JoshC.

I'm bored and have nothing better to do.... Wh-wha-what's going on-on? Ding, ding This is the Crazy Frog Ding, ding... ....perhaps? Hey, that looks like Loggers Leap's final drop! "The wildest ride in the wilderness!"??? Maybe 236 feet?? Ooooooohhhhh. DWS. Doctor WhoS. Ohhhhh Subtle LOGGERS LEAP OPENED IN 1989. IN 2005 IT BECAME THE TALLEST LOG FLUME IN THE UK AGAIN IT ALL ADDS UP

I've split the Fright Nights stuff into its own thread, because why not! It's certainly possible. I know in the past, they have considered a more broader family friendly attraction, and you could argue that things like the Amity High dance show fit that too. At the same time, Thorpe and Fright Nights are still gearing towards the more older / young adult market, and always have done, regardless of who visits. It would be a very stark change to create something for a broader market. The last year they had mazes with IPs was 2019, which was the last year of The Walking Dead maze license. I remember hearing rumours that Do Or Die (the partial outdoor one by Rush) was being considered for 2020 before Covid happened and changed things. Obviously Living Nightmare was going to be replaced by Black Mirror regardless. I also think there was a time when the park tried getting Stranger Things for Fright Nights too, or if not, at least ripping it off in some way. So perhaps Covid played a bit of a role in a lack of IPs over the last couple of years. But it has equally shown how the park do have a good creative side to them, and the original stuff can work. So it would be interesting to see what happens if they did return to using an IP. As for the Lionsgate thing, I'm not too sure. The standard length of many IP contracts within Thorpe (especially for the mazes) is 3 years, with possible extensions. 2013 and 2014, the park leaned in very heavily with the 'Thorpe Park Movie Studios' motif, and pushing the IPs. 2015, for whatever reason, they went away from that and introduced the Big Top. The space used previously by Asylum and Studio 13 was now used for I'm a Celeb, so they needed something new for a headline attraction. Maybe the short term plan was to edge away from IPs at Fright Nights, or the Lionsgate films just weren't as big a hit as they wanted for the cost they were paying? What I think should be kept in mind is that Thorpe and Lionsgate still have a reasonably good working relationship. They still have Saw going very strong, and that's clearly mutually beneficial and is regularly renewed. They scrapped Blair Witch for one year to focus on Walking Dead, but then bought it back. So there wasn't necessarily a bad reason for it disappearing. I guess it was just a creative decision when it boils down to it.

A naughty double post... Here's the extended post I mentioned chatting about Face it Alone: Looks like my write up from my Original Face it Alone is on my old-old laptop, and I dread to think how long that will take me to find and boot up. But still, you've inspired me to re-write it up...keep watching this space!

A good shout that - it's not something I was all that familiar with, but it could well be that. Equally, I wouldn't be surprised if it does link in with something they're planning for an attraction. Thorpe do know how to push people's buttons when it comes to social posts after all. The Locke and Key speculation is interesting. It's a show which has a creepy tone, and some scare element to it. But it's certainly not all out horror, and is unlike any other scare IP the park have tried before. I believe the graphic novels it is based upon are a bit darker, but still. It's also quite a niche show which doesn't have a huge market. When Season 2 hit Netflix UK, I don't think it broke into the Top 5 watched shows for example? And yes, the skull and horns don't fit in particularly with anything related to show (though I gave up watching it a couple of episodes into Season 2, so maybe more relevance later on...might have to try watching it again) The speculation seems to have originated from the key references, and also the park responding to a couple of people on Twitter with a gif taken from the show. So it is a big stretch to go there yet. On a bit of shameless speculation, it would be an interesting theme for a maze. The show is based around a creepy old house which has loads of locked doors. The characters find keys and unlock the doors, giving you powers, but usually with a dark twist, or something a bit weird and creepy. It would be difficult to translate to a maze, but I'd be lying if I said the idea of a Cabin in the Woods style maze didn't come to mind. A 'choose your own route' style maze, where you go through different doors which have different weird things going on. I don't think it will happen, and I don't see how it would in practice, but just something which came into my mind.

Now this is a proper trip down memory lane - thanks for sharing! I really enjoyed Face it Alone. It was a cracking experience that really differentiated Thorpe from other scare events in the UK for a short period of time. It was unique, worthwhile and a joy for the niche market it targeted. And most importantly, in my eyes, it was something which let Thorpe justify Fright Nights as a premium Halloween event, which had something for everyone. It certainly changed over its 4 years of being offered (and some of those changes were for the worst). It's a shame that it stopped, though it would be great to one day see Thorpe try something a bit more extreme again. There's clearly demand for these more extreme experiences, and they can certainly fit it into their line ups imo. I never did Cabin though for Face it Alone. It's great to hear what exactly happened during your run! My runs were: 2013: Saw Alive 2014: Studio 13 2015: Big Top 2016: Big Top All were very different and interesting in their own way. I don't think I ever posted my experiences / reviews at the time (because of how they were asking people not to, to keep the element of surprise). But I did write them up...I'll have to try and track down where I saved them and post them! If not, I can recall parts of my runs, so will share them a bit later. I also think I did an extended post about Face it Alone a couple of years back on here, discussing some more of the ins and outs of the experience and why it changed and left the line up. And again, if I can't find it, I can remember some details, so will add some more. Watch this space!

