JoshC.

I've seen a few people mention it, but my comment specifically came because you said: And I put 2 and 2 together and thought you were saying because it hasn't had a themed area introduced since 2000, it's an amusement park. Got 5 instead though! True - and exactly my point! Efteling is themed extraordinarily, but (outside of the Fairytale Forest) there's no cohesively themed areas. And that circles back to the point I thought you were making that theme park = themed areas, and Efteling is the perfect counterexample to that idea.

Frankly it's impossible to see it - or any VR attraction - operating for the foreseeable future, so yes, it will be SBNO. After the Derren contract is up, who knows, but there's no such thing as being to young/new to be SBNO.

I don't buy the whole 'a park has to have themed areas to be a theme park'. If you work with that logic, then you have to call Efteling an "amusement park" instead of a "theme park", which does a great disservice to Efteling. These two terms aren't enough to encapsulate all types of parks in the world. More importantly though, does it matter? Whether it's a theme park or an amusement park, their core purpose is to have rides which people will enjoy. Both of those types of parks will know that some rides need to have theming to enhance their enjoyment, whilst some rides don't need theming to enhance their enjoyment. So in my opinion, it doesn't matter whether a park is one or the other, they'll do what's right. The likes of Swarm and Walking Dead are improved because of their theming. Stealth and Colossus probably wouldn't benefit much more if they had higher levels of theming. Sure, if Thorpe wanted to fully focus on being Disney/Phantasialand level of immersion they'd focus on rides which are improved when themed, but for a park like Thorpe, I really don't think it matters what they call themselves.

I think the investment needs to be taken with a bit of context. Thorpe do have a decent range of coasters for a park of their size. Not perfect, and in this day, not as varied as others, but still decent. Around 2014 (when planning for Ghost Train was in full swing), plenty of people were crying out for something different. And Thorpe needed a dark ride. It was still a huge risk to opt for a dark ride over a coaster, and one that in hindsight really hasn't paid off. But at the same time, when this was announced and being constructed, the overwhelming majority thought it was a good idea. The issue isn't that Thorpe didn't build a coaster, the issue is that they built the wrong dark ride.

Fantawild parks in China are reopening, with social distancing guidelines in place. As seen here, one person per row in alternating seats for 2 per row trains: Shanghai Disneyland is preparing to fully reopen too, again with social distancing. Here we can see some of their - frankly confusing - measures:

The layout is done and theming is continuing. In this photo you can also see the completed Disko: (photo by Mirek Stecyk)

And with that, Round 1 is complete. Winners are: Big Top (2016-2017) The Walking Dead: Living Nightmare Freakshow 3D Experiment 10 Creek Freak Massacre The Asylum Se7en Saw Alive So an updated bracket: Round 2 has some interesting line ups! Next will be be the first 4 matches of Round 2 (again, to pad this slow moving game out a bit during Lockdown...): 1. Terror at Amity High vs 16. Studio 13 8. Blair Witch (2018-present) vs 24. The Freezer 4. The Curse vs 20. 10th anniversary roaming actors 5. Cabin in the Woods vs 12. Big Top (2015) Voting will finish at 8am on Saturday 25th April (Saturday morning) And without further ado, my votes: Studio 13 Blair Witch (2018-present) 10th anniversary roaming actors Cabin in the Woods

Yeah, I get what you're saying. My point with Chessington and money is that if Merlin choose to do so, they can splash out on marketing more. At this point it's impossible to say of course, but Chessington could benefit from a wider Merlin marketing push when parks reopen compared to Paultons, who have less chance to access that. I can't really think of a good word to describe my thoughts on the situation. I'm not 'concerned' because I don't think Paultons will suffer. But assuming Chessington do open their drop tower on time next year, it feels like there's potential for that to have an impact on Paultons' development.

