JoshC.

Getting a Taron clone at Thorpe would be a completely different ball game though surely? With Takabisha, we're talking about a coaster being cloned at a park almost 7000 miles away. They're in different continents, different cultures, different everything pretty much. A Taron clone at Thorpe would mean the same coaster a mere 325 miles away, in parks which are arguably more similar than different if you look at it simply. And there's a bigger likelihood that more people (ie ones outside the enthusiast community) will actually visit both parks in this case. I'm not saying that the right-ness or wrong-ness of whether a coaster should be cloned comes down to the locations of the parks or how similar a park is. But you're throwing up a example which is pretty incompatible to be honest. A fairer example would be, say, a situation in which we see Smiler cloned in China - how would people feel then? How would you feel? From what you're saying, it seems like you'd be less bothered since you've got the original an hour or two up the road rather than having to trek half way across the world for it? In fairness, I agree with what you're saying in principle - it's a shame to see some of the mammoth coasters cloned and reproduced, especially ones that are 'special' in whatever way. But I only see it as a shame because it means there's less new coasters out there, meaning there's less chance of more 'special' ones. Imagine if all the parks that have Blue Fire clones each did something slightly different - sooner or later, there'd have been one which would have been 'special'...even if it's in the depths of Russia or wherever. But it doesn't bother or trigger me as it does you, because it still means that some parks are getting quality additions at least... Oh, and if Thorpe DID get a Taron clone, I'd be over the moon. I'd agree that it takes away from the mystique of Taron itself, and I doubt it'd be as good because Thorpe wouldn't be able to create an atmosphere like Klugheim, but I'd still love it. Thorpe, make it happen please.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Efteling. Even though in many ways it's not a park for me (I'm not a big fan of the fairytale vibe), I still get absorbed into the magic. And I get why they're keeping it - Python is a flagship coaster not only for the park, but for the Netherlands as a whole. They could easily ride on the nostalgia value of it for another 30 years quite easily. But that's where my conflict comes. At some point, you need to let go of nostalgia and say it's time to move forward. It's not like we're talking about a certain feature, pathway, garden or something a bit more 'just there', we're talking about a coaster that is taking up space and resources, and could make way for something better and more Efteling. I'm all for conserving history and remembering a park's roots, especially at Efteling where something like that is so important. But I think there's better ways to do than keep shaking the tree from a ride which shouldn't have a place any more. They could do what Towers did Corkscrew, and turn part of the track into a monument of some sorts. Build a new coaster that incorporates the double loop in its layout. Add a section into Fairytale Forest with a story around Python. It can be done, and Efteling would do it well. A more pressing matter though - if the track is being totally rebuilt and it isn't coming from Vekoma, does it count as a new cred?

The park are probably off put by the fact they once advertised a certain famous log flume to open in 2013, but because Intamin, it didn't actually open until 2014. Caused a fair bit of backlash, so they now go to the other extreme of not announcing anything until like 3 weeks before it opens...

A new theme park / mall thing in New Jersey is getting a Takabisha (y'know, world's steepest coaster) clone, intertwined with a Gerstlauer spinner coaster. And it's Nickelodeon themed. Oh, and it's all indoors.. After several delays to this project, it's due in 2019...

Python has long been rumoured to get a full track replacement, and now it's finally happening... https://www.looopings.nl/weblog/8922/Fotos-dit-is-de-nieuwe-baan-van-de-Python-in-de-Efteling.html And a Dutch video - https://www.tvl.be/nieuws/achels-bedrijf-mag-legendarische-eftelingattractie-renoveren-51458?utm_content=buffer8bbf4&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer Interestingly, the track isn't being manufactured at/by Vekoma, but instead by a metal manufacturing company closer to Efteling. It's not really clear if that company has been sub-contracted by Vekoma, or if Efteling have gone to this company with plans for them to follow... As far as I can tell, deconstruction is planned to start in early January and new Python is hoped to be ready by March, and that's the only time the ride will be closed. Rather ambitious time scale really! It's a shame that Efteling have decided to keep Python. It's caused countless problems over the years and doesn't really fit with the park these days. It's arguably the least popular coaster too - during all my visits, it's always had the shortest queue and lowest throughput. Efteling argue it's historic and has sentimental value, hence why they want to keep it. I can see the point and all, but I just don't think 'a lot of people have fond memories of it' is a good enough reason to keep a ride. And surely they could incorporate it in some other way, similar to how Towers reused Corkscrew..

Edit - it's fake anyway. I've been played Rumour has it some enthusiasts have already begun already, in their bid to be first.

Image from Phantafriends.de showing Rookburgh / FLY on their queue boards. Not sure whether it's worth reading into the fact that there's no other attractions listed in the area at this stage yet... As for the coaster, station track was installed a week or two back (no photos though), but no other notable work has happened yet...

