Matt N

1. Loggers Leap 51 times. Sure this could be cheating as we were doing it for charity and didn't have to get off the ride but I think it still counts.
2. Nemesis Inferno 48 times. Back when Single rider was a thing and you could notch up loads of goes back to back in the first couple of hours. 
3. Rameses Revenge 15 times. But I think this was back when you automatically got a second ride after the first and it didn't require a minimum amount of riders. 
 
This was all back when I was a youth though, There's very few rides that I could be bothered to ride more than a handful of times. Driwvelwind & Velocicoaster for example. Everything else is a one and move on.

Think I did Revenge of the Mummy (Florida) 10 times in a day after some constant use if the single rider queue.
 
Done similar numbers for RnRC at Paris (7 times in 1 hour, before the park had anything else worth riding) and 8 times for Raptor in Gardaland.
 
Inferno used to get a lot of rides too when single rider was a thing. Just walk off and straight back in sometimes. Glorious days those were. 
 
Gonna discount rides done during Exclusive Ride Times because that's cheating.
 
I don't think I could be bothered these days to constantly re-ride things. Guess it depends on what it is though. But even going back to Liseberg I didn't go on Helix loads of times, even with using the disabled entrance. 

Hi guys. Often when at a theme park, you'll find an attraction you really like and want to reride it. Sometimes, you might even be inclined to ride it over and over. You might ride it as many times as you can hack, or as many times as you're able to queue for it for. So my question to you today is; what is the highest number of rides you've ever had on one attraction in a single day?
 
I'll get the ball rolling with my answer.
 
My current record is 6 rides on Silver Star at Europa Park, and this was set very recently, on 29th April 2022.
 
For some idea of previous record holders, here's my top 3:
Silver Star at Europa Park - 6 rides - 29th April 2022 The Swarm at Thorpe Park - 5 rides - 7th September 2021 Megafobia at Oakwood Theme Park - 4 rides - 26th May 2019 After that, there are a fair amount of attractions tied at 3 rides in 1 day.
 
But what is your current record for the most rides you've ever had on one attraction in a day?

I've noticed that the Nemesis Inferno area has been playing the original music recently. 
 
A weird decision in many ways, but at the same time, I forgot how much I like it after hearing it again.

The Extra special, lock down rollercoaster, pandemic 2020 - February 2022 top rollercoaster list that I forgot to do last year because there was barely anything new ridden.
 
1. Velocicoaster - I'm shameless. This is the stand out rollercoaster from the past two years of coaster desert. If you like your Taron's but you also like your Helix then this is the perfect in between. 
 
2. F.L.Y. - I think the biggest part that makes this a stand out ride is how it weaves between Rookburgh. This is a ride that I would point to if I was to explain why European parks are miles better then American ones. From its 10/10 soundtrack to its extra special details all across the area, the beautiful surroundings and surrounding hotel make this an absolute must do. 
 
3. Hagrids Motorbike ride thing. - I didn't think this was a stand out ride really but in the middle of a coaster drought, things like this will rate highly. I remain amazed that it works at all. 
 
4. Storm Chaser - Whilst I don't think is an outstanding ride per se, I think its testament to Paultons that its theming and integrity are what holds this up as one of the better rides in the UK. I hope this ride pushes the success that this park fully deserves as its rides like this and Cyclonator that younger people will ride and begin to love rides, the same way that vampire and rattlesnake were important to me.
 
5. Gringotts Coaster - This is a rollercoaster in the loosest sense of the word. If you like effects happening around and endless screens then boy have I the ride for you.
 
Special mention to the Hulk, which whilst isn't an entirely new rollercoaster, was riding much better then its older version. 

I'd have preferred a B&M hyper too. Frankly, whatever park they get added to, they are an incredible crowd pleaser and would have really hit a market not really catered for at Thorpe or indeed the UK. As marketable as Exodus will be, I personally think it's a shame that something a little more 'safe' wasn't chosen. 

@Matt N blimey that was a pretty vivid and detailed dream!
 
