JoshC.

Posted by PabloA on Coasterforce...

What sort of price differences are we talking about here (genuinely curious)? I'm partially surprised because I'd have expected all their tills to run on the same system and same prices simply for sake of convenience from a back-end perspective. But one can't deny that's a clever way to squeeze more money out of people..

You misspelled Brühl... But yeah, is anyone surprised the Dahl family were against / opposed this? Dahl had high standards and was never a fan of his stuff be remade into any other medium, so his family will be equally against it..

Look at this Takabisha clone in all of its clone-like goodness: This clone of Takabisha opens next year in America. The clone will be intertwined with a Gerstlauer spinning coaster (which as previously established, will not be a clone ). Can't wait to see the rest of this clone build up. The green colour suits the clone well. Clone.

I don't disagree that it's poor the park close earlier than their "earliest closing time", and I totally think they're opening themselves up to criticism. This past week has shown they need to reword because they simply can't honour that. But I think you'd be surprised about the number of people who would be accepting of the fact that a park closes early. There's always people who question 'will the park close early if it's too quiet / weather is very bad', and they're always surprised if a park says 'no, we'll honour our closing time regardless'. Naturally there will be those who are disappointed or unhappy, but a lot of people are also accepting that sometimes these things happen. As I say, sometimes these things aren't as black and white as they're made out to be.

I'm wondering how common this (closing parks earlier than advertised online) is across smaller parks in Europe. When I went to Bobbejaanland, they closed an hour earlier because it was so quiet. Definitely made no sense for them to stay open longer from an operational perspective. It wouldn't surprise me if this is a common thing across smaller parks who set optimistic opening hours but change them if the numbers aren't what they expect. Anyone else got any experiences? Just out of interest Coaster, would you say your standard guest did have gotten everything major done by 5pm? Would those extra 2 hours have actually helped people do the whole park, or just given rerides and the chance to do smaller stuff? These things can't always be black and white. (Though in saying that, I do agree that if you're explicitly advertising an "earliest possible closing" time, it's poor not to stand by that. They should reword that).

For those who are avoiding my review of the new thing, I had some musings about X, which I'll share here too... I can't help but wonder what Thorpe could have done with X if they had the budget TWD had. Or even half the budget. They really could have created an attraction where you rode "on a wave of light (and sound)", went through tunnels of light, etc. I imagine that having the trains 'chase' lit up track, with lasers and smoke effects around, along with an extended original soundtrack would have been more than possible, along with some fun lighting effects in the entrance and exit walkways. I reckon I'd have loved that, as would a large majority of people. I know it's not as easy to market, and Thorpe's research shows there isn't the demand for a family coaster with a disco rave theme. But with the money spent, they really could have created something truly original and fun, and turned X into the pyramid-shaped gem of Thorpe Park.

