Doc

I will be going for sure

Haven't had the chance to look at details but looks like various rides at Pleasure Beach have been listed by Historic England including Big Dipper and Grand national.
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1436382
 

I have just bought my ticket.

thank you to everyone who came this weekend, even though it was horrifically warm!! 
 
I think that a special thanks is in order to ryan. all I did for this meet was write up the initial post and start the thread, since then I have taken a bit of a step back from organising to focus on my exams so ryan completely stepped up and totally organised the legoland meet and also went about sorting rooms, transport and the cash involved for everyone who needed it in this meet. if it wasn't for him we wouldn't have had a bed to sleep in and I for one appreciate all that he's managed to do for the past couple of months! 
 
 
our next meet is in just over a month for minster of sound. if you're over 18 and attend the MoS even itself, don't forget to book your ticket as soon as possible and let myself or ryan know if you would like help with booking a room. just please make sure you bring some factor 50 and a lot of water... my umbrella can only provide shade for so many people at a time (ha ha haha) 
 
I hope everyone manages to stay cool as the coming week is supposed to be even more scorching, see you in july! 
 
 
 
 

I would be honoured to go. I would also like to attend the evening meal at the Monkey Puzzle because I really fancy a steak.
 

Hola! I’m excited to finally announce the details for our 2017 European trip to PortAventura!
 

 
The dates for this meet will be Saturday 9th September - Tuesday 12th September. There is not a vote for this meet due to other commitments and trying to make the trip as cheap as possible for all.
 
This is a longer meet than usual due to there being two parks and a waterpark which we will be visiting. PortAventura is a fantastic park and I would recommend a few days to get everything done (plus ride Baco until you break your backo). As this is a trip abroad it is strictly an over 18’s meet I’m afraid. I understand some of you may be disappointed about this, but due to the meet being outside the country it complicates matters too much!
 
This meet is taking a lot of advanced planning and is obviously more expensive than a standard meet, which is why we are giving you plenty of notice to save up/book time off work etc. 
 
I have used Expedia to price up this trip and the cheapest I’ve found it (based on a room of 4) is £223 each which includes hotel, flights, park tickets (plus 1 day Ferrari Land entry) and breakfast each day. Obviously the earlier this is booked, the cheaper it will be. I have just booked a room of 4 for 4 members who have shown previous interest. I can help out with recommendations for booking, but it will be down to yourselves to book flights and accommodation how you wish.
 
You can make your own travel arrangements, but these are our planned flights:
 

 
We will be staying at the onsite Hotel El Paso which is a 4* hotel with onsite swimming pool, 2 restaurants and live entertainment. It is also a short walk to the park. 
 

 
Based on previous experience going to PortAventura, there is absolutely no chance I would recommend visiting this park without using their unlimited fastpass. As onsite hotel guests we get this at a discounted rate and it is valid for our entire stay (I believe it is around 50Euro’s each). This is something we will all be getting so please bare that in mind when calculating costs.
 
Our previous European park visits have been absolutely fantastic and there is no reason why this would be any different. If you have any questions then please do feel free to message me and I will help as much as I can. Let me know below if you are interested in attending! 
 
Booked:
Doc Kerfuffle  Marc Martin.C  Martin Doyle Matt Creek  Mattgwise Mr Fish Ryan Terrortomb 

Never heard of him. The only LG I know of is my TV set  
 
I look forward to seeing Bugs though. Should be good st bowling, but I'm dreading running into a wall and getting a massive wound on my face.

Fixed your post too  

There's been proof of that with people complaining about them not giving any opening date on the previous page, my goodness people can we never be happy?
 
I came to this forum in hopes of being able to discuss my home park with a wider audience who also love it as much as I, not to costantly read people whinging about the same thing out of what seems to be boredom. I've honestly questioned if this is a fan site or not with how people attitudes have been recently, it's just heartbreaking to see that something I believed to be somewhere I can express my excitement and speculate has been overrun by people complaining day in day out that a ride - that they didn't have before - is not yet open. 
 
Sorry for the rant but honestly it's getting to the point where it's just unnecessary.

I can guarantee you that if Thorpe hadn't set an opening date there would be much more complaints on this forum than what we currently have.  Thorpe 'enthusiasts' like to complain too much.

Park has its worst year on record, losing millions of pounds for the company with threats of further cuts and payouts to come and you're expecting what exactly?
 
The expectations of theme park enthusiasts in particular are so high it amazes me. The awful look from last year has gone, an attempt has been made to make it look nicer on what's probably a budget that is minuscule and it gets nothing but derision.
 
No wonder our parks were left to run down to decay, the work they're doing will be un-noticed by the public and just derided by enthusiasts. 
 
