JoshC.

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? :/

I won't post the photos in case people are trying to avoid spoilers, but Phantasialand's favourite website Looooooooopings has posted an update.. http://www.looopings.nl/weblog/8269/Fotos-bouw-nieuwe-flying-coaster-Phantasialand-neemt-vlucht.html

Isn't that really just a common upsell tactic? Rather than displaying the most basic option as default, display the basic + common extra option as default. Generates more interest in the extra product, and likely more money. It could also be based on feedback, especially if many people do buy Fastrack but sometimes struggle to find it (which I think is the case).

It wasn't going to take long before Phantasialand and enthusiasts had a conflict over Rookburgh... http://www.looopings.nl/weblog/8265/Phantasialand-vraagt-fansites-om-bouwfotos-nieuwe-achtbaan-te-verwijderen.html Seems like you can get a decent view of the site from outside the park, so fan sites have been taking photos. Naturally, Phanny aren't happy and asking for the photos to be removed (one such photo is in the article). Good to see some things never change...

The Transformers Tour is happening 15th-23rd August. Info from Facebook...

I Conte believe it

For lack of a better word, Saw Alive is seemingly quite underrated. It rarely blows people out of the water, and because of its age most enthusiasts know what to expect, but a majority actually do enjoy it, yet it's sort of always forgotten about a bit as people focus on newer stuff. It is quite a theatrical experience though and it's unlike many other Thorpe mazes in that the scenery and props can scare you just as much as the actors. The conga line vs free flow argument is interesting. Conga lines control guest flow a lot easier, allow for certain scenes / scares to be triggered at certain times and allow designers to create a natural route for the maze (making operations more predictable). However, it does lead to a safety in numbers vibe - people holding onto each other is a massive psychological thing that makes them feel protected and less scared. The front and back of the line feel a bit more vulnerable, but aren't usually targeted as much. It makes things easier for actors too, as I'll target the ones who look the most scared then work their way up - which can leave very little time for those who are braver. Free flow creates a very different vibe - there's no one in frontor behind you to protect you. Even if you're in a group, you feel open and vulnerable. For enthusiasts who visit loads of scare attractions, it's easy to forget how big a factor that is in putting people on edge. There are issues to it, as it can make it harder to manage, guests in a group split into 2, etc. It's a difficult scenario. And mazes such as Cabin and Big Top struggled further due to the multiple different routes, meaning there was even more splitting and subsequent stacking. Sometimes the choice of conga or free flow will not make much of a difference to a maze. Something like MBV (with the non-crawling route) would make no difference as people would naturally hold on / let go of each other as the maze progressed. Some mazes do benefit from the choice though. Saw is a good example actually - by being told to go on a conga line, it's telling you stick close, you're a group, etc, and this fits very well with the narrative of the maze, as set up in the pre show. Studio 13 is one that benefitted massively from being free flow, as it really sold the 'you're going on a backstage tour' idea, where you would naturally just wander round in a group. So yeah, there's not necessarily a 'better' way to do it if you will. Each maze will suit a different style, and as long as the maze can cope with the demand and is operated properly, the appropriate style will work.

Unfortunately these things are never as simple as they seem. Counting people in and out of the queue is open to abuse if the counter system is obvious (say a turnstile, infra-red detector, etc). But hiding them is very difficult. Hence why the system is actually inbuilt into cameras overseeing the queue line, since that cannot be abused, but requires a lot more investment in terms of time and technology and money. However, it does seem to be very good at the moment and has a lot of other uses aside from giving just a queue time. There's also a separate issue in that you need to be careful of how often you update queue times. Updating queue times too often can cause confusion and distrust with guests in my experience (even if the time only changes by a very small amount!), meaning that they all end up getting ignored. Not to mention that it can be difficult to maintain, especially if this was rolled out further. And obviously updating not enough / large changes to the queue time causes equal amount of distrust and confusion. So a happy medium needs to be found, which I think this system has achieved - it updates regularly enough to stay accurate, whilst not going overboard. Another issue is that 'super-accurate' queue times can be a shot in the foot - if you're advertising a 36 minute queue and it ends up at 40 minutes (say due to a slight delay / shutdown / whatever), people will moan. It's a dangerous game to play, but so far it's one which is working for the park, which is great to see. I believe there are ways to account for shutdowns in the advertised queue time if needs be though, which is a nice back up. As Marc said, this is something which Towers do, and I think it uses a mixture of Bluetooth and WiFi. It's not just for queues, as it can track people all across the park - as such, the park can see when different areas of the park peak with busy-ness, and thus know where to focus on at different points in the day. Similar systems are used in places like train stations and airports too, to see when certain areas are busy and thus need more management to support. Something like that isn't without its flaws though, as it relies heavily on having a large number of phones giving off the appropriate signals at all times, and maintaining and analysing the data can be quite difficult. However, if it did all work all the time, it would see not only monumentally accurate queue times, but make for a much more efficient and organised park from a behind the scenes perspective. I believe it does take into account all queue lines, not just the main queue (something again which is harder to achieve than it sounds). Reduced capacity would also be taken into account.

I believe the only places that play non-Thorpe music are X's queue line and Fin's (and of course Ministry of Sound nights).