JoshC.
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Posts posted by JoshC.
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The whole point of this ride should be its height. It's the tallest coaster in the UK, that's its USP and no theme or story will add to that in a meaningful way.
I'd be all for the front car having a cool style (a la Untamed at Walibi, for example), and some stylising in the area (like Fury 325). But beyond that, I don't think theming is necessary.
What is important though is, regardless of theming, the area is well presented and bright. I don't think another dark, dreary feel is needed.
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29 minutes ago, MattyMoo said:
Thorpe seems to be faring far better.
And that's with it missing a key coaster, their headline water ride still yet to open, no Banana Ride, and technically still being a ride down compared to last year since Ghost Train has yet to open. Eek.
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49 minutes ago, Glitch said:
I find Aramark being an odd scapegoat for enthusiast this year because they have a contract with UK government services.
The thing is, there has been an obvious drop in quality and notable increase in price since Aramark came on board.
Food portions sizes have decreased. The food is simply not as good, with choices in individual restaurants / food outlets being reduced too. The price of food in relation to minimum wage, for example, is notably higher. Thorpe is hit particularly harder by this after they made a conscious effort to reduce the cost of food in 2021.
Food at a theme park should be seen as a treat, yes. And it will be expensive. But let's not pretend it's reasonable.
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6 hours ago, Theme Park Fanatic said:
I have a feeling Alton Manor will be closed for a week while extra theming and repairs are installed.
Any particular reason you think this?
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There haven't been any updates recently. There's no indication of when it might open beyond "Spring".
However, I'd say it's looking unlikely it will open this month now.
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11 hours ago, ML27 said:
’m not being funny but it’s because of the way Merlin (and it is just Merlin) have always put otrs on their coasters and this has created this culture because of it.
Is it that they've always put OTSRs on their coasters, or that they've chosen coasters which require OTSRs? I think Smiler is the only example where they effectively had a choice between OTSRs and lapbars.
You could argue in the past they were consciously choosing coasters with OTSRs in part because they had them. But that's a flimsy argument at best. I'd also so the modern lapbar has only come into fashion fully in the last decade, and Merlin simply haven't added that many coasters in the time frame. So it's less that they've created a culture, it's more that they haven't kept up with culture.
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2 hours ago, Mark9 said:
I dunno, I just don't think Alty Mans is going to catch on.
This is the least controversial opinion in this thread.
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I have to echo Matt's comments sadly.
We can say everything about this being a "preview" day, and so that gives the park an out for not having everything be ready. But at the same time, this is still the first day the park is open for 2023, and it felt like the park wasn't really ready in some ways. To highlight the point...
-Incomplete renovation of the Lower Dome
-No visual work done to various new F&B outlets (Doughnut Time in Lost City, Tacotina, etc)
-Multiple rides not ready
-Signage not in place
I'm understanding that these things can sometimes be out of the park's control. And again, this is a preview. But when there's so many things that aren't ready, you have to wonder if it's poor planning from the park, since they're the common denominator.
Dobble Tea Party is an inoffensive retheme tbh, but I hope they paint the entire building purple. The higher up parts are still dark blue and it's a jarring contrast.
On a more positive note, the Lower Dome looks nice and I'm sure will be cool when complete. The picnic area replacing Containment is a nice idea, and if they add some more shrubbery it'll be cool.
There's been some good touch ups throughout the park and they've made some positive changes, as have already been documented. It's fair to say though that they should also be looking at the wider picture of the park, because things feel disjointed and a bit weak for now.
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It's funny how the park have managed to convince people that the return of paper maps is a new thing, and that this is some new style map.
The map has been around for a few years around the park. Paper maps returned last year, with event overlays also happening too. People have short memories.
The map focusing on direction and ease of use is weird. The park have said they're not focusing on themed areas because the park is small, yet they're using a highly accurate, bordering on bland, map so people can direct themselves. It's like the park hear feedback and seesaw from one extreme to the other, even if it creates contradiction.
The BK modernisation is a good thing for practicality. However, to completely lose the theming is a real shame, especially when they seemed to be focusing on smaller details again.
- coasterverse and Glitch
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Whilst it could be read as this is the final year of the contract (which would make sense as Thorpe/Merlin tend to favour 3 year contracts on IPs for smaller attractions), it could also be read as "we don't/can't confirm beyond this year due to the contract with the IP".
BML could easily remain without the Black Mirror branding too tbf, with no changes to the experience. Though if they want to repurpose Slammer's site for a ride in the future, arguably it should leave when that time comes.
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It looks nice in isolation in an "abandoned train station" vibe, which seems to be the theme/story.
I'm still concerned how it will look in a wider context when you look at it integrated with the brick warehouse. Whilst I understand why they're showing close ups of the work, I think it's also telling that they're not showing wider pictures.
- coasterverse and Stuntman707
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1 hour ago, ML27 said:
At this point do Thorpe have their own creative team like Chessington? Chessington seem to be always painting something up, old theming and artwork. Thorpe have a lack of theming to paint
Not quite in the way you're describing.
They have a team of 'Entertainment Technicians', some of who will have experience and ability to do creative work. But their focus will be more on the technical work for events, rather than scenic work.
