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Looking at arranging a trip to Alton Towers opening day as it is expected to see Nemesis reopening at the start of the season now the retrack is complete. I'll be getting a Merlin Annual Pass in the next sale for the "24 Season. *Update* Towers After Dark will be open until 8pm on opening Saturday. My current plan is to travel to a hotel around Derby on friday evening (15th Mar). Premier Inn looks like the best option currently. Then travel to the park to arrive at the corkscrew entrance plaza for 9:30 - 10:00. Plans may be subject to change but now's a good time to get a date in the calendar. Opening day has not been officially announced however it can be found through the Towers hotel booking site; Thorpe looks like it will be opening on the following weekend on Sunday 24th Mar

http://youtube.com/user/Ridelover123 Hi all! This isn't so much a site advert but more of an advert to my youtube channel. I do not earn money or anything from it and I do it purely for fun and would appreciate if you could take a moment of your time to subscribe! I will also do updates of the new videos and will embed them into my posts when I upload a new video to my channel! Many thanks to all and I'll leave you with one of my videos of a wild mouse rollercoaster I hope you enjoy it and please subscribe!

Alton Towers finally happened! SCB can tell you, we've had a countdown going for ages and finally we went, so I am no longer an AT 'virgin' as some would put it. When it came to actually going I was nervous, as a lot of hate had been spread around about low standards and operations and the like compared with last season; however this time I once again found myself in the position I was in at CWoA, not knowing what to expect so practically being an ordinary punter. So, day one. We started the day at TP, as there were a few rides I wanted to compare to those at AT (namely Colossus and Smiler, Nemesis Inferno and the original Nemesis, Stealth and Rita, and yeah you get the picture). Got everything we wanted done plus a few extras within an hour and a half; bar Inferno which was already in it's full extension with only one train running... Yeah so as we wanted to get to AT at some point that day we decided it was best to not. Arrived at Towers at around 2pm to find the car park practically empty. We definitely chose a good week to go, up North aren't on their Easter break yet, so it was mostly families and adults there, which helped a lot with both the atmosphere and the queue times for the types of rides we wanted to go on. First thing we walked straight on to Smiler, despite the signs saying it had a 15 minute queue (still would have been good), and I really didn't get what everyone was on about it being rough. Yes I am a fan of Colossus and the fact that it's rough (even though it has gotten notably worse this season) but I will at least admit that it is rough. With Smiler, I don't know if it was the rain or that they'd done some work, but I found it as smooth as I knew Inferno to be. Did all the big rides except Nemesis and Air, we had them on ERT the next day anyway and as I've been struggling with walking recently walking all the way over there wouldn't be great. So just to taunt SCB we took the monorail over Nemmy twice. Found the staff all very friendly, after going round some areas multiple times (SMILER) some of them even started to recognise us, which made the atmosphere seem a lot lighter. Those staff with roles stayed in them well, and there was this one ride op on the Smiler who was pulling faces at everyone and waving through the glass. Day two was much the same, started in Forbidden Valley and worked our way back round the park to the X-Sector, as SCB had booked a surprise lift hill walk and behind the scenes tour on the Smiler. It was awkward how they had Nemmy and Air on ERT, however two other rides over there so far out of the way that didn't open until 11. Still as we knew this we planned around it and didn't end up having to wait long. Then it came to our behind the scenes tour. Earlier that day we had spoken to the awesome Smiler op in the bag room where he made some joke about giving him $0 for the wristband (the code on it was $0) to get our bag back. We discovered his name was Dave and as we waited for our BST we found ourselves wishing it would be him to show us around. Lo and behold a few minutes later over the tanoy came "Dave can you please go to the ride entrance" Yay! Dave showed us around and showed that the ride staff all really know their stuff, telling us all about the ride systems and what they have to do in the winter maintenance - the amount they do is crazy. All the staff were joking around and chatting and made us feel really at ease, encouraging us to ask any questions we wanted, no matter how stupid. The other ride op Matt and a Smile Assistant called Anna took us up the lift hill and were really helpful, and then we toured the dark section of the ride down below the station learning one particular secret that SCB will go into more detail about in his blog all about the tour... It's hilarious. Watch this space, but for now here's a few photos I took... Evening checks from the op box The whole of the lift hill The 'Smile' taken from the pit beneath the ride The rest of the ride from the pit What the inside of the dark section really looks like Couldn't get over the view from the top of the Smiler... I think I found my next drawing project. Come day three the Sun remembered the Earth existed and decided to come out a bit, which mean so did the people. Still AT reacted to this quickly and we hardly noticed at all. We knew Dave and Matt would be opping Oblivion so we went up to see them, and Dave called out to us over the tanoy (remembering both of our names, which was more than we expected) and had a little chat to us after. We'd found out the day before that Oblivion was his favourite ride