RobD
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Posts posted by RobD
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It's not simple economics, it's getting as much profit as you can. The fact is, whichever way they spin it, it's bad customer service. Pricing people out of a product is discrimination, making as much money as you can at the expense of the consumer is just unethical. There is a reasonable boundary between the two, for example, making a reasonable profit, while still being fair to the customer.The way to work this so it's fair, is to correctly manage fastrack. Time allocate all tickets, avoiding peak hours of the day, and have an accurate system displaying what is and isn't available. It's simple.Just to put this into perspective, Portaventura Express balances out at just over £2.11 per ride, Universal Florida at £1.52 per ride, and Thorpe Park at between £2.70 - £6.00 per ride. The park is not in line with other theme parks, and it's also very fair to add that almost every theme park in all other country's offer some type of Express/Fastrack for free, even if it's just on the single ride.If all these other parks can pull off Fastrack at a reasonable cost, why can't Thorpe Park?Well, no it doesn't.Yes, its a deterrant. If its cheaper like £2 per people, it'd be available to more people. Selling out quickly, there'll be more problems - more problems with higher queues, more problems with too many fastrack people at once, too many problems with people cant getting fastrack due to selling out.They do sell out. You see it often.It's simple bloody economics. Supply and demand. Include that talking to and knowing sales & info staff and management, kinda suggests I know what I'm on about?
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Your missing my point, I was getting at the fact that Thorpe Park make out on their website that the prices have risen as a result of VAT, when in fact, they have just whacked the cost up. Accelerator fastrack cost £9.00 with VAT at 17.5%, the increase to 20% would justify a new price of £9.19, not £10.80. However, if you look at the way they structure their table on the fastrack prices page on the website, it leads you to believe the VAT is entirely responsible for the price increase.Excuse me!? I do not see how you can say that at all...2010 season, cost was £4 (with 17.5% VAT). Pre-VAT, that works out as about £3.40. With 20% VAT, it works out at about £4.10. If you check here: http://www.thorpepark.com/prices/tickets.aspx?tabname=fastrack you can see that prices have risen before you even take into account VAT. Take Stealth again, 2010 - pre VAT was £3.40, now it's £5.00. Just shows how much the prices have gone up - nothing to do with VAT at all.
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On what grounds do you claim it's a deterrent?Thorpe Park have had the ability to deter people from buying Fastrack, it's called a limit. They have not enforced it, so I don't for a second believe they have raise prices to sell less. Do you believe they raise the entrance price to deter people from paying on the gate? No, they don't. Did they add a car parking charge to deter people from driving to the park? No. Not only this, every price increase comes with an excuse, park maps to fund cleaning, parking to fund car park costs, and now Fastrack increases due to VAT. It's all just profiteering in it's purest form.It is entirely a deterrant - and quite rightly so.The service is a privilidge, not a right, therefore comes at a cost. Plus, as it is, the demand for fastrack is too high and they do sell out, causing complaints anyway.The higher it is, the better imo. The less people who buy fastrack, the happier the entire world - the main queue goes quicker for it, and the fastrackers get a quicker fastrack queue.
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And just to put this into perspective; PortAventura, by FAR a better attraction, which offers 10am - midnight openings, a spectacular fireworks show every evening, professional quality shows, multiple rides that are leagues above Thorpe Park and a level of themeing and atmosphere that makes you think you are literally walking through different parts of the world, charges the equivalent of £37 to enter, and then £37 for their equivalent of Ultimate Fastrack, or £19 for 9 rides fastrack admission. This park manages a daily gate figure that averages at around 13,000. They have a much bigger market and (I imagine) will make much greater turnover than Thorpe Park, yet they still don't scam people for all their worth.
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If you ask me, this isn't a reasonable way to run your business. What ever happened to good customer service? As far as 'putting people off' goes, I highly doubt this is their motive, probably more just to squeeze people for all they can. I also think it's disgusting that they blame a very obvious price rise on the VAT, the prices on the website as excluding VAT are last years prices, which included VAT at 17.5%. As it is, a typical customer pays £40 (near as damn it) it get into the theme park, then has to queue all day getting as a conservative estimate, 6 rides, without the use of fastrack. That means a ride for ride value of approximately £6.67. I hardly think this is a fair price, and would argue if people realised they incurred such a cost would not visit. A fair that charges £6.00 per ride, even for good ones, certainly wouldn't get the number of riders many of Thorpe's rides do. Unfortunately, I think Merlin's are reaching the point where they are pricing a lot of people out of visiting them. A day for a family at Thorpe Park, paying on the gate, with food< parking and all other expenses< will probably cost the average family in excess of £200. This, in my opinion, is totally unreasonable, and I'm afraid to say I will favour my local theme parks over the penny pinching giants this season.Its a good thing... there's **** all value in it for that single person, but it looks like they are trying to put people off buying it, yet still get a decent amount of (if not more) money comming in from the fastrack...if that makes sense? Less people - still loads of pennys flowing in by putting the prise up.
