planenut

Certainly the costs of Annual Passes as opposed to daily entry does not make sense to me, though even the different grades of passes seems odd. Not just in the U.K.. Last year, I bought an Annual Pass for Canada's Wonderland for my five day visit, which, I had to reduce to three days and I was still in "profit". Whilst it is still available I buy a Thorpe Park Annual Pass which costs just over the value of two day tickets, great for me but not for shareholders.

Okay, I'll keep watching.

Well it has been announced that Puy du Fou wish to create a "themed" park near Bicester, not another factory outlet but a park, emulating their established park in France. An investment figure of about £600 million, but a conservative forecast of 2.7 million annual visitors (optimistic I think). It's a different operation to those theme parks we are familiar with in the U.K., creating "period" villages, but no mention of nutty rides. Apparently the French park is the "third most visited in France". Though I think it carries more weight than the Kent wetland prroject did, I cannot see it working, and I'd stick with Beamish.

Went today and only on one train, number 3. There seemed to be less staff around. At least a couple of hiccups later in the day, possibly a positional sensor. The weather was good with plenty of sunshine therefore warmth.

Went to AT on Saturday and the place was heaving with, it seems, most rides having 75 minute queues from around lunchtime. It did feel that the aim of the park has changed, and it seems, to me, that it was not the pleasant visit that I had previously experienced.?

Very interesting write-up Cal. How did you rate the upturn gradient on Red Force? I.e. does it have the same G-force as Stealth?

Very well done, rhat's cramming.

Another good report Matt along with good pics. Enjoy your studying, remember, it's not luck but you proving your worth.

Rollbacks mean loss of ride time; done one in the past, don't need another. The team on Stealth have to observe the train until it's cleared the top hat, but the number of rollbacks are so few, they can achieve faster launches by their present routine.

That's good news Matt. It always amazes me when someone who's been queuing for ages gets to the platform, then delays getting on, annoying.

At TP today, as the weatherforecast was so good. Luckily got to ride Stealth and thought it was a little slow going over the top, so (as I am familiar with the them) I mentioned it to the team. I observed the next twelve launches, thought that the transitions over the top were getting even slower, and again expressed my concern. The team offered me a ride and I informed them that I would not, as I believed the next launch would rollback. They launched, and it rolled back, I went for lunch.

Thanks for that, they were awaiting test and inspection on Wednesday. Yesterday it was running.pretty well though at least three hiccups due to sensor issues. All rides suspended in anticipation of a thunderstorm, which materialized mid afternoon.

Another couple of very well structured reports along with interesting guidance, especially the single rider queues. I do like Thirteen but still maintain I don't know where I've been when I get off it. Well done and thanks. Fred (planenut)

Nah, too quick!

I understand that due to the water table in that area, they will not be incorporating service tunnels, which means that all staff and services will all be served at ground level. It is going to be interesting to watch progression and see what Merlin may have to do.

So true, but it annoys me that Merlin does not appear to pick up on the difference. How can they not assess their operations.

Sadly, there are some very optimistic visitor figures being bandied about. TP and AT get about 2.5 million annually, yet the PR for Universal are talking of 8.5 million which is a massive figure in comparison. There is a limit to the potential visitor market, though their plans appear to include larger entertainment venues and accomodation than Orlando to serve more, but to me, the more hype, the more doubt for longevity. The Government refer to the numbers employed to "build" but no mention of their future employment. It is a massive project and I do hope that it goes ahead. However, logically, it would deplete the number of visitors attending venues that exist now.

Happy Birthday Grand National, 90 years old today, a "cracking" ride!

Quite, that on Stealth is actually, well, not on again. There's more smoke from vapers in the queue sucking their dummies than the machine.

It's an interesting question. I have spent too much of my life waiting so I don't like queuing and when it comes to riding, I do take it into account. It depends also on the people around you, and any themeing, this particularly relates to whether one is alone. The chatter amongst a group can be enjoyable, if you're included. The atmosphere can be affected, especially if the Park is "dead".

It's true, really. Sat on Stealth today, waiting for launch, person next to me (adult).... "What's that wire going to the top?" Me: "That's so if the train gets stuck at the top , they pull that cable which pulls out a valve at the top causing the whole frame to deflate, lowering everybody safely to the ground!" My co-rider looked up to the top and declared, "makes sense"!

Thank you very much, that's useful.

Sounds promising Dan, Thanks.

Sorry to ask gang, has anybody seen how Stealth is operating within the last three days?

Hurrah, ah, oh, hurry.