The only theme park related one I can remember was going to Thorpe on a really windy day and Stealth had blown over so it was essentially flat - it still had a big queue which confused me!

😂 Love this! That dream sounds like a rollercoaster of emotions on its own!
 
Mark9's train parking issues are more of a nightmare than a dream as well tbh.
 
I did have an odd one a few months back - there was a long wooden coaster that opened in Central London, think along the lines of The Ultimate...
I joined the queue, and it was extremely busy.
The queue was sort of a lot of wooden stairs going up, a bit like Depth Charge.. But a bit more grungy, like Shockwave used to be.
I nearly reached the top of the queue, and unfortunately hit my head on a wooden beam, which caused me to wake up 🙄
I never did get to ride the London Woody!
 
Hope you have a great time at Europa Park!

Hi guys. I was curious to know; have any of you ever had any theme park related dreams?

I only ask because I had a very weird theme park dream last night that I couldn’t not share…
 
Basically, it revolved around my first day at Europa Park, which is coming up in real life in 6 days’ time. And it was one of those dreams where every little thing was stopping me from getting into the park and riding any rides… but far from a regular one. Buckle up, because this dream is weird…
 
Things got off to a good start after a wonderful sleep in Hotel Castillo Alcazar (actually, I’m not sure what hotel it even was… it certainly didn’t look like Castillo Alcazar), but then we went down into the hotel lobby… where I was greeted by my study skills tutor from university, who was armed with a cricket bat and a huge black bin bag. She then proceeded to whack me around the head repeatedly with the cricket bat and throw me into the bin bag…
 
When I finally woke up from being knocked out by repeated cricket bat wounds, my study skills tutor had taken me out of the bin bag, and I found myself in a room that looked bizarrely like the House of Commons if it didn’t have any MPs in it. She then threw me onto one of the green seats and threw an exam paper in my face before informing me that I had to resit A Level Maths for some reason, and I wasn’t allowed into the park until I’d passed. I then started doing the exam, but for some reason that I can’t quite remember, she then came and kicked me out of the room for “acting up” before throwing me into my own private room and restarting my timer from the beginning, even though I’d completed a fair chunk of the exam.
 
The exam was fairly plain sailing after that, but when I got out of the exam, I wasn’t allowed to leave the House of Commons-style room, as it got stranger… two team members from TowersStreet Talk then appeared out of nowhere and informed me that it was time for my “Forum Member’s Review”. They sat me down at this table where I was facing them directly, and then they began to spend a long time grilling me on my past forum posts. I don’t remember exactly what they said, other than that it started with them going “We’ve been looking through your post history… and my god, you’re a moaner!” before then shaking their heads and tutting at me in perfect unison. I don’t remember what they said after that, other than that it was definitely about my previous post history, but for some reason, my mum then appeared and reprimanded me for being rude to the two TS team members. And I again can’t remember what I did… it just came seemingly out of nowhere.
 
After that, I finally found myself in Europa Park… except as is typical for dream theme parks, it looked nothing like I’d imagined it would. I started in this tiny indoor area with Victorian style windows and a tiny little house to navigate your way around to get into the park. It had corridors that were barely wide enough to fit me in them, and it was an absolute maze to navigate my way through. I did eventually get through it, but for some reason, my grandparents (who aren’t even coming to Germany with us in real life) then appeared out of nowhere, and we spent a few minutes exchanging pleasantries. By this point, my enthusiast anxiety was most certainly rising, and it was close to closing time. I then exited the maze with my grandparents… which led us to a massive muddy field that had Silver Star randomly plonked in the middle of it. I yelled “OH MY GOD, IT’S SILVER STAR!” and then started sprinting like I’ve never sprinted before. My grandparents initially tried sprinting with me, but then they told me to leave them behind, as they were too tired. My foot fell into a giant rabbit hole while I was sprinting, and I twisted my ankle very badly (much more badly than you’d expect for merely getting your foot stuck in a rabbit hole, for some reason), but I kept running (albeit in a rather haphazard way, and certainly not straight… I felt like I was going to keel over any second due to my ankle pain). I was very close to reaching Silver Star’s queue entrance… but then in typical theme park dream fashion, I woke up.
 
