JoshC.
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Posts posted by JoshC.
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On a serious note, I believe only 4 of the 12 scenarios for Ghost Train ever made it to public viewing (there may be more that I can't remember, see spoilers below...)
1) Old lady warning you of gas, old lady smashing into train
2) Old lady warning you of gas, young girl smashing into train
3) Old man warning you of gas, old lady smashing into train
4) Old man warning you of gas, young girl smashing into train
I'd be surprised if we see any changes to DBGT. 2017 changes were made to improve the ride. 2018 changes were made to change scene 2, which was regularly broken and caused several issues / shutdowns.
Ghost Train is no longer a focus, so they won't be making changes to improve the ride. And I don't think there's any obvious changes they can make to the experience to try and improve reliability.
The only thing I feel that could happen is cuts made to scene 4, though hopefully they realised last year how it receives a negative reaction when it's not there.
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4 minutes ago, HermanTheGerman said:
How else do you explain why people actively look at an hour long queue and go 'Yes, this seems like a good way to spend my time'?
Doesn't matter what the actual reaction to it is. If people are willing to spend an hour queueing for it, it IS capturing their attention and imagination.
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Don't like the idea.
New rides over a 30+ year old ride that's been SBNO for over 5 years please.
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I do think that Storm Surge captures the imagination of many people.
In theory, it has everything - a shared experience suitable for most, height, speed, spinning, a light splash of water. Given the selection of water rides at Thorpe, I can see why Storm Surge appeals to many, and why people are always prepared to queue a long time for it compared to many other rides.
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Couple more photos from PabloA on CF...
Just to remind people as well - they haven't even started work on the lift hill yet. Everything you see here is for the rest of the track!
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Frooom loopings.
All aboard the twisty hype train
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A theme park doing a vlog for construction of a new ride you say? Is this basically just European law now?
Interested to see how dominant this is within the park. Bit worried it may look out of place (obvs same was said about Karnan, but that's easier to theme..)
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17 minutes ago, Benin said:
Why would a location on the park's border be worse than Octopus Garden?
It's been said it would've been a bad choice to put it there but no reasons as to why (unless I'm missing them somewhere)... Surely it would've been a better option than the middle of the park plopped downness it currently is...
One issue is the fact that area is used for access for vehicles and such. Using the area for Fright Nights is okay as it's only temporary (though not ideal). It would have had a big effect on back of house operations. It also would have made the construction of DBGT significantly more difficult for example. So in that sense, it wouldn't have been ideal.
I also imagine that issue of having a ride right next to Monks Walk would cause extra issues when people try and enter the park from there (ride areas, etc).
So more it's just less ideal from a back of house perspective. Also a tearing out OG meant there wouldn't be more rides to operate; I imagine OG and Storm Surge were equally labour and staff intensive, making that location more preferable. -
This is one of those funny stories which has some truth, but was sensationalised by Thorpe to grab attention.
There's a lot more detail in this post about the original plan, but this picture summarises it nicely:
These are all of the considered locations. There is one location which is essentially next and parallel to Monks Walk (pretty much the back half of Dead Creek Woods and first half of Blair Witch from last year). Obviously not an ideal location. The one next to it would have involved the removal of the carousel and Mr Monkey, and again wouldn't have been great either. Eventually, the current location was decided upon, to obviously redevelop Octopus Garden (an area which was very much out of place at Thorpe).
For some fun bonus info, the park did indeed have South West London Paranormal in (they've visited a few times in the past actually). Jim, who is quoted in the above article, was actually the examiner for my driving test and we spoke about it quite a bit (I also passed my test - woo!). Basically he said there was some stuff detected, some of the stuff he said was obviously used to play along with the story (since there was never any construction in that area, though they did explore the area next to Monks Walk). The group wanted to explore more on different dates, but the park refused, and I don't actually think they've been invited back the the park since..
Funnily enough, that was one of the best, far-reaching, pieces of marketing the park have ever done. It was picked up all over the world, with everyone wanting interviews with the park, wanting to know their next steps, etc. It just really captured the attention and imagination of everyone. And all of that for Storm Surge!
It's why I always feel they should capitalise on the local history and mythology behind it more. The nearby Chertsey Abbey opened in 666AD. There's mythology of a headless monk haunting the town and Monks Walk. It practically writes itself for a dark ride or Fright Nights maze.
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I imagine you can still buy tickets at the admissions area for less than £15 (looking at those prices, I'd expect £10).
Clearly the idea is to discourage people from paying at the barrier (causes delays), and to use the website/app.
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So I visited this place today, and had a pretty good time -
For those who can't be bothered reading or want to avoid spoilers...
It's fun, nicely themed (though could be better). There's a good variety and mix and things going on, and it's just a well presented, well staffed good day out. Hopefully it grows and develops and can iron out any early problems it has had!
