JoshC.

Theme Park Guide are doing a live feed of Chessington's opening: https://live.themeparkguide.biz/?live=CWOA21 The entrance to the park has many pedestrian barriers, but with BUNTING: And also Croc Drop has this not-temporary-at-all-looking statue outside its entrance: Also, the park are charged £3.50 for a map. THREE POUND BLOODY FIFTY. THREE POUND FIFTY PENCE

So for anyone interested, one can make out what is said on the signage at the entrance to attraction thanks to Jack Silkstone's video (around 25min mark), and gives a sense of what we could expect: (forgive the rubbish quality) For those who can't make it out: [quote] 1. Move forward when called 2. Your photo will be taken 3. Move to a touch screen 4. Click your photo and enter details 5. Accept the terms & conditions 6. Step aside for the next Participants Misuse will not be tolerated, including inappropriate names or photos. Names or images breaking these conditions will not be uploaded and you may be escorted off the premises. [/quote] It's an interesting premise, and with the "We value your privacy" tagline, it could suggest that throughout the experience you're 'tracked', or that things are a bit more interactive. Certainly a very Black Mirror type thing too. Does sound like it's a potential throughput nightmare though.

And for completeness, another video showing more of a focus on the 'hotel' set up: The Shark Cabins are able to open up from tomorrow because they're classed as self contained units. It seems that's predominantly because of the fact there's no indoor corridors or anything. Rather fortunate! Because no indoor dining is available, the following changes have been made: -Breakfast in collected from a hut in the revamped courtyard area (it's a large space which, aside from a couple of benches, has been utilised by the park imo -An extended menu at the Catina with access to the marquee by Zodiac -A revamp of the outdoor area by Infinity, down to the steps It does seem that the outdoor area of Infinity will be manned and be for restaurant users only. It'll be interesting to see how that works in practice, but I'm glad to see them use the outdoor space after they seemed to reject using it last year (indeed, if you go back to June/July time, it was suggested that Infinity was going to be exclusively indoors). This video also states that it's not yet been decided what the plan is for the marquee when indoor dining is available again, and it will depend on guest feedback. Smart move. I wonder if it's a marquee the park have hired or own though, as that might play a factor in when they decide to get rid of it (along with any plans they may have for the area for events this year)

I get the point you're making, but I assume you're not saying the reason Thorpe aren't getting new rides / coasters is because they were focusing on themed areas..?

I see your point, but at the same time, I'm kind of glad it's gone. It looked pretty horrible over the last couple of years, given how rusty it was. Yes, you could argue it fits with the theme and all that, and it was always quite rusty. But I do wonder how it came across to people who didn't know or appreciate the context of its existence. The water area does look more open / emptier I guess, but I wouldn't stretch it as far to say it's plain or boring. At the very least, I wouldn't use those words until I see how it feels in person, as a quick look from the video won't do it justice. At worse though, I expect it to just feel different, as Tidal's pool area is still largely one of the more interesting areas to look at in general.

