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I just read that Varney proclaimed that "Merlin create the best themed accommodation in the world, unrivalled by any other amusement or park operator." One can only assume that the news in the next month will have the headline "CEO of Entertainments company sectioned after finally losing the plot"...

Thing is as well, these are things that are pretty plentiful in loads of places now... Can't fall over without finding an Escape Room company (there's about 5/6 in city centre alone up in Leeds), there's numerous trampoline/activity places opening, and gaming stuff is starting to come in due to esports... But if you're interested in these things would you do them at a theme park? It's a similar question to having a Dungeons attraction at Towers (though at least at Thorpe the hours are slightly better), why would you take 45 minutes out of your day to partake in something like this after paying whatever the entry fee is? Would people rather this, or the park replacing Slammer with, well anything? These additions scream of a park under the thumb of a company giving them little money to spend, and the worrying thing is it's only going to get worse apparently since the focus is on building Legolands everywhere in the world... Towers has an attraction foisted upon them, Thorpe have no money to spend on anything worthwhile and Chessie are getting another retheme of an attraction which was mothballed... Here's the thing, these events would be fine IF (and I cannot stress the IF enough here) the rest of the park wasn't in dire straits and in desperate need of picking up, getting a dusting down (or a repaint) and generally sorting out... But the parks aren't given enough money to do this because of KPIs or ROIs are directly noticeable from such things, even though having a park that looks the part is one of the most important factors in terms of guest satisfaction... If it looks like a cheap death-trap, then likelihood is guests will come away with that viewpoint...

Neither was Walking Dead The Ride though...

Nothing screams “best themed accommodation” more than the gorgeous Thorpe Shark Hotel. Love me some shipping containers!!

Bouncy castle? Arguably would be their best investment since 2012...

Sure? Knock yourself out?

To be fair, they did add the Air Race in 2014(?), and around that time they did seem to have their heads screwed on. Thomas Land was doing well for the park, they were hitting the first expansion of that, and still had a good balance. Then things went downhill. Pirates died / they gave up with it. I imagine they were hit by people losing faith in theme parks after Smiler. Stormforce required lengthy work. The rapids incident happened. It's not gone very well for the park. They clearly know Thomas works for them, so that's what they're focusing on as their USP. They won't die away, but they are on a downward spiral and not investing in non-Thomas attractions won't help them get out of it.

Wouldn't be surprised if the two houses on that road are a block to this as well (presumably Efteling are trying to buy them out or already own them, not 100% sure really), but I'd say making that entire thing a tunnel would just not be feasible at all... Especially as it would have to factor in delivery vehicles for Bosrijk et al round that way...

It’s about time they got a Teletubbies addition. All they need now is a Pingu ride! I wonder if the drop towers will reuse or replace the Frog Hopper Tower. Could we see the remains of Cloud Cuckoo be closed off completely (bar the Dungeons)?

Major disappointing news - https://www.efteling.com/nl/blog/nieuws/20190301-update-uitbreiding-efteling?fbclid=IwAR2cWRKpnA_fLhBwTixsb_3Mu7zOvzhz-i_wmH7QlKM08RW90FJ0s4em8vc Efteling have NOT been granted permission for their expansion. Efteling were hoping to expand the park massively. The original plan was for this to start in 2020, with a new circus-themed coaster and others, and the expansion continuing with more new attractions until 2030. See my crude drawing from when it was announced over a year ago for where this was to take place... The park had to delay these plans due to issues with the local authority not being convinced by the plans. This meant the 2020 project was tentatively pushed back to 2021, and ultimately Efteling decided to replace Bob with the Mack powered coasters for 2020. The local authority have now made a decision, and feel that - despite Efteling's claims it will not - the expansion will cause extra traffic and noise pollution, so ultimately they are against the decision. The Council of State will make a further decision about whether the plans can be implemented in some revised fashion. A real true shame, and majorly frustrating, as the park itself cannot really develop much more within its current area. Hopefully things work out, because their 2021 coaster - rumoured to be a family launch with special track features - sounded really fun...

A set of events for 2019. Along with GameFX is... -Jungle Escape. An upcharge escape room, presumably taking place in I'm a Celebrity. From May. -BounceZilla. An inflatable, potential fun Total Wipeout-esque, course. Over summer. -Fright Nights. Jungle Escape and Bouncezilla sound like they have potential. Why Thorpe didn't just announce all this in one go boggles the mind (I guess they planned to drag it out, but the bad response made them change their mind..) However, let's note that this is the first year since 1997 where no new (free) attraction has been introduced at the resort.