Purplepills

^Thanks, basically everything I wanted to know. I didn't actually realise coasters still ran like that, I just assumed H&S would have said that there would have to be a set of brakes between the trains as is the case with newer coasters (which I think they might do now). Always a shame to hear of people getting injured when it's not down to their own stupidity.

If one car has gotten stuck and the other has run into it, does the ride not have any block brakes or anything then? I don't know much about it really. If there are no computer controlled blocks, does the op normally send a train out when the other isn't back in the station etc?

^I'm pretty sure they could. It'll be interesting to see what the actual cause and where it was, and to see any pictures etc.

Tragic, but agreed with the rest of you, once again where were the parents? It's bad enough kids can get killed at fairgrounds where they're at least slightly safer and less likely to get hurt, but losing a 3 year old in a warterpark? The parents should have not let the kid out of their sight, or even arms reach tbh.

I found RITA painful (neckbashing) at 3 or 4 points. I have only been on it once since the wait seems to be 45+ minutes when I have gone and it doesn't seem worth it. Wasn't a bad ride, but wasn't that great either. The neckbashing depends on your shape I guess, like a lot of other rides which people have varying experiences on.

^Totally agree, that ride just bashed my neck on those stupid OTSR's. Wouldnt have been so bad it they weren't so thin.

^Because gravity is pulling your out your seat when the train is not moving in the same direction you are being pulled. When it is moving in the same direction gravity is still doing the same to you but it's pulling the train at the same speed, so you feel like you're 'sat still'. If thats what you meant. Oh and the bio-fit thingy might be ergonomics. I think? Least favourite (or the first 2 that come to mind) RITA (banged my neck too much) Revolution SFMM Most comfortable OTSR - Nemesis etc. Favourite - Anything with inversions and only a lapbar =]

Well every time I have been in the last few years it never seems to be working anyway, maybe since I go on off peak days (and seemingly when its windy). I guess it definitely won't be working for a while now.

THORPE PARK. And yep, thats it! And thats probably all it will be too.

I disagree generally with having the information posted at the gate, mainly from a business point of view. The parks already tell you which rides are closed, and if they told you how full it was it would put people off going, bringing revenue down, and possibly putting prices up/investments down. On top of this, how many people would know what it meant id it said 'SFMM is at 80% capacity' or whatever? The bit of information that the majority of people would easily understand is the wait times, and which rides are down. Having said all that, a huge percentage of people decide to go to a theme park and will go anyway knowing (roughly) when it will be busy, and the majority would most likely turn up relatively close to opening, before any of these times could be published accurately. On the subject of wait times in the line, these are normally absolute maximum times, designed for when the entire line is open, so people know what to expect. AT and TP both have wait times on displays at the actual ride entrance, and dotted around the park. When we rode Saw, it said a 2 hour wait, and I was chuffed when it turned out to only be about 1hr 40. I'd be pretty pissed off if it was the othe rway around.

^I guess men don't have the same problem as women with their boobs falling out. And if they DID put the men who's boobs DO fall out on it, lets face it you probably wouldn't wanna see it. Thats definitely the most entertaining coaster video I've seen in a while.

I think I'd probably do the skywalk thing, if they were going to have one (which I guess they aren't). Might not try the sky jump thing though if I was there, I'm too paranoid about the safety of that sort of thing. I don't trust other humans enough to strap me in properly.

I'd agree with those saying its too subjective, unless you start breaking it down, to something like 'Rare credits if you live in the US and don't travel much' and other ridiculous things. The likelihood is that for people posting on this board, rare credits are gonna be in places like Russia, Iraq, and anywhere else TPR trips don't tend to go (since these are probably the places people are most likely to visit when abroad anyway).

I have to agree with those who say it would probably not be built, and the forces at points would be too strong. But seeing as the main point seems to be a design project, I think you've done a great job on the concept, and the animation looks fantastic. Thanks for posting the finished product here too, I think I remember filling out a survey which might have been yours a while ago.

^Its probably also someone just not thinking about it, since quite often when I was younger if you shouted 'FASTER!' at the ride op on a fairground ride they would make it go faster. I guess they just thought it was the same. My friend did also say that at Alton Towers though when we were waiting for Air. 'well if its not electric how does it go round the track?'

So did you post that in here before someone else did? That should go in the 'dumbest things said on TPR' thread. Starting a 'war'. I mean really.

I'd say it probably was human error, given that the report says it was 'not the result of faulty equipment', which basically means a human at some point did something to cause this, be it the maintenance worker or anyone else.

I'd go with it not being a real place, possibly just a bunch of stock photos that have been photoshopped together to make a pier fairground.

Congrats to you both, and best wishes for the future

We went to Newport and Santa Monica, I preferred Newport, but then we didn't spend ages at either. Sat on the beach for an hour and had a little wander around and up the pier at Newport. We went to Santa Monica too just for a walk along it really. Can’t comment too much on the facilities etc though as we weren’t there for a day or anything. We ‘did’ Hollywood, and found a few hours there was enough to see the main interesting things. There’s the museum in the old Max Factor building which is okay, with loads of original props, outfits etc from loads of famous films including the entire prison cell set from Silence of the Lambs. Obviously the Chinese Theater, Kodak Theater etc, and the Stars on the sidewalk are things you’d probably want to see too. I’d seriously recommend a car, although we didn’t even attempt public transport, I’ve been warned by several people not to. If you’re concerned about driving over there don’t be, its really not that hard (I drove quite happily there 2 months after I passed my test here). You can get Sat nav with your hire car if you want it which would help, and you’ll find most places have tons of parking. It’ll definitely help you make the most of your time. As for other things, I'd guess you'd already thought about Sea World and USH. If you did decide to do one I'd say USH as its something you can't really see in that many other places, where a lot of the exhibits at SW you could.

Just found a photo showing the location of the bouncy castle/fence/coaster, which by the looks of it is after the accident and has been put back where it would have been before it was moved to get to the child. Whilst I appreciate that the majority of people see that there is no problem with it (and I'd assume it was up to H&S guidelines), thought people might like to see it.

Thats the problem with news headlines aswell, and it's not only that, its the hearsay. In 2 years time, people will forget what actually happened and recall how some kid fell out of the rollercoaster at this fair and died. At least the news conveyed the fact its been 9 years since a fatal accident (I'm guessing this means travelling fairs). I've corrected people on occasions who hear about teenage morons climbing over fences to get a hat and getting killed by a coaster, when they just say 'god yeah someone got killed on a rollercoaster in such and such a park.', simply because they read a headline in the news and not the whole story.

^I read it as expecting the fence to be child proof was unecessary, and agreeing the fence wasn't 'at fault'. Initially I thought perhaps the fence wasn't good enough, but then everyone makes valid points about having to idiotproof everything. It doesn't sound as if there was some gaping hole the kid just walked through, or gross negligence. I guess its several smaller issues that on their own wouldn't normally lead to such a tragic event, but in this case did.

Tragic news, seems that the toddler managed to get under/through the fence around the ride and was stuck by the train. FULL ARTICLE If the report is correct, it seems as though the fencing surrounding the ride could need to be improved. Even though the father shouldn't really have been seperated from his child in the first place, it does happen, and surely a funfair aimed at children that young should have more adequate things in place to prevent this from happening. Sympathies to all involved.

Wow, I've never really looked at photos of Tokyo's disney, but it looks amazing, great pics so thanks for posting them