JoshC.

Legoland's new area, Mythica, has been fully announced now: https://www.legoland.co.uk/explore/theme-park/2021/ Rides: Flight of the Sky Lion. Flying Theatre Fire and Ice Freefall. Spinning family drop towers (like Tikal at Phantasialand, and the ones in the new area at Paultons) Hydra's Challenge. Rethemed Squid Surfer The idea for the area is that any time a 'creature' is made out of Lego, it actually comes to life in an alternate world. The Flying Theatre in particular is about travelling to this other dimension, and meeting some the huge creatures around the area. I believe these creatures are sort of amalgamations of real-world animals, to create that fantasy-feel. The Legoland app will also allow you to scan some of the Lego models around the area to see them come to life on your phone (AR technology), which if works could be great. Other things: -There will be a 'Creature Creation' area for kids to build their own creatures -The Fish and Chips restaurant is being rebranded into The Hungry Troll Restaurant. Not clear if it's serving the same food, but looks likely imo -New character, Bitsandbobs, a unicorn like creature, seems to be pushed a bit -There will be 13 'large' creature models, using over 2 million bricks between them It's a really cool idea imo. It's nice to see something different and unique, away from all of the Lego sets, whilst creating something that feels very Lego-like. It's the sort of thing Legoland parks should be doing. Some of it feels a bit ambitious, and I do worry the Flying Theatre might be a bit rubbish with bad throughput (if the other Lego flying theatres are anything to go by), but on the whole, I think there's lots to be positive about here. Area is set to open May 29th, assuming they're allowed to open the Flying Theatre with Covid restrictions

So a fair few updates here to rattle through: Track was completed end of January: https://www.facebook.com/MovieParkGermany/posts/3849561588422400 The park also shared images of the trains, which arrived a couple of weeks back: The trains are in fact heavily inspired by the vehicle used from the old Tram Tour experience the park had, which closed in 2007: (credit to @Eftelflags on Twitter) IMA Score recently recorded the soundtrack: A 63 piece orchestra and 40 person choir were involved. The ride will include onboard audio, and will also feature a new character which the park hope to utilise beyond the ride from what I understand. Assuming local restrictions allow it, the ride should be open by the beginning of June (which is the park's standard opening period for larger new investments). Personally, I very much expect this to be more akin to a dark ride with coaster sections, rather than a coaster with dark ride sections. Not that that's a problem (if anything, I think that's what the park needs) I'm not sure when I'll get out to try this, but I'm really looking forward to seeing to final product!

Trains on site... https://www.facebook.com/PlopsalandDePanne/posts/3834971836588711 For those who need reminding / are unaware, this is barely a 45min drive from Calais.. 25mins from Dunkirk too... (ie: it's close)

All types of Annual Passholders can now prebook tickets to the parks: https://www.merlinannualpass.co.uk/pass-prebooks/ The system is a little clunky, and there's currently waits for some parks (Chessington and Legoland specifically), but it seems to be going vaguely smoothly now that it's live..

The park announced yesterday that the Shark Cabins will reopen from the 12th: As the government's restrictions mean that hotels must be self-contained, there will be nothing available in the evening as normal. It will be interesting to see what will be offered, and what these catering options will be. I know that I would struggle to entertain myself with the Dome's standard entertainment when the park closed at 5pm. No clue how I would manage to do so without that tbh

A selection of rides I think would add to the line up in form of permanent additions... -Dodgems (would be great in Walliams World) -Zamperla Air Race -Zamperla Nebulaz (ride experience might be average, but it would make for a wonderful spectator ride at the very least) -Wave Swinger -Zierer Family Drop Towers (like Tikal at Phantasialand..though with both Legoland and Paultons getting a pair this year, this might not be the greatest choice) -Technical Park Aerobat (they're a cross between an Enterprise and a Gerst free spin, so it's admittedly more an idea for a replacement for Enterprise...) -Breakdance -Magic carpet I'm not saying they should get all of them, far from it. But if they got any of those rides, I'd be happy. That's not a complete list either, there's no doubt plenty of other options (they could open the Zamperla catalogue to any page, and get whatever they see first, for example)

