MikeyT

If I'm being honest, it's probably people that have similar views to Ricky that are running Thorpe Park :)Nah, in all seriousness, yes, the parks make money and if you strip everything back to the bare bones of business, everything boils down to money and they're there to make as much profit as they can.However, you need to keep your guests happy; you need to provide an excellent service so that people return again, recommend a visit to other people and ultimately spend more money at the parks. I would totally accept it if there was a 10/ 15 minute wait with one train, any more though, it does get frustrating for guests. One of the big KPI sectors that the parks seek to improve is "queueing spoilt my day". As a nation we really hate queueing, even though we're good at it, and even a short wait can become tiresome for many people. Annoyed guests will be much less likely to return and recommend the park to others; this means less money in the long run.I'll use Chessington as an example- back in 2007, a few of the smaller rides were "dual operated", which meant that one operator would work one ride for a short time, then close it and move to another ride close by. This was obviously a budget cut enforced by Tussauds back in the day. When Merlin reviewed the operations in 2008, they realised that they were actually doing more harm than good, so they gave the extra budget to have the extra staff.Getting people to visit the parks is one thing, getting them to return and keep visiting is another.

Agree with much of what you're saying Josh! Especially about queueing for 20/30 minutes when it could be halved into 10 minutes. I would say if the queue is longer than 10 minutes on one train, then a second should be added!

I went yesterday, had a fantastic day. Rode Colossus for the first time this year and loved it; extremely shaky and looking a bit worse-for-ware but it still remains one of my favourites. Shame to see a slight slip in effects maintenance (Colossus' Cobra Roll pit, no water vapour on Inferno)- things seem a bit random as a few things have been improved but in a lot of other places have gotten worse.It was really interesting going through the X queueline, smelling the different scents used in Hellgate, and also smelling the smoke used for Asylum in Inferno's exit, I imagine they were testing a few things before the event kicks off.Yesterday was very much about riding the rides though as I haven't been for ages, with minimal queues we got a lot done!

Hey guys, please try to stay on topic of discussion. I've deleted a number of posts which were irrelevant to the meet. By all means discuss it with people and get excited about it but personal questions that are being asked to specific people should be kept off the forums. That's what the PM function/ MSN is for!

Went on Saw Alive yesterday afternoon; I thought it was much improved from earlier on in the season. The actors were great, except for one who thought it'd be scary to tickle me. We were in a group of eight, four of whom were absolute wimps and screamed at every little thing, was very funny to watch!

Just to quickly make a post, I know it's been ages but I'm incredibly busy at the moment- I don't think you were offensive at all Josh. If I'm being honest, I think people have totally over reacted and mis-interpreted some of your posts.

Just deleted a large number of posts. I'm not having this topic being a battle of egos, having a tiff about theme park music, it's just not worth it. Any further posts on the matter will be deleted.All I will say is, if you have music, then absolutely post it if you're allowed to. If you've been asked to keep it for personal use then I'd suggest you keep it that way, but we cannot stop you from posting it, it's a choice that you make!

Prepare yourself for a Big Brother related post, I'm afraid. :)You can say what you like about Big Brother; love it, hate it, but no matter what, everyone has strong opinions of it. In my opinion the people who say it's rubbish are the people who've never watched it, or have watched a very small amount of it over the years. There's a lot of snobbery surrounding the program that I think is undeserved.A program that has literally sparked the UK's obsession with reality TV and has completely changed the way TV is experienced by the viewers and producers alike. It became the first show in the UK to introduce the idea of sister shows and spin-offs and introduced interactivity to the television market that was unprecedented.Creativity wise, well you've really got to take your hats off to the task team and producers for this, coming up with so many different house themes, tasks, props and series twists is no easy feat, especially when you consider there have been 21 series of the program in this country. The "twisted carnival" theme for this year was brilliant I thought!There have been mistakes along the way, that's for sure, some inexcusable. And now when we hear of ex- housemates wanting to take their own life, even I have to question my passion for a program that does that to people. There is a lot of cynicism about the editing process, suggesting that they favour edit certain housemates in a particular light. Ask yourself this though, what actual benefit does this give the people that make the program. They have nothing to gain from so called "chosen ones" and the like. Whilst there have been a few times where the editing has been questionable over a few situations, it must be hard condensing 24 hours of footage into one hour.The whole psychological aspect, the interactions with each other and how emotions can be manipulated in the context of their environment. I love people and it's the main thing that interested me in the show, I love knowing what makes people tick. The mix of people in there; you have genuine friendships form in there, people who realize that it's a game and play it to its full potential, and then obviously you have a few individuals that stand out. It's all social interaction and I think it's brilliant.The same things that interested me in Big Brother also apply to theme parks as well. I actually loved the viral advertising that they did each year, it works and it made me really excited when I saw Thirteen's advertising was taking a similar avenue. The whole hype of each series was amazing.... you had the 3 second eye flashes, then the 6 second ones, then you'd have the full promotional advert. It's a brand that if you showed a BB eye to someone, they'd be able to tell you what it was for.I will miss it, but I do think it was the right time for it to go. I'm glad the series went out on two successful ones rather than the lacklustre ones from 2007-2009.Anyway- worst show I've ever watched? The Farm, used to be on Channel 5 years ago.

