JoshC.

Realistically, I could only do August-time, but even then, I'm not sure I'd be able to make it due to the cost of it and other plans. So a wait and see.

I might go.

From Phantasialand... It looks...I don't know even. I don't like the look of that front, but I don't know what I was expecting really...

To be fair, I'm pretty certain all Intamin coasters built in the last few years have had lap bars, so it would be surprising if either Intamin or Phantasialand decided to not on have them on this project.

I believe it was mentioned in an article (which I cannot find now) that the parts of the headsets that go against your skin were made of a special fabric which meant that things like sweat and moisture wouldn't affect the riders' comfort in any way? My guess for the way it will work is that there will be 3 collections of headsets per train. One collection being used on ride, one collection given to people in the pre-show area and one collection being cleaned. This gives an approx. 3 minute window for 28 headsets to be cleaned. The headsets seem to connect and lock to an additional bit of the restraint, which will keep them secure, but also ensure each headset has sufficient charge for the ride. Of course, that all sounds very labour intensive, and will require a large about of headsets (that'd be 84 headsets for one train alone, so you'd be looking at 168 for two, and then you also want spares in case some break). But it's the best way I can see to ensure that the headsets are cleaned, checked to see that they are working, kept safe on ride and minimise damage to throughput.

Simworx are still relatively young in the theme park world, so it's hard to judge. I feel like they'd be more like the Gerstlauer of transits though, in a few years time.

In the most recent MTDP which Thorpe submitted to the council, they said that they would not plan to build coasters that "did not exceed 850m in length". There's no obvious reason for it though (unlike with say, maximum height or number of supports in the lake, where the reason they have limits introduced is rather obvious). So no one really knows I guess. I don't know if the number had been a reoccurring one in all the MTDP or not, so it's hard to even say if this is a long term thing, or if in 2010 Thorpe simply didn't expect to introduce a particularly long coaster. But given Colossus is the longest coaster on park, at 850m, it could well be. Of course, as we've seen with WC16, the MTDP is by no means binding, so in theory, they could have applied to build a longer coaster if they wanted. When the next MTDP appears (either this year or next), we'll no doubt see whether Thorpe have the chance to build a longer coaster.

Purple headrests are purple.

The latest rumours I heard were that Paulton's were spending anything up to £8-9 million on the Lost Kingdom investment. I don't know how true that is, but if it is, then they've gotten a pretty good deal for being able to get 2 new coasters, a few new attractions and what looks to be good theming for the most part.

Since last Tuesday, I have had trouble breathing, and indeed living. I've now realised what the problem was... THERE'S NO AIR, NO AIR

Wrong subforum

I believe Dynamic Attractions retweet several articles and announcements about several attractions, some of which they have nothing to do with. It could be an indicaton that Dynamic ate involved, or just shows how exciting this actually could be within the theme park industry. Either I'd be happy with to be honest.

It's alright, the latest rumour I've heard is that they've stretched the budget to £43.30.

Th13teen is a decent family attraction in itself, but when it was marketed as a "psychoaster" that would have 16+ age restriction, where you had to sign a waiver and could only ride it once a day, some people just can't trust the press releases any more.

Just realised I didn't actually contribute to this thread. Whoops. UK stuff: Aside from the Merlin 4, Paultons should almost definitely happen. Might be able to do Blackpool, Dreamland and maybe a couple of little places elsewhere. Europe stuff: Walibi Holland, Phantasialand, Plopsaland and Efteling are high up on the list. Moviepark Germany, Europa, Liseberg, Hansa and Heide are also on the radar, but seems unlikely at the moment. Maybe a few smaller places depending on travel arrangements. So not as much new stuff for me this year, but should still be relatively varied.

Whilst I get the point being made by Liam and others, but the way I see it is that the building is meant to be an abandoned train depot / warehouse. And based on what we have seen so far, it looks like a pretty decent replica of that in my opinion. Which is good. Though, the red tin shed does look terrible in comparison, even taking that into account.

No idea to be honest. The name was on a Pop Badge last year, and there seemed to be pop badges with area names on. So I'd guess it's meant to be the same area as Canada Creek and Saw. But with no official confirmation, there's no way to be definite!

Unfortunately it will be difficult to get such clear cut areas in such a small space. This particular space is in the centre of the park and shows you anything up to 4 areas of the park (Amity, Jungle / Calypso, Lost City and Derren Brown area, which could potentially be part of 'Old Town', an area which currently only has its own pop badge).

@Benin: Oh yes, I do agree, and completely understand the concerns. I was more thinking about filler attractions that use live action, and they'd be more likely to be cut than live action in a major attraction. I'm still worried that in a few years time either the live action element will be gone or reduced or something, but hopefully this can be popular enough that Thorpe don't have to consider that.

Just as a point which I think people might have missed, the main warehouse / depot exterior has actually been modelled from a real life, Victorian-era built, train depot near Willesden Junction. Whilst I'm not a fan of having another dilipated / abandoned theme, I'm happy to hear they've gone the full hog in getting it right. And indeed, it shows the level of detail that they want to put into this project, especially when we consider the detail they're putting into this suspending train carriage too. The name is a bit of a mouthful to be honest, but I think it gets the point across well. It's Derren Brown's interpretation of the classic ghost train. I do worry about how people will respond to it, as their expectations might be skewed by thinking of the traditional ghost train type ride. Hopefully marketing can do a good job at setting people up correctly for the ride (sorry attraction, or experience, or concept, or whatever this thing should be called). I do see some people's concerns about the project, but I do feel like since this is a major project, comparing it to filler attractions might be a bit of a skew comparison to be honest. My greatest fear is what happens in 5 years time with this, when people have probably found out one way or another about what actually happens inside, the different possibilities have been explored by many and it's not the big thing of the moment. Does this have the same sticking power as other major attractions at the park, or major dark rides at other parks across the world? So all in all, this announcement has got me pretty excited now. I genuinely think that this has the potential to be an amazing experience if pulled off correctly. Whether it will is of course a different matter, but I'm still happy with what we've got so far. (Also, the Periscope interview was great! Hope Thorpe continue to do stuff like that!).

The carriage is modelled on an antique version of this carriage: For all the train enthusiasts out there, it's a North Eastern railway clerestory bogie composite coach no.3071, first built in 1903.

Thorpe have posted the "1" image now.

It was repainted over the 12/13 closed season, so I guess you could argue that it was to do with a new attraction, since it was reinvigorating X Sector, etc. It'd be a silly argument to make though imo. And at least people do remember Oblivion was repainted; most seem to ignore that fact...

*plans to renew pass next Saturday* Seems to be a steam train at the bottom? Would make sense given the Victorian era and train theme..

As part of the 'Towers Loving Care' scheme, the park have set up a Twitter account: https://twitter.com/altontlc The cover photo shows some repainted Nemesis track! The current rumour is that Nemesis will be getting that elusive full track repaint over the closed season. As I've said in the past, I'm not a huge fan of the park making a big deal out of this TLC scheme, since what they're suggesting is stuff which should be done as standard. However, if a Nemesis repaint does indeed happen, then I'm glad that it's (hopefully) going to see some worthwhile changes to the park.