MattyMoo

I do like my invisibility cloak on here But I'm glad at least one other person wants to see more of Jart

I've been subtly/not so subtly hinting at the fact there'll be an Underground train carriage in there since August

Yep I spotted that too

Might be coincidence but picture 3 (exterior) does appear to show train tracks in the bottom right...

Ohhhh yeah, makes sense now. Learn sumfink new every day innit.

Welcome along. I'm intrigued as to how your profile says 0 posts

After sharing a Travelodge room with a bunch of TPM'ers earlier this year, I've already seen "more of" some of you already

Whether they are "must-rides" or not, rides SBNO or being removed is never a good thing. I can't say I went to Alton in 2014 to specifically ride Charlie & The Chocolate Factory and Hex - but I was glad that I did ride both of them, and they added a bit of variation to the day - plus they were both inside which helped greatly considering the god awful weather. Six rides unavailable is quite a chunk of the line up - I am intrigued as to what the map will say, I guess it will just pretend they don't exist! 2016 is going to be a very interesting year for the public and fanbois alike going to Merlin parks.

The track was installed by B&E Erectors. The same guys who are working on WC16. Groundwork was by TG Cruse - who were involved with SAW, Swarm and Thirteen also. I know from dealing with TG Cruse, they are anything but crap - quite the opposite - as with regards to drainage, as I understand it, that issue was pointed out during construction to Merlin.

^ One would assume that would mean something going on with Terror Tomb

Just commenting to say I love the title to this thread

Update to say - Ripsaw & The Flume being removed entirely. That doesn't bode well for Loggers does it...

TowersStreet saying the following: "Sources close to the park have stated Alton Towers are to close Sub-Terra, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Driving School, Hex, Flume and Ripsaw for the 2016 season." Ouch. Biggest surprise on that list to me is Hex.

I'm in, as per usual (pretty sure I'm free on 2nd Jan) as it's Guildford and I always go Airhop - possibly! Everything else - yes. PS. No Wimpy burgers please.

Brand new themeing and it's already falling into disrepair, typical Merlin eh? Look at the state of that cymbal.

Yes as previously mentioned - I did really enjoy Containment, thought it was very well done and excellent to have something different.

Credit where credit is due - Merlin have done their utmost to keep Slammer slamming - they could've easily pulled the plug months ago. If it does now stick around for next year, I could finally get to ride it again

Blimey that really is a change in direction for Thorpe Park - is Octopus Garden coming back too?

Yes I wondered where Katie was when I went on it. I do hate these stupid PR stunts that Merlin seem to love so much. I think I missed out on a free fasttrack there, I should've visited Guest Services and complained

As previously said - I really can't see the point of keeping Canada Creek open next year, just shut the whole area off, would keep prying eyes away - and stop them from seeing nothing happening Would give Guest Services an easier time too! It's good that Loggers is getting some maintenance and TLC, but I don't buy it taking all season to complete... maybe if guest figures pick up next year the "maintenance" will suddenly be completed ahead of schedule? I fully anticipate Loggers opening again in 2017 with no changes whatsoever though, personally. Hey, you never know - maybe if they did close Canada Creek next year they'll finally remove the remains of CCR track and the level crossing barriers. The Smiler incident has obviously hit them hard - and combined with the Swarm not performing as expected, plus ageing rides starting to play up at Thorpe and CWoA (or with CWoA in particular, theming self destructing) - it's all quite a costly mix at the worst possible time. The Smiler accident has just compounded the issues that Merlin have been trying to fix... there will obviously have to be more cuts to come, all depending on how 2016 goes. TLDR: we'll never see the main drop theming back on Dragon Falls either.

Just one visit to Thorpe Park this year, and thoroughly enjoyed it and was excited at the prospect as hadn't been in so long. Other than Thorpe (!) - our visit to Orlando: Walt Disney World, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Blizzard Beach, Universal Studios and Universal Islands of Adventure. Obviously spent more than a day in each of the Disney parks as we were staying on site for 2 weeks

If Jart gets overlooked in this poll then something is up, that's all I'm saying.

Of course this could mean it's just closed for 2016 and coming back in 2017. But it goes backwards.

Can't believe you've just leaked all that top secret info The Derren Brown themed Top Spin is supposed to be on a need-to-know basis...

My prediction for next year is WC16 being opened, and no other major noticeable positive improvements/changes made - purely because of the dire year Merlin have had. And if the rumours are true regarding possible removals from the ride line up next year for all or part of it (Loggers, X, Slammer), then WC16 needs to be seriously good, as does reliability/availability and operations in general - so I reckon Thorpe will be focusing on that during closed season (Hence early Stealth closure this year)