JoshC.
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Posts posted by JoshC.
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My travels for the year have been cut short thanks to a broken ankle. Missed out on the Madrid and Barcelona parks, plus a return to Walibi Belgium, because of that. I should be fine for a Plopsaland visit I have booked in December though.
So, in terms of new parks:
Bakken Tivoli Gardens Djurs Sommerland Tivoli Friheden TusenFryd Fårup Sommerland Return visits:
-Thorpe Park (no clue on the number; 20-30?)
-Chessington x4
-Alton Towers x2
-Parc Asterix x1
And new coasters:
294 Tornado (Bakken) Bakken 295 Rutschebanen (Bakken) Bakken 296 Vilde Mus Bakken 297 Mine Train Ulven Bakken 298 Mariehønen Bakken 299 Dæmonen Tivoli Gardens 300 Rutschebanen (Tivoli Gardens) Tivoli Gardens 301 Mælkevejen Tivoli Gardens 302 Kamelen Tivoli Gardens 303 Mandrill Mayhem Chessington 304 DrageKongen Djurs Sommerland 305 Jungle Rally Djurs Sommerland 306 Skatteøen Djurs Sommerland 307 Piraten Djurs Sommerland 308 Juvelen Djurs Sommerland 309 Thor's Hammer Djurs Sommerland 310 T-Rex Family Coaster Djurs Sommerland 311 Vilde Hønsejagt Djurs Sommerland 312 Tyfonen Tivoli Friheden 313 Bisværmen Tivoli Friheden 314 Dragen Tivoli Friheden 315 Tonnerre 2 Zeus Parc Asterix 316 Toutatis Parc Asterix 317 Storm - The Dragon Legend TusenFryd 318 SuperSplash (TusenFryd) TusenFryd 319 Thunder Coaster TusenFryd 320 Speed Monster TusenFryd 321 Loopen TusenFryd 322 HuriHuri TusenFryd 323 Western Expressen TusenFryd 324 Fønix Fårup Sommerland 325 Saven Fårup Sommerland 326 Mine Expressen Fårup Sommerland 327 Lynet Fårup Sommerland 328 Falken Fårup Sommerland 329 Orkanen Fårup Sommerland 330 Pindsvinet Fårup Sommerland 331 Flagermusen Fårup Sommerland Not a bad year, but the broken ankle did put a significant dent in plans.
A cancelled flight also meant I couldn't stay over at Parc Asterix like originally planned.
2024 will hopefully be bigger.
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The rethemed Angry Birds Land has been announced as Big Easy Boulevard...
We'll keep discussion of that in here now.
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8 minutes ago, coasterverse said:
EDIT: Just looked at the previous Hyperia update from the 28th October and the same thing is apparent here too... albeit less of the logo is obscured. So, perhaps this is simply the park 'erasing' the logo as the updates go on, before finally being revealed bit by bit the opposite way after the logo is entirely obscured. Who knows
I expect this is the idea. Slowly fading out the old and then bringing in the new.
Changing the whole name of the park, even if to Thorpe Island, would be a huge thing, and quite risky, for ultimately very little reward.
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In an update, the park have confirmed they're repainting parts of the ride over this and next winter, as well as replacing sections of tracks. So presumably they're committing to replacing sections of track which need it, and then repainting the rest so it all looks largely the same.
https://twitter.com/ThorpeParkMania/status/1724477605854781893?t=BZRA2KTVbdy3t_nA8qtucw&s=19
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This happens occasionally.
In short, the ride system won't let the train off the lift hill until the train ahead has passed a certain point.
With Swarm, it doesn't happen much because you require the train to be loaded incredibly quickly. Also, staff are discouraged from sending the train at a time when it would make the train stop on the lift hill, but these things still sometimes happen.
Nothing to worry about, nothing exciting. Just shows that ride operations were being efficient tbf.
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I can't tell if the above 2 users are the same person from different accounts, or two friends. Keeping an eye on it...
As for Angry Birds Land, the park have confirmed the ride line up for the new area will remain the same (with a new 4D film). No rides will be taken away, nor added.
