JoshC.

Thunderstorm in Chertsey, which meant all outdoor rides have to close. Ghost Train and Angry Birds are also open, but I guess the way the app is programmed means they show up as closed.

Tucked within the consultation plans for Chessington's new land showing attendance of the 4 UK Merlin parks: Unlike with the TEA attendance, I believe these represent accurate numbers (the TEA reported figures are usually fudged to some degree). Each vertical line represents a million visitors. There's a couple of mistakes with the investment timelines, particularly with Thorpe, but it gives a very interesting insight into the state of the Merlin parks. Hard to know whether the 2020 numbers are end of year figures.

Here's a post from Jared on CoasterForce (who also runs Chessington Buzz), which clarifies some points raised at the in-person consultation:

I feel like I'm just spamming at this point, but oh well: https://www.facebook.com/thorpepark/posts/10159147696830867 She watches you when you're queueing She knows when you're irate She knows if you've booked a time slot So book a slot for goodness sake!

Where have I heard these things before? Let me ask my buddy, Derren: "I don't know Josh, I just don't know..."

The trouble with the 4pm closures on weekdays is that the park have had them for so long now, it's hard to know for certain how 5pm weekday closures would be received. There's some logic at the park at the moment though: They've realised people didn't like the fact there were less rides available, so they've temporarily bought in more to see if it works. They've realised people didn't like the fact they closed between 5-6pm on weekends, so they've increased those open hours (though for some reason, they only announce it like a week before...) So either they've realised people don't like 4pm weekday closures, but don't have the budget to extend them, with focus being on the more profitable weekend. Or there isn't a problem with 4pm closures. OR they haven't realised 4pm closures are the problem. There is still the issue of British logic of leaving early, beating the traffic and being home for dinner, yes. But credit where it's due: Towers are at least sticking with later closes this year, and hopefully that shows the demand is there.

We can get a pretty good estimation tbf. If the ride is programmed to stop at each scene for x number of seconds, and has y number of cars, then that will be done to match the story and flow of the ride. So we can easily get an idea of the max capacity from that, once they start mixing groups in ride vehicles. They may be able to add more cars (genuinely no clue as I don't know what the situation is); if they can, again, it's fairly straightforward to figure out what sort of throughput this can get. Doesn't matter if it is meant to be a flagship ride or not. What matters is if the ride has a throughput that will reflect its popularity. We as guests won't really be able to gauge that for a while yet, but given the push it's had in marketing and the level of popularity of the IP, one would expect that the ride will garner a certain level of interest for a while yet. A lower throughput is a potential worry at this stage. And with the length of queue they've built for it, they must be expecting long queues. I guess your point here is the rumour circulating around that the ride system was actually designed for another Merlin attraction, but that project got cancelled and the ride system was bought to Towers? A fair enough point. But equally, I don't think there's much more the park could have done with the space available. They're not exactly going to be able to fit any big ride (in terms of physical space) there. So you either build a non-stopping ride which is very short, and has a larger throughput, or a stopping ride which is longer, and has a lower throughput. Both have their pros and cons, and it's too early imo to decide whether what they've done is right or not. It's points like this which I never fully get. The Wallace and Gromit building is roughly twice the size of the Gangsta Granny building. Something has to give somewhere. Obviously atm Covid is restricting it to one household per vehicle, but in normal operation, it's - somehow - meant to be 8 people per car,

You see, I think it's the opposite - it's quite creative to be able to take a short snippet of audio, and blend it into different loops with different vibes. I'm not musician so don't know the ins and outs and it might be something incredibly boring and simple, but for me, it just works. Of course, it has to be done rightly, and it does run the risk of becoming boring / repetitive, or just not really working. But I'm fine with it for now. ITHOTMK is a weird one. Yes, Towers don't own it, but when people in the UK hear it, I'm sure lots of people associate it with Towers. I honestly can't remember. But I guess, for me, that kind of solidifies the effectiveness of using that loop. I could mimic the 'island theme' in my head, and I could imagine what Colossus / Inferno variants of that would sound like. But I can't say with certainty if they actually occur. That's a good level of subtlety for me.

And the proposal itself: https://www.cwoa-consultation.com/proposals It is not clear when the area will open, but construction is due to start in January 2022, making 2023 the most likely opening year. A boomerang style launch coaster is interesting, particularly because it won't be able to manage a particularly high throughput. However, curiously, Chessington Buzz (who were at the consultation itself today), seem to think the layout shown is not final, the ride will have a 1.4m height restriction, and will feature winged seating: https://www.facebook.com/ChessingtonBuzz That very much goes against what is shown on the online proposal, but we'll have to wait and see what extra details they may have been verbally told to give them that impression...

Keep an eye on TPM's Facebook for some updates. I hear our very own @Marc has bagged himself one of those elusive time slotted tickets and will be experiencing it today...

I see why it's not everyone's cup of tea, but it's meant to be the same. Just like how Towers' new stuff has leaned into using In the Hall of the Mountain King, Thorpe are leaning into using the 'Island Theme' for stuff. As a small part of a larger loop, I think it's a really cool idea. Also, saying it's on everything is a stretch, no? It's in and around the entrance, used at Fright Nights, Walking Dead, Black Mirror, Old Town and maybe the Donut Factory? I don't think it actually appears in Colossus' or Inferno's loops, or surrounding areas? So it's only pockets of the parks that actually use it.