Nice write up, and a nice trip down memory lane! It's funny, I don't have too many memories about Sun Scream, aside from it being "a thing". I remember watching the stunt show, and never being as interested or excited by it as some of the stunt shows in previous years at the park. It was a mix of something and not a lot at the same time. But then, it was an excuse to open late and just create a bit more of a vibe on park, which it certainly succeeded in doing! Sometimes it's easy to overcomplicate things, but Sun Scream was a nice simple event which added a little bit of extra value to the park's season. I don't know if this happened during Sun Scream or just summer more generally, but I do also remember having people dare you to press a "big red button" with the slogan "What's the worst that can happen?"...where either nothing would happen, or "something" would happen and you'd win a prize. That was a bit of a laugh if nothing else.

Exciting to have a new version tilt coaster come to life. Vekoma have been building a tilt section at their site in Vlodrop to test. It is believed this will be sent to Energylandia: Source: https://www.coasterforce.com/forums/threads/vekoma-testing-something-new-at-their-testing-facility.45089/page-5

A blunt response here, but that is absolute rubbish. It's true that the area Colossus is built on has shifting ground. This can cause some of the supports to shift / 'sink' ever so slightly. Obviously coasters require millimetre precision to be as smooth as designed, and a slightly shift can make a ride rougher. This is why back in 2019, the park infilled and concreted some of the area around the vertical loop, in an attempt to create more secure ground. But let's say they do take a hollow support and fill it with helium, to keep the supports at the same level as it should be (as claimed in the video). What would that actually do? The helium won't make the support rise, so presumably the idea is to stop it from going down. But if the ground goes down and the support doesn't, that means the support is coming away from its foundations, which would ultimately make things unsafe. Also, they say they have to "keep topping it up with helium". Why would they need to top up supports with helium? Surely they would fill the support with helium, seal it off and be done. It wouldn't be able to escape anywhere in such a short period of time...unless of course, there were big holes somewhere, which would be very unsafe. The thing with these VIP tours and coaster climbs is the people giving them are just any other person 90% of the time. They've just been given a script of facts to learn. It's their job to sound knowledgeable and answer questions, but of course they don't know everything. Sometimes they might have been told old wives tales or lines which help them move conversations along. Sometimes they might just make things up on the spot. It's the nature of what they do. I don't blame them for it either; just the way it is! These tours do give an interesting insight for a guest who doesn't have encyclopaedic knowledge / doesn't want to know weird follow up things. tl;dr 1 - Colossus supports aren't filled with helium tl;dr 2 - The VIP tours are good fun, but always worth taking some things that are said with a pinch of salt

Thorpe seem to be focusing on the events again this year, and posted this logo-rific image: The "key" takeaway from the FN logo is very curious

It is currently still in place at the park. It almost definitely won't be moved and will be scrapped when the time comes to remove it in preparation for the new roller coaster.

Thanks! I've been doing pure maths. A lot of theoretical and experimental stuff, with some exciting (in the very narrow field I work in) results to go with it! I'll drop this link here which gives more details in a simple (but still mathematical) explanation: https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/research-and-teaching/departments-and-schools/mathematics/news/2022-02-24-joshua-coyston/ (Though always happy to go into any more details for anyone genuinely interested!)

This seems like as good a thread as any to post this in... I passed my PhD today!

This is something I've seen suggested a few times, and it's certainly possible. There are two things that make me think it won't (just) be demolishing the entirety of Loggers: 1. Merlin don't demolish stuff unless they need to. They keep things for as long as physically possible. If something can be left SBNO they will. Look at Thorpe and Loggers and Slammer as examples. Towers only removed the likes of Submission and Ripsaw because they would be too obvious if left standing. They won't decide to just remove bits of Loggers they don't need to. They will remove what needs to be removed and nothing else. 2. Usually, you don't need permission to remove a ride. You just...remove it. There's exceptions and caveats of course, but generally speaking, parks are free to simply take something down if they want to. It's another reason why UK parks like to keep rides SBNO until they're replaced: when it comes to planning applications, they can say "look, we have something here, we're just replacing it with something else". If this is just for the removal of Loggers and nothing else, it's possible they're including this addition because it covers themselves in case someone moans about work happening outside of the permitted zone. Would be a grey area I guess. As said, the likely course here is that they're extending the zone for practicality purposes: either for ease of construction for the ride, or for extra engineering / maintenance once the ride is open. That would definitely fall under "design developments". But equally, a change in layout isn't something to completely rule out, and would also fall under design developments.

