Matt 236

I haven’t visited WMSP since I was really young so definitely need to get back there at somepoint. The ride selection sounds and looks pleasant enough for a park of that size. I think they have an interactive dinosaur walkthrough attraction there now.

I haven’t really noticed the impact on fastrack this year at the park, although that’s probably because I’ve visited on mostly quiet days, but this new system sounds like a noticeable improvement so far. Whilst I’m not the biggest fan of paid queue systems, if they are managed properly they can work out well for both sides of the fence. Parks like Phantasialand and Liseberg seem to have a pretty good method for their fastrack equivalents and neither seem to over advertise these either. As far as I’m aware. I havent visited Towers yet this year but can only presume Spinball still has fastrack?

By anything it was more of an observation. Whilst there have often been ‘peak only’ outlets the choice available was still comparatively limited, especially to any visitors that don’t fancy pizza buffet or chain stuff. Even opening just one (I.E Sombreros) would make a noticeable improvement. If Sticky Sisters is open all the time then that too will help. Churros though sounds great. Don’t think the park (or others in Merlin) have done something like thrn before.

I guess in all fairness everyone has their own favourite (and least favourite) parks. I think part of the reason why is these parks seem to be pushing the boats out in terms of theming and experience. Not to mention they are likely the most visited European parks by enthusiasts. I’m probably in that bubble considering they are all my top three. There are definitely more great parks out there though in Europe. Liseberg, Plopsaland and Gardaland (maybe). Tover Land might be one to watch out for too amongst others. Disneyland Paris is self explanatory. Anyways, keeping this topic unpopular now: 1/ Walking Dead is better than Derren Brown’s Ghost Train 2/ Walking Dead is the best ‘small’ investment since 2007 3/ Saw is rougher than Colossus Throw the tomatoes if you like then

Good to see Fins serving up fantastic food. One thing I couldn’t help but notice recently was how few food places were open last week. Fish & Chips, Burritos, Cornish, Peckish and Grill all closed. The only food places open were Fins, Pizza Pasta and the chains along with Donut Factory and Nitrogenie. Even then, they’ve reduced staff for Pizza Pasta as you no longer get lead to your table or given cutlery. I know it was an off peak day, but such a shame to see F&B at the parks being squeezed so much now financially.

Whoops. Awkward typo. Too excited for Wickerman and Steel Vengeance. Probably.

As long as this doesn’t have drastic impacts on throughputs and airtime, this isn’t terrible news. I do wonder whether Blue Fire and/or Icon will feature these? If not, must be an internal/Swedish regulation.

Looks nice. Lets hope it’s a good Intamin. This place has two other coastes due in 2020 (including an RMC), so they are definitely not standing still as far as investment is concerned.

Based on the photographs I am both impressed and disappointed from this project. The station, tunnel (interior) and theming on the (actual) drop look really nice. However the (remaining) lack of theming on lifts 1&2 and tunnel entrance are nothing but disappointing should they remain like that.

Amity Beach is usually operation from early/mid May until early/mid September. Legoland water areas are likely operate on a similar basis.

Burrito Bar sounds promising. Are the prices above with or without AP discount (if there is discount) Shame about the upcharge for extra toppings, but I guess lots of places do that nowadays. My local Burrito place charge an extra £1 for guacamole and chorizo. Worth it for the guacamole though. I will wait and see with Sticky Sister, but it would be a massive shame if they don’t deliver especially for the loss of lattice fries.

I do think Symbolica is perhaps one of the most underrated dark rides out there. Never before have I seen an attraction packed out with so much intricate details. The set pieces, animatronics and effects are top notch. It’s packed with both magic and mystery yet remains re-rideable. It is definitely up there as one of (if not) the best european dark ride to date.

Hearing how badly Blackpool have been doing at the start of the year is hardly surprising. Not only is their biggest new attraction for years not only open yet, but the weather has been poor and their PR team leaving a lot to be desired (it seems). One just needs to look at the number of times the park has shut much earlier without notice, which means a noticeable amount of visitors will probably leave with a sour taste in their mouth with no intention on returning. Icon needs fo be a success, otherwise I will be concerned as to what future the park has. These midweek closures are really bad and just show how poor things really are right now.

