pluk

So I visited Thorpe again today, so here's another PTR! Basically, the reason for me making 3 FN visits this is, what with me starting uni next year, and with my uni choices being a fair way away from Thorpe, the chances are that this will be my last Fright Nights visit for at least 4 years! Anyway, this'll be one of my briefer PTRs, but I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless. :)After collecting our pre-paid tickets (which we bought this morning, considering we wouldn't have been able to buy them at the gate - silly, eh?) we got into the park just after 11. As expected, it was busy.It was sunny, which was better than the past couple of days of rain.Busy car park! MAHOOSIVE queue for Advanced Tickets! Much like most fanboys would do, I decided to do a bit of Swarm spying...Certainly makes an impact.Sorry about the appalling quality, but Swarm banners in the dome. Don't remember these being up on my last visit..Okay, I'm not going to go through 'We did this, we did that' all the time now, but instead just a nice general overview. I was glad that I wasn't stuck in a boat ankle deep in water this time on Storm Surge. However, it seemed as if there was a boat in a similar situation and when the operator says you're feet need to touch to floor and 'It's only a water ride, you're bound to get wet' in response, it is a bit poor really. Also disappointed by the lack of any spin I seem to get now... Guys up the top of Swarm, probably taking photos for the Developer Diary.Liking the views of Swarm you get on Flying Fish. Of course, no photos from on ride itself, but instead a selection of photos from around the general Fish area:You can just imagine the trains elegantly flying down that now..Me taking a photo of a guy taking a photo. Why does roller coaster construction always make me feel a bit perverted? Work on THAT trim!The Missing Wall near Stealth.FN theming. *Shock, horror*Another necessity of the day was a couple of goes on the beloved CCR. Of course, my last go will come next Saturday, but a couple of goes now can't hurt, right? (No photos, for a reason, which I'll reveal at a late date - the suspense! )Now, for critics of the lack of FN theming (basically everybody, me included):Decapitated body bags. It's a nice touch, but this should be a park-wide minimum in my eyes.A quick mention of my visit into Saw Alive today. It has really improved, with actors doing incredibly well. There was one actor who literally appeared from no where, and seemingly disappeared - kudos to her. In general, though not a scary experience, it was an enjoyable one. 3:30 had came, so we decided to do Experiment 10 for one last time as well. We started queuing up and gates opened at 5 to. At about 10 past-ish, when we were near the front, something happened inside the maze. What exactly I have no idea, but considering the queue was evacuated, it must have been something of importance. I really have no clue as to whether it was a technical issue or to do with a guest / actor, but there you go. Fastrack was given to all those who waited the 10-ish minutes before the queue was evacuated, valid for Asylum or Experiment 10. We decided to get some donuts, and wait a bit for the Barry and Stuart show. Couple of blokes went through that door; didn't see them come out. Like the little details such as a bit of 'blood' on the side of the door. (Also, some may find interesting, just as you go in that door, there's a sign saying ear protection must be worn. Lil' bit of trivia I guess).Queue evac. Notice the police? hmmBarry and Stuart sign.As we were queuing to get into the theatre, the roaming clowns came around. Photo times were had of course!I ask for photo; he just gives me a stare as if he's about to cry. Love how well he stayed in character.Evils?THIS GUY! <3 He had the highest, squeakiest voice I've heard and was absolutely hilarious. I was genuinely laughing with him; he deserves tonnes of praise!Some girl wanted a photo with him, but when she gave her friend her phone, it stopped working. The clown started telling her to hurry up and such, before going in a 'strop' and saying he had enough - more a 'you had to be there' moment; hilarious nonetheless!What you lookin' at?Hurry up!He gave up...Anyway, Barry and Stuart were great. I didn't get the chance to see them last year, so really did not know what to expect. They were a good laugh more than anything, with their slightly twisted, low-brow humour. Some of their tricks were quite 'simple' shall we say, but they pulled them off beautifully, so I don't really care about that. As many have probably said, the ending is rather weak, predictable and does not do the show, nor Barry or Stuart, justice. Shame really. However, a solid 7/10.By this time, we went over to Experiment 10, and as the queue wasn't too long, we just queued up for it, rather than using Fastrack. SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD: It has changed a little now, in the sense that the groups you are dispatched in are HUGE - like 24 people huge. How does that work you may ask? By putting people the little rooms in twos. Personally, I don't think it is as effective, but ah well. Also, another bug-bear of mine, the actor who puts you in the cell talks too much really. That experience should be brash and in your face, not 'Put your hands on your head, quickly, in here, don't come out, don't take your hands off your head'. It doesn't work as well that way; it should just be 'IN HERE - NOW!' like how I experienced it on the AP preview night. The lack of actors in the second bit disappoints me still - as I said on my previous visit, more actors in the second half. As Fastrack was not used, and we didn't want to do Asylum, I got them put under my name on the system - aww yeah. That concluded in evening really, just around six-ish. I feel in the three FN visits I've done this year, I've certainly done the event justice and have been left with a brilliant vibe from them. Now all that is left is to wait to see how big Thorpe 'Blows it up' next Saturday, for my final visit of 2011!

