Benin

Define "not very big"... Baring in mine HSE can charge people for really safety incidents (not even loss of limb, but perhaps back injuries due to poor work practices), it could be anything... You'd think an incident which involved 5 people being seriously injured, 2 with actual life-changing injuries, wouldn't exactly result in a small slap on the wrist style fine...

^Nail on head... As it is private property, the owner/leaser has the final buck in regards to the safety and security of visitors... Given that the incident came down to 'human error' then as the operator they have to take full responsibility for the incident... HSE tend to deal with companies rather than individuals... Means that the park will be charged in court, which will probably mean more cuts to the operations throughout after a fine payable to HSE... I doubt that Merlin will please Not Guilty in this...

They did say it would be a 3 year thing... Just thought that meant different projects would be done in that time, not individual ones... If this is true, then this shows the half arsed effort given out by the park...

Let's be honest, WDW could add a bin and still be the most visited parks in the world... That said, I still keep hoping that Avatar Land is a nightmare I've yet to wake up from...

The problem is that TLC is being used as a marketing tool because of the poor performance last year... Compare that to parks who do exactly the same thing every season and show it off on social media with little to no fanfare...

But the point is that they're pushing the VR gimmick and then producing scenic elements that won't be visible to those using the VR... It's at opposite ends of the sense spectrum really, why produce something at odds to the gimmick?

Theming that is pointless though with the VR gimmick... It's... weird... I don't get why they would add VR and then add things that go completely against the whole VR concept... Shame Air never got the full landscaping effects it deserved... Josh is completely right about the Lego Dimensions similarities too...

Someone has clearly visited Disney and their amazing Photopass system...

Typical fairweather Man United supporter, siding with the local team because they're further in the cup

When did people on here become so self-entitled? It's not like the competition winners are the only people ever to ride it... Get over yourselves...

The state of this thread...

You'd think people have never experienced a power cut before... Love the woman from the Echo who stated she'd got season tickets and moaned about not being able to ride anything... Not like you can't go back is it?

The only online presence so far since the announcement have been those blogs and low key websites that Thorpe CONSTANTLY retweet... A marketing campaign won't kick in till after Easter...

Rather unexpected turn of events tbh... Irl pics: I want to be the person who takes off the protective covering... And those Mack restraints are actually gonna make this pretty damn good...

Finally purged the bats out? Very good news indeed, little details like that is what the parks are missing most atm...

Parks really are loving that ride type... I would like to try the tower version to see what it's like compared to the normal version... Probably more vomit inducing tbh... The two S&S towers have indeed gone, no shame as they were awfully located and pointless...

Hasn't the whole park been closed since October?

Two catches from Ryan there, great stuff...

Aren't the people against SeaWorld the same sort of people who hate zoos and stuff? SeaWorld won't go bust, under same company as Busch Gardens, and that's owned by Blackstone... I'm sure that whilst the park has taken hits since Blackfish, the removal of the Killer Whales (I think that's still a thing) will probably boost the park PR a bit... If they think they're cruel at SeaWorld, should never visit Drayton then...

Even with non park projects, the councils/locals can be just as awful... CPFC proposing a move back to Crystal Palace park, including redevelopment of the athletics track/area, was pretty much thrown out due to NIMBYs... Some people just wouldn't take any benefits to the local area on board because of... Reasons...

For every good Intamin, there's about 10 awful ones... Bet Taron ends up riding awfully just to spite us all...

This was pretty predictable given that NO-ONE went to this... Like, was it worth the park opening for a few hours just so some enthusiasts and hotel guests could get some high ride counts for barely any income? Not really... Such is the British way...

Let's look at what Garda built between Raptor and Oblivio... Ice Age 4D (replacement) Madagascar Show (replacement) Kid's playground Yep, really consistent in it's high quality additions... 4 years between coasters? Thorpe had 3 between Saw and Swarm, Blackpool has no space, and Chessie has no care... Plus given that Garda has both the space and prior to Raptor had no good coasters whatsoever, Merlin couldn't really go wrong (well, yes, but fortunately they were sensible for once)...

Chessie's ground isn't the most stable, look at the state of some of the pathways and you can see it... Slip sliding away, so digging is pretty much out of the question... Can only imagine what might have been if Tussauds hadn't hit the brick wall of the council prior to purchasing Towers... Thing is as well, much like Lego's issues, there's the traffic issue to consider, which is bloody awful at the best of times... It's not simply down to height and noise, and probably not helped with the relationships our parks seem to have with councils (as in, everyone hates each other)... But Chessie simply doesn't have the sufficient infrastructure available to it to support a major modern park at the current time, which is evidence of it's bad treatment under DIC... Merlin's stuff is short term at more than just Chessie... That much is clear...