JoshC.

Nothing really to worry about. It's much like what happened at Paulton's with Edge and Cobra, or Plopsaland with their noise thing - someone in the local authority has seen that there was some issues with the paperwork and raised the issue. Unfortunately in this situation, it does require the ride to close, but people will always look at the worst-case scenario first. Obviously a shake and inconvenient for the park and anyone visiting in the immediate future, but it'll reopen I'm sure!

Forgive the sarcasm, but when you post about a "glaring detail" in the plans which could possibly add more details to the thread, and are laughing that it's not been mentioned, and then fail to mention that said detail is, it feels more like you're trying to get a one up on others, as opposed to actually contributing... Ta-da... (Thanks to TTP) 3 crossed boxes.

The "I know something but I'm not going to say" game...Yay...

I see nothing wrong with the above conversation.

This thread is the breast.

My reviews from 2014 and 2012 can be found by following this link: They seemed to have a change of direction and more money pumped into the event last, and from I've heard, things have only gotten better. Blackout was also nominated for the Best Scare Attraction SCAR Award in 2014-5, so they have potential to make great attractions. Don't go on expecting the best things ever, but it's a fun event to go to!

Saw's advertised max g-force is +4.7G. Like Benin says, could spike at 5G on occasions quite easily.

Walibi Belgium announced yesterday that their ferris wheel will be closing at the end of season. The ride and surrounding area will be developed for a new ride, which will probably open in 2018. As mentioned previously, the park had several issues in the past with locals / planning permission. But it seems that there is a light at the end of a very long tunnel for them, and I'm interested to see what they go for...

This is the sort of thing where a source is required as much as the quote... They're really dragging out saying that Gruffalo is replacing the Bubbleworks. Already beyond tedious.

The plans suggest that the building is being extended to build a new shop. Which would suggest that the current space occupied by the shop will no longer be used for a shop. Thus leaving a massive gap between the end of the experience as it stands and the new shop, meaning that the addition of something else isn't too far fetched of an idea.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_peroxide

"My personal favourite is phobophobia...the fear of fear itself"

Cian's point, as I read it, was saying it's embarrassing that they're modifying the attraction's experience to presumably maintain public interest. It's unfair to say that when we don't know what they're doing to the attraction, or even why. If you feel the attraction's current state is embarrassing, then that's an opinion you can form fairly on your experiences. But to say it's embarrassing that they're making modifications, at this stage, has no basis. Equally, no one can fairly say this is something that should be taken pride in (or whatever the most appropriate opposite of embarrassment is in the situation) at the moment.

Many dark rides undergo modifications after they first open. Admittedly it's more changing the sequence of things, or just adding extra things, but it's not uncommon. When we have no idea what this extension is bringing us, it's certainly unfair to call this embarrassing in my opinion. In saying that, it's an...interesting development. Especially since it seems to suggest that this extension will be to build a new shop to replace the old, as opposed to an extension to the shop itself. Once again, this attraction has made me curious...

This is the sort of comment where a suggestion of an alternative would also be good. I don't disagree with you per se, but to anyone who has never experienced these sorts of days, some of the behaviour you witness and experience can be described as disturbing to be honest. Days where large numbers traveller community are at parks are common, and preparations are made by the parks to help minimise disruption to everyone's day. (Was writing this post as Marc posted)

I would strongly recommend prebooking tickets for Containment; there is no guarantee that tickets will be avaliable on the day!

The saying of things that one doesn't like.

^Oooh, would be interested to hear a review of The Final Cut if you can do one! House of Insomnia by Twisted Attractions in 2014 for me stands out. A fantastically themed attraction from start to finish. But it assaulted the senses too - every scene had a distinct smell, there was a freezer room that was very cold, a furnace room that was very hot, etc. Decent length, and just all round brilliance. The ending was a chainsaw chase, but not the best one, and the beginning scene needed louder audio, but that is about the only negatives! I also loved Studio 13 and Se7en (in its final year). Studio really got me engrossed in the story line and it worked so well, and Se7en was just a fab experience.