Hey guys!!Havent done a trip report in a loooooong time, but after an inspired look back at this website from my trip 2 weeks ago, and feeling inspired by all these awesome reports from Fright Nights 2011, I’m gonna tell you guys all about my time there on 14th October :DWell, for a start it was a Friday (Friday, gotta get down on Friday) (I'm sorry) so that meant I could go earlier in the day as I have the whole of Friday afternoon off college. I met 2 friends of mine and we headed off around 2 o’clock. I was absolutely buzzing as it was my first visit since the beginning of the season (annual pass expired).We arrived at a surprisingly empty car park, and as we walked over the bridge we noticed construction was in progress for The Swarm-it looks incredible. At this point in time the lift hill had just been built, the barrel roll had not yet been placed but I’ve seen recent pics on the web and I cannot wait to ride it.After visiting the loos below the dome, we headed for Saw to get ‘pumped up’ as Zoe put it. We were in for a treat- we were greeted by a 15 minute queue and 2 members of staff to ‘welcome’ us to the ride-a nice touch. But, unbelievably, we made it inside the warehouse in less than 10 minutes and I don’t know why, but the atmosphere felt a little different, a bit more spooky. FRIGHT NIGHT VIBE lol.After admiring ourselves on-screen, we headed over to Samurai and then to Nemesis, which was a walk-on. Now, I will remember that as my best ever ride on Samurai as it has, how do you say-‘upped the intensity’ a little more than previous rides. It was much longer too- I was help upside down for a good 20-30 seconds which in ride terms, is pretty damn long. The staff made a good effort to make us feel welcome and shared banter with all the riders.We excited the Nemesis shop and saw a 0 minute queue for the Banana Boat, so we just couldn’t resist our inner children to take over. With excitement in our eyes, we ran into it and expected it to be the best thing ever.It was rubbish, and when the host offered us another ride, we said no :LBy this time our other friends had arrived at the park, so we met them at the Dome and decided to have dinner in Pizza Hut. But remember that ride opposite Pirates 4-D, the ride right next to Nemesis which kills you? My good friend Sarah wanted me to ride it with her before supper. So walking under the Detonator entrance sign in the first time in ages was a pretty big deal for me. In that I nearly pooed myself. BUT. It was amazing, and the view you get of The Swarm and early evening sun shining onto the park is second-to-none.I don’t remember much of the next 2 hours, but I remember we spent about an hour stuffing our faces with good ol’ pepperoni pizza and just having a good time.But what I do remember are the short queue times of 7pm. All 5 horror mazes under 30 minutes and none of the big 4 coasters exceeding 20 minutes. We snatched this opportunity to ride Nemesis in the dark (excellent atmosphere in queue line and the ride itself, all effects working in the tunnel) and made the most of the 30 minute Asylum queue. The Asylum actors had really upped their game for this year’s fright nights. Actually, not just the Asylum actors, the roaming clowns and Saw Alive actors were incredible and genuinely frightened me and my friends, and made the evening quite special and unique. The music was also a big thing that night. Everywhere in the park (apart from a select few queue lines) was playing the ‘Happy Birthday’ Fright Night music and very creepy music was being played around Amity Cove near Seven and the Curse. A very good atmosphere which outdid previous years’ Fright Nights by miles.A few rides later we called it a day, and headed home very happy indeed.RC:Saw (x2)Samurai x1Banana Boat x1X: No Way Out (in the light) x1Detonator x1Nemesis x2Asylum x1Saw Alive x1Colossus x1 (Walk-on at 8.30pm)Zodiac x1Vortex x1Quantum x1P.S. Another thing was that I think Stealth wasn't open at all all day. It might have been open early in the afternoon, but we didn't see it launch at all later on.

