Mark9

Agree completely. I've stayed on the resort grounds six times in the last ten years and I wouldn't have it any other way. They are wonderful hotels, the staff are so friendly and the food is just amazing.

Any trip to Blackpool with Coaster Jamie is a good trip.

Ah man, all those facts and figures and all you can take from that is a Thorpe put down.

Chessington has always had the higher annual pass sales out of the Merlin three and the local community are pretty loyal to the park which may explain why it continues to rise. The fact that it now has a higher attendance then Heide Park is shocking. Disney's dominance is terrifying, it's almost shameful that in a year of 9% growth at Disneyland for example, that because of Shanghai and the tumbling numbers at Hong Kong that the American parks are having to cut staff, operating hours and capacity on attractions. Several parks such as Europa Park, the Universal parks, Efteling and places like PortAventura, Tivoli and Liseberg are doing a wonderful job too.

The problem isn't fastrack itself, it's more the numbers that are sold. In a ride breakdown, I think a fastrack for other rides is appropriate. I got evacuated from Indianna Jones at Disneyland last week and an open fastpass for up to 6 people is fine. What isn't fine is say going to guest services to complain about something like graffiti in a queue line and then being compensated with fastrack. How does that solve any problem. The main issue then becomes people knowing how liberal Thorpe (for example) are with their exit passes and its very hard to reverse that trend. When I talk about selling, I mean there is no distinction from the parks about the amount sold. Stealth could open two hours late in the morning or Colossus could be one train or Dragons Fury on five cars and the same amount of fastrack would be sold because we have it from Merlin that the busier the rides, the more they as a company are allowed to sell. It only forces the vicious circle to get worse.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that what they have now done. They've missed an initial deadline, they've now said they will miss a vague end of May opening and are now saying they will give a date when they think its appropriate. Have you ever stopped to think that maybe the reason you're getting the responses is because you're the first in line to give criticism or negative feedback. Think about it, this ride opening late has very little impact on you (unless you are somehow personally involved in the running of this ride). I don't care about this delay for example, the ride will open eventually and thats the important thing. It seems so unnecessary to be this incensed by something.

If it helps, I'm still waiting for my night tube. It's been a whole year damn it!

We're going to have to go through decades of awful train related puns on this ride aren't we.

It's not that our parks are left to rot its that the bottom line is more important then the parks visual appearance. I don't want to overlook some of the good the our parks do, take Thorpe which paints the Tidal pool every couple of seasons or that Oblivion and Nemesis have been redone in the past few years. In truth, what our parks need more then anything is a fresh perspective. The people in charge have got so used to mediocrity that painting a few shop shutters in a single colour is a job well done. I'm really hoping for a shake up otherwise it's not going to get that much better.

Is a thing of beauty.

I agree but then no one on here in any case has said that Cameron's claims of world war 3 were near the truth. For instance, in my very own post, derided what Cameron said about all out war if the uk left the EU. It's interesting that in any case, you and LC jumped at me on the Boris Johnson/Hitler thing, and not Cameron's ridiculous comments. Besides,It's more the idea that using Hitler in what is suppose to be a grown up informed decision, is somehow validated by using the rise of the nazis.

The Hitler thing is just pandering to people's irrational fears. And it's pathetic. Nothing to do with it being true or factual.

I give it two days.

Tell me why banning high powered inefficient electrical equipment is a bad thing. Whilst EU go on about banalities like kettles and fishing, our own government have decided it's either World War 3 or the eve of a Hitler superstate. It's all rather desperate and pathetic frankly. If it really was that risky leaving the EU, it wouldn't be proposed at all or put to a public vote. And then on the other side of the coin, companies, universities, businesses, security forces, countries across the globe are saying that leaving the EU will completely handicap this country. All this while Boris Johnson visits Cornwall, a county heavily helped by the EU, telling them its better to leave whilst holding a pasty, a food product protected under EU law and states that to be a Cornish pasty, it must be made in Cornwall. It's all so ridiculous and petty.

Oooooh now you're talking if true. It's going to run circles around the rest of the rollercoasters in the park though, Mack launches are sublime

It's right there on the BBC website. The picture of her up a ladder isn't very helpful though, Smiler has vertical ladders, not ones that are sloped. Also, Facebook posts as stories.

How often do you think that works LC?

You've never been to PortAventura then.

It's been a few years since I've ridden this and through the comments of how rough it had become or how the perception of the ride has changed since the incident, I must admit my appreciation for the Smiler had gone down of late. So I'm happy to report (on a personal level) that I love this ride. I think once the shadow of reliability and the incident starts to disappear, it will be regarded as a brave and daring ride for the Towers. I was particularly impressed by the pacing of the attraction, it really doesn't let up and I particularly like the speed towards the corkscrew and the finale in which the train just seems to go up a coupe of notches and flings you through the final inversions. Didn't feel the reported roughness at all, this in spite of one ride in a rain shower. After Nemesis, this is my number 2 coaster at Towers.

To tell you the truth..... as a rollercoaster aside from the launch it's as generic B&M as they come. That being said the new ride may be a lot better but that would be pure conjecture on my part.

This 'slow down' has been happening for the last ten years.

Is it? As each season goes its getting slower and slower. It's now struggling to do the tiniest of hills. That bend into the tunnel used to be full of force and now it's just really forceless.

What a killjoy.

I wish we'd got that. Toby is beyond cool.