JoshC.

I would absolutely love for them to effectively make a documentary about the experience. Whilst it has fallen flat and is a failed experiment, there's still a ton of thought, effort and work that went into it from a variety of different parties. Even just the designing of the experience, communicating what they were trying to accomplish would be interesting. Then seeing how it all works - a kind of grand reveal of how a magic trick works - could be great too. I'm sure a lot of people would be underwhelmed to see how it works, but it's still interesting all the same. I doubt we'll ever get anything that in depth. Even a longer video of how the ride system works feels like a stretch. But we can still dream.

Prior to launch in 2016, the park drew up a rough contingency plan for what would happen if the VR totally failed. And I mean totally failed. As in they got to a point where using VR was a complete impossibility, and they *had* to get the ride open. It was a rough plan, and I doubt the park ever would have truly considered it, but it effectively made use of planted actors (who would become 'infected' by the gases and turn crazy), the screens near the top of the carriages to communicate a story and a more 'live' experience in generally. As I say, and as far as I understand, this was very much a quick and rough plan drawn up in case absolutely everything failed, but wasn't exactly considered as a serious option. It would certainly be feasible for the park to implement something like this. It effectively just requires to hiring of extra actors and the writing of more scripts. Again though, I highly doubt the park actually would do this, especially given the feedback to the ride so far. Ghost Train was meant to have more effects that did not make it into the ride. Leg ticklers I believe were bought but never installed, for example. The point early on in the process where the windows were meant to be screens is another example. These things are much harder to solve and introduce retrospectively too. What does this means for Ghost Train's future though? I believe the Derren Brown IP contract is multiple years (6 I heard). Whether there's any break in the contract is anyone's guess. Obviously things like a global pandemic aren't top priorities to be talked about when drawing up contracts for IPs for rides. So it would be interesting to see what happens. But then, what do they do with the space? Do they totally gut it out and put something new inside? Transform the ride system into some form of immersive tunnel (which, with the ride system currently in place isn't impossible, but likely expensive)? Completely remove the whole thing? They *could* leave it SBNO and transform the inside for Fright Nights attractions, but again that's costly and also leaves a giant elephant in the room. Another potential issue: could there be a negative public reaction to the theme of the ride? If you piece and twist it together, it's all about a respiratory thing causing illness. In this day and age, I could see some people trying to twist it... In my opinion, it's very hard to see Ghost Train opening in the mid-term. Certainly not this year, even if the park reopens. If we work on the timeframe of no vaccine till autumn next year, it's hard to see it reopen next year. After that, the contract could be up. There's the more global problems as well about what this means for VR in the entertainment and leisure industry in general. But also, what about 3D rides? It's less of a problem as they've been around a lot longer and cleaning them is easier. But I still reckon many people will feel less comfortable wearing them. And it does mean parks have to be more careful and thorough washing them (and I'm sure there's plenty of parks who aren't..). That's going to be an interesting step for the industry. So yeah, tl;dr. I can't see Ghost Train reopening any time soon. A true reimagining of it will cost millions to do well. They're left with a giant elephant in the room which completely screws them up any way.

Not to be pedantic, but surely most rides in these eras had a lot of estimation? The powers of computer and simulations have come a long way, and I imagine many designers and manufacturers were using simpler models than we have today. Arrow might have been a more regular offender, but your comment here makes it out like they were significant worse than others, which perhaps isn't the fairest statement to make.

Hi Matt, for now you're just voting on these 8 match-ups, choosing which one of the tow you prefer in each case!

