Celia Mae

So last night at my air cadets squadron we had our annual awards evening and I got awarded not only a freakin' sword for my achievements over the year but I got promoted to the rank of Cadet Warrant Officer, which is the highest rank a cadet can hold... I'm still so happy I can't get this grin off my face It means so much and I will admit when I sat down after collecting it I got all emotional and had myself a few tears! So happy the staff at my squadron have this much faith in me and I hope I can show them that I deserve it

Thanks for arranging this awesome meet Celia!  The behind-the-scenes was brilliant; really interesting and there was a lot that even I didn't know about Stealth, despite having worked there! The launch room is just  
Didn't take any photos/ask where we were allowed to as I was engrossed in it all, however we were challenged to take a Stealthie...first attempt had Stealth in, but cut the lower half of my face off, second attempt cut off Stealth and not my face, but I look rather concerned  But trying to take a selfie with a badly cracked screen, holding an iPhone 6 in just one hand is a challenge in itself  
 


 
And as always it was good to see people again!   Will probably see some of you at the MAP Fright Nights preview and I will of course be at the Fright Nights meet  

Special thanks to Celia Mae for organising the BTS and the meet! Despite having done the tour before, there was a lot of new info I learnt which was rather fascinating (code platinum ).
 
A not too busy day with decent weather with a few coaster geeks made up to an amazing day out! 

Hi everyone!  As some of you may know, this year is the 10th anniversary of Stealth, a rather landmark occasion and a landmark rollercoaster for our beloved Thorpe Park! So we've tried to speak to the park to get a special package together
 
The extras we would get would include a BTS and ERT of Stealth on a date yet to be decided, as usual it will be down to you. Unfortunately as this is a VIP extra, there would be a discounted price depending on numbers. The price would be £35 if we bring 30 people, £30 if we bring 40, etc. We know the price is a lot, but bear in mind Thorpe usually charge £50 for a BTS without ERT! Though of course we would endeavour to roll the extras into a day's meet at Thorpe Park, so you would also get the bonus of being with other great people in a great atmosphere  If anyone needs park tickets if they do not own a MAP Thorpe are willing to offer them to us for £25, ever so slightly cheaper than if you were to buy them online in advance.
 
The poll is now closed! The date will be the 25th September 2016, as chosen by your poll!
 
Attending this event (9-12):
'Airtime Falcon'
Celia Mae
Han30 (?)
Kerfuffle
Mattgwise (?)
Mer
Mitchada04
Phill Pritchard
planenut
Ryan (?)
StevenVig
Stuntman707
 
 
Doing the BTS (6):
'Airtime Falcon'
Celia Mae
Mer
Mitchada04
Stuntman707

Thorpe have said now because of the small numbers we will be able to pay on the day, so at some point before the experience we will just have to drop into a fast track booth to pay.
 
I guess the final thing for me to say to you all is our meeting place and time for the meet, we'll meet at 9:30-10 by the annual pass entrance!

Sorry for the double post, but as I've noticed that I have quite a lot of money left over from my birthday in August, I've decided that I will take part in the BTS 

Thanks for the update!
 
There were 35 members interested so hopefully we'll still have a good number attending. C'mon people!  

Blimey I know it's bad you've not need to a meet this year, but you don't need to be put down.

I'm gonna throw in another curveball and say I really didn't enjoy this ride. I don't understand where all the space went, where all the money went (other than the headsets), or how it's supposedly groundbreaking  I get that it's a combination of things that haven't come together before, but none of them are particularly special

Smiler and ghost train ..... Similar ???? 

Poor naive goon, what will you be like when you visit real parks with real rides?

Is it? It's lovely darrn sarrf today; you'all should have gone to Adventure Island instead!
 

There's two types of people...

That shipping container is going to be used for a special Halloween themed ice cream outlet: Frightrogenie.

I rode back at the media evening and thought it was dreadful, if you have any knowledge of VR or have experienced how powerful VR can be in the gaming industry you will know that this attraction is light years behind where it could and should be. If you have experienced universal/disney dark rides you will understand the importance of a cohesive story and you will see how disjointed and wooly the story is for this ride. Important details are brushed over and everything is too rushed to be fully understood. A huge part of the budget has been used on themeing which cannot be appreciated due to induced panic and the fact you have a VR headset on for 80% of the ride. I dread to think how much money was spent on making the train move from one station to another and then slightly tilt at the end. If you want a similar experience buy or borrow a gaming VR headset, download a VR horror game, sit on your sofa and get a family member to touch your leg occasionally. This thing is basically a glorified 4D cinema where you have to get up halfway through to experience 30 seconds of live action (which involves some lights on a stick in a tunnel) and then sit back for the second half of the film. Literally pointless. The ending is dreadful, there is no climax it just ends to a chorus of 'is that it?'
 
Ive been told that a few effects weren't working for the media day. Leg ticklers, smoke machines, air jets in the seats, basic 3D cinema concepts that dont work. How can these simple concepts not work?? 
 
The multiple stories are a myth. There are two endings that both have the exact same mechanics and simulation just slightly different VR imagery. There are also a number of different characters that lead the first section. Therefore the different stories are just the different combinations of the above and have been completely miss sold by Thorpe.
 
Its marketed completely the wrong way too, it separates the brave from the easily scared because its marketed very well as being a scary ride. Its really not a scary ride at all. Therefore the people brave enough to ride it that want to be scared end up disappointed whilst the people that were too scared (who would have likely appreciated it more) are too intimidated to ride it at all.
 
Add the experience with the dreadful throughput, the staggering amount of staffing and actors this thing requires, the ongoing maintenance issues, the overheating inside the building, the fact Derren doesn't want to be associated with it I'd say Merlin can walk away with their tails firmly between their legs.
 
If this is deemed as innovative then I dont want any more innovation.  

If Stealth remains closed I will speak to the VIP team, we should be able to reschedule until next season if people are still interested in the BST
 
Also @Mer, I've seen photos from lots of BSTs online these days, but they may still be funny around the Stealth launch room and technical elements so we'll have to ask on the day

Hopefully Stealth is open by then...

Urm, did June not happen?  

Okay, I haven't been to Towers since June so I don't know. They were posted on TowersStreet's Facebook an hour before I put them here

Okay, I haven't been to Towers since June so I don't know. They were posted on TowersStreet's Facebook an hour before I put them here

Okay, I haven't been to Towers since June so I don't know. They were posted on TowersStreet's Facebook an hour before I put them here

Strange looking vines

10th March: "We'll have vines growing over the top in a few weeks!"
 
30th July: I present to you... vines.
 
 


Photos courtesy of TowersStreet

10th March: "We'll have vines growing over the top in a few weeks!"
 
30th July: I present to you... vines.
 
 


Photos courtesy of TowersStreet