pluk

Well one of the 2011 rides didn't make it for 2011, but is on the way for 2012.'Time Machine' is an in house build so should be quite unique. The only thing I think that has been confirmed is that it will invert so should be a thrill ride. Hurri has put some closed season updates on adventure island guide, the dragon ride is being moved to make way and the first shots of time machine seem to be the seating......So it looks like lap bars, not OTSRs, for an inverting flat. Could be very interesting!!

I find Saw acceptable. Not amazing, not awful. The inside section makes it, the second half doesn't do much for me.I don't find it particularly rough, not to the extent I stop enjoying it, other than the occasional massive jolt at the bottom of the drop which just occasionally hurts like hell.

So confirmed a Eurofighter or close variation to it. As I just posted on TTF.....My bet is on that vertical lift being the worlds first vertical launch. The elements immediately after would be anticlimactic without some un natural speed being carried, and would also explain why it does not dive straight down immediately afterwards like virtually every other Eurofighter vertical lift.This would also be marketable as a recognisable worlds first, and would sit as an excellent juxtaposition to oblivion next door - world first vertical drop vs world first vertical launch.I wouldn't be surprised if they nip in with the inversion record on top off this too.Overall, looks amazing.

Well that's today written off for me then. Lets get trawling.This is the good stuffhttp://publicaccess.staffsmoorlands.gov.uk/upload/PublicAccess/proposedsiteplan%20(37877).PDF

For the last 15 or so years electronic music has been hugely popular, I doubt people are buying stuff they are not listening too! What dance music is evolves constantly, as it does to an extent with every genre. The first record I ever bought was Which seems dated as hell now but was cutting edge underground at the time and was one of the first club style dance records to go mainstream. Since then stuff that is tried and tested in the clubs will occasionally break through if it is good enough.Top 20 Singles Of 201101 SOMEONE LIKE YOU - ADELE 1,242,000 02 MOVES LIKE JAGGER - MAROON 5 FT CHRISTINA AGUILERA 1,043,000 03 PARTY ROCK ANTHEM - LMFAO FT LAUREN BENNETT AND GOONROCK 995,000 04 PRICE TAG - JESSIE J FT BOB 981,000 05 WE FOUND LOVE - RIHANNA FT CALVIN HARRIS 902,000 06 GIVE ME EVERYTHING - PITBULL FT NE-YO, AFROJACK AND NAYER 866,000 07 GRENADE - BRUNO MARS 852,000 08 THE A TEAM - ED SHEERAN 801,000 09 ROLLING IN THE DEEP - ADELE 798,000 10 ON THE FLOOR - JENNIFER LOPEZ FT PITBULL 784,000 11 JAR OF HEARTS - CHRISTINA PERRI 669,000 12 S&M - RIHANNA 643,000 13 WHEREVER YOU ARE - MILITARY WIVES AND GARETH MALONE 631,000 14 BORN THIS WAY - LADY GAGA 625,000 15 THE LAZY SONG - BRUNO MARS 618,000 16 BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE - CHRIS BROWN FT BENNY BENASSI 588,000 17 CHANGED THE WAY YOU KISS ME - EXAMPLE 582,000 18 I NEED A DOLLAR - ALOE BLACC 576,000 19 SWEAT - SNOOP DOGG 558,000 20 WHAT MAKES YOU BEAUTIFUL - ONE DIRECTION 540,000 I'd say a good half of that is electronic music, and even the ones which aren't invariably have remixes. I know a lot of people who bought rolling in the deep purely for remixes, my favourite being When I was a kid electronic, or dance music really was underground: Top 20 Singles Of 19881. Faith - George Michael 2. Need You Tonight - INXS 3. Got My Mind Set On You - George Harrison 4. Never Gonna Give You Up - Rick Astley 5. Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses 6. So Emotional - Whitney Houston 7. Heaven Is A Place On Earth - Belinda Carlisle 8. Could've Been - Tiffany 9. Hands To Heaven - Breathe 10. Roll With It - Steve Winwood 11. One More Try - George Michael 12. Wishing Well - Terence Trent d'Arby 13. Anything For You - Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine 14. The Flame - Cheap Trick 15. Get Outta My Dreams - Get Into My Car - Billy Ocean 16. Seasons Change - Expose 17. Is This Love - Whitesnake 18. Wild - Wild West - Escape Club 19. Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def LeppardNot an electronic track in sight. In a previous life when I was young and down wit da kids I used to be a DJ, mainly house, trance and early mainstream garage stuff. I would forever be getting things on 12" I fell in love with and couldn't understand why it wasn't in the charts, then 1 or 2 years later it would appear all over the radio and be a hit because to get in the charts it had t be released properly - there were no instant digital downloads, without the weight of promotion behind it nothing could be a hit because the physical units to be sold had not been produced. It happened with this, which was knocking around for a good year before it charted, and is still one of my favourites It still happens sometimes now, I could never understand how this didn't go mainstream a few years back Then J-Lo had a warble over it this year and it turned out the masses were ready for it. Nowadays It will always be the case with digital downloads that if enough people like something it will chart. If it's not good enough, it won't. Everyone always thinks they are right, music they listen to is the best and can't understand why everyone else doesn't agree. There's someone somewhere right now listening to some thrash metal not comprehending why the rest of the world thinks it is just awful awful noise, even though it really is just awful awful noise. I believe this to be the most beautiful recording ever made, in my head everyone who doesn't agree is clearly wrong Gives me shivers. If that recording was made today at would be a hit overnight, I'm sure of it. But in those days downloads didn't exist and no one ever released it, so it has never been in the chart and many people don't know it at all. Such a shame. EDIT: I'm getting rather pissed off with nothing I ever do embedding anymore. I always used to until the change and other people seem to be able to manage it. What am I doing wrong?

