Han30

I am in Surrey but close to Hampshire - near Aldershot Really like that Stealth pic - I wish I could take photos like that!

Griffins is well hidden which is a shame as it is quite a good ride - when I went last week I was being a geek and taking pics so was in that area for a little while and saw no-one on the ride at all. Was going to go on as the ride op look bored but, at my age it may have been a bit odd.

Hi there, and welcome Yateley you say - that is near where I live (if it is the right one!). btw - Nice profile pic.........STEAAAAAAAAAAALTH

On the Friday the day after the park opened the amount of kids there was insane - I agree that people are more likely to take a day off (or skive from school tut tut) on either a Friday or Monday

Looks like a giant spoon - I think that would definitely be a for me with all that spinning!

When I went last Monday to CWOA I was looking forward to the strobes.....got to the finale bit, no strobes OR fountains! And I went with someone who had never been before and was saying "ooh we are coming up to the best bit"

Riiiiiiight - erm ok, I thought I was odd but am feeling pleasantly sane right now. Just.....why?! Gah forgot what I was going to type - that article has bongled my brain Ah I remember..... This year I really want to get into fund raising and volunteer work as I am slowly but surely getting on track with things. Had a gander at my local Hospices website and they have a skydive event in June - I contemplated then realised that a fear of heights, planes and falling is going to be a big stumbling block, plus the place where they do it is about a 90 min drive from where I live. But I noticed that in May they have another even - abseiling down a cathedral (which is only 10ish miles from me) - I am tempted but its the height thing again although I have conquered a fair few fears I am not sure if I can accomplish this one within the next month, plus there is sponsorship etc. Soooo, does anyone have any ideas for fundraising because I am literally a bit stumped - also lack of sleep is not helping - cheers

I agree about the prices being too much for what you are getting. The only reason I have so many ORPs from last year is due to it being my first trip to Thorpe in yeaaaaars and my first visits to Alton Towers. I am a bit miffed that the guy working on the photo thing at Loggers Leap told me that I could get AP discount which obviously isn't the case

Totally agree with this - I had ridden Saw over 20/30 times before I actually watched the films - then when I next rode it the indoor queueline made sense and all the theming. I remember getting off the ride saying "Oh I get it now" On a side note I never noticed the dead dude underneath the first inversion until someone told me about it - so, after riding it god knows how many times I looked out for him and there he was (I felt a little stupid, just for a change). Also, last year this is something I didn't notice but it sprays water at you - I got some full on in my eyeball and sat next the the person to my right and said "did that thing just spit at you?" Finally - I had the most painful experience on Saw on AP day. In the morning it was running beautifully and very smooth - fast forward a good few hours and after riding it I felt like I had smashed my head against a wall non stop for 2 hours. I still love Saw though - it was joint fave along with The Swarm but went second but is slowly clawing its way to the top. Oh yeah and those guns that go off - they get me every time and I scream like a lunatic

Not one to blow my own trumpet but that epic photo bomb pic was taken by me My camera isn't the best and James managed to ruin a shot of Vortex but this picture does make me laugh - I'm amazed it didn't turn out to be just a blur!

The music they were playing outside the Bubbleworks last week was really uplifting and jolly.....I couldn't resist having a bit of a dance (luckily it was extremely quiet). I absolutely love The Vampire music, I just get a little frustrated when you are in the station and the ride op gets carried away with announcements - that said, the guy working on Vamp last week was pretty good Music I miss - Beanolands dodgems - that music was brilliant!

Cool pics there - never realised how many buttons are on the control panels I would want to press them all

I spent a small fortune on ORPs last year (first trip to Thorpe in 11 years and first ever trips to AT). So this year I am cutting right back as I have almost redecorated one of my walls in my living room On AP day I did enquire about photos and then asked the guy at the kiosk if pass holders get discount and he said yes although I didn't actually buy the photo so am not 100% sure if this is correct as I didn't see anything stating that you get AP discount - £10 for one photo is extortionate (even if it does include a digital download - many people have scanners these days). They must make a fortune! Also - the pics look exactly the same as last years

Having never ridden Slammer or having any intention of doing so, I do hope it opens soon as I quite enjoy watching it (although even watching it scares me!) - I just wonder how much longer it will be alive for with all the down time it has had. This plus Zodiac are the only 2 rides at Thorpe I have not done - with Slammer I probably would if they had OTSR instead of individual lap bars/shoulder bars - I just don't trust them, though saying that, I said the same about Rush last year and ended up going on it and loving it

As said before, they have tester seats outside many of the rides - the water rides you will be fine on but just don't open your mouth when you splash down on Loggers Leap - that water is nasty! As for Colossus - it is very pinchy and barely any room for movement in those trains - I love how it says to keep your arms and legs inside the train at all times - well, there is NO WAY anyones legs are going anywhere! Inferno have the larger seats as mentioned which have 2 seat belt thingymejiggies so you should be fine on pretty much everything - have a fab time

Yeah I have noticed that it seems to go off every 3 rounds (the fire that is) As for the queue times yesterday - there was a teachers strike which probably explains the volume of guests in the park. Though saying that, I went there last Friday and the amount of school kids there was ridiculous - I was saying "do these kids not bother with school these days?" Back on topic - I recently braved it backwards on The Swarm for the first time (too scared last year after almost boffing on XNWO years ago) - first time I was second row from back and felt a little dizzy afterwards, second time was right at the back. Still prefer front row but back is a unique experience - especially that first drop I screamed my head off!

