MikeyT

I love looking at that early Vampire Station picture. It really was quite an intimidating experience, especially when I was an ickle boy! Hehe. It was a great one though, packed with fantasy and theatre.

Was browsing the job vacancies, as you do, being an unemployed student in need of money, and came across the new, much improved company careers page.I particularly loved the introduction of the "design, create and display" section. Hopefully they'll be able to advertise Studios jobs much easier. Merlin Careers Page.

Pssstt, I'd keep an eye on that Luna Lovegood if I were you...

Oh Merlin.... come on my lovelies, surprise me. Do something different! You are capable of so much.

Thus proving that what is deemed World Class is totally the opinion of the individual.Saying all of this, I think we give the States too much credit sometimes; bigger isn't always better and some of their coasters, for me, fizzle out towards the end, not naming any names HULK. :)One thing the UK does do better than the US is themed music and audio for our attractions.

The trouble is, the definition of World Class comes down to opinion. All these polls do give a vague definition but they're very much driven by the huge theme park communities who go on theme park trips around the world. TPR for example, when they come to England, Nemesis ranks higher in most of the polls than when they visit other countries.In my eyes, Oblivion is World Class, for example, and I'm sure in a lot of people's eyes, Air is too. Nemesis is still my favourite coaster of all time... sadly I don't think the UK will see that amount of planning and for a project on that scale again. The problem is with entertainment, sometimes it can be hit and miss because audiences can be so unpredictable. Once in a while though, all the stars will align and you find yourself with an absolute cracker of an attraction. Manta at Sea World comes to mind. It was often overlooked in favour of Rip Ride Rockit during its construction, but then when Manta opened, ahead of schedule and to rave reviews (it really is one of the best coasters in Orlando) it put Rip Ride Rockit to shame.... which is still, to an extent, suffering from problems.

As already mentioned, it is not uncommon in this business to start planning things before approval is granted. It definately happens with smaller projects, where planning applications will be sent in during the construction process if they can almost guarantee that it will be granted. A lot of research is done on this process and they would never start anything unless they were almost certain it would get the go ahead.Don't forget, this is a very vague bit of viral advertising that doesn't really hint at much apart from a general mood/ theme. In the mainstream, not a lot of people know that there is a coaster planned for 2012 or where it'll be located, it is only people like us that will know. Rumours may be passed on through word of mouth and that's how this kind of marketting works, but until there is solid promotion on either park property or official advertisments then most of the mainstream guests will have no idea about it.

Well from various interviews and comments from John and Morwenna (Thirteen event for example), SW7 will see a return to the thrill seeker market and will most likely be a World's First of some kind or at least be unique in some way. I personally think it's a bit too soon to consider SW8, seeing as they're still planning their next secret weapon.I wouldn't completely rule out parts of the valley being used for some elements of a coaster/ ride in the future, it would literally take a design miracle along with an incredibly extensive planning application process- just like all of Alton's other Secret Weapons.I'd love for Alton to try something a bit different in terms of theme for the ride, Alton have a lot of sinister/ dark themes going on and I'd love to see them try something a bit kooky and tongue in cheek, just to play devil's advocate there and break a common cliche of thrill rides and sinister themes.

Just listening to the Doctor Who Series 5 Soundtrack. Absolutely stunning, gorgeous stuff. Murray has done it again. Some of his best work here.

Sorry this is so late, but thanks to everyone for such an awesome day on Sunday. Many many good times including Big Brother Diary Room, Planet Hollywood, and of course, our group pictures.I'm looking forward to the new season for more meets like this!Here's a taster of the pics from Sunday for those that didn't attend. http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=480327472892&oid=162597657107193

Welcome Nicky... hope you enjoy yourself on the forums. Sorry if you felt unwelcome in any way before, some people can't help themselves it seems.

Come on Michaela! You can do it! I'm in a very similar situation to you and I'm having to walk over an hour to the station . I'm going to have to bust out my boots... Lol!

You'll be there Ellie, that's enough epicness for me.

So I have to go tomorrow as I'm now staying in a hotel tomorrow evening with a friend. I've got to ask for money as my ALG hasn't come through... fun!I should be at Waterloo Station around 09:50, though trains could be an issue. Lol. It's a shame the weather conditions has prevented some people from coming.

I'm unable to go today (Saturday) because the usual snow related problems. It's meant to be raining all day tomorrow so I'm hoping it'll want to melt some of the snow. In reality it's still a bit touch and go for Sunday too but I'm going to try my hardest to get in! I'm in a really similar situation to Michaela where it's getting to the train station that's one of the main problems!

Dartford, where I am is one of the worst affected areas apparently, I went out in the garden earlier to measure how deep it was and there is just over a foot of snow. Unless it wants to melt in time for the meet then it's very unlikely I'm going to be able to travel to get to the meet.There is an extra 10cm of snow forecast for tonight. I will keep you posted. Would be a shame to miss it as I was really looking forward to going.

Just read on someone's Facebook status that Leslie Neilson has died. Wasn't he a part of Pirates 4D at Thorpe? I know he's been in some other things but just wanted to check!

DisneySEA= pure theme park perfection in every single way. Us UK folk and even Americans could only dream of having a theme park as immersive, as escapist as that absolute stunner of art!

Paha! Hmmm... interesting. Any other suggestions?

Well, Jepburn pops in and out willy nilly.

Woops! Haha, corrected.

First Alex, now Phill. The Ghosts are out in full swing!

I must admit, I'm not crazy for the fairs either, though I will definately be there for the social aspect! Plus the Wurst Koch madness at Winter Wonderland. ;)Michaela, I totally don't blame you for wanting a vegging out day! :PAlso Spirit of London= pure Tussauds awesomeness.

First post has been updated with more information about the Saturday's activities. Feel free to come along to as much or as little of the event as you would like to. Also let us know where you'd like to eat on the Sunday. See you there!

Guys, yeah sorry this is my fault. There's been a little misunderstanding in communication on my part. After double checking, it seems that the Merlin stuff is happening on the Sunday 5th December, not the Saturday. So my mistake! Bear with me and I'll confirm details again as soon as I've checked with Aero.