Inferno

It's good to see them offering options to anyone who's already booked, but I'm surprised they're even going to open at all. It's a shame Merlin couldn't have come to an agreement and that it's had to come down to this. Hopefully they'll get this all sorted sooner rather than later, as Summer is rapidly approaching. Surely before too long Merlin will be losing more money through these low attendance weekends than they'd lose by paying a team more appropriately over the course of a year?

I'm sure it's all fine - people leave jobs all the time, and projects are completed by teams of people. One person leaving shouldn't affect anything.

We really do need some proper competition in the UK don’t we. I wonder if Merlin’s management actually know how dire it is at all the parks operationally? Or are they too busy backslapping and congratulating themselves about the new rides (most of which still aren’t open) and Aramark outsourcing? Because it never seems to change does it. There should be no excuses for not getting at least most rides open at capacity before the Easter holidays, surely? Good luck to the engineers on their strike. I hope management sit up and listen.

I always thought Sub Terra was good. Fine, it wasn't the best ride in the world, but not everything can be. It was a great bit of fun in between coasters and will be good to have it back again.

All I can think is that this track was on its last legs and needed doing to keep it going for a few more years. The last thing they need is a coaster down for maintenance next year when Exodus opens - new coaster years are super busy so maybe it was a bit of a forced decision. I still think it sucks that these things don’t happen over winter like they used to though.

I agree - a bit unprofessional throwing shade at Towers when their own project is clearly a complete shower of sh**. The track “not fitting”, or whatever the reason, then having to be sent back has got to be a bit of a screw up - you don’t hear of that very often. Delays etc happen, that’s ok, but to be honest it seems Thorpe have once again far over-run on winter maintenance across the park and have tried operating a half-open theme park… again… and they have the cheek to point fingers at Alton Towers? 😐 Thorpe will never change will it.

Oh dear. Wasn’t stuff closes due to the weather?

This is all well and good, but it is closed… there’s track missing and no mention of an opening date.

One more point I forgot to mention - I think scrapping the themed lands is an easy way to throw the doors open for more cheapo, short-sighted stuff, like the ridiculous I’m a celebrity maze, Bouncezilla, and Black Mirror. it even leaves the door open for “plonk down” style short term rides like AT’s fairground nonsense. (Please no) Theres no denying that the Amity KFC with the incredible boat / flood / shark theming is miles better than the new generic Burger King… Even the Amity toilets are so much better than elsewhere like the newer swarm ones, with the boat crashed through the roof etc - come on let’s have some effort and do the theming properly.

On the face of it I’m really disappointed to see that there now saying they’re not keen on themed areas again. after all, you could argue that a large part of Wickerman and The Smiler’s success have been their strong themes. Also what they’re doing with Nemesis in Forbidden Valley, Curse in Gloomy Wood and Jumanji at CWOA relies heavily on the story behind the themed area… “Merlin” seem to think that themes do work, and guests seem to like them. Thorpe can’t make up its mind though, and the attitude towards themed lands seems to swing back and forth as regularly as the one operational Rush arm. Since The Swarm opened Thorpe seems to have had a revolving door of short-term managers, staying for a short while before they leave again. For over a decade it’s been one knee-jerk short-sighted decision after another, just to get through the year, then the next season many of the priorities seem to change again. Obviously I don’t know any of these people and I respect what they have all done - they’ve each had a spell at running a successful company after all, which is not something I’ve ever or will ever achieve - but the truth is that Thorpe doesn’t seem to have had any sort of long term vision at all for ages - it’s all been very much based on the upcoming few months. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if the current management just don’t fancy themed lands, but then all of a sudden they magically come back again in a couple of years - maybe even next year with Exodus opening. Who knows. I just think they should pick a direction and go with it sooner rather than later, because this ‘middle ground’ is a bit messy. I will say though that if they’re laying the foundations for Exodus to be generic and unthemed, that is a mistake in my eyes and will be a missed opportunity. I think most people enjoy buying in to the idea of a theme - Alton Towers proves that - and personally I’d be looking to them to replicate their recent success.

It does seem daft that (I assume) millions were spent on the huge bit of infilling by Stealth, and where Saw Alive was, just for it to sit empty or have a queue on for a few years. I imagine it was down to priorities changing and future budgets being pulled after the Swarm was deemed a failed project?