Warning, Swears, but the commentary is just so wickedly funny!

Right, first ever trip to the Alton Towers Resort at Halloween, despite being numerous times in the last couple of years, I had never done Scarefest. I couldn't wait. In the weeks building up to my two day trip, the excitement of getting away to the resort just kept on building and building. I was not disappointed. An early start was called for 6.15am sharp. The trip involved me and 3 other friends, one of which could thankfully drive. We had a good run up the M25 then the M40 where we pitted at Warwick services for an expensive, but amazing cooked breakfast! No more traffic on the M42 or M6, and after a couple of miles of traffic heading to the Resort, we arrived at about 11am. I hadn't been on the monorail for ages. I think it adds to the excitement of it all, traveling through the park, seeing all the rides in action. I loved how Alton had gone to the effort to make a special Scarefest announcement on the Monorail, to inform guests about Halloween based attractions. Fantastic. It is small things like this that really make the difference to me, and hopefully to a lot of you guys aswell. I won't go through each individual ride experience as I did this summer, but what I will say is that Alton's ride lineup is unrivaled in the UK. It really is stunning with all 5 major coasters offering something different and special. Even Sonic Spinball was brilliant I have to say! But it wasn't even the rides that stole the show for me. It was the atmosphere that Alton went to the effort of creating. Maybe it was because I did FN first, and the atmosphere there was pathetic. But not only did you know it was Halloween, almost everything was themed. I mean from banners in Guest Services, to a WONDERFULLY decorated towers street, amazing lighting near hex, and even special food names in the pizza and pasta buffet such as 'Greedy Goblins Pasta'! I just could not get over the effort and detail the park put into the event. Amazing! There was something for everyone at the Resort, from the mazes to the Kids area, a classy family experience was offered. Onto the mazes... We decided to do Bolier and Carnival on the first night and ToTT the next day. On a negative note, lets face it 12 pounds is a complete rip off from Alton Towers. A joke infact. But we paid it nonetheless and headed to the Carnival first. There was literally no queue, which was expected. However this didn't stop Alton putting a group of 12, yes 12 through the maze. I mean I wouldn't of minded waiting an additional 5 minutes to go in as a group of 4, but no we were whacked at the back. And I was at the back of the whole group! The carnival was really good actually. I don't really like clowns, and being at the back of the group I was repeatedly picked on which was pretty good! The maze was a decent length with a great variety of rooms. It was well thought out and was extremely enjoyable whilst still maintaining a limited scare factor! I think it is a 7.5 or 8 out of 10 for me. The Bolier House. A storyline which intrigued all members of my group, including me. The queue was a little longer, but a great atmosphere was created by Alton with the Audio and the fact that you had to go down the stairs into the 'bolier house'. The Maze had a GREAT, I mean GREAT start. The intro scene was great where Viktor Hambles Mask is stolen, and should set up a terrifying maze. But no. It was absolutely, categorically ****. It was similar to The Curse on a bad day, limited actors, limited scares and poor theming. Just an all round disappointment. I don't think I jumped once. The end was decent I suppose, but by then the maze was over. 4 out of 10 for me. So after the disappointment of last nights mazes it was time to do TOTT. I don't think anyone else in my group was expecting much, considering this was the free attraction. But I thought to myself, this could be good. This is Alton Towers. This is a maze inside the towers. As we queued, I thought what a fantastic location for a horror maze. It was midday, yet dark, gloomy with light rain in the air. The Towers were beckoning, and boy did they deliver. We were put into a group of 10, of which I led. The first maze I had led this Halloween at Thorpe or Alton. The health and safety briefing was performed really well by an older gentlemen of I can't unfortunately remember the name of and we ventured into the Towers. From start to finish this was a great maze. The briefing video set the scene for what was to come. The maze was themed so elaborately, and being at the front there was plenty of scares, jumps from actors and special effects alike. At one point I was stopped in my tracks by a brilliant Vampire actor, who got right in my face saying 'LOOK AT ME'! Brilliant acting throughout, with a great finale. Probably the best maze I have ever been on to be honest. 9.5 out of 10 for me. Even the Zombie Scare zone was pretty good to be honest. It was a zillion times better than Thorpe's Dead End. It was really well themed and was a great attempt at a Scare zone. So as we headed down Towers Street, I look one last look back. The flags, the pumpkins, the Scarefest Characters and in the distance the wonderful lit Towers. After my last Towers trip in the Summer, I was slightly down on the place. At Scarefest, Alton most certainly does have the magic it used to have for me, maybe even more. It is a special event, I loved every minute of it. Video to come sometime this weekend.

