robbalvey

I do understand that not all of the perks will be of interest to everyone. This is why I feel it's best these perks should be covered under a premium membership. Those people who are interested in us putting something like this together would be willing to pay a little extra for the additional services. And for everyone else, you'd just keep using TPR like you always have! --Robb "It's a win/win for everyone!" Alvey

UPDATE - January 5th, 2010 While we are still working through a lot of things, I will say we have had very positive feedback from Holiday World, Beech Bend, and Cedar Point, and it looks as though Club TPR members would be approved to attend their annual events like HoliWood Nights, Rumblefest, and CoasterMania. I'll have more details soon as we start putting things together. --Robb "A big thank you to those parks for working with us on this project!" Alvey -------------------------------------------------- UPDATE! December 31st, 2009: 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 ------------------------------------------------------ Original Post Hey Theme Park Review members! We have a VERY IMPORTANT questionnaire for all of you and all of your input is very much appreciated! For the past couple of years we have been throwing around the idea of having a "Premium Membership" for Theme Park Review. The most important thing to know about this is that all of the "free offerings" that you've been getting from TPR over the years WILL NOT CHANGE AT ALL! Those features would still remain exactly as they are now. This "Premium Membership" would be a further extension of what we already offer and would allow us to do even MORE for our paid members. Theme Park Review would offer a Premium Membership for an annual fee of $40 US & Canada, $50 International (to help cover additional shipping costs and exchange rate fees) and that could include all or some of the following: - An automatic $15 credit in the TPR Store - A personalized membership card with your name, member number, etc - An initial membership packet that will include some nice TPR goodies - Priority Placement on TPR Trips - Early access to upcoming TPR Trip Information - Exclusive trips ONLY offered to Premium Members - Access to participating Park Sponsored Events (both US and International) - Discounts and early entrance access at participating parks (both US and International) - Exclusive forum ONLY for Premium Members - A forum signature banner with your ride/coaster count - Special discounts for Premium Members on TPR events and trips - Special access or additional perks on a TPR Trip or at a TPR Event - Additional surprises or goodies we may send out to our Premium Members throughout the year! To explain things a bit further - Priority Placement on TPR Trips - This means that if we have a trip that has sold out and you are on a wait list, someone who is a premium member will have priority over someone that is not a premium member. Same thing also goes for during sign ups, if we have 50 spots on a trip, and 55 people signed up, if there is room available, the Premium Members will get a spot on a TPR trip over someone who is not a Premium Member. Please note that this is not a GUARENTEED placement on a trip, but you would be given "priority." If it ends up being that we have more premium members signed up for a trip than we have spots on a trip, well, that's a GREAT problem for us to have! I would **LOVE** to be in the position where we'd have to find a solution for this, and please trust us, we would find a solution that would be fair and make both premium members and non-premium members very happy! Exclusive Trips offered ONLY to Premium Members - Starting in 2009 we began to offer one 'exclusive' trip to only to members who have traveled with TPR in the past. Moving forward you will need to be a Premium Member to get on that invite list. Access to park sponsored events - Every year there are several events put on by several parks all over the world. You need to be a member of a roller coaster enthusiast or theme park enthusiast club to attend these events. TPR's Premium Membership would allow you access to these events for participating parks. Park Discounts and other perks - Many parks will extend offers to theme park and roller coaster organizations and TPR will absolutely have access to some of these perks as well. They could be anything from admission discounts, food & merchandise discounts, parking discounts, early access to certain rides, etc. TPR will also be featuring discounts to parks all over the world. Additional Surprises or goodies - Since our Premium Membership is still in the planning phase, we are still uncertain as to how many times per year we will mail something to our Premium Members. Everyone will get an initial mailing with your membership card and some TPR goodies, and it's very probable that we will do at least one other mailing throughout the year with a surprise goodie to all our Premium Members. Exclusive forum ONLY for Premium Members - To address some concerns, this forum would be more for Premium Member announcements and news and be an area to discuss them. It would NOT be a new forum to create a 'clique' of TPR Premium Members. Ok so now the feedback we need - 1. What are your initial thoughts? 2. Can you think of anything else we could be offering? 3. Is this something that interests you? 4. Why would you NOT be interested in this? 5. Any additional feedback you can give us based on the information you see here. Remember that with each $40/$50 membership you would instantly be getting $15 of that back in TPR Store credit! Thank you for your feedback, it is all very, VERY appreciated! --Robb

^ Does it really matter that much? When the final results are out, I'll change the thread subtitle.

We will have more details coming soon, but this year we going to have to revert back to a season pass/non-season passholder rate. Please be patient, the flyer and registrations is almost ready to be posted!

LMAO!!! What exactly are you trying to prove??? That they've covered up a murder or a terrorist attack with this video??? So the video may have been edited. Big deal. We edit our POV videos all the time. But then again, we are covering up murders and terrorist attacks!!! --Robb

Hey everyone! The most recent Season Pass Podcast features yours truly! Listen in here: http://seasonpasspodcast.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=560944

Well Eejanaika is also a terrible ride. While I had a *slightly* better ride on it during our '08 visit than our '07 visit I still found it WAAAAAAY rougher than the current X2. I have only received a beating like I did on my first ride on Eejanaika on very few rides - the original restraints on Outer Limits - Gouderix - SFKK's T2 - all come to mind. Seriously, Eejanaika is terrible and it deserves the god awful ranking it received. And that's because even 16 years later, Nemesis is STILL one of the best in the world! Every time I ride that coaster, it continues to impress me. Same with Kumba. --Robb "They don't make them B&Ms like they used to!" Alvey

