JoshC.

It's a really curious model. I'd personally be very surprised if it is the equivalent of a multi-launch: with Intamin, Mack, Vekoma and Premier all offering multi launch rides, along with Gerstlauer and S&S offering swing launch models, it's already a saturated market. It feels unnecessary, and potentially risky, for a park to approach B&M to do one when they have so little experience with launches, and would be an odd, out-there choice for B&M to start developing. But then, what else could be they developing? The 'surf' naming feels more like something akin to a swing launch, but then the same reasoning as before: why would B&M get in that game now? Obviously I could be way off base, but I feel like this is could be more than just a launch coaster.

Very crude numbers, but does put it into perspective - thanks. I'm sure capacity will increase and things will change, but I do think Thorpe would do very well to get 500k visitors this year. And regardless of what they actually have been getting in the past, that's a massive step down. It'll be interesting to see what Merlin, and parks generally, do to react to this. There's so many variables, but it could mean we see a boom in staycations, which will only benefit the UK parks (as seen in the late 00s and early 10s). Or it could lead to more people holidaying abroad - taking the opportunity because they can, which could really hit their resort/hotel strategy. In either case though, I think that gives Merlin grounds to invest. A boom in visitors is great, and gives them confidence to keep money going in, and a big new investment helps retain those people (hopefully they learnt from past mistakes). A continued decrease in visitors is a kick up the backside to making them invest in something big and new to get people's attentions back. Obviously that's a very simplistic look at it. But I wouldn't discount a major investment coming sooner rather than later.

These recently opened up! Hals-über-Kopf (Suspended Thrill Coaster) POV: Volldampf (Vekoma Boomerang) POV: And a lovely promo video from the park: The noticeable thing is that the HuK station is yet to be themed, and is just a set of concrete slabs. That theming is coming in 2021: The theming for the Volldampf station is complete though. I haven't found a good photo of it, but if you look at the videos, you'll see how it looks pretty damn good. It's a shame they couldn't do all the theming at once, and I make it no secret I hate it when parks do that. But at the same time, I get why it's done. A necessary evil I guess. Personally as well, I'm not sold on the rides: Volldampf looks to be the weakest Boomerang out there, and I'm just not sure on the STC yet (and reviews I've read have been mixed). In saying that though, the total investment is an absolute winner for the park, and once the theming is finished, will be a fantastic extension for the place.

Remember this is a thing? Photo from a couple of weeks ago: Source Still a lot of painting to do (you can make out the silver-grey between the two corkscrews, and that still appears to be all that's done). It's a real shame as looking at it from this angle, the red/yellow scheme works really well in the location. Some rumours suggest an August opening, but whether that was pre-Covid is anyone's guess. So yeah, this will open at some point.

Well it looks like a lot of Dutch / Efteling fansites would fit in here, because they were very critical of M+M... So there we go guys - Max and Moritz would be great at the likes of Phantasialand, Toyko DisneySea and anywhere else in the world. But not Efteling. Another hated point of the ride is the fact that you can see the shed that houses the park's 4D film: Source: Looopings Trees have been planted and will of course end up hiding them. Bob of course had quite a lot of dense trees and shrubbery hiding it, but they had to be removed for construction. And funnily enough, you can't just plant a huge set of fully grown trees... Enthusiasts - can't please them... In other news, it's also believed that Efteling are temporarily not using the scent cannons, which are featured in the likes of Droomvulcht and Fata Morgana, to help cut back on costs following their closure. Personally I've never really strongly noticed the smells, but I do wonder if it's because they're subtle, and it's more a thing that's noticeable when they're not there..

IMAScore and Alton Towers are releasing a CD! No hard date for release yet, but it will start as an exclusive within Alton Towers, before also being available on IMAScore's website (slightly different to the Thorpe CD, which is just available through IMAScore).

After much back and forth, the park have finally got permission to build the two new rides. The issue? They won't open till 2023... https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=4188849437822675&id=184031211637871

Certainly a lot of challenges. I honestly can't envision any sort of normal Fright Nights happening. Even if they create attractions where it's possible for social distancing to be observed, those sorts of attractions would be very different. I still expect *something* to happen, because Fright Nights is always the most popular time of year for the park by far, and they'll want to cash in on it however they can. But what exactly depends on how creative the park choose to be.