Forgive me for continually posting random pictures, but here's an overlay of the two plans, which is probably the clearest look at how the development area has been extended: Now, time for some speculation: If this for a layout change, I have an idea for what it could be. And I don't expect it to be anything drastic. Many people noted that the ride takes a lot of speed into the suspected splash zone area, and that that area could be quite trimmed. And even if not, it does have a lot of speed and doesn't do a lot. I expect that the short layout is, in part, a creative choice. The ride very much looks designed to be big, fast-paced and hard hitting. Rather than creating a long, drawn out experience, it seems to be a "throw everything at you as quickly as possible" experience, designed so that when you hit the brakes, you're left stunned, and begging for more in a good way. You won't feel short changed, but you'll want to go round again. So a potential adaptation to the layout would be as follows: Now forgive the crude drawing, but let me explain what this would achieve: -A straight section post-splashdown, to include one or two powerful airtime hills. -A new turnaround, which could be dragged out for some sustained forces, or be quirky / different (like the other turnaround) -Give more space pre-brake run for another airtime hill, rather than the airtime moment post-turnaround as currently suggested. My particular thought on the final point is that they could create a 'double down' airtime moment which is similar to Loggers Leap's drop. This would be in the exact same position as Loggers drop, and serve as a reminder/Easter egg/reference/whatever you want to call it to the ride (something that Thorpe and John Burton, the likely Creative Lead of the project, love doing). This would address the concern which a lot of people had about the ride's ending, whilst keeping in line with the (what I expect to be) feel of the ride. May not be everyone's cup of tea or what people want, but it's what I feel would be most likely. Equally, I think this is a sufficient change to improve the ride. Obviously, this is all speculation. But I don't see anything more significant than this.

Are changes a-coming? A new document has appeared on a planning application related to Project Exodus, which shows a change in boundary... Before: After: And to show this more clearly, here's the size of area that's been added, the green line is roughly the old cut off point: The area now includes the Platform 15 route up to the bridge, as well as more parts over water, including the Loggers track over there. Now I don't think this necessarily means that the layout could change. However, it's certainly possible. If we look at the original plan, the coaster doesn't hit all the way to the boundary, but does come close. And I believe the boundary plan is just where they will do any sort of work. So it could be just for access during construction, or to create an engineering route. For what it's worth, the document suggests this is due to a development in the design: We won't know exactly what this means until the full plans go in, but for now, there's a slither of evidence to suggest that changes to the layout are possible.

Indeed, that's why Thorpe stopped selling balloons - all the helium budget went to Colossus. (It's a little early for April Fools; think you've been had)

Bit weird to now have two Rocking Tug attractions in one park, but heyho. Investment in that area is good, and some small new rides won't do any harm. I worry about the queues for the Watermania thing, especially as Chessington are pretty thin on the ground with water rides. With a new Pirate Ship and a drop tower last year, investment is going in the right direction. But if we're being truly honest, these investments follow from years of neglect and years of rethemes which had been aimed at fixing that neglect. So there's an air of 'It's about time!' that these things have happened, and I hope that this investment can continue, and the quality is of a good standard. It was weird, I visited the park yesterday and walked right through the area these rides are going. Little did I know it would be the last time I'd walk through it, and probably the last time I'd walk through Pirates Cove. The planning application says construction would start in March and the rides would open by June.

So I'll be doing the UK Merlin quartet and Paultons Park again this year. I'd like to do a bit more UK stuff too (Pleasurewood Hill maybe), but we'll see. As for international stuff, after a break of not going abroad (due to Covid rules and finishing a PhD), this is what I have planned concretely: April Heide Park and Hansa Park June Six Flags Great Adventure Hersheypark Kings Dominion Busch Gardens Williamsburg +a selection (or all) of Six Flags America, Knoebels and Dorney Also planning to return to Phantasialand and finally ride Fly, as well as go back to Plopsaland and Walibi Belgium for their new rides. I'd also like to do the Gardaland/Movieland Italy duo and a couple of parks in Denmark, butttttt those plans are a bit more up in the air at the moment.

As has been said, we won't know until the park officially confirm. However, I highly believe that Rocky Express will just stay where it is until it needs to be ripped out, Timber Tug Boat will go to a different park and Lumber Jump will be relocated within the park.

The park have announced 2 new events: Mardi Gras and Carnival. Mardi Gras takes places in May/June, and Carnival in July/August. These accompany Oktoberfest (September) and Fright Nights (October): The descriptions for the new events do sound reasonably similar. And with Oktoberfest too, it is 3 events which sound incredibly similar at heart, just dressed with different colours. It's good to see the park diversify and include more events. But hopefully they are sufficiently different and worthwhile in their own right.

ding ding ding, we have a winner It is from the 'Load Room', the room after the pre-show and before the hanging carriage scene. It's also facing backwards, in a way one would not normally look. So yeah, a tricky one

Maybe I made this a bit too hard, so let's zoom out just a little...

Mr Rabbit is still on his travels and this is not right. --- BOO! Probably time for a clue... he he he

Good guess but unfortunately not. We hope your guess makes a splashback soon! 😉

A splashing guess, but like it's fire effect, not quite right!