I know it sounds weird, but that’s exactly what happened, word for word… have you ever had any theme park related dreams?

If the wanted to a more conventional dark ride, they would pretty much have to rip out Ghost Train and start again. In terms of tracks, Ghost Train literally just has a pair of parallel train tracks, so a conversion/refurb wouldn't really do much.

Back when I operated Runaway Train at Chessington I used to have a regular recurring dream that I was operating and couldn't get the train to park in the correct part of the station to open the restraints. So the train just went round and round relentlessly for hours. Even to this day, I have this dream once or twice a month. 
 
A pretty good dream I had once was that Southends Adventure Island got a B&M Floorless but it fell apart and into the sea.
 
Most of my dreams these days tend to revolve around getting on Disney Cruise ships. 

If Swarm’s old plaza audio has returned and the new station audio has stayed, then perhaps controversially, I actually think that would be my ideal Swarm music scenario, as I preferred the old plaza audio to the new one bought in last year, but I thought the new station audio was awesome!

If Swarm’s old plaza audio has returned and the new station audio has stayed, then perhaps controversially, I actually think that would be my ideal Swarm music scenario, as I preferred the old plaza audio to the new one bought in last year, but I thought the new station audio was awesome!

Ok, the two examples could be coincidences. 
 
Swarm audio might have been as a result of the audio changes across the park. It wasn’t good audio either way, they are still using the new station audio unfortunately. Anytime there’s a slight pause in a dispatch, the music will stop once the track is played, it doesn’t loop.
 
TikTok board feels like the most reactive, it was clearly deliberately set up and painted. Not long after twitter went at it, it was gone.

Honestly, no clue who they're targeting any more these days. They're a park which are still going for "thrills", but the people and age range seems to be broad and unclear.
 
Apparently the addition of the Playground is something that's come from above. The idea is that Merlin want some form of play equipment at every park, regardless of target audience, etc 

