TPJames

I think I may have had this conversation with a couple of others on chat, however I feel like I would like to point out the fact that Winter Wonderland does not have much more room, if at all any to expand. Let's face it, winter wonderland is a glorified fairground. The majority of the area taken up is by rides and rollercoasters, with a small portion of it being taken up by a market and attractions. The organisers of winter wonderland have created a top class event which has gone from a small local event to an event which attracts people from all across the country, travelling from far and wide to attend. However, the problem which seems to have raised is the fact that there is no more room for expansion in the fairground section. The market and the other attractions take up as much space as they will ever need to, however the funfair section has an ability to expand massively. We have already seen small rides and rollercoasters transforming into what we have today, with major attractions such as XXL and Power Tower in the line up. Next year is also the garuntee of the Hangover Tower, which is due to replace Power Tower. The fairground may now be gaining bigger and better rides, however it is not physically expanding like it used to. In a couple of years or so, there will not be any more flexibility to add new rides. Families like Buwalda, Van-Der-Veen and Schneider have contracts with Winter Wonderland and they will not want to withdraw these as they bring several attractions to the event every year from across Europe. Not only this, Europe is soon going to run out of large attractions to replace the ones we currently have. For the 2015 event, we are going to have the tallest travelling drop tower in Europe along with several other major flat rides. Sooner or later, Europe will physically run out of larger flat rides for the event to expand. So what can the organisers do to make the event more enticing when they cannot add any more new major flat rides? Well, they could either expand the grounds, which is very unlikely as Hyde Park is very expensive to rent however I feel this may need to occur at some point soon as they have now become very crowding with not much room to roam freely around the grounds. The other credible option is to add new major rollercoasters. There are several major travelling rollercoasters from across Europe including the famous Olympia Looping, the classic Alpina Bahn and the insane Hollenblitz. Whilst I could see Hollenblitz attending in future years, Alpina Bahn and Olympia Looping are just too expensive to travel abroad! Not only this, the current rollercoasters are already in strong contracts with the organisers. Mellors, mannings, buwalda and the Eberhard family are all in strong contracts to keep their attractions within the event. Whilst they could withdraw and be replaced, I feel this is very unlikely and the only way which appears to be able to expand is if the event is expanded as a whole. This is why I feel winter wonderland are going to become in a stump sooner or later, unless Hyde Park let them invest and expand the grounds as whole, which is very unlikely due to it being a royal park, I feel there will be no more room to add new major attractions. The event is already massive and is the closest to a German Winter event England has ever had however I feel unless the grounds expand as a whole, the event is not due to get any bigger in future years.

I have also completed it!

You have to admit though, the GMTV video is pretty hilarious, the woman's reaction

I believe you can't ever visit the attraction Tommy.

Guys this completely proves that Slammer is the best attraction at Thorpe Park.

Colossus (3) Nemesis Inferno (5) Slammer (4) Stealth (5) The Swarm (8) Slammer + Colossus - My first post of the game but I can ensure you I have been following it all the time and making sure slammer stays in the competition

Wait, what theming!?

Banned because you've confuddled me up

Banned for not finishing your reply with a full-stop.

2K15(Paige ) is an interesting year for me... Last year I really had my optimum year for theme parks, I managed my first proper trip to Alton Towers and my first proper trip to a theme park in Europe, being Portaventura. This year seems much more boring for me personally however I expect to be doing my regular trips to thorpe park and hopefully a trip to chessington, hopefully during Howl'oween this year. Aside from merlin parks, I don't think there's much in store for me. I may do a couple of funfairs here and there and may try and get a bit further out and do the odd trip to something like brighton pier or brean leisure park however apart from that I don't expect to be doing anything big. Merlin haven't got any major 2015 developments so I don't feel enticed anywhere and I had my major visit to a theme park abroad last year. I mean I can always hope to do something like Europa Park or Phantasialand in Germany but I will just have to see how that goes. Over and out for me, have a great year everyone

I rode dominator at Taylor's Winter Theme Park on Monday and it did have a good atmosphere, however the cycle was a bit poor and they barely unlocked the cars at all. Even when going over the top it felt much less forceful and scary than rock rage does when going over the top. I think I had my favourite ride yet on a KMG inversion yesterday, we did a couple of flips before going all the way over the top and I felt that rock rage looked superb in its winter theme and was playing some nice tunes and had quite a lot of nice mic work going on. They are both decent rides anyway however rock rage is much more superior and the specially designed tokens for winter wonderland looked great as well!

