Benin

But on the other hand, aside from Fluch's theming taking over a year to do because of snow (excuses eh?) with both a LSM launching system and vertical lift/drop could that not also be termed as a prototype? Can also look at Lynet and Wild Hog for other prototypes... Though it's hard to say if they were unreliable tat breaking down every 5 minutes because of being in parks that are very rarely looked at... It seems clear that they've moved away from the dual loading system now, even Takabisha doesn't have it... Even that can be termed as a prototype with the amount of brakes at the top of the lift for the however many degrees drop... Atm with Smiler, it seems to be a support issue that has kept it closed currently (aside from the lift hills when I visited)... Now, is this down to Gerstlauer? OR the construction team externally brought in for the job? Indeed, a fair few of Smiler's issues had nothing to do with Gerstlauer (or least, I doubt they have anything to do with checking the type of soil on site), and the flying bolt of freedom isn't a specific manufacturer issue and clearly a result of the harsh weather changes (hooray for metal expanding and contracting!) It is a shame because the more issues have the more it paints a picture on Gerst (although, the Texas Giant issue will do more for that than anymore bolts flying off Smiler), as it's their biggest project and their rides are actually good (Saw being the exception) and as a still young and growing company they do provide something different... Perhaps though they are being too Intamin-like for their own good what with their new ideas being broken when used in the actual environment... Overall, it's not a good year for Towers either, everything seems to be breaking simultaneously, with Runaway's motor dying, Thirteen's hydraulics being sprayed everywhere, Oblivion's lift hill, Rita being Rita... It's on the cards for the Valley to take the next hit...

Know what I find really weird, only Saw and Smiler have had such problems for Gerstlauer coasters... Yet meanwhile, things like Karacho are running fine (though unfinished, but that's the German way sometimes)... Did Takabashi even have over the top problems during it's opening months? If so, there's something strange about that only two Gersts have major issues...

It's strange that they're the only Merlin park that doesn't have some form of closed ride scroller... Maybe it's the different website style, or perhaps they're just not as used to having half their park closed at once? The social media person has probably quit or gone on holiday, hence why there's been no mention of it being shut... Hopefully though, whichever support is being worked on is a quick(ish) fix, like every other major breakdown that has happened recently...

Still hasn't been an official announcement though (in regards to actual theme, name and layout etc)...

Currently only Smiler and Rita are down... Thirteen's back up then...

Like their LSM ones...

Looks like one of the dummies from a Goosebumps book...

10 years ago you only had Air on ERT... Or Nemesis if you were really lucky... And you got a themed guide pick everyone up from the hotel lobby (Back when it was Nemesis and my first visit to Towers in 2001, a bloke in hard hat and hi-vis would run into the lobby screaming and promoting the story of Nemesis <3)... Sigh... I guess that having Air and Nemesis would be extremely unlikely to be both open and ready for 9am, especially with staff requirements... Sub Terra would be a definite candidate off the list just for staffing alone since it needs 60 people to run it... They might look into Air opening as well, but for now, let's settle for whoring Runaway Train still <3

And it's just made me notice that TPM has a word filter for the term "Colos.sucks"... Amazing <3

After a lot of rides on it on the weekend, I have come to a conclusion... The light effects are good... The ride is still crap... The block brakes (or lack of) really go to so how short the layout is, and it doesn't particularly impress... Polishing a turd suits X very well as a description (always has done to be fair), and it's actually one of the worst uses of internal space for an indoor coaster (not helped by that you can see half of the building now)... In the future, I think Thorpe would be better served removing X, Slammer (especially if it keeps conking out), Storm Surge and the Arena, allowing for a massive space in the middle of the park to be used for, just about anything really... Though I would imagine that is a long way away...

Yeah, it's been dying for a while but kept open because of Smiler and RMT... Intamin hydraulic systems </3

But I LIKE mocking people when their opinion is wrong, it's a fun game <3 It's all about presentation, and how one presents their opinions (be they positive or negative) on the matter that make a difference on a forum, since body language is null and void... If a poster comes in and says "Y ride is crap and should be replaced by Z ride because of well thought out and structured reasons" then that's fine really, perhaps a full blown discussion can come of that based on other people's opinion of Z ride if they've ridden one before or what they think of it from pictures/videos... Then you get the "Y ride is crap and should be called crappy ride because of how crap it is lol" posts... Whilst Thorpe especially has had a wonderful history of the ride names being changed to Boretex, Zodicrap, Colossus, Nemesis Inferior, etc, I've always seen that as a harmless joke from those days where the only way to survive a day out at Thorpe was to make fun of it (because it wasn't helping itself)... But just saying a ride is crap because I say so overall isn't a fact (although this is not applicable to Mean Streak, Sequioa Adventure and Bakken's Tornado), it's my opinion and if I just say something is crap because I think it is isn't the right way to go about having a discussion (unless of course your opinion on stuff is already established enough on the forums for people to understand the usual moans, like me and Intamin OTSRs)... People are going to disagree, that's life, and there's no need to throw toys out the pram... Because if people act childish, then they get treated like a child... That's my take on things...

