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At first I didn't think this was the case. But, yeah it's in TPG's article which copies from the Merlin announcement, and staff will be moving over to be employed by Aramark: I think that's a huge deal, and will be interesting to see the effect that has. To use HB Leisure as the example, the parks do not hire those staff. It's all through HBL. They have minimal involvement with the park's onboarding / training processes too - again, all through HBL. It was the same with Picsolve too (I don't know if that's changed with the move to Pomvom). Will that mean, in the mid-to-long term, the same thing happens for Food and Beverage? If so, that creates some big changes: -A workforce within one place with more diverse training, which may not be standardised. -Different benefits (Merlin staff get free tickets to Merlin attractions, HBL and Picsolve staff do not) and rates of pay Those are things which can have a big knock on effect to the type of people who want to work there / who is hired, and the quality of the staff. And an interesting potential knock on effect would be Annual Pass discount. You don't get it on HBL games, and Annual Passes and Picsolve have been a weird mix since forever. Could the same happen with F&B? At the very least, discounts are still advertised now for F&B with current passes, so it won't happen immediately. But what about in 2-3 years time? As a passholder, I do hope that that's something that has been agreed to stick around with this change. It's interesting to note that especially over the last couple of years, the park have been getting in external F&B companies for their special events. Thorpe and Chessington have used a company called Pineapple in particular. All of the stuff on the lawns at Towers has been external too. I wonder what affect this will have there. I do also wonder if this will actually change the number of restaurants and food places at the parks. I imagine the agreement is more along the lines of "We have this many units, you staff them and get x amount of profit". So it will be hard to imagine a change there. I think in the short term, we won't see much of a change. Especially for this season, most things will already be pretty set and it will be a case of dealing with the transition. It probably will be a good couple of years before we have any real change, but even then, if any changes are slow and gradual, we may not fully notice them (for better or worse). KFC and Burger King at Thorpe are run by KFC and Burger King. Like with HBL and Picsolve as above, the park are not involved in the hiring process. Similarly, Alton Towers have a few outlets run by Eastern Express, and that's an external operation. Like with the event food stalls, it will be interesting what happens there. Presumably the agreement is "Here's these units, run them to get this profit". But if Aramark feel that these other companies are taking away their custom, maybe they could kick up enough of a fuss... I've seen a fair few bad reviews / unhappy responses to the news. Without experiencing their offerings/service directly, I won't make full judgement yet, but there's definitely some worrying red flags present as it stands.

Its alright. Nothing spectacular cred wise beyond Cyclone (if only for historical relevance), though I visited prior to Thunderbolt. Can waste an afternoon there. Was fairly expensive though. If you fancy scares go to Dennos Wonder Wheel that's in the middle. Now that's an experience I'll never do.

In my opinion, if you enjoy classic wooden coasters it's worth visiting for Cyclone alone.

That is a sound suggestion that makes a lot of sense… I didn’t think of that.

My full review / thoughts on the maze, after 3 goes (twice on Thursday, once on Saturday):-The H&S talk outside the maze is nicer compared to other ones, simply because it themes it up a little with the word 'scientist'. I'd like it if the same was done for the other mazes, like 'The lost souls will touch you, but do not touch them' would work brilliant for Curse. The debrief works brilliantly work the attraction. I liked the use of the 'broken' security cameras and the general feel of worry it can create; if you're in the frame of mind to play along with the theme of course. The guy I had first time round did brilliant, very eccentric and set the scene beautifully. He added a bit of dark humour to it, but also came across as slightly schizophrenic as well, which was perfect for the role. I was surprised when he counted all 8 of us and said '4 for each side' - from there, I really did not know what to expect.. The second time was VERY short and sweet, whereas the third time brought a different tone for the rest of the maze than the other times. The first two times I felt like I was going to a lab, but should be very careful, whereas the third I felt as if I was going to be experimented on. -First time round, being greeted by a Hazmat suit in the decontamination room and having a member of my group split away from us, I was wondered what we had got ourselves in for.. Whatever it was, it would be above the norm. After a LOT of smoke, we were directed in different ways. After experiencing the smoke effect and lights turn off and on in different ways each time, I think the best way is a lot of, then the lights go off, then as soon as the lights come back on, be whisked away. -Having a Hazmat suit brashly pushes me through an open door, shouting to go in there is by far the best bit of the attraction. It is frantic and works fantastically well to set the tone of what the maze is about. I'll say one thing after my go on Saturday - it works best with just a Hazmat suit actor in there. On Saturday, there was an actor (not a scientist, more a patient) stopping and dispatching people down the corridor, then you find a Hazmat suit pushing people in. It takes away from it really; I think it works better having one actor there as it makes it more frantic, more shocking. Also, on Saturday, when pushing people in, the actor said 'You, in there, and don't come out.' It sounded like helpful advice, not the brash panic it should be. I much more prefer the 'Get in here now!' approach, so it's more obvious that they don't like you. - Of course, when I was alone, I was a little bit shocked to say the least. I really was not expecting it. To realise I was in pitch darkness, alone and locked in a small room took a few seconds, but when it sunk it, it did what it was designed to do - make me think 'What the flip do I do now?!' I felt a handle, tried opening it, and failed.. I think that, despite actors and loud audio creating bangs, the guy in the door next to me was actually banging the walls. Anyway, after a long amount of time, goodness knows how long though, another Hazmat suit actor final opens the door and forcefully guides me away. First time, I came across a tunnel, and almost instinctively, I went in. It didn't take long for me to catch up with the first guy. Again, the tunnel felt very long and never-ended, and after finally getting up, it is a relief. The other two times, I've gone down the corridor route, which I've found disappointing due to the lack of actors really. Only been 1 on each visit. -From here, it's pretty much a standard maze - a bit of the others in some ways - very bright strobes, dark spots, some decent theming, tight areas, etc, except you don't need to be hand-on-shoulders. I like the testing lab scenes, which are full of ambience and a little jump I s'pose. Not that many actors (though a staff member has told me more will come when FN is busy, and I can see where they would be). The end is a monster-ish noise, sounds like a dragon to be honest, and an actor. It's not a scare or a jump even (as the monster noise can be heard from the queue - it's loud), in a way, it tries - and fails - in doing an Asylum ended - but it's more a 'relief' to be outside again. If there's one thing that needs improving, it's the positioning of actors. Bare minimum before the isolation room, and more after, much more. It would make the maze 10/10. *As a side note, I did not get the feel of the Holocaust from the beginning, like others did. Maybe it's the way the actors set it up in the reception scene, but every time it was clear I was being decontaminated before entering a laboratory. The isolation room didn't remind me in any way of the Holocaust either, to any description. Would be interesting to see if they were trying to give a nod to the Holocaust though.

I did some research into Aramark; https://medium.com/hope-in-the-dark/aramark-the-not-so-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-9a603b9a05a4 https://mcquad.org/2020/09/01/the-contract-and-the-controversy-aramark-comes-to-campus-community-reacts/ They don't sound like a good company.