Inferno

That’s exactly what towers needs though to be fair. More of that.

Toxicator is looking good. Fountains also present! Also confirmed to be opening on opening day too. This will no doubt be a very welcome return of a flat ride. Skyride has also been shown on video by the park recently to have a lot of the gondolas on the layout, and testing. No mention of an opening date for that yet, but hopefully it’s also going to be working on opening day. Either way it’s encouraging to see movement there finally. In other news apparently Blade has been removed and the pit now sits empty. Again a positive bit of news there in some ways, to see that it’s been removed and not left in situ. I wonder if any work has happened on the Monorail after spending all last season on much reduced capacity? I feel quite apprehensive for Towers going in to their new season with all the budget cuts still unfolding. Hopefully this is a better year for the park despite the cuts, and the reliability improves. I think they stand a good chance of turning things around this year. Nemesis is still fresh, they have the new topspin, new Cebebies ride, Skyride and Hex will be running again. I know some events have been dropped, but if they can consistently keep the rides running throughout the year and finish with a strong Scarefest and fireworks, hopefully it should be better. I know there’s more to improve, but by simply having the rides open again I’m hopeful that this will at least be the baseline that can be built upon, as they didn’t even have many of the rides open last year…

I’m wondering if Thorpe are avoiding some of the cutbacks to be honest as they’re a very small team compared to Towers etc. And perhaps they have been more profitable than other parks recently so are being left alone a little more? 🤷‍♂️

That’s interesting - is this a Merlin report? Fair points about the impact of brexit and the VAT scheme - but really I think (unless of course the international tourism that the London midway attractions for example lap up has taken a really really crippling hit) it would be a bit of a cheek to suggest that either of these could be more of a factor than the fact that they are simply charging too much now for too little. Merlin themselves have said that the “in park spending per guest” that that used to rely extremely heavily on has dried up. They’ve shot themselves in the foot with this by totally out pricing themselves and wildly over-estimating their worth. Even if guests do spend in the food outlets for example on their visit, many will be (quite literally) left with a bad taste in their mouth and think twice about buying food from them again in the future. Not to mention the fact that many returning guests, especially to most of the parks, will experience a reduced offering compared with previous years. I’m not suggesting that dropping prices and sacking Aramark will fix everything - but I do think they have got a bit big for their boots. Merlin are charging more than Disney for food in many places, Disney being a true destination that people save for and are ready to spend money at. Merlin’s parks are not, and never have been, proper ‘destinations’ like that, and I think things like their restaurants (as one example) should be at least ‘good’, so that people actually want to go and spend their money in there after already paying or tickets etc. I also strongly suspect that tourism has changed - I don’t think the likes of Madame Tussaud’s or Shrek’s Adventure have the same appeal now as they perhaps used to - they have become slightly tacky. Perhaps social media etc has changed people’s views on city travel? The queues outside them all don’t seem anywhere near what they where when I was a kid

😂 Dear oh dear. It’s all a bit bleak isn’t it. The fat cats across Merlin have been ringing the company out like a sponge for years, to the point that there’s now no sponge left - just tatters left on the ground by the top execs and CEOs who have since left for other roles, for huge salaries no doubt. I do feel for all the staff involved in the redundancies; and those who will remain. I’ve worked for a couple of big companies now who have had mass redundancies like this, which I have luckily survived down to pure luck, and on both occasions the remaining staff have been so downtrodden and overworked that really it was a case of “last one out turn off the lights”. Merlin declined in to a dreadful company a few years ago. I sincerely hope it can be turned around, and the existing established parks will be shown a bit more respect, rather than continue to be seen as cash cows that should be squeezed to distraction to extract every last penny. The problem they’ve got of course, is that so many of their assets need massive investment just to simply tread water… One thing I am feeling positive about however is Universal. It’s about time we heard some good news.

I would hope that this sort of thing would still go ahead. I can’t imagine it’s going to be expensive. Hopefully someone high up at Merlin knows that entertainments are on and off like a light switch across the company. One year it’s “entertainments” galore, and the next they’re cut completely - and repeat. This space will work well when entertainments are back in a couple of years 🙄

On one hand it’s a shame given that the new brand is all about transparency etc, but on the other hand if there’s nothing to share then there’s nothing to share I suppose. I expect there will be one or two videos over the next couple of months before opening - maybe just to show off Colossus and Hyperia’s finished area (hopefully), and any winter ride maintenance maybe.

