Fred

Is that Phill in the background?

Non-geek side of me here: So, how tall is this ride?

The plane parts have been made, but are still very much at Studios North.

Thing is, if anyone pays attention.. it's pretty obvious that Diesel knows his stuff. So I can see why its irritating for people to question a reliable member.Then again, this forum has no way of displaying a reliable member, unlike TTF style.

That's a terrible video. Really doesn't do.. anything.Anyone seen towers one? Now thats how to do a video

Have you factored in your congestion charge cost?

I thought that originally, then realised thats what you go through all the time as a "team leader"

http://www.thorpepark.com/press/releases/default.aspxThis is your answer, this shows its been created by thorpe park (under title "Size Matters at Thorpe Park")

A working part, I would hope.

MR SHACK-EN-NACKER... I can't spell his name, but this is how I pronounce it.Until last week, my favourite weather person ever, he's just brilliant... however some old guy on itv central just made my day.

I've had the privelidge to see a few bits of the theming... namely two airplane propellas... and a broken fire engine. To say they're amazing, is an understatement.

Still could be anything - from guest illnesses... to a repeating minor technical issue with ride or that train, leading to it being sent empty for test purposes.Air does that thing all the time...

There could've been any reason for Colossus train being sent empty though!I'd imagine the two people on offload would be.. one shadowing the other? Something I'm sure Rattlesnake1 has heard about before

Death is knocking, Mr Vampire.Right, come on chessie.. get a new significant coaster or two!

Cos vampire has an awful system. It could easily be done. Just let through 24 riders from the bottom of the ramp... top it up if people enter the front row queue... spread the numpties who try and go in one bay about... done. It'd help loading so much.But chessie is stupid, and people who haven't done it before don't realise the benefits.

They got RITA cheaply due to their order for stealth - Stealth was in the planning way before RITA was even thought of.However, Rita wasn't a pre-built, as it had to fit around corkscrew - hence the weird layout.

The only part of the ride where you get spun (or moved out of an upwards/downwards force) on nemmy is going over the station - and nah you can't hit your head when not bracing yourself at all. Infact, it's incredibly fun. I suggest it (sit on the right hand side for full effect).True, I can't think of any B&M where I have to brace myself. Whereas I do with Colossus, and SAW.. and will come off those two with a banging headache. Eurgh.

1) Duel can't go around with the bars open - they automatically close on leaving station, if they dont, it stops the ride (there's a thing under the car which lifts up as the bars go down).. if its forced open mid ride, it causes a block fault and ride shuts down. Vampire can only be sent with an override, which I presume they don't use anymore for obvious reasons.2) The overwhelming majority of rides and places don't allow operators to run manually, they need a key which engineering generally have.4) Yes, however each ride will have a determined area which is safe to run. B&M say that the harnesses such as found on inferno and oblivion don't need to be physically touching the body, unless they're in the larger seat. Seatbelts do nothing on these rides - as every single ratchet in the restraint would have to completely wear away and fail for it to fully open, and a seatbelt would not hold a riders weight. Physically checking does show whether a ratchet has worn away, and guests would point out if it does not go down far enough for their comfort.Most of the time the checks are to make the riders feel safe, and also ensure that no-one has put themselves in danger or are sitting on top of their restraint (hello silly guests). However, there is no harm in having a nice physical check.. (god I hate the way thorpe just tap on a seatbelt).OH to add: I hate the unnecessary checks on rides such as huss pirate ships. They're not there to restrain you, they're there as a grab bar. It's run with hydrolics which won't open anyway. So why they need checking is beyond me...

No, I pay attention. I do actually read what you write, dunno why though.It's an extremely poor tasting joke really, one which should not be considered as a joke and should not be tolerated on a forum. It's an extremely sensitive issue, and the way you said it is not sensitive in any sense of the word.

Yes, but it came out that way. Regardless of how you thought mate.I'm with rattlesnake on this one, and mer's response was stupidly pointless and useless.

Good post JoshC, however I completely disagree with the music thing.Music creates an atmosphere, a build up, a suspense, an excitement and a memory. When you're a "BIG FAT THRILL PARK POO YOURSELF LOLS", you'd think they'd care more about this. As obviously, you want them to feel more scared, you want them to cake themselves, you want them to remember it, and remember the brand. Hearing that music again later is a big part of it - I hear matrix music, and I think samurai, not matrix. I don't listen to Chase and Status and think of a ride.It's what splits them from being a fairground/fun park to a theme park or a really decent day out. You get all sorts of emotions at these parks, which make you enjoy them, and want to relive them.. going back and spending money. Fairgrounds have none of this, and a completely different atmosphere. They lose out on making it scary as such.Simple things like this always affect people subconsciously, whether it's music playing, to seeing paint peeling on something. It'll ultimately affect their day out (even if they're not talking or actively thinking about it), and really does matter to whether they want to return. For instance, I want to return to blackpool, because the park was extremely well presented and surpassed my expectations, not necessarily because of the rides themselves (of which I thought were mediocre).On someone elses topic - they don't need a bose man. I presume they have their own audio visual technician. Give him a decent budget, and a work buddy and they'll easily be able to make their way round and maintain it. It's usually a case of the team being too small with a too small budget rather than not existing.

^ That smoking area really needs a bench .

I assume from looking it has air style restraints, so is restrictive in the... large.. department?

It used to years ago, they removed it and relocated the ops cabin to where it currently is. Then they reinstated the offload host after some incidents.