My concern, for lack of a better word, with it being pushed back to 2021 is that it now creates a further competition with them and Chessington, with their drop tower. I know Chessington is just getting a drop tower (and maybe tarting up Forbidden Kingdom a bit more to go along with it) compared to Paultons whole new area, but Chessington have the brand and the ability to access much more money. Along with the pull of a Merlin Annual Pass, it does leave a potential uphill battle for Paultons. Sure, they've got the better investment for that year, but that doesn't always translate. I'm sure Paultons can cope, and I'm sure they're clever enough to be able to still be successful with the launch, but there's no denying that opening in 2021 adds another, large, challenge to the project once its opened.

Paultons are delaying the opening of Torando Springs until 2021. Big hit for the park :/

Volldampf has completed its first test run. Also an excerpt of the music too:

A few concept arts / early sketches for Fenix have been shared by Peter van Holsteijn, Toverland's chief designer. An early sketch had seen plans for an Inverted coaster instead of a wing. (Images sourced via that Dutch website with 3 o's)

And Set 1 is finished. Winners and advancing to the next round: Terror at Amity High Studio 13 Blair Witch (2017-present) The Freezer The Curse 10th Anniversary Roaming Actors Cabin in the Woods Big Top (2015) --- Next set of 8 in Round 1 is: 2. Platform 15 (2017-present) vs 31. Big Top (2016-2017) 15. The Big Top Showtime vs 18. The Walking Dead: Living Nightmare 7. Blair Witch Project (2013-2016) vs 26. Freakshow 3D 10. Experiment 10 vs 23. Hellgate 3. Creek Freak Massacre vs 30. My Bloody Valentine 14. Containment vs 19. The Asylum 6. Se7en vs 27. Platform 15 (2016) 11. Dead Creek Woods vs 22. Saw Alive And I'll cast my votes now: Big Top The Big Top Showtime Freakshow 3D Experiment 10 Creek Freak Massacre Containment Se7en Saw Alive Voting will finish Thursday 23rd April at 8am (Thursday morning)

The issue is, being tied up is a great - and easy - way of turning up the intensity of an attraction. Restricting movement, going to the next stage of the touch barrier, etc. It all works, and a large quantity of intense scare attractions do it. I think the challenge that faced Thorpe was that it hit a slightly wider audience than it should. Particularly theme park enthusiasts and the like. When many people get introduced to extreme experiences, they never know what to expect. So when a large number of people experienced the 2015 iterations, it gave a very specific idea of what extreme attractions were and what they could do. Unlike in 2013 and 2014, when people stuck to the encouraged 'don't tell anyone about the experience', plenty of people were online saying "I did Face it Alone, I had x, y, z done to me". This then led to people wanting x,y,z done to them, and going so far as asking for requests. And from there it's a slippery slope.. For now, Chessington's Creepy Caves After Dark is probably bang on the money for what should be offered for people wanting a mainstream extreme experience. I sadly didn't get the chance to do it, but from what I've heard, it ticks all the right boxes. Hopefully it sticks around. But again, like with Face it Alone, there was a small team that was very dedicated to getting it just right, and worked extremely hard in doing so. Clinic at Walibi Holland is a very isolated case and I don't think it could ever happen in any other theme park. The staffing levels required for it are insane to start off with - I'm fairly certain that one person will interact with about 20 actors during their alone experience. And I'm sure there's more actors too. They then have people operating and overseeing the experience (effectively like hosts and operators on a ride), etc. And because of the type of attraction it is and the scares needed, you need a strong cast to do it. From what I hear too, last year's event still had quite a few actors who were there in its first year, and every year since. That's something which is less and less common for many Halloween events. Walibi Holland has built a huge name for itself in its Halloween event and pumps an insane amount of money into it. They can afford a ton of actors, and there's not enough local competition that they risk losing seasonal actors, which means they can risk investing in training them more. Somewhere like Thorpe has a higher staff turnover when it comes to actors (though a lot still do return year-on-year in fairness) thanks to higher local competition for actors, and other factors. They also don't have as strong a name built for themselves compared to even the like of Tulleys, so more talented people are tempted by them for example. So it would be a huge risk for Thorpe to introduce something even vaguely like Clinic. Don't get me wrong, something like that would be great for Thorpe and I'd love to see it. But I don't see it happening. An in-hours alone experience could be similar to Containment, no? Market it as what it is, have it as a ticketed attraction, etc. Plenty of people would just brush it off, and enough people would be interested by it. Make it a premium product and charge a premium price and it'll be fine as long as it's not at the expense of a normal attraction. The issue at Thorpe is they wouldn't have the resources available to make it a premium alone experience.