Hi guys. The 2022 season is just beginning, with BPB starting to reopen its gates, so I thought I’d breathe some life back into TPM’s trip report section (which hasn’t been updated for over a year by the looks of things) and make a 2022 Trip Plans thread! So, what parks are we all planning to do this year, now that COVID’s effect on the theme park industry is seemingly beginning to ease?   Personally, I have a variety of plans for 2022. Much of this isn’t set in stone, as it’s only February, but here are my tentative 2022 trip plans, split into categories of their status: Locked In Plans Europa Park (26th-30th April 2022, on park 27th-29th April 2022) - After months of planning, this is finally locked in! We’re staying in Castillo Alcazar for 4 nights and have 3 days of park tickets to Europa Park, a bucket list park I’ve wanted to visit for a good 7 or 8 years now! I’m absolutely buzzing about it; it’s slightly surreal to think that after years and years of wanting to go, I’m only a little over 10 weeks away from finally stepping into Europa Park, the Golden Ticket Award winner for world’s best theme park and a place that many hold in extremely high regard, and I’m going to be riding coasters like Wodan, Silver Star, Blue Fire, as well as seeing other esteemed rides like Voletarium and Piraten in Batavia, as well as seeing what the park in general has to offer… my, this is so exciting! I know a lot of you are probably quite blasé about a trip to Europa by now, but from my personal perspective, I can’t believe that a trip I’ve dreamed about doing since I was 11 or 12 is finally happening! Almost Definite Plans Solo Train Trip to Drayton Manor (Weekday in June 2022) - After my successful pilot of solo theme park visiting at Thorpe last September, I want to take my newfound ability further in 2022 and take the train alone to a theme park in 2022. And where better to begin with that than the easiest park to reach from my location by train; Drayton Manor! I’ve mapped out the route from Wilnecote train station (reachable by direct train from my local train station), and everything looks nice and walkable the entire way, and I’d also like to get back to Drayton even excluding the stuff about my solo park visiting; I haven’t been in 4 years, there’s still some significant(ish) stuff there I haven’t ridden, and I would like to give Apocalypse a good send off before its rumoured removal at the end of 2022! In terms of when I’d like to go; I’ve decided on a weekday in June, as I’m headed to Europa in April, and this is also when I’m off uni and the kids are still in school keeping park crowd levels low, so it’s win-win! I obviously haven’t booked anything or concluded anything for this yet, but I am quite set on doing it at some point in 2022, so I’ll file it under “Almost Definite”! Possibilities Brean Theme Park/possibly Weston too (Unknown) - In spite of having been a theme park enthusiast since I was 10, I still haven’t visited my nearest theme park; Brean Theme Park! My dad has said to me that me and him could remedy that at some point in 2022, though, and he also raised the possibility that we could do Funland at the Tropicana as well, so excluding the kiddie creds at either park, as I don’t generally do kiddie creds, this could be a very easy +4! Blackpool Pleasure Beach (Unknown) - My parents have said we might be able to get back up to Blackpool for a short break at some point this year, and I’ll admit, I am keen for a revisit, what with new Valhalla and retracked Big One, Grand National and Big Dipper all having happened since my last visit, and I’m gagging to get back on my #2 coaster Icon after 3 years away! To tell you the truth, I was originally planning to do BPB myself on the train in one day, but from the South West, the trip was quite an epic one compared to anything I’ve done before, and practically everyone around me thought it sounded like quite a poor travel-to-park-time ratio (I totted it up to be around 8-9 hours of travelling for around 4-5 hours of park time, with me needing to get up at about 5:30am), so my parents said to me “if you want to go to Blackpool, I’m sure we could go up and stay there at some point this year so you get a full day in the park!”, which sounded like a far more pleasurable, less bold idea to me… That’s all I can think of at the moment, and as I say, much of that is not set in stone, so the year could turn out totally differently; it’s only February at the moment!   In terms of the Merlin parks; from having talked to my parents, I’m led to believe that after quite a Merlin-heavy 2020 and 2021, our visit frequency to those will be considerably lower in 2022 due to us no longer having MAPs (my parents aren’t buying themselves new MAPs after being angry at the way Merlin treated passholders during COVID). I could in theory buy an MAP myself (my last MAP, the Premium MAP I had during COVID, was one I bought myself), but if my parents don’t get them too, it’s probably not overly worthwhile.   But what 2022 trip plans do you have?

My updated list after my recent Heide/Hansa trip:
 
1. Taron, Phantasialand
2. Taiga, Linnanmäki
3. Untamed, Walibi Holland
4. Helix, Liseberg
5. Oz'Iris, Parc Asterix
6. Balder, Liseberg
7. Lost Gravity, Walibi Holland
8. Der Schwur des Kärnan, Hansa Park
9. Nemesis, Alton Towers
10. Joris en de Draak, Efteling
11. Colossos - Kampf der Giganten, Heide Park
12. Goliath, Walibi Holland
13. Troy, Toverland
14. Black Mamba, Phantasialand
15. Hyperion, Energylandia
 
That's my "Top 10% of ranked rides" (ie creds ridden ignoring kiddie/little junior ones).
 
I think positions 9-13 are all very fluid; very much depends on my mood. Joris feels like a bit of an outlier on a first glance I think, but then I remember I have so much damn fun on it from start to finish that it really does deserve that spot.

To come back to your horror movie analogy, this actually does explain why thrill parks can sometimes struggle.
 
Generally movie studios will try to keep their movies with a lower age rating because statistically movies available to more people perform better at the box office. This is not always the case, but generally this is the case.
 
Horror movies have to try very hard to appeal to the more niche audience because they cannot get a wider audience due to their ratings.
 
Teenagers going to thrill parks likely spend less than a larger family (which may also include some teenagers!) going to a family park. Everyone can go to a family park, but not everyone will go to a thrill park.

