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THE MOST ADVANCED RIDE IN THE UK?! 👀 | Ghostly Manor Construction Update #6 👻

I can definitely imagine some UK theme park staff will be tempted by a move. Moving from (say) the Surrey parks towards Bedford isn't a huge distance / upheaval. Prices for rent etc will be similar. Salary will probably be similar. But the draw for UK people to be able to say they work at Universal will be big. When I worked at Thorpe, which is when the London Resort park seemed potentially possible, I know people were saying they would be looking to move if it happened. I especially think your middle-manager folk will be tempted. It could represent career progression, that opportunity to be a part of something new and big, and look at going somewhere else if they become disgruntled with Merlin. Same could also be said for engineers and maybe even those slightly higher up. Universal will have their own Creative Team, Senior Leadership, etc in mind and happy to relocate as necessary. But they'll need plenty of people from the UK, and I'm sure they wouldn't grumble at people who have multiple years at the top UK theme parks coming over. This is what I've always said is the biggest risk for Merlin: the short term loss of staff. I think they'll be fine with visitation, and the premium price and product of Universal will just add a layer to the dynamic of the UK industry, rather than completely change it. But they will struggle if there's an exodus of staff looking to see if the grass is greener. I also think staffing for Halloween will become significantly harder. I can imagine loads of scare actors will have their heads turned at the prospect of saying they worked at Halloween Horror Nights for example. Even ones who live in Surrey (for example) will be happy to relocate for a couple months if needs be.

So Stealth has died then?

Depends. Given most will work in and around Midlands, you'd have to move closer to Bedford, and would the wages be better or as good as anywhere you could get nearby? Universal have their own creative team. They don't need the minds behind Hyperia.

I would expect a lot of the Merlin staff are probably eyeing up a potential move over to Universal at some point. Considering the redundancies the company is going through, I wouldn't be surprised.

You’d think a combo ticket would work well here as long as WB want the collaboration seeing as it still sells out months in advance. In other news has Johnny B jumped ships yet to work on the you can do whatever you like no matter the cost project yet?

Not surprising really. Harry Potter is only 30 odd miles away at Leavesden. Perhaps Universal and Harry Potter might offer joint ticketing to allow access to both on consecutive days.

Mean Horizon has gone very quiet. Thing is currently with Towers, the current problems cannot be solved by throwing big investments down. The general experience of the park is the main issue that requires work on. Why is Paultons so well liked? Because the atmosphere is pleasant, they're not obviously attempting to fleece cash off you at every opportunity and queues are manageable. Towers doesn't really do anything of the sort currently. Work on maintenance, operations and support infrastructure/rides before we start building something "big". The entire top end (Dungeons/Walliams) needs reworking, Dark Forest and X-Sector DESPERATELY need support attractions, Blade needs replacing and we need a need flume ride somewhere. Most that'll happen is prices get knocked down as it moves from the currently advertised "premium" product it apparently is.

The sources in that BBC article just sound like people who they probably found lurking around the fence trying to get first glimpses. Feel sorry for the security if/when construction gets started. Having to deal with certain influencers appearing almost daily.

Post from the BBC - Bond and Paddington set to star at Universal park They mention Bond, Paddington and LoTR which is interesting.... Also says that Harry Potter will not be making an appearance

Astoundingly, we have a project that the locals are heavily for. Don't bother reading social media comments though, complaints about muslims, poor pensioners and cost of living is all the blue ticks have.

It will be an interesting time for Alton Towers over the next few years. With Universal aiming for a 2031 opening, Towers will no doubt want to rise to the occasion. I wonder how this will work out? We could be looking at a long period now before a major new ride is built so that it lines up with Universal - alternatively they might want to install a couple of new rides in the meantime. I would imagine they will want to get timelines “in the diary” so to speak, as many of the country’s engineers etc will be involved at universal and unavailable before too long. Either way, I really hope they are able to get on top of the reliability issues over the next year or two, and start rebuilding their reputation ahead of Universal’s opening. Now that the 2031 date is out there, I bet there’s some planning and re-scheduling of projects going on at Merlin.

Ugh… Hopefully because of the site they’ve chosen this won’t be too bad an issue. There aren’t many housing estates close enough to really be too badly affected. They’ve also done a lot of work surveying the site, so hopefully the usual obligatory “rare wildlife” issue won’t come up. I think as well, just simply due to the state of things in the UK at the moment, the plans will all be waved through. We really do need this in the UK.

I do look forward to seeing what excuses this country's famous exquisite collection of NIMBY's will have to try and stop it. However, this is exciting stuff and if/when it happens will majorly shake up both the UK and European theme park scenes!!

Much more chance of going ahead though I can't imagine many folks aiming to use Luton Airport to get there. Though this is not a Governmental project, their employment figures are a bit far-fetched. It will be interesting as to the source of the bricks.

I don't know what's real and what isn't anymore 😆 This would probably be quite lucrative honestly!

Always assume sarcasm. Like any project anything could happen to it. But once Universal had to reveal their hand it had far more chance than London Resort ever did. Everything crossed.

Look forward to it and especially the vloggers economy it will create! I might consider going full time on tiktok live and live streaming the park daily updating everyone on each new piece of merch and food that becomes avalible!

I can never tell if you're serious or just being sarcastic @Benin 😆 This is a very different situation to the London Resort though isn't it... And actually I'd argue that 6 years is not a long time at all when you consider what it is they're actually building. Construction is due to start next year, so really when you consider that in the meantime they will be arranging contracts with builders, engineers and suppliers etc, the project will be very much actively moving forward within months. Of course there's always the chance that it could be pulled, but really I think this is overwhelmingly positive and is looking very likely to go ahead. Very exciting! I honestly can't wait to visit, especially as my kids will be the perfect age for all this when it opens!

6 years is a long time. Plenty of chance it does a London Resort.

Much excitement!!!!!

Genuinely the most exciting announcement European announcement in my lifetime. There's a long way to go of course but the prospect of this park is so exciting. I can see myself heading up there after work just to hang out in their version of city walk

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz95n2837vgo It's happening!

This is very true to be honest - Stealth has always been amazingly reliable, especially considering what it is. In fact I’d honestly say Thorpe in general have very good reliability (ignoring Hyperia of course) - their downtime only generally lasts a very short period of time doesn’t it.

It's restarted its silent protest at the removal of Kingda Ka.