I like the signs and fences more then the meshy look from last year so I guess I'd better hand in my enthusiast card because unless we get a teacup ride hidden by a castle or flipping Hogsmede then nothing will ever be good enough.
 
/soapbox

Everything I've heard about Tomb's touch ups seems to be mixed and contradictory.
I've heard some people saying the ride looks so much better, there's more atmosphere and all the effects bar the boulder have been fixed.
Then I hear others saying it's been a wasted opportunity, things still broken and the ride wasn't worth the effort.
As someone who's yet to experience Tombs V2, I can't make head or tail of this until April.

Let's just say yes and worry about the details later.

Let's just say yes and worry about the details later.

Let's just say yes and worry about the details later.

I should be going
I look forward to seeing that fresh paint, feasting away in that new BBQ place and riding what survived this season .

Been completely distant from forums lately due to work so have just seen this but would once again love to attend providing it is the 20th.
Look forward to seeing everyone again after so long,

That was a test train which contained the basic chassis. They were likely there to ensure a train could make it around the track in the first place.

The park do really want to work on The Dome. It has been a project they want to do for a while, but it's not an attraction so goes on the infrastructure list. And as it still serves a purpose and isn't falling down it never gets very high up that list. And definitely never gets a large budget to overhaul it. 
 
It would be nice to see it updated. Keep The Dome, it's iconic. It's in the background of old park photos, it's historic. But internally yeah I'd like to see some work done (or just continue with the small stuff like they've done with Fins and work the rest in).
 
Problem with starting over is just how useful it is as a park basis. Control is based in there. Staff canteen, the offices of which even Vallis resides in, first aid etc all would need moving about. I'd say leave the bottom floor as it is for staff and park facilities (okay freshen it up) and just work on the top making it more modern. Then, when the real hotel is built have stuff over there for guests to do and utilise the what will be free space opened up by the removal of Shark into a complex maybe with water busses docking there. 

Right so I've just come back and I did a backstage tour so I can cover the points I found out, you might know some already:
-It is Merlins largest budgeted project and I was told the that a lot of the budget is being spent on the ride itself rather than the theming.
-Only 6 people on park know more about the ride and he wasn't one of them although he personally doesn't believe it will be a roller coaster.
-It is due to open for the beginning of next season unless problems occur.
-October is set to be the month where a large portion of marketing for the new ride will start.
-The site where the main island beats stage is now is being considered for a flat ride in the next couple of years along with the fungle safari site.
-He also hinted at a ride of some sort being located near the Thorpe Shark Hotel.
-In the next two years the park will receive a huge budget increase for themeing which means the park facilities, rides, car park and most importantly Rumba Rapids will be receiving the much loved tlc they need.
- The island will be split into 'tribes' known as 'the jungle', 'the lost city etc in an effort to bring back separate lands with defined themes and borders, this again should be in the next two years.
-Thorpe Farm is now a nature reserve and so I was told would not be considered for any future rides even though Merlin still own the site.
-I didn't know that Colossus was originally planned for chessington but was denied permission and so Thorpe took it, starting the thrill seeker target at Thorpe and families at chessington.
-saws project name: Dylan, was chosen as it is the name of the cat of the lead designer an attempt to not reveal any movie link in saws early stages.
-tidal wave will not get its flame ball back because it is too expensive to run and maintain both swarms ball and another.
-Also apparently engineers are responsible for the regular one train operation as with one on they could carry out work on the train during the day whereas if two are on they would need to stay late and so they will often keep one in. Doesn't sound like energy saving but obviously I don't know if that's true.
-saw was apparently the most successful roller coaster launch of any theme park in the world.
-stealth is not the end of Rita that Alton towers couldn't get permission for, they are two completely unrelated rides bought in a deal with a reduced price from intamin for buying two.
-Samurai is not going to be removed from the park, it is just receiving essential maintenance.
- X is at a 'test phase' to see if it is viable to put more money into it if it is popular, apparently the results so far are promising.
- A re-paint of Colossus isn't on the cards at the moment, the lighter blue areas currently visible are sections of new track.
-There will not be a reduced line up of mazes at this years fright nights, they will be moved around and I'm a celebrity will not be converted back to a horror maze for the period.
-Picsolve set the prices for photos not Thorpe Park themselves.
Also I saw the construction and there is now one big arch inside the new structure and the outside looks almost identical to X, the rest of the site remained fairly unchanged although very exciting news- insulation has been delivered, what next? Oooooooooo
I also did Saturday's ministry of sound night and it was bloody brilliant! Would highly recommend!

So this epic boat jammin' sesh happened yesterday...

(Not my own photo, tis from teh Facebook)
Nothing serious of course and something that happens sometimes! Although I can't believe that purple boat that appears to be outside the main trough and going on its own merry journey

Accidents happen

Accidents happen

Accidents happen