The area is quiet small, so it's difficult to add anything in there. Including the Teacups in the area would be nice.
Extending the area into Amity makes the most sense. Doesn't have to tie in directly with Stealth or Tidal Wave (they're both different eras anyway). But just something Amity works.
In the world of pipe dreams, I would love (duelling) junior Boomerangs wrapping around that area. If they're creative they could find the space. It's highly unlikely in the first place of course, and even moreso now Legoland are getting a duelling pair.
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1 hour ago, Glitch said:
Whatever it is I’m expecting next years version to have an exclusively gold overlay.
I think the park said in their passholder group that the logo won't be exclusively gold. I'd be very surprised if there wasn't a Hyperia inspired logo though, which would probably be gold.
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8 hours ago, coasterfreak23 said:
New logo has dropped!
Okay, this is obviously you creating your own ideas and sharing them.
It's nice that you're creating your own ideas, but this isn't the platform for that, especially if you're saying it *is* the new logo. That's verging on spam.
So please let's stop that.
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With the new logo coming, makes sense to have a thread for it.
3 hours ago, coasterfreak23 said:Found on twitter and Instagram. Thoughts
Clearly this is a fan made idea. I don't see it happening.
In saying that, I don't hate the idea of the coaster track forming that part-infinity shape.
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6 minutes ago, Parm Pap said:
hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, down from the door no-one listened, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm
Sorry, Theme Park Fanatic got there 22 days before you...
On 8/6/2023 at 11:29 PM, Theme Park Fanatic said:There’s currently murmurings floating around that Angry Birds Land is its final season. Angry Birds Land has been an area at Thorpe Park since 2014. This IP has already lasted longer than anyone predicted.
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Thanks to the wonderful Marc for this stunning update...
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46 minutes ago, Glitch said:
Question, are we expecting this rollercoaster to be heavily themed? I’m slightly concerned that we’ve had nothing story wise other than the name. With the swarm we had actors running around telling us the end was coming or will it just be a let the hardware do the talking type of ride?
The park have said there will be a story, to some degree. I imagine that will mostly be communicated by videos / marketed. In terms of at-the-ride theming, I doubt it will be much beyond landscaping, stylising buildings, logos/images and not much else. The plans don't indicate any theming.
I don't think the ride needs much theming anyway. As said above, the height will do the talking. The location around the lake will add to the vibe. A good, long soundtrack will help create an atmosphere. Onboard audio hasn't been confirmed or denied yet, but could still happen, and would add a lot. I expect there could be actors during the first few days/weeks around the plaza, just to add a bit more to the area.
In other news, here's a look at what's been built so far in terms of supports/track:
If absolutely everything goes to plan, then - according to the original scheme of implementation in the plans - the ride could be ready by mid-March. Obviously there's a lot of variables there, but I think there's a good chance the ride could open at the start of season.
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The twisted outerbank dive is complete!
- coasterverse, George W, Matt N and 2 others
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I would hope / imagine that by "brand new area" they decide to keep within the Amity/American realm, even if it's just a different era.
The Tidal Wave side is a bit more 50s/60s. Stealth side is 60s/70s. American 80s style for example would work.
Alternatively, bringing the Fright Nights schools into their own area could work. They seem to resonate with people and do well merch-wise.
The park have confirmed it's a retheme with no new rides, but a new 4D film is coming.
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Slightly amended plans:
In short, the existing building which was set to be retained, refurbished and extended will instead be demolished and rebuilt. This is on advice from the construction team, who believe it will be more efficient.
The exterior is also set to be slightly different too.
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13 minutes ago, Cal said:
I remember in 2019 they started Fright Nights at the end of September, and the first few weekends were dead. It clearly wasn't financially viable as they've never done that again since.
They did try it last year too (okay, the very last day of September, but still, a week earlier than this year). Again, doesn't seem to have been as viable as later dates.
20 minutes ago, Glitch said:with the amount Thorpe are taking in these busy periods they really shouldn’t have staffing issues.
