TPJames

Went to Rizzle Kicks tonight, was absolutely fantastic. Definitely worth the £5 each we paid Atmosphere was electric, the performance was really good and overall it was much much better than expected. The longest we waited all night was 30mins for X however the longest queue which I observed was 120mins for Tidal wave between the time we were in the park; 3:30-9:30pm.

Hotel guests until 11am, priority passes, ultimate fastrack wristbands and disabled people get instant access into IAC.It makes a terrible throughput attraction even more of a nightmare.

Maybe people criticise Merlin because they AREN'T perfect and there are a lot of better experiences out there. If we all pretend they are perfect and don't offer any critiscms whatsoever, then there's no way the business would be able to advance in the future. One of my main problems with Merlin is that they lack the whole concept of a stable business plan. For a successful business to be able to truly thrive, they need to gain feedback from customers and react from that feedback. Merlin as a company are completely driven by facts, not opinions and this results in them only looking at figures to determine their next decision as a business. Merlin never turns to the customers to try and improve their service resulting in further profit however instead makes thoughtless decision such as budget cuts to try and make the facts and figures such as profit and gate numbers where they want them to be. The whole idea of not truly listening to your customers however instead making decisions purely based on figures is not going to go down well with your market. Yes, this business proposition may be working for them at the moment, but that is the reason behind why the complaints from both the GP and the enthusiasts exist. I'm not saying it's the individual departments which don't care about their customers; Alton Towers for example is a prime example of a park which has gone through a lot recently and is reaching out to every single customer and trying to make them as happy as possible. I'm sure the other services within Merlin strive to do this also. However, I believe that the reason poor customer satisfaction exists within these individual departments is due to budget cuts higher up from Merlin. Merlin reducing their funds simply means the parks are forced to shorten hours, reduce staff etc. in order to try and meet the targets set for these individual departments. I believe the fundamental reason parks like Thorpe Park have a low customer satisfaction is because they aren't able to reach out to their customers and rectify their disappointment due to lack of funds. I believe the reason the parks in the UK aren't as successful as they should be is because Merlin aren't allowing them to be. When I visited Europa Park, I was simply blown away. It's a park with such attention to detail who really show they care about their customers and the experience within the park as a whole. I am confident in saying Alton Towers or even Thorpe Park could match the quality of experience and customer satisfaction Europa has if Merlin allowed them to strive to be the best. Europa Park is simply not held back like the Merlin parks, they are out there to wow their customers, cater to their needs and make the best experience possible; profit may be a need however in Europa it feels like it comes to the company as a result of the amazing experience they have been providing. With Merlin, profit understandably comes first, however it is wrong that experience is massively compromised to cater for these profit needs and this experience being lowered so figures can stay in line is the reason Merlin receives the complaints it does.

I had things like this back in my absolutely awful run through back in the Easter holidays. They were screaming in our faces, exclaiming we had to "run" and "escape" as "fast as we can". They were also pushing us around down the corridor in order to try and get us out of the maze as fast as possible so they could close up for the day. When I was in the chambers, an actor came in and shouted down my ear; I then got covered in oats and an actor came in doing a wicked laugh and pulled me out of the chambers. I haven't been in it since April, so I really would be interested to try it again and see the new revised techniques which they have integrated into the attraction in order to improve it. The essential trial run of a different technique I experienced was honestly one of the most rushed and terrible maze experiences I have ever had. The actors didn't even seem to know what they were doing, they were just trying to get us out. I think one of the reasons they tried to make it scary was so you ran away from them which would get you to the exit faster...

I had a peek at 10am today and over half the rides weren't open yet according to queue-times.com, so much for a 9:30am opening...As for fright nights, I wouldn't be surprised if they reduced hours to 9pm as this years fright nights is likely to have a much lower attendance figure than last year. With the majority of mazes staying the same, and minimal locations for a new one, it looks like we are going to be seeing an event with a similar scale to last year. With the other merlin parks upping their game on halloween events, attendance is likely to be significantly lower at thorpe without a major draw to this years event. With the disaster we had at thorpe last year with it being an absolute nightmare due to high attendance, low throughput mazes, reserve n ride and fastrack along with the fact that the event is unlikely to expand this year, there really isn't much incentive for anyone to return for another go.

