JoshC.

There's a whisper of someone saying a new show should go in the Arena too...

Boarding is going up: It was a rehearsal day today. I fully expect the whole ride to be covered, the sign to be removed and the boarding to have something on by opening.

No sign of that I'm afraid!

Looks like the fire effect might not be dead in the water (pun intended) quite yet... Here's what it looked like before:

It's disappointing to see it go. It's been a shadow of its self for years now, but there's no denying it was a useful ride to have. And tbh, I did end up riding it most visits it was open. I get the point of how it would be nice if the park announced its closure in advance. But equally, I find the "one last ride" thing a bit silly. It's an old ride. It's got a place in the park's history, an important one within context, but it's by no means iconic. Very few, if anyone, will think of the rapids ride when they think of Thorpe Park. That's not to poo-poo anyone here saying that. But I've seen comments on social media saying they should allow people that opportunity because it's important, gives closure, stuff like that. It's simply a silly argument. I don't believe that this will have been a last-minute, or closed season, decision. I reckon this will have been considered for a while. I know there's been conversations at points over the last few years about its worthwhileness to stay open, and sooner or later it was going to hit that point. This isn't a Loggers Leap situation, where there wasn't maintenance budget to fix it up and then costs spiralled. This is a conscious, clear closure. As for the future. I guess if Parm Pap says nothing, then nothing is happening. But it's a real shame as Thorpe was once the best park in the country for water rides. Now they've got an over-soaker, a water slide and a verruca pool disguised as a dingy boat ride (of which the latter two barely get you wet). Obviously in general water rides are struggling in this country and closing down. But it's a glaring gap in Thorpe's line up now. I'd love to see something like Amazonia at Bellewaerde, but fear that might be seen as too similar to Storm Surge. And I've long said a modern Intamin flume ride (which has individual restraints) would be amazing. Equally, I'm kind of of the opinion that if Thorpe "Six Flags ified" and went down a coaster-park route, it wouldn't be the worst thing ever. Could be quite good actually. I also wonder if they could utilise the space in any way for Fright Nights? That gives options to them when space for that is becoming more premium.

Cost-wise, they're probably pretty similar these days. And with the regular buying Merlin has done from B&M it wouldn't surprise me if they could do some level of haggling in price. I'd agree that the Vekoma equivalent would be better in almost every way too.

A recent Passholder behind the scenes event confirmed that a new coaster will replace Viking River Splash, which has been closed since 2023(!), and a recent application was put in for its removal. https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid02vYtw4A5HP6n5Bi5wNPT2776TsJx5SDUVr4kPWk2dmVT54ZXu46EjNwitqToXZdWWl&id=61567089908870 It's also said this will extend a nearby land, of which Ninjago would probably make the most sense (and it is a popular Lego IP). Legoland Japan are getting a Ninjago-themed Mack Spinner next year, so don't discount that as an option. Legolands California and Florida recent got indoor coasters from ART Engineering, space-themed, and I think the idea would be great for Windsor. The Chinese Legolands have been getting B&M Junior Inverts too, so a farfetched possibility. Could also be something completely different, especially given the challenging landscape of that area. Also worth noting that all areas will be refurbed in the next 5 years.

Great to see many things happening at the park. The Blitz Bahn thing seems more like an upgrade rather than a complete replacement, but I might be misunderstanding that. Toverland are in such a weird place. 10 years ago, with the plans for the new entrance / Port Laguna and Avalon coming together, it felt like the park was going to rise rapidly. Unfortunately they didn't quite bring in the numbers wanted, and then Covid hit, and it's led to the park stagnating a bit. Not that they're in a bad place, they've added new rides and they've enhanced things like their Halloween event, but it's certainly taken them longer to get to this point than I expect they'll have initially wanted. A dark ride has been a much-needed addition to their line up, and I'm excited to see what they conjure up.