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Canada Creek Railway (4)Colossus (5)Detonator (5)Loggers Leap (5)Nemesis Inferno (6)Rocky Express (6)Rush (7)Slammer (5)Stealth (5)Storm in a teacup (1)Storm in a Teacup -1Rush +1 (ALSO CCR appeared to have gained a point form somewhere, corrected, and Rush lost a point, Corrected)
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Canada Creek Railway (4)Colossus (5)Detonator (5)Loggers Leap (5)Nemesis Inferno (6)Rocky Express (6)Rush (7)Slammer (5)Stealth (5)Storm in a teacup (1)CCR -1Rush +1
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Going back some time, I know, however, I would just like to take this opportunity to point out that the ride has still not been painted, and swing A's patch looks disgusting. Gotta love the care and attention to detail Thorpe give their attractions.And on another note, Swing B looked lush at night on the first Friday of Fight Nights, as the lights inside the tower were left on, giving it an amazing glow outside of the inlets where to cables enter the tower......and the paint for both towers is en route, so all peachy.
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According to staff the lighting is on during alterations being made to themeing. I have no idea how long this will be for, however, I MUCH prefer X with lights on, it's so much nicer being able to understand what is happening, and feels much faster when you can actually see what is happening.
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^ I had a friend who worked one day a week last season. She was in R&A Thrills and worked only Tuesdays or Wednesdays. So, yes, you can work there for only 1-2 days a week. (She was however in her 4th season last year, so it could be for that reason she got such good hours.)
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^ The new pistons have made it worse, and it still needs painting, so, it's neglected =P (ok probably not the best word but whatever).As for Swing A, yes it does release the air from the top, it's just not quite as noticeable, and I didn't hear anyone saying 'is it on fire?' whilst pointing at Swing A.
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The ride's cycle length is good, it's not so long it's boring, it's not so short you think you've wasted your time. I've been on both setting (which deliver 2 full height swings or 4 full height swings) and both are good. A longer cycle would make no difference to Swing B, it's good swing is it's first full height swing, the 3 after that are dire. Whilst on the subject of Swing B, the air exhaust is now blowing released compressed air through the top (where the cables come out) so if anyone notices it, it isn't on fire (heard a few people worried it was the other day). Hopefully it'll be back to it's usual standard soon. And, it still needs the awful patches on the towers painting, Swing B's is red, Swing A's has been badly spray painted a tone of gold (as mentioned before in this topic). Poor Rush is being neglected. :'(
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Just wondering if anyone else has had the same thing... Vortex music was not playing at all on Thursday, nothing what so ever on that ride. The only audio was the lost city ambience.
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Well, after several rides on Rush on Thursday, I have to say the ride is not performing well at all. Swing A is still far better, and Swing B is now genuinely terrible. The new pistons along with he other closed season work have seriously damaged the ride. Neither swing is performing as well as they used to, Swing A provides a little airtime at best, Swing B provides one swing which actually delivers, the other 3 high swings give no airtime what so ever, and barely push past 90 degrees. For the first time ever I actually think Vortex was doing a better job of being a swing than Rush was. At least vortex was safely going above 90 degrees and giving airtime, Rush was struggling. To add to this, in keeping with the normal tradition of swapping Rush's music, it's now on the 2006 music again, but has no music for the actual ride cycle, no background theme, and all the announcements are too short which leaves the ride in silence for most of the loading and ride process.I seriously hope the new pistons 'loosen up' a little and can deliver a better ride as it used to last season, if not, I might have to find myself a new favourite ride.
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^ Yeah, same here. It really says a lot for the park when you leave wishing they'd just stuck with what they did the year before. In 08 I wished it was 07, in 09 I'd of made do with 08...
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^ That was in 2008, in 2007 the entrance theme was only used at the entrance, and was used all day.
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ME!
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^ The SAW one was terrible compared to the Midnight Syndicate piece. Also project link seems to have stopped them using the FN entrance music all day which quite annoyed me, as back in 07 there was such a great atmosphere created as you saw all the rides infront of you as you walked over the bridge with that music playing...
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^ Of course.On a different note, seen as Rush has a music change annually (or has done every year so far) what do we think the chances are of 2009's announcements and Ride music staying? Personally I like what they've done with the music lately so I'm hoping we see the 2009 soundtracks again.