Thanks for the advice, I unfortunately have a naturally shaky hand which results in my offride clips becoming extremely wobbly. I will look into getting a stabiliser. Luckily however, I have a gopro now to deal with onride videos, meaning they come out a lot smoother!

I've made a video montage of my trip to Europa Park whilst they were celebrating their birthday week. Full onrides of the following attractions are available to view on my channel as well(Ridelover123): -Silver Star -Blue Fire -Wodan -Arthur -Euro Mir -Poseidon -Schweizer Bob-Bahn -Fluch Der Kassandra -Kolumbusjolle A potential PTR/Blog may be uploaded to be forums depending on whether I have the time to construct one. Hope you enjoy guys!

I've made a video montage of my trip to Europa Park whilst they were celebrating their birthday week. Full onrides of the following attractions are available to view on my channel as well(Ridelover123): -Silver Star -Blue Fire -Wodan -Arthur -Euro Mir -Poseidon -Schweizer Bob-Bahn -Fluch Der Kassandra -Kolumbusjolle A potential PTR/Blog may be uploaded to be forums depending on whether I have the time to construct one. Hope you enjoy guys!

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the market path they have chosen... I think having a thrill-orientated park in the UK is something different to the standard family orientated park and gives members of the public the option if they are looking for a more intense and action-packed day out. I was simply trying to make the point that the majority of the visitors are teenagers and young adults; pop music is more than likely to be present as it is currently what is trending for the young generation. Varieties of other music genres would be nice however they are more unlikely to happen as if the majority of visitors are teenagers and young adults, things around the park including the general atmosphere are likely to be created to suit them.

The issue is, despite them trying to divert more families into the park, the park is now a major attraction for teenagers in London and therefore the majority of visitors during any public holiday will be teenagers as there is a much larger appeal for them to the park. If families are looking for a family day out at a theme park, they will tend to choose chessington as there is actually enough to fill a families day out opposed to thorpe park.

To be fair, that is their target market, and the majority of the visitors experiencing the park are in their teens or are young adults.

Well we adventured down to Legoland for the first time in over a decade... It certainly wasn't what I was expecting however it shaped up to be a very nice park overall! Ride count: The Dragon x2 Viking River Splash x2!? Pirate Falls x1 Laser Raiders x1 The Hill Train x1 Miniland x1 Squid Surfer x2 Atlantis x1 Park was very busy as a whole, certainly had a good atmosphere to the area overall however queue lines were pretty much full for the more popular rides; Common queue times ranged from around 30-60minutes. Several school trips were also present on park. It must also be observed that food, merchandise and any sort of time you can purchase within the park is more expensive than at any other merlin park,(£2.50 for a bottle of coke anyone!? Or £9 for a burger meal!?) maybe that's the main reason Legoland haven't been doing so many cutbacks..? In terms of individual rides: -Pirate Falls; this was certainly a fun and enjoyable log flume experience with many interactive sections and certainly got you absolutely drenched; both from the drop and several water effects from around the ride! The queue for this reached 50minutes later in the day, however we only waited 5 at the beginning so that was no problem whatsoever. -Viking River Splash; this was a fast, fun and wild rapids ride. Much more intense than the likes of rumba rapids and a much better experience than I was expecting it to be. The water effects around the ride and theming items get you absolutely soaked through(darn that water bucket at the end of the ride). Waited about 20minutes and after our ride once we returned to the station, the doors failed to align which meant that we had to go again. I was crying inside as my whole boat was laughing at me because I was freezing cold and soaked through to the bone! Two rides for the wait of one I guess though however the ride system is seriously flawed as that appeared to be happening a lot! -Laser Raiders; the throughput on this thing is absolutely dire, it was advertised as a 60minute wait and we weren't expecting it to be that long as I thought it was a similar ride type to tomb blaster. However, the ride cars are the same as tiny truckers which means the throughput is awful. Only about 1/4 of the main queueing area was full so I would dread to think what it is like when full. Got 22,000 points, no idea if that is any good?! -The Dragon; the theme based around this ride is absolutely superb, from the castle queue line to the dark ride section before the main rollercoaster. The ride itself is fun, however is relatively short and could do with picking up a little bit more speed around the corners. Length is the main problem with the ride though, each section last abouts 20-30seconds max after the relevant lift hill. It completely serves it's purpose though and it's a fun little rollercoaster -Squid Surfer; I absolutely ADORE these rides. In the morning, the queue board said 60minutes however we only waited 30minutes(cattlepen was full) however I was put on number 9 which didn't work at all and was broken resulting in it getting completely flooded during the ride. The wheel on the car wouldn't spin properly and I could literally lift it out and dismantle it from its socket if I wanted to. Some other members of the public overheard me as well, and they also told me they had ended up with the same problem. We returned later and number 9 was luckily closed off. The queue was displayed as 45minutes the second time however we only waited 15. This ride is great, the trick is to turn the wheel all the way to the left then let go completely or spin it to the right to fling out to the side. If your lucky, you will also receive a drenching from the water effects erupting from all around the ride! -Mia's riding school; the Heartlake city area looks like a nice addition to the park however the Lego Friends show is one of the most cheesy, annoying and frustrating shows I have ever walked past in my entire life. Maybe it's good for kids however I wouldn't know. Mia's riding quest itself looked like a slower version of Kobra, so I didn't feel the need to ride it. It looks like a decent investment for the park and looks like great fun for the little ones however I didn't see any personal draw to the ride as I have experienced the pain from Kobra before and I don't particularly find Kobra particularly enjoyable or thrilling. Had a great day and if I return in the future, I must have a go at the Fire School ride as this had an insanely long queue all day and the throughput of this ride is absolutely dire however looks like amazing fun! Thank you very much for reading