in the world and he'd ridden it over 2,500 times! Wow. So he wanted to know how we found it and made a joke about having words with us later when we said it was a bit meh. Went on Enterprise next and the member of staff there recognised us from the night before and asked how we'd enjoyed the lift hill which was really nice and made us feel really special, as he held the car for us to get out and everything. Saw Dave again later in the day opping Enterprise covering this guy's break, and he made some joke about it being my "16th" birthday and got all the people in the queue to sing for me, he also made some joke to SCB about if he felt sick my hood was right in front of him... Also we felt a little adventurous, so decided to explore the Towers themselves. They were amazing and it's surprising how much you are allowed around, plus you get some brilliant views from the roof. My only problem was at the front by the exit for Hex there is a huge stained glass window that is in brilliant condition, however you can only see it from the outside which is disappointing. It would look much better from the inside; however after extensive checks every single entrance to this particular room is blocked off. So then we went back to the Smiler Went back to Oblivion last thing to say bye to Dave and Matt and to say thanks before we went home, and Dave once again drew attention to me over the tanoy and we sang again, except this time I was 14. Typical. I do NOT look 14! He came to talk to us after and wished us a good journey back and asked us if we had any more questions, and then we went on our way. It all just proved how much the staff make a difference, and how a few personal touches really can make your trip even if it's just them talking to you a bit before the ride, rather than ignoring you like they do at TP. Before this I hadn't been to a park that was huge on theming, as both Thorpe and Chessie have gone a bit downhill in that area recently, and the difference it made was huge. The atmosphere of each area was different and the stories were clear, unlike parks down here. Meh, one can hope this might improve soon in these so called theme parks, but it seems recently all they've cared about is IPs and "world's first"s. I guess we'll see. PS, Sorry Colossus... I have a new favourite <3

Good evening all of you wonderful people! I'm very excited to officially announce plans for our Blackpool TPM Trip With an Exclusive behind the Scenes with Scare Kingdoms Manormortis! The date of the event is the extended weekend of Friday 12th - Sunday 14th September 2014. As you can see it's an extended whole weekend! Which gives you a choice - come on the Friday, or the Saturday, or on the Sunday or a couple of the days or stay the whole weekend! I would imagine though the bulk of us will do Sat/Sun. Please take note if you plan to stay with us overnight, it will be your responsibility to book your own rooms and unfortunately if your under 18 we cannot help you with this! If you were to stay the night - under no circumstances will TPM get involved and take responsibility with how you stay overnight, as for the overnight section of the trip will be an over 18's event. We also owe a big thanks to Myk for getting this behind the scenes but we will also need to know if you are interested in attending for us to be able to take up on this offer as we will need 20 people! Plus this event will rely on you wonderful kind drivers or which your help will be much appreciated. But based on past success's I'm sure this will be no problem. A breakdown of what to expect of behind the scenes is shown below The Outline of the day/s will be as follows: On Saturday, Meet outside the entrance by Pasaje Del Terror at 08:30 am opposite the ticket gates to have a small social before the park opens, and then we will enter the park. Please bear in mind we will leave without you if you are late as it’s not fair on time keepers! As members have found out! If by any chance you happen to miss this meet point due to travel arrangements or just plain lateness you can either phone or text so we can arrange to meet . This first part of the morning we will make the most of the quiet park and churn out those rides. We will try our best to get on all the attractions. I know not everyone will want to do some of the rides at Blackpool Pleasure. If you decide to not come on please be polite and wait for everyone to come off and chat to other members whilst you are waiting. Or go off and do another attraction as long as you’ll be back after the group has finished riding the attraction. Please respect other people’s wishes who wish to ride certain things that you yourself may not be too keen with. During the day, around half 1, we will stop for a bite to eat where you can go and eat where you like and we will arrange where to meet after everyone has finished eating. (Who knows we might all want to eat the same thing anyway ) After lunch we will group together for the Official Group Photo for the meet and continue going round the park and riding the attractions people want to do until the park closes at 8. During the Evening we will relax and watch the Blackpool Illuminations. On the Sunday we will start on the Merlin Attractions meeting outside the Blackpool Tower at 09:45am. We will explore the Tower and during the day go to the Blackpool Madame Tussauds/ Sea Life & Dungeons just like our London Meets. During the afternoon we will have a little breather in the Blackpool Ballroom for a couple of drinks and if you are lucky me and my dance partner might go off and do some ballroom and latin on that famous floor whilst you socialise over drinks. For those who do go up on the Friday we will most likely go along the piers and arcades and try out the Waterpark and plus we will have our Tour of Manormortis at some point in the weekend. As it's quite a big event the way the weekend is run is subject to change but due to the distance I