JoshC.

The thing is, Europa and Drayton are on completely different levels. Europa is one of the most visited theme parks in Europe. Drayton is probably not in the top 5 most visited parks in the UK. Europa Park and owners Mack have significantly larger funds compared to Drayton and Looping. They simply can't be compared. Europa Park is the exception, not the rule. As much as they should be a model for parks, just because they can do something, doesn't mean every park can.

I don't think the alternate layout would be viable because it would still be entering the same problematic flood zone area that the current Project Exodus is in. And if it was, it wouldn't be a simple change. They would have to create an entire new planning application for the ride, doing new visual and sound checks in the process, etc, which would then be scrutinized in the same way. And since it seemed like the alternate shown was a B&M, it would also depend on if B&M could fulfil the project now as well. All of that would almost definitely mean a delay until at least 2025, assuming there were no other problems (which is not a given!)

So, there's a new document on the planning application, from the Environment Agency. Basically outlines their current objections to the Project Exodus planning application. I'm no expert on these things. However, there's a nice summary on CoasterForce from member Hixee (also not an expert, but helped put it in plain and simple terms). I'm going to copy it here as it's a good read: I'm also going to copy over my additions to this post, from my understandings of things going on. As I understand it, this was bought up previously as a concern. The response from the park (or, more specifically, planning representatives of the park...but just saying "the park" is easier) was that they had a pre-existing agreement that Thorpe can build in these "wrong type" of flood zones, as long as it's done sparingly. The trouble is, this is an opinion from 11 years, and not a hard and fast agreement. To my knowledge, the coaster does - minimally - go into the 'wrong type' of flood zone. However, I have not got access to the detailed maps, this is again just from my understanding of the documents. It could be that the park believe they aren't in the wrong type at all. It is stated that the only way this objection can be resolved is showing the development is not in this wrong type of flood zone. If the park can't do that, then there is grounds is reject the application. HOWEVER, it is down to the council to decide if they uphold that objection and reject it. It is not a guarantee it will be rejected. And if it is not rejected, that is a matter for the council and EA to discuss and deal with, not the park themselves. Equally, as I've said, I believe the coaster does minimally go into this wrong type of flood zone. As such, it could be possible that minor alterations can be made so it doesn't go into this flood zone (be that changes to the support structure, or to the layout itself). This is something I'll touch on a bit more later. I believe the idea here is that the park are leaning on their most recent Mid Term Development Plan (MTDP), which was submitted in 2010, and gave an outline for the park's development strategy between 2010-2016. In (over)-simple terms, they're trying to say "All of the parameters are the same now as they were then, so we have everything submitted, look there". But that might not be enough. This might also relate in part to something discussed previously, about there being concerns about the buildings associated with the development being below the design flood level. The reason for the design being like this is because they are keeping one building, and making all other buildings the same level as that one. As they have not had issues with flooding in that area before, they don't see any resulting issues happening here. This one seems to have come out of the blue (in that this hadn't been bought up before as far as I know). However, I see this objection has concerns about the infilling process. Thorpe did a LOT of infilling in the 00s/early 10s, and that took a lot of work and discussion to get approved, and included a lot of back-and-forth (more than we're seeing now). This development would be the first time they've done it since then, and I expect that the process has changed, etc. This might not be something the park are fully prepared for. I think it's fair to say the original application didn't include enough information, regardless of anything. It's also fair to say that this should be expected, given the required infilling. And I believe the park did plan for this - hence the early submission, and the plan for construction to start this autumn, So I don't think the situation of this back-and-forth is unexpected by the park, or a surprise to them. A rethink of the plans could be on the cards. Maybe a redesign of the support structure, or a slight tweak of the layout. Whilst those things take time and money (and by no means are easy!), they could keep the core of Exodus the same. But then again, a major rethink could still be possible. I don't know how long this process could take. If they do have to rethink / redesign the ride, I guess it means a whole new application has to be submitted. Whilst it would be a formality for many of the parties who have already stated they have no objections, this still takes a lot of time and effort. And at that point, you then have to wonder when the ride could be ready. Exodus might not end up cancelled, but could it end up opening later in 2024? Or in 2025? And how much of a knock on effect would that have to the rest of the park's mid-to-long-term planning, and perhaps even Merlin as a whole?