I've been having a little think about my top rollercoaster experiences recently and thought I would try and devise a top ten list like has been done above. I haven't been to that many parks, however I have experienced enough to form a list of truly stunning rides in my opinion. Of course, as I continue to visit new parks the list will most definitely change and my opinion is likely to change regularly on my exisiting list, so prehaps after I have visited both Bakken and Tivoli Gardens this August I will return and reconsider. -My top ten rollercoasters- 10. Air- Alton Towers: Admittedly this rollercoaster has only just scraped it into my top ten. There were several other contenders up there such as Stealth at Thorpe Park, Dragon Khan at Portaventura and Euro-Mir at Europa Park. However, Air was a really unique ride and was something completely different which is the reason it makes it into my top ten rollercoasters. This ride was pure fun, it was absolutely brilliant. The position you are tilted into is something really special and gives you a unique feel to the ride. The ride has a really floaty feel to it and is pretty relaxing at times, whilst at others it becomes fast-paced and intense. I love the contrast of intensity and relaxation on the ride and overall it is a really fun and enjoyable ride. 9. Nemesis Inferno- Thorpe Park: Hmmm, this B&M invert has really grown on me over the years. I felt the heat of Nemesis Inferno for the first ever time back in 2011 and it was my first ever upside down rollercoaster and was what got me into the world of theme parks and the like. For that reason, I will always have respect for this rollercoaster however in terms of ride experience, it is currently one of my favourite rides in the UK and my ninth favourite of all time. The ride has a nice theme to it and whilst it could be more heavily themed, the current theming of the volcano combined with mist effects give the ride a nice feel. The ride itself has four inversions all tackled with speed and all four of these inversions are pretty intense and provide plenty of G-Force. My favourite inversion in particular has to be the Zero-G roll as this really throws you around and adds to the excitement and intensity of the ride experience. --- You may be wondering to yourself at this point, how come Nemesis Inferno at Thorpe Park makes a spot in the top ten yet Nemesis at Alton Towers hasn't? Well the answer for that question is simple really. On my visit to Alton Towers, I was expecting Nemesis to be the best of the best, after reading reviews it was really hyped up. However, after riding this rollercoaster felt insanely over hyped. The first inversion was slow, and once the rollercoaster started to build up speed and intensity was gained, it would suddenly lose it again before hitting the vertical loop. Yes it was a fun and exciting experience, however I find Nemesis Inferno a far superior ride and for these reasons it unfortunately cannot make my top ten rollercoasters. 8. The Swarm- Thorpe Park: This has to be my favourite rollercoaster in Thorpe Park and is certainly one of my favourite rollercoasters that the UK has to offer. Back in 2012, this rollercoaster provided barely any enjoyment for me; it felt extremely slow and tackled the elements and inversions particularly slowly. However I really feel like this rollercoaster has got so much better over the years and now is superbly fast and provides a great amount of intensity and G-Force. Some of the inversions are tackled with speed and leave you pinned back in your seat while others are tackled slowly and provide plenty of hang time. This mixture of speed and hang time provide a truly awesome rollercoaster experience and one of the most fun and exciting experiences out there. The way the ride is integrated with the surrounding island is brilliant too and the rides theming has been carried out to a stunning level which really immerses you in the experience. 7. Silver Star- Europa Park: I was pleasantly surprised by this coaster as I had heard extremely negative reviews of it. Rumoured to be one of the worst B&M hyper coasters in existence, I was extremely pleased with what this rollercoaster has to offer. Comon', it's absolutely nothing in comparison to shambhala but it really does pick up some decent speed along the way and the amount of floater airtime this rollercoaster provides is truly brilliant. You are practically always out of your seat and this is what made me feel that it deserves a place in my top ten as the layout is relatively boring however this ride does provide a great experience with a fast pace and plenty of airtime. 