Popped down yesterday for the evening, fairly busy and most of the rides seemed to have decent queues! Managed to get the two main coasters done; Wild Maus xxl and ice mountain. Both were absolutely amazing and the theming inside Ice Mountain was brilliant! Would definitely ride both of them again, both were really fast and quite scary actually! Also did Alpen hotel and Haunted Mansion, Alpen was brilliant and crazy as always and Haunted Mansion was a great laugh but probably not £5 worth, the live actors inside did give me a shock though Also did two flat rides, Ski Jump and XXL. Had a fantastic cycle on ski jump and flipped a few times before going all the way over the top. Far superior to Dominator KMG inversion which is strange however it is much much better. XXL was also amazing, much more fast and intense than I expected and it was pretty damn cold as it was going so fast. It is a great event and despite the prices, I feel it is truly magical. The theme, atmosphere and layout is truly stunning and it is an event to be remembered every time I visit. I shall leave you with my onride vid of Wild Maus XXL, more onride and offride videos on my channel too: Ridelover123.

Overheard about this 'incident' when I was on the train earlier. I'm not sure how this is a news story as such, it's not exactly a big incident and worse happens regularly. The cause of the electricity fault should be identified however I think asking the Matthews family to remove their ride completely is a bit far. I would not like to be stuck up there in the freezing cold however I think it is a slight over-reaction as power faults occur at theme parks and funfairs all the time. Being stuck on a ride may be frightening however it is not a major incident and I fail to see why it has to be removed because of this.

I can only see the email issue as greed SCB, they could have easily left the renewal price which would then make annual pass holders feel more valued than upping the charge. My only way to view it is that they think because the customers are loyal they will pay again so therefore make more profit by charging more. This is not the way to run a business and will lose customer satisfaction in the long run.

It's still a stupid business move though. They are losing their most loyal customers who pay every year by rising the price. The sale price for joining customers isn't exactly attractive either, then only to be bombarded with exclusions or charges for every attraction visited. Despite the renewals not being in the sale, they did actually send out an email to all exisiting pass holders saying they could get an annual pass for £90 renewal rate, 3 days later to suddenly up the charges and saying it is the end of the 2014 season. From my sources I know that merlin advertised a 30 day time period in which to renew however to hike up the price within a few days time. Another point I have to make is the lack of investments for 2015 yet the massive increase in price. The only decent new investment is the Shrek tour on the southbank yet pass holders can't even access that?! There appear to be no major developments over the attractions this year so I wonder where all the money is going, obviously not into developments. Yet despite the lack of investments, we see a massive increase in price for the pass this year with added exclusions and charges, this will upset not only existing customers but also those joining and will massively decrease customer satisfaction. At the end of the day it will become their problem not mine and the problem is already arising with the complaints on facebook,.. Surely if I am talking nonsense, the hundreds of others complaining on facebook are talking nonsense as well?

Surely they should do a price increase after the sale has ended instead of before it? I am failing to see how it can be classified as a sale if the previous price was CHEAPER than the price in the sale, regardless of a random price increase or not. It does not make sense and I don't think merlin should be allowed to classify this as a sale, in reality it is a price hike of what they previously were.