It’s a good point actually - compared to last year, there has been absolute silence from the park on what they’re up to. I suppose there’s a good chance that’s because there isn’t really anything to speak of. Colossus is being painted, but with the stage area project on hold for now I suppose there isn’t much of an update to give.

Totally agree, the amount of time available to enjoy the rides is fleeting, and sometimes it’s only when rides are gone that you realise how much you love them! Loggers is a big one for me. But even the rides that do remain, the memories made are done and can’t be re-done, not really. It’s so important to go and do what you love, and make those memories and keep enjoying what you love doing. You never know what’s round the corner. As for what I’ve learned about being an enthusiast over the years - I think it took me a while to realise I was even an enthusiast. Just because I don’t go to parks every weekend, count creds, collect merch, have a YouTube channel, do big coaster trips, or even visit THAT many theme parks in the grand scheme of things, I am still an enthusiast and still very much enjoy calling it one of my hobbies. There are so many different types of enthusiasts out there, but really we all share that common love for the parks, even if we all have different ways of enjoying them. Secondly for me, I think I used to be all for the rides, but now I’m in my mid-thirties I’ve very much come round to appreciating theme parks rather than just the rides. I’ve never appreciated Disney as much as I do now, especially DLP as it goes through its transformation. Funny how things change isn’t it

A recent TPG update shows that the Colossus is continuing at the moment. https://themeparkguide.co.uk/news-page/Behind-the-Scenes-at-Thorpe-Park-A-Sneak-Peek-into-2025-Season-Preparations

It’s like that time I googled how American football works. All the words are there, but I just can’t understand what it all means.

There’s no reason this couldn’t be the start of the next big thing in the works. I’m sure there’s a fair amount of forward planning going on with Universal making their appearance. I wonder if logistically they need to get the ball rolling and get things planned in and on the calendar with the manufacturers and those who actually build these things? I would imagine they need to “book their slots” before Universal “book theirs” - because they will hoover up quite a lot of the manufacturer and construction people’s time for a few years I guess. Merlin won’t want to be forced to wait until universal is built before they can build something! Just guesswork, but I can’t imagine there are many companies out there who do this sort of stuff… and they’re going to be fully booked for a few years

It does seem strange. I understand that Postman Pat is dead in the water (hopefully not literally, and he’s enjoying his retirement) - but this is an odd replacement

It’s good they’re staying on top of Cebeebies land with new stuff now and then. It’s up there with the best of the kids lands in the UK. Horizon is well and truly shelved isn’t it

It seems that the logo has been added to somewhat. This has made an appearance on a lot of the social media posts and marketing emails over the past couple of weeks. I have to say I’m not sure this is a step in the right direction. I know the logo has been controversial, but this busy new animated park skyline element sat on top of the existing logo doesn’t fit in with the new sleek and minimal branding. It feels a bit like an addition that’s been made as an afterthought, by someone other than the original designers of the branding. I think it’s a bit of a shame that the brand overall is already becoming muddy after just one year, and it’s being strayed from quite a lot, even with something as important as the logo. Aside from that, I’m not sure what on earth they were thinking by having this as their app icon instead of the “Thorpe” text that was there before This really bears no resemblance to the park or the brand at all. Nowhere in the branding is this standalone T referred to at all, and it isn’t an icon that’s used anywhere to symbolise Thorpe Park. imagine a brand like British Airways having this as their app icon… Ridiculous. If it’s iconic enough, like Virgin’s red V or easyJet’s lowercase orange e for example, that’s great - but BA’s B, and certainly Thorpe’s T, aren’t. Again, I think the idea behind the new TP brand design has been lost a little. I know it was controversial, but this can’t be what the designers had in mind at all. We now seem to have quite a messy crossover between the sleek and colourful branding, and efforts made by others since it was designed. I think the logo text was deliberately simple, and was always supposed to be either intertwined with the squiggly bits as shown in the reveal videos, or overlayed directly on to bold images as shown on the sample posters.

After being retired, reinstated, retired, and reinstated again, the recently retired area names have been reinstated on the map on the app. I wonder how long this will last before they are retired. Interestingly ‘The Jungle’ name has been retired, and the previously retired ‘Calypso Quay’ name has been reinstated.

I absolutely love the Inferno, Stealth and Colossus carnival posters - but alas, I am poor. As much as I'd love all the proceeds to go to charity, to be fair I don't think that should be an expectation - other businesses sell their unused stuff and it isn't expected of them.

