Mark9

Off the top of my head I've got Tripsdrill, Parc Asterix, Klotten, Rainbow Magicland, Liseberg, Tussenfryd and Phantasialand. There's countless others though. The point is someones putting in the effort. Whether Raptor and Swarm are exactly the same is neither here nor there. You could even argue it's the same tactic as Oblivion but that doesn't take away from what a great idea it is. With the first three, its all subjective the rides quality. I like Air and Stealth whereas Rita I have little interest in. Some may like all three or like you, hate all three. TP white elephant, interesting because even on its quiet years it seems to always be busy. I can remember days in 2004/2005 where it was literally just me on a Colossus train whereas now that would never happen. Seems quite stable to me, compared to Alton and Chessington anyway. As I said, I hope one day Tussauds are remembered for the great rather then the terrible. It's interesting you bring up Vampire because if Tussauds hadn't done anything, the rides removal would have been more likely. Old Vampire was a reliability nightmare.

A few points come to mind here.- Everytime its always "but they aren't Disney who just throw money at a situation." And every single time it goes back to those small, tiny parks all over Europe who are able to do these amazing rides and theme effects on a shoe-string budget. Those are the parks Merlin lose points to, not Disney or Europa Park or Universal.-The thing with the shark is that at the time it was well appreciated. But time has moved on from a small shark sticking out a restraunt. Thorpe has had nothing on here but praise for what they are doing with Swarm so its quite clear that actually when they do something, they do get noticed and applauded for it. I've got no idea on the public reaction but I reckon it's pretty positive thus far.- The irony really is no one has said they hated Merlin for Storm Surge's lack of theme. I said I'm depising them a little bit for this idea that theme is only worth it if it brings in a return. But no one has said Merlin are rubbish. In fact a few have agreed with you (including me) that Storm Surge doesn't really need lift hill theming.You mean the same Tussauds that bought us rides like Nemesis, Oblivion, Air, Colossus, Vampire, Professor Burps Bubbleworks, Hex, Chessington's redevelopment in the 1980's, Runaway Mine Train and springboarded Thorpe to be a force to be reckonded with... Hopefully in time, people will remember the greatness that Tussauds actually did for the UK theme park industry and not just for its rotten end.

Would it matter if it was a real tank though... Lets be honest here, we should be amazed that Thorpe have gone to the effort to promote their new rollercoaster in this way.

Transport rantsBuses- People that have to press the bell over and over and over and over and over and over. SHUT UP- People that get on one stop and then get off on the next. Why didn't you just walk you douches.- Bus stops that are really close to each other- People who play loud crappy music at the back of the bus.- When your bus is on diversion but still stops at every stop- Buses that change their termination points- Buses that stop and have the driver change. Why not do it at the start of the journey rather then half way through.Trains-People that try and take up four seats by putting their feet on one seat, bag on the other and seat on the corridor seat.-People that are so incessant on opening the days they smack the open door button over and over again. This is when the train is still moving, When the train stops and the door buttons are activated, they somehow forget to press it and just stand their wondering why the doors aren't opening.- Missing the fast train and having to catch the slow train- Trains that leave two minutes early.- Trains changing platforms but not being informed until said train is arriving at its new platform.People on Bikes- Cyclists who don't stop at red lights- Cyclists that weave in and out of buses, ending up being squashed between a taxi and a bus and then swearing at the bus driver.- Cyclists that don't wear helmets or high vis jackets.People- if you leave a building, don't bloody stop at the entrance so people walk into you or have to walk around you.- Trying to get off the tube and idiots block the doors. Let me tell you how it works. You can only get on the train if I can get off it. if you block my exit we just don't move. Grr!- People who walk with their double prams, their two friends on each side blocking the pavement. Get out the way and walk single file.- Couples that hold hands and won't seperate when you are walking towards them.

Isn't that a big point then, when you are on it, the lack of theming isn't that evident. It's only when you see it in images or at the park from a distance that its lack of theme becomes a problem.

They won't retheme Stealth. Not that it has much of a theme at the moment anyway. Swarm looks to be very self contained, think of Tidal Wave when it first opened for a good example of how one ride in an area really works well.

Your way with words

A think it's at a point where there are so many inverters all over that parks who want one will have one, and parks that dont have them will have a B&M alternative such as Tivoli gardens with their floorless for instance or Port Aventura with their sit down coaster.