If you read nothing else this year, read this website. The Flat Earth Society. And yes, it is serious and they are not joking. Just read the whole of that FAQ thread, look at their theories, absorb the information, and then laugh. You will laugh.

WITCH! SHE'S A WITCH - The original!!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrzMhU_4m-gClassic. And of course....http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=yjacqcTFYFwIt is a silly place.

WITCH! SHE'S A WITCH - The original!!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrzMhU_4m-gClassic. And of course....http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=yjacqcTFYFwIt is a silly place.

I was editing the album. It should be online now :)Edit: I should be posting the photos on TPM soon guys. Sorry for the delay.Edit #2: Here we are!My link (full Facebook gallery)If you want to PM me about these photos or add me on Facebook, feel free; I don't bite

Just because someone has managed to get high up in management does not mean they are not an absolute idiot who will make stupid decisions. I have worked for and with 'managers' who are morons of the highest order who make continuous bad decisions, but it can take a long time in a large company for the disastrous results of those decisions to show their full effect (which in my own experience has included the collapse of a major highstreet name around me). Short term gain often leads to long term pain.
Having said that, it might be completely financially unviable to continue CCRs operation, there might be outstanding maintenance issues that just can not be resolved within a reasonable budget. But I highly doubt that, I think they have driven the family audience so far away that the cost per passenger to run CCR is too high even though they are just the same costs as they have always been. The decision to completely drive away the families is another issue altogether which a long way down the line I think will come back and bite them on the bum.
What do we think they will do with it? Will they spend money removing the track and the station? No, they will leave them there rotting so to first time visitor guests (which there should be many of next year with The Swarm) will look at it and think "Oh, that's broken. Poor reliability here. Some of this place looks a bit run down, doesn't it".

I honestly don't see why Inferno gets so much love. It really offers absolutely nothing. Nemesis on the other hand, is a really great coater. But Inferno, no.

Listening to Capital? Don't you mean you are a big fan of adverts?I have a totally irrational hatred for that station.I like listening to Bill Wyman's metal detector.

I've never had any problems on there in my high heels. Can be tricky keeping my dignity in my miniskirt getting into those seats though.

If you don't listen to certain music primarily because it's 'mainstream' then you really deserve a slap.

There.Their.They're.It's not freakin hard.

There.Their.They're.It's not freakin hard.

Oh, sorry. Damn out correct. I meant impotent.

