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Marc

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Posts posted by Marc

  4. Containment

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    1 hour ago, MilesK said:

     

    Hip hip horray...

    I'm assuming it's going to once again be the extortionate £10 entry? Wonderful news.

     

    I really don't understand what your getting at? If people are happy to pay £10 then it would be abit silly to charge less!

  5. Logger's Leap

    in The Past

    Posted

    2 hours ago, MilesK said:

    I'm usually fairly optimistic about bad situations, but I doubt Loggers will be returning.

    After walking down Monks Walk on Thursday, the ride is in an absolutely appalling state. No signs of any redevelopment taking place.

    I would love to be proven wrong, but I'm not hopeful that my favourite nose-breaking log flume will come back..

     

     

    It don't look much different to it does in a normal closed season! I wouldn't look to much into that although I'm not to confident it will return :(

  6. Park Operations

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    2 hours ago, ThemeParkLover said:

    One unreliable ride operating the other still down. I really do not think DBGT was a good investment for Thorpe, it's never open and has terrible throughput, how does that make any money?

     

    The reliability and throughput will improve - the ride has years yet to make a return on its investment! 

  7. News Desk

    in The Forums

    Posted

    Have had a few requests for a shoutbox style feature like we used to have - have installed a similar one now which will appear on the right hand side of the forums (When on a PC)

     

    Just testing out now to see if theres demand for it! Let us know any feedback :)

  15. Fright Nights 2016

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    12 hours ago, imindetonator said:

     

    There's so many events right now in the scare industry, Screamland,Scarefest, Sceamfest Burton, which all wipe the floor with Fright Nights..

    Thorpe's mazes are usually very short, and with the popularity of the event, waiting three hours for a poor maze like TBT is not worth it.

    I like Frights Nights, but thinking about it, it was a massive joke last year. The event could/and has been so much better.

     

     

    Im not saying any of these events are better / worse than eachother but Thorpe hit capacity on a number of times last Fright Nights which suggests to me the GP are still enjoying the offering.

  17. Derren Brown's Ghost Train: Rise of the Demon

    in The Past

    Posted

    16 minutes ago, Matt Creek said:

    Can't say I'm tempted to go back until Fright Nights.

     

     

    The fact your planning to visit in less than a month would suggest the problems are not all that huge!

     

    The downtime on Ghost Train is unfortunate but its not really un-expected. As for the other rides i dont think its been a particularly bad year - apart from Stealth which is obviously a fairly major issue for it to close so long! 

  19. Bubbleworks

    in Chessington World of Adventures

    Posted

    On 8/15/2016 at 3:04 PM, Archive said:

    But it's very obvious that it shouldn't be that way. £35 per person is an exploitative price for pure hot air, of course people will pay for it because of the ride's heritage and the fact its so popular, although that is extremely naive it is forgivable. People are paying for their nostalgia, not anything of worth, over a ride that was very famous for 15 years and then ruined for very little reason, and now being removed for another revolving door IP attraction.

    Had the park invested any upkeep in what guests see, had a team of people maintaining & restoring the animations, audio, scenery and lighting to at least attempt to address the daily complaints abou the ride's poor condition - then perhaps these tours wouldn't be such a blatant cash in. Why should the park be defended for this? It isnt 'personal opinions' if there is no industry professionalism at all.

     

    Guests really deserve something faithful to the ride as a send off, not this. An actor from the stage show in a very cheap suit, that looks like the closest things the entertainment department could afford on a tiny budget and almost no information on what the character was meant to be like. The park management barely knew who Prof Burp was, other than a name present day fans throw about, let alone know what the original ride was actually like.

     

    The original ride as it was designed was very popular & influential for many years, in a time before the internet and social media, so of course its online presence is very skew and the park have got away with wrongly 'pretending' its the same ride for maximum attention. And so for some people who never saw the original, my complaints will perhaps look like 'a fuss over nothing', because the original was from a time where the industry had actual integrity rather than the corporate joke it is today.

     

    Not one person of the many people that built the 1990 ride has been remotely involved in this. Perhaps they should apologise for very poor quality retheme in 2006 that was the result of pure corporate mismanagement and ruined a cherished attraction, rather than superficially impersonate a character people associate with their good memories. The current attraction is still a favourite of children who obviously never rode the original, as it recycles so many props and sets just painted over with broken cheap lighting  - so can you imagine how much more inspirational it would be to them if it was still all untouched and a professional show? That's the real loss.

     

    For the record i wasn't disagreeing with anything you say regarding old / new Bubbleworks - I was merely getting at there will be people who genuinely do enjoy these tours - and if they do thats fair enough IMO. 

