TPJames

A selection of photos I took on the 23rd March during the Hampton Court funfair build up. FULL ALBUM can be viewed here on my facebook page-please give it a like/share: https://www.facebook.com/DemandThrill/ "Extreme" Orbiter being washed down/final touches taking place(putting up back flash+sign). "Extreme" Afterburner yet to be built up/on lorry. "Music Express" Superbob having restraints added to the cars. Haunted house waiting for final touches(I'm buzzing to experience this again when the fair is open as this was at winter wonderland and was absolutely incredible for a funfair haunted house walkthrough!) (If someone could help me with the formatting of this post it would be really appreciated as the photos came out smaller/lower quality than expected!)

It's such a shame that the social media teams at Merlin parks never actually have a clue at what they are talking about- They'll always give you a really vague response or an incorrect answer about the situation you are inquiring about.Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

Ridelover123 has transformed to unveil a brand new era of thrills for 2016- DEMAND THRILL, a brand new youtube channel, Instagram page and facebook page. Subscribe to our channel, follow our Instagram and like our facebook page to be provided with the latest funfair and theme park updates all year round. The links for the facebook and Instagram page are provided below. YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/user/Ridelover123/feed FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/DemandThrill INSTAGRAM FEED: https://www.instagram.com/demandthrill/ Please be aware the facebook and Instagram pages are not properly set up yet, however I am working to get everything up and running as soon as possible. So please, subscribe to my youtube, like my facebook page and follow my Instagram channel- it would mean the world to start increasing my fan base with a brand new logo and theme to my channel for 2016. Here's the channel trailer/promotion, I hope you like it! Please feel free to give any constructive feedback and make sure to watch the promotion in HD! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RooDMHj2fA

I actually meant next weekend but I looked it up and it's 10am-8pm next saturday I've never been before and probably just planning to get on everything, especially Valhalla, Infusion and The big one, but I was just wondering if you have any advice to what it's like or anything as I know you're a big fan! Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

What are the opening hours? Will be down there this weekend Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

I'm not sure I fully buy into the story that it was a "technical error". Some people are claiming that they bought tickets at 9:30-9:50(obviously they could be lying/over exaggerating) however there is evidence to show the tickets were sold out by 9:54, meaning they had to be released by about 9:52 LATEST. I really can't see how a "technical error" would result in the tickets releasing at least 8 minutes early (a technical error would mean they would be more likely to be released late) and their excuse about the tickets being released 2-3 mins early due to a technical fault doesn't coincide with the fact that tickets were sold out by 9:54.We cannot actually confirm either that they released the indicated amount of tickets, however we wouldn't be able to confirm that even if they had gone on sale at 10 am like advertised. I can just feel where the majority of the GP are coming from though, the promotion was to release at 1871 tickets at 10 am and that didn't happen, so did they really stick to the conditions of their promotion? And then to have your email and postcode robbed by them so they can sell it off to other companies and bombard you with spam emails(because they conveniently had the box ticked when filling out the form) is hardly fair considering they didn't actually stick to the terms and conditions of their promotion. Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

Erm... So someone could potentially claim they are collecting an annual pass and enter the park for free?

I think what personally bugged me the most was the fact that the tickets were sold out by 9:54-9:55am at the latest and now thorpe park claim that tickets went on sale 2-3minutes early due to a technical difficulty. The tickets must have been on sale by 9:52-9:53 LATEST to sell out by 9:54 so either someone within the customer services/social media department has appalling maths or they are just placing another lie on top of the fact that the tickets would be released at 10am in the first place. It doesn't affect me that much, because I wasn't planning on going unless I managed to get a 12p ticket and now I have no more intentions of going anyway(will be at Blackpool and Paultons Park instead) however I think thorpe park personally deserve a lot of negative press as they've been skating along on thin ice for a long time, with operations and customer care at a minimum level so maybe a dip in attendance for this new ride opening will give them a kick up the backside and make them realise they need to actually show they want to be providing a high quality, customer-caring day out.

It's nothing to do with being too slow, it's to do with the fact that thorpe park false advertised to all their customers about the starting time of the promotion- I would be very surprised if this scam doesn't get taken to trading standards.Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

If you look at people on Facebook, people have screen shots of their attempts at 9:55/9:56am so is clearly another lie(the first being that the tickets would be released at 10 am in the first place). Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

Tickets were on sale at 9:50 am and sold out by 9:55am- It's an absolute joke and just furthers the fact that thorpe park don't care about customer satisfaction. It was simply a massive con to get your details so they can bombard you with promotional emails in the future. Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

I don't believe this is actually the case of what happens on park- the rules are for park entry that if you are under 12 you must be accompanied by an adult. I believe this rule is the same when purchasing an annual pass- I'm still in secondary school and I bought my first annual pass a year or so back with no adult present and it was absolutely fine, so I'm sure it will be fine for you also Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

It usually takes ages to get an annual pass from thorpe as they usually only have about 2-3 out of 6 or so cash registers open, meaning if the queue is coming out of the building it's a good 45 - 60 minute wait sometimes.IMO it doesn't matter whether you buy it online or on the day because even if you buy it online, you still have to stand there for 5 minutes filling out various forms and getting your photo taken, pass printed etc. Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

DGBT opening weekend most likely... It all depends whether the passes are valid for the new attraction?Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

I love how resolving the problem of closed rides meaning longer queues is by chucking 5 priority passes at everyone who visited, making the queues even longer for other people next time, who will complain and be given priority passes themselves, making the queues longer for other people etc etc.It shows how little the park care if all they are going to do is chuck out free fast track, making other people's day worse, rather than actually dealing with the existing problem. It's not like annual pass holders need fast track anyway, wouldn't some sort of free souvenir vouchers be more appreciated!? Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

