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Showing content with the highest reputation since 03/29/23 in Posts

  1. I hate this guy
    10 points
  2. God he's good. Must be why he's a mod. Waff zooooooom splosh splish splash I was takin a bath rub a dub dub things are lookng UP. I'm desperate, so where can I.P. We need more time, lord.
    8 points
  3. JoshC.

    Hyperia - New for 2024

    I predict that construction for Project Exodus will go vertical on Monday 9th October. I reckon the first supports will go in sometime between 11am and 1pm that day.
    8 points
  4. Hopefully it will be used to show replays of live streams where YouTubers say a ride name 50,000 times.
    7 points
  5. Mark9

    Hyperia - New for 2024

    I would sell my soul for Exodus to open tomorrow just so we never have to listen to this nonsense ever again.
    7 points
  6. 7 points
  7. JoshC.

    Sparkle Project

    I went on the BTS tour of the park today. Great tour it should be said; it was headed up by Russ, who is a fantastic speaker. I did mean to ask about the screen, but honestly forgot. It does seem like it won't be fixed for start of season (I believe the park said this in the passholder group a few weeks back too). A real shame. Hopefully they can hide the dead pixels with whatever they put on the screen. Okay, now time for some updates. Everything is still a Work in Progress it should be stressed Toilets Loo enthusiasts rejoice. All the toilets have received some love. Swarm toilets. The walls have been painted green (originally white), and no more foot pedal sinks Megastore toilets are nicely themed Tidal Wave The rebuilt bridge, with the original Pier 13 style. The fire effect is proving very tricky to implement, but is being planned still Big Easy Boulevard Stealth Colossus The park have released that the entrance is a bit flat, and so are looking to add more colour/depth to it, although this will happen mid-season. The shop front looks nice. In terms of the rest of the repaint, and indeed a Sparkle Project continuation, the park hope to do that either next closed season, or the closed season after. The park want to do it regardless, and recognise they need to keep up appearances - literally - now that they've started to do this. Personally, I hope it happens next closed season, as it does look a little jarring in places. The park is looking lovely though, with the Hyperia area coming along and looking smart. There's other small updates too, such as KFC getting refitted and other new food places. Some parts of the park are still a bit tired looking / haven't really been touched. Rumba/Inferno is the big example I would say. And the Sparkling up does highlight how tatty some parts of that area, and the likes of Swarm and Saw, look. I do wonder if this means that, come opening, some enthusiasts will focus too much on those and not the fab stuff that we've seen heavily documented and shouted out about. But yes, it's clear to see the park have put time, effort and money into things this winter, and they're taking strides in the right direction. I'm excited to see what will happen and hope their plans pay off!
    6 points
  8. PCCDN

    Hyperia - New for 2024

    Pretty cool how clearly you can see the inversion from Staines Lane. Just walking to the site now to take some pics. 😁 EDIT: Extra track piece going in This part's gonna be so weird but thrilling 🤩 Other piece going in now Slowly but surely Final photo before I post the rest. They positioned originally but then took it back down after. Looks like they're securing it into place now.
    6 points
  9. Being serious for a moment though. I sense most of the negativity towards the name is because of it being similar sounding to Hyperion at Energylandia Lets be real though, what percentage of the people walking through the gate at Thorpe on any given day actually have heard of even Energylandia let alone Hyperion??
    6 points
  10. It'll be called Big Bird.
    6 points
  11. MattyMoo

    Sparkle Project

    Sparkle Project update here, courtesy of Jack Silkstone's Twitter - lovely to see an easter egg of a mini replica of the Swarm station being installed outside Tidal Wave 🤩
    5 points
  12. Benin