The park work closely with external companies, like Unique Concepts and UVE, to provide creative scenic work. In the last couple of years, there's also been overlap of Thorpe and Chessington departments - for example, I believe the Creek Freaks Unchained float used during last FN was designed and made by Chessington's creative team.
In the past, Thorpe have had more scenic creative individuals, and have pushed for a more dedicated department. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, it just has happened.
- Inferno and Trooper Looper
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That track still looks grey to me, not blue.
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Hadn't heard of Dobble until I saw this.
Random sponsor is random.
Let's face it, it will always be referred to as "The Teacups" by anyone who rides it. Also, put me in the camp of people who felt that this didn't need any work. On the one hand, it's good to see stuff which doesn't necessarily need attention being given attention. On the other hand, it's a shame when there's other, more pressing, things which should be dealt with too.
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12 hours ago, Exodus Matt said:
Saw, Erm. Sorry, I’ll just pass for now. I mean the airtime hill is quite I guess.
The beyond vertical drop..?
8 hours ago, Theme Park Fanatic said:Does anyone know if the theming from Old Town will be relocated to Chessington?
I don't know for absolute certain, but there's very little theming from Old Town which could realistically be moved to Mexicana and thematically fit. So I'd say the answer is "Nothing have been relocated".
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It's a Rocky Express, it's an Enterprise, it's a...
https://twitter.com/AttractionSc/status/1629420740381495296?t=8mI3USypJrJQrwAIF3Qurg&s=19
Zamperla 360 Discovery!
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32 minutes ago, MattyMoo said:
Yes but what does @JoshC. think? 🤔
I think hot snow falls up, but I'm not sure people are ready to hear that yet.
7 hours ago, Theme Park Fanatic said:@JoshC. do you think the floating carriage will be removed from the former Derren Brown’s Ghost Train ride?
It's been said in Jack Silkstone's Ghost Train behind the scenes video that the warehouse scene is changing, which all but guarantees that the floating carriage will be changed / removed.
I didn't know that it's been directly confirmed it's being removed...I imagine Thorpe have said so in their Facebook group and I've just missed it?
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It's good to see that there's a fair amount of work going on inside. Suggests they have been given a pretty decent budget for this, which is good. I believe there's been some rumours floating around that the Duel retheme to Alton Manor could be as high as £5m...would be nice if we're even getting half that here.
I'd been holding onto this for a bit, but now that Mr Cottonrock has been able to show inside, I see no reason why I cannot share this now too.
Here's a nice look at the hanging carriage scene with the lights on. It doesn't take a lot to see the mirrors in this lighting.
Now here's the question: what do they do with this scene if they don't have a floating carriage illusion? Do they just change it to a floating tube carriage? Do they try and transform it to just looking like a station? The trouble with redoing this scene is that it was specifically designed for the floating carriage illusion, specifically a Victorian train carriage. Retrospectively turning it into something else is not an easy task.
The time period change (Victoriana to more modern day) is not an issue really. Plenty of train stations still use buildings built from a long time ago, and feel grand and dated.
I'm not a fan of the concept art shown for the exterior. It kind of goes hand in hand with what I said just now...there's plenty of train stations which use buildings built a long time ago, and they might have modern retrofitting in place. But it's not the most exciting or visually pleasing thing to look at in the real world. And it certainly doesn't work in a theme park setting either. The concept art is 'fine', but doesn't really strike me as interesting or exciting to look at.
- coasterverse and altongeek
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Testing, 1, 2, testing...
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Well shut my mouth and call me Emily, she is in the story.
To celebrate, I've decided to finally update the thread title sensibly.
- Matt 236 and coasterverse
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Moved discussion of Ghost Train to it's own thread:
This thread has now been condemned to the past, and will forever be here now exclusively for conversation on Derren Brown's Ghost Train: Rise of the Demon - Venture into the Tunnel: The Secret of the Coughing Person Who Doesn't Have Covid But Makes You Wonder if they Do
- Stuntman707, coasterverse and MattyMoo
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The park have stressed that it is a work in progress and what they have at the moment is an undercoat. Not being an experienced scenic painter, I'm not sure what a blue undercoating would be good for...but we shall wait and see.
On a broader note, it's nice that the park are openly sharing these things and have a medium to do so. But it's odd to do so when there's little context of what it's becoming. Like at the moment, the photos shared have shown us they are repainting the exterior. An unexpected development frankly, but with no clue of what the exterior will look like, we have no understanding of how much progress this 'work in progress' is showing, and no indication as to what it will become. It's something which would have been better shared either after it's been completed, or with accompanying concept art to show what it will become.
The painting of the exterior is odd. The exterior was designed off and inspired by a train warehouse near Willesden Junction, which was built in the Victorian era. So regardless of what era they theme the ride to, the building works for the train motif. And the exterior, whilst not the most exciting thing in existence, is still striking and good.
But heyho, we'll see what the final product looks like and go from there.
The changes in era was something which was always brought up as an issue for DBGT, going from Victorian to tube carriage. I wonder if they're explicitly addressing that now? It would certainly be a bold decision to retheme the hanging carriage!
Hyperia - New for 2024
in The Future
Posted
They won't request planning changes or anything to stop enthusiasts knowing theme or anything. Simply put, it's not worth the hassle to hide the theme from a small minority of the audience.