So, I figured I may as well give a bit more insight about my views on The Walking Dead - The Ride. I know plenty of people have pretty much written it off already, and it's almost trendy to hate the idea, but I do think it's worth going into this with an open mind. The overall experience is good, well themed, and does justice to what the ride and building was designed to achieve. The entrance portal is nice. It is standard run down Thorpe style, but it is still good. The queue is, again, standard Thorpe in that it's "how much queue can we fit in one space", with just little nuggets of theming - in the way of themed signage and Easter Eggs to the show - to go with it. There's no extensions or anything, so on quiet days, you will have to walk through the whole thing, which is a pain.. Audio in the area is nice and creepy, and the watchtower looks alright to be fair. Bag room is now outside the building, and is clearly unfinished at the moment. Hopefully it can be themed up, especially to the standard of the inside of the ride. After that, groups of 20 (so 2 trains worth) get batched into pre-show. The pre-show is extremely basic - a minute long video featuring a character talking to you, encouraging you to make your way through the building because we're under attack. It's well done, and I don't think it will get tedious during re-riding, but I feel like they could have done more here. Some big special effect, to give you the personal reason to get moving, rather than some guy on a screen telling you... The walkway to the station is exceptionally well themed. You go through different areas of 'the safe zone', and as you go through them, audio is triggered saying how those zones are under attack, encouraging you to keep moving. The tone is perfect here, and really sets up the experience well. The ride itself is themed to a 'transit system' in the safe zone, and is being used to transport you to safety. It's clever, and gives you a reason to be on the ride. From there, it is just X, with special effects, and I don't think that can be stressed enough. I really hope that people have ended up being ignorant the OTT "it's the scariest thing ever" marketing approach, or are able to just look past it, else it sets the ride up to fail. In saying that, the special effects that are there are good, and really do enhance the ride experience. There aren't any animatronics, just zombie mannequins (which aren't the greatest, but to a casual rider will more than do the job). There's also screens, smoke, audio and lighting effects, all of which are used very well. The one stop during the ride is a real highlight actually, fitting in with the story perfectly, and just being a lot of fun! The ride ends with us still being under attack; everywhere in the safe zone is overrun with zombies. The post-ride experience happens, in the form of a loud noise, and is...just a bit naff? There's terrible noise bleed from there to the waiting bit before the station, so if you've been unfortunate with timings, it does spoil it somewhat. There is more to it, but I believe that tweaks were still being made, so I don't know what to say / expect from that for now. There is a lot of potential there, but it needs a bit more direction. So yeah, to round it all up... +Fantastically themed experience +A fun ride experience, with good special effects +An experience that stays true to what the original X:\No Way Out aimed to do +A cohesive story which is easy to understand -Pre-show could do with a bit more oompf -Post-show needs a bit of clarity / more direction But before I go - One final thought. I like this, I won't deny that. I also liked X. I haven't decided whether I like this more than X or not, but that's neither here nor there for now. Personally, I think X is the better thing for Thorpe now; it had potential to be a fun ride which was accessible to all. I can't help but wonder what Thorpe could have done with X if they had the budget this had. Or even half the budget. They really could have created an attraction where you rode "on a wave of light (and sound)", went through tunnels of light, etc. I imagine that having the trains 'chase' lit up track, with lasers and smoke effects around, along with an extended original soundtrack would have been more than possible, along with some fun lighting effects in the entrance and exit walkways. I reckon I'd have loved that, as would a large majority of people.

I don't get why people are against this? Yes, they're the same signs X had, but they don't feel out of place, because they've been styled to fit in. I'd rather that than them spend money on new signs instead of something else.. I haven't watched any POVs so can't comment on it exactly, but don't use that to judge. There is audio during the first half (it was quiet and I believe that's one thing they're looking at tweaking to get right), and there are some effects. However, it is fair to say the second half of the ride has a lot more effects, audio and theming, and is indeed stronger and more exciting.

Python reopens today... Reworked entrance and queue area, with single rider and turnstiles for their Reserve n Ride style system. Would indicate that virtual queueing is here to stay...

As I say, it's something they can "re-evaluate"... the posh term for cut.. I tried out Derren Brown's Ghost Train: Rise of the Demon: Venture into the Tunnel (DBGTROTDVITT) yesterday. I don't really like it. The new mid scene makes no sense - we're evacuating a train, because of gas and all that which is outside the carriage and leaking in. We then do through some random mesh tunnel, passing a couple of trains despite never really walking on train tracks, then some random projection of a demon on a high up wall knocks a moving train carriage down a hole. There's no logic there. Genuinely, the scene would have been a lot better if you were led into the area, told it's a safe place whilst workers clear an emergency route, then have the lights go off and a couple of demon noises from various areas of the room. Gives you reason to be in, explains what the area is, and gives you a reason to get out.

Yes, there is that. And that could be a major shot in the foot for themselves if people remember and believe that. From a personal perspective, I know anything like that is pure hyperbole, so I always have my own expectations. If people at least know / understand this is still the same old X, just with more theming, that'll be half the battle won for getting people to like the ride.