It took me ages before I got the guts to go on Quantum (never really liked the idea of magic carpet rides) but my first few rides on it were pretty tame. That said, on the AP day I manage to puke after riding it - not sure whether it was the cycle it ran or the fact that I had just recently had a major head bashing from Colossus and Saw. The week after I went on and it was on a naff cycle - a couple of kids asked the ride assistant if he could make it go fast as possible and the guy replied that it only has one setting

The rocks really did add to the ride experience of RMT and I was gutted when I heard it was going to be rethemed. However, I went on Scorpion Express yesterday and was surprisingly impressed - even walking through the queue I was saying how naff it was going to be because it sort of does look like it off ride. The ride itself, for me anyway does seem a bit slower - maybe because there is no tunnel there (or I am just odd) - but the fire and other effects make up for a lot of what was lost and I came off the ride with a complete change of mind. I did and do wonder how long the fire effects will last though and do still miss RMT, but I think Merlin have done a pretty decent job with Scorpion Express - it is much better than it looks in pictures

Went to CWOA today and RR is fine and dandy - just the 15 person rule is a bit meh. There were people waiting about for others so we went back later and one of the ride assistants was leaving the ride area to ask guests to join the queue. Just after lunch we were asked if we wanted to go on as they needed to make the numbers up but I figured just after eating it was prob not the best idea You still get the 2 cycles and the 2nd one today involved 4 (almost 5) flips - ride experience was made more fun by a really enthusiastic ride op who asked us to pretend we were getting wet by the water from the fountains Would be great if they had some music down in that pit to add to the ride experience but the guy working on it today was brilliant

You did and bless you, you came to see what was occurring - I think I spotted a chip in what small amount came up lol

Cool merch there! Looks in excellent condition aswell

Waaaaaaaaaa - a crack?! Ok that is a tad unnerving! - ah well - hopefully it will be sorted soon. Although I am in the minority here, I don't think I would cope well if it ran on a really intense setting - I can only ever sit on the inside bit, think I would be ill if I sat on the outer edge of the pod. I remember one day last year when it was really windy and it seemed more intense though that was obvs the wind wafting into my face at stupid speed. Also with the restraints - I got a bit worried when I felt them moving and thought "right that is it, I'm going to be catapulted out" - not that I am a pessimist

I remember you saying about that - how did no-one notice? Mind you, with me I kinda made a dash for the bin near to Quantum but I don't think many people saw

Ah shame - you could have joined us although I know it can be nerve wracking - hope you had a good day!

23 rides on Stealth :o strewth! Thought I would edit and put a quick trip report up...... Had a brill day at Thorpe on Saturday although I was a tad anxious about getting the train as I have not been on a train on my own for a while but I was absolutely fine Got to the park fairly early and ended up joining a mahoosive queue and got in at around 10.15ish. Was so good to be back! On the signs at the front of the park it said that it was closing at 4pm but they stayed open until 5 which was good. Started off on Rush which I love even though it scares me senseless - even more so when my lap bar was playing up and a ride attendant had to sort it out with a key thing Ride count for the day was: 1 x Rush 1 x Vortex 1 x Rumba 1 x Loggers Leap 1 x Quantum 1 x Rocky Express 2 x Saw 2 x Inferno 2 x Colossus 1 x Stealth 1 x Swarm forwards 1 x Swarm backwards (first time - and I felt fine!) Slammer and Samurai were both closed - not that I was bothered about Slammer - there is no way on Earth I would ever get on that thing, but was a bit gutted about Samurai being closed as it is one of my fave flat rides. Had really smooth rides on both Saw and Colossus during the morning - however, it was a completely different story in the afternoon where my head got smashed about a lot on Saw Had a chuckle at the park map - especially after enjoying 2 rocket LUNCHES on Inferno - speaking of which, on our first ride, our row was creaking so badly I genuinely thought I was going to come flying out of it on the vertical loop. Was great to meet up with some fellow TPM members on the day - some of which I haven't seen for what seems like aaaaages The park had various shut downs during the day - whilst queuing for Inferno I assume someone had been ill on it as they had closed it for essential maintanance - nice! Vortex swing was odd - not nearly as high as last year (or maybe it was because it felt like we were spinning pretty quick) - the loading on that took what seemed like forever. I can now compare Swarm forward vs backwards - I never thought I would ever go on the swarm backwards due to coming extremely close to being sick on XNWO years ago (and also sitting backwards on the train there made me feel a bit ill). But thanks to Flipper, Rich and EC I did it and am pleased that I have. I have to say that I prefer facing forwards because of the near misses but that drop when you are backwards is just.... :O - unique experience, and I would probably do it again. Staff were friendly as ever - one recognised me from last year I went that many times!