Ooh Computer Science - I did that too! ❤️
I feel your pain 😂
 
Well… They aren’t wrong about the graduate roles.
If you’re looking to go in to a graduate scheme of some sort then a higher grade will definitely get you closer to the door in a lot of places, but the honest truth is that experience is the big thing companies look for, graduate scheme or not, and honestly that’s what gets asked about in interviews.
 
It’s all about the special projects you take on etc.
the s/w firm I worked for previously ran a grad scheme, and generally seemed to go for the ones who got involved in making apps / websites and things for local schools or businesses.
 
Good grades are great - but experience is better 😊

Thanks for the post @Inferno; I really appreciate it!
 
I’m studying Computer Science at the University of Gloucestershire. I am starting to get a little more used to it now, although I’ll admit that rightly or wrongly, I do still tread through my course and assignments with a certain degree of trepidation.
 
In terms of asking for help; I do often drop my lecturers an email if I need to know something for an assignment or whatever, and they always seem happy to help, but I’ll admit that I’ve never been the most forthcoming in asking for help, particularly in university what with the big onus on “independent learning”.
 
In terms of the employment thing; I’m getting quite mixed messages about that. We were told by the employability team at the university that graduate jobs often require at least a 2/1 (albeit not always), whereas my dad, who works in a big company in a position where he deals with interviewing university graduates for jobs, said something similar to you about how the exact grade of the degree isn’t really taken into account when looking at a CV and assessing someone’s eligibility for a job.

I'm not against a thrill park, the issue is that the park itself has to near constantly refresh itself and that takes a lot of money and resource to do. You also have to ensure your thrill rides have a wide range of appeal. Thorpe's coaster line up, the only real outlier is Stealth. The others are just a variant on an upside down rollercoaster. You kind of made that point for me Inferno, Thorpe a little bit of a s**thole because it hasn't changed that much. If it wants to be 'the thrill park' the demands of its target audience constantly want more, the new, the bigger, the better. The new coaster is not going to be enough to change that perception for the rest of the resort. 
 
A family park is far less focused on constant updates and investment because the line up itself has universal appeal. I see it on forums and social media all the time 'Thorpe gets no investment, its last rollercoaster was 10 years ago.' Whilst forgetting Chessingtons last rollercoaster was 18 years ago. And we don't talk about the removal of Vampire or Dragons Fury in the same way that we talk about Colossus going to the skip. So yes, I think family parks are far easier to manage and run and actually more profitable. A 13 year old visiting Thorpe with his school pals just doesn't have a disposable income, whereas a family going to a theme park, will. It may be stretched in the current climate but it exists. And they spend money, all those little extras such as toys, ice creams when it's hot. A meal for everyone at the fast food outlets. it quickly adds up
 
And thats before we even get to overnight stays....
 
 
 
 

Hi @Matt N, I was wondering if you're settling in to Uni a little more now, or if you're still getting used to things?
What are you studying?
 
I can completely understand the sudden change from the 'school structure' you get at 6th form in to a more "sort yerself out" kind of situation at uni.
I went to College rather than 6th form, which I think set me up really well for Uni, better than 6th form ever could have done.  Without doing College however I think I would have found starting Uni similar to you to begin with, and I know that a lot of my friends who came from 6th form felt the same as you.
 
It's A LOT to get used to isn't it, it's all very different to school.
I hope it's settled down now though and you're starting to enjoy it?
 