know you and I will be in regular correspondence so everyone knows what is happening. I will be handing out my phone number for everyone who is attending the meet that day, should there be any problems. We aim to stay together as a group for the day, going from one activity to the next, enjoying getting to know people you share very similar interests with, the idea is to just go with the flow and enjoy the day with some awesome people. There will be many photo’s in the day being taken and the possibility of a few video clips. Whilst we cannot force you to stay with the group, it is the general purpose of these meets! You will have my number (and some of the senior teams) if you become split so by all means use it. The meets are a fantastic laugh and everyone is invited, even if you have never posted before or been to any kind of meet at all. If it's your first meet, I understand it can be nerve breaking - but we were all there at one point so know how it feels, please don't let this stop you from attending - Once there you'll be part of the group in no time! Just look at the past trips this year! I will soon be posting up a separate post on possible accommodation locations which you can use to help you decide where to sleep (If your staying for the night.) If however you know where your going already by all means book it up when we confirm the dates this time next week. I know for example I will be staying at a nice B&B near the Tower, right in the centre of it all to enjoy the nightlife. Plus some really good deals on Laterooms.com Once again, everyone will have my phone number so please use it on the day If anyone has any issues or concerns or even nervous about coming, feel free to post here, or PM myself and I will get back to you as soon as possible. If you feel like my response is taking too long another member of the team will be more than happy to help. We will all try and help you out as much as we can. Please PM me or post here to say if you’re attending. If you are bringing a mate along with you, please also include who they are so they are not known as ‘Plus 1.’ The events with TPM have been fantastic this year and this one will be no different! Attending (16) Alpengeist J.S217 Luke_A Luke Houldsworth LG95 Matt Creek Mer Mr.Fish Myk MysteryPackage Peaj ScaryCoasterBoy Stretchy Styles TN Jonny Toofpikk Attendees

Good morning all of you wonderful people! I'm very excited to officially announce plans for our Guildford Meet 2014! As usual you have the power to vote and change the date of the meeting but for the moment the provisional date is on Saturday 25th January 2014. Here is a link so you know how to get there http://www.guildfordspectrum.co.uk/content/view/14/31/ The Outline of the day will be as follows: Meet by the stairs outside the Guildford Spectrum between 11:30am and 12pm as shown in a cheeky helpful picture below (in case you don’t know the area). This then gives us time to go into the Spectrum and get are skates and lockers ready to hit the Ice as soon as the session starts at 12:30. Price’s are yet to be confirmed for 2014 but at the moment they are approximately £5.90 for the session and £1.90 for the Skate Hire (10p more than last year ). During the skating session those who do not want to skate can be a spectator to all the comedy you’ve been framed moments of us falling over (and maybe get the cheeky video clip ). The session will finish at 2pm where those who have not come to Skate and only want to show up for the meal and bowling can meet us within the Ice Skating arena. From here this is where times become approximate. We will then go to eat within the spectrum which currently offers a Wimpy (Burgers), Trattoria (Pizza), The View (Like the 360 Bar), Costa Coffee (Coffee )& The Strikes Bar (Drinks), so this should cater for everyone’s different tastes. After we have eaten and before those skaters leave who do not want to bowl we have The Return Of The Group Photo so you can all have a picture to remember your day. Then we will get to play 2 games of bowling which is priced at £5.50 each which should provide a good amusing end to the day. The event will approximately finish around 6pm if you want a rough estimate and after which you will be free to do whatever you please . I will be handing out my phone number for everyone who is attending the meet that day, should there be any problems. We aim to stay together as a group for the day, going from one activity to the next, enjoying getting to know people you share very similar interests with, the idea is to just go with the flow and enjoy the day with some awesome people. Whilst we cannot force you to stay with the group, it is the general purpose of these meets! You will have my number if you become split so by all means use it. The meets are a fantastic laugh and everyone is invited, even if you’ve never posted before or been to any kind of meet at all. If it's your first meet, I understand it can be nerve breaking - but we were all there at one point so know how it feels, please don't let this stop you from attending - Once there you'll be part of the group in no time! Once again, everyone will have my phone number so please use it on the day If anyone has any issues or concerns or even nervous about coming, feel free to post here, or PM myself and I will get back to you as soon as possible. If you feel like my response is taking too long another member of the team will be more than happy to help. We will all try and help you out as much as we can. Please PM me or post here to say if you’re attending (and which parts your attending). I’ll update the lists where appropriate! Meeting place is around these stairs outside the spectrum. Attending Meet (19) Alpengeist Chris89 DaddysLittlePrincess Iannem J.S217 Londener MattyMoo Mer Mr. Fish Myk Peaj Phill Pritchard Ricky ScaryCoasterBoy Sidders Smidget TobyNBZ TopsyTurvy15 TP1214 Let's make this meet great - and people spread the word!