JoshC.

Based on James' update above, there's been no work to Rumba aside from the boats being taken away to presumably have the gates installed. It would be highly unlikely that they're retheming Rumba to any sort of quality if no theming work has begun a month before the park opens.

Clearly GameFX isn't the only thing happening throughout the year. Given the jungle motif and the fact I'm a Celebrity is gone, I'd placed bets on something almost definitely taking place in that space. What though? Same thing with no IAC tie-in? Something different like an escape room? Or an adventure course style thing? Or could it be something more akin to Zombie Hunt?

Merlin had their Preliminary 2018 Result presentation to investors today. Keep in mind, of course, that they'll always try and put a positive spin on things, but they do also provide raw numbers. Some interesting highlights: -Visitor numbers, revenue, spend per capita, etc all have improved compared to 2017 -Merlin see it as more or less the end of the 'recovery period' following Smiler incident, terror attacks in big locations, etc, so they can now look at starting to 'grow again' -Merlin are keeping a close eye on 'pop up' style attractions, such as escape rooms, weird museums, esport events*, etc. They're looking at putting these types of things within their attractions, but feel that as a stand alone activity, they are ultimately not profitable enough Some more attraction-specific stuff: -Lego Movie World is spreading across several Legoland parks over the next couple of years, with it coming to Windsor in 2021 -New Legoland parks coming to New York (late spring 2020), South Korea (finally confirmed for opening 2022) and discussions about opening one in China are still ongoing -The Peppa Pig World of Play play centre attraction that opened in Shanghai is being cloned across 10 new locations this year (largely China and America) -Merlin acquired an oceanrium in China in 2012 (Changheng Ocean World, now sometimes known as Sea Life Shanghai), which had a huge show centred on two beluga whales. Merlin are moving these whales to a sanctuary in Iceland this year, after many years of planning -IPs are a continued focused -The Bear Grylls attraction which opened in September in Birmingham, they have done very little advertising whilst they 'get things right'. A big push is coming this spring. -When speaking of the refurbishment of Colossos at Heide, Nick Varney noted it was very similar to Wicker Man and said "we never pass on an opportunity to copy a great idea unless we have to" *interesting, when speaking about epsorts, Varney mentioned the event at Thorpe Park. He said he very much didn't 'get it' (and in my personal opinion whilst listening, he sounded less-than-convinced by it all), and said it was something noted by younger people within the industry as a thing to explore. So yes, very much by the numbers they're getting, and the front they're putting on, all is very positive and good for Merlin. Then again, you would hope they would since it's just a recovery after a very bad period. Obviously, the situations more locally aren't quite so good, so it'd be very curious to know what they thoughts are behind the scenes.

Walibi churning out all the good stuff at the moment. It's like entering a different dimension.. In other news, Legendia are getting rapids ride from Hafema in 2020. They've been involved in some good rapids; see River Quest at Phantasialand, Jurassic Park Rapids at Universal Singapore, El Rio at Bobbejaanland, and more.. The space it's taking is quite large, but one that I wouldn't feel like is a natural fit for a rapids. So wouldn't be surprised if we see a few fun elements thrown on to help give it that rapid edge..

So G Force is no longer listed on the park's ride page, nor does it appear on the new map. The ride is currently still standing. Interestingly, the rapids are still listed as an attraction in the rides page (though not the map), with no sign of reopening.

One potential thing is that Thorpe might be getting a lot of amount of this through the advertising. Taking up the marquee for the best part of two months means it's unlikely they'll be able to use that space for private events (unless it's super easy to dismantle the 'exhibits'). The marquee is a good way for the park to make a lot of extra revenue - it makes more than most would expect. If they're losing that, they're definitely going to be making the money up in other ways, and it won't be from the VR upcharge things they have. They're probably making money from using the space for gaming tournaments, some companies are likely paying Thorpe to have their products on show in prime locations. I'd imagine it would be a good pitch - Thorpe approaches these companies and says "we're having a gaming event at the park, we're having x,y,z there, would you be interested? For this amount of money, we can make you the headliner of the event..." I'm not saying that is what happening, but I imagine that's a likely outcome. This isn't going to push anyone away. No one is going "I WAS going to go to Thorpe Park this year, but they've got a gaming event in one small section of the park, so nah, screw that". It might mean people choose not to visit "Oh, I went to Thorpe a while back, should I go this year? Oh, they've got a gaming event on, that doesn't interest me, I'll hold off and visit somewhere else for now." On the flipside, it's possible this might attract people - but based on social media reaction, that number is minimal at best.

https://www.thorpepark.com/events/gamefx Basically, some gaming 'event' in the marquee, where you can book a slot and play some video games. There'll be some professional gamers there too on some days, playing assorted games. Meh, don't get it personally. Yeah sure, there's stuff like arcades and VR is becoming more popular at theme parks, but these are sideshow elements for people to enjoy to kill a bit of time. Turning that into a full on event and focus doesn't really make sense? Very much stinks of 'we can't put in new rides for whatever reason, so let's just buy a few video games'.

Very fair point. One has to wonder how much time played a part - the long term plan didn't have 2019 earmarked for a major theming project, so it was something that had to be slotted in I guess. If to say Wicker Man had 3 years of planning, and Colossos was only decided to reopen 18 months ago, that's significantly less time to come up with a brand new design concept. Not impossible, but obviously much quicker to modify a existing design. You could argue that other major companies (Disney) do the exact same thing when it comes to the copy and paste attitude, and even though their quality is significantly higher, it's the same basic principle. I guess maybe I'm just more blasé about the fact than others. Of course it would be amazing to see more totally originally concepts, but I don't see it as a bad thing - just a less good thing.