Actually laughing at this now... The facebook page is nothing but complaints. Merlin should stop defending themselves saying that the 2014 year ends on 26th Decemeber(which is not factually correct and wasn't stated in the terms or conditions) and should just own up to the truth and resolve their issue. They ovbiously realised the passes were selling well and decided to increase the price at a random point, not only meaning that the price is the same to renew as to buy a new pass(what happened to loyalty!?!) however it is also considerably more than it was a couple of days ago. I am laughing as they have dug themselves into a gigantic hole on their facebook page and they can't get out of it. They have made such a bad move and are losing customers by the minute. Check the facebook page if you think I am wrong. And no I'm not heartless I feel for those being affected by this, especially after reading this comment and realising how despicable merlin are being. "Hi can you explain how the sale price is 119 to renew premium merlin price and that's your sale price when a month ago was 90. So how is that a sale price. Have never payed no more then about 90 so why up it this year and pretend to people is a sale price when it is clearly not!!!" Absolutely dreadful, a sale price is not more expensive than when the pass was being sold a month ago, I know this is being highlighted above I just want to show how stupid it is of them.

"There are certain exclusions for the Standard Annual Pass: NO ENTRY Madame Tussauds London 14th - 31st May, 1st – 31st August The London Eye 1st – 31st August, 14th February & 29th – 31st October SEALIFE London Aquarium 1st – 31st August London Dungeon 1st – 31st August, 29th – 31st October Warwick Castle - Secondary Attractions at Warwick Castle including, but not limited to the Castle Dungeon will be subject to additional charges. THORPE PARK Resort - An event booking fee will apply to Fright Nights and other special events at THORPE PARK Resort regardless of the time of entry or departure. Bank Holidays - All London Attractions Shrek’s Adventure 2015 - NO Entry with a Standard Merlin Annual Pass in 2015." Not sure if this has been brought up however the new shreks adventure attraction located on the southbank will NOT be avalible to standard pass holders. Absolutely outrageous; a merlin annual pass should include entry to ALL the attractions ALL year round. These endless up charges and exclusions are driving me crazy, and an upgrade to a premium pass is FIFTY POUNDS!! Also why is the refuel capsule now 75p per refill instead of the £8 is used to be for unlimited refills? Only conclusion I can draw from this is that it will only result in more profit for merlin as more money will be made. Guest satisfaction seems never to be considered these days, they only squeeze more money out of you until you go bust. As I have said in another topic, there are many more unhappy customers this year and I think if is only a matter of time until merlin gains themselves a dreadful reputation and an overall loss of profit. Sort yourselves out merlin.

I understand this, the purpose of a good business proposition is to make a profit and develop the business: resulting in even more profit. I understand that thorpe and merlin need to make money and I do not have a problem with that. What I have a problem with is the way they go about it.I don't know if it's thorpe's choice or if they are being pushed on by merlin however I do not see why they feel the need to make an upcharge in every way possible. I do not understand this approach as although it makes money in the short term it results in unhappy customers which results in lower profit margins in the long run. Although I love the attractions within thorpe park, I am starting to feel that the gap between the amount of money they take in and money they put in for future developments is getting larger. Whilst some developments have been of a high quality, others are of a very poor quality and it shows that less money has been invested at times. I understand that every development cannot be consistent however the amount of money they take in has been inevitably rising and the amount of money put in with passion from the park has decreased massively. In no way am I saying that merlin are a bad company as I love their attractions, however I feel their greed has taken over and is lowering guest satisfaction massively. This year thorpe park have added even more charges to the paying annual pass holder. They charge £5 for annual pass holders to park which is utterly ridiculous, the charge for parking should not exist anyway. They are also charging to February half term visits, an 'event' which consists of shorter hours and a lower ride line-up than usual operations. They also charged £10 for annual pass holders to visit fright night, then encouraging them to upgrade to a 'horror' pass for £50, when visits to fright nights should undoubtedly be included anyway. I do understand that £48 was a remarkably cheap price to buy an annual pass, however despite it being included in the terms and conditions, I feel that it is unacceptable to then charge more and more. I must have paid thorpe park £100 or so overall last year, yet the annual pass appeared to be £50 cheaper. They have now introduced a two tier system, however the charge for the pass has now risen overall. I feel that adding a premium pass is unacceptable, as all the 'added extras' should be included in the standard pass originally. If thorpe upped their pass charge to £100 and included all the 'extras' I feel that it would be more acceptable as pass holders would know what they are getting into from the outset. However, they went for a different approach; charge low and then add an exceptionally high amount of charges. As I stated earlier this results in lower customer satisfaction and then lower profit margins overall. The queues at guest services this year and the number of complaints appear to be the highest in a long time, so I can only hope the park adjust their approach in the near future. Merlin have stated in their business proposition: 'We love what we do, namely delivering memorable experiences that put smiles (or screams) on people’s faces. We aim to immerse our visitors in our brands, constantly delighting them and often enlightening them through fun learning." I cannot view this statement as entirely true, the amount of upset, angry and disappointed faces at thorpe park has risen this year for a number of reasons. A day at thorpe park is simply no longer of a reasonable price, and when visiting their is either awful operations or dreadfully long queues. The statement may be true in saying a day at their attraction is memorable, however not necessarily for all the right reasons. I understand this business model is covering all of merlins attractions, however I feel that this no longer applies to thorpe park. The way thorpe park run I feel is not an effective business and a day there is no longer affordable, whether with having an annual pass or being a day guest. I understand that people continue to visit, however the amount of complaints has risen and I feel concerned for the way the management team have decided to run their business. My main point of this summary was that I feel the way the pricing within the company is not effective and relevant to merlins business model. I feel the way the annual pass has been approached is unfair, not only for thorpe park but for merlin as a whole. The tiering system is not only unfair to those who cannot afford a more expensive pass, a lot of the relevant factors in the upper tiers should be included in the standard pass anyway. The amount of exclusion dates and added charges is utterly insane. I do not have a proposition of how thorpe park should move forward, however I think the way they currently run their business is unfair to not only enthusiasts and pass holders, but general guests and visitors as well. I have put a lot of time, thought and effort into this post and I hope others will agree with my position as well.