No one posted any of our updates here? Wow, I am disappointed guys. I am tired so can't be bothered uploading them here now, but a couple of quick words from me: -The queue is very nicely themed. -The ride has theming and effects dotted throughout. It varies between real effects, screens, lighting, smoke, etc -There is a post show, but it's rather lacking in my eyes - it's basically just a loud noise. -It shouldn't be forgotten that this is just X with a new theme. Don't go in there expecting some super scary thing. It is still a low-thrill ride with scary theming around it. And that's fine, so long as that's what you expect. For anyone who's done them, I'd say this ride takes leaves out of the books of Platform 13 at Walibi Holland and Van Helsing's Factory at Movie Park Germany. Think of X merged together with those two rides and you've got a good idea of what the experience is like.

We finally have a lift hill!

The park have shown off the cars, they look very angry... https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10156117460221276&id=20116456275 Opening is now set for April 7th (a week Saturday)!

Tonight is the Media Preview Event for The Walking Dead - The Ride, ahead of Saturday's official opening. Spoilers will no doubt appear sooner or later, so please post them here! This thread will also be used going forward to discuss the ride, etc. For anyone interested in following updates tonight, you can get the best from our Facebook page..

I imagine one of the reasons for getting an actor to play the demon as opposed to an animatronic is cost. A full animatronic would require a lot of money being spent to look realistic, hiding mechanical components, etc, as well as making sure it's kept working. Hiring an actor means you just need to pay for a good costume (which is comparatively cheaper) and staff, and you get life like movements and no mechanics to hide. I'd imagine in the long term an animatronic would be cheaper, but what's more appealing - a large sum up front for something that will last for 10 years, or chunks of money each year for a few years, after which you can re-evaluate and change the scenes?

So instead of having to wait several years to finally spend a day with you (during a cold and wet day in murky Southend no less), you're telling me all I had to do was spend a couple of hundred quid at Thorpe? Darn it!

I think going cashless in some places is a good idea. When I was at uni, one of the food places on campus went cashless to help speed up the paying system (people could pay by debit card or by the uni's own top-up card system, which is similar to contactless payments in terms of speed), and it worked well. So there is potential there. But as others say, it isn't a great idea for all. Teenagers visiting in groups probably won't have cards, or be willing/allowed to take a card, severely limiting their choice. Imagine what school trips will be like (many bring packed lunches, but a fair few don't). And for those that only bring cash into the park, they're pretty screwed too. I think they've been too forward with this. They tried it in Fin's over Fright Nights, and that seemed to work. But one successful trial in one place isn't enough to say they should role it out across pretty much all F&B places, especially with little advertising.

And here lies my biggest issue. They've got a roller coaster themed to one of the biggest TV shows in the world (even if it is a bit past its best). It's not a major investment, sure, but it doesn't mean that they can't push it and milk it. But instead of focusing on the attraction, even if it is the 15/10 scare rating claim thing, they're just tacking on rubbish like this. They have a whole scope of potential for things they could do to get people talking, yet they scrape the bottom of the barrel. But I guess all publicity is good publicity, and this is getting a fair few people talking, so they'll be happy...

Mini Rookburgh update... An entrance archway had been formed on Berlin street, taking out a small part of the bakery that was there. This will probably be the more grander entrance to the area, with access likely also possible from around the Fantasy area where the advertising signage is. As for construction, it is thought that all digging is done at long last, and some more footers have been placed. So hopefully we'll see more track go up soon.

That looks fantastic; Finnish Taron! Between this and Junker at PowerLand, Finland have got a very tasty-looking line up coming along.

From SSC...

Tiki Waka's circuit was completed at the beginning of the month, but the Tiki Trail still is not. Testing still hasn't begun as a result and the area isn't near completion yet, so the opening of Exotic World (which was meant to be this week) has been delayed, with no new date set yet. If anyone wants to hear a snippet of the IMA score audio, here you go... https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10156041715906276&id=20116456275

So the thing is a new show, called Dragon Slayer - https://www.warwick-castle.com/dragon-slayer/ The show incorporates fire jousts, battles, stunts, horse processions, fire, projection mapping and more. It's set around the mythical, and "forgotten", story of the Guy of Warwick. The shows take place on selected dates in August, ticketed as a separate event, and is 90 minutes long! Special food will be available too. Prices start from £15, with the standard 20% discount available for Annual Passholders. Perhaps a tad expensive, but I reckon it could be something pretty special.