RideAddict

I'm in 2 minds about going to see The Killers concert in June at Wembley.

I hate blonde jokes - so lame.

Which music, the original Fountain Finale track which originally in the fountain room and has now been restored to it's proper home since 2011, or the Ascending "dreamy" track? And also...breaking conventions - please elaborate?

I think they're probably just changing slogans! Anyway, cats on X:\? Haha.

Yeah, I'm not sure why it tickled me so much. Now I understand why you picked that profile picture!

Well thought of! But... Don't both sides have a front queue row?

As we've been told it's a May opening I've decided to go late May or early June - later than I usually do. But then I'm unexpectedly probably going in July too for the first time ever, and probably again in September or October. The Smiler though, what a name - still struggling to accept it even though I understand the park's logic. Is it me or does anyone compare this to Colossus? It's got so many elements and is buried deep into that pit!

From reading this topic a few pages back, it's clear to see that a lot of people want Pizza Hut to go and be replaced with their own-brand Pizza & Pasta restaurant. I say keep it - Pizza Hut is a well known brand. It's prices may be a little high for some people, I can sympathise with people's opinions there. The Pizza & Pasta resutarants at Alton and Chessington have OK tasting food, but you can certainly tell the difference between the quality and Pizza Hut's. I'm a strong believer in quality, not quantity, so therefore paying a few quid more for something better is worth it.

For anyone who thinks they will ditch the front row queue, think again. It's like asking Thorpe to jump a 90-minute queue - no chance.

The toilets at Alton Towers are clean and that's what matters, regardless of when they were last refurbished. They may not the be the most modern, granted, but I've never had a problem with them. Chessington's are the best out of the parks, they've really improved them these last few years. And as for Thorpe's, well it's just fun trying to watch people trying to figure out how to make the taps work! "The pedal, try the foot pedal!"

Now this repaint has started it's not looking as bad as I first feared. I'm assuming they'll repaint the supports too?

Hmm, Chessington in the snow. Now that's something I must try one time.

The strobe lighting was probably ditched because of the risk of people who are allergic to it. The LED's are OK, there has been better lighting in the past (back in the Burp days) but it'll do for now.

I can see exactly where you're coming from. Thorpe have made this decision and clearly not thought about the impact it will have on the queues (when will they learn, they'll never change, forever rushing into decisions and forgetting some important factors). As if waiting times are not long enough already! Personally,I wonder why change the back rows at all? Yeah, The Swarm is the greatest ride Merlin have installed in years, it's been a success, and the ride experience is brilliant, facing forwards left or right side. And going backwards could be interesting too. I'll try it once, and even if I like it and the queueing system does work fine, I'll probably stick to normal seats.

The Crash Pad is a bad idea - talk about a quick fix until they get a hotel built. Can somebody bring me up to speed with the hotel? I remember seeing plans online for it a few years ago, but now it seems to have fizzled out, and I'm totally confused as to whether one is gonna be built!

I'm not sure what to believe these days. Personally, I think X:\ is a great ride, not the best - but turning the seats around is a mistake. It's unique; backwards, indoors, in the dark - how many of those do you see these days? I've seen many closed season rumours over the years, and a lot of it just turns out to be online hype. It seems to me the majority of the members of theme park forums have some sort of obsession with something changing for the upcoming year, and they talk about it so much that it infects everyone else, and they refuse to believe that it won't be the same as the previous year.