Benin

More substantial than the old Tivoli; always good to have a slightly less embarrassing +1 Shame I'm just not invested in the Popcorn Revenge ride, shall potentially hold off visiting until the Intamin turns up...

Some Bobbie Jobbie fans had a wee backstage tour regarding the Fury/Land of Legends addition: https://bobbejaanlandcentral.weebly.com/wintermeeting-2019.html To be fair, the themeing for Forbidden Caves and the Dreamcatcher stuff last year was pretty decent, so this should continue a trend there... Also confirms that Typhoon will be officially a part of this area, and each ride will relate to an element (as explained in the link)... Back to Walibi RA, and Mystic continues:

Roughly about a year since the fire and the Scandi Alley will be re-opening... Great work from Europa there given the circumstances whilst incorporating improvements (both detailed and legislative) and a mystery basement surprise (Roland's Dungeon?!)

It IS just a Zierer Tivoli at the end of the day... Not exactly difficult to replace one (Plopsa did it a few years back, which resulted in CredGate)... It's good but like, they need to do a hell of a lot of work on that park to make it somewhat interesting again...

Would be an extremely out of left field addition to say the least... Either brand new or purchased from another park, RCDB says one is under construction in Malaysia, but still... Weird...

Double post but I'm sure no-one will mind... Heading back to Nagashima: Looking more and more likely next year is Japan trip time!

Merlin's high quality themeing efforts continue! No words.

If Thorpe were owned by another company though they'd probably be able to invest in the things they NEED; rather than some nonsense USP that doesn't actually work or make sense in terms of the park's goals... Might be too early to judge the effect Icon has on Blackpool, especially when it's not helped by their own operating practices... But how come all these independent parks (or parks with general smaller budgets in group owned places) can afford to construct half decent attractions with relatively unique and strong themes without reverting to IPs? Wickerman PROVES Merlin can do it... They just don't know what to do with those middling additions between the big stuff...

Think you're looking way too into it Josh... *logs out of Alton Towers Twitter account*

Ban Request. EDIT - Further thought, replacing a Zierer Tivoli (presumably with a brand new one) is probably a lot less hassle than updating a 30 year old log flume, given the changes that have happened with legislation and the like... It's like saying "Oh well THIS park is replacing it's decrepit 20 year old flat ride with a brand new one, why can't Y do this with their ride which is completely different?" Still crap reasoning mind... But points to consider given the circumstances...

Mystic at Walibi Rhone-Alpes is rising: Meanwhile at Plohn the track appears to be completed:

RMC sure know how to make some wonky track...

How much will someone pay for a rusted Fastrack sign I wonder... Replace it with a Chiapas style log flume please, and probably an interacting cred to go with it...

But Epic Games ARE being sued for some of the dances appearing in their games no?

I look forward to the awkward video of all the Thorpe staff doing the naff dances from Fortnite (at least the ones they won't be sued for)...

Quick rundown: Yay new cred (people hoping for an inverting Mack Spinner should bear in mind that Dwervelwind exist, which still isn't a bad thing but possible more suited to Paultons)! New water ride? Or perhaps a re-theme of the Dinghy slides? Gyro swing of some description would be a MASSIVE ride for Paultons, even if it is just a small Zamperla model. Some mini-spinning towers as well, those are great fun ❤️ Potential new car theme for the tractors (or perhaps a car themed flat ride like a Demolition Derby). The train will return! Presuming the quality of the finished product is akin to Peppa Pig and Lost Kingdom this will be a fantastic addition.

It's because these parks can actually look at additions without the need for any nonsense from upper management telling them it NEEDS this, that and the other... Fortunately Paultons' focus on guest experience is allowing them to grow, with the help of Peppa Pig's cashflow... A new coaster in 4 years (it's not opening this year is it?) isn't outside the realms of possibility, especially given the two Vekomas probably cost enough to get a Curly Wurly and a Coke from the corner shop after...

If they strip the deadwood out of Thorpe there won't be much park left though?

Weirdly though the Bob replacement fills in a gap (in terms of their coaster line-up at any rate) for the younger visitors... Efteling spending more on a plussing of a pre-existing attraction than some parks spend on something brand new shows the benefits of being operated by a charity; as well as having a clear aim and goal with any project... Tough given the future plans for that end of the park they need to start looking at improving things now before they suddenly gain a million more visitors a year*... That said, any upgrade would have to be serious to be a better Vintage Cars attraction than the one at Asterix... *slight exaggeration

Keep pondering if Poland would be worth the trip given the constant expansion against a RMC and Lech Coaster...

Think Prezzy has been at the park for years though, hell his own unique ride (the Madhouse) opened in 2001! Would imagine that the fallout to removing him would be massive... The Rangers at Thorpe slowly died away once the Thrill Capital stuff started coming in under Tussauds (plus the fire probably didn't help)...

Even then regarding mascots it's only in recent years that they've REALLY become prominent, a decade ago Euromaus and co existed but purely as a walk-about character... Now they have had a 4D show, other live shows and an album! Elsewhere 10 years ago Phantasialand didn't have any dragon characters, and Liseberg look like they're starting to push the rabbits further with a new dark ride planned... Difference is that these parks have sufficient branding and support to push these characters, much like how Thorpe's Rangers used to be... They were everywhere on the park branding and merch (there's probably a few odds and sods down in Weymouth these days from my visits), similarly with the old Dr Chessington character... Thorpe (and Chessie) could quite easily create unique characters to run around the parks as mascots... Chessie tried it not too long ago with the random actors themed to the various areas (or just the general explorer motif), and of course Towers have had a few various roaming actors/mascots over the last few years... Though perhaps the difference here is that these attempts were all face actors as opposed to a 16 year old in a animal costume? Allowing for some unique interaction (BRING BACK THE TOWERS PIRATES FFS!)

Isn't the answer to this, don't ever engage with fans? Look at the state of us! I've not looked at the responses, but we live in a 'offended on someone's behalf' culture, so it doesn't surprise me such a thing exists... But those people are the sort of people who likely complain if they posted something cool with "YeAh BuT u HaVe To WaIt NiNe HoUrS fOr It!", because idiots... If people are saying it's offensive let's hope they don't have MAPs as that completely disproves Thorpe's research

That's the stupid thing, like they could've listed number of rides, or events, or number of times you throw up because you get dizzy or whatever... But instead they decided to go with intelligence? Even saying MAP holders are more attractive would've been a better idea... It's simple and easy mistakes like this that tarnish a brand reputation... It's difficult to build, but oh so easy to destroy...