Two trains on Railblazer sounds like a nightmare; Jersey Devil was running four (and that was 12 seats)! I've heard the original model is too quick for its own good, but it does seem like RMC have learnt lessons. Hadn't heard much of Gold Striker before, but your review has peaked my curiosity of it now!

I think some people overestimate the power of the Looping group. Don't get me wrong, they're a large group with a selection of neat and tidy parks. But if you look at the parks they operate, they're not exactly very big. They don't make large investments, and don't do much. They create parks which are nice and well presented, and do the job. But once they have them at that stage, they just keep them ticking over. Drayton needed some work, sorting out a clear direction and creating some new attractions to fit with that direction. But once they've invested in it for a couple of years, it will become the same as any other Looping Group park: a neat and tidy park which sees minimal investment in new attractions, but is kept to a consistent standard. The park will introduce their big new thing (likely a family coaster) in 2024, along with some more freshen ups / rethemes in the next 2-3 years. Then after that, it will be set. As such, I don't see the Pirates space being used again any time soon.

I understand your fascinating with the ride, and your want for it to return in some way. But your question has already been answered... Rocky Express will not be returning to the Thorpe Park ride line up. It will not open anywhere else. It is time to accept that you will not be able to ride it again.

So it's taken me a while to get round to writing this. But last Thursday I went on Ghost Train and...you know what, it was decent. One of the best rides I've had in years on it. Maybe since...2017??? Short summary of some of the good things: Timed allocations worked well so only a short wait to get on No shutdowns VR worked well A bit more of a scare in finale than just a person coughing (but no demon) But note, looking at this, basically what I'm saying is "Nothing broke and it was a short wait to get on". Which kind of sounds like I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel for good things to say. The thing is, I do like the premise of Ghost Train, and it has a lot of potential, but it doesn't reach it, and it has a lot of problems. Let me now go into a more detailed breakdown... Pre Show This was the usual and seems to do a good job at setting the scene. Feel like the screen needs a good clean though. Pre Show 2 Sigh. This is...a thing. I'm very conflicted by it. It goes on way too long and is way too...cheesy, I guess? The stupid code thing (more on the later) is stupid. The interactions with the group are very hit and miss. BUT. I can see what they've tried to do. The how spiel feels very "Derren Brown". It's the same sort of thing that you would hear from the man himself in one of his shows (either TV or stage). And what it tries to do is pretty cool. The trouble is, it tries to shove together all the different ideas the attraction had / has to make it work. And it really doesn't. Honestly I don't even know what the plot of the ride is any more, with this pre show conflicting pretty much everything else, despite smushing everything into one. I'd be interested to know if Derren had any input into the script here (I very much doubt it). If he did, it shows he's trying to have an influence. If he didn't, it shows that whoever wrote is trying to add the Derren-feel which the attraction needs more of. But it just doesn't work. Hanging Carriage You know the Victorian train carriage? The one which was a huge part of marketing? The one which you step onto, despite it HANGING IN THE MIDDLE OF A HUGE ROOM BY SOME FLIMSY CHAINS. That thing? Yeah, that's a big part of the ride. You wouldn't know it though. There's a blink and you miss it reference in the script in Pre Show 2. But there's no build, no anticipation and, as a result, no reveal about how there's this huge, and really cool, illusion that plays a part in the ride. What a damn shame, Scene 1 The VR and audio worked fine during this scene for me. Was surprised to see that the train had most headsets available too. There was no "buttkicker" effect (when the train shudders when the infected person smashes onto the train). Can't remember if it worked on my ride last year. Scene 2 Well damn, this is bloody awful. You get off the train with the usual panic. Train staff urge you through the tunnels, with the threat of infected staff. I don't know how many actors were in the scene (I think 4?), but 3 of them were train staff, and one was "infected", but all they really do is wave their arms around. I know it's hard to keep up scare acting levels of intensity, and I'm not expecting that per se. But dear me, there's just nothing interesting or