As one nonsense game ends, another emerges from the ashes! Let me introduce to you: The World Cup of Fright Nights Designed to see what the all-time favourite Fright Nights attraction is, this is a straight-up knock-out tournament featuring all 21 mazes, all 3 official scare zones, 2 shows, a couple of my favourite sets of roaming actors...and a couple of other variations to pad the numbers up to 32! How does it work? -Very easily! A tournament bracket has been set up (see below), which randomly assigned a number to all attractions, and paired them 1-32, 2-31, etc etc. These were then put into an order to decide how the tournament will progress. -Each match up will be decided by a vote. -To pad this out a bit, votes will only be open for half a round at each time (so, for example, in Round 1, the first set of votes will be for the first 8 match ups in Round 1, the next set for the next 8...) -To cast your vote, simply post your favourites for each match-up. -If you haven't done one/either of the attractions in a match-up, that's fine! Just vote for the one you think you'd have preferred / that you want to do the most. So, without further ado, introducing the bracket: The first set of votes if for the following match ups: 1. Terror at Amity High vs 32. Vulcan Peak 16. Studio 13 vs 17. Carnival of the Bizarre 8. Blair Witch (2017-present) vs 25. The Walking Dead: Sanctum 9. Screamplexx Cinema vs 24. The Freezer 4. The Curse vs 29. The Passing 13. You're Next roaming actors (2013) vs 20. 10th anniversary roaming actors (2011) 5. Cabin in the Woods vs 28. The Walking Dead: Do or Die 12. Big Top (2015) vs 21. Dead End The cast votes just post which one you think should progress, in a similar format to below (which is my set of votes): Terror at Amity High Studio 13 Blair Witch (2017-present) The Freezer The Passing 10th anniversary roaming actors Cabin in the Woods Big Top (2015) --- The first set of votes will finish Monday 20th April at 8pm, with the next set to open shortly after!

Here's a quote about the 11th attraction from the owner of Tulleys, who commented on a Facebook post made by Scare Tour re the 11th attraction: The idea for Wastelands Infirmary was for it to grow the Wastelands area; in particular, the entrance to the maze would have been where the ironmongers, etc were based (to the left of the area). The idea (in-story) being that those people were expanding the Wastelands area, and an Infirmary being what would next be needed to help with survival and whatnot. The drivethrough farm shop is probably earning them a little bit of money and keeping them occupied, but nowhere near the levels they'd normally be with the escape rooms. They very much had a long-term plan for the Wastelands area, which is why the invested so heavily in it last year. One can only hope for their sake's that they stay afloat, as I highly doubt they just had a spare £400k lying around to build that area willy-nilly. I agree it's a very precarious situation. At this stage, it is way to early to judge either way, given the situation changes daily (and even hourly). Tulleys standpoint of deciding at the start of August is a sensible one, and likely what many other events will be doing. The issues are, even if Halloween events do run: -How popular will they be (even if things do go well over the next couple of months, social distancing will still either be enforced or very prominent in people's minds) -What opportunities will there be for new attractions (the design and build time takes months for new attractions) -How profitable they will be (especially if restrictions on number of people in a park are in place) Halloween events could still occur with clever changes in my opinion. You'd more be looking at outdoor attractions, smaller groups and actors activating effects / scaring from a distance rather than getting in your face. If face masks are recommended or whatever, you could even push that into the story for an attraction or two. It would be difficult and I don't see many events being able to realistically pull it off (and I don't see many events trying to either), but it's possible. ScareTOUR already know of a few companies who have decided not to run their 2020 Halloween events, either because of health concerns or financial incapability. Bigger companies are worried about having to scale back. Others are still in limbo. It's a worrying time for the scare industry, but it could also lead to some interesting new creative ideas if things improve.

Finally...

It's good, but it aint Duel music is it Matt?

Yes, this one is great. Definitely my second favourite drone footage of a coaster, after Helix's one (which set the bar ridiculously high for these types of videos)

Groundwork is ongoing for next year's Intamin mega (images from RTL-TVI)... There's a possibility that not all of this land will be used for the Intamin, and instead that some of it will help open up the Western World area to introduce some of the new rides that had been previously mentioned (Twist n Splash and Gerstlauer Sky Fly). The owners of the Walibi group (and also Parc Asterix and Bellewaerde) Compagnie des Alpes have said that the coronavirus outbreak will inevitably affect their future plans, but (unsurprisingly) anything where contracts had been signed will still go ahead as planned as much as possible. As such, the Intamin mega should still go ahead for 2021. Any investments in any of their parks for 2020 are still happening. There's been no word either way, but it's expected that Asterix's launch coaster will still happen in 2022.