An Enterprise was bought in in 2000 shortly after the fire to compensate for the rides which were closed. Not sure if it was the same one which was then used for Zodiac from 2001 until it was replaced in 2006. Detonator is a funny story. The short version: It was bought by the park and installed in the 2001 season too, but the park only applied for temporary planning permission (1 year). It ended up being really popular though, and the park decided to keep it and got permanent permission The long version, for those interested: After the fire in 2000, Thorpe wanted to use the space affected to get a coaster to open in 2001. Their choices were either a Vekoma SLC, or a Rock n Roller Coaster clone, both of which could have been ready by summer 2001. Plans were actually submitted and approved (I can't remember for which one though), but the park then encountered some issues and ultimately had to shelf the project. The project was shelved around October 2000, but the park still wanted something in that location (and by that point, plans for Vortex and Zodiac were well under way). A drop tower had been discussed in the past (for the Lost City area), so that's what they went for. Quick and easy to buy and build, easy to get approval, but always intended to be a quick fix until the park put a coaster on that site. That's why they applied for it to only be there a year. 2001 came and it ended up being one of the most popular rides on park. It was unexpectedly popular, and the park felt that had to keep it. They applied for permission again, but only for another temporary term, this time 5 years. The logic there was that because it is effectively a fairground ride that they rushed in, they weren't sure how popular it would be long term, or how it would fair from a maintenance perspective. 5 years passed and they realised it was fine on all fronts, so they sought, and got, permanent permission. (Let's just take a second to pause here, and be very very grateful for the fact we have Nemesis Inferno over a Vekoma SLC) Fair to say that it is, seemingly, a different story to Towers' situation. ---- As for Towers getting fairground rides temporarily... Yeah, they need flat rides, and that's been a glaring problem for years now. If they only way they can get them is to bring in temporary additions to show there's demand for them, it speaks volumes about the situation the park, and Merlin, are in high up...

I believe that the park have got the budget to sort out the themed feature that housed the fireball. Of course, it's very unlikely that the fireball special effect itself will return. The gas lines had to be cut during Stealth's construction and to reroute them would be incredibly difficult. But the actual ball feature (whatever the name of it is) should make a reappearance. It's certainly fair to say they've done small improvements here and there. On a more blunt point, I think it's also fair to say that many of these have been done because they've needed to be done (ie: because Merlin's H&S deemed it necessary). Equally, there's been small changes with branding, some refreshed food and retails outlets and so forth. In my opinion these are things that most parks should look to do regularly, but it's sadly the case that Thorpe didn't always do that in the past. So it is good to see it's been a common theme in recent years.

Yes - that was the platform which held the theming piece which used to have the fireball effect (the very rusted, random ball). As said above, there's been some rumours going round suggesting it will be refurbished / replaced - be interesting to see what happens there! I'd image this is a very easy thing to move, and since it's not in the way, they've just left it there till they need to move it. Though I wonder if the thought of just leaving there has crossed their mind? It fits loosely enough with the Amity theme after all. (For the record, I hope it doesn't stay there as it would be too much of a random thing, but I guess weirder things have happened!)

Narrowing it down to 3 specific things was harder than I expected... 1. Flat Rides I might have grown off a few as I've enjoyed spinning rides less and less, and some are ageing, but Thorpe has one of the better flat ride selections at a European park imo. Detonator and Rush are obvious highlights here. 2. Fright Nights As others have said, it's not the best Halloween event out there, but it's easy to go and just get a kick out of it 3. The Connection Thorpe is a park I grew up with. It's the park that got me into theme parks and scare attractions in a wider context. Being able to grow up with them building a major coaster every 3 years and a big flat ride yearly was incredible and really captured the imagination. Things might not be like that now, but it's what got me hooked on this hobby, and I can't help but have that connection and fondness for the place.

Some more photos, from FOMO Coaster on Facebook, of the Mine Train:

Some nice drone footage of the park from this past weekend: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=skysurveyuk&set=a.255034999417922 In particular, this image shows some work taking place between the entrance arch and the security check in point: They've needed to properly sort out the entrance area for a long time, so one can only hope that they end up doing something good.