Jack Silkstone has released his pre-season behind the scenes video, where he's shown round by the park's Commercial Director, Russ: If videos aren't your thing (though tbf, it's a nice video), here's a fairly comprehensive overview of the changes for 2021... Changes to the Drop Off system in the car park. There's now a barrier and you have 30 minutes after entering before you're charged (thanks to number plate recognition) Thorpe Perk Express, the rethemed car from Stealth's plaza, will serve breakfast food, hot dogs and Costa drinks The Dome has a new, sparkling blue floor The Coffee Shack in the Dome will be open for takeaway only No seating will be available in the Dome to support government guidence Indoor arcades are not allowed to open until May 17th, so these will be covered up The company who bought out Picsolve last year, Pomvom, have a facial recognition system being trialled at Thorpe and Towers. Effectively, you take a selfie on your phone, and any on ride photos get sent to your phone (presumably with a watermark / low res) for you to view to decide if you want them Lots of signage to fit in with the rebrand that started last year, including new signs for Amity Kebabs and Colossus Hotdogs The fingerpost signage directing to rides instead of areas is because it's felt guests just want direction to rides rather than areas, but the areas will still exist The Megastore has seen a refresh Tidal Wave will be receiving a flame effect, some new audio effects and has had a refresh in the queue line and surrounding water The partnership with Nitrogenie has ended, but the unit is still being used for nitrogen-made ice cream, and will also serve ice cream cookie sandwiches The Fastrack unit now has self-serve machines Jungle Escape has fences around it hiding it. When asked about it, Russ was very much dodged answering about if it would reopen, so I don't expect to see that again tbh In terms of dining options, everywhere is expected to be open, with Pizza Pasta operating takeaway service only for now The marquee by Zodiac is indeed just going to have seating, and will be available for people staying at the Shark to use, with the nearby Cantina having an extended menu The Saw police car is back, near the Fastrack entrance, behind some theming Possible summer event might be happening Black Mirror As expected, Slammer's old queue line will be the queue line for the experience. The fences seem to have been painted black The endless tunnel that was used for waiting when mazes were there has been removed. That walkway exists for wheelchair users The pathway leading up to the entrance has been smoothed out, with the rocks around there removed Because of the delay, some further work was done to improve the experience There will be some sort of Black Mirror merch Tidal Wave I'd usually avoid screenshots from videos, but for reference, here is the new theming feature which has replaced the decaying old rusty ball: A flame effect will be coming out from the petrol pump. I'm very intrigued how that will happen, but if they've managed to get something that is a proper fire effect, looks good and works reliably, that is very impressive. There will also be a sounded effect from the tower, and there's also been more theming placed in the pool where the remote control boats used to exist (they have been removed from there this year). EDIT: Ninajed by Marhelorpe, but meh, it can stay It's always worth reminding one's self that these videos are effectively a form of marketing from Thorpe, so some stuff should perhaps be taken with the tiniest pinch of salt. And naturally the focus will be on the new and the good, and not the ignored and bad. But in general, the park is looking nice and I'm a fan of many of the changes. Some impulse reactions from me: The new Dome floor looks very shiny and bright. I have fears it will dull down quickly and may not look the part after a year or two. It also looked a bit tacky from the video, but hard to say until seeing it in person. It's nice to know that the branding has been extended throughout the whole park. It's not my favourite branding to have existed at the park, but on the whole it's nice. I just hope they stick with it for more than 2 years... I can't help but think that the park should just give up with themed areas. They haven't gone all in with them in YEARS, and it just leads to confusion and things being messy. If the guests really just want to know about ride locations and not areas, then just focus on that. I'd rather that than half in / half out themed area ideas I'm already overly excited about the existence of ice cream cookie sandwiches at Thorpe tbh If Jungle Escape really has gone, please please please Thorpe, use the space for Fright Nights again Seeing the Saw police car behind a fence is sad, but given how often it was carted away because people destroyed it, I'm not surprised Black Mirror's entrance looks nice So yeah, in short: park is looking nice, and I'm intrigued by the changes. We're at a point where it's been a long time since there's been anything new, and the Black Mirror attraction doesn't solve many of the problems. But I feel more optimistic than I have in a couple of seasons about the park, which is a nice surprise!

