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I think I've said this before.. but the point still very much stands.. Runaway Mine Train is genuinely terrifying. WTF is with that wild downward right turn in to the tunnel? 🤯

Colossus has currently had all the track along the inlines removed, possible reasons ? -support work -track repainting /replacement any ideas ?

I'm back again! A new Merlin consultation can only mean one thing... a new version of the attendance graph updated with 2021 attendance! Here is the new graph for your viewing pleasure: I've had a play about with the new graph, and I've managed to extrapolate some figures! I should firstly note that I have restated a few of the previous figures following closer examination of this new graph. I apologise for my earlier error; the mistakes have been rectified in my opening post. The most notable thing I discovered are the 2021 figures for each Merlin park, as well as some seemingly altered 2020 figures and the 2022 figure for Chessington. Final 2020 Figures Alton Towers - 968,750 (-61.3%) Legoland Windsor - 687,500 (-66.7%) Thorpe Park - 562,500 (-62.5%) Chessington - 500,000 (-69.8%) 2021 Figures Alton Towers - 2,343,750 (+141.9%) Legoland Windsor - 1,562,500 (+127.3%) Chessington - 1,281,250 (+156.3%) Thorpe Park - 1,218,750 (+116.7%) Interestingly, Chessington also had a 2022 figure given. In 2022, the park received 1,468,750 guests, a change of +14.6% on 2021. Now we have this information, we can work out... which park recovered the best from COVID in 2021? There are multiple metrics by which we can establish this. The first potential metric to use is the percentage increases in attendance that each park registered in 2021... Percentage Increases Chessington - +156.3% (1,281,250 in 2021 vs 500,000 in 2020) Alton Towers - +141.9% (2,343,750 in 2021 vs 968,750 in 2020) Legoland Windsor - +127.3% (1,562,500 in 2021 vs 687,500 in 2020) Thorpe Park - +116.7% (1,218,750 in 2021 vs 562,500 in 2020) This metric would suggest that Chessington had the strongest recovery while Thorpe Park had the weakest recovery. However, this is not a perfect metric. This is because the parks' attendance decreased by marginally different amounts in 2020; while all parks were under the same COVID restrictions, some parks were affected more than others. For instance, Chessington's percentage decrease in 2020 was nearly 70%, while Alton Towers' was barely above 60%. This is important because if a park is coming from a more diminished base compared to 2020 in the first place, then its percentage increase is bound to be higher. A more reliable metric to use is the net percentage decrease from 2019 to 2021... Net Percentage Decreases Between 2019 and 2021 Alton Towers - -6.3% (2,343,750 in 2021 vs 2,500,000 in 2019) Thorpe Park - -18.8% (1,218,750 in 2021 vs 1,500,000 in 2019) Chessington - -22.6% (1,281,250 in 2021 vs 1,656,250 in 2019) Legoland Windsor - -24.2% (1,562,500 in 2021 vs 2,062,500 in 2019) This metric would suggest that Alton Towers had by far the strongest recovery in 2021, while Legoland Windsor had the weakest. Alton Towers' recovery in 2021 was miles stronger than that of all the other parks; Alton's 2021 attendance was only 6% lower than its 2019 attendance, while Thorpe Park's was close to 20% lower, Chessington's was over 20% lower, and Legoland's was nearly 25% lower. Why this could be is anyone's guess... I'm certainly stumped by it, as every park was hit by the same COVID restrictions in 2021. It should be noted that 2021 was still not an entirely COVID-free season, however, as the parks opened nearly a month late and attendance was still somewhat capped until July. With this in mind, 2022 attendance, when it is available for all parks, may be a better indicator... for what it's worth, Chessington's 2022 attendance remains approximately 11.3% lower than its 2019 attendance, so even in 2022, it has not recovered as strongly as Alton Towers managed to in 2021. Finally, I should remind you that all of this data is viewable in a Google Sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1T3bmW5I9gyq6AgqogFJ6xSppi8vRw-y2SWoRZPpfdzg/edit?usp=sharing I hope you find this interesting! I know I certainly found it interesting to compile... I'll hopefully see you again some time soon when the 2022 attendance is made available for all parks!

Track has now arrived, pictures thanks to Chessington Buzz. It's so refreshing to see a rollercoaster that isn't black, white or grey being added to a a UK theme park. The track looks GORGEOUS It's giving me Hulk/ Hydra the Revenge colour vibes. 😍