Merlin has a monopoly in this country on theme parks. It's no secret that these are also the most popular with Alton Towers being world-renowned, Thorpe Park's reputation has grown incredibly since Colossus in 2002 and Legoland which is a force unto itself.But how often do you go to theme parks not run by the Merlin machine? There are a lot of parks out there. Drayton Manor, Oakwood, Pleasure Beach Blackpool Paultons, Flamingoland, Camelot, Lightwater Valley just to name a few.Do you ever endeavour to put your money into independant parks or is it easier fro you just to pick up the Annual Pass and stroll to a Merlin park. Or do you do both?The last park I visited in the UK that wasn't Merlin was Oakwood last year. Whilst it was a decent park it didn't have the professional approach that Merlin seem to have a good hold of. But to be frank, my Merlin park visiting is incredibly low this year anyway..

I'd agree if it wasn't for the fact that every park I know has elements that don't need to be there but are. If we really truely believe that the theme in theme parks is so unimportant, that people go for rides and nothing else, then parks would just add soul-less attractions which can be seen two a penny in funfairs all over the world.

I was disgusted by the riots everywhere and lost faith in humanity on Monday. Today I felt touched by the people all over the country going into city centres to clean up what has been destroyed. It's amazing to think that the human spirit is always to fight on, to get things back to how they should be. Whoever organized #riotcleanup deserves an OBE or whatever because its brought back spirit to a lot of people. The photography of people with brooms, bin bags, dustpans, whatever is inspiring.

Whilst I don't think that doing anything to Storm Surge's frame will enhance the ride, I really hate the way 'Kevin' looks at things. Everything has to be a return on investment or bring in more guests or effect the business. And it's things like this which stop the effects being fixed on Tidal Wave or theme on Zodiac or things looking nice. It's all looked at so cynically that it makes me despise Merlin a little bit actually.

I really want to but I'm on lates at work and it starts at 11. Agreed with Benin though, lets show that you can burn down the buildings but you cannot kill the community and togetherness.

I take back what I said earlier, it's not about selfish human greed, it's about the dark side of humanity. It's about people that don't even deserve to be part of the human race because some of the things that happened last night have no place in society.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2024001/Forced-strip-naked-street-Shocking-scenes-rioters-steal-clothes-rifle-bags-people-make-way-home.htmlIt's absolutely sick and vile.

As trial mods I might add...

Never have I felt so ill at being a human being. To know that these riots are now happening only a bus journey away from where I live or 5 minutes walk from where the fella lives makes me feel scared and afraid if I'm honest. Yes the media is feeding this but, I read the BBC news app and the list of places where things are being destroyed, peoples homes set on fire and ransacked, it's too hard to ignore.The worst part is it is no longer about Mark Duggen's death and now its about selfish human greed. It's the police on the front line, its the people watching their 5th generation businesses going up in smoke that are going to be the real victims in this. It's disgusting. We are worse then any creature or being.

Very very nice. I like how tight the layout looks so far. I just hope it doesn't turn out to be quite front loaded and then has a crap ending.

Few weeks later and I've finally seen a recent Harry Potter film. I have to be honest with you, I've only properly seen Goblet of Fire and I haven't read the book since it came out four years ago so my memory was a little bit patchy. Deathly Hallows part two is weird. For most of the film you wonder where are all the characters you know and love. Snape is in it for about 10 minutes maximum. Even if his plot revelation is the main turning point in the film, his appearance just seems tacked on. Deus ex machina esque almost. The same can be said for characters like Hagrid, Lupin, the Weasleys, hell even Ron and Herminone seem strangely distanced from the plot.The film is very good though even if it detracts from the book. Remember, the realms of our imaginations will be larger then budgets ever could compete with. And what is in Deathly Hallows is very good quality (even if certain plot strands don't appear). I liked the destruction of Gringotts, I liked Neville. I'd forgotten how important Neville becomes towards the end of the series and it was good to see him so strong, a leader at the end of the film.Voldemort is very funny. When he starts laughing and going hysterical at Harry's apparent death, I cracked up myself. There is one moment that didnt work in the book and it is even worse in the film. WATCH OUT FOR SPOILERS Basically, the end in the book is a bit rubbish. Everyones married and everyones named their kids after dead people from Hogwarts. The film makes this even worse by not even attempting to age up (or dare I say it, recast older Harry/Hermione/Ron) the characters so apparently being old in the Potter universe is Harry with a beard or Ron being a tiny bit fatter. What made it worse is that the audience in the cinema started laughing at it to. Not at comedic elements but how silly it all looked. Shame really. 7/10

It's going to be Egyptian esque, hence why I call it European Montu.

To be fair though, I'd burn down a 149 bus as well so it doesn't surprise me.Still, its ridiculous the damage this is causing to so many people when its over the death of one person.

European Montu looks lovely, adore its colours. Dark blue and yellow go so well. I personally think they should open it like that, would certainly add a gimmick to the ride..

I'd be surprised if Air was filled with Sand, that makes some cracking loud sounds, far louder then Manta is.

Thats two extremely positive Thorpe posts there Benin.