    Nemesis

    Ban request.
    5 points
  13. Matt N

    Hyperia - New for 2024

    If anyone's interested, I decided to have a bit of fun this evening and cobble together a rough Planet Coaster recreation of Hyperia to gauge a rough idea of the sort of forces and speeds we might be hitting through some of those elements. I'm aware that the profiling and such aren't perfect, and as such, I'd take some of the exact g-forces with a pinch of salt (for instance, I don't think we'll be pulling 5.6G at the bottom of the dive loop...), but I built the large elements to roughly the same sort of height as they will be in real life (lift hill 236ft, Immelmann 157ft, large outerbank 164ft, dive loop 137ft, small outerbank 65ft, final airtime hill 48ft), so I think it should give a rough ballpark idea of speed in particular. I hope you like it! Here's a POV and some cinematic shots of my creation: And if you don't want to watch the video, here is the heatmap of vertical g-forces throughout the ride: As well as the heatmap of speed throughout the ride: And the stats of the ride: And just for fun, here are some shots of the layout in the day and at night: In terms of speed and forces; I think it paints a very promising picture! If my recreation is at all accurate, it suggests that we could be absolutely flying through the Immelmann, with the ride maintaining a speed of nearly 50mph even at the Immelmann's highest point! The other two large elements maintain speeds of 35-40mph at their highest points. In terms of trimming in the splashdown; I erred towards the more fierce end of the trimming spectrum and went for a deceleration rate of 4m/s2, which reduced the speed by 10-15mph. And even then, the outerbank and final airtime hill still appear very potent, with negative g-forces of nearly -1G still being registered in both elements! So overall, then, I reckon Hyperia could pack some brilliant g-forces throughout and hold its speed really well! I hope you like my recreation! I have to say, this has also reminded me just how much fun getting stuck into a good Planet Coaster build is... I really need to get back into Planet Coaster, as I haven't really had too much time for it as of late and it shows. I haven't updated any of my ongoing park projects for the forum in nearly 2 years! If you'd like to play with my recreation yourself, here's the Steam Workshop link where you can download it from: https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=3113374891
    5 points
  14. JoshC.

    Hyperia - New for 2024

    The twisted outerbank dive is complete!
    5 points
  15. PCCDN

    Hyperia - New for 2024

    Better late than never. Here are more photos of the site.
    5 points
  16. JoshC.

    Hyperia - New for 2024

    Nailed it 😎
    5 points
  17. MattyMoo

    Hyperia - New for 2024

    Just had the message straight from the groundworkers on site - and am incredibly excited to reveal as a MTYMOO83 EXCLUSIVE that Project Exodus will be going vertical on REDACTEDday the REDACTED of REDACTEDber! About time!
    5 points
  18. I've got scheduled Youtube videos predicting that vertical construction will commence the day after tomorrow for the rest of the week therefore I'll be correct for sure #Influencer #MTYMOO
    5 points
  19. tactic

    Hyperia - New for 2024

    Sorry for the double post.
    5 points
  20. Coaster

    Merlin Entertainments

    Don't worry, I'm not back, just briefly returning to the forum to highlight what I feel is a very important talking point. In a recent government report, Merlin Entertainments have been listed as a company who have not paid minimum wage. The company failed to pay minimum to 1,100 employees, equating to £43,000. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/over-500-companies-named-for-not-paying-minimum-wage Ride Rater have published a further breakdown of all the available info: https://riderater.co.uk/11561/merlin-entertainments-failed-to-pay-minimum-wage/ Flamingo Land are also named here for failing to pay 4 workers the minimum, following a previous report from Blackpool Pleasure Beach who had failed to pay 12 workers the minimum. In 2018, the CEO of Merlin Entertainments took home a salary of £1,493,000. In contrast, the £43,000 owed to 1,100 employees would have still left £1,450,000 for the CEO. Staff rely on being paid at least the legal minimum to live off, to pay their bills. It's shameful that this has been allowed to happen. Source: https://www.erieri.com/executive/salary/nick-varney-8ydw I feel that as enthusiasts/people with an interest in theme parks, we have to pay attention to this and demand better for the staff who make our hobby possible.
    4 points
  21. Mattgwise

    Sparkle Project

    Courtesy of the Thorpe Park Annual Pass group linked above are a few shots...
    4 points
  22. PCCDN

    Hyperia - New for 2024

    On my way to take some pics. See two cranes up,must be doing something big 👀 I'll be updating this post with more photos, so keep your eyes peeled. Another tower going up Man alive, it's weird to be looking at this in person
    4 points
  23. Love it, it's a real Hoot Hoot of a theme. Genuinely though, looks good, hope the concept art comes to fruition. Makes sense with the surrounding area too.
    4 points
  24. The only person who knows what the new logo looks like is @Parm Pap
    4 points
  25. JoshC.