First drop and Dive Loop were jolty on my singular ride... Too much head-bashing </3

Think that pretty much confirms a Wing-Rider based on the HUGGGGGE gap between pillars then... Worst kept secret of course...

Yesterday Swarm said unavaiable, then they tested it, then they said it would be a while till it opened (at 7:30)... There were no signs saying rides would open at 7:30 on park, so clarity is needed throughout... Glass House said kitchen was closed at 6, but would reopen later if we booked a table... Not particularly good if you don't wanna lose time in the 3 hours... Next week if the park closes at 7 THAT'S going to be fun if it's busy at closing, with lots of people leaving and entering... I don't know how that's going to work effectively... Staff not getting a break either is awkward... A few flats wouldn't go amiss either... Samurai and Det would also be good calls due to their locations to the coasters... It'd be a good event if they promoted it more... That simple, but they haven't beyond social media and the posters on park... There is too much focus on instant returns these days though, so if it's dead next weekend I don't think it'll come back... Which would be a shame...

It wasn't an overall disappointing event (indeed, you can't be disappointed by walk-on coasters for £5, if the weather had been the same as during the day, I probably would have stayed longer and maybe (MAYBE) ridden Saw/Colossus again (but doubtful))... BUT from an organisational standpoint the beginning was a shambles... I was disappointed by the lack of organisation, that there was a 90 minute period of doing nothing between (we managed to grab a sandwich from Coffee Shack before it closed, but Glass House not doing food till the ERT started was silly, could've kept it open for Summer Nights/Crash Pad guests) and then when we were let in at 7 we weren't given wristbands and I don't think any of the rides were actually open at that time, as we spent 30 minutes looking for something open after giving up on Swarm, failing on Fish and Storm Surge and settling for X... If the rides weren't gonna be open they could've said upon entry or in the Dome or just not let us in at all until such time until the majority of planned rides were available... Lack of shops open was a burden, people could've got ponchos or sweets or whatever, even if they just had a few kiosks open in the Dome would've helped matters (as well as other food options, Stealth Diner and Glass House being the only two options isn't great)... Majority of people were clearly Crash Pad guests, so there's an issue with marketing... You know something's wrong when you have a person shouting to people on a megaphone as you exit that you can come back in for 3 hours for £5, so that needs to be looked at as well... As an aside, why did Thorpe go to all this trouble for a photoshoot, then NOT have the ice cream stuff? I expected in during park hours, but all there was was a lonely snowman, there wasn't anything set up for the ERT stuff either, so I'm guessing they just didn't bother? Poor show... However, to the Inferno operator playing 'Singing in the Rain', I applaud you... tl;dr - Good idea, poorly executed... Just like most Merlin ideas...

I just got back... The event needs work, as letting people in at 7 into an empty park with no wristbands or knowledge of what would be open (compounded by the weather, but that cannot be helped), made things slightly awkward for everyone... Inferno and Swarm shops were shut too... I got a decent ride count, even with the burdenous rain, but its an event that needs work to really take off, rather than trying to sell tickets at the end of a day with desperation... Also, no ice cream rain... What was the point in the advert if there's not going to be anything? And Storm Surge closing in the rain with everything else (bar Swarm due to evac) running? Classic Thorpe...

I can just imagine Chief Ranger and Jigsaw next to each other on the branding... Alternatively, Miss Hippo driving a towards towards the Swarm whilst Baby Bear rides shotgun with a Bazooka... God, Thorpe's family branding is going to take FOREVER to sort out...

I thought Les Mis was a load of tripe, especially when Amanda Burdenous appeared and the whole love triangle angle appeared... Also, Russel Crowe and quite frankly the worst attempt at a revolution ever... #uneducatedlout

:|

http://www.ridetimes.co.uk/ is actually wonderful for keeping track of open/closed rides...

Denmark

A MUSLIM DAY?!!!!!111 [/OUTRAGE]

So this was down all day... This photo might show why... *TTF It's gonna be one of THOSE years isn't it?