TPJames

Even if it is describing standard queuing it still does not make any sense whatsoever!? Care to explain?

Is it just me or does this not make sense...?

I have recently seen the newly created Disneyland advert which advertises their free fastpass plus system. I am not sure how this system differs to thorpe if we go into detail but the two systems look roughly the same. I reckon thorpe will be advertising Reserve N Ride as the "big thing" this year, the new advertisement from Disney looks like a tactical move to sneak in before thorpe as thorpe will be trying to make this the new big thing in the theme park world. Of course I could be wrong, it does seem to me that Disney know what thorpe are up to and are trying to play their cards right. I may be completely off course though.

I'm no expert and although I do know they tend to add the second train when there is enough "demand" for it, I am unsure to when this "demand" occurs. Thorpe generally have good operations on their top coasters, however it seems that when they know it is an off-peak day, they will only run one train to satisfy profits. For example, I have been on an off peak day before with 30-60minute queues due to not a big enough "demand". As it is a public holiday I would expect them to be running two trains, however as they will be making less money overall they could well be running one. If there are above 60 minute queues they will definately add a second train otherwise I would only expect one train operations for anything between 30-45minutes due to the "demand" levels the park have already chosen before it opens. In theory, thorpe should always be running two trains on the coasters however I can understand them reducing it to one in certain cases to keep profit margins in line. If queues are below 45minutes during the holidays, the "demand" simply won't be there for two train operation. Thorpe never start their coasters on two trains, they will only add them from the outset if the "demand" becomes strong enough, and this tends to be when the coaster hits around the 60minute point. I am not attacking thorpe's operations, I am just stating outright what I have experienced in the past. (Stealth will probably be running one train anyway as it does not make a massive difference like running one train on the swarm or Colossus, again it depends on the amount of people on park and the profit margins thorpe want to keep in line).

I just worry that running the rides on good operations during the cold will tire them out and they will experience problems during the season. Most of us are expecting all rides operational at the beginning of the season so to have selected rides down due to them operating in half term will be an absolute bummer. It ultimately comes down to which rides thorpe choose to open and how hard they will be operating due to queue times etc. I know people won't want bad operations during Half Term but it would be even worse to have major rides down as soon as the park opens officially for the main season.

I have the same problem, I have downloaded so much Cs, CFRS and CTRS that the game will constantly freeze and crash. I also have a high amount of parks, most of which I don't use so the game will constantly refuse to work. Adding a custom item into the game takes up more memory than people think. I have been told if you delete them from the internal rct3 system; style>custom/ style>themed, the game will work much smoother. I don't know if this actually works however it's worth a try. Another option is just to wipe the game altogether and then be very selective with custom content. I have hundreds and hundreds of packages and my game just refuses to work most of the time. It's not a big deal for me, as I just play for fun, but it would be nice to get it working smoother again. Ovbiously, the parks look very unrealistic without the custom content so it may be worth deleting it all to reinstall the ones you want as you probably have many you don't want/use like I do. Hope you can get it fixed!

I completely agree with Pluk here. An enthusiast who lives close to the park and visits frequently has a completely different perspective to one of the general public, as I have already stated in different topics. Looking from a member of the GP's perspective, it is £15 to stay the rest of the night. I am sure that if it was included, with added free entertainment(nothing major just to entice guests in), the guests would stay the full evening. It would be a much more valuable offer for guests and I think the guests would be much more likely to stay the whole evening. Even if thorpe brought in an evening ticket for £15, but guests had the option to stay the full day, I think it would be a much better way to run the park than having it a separate event altogether. Maybe my perspective is wrong, however I think it's fundamental to look through a member of the GP's point of view when discussing this as everyone(including me) has been going from their own opinion which is to be honest quite biased compared to what the general public would like. An enthusiast visits much more frequently, plans their day and knows what they want to do. A member of the general public doesn't get these benefits and I think a few extra hours, especially in the summer are needed to satisfy guests.

