Benin

Bit harsh to have a go at them about Creaky Cafe as well, was only on fire a fortnight ago... Wouldn't expect it to be reopened in time for March...

Do you really think adults will want to see the 4D cinema? I'm sure Moshi Monsters' film got it's popularity from waves of adults dashing to go and see it and weren't pestered by their children one little bit... Add to the fact that most 4D cinemas are utter crap, and well, one ride out of three being of the broad spectrum ain't bad is it? EDIT - Found a pic of the area in Finland (because Lightwater's is only an 'Activity Park'), so this is the level of 'effort' we'll be seeing...

I'd argue that the ideal family area consists of rides the family can ride together and enjoy, rather than splitting up to do rides individually... An effort is not a word many would associate with Merlin additions... Indeed, to me effort will take more than a couple of fibreglass statues squeezed in because an IP is easier to market to the masses... Indeed, if you want to see an IP ride with effort, then Arthur is the answer... One of the Finland parks already has a themed area... I doubt Thorpe's will look much different...

Surely though a family area in the UK's "THRILL CAPITAL" makes no sense though? Thorpe's current mix of marketing is going all over the place... Especially given the new THORPE PARK Resort stuff they're now doing... I think that's a big issue, conflicting marketing terms... Thrill capital does not scream Angry Birds land, it shows a bit of uncertainy amongst Thorpe's branding scheme as the whole "OMG MUCH THRILLS" wasn't as successful as they hoped...

I think it's been mentioned as "Detonator - INVADED by Angry Birds", because imagination is dead...

Getting rid of the music automatically means it's bad (cos it's the best music on park)... And considering http://www.lightwatervalley.co.uk/angry_birds.php already exists... My hopes aren't exactly high considering it's not exactly the most complex thing to theme and won't go beyond a few models dotted around (mostly given Merlin's track record of area rethemes mind)... It does seem though that in the future Thorpe will be a weird mess of themes and target markets...

It peaked about 2 years ago... Typical Merlin IP choice then, something that's dying (Saw, Ice Age, Madagashcar, Shrek)...

Oh, just when I was getting excited... EDIT - AND on Det? Sigh, how depressing...

Wir haben ein Namen fur die Achterbahn (I'm practicing)... http://www.flug-der-dämonen.de/geschichte/geschichte/ FLUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!

Another example of ingenious Intamin design right here...

Mr Tumble is VERY well known and popular as a brand (I've even seen the guy who plays him having dinner in a Hilton up at the NEC), as you say though having human characters is possibly problematic for the area, as I doubt they can pull a Plopsa and have the actors there for shows... The problem with this area from an enthusiast point of view is that it truly doesn't interest US... However, the same could be said for the likes of Thomas Land (bar the cred) and Peppa Pig World in a way, as those areas aren't aimed at us at all either... Saying that this area will only be of interest to those under 8 is true, because unsurprisingly, that is the age group CBeebies targets... One thing it is showing is an edu-tainment aspect, which is obviously part of the BBC stature and what-not... I'd imagine that they will want this area to be as great as possible for kids, and for kids, interactive stuff is quite simply the best thing that can be done for them, hence 3 out of the current 4 announced attractions feature it heavily... I wouldn't be surprised if this is the most successful thing Towers have done in YEARS... And at least so far it looks relatively tasteful in a retheme on one of the areas that didn't really need a retheme, but an injection of popularity, which this IP will easily bring in...

Sigh, if only this didn't have the terrifying giant animatronic spider... I think after seeing that I've somewhat lost my excitement over this ever so slightly...

Mothers </3 Unis </3 Life simply sucks...

So Sherlock Season 3 has reappeared (and will vanish again into the nether for however long after the next episode)... Benedict

It's worse than Goudrix tbh #deliberatetrolling

Thorpe doing a day that happens every year anyway? We really ARE desperate for news...

Que? It's not the worst one for roughness, but it's still pretty bad... The sooner the rumoured new trains come the better...

Or it's probably just have a full on maintenance that is usually required of every ride in the world...

Oh, so this Turbine thing is just Mondial's version of a Fabbri Booster... How dull...

It's one of the most terrifying ride experiences available in the world... Let alone just the UK...

Not that it completely stops it from happening mind... But yeah, don't do it...

Even enthusiast sites need formal permission, regardless if using Go-Pros or just taped up cameras on the front of rides... And even then, not every park will let this happen...

Thorpe being the epitome of cool then...

Most of my trips aren't that expensive on a per person basis usually (Germany being 2 weeks and a load of parks plus Europa's hotel is looking to be about a £1000 each as an example)... A long weekend at Efteling (again at the park hotel) is looking to be around £450 odd... Stay off site and go with Ryanair and most of my trips are even cheaper than that... It's not often a monetary issue (in a sense, obviously it IS required, but not often in excessive terms depending on mostly your own level of comfort, you'll never see me getting on a RyanAir flight and I have stayed at some low budget places, Mark9 and Holly will back me up on Denmark based times), but more of a wanting to get out there and see other parks... Of course having a full time decent wage job and minimal commitments helps a lot... I'll be paying about £350-400 for a long weekend in Sweden... Whilst that is with a group of enthusiasts rather than a personal trip (which would probs be slightly more because of culture times), it shows these trips can be done on the cheap if you so wish... Just gotta look for the best deals and not care about staying in a crappy hotel...

Plus you won't be able to shop soon without buying SOMETHING that has a Merlin BOGOF voucher (or 20)... It really is all about making it look like a worthwhile deal... Dread to find out Towers' entry fee though if Thorpe is hitting £48...