BigBobJones

Cheap.... oh no they are not we paid £5-£6 for them and they lasted a few week before ripping. We got some cheap 99p ones when down in Cornwall they lasted 2 seasons. But it isn't in Merlins interest for these to last as you just buy more. But there is a loop hole, as long as they have not changed the design, if yours is ripped, you buy a new one, then go on tidal wave then go back to the shop and say it has torn, hand them the old one and they give you a brand new one.

I really wish they would clean the Vampire track, its screaming for a clean/paint

Well now Picsolve have put their prices up people will either not be buying or scanning them all. Charging £2 for a digital download when last year it was free Giving you only 4 photos on a photopass when last year you got 5, do they really think people are that stupid? Last year you could get a photo and digital download for £3.50 per pic this year its £7 if you buy a photopass and digital download... Value for money I think not.

I loved it this week, did Ice Age too, I was disappointed Charlie wasn't open. But I had my family non thrill seeking hat on this week. Of course I couldn't not go on Nemesis a few times, well you can't resist when its walk on.

Those poncho's are rubbish, I'm sure they have a special material which weakens as soon as it gets wet, we brought 6 last year and all of them ripped

I've only been on it twice, the first time it was over our shoes and the second time we asked them to empty it, which giving them credit they did do.

I guess the problem is if they open more rides, then people will want more and more rides open, it is where do you draw the line, the more rides you open the more people will turn up. But if the weather turns nasty then the park will be empty. Just going to Alton Towers this week, it was clear the Rapids lake and main lakes were all frozen, so any rides which are weather sensitive will not be able to function. I can't see any reason why the RMT, Tomb Blaster, Flying Jumbos, seastorm, Vampire, Dfragons Fury and Rattlesnake can't operate. But a Zoo day is a Zoo day, so you should only expect the zoo. I agree being able to book MAP online would be good, but this is not in Merlin's interests as they gain no entry fee from MAP holders, but they do from the general public, they know people with an MAP will come back at another time.

You didn't ride the Squirrel Nutty ride? I did this week

The fact most days this week they have had to be turning people away from Chessington shows it is popular and they need to expand it, you can be turning guests away when you have half the park closed, it is not good for business or guest relations.

Oh dear I way too old for Thorpe

Knowing Merlin they would be too lazy to take down the Sponsorship like on the Bubbleworks for example.

I think when Alton get rid of Ripsaw, that they should move it to Thorpe

Yes Thorpe have got themselves a very very bad reputation, reading through Trip advisor just proves the number of people who give the pace a 1 star rating. We always expect queues, but at thorpe the queues are always worse than any other park, mainly due to overselling of Fast Tracks, 1 train operation, ride downtime and also I believe the park management are very poor. It is such a shame as they have such good rides, but I would not be prepared to pay the full ticket price to go in. I may have a MAP but I will be going to Thorpe a lot less this year and going to Legoland, Chessington and Alton more as everything Thorpe does is just sub standard compared to the other Merlin parks. They just don't seem to get the basics right in my opinion. I live in hope that over the closed season they have pulled their finger out and fixed many things.... But I'm not going to the Annual Pass day, I will instead read the reviews online as too many people complained about the last one I don't want to waste my time!

Considering Chessington's car park was full today and most people I saw there had annual pass bottles in their hands, I think I'll give this a miss. Somebody said somewhere that Merlin have somewhere in the region of 200,000 MAP holders so I guess this will mean Thorpe will be packed. I'd rather book a day off work and go when its quieter.

Last year I noticed the organ music was way too quiet reducing the atmosphere. Also how can they only run 2 trains and constantly have the second train waiting to get back into the station when the first train still has not been dispatched....

Id just be happier if they could load/unload the trains quicker.

It would be great as the ride drops we would all get wet, maybe Thorpe can charge extra as you get wet and add two Haystack dryers out side Kerching! LOL

YAY for Alton! :-)

When I go to Thorpe or Alton I'm first at the gates and I get at least 5 rides in during the first hour, maybe 5 rides on Stealth in the first 15 minutes if I'm lucky :-)

"You can only ride the Swarm if your drunk, please drink responsibly"

When Chessington do their annual pass day, I will be off to Thorpe as it will be quieter

This depends, if it was like going to the park during the week when you can get on most of the rides, then I would agree, but if it was like Thorpe was during the summer holidays, Fright Nights where the queues were so long you would only get 4 rides in for the whole day, then not very good value. But Merlin must benchmark themselves. Merlin own some very powerful parks/brands and this works very well for them, the only park they have which doesn't deliver or seems to go out of its way to not care about customers but only the profit line is Thorpe.

Corporate Manslaughter.... If a guest or guests die at a Merlin park, it may not be the Ride Operator, Mechanic or local H&S employee who will be prosecuted if it is found out that the 'company' was at fault then the blame will go straight up to the directors and can go to prison for many years. I seriously doubt any UK park would take the risk, the cost to their reputation and public liability insurance would be very damaging. Nevertheless accidents do happen and guests can be complete idiots.. Now I'm looking forward to that double drop, we call Loggers the 'David Cameron' as it has a double drop like the double dip recession :-) You have answered that you know nothing about H&S, Google it. It is the National Examination Board of Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH) H&S professionals study many of their courses to gain qualifications in H&S. It is more advanced than IOSH. I know about this as I have helped my partner who is a H&S professional study through his exams. The H&S staff at TP should have these qualifications. My partner always says "H&S is not about saying no, it is about doing things safely." Almost any activity can be undertaken as long as the correct precautions are taken.

While people are stupid enough to pay the price, Merlin will keep charging...

Do you have a NEBOSH RideAddict?