Meh. Thorpe just love squeezing as much money from people as possible don't they?

To be fair I haven't ridden it for two years, however will be getting on it again this year when I visit winter wonderland as I simply loved it. However, I didn't find it particularly intense, the forces on detonator are much punchier and hurakan condor standup is so much more insane. After riding other drop towers which I feel are more intense, power tower is just a lot of fun. However, saying that I haven't ridden it for two years so it's just a memory so getting back on it this year will be brilliant. To be honest I found nemesis pretty meh when I visited scarefest this year. It's my opinion, but I find that most other B&Ms I've ridden have been superior. To be fair I haven't ridden that many B&Ms but I find; Nemesis inferno, The swarm, Air, Oblivion, Shambhala and Dragon Khan all superior to Nemesis. I think the experience was made worse due to the fact it wasn't as good as all the hype it received from this forum, however my ride in the dark was much better than the one in the day time. Ski jump is an odd one, it's a very opinionated whether people enjoy it or not. In my opinion, it is one of my favourite flat rides I've been on but it's really down to opinion and luck. The reason I say luck is because it depends if you get a good cycle or not and it also depends if you flip. If your carriage flips, it really adds to the experience and makes it so much more intense, I still love going all the way over the top though, the airtime upside down is absolutely brilliant!

I'm glad that Power tower 2 isn't being scrapped like the original power tower was when the new machine took over. I do love power tower, it isn't anything intense however is great fun with plenty of airtime and is still a pretty scary and thrilling ride. It will be interesting to see the Hangover take over, a 100meter gyrodrop(330ft) sounds really interesting and I wonder how it will ride and will compare to other drop towers out there. Will also be interesting to see how popular the ride is at a rumoured £10 price at winter wonderland next year.

The Hangover-Tower is coming... https://de-de.facebook.com/pages/The-Hangover-Tower/643884185634845

The point is this is NOT an event. Fair enough charging for fright nights etc. But a reduced ride line up is NOT an event. There is no more to be said. This is an utter load of rubbish and the charge is disgusting.

There is only a reduced capacity because most of the park is closed... I would easily expect at least an hour queue for the big rides, I mean fright nights had a limited capacity and we were talking 3hour queues. There may be a lower capacity than usual, but it's holidays and thorpe want to make as much money as possible. There will be long queues.