A snippet of the audio, which has been done by IMAScore:

We have two sets of TV ads released today. There is the one featuring Black Mirror, and a more generic Thorpe Park one: Happy to see the return of the 'Island Like No Island' tagline. I'd love to see the park continue to lean into that a bit more (as long as it doesn't result in another total rebrand). It's kind of sad, and telling, though that this entire advert is basically a rehash of the 2014 advert's visuals, and the style isn't far different either...

2021 TV ad featuring Black Mirror...

https://www.instagram.com/p/CO3ON_BBg4x/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link I assume it was this person. Post features a video showing the inside (so spoilers)

I mean, some would class that zero.. Not me tbf, but 2010 was a long time ago. And the park did have a scare zone called 'Scare Zone' in its first year between the mazes. It might not be zero, but it's so close to be zero it may as well be. I see both sides of it. If you reimagine Fright Nights into a separate event, with an age restriction or similar, it gives a much wider scope for what can be done. If you create an event where everyone is there exclusively to be scared, no asterisks, you can in particular make scare zones and pathways and street entertainment more intense if you want. But if families can go and choose to go (as happens at Thorpe, regardless of Thorpe's attempts), it can complicate things. But equally, the current set up can work. I think Thorpe are doing fine with what they're doing; it's not really their fault families choose to go. Really what the park should look to do is pump more money into the event so they can have the wide variety of stuff, keeping up with high level scares, plus having stuff which is a bit more family friendly.

Work is very much still carrying on with this. This latest update comes with a spoiler warning: https://www.facebook.com/MovieParkGermany/posts/4157919480919941 As said in previous, it very much seems to be a 'dark ride with coaster section', as opposed to a 'coaster with dark ride section' as some may have first thought. Hard to say whether this is still on track to be ready for early June. In any case, the German parks still don't have a reopening date, and they may only open with outdoor rides, so it'll be a while before this opens I reckon.

Owing to the 'Exactly 2 people per row' rule, only groups with an even number can ride Walking Dead when it reopens from Monday: https://www.thorpepark.com/explore/theme-park/rides/the-walking-dead-the-ride/ Obviously before Covid, if there were odd-numbered groups, they would just pair them up or, worst case scenario, an actor would fill the space. That can't happen under their social distancing rules of course. I expect it will work in the same way Storm Surge works (which has a minimum of 4 per boat rule), with someone outside the entrance stopping odd-numbered groups entering the queue. Will be interesting to see what level of social distancing happens. I'd imagine the pre show will be cut, but it will be interesting how they batch people in. Presumably they'll also be leaving a row between each group, which could see as little as 6 people per train, rather than the usual 10. Bit of a hit.

Much like with Derren Brown's Ghost Train, Black Mirror will also require a timeslot, of which a free ticket can be booked by scanning a QR code at the entrance: https://www.thorpepark.com/explore/theme-park/rides/labyrinth/ There is no Fastrack for the thing, and RAP users also need to pre book a slot. Hotel guests do not need to pre book a timeslot, but simply just turn up between 10-11.30. Unsurprising really, but if done right, at least means potentially shorter queues for it. It does mean that the park now has 2 time ticketed attractions though, which does somewhat change the dynamic of a trip.

Apparently this does have that ability, but they currently aren't using the the 'dampers' to control the spinning yet. There have been test riders now too, and the plan is to see what feedback is from them - and probably from the masses when the ride opens - to see how dampened / controlled the spinning will be. In that case, it might mean that the ride experience is very different to how these comparatively early tests look.

They haven't broken it as much as you did a few years back...

Annnnnnnd Thorpe won one of those awards: 'Best Original Concept and Design'. They might not have been the very best to have ever existed, but I don't think it should be understated how good a job it was of them to go from zero to what they did when it came to scare zones. Hopefully this is a really solid foundation for them to build off.

Another cool video: If you look round the 2:20 mark, you see that the cars get an induced spin on the first launch track section, and it's quite a starting spin! Time Traveller at Silver Dollar City has this as it leaves its station (into a vertical drop), and apparently these Xtreme Spinning Coasters are capable of having this induced spin on any straight sections. Something to remember in case any more of these rides pop up I guess

Well we have some answers now: https://www.thorpepark.com/explore/theme-park/rides/derren-browns-ghost-train/ You have to book a timed ticket (for free) to experience Ghost Train. Can only be done on the day, either at the entrance or by scanning a QR code outside the ride. Interesting to note that VR is still very much mentioned on the ride page as it stands.

On a serious note, I believe that they were cleaned whilst you were in the show scene between the first and second VR portion. They may also have been a quick once between a group finishing and a new group starting, but there were certainly times I went on it and you would be waiting to board as a group left, leaving a very short period of time for anything to be done. One would also wonder if any cleaning could be done quick enough. I imagine it's not out of the realm of possibility, but it just seems so difficult to execute. You have to ensure everyone has the app, everyone presses play at the right time, people will have reliable signal the whole time, etc etc. For the amount of back end work it requires, plus the operational faff, I just don't see it happening. I do wonder how the park will operate it. Merlin are still social distancing on rides. Thorpe in particular still leave empty rows between groups on Colossus for example. So how on earth will that logic work with Ghost Train? Surely Merlin can't say "people can't sit a row behind a stranger on an outdoor roller coaster, but it's fine to sit opposite one in a train carriage". And if you can't have people sitting next to each other, that takes a hit too. A lot of the experience needs to be reworked to be suitable in my opinion, but I genuinely wonder how much they will (or even can) do.