planenut

Stealth was outstanding today. No queue at all but they were still storming the dispatches. I didn't see a moment's down time or delay.
 
Repeat front row rides for me. That has to be the single best coater experience in the county. It's incredible and I'll never tire of it. 

I looked on Facebook, and queuetimes.com, Stealth’s back open again! With 60 minutes of queueing time!! XD

Luckily, I have been busy, so I have not been over to TP for a while.
 
Last year the catch car was replaced and therefore had to be made from scratch. The odd thing there was that it was rebuilt (not made) the year before.
 
Last month there were several problems with sensors, and high temperatures affect the running of some rides, even making them too fast.
 
I have been trying to get information but as most know, it's difficult to get. The answer from the Park is always "there are other rides available".

Luckily, I have been busy, so I have not been over to TP for a while.
 
Last year the catch car was replaced and therefore had to be made from scratch. The odd thing there was that it was rebuilt (not made) the year before.
 
Last month there were several problems with sensors, and high temperatures affect the running of some rides, even making them too fast.
 
I have been trying to get information but as most know, it's difficult to get. The answer from the Park is always "there are other rides available".

Luckily, I have been busy, so I have not been over to TP for a while.
 
Last year the catch car was replaced and therefore had to be made from scratch. The odd thing there was that it was rebuilt (not made) the year before.
 
Last month there were several problems with sensors, and high temperatures affect the running of some rides, even making them too fast.
 
I have been trying to get information but as most know, it's difficult to get. The answer from the Park is always "there are other rides available".

I too managed to catch a quiet day at Oakwood last Saturday; due to the weather, and it's forecast, evening fireworks had been cancelled and the park was to close at 6p.m., Speed and some other items were closed due to high winds.
Megaphobia is the biggie and in the damp she was flying, and lack of customers meant a run of 9 rides without getting off during the afternoon.
Bobsleigh I think is an entertaining ride when with each turn one tries to get that bit faster, without falling off, and there was a spell when me and colleague were able to ride again without going round the queueline as there was nobody there.
People do add to the atmosphere of a park but sometimes, lack of them is a bonus.

Same operators, just the holding company of Merlin will be different. I assume that the same management and day to day operations will be the same. From the press release they are keeping it as a seperate company, same HQ and not distributing or changing assets of merlin. 
 
Fingers crossed this helps with investment in the parks, if the parent company wants to invest more then there arent shareholders to block it based on profit. There is a full document on Merlins website about the plans. https://www.merlinentertainments.biz/recommended-offer/
 
The document also says that the two companies (Blackrock and Kirkbi) were there before public listing: 
 
"KIRKBI and Blackstone jointly controlled Merlin in the 8 years prior to the 2013 public listing, during which time Merlin became the second largest location based entertainment business globally, and the partner of choice for the world's leading brands to deliver immersive experiences to guests."
 
So fingers crossed we go back to the investment days! 

This one was from back in March in the batching area for DBGT a group of 4 lads in front of us (complete pain in the butt all of them) were moaning about waiting - they had RAP so hadnt even waited the full 75ish minutes.  When the people in the other batching area went through they then tried go through but were stopped - their response?  “THATS RACIST” - I laughed out loud, as did the people who were nearby - they then started getting lippy with the poor ride host who moved them to the other batching area (meaning they’d have to wait longer) - when we were called through it was like karma when their faces dropped

Heard today at Thorpe Park whilst riding, er, Stealth......
"I used to ride this in the 1980's, it used to only go up to the top and roll back but they've extended it since!

A master of his craft, who, in a word, has probably touched all of our lives.

So me and my other half have just got back from a 4 day trip - one day at Chessington and three at Thorpe. Very mixed trip which I’ll summarise in bullet points.
 
- Operations at Thorpe were (for the most part) very, very good. Two trains on all the major coasters (and TWD) every day and rapid dispatches. Chessington really needs work in that area though!
- Our ride on DBGT wasn’t bad, pretty much all of the effects were working well and it had hardly any downtime whilst we were on park. Only reason we went on though is because we had an hour of fast track for it included with the hotel stay, otherwise we wouldn’t have bothered. It’s bad that, for a ride that was supposed to be so re-rideable, we see pretty much absolutely no reason to go back on anymore. It needs to go.
- BounceZilla is a complete and utter monstrosity and we thought it looked mortifying for all involved. I’d imagine it’s probably quite fun, yes, but this should not be at Thorpe Park imo.
- Jungle Escape has flopped harder than anyone could have expected. We didn’t see anyone queuing or going in, or even glancing at it, whilst at the park. Considered giving it a go, but didn’t think it was worth the £10pp upcharge for what seems to more or less be IAC in sheep’s clothing.
- Went in GameFX for 45 mins or so when it was raining yesterday and was moderately impressed. Good variety of consoles and games, and plenty of them to go around. The VR experience also looked good fun. It was pretty quiet though, on a busy day when it was pouring down outside. Evidence that maybe people don’t want to go to a theme park and play video games? ?
- TWD:TR has improved since last year imo. Not sure why or how, but I enjoyed it a lot more this year. Much better experience with live actors than without for me personally as well.
- Quantum still looks a week or two away from finally opening this year to me. We watched it being worked on and it was tested a few times (that we saw), but it isn’t making a great sound when sent on it’s full cycle ?
- Best ride on Vortex that I’ve ever had, it’s running so well this year.
- Old Town looks as sorry as ever. I’m not going to even bring up SBNO rides as everyone already knows the situation!
- I’ve always had a soft spot for Thorpe Shark, however after this visit I think the park desperately needs a proper hotel. We stayed in a tiny Travelodge room after Chessington and it felt so, so, so spacious compared to the shipping containers.
- I’ve not been to Chessington before but I think I preferred it to Thorpe, which I didn’t think would happen considering the target markets (not that anyone, including Merlin, knows what Thorpe’s really is). Better theming, better atmosphere, better maintenance. However Thorpe definitely wins on the operations front.
- Impressed with the 40th anniversary merch on offer. They should be doing more to commemorate it than selling new stuff though.
- We left 2 hours early today due to the queue times. Our fault for (mistakenly) booking during half term but there you go!
 
