Mer Posted May 30, 2010 Report Share Posted May 30, 2010 Guys I'm sorry I'm not at the meet It's both money and family stuff (mainly family stuff though). I'm sure you all would have cheered me up, and Marc, I'm sure Rush would have been happy to see me :PBut it's one of those times where my family need each other, especially me and my mum atm, seeing as, on top of everything else, her mum has gone into hospital Plus we've been awaiting some very important news/decision about a family member, since Februaury, which was supposed to happen on the 25th May...but now it's not until this Thursday! So originally I thought "Even if the news isn't the best, it'll be a huge relief and I can 'celebrate' by going to the meet!" But yeah, that all screwed up meeeh. We've never felt so sick and nervous about anything before, and to then be told it didn't happen...argh!And then last night we had more bad news...so as you can see, s**t times!Anyway, I hope you all have a brilliant time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lordcutter6 Posted May 30, 2010 Report Share Posted May 30, 2010 I don't actually see the point of coming to these "meets" anymore, there is no structure to them. We say hello to each other for 5/10 mins, have a group pic then go off in our different groups most the time. There was no "mania hub" group suggestion or decision of what rides we should do today like how we did it at Fright Nights. Me, Aero, Josh C , Smartguy and his two cousins were sitting at the rocks, we turn around and everyone's walked off towards Rumba/Teacups. Now I don't know if all of you were splitting off into different groups but by the looks of things you were doing something together. Nothing was said to us, no information, no goodbyes, nothing. I find it quite insulting that I paid a lot of money to get to the meetup and then get no information what you are doing. I feel at the meet ups there's always a big group of the hub together in a group and they make no effort to talk to or involve other members. Maybe I'm wrong, but sorry, what am I to think after nearly the whole hub at the meet just leave 6 of us sitting there clueless to what your doing? It's just rude and the definition of "leaving people out". The idea of "Come along, meet new people and have a laugh" is not really there anymore. Out of the people who left us there is a majority of you who I know for a fact have never tried to involve members, you just like your group and want it to stay the same - you might as just have the members who are actually involved at the meetups and remove the members like me who for most of you just ignore and pretend their not there - I don't see the point in coming anymore when most the time I hardly get to talk with any of the members who maybe I don't know as well as some, simply because they can't be bothered to make an effort to chat. I'm not trying to make enemies, many, many of you are really nice. And lots will disagree, but maybe you havn't felt what it's like to be one of us 6 today... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted May 30, 2010 Report Share Posted May 30, 2010 I have to admit, today's 'meet-up' was a bit of a fail.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted May 30, 2010 Report Share Posted May 30, 2010 I have to agree with Lordcutter6. It was a bit of a disaster. No organisation or anything. It was my first ever meet, and it didn't feel all that welcoming nor that fun. It more felt like every little group had met together for a chat, then went again. There was a photo, and we weren't really involved. Everyone went away before we had a chance to realise what had happened.All I can say is thanks to AeRo, LordCutter, Smartguy and his cousins for a great day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mer Posted May 30, 2010 Report Share Posted May 30, 2010 I know I wasn't there, but I can imagine how that must've felt. When I attend meets, I admit I can be quiet and there are people I've hardly spoken to, but it's not intentional, I'm just a bit shy. And when the group splits up and people start walking off, I always ask "What about the others?" or check that they know where we're all going to etc. But yeah, some people do tend to be a bit "They're too slow, don't worry about them",or just forget about them, and it's out of order tbh.Like I said, I know I wasn't there today but I wanted to give my opinion on it.I hope what I'm about to say doesn't sound rude or cheeky...but that was the nice thing about SouthParks.org. Ok I only went to a few meets, but it felt more "together" and everyone kind of knew everyone, it was nice and welcoming.Don't take it the wrong way, I am not implying the TPM meets aren't friendly at all, or that they're not nice/enjoyable, and I'm not saying the members aren't friendly at all. I'm just comparing it and I just think it's a shame that people on here feel there's no points to the meets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan9 Posted May 30, 2010 Report Share Posted May 30, 2010 I kind of agree with most things said.. but then again I had a fun day so I can't complain really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted May 30, 2010 Report Share Posted May 30, 2010 It's kind of the reason why I've only been to one TPM meet in about two years. I've been guilty of leaving members behind in the past, not deliberately but sometimes there are just to many people to try and talk to at once and you end up sticking to the ones you know best. Maybe what the meets need is some kind of point such as the meet with the Stealth ERT. Just meeting up on some rocks and having a group picture is a bit aimless when you could do that thing at any time of the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenVig Posted May 30, 2010 Report Share Posted May 30, 2010 I was too ill too appreciate the meet today, however, I can truly say that it was an epic fail.Nice to see a few people though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted May 30, 2010 Report Share Posted May 30, 2010 I was too ill too appreciate the meet today, however, I can truly say that it was an epic fail.Nice to see a few people though bieber. :PWe would also like to remind members that violence towards each other is completely unacceptable and you are lucky that you weren't punished for today. (Aimed at smartguy, this isn't the first time you attacked Matt)These meet's need to be re-thought out, with a proper structure and point to them. Today was a shambles and I am embarrassed that the guy who created this site had no in-put into today's meet up. Marc Simpson you fail. Instead of gathering everyone together, for a photo and ride, you kept to your own little group and left it to us younger members to sort out. I tried to get the photo going but people wouldn't listen to an immature 15 year old like myself.If we are to have meet's in the future, then they need to be sorted out. Today was a disgrace and I feel ashamed that the newer members did not enjoy themselves as I did on my first meet up.Seriously guys, we need to sort this out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mer Posted May 30, 2010 Report Share Posted May 30, 2010 Oh dear :PViolence? :PI can't help but think "I'm glad I stayed at home" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted May 30, 2010 Report Share Posted May 30, 2010 Oh dear :PViolence? :PI can't help but think "I'm glad I stayed at home" Just a little tiff between Sam and Matt. Obviously bad blood between these two. Which has been completely ignored by Marc I see... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themeparkmad Posted May 30, 2010 Report Share Posted May 30, 2010 I have never felt so welcomed on my first visit and if the meets have gone down hill like this, then I am glad I didn't attend today.From what I have heard - I feel ashamed to be considered apart of the Mania Hub team after comments like this!!Ryan - Everything you have said is true! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mer Posted May 30, 2010 Report Share Posted May 30, 2010 Bring back SouthParks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lordcutter6 Posted May 30, 2010 Report Share Posted May 30, 2010 There's no bad blood between us exactly, we're good friends, and he did apologise after once he'd calmed down and said it wouldn't happen again - can't remember what it was over now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyT Posted May 30, 2010 Report Share Posted May 30, 2010 Oh guys. Clearly I should have been there to bring everyone together! :PIt's a shame this meet didn't go to plan as much as other ones have. Perhaps for the next one we could plan and decide on which rides we should do as a group after the initial meet and group photo. The idea of the meets is to meet other people who share similar interests to yourself, obviously if people are being excluded or left out then the point in the meet ups is diminished really.With big groups, people will always split up because not everyone wants to do the same thing, and everyone is different, it's just how it works. By the sounds of things though there needs to be more positive direction in terms of where we're going and more involvement from members who people respect.There will always be meets that aren't as good as others, I say we don't dwell on it, but we move on and try and make the next meet as awesome as it should be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted May 30, 2010 Report Share Posted May 30, 2010 When I had my very first meet-up (Feb 14 '08) I knew a few people but no-one talked to me. Phil (Caudell) and Mark were the first people to introduce themselves to me. I was the one who made an effort to talk to people and everyone just treated me like I was some stupid foreigner, giving me weird looks and acting like they couldnt understand a word I was saying. But as time went on, people became more familiar with me and I got on with people better and became friends or good friends in some cases with them.I think that the forum has gone downhill and many of the original members have left or gone onto better things with their lives or simply because they don't have much time. I think to have lasted all these years is a miracle based on a lot of hard work on behalf of the forum members and most importantly the admin team.With forum meet-ups, I feel that everyone goes around together, as a huge group and this has been the case for most of the meet-ups I have been on. There are times, when we do split up and go into smaller groups. If what you have said is true, I find that this meet-up to be a huge failure, because no-one should be left alone or left out. It's completely unacceptable and it defeats the objective of what a meet-up is supposed to be. We're supposed to spend time with our forum members who are our friends and with other members who aren't our friends as much and to become better friends with them and make them feel welcomed.. The structure of our meet-ups need to be revised and have ammendements made to them, hopefully in time for our next meet-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted May 31, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2010 I agree with some of the comments made, but with a large group its going to be impossible for every one to agree on what to do, especially with today being an especially busy day on park..I do agree though it wasnt the most organised.. Just a little tiff between Sam and Matt. Obviously bad blood between these two. Which has been completely ignored by Marc I see...And err firstly, this is the first chance ive actually had to login.. secondly its not really my place, people are bound to fall out time to time, obviously if it got out of hand it would be more down to the parks security team to deal with, not me or anyone else here.These meet's need to be re-thought out, with a proper structure and point to them. Today was a shambles and I am embarrassed that the guy who created this site had no in-put into today's meet up. Marc Simpson you fail. Instead of gathering everyone together, for a photo and ride, you kept to your own little group and left it to us younger members to sort out. I tried to get the photo going but people wouldn't listen to an immature 15 year old like myself.Ok what more planning can be done to a meet up in a theme park other than arrange a time and place to meet? Theres no point what so ever trying to say what rides etc we will go on in advance because there will allways be different factors involved not letting that happen. And I dont think me taking the picture would have made any difference what to ever to the success of the meet up. If we are to have meet's in the future, then they need to be sorted out. Today was a disgrace and I feel ashamed that the newer members did not enjoy themselves as I did on my first meet up.Seriously guys, we need to sort this out.Glad to see you feel so strongly about the matter, look forward to hearing your ideas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted May 31, 2010 Report Share Posted May 31, 2010 I left the park early due to the epic busyness of it... But having been at meet-ups of groups of 50+ people going around together all day only splitting up for lunch, it's not impossible to have such a day out where you pick and choose rides based on the majority decision and if people don't wanna go on they wait near the ride...Instead of meeting at 1:00, why not meet up 30 minutes after park opening? So everyone gets to spend the day together?Simple... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted May 31, 2010 Report Share Posted May 31, 2010 And err firstly, this is the first chance ive actually had to login.. secondly its not really my place, people are bound to fall out time to time, obviously if it got out of hand it would be more down to the parks security team to deal with, not me or anyone else here. Well instead of just standing back and laughing with everyone else, you could have perhaps helped me to break it up. Also, nothing was said by you to either of them. As the person who arranged this trip, you are responsible for what happens on it.Ok what more planning can be done to a meet up in a theme park other than arrange a time and place to meet? Theres no point what so ever trying to say what rides etc we will go on in advance because there will allways be different factors involved not letting that happen.Perhaps put a point to the trip? Something that could make it more fun like games and competitions or something. Things like that would enable people to spend time with others that they do not know and to enjoy themselves.And I dont think me taking the picture would have made any difference what to ever to the success of the meet up. It's all about showing authority, as there was no real leader there, nobody had any idea what to do and who to talk to. I expect some newer members didn't even know who was in charge or what was actually going on. Glad to see you feel so strongly about the matter, look forward to hearing your ideas That's good then as you'll be hearing plenty from me about this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted May 31, 2010 Report Share Posted May 31, 2010 Okay, I've never been to a TPM meet-up, but I'll tell you what I would expect from any meet up. 1. Everyone is made to feel welcome, trip leaders should introduce themselves to new members and help them mix with the group. 2. If everyone isn't going to stay together, the trip leader/s should give clear information to everyone about what is happening rather than just walking off. 3. Everyone should ideally stay together. What's the point in arranging a meet-up to just take a photo, chat for 5 minutes and then leave again? The point of arranging a day meet-up is to mix and meet with new people, spend the day together and enjoy the park as a community, rather than in small groups that could happen any day of the year. I've led a few trips in the past before, and it is completely the trip organiser/trip leader's responsibility to make sure that all of the above happen. If there's no authority in the group, it's just not going to work. Simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mer Posted May 31, 2010 Report Share Posted May 31, 2010 I agree.In fact you know what this places needs? A WOMAN! :PAs the superior gender we will make sure everything is organised and doesn't go wrong! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamY Posted May 31, 2010 Report Share Posted May 31, 2010 Glad I didn't come! Although maybe as an objective onlooker I can offer some insight...I reckon with the new members thing, it's probably 6 of one half a dozen of the other really. On my first meet in March I made a huge effort to mingle and talk to people. Ok, I already knew one person but that was it. When I talked to people, I must say I didn't have the problems some are complaining about of being pushed aside or anything. People like Andrew, Mark, Holly, Sam, list goes on... I found everyone to be perfectly nice. Obviously I don't know because I wasn't there, but if you were just sitting on the rocks feeling a bit sorry for yourself surely you can't have been making that much of an effort? You can't expect to break into a group by sitting and waiting for people to grab you and start talking.On the rides issue, I think it's possible to do group rides. I remember having 16 on Rumba in March! I don't think it's practical to decide in advance, things like queue times ect would make it impossible. What could work would be to agree that we'll do x number of rides as a group, and then decide on the day what to do. At the same time you can't chain people to each other if they'd rather go elsewhere. I'm sure it's possible to strike a balance.Just my 2 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mer Posted May 31, 2010 Report Share Posted May 31, 2010 (edited) Once again, I agree. Great post Ian!Not sure about that last line though :)EDIT: Just read AdamY's post and I agree with that too! Not everyone likes all of the rides, and not everyone likes water rides...I was thinking of maybe doing a poll next time so we know who is happy to go on what. But as you said, queuetimes are unpredictable so this may not work...and then of course, there's the inevitable - ride breakdowns. Edited May 31, 2010 by Michaela Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted May 31, 2010 Report Share Posted May 31, 2010 It's a good point about the members thing. Maybe before organising a trip the admin team could discuss who is going and sort out who is going to be a leader for that trip (I.e.: actually formally establish a leader or two); someone that is going to lead the trip, be responsible for everyone having a great time etc. This would solve the problem of there not being any authority on the trip at least. Perhaps include it on the post briefing so that everyone knows who they can go to for problems, or just a chat etc, for example:Thorpe Park Meet-UpSunday 30th May 2010Day Hosts: Marc, Ian etc If no one in the team wants to 'lead' the trip, then it won't happen, because frankly, if no one is happy to take responsibility in leading the group, then it's not going to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyT Posted May 31, 2010 Report Share Posted May 31, 2010 It's good to see people are so passionate about it all, it surely means do care about the meets and have a lot to say. Lots of valid points made across the board from everyone and I'm sure it'll be taken into account when organising the next meet.I propose a mini meet before the next meet, perhaps London/ Chessie? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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