For those of you who do not know, Olympia Looping is the largest transportable rollercoaster in the world, containing 5 loops in the shape of the Olympic Rings. It is owned by Rudolf Barth and he has been in charge of it for over 25 years. Olympia looping is an iconic ride which sets the scene to many German fairs such as Annakirmes, Rheinkirmes and Oktoberfest. However, Ruldolf has recently announced that the coaster is just too expensive to run. Mr. Barth originally had to pay 13million Euro for the rollercoaster alone, with other equipment not included. He says today, a ride like this would cost 25million to buy including the trucks, an investment which can simply not be earnt back anymore. Rudolf used to attend six to eight funfairs a year, however costs have now spun out of control. For 2014, he only managed to attend Düren Annakirmes and Münich Oktoberfest due to the overly expensive operation costs. He says that in previous years, transport to one event has cost in the region of 80,000 Euro, 900tonnes loaded onto 60 different trucks. On top of this, there is 200,000 Euro of repairs at the end of every year. It also needs staffing, and the rollercoaster can take up to 30 paid staff members to operate. He regrettably said that he wouldn't make such an investment anymore. The future of Olympia Looping is currently uncertain. Rudolf is currently 75 years old and has thoroughly considered of retiring from the business of running this rollercoaster. He has already had plenty of offers from parks in the Far East, however the rollercoaster just wouldn't be the same. It's a shame to see it coming to the end, however the rollercoaster has been going for over 25 years. It sets the skyline at some of the most iconic funfairs in the world however is just too expensive to run anymore. We could only ever dream of it coming to London for Winter Wonderland, it is beyond reality. Rudolf says, for 2015 he hopes to visit Düsseldorfer Rheinkirmes and Volksfest in Herne-Crange for possibly the last ever time. He then plans on going to the Oktoberfest... He says, "What comes next, is still written in the stars".

I sort of forgot to mention this but I only think it will work if there is a clear storyline. There needs to be good theming as well as a clear story, which is explained before you board the ride. This is needed, especially if it's an IP or otherwise it's never going to work.

I think it's a good move on thorpe's part choosing a dark ride for the 'next big thing'. A good dark ride can be immersive, well themed and an experience for younger riders as well. I think it could be a real crowd puller if it does well. If it's an IP, then I just hope it meets up to the standards and actually represents the storyline. If not, it could be a disaster. It could easily go two ways, it could be a major success with a well themed queueline and an amazing dark ride experience inside or it could crash to the ground with a cattlepen queueline with no theming and a boring, non-immersive experience inside. I really hope thorpe do this right.

The difference is you are an enthusiast and what an enthusiast gets done in what day is highly different to what a member of the general public gets done. The GP don't plan their day like an enthusiast does so it's completely different. I was there on the second last day and it was still very busy, 3 hours for the mazes and 2 hours for the rides. I doubt a member of the GP could experience all the rides and coasters with these long queues, bearing in mind the GP do not plan their day step by step like enthusiasts do(unless they are with an enthusiast of course!)

X is technically a dark ride, but when you think of a dark ride you don't think of X.

You get the 'opportunity' to experience all five mazes but in reality it doesn't seem to happen. I experienced a 4 hour virtual wait on Studio 13 to be told I would have to wait a further 120minute standby wait in the reserve n ride line if I wanted to experience the attraction. Standby was even around a 4 hour wait. I know this is due to reserve n ride but the event was ridiculously busy as a whole. If Thorpe introduced off-peak fright nights it would definitely be worth the £10 charge. Anyway, looking at the opening times this year it doesn't seem that or fireworks is going to be added.

Three quick points here: We do know what the show is like, it was on last easter for FREE. Fastrack will be sold, It's Thorpe Park. Summer nights is a completely different situation, its 3 hours of exclusive ride time on all the rollercoasters. There are barely any waits for rides and you also get a couple of night rides if you are lucky. February Half Term is reduced hours to a normal day, including a show which was free last year. It is ABL, Stealth and Swarm with selected flat rides. I would genuinely be shocked if Thorpe were not selling fastrack, its a public holiday which means it will be busy. I would expect long queues. This is the complete opposite to what summer nights was offering.

I think my main point to this whole discussion is that however much Thorpe Park classify February Half Term as an "event", it will never be one with the current conditions and therefore it is not justifiable to charge a £5 fee. I have stated my case and this argument seems to be going round and round in circles in several different topics. ---- ---- As for comparing it to Alton it's a tough one, Alton's scheme seems to work much better. I would rather have a 30minute wait with a £7 charge per maze than a £10 charge overall and getting on one maze all night due to 4hour queues. And yes, there were 4 hour queues this year don't deny it; I was there on several occasions.

I imagine like the standard pass, the current sale price will be the renewal discount from February onwards. Is it possible for me to upgrade my current pass to a premium? It expires the end of August so I would be missing out on the free summer nights access if there is no way to upgrade. Not 100% sure if I want to upgrade as of yet though, I might hold out till fright nights comes into play.