11 game weeks in and I've been top every week. Imagine what would happen if I actually bother to change my team...

The (sad) thing is, people don't lose interest. The general public lap up the world's first stuff - they see it and something twigs in their brain that if it's the first, it's the best. And since it's the best, they have to do it. It works particular well with the family market and young adults, which of course is what Merlin pretty much solely caters for. Yeah, some of the world first claims are complete rubbish or long winded nonsense to the point that they could come up with another tagline which would be equally as appealing, but it's easy and it works. As for the hotel discussion - literally every Merlin hotel / lodge / resort 'thing' is massively profitable. Splash Landings is/was the only exception, and Merlin currently blame that on the fact Towers is still in a recovery phase after Smiler's crash. 4 hotels there is probably one too many in my opinion, but I reckon that, had the Smiler incident not happened, Splash probably would have been open all year round this year, and if the park does recover well enough like Merlin think it will, it'll be open all year round sooner or later. It makes it more an inevitability that Thorpe will get a proper hotel. They did have plans for one to open in 2018 but it got pushed back (yet again), and I think that was again down to the profit issues post-Smiler. But a hotel at Thorpe has been in the plans since like 2004/5, it is going to happen one day...

Though not to excuse Thorpe / Merlin, plenty of theme parks across the world that offer Annual Passes have exclusion dates / charge extra for special events, and have a tiered system. It's fast becoming common in the industry. These things are more noticeable within Merlin though, because: 1) There's a lot AP holders out there, creating a need for upcharging in some cases. 2) They have more explicit special events days (firework shows are a big deal for example, whereas other parks have fireworks more as standard). 3) The low cost of a Standard MAP. They ARE cheap, when you take into the fact you can access 30 something attractions for free, you get excellent value for money if you use it correctly. The upcharges help make the money to keep the price low.

Thorpe Park x15-20 Legoland x10 Chessington x8 Efteling x3 Alton Towers x2 Liseberg x2 Phantasialand x1 Movie Park Germany x1 Plopsaland x1 Plopsa Coo x1 Bagatelle x1 Not a terrible year. Could have been better (missed out on some things up north this year unfortunately), but I'm not complaining. Winter Wonderland aside, a lack of winter things sadly - wanted to do Winter Phantasia this year but will wait to next now most likely.

It does leave Thorpe Park Annual Passholders stuck though - there is no Standard / Premium option (anymore? There might have been a couple of years back, but definitely isn't now). The TPAP has the same exclusions as a Standard Merlin AP. It's a bit poor really.

I believe there was issues with the supplier which meant the Head in Jar photos weren't going to be available until September, and then that date was pushed back further. If they were ready in time, it probably was so late in the season they just didn't bother. I do wonder if Thorpe will want to bother with it at all though. The other photo point isn't exactly hugely successful, and they do create hold ups in the queue. With it being so close to the batch point, they might not want to deal with the hassle it'll create.

Anyone who doesn't say Taron's second launch either hasn't been on it or is wrong. Anubis at Plopsaland would probably rank second for me at the moment. It's really punchy and just takes you aback a little. Just really fun to be honest!

Let's see... -Merlin representative not calling it a ride. -Reference to Smiler incident (though fairly done). -Francis Jackson interview. -Shipping container in-joke. -MYSTERIOUS THING. That covers a good majority of the Merlinisms for my bingo. Just need a 'during routine excavations...' backstory and I'm done.

I'm always interested as to what flat rides people think Thorpe should get. They have a vast selection of thrilling flats which covers most bases of what flat rides can do, so most rides which Thorpe could invest will have the issue that they're either too similar to what they've already got, or wouldn't be suited in terms of throughput, etc. So yeah, I'd be interested to see what you think the park could add that would be worthwhile and suitable.

Safe Zone would imply The Walking Dead (being a big theme of the show and also mentioned in park wide theming...), and likely Living Nightmare becoming permanent... Following the X rumours, that would at the very least suggest X isn't being demolished if they're still using the building for a maze, but who knows.

Genuinely curious what locations you think are feasible, as aside from behind Swarm and next to I'm a Celeb, I honestly can't think of any other places?

The trouble with the island behind Swarm is that'll require a lot more infrastructure investment, since it is literally blank. And as the space is very large, it'd be much more suited to a large scale investment (both in terms of size and cost) than just some filler ride. The area where Sanctum is wouldn't really be suitable for anything long term, as that area is used for access a lot. I'm surprised they were able to put Sanctum there at all in honesty! The only real blank area Thorpe have at the moment is where Fungle Safari was. It was just used as a service road for Ghost Train construction so is now just empty space. But then again, monks still haunt that area so it's probably a no go...