As promised, my Fright Nights 2011 PTR! This is from the first night (6th October), but due to the length, and being busy, that's how long it has taken me to write! :PSo, to set the scene. I knew a couple of weeks ago that college closed at 1 for open-day preparations, but it meant I finished at 9:40. So, theoretically, I could've got to the park just after opening. However, seeinghow my friends weren't able to go till half 1, I decided to go then - after all, Thorpe by yourself is no fun.It was very sunny when I arrived!The recurring theme of the day - it was 'dead' quiet!One-day-only AP offer. £90 - very good price really.Anyways, I arrived at half 1, but due to a punctured bike tire, I was by myself till 2. I took the chance to take some photos of The Swarm site and then a ride on an empty Depth Charge. It was here that I had 'that feeling' that the trip was going to be a good one; FN music was already playing. Compared to the chart music, and considering last year FN music inly started playing at 4, I was jolly-well pleased that this was the case. After that and a bit more hanging around, I was met by the rest of my group.Fright Nights theming. I got so excited, I pointed for the camera.. XDSaw was the first ride for the group, to get it out the way. We must have queued about 15 minutes for it. We were all shocked by the lack of queue there. Staff were very good, and all effects were working too - pleased I was.Samurai. The queue was about 10 minutes worth. However, due to the stupidity of how the one bloke was batching and checking bars, batching people into rows directly, not into the lanes (meant we were directed to row 6, where people decided 'oh, this seat is free, lets go here' meant we missed out on a ride, and the platformer having a go at us!), the queue ended up being about 20 minutes. The ride was, however, going strong. Another good point was FN audio playing, again, already. Anyone who knows of the 'It's only a dream' audio will be pleased.. A quick walk around the park led us to a walk-on Inferno. There was a constant stream of people though, enough to mean that we didn't get a reride. Ah well. Didn't hear any audio being played, though I wasn't paying attention in honesty. No extra theming though, which disappointed me. I mean, come on, how hard is it to stick that 'When hell froze over' cloth up!?Rumba Rapids featured a nice remixed audio of the usual track, mixing together normal audio and FN audio. Big thumbs up from me there. Also got caught by the pre-tunnel waterfall, which was humorous, yet a bit annoying, as the other 2 in my group stayed more-or-less dry... Grrrrr Now, for a twisted tale on Storm Surge. It was around half 3, and Storm Surge has a 5 minute or-so queue. As we were planning to queue up for Experiment 10 before 4, we thought it was the perfect to do. We also felt that, as the queue didn't go anywhere near the water canons, and that the shower is now hit-and-miss (though, for me seemingly, miss), we'd stay dry. My oh my how we were wrong. We were batched together with another group of 3 (which included the Marc Simpson), which, with a 5ish minute queue, I see as unnecessary to be honest, and then directed to our boat...which was ANKLE DEEP in water. Yes, ankle deep. We put our feet up to stop shoes and socks being ruined, but after being instructed to have our feet on the floor for the ride to start, we 'dived in'. It was ridiculous in honesty. The looong lift hill was so uncomfortable and, being at the back of the dingy, even my bum was getting wet. The slide was not at all spinny either, though there was a sprinkler added to the circuit, which is a nice touch. To top this all off, when we splashed down into the water, the water splashed into out boat, and with me being closest to the water, I got the full blast of it. To say I was drenched was a bit of an understatement. I felt almost like I'd gone on Tidal Wave... Nonetheless, I was very disappointed by water-in-boat situation, especially as there was a 'water vacuum thing' (name?) on the platform. Later, we complained to GS and were given Fastrack tickets. As to be explained later, we didn't use them and can instead use them at a later, un-expiring, date. Hovering over water.We headed to one of the heat-wave driers, and paid £4 for two circuits. In honesty, it was worth the money to dry off that little bit. Fortunately, it started to rain as we were in there, and the short shower deterred loads of people from staying - we saw a good hundred plus people seemingly going to leave, using Tidal's bridge as a short-cut. However, by the time we were all set and done, the rain had finished.. YAY.It was ten to four, so just in-time to queue for Experiment 10. I was expecting loads of people to be there, but there were barely a dozen hanging around. To say I was happy is about right. I think the general consensus with my friends and I was that we were looking forward to trying it out, but weren't expecting anything overly special. Staff were going in, and noises could be heard. 4 came and the arena gates opened... Banner.Side of container.After winding through the queue, we got to the front (near enough) and waited a little more. I was expecting a minute for staff to get ready then we'd be off. Ten minutes later, the first group was being briefed. I dunno what the delay was for, however, I didn't mind, it gave a chance to listen to some of the pre-recorded audio, which is interesting. Basically, just your expected laboratory announcements, which work well. There was also some really bad acting from one line, with the announcer saying something, then going 'no, no, noooo'. Ah well, gave us a bit of a chuckle really.Control box. I guess this is where staff can keep an eye of the going ons in the maze.Hazmat suit actor.These guys were really good too. 'Quizzing people' and such. My review of Experiment 10 can be found in the Experiment 10 [spoilerS] topic.However, if you don't want it spoilt, find that too long, or just want a one line summary - Experiment 10: 9/10.After a exited, I had to get a photo of me with one of the actors round the queue line, who, as said, did a brilliant job!This guy was a bit more 'friendly' too compared to the other actors... hahaSo, we had experienced Experiment 10 and it had shocked us all to be honest. Needless to say we had all liked it. Now, we were only planning to do one maze (mainly because rides in dark would take priority), but as it was rather quiet, we checked out the other mazes. We wandered over to Se7en, and this is what greeted us:This was Se7en at it's busiest...So, we tried it out. Now, a lot of enthusiasts don't seem to be the biggest fans of the maze. I don't see why really. Granted, I can't comment on earlier years, but since 2009 (my first time in it), I've enjoyed it. It's been good fun, well themed and produces chances for good scares. The only trouble I've ever really had with it is sometimes it is hard to tell which sin is which (though, I now know). Even with signs, they're