I perhaps should have been more specific: the 50% rule is for roofed structures in relation to dining/eating. I'm not sure how far it spreads (ie whether the 50% rule is for all roofed structures in hospitality), or on what the rules are regarding attractions with indoor sections. It's all very muddled though. Please forgive me in advance for a rambling post, which will perhaps be controversial... The rule, loosely speaking, is that outdoor visitor attractions can open from April 12th, and indoor from May 17th. Many parks have made the decision to not open completely indoor rides (in particular dark rides) from the 12th. I'm also aware that some zoos, miniature villages and similar outdoor visitor attractions are not opening indoor viewing areas (for example, Chessington are not having the covered Gorilla viewing section available). However, Blackpool Pleasure Beach are slated to open all their dark rides. And Drayton are opening Sheriff's Showdown, their shooting ride. The main common factor across those rides are that the stations, at a minimum, are not totally enclosed / indoors. You can also be seated in your bubble exclusively. So it seems like there's a work around to a degree for theme parks with indoor attractions. What that work around is though, is unclear. What that means then for rides that are largely outdoors but have indoor sections / stations is even more confusing. If the reason Blackpool and Drayton are able to open attractions which are predominantly indoors is because you're exclusively sharing a ride car with your bubble, should something like Saw be allowed, since you will probably be sharing the car with people outside your bubble? Perhaps not. If it's solely because the station is outdoors, and it's just coincidence that all the opening dark rides can be ridden exclusively in your bubble, then something like Saw perhaps should be okay, because you spend the majority of the ride outside. There's also the other issue of indoor queueing. Whilst it's not banned (obviously), it's another interesting caveat potentially in the rules. Theme parks are being allowed to reopen because they're outdoor attractions, settings where Covid transmission is shown to be much lower. Should parks be allowing indoor queueing when the reason they're open is because they're outdoor attractions? Arguably not. It's not a major issue, but with some rides (eg: Saw, Th13teen, Vampire), there's at least some small queue indoors during normal operation. If indoor queue is frowned upon, then it could have operational knock ons. Obviously all of this is just what I understand from the guidelines the government have given. They're never concrete, because they could never give a set of 'cover all bases' rules, and they're always vague anyway. So one would assume / hope that each park, and outdoor attraction, has had the opportunity to clarify points with government representatives, and then make the correct choice. However, in my opinion of how I read the guidelines, I don't think that any indoor rides should open. I also have reservations about rides with indoor sections opening too. Simply put, the 12th April relaxations are for outdoor settings. Why should parks be able to, effectively, bend the rules to open indoor attractions, when independent indoor attractions are left to be closed for another month, especially if they can operate just as safely? Feels a bit of a kick in the teeth to them. For avoidance of doubt: I genuinely don't think under (how I interpret) the guidelines, the like of Saw, Th13teen, Smiler, Wicker Man, Vampire, Dragon, etc should really be opening on the 12th. They all have substantial enough indoor sections imo. Other rides with indoor stations (Colossus, Inferno, Nemesis, etc etc) are okay I'd say. That can be likened to walking through a pub to access their beer garden, for example, which is allowed. This is all coming down to very fine details, I know, and I could be completely wrong with my interpretations of the rules. But the ability to be able to open indoor attractions does feel like the exploitation of a loophole imo. It's not to be unexpected that some places make mistakes; for example, I believe Go Ape reopened on 29th March, but closed down earlier this week because they were told they shouldn't be opening until 12th April. For what it's worth, I feel like the parks can safely open indoor attractions (including dark rides), and that most indoor entertainment is safe to open. I certainly think they're safer than indoor retail, for example. Equally though, I appreciate the need for things to reopen slowly and cautiously, and that indoor retail is more important than indoor entertainment at this stage. tl;dr - Rules are unclear. Some rides which are set to open next week I don't think should under the rules. Parks hopefully have sought clarifications and gotten the answers, and don't end up having to shut down certain attractions.

A marquee has appeared on the plaza next to Zodiac: https://www.facebook.com/thorpeparkmania/posts/10165416546300624 I believe that the government relaxed rules surrounding the set up of marquees so that pubs and restaurants can have more outdoor, but covered, seating. So presumably this will be an area featuring seating - and maybe some food offerings - whilst the park is unable to have indoor seating as normal. EDIT: So apparently the rule from 12th April is that, for the hospitality industry, any roofed structure must have at least 50% of its walls open to be classed as outside. One would presume that applies for hospitality within an entertainment venue too. So as long as this marquee has one of the longer sides and an end open, it's presumably okay to be used as undercover seating. But in theory, they can't have the 2 long sides with walls and the 2 short sides open. Obviously Covid rules are very confusing and convoluted at times, so who knows.

Drayton Manor's investment is a retheme including the return of the Rapids: https://www.draytonmanor.co.uk/adventure-cove Adventure Cove looks like it will include the Rapids, Shockwave, Maelstrom, Air Race and Stormforce 10. I also seem to recall that they quietly announce a Wave Swinger this year, so I wonder if that will also go into the area.

The Retrosquad are coming to Alton Towers: https://www.altontowers.com/explore/theme-park/rides-attractions/retro-squad/ Funk’n’Fly - Super Trooper in Forbidden Valley Mixtape - Smashing Jump in X-Sector Roller Disco - Waltzer in Dark Forest I don't mind the retro / 80s vibe they're going for here. In fact, I think it would be a pretty cool area at a theme park. But I'm still not a fan of their scatteredness, or the whole idea of these temporary flat rides. Interestingly there is a 4th temporary ride, a Twist in David Walliams World behind the Carousel, which has yet to be officially mentioned by Towers.