I was not aware of this also. Seems a bit of a shame, enclosed stations nearly always have a better atmosphere.

If only they had a reliable, high capacity form of transport to get round to that side of the park already in place. Like a train.Stupid short sighted Thorpe.

I suppose crap might be too strong a word, but last time ('05 - I'm pretty sure it had a heavy referb just after my visit so I probably saw it at a low point) I went I thought it had aged really badly. Couple that with my barely controllable urge to punch overenthusiastic ham acting humourless Americans in the face I guess this one was not really for me either. I guess I've been repeatedly unlucky with my Skipper.

Very sad to see it to for nostalgic sake, but it really was quite crap.

Donkey Punch is a classic! Falls into the so bad it's good category for me.

And what is thrill about Time Bandits? The alternatives make as much sense as what is there now. I love thrill rides, I love sitting down for a bit and watching a dumb but entertaining cartoon. The two aren't mutually exclusive.Agreed replacing it with nothing could be the best option. In fact, what's the chances 'our' 4D seats are in the back of a lorry heading up the M1 now to become Ice Age? I wouldn't be surprised at all.

Other than general cleaning and upkeep around the park, which to be fair I thought improved quite a lot through last season but remains an issue in places, I think:-Time bandits needs replacing. With anything. It is beyond awful and just an embarrassment to the park. As zero has been done to theme it into the old pirates building zero can be done to replace it, just change the film and the timings and it's done. If little old Drayton can change their one every year I'm sure it is not beyond Thorpe, In fact, it would cost nothing to put the old pirates banner up, or they could import spongebob from other Merlin parks, or take up Happy Feet which was dumped by Drayton but has a new film out this year so could feel 'fresh', or try the (admittedly not very good) haunted lighthouse which would kind of fit the area (well, a lot more than some space nonsense anyway). -A proper working solution needs to be found to Storm Surges issue of having more water in the boats than out of it. I don't know or care what that solution is.- cover the holes in the loggers tunnel, ruins the first drop as it is.-Fungle needs shielding off or replacing with something useful. Same sadly goes for CCR. I think it looks awful having closed dilapidated attractions sitting there for all to see, looks like the place is preparing to close down rather than being the surging success story(?) it actually is.-The pay per use lockers piss me off so I don't use them. How about pay per day with a code based system (like IOA) instead so it didn't cost me two quid to take a couple of photos (one to get it out, one to put it back). I'm sure they'd actually make more money by not ripping people off as more people would use them.I'm sure there are many others, but that is from the top of my head.

I still think Stealth is actually a decent name for the ride. Can only assume Edge was going to be a pizza based sponsorship disaster?

Santa's on his way!!!http://www.noradsanta.org/en/#utm_campaign=en_US&utm_medium=earthhpp&utm_source=en_UK-earthhpp-emea-uk-gns-gm&utm_term=NORADHPP

EDIT: Deleted. I would get warned for the adult nature of that comment.Anyway, we also have many of the more standard Christmas traditions, but this year I won't be part of much of that as I am mostly at work. Oh what fun. Merry Christmas, to those who are getting one.

Good luck with that!!