JoelPagett

Hi guys, Yesterday I was on park and was asked to take part in a focus group. The main aim of the focus group was to get our opinions on the parks food offerings and also the future. We had to first give our opinions on the current park offering, we said it was okay but there is a lack of undercover eating spaces and also we said it had to be more immersive with themes I.e. a restaurant to fit in with The Swarm a little like disney or universal (obviously nothing to that standard though!). Then we were asked about the thoughts of KFC and Pizza Hut being replaced by the inhouse brands. In our opinion as long as the in house brands rivaled those of the high street then people didn't seem to mind these brands. Although there were some issues with the food offerings and more healthly options were a big need at Thorpe Park. Intrestingly they also asked our thoughts on brands such as Pret, Nandos and some other mexican restaurants. All in all it seems as though they want to move with the times, hopefully though the inhouse brands will not wipe out any franchises!

They don't have a water roller coaster, a heavily themed pirate one in Mutiny Bay like Poseidon at Europa Park would be a real treat :-) Only 3 years to wait and see :-p

*MASSIVE SIGH* A worldwide phenomenon is catapulting into the North of England this spring, as Lightwater Valley Theme Park, North Yorkshire, confirms that it will be home to the UK’s latest Angry Birds Activity Park, opening late Spring 2013. As the first Angry Birds Activity Park in the North of England, the site will cover over 30,000 square feet and represents a total investment of over £1.0 million. The Angry Birds Activity Park will combine the digital world of the game with the physical world, through activity-based play, which will encourage visitors to move around and be active. The Activity Park will be complemented by an Angry Birds retail store selling a wide range of Angry Birds official merchandise from pencils to back-packs to plush toys. The Angry Birds Activity Park has been designed and manufactured by Lappset UK. A leading provider of play equipment, the Kettering-based company launched the Angry Birds concept last year which creates a new healthy way for the whole family to experience the Angry Birds theme. The attraction is aimed at the whole family, allowing toddlers, children and adults to play together. Mark Bainbridge, General Manager, at Lightwater Valley, comments: ‘We are delighted that the global phenomenon that is Angry Birds has landed at Lightwater. We feel that the new activity park is a really good fit for us as a leading family attraction – and what we really like is it will get children and adults alike active whilst having fun together. Its opening will mark the start of an exciting programme of developments, which will improve and diversify the theme park’s offer and reinforce our commitment to providing quality leisure experiences for the whole family.’ Lightwater Valley is committed to working in partnership with local businesses and organisations to support the growth and value of Yorkshire’s visitor economy. Angry Birds has been downloaded over 1 billion times across the world, and last year it was the most popular paid-for app on Apple’s App Store. The game, now also available across different platforms, played by millions of people every day. Further detail on the Angry Birds Activity Park will be released after Easter. ....

Agreed it is really very hard to find where you need to go if you have never been before, everything looks like it has been more squashed to make way for The Smiler!

The Alton Towers 2013 Map has been revealed in The Sun today! A little bit of concept art for both new rooms at the hotel have also appeared. The Smiler rooms look pretty scary though! More

Drayton Manor Update for 2013. Drayton Manor has revealed that they will be adding a new attraction to their hugely successful Thomas Land for 2013. The ride, which is still unknown is thought to open in summer 2013. The park will also be showing a fantastic new film, "A Fish Story". The musical film, about a fish named Deepo, takes you on a journey to the depths of the ocean, encountering many different sea creatures along the way, such as lively dolphins, stinging jellyfish, kind-hearted sharks and singing sea turtles. Source

I think this coaster will try it the most as they have incorporated it into the actual theme. They have to deliver on the Physcological side of things as it has been thier main marketing element for the ride.

There has been a large update on the Alton Towers Resort media page regarding The Smiler. A press release shows how the Marmalisation process will... mess with your mind! It also discusses some information on the ride as well as the experiments they did to try and research fear. more info here "Alton Towers Resort announced today that its new 2013 roller-coaster, The Smiler, is going to ‘marmalise’ the minds of riders to give them a thrill like no other. Not only will the ride involve plunging 30-metre drops, hurtling speeds of up to 85km per hour and extreme turns, but The Smiler will feature twisted psychological effects to mess with riders’ mind. The combined physical and mental assault is rationalised by a new report from researchers at New Scientist magazine revealing that mental anticipation is a key-contributor for ensuring an extraordinary thrill experience. Existing roller-coasters at the UK’s leading theme park already put the body through its paces. Now, The Smiler will play with the mind by blurring the lines between illusion and reality. Riders will be subjected to five mind manipulations including jabbing needles, blinding lights and optical illusions, to maximise the fear factor"

I am a bit of a ticket/map hoarder, I love looking back on them and seeing how they have developed over the years :-)

I have maps from CWOA dating back to 2001. Click here for more :-)

Although it isn't going to be open for the event, they do state on the email that the animals will be open for viewing... more info here

It sounds an awsome line up! Here is the poster! More info here Buy tickets here

Zufari is confirmed to open on the 20th March. Although it is not confirmed to open on the annual pass weekend. More here

I suspect they would be really hard to find, I know I wouldn't sell mine as I would doubt anyone would want it and it would make no money!

It doesn't need a clean it needs a repaint, a nice dark purple

Nice update on this wonderful attraction! I used to live 10 minuites away so used to go all the time as a child, I have seen plans for them to add a small theme park to this!! you can see this info here!

My favorite style was the ones between 2003 & 2005, they look really cool, in comparison to the mess of a map we have today!

If anyone is interested I have scanned in all my old maps all the way back from 2002, I also have uploaded some of my Fright Nights images back from 2009. its interesting to see how the park has changed so much over the past 10 years! Click Here for maps Click Here for events

I dont think so, it has appeared several years on the map, maybe they have some deal with Windsor Castle? or it might encourage people to stay in their hotel if the think it is so near?

Its going to be a relatively quiet year for Legoland this year hopefully something exciting will come next year if the 3 year cycle is anything to go by! The Legoland Windsor 2013 Map has been released, you can see the new Duplo Valley area :-) More info here.

This is exciting, I like the look of the game, If the theme is anything like that in the game it will be very exciting :-) Also I noticed that the concrete walls were yellow in the game, do you think they will paint these?

I fell out of love with Calypso BBQ when I aquired Food poisoning :-( I really like the Pizza Hut at Thorpe Park, although it is expensive they do have a much wider variety of salad, pasta and pizza in comparison to the inhouse brands at CWOA, LW & Alton Towers.

It is nice to see Transylvania getting some TLC, Although I like the vines covering the area it will look a lot more neater by cleaning it all up. The next thing that needs doing will be The Bubbleworks building as that is in some dire need for repair. Zufari is also coming along nicely! Thanks for these updates Adam :-)!

Here are a couple of photos of the exterior, was in London today and managed to bypass the new Dungeons More Here

Its very good for the park to reach capacity on a low key event, its in their down season and making a bit of money is going to be better for them losing money with the Zoo and theme park shut, it is good that they have opened a couple of rides, but I think it would make sense to open the indoor rides like Tomb blaster, bubble works and hocus pocus hall due to them not needing to operate in minimum temperatures. But this can only be a good thing for the park. Also I would assume that they would keep Zufari open as part of Zoo Days as they are building a path from Wanyama village, and they have thier main zoo animals I.e. Rhino and Giraffe in that area, so it would make sense.