exciting here. Nothing really happens. Then you recite the silly code. And that's a really kicker for me. I just don't like the idea. I appreciated the effort of Pre Show 2 for having the Derren-vibe to it. Derren's shows have these sort of spiels, telling you either what to expect and/or telling you the 'moral of the story', if you will. But these spiels, whilst part of the performance, don't interact with the core of the show. This silly code memory/recital bit is likely an attempt at interacting with riders, and trying to mimic the idea of Derren "planting an idea in your mind at the start". But it's just stupid. And I don't like it. Okay, rant over. Scene 3 Again, no tech issues. I've seen a lot of people talk about the scene being cut short. I think I can clear that up a bit. When this new VR was made, the creative team knew of the issues the ride was experiencing, and the dreaded "green smoke" holding sequence. As such, they decided to design a holding sequence which could continue the story, but also cut out at any moment and not effect the story either. Really clever. Now my memory of how this VR plays out is hazy, but I think the way it goes is something like whilst the train is stationery: -People told not to worry, blah blah -Train roof ripped off -Girl on left side of screen gets leg grabbed, bashes head on window -Demon walks through carriage, screams in your face -Girl on right side of screen stands up, wants to get off, gets kidnapped by demon -Remaining people on screen get picked off one by one -When there's only a couple left, SubCore logo appears I believe that holding sequence (which would only be trigged if the train in front is taking too long to load) starts shortly after the demon screams in your face. In the past, it would regularly go into the holding sequence. These days, the ride only operates with 2 out 3 trains, which means that there rarely is a delay in train taking too long to load, meaning that this VR sequence doesn't reach it's holding sequence. As such, people think the VR has been cut. (Disclaimer: I could be wrong here / might have gotten the flow of the VR wrong. But at the very least, I think the scene plays out exactly as it used to, and cuts at the right point) Anyway, that explanation aside, the rest of the scene goes on. The motion base didn't activate to rock the carriage. I'm guessing they've given up the ghost with that. Scene 4 With no photo op, this whole thing is a bit awkward, but I don't think people pay attention to the screens anyway. The actor in there asks if anyone left some sunglasses on the train. How he got them so quickly, whilst people are still entering the "shop" is anyone's guess. And where are these sunglasses, because he's not holding them? But again, people don't seem to notice those details, so oh well. The shop then goes a bit crazy, and out pops an infected actor on the Ouija board, trying to grab you and being a bit crazy. It's a nice effort, but nowhere near as effective as the demon. Speaking of the demon costume, I hear that - in short - it's buggered. Hence why it hasn't made an appearance. I think it's in some way telling that it's been buggered for so long and they haven't repaired or replaced it. It makes a huge difference to the experience and reviews. So have they not replaced because they're not given the funds? Or because they want to prove a point? Or because the attraction is on its last legs? Who knows. On the topic of the demon, it also makes the very concept of the demon pointless. We have this idea of gas infecting people. Then all of a sudden, there's demons. Are these infected turning into demons? Have the demons just been released from drilling too deep? It's always been an unclear problem with the ride's storytelling. But it didn't matter as much in the past, because the infected people would disappear and not be a part of the story once you reboard the train. But now they reappear at the end, with no sight of the demon. Again, it's just this huge inconsistency, and is again indicative of this whole "chucking loads of ideas together and seeing what happens" approach. So that's that. I came off Ghost Train pretty content with my experience, in the sense that everything worked. There were a couple of good reactions from others on the train (mostly at the jump scare bits in the VR) too, which is nice to see I guess. But the whole experience really is a cocktail of things thrown together, with different ideas from the past 7-8 years chucked about, in the hope of making an attraction. And that's a crying shame. I think what Thorpe tried to do is admirable, and as I say, there's the ingredients of a good experience there. But really, it's beyond saving. It's time for Thorpe/Merlin to hold up their hands, say "We tried, but it didn't work", and replace it. But that's surely an expensive proposition....

