JoshC.

Things do seem to have tightened up recently. After the Derren Brown leak in 2015, rumour mill very much seems to have dried up. No one really knew what Ghost Train was before it opened (and even after 2 seasons, people don't really know what it is now..), no one knew what Rise of the Demon was - leaks just didn't spring up. The Walking Dead was a poorly kept secret, but I don't think Thorpe were that bothered by that, as it was a big reveal to the masses (majority of the GP had no clue). I guess it's a mix of lack of knowledge being leaked out and lack of care though. No one was wanting or asking for an X retheme, no one was wanting a 'Year of The Walking Dead', etc. If people really cared, I'm sure someone would do enough digging to find out, then leak it for the street cred.. Happiness is always around the corner - we just need a Jart post..

You see, I think it's easy to underestimate how much Mack and Intamin have been innovating. Mack's launch coasters have really taken off. Discounting Blue Fire (which I guess could be said to be almost an advert for the product), it's only really since Helix that they've become a big thing and have gone from strength to strength. And the semi-shuttle variety is working out well for them too. Then they've got the spinning coaster, and even if it is a natural progression, for them to be the first to include launches and 90 degree drops says something. With Lost Gravity they've entered the winged market too (and there's rumours the next BigDipper will be their take on a dive machine too). So they've got innovation with those products and more. Intamin are making constant improvements. With Mack's launch market improving, they've upped their game, with Taron coming about and plenty of awesome looking ones cropping up in Asia too. They tackled the inverted coaster market again with Drage Kongen at Djurs (and more on the way), and their sit down coasters look fantastic (Flying Aces, Soaring with Dragon, Hyperion, etc). It's not as much, but it's definitely something. B&M aren't coming up with much. They've brought out the wingrider (with great success) and one launch coaster (seemingly successful, but I dunno), and they've got the reputation for building reliable, consistent rides. But that's just it - parks will go to them these days with the logic of 'we can get the equivalent of X at our park', and not 'we can create the next big thing with them'. I certainly think they've been left a bit behind by Intamin and Mack in that sense. There's nothing wrong with that either, not by a long shot. And I'm sure B&M would always be open to creating a new craze just like they did with the wingrider. But equally, I really don't see any parks turning to them and saying 'let's build the next generation of 4D coaster'.

I believe that their stance on anything they haven't developed is simply 'we're willing to do anything if people ask us'. That was particularly true with launches, where they explicitly said "no one has asked us" (until Thunderbird came about a couple of years back). So that's as far as they've said publicly I think. Part of me thinks the idea is dead now. Wingriders are doing well enough, and the proper 4D coasters get mixed reviews. And with the Zacspins, free flys and the random Swiss manufacturer making compact 4D-esque coasters, I can't see a park ever opting for one. Doesn't help that B&M seem to have a reputation for not straying far from what they know. And that companies like Intamin and Mack are innovating more and more, whilst slowly perfecting their products.

Surprised we don't have a thread for this yet... To kick this thread off (since opening times are being talked about elsewhere), it has been revealed that, as expected, the Annual Pass Day this year will be on Sunday 18th March. Yay. Use this thread for any discussion of the 2018 season generally (shock horror!)...

What would be interesting (though impossible for us) to compare is the percentage of operating time between last season and this season. More closed days means less wear and tear on rides, more time for engineers to work on the rides, etc. That could mean less downtime, which could see an increase in operating time. And if that increase is significant enough, it could mean that rides are actually open more often. Yes, the latter of those is unrealistic and idealistic, but if in general it means on an open day there's less downtime, that's something at least. And maybe even two trains more often... But yeah, the closed day things isn't great, but it's worth remembering how spoilt we have been in the past with opening days.

Well it looks like this thread is in need of a break... Courtesy of Sky Scraper City, not KitKat

Towers Street are now reporting that the Smokehouse restaurant, which was meant to open on the courtyard this year, will not be built for 2018. The Welcoming, which used the location, is still fully built and Scare Tour are of the understanding that the maze will return in largely the same location for 2018's Scarefest.

I got a lot of hate on Twitter for saying this after riding again at the weekend, so I'm posting it again. As a ride, Mystery Castle is just so dull. The up part is meh, the down part is meh, the theatrical side of it after the ride starts (lights on a ceiling plus a crash of thunder!!) does nothing for me. It's such a shame, as the queue and build up to it are decent, but the ride, are really attraction as a whole, is just bad. I literally walked straight through the queue and walked straight on and I still feel like I wasted time doing it.

I must admit that I did find it a bit forgettable at the start of the season. I liked it, but it isn't perhaps as easily memorized to hum along to and such after one listening (like older Thorpe soundtracks, ITHOMK, etc). But that's why I like the fact they've got the theme running through large parts of the park. You recognise it, which creates that parkwide link, and then it seems to slowly seep in and become memorable. Whether it's intentional or not I don't know, but it really works well as subtly becoming memorable, rather than a 'listen once and it always sticks' piece. As for the CD, it's fab, I really enjoy it, and it's good to see UK Merlin doing this after many years of fans wanting it. A nice touch (which many IMA score CDs do not have) is how it has a little booklet saying where each track is from s little about the thought process and design of the audio.

Here's some nice pictures from Attraction Images: And a ground-level shot from 'therollercoasterproject' on Instagram:

I tried liking it, but internet in Germany said no. So funnily enough, you can blame Phantasialand for that...

My rarest thing on coaster count is a travelling Go Gator, but hard to know if people have ridden it. I also doubt many care. I've got the now-closed wild mouse ride at Gulliver's Warrington, don't know if anyone else has that here. And I only know of 2 other people on here who have visited Plopsa Coo, so there's that. (I expect a wave of Plopsa Coo visitors to shout at me now...)