I still don't get the fuss over BPB in general. It has almost a cult-level following by some people, and I genuinely don't understand why. The only argument I ever see people make in its favour is it's got some old rides and a Weatherspoons nearby. Yay? EDIT: Just seen a tweet which I assume sparked Mark's thoughts. Kind of feels like those who like Blackpool get on the defensive whenever people dislike Blackpool and retort with "Yeah, but there's other places which are worse". Such a magical response which immediately solves Blackpool's problems.

Stumbled across this randomly: https://simonrbrown.com/thorpe-park-minds-wanted For those who are unaware / don't remember, the big build up for the announcement for Ghost Train was around the idea of "Minds Wanted". A minisite was created to build hype for the ride, and the above link gives some insight into the creation and the ideas floating around. Obviously we all know how Ghost Train has turned out, but anyone who remembers the build and interest around the ride in late 2015 / early 2016 would probably agree they really hit the money with this part of the marketing. Furthermore, it gives some insight into the level of expectations that Thorpe particularly have with teaser campaigns. The teaser videos had a target of 100k viewers, whilst this eventually reached 387k when relevant, with 255k unique users. I think that's particularly interesting, as it shows that really the teaser videos are designed for a smaller audience, but they can generate a buzz when done correctly. The Minds Wanted site is no longer active, but the videos that formed the clues are part of playlist that can be viewed here:

Yes that is interesting. In the one sense, I don't mind that as it is helpful for getting people to understand where certain things are. It does signify a potential to move away from themed lands again, which would be a shame. Also, it makes me wonder how often they would change the signs - every time an attraction is added (or taken away), some signs immediately become obsolete. Seems awkward in the long run compared to just pointing towards areas. Ultimately, I don't care whether Thorpe decide to go down the themed area route or just themed attractions and no coherent themes between rides. But just stick with one and roll with it. It is frustrating seeing them seesaw between directions and ideas every couple of years.

Though it's not known why those trees have been cut down, it's unlikely to be for any immediate development. Canada Creek Railway will not return. The route is used for Platform 15, which is ultimately more important for the park I'd say. And even if it wasn't, they would effectively have to rebuild the train route, and get new trains - it would be hugely expensive. Loggers Leap would require a huge amount of money to repair to reopen too. To the point it would be cheaper to build an entirely new log flume from scratch. As I say, the tree cutting is a bit of an unknown. But at this stage, there's been no work on the Loggers Leap site otherwise. As for family rides, the park could probably do with some more rides with lower height restrictions. What and where are two big questions. But it also seems against the park's current direction, so would be unlikely.

For the actual launch, my Top 3 would be: 1. Taron's second launch 2. Taiga's second launch 3. Anubis' launch Stealth remains my favourite stationary launch. Other specific launches I rate: -Pulsar's swing launch -The launch out of the station on Pegase Express (it's slow but took me by surprise) Launches which don't do much for me: -Star Trek Operation Enterprise's swing launch is very meh -As much as I love Helix, and know and appreciate that it's launches should not be viewed as launches in perhaps the 'old fashioned' sense, it's first launch it pretty meh in honesty EDIT: It says a lot that I completely forgot about Icon's first launch originally, which is rather drab too.

Thorpe have introduced some new birthday pins for this year: On top of that, a retro Pirates 4D pin is available: Currently available online on the park's website: https://shop.thorpepark.com/collections/pin-badges Really nice designs imo, and interested to see what else they bring out this year!

Jack Silkstone is recording his now seemingly traditional pre-season video. The second photo from his Instagram post shows that the park have installed directional signage around the park: https://www.instagram.com/p/CNH6XEDB3WU/?igshid=d7v9xcxmufgm I know the park is small, but I've felt for a long time the park should introduce something like these!