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Backtracking a bit but w/e.....Just be yourself. Simple as. Lets look at it in another light. Your being yourself, living your life as you want to and the only people who have a problem with it are those who put on an act everyday, act in a different way around the cool kids and basically reject all forms of real emotion so they fit into a social group. Then they need to take drugs... clearly they need to sort their lives out if the only satisfaction they get is from doing illegal substances. People like that just take any opertunity to attack anyone who doesn't conform with their 'normality'. Every school has them and you can't do much about it. My general way of dealing with this sort of person is just stick by what you know is right and go along with their jokes. Don't let it effect you and just move on. The only thing I find that really helps is to get slight acception by one member of the group. Prey on the weakest/more mature person in the cool kids gang and make them like you , or atleast talk to you (ie: just add as a friend on facebook and then say hi or something on chat). It won't achieve much, all that will happen is the one person will realise your not a freak or whatever other words they want to call you, but will then be less reluctant to say anything or do anything to you. They'll see you as a human being, rather than an object. The rest of the group will either follow subconciously or you just have to talk to another person and so on until the entire group class you as a person. Sounds time consuming and stupid but it works, I've been there. In my life I've gone from in the gang in primary, to socially rejected in year 7 to pretty much accepted by everyone in year 12 (in that I could more or less sit down and chat to anyone in my year). It's just marturity and with time people will begin to respect you, that or keep to their own deluded little world and actually become the socially rejected themselves (again, seen it happen). The most important point is to be yourself, but don't be shy. If you have confidence in yourself (which I have no doubt you do, it's just applying it) you'll be fine.Heres yet another rant from me
Right ok, so basically I have a really bad reputation in my town amongst teenagers because I'm A) Gay and supposedly "emo". I was always the quiet one in my secondary school and most of it was crap because one of my supposedly best friends told everyone that I was gay after I confided in him, so I got bullied quite a bit.Anyway, since starting college my social life has picked up quite a bit and I'm much more confident and proud about myself, but there still seems to be a large majority of teenagers who hate me because I'm gay (wth?!)and ME, I mean at least I don't act differently and try to be something I'm not, I act as ME ME ME ME. Is that so hard for people?To get to the point, yesterday some random popular weed-druggie added me on facebook (hes friends with all the "populars") just to tell me that I was a "dirty c**t" (excuse the language please). I'm still so angry that some random person I've never even talked to could think such a thing of me, all my true friends stood up for me (you know who you are) and I'm grateful and really appreciate your support :lol:But seriously, just because I'm gay doesnt make me a freak. GROW THE **** UP. We're not living in the stone age so stop acting like it. Its really pathetic. The ironic thing is, its apparently cool to be bisexual nowdays? "Oh look I'm kissing another guy/girl that makes me hot" ermm not it doesnt, you just look like a **** :angry:Rant over. -
^ I'm basing this only on my knowledge and not fact now, but Thorpe did an in house job of stripping the piping that delivers the air to the piston as it was made out of a poor material that often broke. It was replaced with kevlar reinforced piping, but was done in house. It might be that in doing so the park invalidated warranty, or it might be that S&S can fix the problem, but as the ride works and most people don't actually notice a difference, from a financial point it wouldn't be worth it. Fever will probably know if what I'm saying is in anyway possible, I'm just putting one and two together here... (although I'll ask my engineer friend all this next time I visit =) )
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^ I highlighted a few, which one?
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^ Could that not be that the air dryer's are not delivering the same amount of air to B (or the pressure auge on B is incorrectly calibrated), or maybe that there is air being lost somewhere from B? I've only ridden Rush since 07, so only really noticed it being much more out of sync in 08. This isn't by any chance around the time Thorpe refitted the air deliver 'pipes' in house is it? That would seem a likely cause for the inconsistency in performance if it hasn't always been that way...It may also be to do with the valves, on one visit I took B was only making it to about 80 degrees as it needed one of it's air release valves tightening, the funny thing was that once A was shut down and only B operating it made it to about 90 degrees.
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I'll agree there. That said, if Stealth actually had had a proper soundtrack pre FN09, I might think differently. I hated the music on Colossus, it's Station track at FN was brilliant, why change it to that SAW rubbish? Also the lost city track was just downright annoying, I'd have the FN07 or 08 Colossus music back as the area backing track any day. The use of SAW music at the end of the night was also, in my opinion a big mistake, FN has it's own entrance theme and park theme, it's a brilliant piece, so why fix it if it ain't broke?I agree to a certain extent, except I absolutely loved the Stealth Plaza theme at FN09. It really built up an electric atmosphere, and I have such a great memory of those visits.
Stealth
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