Wow, thanks for those pictures ElectricBill, it's amazing what something so little can add to an area. Looking forward to my next visit!

Cheers Benin. That looks gorgeous already and loving that amount of detail. I forget how beautiful Mystic East really is!

Time for a rare rant from me.Theme Park Music. If you have it, then congrats to you, please feel free to share it if you're allowed to, but please don't even acknowledge the fact that you have it if you're not allowed. I don't understand all this business with it really. I'm not in the slightest bit interested in how many people you have blow jobbed your way through to get it but really am happy for you that you have it!I've never liked hierarchies or people who feel they are better than others, and frankly to think so over a piece of theme park music is pretty insane. To think that you're better than anyone else in any situation is just beyond my level of understanding, we are all equal, every single one of us and I'm sorry but I will not suck bum holes to please the likes of people who deem themselves above it all.Entertainment industry is the worst for it. And yes, scare actors, I'm looking at you

I'd love to go to this... we'll see what's occurring a bit closer to the time. Has been ages since I've attended a meet

The park are now advertising £15 entry when you book online in advance for weekdays in September. Should hopefully get more people going in the week.September Deals

Just because people do not reply directly to your posts, doesn't mean they overlook them, that's just how forums work, people will comment if they have anything to say.I merged the similar topic recently made with this one just to make things a bit easier for everyone .

Agree with you totally. For me, Colossus is still Thorpe's most iconic coaster. Brilliant atmosphere around it and everything just compliments each other. All it needs is some lovin' (perhaps some new trains) and it'd be right back up there on the popularity scale with enthusiasts.

There'll be more than one I reckon- we've still got the whole "silence will fall" arc to complete, along with what actually caused the Tardis to explode in the first place.Big rumours that a major character will be killed off, though I dunno, seeing as we had both Rory and Amy die in the last series (and Amy come back to life).I love Doctor Who, though I'd be lying if I said I didn't have difficulty getting into the new series. Matt Smith is awesome, something didn't quite click with Karen for me, though some of her performances were awesome; I love Karen Gillan in real life though- us ginge's have gotta stick together you see :(Series 5 lacked something for me, even though it had some absolutely fantastic episodes. I suppose I feel like it lost a bit of heart and soul from it. Still absolutely in love with Murray Gold's music though.

This is great news and an awesome step forward for Chessington :blink:Plus more money for staff

Have an awesome time Taz

We all know that the ride has some overlooked aspects and flaws, I'm the first to admit that some aspects of the ride disappointed me on my first ride, though I urge all of you, if you have any younger brothers, sisters, cousins or whatever, to ride with them; just for a laugh, if nothing else!

Haha! That has been everyone's reaction around me when I've been on it. It always cracks me up. It's worth a few goes just to listen to other people's reactions.

So now that I've had time to recover from an awesome few days at the resort; I'd thought I'd do the obligatory trip report :lol:The plan was to get to the resort in the early evening of the 23rd, so the kids could enjoy the water park, and I could enjoy the bar . After hitting dreadful driving conditions and traffic, we got there a little later than expected, but still had enough time to mooch about for the evening.As we entered our family room that slept up to 6 people, there was a moment of hysterics as everyone was just so excited to be there. I looked out the window, with the echoes of Nemesis in the background roaring over to the hotels, and the faint humming of the resort theme at the monorail station; watching various themed trains entering the station- I'm at Alton Towers.Mum and I just relaxed and enjoyed the quiet whilst my step- dad took my brother and sister to the water park. I notice little carvings engraved into the rock face: sea horses and fish, and other little easter eggs that I'd not noticed before, it's that sort of detail that I find really amusing and make me love the creative team all over again.Each time I visit, I forget just how beautiful the place is. It really is a magical experience for me, which is something that gets stronger each time I visit. I feel like I've escaped in every sense of the word, physically because the theme park is in the middle of nowhere, set in stunning countryside and also emotionally as I let themed environments become absorbed and lived.Queue times across the resort were bearable. Rarely did we have to queue more than 30 minutes for any ride. Both days were taken at a relaxed pace, just enjoying the park and what it had to offer. I didn't take too many photos, mainly because I just wanted to enjoy the experience rather than live it behind a camera lens.I keep forgetting just how awesome the three B&Ms are at the park, even to this day, with more technologically advanced rides with more to boast about, the ride quality on these are a huge credit to the UK. Oblivion does need some serious TLC though, however the ride itself still blows me away.I got so much joy at seeing my family have a great time, all the laughter and amazement. It just elevated the whole trip for me. Duel was also a favourite, going on that twice in a row. Not only has it received a huge amount of attention recently, it was so much fun watching the family compete against each other. Love the Skeleton Corridor now, the scenes are permanently on now rather than a quick flash.Same with Hex, it's now much improved upon my visit back in May, there are a few minor things that need to be seen to, but for a first time/ casual rider the ride was still mind blowing for them and they didn't know any different. I was surprised to find even my sister said it was "awesome" and she doesn't particularly like special effects shows all too much.I had a bit of an emotional moment on the second day, waiting on the viewing platform just outside the turnstiles, looking out over Towers Street. Hundreds of guests waiting for the park to open, music blasting out, the buzz of people getting excited about their day ahead- it made me think: Alton Towers is truly something special and unique to the UK. It's that atmosphere and stunning natural beauty that help to make it one of the most popular theme parks in Europe.