Here's the images in question: (Credit to Jack Silkstone for grabbing to Google Earth screenshots) Anyone who did Platform 15, especially when it was lighter or who looked over their shoulder, may have noticed this. I believe that there was a lot of a chopped up wood used for theming round the Creek Freaks Unchained scare zone last Fright Nights. Could well have been for that. In Jack's video, he says that staff said it was basically nothing. It's hard to imagine it being for anything because: 1. We haven't seen any planning permission (which they would likely needed for anything there) 2. Building a ride there would mean they lose a maze space for FN (which is at a premium these days) 3. I genuinely think that the Loggers site would be the most expensive to develop for a new thing So yeah, I expect it's for nothing exciting. But, have to say it's nice to see something, anything, happen at Thorpe these days...

With Ghost Train there's plenty of other factors though. -How has the IP contract been affected during Covid? If no sort of extensions have happened, we're surely nearing the end of the contract, and I can't imagine any party really being keen to extend it. So Covid would have effectively closed the ride earlier than planned. -What will the public's faith be in VR in a post-Covid world? -Will there be new cleaning procedures required for VR, and can the park feasibly implement them? Ultimately if its time is coming to an end, it's because of Covid. Sure, there's other factors which could contribute to the closure, but Covid will be the main reason.

Remember the floating train carriage piece of merch which had fans flocking with excitement just under 5 years ago? It's currently on sale at half price: https://shop.thorpepark.com/products/derren-browns-ghost-train-levitating-carriage (I'm sure loads of people know that when a park puts ride specific merch on offer it can be an early sign of a retheme or closure. That's just a coincidence, right........)

And it will only keep on getting bigger! This is the amount of land they have access to, and have mid-term plans to utilise: That's a rather old image from shortly after the park opened. Zadra, Aqualantis and the mine train extend that core part of the park leftwards, but not to the border. Another old (slightly outdated) image shows roughly some plans they have for expansion: The top left part of the image (not colourised) shows the park excluding the expansions of Zadra, Aqualantis and the mine train). Zadra, Aqualantis and the mine train are all in the highlighted red zone, but only cover about 60-70% of it. So after these two areas open, the park still has room to almost double its park size. And on top of that, they have the option to renovate a large part of the original park, which has a strong fairground vibe (and the park have said they acknowledge the need for it to improve in the future).

Abyssus and Aqualantis aren't even finished yet (theming-wise), bu their next coaster now stands completed: https://www.instagram.com/p/CL4Nnc3B3OB/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link There's still theming work to be done, and current reports suggest it will be themed to "Sweet Valley", whatever that will entail.. It's thought the original plan was for it to be part of the Dragon Zone Zadra lies in. Rumours point to a 2022 opening. Presumably because of the amount of theming it is to receive. Hard to know whether it's been pushed back because of the delays due to Covid, or whether that was the intention for a while. I'm thinking the former personally. Of course, Zadra was meant to open in 2020, but ended up opening in August 2019, so who knows with this crazy park...

Back open from the 12th: https://www.thorpepark.com/about-thorpe-park/coronavirus/ No word as yet about people who have Shark Cabins bookings. Current stance in what attractions may open: "Please note that some rides, indoor entertainment, actor led experiences, 4D cinemas or meet and greet entertainment may remain closed or have limited numbers when we do reopen. A full list of which rides and activities will be open or closed will be published and announced in due course once the Government regulations are published in full." Worth noting that Legoland have a list of rides opening, and those with indoor queues and stations, such as the Dragon, will not utilise indoor queues, and instead you will be batched at that point. Could be an...interesting system on the likes of Inferno and Saw at Thorpe. Passholders will have a new booking portal, which is coming soon.

About right for this time of year I'd say. Engineers have still been able to work during the Lockdown, and they've had a full closed season. If they were working on an optimistic schedule if being open to open in late March like normal, it would be around now that they would need to get rides staff in for training, etc., and so engineers would be doing their final tests. Noteworthy that Rush still has its top off. When it received major work in the past, it hasn't opened at the start of season. At the moment, I still don't expect it to be able to open on April 12th tbh.