6. Oblivion- Alton Towers: In reality, this rollercoaster should probably have made it into my top 5, however maybe it's the fact that this ride is so short that made it drop into the number 6 spot. It's literally all about the one drop, and then the ride practically comes to a halt. However, let me tell you, that one drop is one of the scariest, most intense, fast and brilliant freefall drops I have ever experienced in my life. The tension on the edge is truly nerve racking and then once you take the plunge, you immediately fly out of your seat. It's not a particularly tall rollercoaster, however the drop is certainly big enough to cause fear and an amazing freefall experience. 5. Furius Baco- Portaventura: The majority of English enthusiasts who ride this rollercoaster absolutely loathe it. I'm not the biggest fan of Intamin rides myself however this was certainly something different. The layout itself is pretty bland, however I think that actually works in the rides favour. I love the way this ride hugs the ground and then finishes by gliding across the crisp blue waters of the Mediterranean lake. Yes, it must be admitted, the ride is extremely rough and the train shakes like mad. However it's the pure insanity of the ride which I love and it's the way this ride is so utterly intense right from the 84mph launch to the brake run at the end which I love. The constant vibrations and intensity of this ride make it a completely unique experience and it's one of the coasters which makes me define myself as a true adrenaline junkie. 4. Arthur- Europa Park: It's strange to find this type of rollercoaster so high up on a top-ten list of rollercoasters where the vast majority are thrill rides. However, I was simply blown away by this ride as it was one of the most immersive rides I have ever experienced. Yes, it's a Mack suspended powered rollercoaster, which means it only reaches speeds of around 20mph however the theming and attention to detail in this attraction makes it truly amazing. The ride provides a strong storyline which it sticks to and the interaction with scenery and theming within the attraction makes it great fun and a really enjoyable experience. The cars themselves also move in a way which make you feel truly relaxed and as if you are flying which is absolutely brilliant and are equipped with several kinetic effects which add to the ride experience. 3. Blue Fire- Europa Park: I must admit, my first ever ride on this rollercoaster left a sour taste in my mouth. After hearing amazing reviews, I was somewhat disappointed with my first ride on this Mack Megacoaster. However, after a couple more rides this experience really grew on me. The preshow is well themed and builds dramatic tension up to the launch. The intial pull from the launch isn't particularly fast, however speed builds up quickly and you are speedily into the first element where you get an amazing period of hang time. The rest of the ride is fast, fun and very enjoyable and just when you think it's all over, the last inversion takes you by surprise and really is one of the most stunning inversions out there: It's like one of the barrel rolls on Colossus, however at five times the speed and you are really thrown out of your seat due to the lap restraints. Overall, this rollercoaster is extremely thrilling and enjoyable and after a few rides it really grew on me and became one of my favourite rollercoasters I've been on so far. 2. Wodan- Europa Park: WOW. What can I say about this rollercoaster? It is absolutely insane to say the least! The speed and intensity of this rollercoaster was completely unexpected and every time I rode this wooden rollercoaster, the insanity of the ride would shock me every time. Despite being fast-paced and intense, it's not particularly rough and it's also packed with tonnes of ejector airtime. This rollercoaster is utterly manic but in a way which makes you want to re-ride it over and over again! 1. Shambhala- Portaventura: Having ridden this rollercoaster last summer, it firmly holds the top spot in my list. I doubt it will be moving anytime soon; everything about this rollercoaster is simply amazing, it's tall, it's fast and the floater airtime on this rollercoaster is insane. The splashdown and theming effects around the ride make this a truly stunning rollercoaster experience. That's my top ten rollercoasters for you! it's pretty much dominated by B&M rollercoasters so you can probably work out what my favourite rollercoaster company is... It's a shame I couldn't include all the rollercoasters I wanted to on the list, however at the end of the day it has to be narrowed down to the top ten and that's what I've tried to do. Thanks so much for your time bothering to read this as I've put a lot of effort into writing this post

