JoshC.

Merlin have recently released their September trading update on their website: http://www.merlinentertainments.biz/results-and-presentations The update says how the UK parks have indeed had a bad year, mostly because of Smiler, and not helped by poor weather and other factors in August. Gardaland have had a strong season so far though. The presentation also confirms that Thorpe are getting a high investment next year, and both Chessington and Heide Park are earmarked for high investments in 2017 (though not Alton Towers, which was widely assumed to be the opening year for SW8).

#14thFrightNightsThisYearForMe There will roaming actors this year, but they can be very hit and miss. Sometimes you can see them multiple times in one night, sometimes you won't see them at all. They may interact with you, may walk past or may perform a short acted out piece. Normally the roaming actors have more humour about them though (I especially think that will be the case this year given Big Top is the new thing). If you're not into the mazes, it will be very easy to avoid all things scare. There will be audio changes after 3pm most likely and there might be some extra theming, though in recent years the extra theming is usually located by the mazes, and not with the rides.

Is a real charmer

Comparisons to Taron are silly. Taron is an extremely major project and Phantasialand's first thrill ride in years. This is, at best, a medium investment for Heide.

Isn't there an area currently being created replacing one of the park's small water rides? I'm pretty sure there's rumours of a dark ride rpelacing that area. It's a bit small though. HTTYD is a good IP though. Shame it is an IP though.

For me personally, it's the fact that it's falling apart and losing its magic. From key rides being closed for lengthy periods of time (Skyway, Tomb, etc), to rides' theming falling apart, to a lack of good investments, to there being basically a complete disregard to any visitor aged over 12. Chessington can be a fantastic little park, but they're not doing a lot right lately.

I genuinely loved Chessington. But it's hard to love and defend the park in its current state.

Just as a reality check, the clues all fit in with a Doctor Who theme: A - Doctor Who adventures can happen anywhere, and an abandoned warehouse would be the perfect place for a villain to hide out in. B - Totally looks like a Dalek. C - Could easily be linked in with weeping angels (keeping eyes open) or some villain wanting to control the world with people's minds (like The Master did towards the end of David Tennant's story). D - Very generic phrase. E - Very generic phrase, but could be the Doctor telling his companions (us) about our journey. F - Lights to lead the way, all from different time periods. G - See above. H - Evil Doctor Who villain who is constantly watching (I'd say The Master). I - See above. J - Doctor speaking to his companions. K - Pocket watch. Time. L - A hidden code from The Doctor. M - Villain phrase. N - Victorian-looking bottle. Victorian period is popular with Doctor Who. Equally, the clues all fit in with Hunger Games... A - The "arena" for the games is set inside a small warehouse, making the games much more dangerous. B - Bright light for when you get transported to the arena. C - The Capitol are very controlling; it's like they are controlling their minds. D - Dark secret about the Hunger Games E - Being in a fight to the death is a journey like no other. F - Those lights are the only source of light in the games. G - Fits in with the game idea. H - The Gamemaker / President is constantly watching everyone? I - See above. J - Either some people in The Games trying to form an alliance, or the Capitol working together. K - Race against time to survive. L - Secret code to get some important survival stuff (similar to in the first film where there's a specific way to get to some treasure). M - Not sure on this one admittedly. Maybe some sort of hallucinogenic weapon in the games? N - See above. ---- Sorry to elaborate the point. I'm not trying to pick your idea apart (and thanks for gathering all the clues in one place!), but all of these clues are very generic and could lead to many different things. Some clues are very hard to fit together with others. Even though it seems like the park are trying to give clues as to what the ride's theme is (and the IP, if there is one), they simply won't give out enough information in these teasers for anyone to possibly work out the theme. I'd even bet that they've purposely put some false leads out there to throw people off the scent. For the record, I don't think it will be Doctor Who or Hunger Games or Silent Hill. Out of all of them, only Doctor Who would really fit in with the park now, and I just can't see it being the case now. However, I do think that this is how all those in know are like when they read this thread...

CoasterDude owns a Youtube channel called "CoasterDude". Talk about original.

Step 1: Rename "Chessington Resort" to "Chessington World of Disappointment featuring an alright Zoo and nice-looking hotels". Step 2: Sit back, have a cup of tea and revel in a job well done.

I don't think we should necessarily rule out another launch coaster. Stealth is a coaster that is all about the launch, but I don't think that should rule out a ride which incorporates a launch into its layout. A ride like Helix, for example, could fit into the park well enough, especially if they didn't focus on the launch so much during marketing. Dive Machines and Flying coasters shouldn't be ruled out either of course, but it's hard to see either them going to Thorpe in my eyes. Wood and just a full out airtime machine are what the park really lack in their line up.