I don't get their decision to keep Ultimate closed frankly, unless there's a further reason behind it. I had been considering a visit later in the year as a result of Covid, but it's difficult to justify with those closed rides. Lightwater certainly feels like one of those 'damned either way' parks. Stay closed much longer and the lack of income quite easily could have meant they'd be calling in the administrators. Open up and they're still going to struggle anyways. Opening up as they are and it makes you wonder if there is actually much point in opening at all...

The Thorpe Breaks website is updated separately usually- and in the past has usually updated some details before the main website. Presumably the main site will update over the coming days with some form of contact done shortly after. I'd guess it's treated as a lower priority for them to sort out at this point though.

Powerpark's new Gerstlauer has a name, Pitts Special, and it opens this afternoon: (For those curious / unaware, Pitts Special is a type of aerobatic plane, which is going to be the light style for the ride...though don't expect any real theming)

You mean it's almost July and we don't have a Fright Nights thread? What's going on?! (what do you mean there's a pandemic??) Following yesterday's updates about theme parks being allowed to reopen, the Thorpe Breaks website tweaked the Fright Nights information: Originally, Fright Nights had been planned to start October 3rd, but that's now been pushed back by 2 weeks. Obviously the very idea of scare attractions in the traditional sense this Halloween is still very much up for debate right now. There's plenty of smaller events which are debating about running at all. Many are thinking of drastic changes. I wouldn't read into any descriptions yet as these almost always end up as placeholders, but it will be interesting to see what the park have planned up their sleeve.

Standard Annual Passholders can get anyone into Thorpe for £27.50: https://www.thorpepark.com/?promocode=mapff/ It's no longer branded as 'Share the Fun'. The Season Pass thing is an interesting one. In the current climate, it may make more people buy them, especially if people don't holiday abroad / they decide to go to visitor attractions more often. But yeah, equally could mean less people buy them. Bit of an unknown at this stage. The Season Pass always has the same problem in that it becomes less lucrative the later into the season you buy it. But even with all the discounts available and whatever, if you're planning on visiting the park twice during the season, the chances are it does work out better to buy one.

Drayton Manor's phased opening approach is as follows... So, from 4th July-17th July, the following will be available: Thomas Land Carousel Jolly Buccaneer Accelerator Flying Dutchman Zoo From 18th July, the following will be available: Thomas Land Carousel Jolly Buccaneer Accelerator Flying Dutchman Zoo The Bounty Maelstrom Air Race Shockwave Polperro Express Buffalo Coaster Pandemonium Apocalypse Drunken Barrels Sheriff’s Showdown The following are closed until further notice due to COVID restrictions: Dodgems The Haunting Emily’s Adventure Play 4D Cinema Bryan’s Museum Thomas Exhibition Spencer’s Outdoor Adventure Play Stormforce 10 Terrence’s Driving School Tiny Tots Play in the Zoo Farm Reptile House Zoo Experiences Meerkat House https://www.draytonmanor.co.uk/tickets-and-prices/rides-20201 The park is also making masks mandatory everywhere I believe.

I mean, she wasn't really wearing it properly, so it was bound to fall. But it raises a great point of how many people actually know how to wear one properly, as you say. From what I've seen at parks across Europe, and from people I've spoken to, you can easily wear masks on rides and have them stay in place the entire time. And let's not forget people have done this in Asia before coronavirus anyways. It's not something that any park could really do. To commission such a study would be very expensive. It would be difficult to find people who could do this (ie - are properly qualified to give an opinion and conduct any research) as well as people who would (anyone who could would likely be putting their efforts into something which has wider appeal / more useful to the public). Also, such a study would be insanely difficult. People are less likely to cough or sneeze whilst a roller coaster is in motion, so that means you need to focus on studying people's screams and breathing. It's less known how droplets spread during these situation, as generally speaking there's less droplets and they're less regularly spread out. You then need to take into account the speed of a ride, direction of travel, etc. As these things are ever-changing, it means you have to do millions more calculations compared to, say, how you'd model it for someone riding a bike. As a result, any study that could be conducted would likely just reaffirm the benefits of wearing a mask (in that it would use the same ideas as in any other study of motion, from riding a bike to standing still), and demonstrate how a suitably fitted mask can stay on whilst riding a ride. And why bother with a study to show that?