    Hyperia - New for 2024

    And in an actually useful post, more supports:
    4 points
  26. Benin

    Thorpe Park 2023

    Bring back the giant head branding.
    4 points
  27. PCCDN

    Hyperia - New for 2024

    Just come back from my walk by thorpe park, here's an update from the site. Contsruction walls avoided me from getting good photos, but here's the best I could get. Station's going up I believe though need to look over the plans to check. Main tower seems to be going up which was ace to see, but might pop into thorpe park next time for better photos.
    4 points
  28. Glitch

    Fright Nights 2023

    Yay the press night so we can all hear that the event is the best it’s ever been then go ourselves hand over £50 and find out it’s utter rubbish
    4 points
  29. JoshC.

    Hyperia - New for 2024

    I delved into the plans for Exodus and had a look when we might see things go vertical: https://thorpeparkmania.co.uk/news/28-08-2023/When+Might+Project+Exodus+go+Vertical In short: -Vertical construction looks set to start mid-next month -Set to finish before Christmas -Testing to happen from late January -Potentially ready to open in time for Easter holidays
    4 points
  30. MattyMoo

    Angry Birds Land

    SLKSTNLND
    4 points
  31. Glitch

    SAW: The Ride

    Is SAW the best IP Merlin have got? Who would have thought we'd still be here releasing Saw Movies..... Whoever decided to pick this IP should be held at the same level of respect as John Wardley.
    4 points
  32. Mark9

    Hyperia - New for 2024

    I think it should be called Prime.
    4 points
  33. JoshC.

    Hyperia - New for 2024

    Yep, this is the key point: Jack, and Kieran, are not - to the best of my knowledge - directly employed by the park / Merlin. They effectively operate as contractors. This isn't too dissimilar to how Thorpe work with other companies, such as Unique Concepts. In short, by hiring them as contractors, Thorpe get their expertise, whilst the contractors (in Jack's case, himself) can get more money than if they worked solely for Thorpe, and are free to work for other companies too. If anything, Thorpe are the ones who lose out slightly, but that's the way they go about things. Access will in part be restricted for H&S reasons. I think it's notable that during Jack's on-site construction updates, it is only him (and not him and Kieran) on-site. There's a reason why we rarely see such in-depth coverage of coaster construction. I expect that the signing off and training process that Jack had to go through to be allowed on site is a lot. When Coasterstudios did their update, I noted that they were only ever on the viewing platform above the offices. So they likely went through a different H&S sign off to be allowed on site. I'm certain that their presence was pre-approved by Thorpe, and not Jack just having a jolly with mates and letting who he wanted on site. As for why them and no one else. Ultimately, Coasterstudios is huge across the pond, so will get a little more enthusiast buzz created in America, for very little cost. Now here's the thing, with the more Thorpe / UK centric sites. Who do you choose outside of Jack? Do you choose DG95, who is clearly very passionate, but has a limited fanbase and who's videos are more rough the edges? Do you choose Attraction Source, a large fansite who work with Merlin for paid extra events and produce higher quality videos? What about ECC, with their broad reach? Or CoasterForce; again somewhere with broad reach, one of the longest-running fansites about and who produce quality content? And what about TPM? We're the only sole-Thorpe-focused fansite around now; our reach on social media is very big (and our Facebook, in particular, attracts people far beyond the usual enthusiast circles). So yeah, how do you choose? Why should any of them get access? Maybe it's just a case of asking - I don't know if anyone else has, but I know TPM hasn't. Ultimately, as awesome as it would be to go onto a coaster construction site, I don't know what TPM (or anyone else) can offer that's different to the content that's already been produced by someone else. So why should anyone else get access...
    4 points
  34. Bring back the Arena and the 2003 Spiderman show instead.
    4 points
  35. Alright, here we go. My written review of Ghost Train, as it was opening day 2023. Spoiler-free review: Wow, okay. I'm going to throw it out there and say: it's incredible. Honestly, it's incredible. From the outset I was extremely dubious (as you can see from my earlier posts) that enough would have been changed inside the attraction to warrant this rebrand. To be perfectly honest, I thought it was going to just be a reskinned version of Derren Brown's Ghost Train - but that's exactly what it isn't. Ghost Train manages to fuse eeriness, a little bit of comedy to get you to let your guard down, and then slaps you with more eeriness. What it does, it does very bloody well - especially given the fact that this attraction was not designed to be what it is now. Ghost Train now has a cohesive story from start to finish (something that DBGT was always heavily lacking, and the park trying to shoehorn plothole solutions always just make the storyline even more confusing), and the set design is immense. It's a shame that I live so far away from the park these days as I definitely already want to go back to give it another few more rides before I give a final review, but after already queuing for about 2-2 and a half hours for Ghost Train today... I think I'm alright until the hype dies down a little 😂 Alright, here comes the spoilers. DO NOT READ PAST THIS SECTION IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW THE STORYLINE. I have also included my criticisms in this section as I didn't want to spoil the story: Overall, it's an incredible attraction and they've finally nailed what they were trying to do all along. Hopefully it sees some longevity, but it really is even more actor-heavy than Derren Brown ever was which is worrying. It seems we were fully staffed today, but will it have the same impact on an off-peak Tuesday? Only time will tell. As I said the other day, do not compare it with The Curse. They are two very different attractions - but as far as this attraction is concerned as it's own standalone thing... it's fantastic.
    4 points
  36. Mark9