sometimes hard to tell. It also seems to have improved this year, being taken to a new level. For example, in one scene, there's a chance for the person at the end of the group to be taken away, and to have rejoin the new group - brilliant stuff. Despite being my favourite for the past 2 years, the originality of Experiment 10 pipped it for top spot for me! Still, a solid 8.5/10.With the queues so quiet, we ended up doing The Curse. Literally, there was no queue. I'll keep this review short - simply because, the less said, the better. There was a serious lack of actors, real predictability in the jumps and scares, and no real chance for the actors to add anything to the theme other than going 'BLERURGH!' at you. Also, the tent is set up so poorly that you can literally see outside this year. VERY disappointed, and should be the next maze to bite the dust. Unrated for being so blooming well poor. The Curse doesn't even deserve a photo of its tent it was that poor.Now it was time to take advantage of the time. It must have been about half 4 by now, so a lot of people were over doing Asylum and Experiment 10 (well, I say a lot, enough for there to be a queue by the looks of things). So, as the plan was, it was time to hit the rides. Rerides on Rush, followed by X:\No Way Out were enjoyed. That, along with general enjoyment was had. It was time for food, so we went to Pizza Hut (which was quite literally the emptiness I have ever seen; they were literally throwing away whole pizzas!). After nearly an hour of slow eating and chatting, we decided to pop down to Guest Services following our adverse experiences on Storm Surge earlier. We took diversions on the way: I got another photo with an Experiment 10 researcher. I questioned her on what Experiment 10 was, after 'not understanding' it following my experience earlier. Her response was that it was a personal reflection experiment, designed with the aim of improving humans. She was unable to tell me what her experience was, how it changed her, and what side effects would be in store for me following being experimented upon... I must commend this actor greatly, for the way she stayed in character following such a tricky question, as well generally keeping up the monotone voice.Looks as if the queue was given up with for Se7en!After registering a compliant in a dead Guest Services, we were given 3 Fastrack tickets, which we felt was fair enough. We planned to use them for Saw in the dark, if we needed them.. Speaking of Saw, that's the direction we headed to. However, we got sidetracked by an empty Asylum queue, and go in we did. Now, much like how I seem to have a differing view to the norm of Se7en, my view on Asylum differs to the norm. I get the whole idea of how it is disorientating and that, I get how it works well, I get why people enjoy, but it's just not that great of a maze in my mind. You go into a hospital corridor, and then walk around what is basically a long corridor with chain-link fencing. You become confused where you are going, follow some people that are screaming and shouting, begin to get a headache, then go into another hospital corridor for a good ending. It's just not that great really. I grant you, the actors do brilliantly (especially the chainsaw actor this year, very active!), and is certainly better than The Curse (or Hellgate, if you really want to throw that in there), but it's nothing special by itself really. 6/10.One thing I did like were how the roaming clown actors stayed outside the exit of Asylum, and when people came running out, give them a little extra scare. Nice little extra ending really. Of course, I got a quick photo with one of them.. All roaming actors are brilliant when it comes to playing for the camera.Now who's creepier - me or the clown? ;)After this little sidetrack, we made our way over to Saw, with the darkness looming..A noose. Unfortunately my camera, even in it's night-vision mode, isn't a fan of the dark, hence the poor quality.Again, can't make it out, but it basically says: 'Queue time: 00 minutes'...We got an ORP on our final go on Saw. All three of us decided before riding to 'act dead' (expects some joke on the word 'act' to come from this, due to the roughness and all). Much love to the single rider guy on the left oh the photo who joined in as to not spoil the photo (again, expecting some joke of 'joining in' and 'acting' ). After two goes, both at the front following two walk ons, we did some more rides. I was keen on doing a maze (well, E10 or Se7en) again, for the sake of it, but my friends are of the thinking 'After you've done it once on the night, you've done it a thousand times'. To be fair, I wasn't really that fussed, as it meant more rides in the dark. Loads of repeats on Stealth were had and some more things were done as well. I will also say that the operator on Stealth was epic - brilliant guest interaction, rotated the way the launch occurred (no audio, 'It's only a Dream' audio, talking, etc.). He did a brilliant chav impression and picked a verbal fight with me for 'disrespecting him', and his version of 'The Final Countdown' over the launch was one of the scariest things all night. Probably his best quote was 'If you think this is ride is scary, I've gotta do this for another 2 hours'. I hope to catch him on my final visit to the park this year to find out his name and give him the praise he deserves at Guest Services! We called it a day round about half 8, as some were getting a little bored in honesty. I'd have loved to stay till 10 and get loads of rerides, but not by myself. In what is a tradition for some trips, after my friends had left, I wandered over to KFC to get some food for the family for when I got home (benefit on living 5 minute drive from the park hehe). I, however, detoured over to Experiment 10 and saw that there was no queue - so I thought oh why not, and had a go. There was 6 in the group, so that, along with basically no queue, I thought, would mean a better experience. However, the opening scene felt rushed, and there were seemingly less actors. Still a great experience, but not as good. I was however told by a staff member that the number of actors was due to increase as FN got busier - here's hoping. I got the KFC, and wandered out the park, but here's a couple more snaps I took (again, poor quality):LITERALLY empty Se7en queue.A group of 5 was the queue for The Curse.Gargoyles on the drinks machines by the turnstiles. As I've probably missed out on some rides, somewhere, here's something that I don't normally do, my ride count:Nemesis Inferno (Nominated coaster) x3 (x1 back)Saw x3 (x2 front)Stealth x4 (x1 back)X:\NWO x1 (x1 front)Rush x2Samurai x1Rumba Rapids x1Storm Surge x1Depth Charge x1Experiment 10 (New for 2011) x2Se7en x1Curse x1Asylum x1Certainly one of my better ones! I think that's about it, sorry that it's somewhat late, but I hope that you enjoyed reading! I'll do another one for my final trip of the season for Blow it Up, so look out for that one!