The park have said that Hex, Duel and the Dungeons will not be open when the park reopens. The closures of Hex and Duel are massive hits in my opinion. It really dents the number of rides available to the older audience. Perhaps a slightly 'spoilt' viewpoint to say "I can only go on these 9 coasters and some smaller rides", but it really does highlight the need for a couple more filler rides at the park imo

Ah yes, Thorpe Park with it's 5 large roller coasters, 1 family roller coaster, 4 water rides and one of the best selections of thrill rides in the UK (and arguably Europe) offers the least out of the 4 Merlin parks. Sure, they haven't added anything *new* in a while (which is bad), but they still have a very solid selection of rides. I think people overlook that sometimes. Let's face it, the price could be £60 and the first day would still likely have sold out. People are pent up. People want to go out. They'll pay above and beyond to do that. When things balance out after a couple of weeks we can start judging if the demand is there. There's certainly some understandable logic in the whole "we're having to reduce the number of people who visit, so we have to increase the price". The issue comes when seemingly Thorpe are the only ones to do have done this. Also, with a higher price comes higher expectations. Coronavirus will impact people's days in a variety of ways, but if the park can't offer the best possible experience in the situation, paying such a high price can lead to people thinking 'Well it wasn't worth it'. How any company pitches itself over the next few weeks and months could affect their reputation for years to come.

Thorpe's online price is more expensive than Paultons and Blackpool. So it's not debatable - they are the theme park with the most expensive online ticket. This is an online ticket at a time when online pre-booking will be pushed more than ever, perhaps even be essential. So regardless of what percentage of people bought those tickets beforehand, that percentage will be increasing. It may be part of a bigger push on buying season / annual passes, but it doesn't stop the price being high in its own right. Weird to compare a theme park price to a gig price? Sure, there's some similarities, but they're both very different markets. When you look across parks in Europe, £39 is at the premium end of theme parks. And whilst, in fairness, the ride hardware on offer at Thorpe is pretty premium, is the overall experience a premium one? Arguably not. Looking at these differences (for adults only, I think it's crazy that child prices aren't cheaper tbh) is really interesting. Legoland and Chessington are pitched just right, and even Towers' I can accept. But Thorpe's is the one that's off base here. It just doesn't fit. Unless the other parks are increasing their prices too and Thorpe are ahead of the game, it just feels off.

Yes, this will be it. It's an unfortunate side effect of having the bridge. Ideally they'd create some sort of tunnel feature so it feels like a natural way of hiding it. The hedge thing looks fine in its own right, but awkward in context imo. I'm all for the brighter / fun push. It does look good. But as you say, it is a complete u-turn to what they've done in the past. Let's hope they actually stick with it, instead of doing another u-turn 2-3 years down the line. As for the video, which focuses primarily on the new commercial stuff.. Russ is clearly someone who has his head screwed on, and there's definitely some positives. Some things he mentions: -They've reviewed food prices, and reduced about a quarter of their prices compared to last year -More than quadrupled their vegetarian and vegan offering -Introducing more alcohol offering -Karaoke available for hotel guests in the evening (though likely postponed till next year) -The park want to eliminate single plastic usage by 2021 KFC and Burger King are here to stay for quite a while too by the sounds of the video.. Now some screenshots from the video A look at the Infinity Bar and Kitchen, the rebrand of Fin's The bland dome signage sadly continues. The inside looks nice enough, but again bland. Interestingly in the video, Russ says the park want to create units which feel like they belong in each area of the park, yet I think this looks exactly like something out of the highstreet? Quite standard and bland. The feel is a step down from Fin's imo. Cantina, which replaces Crust and will be run by the park: This looks nice, and will serve rice and pasta dishes A new vegetarian and vegan only place near Ghost Train This will be run by a third-party. I hope to god that the signage improves the look of this, because it looks bloody awful right now. New Megastore sign: The inside matches that sort of style too And, as mentioned above, an unbranded Teacups: There's other refreshes around the park in other units too. There's definitely some nice touches and refreshes around the park. The dome feels like a glaring problem, which is a shame since it is such a focal point. Perhaps my expectation are a bit high in that these sorts of things should be done yearly anyway, but it is nice to see all the same. As I said earlier, one can only hope that the branding direction they're stepping into they don't drop in a couple of years time. And, also, it'd be nice if there was some further direction with the developing the park itself, but that's another story...

