Lets look at Flamingo Land. The zoo is of a similar size to the theme park and has thousands of different species of animals, all locked away in their own enclosures. Is visitor enjoyment really enough to warrant keeping living creatures in such confined conditions? Personally, I don’t think it is.

The majority of visitors wont even visit the zoo and those that do wont spend that much time admiring every animal there anyway. So why not just have a mini zoo with a few of the most popular animals? I think Flamingo Land’s zoo would be far better if it was more than halved. It would allow visitors to see everything without losing too much riding time and it would allow for bigger, better enclosures for the animals that need them.

What I do think works well with a zoo inside a theme park is the shows. They can be really entertaining, inspiring and most importantly, can be used to educate people more about a certain species. It is this aspect that gives the theme parks with zoo’s that edge over others.

So my opinion is that there is a place for zoo’s in theme parks, but not full size zoo’s with thousands of different species and they really should be put to better use, both for the visitors and for the animals themselves.

How does a theme park zoo compare to the indipendant zoo’s? Make sure you come back tomorrow as we will be taking a closer look inside Blackpool Zoo. You can expect plenty of photos.

What are your thoughts on theme park zoo’s?

So a coaster targeted towards young children from the age of 6 months. Sounds like a strange concept. Why would a park like Alton spend all that money on something that will take up quite a large area, when they could entertain that audience so much better with something much smaller and less expensive?

A 6 month old child is usually highly amused by someone making burping noises, belly laughing or simply pulling funny faces. Do they even get that much excitement out of travelling around a track at speeds reaching 2mph? I’m of the opinion that it would make much more sense financially, and be more exciting if the park hired an entertainer suited for that age range. Even a giant TV showing CBeebies would entertain the children more than this baby coaster.

Merlin aren’t new to this game, so I find it hard to believe they would come up with something that seems so unsuitable. Is there more to the story than we are all seeing though? Is it a publicity stunt to get the Alton brand out there, or is this actually a sneaky dummy to put enthusiasts off the scent? Are Alton bringing us something big and want to keep it under wraps? Only time will tell.

Is this a good move on Alton’s part?

Right, let’s start from the beginning. I love Alton Towers, I always have done since being small when my folks would take us just for a nice day out! So before anyone leaves any bizarre coments, I shall warn you that I have a tendency to get controversial every so often and have a rant!

Personally, I think this is a stupid idea… there we go, finished! No only joking. I really do think it’s rather silly though. I’m sure a few of you are aware now that I have a 7 month old son and there is NO WAY on earth he would understand the thought of a rollercoaster! To second that, I wouldn’t even want to put him in a seat and let a machine take him away from me even if it is just for 60 seconds! He would scream the house down! Once more I would happily trust my life to a coaster but my son, and at that age? I don’t think it’s a good plan, especially if adults cannot board aswell.

Once again Merlin seem to have sort of got the wrong end of the stick with Alton Towers and dubbed it a family park. Yes, I agree it does cater for most visitors needs, but who is going to be the one who makes the decision to go there? For example, Let’s say a twelve year old visits Alton 2005 and 2006, he has a little sister of 2 years old. Kid asks Mum “whats new at Alton this year?” Mum says “a baby rollercoaster” kid says “no don’t wanna go” Mum says “ok” becuase after all the little girl isn’t going to argue, she can barely talk! They go elsewhere.

A 2 year old is not going to see a marketing campaign and beg their parents to visit! They’re barking up the wrong tree! Am I the only one who sees this? Yes I know Alton put Rita in a few years back but once again it still only has 5 coasters! Cedar Point has 17 and they cater for the kids much better than Alton, so I don’t know how anyone can turn around and say there is not enough for children to do!

It’s the thrill seekers who are short on stuff now! Merlin will destroy Alton! How can you take it’s “Thrilling” title away when it has 4 of the most extreme and innovative coasters in the UK? Hello… earth to Merlin! By all means go and install the kids rides but give the adults something else to do. (Don’t put another water ride in! Jesus you have to be mad to go on Battle Galleons, you get drenched. There will be about 6 weeks when it is a good time to go on that ride!) We all appreciate that planning is strict so do a hex and bring back the magic to Alton Towers, just don’t make it a place where nobody is pleased anymore. You can never please everyone, it’s just the way it is so at least please the people who have the biggest power to spend, adults! Not 2 year old children! Rant over!

When I was younger, well about 6 years ago I hated coasters, the look of them, the sound, the thought of “why the hell would anyone want to pay £30 for a day out just to feel sick” was my motto! I just couldn’t bring myself to get on. I would stare and think “It must be safe” and then it would come whizzing around with people screaming for their lives. It just did nothing for me, but then something changed! For some reason, about 3 years ago I started riding coasters with my girlfriend at the time. It was almost as if she’d passed the buzz onto me and all the fear had gone, but it just proves that it really is something in your head! You’re not actually afraid of them, your brain has been conditioned to think that.

So the next time person X tells you they’re gonna sit this one out, drag them on! After all, there is nothing the ride can actually do to them to hurt them (unless it’s The Ultimate) but just tell them to stop being a wimp and get on! Us enthusiasts just know they will want more afterwards!