Mardi Gras started today, and of course TPM were there! We have a write up here: https://thorpeparkmania.co.uk/news/19-05-2022/Mardi+Gras+Arrives+at+Thorpe+Park I also want to share my own thoughts, and not just a fansite write up review... In short, this is a fun event, and it's clear that a lot has gone into this. It's clear that there's been a solid vision from management that they wanted to deliver. It's clear that the actors involved in the entertainment have put in a lot of effort. It's clear that the park wanted to offer a solid F&B range. It's clear everyone involved has put time and effort into it. It's clear that money has been spent on it too. All of this sounds like a given for a theme park event, yes. But ask yourself, how many times has it felt in the past that these things haven't been clear for a Thorpe event or thing? Now you realise why it's so good to stress these things. I'll start off with my main positive: the food. I'm a bit of a foodie. The one thing which disappointed me the most with the Oktoberfest events at Thorpe is the food and drink options being, frankly, poor. You could get the cheapest bratwursts going, in a dry bun for an extortionate price. You could get some lebkuchen, again for a heck of a lot, and a choice of one or two authentic German beers. But it all felt very meh with effort. Mardi Gras feels different. They've got a lot of choices there which feel a bit more authentic, and they're at a reasonable theme park cost (ie not cheap for what it is necessarily, but in line with the rest of the park pretty much). Next, the entertainment. I'll start off with the negative: the actors seem to have instructions when interacting with people to be a bit over the top, cringey and cater to younger audiences, or people who are more outgoing. That's fine if that's what they're going for, but not for me. It made me cringe and crease, and is something I would run a mile from usually. But then again, people enjoyed it; not everything has to cater to me. Now the good stuff. The parade they have is fun; a little basic, but it draws attention to the event. I worry how it will cope on busy days since it goes through some of the busiest pathways on park, but what can you do. The main show, the Crowning of the Krewes, is great fun - the right side of cheesey, whilst also not being cringey. It's exactly the sort of thing the park has missed for so long (and much better than what the park were doing with the Thrillmakers imo). There's also some external entertainment (ie not Thorpe actors), in the guise of drum and jazz bands. They're nice and break things up too. I really hope it's a success for the park, because it ticks a lot of the boxes. There's still things they can improve and grow on, and I do wonder how it will cope on busier (or wetter) days. But as things stands, it does feel like Thorpe are onto a winner!

Was this removed at some point then? My memory of Spookslot is hazy, but I definitely don't remember that! 😅

Efteling have shared their first teaser for the Spookslot replacement: It will be called Danse Macabre, which is also the name of the song from Spookslot (and used in the video above), and is set to open in 2024; the same year as the new hotel. That video is the darkest thing I've ever seen out of Efteling, so will be interesting how far they go with the theme and style, whilst remaining family friendly.

I'll replace the link with all the details when I'm not on my phone, but the park's app has updated showing everything we can expect from the Mardi Gras event, which starts Thursday: Full highlights include: -A parade from Depth Charge to the area -A variety of musical acts -Mardi Grad celebration shows -Special food items at the park's restaurants -Two Mardi Gras exclusive food outlets

Blows dust off topic... Walibi Holland are set to get a RMC single rail coaster in 2024: https://www.looopings.nl/weblog/19781/Walibi-Holland-bevestigt-nieuwe-achtbaan-wordt-single-rail-coaster--opening-in-2024.html

Using some form of ERT... Stealth - 20 times Colossus (TP) - 11 times Taron - 11 times Not using ERT, my records are... Swarm - 10 times Taiga - 9 times Colossos (HP) - 8 times Vuoristorata (Linnanmäki) - 7 times I've ridden quite a lot of coasters 5 times in a day, but usually I don't visit parks on quiet enough days to get in loads of rides on a day and get all the creds.