Farup Sommerland, Denmark, have released a POV on their new Vekoma Junior Boomerang. This is one of the first 'stretched out' layouts of these boomerangs, along with Volldampf at Tripsdrill: This is also the same layout as the new Boomerang going to Energylandia, which will open in the Aqualantis zone. That one will seemingly feature a splashdown, being the first Boomerang to feature one.

MOD POWER. To try and bring this nonsense to an end and stop people moaning about how long it's taking, I'm activating my special mod power and TAKING 2 POINTS OFF EVERY RIDE PERMANENTLY. This means that whenever a round is reset, all points go to 3. This means the leaderboard is as follows: Depth Charge (3)Detonator: Bomb's Away (3)Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride (2)Nemesis Inferno (3)Quantum (4)Rumba Rapids (3)Rush (4)Samurai (3)Saw - The Ride (3)Stealth (3)Storm in a Teacup (3)The Swarm (3)The Walking Dead - The Ride (1)Tidal Wave (3)Vortex (4) I then use my turn (since mod power does not count as a turn) to regrettably kill off Walking Dead: Depth Charge (3)Detonator: Bomb's Away (3)Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride (3)Nemesis Inferno (3)Quantum (4)Rumba Rapids (3)Rush (4)Samurai (3)Saw - The Ride (3)Stealth (3)Storm in a Teacup (3)The Swarm (3)The Walking Dead - The Ride (0)Tidal Wave (3)Vortex (4) Monkey's + Walking Dead - And so we reset: Depth Charge (3)Detonator: Bomb's Away (3)Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride (3)Nemesis Inferno (3)Quantum (3)Rumba Rapids (3)Rush (3)Samurai (3)Saw - The Ride (3)Stealth (3)Storm in a Teacup (3)The Swarm (3)Tidal Wave (3)Vortex (3) Play nice everyone 😊 Kinda difficult to talk about a place that is closed with no sign of reopening any time soon. Rest assured the team behind TPM are aware the forum is quiet, but until we get even a whisper of anything happening with theme parks reopening, there's little we can do realistically do to liven things up. That being said, we have some ideas, so watch this space. Also keep an eye on our social media pages for fun things!

Playing along with the game, if you're an American there's a mix if you want to do the quality that Europe has to offer, the uniqueness of some attractions and then some weird European things. I'll try and avoid most hypers given to an American, they'll probably just be seen as 'smaller than our stuff'.. Quality Attractions Taron, Phantasialand Taiga, Linnanmaki Untamed, Walibi Holland Helix, Liseberg Nemesis, Alton Towers Lech Coaster, Legendia Black Mamba, Phantasialand Balder, Liseberg Fluch von Novogrod, Hansa Park Troy, Toverland Don't think any of these need any explanation. More Unique Attractions Pulsar, Walibi Belgium. One opening in America this year (Covid-pending), but the original and damn good. Lost Gravity, Walibi Holland. There's another one in Germany, but again, the original and damn good. Vliegende Hollander (aka Flying Dutchman), Efteling. The perfect coaster to capture Efteling's charm, and everyone needs to experience Efteling's charm. Van Helsing's Factory, Movie Park Germany. Not the best, but really damn good fun and - for an American - shows that size doesn't matter. Karnan, Hansa Park. If you know, you know. If you don't, don't look into it. Arthur, Europa Park. Not totally unique, but not in America, and like with Dutchman at Efteling, it captures Europa Park's charm, which should be experienced. Juvelen, Djurs Sommerland. Again, not unique, but from what I hear, damn good fun and something different. Weird European Attractions K2, Karls-Erlebnis Dorf Elstal. This is just a really fun ride with a weird and wacky dark ride section which shows some of the weird surprises European parks can throw up. Tranan, Skara Sommarland. World's only S&S Free Fly. Haven't done it, heard it's a bit naff, but looks quirky, and one to add to the list. Rodelbaan, De Waarbeek. World's oldest steel coaster. If you're an American roller coaster person doing a trip with no limitations, you should chuck it in for the bragging rights if nothing else.

