MattyMoo

Don't worry the sooner closed season is here, the sooner we can get back on Loggers Leap in 2017!

Am I right to assume that the CCR train is going to be static?

Most of them were officially "conga line" but once in there no one seemed to care Creepy Cottage is a good start, but even that did provide me with some proper jumps

I would've thought all 8 should be do-able but yes would definitely leave Hellements out of the lot - I'd perhaps stay away from Hayride until later in the evening, so stick to the area that has Chop Shop, The Cellar, Pandemonium and Colony, and do Colony last from those 4 as you end up in the bottom area of the "park" then when you exit it (it is HUGE). Couple more photos on my Facebook from the evening - you'll have a blast!

I think if you went early on in the month you'd do them all by 10.30 with fast track Fast track queues last night were about 10 mins.

Really enjoyed my first time at Tulley's last night - and great to see some folk from here too We went straight to Hayride and there were some technical difficulties so we were queuing for about 40 minutes - we were concerned it was going to mess up the rest of our night meaning we couldn't do all 8 haunts - but we did get everything done in the end! Chop Shop at 10pm was walk on FYI. My thoughts from last night: Blown away by the size of the haunts - we must've been in The Colony and Coven of 13 for a good 5+ minutes, The Colony in particular is massive! Roaming actors in the park are BRILLIANT and totally make the event - I'm in love with the giggling Cinema Attendant Girls with their ex-boyfriend popcorn , they were awesome! A mate of mine who is in a blues/country band ended up singing with the two hillbilly banjo guys outside the Chop Shop, brilliant stuff. Those two hillbilly's spotted my Hollywood Tower Hotel t-shirt and said "You best not be doing any espionasge boy, you're from the competition - don't you be going home with anything" My highlight was probably The Chop Shop - at one point I ended up split from my group of 4, turned a corner to be faced by a chainsaw guy - then turned round to find one had appeared behind me too. "Whatcha gonna do now" they said haha. Later on in the haunt I was bellowed at with "WRONG WAYYY PIGGY, WRONGGG WAYYYY" as I kept getting lost. Chop Shop reminded me very much of The Freezer/Asylum in parts, the good old days My mates were shouting "Where's Mat?" behind me and an actor said to them "Mat's goooone" haha. See video below for how awesome the the Chop Shop looks outside. Like I said - Colony is HUGE and another highlight. Really is super creepy being outside in the pitch black. Really enjoyed it, loads of actors here, loved the fire, the smoke, the darkness, the eerie latin whispered at you... so much to take in. Even the "less scary" haunts (Creepy Cottage for example) the actors were top notch, I was at the front and a number of times I literally jumped out of my skin when an actor appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Theming on Creepy Cottage and also The Cellar was top notch - the sinking down effect here was cool! Pandemonium 3D also provided some good scares - again because I ended up separated from the group and they wouldn't let me back. A female actor in there made me jump and then used the actor run perfectly to appear behind me again round the corner with a whisper of "I'm back" The 3D Part was genuinely confusing and did add to it. Hayride was more of a laugh than "scary" but was well done, unique - and again, massive. Being at the front of the cart did take a way the magic a bit as I could see the driver controlling the sound effects with his iPod mini lolz. Loads of actors and scenes on this, and it did work well. Coven Of 13 - I liked the laser "headless people" effect at the start, that worked very well I thought! The scariest part was the outside bit where you were anticipating actors but there was a walk without them until they appeared. Only low point was Hellements which I thought was pretty poor - just disorientating with a bag over your head, and in a weird way, it doesn't make you jump when actors whisper at you/make noises etc because you can't see them. Thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed my evening and I now intend on going back every year - I know Tulleys have space on their side vs. Thorpe Park but there really is no comparison to be honest. Chop Shop for example was borderline as "intense" as Face It Alone for me last year (albeit without the ball gag and swearing haha) Did I mention the Popcorn Girls?

I'm going this Saturday 1st - cannot flippin wait!

It looks huuuuuge

http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/5-million-fine-for-alton-towers-owners-merlin-entertainment-ltd-over-smiler-roller-coaster-accident/story-29754241-detail/story.html That link has slightly more CCTV footage - the empty train seems to sit right at the top of the inversion static for what seems an eternity, I'm surprised that's possible

Just call me Jart...

That's a shame if there is damage to the Victorian train already - not very good considering the small amount of time it's been operational.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/alton-towers-smiler-rollercoaster-crash-8893176 The Mirror have more CCTV - it shows (briefly) the empty train valleying and the other train at the top of the lift hill - you can see just how windy it is by the tops of the trees on the lift hill.

Ahh near my old stomping ground of "beautiful" Farnborough haha. Am now down in sunny Southsea (can't say I miss Farnborough much) so it's about 1hr 10m to Thorpe depending on how fast I go up the A3...!

I did The Big Top Face It Alone - and spent most of it on my knees with a ball gag in my mouth haha. It was pretty fierce - did get pushed about a fair bit and shouted at etc. but it was still in good humour! I'd definitely do it again - the best bit was seeing the actors afterwards in Finn's Bar asking "Did you enjoy that guys?" And you think - wait a minute - just now you were a big baby covering my face in shaving foam and straw

This may be hearsay but I was under the impression that when cars were added to the track (at that particular time) they were only supposed to be added with water dummies in, due to the stalling problems previously?

17 minutes between the crash happening and the first 999 call. Wow.

I really can't see what Merlin are going to say in their defence on this - one would assume it'll be wrapped up today without going into tomorrow.

What sort of fine do we estimate Merlin getting? £5,000,000 sounds possible to me... The BBC have done very well explaining pretty simply but concisely what happened and I commend them for that. •The £18m Smiler was the world's first 14 multi-loop rollercoaster with up to five trains running at any one time •On 2 June four trains were operating on the ride; a fifth was stored away •At 13:00 BST there was a problem with one of the trains; technical staff were called •One of the engineers thought it was a good opportunity to add the fifth train because the park was busy •An empty test train was sent but failed •Engineers pushed the train until it engaged with the system and off it went •Another empty train was sent out. It got stuck, too, but in a different place •Engineers were unaware of this, thought everything was working fine and handed it back to operators •The train with 16 passengers on was sent out and stopped •The engineers looked but could not see the stalled car, thought the computer was wrong, and over-rode the stop. This set the 16-passenger train in motion and into the empty carriage

Wow, that's really brought it home - feel genuinely sick watching that, but like said above - although we all know why it happened, seeing it like that just makes it more shocking and shows the massive failings.

Opened in 1987, Rumba Rapids has been a firm favourite amongst families and young adults. As a result of many years of operation, Rumba Rapids will be out of action for 2017 while it’s being renovated. This was a difficult decision to make, however we hope for it to make a splash-back in the future! I'm joking of course...

I'd buy a nice Stealth poster in a heartbeat. But this is the SAW thread so I will keep quie.... Oh.

I'm sure you'll be fine! I had 2 complimentary tickets to Alton Towers a few years ago, and one was very faded. The guys on the gateline just replaced it as it wouldn't scan!

Random DBGT question - the "This Money Tastes Funny" tag line/T-shirt design - where is the tie in for that exactly? Is that a reference to fracking being "dirty money"? Just remembered it and it seems quite odd

No mention of Loggers being shut for development on the FN Map? RIP Loggers

I've used 2 for 1 tickets on Fright Nights before, just not the "peak" ones - which would explain 21-31 October being invalid (as it's half term weeks)