robbalvey

Well for one we'll have moderators and forum rules. If someone that is posted there would be better suited for the main forum or another forum, we'll move the topic. Just like how we keep the games forum just to discussions about roller coaster games, we will keep the Club TPR forum just to club events and discussions. Because we've been doing this since the forum opened and we know what we are doing. And so far no one has complained. And if anything people have only COMPLIMENTED us on the ability to keep specific forums on topic to their discussion. There will be plenty of on-topic discussion in that forum. But yes, it would be limited to club discussions. Why would we open up a private forum that includes the exact same content on the main forum? That makes absoultely no sense at all. Why not just post that stuff to the main forum? It's like I said, we have had "private groups" now for 5 years and if you counted everyone in those private groups I'm sure it totals at least 300 people over the 18 forums that have made roughly 50,000 posts. Clearly with that amount of traffic there has been plenty to discuss, and has it affected anyone on the main forum? Trust me when I say we have experience at this and it won't become a clique and it won't detract from the main forum. Nobody wants that, including people who would become Club TPR members! --Robb

^ It would be nice if it could be modifed to fit in somewhere at SDC.

We're famous???

Heh, sorry, but that would probably be no on both accounts! You'd have to use your $15 credit before your annual membership expires. I can see it creating some issues if we allowed the credit to basically "linger" after your membership has either expired or been renewed. And we quite like the name "Club TPR" as oddly enough, it's what we've been calling it for short for a long time and then I noticed other people started randomly using it to! I think it has quite a nice ring to it. That being said, we have not settled on a name or if we will actually go through with it at all. Still collecting as much research as we can at the moment. --Robb

All very valid concerns and all ones that we WILL address! As far as park discounts go, I already have an equal amount of international parks as I do US parks that said they are interested. Mind you, I've only heard back from a handful but that's mostly due to getting automated "I'm on hoilday until Jan 4th" emails! But I am expecting discounts for our club members to a fairly large amount of parks both domestic and international. We absoultely WILL be doing events internationally! Starting this year we are hoping to announce our first "bash" event in the UK. We'll see how the planning goes on that. We may also be able to do another one during our mainland Europe trip, we'll see! We absoultely WILL open some 'tour dates' to Club TPR members both domestic and internationsl as not every tour date we do can be turned into a bash event, but we would be able to open up some dates or ERT sessions to a smaller group. Again, another fine perk of being a club member because it will allow to be to able to offer something that we were unable to previously offer. I have already started to look into some kind of a "quarterly publication" that we would distrbute. It would not be a printed publication, but probably something we send to everyone on a CD or a DVD and the extra international shipping costs for that would be covered by the additional cost for overseas members. And we would probably also fill that CD with high res photos, videos, and other information exclusive to Club TPR members. That alone would eat up the extra $10 per year to international members. And to be quite honest, I figured that $10 would eventually go to shipping costs, which is exactly why it was put in there. The line about "additional TPR goodies" will pretty much evolve into what I'm talking about now. As for the concern of the "clique" mentality, I cannot stress enough how much we will NOT allow this to happen! The "club forum" would be mainly to discuss the club, the events for club members, discounts for club members, etc, it would not be a "mirror" forum of TPR's main forum but only for club members. It would have a very specific purpose, just like our trip forums currently have, and you don't see those forums or groups creating a clique within TPR members. And for people worried about getting a spot on a trip if you're not a Club TPR member. If this ends up being a serious problem, we'll open up more trips or more spots! Just like we did on the Europe 2010 trip! (And there are spots still available, BTW, JOIN NOW!) We *WILL* give priority to Club members, but that doesn't mean that non-club members won't be able to participate in a trip. Remember, it also doesn't guarentee a Club member a spot on a trip either, but if you're on a waiting list, I think you'll have a better chance of getting that one spot that opens if you ARE a club member. So moving forward, based on the feedback in this thread, you would see: - More park discounts - domestic USA and International - Club TPR members invited to park sponored events - Some sort of quartly publication - International park events - Invites to ERT or tour dates for Club TPR members - Everything else you saw on the front page What we CANNOT do is lower the price. Taking away the $15 store credit doesn't actually decrease the price of the club membership, it would be taking away a perk that I think all club members would be able to use. Remember that you could apply that $15 to a DVD, T-Shirt, Hoodie, Downloadable DVD, Trip Payment, Event payment, etc. Anyway, I can't say thank you enough to everyone who has responded to this thread so far. Your input will help make Club TPR a much better option for all of you because it will be created with your feedback in mind. I'm not sure too many other organizations can promote that! --Robb "If this changes anyone's mind you can always change your vote!" Alvey

Update on the next page!

^ That's great to hear! The word of mouth on the game has been FANTASTIC! And when we are competing against games like New Super Mario Bros I think we've done quite well in reviews and user feedback so far! --Robb

^ Agreed...that's why I said technically.

Well, technically the Floorles coaster was introduced in the 90s when Medusa opened in 1999.