Does MBV have the same layout again this year then? Or is it too hard to tell?

I would personally say it's best to know as little as possible. Otherwise the experience is lessened. Just know that ANYTHING is possible and it is an extreme experience.

Whilst I haven't done all the mazes for FiA, I'd say Saw I'd a good shout; it was apparently the most extreme last year. However, I'd recommend just choosing your favourite maze / the maze you like the look of best. They're all pretty extreme and fun of its your diet of thing.

Nothing to worry about; the sign has always said keep hands on shoulders, as this sign from 2013 shows: (Image from TTP)

You see, I can totally understand this point of view - and given how badly the ticketing process was handled with The Passing, I think in hindsight that could have easily be a free attraction - I'm all for this. Escape attractions are becoming all the craze, and it's great to see Thorpe and Alton joining in and keeping up with the industry. There's no way this could not be a ticketed attraction for logistical reasons, and having a charge for it is pretty fair in my eyes. It'll be interesting to see whether it's worth it or not. For a bit of perspective though, Towers are charging around £8 for one of their mazes. So, in theory, this is decent value for what is a more unique experience.

For those who are interested - the plans were approved today for the Air enhancements.

Containment sounds fun. For £10, a 10 minute escape experience isn't too bad. It suits a theme park environment, where you don't want it to be too long so that you can't do other things / you get enough people experiencing it, but you still want it to be a suitable length. I guess it's possible that it will be longer too (it's split across 2-3 shipping containers I believe, so you could feasibly have 2 groups in there if the timings are right). Will definitely be giving it a go for £8. Also, for those interested, I've heard there's going to be a slight change to Face it Alone this year, whereby you don't get to choose your maze, but instead your maze maze is chosen for your on the night in a carnival-like game. Quite a cool idea, and should help spread the numbers more evenly across the mazes.

Very odd. Surely a knee jerk reaction to some incident we haven't heard about? Hopefully this is just a temporary measure until they can sort out something better.

They created a very strong brand with Smiler. That's possibly why Swarm didn't draw in the crowds as much as Thorpe would have liked; the brand was rather weak and bland. The actual marketing and promotion for the ride was fantastic and spot on for the most part (I can't remember anyone faulting it at the time), but tbd overall brand fell short. That's why IPs are seemingly the answer. Pick the right one and you've got a pre-established brand to work with and it makes things easier. Creating a new brand requires more work and can be more "risky", but can end up being so much better (a la Smiler). With what we've seen so far, the park could easily take things further and make a 'Big Brother' style brand, with the idea and watching you and the like. Mix it in with recruiting minds or whatever and they could create a strong - albeit not necessarily original - brand; regardless of any IP.

I'm guessing the maze set up depended on the actor, but on my go, the story was set up as "You're visiting Studio 13, where you get to go on set of our latest film, The Motel." They'd then point out the posters plastered on the wall saying how they were other films made by the Studio. I don't think that there was any more story to it than that was there? The theming made sense - you first go through the studio / backstage areas, where there were editing and make up rooms, and naturally some plain corridors, before you went onto the set of The Motel, which featured motel things. You'd then leave the set into the exit corridor (again, just "film posters", so presumably a backstage studio area) before the fictional "film" bled into reality and it turns out the characters in the film are actually trying to kill you. Maybe I just put too much thought into it, but everything just worked for me whilst I was in the maze. My guess is that the park are combining AP night with media night again, and 6-8pm is exclusively for media people.

I certainly think that was rubbish. It suggested that a focus group had taken place to gather views on the ride and the ride's theme, after they had been decided. Basically, it was apparently a session where people were told all about the ride and asked what they thought of it. In reality, focus groups are there to pick up ideas and see what might or might not work. Not to see what people think of pre-determined rides before they open.

ha, knew someone would mention it. To be honest, I'm expecting some similarities between the two mazes to a degree, and some will probably say the whole maze is a rip-off too I bet, but that's because CoS did the carnival / clown theme well, and the fact that it's quite a common theme. I do doubt it. They look different in terms of sizes (it's hard to be sure based on the photos of course) and it just doesn't seem to make sense to change something so much when they could get a new bit of theming for a similar cost. I genuinely think the CoS entrance feature is probably either destroyed or gathered dust in a warehouse. Interesting view. Whilst Studio 13 didn't have in-your-face, high quality theming from top to bottom, it did all fit in with the story of the maze.

I *think* the HSE investigation will be made public to some degree, and so that will be reported on. Given how open and honest Towers and Merlin have been about the situation, I'd be surprised if they didn't make some form of closing remark about what went wrong.