Officially confirmed by park that it's back for 2019 (video in German; no subtitles available) www.facebook.com/HeideParkResort/videos/10155154872106629/ By the sounds of it, they considered knocking it down and replacing it with a hybrid (RMC?), but opted against it. There might also be some minor changes to the layout, but don't quote me on that just yet...

Worth saying there's been no official word from the park just yet, and they don't give any source.. Though that site is normally reliable, so things do look promising. But in still waiting for official word from the park before rejoicing...

I will be attending, meal and all!

The previously shown opening times are now confirmed - https://www.thorpeparkmania.co.uk/news/09-01-2018/2018+Opening+Times+Confirmed All the 10pm closes are there - in fact, there's another one on September 1st!

Wonderful video there - it's a shame we don't see more of these things from Thorpe in general (and the response to the video shows that people do enjoy seeing these things). It's also refreshing that it's not just one random marketing person doing all the talking, but instead people from both sides who were involved in the whole process - the passion definitely comes through! Looking forward to seeing more IMA score in the future (hopefully!) and getting my hands on that X soundtrack <3

To add fuel to the fire, the director of the park has said that the park will add something of note in 2020, to help celebrate the park's 20th anniversary. Whether that be a Forest of Plop replacement, Bat replacement or something else is unknown. The hotel, which was ambitiously stated to open at the end of this year, still hasn't started construction yet. So I guess there's a possibility that hotel will end up opening in 2020 - hopefully it's not just that...

In an unsurprising move, Heide Park are getting a Peppa Pig Land this year: https://www.heide-park.de/peppa-pig-land.html It'll feature 4 rides / attractions. Expected cut and paste job from Merlin I guess.

Interesting quote from the updated minisite... Perhaps not a surprise, though this is the first time they've really driven home the safety idea. Also, regarding the world's first, it's stupid - Galactica level stupid - but I guess their logic is how they've focused on the word 'fused'. I guess they're going to go with the idea of if there's enough fire effects, faux-fire effects, etc, that's a fusion, as opposed to just other wooden coasters which stick a flamethrower effect near a wooden coaster. As I say, Galactica level world first, but I did anyone expect any less? Also, some excerpts from the Press Release: Genuinely think they should just focus on first UK woodie more than the world first. But some of those points are just so yawn-worthy and copy and paste from other PRs...

The promo art is gorgeous The world's first is: The world's first rollercoaster experience fusing wood and fire I mean, it's not really, but okay. They're also using the 'first UK woodie in 21 years' angle which is nice. In honesty, this is exactly what I expected. It looks fun, the coaster won't be anything special, but I'm sure it'll do the job and fill the gap. I'm a little concerned that they seem to be focusing on the older end of the target market - let's hope it works out for them! Details here - https://www.wickerman.com/story-so-far/wicker-man-announced-as-latest-ground-breaking-rollercoaster-experience

So I did Tussauds for the first time ever today. The whole concept never really appealed to me, and the added effort of going to it specifically meant I'd never done it, and the majority of the IPs aren't things that interest me. Some 'review' things are the shows / ride... Alien So we arrived at Tussauds for opening (10am), but Alien didn't open till 10:30. Annoying since it's at the start of thing. It's an alright little scare attraction, made me jump once, and some good theming. Given the space they had, they've done well with it. Not sure I would ever want to pay extra for it though. Not worth that. Sherlock Holmes Experience This was fun, nice and interactive (perhaps too interactive, verging on awkwardness). I enjoyed it though, and the end of the story made me chuckle and I thought it was quite clever. Not sure I would ever want to pay extra for it though. Not worth that. Though I'd be more willing to pay extra for it over Alien due to the length of it (even though I'm more a scare fan). Spirit of London I liked this. Some good scenes (I loved the plague stuff), and just good fun in general, with a nice little charm to it. I was disappointed that some of the animatronics weren't working - in particular the carousel. Bit poor when someone who's never been can notice what's not working. Marvel 4D Again, I liked this, even though I'm not a Marvel fan. Though I haven't done many, this is one of many favourite 4D films (probably only bested by Pirates 4D). It was fun, had humour and a good story. The effects were good and used well, and in general I just really enjoyed it. The end of the story was a bit weird and too cheesey - why are they thanking us and saying we were great and the real heroes when we literally did nothing? So yeah, all in all, it's a nice little thing. Glad I ticked it off the list and made a bit more use out of my Merlin Annual Pass. But it's not my thing, and never in a million years would I have paid for it, or any of the add ons...

List can be found here: https://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1389506 THE CASINO AT BLACKPOOL PLEASURE BEACH Heritage Category: Listing Grade: II The Big Dipper Heritage Category: Listing Grade: II Sir Hiram Maxim's Captive Flying Machine Heritage Category: Listing Grade: II The Grand National Heritage Category: Listing Grade: II Noah's Ark Heritage Category: Listing Grade: II Blue Flyer rollercoaster (originally the Zipper Dipper) Heritage Category: Listing Grade: II (NB - I've totally just copied this post from member 'davidm' on Coasterforce - credit to him for creating the easy to read list)

Well that's one piece of history I'm never going to get to experience... Having not been to Blackpool, I have no sentimental attachment to the thing and I'll in no way miss it as a result. But I'm still disappointed that I'll miss out on it. I guess with H&S becoming more and more prevalent in the UK, and people being more 'complainy' these days, it was always going to be a matter of time before it went from what I heard of the experience. Still a massive shame... Also below is a statement the park gave to the European Coaster Club: