JoshC.

I believe some rides have seen wind speed checks introduced later than others, and others have had changes to how they operate following reviews with the manufacturers, etc. Hence why some rides are now more affected. I agree re Banana and Saw - very odd! Do remember though that how the wind feels on the ground can be very different to how it is 60ft up in the air. Remember that all rides will have computers tracking them and such. If a large gust of wind causes a flat ride to say be a millimetre or two out of its expected position, that could cause the computer to throw up an error or have a hissy fit or whatever. I assume rides will be built to allow for some margin of error to compensation for things like that, but Merlin will probably be wanting to run rides with a much smaller margin error than other places.

Meanwhile at Vekoma HQ... It seems like there will be LSMs on an upward curve track, which is nice. Makes sense since a launch on a flying coaster won't be particularly intense. Photos from Phantafriends... https://www.phantafriends.de/topic/1873-neu-20xx-fly/?page=35&tab=comments#comment-88503

Certainly not a power cut; the spread of rides across the park wouldn't make sense. For example, if Detonator is closed down to a power cut, so would all of Jungle and Amity areas. Similarly, if Swarm is dead due to power, so would Fish. The wind speed issue is a hot topic in Merlin at the moment following recent events. I am of the understanding that most of the major rides have been fitted with specific wind speed monitors, that will alert when the wind speed is above a 'safe' level, which is set out by the manufacturer. Staff will then stop running the ride and won't reopen until the wind speed is consistently at a 'safe to operate' speed. The big issue is that if there's a particularly large gust of wind, this means that staff have to stop running the ride. So to stop running the ride, it only takes 1 instance of high wind, not consistent high wind. Of the rides currently closed, a few will always suffer more with wind. Vortex and Zodiac are right by the lake, where wind speeds can pick up more. Swarm also suffers similarly from this, and the majority of its full day closures have been down to high wind speeds. Depth Charge should also be understandable. And Detonator I guess. Banana Ride, Stealth and Colossus are weird ones. I guess if the wind is going in a certain direction it could cause issues with Stealth. Colossus isn't usually that bad even though it's by the water, and if that's suffering from high winds, Saw usually does too. I know people will come with the argument that 'well they've operated fine before, so why now?'. But we should of course remember that in terms of health and safety, Merlin won't want to take chances, so will be making themselves follow the strictest of rules. It's a case now of trying to find the balance of operating safely and operating effectively. Though I'd be more concerned at the fact that 3 rides are listed as Closed, indicating they won't be opening today, and that they all were yesterday as well...

The fortune teller (Madame Mephisto) had a crystal ball in 2015. Occasionally they'd use tarot cards as well, but I never experienced a ouija board. The ouija board was the key part of Platform 15's finale - you would try and summon the spirit of the conductor of the Sleeper Express, who had crawled through a "2 mile long tunnel" to try and get help. The ouija board either appeared at the end of the tunnel (where the scare happened, but it meat only the people at the front could see it), or before the start of the tunnel (which happened later in the event).

Worth mentioning that loads of Ghost Train merch is currently reduced at the moment as well. So Swarm's reduced merch might not be a sign of things to come... I hope. Please don't chop and change Swarm Thorpe. Please.

Mannequin heads were used in Platform 15, many of the 'dead' people on the train for example. So I think it's from there. Mannequins are also used in the Saw films to test / show off traps, which is why they're about in the queue for the ride.

Towers have always charged for mazes. Yes, it's true that they used to have a free maze, but any new maze has always been an upcharge, so I don't get why people are kicking up a fuss that this follows suit? The reality is that Towers charge £20 for 3 mazes (so £6.66 a maze), and those mazes have time slots available from 1-9pm. This maze costs £8, but has much stricter availability (5.30-9pm). So the extra charge compared to other mazes make sense in that respect - they've created a more limited experience, which should reflect in the quality, and so are charging more to reflect this. Of course, it means that Towers have set themselves a bar to reach (if it's not worth the £8, people will be disappointed), but that's a risk they'll have to take. Of course, it's frustrating that there is no free maze (especially since TotT is largely not as good as others, based on reviews I've read at least), but I imagine it'd be a nightmare trying to organise it with 3 mazes in such close proximity to each other. And yeah, £28 is a lot of money for the mazes, but I guess those interested in doing it will likely book in advance (£58 for park entry plus 4 guaranteed mazes isn't atrocious when you consider you'd pay similar at Thorpe), or be passholders and get it for £22.40 - and little over £5 a maze isn't bad.