Here's a full set of photos from Chessington Buzz: https://www.facebook.com/203612636346124/posts/pfbid0iZ6uEVxwAqgGoombkgnMKACpbqjs1WamAKpz1HLuwSbs5tymyhh8H3uJkoZjuGJPl/ The base of the ride is exactly the same as it was at Thorpe, for the record.

The Wet Wet Wet site has been transformed into a lifeguard like area for the Beach. I don't envision it being used for a ride any time soon.

Possibly, although the nomination was specifically for "The Crows of Mawkin Meadow", which was the name of the Scare Zone, whereas the roamers were just "The Crows". But equally, yeah, could be lumped together. The awards are decided by a panel of judges, who effectively help run and organised ScareTOUR and ScareCON. They're all obviously huge scare attraction enthusiasts, and they do a huge number of attractions. They're also the ones that choose the nominees. I don't think they've ever detailed exactly how they rank and judge the awards (at the end of the day, they don't need to - they're the ones organising it all!). But I believe they say they take into account the wider audience reaction too as much as possible, but primarily go off their own experiences. I think there's two things to take into account here: 1. A large number (perhaps even all) of the judging panel get to visit these events on press nights / with free tickets. The attractions will do their absolute utmost to show themselves in the best possible light. That's not just for Thorpe, that's for absolutely everyone. So when it comes to the larger events, I do think it's hard to judge, just by the very nature of how these events are. 2. Bluntly put, Thorpe hosted the event this year. Ultimately they'll be making a profit from it one way or another, but it's a heck of a lot of effort to organise it their end. I think that whoever and wherever has hosted ScareCON over the past several years has always ended up with an award or two. That second point isn't to take anything away from the award, or to discredit ScareCON and the awards (and even if it was, it's their award ceremony, so they can do what they like). But I do wonder if there should be a bit of salt pinched in these cases. One thing which stands out to me from going to ScareCON for a few years now is that this is an industry-wide problem. Staffing is a huge issue, and the number of actors in mazes always goes down as the events go on. This is where smaller events actually have an advantage, because they run for a significantly shorter period, so lose less staff, so get greater consistency. But places like Thorpe, Towers, Tulleys, Fear at Avon Valley all get hit very hard and struggle. Obviously that can still be mitigated and managed, and some places do that better than others. But it does lead to the wild inconsistencies that we see, which is highlighted further by the fact that scare attractions are so difficult to make consistent in the first place. Year-on-year consistency is the big thing for Thorpe. People speak about the quality of the event in 2011 and 2013 for example. And although the event had problems then, 2016 and 2017 were also good incarnations, and there was a clear upward trend in quality. But that then dropped off in 2018. 2019 introduced the much-loved Creek Freak, but in 2021 it was really struggling. Thorpe have shown they can create good mazes when they want (Big Top, Creek Freak and Trailers all being the best most recent examples), but they've struggled to keep them there / at the high quality. If the park can bring back Creek Freak to its 2019 form, keep Trailers at the level it was at early last year and introduce another big hit maze, plus have on park entertainment, then they'll have a cracking FN this year.

It will not be returning. It will not open anywhere else. It will either all go to the scrapheap, or they might save a bit of it and store it behind the scenes in case they ever want to display it in any form.

Thorpe won three of those awards at this evening's event... Best Theme Park Event Best Set & Design (for Trailers) Best Scare Zone & Roamers (for The Crows of Mawkin Meadow)

I've noticed that the Nemesis Inferno area has been playing the original music recently. A weird decision in many ways, but at the same time, I forgot how much I like it after hearing it again.