Apologies for the long post! Just some thoughts on what will probably be my only visit this year. My second to worst visit that I’ve ever had unfortunately.

I would suggest drinking plenty of water because I know from my own experience that dehydration can lead to migraine.  I always without fail take headache pills to parks because I usually get one.  Could it be motion sickness related?  If so I can’t recommend Cinnarazine highly enough (you can get it over the counter called Stugeron 15).  If none of the above are sounding any good then I’d avoid Zodiac, Saw and Colossus,  - the latter 2 have crazy head banging moments which I’m sure have killed off some of my brain cells in the past

Halloween is without a doubt, my least favourite time of year at theme parks. Nothing could interest me less then a bunch of dressed up students ignoring me too make some girls scream in a maze, or the park over run with people in the dark looking to make trouble.

Sadly, I think there is evidence that currently the finances and publicity of Merlin are mismanaged, I.e. growth in revenue, growth in visitors, but less revenue from returning visitors. The system of offering free returns to non-annual pass holders after paying for one day ticket is hardly their best idea.
 
Major incidents at "entertainments" require sensible reaction to encourage continuing and returning visitors, whether those entertainments are a one off, arranged on an annual basis or a daily opening location. The investigative authorities have a part to play in this and their co-operation or not, can cause the demise or success of the next similar event. The majority of those who then maintain that "it should be closed, not allowed, or restricted" will be those who don't attend those events, and those who have been sadly affected by incidents. Knee jerk reactions are the main cause of the cancellation of most recurring events, whether that be an injury sustained by a fairground ride, or an aircraft crashing at an airshow. No-one demands that a motorway is closed and grassed over following a fatal accident, rather, "get it cleared, I need to get on", why? because the majority use the motorways.
 
My opinions only.

The problems with that are:
-You have to keep staff later, meaning you have to pay them more.
-You alienate anyone who isn't planning / able to stay till end of the day.
-You eat into the time after park close that engineers have to do daily maintenance to the ride, which could result in more problems the day after.
 
It does solve some issues that the current set up has, but it creates many many more.
 
The trouble in the past is that Priority Passes were handed out like water. This year they're more like Coke - still on tap, but hidden away and a lot more restricted.

Oh no! Margate has some amazing sunsets! You’ll never catch a sunrise on the main sands however the sunsets are pretty spectacular overlooking the sea! ?

It was an interesting day yesterday, with five power outages, it caught me once on an outgoing train and once on inbound arriving at the platform, both on Stealth, but fairly quickly dealt with by the staff. The park is supplied by two different sub-stations, each in different Power Company districts, therefore not all rides are affected. Whilst the power came back on fairly quickly, some rides did not operate for a while due to the chance of riders being stuck out on the ride, and apparently it takes about twenty five minutes for the Rapids to fill sufficiently. The  Beach was also affected due to pump/filters not working. 
 
Whilst on a trip to check out the ablutions at one stage, a guy out on the "street", randomly started moaning at me about having paid £50 for his ticket then no rides being available; he took some persuading that power outages were not in the control of TP. TP were offering people return day tickets.
 
 

I appreciate that the report is from Reddit, but even if you take it with a massive pinch of salt, it's still completely inexcusable. Awful, awful reading.

Heard today on Stealth, "my brain's too loose for my head!", I didn't look again.

I don't think this is the right move at all. I strongly dislike actor led attractions as I get no enjoyment from them. On top of that they have high running costs and they are polarising with audiences.
 
I can see the dungeons working at Alton towers if implemented correctly but by no means should they be trying to install it now. They have almost no flat rides, the park is full of closed shops and food outlets and the opening hours are terrible. There are better investments to be made.

@JoshuaA yup yesterday the dispatches on Swarm and Colossus were pretty slow - Colossus being the worse - the staff could have done with a rocket stuck somewhere to speed them up a bit.  We were on the brake run for what felt like an eternity and I desperately needed paracetamol ? I guess at least they were on 2 trains which is good especially as the park wasn’t particularly busy

We are all different, and have different perceptions of everything in life, everything. If we were not different, then there'd be one heck of queue for what you did like. We don't have to like everything either, but to ride it once gives you the information to have an opinion on it.
 
Never worry about the things you don't fancy doing, it'll give you more time to do the things you liike. If someone has the time to criticize you, it's their brain cells they are wasting, enjoy your time.

Some people are very responsible, but sadly the majority, not that they're being irresponsible, just would not be safety aware, and the thought of anything hitting anyone on the ride really doesn't bear thinking about.
 
The only seats useable for filming would be front rows and even if secured, the items would be clearly seen. TP and Merlin are in it to make money, and therefore they would sooner you buy their material.
 
Make up some video off the rides, then enjoy the ride itself.

This is a tragedy, for the park and for the public, especially those who happily experienced the entertainment given.
 
As to the wrong humour or words, we can all plead guilty to that sometimes; unfortunate, but not always with any malice intended.

This is a tragedy, for the park and for the public, especially those who happily experienced the entertainment given.
 
As to the wrong humour or words, we can all plead guilty to that sometimes; unfortunate, but not always with any malice intended.