stretchy

OK the curves looked weird to me, so as usual, I went to Photoshop Do you realise that they are circles? Photo lovingly stolen from TPG

Also they tweeted a vid

The dilating eye imagery is used regularly in Dr Who. I am still hoping that it is a Dr Who attraction.

Totally agree, £80 for a 2 hour event is a bit much. Beyond my budget.

Do we have some theming already there?

Just seen this over on Towersstreet.. I am informed that it was originally released to Scaretours as an exclusive so they are due the primary credit (nice to see Towers realised they messed scare tours about and have appologised with an exclusive)

I was on park on Sunday and the main carpark was nearly full when I arrived at 1pm. Queues were between walk-on and 30 minutes most of the day. Whilst it is quieter than normal for a sunny sunday, it is the busiest I have seen it since the accident. I was also there the week before and this week was noticably busier. Things are picking up. and to be honest, the ghost town news articles probably made it busier as people thought, ooo chance for a lot of rides.

Regarding the Dr Who experience.. There seems to be 2 options on tickets. 1) just entry 2) with a walking tour of filming locations. (6 quid extra) Which have people booked tickets for or has everyone done like me and left it till now? I personally quite fancy a tour, but I am old and old people like tours. (interstingly most of the people who gave the museum a high score chose the tour option) http://www.doctorwho.tv/events/doctor-who-experience/tickets/

Re: TOT returning. I personally think TOT is a brilliant scare maze. I like the concept of what lies within. You being urban explorers is still relevant today. But they do need to adapt it every year slightly, just to make it fresh, not leave it the same. The below is pure conjecture and not based on any inside knowledge. I think the sewer maze will be where sanctuary was but with a different entrance. TOT will use the same area that it has always used but I think will include another section.I also don't think it will exit in the same place, as I think the exit area will be used as part of the sewer maze (leaving the sewer maze through that long tunnel would be a brilliant ending. I think the molly maze will be around the old tea house. Seems to fit the story. That is where they did the dining experience last year and there is a nice, light path to it and a back entry out to near where the zombie scare zone is. Good location to build a maze. The blindfold section, I thin, will be a way of making the maze seem longer than it actually is as the area is a bit small. Propper scare zones. I think that this is where this will either shine as an event or totally fail. If they just put huge white arc lights up and then have a few phalanx people shouting then it will be rubbish. If they have correct lighting, fog machines, cordons as you enter and leave the area, and actual actors in character battling the phalanx then it will be amazing. Damn why arent things as they could as counjoured by my head. Scarefest Saturdays..Not sure if you are all aware, last Saturday Towers tweeted that they were going to officially announce stuff. Today, as a response to someones questioning they 'changed their mind'. I am not sure if this is due to the Scarecon 'Leak' or something else. Whatever it is, I think it is a bit of a poor show. Even if they announce just what was leaked, but with a smidgen of more information or some artwork that would still have been good. Scary Tales. my only problem with this was, it was too short. what was there was beautifully lit (go look at some of the photos from it, it looked like that in real life). It was also quite imaginative. It just wasn't scary and was waaaay to short. I remember saying, if they made that as a full 20 minute maze, you would be totally insane at the end of it. the colours would marmalise your mind.

For those not in the scaretours facebook list. Below is thier announcement.

Thinking about this, I dont really care what Thorpe put in as long as it is a ) high quality, b ) Fun to ride. I would be more than happy if they took some of thier rides and extended/redid them as a large investment. There are 2 rides I think are in desperate need of a redo. 1) Rumba Rapids. (as mentioned by J.S217), The current ride is lac lustre and just not a fun ride. 2) Loggers Leap. The double drop is fun, the rest of the ride is.. meh. 3) Stealth (am prolly going to get flamed for this). You have so much potential energy at the top of the top hat and then it is just instantly absorbed in the break run. I come off the ride always thinking. Damn if only it had a ride rather than a quick up and down it would be fun. Especially with the space that they have in that area. Adding a couple of positive and negative g points and a bit of theming. I'm sure that shouldnt cost a lot (it doesnt in RCT3). The thing is, I am sure that some of those could be medium investments rather than large ones. Can I make another point as well. I think a good ride is a ride that excludes the minimum number of people and that everyone comes off smiling, laughing, or talking about it, no matter how many times you ride. Towers has a few of these, but I dont think Thorpe has any. Just go stand at the exit of the Hex spinning room section, or listen to a 13 car as it exits the tunnel. Neither ride are what I would call thrill but from the sounds of the general public, especially those who havent ridden before, I think they are thrilled and amused. Rides should make you smile.. Always. If not then they are just torture devices or bravery badges.

