JoshC.

I'm very confused by the layout too tbh. The ride seems to leave the station to the right in the images above, up a lift hill, round the circuit, up another lift hill, then into a launch into the spike after a drop. Just feels very odd, and would surely have been better to start with a reverse launch spike, then have a lift hill mid-ride if so desired. --- In other Belgian news, Bobbejaanland have announced the name of their Gerstlauer triple launch as Fury, and will be part of new area called Land of Legends, which will feature the park's gyro swing and Eurofighter. Some very tasty looking concept art too... I'm not a fan of Bobbejaanland, but damn, that looks good. Oh, and IMAScore are making the music for the area too.

Very much out of nowhere, Bellewaerde in Belgium have put in plans for a new coaster... http://pretparken.be/NL/article/2067/Bellewaerde plant nieuwe familie-achtbaan Potentially a Gerstlauer, similar to Pegasus at Asterix. Features a couple of lift hills and a random launch into a spike at the end. The park have done some big investing lately, with their random and pointless duelling alpine coasters they opened in 2017 (that make zero use of a terrain since the park is largely flat, and cost a hefty €4m), and a water park opening this year. There's no word on when this, and a much needed car park redevelopment, will open, but I'd hazard a guess at 2020..

Step up under flip is such a silly name for an inversion, especially since it's effectively just a bloody barrel roll. Still loving the update and the series though. Maybe it's because we don't know the layout and it's such an exciting development, but this feels like the best Dutch making of series there's been from a park.

The latest winter update reveals that the water underneath Colossus has been infilled, which is giving engineers easier access to the supports around parts of the ride. I imagine something like that isn't exactly cheap. And regardless of what they do, it'll look nicer than the murky water underneath areas like the vertical loop that was there in the past.

Interesting tweet from the Tornado Springs account, basically confirming a May 2020 opening... The bigger question is what rides will there be? Certainly some interesting hints...

Of my Top 20 coasters, 5 are Intamin, 4 are Mack, 4 are B&M, 2 are GCI, 2 are Vekoma, 2 are Gerstlauer and 1 is Schwarzkopf. So that would at least suggest some order. But going more with a gut feeling... 1=) Mack. Yet to make a bad ride arguably. All their stuff looks interesting and fun, and they like to push boundaries and innovate. 1=) Intamin. Close one this to Mack, but I think maybe Mack just pips it for now. All their new stuff looks amazing, but for all their new stuff, they've got a lot of garbage old stuff. Their future stuff looks fantastic though, and again they like to push boundaries and innovate. 3) B&M. B&M are slowly slipping down the list for me. Their rides just captivate me less. Yes, they're guaranteed to make good rides, but there's no ride they've made in the past 3 years where I've thought 'Wow, this is something I simply must do' (unless the theming elevates the ride). I'm still happy in the safe knowledge I'll get a good ride, but it just doesn't captivate me like any others in this list do. 4) GCI. I wasn't sure between this and Vekoma for 4th. But ultimately I think, for now, GCI pips them. Again, like B&M, always make good rides, but some of their newer stuff has intrigued me more. I simply just haven't ridden enough of them. 5) Vekoma. New Vekoma looks incredible, and once a few more of their newer bits are done, and I've had the chance to go on them, I can really see them climbing up the list. Still have yet to do an RMC, and I'm still 50/50 whether what they make are my type of rides, so I look forward to trying some out. But realistically, that's the only manufacturer I could see breaking into the Top 5 any time soon.

And I'm going to double post within 3 hours just to be annoying and show another concept image of not-Wicker Man...

Concept art with the new theming feature Looks good!

This is the proposed location of thew retirement home: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cemex+House,+Coldharbour+Ln,+Egham+TW20+8TD/@51.4083884,-0.5216377,534m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x48767721c5ad4327:0x761f1c38214c6e0a!8m2!3d51.4096667!4d-0.5208182 It's very close to a major back of house service road used by the park, as well as the island behind Stealth/Swarm which will probably have a new coaster put on it the next 20 years (hopefully..) It has been discussed since last summer, and is clearly a bad idea given it's proximity to the park and it's service roads. I wouldn't be keen to live there; why would people needing a retirement home want to? Quotes from Thorpe's representative taken from their letter of objection letter to the council... It further mentions that the noise assessment carried out by those planning the retirement home (which says the noise levels would be fine) were carried out improperly, and probably understate the amount of standard noise. That could cause major issues if the development went ahead.

