OlivusPrime

What a bizarre discussion. It's all fair and well for a theme park fan to say "You should really plan your day fully in advance/work your way around the park in a specific order", but who honestly expects a member of the general public to be that forward-thinking and knowledgeable about the park's operations when anticipating what should be a leisurely day out at a park? I can't speak for everyone, but the only modus operandi I tend to stick to when visiting a park is to leave the newest attraction(s) until later in the day, but Towers' operating schedule has basically done away with that unless you're of a very specific age group/demographic. I have never, particularly in off-peak season, had to plan out a schedule of rides prior to visiting a park, and I'd say there have only been two occasions where I've done a noticeably disappointing number of rides, one of which would have seen no benefit at all from forward-planning. Visitors are paying more than they ever have to enter these parks, and yet Merlin are maintaining cuts that are very clearly having a big impact on a substantial number of guests' days out. Expecting people to accommodate this by putting a schedule on, or in any other way restraining a relaxed day out that they've paid for, is ignorant and against much of what theme parks were intended to be in the first place.

Did eXpo:/2018 actually happen in the end? And if so, any interesting information to be shared?

Put me in the minority, but I didn't see what the fuss was all about regarding Blue Fire. It's a great launched coaster with plenty of airtime etc. etc., but not exceptional. The layout isn't anything extraordinary and the theme gives little pause for thought. Having only ridden Hollywood's Revenge of the Mummy in the States, it's what I imagine a lot of the enormous chart-topping coasters over there are like - quite physically thrilling, but without much structure or detail otherwise.

The future of theme park theming consists of labelling what buildings are supposed to be (e.g. "Safe Zone") rather than actually theming them

Those plans are atrocious, could they seriously not afford/be bothered to theme the whole building like the one in Billund? I've attempted to part ways with LLW, since it's a drastically different park now than the one I grew up with, but whenever I come across any news about the place, it's almost always depressing to me. Long gone are the days of unique attractions for each park (which encouraged fans to try out each of the LegoLand parks, a long-term return on investment as opposed to the short-term savings of Merlin's duplicate attractions), abstract themes that prevented attractions becoming outdated upon arrival (*cough* Land of the Vikings *cough*), wide use of actual Lego models and a charming location. Edit - Just remembered where this is going to be built too. Right smack-bang in the middle of one of the Orient Express' previous scenic areas. Argh...

Whenever a situation like this arises, you always have to think back to when Nick Varney revealed he didn't even know about the atrocious Fanta sponsorship of Oblivion and how it had been handled. It's very clear that development decisions are being made by people who don't actually visit these parks or keep track of their investments, hence why a half-decent family coaster which got a clean up just a few years ago is now going to get another shoe-horned IP - and perhaps the most desperate attempt yet...

You're going to need a taller watchtower to see past the abomination in front of X...

omg You've genuinely cottoned on to something... Of course! Why didn't we think of it before? It's genius! X was made to travel forwards for this very reason! They were waiting for a particularly low-investment year, when they would turn it backwards once more... And now, hey presto, a new World's First experience for 2018!! I think Merlin have this World's First thing down much more than we give them credit for, and this is the proof.

I suppose what I mean is that the variety of technology on show in DBGT is impressive, but its implementation in regards to telling a coherent story is deeply flawed. It may or may not contribute to the trends of VR or live attractions, but lessons need to be learnt in regards to blending innovative tech with an engaging and cohesive story, as many of the other attractions nominated do far better.

Sounds like a big corporate pat-on-the-back circle-jerk to me, anyone who has a grasp on decent storytelling or technological integration wouldn't even nominate DBGT for such an award.

Hey folks, I'm having a big clear-out of all my stuff, and I've chosen to shift some of my theme park merch. I thought I'd offer them on here before throwing them to the eBay hounds - I'm happy to let them go for free if you're willing to pay the postage cost (which ought to be little over £3 in most cases, via 2nd class). Take your pick - I've got resins of Nemesis, Nemesis Inferno and Vampire (the Nemesis and Vampire ones are early editions I think), an old Stinger frisbee from Paultons Park, some LEGOLAND Windsor Top Trumps and (not pictured) the Merlin Thrill Rides (Alton Towers/Thorpe Park/Chessington) Top Trumps (the pre-Smiler edition). All of them are in great condition, though the frisbee has a few points of wear.

To be honest, after visiting the park for the first time in a while a few weeks back, I can't identify this new Island theme, and I'm the kind of person who usually pays a lot of attention to audio. That being said, I didn't spend too much time in the flat ride area of Lost City or the central part of the Jungle, which apparently are the areas that implement it most. If anything this new audio should be kept as area music, replacing tracks that are so identifiable with certain rides and have been for so long is a bad idea.

What, was Inferno too choked up to show?

Unfortunately all public bus services to Towers have recently ended until Scarefest. It's a little more expensive to get the train to Uttoxeter and it adds an extra 30 mins or so to our journey (coming from Shrewsbury), are the taxis that much cheaper? Edit: Most of the Uttoxeter services are similarly priced - most services from either are about £20 or more one-way. To be honest I'm looking more for a tried and tested/reliable service than a cheap one.

Anyone got advice on getting a taxi from Stoke station to Alton Towers? I'm looking at a bunch of companies on the internet but it's difficult to know which are truly reliable, especially when me and a friend are travelling a fair distance.