Taron is just simply bliss. It’s just as amazing to look at as it is to ride and one of my favourite coasters. I prefer Nemy but still like Mamba, which is well themed (even more-so) after the rockwork update. Chiapas is my favourite flume ride, the disco room is fab! Haven’t had the pleasure of Ripsaw Falls so unfortunately can’t compare that one. Phantasialand seems to be one of the best parks to combine both amazing theming and ride layouts. Apparently the China area (especially the hotel) has seen some updates recently, which imply this could be the next area to be redeveloped.

I could probably think of worse names to be fair. I’ll be another for the ‘calling it Ghost’ club I expect. I still call Knights Kingdom Castle Land and Duplo Valley Duplo Land half the time, purely because I’m more familiar with their former names.

Comparing Merlin to Disney in some ways is a bit like comparing Tesco to Waitrose. There’s some similarities between the two, but the latter generally offers a more premium price and one could argue is more upmarket. Whilst Merlin will never be up there with Disney, there’s no doubt that they can create quality attractions. Swarm, Wickerman and Gruffalo first come to mind. However what’s affecting these are limitations in budgeting, marketing and structure. The parks desperately need a complexion of themes that are upbeat, comical and mysterious. Less-so modern day dark/abandoned and bright garish themes. I understand the demographic have previously asked for these, however what was hot topic five years ago may be relevant today. Budgeting is another thing, as the parks typically only get funding for new attractions (investment levels rotated), basic maintenance and ‘essential’ safety improvements. Sometimes the parks really have to push for extensive upkeep (see the TLC scheme) which should never have to happen like this. The under prioritised upkeep from Merlin is the real reason little things like Vampire’s chandeliers and mothballed/removed rides have been happening. Merlin have the full ability to run all parks as high-level leading european Parks. Whilst they may not necessarily reach the heights of say Efteling or Phantasialand (which are operated differently), they have the potential to be near their league if they willing to pull out the right stops. It’s such a shame they choose not to and continue to tighten already stiff budgets, just because they want to make a massive profit, please shareholders and build dozens more Legolands. The parks themselves have a difficult fime through such limited budgets, however there are people who work in these parks that are definitely trying the best they can, even though they are basically expected to clean a toilet with just a broken toothbrush and almost empty cleaning bottle.

Fast & Furious Supercharged has now soft opened at the resort. Reviews so far seem to be mixed to negative, which may possibly be down to it’s unoriginal and bland storyline and being ‘yet’ another attraction that is nothing more than just screens. Some rumours suggest this may be one of the last attractions to ‘fully’ rely on screens. But let’s see what happens.

I’ve never ridden an RMC, but this thing looks absolutely stunning full stop!

Typically for most ‘Coaster type rides’ in Merlin parks, RAP users will normally be positioned at the back row or last two rows (subject to the size of the group and train). Normally it will just be one group or wristband per train (subject to the user’s severities). Unfortunately sonething does not seem to be adding with Merlin’s use of the RAP system, as the queues and way they are managed seem to be rathe out of hand or late. Too often, there are cases of the RAP queue overflowing on busy days, where it reaches a point where users may wait around 30 minutes to ride or the RAP allocation has to be increased until the queue drops down. This is a lose-lose situation because it means some RAP users will become uncomftable (especially if they hate quieting) and/or main queue users will complain about the allocation. The staff receive regular abuse as a result of this. There definitely needs to be revised system for this, because the current one does not seem to work. Somehow a system which means that only those who require additional needs or cannot queue in any circumstances. Unfortunately there is no easy path and no matter which way they go about this, there always be angry voices complaining, which is not massively surprising. I don’t think this is a one size fits all situation. I should point out, not all disabilities are visual and the amount of people who use wheelchairs (or other forms of mobility support) are lower than you think. Too often in society, non wheelchair users ( who have a disability) get looked upon negatively if they park in a disabled parking space.