The new maze will indeed have an SW8 link, and will be called... The Welcoming: Be Chosen https://www.altontowers.com/activities/events/scarefest/thrilling-frights/#mazes The maze has a £8 charge (£6.40 AP holders). No idea where it'll be mind, though time slots can only be booked from 5:30 onwards, suggesting it might be partially outdoors? Edit: beaten to it but meh.

Blair Witch returning out of nowhere. Was not expecting that at all.

ha, it looks fab. I'm in 2 minds about whether I'd have preferred to see a spinner or a Big Dipper for this; part of me feels like a Big Dipper would have been great for the layout. But yeah, nice to see spinning coasters branch out a bit more, and nice to see it won't be like Cobra's Curse with the weird locking / unlocking during various points of the circuit. Hope it is well received and more parks decide to give it a try...

I mean it looks fun and everything, but I still don't get the hype over RMC. Some of the transitions look odd and unnatural, which is something I dislike on coasters personally. To be fair, people who have ridden them do rave about them, but I do fear they are a tad overrated. To this day, the best-looking RMC out there is still Outlaw Run...

An update to the SW8 website - https://www.altontowers.com/sw8 Things to note: -No mention of a world first, just a 'world class experience'. -'Be chosen at Scarefest'. -No mention of that fact it's wood. -Ancient / tribal symbols. -Big focus on Secret Weapons in general. -3 episodes, only 1 seems live? I get a bit of a branding iron vibe going from it. Then again, the firey red writing could easily just be hinting to fire, which fits in with a Wickerman theme. I find it interesting theta no explicit mention of the fact that this is a coaster. Still clearly marketing at geeks for now, but I reckon that the theming / pre show could be what they're going to focus on more in the long run...

Platform 15 was all but confirmed to return for 2017 in our recent interview with Thorpe's Show Services team - https://www.thorpeparkmania.co.uk/articles/20-07-2017/Show+Services+Q+and+A What we can infer from the job advert is that there will be more than 1 new attraction.

I'm always in two minds about it. On the one hand, it's a brilliant way to bring the sense of touch into a scare attraction (something which isn't used so much in your standard walkthrough, especially since you're usually encouraged not to touch props). But on the other, it's simply just another shock tactic similar to jump scares, that doesn't really make me think 'oh, that's clever'. That's why I like Saw Alive's second scene - it's filled with electric shock warnings and stuff, but it's just a vibrating gate / floor. Gives all the suspension and fear of an electric shock, without actually having to use one. It then also distracts you from actors which is a bonus.

Noticed a few more ones now, including "Guest Illness" and "Come back later". Handy little options which help communicate a bit better how long a delay will be without having to ask staff (who generally don't know anyway!).

I like the new bridge music - real nice mix of different sounds from across the park, and music that could fit in areas of the park too. I really like the Ghost Train remix it has!

I more meant comparitively quiet compared to the past 2 years. 2015 saw 2 huge new, billed as super-scary, attractions along with 2 scare zones. Last year saw 2 new mazes, one which used new technology, and a new scare zone. 1 new maze is a quiet year.

I more meant comparitively quiet compared to the past 2 years. 2015 saw 2 huge new, billed as super-scary, attractions along with 2 scare zones. Last year saw 2 new mazes, one which used new technology, and a new scare

The test track at Vekoma HQ now has trains (with seats!) attached... Presumably these will be very similar (if not, the same), to the seats used on Fly!

I imagine TotT is returning in (more or less) its current guise because the majority of the budget is going into the new maze. After 2 pretty big years for Scarefest, it's not surprising that there's a quiet year now. Still a shame mind, since if my 2012 run is indicative of a standard run, it's very average. I'm seeing a lot of people band the SW8 tie in idea about for the new maze. One would hope that isn't the case, as it either means we're getting another overly dark scary theme for a family coaster, or a family maze being over-hyped as a scary. I've seen some suggestions of Sub Terra being used to house a maze. Not sure if that'd be feasible, but could definitely provide a nice setting for a maze (albeit very short by Towers' standards).

DOORS!

Towers have partially announced their 2017 Scarefest line up, which includes... House of Monsters Freak Show scare zone Terror of the Towers Sub Species Altonville Mine Tours And a 4th scare maze... A completely new maze is rather unexpected. Wonder where it could go...

And a lovely tent-like structure was being built today as well!

Isn't there the rumour that termites or something have been attacking Colossos? If that's true and there'sa true infestation, then wood might not be the way forward...

I find it kind of concerning that people genuinely think Thorpe could reduce the number of attractions at Fright Nights, given that it's grown year on year.. Do people really have that little blind faith to think that they'd be THAT stupid? :/