Mark9

Mutiny Bay and Wild Asia are good examples of rethemes so we know Merlin are good at theming. The problem here is that the sponsorship is completely at odds with the mood that Oblivion is trying to evoke. When it was the orange pipes I didn't really mind but now the Sponsorship is being sicked on every part of the ride, it does seem a shame. We know Merlin can do subtlety as Dragon Falls has been done very well.

I don't get it because in person everyone on here is truely amazing. Unless people are being fake and feel they are able to say what they want behind words written on the internet.I'm starting a campaign..

Many people can't, this height restrictions effects a lot of people.

Weird really as the Dragon Falls sponsorship is subtle and a nice touch. Oblivions is just awful. It wasn't as bad in person on Tuesday but they are raping it and overdoing it a bit now.

That is Benin.

One wonders how Thirteen manages it, the speed that thing comes into the station and comes to a dead stop..

So what are you doing to celebrate St Georges day then?I had a celebration cupcake which was a white buttercream and sponge cake with red and blue sparkles and with aunion jack case.

It was pretty scary.It was no Planet of the Spiders though.

Natural selection surely? If you're stupid enough to run into the front of a fast moving train then you deserve to die..

Time for another work rant.Basically, I'm known at work as the reliable one, the one that will always get things done on time, efficiently and am able to organise staff I'm with to get the best done in the time available.This does not mean you take advantage by me coming in and you saying "yeah we haven't done anything because we've been so busy" There's been six of you, there's only going to me and one other person and you expect me to do all the donkey work and the morning preperation. Because you'll be the first in the morning, to come in and moan when something hasn't been done.So mad.

It's Intamin, I think we'd be more surprised if it doesn't kill or injure someone in it's first four months of operation...

You do know most films with aliens in are sci-fi right, even things like Jurassic Park and Terminator..

Any posts against Lady Gaga will now result in a warn.Beg for forgiveness you haters.

An ancient prochecy details the events when 9 seperate entities become one.A time when life bounces between freezing cold to blistering sun, when two rides of awesome majesty, based around the legends of the Raptor and the giant Kraken emerge victorious.Beware the signs of fire and water, beware tragic sponsoring. Beware a single pathway.Beware, Nine.

Happy now

The bears have it!

That is amazing, I adore that and it is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping Thorpe would do to promote LC12.

I'm not going to lie to you here. The last time there was a royal wedding was in the 80's Back then the biggest ride in the South was Space Station Zero. The very thought of Vampire, Bubbleworks, Colossus was a pipe dream. We can only gamble at just how empty/busy it will be on Royal Wedding day.So to play it safe, go on the 8th.

Ooh, I like it. Way to capatilise on the deaths of thousands Thorpe Great little site that, wonder what they are doing in the park to start up interest.

Business as usual really.

Alton Towers - 19th April 2011Awesome trip today, one of the best for a very long time. Shared many of the hallmarks of the epic Chessington trip from last week. Excellent staff, Great people, Great weather and low queues. Only one bug bear which I will get to in a moment.Firstly, I've got to say I've had some of the best rides I've had for ages today on many of Alton's rides. Nemesis was stunning, absolutely stunning. I know its the old cliche that it gets faster every year, but my god! I came off with numb legs, I was blown away, it was fast, thrilling intense and B&M beauty all mixed into one grubby little alien in a hole package. Wonderful stuff. The Florida Dragons and Katun have a lot to live up to at this rate. Inferno had no chance, epic stuff.Air was okay, they seemed to be working bloody fast on their dispatches. Both stations were running and they were well ahead of themselves with trains ready to go as soon as possible. Duel was wonderful with many effects back and some sound effects returning. Had a great time.Two of the most memorable rides were Mine Train and Congo. The interactivity between these two rides is second to none and everyone comes off both rides with huge grins and a real sense of pleasure. I don't care if Mine Train's got slower, it has atmosphere in bucket-loads and was a favourite of everyone on todays trip. Onto Oblivion, it's sponsorship isn't as horrific as first thought to be honest. Can be easily ignored and un-noticed if you weren't looking for it. Now for the bug bear. Thirteen. Considering the awesome work seen on Air, RMT, Congo, Maurauders Mayhem and Oblivion, Thirteen staff could have really put a small black cloud over our day if guest services had not been able to pick up the pieces of their frankly rubbish operation.Firstly, if your ride breakdowns you do not play an announcement four times in around 40 minutes of downtime. Considering how quiet the speakers are for Thirteen and considering how ambigious the breakdown announcement actually is, it was no surprise that, actually no one in the queue knew what was going on. "Mystical disturbances" yeah, whatever.Secondly apart from the announcment of uselessness, there was no communication from Thirteen staff about anything that was going on or the situation. Was the ride going to open again? were they testing it? Were they taking trains off? The staff at their baggage point seemed more concerned with talking to each other, rather then actually talking to the queueline. Finally, when Thirteen did eventually reopen there was again no communication from the ride team. We only knew it was testing because some people in the queue started applauding. So we get to the merge point with fastrack, staff member has no completely abandoned his post. Great. We get into the station, staff don't seem particularly bothered about batching people properly instead just double, triple batching us all at rows. We get onto the ride and the staff member can't even be bothered to check my restraint. He instead moves his arm towards it then moves it away quickly away from it. I know my restraint is safe but that isn't the point at all. According to guest services a fire alarm went off. Did it burn the third train then because that had dissapeared to. It was just a rather bizarre thing to say as every other Alton Towers staff member had been excellent, efficient, hard working and more importantly friendly. So apart from the Thirteen situation, Alton provided an excellent day out with I'd say 95% of its rides really delivering the goods. Vastly superior trip to any from last year.

They did.

I'm devastated by this news. It's not secret that I'm a huge fan of the classic series and to lose not just Nicholas Courtney two months ago, but to lose the Doctor's most celebrated and best loved companions is a real horror. When looking at Elisabeth Sladen, she was a beautiful, graceful, intelligent women and its ahrd to believe someone so full of spirit and kindness could be taken so young. Ones thing for sure, she will always be remembered for the rest of time for playing Sarah Jane Smith.On Saturday I got her last commentary on a Doctor Who serial in Planet of the Spiders. I do urge anyone who is a fan of Elisabeth Sladen to buy the story as it shows her best performance in Doctor Who. It's seems doubly galling to know that the commentary on this story features three people who are now no longer with us.