'raises hand also as a back pain sufferer' What I do is take it as it comes. I avoid rides that I know will hurt my back (SAW and Colossus are both no no's for me a they are rough and vibration kills my back). X is sometimes (the stops can be harsh). Stealth can also be harsh for me, in the break run, so I avoid that if my back has been bad recently as it agrivates. Rumba can be dodgy too if its feeling particularly violent, so I only ride that if it is feeling particularly good. Detonator, regularly aggrivates it so I avoid that too most of the time. Samurai - which tends to throw my head around which exasperates any back pain that I have and I dont need to say anything about Dodgems. Jeez that sounds like I am avoiding lots, but when your on park it isn't. There are plenty of other rides I personally have no problem on either of the B&M's (Swarm and Nemesis Inferno). I also have no problems on any of the other rides not mentioned above. Water rides are fun, Tea cups is brill, Rush (AKA swingythingy) is also good. As Paige said, sitting down regularly is good and considering queue length is important. Long periods os standing in a slow queue is bad for your back. But the important thing is not to overdo yourself. Get them to be wise with what they go on and be a friend if they say, I need to take a break, dont try and talk them into it. That doesn't mean everyone else cant go on whatever, just make sure that if its a long queue they arent left sitting alone for 2 hours. They will be thoroughly misserable after you get off, which will just make thier back worse (unless it is me being left and you leave me in a place selling beer, where I may be unintellegably singing when you come off).

as Joss said. I am now a definite. Staying at the M4 travelodge just the sat night. Joss and I will meet you all at Oakwood, hopefully around opening.

I think they are being greedy.

I am supprised that none of them have noticed that the Orlando Eye had to be evacuaterd and linked that to towers. http://bigstory.ap.org/article/692cd34991be46969524cf8298c93930/66-riders-safely-evacuated-after-400-foot-ferris-wheel

Just as an asside, I have met Mr Fry twice and both times he was extremely un-tossery when I would have been much more tossery, He was, both times. rather shy, and extremely unassumimg. The first time I met him, I honstly couldn't have put up with as many people asking for autographs, photos and saying stupid things as he did, and he did them all with a smile, even though as soon as he got out of the public area he seemed to be drained by it all. I was co-organising the event he was at and yet when I asked him if he was ok, he positioned his smile and said that he was fine. I have met a few celebs and they are either, like Mr Fry was, try really hard to keep a facard of smiles, or they are complete self centred divas. They are all just people. It all made me realise that I wouldn't hoist fame on my worst enemy. Cameras steal your soul, you know, dont believe me? Just look around you. Back on topic. Paige made an interesting point. Who would buy this? I think its a 'jock' mentality type of person who would buy and wear these types of clothes and these are people that use sexuality in most of what they wear, so why not this. But the odd thing is to extend that to things like the flashing notebook. (I didnt think the bimbo's could write) - (bimbo and jock are meant asexually here). The only other peole I can think who would buy these T shirts are aimed at gay males, and as a gay male myself (a rubbish one though) I have no interest in advertising my ridability. So I think my only problem with these slogans is the possable target audience they are aimed at. The T shirts I find fine, but the flashing notebook? There were quiet a lot of merch items in the RIde Me.

From one non theme park friends after reading the Metro page "A park that's this sexist is bound to have crashes". my response was 'The logical falacies in that statement are astounding'

It looks like Merlin and Alton Towers is getting a bit more of a bashing. The Metro has the following. Personally I quite like the Ride Me flashing notebook book. Very funky. http://metro.co.uk/2015/06/22/alton...s-emblazoned-with-the-slogan-ride-me-5258188/ So what do you think? Sorry Link Fixed

This is just a guess, but I think that it isn't actually 'breaking down' more, it is just that the procedures have changed so that all 'issues' are treated as life threatening and fully investigated rather than, what I assume happened in the recent past, of repeated sensor erros just being reset by maintanance. So what would bormally be a 2 minute reset is now a 20-30 minute down time. Safety over complacency.

Yes I'm with Josh on this one. Pre known/unknown condition. I actually thought that Revolution at SFMM was a bit meh. Ok but nothing amazing, if anything a bit forceless.

Sorry Benin, typo in the headline. I meant to say what I have just changed it to. Yes it seems theme parks are hot at the moment

New game revealed last night. Thought I'd start a topic to discuss. Article at end of linkage http://venturebeat.com/2015/06/16/elite-dangerous-studio-debuts-planet-coaster-theme-park-simulator/?utm_source=pulsenews&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Venturebeat+%28VentureBeat%29

I am eating cheese on oatcakes at this very moment.

If anyone wants a lift from Newcastle or Stoke Station to Towers, give me a pm. Unfortunately I wont be joining you all for Dreyton though, sorry. Re: How Busy Alton was walk-on for all rides this weekend (even Rita). (seemed about 5000 people on park). Because X sector was closed, anyone with an actual ticket was given a come back another day ticket to be used for the rest of the season. -EDIT- "Alton was walk on for all thrill rides, CBBies was stil queue-y" Blackpool, the weekend before was about normally busy.

I recently had a bit of a discussion with one of my mates about Splash Water Park. The discussion went on around the idea of 'How do you add a new attraction in there without extending the building? I just found this waterslide installed in Germany and thought, "That is exactly what Merlim could do" (I am bunged up with hayfeaver so cant think the letter N). It would make the 2 boring short slides new again, (even though they wouldnt be suitable for epaleptics. http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2015/06/amazing-led-black-hole-slide-looks-like-a-wormhole/