MattyMoo

Today's status, at 10:15 - Detty, Samurai, Vortex, Quantum, Tidal Wave opening later. Hyperia - opening soon. 11.15 - No change

Yes agreed. And dare we speak of the Tidal Wave fire effect, or.....? Looking at the app today, everything is open with the exception of Ghost Train that is current closed, and not marked as "Opening Soon", "Opening Later", "Planned Delayed Opening" or similar. So assume it's just playing up - for a change.

Yes quite. I think the biggest tell of their state of affairs/management is to what extent the Sparkle Project continues over closed season. It does feel like all of a sudden the pitch has shifted from closed season 2023/start of season 2024 to where we are now and it's quite concerning as to why and how quickly. Hopefully this won't affect the taste and enjoyment of my currywurst pizza next week.

Yes, Chessington is another moot point. With the rumours circulating about animals leaving the park and such... You do have to wonder if there is truth in that with everything else going on. Calling it now whilst we're here... No Skyride at Towers for 2025.

Yes, it's very strange. Is the fact there's been very little Fright Nights promo this year so far connected? You'd barely even know there was a new maze really at the moment... Intriguing.

They've got a new one now - Nemesis Inferno says "OPENING LATER" What that means, who knows. Could mean 4pm like Flying Fish yesterday.

All this talk of Oktoberfest being rubbish means I really should dress up when I visit next Tuesday to help with the IMMERSION.

I see today Thorpe has "scheduled late opening" for some attractions, except... none of the attractions were scheduled to open late in the app or online... At 1pm, Flying Fish, Zodiac and Detonator are "scheduled late opening" and WDTR hasn't opened yet today. Are they low on techies so prioritising opening each day? What's going on?

Just saw they are serving the most traditional of German treats ever in the Oktoberfest area, you know and love it, German's have been making it for years and years, with the recipe being handed down from generation to generation. You'll see it all over Berlin, with restaurants serving just this absolute classic. Curly fries with sour cream, salsa, jalapenos and guacamole.

Just watching some DigitalDan - Thorpe are definitely going to have to put fences in over closed season, otherwise those woodchips are going to be a continual mess, and the plants are never going to grow. Can't really believe that no one thought about this, but then - it's not like they were still planting and finishing the area off the day of the press launch or anything.

That's not the Merlin way - website, signs, emails or otherwise 🙃

Definitely this - really think something should be on the front page or during the booking process for those dates, as currently the only way you would know is to check the ride availability page in advance. EDIT: No sooner had I posted this, I see that the downtime is now considerably reduced and now does not clash with Hyperia:

Looks like Inferno has some long downtime coming up. And that was nearly a no Stealth situation for my visit on 17th and 18th which would be UNSPEAKABLE.

Revealed as "The Carving" Definitely got potential this. And I mean, Tulleys is literally a farm so... Playing to their strengths there. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_d7Bb2xRqJ/?igsh=MW5mbjkwam05b3pzeQ== The Buckwheats might have a new home 🤫

Just had a brainwave, if it is a club type scenario, the preshow could be doorstaff, and then you are split with a "you're on the list" or "you're name's not down, you're not coming in"... Just an idea, like. In the same way as good Vs bad wood on Creek.

Tulley's have removed the "Scare Factors" from the haunts page, which is probably a good thing because they were pretty nonsensical anyway. We've had the best scares in Creepy Cottage on some visits, for example - all just depends on the actors.

I've never heard of Easter eggs before, what a fantastic idea.

As expected, the third haunt is actually a live show. Still, that means two brand new haunts this year (well, one is a rebranded The Island...)

Shots fired - Tulleys reveal the 1st of 3 new haunts tomorrow, 9PM. It's assumed from their posts that all 3 are haunts in the "maze" sense of the word, but I wouldn't be surprised if there's miscommunication on the socials side of things and one is a replacement live show for Circus of Horrors.

The main thing is it is doesn't clash with my 2nd visit of the year.

I saw this announcement straight after booking a 2 day visit for 17th and 18th September... nothing like getting the adrenaline up straight away is there? 😆

There's no way whatsoever that'll be back next year. Was good though, a nice touch.

Especially when you look at Legoland and Viking's River Splash. That ride must be newer as I remember supplying the reinforcement for it 😆

This. All the more reason why I'm probably unlikely to drop £8 per run through with the chance of it being ruined by a complete twonk.

Me old mucker @JoshC. speculated that it may be a "party gone wrong" type maze - because the easter eggs you can buy are for the Guest List and Bottles. Which got me thinking. Project Sophie Sophie Ellis Bextor Murder On the Dancefloor. Ridiculous? Or possible?