Nothing ever changes though does it. Storm Surge opened with wet paint on the queue fences, th13teen’s paving was still being done on opening day. It’s also become normal for the first weekend of Fright Nights to be a lesser event without a show for instance.

Oh dear that doesn’t sound good 🙄 I did wonder why the stupid Dobble branded facade only covers a bit of the teacups structure.. Hopefully it’s work in progress. It’s the same old Thorpe every time isn’t it. Everything looks great “on paper”, but then you turn up and it’s a bit of a s*** show 🙄 all talk and no trousers as they say

Completely agree about the entrance - it’s an absolutely shocking way to start the day, especially when it’s busy. I do really like the bridge though (and the dome to be fair) - and when exiting the dome the view across the park I think is really good! I’m not sure they still need the beach - it’s a very odd thing to have at a park like this now adays, especially right at the front! Replacing that with something else would be amazing.

I kind of understand BK being refitted - a BK outlet should look and feel like a BK outlet in their eyes, and to be honest the old format was an absolute nightmare and just didn’t work when it was busy. It’s also not really in Amity is it. It’s sort of in no-man’s-land out the back I guess? It is a shame to lose the theming though regardless. KFC better stay away from the Amity Hotel theming though! That really would be a huge loss if that was all removed! I’d much rather KFC getting the boot and Merlin’s ‘Just Chicken’ going in there if the theming is ever at risk. Dobble Tea Party is even poorer than I expected it to be. Wtf is this? Everything else looks good though! Looks like they’ve tidied a lot up. The new food and drink also sounds good (let’s see if anything opens for once!)

To be fair this has been going on for years - John Wardley even says either in his book or on one or the documentaries that the “first ride” for Nemesis was given to literally hundreds of people over the course of several days.

If it is true, that's very good news! Congo River has been in a bit of a state for a while now. Great to see some work being done, especially if the waterfalls are being restored. The Merlin parks have really been stepping up (mostly anyway) since taking the company private again. Lots of improvement work going on throughout the parks, finally. Yes the food going to Aramark has been a step backwards, and AT does desperately need some thrilling flats, but generally I think things are improving!

Eww. 😬

🤨 wtf? I mean… what? I suppose it’s lots of circles with different images on. Adding a few stickers to the “saucers” might make them look a bit like Dobble cards? Seems a bit stupid though doesn’t it. The ride vehicles (lol) are quite clearly cups and saucers, and there’s even a f****** tea pot in the middle?

Part of me wants to jump in here and try to get everyone to hold judgement until opening day - it is work in progress after all, and so far Merlin’s ‘new stuff’ since being taken off the stock market seems quite good. It is also literally physically impossible to make the attraction any worse…. No matter what they do to the exterior or floating carriage. However… Thorpe’s track record has been dreadful for an actual decade now - so I guess really it’s now all up to them to prove.

It’s easier for people to graffiti on a white surface. Vibes innit

There’s a better POV online

Absolutely love that. Saw looks great from that angle. Loggers’ first lift/drop felt so much bigger than that didn’t it!

Oh it’s an Aramark cafe? Damn. I noticed recently they did the food at the Warner Bros Studio Tour - which was probably one of the most revolting “lunches” I’ve ever had 🤢

My expectations on this have gone up and down more than a the much anticipated Thorpe B&M hyper. ↗️At first I did think, wow this could be fab! No more VR and no more Derren - it’s what people have been asking for for years. ↘️Then I got thinking about what it could be… As Josh mentioned, the “ride” itself is an absolute yawn fest - it’s literally a box that slowly moves from one position to the next… If not done well, this could be a very awkward and drawn out experience. ↗️However.. with screens for windows and actors etc, really there are many possibilities.. if they can “do up” the experience to match the incredible station theming inside, this could be something very special indeed. ↘️Then my mind casts back to the other (non fn) “walkthrough experience” type attractions Thorpe have done over the years, and to be honest they’ve been lacklustre to say the least. ↗️Then you see Merlin Magic Making are involved, planning has been ongoing for over a year, and they’re even investing in a cafe and shop etc…. Looks like they’re taking this seriously after all? This is like something a “proper theme park” would do isn’t it? ↘️See-sawing the other way again though… why haven’t they hyped this up? Is this a just small refurb / removal of Derren and masks after all? I don’t know what to think! ↗️I’m optimistic and hopeful that Thorpe can FINALLY deliver a good attraction before they blow everyone away with Exodus, something they haven’t really been able to achieve for over a decade.