Winter Wonderland has grown tremendously over the years, and a big part of that has been the increase in the theme park / attraction side of things. There's a reason why Olympia Looping, one of, if not, the, most famous travelling rides in the world, comes every year. And it's the only place outside of the official Oktoberfest setting where it uses 7 car trains. That's not just because of "a few enthusiasts". WW works well because it has everything - the rides, the beer tents, the music, the market stalls and everything else. Take away any one of those things and it won't be as popular as it is. Also, 2.5m people every year aren't flocking all the way to Hyde Park to drink in a tent.

Legoland have listed rides which will not reopen when the park reopens: https://www.legoland.co.uk/explore/theme-park/rides-attractions/ The following are listed as "currently closed": -Sky Rider -Deep Sea Adventure (the refurbished Atlantis) -Laser Raiders -Scarab Bouncers -Play areas, including Lego Reef, Model Making Studio, Games Zone and more These are all listed as such to aid social distancing. The following are listed as "returning in 2021": -Haunted House Monster Party -Squid Surfer -Dragon's Apprentice Monster Party is listed as such to aid social distancing. Squid Surfer and Apprentice are closed "for refurbishment". Squid Surfer is going to be integrated into the new land for 2021 (assuming there's been no delays to that), whilst I understand Apprentice is closed for other reasons. Those closed rides are a big chunk of the park, especially since many of them are in the same part of the park.

A further look at the Taron clone, which does look impressive: https://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNDcxMjQ2NDU4OA==.html

https://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=83&artikel=7500295 Swedish parks are still not exempt from the "no crowds larger than 50" rule, meaning parks still don't have a date for reopening. Zoos are exempt from this rule and can still open - in particular, Kolmarden, including Wildfire, have been able to remain open because of this rule. EDIT: Skara Sommarland have said they will be closed all year. https://www.sommarland.se/information

Maybe I'm playing devil's advocate a bit here, so forgive me if I am, or if I'm just over-simplifying the problem, but.. Would parks not more or less be the in same place they were in March, assuming all staff come back? The parks were either already open, or a couple of days away from opening. They should have already been in a position to have all rides open. If they're not in that position post-Covid, is the over-arching uncertainty of whether they can reopen and when they can get staff in the heart of the problem? I know that staff will need the time to readjust to operating rides (I've heard rumours they're looking at tweaking the rules to suit the situation re. how often you should work the ride to be certified to work on it) and need to get used to new procedures, but these things can be turned around quickly. Obviously in an ideal world there'd be a lot more time though. I don't have much experience or knowledge when it comes to all this, so there's every chance I'm over-simplifying. And ultimately I feel for all the staff on the front line and those immediately above them, who will be bearing the brunt of the pressure. I don't want to downplay that.

This depends on how it's handled up to that point by Merlin. Companies will have ideas of what is going on. Many within the entertainment and leisure will have their own liaisons with the government which are giving them further advice. Whilst no one can know exactly what is going to happen, a clever company would be open with staff and relay conditional plans to them. Or they would gauge staff opinion on how much notice they would need to start work again. They have to make the best out of the situation with the information they have. If on Thursday they're told they're definitely allowed to open on the 4th, they could probably get training underway from Saturday (even Friday afternoon if they pushed it) if they've been smart with it up to now in my opinion. It's not necessarily retraining though, it is more refreshing. It depends on their stance of how to go about it, and how comfortable staff feel, but they could do it in a short period. One could argue that theme parks shot themselves in the foot by announcing so early their intention to reopen on July 4th with no concrete idea of when they could get staff back in. I guess, equally, you could say they were given the impression they could manage it appropriately from the government and they want to reopen as soon as possible. It's a six of one, half a dozen of another sort of situation there.