JoshC.

hmm, I going to disagree with Amy and Marc and say that Saw Alive is one of the more difficult to navigate and lead. Quite a few of the scenes have a lot of smoke effects, which mean that even though it's not particularly dark, it's hard to tell where you're going. Also, a few of the scenes are quite open (especially in the first half), making it less obvious where you need to go if you don't know the route.

http://www.looopings.nl/weblog/5903/Efteling-investeert-in-toekomst-Python.html 'Major repairs' apparently, and there's been more rumours of actual theming coming too.

Also, European enthusiasts make a big deal out of Efteling refurbs / refreshes (a recent example being the recently announced Python work). One has to wonder why theme parks need a platform to show how they're improving the little things in the first place. 'Regular' guests shouldn't need to be that invested in the tiny things anyway, and the guests who do care should spot them without being told.

You say that Merlin won't care about our feedback (by "our", I assume you mean enthusiasts), yet surely wouldn't the universal hatred for nu Bubbleworks from the enthusiast community be one of the reasons the park have finally decided to put a clean slate over the attraction? And if you mean "our" as in everyone, then of course they're going to care about the feedback. Just because something is popular(ish), doesn't mean it can't be (dramatically) improved upon. People are too sentimental about the theme park industry at times. Bubbleworks isn't a bad ride, but that doesn't mean it's good either. It panders to children's likes, of simple, bright colours, a catchy tune and running water. Children love that stuff, so they'll enjoy Bubbleworks. If it was anywhere near a good ride, it would offer something for everyone else, like a bit of humour or something. Part of me thinks the only reason Bubbleworks is popular in this day and age is because young children like it, and so the rest of the family tolerate it for the sake of the younger members of their family.. I see nothing wrong with reusing some props. If they've decided to incorporate something into a scene, and they can repurpose it to a high enough standard, let them reuse it!

Though nothing major, some areas around the station, bag room and photo point have seen a new lick of paint whilst the ride was closed. Obviously this is something that should be done as standard anyway, but reckon it's something worth noting, since some people would no doubt overlook it..

My favourite thing about the Gruffalo rumour is this (albeit old) article: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/I-created-a-monster-julia-donaldson-on-how-the-gruffalo-has-taken-over-her-life-1828845.html

If it's never open, how have people been on it? [/facetious]

"fairly early"? That's a bit of an understatement.. That's a fairly big tent (certainly bigger in height than any others, and size-wise not far off the likes of Curse and Se7en surely?), and there could be space for another tent maybe? Assuming this is Big Top, I wonder how different it will be..

This wins the award for best shipping container related joke ever in my books - well done Mathew, well done.

https://www.thorpepark.com/faqs/ There's a couple of FAQs answered there, which is as much detail as we'd ever get. Thorpe don't like going into detail about why a ride is closed, and you could argue that for DBGT in particular, any more details could spoil the experience for anyone who hasn't been on it.

+1 for this. I think people forget / don't understand how big a thing Face it Alone is; it's one of only a handful of 'alone' experiences available in the country, the cheapest one about (I think?) and is also pretty darn intense! Obviously it has a niche market, but it's clearly a sustainable thing for the park to still be doing.

Any themed spoken announcements will be down to the operator, as opposed to compulsory. So it's not new per se, just something different.

http://www.looopings.nl/weblog/5985/Hittegolf-waterattracties-in-Phantasialand-gesloten.html Blooming Phantasialand and their unreliable rides, rant, rant, rant.

When I heard about this, I knew there'd be uproar about it, but I don't see the problem. Fastrack is happening at Towers. It's a fact and it's simply not going to go away. And people do want to buy Fastrack - a perhaps sad fact is that people always go in with the mindset of "Oh, when we get there, we'll buy Fastrack so we don't have to wait so long". So why frustrate people by making them wait in a long line* to buy Fastrack tickets when you can let them buy it for themselves via their phone? It's quicker, more staff effective and keeps everyone happy. Fastrack will still be regulated in the same way, and so long as the affect that has on the main queue is minimal, then everything is okay in my books. *I feel like people will say 'If there's a long line to buy Fastrack, then people won't bother and will just go in a long line for a ride'. No. No they won't. People are silly and want to feel special, and will quite willing wait almost as long to hand over their money so they have the privilege to skip a queue.