The rumours of X and Slammer closing (along with Loggers) were back at the end of the 2015 season. The thought process was that after the Smiler crash and loss of profit, Thorpe were going to close multiple rides to save on costs. Obviously only Loggers closed, and that doesn't necessarily seem to be solely down to cost cutting.

So I've seen a couple of rumours on Facebook and on other forums that X is saying its goodbyes and being closed forever at the end of the season. Obviously this isn't the first time that X has been rumoured to be gone forever - rumours flirted around in 2014 and 2015 that it was being taken down / closed, and there were times in the 2000s it was rumoured to go. I hope it doesn't go as there's a distinct lack of family coasters at Thorpe, and there's arguably not enough time for a like-for-like replacement to be built in time for next year. And these rumours do seem to have appeared rather suddenly, so it does feel weird, but who knows. A retheme / retrofit (VR, spinning cars, adding laser guns...whatever) could be possible I spose. If it does go though, it does open up a lovely large space with X, Slammer and even Bush BBQ for redevelopment.

Ah thanks - I couldn't for the life of me remember what exactly it was called! In sad news though, it has been confirmed that the man has died due to his injuries.

NEW SCENES for The Walking Dead. Platform 15b. Big Top IV. Talk about Saw Alive sinking. New scenes in Containment would be nice too. I actually missed Blair Witch this year. Seriously. Bring it back, rethemed as a Headless Monk Hunt. Please Thorpe. If I say it every year, it'll happen eventually right... But yeah, I don't see any maze being rethemed for next year and aside from Blair's pathway, there's little space for a maze elsewhere at the moment. So it'll be interesting to see what Thorpe come up with!

Just a quick review of my Howl'o'ween experience, and indeed my first Halloween event at Chessington... Curse of the Lost Tomb Meh. I don't really know how to describe this, it had the elements to be a fun enough family attraction, but it was all just very meh. Theming looked nice (except in the finale). The story was there. I guess the main issue was the acting and number of actors. Some of the actors were hard to hear. Some seemed so unenthusiastic - one looked and sounded like they'd been dragged off of Staines high street and plonked in the maze. From what I've heard, there's a lot less actors this year too. So yeah, there's potential, but it also falls flat. Also, can I just point out the hilariously placed e-stop at elbow height right by the entrance door as far away from the actor as possible - who thought THAT was a good idea? Park Atmosphere There was a bit of park theming about (plastic pumpkins, cobwebs, etc), but not a lot. And with the mazes very hidden away and not in your face (unlike Towers and Thorpe), it's easy to forget there's a Halloween event at all. There were LOTS of roaming actors about, which was nice. Even had a few hiding in ride queue lines - we had 4 in Tomb Blaster's queue and the first one successfully caught me off guard. They also did a flash mob dance thing outside the main shop, but it was at the most random times (it was so silly of us to not think there'd be a show at 5:06...) that we missed it. Creepy Caves: Unearthed Okay, let's start off with the bad - the time slots for this were poorly managed. Either they were selling too many or letting people in far too early / late, but it wasn't working. It meant that on Wednesday, for a 4:15 slot, we queued 80 minutes, and that was after we queued 30 minutes to actually buy our tickets... I hear that later in the event they went to the other extreme with the timed tickets, and not letting people into the time slots early, resulting in a queue to be let in the queue at many points, but still letting people in at any time if they'd missed their slots. Still wasn't working great. Anyways, the maze. It's actually great. And as someone who's been largely unimpressed with Chessington's offerings over the past several years, it's great to see something so well themed, executed, presented and fulfilling at the park. This IS a scary attraction, and certainly will truly terrify and haunt those around the young-end of its 10+ age recommendation. But this is the type of attraction Chessington needs to offer if it's actually going to become a family park. The 'pre show' before entering with the actor is fantastically scripted. The first scene gave me Experiment 10 vibes, but in a suitably toned down way. The laboratory scene is again well scripted and has nice effects which, though nothing special, work great on scaring younger audiences. What follows (the actual 'cave' section) is brilliant - jump scares, nice theming, a plethora of things hanging from the ceiling and plenty of lively actors. The balance between scaring adults and kids seemed to work too. The ending is nice, nothing special, but VERY loud and certainly enough to get the younger audience screaming and crying out. As a side note, the maze was free flow, which really did surprise me for a family attraction of this nature. As a scare attraction for adults in context, it's not that scary, it's not special and it won't leave you in trembling (though I would be interested in doing it in an adult-only group, sort of a 'Creepy Caves After Dark' thing...they could ramp it up..). But for a family scare attraction, this is fantastic, perhaps even a little over the scary line, but still a great scare attraction for the park and surely one of the better examples of a family scare. So yeah, Creepy Caves is fab. I hope it returns next year, that they don't tone it down (up the age recommendation if needs be), and they can sort out the operations a bit (sell less tickets!). Chessington truly are onto a winner this year!