If ALL you are doing is running in and getting the coaster credits, it shouldn't be a problem. If you expect to "see the parks" there is no way this can be done in that short amount of time. It would take you nearly a half a day alone to walk around Epcot. Again, if you're just doing a credit run, you can do Sea World and Universal in a day. I would go to Sea World for opening and then go to Universal and get the express pass. If you're going to Tampa, I wouldn't hit parks in the morning and then go, because lines could get long in the afternoon at Busch Gardens (unless they are still offering Quick Queue, then I'd reccomend that.) Again, it's all feasble if you're just running in to ride each coaster once, and THAT'S IT! To actually be able to "see the parks", especially if this is your first Florida visit, you'll need a day at each park to see everything. --Robb "Doesn't sound like that large of a trip if you're trying to hit 7 of the biggest parks in the world in 3 days!" Alvey

Hey everyone! Today is the last official day of this decade! We have seen an amazing amount of new rides introduced, new parks open, and even seen quite a few rides and parks close their doors. So what has been your favorite new coasters, favorite new rides, favorite moments of the decade? I'll start a list here and feel free to add to it, and answer as many or as few as you'd like! Of the last decade post your... - Favorite new coaster - Favorite new ride - Favorite new park - Most memorable park moment - Most memorable coaster moment - Best ERT session - Least favorite coaster - Least favorite ride - Least favorite park - Most interesting ride you've seen introduced - Least interesting ride you've seen intoduced - Your favorite TPR moment (favorite post, trip report, video, whatever!) - The decade's biggest flop - The decade's biggest success - The best meal you've had at a park - The worst meal you've had at a park - Best park turnaround - Worst park turnaround - What was the biggest trend of this past decade? There's a lot to talk about so please add to the list! --Robb

It will happen in 2011.

Heh, probalby not...

^ LOL! Yes they are!

WDW hotels we have stayed at - The Boardwalk - Nothing but awesome here! This is my favorite WDW hotel. Close to my favorite park, Epcot, and you can walk to either Epcot or MGM. And it's theme is roller coasters - how can you not like it? Yacht Club/Beach Club - It's slightly nicer than Boardwalk, but it's a bit more "stuffy" IMO, for the price I'd rather stay at Boardwalk Animal Kingdom Lodge - Only really nice if you can get a Savannah view and it's out of the way. Wilderness Lodge - While it's not on the monorail line you get a lot of the same benefits of being near Magic Kingdom, but if you're someone who needs to have the monorail line it might not be for you. Grand Floridian - Was really too stuffy for me. Not my style. The Swan - I'm not sure what I didn't like about this hotel, I just didn't really care much for it. Port Orleans - Really nice for a moderate. Felt it was a good value for money. Universal Hotels we've stayed at - Royal Pacific - very nice! Better than I expected it to be. Not sure if Universal still does the unlimited express for hotel guests but this was a great added bonus! Hope this helps! --Robb

It's hard to answer the poll because I'm not sure what you guys are into. If you want a park with just thrill rides, Busch Gardens, if you want a park the whole family can enjoy, Disney World, if you want a mix of both, Universal. As for where to stay there are all kinds of "value" hotels all over Orlando, but I would reccomend staying on property at either Disney or Universal. There are some nice perks that come along with it. I'm also going to move this thread to the main forum because since Elissa and I usually end up staying on WDW property in Orlando, if you aren't interested in that, some of our other readers might be able to help share their experiences. --Robb

^ No, I know that...I guess what I'm saying is...that isn't very much stopping the train!!!

Same with Aska. I think the main reason why Mitch keeps Aska on the list is that, even though it's ranking doesn't really count because it hasn't operated in 3 yeras, I think he's hopeful that some park will see that a top ten woodie is just sitting there for the taking and will be relocated. --Robb

LMAO!!!!

I have actually been told by many parks that they don't like these "cheap" online clubs because it makes it too easy to just "print out a coupon" for an event. I have to hit a nice balance of what our members want and what parks will support. While you all have seen the survey we have posted here for our members we have also sent emails to many parks asking for thier input. We have been told by many parks that underselling our "club" would get us fewer perks. And seeing that we already have 340 people who think this is a good idea tells me we are heading in the right direction. When we are ready to announce final details that will include specific park discounts at parks all over the world, events our members can participate in and most likely some sort of regular publication I think most people who voted "no" will change thier mind. We are not going for the "cheap" option we are going for the "highest quality" option. --Robb

^ While I don't want to give away any details just yet, my initial focus are parks all over Europe (assume that every park TPR has visited in the past will at least get the inquiry about a 'premium membership discount') and I'm also contacting a few parks in Asia and Australia. While I don't expect something from every park we have a relationship with (sometimes the logistics of extending an offer can be difficult) but I do expect we'll get quite a few on board. The response has already been very positive and I've already had a couple of parks contact me as soon as that email went out. Remember there are a LOT of parks that read TPR, more than you would probably imagine. --Robb

Just heard from two more international parks who are on board with offering something for our membership program! I have a feeling when we are ready to announce our park partners it should be a pretty decent list! --Robb

Martin! I'm surprised you've never seen these before. They've been part of TPR updates for a while but we haevn't done then for a long time. Here's the "Fresnonian Rap Battle" from 2006: And there's even been a few of them, less funny, but more practical, on the front page of TPR: And then of course some of our awesome Spain 2007 moments... Yeah, it's been a while since we've done these...glad to see other people are carrying on the tradition! --Robb

Oh, I have it...and trust me, that footage WILL surface at some point in the near future!