Can't tell if sarcasm.. A battle of monsters around a roller coaster is pretty original. Yeah sure, the company that owns this park built a ride with a similar centre piece as a ride at another park they own. Does that really matter in the grand scheme of things? Is it any different to the fact that both Heide and Alton have launch coasters with almost exactly the same layout?

I believe you collect the pass and you just simply show the pass at each Fastrack ride. Given they've moved towards scanning Fastrack tickets, it would make the most sense. One would hope that the Fastrack pass has your name / photo on it so you don't need to collect a wristband every time. Or at the absolute most you have to show it along with your Annual Pass.. It's probably best to message the park directly to confirm though. I imagine it's a very niche product so they're probably tweaking the rules to suit the few who go for it.

From Heide... Wicker Monster is feeling a bit hot.

Bellewaerde have withdrawn their plans for their weird cred for now, due to a lack of clarity about the net loss of trees. Once this is made clear and agreed upon, new plans will be resubmitted. Source - https://www.looopings.nl/weblog/11669/Pretpark-Bellewaerde-trekt-aanvraag-voor-nieuwe-achtbaan-weer-in.html

To be fair, if they didn't have their event plan for 2019 internally planned in late February, I'd be pretty damn concerned. I mean, just look at how last year turned out... Surely they've learnt from their mistakes...

Bit more detail about the kiddie cred as I embark on a 5 post monologue...

I mean, there were arguably rides which were major that opened before Loggers - namely Space Station Zero and Thunder River. And yeah, as much as I like Loggers, I don't really see the need for it be made a heritage site. That's crazy tbh I've always felt that if a coaster replaces Loggers, having a double-down element where the main drop was would be pretty cool. Following the entire route sounds a bit too much, but I think that'd be a pretty neat nod and a cool thing in itself.

Oh WWTP, how I've missed you.

I mean, Thorpe's response would be funnier if the original comment wasn't true. Prices do go up, the length of the queues has increased, meaning on busier days ride counts go down. I'm all for banter from the parks, but when it's in the face of legitimate points, regardless of how they're presented, it loses all credibility.

It's HUGE. Like that first photo is just mental.

Here's a fun rumour circulating round at the moment... http://riderater.co.uk/rumours/ Flamingo Land are getting an Intamin 10 inversion coaster, which could possible run alongside Velocity near the entrance of the park (where the park's Runaway Train, sky pedal bikes, and some sort of extra car park are currently). Apparently the area is currently being cleared and the rides have been removed. Very much a "I'll believe it when I see it" thing right now, but just imagine...

I find it funny how, generally speaking, people criticise Merlin's approach of needing major attractions to be instant success to be viewed as good or not, yet moan when they feel other parks' major attractions aren't an instant success. I know there's different things to consider and stuff, but you can't have it both ways surely? If Thorpe were to be taken over by a new company, they would have a lot of money. And they would understand they'd need to invest heavily to compete against the Merlin parks, as well as Paultons, and keep the likes of Blackpool and Flamingo Land in mind as well. Just look at the Netherlands over the past few years. 3 parks (Efteling, Walibi Holland and Toverland) have been competing against each other with offering huge new attractions, even though Efteling is miles ahead in attendance, and Walibi and Toverland aren't even in the 3 most visited Dutch theme parks.. It's one of the most exciting markets to watch right now. Imagine if Thorpe, Towers and Chessington were owned individually - you can have some amazing competition!

The are no known plans for the area. Doesn't mean that Thorpe themselves don't have an idea, but there's nothing publicly known at the moment!

Given that Thorpe's social media has taken a bashing lately, only fair for Alton to receive the same. I'm all for banter between parks, but for there to public admittance that it's going to take a long time for part of the same company to 'sort itself out' (especially since it's actually true) seems like a rather large faux pas, surely? Maybe I'm just getting old and don't get social media. Or I'm just looking for things to moan about. But I just don't get it.

The last post in this thread before today was August. I think we have better things to do on January 1st than change the thread titles for new attractions. But, yes, you're right. It should be named differently, and I have done so. Thank you!

But it was new for 2018? The fact it's 2019 doesn't change that...

Just to be more clear: strictly speaking, there's no 'MTDP' nor 'LTDP'. These are more terms for things which are submitted to councils / revealed to local authorities. More accurately, the parks will work on a rolling 5 year plan. Obviously, they'll have the most detailed plan for the current / following year, and it becomes vaguer and less determined as you look further into the future. Those plans will be based on hitting certain targets, and choosing developments which will help them get there. When Thorpe submitted their MTDP to the council, it is fair to say, though, that it would give a rough indication of what their 5 year plan was at the time. Outside of that, they'll have a longer term idea. Again, something based more on hitting targets rather than certain attractions, but they'll be aware of certain rides reaching the life expectancy / needing major work done, areas which could be redeveloped, etc What Thorpe are saying on their social media, about working many years in advance, means very little. They may have a plan set in place for 2 years' time. Maybe 5 years. Maybe they don't. They'll just say it so it sounds like they're doing something. So I wouldn't read into it too much.