    Ghost Train - NEW for 2023

    Awkward. At least it's true to its predecessor in barely working.
    4 points
  37. Mark9

    Thorpe Park 2023

    Why are you excusing awful quality and excessive price rises?
    4 points
  38. JoshC.

    Hyperia - New for 2024

    Trims on the exit to the non-inverting Immelmann (the element prior to the outerbank dive): hopefully one of those 'just in case' trims, like the one at the bottom of Swarm's drop, but we shall see
    3 points
  39. JoshC.

    Hyperia - New for 2024

    Yesterday's update from the park
    3 points
  40. Mark9

    Angry Birds Land

    Bring back the original Detonator soundtrack. That's all I ask.
    3 points
  41. Supports on site! Vertical construction soon™️
    3 points
  42. Plot twist. Coaster Jamie is parm pap!! He makes his return after so long!!
    3 points
  43. 3 points
  44. MattyMoo

    Fright Nights 2023

    Pleased to confirm that I'll be on the ISLAND LIKE NO OTHER on Friday 13th, officially the sPOoPiEsT day in the world for FRIGHT NIGHTS, and I look forward to having an incredible experience in the mazes, with 15 actors surrounding me at all times, each referring to me by name and then the one off the posters escorting me to a secret maze within the maze where Russ Gaines then greets me with a Coke freestyle of my choosing and a selection of doughnuts from DOUGHNUT TIME, before handing me a real life Easter Egg with the words THE CURSE on it, a nod to the maze THE CURSE if you don't know, before then returning to the maze via the - relocated - new Tidal Wave fire effect room, upon which Alice off the videos jump scares me out of a MACK RIDES timber box, where I then run out of the maze and am given an Ultimate fastrack wristband and a bespoke game of DOBBLE. Jokes aside though - echoing what my m80 Jessica says, considering it's £10 a maze, I will genuinely - for the first time ever - go to guest services and moan if a run through is ruined by numpties. Or, hopefully the staff just forget to scan our booking like they did last year.
    3 points
  45. MattyMoo

    Fright Nights 2023

    I've heard rumours that there will be new walking actors called The Nod To's, that will be dressed in old props and tat from Thorpe Farm, any truth in this?
    3 points
  46. JoshC.

