Purplepills

Well it's the best trip report I've read in a while! Excellent photos, the only thing that could make them better? MORE OF THEM!

Really nice photos and trip report so far! Looking forward to the rest

I don't have a problem with vegetarians, vegans or whatever. Like it's been said before the problem arises because attention is drawn to those who appear (whether intentionally or not) to think they have a higher moral value than people who choose to eat meat, or those who try to convince other people that eating meat is wrong when they haven't asked for advice. For me it's no different than religion, politics, or any other similar issue where someone else is trying to tell you whats right and wrong, or what you should and shouldn't do. One of my pet hates are politicians/religious people who knock on my door when I didn't ask them to, and where I know vegetarians etc don't do this (well I hope not!) it does cause people to stereotype the others who do not do this. I have been to a vegan restaurant before where they had a massive vegan buffet, some of it was really nice and I would eat it again, and also I was surprised just how much stuff there was. I don't see myself ever not eating meat products though, I just like them too much.

Awesome, hot babes in bikini's Looking forward to it! I'd like girls who are tall with long dark straight hair, in white please, if thats possible. If tastefully done, I'll also accept red/pink as a substitute. And surely you're gonna have to be in at least of few of them, otherwise people might just think you stole the photos off the internet somewhere.

^OK as long as I can have them when you're done. Right now for my last ride I would choose El Toro, never been on it but I really want to.

Personally I hate it. I've only been on it once, and have little interest on going on it again, other than to see the new effects. I'd sooner wait in line for something else. If I'm ever at Thorpe and the wait is 5 minutes I'll probably give it another go just to check that it does still suck.

^No they don't seem to be in a hurry to clear it out. I would've thought they may have cleared it all out a while ago, but then I guess it makes good storage for some of it. If they still have the trains now someone may want to buy them at some point. If and when they decide to do something with the tent then they will worry about it then, and I really hope they put another decent ride in there at some point in the not too distant future.

I'm surprised just how much stuff was left in the tent when the photo's were taken, I thought they had cut it all up and scrapped it a long time ago after seeing several of the track sections outside of the tent. I do miss the black hole, it was the last coaster I remember having a fear of riding for the first time, back when I must have been about 12 or so. This was mainly since I heard people saying it was really frightening. Then as soon as I had ridden it once I loved it, and it was one of my favourite rides at AT. I also remember once getting the last ride of the day with just me at the front and a friend at the back, and the ops turning ALL of the effects off so it was actually pitch black, which made for a great ride.

Where I can see why people would like to see old rides saved, I think you have to accept that times do move on, the ride has served its purpose and run the course of it's life. As Robb said, the amount of money required to rehab something like this and keep it running is probably very high, and if it's been sat idle for several years then why not retire it? Unfortunately nostalgia and old rides probably don't sell tickets as much as the more modern thrill/family rides that will appeal to newer generations of visitors. At the end of the day the park is a business, and they have to do what is in the park's interests. They still have several old rides and obviously intend keeping some of them for quite some time, hence the rehab of the wild mouse and suchlike.

I'm getting increasingly annoyed noticing the use of the expression 'I could care less' to describe when you don't care about something. Why? Because the expression should be 'I couldN'T care less'. If you could care less it would mean that you do care to some degree about something, and thus have the capability to care less for it. I've already ranted about expressions that are incorrect once before, but this one is really starting to annoy me.

^I don't think this 'stupid' member of the GP was litereally stood staring at Colossus before asking if it went upside down. Its sounds like he had no idea which coaster they were talking about, and it doesn't say they were even stood next to it or anything. Admittedly though if he got in line for it I'd imagine he may work out it went upside down since the line goes right under the track, and by the time he got to the station he'd recognise the cars.

You see a photo/video with a really hot girl/guy (depending on your preference) but completely ignore them to look at the coaster in the background.

^Yeah if you look closely you can see the rider in the second row of the first car pulls the restraint down just as the train begins to roll.

I won't be able to join you or anything, but I thought I would point out you probably meant to put Alton Towers there not Thorpe park You can get pretty cheap train/bus fares if you book long in advance, but it depends how many of you there are. If you're looking at driving from London to Alton towers I'd guess it would be about £40-£50 there and back for fuel plus the cost of car rental, which isn't bad if you split it between a few of you. Its far more convenient that trying to get public transport there, and will probably save you a lot of time and money. If you try to get a train ticket on the day its gonne be about £50 each return, possibly with group saving if there are 4 or more of you. Go to The Trainline for prices. Buses will be cheaper, but the timings will probably be more inconvenient and the journey slower. National Express is one of the main coach operators, check the website for details. Having said all that if your friend knows a cheaper way then thats obviously better for you than what I just wrote! Thorpe park is a lot easier to get to from London on public transport, with a train from London to Staines and then a bus direct to the park from the train station. Not sure about the other parks you mentioned.

^Loves to dress up in womens clothing V IS DOING IT WRONG.

^ I was thinking the same thing about the Colossus comment. And again I think some of the comments on here are unfair, usually about the more technical nature of the rides. Having said that its hilarious people are asking the ride ops when the rain is going to stop

I've never been on anything like this, partly because its just so expensive I'd rather use the money for something else. At least in this case the safety mechanism worked and nobody was hurt, must have been a bit scary to watch though.

Some information on these pages too: schwarzkopf.coaster.net/ESshuttlelooptyp2GF.htm schwarzkopf.coaster.net/ESshuttlelooptyp1GF.htm

Has anyone who's interested in whether or not it is closing for any period of time sent an email/letter to guest services? I would've thought this is the best way to find out, assuming of course they normally reply to that sort of thing.

Great pictures, thanks for sharing them I've been considering going over to DLRP for a while now especially since the tower has been opened, just really haven't got the money to do it! Hopefully next year we'll manage it.

I also think the designs are actually pretty cool as far as coins go, mainly the way that all the coins put together make a big emblem. It'll be fun for the first time, maybe even twice when you are able to put them together for yourself!

^Plus the notes are completely different colours. This was the only slightly annoying thing when we were in the US as to anyone not used to the notes they are pretty similar (size and colour). I do really like the whole quarters thing though. To me it makes more sense than our system, and removes the need for the 50p really. I didn't even know we were getting new coins . I can see how it might be a bit confusing to visitors, but then most foreign currency is confusing to a point. I have no idea why anoyone would think changing the designs ON the coins would confuse anyone. There are loads of variations of coin designs already. I assumed thats why they are different shapes. One thing I never worked out is why a one cent coin is called a penny though. Surely it should be a cenny or something. And I'm confused as to why this thread isn't in 'random'.

There's a site with photo's you may be interested in: Abandoned but not forgotten

19/20 I love it when quizzes are at a more basic level like that. It makes me feel more intelligent!

Haha I can't believe that ride broke when you were the only person on it. That must have been almost embarassing! Nice pics so far, look forward to reading more.