“Memorabilia” - I guess the online shop is getting some new stuff? If only this was an announcement for a log flume - I really miss Loggers Leap

The next looming problem appears to be the Monorail, which has been limping for years and this season has been on massively reduced capacity. That, like Skyride, is going to cost literally millions I would imagine. I do feel for the current management at Alton - they have inherited a problem where they need to almost literally rebuild half a theme park from scratch - and it all needs to happen in the next few years, with apparently £0 in the budget. I don’t really know how they get out of this mess now… It seems they are p***ing in the wind a little bit. They are needing to spend vast amounts of money on simply maintaining and restoring old assets (like the Skyride for instance) at a time when really they need to be investing more in the future. The glory days around the time Saw, Th13teen, Smiler etc opened, and they opened a new midway every 20 seconds, where Merlin seemed unstoppable, seem to have all been an illusion because it looks like they were spending next to no money at all on long term maintenance and upkeep at the parks. It was all about the ‘now’.

To be honest I don’t think “project sparkle” and the like realistically is an investment as such - really it’s just routine maintenance that should be taking place during closed season regardless. Things like the Colossus repaint for example - that was very badly overdue. While I know that upkeep like this costs money, it is important. Most businesses try to keep their assets in good order, and rollercoasters are no different. Spreading maintenance over years also prevents problems coming up all at once, which is what’s happening at Alton towers. Thorpe does seem to be bucking the trend a little bit, and has been getting a good amount of upkeep in recent years - even things like the toilets etc are in great order and have all been recently refurbished. That’s not something that can be said for other Merlin parks. I really hope they can continue as they have been.

On the subject of Project Horizon - could this perhaps have been scrapped for AT and instead put forward for Chessington? The design seems quite similar? To me this feels like another one of those nicely-thought-out plans that have unfortunately fallen through, because really I think everyone knew that Dungeons and all the David Walliams stuff was going to only be short-term, and would be at the end of life by the time Horizon opened. It would have all been quite well timed for a nice refresh of the whole area. Unfortunately it's now looking like everything in that area of the park has either reached or will soon reach the end of life, and their replacement is nowhere to be seen.

Oh dear. I do feel for the marketing people who have been tasked with making all this seem like “good news”. The Dungeons going I can understand to be fair as it must have been a money pit. The lack of any mention of the Skyride is very concerning. I think it’s now essential really that is makes a return at the beginning of the season, or at the VERY least before summer.

Looking back at Slammer - my god it was bloody terrifying wasn't it? For a long time it was one of the only remaining rides (apart from drop towers) that made me feel genuinely scared! I don't think I will go as far as saying I miss it, because to be honest it was never really open long enough to be a major part of the park in my eyes at least, but it was definitely an iconic and very unique ride. You could be stood basically anywhere at Thorpe Park, and you'd occasionally see the huge paddles soaring through the air (when it was open at least) - it certainly made itself known when it was running! It was absolutely enormous when it was spinning. The ride experience was so different to anything else - I remember the very genuine screams of fear from fellow riders when the ride would first start turning, especially on that first forward swat. The restraints also really amped up the fear factor, as they were so open and free. You were very much hanging out of your seat, against those wobbly shoulder restraints! Comfort levels were not a priority for Slammer were they? The rush of blood to your head throughout the entire ride, and the weird restraints were certainly interesting, and riding it in the rain was an ordeal to say the least. The long delays between dispatches towards the end were very tedious when queueing, and I remember being stuck at the top unable to lower back down to the ground many times, either in the freezing cold or in the baking sun (the awful smell of those sun-baked shoulder harnesses is still hot on the back of my nostrils after all these years). But none of that really mattered, because it was one of those rides that was just there to be as thrilling as possible - and it bloody was. It was good having a ride like Slammer at Thorpe. Hopefully something equally as unique will replace it one day!

I agree this is a bizarre turn of events. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good that it’s going - even if it is just a bit of a tidy up, but with all the cuts and money scrounging across Merlin this seems a bit weird. If that rumour about Colossus’ repaint being scrapped is true then that’s a real shame. What a waste of money even doing the first half in this case, as having it half done still looks sloppy, and possibly even worse than before…

Oh interesting. I guess it would make sense for any spares to be used rather than scrapped since they aren’t making parts anymore All this has got my thinking - could Stealth’s days be numbered? These hydraulic launch coasters are dropping like flies