Mark9

Nothing like a bit of brain alteration when visiting your local theme park is there. I wonder if Merlin have forgotten that theme parks can have scary rides with fun themes (Stealth, Tidal Wave) or are we just stuck in this cycle of scary ride = dark scary themes. This is all said in mind that we still don't know what the theme is beyond brains and eyes.

Surprised this is slipping past but anyway,Phalanax Archive on twitter are doing a lot of tweets relating to SW8Groundworks/200mFV17. Also says their archive has been compromised, so maybe an SW8 announcement is about to happen.

That last picture looks beautiful. I want it now.

Yes. Luckily I didn't say I believe in the idea that the two are the same thing.

I can't wait for Thorpe to get a flipping top spin because then we wouldn't have to put up with flipping jokes about them adding one every few weeks. Post was edited for swearing.

It's the idea that the investment in hotel and stay over facilities comes at the cost of in park investment.

I stand by what I'm saying, we're comparing the park that always runs full capacity on its rides against the one that puts one train on things to save electricity or puts up queue times to sell more fastrack.

Not at this stage of the holidays Zac. It's always quieter at this point in the year as people go away for their holidays at the beginning of the holidays. Now if the park is still dead in three weeks time, we'll know the Smiler crash had had more of an effect then we realise. But until that point, Alton in particular is business as usual.

Congratulations to Congo River Rapids for being the headline of the Daily Star.

RIdiculous. The first week of summer holidays is always quiet at theme parks. If it's still quiet in the last two weeks before schools go back then the parks need to be worried. Not right now.

Herein lies the problem. Pixar are too good. I tried to put a top list together and there's just too much quality in that company. I watched Inside Out again last night and I just love every minute of it. Tears and laughs in sublime story making.

It's a very busy, popular park. The queues will be long for the big rides but the difference between Europa and say.... other parks is that Europa has dozens of smaller rides and dark rides that will remain having minimal queues. Europa also extends their hours massively every day. Reading that trip report is just the big rides (and Koffie Koppies) in 6 hours so not surprised that the day is soured by that. Good thing is neither was Zac.

I swear this is five years late. It's the same with Florida too, it's far cheaper to book trips through the American site then the English one.

If you like films and more importantly, if you like animated films. Go and watch inside Out. And if you've already seen it, please tell me you are seeing it again. The best film of the year, easily. (Oh, and Antman, pretty damn fun too) God I hate Disney, most expensive hobby ever.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33672357 It's all on the BBC website.

Very heavy rain, presumably some of the park was flooded on Friday and then the extra heavy rain on Sunday hasn't helped things.

Genuinely thought this was a post in the Nemesis at Alton Towers discussion. You got me all excited and then realised it was the WC16 topic.

Post of the year. No. Make that, post of the decade. What makes the UK industry so special then Marc? From my viewpoint it's in the biggest lull that it's ever been in. Besides, the only reason people are suggesting go to other parks is because people Merlin bashing are also the ones going seemingly just to moan about the state of things.

It really does. I'd rather spend more money having an amazing time then go to theme parks repeatedly that I have constant complaints and criticisms over. It's not like trains were you have to use a particular service because its the only company that runs that line. You don't have to put up with sub-par theme parks just to fill an urge to visit them regularly.

True. Go to Europa Park instead. Currently at 9am-7pm closing, with all of August at minimum 8pm closing. Then again, it's a better theme park run by a much more efficient, reliable, customer focused company. And that's not a dig at Merlin, it's just the truth.

I take it by what you're saying, you've decided Thorpe is in worst case scenario mode..

People do if the option is available.

They have no-one to blame but themselves. The slow start of the season has probably been exacerbated by Saw, Fury and Rattlesnake being dragged into the press. It could be cost cutting but I bet disappointing gate figures are the real drive behind the loss of hours.

Operation cut back is definitely in force then. All the parks (apart from Lego) must be having a terrible season across the board.