Ian-S

Really? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2104935/Fire-chief-told-policeman-leave-drowning-man-3ft-deep-lake-half-boot-deep.html Probably wrong for me to name copper/doctor, should have just said people further up the food chain.

I'm just taking the piss because he appears to be referring to two different years when it's only the one. It would sound more plausable if he had said 'X, Slammer and Logger will be closed all season and Colossus will cease operations at the end of the year'.

The page is still there but you're right it's not linked to on any oart of the main site, and it does indeed say it's running from 2nd Oct to 1st Nov. https://www.thorpepark.com/tickets-passes/reserve-n-ride/overview/

First rule of internet rumour spreading: make sure you know wat year you are in. Next year XYZ is closing, and then in 2016, w is also closing too. OK......

I've found over the years that it's not the paramedics that stop things hapenning due to 'health and safety' it's those further up the food chain, such as the attending copper or perhaps an attending doctor. Good for them, the deserve it.

I can totally sympathise. Mind you had they been nice enough to me for me to actually give a ****, I might have warned them Thorpe Park was not suitable for a 5 and 7 year old earlier in the year and saved them £120, but they weren't, and I didn't *evilgrin*

Oh I hate people like that, they literally have no idea or consideration for those around them. We have a neighbour like that, I get that most people like music, and probably sing along at some point, but not at the top of your voice at 4am.

Oh I hope not, I turned down the chance to go next week because it was closed, I can imagine the gloating now it if re-opens.

Yup, smooth as silk (mostly), Nemesis at AT is a bit extreme and Air gave me a bit of a sore neck after 15 rides, but I'd certainly go on a B&M before anything else, I don't find Colossus rough though strangely enough.

You're not the only one that thinks that about Blackpool rides, before I went I thought Saw was rough, Saw is positively smooth by comparison. Infiusion was the only ride I only went on the once, it was just so rough I couldn't go back on it ever.

I love Swarm, second only to Nemesis in my book (very closely followed by Inferno). Bite me.

It's a traffic light system isn't it? They put the 4 people who want to ride together onto it and it says yes or no. It's not like it blurts out the persons weight across a tanoy... As for the outrage at Peaj's comment, I think some of you need to read it again and actually understand what he wrote. It's a good job some of you aren't old enough to have seen a Jim Davidson sketch if that's all it takes to offend you.

Plus the stories make about as much sense as a chocolate fireguard.

*glares at IAC*

I guess that'll depend on whether any potential human error was the result of negligence or inadequate training. They haven't proven anything yet, everything they did was for their own benefit too, the true test will be if/when someone faces charges over it, and whether Merlin front up for that person's defence, or whether they simply say, you're on your own mate. That's assuming Merlin themselves are not standing alongside them in the dock. Assuming of course.

Sounds like some prosecutions are in the pipeline then, ouch, I hope Merlin don't hang anybody out to dry.

It's not hate, but rather a frustration at the lack of TLC as Josh points out. I know I bang on about it, but you'd think that as it's the one asset Merlin actually own (rather then just operate) they'd put the effort in to keep the place a top class facility, rather than letting it fall into ruin. Perhaps that is the plan? Are a lot of the facilities listed there? It's a favourite route for companies nowadays who want to redevelop a site but can't due to listed buildings, they let them fall apart to the point where it's impractical to rebuild, thus by the back door gaining permission to knock the place down and start again. It happens all the time round here, we've got tons of listed buildings but they are slowly one by one being bulldozed after they fall down due to a lack of maintance. Either that or Merlin's maintance budget is allocated to all the other parks where they have to keep the site up to a standard specified in the lease and there's no budget left to maintain poor old Chessie.

One of ours was the same, the Mrs used to load up the washing machine but not run it until there was a full load, so we regularly had to fish Purdy out before starting the wash off, she loved going in there cos it was so warm.

If Thorpe are really going down the family route then it'll be something in that market, maybe not even a coaster. .

And make everybody wear dayglow bibs to the point where the general public is now blind to them and take more notice of someone not wearing a bib than someone that is. Plus making people put stupid signs everywhere like 'surface may be slipperly when it's raining'. Well no **** Sherlock...

The Silent Hill pocket watch images on Google don't have the clasp in the top right (about 1 o'clock position), and seem to have a hinge on the bottom where the face opens. The image Thorpe posted doesn't appear to have a hinge on the bottom for it to open (it seems like the watch my grandad used to have that didn't have a cover), but then it could just be that I'm over analysing it and someone did a bad cut and paste job. Also I'm sorry but those perfume bottles look nothing alike, the only similarly is they are perfume bottles. I'm not saying you are wrong either, but if it does turn out to be Silent Hill, those are crap clues that could as Josh pointed out, be attritubed to various different IP's, including Ripper Street, Elementary etc. The only strong connection is the Konami code but then that could just be someone in the marketing dept that likes urban legends. Personally I think WC16 may be 'Shrek's big brother', not necessarily a 'Shrek' attraction, but something that utilises the same ride hardware.

That was months ago in reaction to the media's fear mongering, it's not a recent statement.

I'm assuming Saw Alive is not suitable for an 11 year old that wouldn't even go on the ride? Not talking about my son here but his friend who came along on one of the Summer Nights with us, he wouldn't go on Saw with me but was bitterly disappointed that IAC and Saw Alive were closed..... he said he would lobby his clueless dad about going back. Do I need to tip a wink to his dad about it?

How did you skip the photo section? At Blackpool (Tower) we had to explain to the person 'no thanks, we've got no money on us so don't waste your time taking the photo' and they let us through, is there a short cut to avoid it at Shrek or is it pretty much the same? My son is a sucker for photo's and I don't fancy having to fork out £30 or whatever it is for the album. I've also long suspected WC16 could be Shrek's big brother (since Merlin announced they intended to build a lot more of the 'ride systems').

I think it depends on the individual staff member, generally I've found newbies follow the rules exactly, I.e. one chaperone only (rest of group queue normally) exact time written on pass etc. and older more experienced ones just wing it and do whatever is easiest at the time and let as many on as you have with you etc. You can usually tell the newbies, they have that 'rabbit caught in the headlights' look in their eyes At Summer Nights we didn't bother with the pass, it did the person good to stand in a 5 minute queue with other humans (obviously I wouldn't make them suffer a long queue), believe it or not some people don't like using the Ride Access Pass system even when it's an absolute necessity for it, as it makes them feel segregated off from others. But as I said, this must be a really new rule since on the very last Summer Nights evening I somehow ended up with an entire car to myself, I was the odd one out and nobody else was in the queue and they just said pick a seat and enjoy yourself lol. None of the parks have the same rules about the RAP's either, which makes things even more complicated, Chessington it can be up to 4 in the party, Thorpe just one, Alton depends on ride etc.