Oktoberfest at Thorpe was fine in general, but could be much better. The issue with the placing last year is that it's less a plaza, and more just an extended walkway. And with Ghost Train back open this year, it makes it trickier. Ultimately if Thorpe want more events, then they should look at having a place that works for them, rather than just a "this will do" type thing. I mean Oktoberfest follows pretty much effectively after summer ends, and then FN straight after. My point there was more Oktoberfest can improve, Fright Nights can improve (and with the 20th anniversary, should see a large budget to do some justice there). Whatever budget they have can only stretch so far, and depending on what that is, I'd rather see it focused on improving what they have rather than growing. Towers' situation is different as their Oktoberfest, though it could be refined I'm sure, was pretty bang on for what it should be. Obviously events are a good thing, within reason, but walk before you can run and all that imo.

The Ultimate Summer of Fun very much feels like they just realised they'd forgotten July and August existed and cobbled something together at the last second. July in particular will be a hard month for the parks I think. I doubt we'll see many, if any, school trips, which is usually where a bulk of the visitation comes from then. And if most restrictions are lifted then, I think people will be more interested in doing other things than the parks which would have been open for a long time comparatively. Will be interesting to see what happens. I think summer holidays will be fine for the parks. But if international travel is allowed, they might lose some of the staycation audience which is being pushed a lot at the moment.

Mardi Gras inspired event is an interesting choice. Has potential, but equally could end up feeling quite tacky. But in saying that, Towers should be given the benefit of the doubt I guess given they did good with Oktoberfest. And if it ends up it giving the park longer opening hours, both this year and long term, that's a good thing in my books. I hope Thorpe doesn't get a Mardi Gras event for a couple of reasons: -I'd prefer if the parks had a diverse set of events -Thorpe really should be getting a more dedicated event space if they want more events like that -Their Oktoberfest event wasn't as good as Towers'. I'd rather they work on improving an existing event (and also FN) than getting another new one

Sourced via Theme Park Guide's Facebook... A freshly painted monkey

I haven't visited on a really busy day in a long time, so my take might be skewed a bit. But from what I've seen, a big issue always feels like the number of security officers doing bag checks was never enough to cope with the mass crowds. Especially when compared with, for example, Towers. Using the old Admissions huts probably hasn't helped to a degree, given they create a bottle neck. I think the introduction of the marquee with the scanners helps spread things out more. That's obviously where a redesign would help. But without the staff to back that up, it wouldn't make a massive change.

I agree. I see how my post has been misinterpreted. My point was more comparing Thorpe to some of top theme parks round the world seems stupid given that nothing that the park have done for pretty much the last decade gives us any indication that Thorpe should be considered anywhere near that level really. Obviously this being a Thorpe-focused forum, people focus on Thorpe, but I genuinely can't think of any park that's regularly compared to some of the best parks around with no reason. Just seems weird is all. As it stands the entrance looks dire. I try to keep an open mind with these things until they're ready, but yeah, I can't see it improving much beyond its state. Curious about Quantum. It's still on the website, and isn't listed as opening later like DBGT and TWD. It has also been testing. Wonder if it's just a mistake made whilst they updated the app? Rumba Rapids' height change is a blow for the park. I believe both Congo at Towers and Vikings at Legoland have had their restrictions increased too. Whether it's a Merlin change because of the renewed focus / concerns about rapids following the Drayton declaration (and with those rapids set to reopen), or if it's coming from manufacturers is an unknown. Either way, it's a hit to the park's line up for smaller guests. Zodiac has also had its restriction increased to 1.1m (not sure if that's happened recently or last year?). But again, that's a blow too. It leaves 6 rides at the 0.9m range (Depth Charge, Flying Fish, Banana Boat and Old Town rides). And as there's no rides with a 1m restriction, those are the only rides kids can go on until they hit 1.1m.

Not saying there's anything wrong with making comparisons, or that Thorpe's entrance is good, but I do find it interesting to make comparisons between Thorpe's entrance and some of the best theme park entrances in the world. It's as if there's an expectation for Thorpe to always be up there with the best, and I never understand why*. Thorpe's entrance has a lot more potential than the state it is in at the moment. But does anyone realistically expect it to ever be spoken of up there with some of the best entrances out there? Just seems like an odd pedestal to be putting the park on, especially when you know that the park won't be able to reach for that level. *I'm sure someone will come with the 'But Merlin say they're second only to Disney' argument. Yes, they're the second largest, but they're not the second best. I'm sure, internally at least, Merlin would admit that themselves too, if being totally honest. If people are still trying to equate size with quality, then people really should get hit with a dose of reality.