We’ll start with public transport oh the fun:

• Bus - The bus is a last resort for me. It’s about the most inconsistent, inconvenient of all the modes of transport. Luckily it’s only really used as a link between the train station and the park but if you have to get a normal bus god help you! You may just have to wrestle with a toothless hobo or even worse, a bus driver who refuses to drive at more than 30mph on a 60 road! Worse still, you may fall to sleep and miss the park altogether, even though it’s just taken 2 hours to do a 40 mile journey!
• Train - Fast, clean and rare! Whoever invented the train routes of modern day England was a genius. I know, let’s get close to the parks but not close enough to walk to and we’ll offer a really silly service so you’re there either 4 hours before it opens or 2 hours after it closes hmm! If you can get a good service it’s usually a good trip, I mean there’s no pink elephants and 9 foot flowers but it’s better than making conversation with Bob the builder on the bus!
• Flying - Yeah I don’t even think I’ll bother with this one. Oh yeah did you here about Alton Towers getting a new airport? Ha! The locals would love it, “You can build it as long as there is no noise and you fly below tree height!”
• But over all of these, the best way to get to a park if you’re not on a school trip is to drive with your car (or broomstick if you sway that way.) - For the passengers it’s a dream come true but as the driver, the route there is great but the way home is a pain in the left butt cheek! Non-drivers don’t seem to appreciate how exhausting a two hour drive is after a day at a park. The road becomes a wiggly roller coaster and cars become blobs of jelly floating along! Then the eyes shut! I will be the first to confess that I need to split my journey up when driving home, especially from Alton Towers. That drive to the motorway is EVIL! I find nothing helps better though, than a good dose of Pro Plus, Red Bull or Relentless and some good show tunes to sing along to! This is when my passengers start wishing they had taken the bus!

If you have any fun stories about your journeys to and from parks, post them below!

• Mobile Phone - It’s a must. I mean anyone might just call you, even though there is the chance of it slipping out of your pocket, getting wet or getting sat on but all that matters is that you might just get the most important call of your life!
• Wallet - You never know when you may just need to buy something. After all, you need to eat or drink on a day out to a theme park or buy a photo or a really crappy souvenir that resembles nothing to do with the park apart from a great sticker across its stomach or its label.
• Camera - Hmm, sometimes depending who I’m going with and if they have a tendency to burst into song and dance (which is obviously worth recording) or something funny happens or I just bump into Matt Bellamy (that would be so cool) but anyway, yes it’s good to snap all those memories even though you’ve got all the pictures from last time you visited. (bloody fan boys!)
• Lastly, the attire - Dependant on the time of year but it usually consists of a pair of jeans, t-shirt (mainly consisting of Muse, Cedar Point or Maverick), vans (oh I’m cool) and a nice warm tight hoody, and maybe a hat and gloves if it’s cold.

Right, now here comes the list of ‘other’ things I’ve known taken to Theme Parks:

• A bag - Yes although seeming appropriate at most times, it can be your enemy especially if the park has water rides. Hmm you thought your valuables were safe inside there but oh no, they’re about to get as wet as you and of course especially in US parks nearly every ride requires you to insert money into a locker to store your bag, there’s no dumping it down on the ride platform!
• A cool box full of food and drink - The money saving option, even though the amount you’ve packed into it is probably enough to feed an African nation and worth more than a Rolex Watch. But if not you’ll certainly have paid that much in the end with locker rentals and the irritation of carrying it around all day!
• Pyjamas - That’s right folks you read right! I have been to a park with someone wearing PJ’s oh god it was horrible, well each to their own but I mean come on, I’m no fashion icon but I know that they are for bed wear only!
• Hip flask of gin - As if a day at a park is not fun enough you have to get ratted in the queue lines and end up passing out on the log flume from being intoxicated, hmm fun day that! Buying alcohol in the park too? Hello… you’ve just paid £30 to get in and you’re now paying £5 a pint? Some logic is missing there.

but the final thing tops it all off:

• A retro ghetto blaster - I have seen it! Although not with any of my party, I have seen a guy walking around a park with a stereo on his shoulders, blasting out the ‘beats!’ Why? I don’t want to listen to Snoop Dog while I’m queuing for Oblivion! It doesn’t really do it for me!

There you have it, my guide to things that should or in some cases maybe shouldn’t be taken to a theme park. What do you usually take along with you?

April Duby, said the two intended to scrap the metal tracks for profit. She said the tracks were lying by the curb, and appeared to be trash. She said her husband and Squires often go scrap-metal hunting in their spare time but had never gone to Zoomers (Amusement Park) before.

“It was all a big misunderstanding,” she said. “It was out by the trash, and they were going to recycle it. It was all busted up and rusted. They didn’t try to hide anything, and they were ready to do whatever they had to do to return it.”

The price of steel in the area is 11 cents per pound, according to Brown Thompson, spokesman for Allied Recycling in Fort Myers. I guess this would answer my previous question about why anyone would want to steal coaster track.

The track was laying in the car park, where they put it onto a trailer and attempted to get it home, only to be spotted by the park owner. The police were alerted and the two men were arrested, later to be bailed at a cost of $1,500.

I have to ask, why would anyone want to steal pieces of coaster track? Now from an enthusiasts point of view I can understand why some people might like a bit of track in their garden, but to steal it from a theme park and think nobody will notice? They can’t have been the smartest of guys!

During summer 2000 and something, I went to Thorpe Park for the day! Go me! It was getting towards the end of the day so we thought we would take it easy and watch a few folk get wet on tidal wave, for those of you who want to appreciate this story you have to realise the splash from this ride is immense!

So we get sat down out of range and watched a few boats come down, but then we saw something strange. A family (mum, dad and the little one in a pushchair) are standing out of range watching like us, having a giggle at the wetness of all the people on the ride but then from nowhere it was as if Satan had possessed both of them for a split second and before the next boat hit the lift hill, they tightened the restraints in the pushchair and shoved it up to the edge of the pool in the centre of what Thorpe call the “Splash Zone.”

Well as they say the rest writes itself. The boat came plummeting down the drop and hit the lake, water rose up and quickly moved towards the little one…

SPLASH!

The pushchair was engulfed with water, well I couldn’t help but laugh and the parents, well… they were in hysterics! The poor kid looked like a drowned rat but it was well worth it.

Is this child abuse or is it just good old fashioned fun? Have your say!