Probably late June I reckon. The tunnel has clearly clearly caused a few delays and issues. Always the tunnels

Regretibly never made the talk, but from what I’ve heard and seen looks like it sounded like it was a massive success. Have just watched a video of Phill’s talk and found it excellent. Very informative, polished and featuring some astounding facts. It’s amazing how much of a major project this was for the original owners, from groundwork down to promotional image. I never knew the entrance was originally intended to be located at the back and the fact there was very briefly a retail shop as well. Fingers crossed we can see more events in the future from both parties. Unless it’s already been posted, here’s a video of Phill’s amazing talk on the history of Project X.

Well I’m glad they managed to fix something. It’s definitely better than nothing.

Whilst I still miss Bush BBQ, I’m glad they are opening a new brand outlet as that’s one less derelict Park eatery. Fingers crossed Sticky Sisters will add some fine choice and quality to the park’s F&B choices.

Regardless or whether the park are deliberately trying to run Tombs into the ground (for the sake of funding for a proper retheme or upgrade), I think it is a poor show for what is still one of the park’s main attractions to be operating in such an appalling state. Broken effects, lighting and audio, the ride literally feels like it is waiting to be removed in the coming years. The attraction was once a top quality leading dark ride, but now it’s just an embarrassment for both Chessington and UK theme parks. With the correct team and equipment, the ride could easily become great once more. But what’ll probably happen is they will likely announce a farewell event (perhaps similar to what they did with Bubbleworks) and rebrand it as a completely different attraction the following season. Ramesis will probably be ripped out around that time too (infavour of a new animal exhibit) I reckon.

This week I had my first ride on The Walking Dead Ride (or X version 3 (or 5/6)if you prefer). Queue line is pretty much completely outdoors and seems to be your standard ‘rundown’ cattlepen. At first this may sound somewhat of a bad thing. However given this potentially cleans up the queue distribution (Main,Fastrack,RAP etc.) and the theming/setting, this may be one of the better uses for a cattlepen. The bagroom is now just before the indoor part, which is around where the ole bagroom many years ago once was. There is a pre-show, which neither great or terrible, but does it’s job to setup the purpose of the safe zone. The former queue/walkways have been rethemed to like emergency corridors, with flashing lights and bits. There didn’t seem much noticeable from when it was X , at least as lighting is concerned. We arrive at the station, which is noticeably darker and gloomier. The new setup means there is almost no queue which is nice. The trains remain the same (the two person rule unfortunately remains, but they probably have little control over that). For the ride itself, gone is the upbeat vibe and replaced a dark apocalyptic one. There are numerous parts of theming representing zombies and other items. There are a few screens, but no noticeable animatronics, which is a shame really. The third stop has returned, which features new effects such. Whilst this makes the ride’s pacing a little strange, it somehow works as the last part of the ride feels like zombies chasing you. The action doesn’t finish on the exit corridor, which now features a few effects and darkened areas making it gloomy and misleading. It’s almost like a scaremaze in one sense. After passing the bagroom, we take a strange detour on a path leading us into the megastore. Whilst this is a good upselling tactic, the route feels long winded and deliberately out of the way. The back pathway appears to have been removed, although it would’ve been a dead-end anyway. In Summary, there are some things I really like about this retheme and some things not so much. I like that the park are trying to turn it more into an experience, there are some decent effects and this is one of the better ‘low investment’ year addictions. Most of which in the last 5-10 years have felt rather far-fetched. However, the attraction has resulted in ‘yet’ another dark apocalyptic theme, bringing that number now upto five, six if you include Tidal Wave (which is arguably a more upbeat theme). The park desperately more than ever needs more upbeat/mysterious themes and seems to have somewhat lost one through this retheme. I also think the ride doesn’t need to be a 1.4 and more like a 1.2 or 1.3. After all that, I haven’t decided whether I prefer X or TWD, but there are things I like about both attractions. The park have done quite well here, but now need to focus on more upbeat themes.