Work is still ongoing at Rookburgh, despite the current situation. A front-facing look at the hotel entrance: The rust-look had grown on me, but now, I'm not so sure. Also, the 4th (and presumably final) train arrived on site this past week.

If we ever get another day at Thorpe, looks like we'll get to see some drones!

In the longest delay yet, Legoland New York are now planning to open in 2021, rather than July 4th 2020:

Nice! This is wildly off-topic but oh well: have you considered trying to do the original Duel music? Would love to see your take on that if you have the chance!

Not sure how appropriate it is to post this, but feel it deserves a mention.. Any stock that Thorpe Park had bought that they expected to use during the time they're closed has been donated to the NHS. No doubt plenty of other parks and companies are doing similar if possible, but it's great to see all the same.

As is the case with all parks that offer Annual Passes, Merlin are extending the validity of all passes appropriately: https://www.merlinannualpass.co.uk/coronavirus Effectively, if the attractions are closed for up to 1 month, you get 1 month added on, up to 2 months, 2 months added on, etc. Only goes up to 3 months, so presumably if the closures end up being longer, there could be other options.

As a PhD student, life goes on as a normal, except instead of going into the office to work, I work from home most days (I'll likely need to pop in once a week to print stuff off, use more powerful computers, etc). My part time job on the side isn't classed as key work so it means I'm losing out on extra money, but with parks closed and me travelling less, it's not exactly like I need it. I guess in theory I could get a temp contract at a supermarket, but frankly there's people in much worse situations than me who no doubt would appreciate the extra hours more than me. I haven't had to self-isolate yet, but when that time comes around (I fully expect the majority of the population will end up having to self-isolate at one point sooner or later), I'll still be able to work, but will probably ease off that for a bit, spend a bit of time finally ticking off stuff on my Netflix watch list (I've already managed to watch the entirety of Stranger Things!), and a couple of random projects. Fun times.

On a separate, coronavirus-related, on topic point: Paultons Park today contacted Coaster Force, asking them to postpone their planned meet which was due to take place in early June, as the park "do not expect to be open at that point". Shows how much uncertain, long-term planning we are in for with parks.

The key point is the 'on average, over a 17 week period'. Most businesses in the customer service industry acknowledge that some stuff will work more than 48 hours per week at peak periods. Peak periods very rarely last more than a couple of weeks for more businesses though, so whilst you may end up working 50 hours a week for s couple of weeks, after that you'll end up back down to your standard contracted hours, or less to make up for it. In contracts for Merlin at least, the standard is that you accept you may occasionally work more than 48 hours a week, but it will be sorted so that you won't work more than that on average over any 17 week period (ie - you'll never do more than 816 hours of work over 17 weeks). You can choose to opt out of that if you want. I don't think there's any 4 month period at Thorpe, or any Merlin attraction, where any front line worker would be expected to work over 48 hours every week. They're simply not THAT busy.

Plenty of people work over the maximum (especially within the theme park industry), but you can't be contracted to work more than 48 hours per work / work more than 48 hours per week on average over any given 17 week period. Working hours is something Merlin has to be very hot on. (Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. Working at a theme park is not one of them)

Not doubting the fact they may have been put on a zero hour contract, but given the legal maximum in the UK for working hours per week is 48, I think they might be overexaggerating their initial contract just a smidge....

Personally I'm expecting an announcement tonight or tomorrow morning saying that Merlin will close all their attractions from Saturday morning onwards. Just not enough people to justify the hassle and money they're spending to run the attractions.