So... The original 7pm closing time during summer has now changed to 6pm throughout the whole of July and August. Absolutely shocking considering both Legoland and Thorpe Park are open until 7pm during peak summer periods! Not only this, however to shorten hours after advertising differently is absolutely disgraceful and I wouldn't be surprised if the origin of these reduced opening hours are due to Merlin's budget cuts across the board.

Out of interest... Were the rollercoasters on one or two trains this evening? Last year, they would remove the second trains before summer nights began to save money as the second trains weren't needed whatsoever.

Out of interest, does anyone know why the Lost City flats close at 5pm on Fridays and Saturdays now even though the gates for the concert don't open until 6pm?

The amount of times I overheard people talking about slammer yesterday was unbelievable! So many people around the park were talking about how they wanted to ride it next and the amount of people pointing at it in shock was pretty awesome. A common description I heard was, "Let's go on slammer next, it's the one which goes vertical". During the parks peak period yesterday, it maintained a 40minute queue from opening around 11am to when it closed for checks at around 3pm, it is nice to see the ride finally seeing some recognition as in my opinion it is one of the most stunning, intimidating and brilliant rides out there.

When the stairs are full it is about 10-15 minutes when the ride is operating two trains.(Taken from personal experience).

Nope, just standard and fastrack lines in operation; But surprisingly barely any people fastracking at all today, the lines to buy fastrack were huge but there were barely any people actually fastracking the lines for the coasters. I presume this is due to the fact that teenagers don't have as much cash to splash on fastrack tickets.(Also a staff member tried to sell us fastrack at the nemesis inferno entrance when the queue board said 40minutes and we only waited 15minutes to get on!!- The fastrackers were entering the back of the main queue line at the merge point!)

Had a relatively relaxed trip at Thorpe today... It was absolutely rammed though; 204 school coaches were present on site and the lady at guest services says that today had the most amount of school children they've seen this year so far. Time in park: 10:30-5:45 The park became virtually dead with most rides going to 20minutes or less after 4pm... However before that 90-140minutes for the big rides was not uncommon. Ride count: Slammer x2 Detonator x3 Colossus x1 Nemesis inferno x1 Quantum x1 Rush x1 Saw x1 Stealth x1 Swarm x1 Total: 12 We got on more rides than I was initially expecting however one thing I want to point out is how inaccurate the queue boards are. This has been brought up a fair few times on the forums but the boards seemed more inaccurate than ever today: -Saw displayed 60 and was announced by the operator that the wait was 75mins... We waited 35minutes. -Stealth displayed 60 and was announced to be 100mins by the operator... We waited 45minutes. -Zodiac displayed 5 on entering the queueline.. Must have been at least 30minutes. -Vortex was displaying 25minutes however was coming to the entrance with most extensions open. -Detonator said 25minutes on the main board however we must have waited about 40minutes. These were only a few of the inaccurate waits however it clearly shows the point that they are either not updating the boards regularly enough or their predictions are currently very inaccurate and need to be modified.

"As a special summer treat, we’re giving you 48 hours to grab tickets for the awesome acts headlining THORPE PARK Resort’s ISLAND BEATS for only £5pp – that’s half-price! You can even buy up to 10 tickets for you and your non-Passholder friends, as long as they come with you. Don’t miss headline acts such as Little Mix, Ella Eyre, Rizzle Kicks every weekend of the summer, alongside extended ride times until 10pm on Friday and Saturday Nights – all for a limited offer of £5pp! Book Now! https://www.thorpepark.com/island-beats/events/island-beats/" Offer ends tomorrow

At 9PM though? It seems awfully odd...

Just drove past... A car stuck at the top of the lifthill with some sort of crane next to it. Anyone know what is going on?

Maybe they'll demolish the existing theming in Tomb Blaster, not bother to replace it and finish the project and open it up unfinished and bare next year..? De ja vu it seems?

The newly restored "Whale Adventures- Northern Lights" will open next Thursday, 9th July. This means that I will be on park for the "opening day" as such, so I will be sure to give it a ride and see what this new experience has to offer!