pluk

Like the idea, although it would probably be viral only thing so not be given much budget, but could probably done quite well without much money.

A part of me is not a fan of the guilt trip charity-a-thon that is Children in Need and the like, but then some of the sketches and programming (not the sob stories) make me give in and donate. Looking forward to this... http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01lfg49 I guess I'll have to get my wallet out then...

Why ever not? Hopefully it will make them see that it's not just one moaners opinion but general consensus that such things are real stupidity and discouraged as strongly as possible.

And to add to that, the bar prices for London were quite fair.

That sucks. I don't miss my retail days for precisely this sort of thing. One of the main reasons I got out is the lack of job/pay/benefits security, even at management level. Such a volatile industry it will always be that way, but that doesn't excuse their unfair overtime allocation.

As reported by TowersStreet facebook, the bar and restaurant in Splash Landings has closed for a referb of some sort... Didn't really seem like it was in much need when I was there a few weeks back, any ideas what they are doing?

The picture looks a lot like the towers at Alton, but as you'd need a bloody good lens to take that from Thorpe I'll guess it's Swarm church?

I have to agree that Thorpe have been pretty consistently strong the whole of this season, I also couldn't be doing with Chessingtons poor poor show more than once and even Smiler aside, Alton was all a bit lacklustre in what should have been a year to shine. The one thing that concerns me about this is what the money (wo)men will read into it. The park with nothing new smashing budgets and pleasing guests, the two parks with new large additions failing horribly on nearly every indicator. What would you do in the future if it were your money? The last thing we need is for any reasons not to invest! I hope Merlin take something from this season, and that thing is the need for proper, considered, unrushed planning. One way or another, their parks various failings have been almost all their own doing.

Nice. TPMs first foreign trip, 2014?

From TPW, this years display...

Reviving the oldest topic I ever have... After years of legal wrangling it has been decided one and for all this place is never coming back, they have given up entirely and the rides are up for sale http://www.italintl.com/recent20.php C'mon Thorpe, a taxi themed rodeo? You know you want one.

Indeed. It is because of morons like these these we end up with seatbelts and daft restrictions on rides which don't actually need them, Douchebags. I guess the best we can hope for is you put yourself forward as contenders for the Darwin awards outside of a themepark environment so the rest of us can get on with enjoying ourselves.

Which when you think about it is not actually very good, is it? It helps a lot that they are not headline attractions.

Generally wary of taking too much from the facebook PR stuff, but this is a very direct and definite reply.

Yes, I'm sure someone form the health and safety executive was straight on to the Thorpe Park hotline when they got wind of your ride photo. You got kicked out because of stupidity, not because of health and safety.

I say Thorpe had reliability issues. And Slammer.

Gone a lot more unnoticed than the Smiler for obvious reasons, but Th13teen seems to have had a really poor end to the season reliability wise.

The dark days of closed season are upon us once again, another season has come and gone. So how was 2013 for you? For me: Highlights -Ministry of Sound nights. So so so much better than I was expecting, a great all round event that showed the park at its best. -X. I know the change was not loved by all but a big improvement for me. The laser only rides I've had were actually outstanding. -TPM meets. Loving the generosity of the park with their time and access. -The 'feel'of the place. I don't know why, things just felt nice this year. A nice relaxed atmosphere around the park. -Seeing some effort go into general upkeep, Lowlights -The mrawS, stupid gimmick. Just put it back now, you've had your 'fun'. -Fastrack. If they were just getting used to running it or something I'd understand, but for how many years are we going to have to put up with mismanagement of it on a massive scale that ends up with no one being happy? Sort your numbers and times out. -Slammer, doesn't even make a nice ornament. Even I think its time might have come, and I'm a fan. -Rising carpark charges. Unjustifiable. Overall, I like the way the park has been heading. Leaves me optimistic for whatever is to come...

Also 'confirms' the map will be changing in style for fright nights, which it didn't! But my point was that I read TPJames' post as if the actual new map design had been confirmed, not that there will be a new map. There is to one extent or another a new map design each year, so there obviously will be one. Whether that will be a completely new style or just the usual tweaks, who knows? There are a couple of things I thought were going to happen towards the end of the season to do with the direction and target of the park which never materialised, including the map change. I get the feeling the park themselves aren't entirely sure what market they are going to be aiming at, how far they'll push towards family, and therefore how much that is reflected in things like the park map. It is about time we got a completely new look map though, I do expect to see one next season.

Is this a question or a statement, I can't see any one else suggesting it has? There's a 'navigation' map on the app, but that is not the new park map (sadly).

Good luck reading any of that? Can anyone make the attraction list out?

Somewhere near the other end of the spectrum to Saw, I went to see Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2, which was alright. Bit slow to get going but good silly fun in the end. I am a sucker for pointless 3D and food based puns though. Biggest cinema news of the day for me though was a poster that nearly knocked me off my feet... http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/doctor-who/27833/updated-doctor-who-50th-anniversary-cinema-screening-details Probably already well known to those a bit more with it than I, Dr Who, in the cinema, in 3D. Oh my.

That along with the new Lionsgate frightnitghts partnership surely means it will remain indefinitely as Saw? Long beyond the current expiry date anyway Would be really odd if they'd managed to work out a deal for the event but couldn't for the ride.

Screw being on Vikings.

I think Lionsgate for next year is a near certainty and effectively signed up already, clauses allowing. As for the mazes and their consistency it is fair to say they can not be truly consistent due to their live action nature, the individuality of certain actors, the reactions of the guests they have to play against etc etc etc. There are a lot of variables that means it will not be the same every time, but that is only true to a point. There should be a consistency in effort, a consistency in numbers of actors, a consistency in numbers of guests, a consistency in theme and plot that still allows for more than a little variety in what the result actually is but is still a version of something that is at least good. There seem to have been too many reports of extremes of experience this year (like most other years in my experience!) where some run throughs, often following a multi hour wait, have simply been not good enough. This comes not only from here, but mostly from non geek/enthusiast friends who have told me their experiences, it is not just fan boys expecting too much! I myself have not been to any theme park Halloween events this year sadly, which is quite telling of what I think of them now. I'm not saying the new direction of Thorpe is not a good idea, and ATs overall event is always solid, but for other reasons I could not attend at the start of the event when the crowds would have been bearable and the way the parks are run latter on is not acceptable to me. It is fastrack, it is shockingly run, and I'm not willing to play that game. It's not fun. Something I have been very much a fan of this year has been the extras on offer (brave it alone, camping), that is how you add revenue without pissing everyone off a la fastrack. A very pleasing positive review of what they managed to turn camping into after a poor start.