Mark9

You know you're a fanboy when.... you ask Rush engineers is it going to be open despite the fact you can see the other swings gondola standing by the exit detatched from the ride, so you are pretending to be mocking a member of the public when in fact you just look silly..

I love how Seb tries to sound all technical in his posts when talking about rides. Pure Gold!

How to compared Thorpe and Alton.A guide to which is the better theme park Thorpe's line up = 9 rides (on the 16th February)Stealth [1 train]Colossus [1 trainNemesis Inferno [1 train]VortexZodiacQuantumX:\ No Way Out [2 trains]Banana RideStorm in a TeacupAlton's line up = 12 rides (on the 23rd February)Nemesis [2 trains]Oblivion [5 Shuttles]Air [2 trains]Spinball Whizzer [5 cars]BladeDuelHexFarm land thing [squirrel Nutty, Doodle Doo Derby, River-bank eye Spy, Berry Bish-Bash, The Tractors]Now on paper there's not much between them. Thorpe has its major rides gunning for it whilst Alton has a bit of varitey in its preceedings. Now when it comes to prices Alton is currently £15 whilst Thorpe is enticing its guests with a £22 entry. So again it looks quite level but then if you take it further it really does feel as if Thorpe is sagging desperately.[I'm going to ignore walk on Stealth today because thats irrelevant. It wasn't walk on last Saturday]Alton let guests into its park at 9:45... Thorpe decided to finally open its doors at 10:15. Difference of half an hour. Guests at Alton are treated to EVERY SINGLE RIDE opening on time. Thorpe's clientele were met with a few rides opening late. Thorpe's ride were on half capacity, Alton's rides were prepared and had maximum capacity on Nemesis, over 3/5 capacity on Spinball and Oblivion and Air at 2/3 capacity.I'm happy to accept all the rubbish that it was Thorpe's first day and all that baloney but then think about this. Alton closed a week after Thorpe (It had an adrenaline week) and opened a week earlier then Thorpe due to half term starting earlier up North. So why are Alton's rides working and ready to go whilst Thorpe is yet again caught with its pants down. So to conclude this fascinating analysis of why Alton is the UK's number one theme park:-1) It has reliable working rides2) Alton offers better value for money and a more diverse range of attractions.3) Alton runs things on as near to capacity as it possibly can.4) Nemesis. A reason enough.Thanks for reading

It is fresh. Its a design that works. Of course if it isn't Thorpe it deserves criticism..I like the site, a lot more info on the Zoo. Boris

Just a few of mine.

OMG Phill we must have come with that joke at the exact same time.. I've just made the same one over on SP. We must be psychologically connected or something..

Now thats more like it. I particularly like the larger focus on the Zoo, specific information on things such as the sealion's in Sealion bay and the Trail of the kings.

Haha yea of course. Favourite ride:- Do the arcades count?

Silly Chaz! Now Marc has a car he will be there every Saturday and Sunday until November.

Nobody knows where it came from, Nobody knows what it wantsThere are theories and then there is the legendNemesis came from another dimension, a dimension beyond our imaginationIts tragedy is that it has no home, it has suffered rejection throughout the solar system.It could not communicate or make itself understood, no civilisation anywhere, in any galaxy could come to terms with its awesome power, its brooding unpredictability. Its Mind.Bewildered and afraid, mentally tortured by not knowing its origins, people turned against it, they fought it. They used everything against it.But Nemesis has no fear.They were mere irritants to Nemesis, to be swatted away like flies.It left to seek sanctuary but it searched in vein. Unwanted, it was jetisoned towards earth two million years ago. It has remained here since drawing its energy from the earths core. For centuries people were drawn to the mysterious place where it was thought to lay buried.They paid homage to the power, they bought gifts.They gave their souls.Its resting place become a mystical place, a place of worship. few pilgrims returned to lead a normal life.Such was their disturbance, such was the gravity of what they felt. Often these Meddlers met mysterious ends. Crazed by their findings, driven mad by the force.Some simply disapeared leaving only their fears.Nemesis was to disturbing, it defied Scientific explanation. It was left to brood in peace.Unexplained, its existance denied. Sanctuary at last... Until todayNemesis was discovered during routine maintenace work in the Forbidden valley at Alton Towers. A group of workmen complained of dizzy spells, of an uncontrollable force drawing them to the place where the shadows of two giant oak trees met. The force was overpowering, they were compelled to dig, to seek the source. What they discovered defies description.The Nemesis had been disturbed, the sanctuary it had saught for so many billions of years broken.It was awakeIt thrashed crazily in the earth, removing all before it. Like a giant excavator it sent trees and small buildings hurtling skywards. Dementedly it unleashed its anger at being discovered, crazily it formed the pit you see today.A security silence fell over Alton Towers while archaelogists and historians nervouslly investigated. Eventually they sescribed their worst fears. This Was NEMESIS.Nemesis had to be controlled.It took 250 tons of steel, and 200 men. Not ordinary men, not ordinary steel. Pinned down by this massive structure it tries to escape, steaming anger. We meerly irritants now ride it, fueling its annoyance. It is controlled but not tamed. When you ride Nemesis, remember its history. It is awesome. There is no comparisonThis is the legend but don't try to understand, don't try to come to terms with it, don't even try to think about it.Nemesis at Alton Towers, sit back. Its fright time.Geek me?