Have ridden Speed at Energylandia (effectively a clone of Divertical, just with the MCBR somehow removed), I wouldn't mind something like that at Thorpe actually. I feel like I'm in the minority of enthusiasts who really enjoy it, it's a solid queue eater and just really good fun. I don't think the Loggers location would work for it (as explained above). And I'd be surprised if Thorpe would ever invest in something like it. The Loggers location would still be perfect for a flyer in my opinion, as was originally planned before Saw became a thing. Interactions with the lake and trees would be it a great, fun ride. And with Vekoma getting back into the flyer game, that could be a very interesting option to pursue..

An interesting tweet from the Tornado Springs account... Purely speculation from my part, but... -'Valid until 5pm 14th Feb 2019'. Potential announcement? -Storm Mac. Hint to Mack? -55mph winds. Launch coaster, 55mph? -Tornado Springs / Storm Chaser. Spinner? As I say, shameless speculation, and I could just be following a false trail the park are laying. But it certainly would be an ambitious step for the park to take, and really solidify them as a perfect family park.

Three new dates added to FN - total of 28 days now Crazy number really!

I had a look and apparently we don't have an IoA thread? How? I'll just drop this leaked concept art of the new Potter coaster that's replacing Duelling Dragons, and maybe fill in some more details later...

But there's the other side of the coin - why will people come in the first place? They've introduced big new attractions which haven't had the instant impact for different reasons. Swarm was coming off the back of two of the busiest and most successful years of the park, and in a year where there was more interesting things happening outside of theme parks (Olympics for example). It would have been incredible for the park not to suffer a drop off in 2012. To this day Swarm remains one the most popular rides on park (in terms of guest feedback), so it's had the lasting success. It just failed short-term. DBGT is of course a whole story in itself. But yes, neither of those worked as hoped. And they've done improvements to them the year after they opened, again with little success. So the current offering isn't working on getting people into the park. Solely focusing on the current offering will of course help improve satisfaction and return visits of those who do go, but if that number dwindles, it doesn't help surely? It'd be interesting if Towers went for SW9 for 2021. Following Merlin's 4 year investment strategy, 2021 would be Chessington's big thing, and Towers would be 2022 in theory. Though of course Towers is thrown off by Wicker Man being a year later... Personally I think it's better not having Towers and Chessington share a major investment year, but maybe Merlin want to get the shift back to how it was. I don't hold out hope for anything major any time soon either tbh. Which is a shame and a worry. Thorpe aren't in a position where they can go years and years without investing in new things. Rethemes can help, but they'll only take the park so far. I'm all for the park taking stock and improving what they have, making the park look nicer, improving reliability, etc. But it has to be balanced with new additions. They shouldn't do one without the other. The park went through the phase of adding new additions left right and centre without really taking care of the park. They're now bordering on the other extreme, and it's really no better for the park.

I don't think sprucing up the park would come at the expense of a major attraction. Small years, sure, but big years? Especially when they haven't had a coaster since 2012. Feels like a shot in the foot, and too little too late.

Posted by CF member anac0nda... Taiga is finnished! (I don't want to admit how long I've been been waiting to use that pun)

Chessington have followed Towers in introducing pin badges of old attractions... Skyway one is a bit iffy, but that Rodeo one is fantastic!

Damn that's sad. I remember watching a roller coaster documentary in the early-to-mid 2000s and seeing Volcano; was one of the things that sparked my enthusiasm up a level. Never heard great reviews about the ride, but still, sad. And from one coaster blasting off to another exploding onto the scene, the first drop of Dynamite is complete... (From Plohn's Facebook..)