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Much excite.
One thing which interests me is that this is said to be North America's tallest hybrid (so taller than Steel Vengeance at 205ft), but not the world. Presently, the tallest non-American hybrid is Wildfire (180ft) though Zadra will overtake that (200ft). So presumably Zadra's current slated height is wrong, but I guess there could be a surprise RMC popping up in the world next year still?
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To be fair, they did add the Air Race in 2014(?), and around that time they did seem to have their heads screwed on. Thomas Land was doing well for the park, they were hitting the first expansion of that, and still had a good balance.
Then things went downhill. Pirates died / they gave up with it. I imagine they were hit by people losing faith in theme parks after Smiler. Stormforce required lengthy work. The rapids incident happened. It's not gone very well for the park.
They clearly know Thomas works for them, so that's what they're focusing on as their USP. They won't die away, but they are on a downward spiral and not investing in non-Thomas attractions won't help them get out of it.
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It'd be interesting to see how possible it would be to effectively turn that road into a tunnel, and just have the park / expansion go over the road, as opposed to re-routing it.
Given the size, I imagine it's not very practical, as well as expensive and logistically very awkward, but it could be a potential way round it I guess.
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9 minutes ago, Loggers Creek said:
I wonder if the drop towers will reuse or replace the Frog Hopper Tower. Could we see the remains of Cloud Cuckoo be closed off completely (bar the Dungeons)?
The towers are from Sea Life Oberhausen, in a similar way that Thorpe got Timber Tug and Lumber Jump from Sea Life Weymouth.
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Major disappointing news - https://www.efteling.com/nl/blog/nieuws/20190301-update-uitbreiding-efteling?fbclid=IwAR2cWRKpnA_fLhBwTixsb_3Mu7zOvzhz-i_wmH7QlKM08RW90FJ0s4em8vc
Efteling have NOT been granted permission for their expansion.
Efteling were hoping to expand the park massively. The original plan was for this to start in 2020, with a new circus-themed coaster and others, and the expansion continuing with more new attractions until 2030. See my crude drawing from when it was announced over a year ago for where this was to take place...
The park had to delay these plans due to issues with the local authority not being convinced by the plans. This meant the 2020 project was tentatively pushed back to 2021, and ultimately Efteling decided to replace Bob with the Mack powered coasters for 2020.
The local authority have now made a decision, and feel that - despite Efteling's claims it will not - the expansion will cause extra traffic and noise pollution, so ultimately they are against the decision.
The Council of State will make a further decision about whether the plans can be implemented in some revised fashion.
A real true shame, and majorly frustrating, as the park itself cannot really develop much more within its current area. Hopefully things work out, because their 2021 coaster - rumoured to be a family launch with special track features - sounded really fun...
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57 minutes ago, Marhelorpe said:
A temporary upcharge giant HB Leisure stall.
BounceZilla isn't listed as an upcharge event.
31 minutes ago, Ivsetti said:I suppose you've got a professional-standard gaming event ready to go in your back yard then?
Gaming events/expos are common all around the country. The sort of stuff you'll find there is what Thorpe will have.
And that's the thing with these new events - they're all stuff that you'll find elsewhere. Not a bad thing by any means, but it just seems like the wrong time to introduce them..
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2 minutes ago, StevenVig said:
Jungle Escape, as I predicted, is literally IAC, without the IAC branding.
Not surprised, ?at ? all
What clues does one decode in IAC? ?
At the bottom it says additional costs apply, so it seems more like a different, upcharge experience (like an escape room) than just IAC rebranded...
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A set of events for 2019. Along with GameFX is...
-Jungle Escape. An upcharge escape room, presumably taking place in I'm a Celebrity. From May.
-BounceZilla. An inflatable, potential fun Total Wipeout-esque, course. Over summer.
-Fright Nights.
Jungle Escape and Bouncezilla sound like they have potential. Why Thorpe didn't just announce all this in one go boggles the mind (I guess they planned to drag it out, but the bad response made them change their mind..)
However, let's note that this is the first year since 1997 where no new (free) attraction has been introduced at the resort. -
https://www.altontowers.com/cbeebies-land/2019/
Good IP choice. More importantly imo, from April there will also be a Teletubbies show in CBeebies Land. Arguably an IP they should have gotten from the start, but honestly it's great to see them get that.
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7 minutes ago, Portvls said:
What if Rumba has been left as returning in 2019 for a reason? What if they’re retheming it to a jungle set up? What if they’re actually doing something that is needed in the park? Hmm ?
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.
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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?
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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.
Storm Surge
in General Discussion
Posted
This is the thing though, even when other rides are open, it still attracts a long queue. It's one of the few rides which constantly has a queue.
Turd throughput explains why it has a long queue time. It doesn't explain why people see the long queue time and go 'yes, let's join that queue'..