Maybe Jack Dann's right

Oblivion has been added to Alton Towers line-up for Hullaballoo. Now is it me or is this rather excellent.

You do know you aren't allowed to drink Doctor Pepper on park don't you Michela. I'm very dissapointed with you. (unless the rules are different to Chessington as to which I say, god your excited. Happy birthday

48,900 about three years ago now

Mince, potato and runner beansRaspberries, ice cream and cream for pudding

It used to be called Teacup twisters. The cups used to have handles and no cracks painted on the sides.

The easiest thing to do in my opinion is to drive up around mid-day, spend that night and have the next day on park. If we want to we could have the day after as well.

Its been that way for several years but as we all know it looks far more amity then it does Calypso. Since 2004 its announced its Big Bob Jones.

Which is basically the same price as say 12 people going up by car. I have a hateness for trains at the minute purely because of the chances of delays and cancellations. Plus when you arrive up North you have to pay extra anyway for buses/taxis which could mean more waiting around. By car you have the luxury of stopping basically whenever you want on the way, freedom of music and you know that you will definitly get a seat . Yes its a pain for the people that have to drive but I know I don't mind driving up (and neither will others). I am up for a trip if others want to, it all depends on whether people want to stay in the hotels and what not.

Following on from that getting to Alton is a right bitch to be honest, meaning it would have to be an over-night stay in the local B&B or At's own hotel. Obviously being responsible for all the under 18's would come under Ian, Mike, Marc and I. Thats a hell of a big responsibility. Then theres parents not wanting people to go as it could be seen as dodgy. Thorpe is fine but Alton's a whole different kettle of fish.Obviously if you think we should attempt a trip there then let us know as we'd only put do it if we can get enough interest.

Chessington plans to open its new sea-life centre in the Zoo this season. Discuss here Chessington's new investment.

News from the weekend was that Nemesis had a rather large breakdown, something to do with its lifthill. So what did alton do? They opened up Oblivion a month early for everyone. The park also hit by popularity for its Hullaballoo event have added Hex to its available ride list.AirNemesisThe BladeHexDuel - The Haunted House Strike BackHaunted HollowSpinball WhizzerThe BeastieSquirrel NuttyRiverbank Eye-SpyBerry Bish BashDoodle Doo DerbyOld MacDonald's Tractor RideOld MacDonald's Singing BarnThere's Something in the Dung HeapNot bad for £15 actually

Right well a Mark report. After queueing 40 minutes to get Peter and his friends tickets we emerged into Thorpe and took about 40 minutes deciding what to ride. Like a lot of people we had seriously misjudged how busy it was going to be.. well I had anyway. All credit to Thorpe though, only one of its rides proposed to be open was closed and even that opened albeit for the odd few hours. The park looked very decent, clean and presentable.My only criticism of the day was the slow ride staff however its understandable given theres a lot of new people starting that day. Another criticism of the day was the.. sort of.... well ok here goes.I'm bored of Thorpe. There I said it. After 5-6 years of visiting none of the rides interest of thrill me anymore. Inferno front row, meh, Vortex yawn, Slammer oww, Stealth long queues, Quantum *sighs*. None of it interests me anymore. So whilst Thorpe delivered everything it promised, full ride availability, a clean well presented park and a reinvigorated Quantum, I probably won't be visiting again this year.

Thanks guys for today. The Thorpe bit of the trip was dreadful to be honest but Nandos was excellent. 19 of us on that table and it was excellent food. Thanks guys, next time maybe we 're miss out the Thorpe and go straight to the eating.