     

    https://www.chessington.com/press/downloads/2016/Bubbleworks-Auction-Catalogue.pdf - link to whats on sale from the ride. 

  20. Derren Brown's Ghost Train: Rise of the Demon

    in The Past

    Posted

    Quote

    I rode back at the media evening and thought it was dreadful, if you have any knowledge of VR or have experienced how powerful VR can be in the gaming industry you will know that this attraction is light years behind where it could and should be. If you have experienced universal/disney dark rides you will understand the importance of a cohesive story and you will see how disjointed and wooly the story is for this ride. Important details are brushed over and everything is too rushed to be fully understood.

     

    I think when reviewing these rides its important to step back and look at who they are aimed at - IE the general public. It isnt as good as some of the Disney / Universal rides (which had 10 x more budget) - The every day thorpe guest is unlikely to have ridden / know about these rides and will enjoy Ghost train.


     

    Quote

     

    A huge part of the budget has been used on themeing which cannot be appreciated due to induced panic and the fact you have a VR headset on for 80% of the ride. I dread to think how much money was spent on making the train move from one station to another and then slightly tilt at the end. If you want a similar experience buy or borrow a gaming VR headset, download a VR horror game, sit on your sofa and get a family member to touch your leg occasionally. This thing is basically a glorified 4D cinema where you have to get up halfway through to experience 30 seconds of live action (which involves some lights on a stick in a tunnel) and then sit back for the second half of the film. Literally pointless. The ending is dreadful, there is no climax it just ends to a chorus of 'is that it?'

     

     

     

    I see your point regarding the theming - but I disagree it cant be appreciated - the only part of the theming blocked by the VR headset is on-board the train its self - which looks like a tube train - its done well but theres plenty more theming to take in at the start of the ride during the pre-show / entering the floating carriage and the middle section. the amount of people you see running out of the way of the "lights on a stick in a tunnel" prove its quite effective. Agree the ending could be better mind.


     

    Quote

     

    Ive been told that a few effects weren't working for the media day. Leg ticklers, smoke machines, air jets in the seats, basic 3D cinema concepts that dont work. How can these simple concepts not work?? 

     

     

     

     

    No idea on the leg ticklers / air jets but i've seen the smoke machines working on the trains.

     

    Quote

    The multiple stories are a myth. There are two endings that both have the exact same mechanics and simulation just slightly different VR imagery. There are also a number of different characters that lead the first section. Therefore the different stories are just the different combinations of the above and have been completely miss sold by Thorpe.

     

    Whilst the story's are not different - the different characters certainly get people talking. "Questioning what you saw" maybe? Have heard plenty of groups talking about "the guy on the first train" for somone else to say what are you on about - i had a old woman etc. I agree the story's all stay the same but it gets people questioning what they saw and talking about it.

     

    Quote

    Its marketed completely the wrong way too, it separates the brave from the easily scared because its marketed very well as being a scary ride. Its really not a scary ride at all. Therefore the people brave enough to ride it that want to be scared end up disappointed whilst the people that were too scared (who would have likely appreciated it more) are too intimidated to ride it at all.

     

    I was actually lucky enough to ride it with out the VR during the media evening - watching middle aged aduts cowering into their seats as a deamon appears out of no where suggests to me it does scare people - but its like all rides - I can go on Stealth no problem where as others will be scared, this is no different. 

    Quote

     

    Add the experience with the dreadful throughput, the staggering amount of staffing and actors this thing requires, the ongoing maintenance issues, the overheating inside the building, the fact Derren doesn't want to be associated with it I'd say Merlin can walk away with their tails firmly between their legs.

     

    If this is deemed as innovative then I dont want any more innovation.  

     

     

    If it continues to get overflowing queues of people im sure the park wont mind the staffing costs - the maintenance issues will of course improve over time like alot of new rides.

     

    Whilst I appreciate its not for everyone - everyone does have different opinions on rides - would be boring if everyone liked the same thing! Also - Welcome! 

  21. Bubbleworks

    in Chessington World of Adventures

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Archive said:

    Ha I hope Chessington see this!

     

    And their Prof Burp tour would be very ironic and funny if only people were not paying £35 each to do what staff do every morning anyway, walking through the sets in their very dirty poor condition (not actually going backstage at all), with the added bonus of a man wearing some leftover suit and wig that is nothing like Prof Burp at all. How did it get to this?

     

    I think you answered your own question - Staff do every morning, not just the GP. The same reason why the Lift Hill walks are so popular which again is something staff will do on a daily basis.

     

    Regardless of peoples personal opinions on the ride - its clear theres still great love for Bubbleworks from the GP from the reaction of its closure, im sure there will be many people more than happy to pay for a tour. 

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