A small update here: http://www.lc12.co.uk/

Was in park today and was keeping an eye on construction when I could. At the start of the day a crane was holding the final curve of the first drop in place waiting for the last piece to be connected to the top of the lift hill to complete the loop. Piece was lifted into place at 11 (I remember so precisely as I was climbing Nemesis' lift hill at the time!).Seemed like lots of work in the station area and other work was happening near the helicopter loop and the Helix, but couldn't see any considerable work to report. A few pictures from different angles and perspectives below. The ride is already starting to dominate the skyline from certain parts of the park.

Maybe they've borrowed the simulation engine Intamin used for 13? Who knows how fast it'll go!!It is ingenious really, costs nothing to fit like that now but a fortune to adapt it later.

Maybe they've borrowed the simulation engine Intamin used for 13? Who knows how fast it'll go!!It is ingenious really, costs nothing to fit like that now but a fortune to adapt it later.

Maybe they've borrowed the simulation engine Intamin used for 13? Who knows how fast it'll go!!It is ingenious really, costs nothing to fit like that now but a fortune to adapt it later.

Looking at the plans I don't think the section of track installed this morning has the support attached and it is infact the next section up that will have the support.I may be wrong though and I'm sure we will find out soon enough if we get some updates that aren't from the time lapse camera.Is there a possibility of the flying fish being closed today with construction so close by? If anyone is interested in following the hourly updates from the time lapse camera then click HERE.

More progress on the drop...this was 5 minutes ago :)EDIT: Check the track piece in the water on the right (!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8THDPZTebISorry about the quality!