Whilst I agree that cutting the line up isn't the correct way to win people back, I can see the reasoning behind this move here. After the smiler crash, it is going to take months if not years of running the park before people gain confidence in Alton Towers again, and therefore 2016 is going to be a pretty dead year for the park. Unfortunately it's a lose - lose situation here for the park though, they either had the decision to close 6 attractions and suffer a massive amount of negative complaints as a result or keep these 6 rides open, with no one riding them as there simply won't be enough people in the park to be any demand for them, even during "peak" times as there simply won't be enough people visiting this year. The park have lost a tonne of money and extra staffing and running costs of rides which have no demand is just going to burden the park even more, therefore it is financially the logical decision even if it results in negative guest feedback.The reason I say that 2016 is going to be a pretty dead year for Alton Towers is that I think the general public have been affected more by the smiler crash than enthusiasts think. From what I've heard, enthusiasts are eager to get back to alton towers and ride the smiler again but the general public are completely put off the idea of going back to alton towers. In my school the other week, a teacher said they enjoyed thorpe park however they preferred alton towers and a room full of hundreds of people's went up in rage against the park. Luckily for merlin, it's not all of their theme parks which are affected, as trust seems to remain in Thorpe and Chessington, it's just Alton which is going to struggle for a long, long time in the future. Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

I think it's important to remember that this park is aimed at families with young children. The reason I say that is as when little kids enter an area full of imposing dinosaurs, they are bound to be wowed, no matter if they look tacky or not. IMO they've still got a few months till opening to add to the theming and make improvements, so I think it's worth waiting till it opens to assess the quality of the theming of the area. However, saying that I personally think it looks like it's coming along pretty nicely, it's certainly a large investment area with an adequate of theming and I definitely think it will turn out to be an immersive area for families and young children. Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

It was confirmed in an interview that the attraction is expected to be opening in May.Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

Any news on whether Dragons Falls will be open during the upcoming season? With the other Merlin Log Flumes closing this year I remember hearing some rumours that Dragon Falls would be closing also, however since then haven't heard any follow up on these rumours. Falls has been in a right state since the promised refurbishment which was never carried out properly, so it closing and then being replaced in the future or done up(both of which are extremely unlikely) would be the ideal situation. However, if the attraction is to close for 2016 it could be a bit of a disaster as with Safari Skyway and Rameses Revenge(for a large chunk of the season) closed, it would just damage the parks already extremely poor image it has portrayed in the last couple of years even further.

I was going to bring up the exact same point as you did. I'm sure Paultons are on a much more restricted budget than Merlin are as well yet the quality of the theming seems far superior.With the fact that Merlin's latest developments have majority been a let down in terms of theming and experience, I can only hope that this attraction will truly be a high quality experience. However, considering a smaller park on a much more limited budget can produce what looks to be much more detailed areas and attractions, it's just looking really hard, almost impossible, to think that this attraction will live up to its 40million pound budget. Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

Thought I would post a couple more videos from my trips to winter wonderland! Didn't want to overload them all into one topic so I'll post a couple more here. Hangover The Tower Offride Bayern Breaker Onride: There's plenty more videos on my channel, Ridelover123, to watch as well!

Was lucky enough to have three visits this year, one on preview night, one just before Christmas Eve when the event was extremely crowded and one on the last night of the event altogether. It was really nice to see how the atmosphere varied each time and I have to say the atmosphere was brilliant every time I visited, especially just before Christmas Eve when the pathways were crammed full of people, rides going with long queues and live music playing all night long. Despite the extortionate prices, I have to say it is absolutely exceptional how they manage to get the whole event set up within a matter of weeks, especially as a lot of the equipment there is from overseas. When you look at Wild Maus XXL and consider how large of a rollercoaster it is, along with the funhouse queueline, £6 isn't actually too expensive considering it comes all the way from Germany. I do have to agree however, that rides such as the Starflyer were overpriced at £8, considering the ride only travels in the UK, it's definitely not worth the high price tag. I think this year I actually rode most of the rides, with the only ones I didn't try including Black Run Blue Run, Daemonium, the Starflyer and Gladiator. Getting on the rest of the attractions this year was helped by the fact I visited on preview night, meaning I managed to get on most of the rides without paying the high price tags for each individual one. My next two visits consisted of only riding attractions I didn't have time to experience on preview night, such as the fantastic Hangover The tower along with the awesome Bayern Breaker, Air and XXL. I managed to get several offrides and onride videos on my final visit, and may assemble a montage if I have some spare time soon. I would really appreciate if you could visit my channel and watch them as a lot of time and effort has been put into filming these videos. I also have taken several photos of the event this year which I would be willing to share and probably will share once I have made a linked facebook and Instagram account to my youtube channel in the near future. Here is an onride of both Air and XXL, these two rides were my joint second favourites at the event this year, with Hangover The Tower placing in first and Ski Jump securing third place. As I said, please visit my youtube channel for more videos and please subscribe! I am so close to 100 subscribers and once I have achieved it, I will be doing a complete refresh of my youtube channel to give it a more professional look, so your help to subscribe to my channel would mean the world

Is it just me or is it like chessington are competing with Alton Towers to have the most amount of closed rides next season?

This can't be good for the ride, considering most people visit the park in even numbered groups, and the ride gets 3-4hour queues anyway combined with a non-stop flow of express pass users, therefore queueing for this ride is going to be more of a nightmare than ever before. Future doesn't look great for what I thought was a pretty fun and insane experience.

Check this out! You have to try and push each other up to the top so you can grab the prize. Looks pretty insane/dangerous to me