But it isn't to do with the amount the park are taking in, it's to do with the fact there's not enough people wanting to work for the park. It's something pretty much every park struggles with.
Yes, Merlin could consider paying staff more than minimum wage and that may help. But how much more they'd have to pay to convince more people to work seasonal jobs with unsocial hours to make staffing issues less an issue is a real big question. Even if Thorpe paid more than supermarkets, for example, how many people who are working in supermarkets (which have clear, set hours) would change to working a job with not-set hours where they then have to find a job every winter?
Halloween is a specifically tricky time for staffing in the UK parks as their younger workforce go off to uni just before, meaning they lose a fair old chunk of people.
26 minutes ago, Glitch said:I just wonder how many people go in peak and just say never again it was too crowded. That’s a customer potentially lost for life.
It's a good point.
But then say they reduce maximum capacity by 5000 people. That's up to 5000 people who would be visiting who won't, and may potentially visit a competitor. Thus, potentially, they lose a customer, a competitor gains a customer, and they may not get that customer ever in the first place.
Say they just chuck tons of attractions in the park, and the quality of those attractions is not-great. People then won't want to visit because the quality is bad and it's busy.
There's so many potential things the park could do, but they all come with setbacks.
If the park wanted to go for more HHN style mazes (continuous congo line) to increase throughput, they would have to completely change the style of their mazes, and include significantly more effects (both automatic and actor-triggered). But that would probably change the experience for the worse.
Again, this is an issue which loads of large, popular parks face.
Some aren't faced with the staffing issues so much thanks to being year-round parks, so people don't worry about being in seasonal employment.
Other parks introduce significantly more shows, roaming entertainment and just non-ride attractions to help soak up the crowds.
There's no quick or easy fix to this issue, and it happens every year.
As I say, I think the best thing Thorpe can do moving forward is design mazes which have actually good, consistent throughputs. That, along with scare zones and shows, will help allow people feel like they can get their money's worth with Fright Nights.
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26 minutes ago, Glitch said:
Seeing some people defending half term will always be busy.
At what point will Thorpe take action and improve guest experience whilst perhaps upping the prices or adding more attractions
2018 the park had a million mazes (okay I exaggerate, it was 8). In terms of quality, that was agreed to be one of the worst Fright Nights ever. The park keeps upping the prices and that doesn't stop people.
Thorpe can do anything and the park will always be busy during this half term.
Other large parks experience this issue too. Walibi Holland is a prime example. They have multiple mazes, experiences and scare zones. If you want to do everything, it will cost you over €100, and you're still looking at queueing for Halloween attractions and 2-3hr queues for coasters.
The park should look at introducing another indoor experience for Fright Nights. But more importantly, they need to look at creating Fright Nights experiences which can handle the crowds without compromising on quality. Stitches feels painfully slow between groups, for example. Survival Games has 10 cages, meaning you either get slow-moving queues or double-batched, neutering the experience.
It doesn't seem like the mazes get more than 300-400 people per hour. That's the biggest problem at the moment. The throughputs of the big rides not being a great doesn't help either.
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Clinic will have a height limit owing to the fact that they have standard sized gurneys, which will have a maximum height. The attraction was designed with those in mind and from a H&S perspective they can't use larger gurneys.
Slaughterhouse effectively has a ride system, so is designed in a similar way to a ride, which does unfortunately have issues for taller people.
Below (wader maze) won't have a height limit. Presumably they're restricted by shoe size, but I imagine they have the majority of sizes.
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And in an actually useful post, more supports:
- holtjammy16, Matt 236, skelly and 1 other
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Big Easy Boulevard - New for 2024
in The Future
Posted
I like the idea. It's smart and slick, and will remain as a hub for the Mardi Gras event which will no doubt continue in the future.
Hopefully we see some 3D facades rather than just simple paint jobs. Or just some extra details. One of the issues I felt with Angry Birds Land is everything largely felt flat and basic, with some of the detailing lost from the previous area (canon shot marks on the buildings, etc).