I think if I could give you any advice at all from my experience, it would be
to ask the staff for help with things. Be bold, and approach them directly - this is kind of a life hack I've taken with me in to work - just ask and I bet they'll be happy to help!  Don't forget, you're paying them for this. If you don't ask, you don't get   to remember that you absolutely deserve to be there, and you absolutely deserve to enjoy yourself. You've clearly worked really hard to get your place at Uni, doing the subject you wanted to do. despite what people might tell you while you're there, most employers don't give a damn if you get a 1st. Getting a degree is really hard - which lets face it, is kind of the point!  Nobody ever gets 100% on any assignment, that's impossible, just give it your best shot and be proud of what you're achieving! The fact you have been passing your assignments is REALLY good! You're on track to get a degree, that's an amazing achievement!  
What I'll also say though is this..
Someone I went to Uni with dropped out in the first year, and he now has a collection of incredible cars and runs a web design company employing multiple staff...
If you're really not enjoying Uni, if it's not for you, then it's not for you - that's ok!
Most of my colleagues at work didn't go to Uni, and here we are in the same position as each other.
 
 
Ugh.. I've rambled......
Be happy Matt. That's more important than anyone likes to say
Look after yourself and do what's right for you, not anyone else.

Apologies for the double post.....
One more argument in favour of a "thrill park"..
 
No matter how much a Theme Park invests, realistically they don't change that much, do they?
If I look back to my childhood, many of the rides I enjoyed as a kid are still at the parks today. Which is great by the way, but bear with me.....
 
One of the good things about Merlin's 3 park cluster near London is that they keep theme park visits suitable and 'fresh' for many years.
 
For example... You'd take your young kids to Legoland for a few years, and get to know the place, ride everything. That's great.
Then as the kids get slightly older, Chessington is just down the road. Again, an entire 'new' park to experience for a few years.
After a while the kids will want to go on some bigger rides, well... Thorpe is right there next door, and once again offer's a full park of 'new' attractions to ride.
 
A new park to experience every few years!
 
If for example all 3 parks offered a range of thrill and "family" rides, that would be great too, however might guests feel they're always going back to the same places after a few years?
 
I think it's a really nice way for kids/families to have something different to visit every few years rather than keep going back to the same places.
You can't beat that "first time in a park" feeling, and that's what kids get with Merlin's London 3.

I think this is a really interesting point, and I agree.
 
I must admit for a few years I did have the opinion that a "family park" would attract people with more money to spend...
I always thought that teens and young adults would spend less, and families more..
 
But now I've got a little Inferno myself.. I'm not actually sure that's the case.  I'd estimate I might actually have less disposable income than ever - even back when I worked part time in Starbucks I had more disposable income, and wouldn't think twice about filling up the car and heading to Thorpe every other week, buying lunch and merch there etc..
 
When little Inferno (I guess I'm going with this now) is old/tall enough we'll definitely head to the appropriate parks, but I can't see we're going to have the money to buy food and merch there very often. Tickets alone will be a budget-blower to be honest with you, and I imagine many others are in a similar position to me. (I know there will be many families with loads to spend, just from my perspective)
 
Anyway... ahem, TANGENT.
I agree - I don't see the issue with having a "thrill park" actually.
Yes, having a mixture of attractions (like Towers) will attract a wider audience, but they've proven that targeting 'thrill hunters' works. 2009ish was an unbelievable success for them.
 
I don't think Thorpe's problems are that they don't attract enough families.
I think the problems are
   a) the fact it's a bit of a sh** hole... (the "no drugs, our rides are thrilling enough!" sign above the entrance says it all)
   b) the lack of investment, meaning the "young people" aren't as compelled to book and travel there like they were when there was a new ride.
 
---
It will be interesting to see what effect the energy crisis and cost of living increases have on this situation actually.
I expect the traditionally expensive 'family day out' (Legoland / Chessington / etc) might be affected, meanwhile Thorpe with their new coaster might still attract a lot of teenagers who might still live with parents or shared housing etc.

My first view of this park (after my car breaking on the way there. Stressful in a different manner) was a chained up elephant. So fun.
 
 
That day was very good. But not having to suffer the terrible operations for more than 5 minutes each ride helped immensely.
 
Farup and Djurs Sommarland are both incredibly relaxing parks. Hours of fun in the playgrounds alone. Most of the Scandinavian parks are super relaxing to be fair.
 
I'll admit I'm dreading going back to Phantasialand with a wheelchair. Plus leaving it unattended in Bakken wasn't pleasant.