pluk

On day break NOW! Probably the mounting of the camera being poor, but it sure didn't look smooth from that tiny clip.

It is clearly to do with batching, it does make sense to have them lining up so people know where to go even if it now proving to more trouble than it is worth. Worth noting it is not running on crappy settings because of the zeroing problem, it is run on crappy settings because it has made a good effort of tearing itself apart over the years. The zeroning thing is a separate issue caused by the sensors being every bit as knackered as the ride itself and nothing to do with how fast it runs now.

I remember seeing a near identical 'report' for Oblivion just before it opened (yeah, I was 20 and watching Newsround. And what? Neighbours was about to start!) and that reminded me I needed to go. Good on them for getting the exposure.

Just a shame they didn't take/use a clip of it actually moving.

I don't miss all this exam crap. Don't stress about it, none of it really matters in real life.

The fact that you'd pay for that shows how not ridiculous it is from their point of view. It's a con and a cheek, but understandable if people are going to keep paying and not moaning (to them). The only reliable way to get a big business to change anything is to stop giving them your money.

Glad you still had a good time, don't think I'd have managed to. Busy days like that are really not for me, especially with the frustrating operating issues you describe, they just don't seem able to raise their game when it is required. Especially a shame to hear Vampire operation has fallen over again, a couple of weeks back with an empty park and one train operation it was dispatching like lightning when it didn't really need to (but was great and much appreciated by me that it was), now when it matters they fail. Something's not right there.

You are right, not funny at all.

Moar Potter http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-hill/a-huffington-post-exclusi_1_b_3233177.html

I had a final destination type near death experience the other day. Driving to work along an A road a hail storm of biblical proportions suddenly fell out of an otherwise sunny sky, accompanied by a bit of thunder. I've never seen a lightning bolt hit the ground close up before, so when one hit a wooden power cable post about 20 ft in front of me a very nearly **** myself, such a blinding light and deafening crack of thunder that I could feel in the air as much as hear. The post exploded in an enormous shower of sparks which really filled the sky, followed almost instantly by another post on the opposite side of the road which the bolt must have traveled to along the cable to. It was like driving through an 80's car advert. I was doing about 60 at the time when amongst the chaos I noticed out of the corner of my eye something falling towards me from above. The power cable between the two posts was dropping out of the sky onto the road below and I was driving towards it. Now I know that you are insulated from electricity in a car but at that moment you don't think that rationally and I was convinced I'd explode like the posts if it touched my car. It flashed through my mind whether to slam my brakes on and hope I stopped in time or put my foot down and try to get under it. Not wanting to come to a stop right underneath it I slammed my foot on the accelerator. The power cable bounced off my windscreen and into the floor behind me in another huge shower of sparks. I guess if had smashed through I'd have been a goner but it didn't even make a mark, I survived. That was an exciting couple of seconds I can tell you.

Odd priorities Thorpe have sometimes.

Tragic. Surely this can not be necessary? But if it really is this can not be the best solution.

Nice. Love the look of these big wingriders, when do we get a full size one? Can't put my finger on why but that third inversion just before the gates looks kind of odd, like it doesn't flow properly. I call left as the side to be.

To be fair, when I last went a couple of weeks back the Vampire PA was being used by someone doing a really good job of in character announcements that were loud enough to be noticed but not so booming they ruined the atmosphere of the station (or actually hurt your eyes like they did at their worst). It all felt right, and a huge improvement over the last few years.

and now I'm going to mess up your plans. Damn you spiders.

Slammer 'spins' vertically if you like, so it is a similar motion in some ways to the more traditional spew rides. It really powers through though so doesn't really give you the stomach left behind feeling. I have a few friends who feel sick from rides that spin, they have all ridden Slammer without issue except one who did get sick in the same way as he would usually. Slammer is unique and going through a rare patch of running well, who knows what'll happen next time it dies. I'd say while you can try it just before the park closes so if you don't take well to it you won't ruin the rest of your day. Who cares if you feel sick on the way home!

With allowing some shoes to be removed on Inferno, I think the issue would be that it's equally as dangerous to try and walk down the evac stairs in heels (and to a lesser extent flipflops) as it is to ride wearing them, so they'd want you take them off anyway.

For a flume I much prefer a spraying to a soaking. If you put Phill Pritchard, MattyMoo, Doge and myself in the same boat you get quite wet! All about the weight and its distribution.

The only ride I'd want to take my shoes off on (if I ever bothered to go on it) would be Storm Surge, as sopping wet shoes for the rest of the day do not make it fun.

Ah-Ha!

I quite like the sensation of it. Not so keen on the restraint which is like a brick being pushed into your stomach making it quite unpleasantly uncomfortable on slow inversions, and that it wobbles around like it is made of tinfoil held together with string.

Candy Hollands name has been cropping up in the mainstream press of late, so I'm guessing her. Wardly speaks highly of her but she's got some work to do to build anything like the same level of reputation or respect. A chink of light in the clouds of the future ride design from this interview: Fingers crossed!

You are right, I don't need to know why. But I'd imagine if there is good reason for you needing to take your shoes off (medical etc, but I can't think what the hell that would be?!) then Thorpe might be more accommodating and allow it. If it just because you like to feel the wind through your toes they're likely to tell you to stop messing about with you shoes and get on the ride.

I don't think the school trips happen on any big scale until mid - late July, just before the start of the summer break. I'd definitely go for the Monday but plan to get there on time and leave at the death, as even if the schools do show up they mostly turn up late and leave early so there are plenty of empty queuelines at the beginning and end of the day.

As far as I know all coasters require footwear (in case of evacuation I presume), along with all water rides. Why on earth do you want to take your shoes off?