An interesting question with a few answers. First off, to answer you concern: it was nothing to do with it being "too extreme". There wasn't enough serious complaints from guests who did it to warrant its removal. Frankly, I don't even know if there were any complaints - everyone knew what they were getting themselves in for. These sorts of experiences have a niche market (albeit, Thorpe and Towers' alone experiences expanded and simultaneously watered-down the niche). A short answer: There wasn't a strong enough drive internally to get it to come back. Devising the experience takes time (it wasn't simply "actors do whatever they want"), and there was no one who was in a position (in terms of the time-commitment required) to create it. There had been some backlash from actors about the experience who didn't feel comfortable doing it (something I'll go into later), plus it could add another hour onto an already very long day, where they have to work 10x harder. Those two together meant it just wouldn't get off the ground. A long answer: Less of an answer, and more of a story.. Face it Alone came about in 2013, with the park trying to diversify their line up and really focus on becoming a bigger, better and more unique Halloween event. The Lionsgate IP bought in the brands and the interest, completely refreshing the concept of Fright Nights. They tried new maze concepts: choices (Cabin in the Woods) and outdoors (Blair Witch Project). They introduced a (sadly poorly received) overnight experience, which was trendy at the time, and pushed forward with the Face it Alone: an extreme and an alone experience in one; again something which was trending and on the up in the scare industry at the time. For anyone that did it in 2013, you'll no doubt know that every experience was different. The actors were given a scope of things they could do, boundaries they could push and ideas they could toy with. It was free-reign, but it gave the actors a much freer realm to work in. Another important thing to note is that Face it Alone wasn't particularly popular in 2013. People were unsure what exactly it was, whether it was worth the £15, etc. You could also choose which maze to experience. Which all in all meant it was easier to organise, give a personal touch, etc. When 2014 came along, the experience changed somewhat. Whilst it was still 'extreme', the actors stuck to much stricter roles. Basically, actor 1 did x to you, actor 2 did y to you, etc. By no means a bad thing (if planned correctly, this can be a very good thing), just different. Again, this year you could choose your own maze and, whilst it had gained popularity, it was still pretty calm. 2015 is when everything changed, and was arguably the beginning of the end. Face it Alone became a much bigger spectacle. Gone were the days of choosing your own maze, and it was instead replaced with the Roulette Ceremony by Big Top. A great idea in fairness, and one that many enjoyed. This meant it garnered more attention and became much more popular, and went outside of the niche. Already teetering on the edge here. 2015 did go back to 2013's free realm style too. There were clearly things that certain actors had to do at certain points to progress you through the experience, but in between actors had a very large scope of what they could do. The next thing with 2015 was the overt sexualisation of the experiences. It's probably not suitable to discuss the details on a public forum, but many things done within the experiences weren't scare tactics, they were simply there sexualised things made to make people feel uncomfortable, humiliated and uncertain. This was the first year that a safe word was introduced too. Safe words do appear in many extreme attractions, but I don't think it's a coincidence that a safe word appeared at the same time the sexualised content of Face it Alone occurred. This was a completely different direction to what had happened before. Whilst Face it Alone may have featured things like nudity/being tied up/etc - ie things that COULD be sexualised - they never WERE. By doing so, it adds a very different tone. And this tone meant that people were enjoying these experiences in a very different way. There were plenty of times that people within Face it Alone experiences were asking for certain things to be done to them so that they could 'get their money's worth' and be satisfied with the experience. These sorts of things had happened in previous years, but not to the degree they had happened in 2015. This, unsurprisingly, led to some actors being rather uncomfortable with the experience. Come 2016, things had been toned down again. It went back more to 2014's "carbon copy" style experience. Originally it led to some complaints that it wasn't as extreme. I think one issue was that the 2015 version of Face it Alone had created a following of people who hadn't experienced extreme attractions outside of Face it Alone, so they had a very set idea of what should happen. When this didn't happen, it lead to that sort of backlash. Getting the balancing act right likely proved hard. And yet there were still people asking for certain things to be done to them, etc. Then 2017 came along, there had been a feeling of discomfort for a while from some actors. The experience had expanded too far out and wasn't something that could be controlled and marketed as it should. People changed roles. The amount of work required to hit that sweet spot was ever-growing, for perhaps diminishing returns. Fright Nights also focused on The Walking Dead, and AMC are known for very strict guidelines about their attractions. Working out a Face it Alone experience for those mazes would have been near-on impossible. So everything together just meant it didn't happen, and it hasn't returned since. And that's that. New external IP, internal concerns and arguably a bit of apathy/running out of steam all really finished it off. Maybe in the future it can return. With the AMC contract disappearing soon that would help. Seeing the extreme version of Creepy Caves at Chessington being a success probably helps. But it requires a lot of work, a lot more than many perhaps realise and appreciate. And I'm not sure I could see it happening soon.