As I'm sure everyone is aware, UK theme parks are set to be allowed to reopen from 12th April (assuming all goes to plan). However, the circumstances are slightly to different to when they reopened last July.. Last time, they were among the last things to reopen. Now, they're opening before indoor restaurants and indoor entertainment, and hotels. Obviously it means no indoor attractions (which is how the Merlin parks started out anyways last year). But it does raise some interesting questions: -How will the parks cope without the ability to offer indoor, sit down restaurants? Will that reflect the number of people they choose to let in? -What will the rules be for rides with indoor stations / that are partially indoors? See, for example, Smiler: will that be allowed to operate? If so, what conditions? -Being open is great, but how will some parks (Towers, Blackpool and Flamingo specifically) fare whilst hotels are closed? Whilst I doubt that these will impact the openings of the parks outright, I certainly think that that first month of opening will be different to how the parks felt last year. Again, take Towers as an example. If rides with indoor sections can't open, that affects Smiler, Th13teen and Galactica. Arguably Wickerman too. But then what of the likes of Nemesis and Oblivion, with their open, more shed-like stations? It's something which certainly could have a huge impact.

Vekoma are teasing something... https://www.instagram.com/p/CLKXsg0BKQo/ Energylandia have mentioned in the past their intention is open a new generation Vekoma Tilt Coaster in 2022, so it could very much be this. But equally, I wouldn't count out a random surprise park announcing some crazy new Vekoma outta nowhere.

Oh yeah, this is testing now. There's some videos about if you want to find them. But enjoy these pictures for now: https://www.facebook.com/walibibelgium/posts/10159130403846276

That POV really shows how much Colossus has changed. Obviously there's water in the cobra roll pit, but there's the inline twists too, where the Saw / Saw Alive land has been infilled, along with the concrete that's appeared around the bottom of the drop too. And yes, the person on the lift hill during operation of the ride is something which would no longer happen at a Merlin park. Those sorts of thing do still happen in parks (usually ones abroad), but in general, it's not something that happens much these days. Different times and all that

Haven't done Europa at all sadly I did do a Plopsaland-Walibi Belgium-Phantasialand-Walibi Holland trip a few years back though, yes (as well as many variations). Trouble I've always had with Europa using own car is justifying the distance, since it's harder to create a sensible loop that went back towards Calais/Dunkirk. Though it's certainly not impossible to do.

That's an interesting, quite spread out trip. I've never actually used public transport for any of those parks, because I've always been in a position that a hire car has been much more sensible. As Benin says, you really would need to look at a car for that trip. Toverland in particular isn't the easiest park to get to with public transport still. But a car is more valuable than just the convenience of getting to some of the more awkward parks. If you're planning on going from Phantasialand to Toverland for example, you have to come up with a plan to travel to a convenient location between the two, which is no easy thing. Either that, or you add in non-park days, but that then ups the cost of the trip. With a car it's much easier to get to the parks and break up the travel appropriately. But then if you hire a car in Germany, I don't know what the rule would be about returning it in Holland (you might be able to, but might be more expensive). And if you can't, that then changes the dynamic of the trip somewhat. If you're flexible with the parks, you do have other options where you could a similar number of parks that are closer together: -You could stick round Stuggart, maybe adding an extra day onto Europa and doing Tripsdrill as well as Holiday Park. -Or you could take off the Dutch parks and do Movie Park Germany instead. -Alternatively, cut Europa/Holiday Park and do Efteling and Movie Park instead. Some of those trips might be a bit more convenient if you want to avoid hiring a car. An out-there suggestion if you want to jump on the new-ride bandwagon would be to take your own car across the channel. You could do Plopsaland and Walibi Belgium, then also do Phantasialand and Netherlands. I've done similar trips to that before, and it's not significantly different to driving times you could potentially be looking at. You avoid the car hire/public transport issues, but obviously there's other issues that come up (insurance, how close you live to a channel crossing, etc). But something to think about if you haven't already! Obviously depends on what you want to do park-wise, but I do think the parks you have lined up at the moment might be a bit optimistic to do effectively, whilst also not breaking the bank.