Just spotted the cars of Schneider's Power Tower 2 attached to a George Irvin's funfair truck parked on the side of the M3 in London(heading towards Thorpe Park). Really interesting sighting as the other loads weren't with it, only the cars and they were attached to a funfair company's truck who I presumed don't have any associated business with Ewald Schneider. Anyway the cars of the ride actually looked really nice and well maintained on the back of the truck, really quite disappointed I missed out on the ride at this years winter wonderland but I have ridden it before and I'm sure there will be more opportunities for those of us in England to get a ride on it.

From an enthusiasts point of view the hours are generally looking good, get there half an hour early to garuntee the best rides with no queue and you will have everything done easily with plenty of time for re-rides. Personally, I have no problem with the opening hours as I am able to complete everything easily with time to spare on a regular basis. From a general guest point of view, I think the opening hours are lacking. Those who travel once a year to the park from a long distance especially in the summer months are left disappointed with the openings hours. Let's face it, the majority of guests won't get there for opening, most will come at around 11 and many still come after midday. In the summer, with the long queues you are bound to not get much done if you are only there for around 8 hours, 4-5 rides at most. At the heavy price tag it is really not the amount of rides you want to be doing in a day. Across Europe, there are parks which are open past midnight and will have a steady flow of guests right into the middle of the night. Where I feel thorpe is defeated by these European parks is the entertainment it offers. These parks will attract their guests to stay on right through the night with added shows, parades and firework performances. Thorpe simply does not offer this, it is rides or simply nothing. I appreciate the amount of entertainment has been steadily improving in the last few years, however it is not free. Any added extra entertainment will be included in an added price of some sort; for example Brainiac live is £5 to watch for annual pass holders this February. I feel what thorpe needs is free entertainment, especially in peak months in order to keep those at the park staying on late until the night. Facing up to the truth, money is not an issue. Ticket prices are yet still rising, gate figures are high and investments from the park have been lacking recently and of a poor quality. Putting on a firework show to attract guests to stay late is not hard. Live music performances late into the night would also be a good idea with extra mini-shows across the park, I can think of several good locations to do so. Advertising these will then encourage guests to stay later and I can garuntee evenings will be busy. Summer openings of rides till 10pm followed by a firework show at 10:30pm across the lake would be beautiful. With added performances from 6pm onwards I can garuntee guests would stay extra for the full experience. They could even make some extra money by selling a 6-10pm ticket for £15 or so to experience the entertainment. It's not hard, and it can be done. It just requires a decent amount of effort on their part. An average theme park could turn into one which is absolutely brilliant with a couple of small changes.

That's so expensive! Considering you could get a full day ticket for £15 anyway and all the major rides had 120min queues after 2pm on peak days! I doubt many went for that deal considering how busy it was.

Tickets are now on sale. Been scrolling through comments on facebook and most people are asking whether annual passes are allowed in or not. It seems like everyone has got into their minds now that there are endless event charges, and therefore keep asking whether there is an event charge to visit. I don't have a problem with the queries, I just have a problem with the fact that it should be free to visit with a merlin pass in the first place.

Also the fact that a toy monkey is able to ride vampire is slightly unrealistic.

Whilst I view this as a good way for the event to operate, I just can't see the prices dropping that low. Gladiator was already £9 this year and is bound to raise to a £10 price tag next year. With the new arrival of the Hangover Tower as well, I just can't see them charging below £10 for it, as it is going to be at least €6-8 on the German fair circuit if not more. From a perspective of a ride operator, they can make much more money by charging high on their rides if the event is free entry. If the event was charged and they had to drop their prices, their overall profit would be lowered as they would be getting a smaller portion of money from entrance fees than if people were riding at a higher price tag. A possible way to proceed is to make you book free entry tickets online to garuntee entry and to stop it being too overcrowded?

Sorry, I had heard this information from a friend, it's my mistake completely. I have already seen many complaints on facebook etc. about the prices inside the event. If a charge for entrance tickets was introduced, do you think there would be a chance of prices inside for rides and attractions lowering at all?

(Sorry for the double post I know!) Incase any of you don't know what Hollenblitz is, I thought I would enlighten you.. It's the laser and christmas tree ride!

Pluk, Hyde Park prevents them from ticketing it. Hyde park is a royal park and it therefore requires free entry to be able to roam around any of the park, when winter wonderland takes place, they have to provide free entry as it is stated by the royal parks that all the land must be free to roam upon by the general public. It would be a nightmare anyway, the place would crash to the ground with an entry fee on top of all the charges for attractions inside...