rickydoodle

^ I disagree, I agree they will recognise the length of their wait, they are indifferent about the ride hardware - especially with a ride like Colossus. Maybe more so with a ride like Velocity due to the fact it is of a very open design and the train has a relatively low capacity. The fact that they were insisting a second train should be added only demonstrates the public's lack of understanding when it comes to coaster hardware.If you asked Thorpe's guest services (or any other park's) how many complaints they get regarding the capacity of rides from the public, I would suspect it is minimal. The British public are so used to queueing for rides, it's part of the theme park culture.

I think with Thorpe there has obviously been a relatively short period of substantial investment and in some areas the park have gone for quantity over quality. The age group that the park is aiming towards are not known for their love of theming and want for attractions to heavily feature a storyline etc. Highly themed rides would no doubt lower the number of rides we have in the park today. For instance instead of Rush & Slammer in one year, you could have one or the other highly themed. Thorpe can't afford to drop overall park capacity, I think we all accept that.Theming Samurai, or any such other ride for that matter won't improve its capacity - and if they did theme it, it would probably retain the same re-ride factor and satisfaction rating among your core target audience - therefore wasting cap-ex.It's interesting you bring Chessington up - because I'd say the ride looks as much like a 'travelling funfair ride' at Thorpe than it did at Chessington. Would you have the same opinion of the ride if it hadn't have been moved? It's certainly a step up from the ride it replaced, yes?It may sound like I'm trying to discount your opinion, I'm not - it just needs to be acknowledged that the park is moving forward using the most cost efficient technique to ensure the highest park-wide capacity. And again, this doesn't make your opinion invalid - but sometimes the bigger picture has to come into play.

Again I go back to;

Not at all. It does however mean that your opinion is somewhat invalid in the eyes of the park

The point is, if you refer to the section of my post that you conveniently edited out - that it is in YOUR OPINION as a COASTER ENTHUSIAST - not a member of the public who theme parks function for.

Grrr. I've only been on this forum a matter of days and I feel like I'm repeating myself. Some of you guys really need to start to understand something.... Thorpe Park, or any other theme park for that matter DOES NOT exist to service you as an enthusiast - they are there to serve the public and make a profit. Do the public know what a Topscan is? - NoDo they know who Mondial are? - NoDo they care? - NoWill they wait 45 mins for it? - YesWill they come off smiling? - Yes Will they tell their friends about it? - YesYou can bitch and moan about the ride line up all you want, in the leisure industry the punters vote with their feet and they're flocking to Thorpe, like it or not. The term "coaster enthusiast" is a funny one - because more often than not it seems as if all the enthusiasm is sucked out of you when you become so tied up with the little details and refuse to see the big picture.

As an enthusiast, it's annoying - so that'll be less than 1% of your park's visitors for the day unhappy.For the other 99.9% of the public - you know what? They won't even realise! Again, I said it in another thread, take your enthusiast hat off and put your businessman hat on. Thorpe Park exists to make a profit, it does not exist for ANY other reason, whether that be to satisfy for your hobby or your quest for thrills, if it didn't make money it wouldn't exist.Not saying I agree with it - but that's the way it is and you can bitch and moan about it forever. If Thorpe can save on expenditure (thus increasing profit) that's what they need to do because they have a responsibility to both the shareholders and the banks.

I agree with what has been stated below.Disneyland Park itself is great - no doubt. I think a water ride is needed to perfect the balance, though.However, the studios park is a mess. The rides are OK - but there aren't enough of them and the newer rides they have installed just aren't 'Disney' and have poor capacity. The new TSP has an Intamin half pipe coaster that is lucky to push 600pph - it's just not enough.Also - if you imagine most Disney parks are a circle - the studios isn't and the layout is a mess. Rock n' Rollercoaster (the better of the two installs) and HTOT are the saving graces of the park.

Again - it depends on what is being used as the measure. I don't think theming is the be all and end all, with Thorpe - I'd suspect that teenagers aren't overly impressed with theming and aren't looking to be immersed in attractions.

Did you not manage to get on Kumali?The penguins came back for 2010. Mumbo only debuted in July 2009 so I guess they were still riding on that.2011 news won't be far off, I suspect.

,Alton has more attractions overall but if you enjoy thrills and a certain genre of attraction, it's fair to say that there is more to entertain you at Thorpe.

Some of the reasons posted in this thread for Alton being 'number one' are quite frankly, rubbish.I'd like to know what defines 'number one'? Most coasters? Most visitors? Biggest queues?Alton has the advantages of its location - it's in the centre of the country and therefore can be accessed by a large number of visitors allowing two hours for travel. While the Alton site is 'huge' - the amount of land available for expansion is somewhat limited and will be the biggest factor in the development of the park.We've seen it with TH13TEEN where the park operated a 'one in, one out' policy with Corkscrew and it's likely that this will have to happen in the future.Thorpe is aiming towards a niche market, but that's the best way forward due to its close proximity to Chessington and Legoland. It also has easy access to London and the huge numbers of tourist that the city attracts.The teenage market is also one that has some disposable income - and often will make repeat trips whereas a family visit to Alton Towers may only occur annually. If you think about the developments at Thorpe since 2000 and those outlined in the MTDP - it's not hard to imagine Thorpe going on a par with Alton.

I was pretty wary about this attraction when it was announced but have been pleasantly surprised each time I've been on it. It's great that it can be changed up a little each day - instead of becoming same old.I don't foresee it being on site for a long time though, just my opinion - based on nothing.

While I pretty much agree with what you're saying do you not think that people become less tolerant with the LGBT because they see them as 'separate'. I'm straight and have often been to gay clubs with my gay circle of friends and when I'm there people often describe it as feeling 'free' etc - but I can't help but feel that separating the two groups so to speak is a positive step towards any sort of understanding. JMO.

Hello,Just a quick note about a new site that went live a few weeks ago. I really hope that we have created something unusual and something different to what other sites offer. The site has been designed to offer news but primarily features and interviews about the industry.Current content includes Q&As with Ashley Young (Lightwater Valley), Nick Buckley (Flamingo Land) & Philip Miller (Adventure Island).As well as the usual news items there are also retrospective articles about defunct parks including Southport Pleasureland and American Adventure.In the next couple of weeks we have Q&As with Thorpe Park, The Gullivers chain & the Save Dreamland team.We don't have a forum, there's no need for one due to the number of fine examples out there - including this one. There is however, a comments section on each article.Any feedback appreciated.Rick and the team.

I like Quantum, it doesn't have the same ferocity as the older magic carpets but great fun all the same!

The rumour was a Marvel based park...!You do have to hope that they will get the first and second gates up to scratch before they work on a third.

Apparently the gear box died, not sure if Mondial have sold it elsewhere or not.I think the ride looked best in X-Sector, during the glory days at Alton. X-Sector looks amazing on opening day '98. We were all pumped for Oblivion, obviously - but the Black Hole and Energizer had received some much needed love and that was great to see.

To me Colossus often feels like a wood coaster in the sense that it has good days and bad. On good days I quite enjoy it, on bad days I regret ever joining the queue.

True!^ As said about there's no real need for such a system at Drayton, G-Force queue will be long in the morning as most people hit that first (it's near the entrance), if you leave it until the afternoon you will have a much shorter wait.

http://www.sarner.com/PhotoGallery/Valhalla01.htmlThere are some bits on there - if you haven't ridden it yet and you think you may do in the future, I wouldn't ruin the surprises.Rick.