Really interesting post; thanks for sharing it! I don't think we'll ever know the full story behind the closure. The specifically interesting thing is that when it was closed, it was announced as returning. How much internal drive there was to keep that promise is something we'll never know, nor how realistic those claims were. In any case, a few things I can add... This has been floated around a lot and though I've never actually looked into it, I assume the change in legislation is true (I believe it's an EU thing). As you say, Tidal was always clean and treated water, so unaffected (fun fact: it is one of the most expensive rides to run because of the cost of treating the amount of water it uses). Now there's always been questions about this legislation. There's been suggestions that it only affects newly built rides, not old rides. So stuff like Loggers, Rumba Rapids, The Flume, Dragon Falls, etc would be fine. If that's true, then we're fine. If however it needed to be done by a set point, then there's a major problem. You need to create a closed water system around a lake (since the treated water can't go into lake water). How do you manage that in Loggers' situation with Loggers' layout. Not saying it would be impossible, but that would be very difficult. I can't comment on Pirate Falls or The Flume, but I believe Dragon Falls' work wasn't related to this new legislation per se. The rockwork around Dragon Falls needed removal because it was effectively falling apart. Equally a lot of work needed to be done with the ride's trough. Maybe that was in some way related though, I don't know. Hmmm, this bit I have some scepticism over. Thorpe have gone for a double hit with their more recent large investments. Saw had Saw Alive. Swarm had Swarm Backwards. I think it's only natural to expect they had budget planned to do something to Ghost Train for 2017. Do I think they always planned to re-do the VR and extend the building for a new scene? Probably not, no. But they will have had budget for something. And if they wanted to, there's a chance they could have gotten more. Now it's certainly possible that any budget for Loggers could have been siphoned over to ROTD. My thinking is that that doesn't really match up with timings. If Thorpe were planning to open Loggers for 2017, and they had the budget to do so, there would have been some level of commitment to that by September-time, which was when ROTD was in its finalisation. I'm also aware that by 2018, Thorpe were stating that reopening Loggers would be an investment that would cost millions (I seem to remember hearing figures anywhere between £3m-£8m). I'm sure that figure increased as time went on, but if they did have budget for that secured to reopen it in 2017, but didn't open it, they would have used that budget elsewhere. The ROTD changes certainly wouldn't have used up that whole budget, and none of their other 2017 changes would have either. So something wouldn't add up there in my opinion. To add my extra thoughts: as I said, by 2018, there were still talks of reopening Loggers. It was something that was being explored, to the point they had figures of how much it would cost to reopen, and some theming concepts. That would suggest it was still in some way feasible. The big issue at that point is then is it worthwhile? Loggers Leap was a decent log flume, but is spending many millions reopening an old flume the best way to spend money (even with a retheme or whatever)? Arguably not. For some context here, The Walking Dead retheme of X cost about £1m. Spending at least 3 times that to get an old attraction open, plus increasing running costs for the park, is a lot to think about. Especially when you're getting to the point that you could probably build a new log flume for a similar price point. I think in many ways, it was always a pie-in-the-sky idea trying to get it to reopen. When it closed there was always an air of pessimism about it ever reopening imo. It was great to try, but it just never seemed likely. And yet, I don't think they've ever truly given up. I'm sure some remember back in 2019 after it was announced to not return, there was an auction of old ride parts announced. That auction was quietly removed and never mentioned again. I heard some rumours that was in part because the park changed their minds in case they decided to explore reopening it again. I've even heard that the work done in Loggers station for Creek Freak Massacre was done in such a way that they kept the core of the ride in tact (ride console, conveyor belt, etc). Not sure quite how true that it, so take that with a huge heap of salt! I think the story with the rapids is different. Their features were changed, tamed, etc after the Drayton Manor incident. Internally, Merlin made the decision to tame their UK rapids ride to try to prevent people standing up during the ride. This was also accompanied by other things, such as ride spotters around Thorpe and Towers' rapids in particular. If it is linked with the change in legislation (which I doubt it was tbh), it certainly would raise different questions about Loggers' closure. The changes to rapids happened mid-way through 2017, so I'd find it hard to see why they would have not run Loggers, because of the legislation, for the prior 18 months when they could have.