Hmm, good shout actually on it being a hooded maze. I don't get that vibe from the description, but the logic behind making it one is pretty sound. Doubt they would reuse any theming from MBV though. Just because it's all Merlin, it doesn't mean they share / reuse theming; I can't think of any time any park has reused theming from another park to be honest!

I wouldn't want to see the Beach be replaced by a ride. Yes space is a premium on park, but an open, ride-free space is needed as you get in resort.

The island behind Swarm would definitely be great for a large scale investment. But I think it would be wasted on a medium scale investment, which a Vekoma boomerang should be considered as.

Just checked Chessington website and standard close does seem to be 6pm for rest of summer now. Reason I thought it was extended is because I overheard a staff member being asked when the park closed and they responded "5pm...oh wait no, we've changed it to 6pm now". Way it was said sounded like it was an extension made on the day. Serves me right for eavesdropping I suppose! :')

I don't see how it is fallen behind the market, but I guess that's just a differing opinion. I think one thing which you're missing though is that, regardless of your personal opinion, Fright Nights is still loved by thousands of people. Yes, the queues can be long and difficult, and yes the length of the mazes isn't the best. But mazes are still well received and general adored by the vast majority of the public, and the fact still stands that it is the largest theme park Halloween event in the country, and one of the largest in general. I'm not saying that any of this an excuse to be mediocre or anything, but it's something to keep in mind when enthusiasts are being so hyper-critical of the event. Totally agree about the rose tinted glasses. Everyone seems to forget that Experiment 10 had a poor second half, a lazy ending (and an even lazier one in its second year) and suffered with terrible throughputs, meaning that people eventually had to share the isolation rooms, losing their effect. And it was very short. Don't get me wrong, I loved it, but it would only ever have been a short term attraction. The isolation stuff would have worn off and become a burden in the long run. And with more mazes doing similar tactics, and Face it Alone about too, it just would have lost its appeal. Though I haven't done it, part of me wonders how long Sub Species at Towers will last, especially if that style of attractions becomes more popular. I don't exactly see much difference between a maze and a walkthrough for Thorpe. They're all marketed as the same, all operate the same (well, presumably Platform 15 will) and all appeal the same. The only real difference is that what you're calling a maze is indoors, and what you're calling a walkthrough is outdoors. They have similar throughputs and similar styles, so I don't particularly see why it matters in the grand scheme of things? Also, let's not forget about Containment, even if it is an upcharge attraction. Thorpe did do some 'street entertainment' in some sense last year. The roamers would set up in certain areas of the park and invite guests to compete in games, for the chance to win Lionsgate DVDs. They were always fun to watch too, so that helped. And in the past few seasons, they did have small scale shows in the dome. I totally agree its something which would help massively in so many ways, but I guess space is the big issue at the moment.

Both an unfortunate yet humorous typo there.

Went to Chessington yesterday, since family wanted a go on Bubbleworks before it gets its retheme. As ever, I don't really have much positive to say, so I'll keep it short.. -Tried the Smokehouse. Food wasn't very nice, overpriced and the service wasn't great either. Bring back Greedy Goblin. -Queue times seemed quite over-exaggerated. -Painfully slow operations. Kobra being the worst offender - had a queue which should have taken 15 minutes, took 40. That wasn't helped by staff stopping the ride mid-cycle because someone was screaming, and they thought she wanted to get off... -Fair few staff (a minority of staff I stress, but still enough for it to be noticeable) seemed quite low in mood, and in general not very pleasant to be around. Yeah, it's the height of summer and it's busy and stressful, but that doesn't excuse not smiling and deliver basic customer service.. -Pandamonium was naff, and didn't seem well received by the audience in general. A couple of positives though... -Park close time has been extended till 6pm for the rest of summer it seems, which is good. -Lorikeet Lagoon is still fab. -We left early. If it wasn't for Bubbleworks going, don't think family would have gone, and I certainly wouldn't have initiated any sort of visit any time soon. But the problems in and around the park are still plain to see, and it doesn't feel like they're going to be sorted any time soon.