    Stealth

    And here's an issue I have with the park at the moment. They have been great at sharing updates geared towards geeks and those who are interested. The collaborations with Jack Silkstone over the years (pre-season videos, for example) have given a great insight into what to expect, some of the park's thinking, etc. But they're almost being too open. We go back to Tidal Wave's fire effect returning. That was announced for, what, 2021? And yet here we are, no fire effect in sight. Their communication about SRQ has been good. They trialled it on Saw last year (after a push to trial it from a Rides Team Leader), and expanded it to a couple of flat rides. They've said they intend to put it on Stealth too. But that was many months ago, and the official line has just been 'it's coming soon'. How long does it take to set up? I genuinely cannot understand why it is taking so long, especially since Stealth was designed to have a Single Rider Queue, which still exists. If they hadn't have said anything until it was confirmed and all but in place, it wouldn't have caused any issues. Even if they said "We're looking at putting it on more rides if possible - watch this space", that would be fine. But by announcing it, with no clear idea of when it could happen, it's created this situation which frankly could have been avoided. Hopefully they've learnt from that, and choose to be more selective with what they talk about. And they get SRQ up and running. I don't see Stealth's life as limited. Hydraulic launches are fine. Yes, Top Thrill Dragster had issues, and that's why they've changed that. Hydraulic launches are still not the most reliable and parks do still have issues with them. And yes, hydraulic launches are old hat now, with LSMs the launch of choice now (and rightfully so). But at the same time, Thorpe have got Stealth down to a tee. Yes, it's had a bit of downtime recently (a few days I believe). But aside from that, it's been reliable, rarely has a rollback, and is incredibly popular still. Okay, it's not going to be the tallest ride on park. But that's not big issue, when the tallest ride is only a bit taller and faster, and on the other side of the park. It still has a huge selling point and draw. People still lap it up. Thorpe aren't short on space, so don't have a need to remove it yet. And frankly put, there's other coasters which would be higher up on the list to be removed in my opinion. Doing a Top Thrill feels a bit unnecessary at the moment. It would have to be turned into a swing launch in all likelihood, which would require a significant rejig of the station. The whole process would be incredibly costly at a point when, again, that money could be better spent elsewhere. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
    3 points
  47. I'm finding Chessington really frustrating at the moment. According to the park app the queues for things like Kobra, Tiger Rock and Dragon's Fury have been around two hours, Vampire, Rattlesnake and Tomb Blaster hover at 90 minutes and everything else is between 30-50 minutes. I believe none of this is related to Land of Jumanji as the park was just as busy well before the new land opened. Yesterday may have been the perfect storm of good weather, new land and last day of half term but I think the problems are far deeper then this. The park is operationally damaged. Fury, Rattlesnake, Monkey Swinger, Tomb, Zufari, Rock and Vampire do not run the capacities that they should be or can do. The downtime across the park is worse than it's ever been. Scorpion will be reopening this month but that cannot do enough to spread people. The sheer amount of Annual Pass holders with RAP passes is having an enormous effect on just shifting numbers through stand by. And there is no magic answer here. The way the park is run, the staff just do not care. The only exception being the Jumanji staff who to there credit, are playing the characters and trying their best with compromised rides. Everywhere else though, you can tell the staff just aren't trained to the standard required. They do not give good service, they do not do good operations. There's no passion, there's no drive, there's no energy. And this comes from the top. The managers do not care. Not to the level that a family theme park requires. I think sadly, a lot of the efforts to make the park look better over the last two years has been wasted as the sheer basics of running a theme park have completely collapsed. If Merlin are to make Chessington a destination (which seems to be the intention) then some radical thinking needs to take place. Rattlesnake and Fury need to go and be replaced with rides that have capacity. Rattlesnake does not fit in this park anymore. 1.4 metres with a 1.2 metre B&M wing rider a few metres away, no sorry. Let's be real, Tiger Rock and Tomb Blaster are dead in the water. It's time for them to be replaced with modern tech, something like Chiapas and a newer slow moving dark ride, natural successors to what is there now. I love Chessington and I want people to have the same level of enjoyment and love that I had when I first visited in 1992. It's horrendous to hear the horrible days out people are having and I want this park to turn it around as it's the closest we have to a Toverland or a Nigloland in the UK.
    3 points
  48. Spoiler thoughts from me: Some non-spoiler bits, found out during the Press Night: -Kieron Smith, Global Artistic Director for The Dungeons, was described as the "writer and director" of Ghost Train. What they means exactly I'm not sure, but in any case, it means that this has had significant input from someone who is in charge The Dungeons, which are very successful, and what this attraction should aim to be like. -The park acknowledge this will take some time to perfect. As with things like this, there will be a need to be responsive to guest and actor feedback, and things like timings, scripts, etc may need to be tweaked. The park will do this. -Not having the restriction of an IP means it is easier to change / update the story too. -A general consensus from everyone I spoke to who rode it was that it was perhaps the best they could have done given the constraints they had. There's a "ride system" in place, but it is minimal and restrictive, and was designed for a very specific purpose. The building was designed for that ride system. Replacing the ride system is pipe dream worthy at this stage. But what they've with it, and what they've turned Ghost Train into, is (as I've already said), on the higher end of what they could have done. They could have done more, but they've done a good job.
    3 points
  49. JoshC.

    Hyperia - New for 2024

    When you need to hit the word count on an essay.
    3 points
  50. Vinlarr89

    Hyperia - New for 2024

    Hats off to the construction team. Pulling this right back on track. Piling for foundations has commenced… https://themeparkguide.co.uk/news-page/Project-Exodus-Foundations-Begin
    3 points
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