So I experienced Wicker Man's pre show for the first time since 2019. And gosh, I really do not like it. Okay, the actual premise is okay. Let's tell a short story about how this mysterious random group are sacrificing guests to a mysterious being and you'll be fed to the flames. And the presentation is nice (the reveal of the Wicker Man head gets a few oohs and ahhs). I think it's a bit unnecessary and could have been done in other ways, but that's not really the point I want to make. Operationally, the pre show is dire. 1. Let's crowd as many people into a small dark space as possible. Get them to squeeze into all the nooks and crannys. 2. Let's stop guests right below the screen so those at the front can't see anything. 3. Let's also stick a fence near the front that people can't see because it's too dark so they walk into it. 4. Let's have a small queue after the pre show that can fit less people than the pre show room. 5. Let's have an automatic door that tries to shut on people queueing after the pre show. 6. Let's play the pre show even when the door hasn't shut and people are still queueing to get batched. It's all just a bloody nightmare. Maybe I'm just being a bit nitpicky, but I really just do not like it.

Had a visit to Towers Tuesday and Wednesday. Some scattered thoughts: -Like Mark says, the Retrosquad's inclusion are effectively serving as replacements for Hex and Enterprise right now, defeating their original purpose. -The Tuesday was a bit busier than I expected, I guess from people who avoided the Bank Holiday Monday. Wednesday was very quiet. -Operationally, coasters were running well. I question the need on a day like Wednesday to run 3 trains on Thirteen, for example, when the team was effectively sending one empty all day. Surely that just ultimately leads to unnecessary wear and tear and more work for the engineering team in the long run? -I will expand on this in the Wicker Man topic, but I truly hate the Wicker Man pre show. -The park were running their 'Festival of Thrills' event still. They have live music / acts around the park, themed in some sense to the corresponding areas. It was fine, but even on the livelier Tuesday, didn't seem to garner much attention. Have to wonder if the money spent on this entertainment could be spent elsewhere more effectively. -All coasters had staff batching you into rows. This is obviously good when things are busy, but on the Wednesday especially, it felt unnecessary. When there's literally no queue, having a member of staff tell you what row to go in, and then batch others into the same row just feels a bit OTT. Maybe this is also a bit of me having gotten used to 'Covid rules' of not being sat next to strangers, but heyho. I also stayed onsite at the Splash Landings Hotel. First time staying there, was nice. However, the resort offerings are pretty...minimal. The park closed at 4pm on Tuesday. So does the water park. The mini golf shut at 5pm. So what's there to do at this resort? Eat dinner, or listen to a singer or two in the hotel bars. Just feels like they could do things so much better. Surely the indoor water park can stay open later, and attract more visitors? Surely they should be something to do at a big resort theme park after 5pm that isn't akin to something you could see at a local bar / fancier pub? All in, I had a nice couple of days with a decent ride count. But it still feels like there's a lot of steps that Towers need to do to get back to the top of their game

https://www.merlinentertainments.biz/newsroom/news-releases/2022/merlin-entertainments-nick-varney-chief-executive-officer-to-retire/ CEO of Merlin, Nick Varney, and CDO Mark Fisher, have announced that they intend to retire over the next 12 months. Nick has been CEO of Merlin since it was formed in 1999, and Mark Fisher might not be a name everyone is familiar with, but he's played a significant role in Merlin as well. Both leaving the company at a similar time could lead to some pretty big changes.

For anyone who hasn't seen TPM's latest post: https://thorpeparkmania.co.uk/news/27-04-2022/Project+Exodus+April+2022+Round+Up In short, there's been some objection to the placement of some of the footers of the coaster. I don't like to speculate too much on things I don't fully understand, but it seems a bit like an oversight from a planning perspective, but something that can be sorted out. Hopefully it doesn't take long to sort out though.

A recent document added to the planning application shows the plan for service vehicles: The current service road runs up to Burger King, and vehicles currently have to go onto park, past Burger Kind and the toilets to access the site. The access route follows the service road up to the usual gated entrance, and then goes behind Burger King and up to the site this way. The area behind Burger King is where the coaster's maintenance building is proposed to go. All of the pathway adjacent to Monk's Walk from Platform 15 up to the Roots of Evil exit has been bulldozed, but it seems like only a part of that area will be used for access. Then again, the park could also plan to use the area that was Roots of Evil for some sort of access and storage too.