Also, speaking of the SImworx website, the page they have dedicated to Ghost Train still has some lovely PS1 graphics... Looking back you do really have to wonder what was going through everyone's minds to sign that off.

Simworx were the turnkey provider for the experience. My understanding of the situation is that they were approached for the project (after Merlin and Thorpe had a good experience with them with Shrek in London and Angry Birds 4D) and were asked if they felt they could provide what was wanted, since it was a very unique project. I'm sure at the point when Simworx agreed to the project, VR had already been decided / was in the closing stages for been confirmed. I've heard differing stories about why Severn Lamb were bought in. As Marc says, they designed the trains, but one version of events I heard was they were bought in because they had experience building trains, so were better to provide more realistic-looking carriages. The other version is that, despite saying they would, Simworx didn't want to design enclosed carriages (most of their carriages are open in design) so they sub-contracted Severn Lamb to do it. Similar conflicting stories exist about why Intamin were bought in. On top of that, you've then got Figment Productions designing the VR and having their own needs for executing it. They very much worked closely with Merlin/Thorpe and probably had little contact with Simworx/Severn Lamb. So it's not hard to imagine a situation where Figment were telling something to Merlin, who told something to Simwork, who told something to Severn Lamb, and the original message getting muddled along the way. Basically, it's all a mess. The ride system that Simworx did could still be replicated elsewhere without VR, I guess. At one point during Ghost Train's construction there were murmurs that Merlin wanted a similar experience for Gardaland. The question is why would anyone want it. If you took the generic immersive tunnel set up (ie huge screens outside the carriage) and modified it to Ghost Train's style, it just sounds like a nightmare. And just not an enjoyable experience. It could probably be scaled down with a longer track circuit, but again the question is why. If you look through Simworx's website, there's not a lot of theme park projects they've worked on, especially recently. A lot of their recent stuff is on a small scale, with a lot of concepts for ideas too. Given how much competition there is for dark rides, cinemas and stuff like that in the theme park industry, it does make you wonder if simply they're not cut out for making large-scale theme park attractions. They certainly had some potential, and parks did go to them at first, but when most aren't, there's surely a reason behind it.

All Merlin parks are now letting anyone with a visit planned before June 1st to change. Originally this was set as April 25th. The date set is likely just to help them deal with enquires in a phased manner. But at the very least, it indicates that the parks aren't planning on reopening until June at the earliest.

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...