Aaron Tuckwell

I don't think UniLad has ever presented its-self as a serious journalism website of any quality... And looking at their target market, I don't think they would appreciate it any-way.. It is what it is I guess..

Interesting post on derre browns facebook too... It says that he's been working on something for 3 years and it's nearly time to let the cat out of the bag.... It all seems to be adding up... https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10153734868136983&id=92879641982&fs=0

This overselling fast track is getting a joke now... Once again, despite people on here telling me I'm a liar in the past, I saw people around the park pushing fast track for Swarm's "60 minute queue" to find... guess what... no-one in the queue.. Not a soul. Yet the boards are still advertising 60 mins... And Saw's fast track queue last night was actually as long (in time) as the main queue... How do I know? We put it to the test. I had fast track, they joined main queue and I ended up on the car behind them... I think Trading Standards should probably get involved soon. I'm pretty sure businesses aren't allowed to LIE to their customers to milk money out of them, by definition that's extortion. I can understand it if they advertise it as 60 and it turns out to be 40... Fine, that's a miscalculation, but it's pretty damned hard to "miscalculate" no-one for 60 mins... They must walk incredibly slowly through the queue line.

At fright nights last night... love Swarm in the dark... But.... behold... what is this I see? 9pm and an advertised 60 minute queue but not a single soul in said 60 minute queue... With fast track outlets pushing to sell it as it's the "longest queue by far on park"? Surely not. For shame Thorpe, For shame.

Me to... so I have...

Has any-one else also spotted this in the code: "A journey that will wrench you from your cosy everyday existence into a warped new reality. We’ll take you to a place where nothing is ever as it seems and nobody who visits will ever see things the same way again.<br/><br/>An experience designed to challenge your perceptions and mean you’ll never look just once again.<br/><br/>Keep your eyes and mind open, don’t take all you see on appearances alone and you could be one of the first to experience The Island’s newest attraction in 2016." EDIT: I've just found the actual page this is displayed on... Not the find I thought it would be lol Edit 2 (So I don't double post): Since reading this.. I'm thinking that there will be some element of false danger here... Like finding yourself lead a stray in the dark and lights come on to reveal that you're actually on the tracks at a tube station.. or something to that effect - but you have been lead to believe that you are safe and blindly follow... It's the "challenge your perceptions and mean you'll never look just once again" - I'm sensing that this is going to be an "all is not as it seems" type ride

This quote is in the site's code, but set to hidden... “We’ve got some intense time ahead of us putting our heads together and making sure that this really is just the most unique and extraordinary thing that’s ever existed, ever.”

I can't even work out what the clue is... I've watched the video and still clueless..

I see that video and think of this.... (Big Brother Timebomb titles) lol Also, what was the name of that film set in the 50s but has planes and robots in it? Is it Sky Captain and the World Of Tomorrow? I think that was Victoriana in description too... Finally, my other theory could be around Ripper Street... Although, I've NEVER seen it in my life and have not basis other than the victorian murder stylings...

Did the idea of the poster a few weeks ago that claimed that he was invited to be part of the focus group for the mind and said that the theme was "borderline offensive" get rubbished in the end? Or... could we still be looking down that barrel?

They have that already don't they? It's the I'm A Celebrity Maze...

People are claiming that this building seems small.. Remember, those that watch Grand Designs will know that people always comment that their perfect dream house seems "small" when they start the foundations, but when it actually goes up they soon realise that was wrong and it's actually bigger than they planned. I think this ride will be it. Just look at the shear height of it.. We can't rule out it being multi level... So straight away you can double or even triple the floor size if that's the case...

In all honesty, looking at Queue-times over the last few months and seeing (on most occasions I've looked, which might be badly timed) 8 rides at one point closed; for one excuse or another, has totally put me off going any time soon. Last time I was there, the pop music in the main entrance just seemed so unprofessional and left a bit of a bad taste, the shabby look of the entrance plaza, the poorly maintained car park and then the general grubbiness of the park coupled with the poor reliability just doesn't justify the journey... Which is a real shame as up to a couple of years ago, I rated Thorpe quite highly.. but now I'm starting to rate the likes of Drayton Manor higher.. and that place is a dump!

Reading some of these, and spotting that at 1pm today, according to Queue-times.com, there were no less than 8 rides closed! Seeing that there is also a massive shortage of music, effects etc, it seems to scream Alton Towers circa 2006 when Tussauds just gave up...

Ahh Josh, yes, you're correct. I doubt that the Queue board operators would be responsible for the over-inflation... On the day in question, the queue boards were showing what the guys at the entrance were saying. So I suspected on the day that some-one from the ride (who-ever that may have been) has over inflated it and informed the queue board team (if there is such a thing) of the wrong queue to corroborate their story

I'd disagree with you there my friend.. I have SEEN staff at the entrance selling fast-track and claiming that there is a 60 minute queue when you can clearly see that there is NO queue, with the ride being a walk on.. In fact, I even made a complaint about it...

I have... it ws cold, windy and raining... After you get over the initial "rollback" excitement, it's actually not that fun... Being winched in to the station and relaunched is a bit dull and the actual event its-self doesn't have much force to it... just kinda stops and goes backwards quite gently..

That was kind of the point I was trying to make. I think I'd have hi-fived her if I'd heard her say it..

Although that's the type of rudeness that I've come to expect from Thorpe's staff, who, bar a handful of exceptions who actually like their job are pretty vile, this is the perfect comeback to some whinging idiot who is demanding everything goes their way...

From the same team that told us Slammer would be open... If it turns out to be a Gers problem, do you think it'll bankrupt them?

I remember Alton auctioning off seats on Rita for charity too.. If you won, you could visit the park whenever, enter the queue by the exit and get straight on.. for as many times as you wanted for that year...

That's definitely a ride that's closed..

Just read the Q&A summary.. that's an interesting read... "Turning seats backwards is a mark of desperation" - That marries up nicely with Thorpe having a hard year in 2012 and wanting to maximise the impact The Swarm had on the market (a little like Stealth 2.0 around 2007...) The next big thing after 2017's Alton Towers addition will be 2020... Rules out an island coaster next to Swarm until at LEAST then (and also gives an opening year to SW8's rumoured woodie).. Any way, back on topic.. Glad to see Detonator is back in operation. Any news on the other casualties?

You say that Thorpe doesn't need another launched coaster as it has Stealth, but look at the very park you're taking inspiration from: Cedar Point... That has Top Thrill AND Maverick - which is almost the exact same combination of coasters that you're ruling out for Thorpe.. Granted, we are dealing with a very different size of park comparison, but one that is possible none the less. As for that video, she's an absolute beaut and the creator has done an amazing job of it... I've always had money on it being a woodie hybrid to follow Swarm, as that seems to be a coaster type that's missing... BUT... Seeing the quality of Oblivion: Black Hole over at Gardaland, or Baron, I wouldn't be surprised to see a New-Gen Dive Machine installed to compliment Swarm... Never say never... They said that about the proposed Woodie at Alton and now look what seems to be happening..

And while there is no one that can be held to account for this appalling management, this will continue. It's not like they're even quick to respond or defend the position. I mean, if they just held their hands up and said "do you know what guys and gals, we need to run with 1 train operations to save money and turn a profit, otherwise we would go under and the park wouldn't exist for you enjoy at all - this is the lesser of the 2 evils", I for one would have so much more respect than them hiding behind the smokescreens of middle management, incompetence, poor training and poor commercial practices.