haha, when I heard about No Tricks, the first thought that sprung to my head was that some over-enthusiastic fan would go just to interrogate Derren on DBGT. Alas, this is the first vaguely Ghost Train related question I've heard of being asked! One thing I did notice during any interview Derren gave to newspapers / Youtubers / etc about Ghost Train early in the year was how similar it all sounded; using the same buzz phrases again and again. It's only really with Thorpe-specific marketing has he seemed to give more specific answers. Wonder if that was because of wanting to keep everything secret or the fact that what Derren says had to be agreed with by Merlin... I always find these sorts of comments interesting. I've always felt Ghost Train should be taken like one of Derren's TV shows, rather than one of his stage shows. So, really, he shouldn't be there too much - he should be there before and/or after the experience, and not much else. Take Pushed to the Edge for example; he met with those he used in the show prior to the experience, and after for the big reveal, but the actual event, Derren isn't present at all; just an invisible hand behind it all. The way Derren features is pretty good in my eyes. He greets you for the pre-show, explaining some safety things and the like. And then he's just there for the countdowns; not much else is needed. Perhaps one thing which would be good is for his voice to be heard in the room between pre-show and the warehouse, and in the warehouse itself. Little things like 'everything isn't as it seems', 'challenge your perceptions', to try and tie things in a bit more. The throughput itself is actually pretty reasonable, and ever improving (like with many new attractions), from what I've heard. The obvious issue is that because the ride is shutting down regularly, the flow of it is broken, causing issues to the number of people who are actually getting through in an hour. And of course, any time a group of people are taken off a train during a shutdown, they are allowed to go back on and experience the attraction again through the Fastrack queue, which delays the main queue some more. That would also explain the 10 minute wait between preshow and the warehouse, as well as why some people get incredibly long green mist sequences - the attraction has, in effect, shutdown, but the holding sequences and areas are still 'live' with guests if it's a quick fix. Which is totally frustrating and shouldn't be happening often (ideally it shouldn't happen at all of course, but unfortunately shutdowns will happen). I remain by a lot of my views of Ghost Train from my first review - it is a very fun, enjoyable experience. The second VR lets it down (which is a real shame since that's the lasting opinion people have on the ride), and the evacuation from the train causes people to lose the point of the big illusion. From the moment I rode it, I knew it wasn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, but did think most will appreciate what it's trying to do. In saying that, it's not surprising that some people's views have become more negative over time - new ride fever has worn off, more issues have cropped up and the reliability issues have caused a big lack of faith. Frankly put, Closed Season will be a blessing, as I'm sure it'll give all parties involved with the attraction a chance to work through all the issues without the constant pressure to open it up. Hopefully fixes can be done to improve reliability, the quality of the VR can improve, to general VR experience can become more dependable and so forth.

I guess you could say that The Swarm is Ian's bogey ride...

Why does everything have to be compared to something else? Also +1 with Mark about having no idea about e-ticket system at Legoland.

McKamey Manor is a survival experience - you are in a series of scenarios for several hours with no means of stopping the experience. It's not a scare attraction or anything like that, but just a means of pushing people to the edge and a way for people to get their kicks. From what I heard of Snuffhouse After Dark and Snuffhouse Alone (experiences co-created by McKamey in the UK), it feels like McKamey has very little knowledge in terms of scare attractions, but instead knows how to just make things as brutal as possible, whilst avoiding the realms of full-on torture. Face it Alone is an extreme version of mazes. The aim is to unsettle and scare you, but still keep it fun. Face it Alones still keep within the theme / idea of the maze (Big Top uses custard pies for example, as a way of partially blinding you to make things more difficult for you. Studio 13 caked you in make up, before 'giving up on your face' and covering it with masking tape). So they essentially the mazes as they are during the day, just with the opportunity to actually interact with you on a personal and invasive level; something which cannot be done during any normal maze run through at any park.

SPOILER WARNING So after trying Containment again this year, it feels appropriate in some ways to do a review to mirror my review from last year, and see whether the improvements I wanted to see happened or not. For a quick run down, here's some of the things I said could be improved, and some comments... 1) The preshow. Last year, I felt the preshow either needed to be moved inside or just be given totally be an actor. This year, it's given totally by an actor, who sets the scene perfectly - creepy, yet funny, whilst setting the scene and explaining the rules. 2) The scare rating. Last year, Containment received a 5* scare rating - something which was completely unjustified, and that the attraction could never live up to. This year, it's been given a much more appropriate 2* rating, matching the attraction's more "panic" feel, than scary intense feel. The attraction isn't scary, but has it's place in Fright Nights, especially with this much fairer rating. 3) The cost. I'm all for making this an upcharge attraction, but I was concerned £8-10 was too much, especially after seeing time slots not sell out during the second weekend of Fright Nights. The cost hasn't changed, and there's been less marketing, but it's certainly seemed to be attracting a lot of attention too, and has sold out on a few nights already which is good to see. They might need to allow a bit more time between groups (having up to a 30 minute wait after the designated time slot hasn't been uncommon this year!), but it's at least good to see it's selling out. 4) The ending. The ending still needs more for me. I'd absolutely love another room where it shows you how many rooms you solved, how quick you were and have an actor give you the corresponding wristband, along with a final scare. Obviously space is the main issue for that, and presumably it would add another technical layer to the attraction, making things more difficult to control in some sense. But it would still be awesome. However, it's nice to see that there's something a bit more after completing or failing the final room, giving an actual scare to get you out the attraction. Other Improvements? One thing I really liked was how at the start of each room, an explanation to the fear your were facing was given. Last year, I had no clue what each fear was meant to be - the four rooms were meant to be fear of touch, small spaces, dentists/needles and darkness in that order. I thought it was fear of small spaces, foreign things, needles and darkness... This year, a nice voiceover explained it all, before the actors then begun to do their things. The rooms this year felt a bit more logical too, and actually had things to solve rather than blindly tackle and hope for the best. Definitely an improvement on last year! Room for Improvement? I noticed a couple of noise bleeds from rooms at times, which is a bit of a pain, but difficult to solve. And there needs to be a solid way to stop groups from catching up with one another (especially if you solve the first room quickly, since there's no actor to occupy you!). And obviously the ending. However, these are all difficult things to solve, especially with the small space the attraction uses. All in all, Containment is very good this year - easily my second favourite attraction this season behind The Big Top. The new challenges and new spin on the story is refreshing and has really turned this from a 'nice thing to try' to a 'don't miss' attraction in my opinion! And with a very good cast, it's really done wonders. I look forward to a return of it next year (hopefully), again with new scenes, fears and challenges!

Wolf head was working last night!