So it was around this time in 2011 that Thorpe put in plans for Swarm. Thanks to the MTDP, planning permission was all but guaranteed, and the ride had long been rumoured. Aside from that, plans for major investments were going in about 18 months before the ride opened (DBGT in Oct14, Saw in Nov08, Stealth in Oct04..). So, that, coupled with no rumours really floating around about a new addition in 2020 - the expected year of a major investment - do we think we can now safely say that there won't be a new big thing any time soon? As it certainly feels that way.. Can Thorpe really go 8 years (or more) without adding a new coaster? In a time when Legoland are adding more well rounded, substantial family rides, Chessington seem to actually be crafting new attractions again, albeit rethemes, and Towers are on the up, can Thorpe really make do with their poor quiet season investments for another 2 years?

It's worth it. I might actually get round to finishing my Poland TR this month to give a bit more insight... It might be worth holding off till 2020 to get the water ride at Legendia and the kiddie cred and multi launch Vekoma at Energylandia mind. Especially since 2021 is meant to be a quiet year for Poland..

I realise reading back now I didn't quite word it how I wanted to. So, just to change it up a bit: My point more was they know what the public want. Or, possibly more accurately, they know how to tell the public what they want. They've monopolised the market, which means they can go 'look, all your options do this, so that means this is what you want'. That's why some things which work abroad don't work in the UK - the public don't want them. But I'm sure if Merlin wanted them to want it, they would eventually want. Wicker Man / a wooden roller coaster is a good example I think. Merlin didn't want to invest in one, so they found a way to show that (of course, there were people who did want one, and there were plenty of plans for wooden coasters in Merlin parks before Wicker Man). More importantly, I don't think the masses were clambering for a wooden coaster. People wanted pure thrill more for Towers, hence why Smiler came about. But when whatever level of Merlin thinking wooden coasters were a bad changed their mind, the public loved it. I think that's in part down to Merlin being clever enough to know how to get the most of the UK audience and get them to want what they're giving. I'm not sure I've explained that very well either, mind. But, speaking purely from a business sense, I think Merlin have got it pretty well nailed down. They can herd the masses like sheep, telling them to like what they're doing. It means they can get the most money out of them in the cheapest way possible. That doesn't mean what Merlin is doing is good - they don't always make the best decisions, and you could say they rarely do. I don't like how it affects the parks, but I can still see it as something that they've done really well, even if I don't like it. I do genuinely think that a large proportion of the public enjoy Merlin's offerings. Merlin can, of course, significantly improve, and I think if they weren't trying to herd the masses like sheep and instead genuinely listen to them, they would be more in touch with the public more organically.

MORE HYPE Track is al-red-y on site https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=156431354#post156431354 Proper dense structure. Going to look brilliant once it's up I reckon.

4 post solo conversation ahead... The new kiddie coaster has a name... And also a look at the layout and theme... This is of course also opening this year, with a retheme of the kids area 'Playland' to 'Fun World'. On top of, of course, Karma World and Popcorn Revenge...

Funny British parks there The British audience respond to theme parks (and entertainment in general) very differently to those across Europe, for example. What works in Europe doesn't necessarily work in the UK; it is partially down to the culture we have here I reckon. I do think that people in the UK do gravitate towards IP-mascots and I think any attempt to try and create a mascot for a park (especially nowadays) would be seen as nothing more than a Mickey Mouse rip off. It's one of the things which I think Merlin have done really well. They know how to get the most out of the UK audience. I reckon that's in a good part down to the fact they've monopolised the market, but heyho, that's business. They don't always make the best decisions, but they still get the most out of the UK that they can - from a business perspective, that's perfect. Of course, just my views on things. Maybe the right character completely taking over a park would work and the public will respond well. But I personally don't think it will

I wonder if the British audience just lost interest in place-specifc mascots? With the rise in popularity of Disney parks, maybe people just saw any other attempts as a cheap version of Mickey Mouse. Or maybe they prefer IP-related costume characters (yet another reason why Peppa Pig Land worked so well for Paulton's).