JoshC.

Another teaser: Saying "Mawkin Meadow" is no more does leave the door open for The Crows to return, perhaps as roamers. The maze apparently has a codename of Project Blackout. I hope I'm not reading into that too much and we're heading for a hooded maze... There's also posters flyposted around the park: Interestingly, the bottom of the poster says "has returned".

First teaser for the new maze has cometh...

SRQ is back today. I think it was a H&S sign off thing for guests to walk under the Flipz sign which was the issue. So the blocked off the RAP queue, meaning that took over the SRQ space.

It appears the Flipz sign is directly above the entrance for RAP. So either they've shut it off for today to ensure the sign is up securely / wait until they can fix it up more securely / awaiting H&S sign off, or it will have to be shut during the whole time the sign is up...

Flipz pretzels are temporarily sponsoring Hyperia:

Taller? Maybe TPM's April Fools was more prophetic than joke?

I think for Thorpe it works well, given the broad target market and vibe they go for. The cut and paste style and having it at Towers (and to a lesser extent, Chessington) does have less an impact though.

Stitches is also set up now:

In a similar fashion to Alton Towers, Thorpe now have a selection of street food stalls, all in The Launchpad. The stage is set up for Thorpe Lates, and a lot more seating is available (I think some of it moved from the old Saw Alive path now that construction is taking place there). The area was the most alive I've ever seen it, and definitely how it should be used.

The tent has been covered. It is 5 roof panels wide; Stitches is 6, so it's a bit smaller (but still very big).

Vortex (and Zodiac) look like they'll be down for a fair while longer as their entrances have been fenced off to allow for Fright Nights construction to pass through. They wouldn't need fences that far forward if the rides were open, so it's likely to stop people going so far unnecessarily.

When DeadBeat was introduced, Thorpe had a 3-maze package (of the returning 3 mazes), and the 4-maze package too. So I guess it's not totally unheard of for them to do something like this. My hope would be that this 5th maze is something different to the current norm. Paying £40 odd on top of entry for 5 "Thorpe mazes" where you're batched in a group, have a pre-show, wander round well-themed sets as actors jump out at you just feels a bit overkill to me. Yes it helps with capacity, but I'd question whether it improves the quality of the event. What "something different" looks like is of course a different question. My personal preference, once again, would be an alone experience. I don't mind spending more on something like that. But if there's not a market for that, which I accept there might not be, something which is done in smaller groups, and just 'feels' different to the norm. Tulleys had success with that with Purgatory, for example. My biggest criticism last year was how all the mazes felt the same, just dressed differently. I hope they can avoid that. I also hope that they have the finances and the numbers to man 5 mazes plus shows and zones adequately. On another a note, a tent has been set up today on Saw Alive's pathway: Whether this is the new maze, or perhaps Stitches relocated there, currently unclear.

5 mazes this year: the 4 existing ones plus a brand new one. No word yet on what scare zones and shows there will be, but it has been said there will be "new and returning" ones. Thorpe ParkHalloween Events & Activities at Fright Nights | Thorpe ParkPrepare to be scared senseless at the UK’s scariest Halloween event. With thrilling coasters at night and our award-winning Halloween Scare Mazes.

Did pop to Thorpe for a few hours this afternoon (the park open till 7pm daily, except for the 9pm weekend closures in a couple of weeks is something I'd forgotten about). Have to say the park is still running pretty well and there was a decent number of people about, especially given we're still early in the summer holidays. A lot of people were staying till the end too - it certainly gets quieter, but that's naturally at parks. All the issues discussed remain, but the park is running well.

Hard to gauge these days. The last time a new flat ride had permission applied was the Dodgems way back for 2014. That was a simple one and planning permission went in December 2013 and the ride opened May 2014. Prior to that, Storm Surge had an application go in July/August 2010 and opened March 2011. Slammer and Rush were August 2004 and opened March and May 2005 respectively. The big caveat though is in all of those situations, the park had an active MTDP which had already identified those areas as potential spots for flat rides. So it meant the planning permission process was easier and quicker. Obviously, there's no active MTDP now. And more importantly, the last couple of planning applications to the council have been surrounded in difficulties, to the point where the Launchpad was effectively delayed a year. It doesn't mean we won't see anything next year. But one would expect if something were coming, they'd want the application in as early as possible to mitigate any issues or delays. So realistically, I don't see any new rides for next year.