Benin

Depends when they open the gates. But if you're sad enough to wait overnight for this then ain't no helping those people. Seems a sensible plan at least. Sure it'll still be utter chaos and full of entitled people. Staff will need to be on point for it to be a success.

I'd like to see the unedited version. Bet it looks just as good without the shine.

Wouldn't be a Merlin project if it was finished on time would it?

I highly doubt a staff member is going to be arrested for child neglect of a 5 month old baby that suffered a cardiac arrest. Full story below: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-68962869

People buy any old tat from parks across the world with no story based nonsense.

An island like no other some might say.

The original video not being in HD wasn't the problem. Come back DBGT animation all is forgiven.

Did anyone else catch the promo video that Thorpe have already deleted? Aside from it being excessively random (Swarm got some complaints for not being particularly focused on the coaster so they do it worse) it really feels like their marketing recently is all over the shop.

Shambhala is probably a semi decent example of what parks can do to have a decent level of themeing yet let the ride speak for itself. It's like a budget version of Icon's station here.

Yet Thorpe have added that naff bit of LORE for whatever reason. Think if compared to Icon's station building the lack of themeing elements on this is far more noticeable in the wider context of the park. Was a good opportunity to tackle the area as a whole but seems to be mish-mashy as a lot of the old Canada Creek buildings haven't been touched? Unsure if anyone has documented as such.

It would help if the park could settle on a themed/unthemed direction for more than a season mind.

Depends if the park close it early (and actually communicate it properly unlike Towers did). Like hell I am staying that long at Thorpe though.

Will be part of the testing process. Look like important staff people. Probably aiming to stick their arms out to make sure the reach envelope is good.

Best new Mack coaster of 2024 POV.

Might as well continue that red area to bin off the beach and Depth Charge. That area could definitely be used as an entertainments hub almost and the proximity to the 'hotel' would allow for some overnight stuff to occur outside in the summer. No doubt some of the flats will be coming to end of life soon. But much like Towers an actual replacement for Loggers wouldn't go amiss. Chiapas for all! Or they replace Rumba with the nonsense Bellwaerde have recently opened.

Bit slow etc. Definitely will have a lot of wasted momentum going into the final brake run by looks of it.

God the capacity is gonna be crap.

And I've worked in project management. Zero surprise that some projects really push the limit in terms of targeted handover dates. Purely depends on what Mack says the required testing hours needed are. Which none of us are privy to (and any of those who are won't be able to divulge such information). Merlin have form for it too over the years. Even Nemesis is getting stuff added to it since opening officially.

I always enjoy when people seem to know the exact ins and outs of an entire project management process.

It'll be on regular packages next year. Like with the RAP limitation it will only be for the initial period to let it bed in. Bit of a recent trend for the parks as Nemmie is also fairly limited on Fastrack atm. Also holy crap Jack Dann!

RAP sold out for opening day already. That being said they're implementing a 1 ride only policy on it so that should help matters.

Looks terrible and another example of how poor the design is.

Blivvy is one of the few coasters on park where retrofitting a fully accessible queue wouldn't be problematic. Didn't go anywhere near X-Sector yesterday due to the queues. Plus that hill probably would've killed the wheelchair.

The distinct lack of filler rides was far more telling yesterday with 3 big coasters down (Thirteen, Galactica and Wickerman) for a considerable time. Fortunately Nemmie was on full capacity but the park need far more than the one they're getting next year. There's at least 2 spots free in X-Sector, and could definitely fit more elsewhere with some ingenuity. Meant lots of 50 minute plus queues across the board for the majority of the day (exacerbated by many school trips mind). Which severely limited our choices of ride due to the 4pm close. Granted we did spend a fair chunk of time in CBeebies Land though. I'll probably contact the park regarding not being able to combine RAP with Parent Swap as it is very much a killer to our day if we don't have 2 RAP users in the group currently. Also a lack of decent eateries needs to be addressed. Not asking for much but there are so many Burgers & Hot Dogs across the park but few alternatives. Especially if you want a sit down inside. The prices are obscene too. Not visiting Pizza Pasta whilst it's £21 per person (plus baby isn't big on pizza. She's strange). Alty Mans is fab. Dark and creepy as. Couple of iffy effects here and there but on the whole is a fantastic refurb. Between that and Nemmie the future could be bright. Does mean other areas look awful comparatively though. It was great to have Nemesis back. Had a good day overall but that was the only coaster we did due to the limited capacity and queues. There's still a lot of work to be done.

Back on fully loading 2 trains this morning. She's back ❤️