been blackened a bit since then...

It looks similar to a beyond vertical drop, no? They tend to go from bi-rail to tri-rail at the bottom of their drops I believe.
Anything could be possible at this stage - SW7 surely isn't the only product Gerstlauer will have for 2013?

The ride is literally in pieces, with work being done throughout the day.

The sign.

The current state of Samurai. Basically all taken down.
Am I right in thinking that Samurai doesn't get dismantled fully every closed season? Whatever the issue with this, it is a real shame.
It just goes to show that whilst the park has all this room to expand, the main core of the park has areas which need developing, and there's rides which really don't have long left...

The ride is literally in pieces, with work being done throughout the day.

The sign.

The current state of Samurai. Basically all taken down.
Am I right in thinking that Samurai doesn't get dismantled fully every closed season? Whatever the issue with this, it is a real shame.
It just goes to show that whilst the park has all this room to expand, the main core of the park has areas which need developing, and there's rides which really don't have long left...