Yeah yeah it's only February, but whatever. 2026 will be marketed, in some way, as 25 Years of Fright Nights. Thorpe have done a few things for 'big' / 'notable' anniversaries for FN: -10 years, 2011: Experiment 10 -15 years, 2016: Platform 15, roaming actors inspired by old mazes -20 years, 2021: Trailers, Legacy, Birthday Bash -21 years, 2022: Legacy, Birthday Bash So what will 25 years bring us? The end of Fright Nights 2025 did nod to 25 Years of Fear with a short video: https://www.facebook.com/reel/843542461548792 Lucifer, the headline character for 2025, is speaking with 'someone / something' and telling them to "give them hell", whilst handing over a "top secret" document about Fright Nights. That at the very least suggests there will be some new headline character / Disciple of Fear for the 2026 addition (which is something the park have done for a few years now). Personally, I think it would be a mistake to take the focus away from Lucifer. That was a near-perfect headline character for the event: clear Halloween association, simple and effective and a character guests could actually meet. Keep that character there yearly and continue to have it as a focal point / marketing piece, and it will go from strength to strength. The only thing I'd look at changing is developing the character away from "Lucifer" to an original demon, which the park could trademark, etc. But heyho, the park will have already had thoughts about 2026 and it seems like they're going in a different direction. Another interesting thing to note is that 2026 will be the first year that Thorpe's Entertainments team / actors have been outsourced (in a similar way to the rest of the UK Merlin parks). So it will be interesting what effect that has on the event. As for what I'd like to see in terms of a line up... I have two parallel pieces of thinking. What I think will happen and what I want to happen. What I think will happen is that we'll see an existing maze replaced. I think 4 upcharge mazes is a natural peak for how busy the park is and what people will realistically pay. I don't know what one. Survival Games I think could be the one on the chopping block, despite its changes last year. The large space it occupies gives Thorpe a lot of room to work with. I'm a bit split on whether they'll use The Launchpad as a Fright Nights space. Before the announcement I thought it'd be nailed on that they'd move Lucifer's Lair, on some upgrade of it, there. But with the announcement that it'll be treated primarily as a rest spot, they might keep it like that and have it as a Fright Nights free zone. If they do put a scare zone / show there, they need to go all out with it, as it won't have as much natural footfall as the other locations. As for what I want to happen. Thorpe, as I've said before on here, are very safe with their current mazes. They've got a variety of themes, some of which are quite different, but the style of the mazes is the same - pre show, walk around highly themed sets in a linear fashion and get jump scares. There's many other ways in which a scare maze can be created. In fact, Thorpe used to be one of the most pioneering for doing things differently, but that did sometimes come at the cost of quality. They've got a strong enough core and reputation of quality that they can afford to take a risk and do something different. My big want is an alone experience - doesn't have to be Face it Alone extreme. But looking at what Walibi Holland offer with their alone experiences, something like that fits perfectly for Thorpe. I doubt that'll ever happen though. So something different to the 'free flow linear jump scare route'. Anything. It will take some work and some tweaking. But do it right, and it'll be the best thing they can do for the event.

Just for a bit of simplicity and clarity: https://www.thorpeparkmania.co.uk/index.php/2026/02/18/the-launchpad-details/ Some newer plans (looking for minor changes to the ground) came out last month. They still reference a stage and only using the large side of the beach. I'm working under the assumption that, for now, the stage will appear when they need it.

Yeah I meant to say "parks are meant to be quieter" lol Queue-wise this half term has sounded crazy for the parks. I've also heard Chessington is currently having it's busiest Feb half term ever too. Hopefully all this busyness is translating to (at the very least) good attendance numbers, which seem to have been not-great in the last couple of years. But guest experience does seem to be suffering.

I think it made sense to try and go all in on new systems during February Half Term, when parks are quieter, etc. Last minute announcements and tweaks and capacities and all that seem to have messed things up for the start at least though. RAP will continue to be a prominent issue and discussion point this year.

It's funny as the last image definitely looks like it's of the Saw Alive plaza (based on how Colossus and Storm Surge look in the background). But it looks nice enough. And there's been a lot of want for such a space for a long time. Interesting there's no mention of the stage, and concept art purposefully avoids showing that space. Most recent plans still indicate there will be a stage. I wonder if, for now at least, the plan is to wait until there's a need for the stage before putting it in?

We'll be getting a first official look... https://www.facebook.com/share/1AqZW6ifXh/

Merlin have done a complete U-turn on the situation, but still acknowledge the system needs to change: https://x.com/I/status/2021953258194120748 I expect the backlash was more than they anticipated. But I fear this sets a dangerous precedent for any future changes: kick up enough of a collective fuss and they'll revert the changes. Merlin needed to announce a new system and stick to their guns, but they didn't.