But that's just the thing, more people DIDN'T ride it as it was closed the entire year. All those people who went to Everland on the ECC trip didn't get to experience the #2 steel coaster in the world! --Robb "Which is why I think many of them were bitter and chose to not like T Express as much just to spite the park." Alvey

^ I'm slightly (read VERY SLIGHTLY) more lenient to "there/their" and "break/brake" because at least those words SOUND the same. Lose and Loose sound DIFFERENT and mean totally different things! Really, there is no excuse for any of it. --Robb

If you loosen a game or two, it doesn't make it tighter, now does it? Or do you just not know the difference between "loose" and "lose?" And that answers my question! The loose/lose typo is getting out of control. I see it at least once a day, today I had to correct two posts. Proofread your posts before hitting "submit" to avoid getting a 24 hour suspension. --Robb

^ I don't think there is anyone who can do better than Mitch's poll so the efforts would be a waste of time, IMO. But doing TPR Awards based on our (meaning Elissa and my) opinions? ABSOULTELY! There are not many other people in the world who have been to as many parks or have been on as many rides as we have, and most rides multiple times even in far away places, and from what parks tell me, they really do appreciate and value our opinions. --Robb

^ Each day will basically be treated like a seperate event. So you can sign up for both if you'd like, but because of the great deal we will already be offering for each day there will not be any "combo" special or anything like that. --Robb

^ I agree that the poll is not perfect, but it's a far better poll than many others out there. Just look at the top ten list on Mitch's poll version the Golden Tickets: Mitch's Steel Poll: 1. Bizarro 2. Eagle's Fortress 3. Expedition GeForce 4. Diamondback 5. Goliath 6. Piraten 7. Kawasemi 8. Nemesis 9. Katun 10. Millennium Force Golden Ticket Awards: 1. Bizarro 2. Millennium Force 3. Nitro 4. Goliath (SFOG) 5. Apollo’s Chariot 6. Expedition GeForce 7. Diamondback 8. Phantom’s Revenge 9. Magnum XL-200 10. Top Thrill Dragster Mitch's Wood Poll: 1. The Voyage 2. El Toro 3. T Express 4. Boulder Dash 5. Ravine Flyer II 6. Balder 7. Prowler 8. Phoenix 9. Fireball 10. Thunderhead 11. Aska (S) Golden Ticket Awards: 1. The Voyage 2. Boulder Dash 3. El Toro 4. Phoenix 5. Thunderhead 6. Ravine Flyer II 7. The Beast 8. Prowler 9. Hades 10. Shivering Timbers While I have disagreements with both polls (mainly based on my personal preference) I would agree with Mitch's poll long before the Golden Tickets (with no offense to the guys at AT, because they are all great people.) But there is no way that woodies like The Beast and Shivering Timbers or steel coasters like Magnum belong in the Top Ten lists anymore. And Apollo's Chariot, Nitro, Millennium Force, and Goliath above GeForce? Really??? I mean, I like Apollo and all those other rides, don't get me wrong, but they are no GeForce! And for a ride like Balder, which has been in Mitch's top ten for 7 years to be completely missing from the Golden Ticket awards? Something is not right there. Even if you don't personally agree with it, it should be on that list. --Robb

Well at least you wouldn't lose everything.

Try reading the last couple of pages of this thread.

^ How big is the file that was downloaded? It should be 1,034,970KB or 0.98gb. If you didn't get that then you probably need to try to download the file again. --Robb

I'm having an issue with downloading from the server right now. It should be fixed today or tomorrow. Sorry! --Robb

Screamscape is saying that Epcot is reported to still get Captain EO: http://www.screamscape.com/html/wdw_-_epcot.htm --Robb

A new video has surfaced from Conny-Land's new PAX shuttle loop coaster! Looks like this coaster might make it for 2010 after all! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5VBc-MTUGM&feature=player_embedded

Also if you're wondering how it shoots in low light, all these Yo Gabba Gabba clips were shot with it: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=826474#826474 --Robb

All of the offride and non POV shots in these videos were shot with that camera. The onride footage was shot with Sony's new HD lipstick camera and from what I can tell, it seems to mostly be a lipstick version of the CX-100:

^ That would be great! Love to see the photos! --Robb

Hello stduf! We would love to add this park! We normally add parks when we have some content (photos, trip reports, etc) from the park to post. Do you have photos you could contribute? Maybe create a trip report from a past visit? Thank you! --Robb

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THEME PARK REVIEW!!! We hope you have enjoyed the 24 days of Theme Park Review videos and now, on the 25th day of December, Theme Park Review is proud to give you all 24 of those videos on one downloadable DVD! This is the best free download TPR has ever offered! To open your present, click on the image below. NOTE! You *MUST* be a registered member of TPR to download this file. Log into the forum with your user name and password before clicking the link below. If you are not a registered member, why don't you REGISTER NOW! It only takes a few seconds. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

I don't think that would be the case. There was another coaster group who rode it this year and it would seem as though they didn't like it as much as the TPR group did. I also want to point out that this group is a lot more "die hard" and some of them don't even consider T-Express a wooden coaster because of the way it is manufactured and several of them ranked it low because of this very reason. And I have now heard from two people who were on that trip that several people were going to rank it low "to spite us." I just think that is so incredibly immature and lame. But whatever. Adults can be children. It is what it is. Although for many of us who rode T Express last year and then rode Balder this year, Balder was giving AMAZING rides that actually equaled or beat out our T Express rides! --Robb