I went on Bubbleworks yesterday and the whole experience seemed very...quick. I haven't been on it for a few years, so I'm not sure if memory is serving me poorly, but does anyone know if the ride has been sped up in any way (by, say, making the flow of the water faster)? Another reason for me thinking this is that they seemed to struggle to fill every boat because ride staff couldn't organise people quickly enough, and an overflowing queue only took 25 minutes ish, despite being advertised as 55. As for the ride itself, it was dreadful and depressing. I'm so glad they've decided to give it a lot of attention, since it's actually pretty embarrassing in it's current state.

Which rides have you experienced on low capacity out of interest? When I've been there, major coasters have opened on full capacity all but one time. X is the main offender with its 2 trains for so long, but that's on 3 now, which is seemingly the mot we get now. And any other multi-car rides have been on high / full capacity for me. Also, to be fair to the park, until recently, the only ride which was suffering any sort of problems / closures was Ghost Train. Everything else was going good. But then Stealth died and things seemed to go downhill and the worst possible time. It's all very frustrating and unfortunate, but the park have handled it very well in terms of compensating people. Handing out free tickets to return this season might not always be the answer, but people are very happy to get that it seems.

I think people are being a bit harsh on Fright Nights as a whole here. Yes, Big Top last year wasn't great theming-wise (though I believe that was more down to Scruffy Dog than Thorpe, but that's neither here nor there when it comes to the experience). And I think Thorpe will know and accept that, and take action to improve upon it. Let's also not forget that Big Top is the only example of Thorpe not 'finishing' a maze to a high enough standard. However, from a creative standpoint, Thorpe have been pretty out there. Since Experiment 10 (a maze which, whilst brilliant, was something which would only ever have had a short life span anyway in my opinion), we've seen... -The Passing. Cheap, but effective and reasonably well received once the flaws were ironed out. -Cabin in the Woods. An award winning maze which gained a lot of attention within the industry. Did something that wasn't really done in the past. -Blair Witch Project. Not great in its first year, but massively improved in 2014/15 and a very different maze. -My Bloody Valentine. Nothing special in all honesty, but the claustrophobia thing seemed to work for many people. -Studio 13. Bog standard maze. -Containment. Catching on with the escape room craze, hopefully sees some improvements / adjustments this year. Okay, they weren't perfect and had their flaws (some more than others), but they all showed flairs of orignaility, an attempt to push the boundary or just try and do something really well. On top of that, there's been a massive increase in roaming actors, Face it Alone and overnight experiences. So as a whole, Fright Nights has really grown recently, and really does have potential to be something special, with the right push. Platform 15 is also again something original, something which will seemingly mix indoor and outdoor elements, and has the chance for a good in-maze story and length. In honesty, I haven't noticed much difference in terms of quality between the Lionsgate mazes and original mazes. They've always had suitable theming, similar-ish lengths and used the same tactics. I prefer the themes of the original mazes, but that's about it. Clown mazes are done a lot, yes, but that's because they're well received by the public. If there's a demand for something, why not play to it? The copious power cuts last season were very frustrating, but I don't think it's anything that we can blame Thorpe for given it was problems externally. Towers did step their game up last year, but every other year, Scarefest was just a standard, unremarkable event, which ticked along. Yes, it had decent attractions, but they were always very safe and just did things well. Hopefully it does give Thorpe a push to up their game a bit though!

New for 2017 - What's in a Number? Thorpe Park presents this new, free, interactive show, explaining in great, enormous, detail the reasons behind adding numbers to some of their Fright Nights attractions. Show length: 30 seconds