pluk

I'm sure it is very functional compared with what went before (I only ever saw it as a building site) which I'm sure is the main thing they were trying to achieve, but I plain don't like it as a theme park entrance. Unsurprisingly it has turned out a lot like the plans, which I thought looked like a shopping center and not really in keeping with the rest of the park or its surroundings. Hardly a gateway to a magical world, is it?

Have they found any resolution to the toilet issue?

Don't think this got noticed at the time... http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/372058/Inside-the-lost-property-collection-at-Thorpe-Park-theme-park Quite a haul there!

That is not how the commissioning process works. They'll decide what thay want from the coaster first, then chose the manufacturer to suit, not the other way round. Uness they are working with b&m on an entirely new product, which merlin do have a strong track record for.

Whatever they are they can't be too restrictive or they wouldn't need the no standing signs in the boats.

Premier Inn Uttoxeter and Weathervane a bit further up the road are both decent enough, chain prices and about 20 mins from the Towers (and on route if your are coming from the south). Have a good time!

More details on the report, Mount Olympus don't seem to know what they are doing and the victim is out of his coma. http://www.channel3000.com/news/investigation-into-roller-coaster-incident-shows-parts-of-ride-defective/25270318

No one?

As spotted by Phill Pritchard, a nice little bit on Dreamland... http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/update/2014-04-02/dreamland-rides-again-video/

They should fix that for you, call guest services first thing on 0871 663 1673

My favorite bit is when someone takes a **** about three feet away from your head behind a thin opaque door. C'mon, that's poor. I agree it serves a purpose, as do tents and hostels, and as 'crash pad' it was pretty clear that is what you could have if you wanted it. But the only 'hotel' of a permanent theme park 'resort' shouldn't be aiming this low.

I love a bit of backwards, but on top of that I think it is a bit of necessity in the design for the footprint they've built it on. They wouldn't be able to actually squeeze in a corner, it's the only way of getting the boat travelling where it needs to!

It serves a purpose, but I think it cheapens the park and now seems to be being seen by Thorpe as good enough for the longer term rather than a stop gap until they pull their fingers out and build the proper hotel, which is a great shame. It is now, of course THORPE PARK RESORT. This pile of metal counts as a resort? That's a lot different to how they pitched the crash pad. It's embarrassing really. It's not wrong to want so much better when they could do so much better.

That looks to me to be one of the best log flumes ever created.

(TPW facebook) It's like the colour the scummy family paint their nice old house when they move into a better area (#snob). It's far to early to tell without seeing it in person and complete but now spider mentioned it this looks like it's being done with all the lack of style that Splash has been, things jar against each other and their surroundings. It's like they want to smash you in the face with a pot of dulux the moment you walk in rather than have any subtlety to it, because bright colous must mean you are having fun fun fun, right? Kids aren't that stupid. I refer you all to exhibit A, entitled how to create a childrens world... It is bright, crisp, clean looking and coulourful, yes. But the colours are pastel and there are loads of little intricacies and detail that blends it into a coherent and pleasant theme. Not just old farm style buildings with a nauseating paint job.

Instant Karma... http://youtu.be/3XqZoaWKv2k

Well, they sold it. Not quite the same thing. This isn't about the crappy filler rides, it's about their classic attractions, they wouldn't be looking to preserve a modern funfair ride the same way they would a classic.

Of that £1, at least 99p would be profit. The system would pay for itself very quickly, the overheads for digital are practically zero.

Love the disco cave.

If they knocked out the digitals for £1 each they would sell thousands of the things (at near as damn it 100% profit), and also have a crazy amount of promotion from people sticking them all over social media. I wish they'd try it, everyone would be a winner.

It 'wasn't possible' for it to happen then either!

The staff on the science week stand asked me what else I would like to see from the history of Thorpe. Naturally I asked if there were any professional films or photos made for promotion or commissioning of Phantom Phantasia or Wicked Witches held in the archives as they weren't covered at all on the display. She didn't know, but when I spoke to her a bit latter she told me she had gone to find out, and... They know there are some things like this in the archive somewhere, but they can't find them! Oh well, one day maybe.

Had quite an interesting chat with a member of staff on the science week display last week, they seemed to have been well prepped about the things their displays covered. I asked about the train and without being prompted by me that I'd heard it may have been returning she told me the trains are still there (which we know), they are in perfect working order and could roll out tomorrow (which I don't know if we knew), that they very much did intend to reopen the attraction towards the end of last season (which was rumoured but unconfirmed) and that the reason it didn't happen was that they 'couldn't get the funding to repair the track' (which I'd certainly never heard before). This doesn't make sense to me, as the short track was re done in it entirety only when Saw opened, surely it couldn't need work already? Got me thinking that maybe they were considering bringing back the extended track to some extent? I asked the staff member if it could mean that but she didn't know what was meant by track repairs or if it meant it could be the extended track, but guessed that now Blair Witch has gone on it that could have caused some damage to make it safe to walk on. But also said the decision not to open it was made before Blair Witch, so that wouldn't have been the original reason for repairs being required. Intriguing stuff. Sadly she had no idea if funding was likely to be found for it to come back soon or ever.

Whatever is causing it, the colours seem to have too much depth to them from what we know the unchanged things to look like, whether that is due to a natural trick of the light or something else. I'm sure it won't look so jarring in real life, colourful yes, but not unpleasant like that picture appears..