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Inferno

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Everything posted by Inferno

  1. Stealth really can be good for getting people through can't it. I do feel for the people who bottle it when they get to the station! I hope they changed their mind and went on in the end!
  2. That's a bit of a shame - I wonder if this is the onset of the late-season "urgh" that seems to come about towards the end of Summer... The little things like this seem to slip a bit at Thorpe as I imagine staff grow more tired with managing it all day in day out! On the subject of TWDTR - TPG have uploaded a lot of photos from inside the building, with layouts of the corridors and rooms etc - very interesting! I've always wanted to have a free-wander around that building to see what it's all like. https://themeparkguide.co.uk/archive/The-Walking-Dead-The-Ride-Behind-The-Scenes
  3. Love the new website - looking forward to having a bit of a trip down memory lane when all the Fright Nights archives are on!
  4. What a bizarre situation this is… you can buy a NameDrop? I’m baffled.
  5. Matt N: "Virginia Reel 1 was too intense for me" 😁 I didn't like it either Matt. Great post as always, and you had some great weather!
  6. That's very true, although I'd assume the hint JB was suggesting there might be for a longer term project for the island. I imagine if there's going to be a coaster going on there, the planning would take a good 4-5 years if Hyperia is anything to go by, so if they're just planning it out now then it could be a while away. That leaves a bit of time in the meantime for a smaller flat ride or something else perhaps where Slammer is? It's so exciting that Thorpe is getting some investment after all these years.
  7. I agree, my visit this year was a busy one, and from what I've seen it's certainly been busy throughout the year. Alton Towers is such an odd place to me. They seem to have bouts of good operations and success which appear to lead to delusions of grandure - resulting in situations like the seven million hotel rooms that are currently at the resort, but then in the next breath they close half of the hotels over winter and cut the hours in the park, even on peak event days, and keep rides closed for very long periods of time (Hex for instance, I mean come on). It always seems to be a very oddly run place to me, lurching from a "We're a massive world-class resort" attitude to "We're closing early because someone's called in sick" sort of thing... I think at smaller parks, cutting an hour off the end of quiet days isn't so bad, but given AT's size it really does have an impact on the day even on the quietest of days. I do understand that staffing etc is an issue, but with the very well-connected and well thought out Universal probably opening in the coming years, I think really they need to get a grip of all this and decide if they want to be a realistic competitor, or be a small regional theme park where these sort of cuts-to-hours, staggered openings and ride/hotel closures are more normal. That said, if the issue is down to staffing, that isn't a problem I'd like to be tasked with solving... It can't be an easy place to recruit for being where it is. As stated above, maybe cutting 30mins off the start of the day would be better? I don't know.
  8. That space behind Stealth has just got to be used for a coaster, or at least a large scale and very worth while investment - they must have spent a fortune on dredging etc to make the man-made island there. It's mad that it's just been sat there empty for all these years after investing in creating it in the first place.
  9. A bit of a weird question… but one I’ve thought of a few times over the years. When a ride unexpectedly goes down for a few weeks, for example Wicker Man at the moment due to the fire, that suddenly leaves a team of staff stranded. I assume it must take a team of around 15ish people to staff a ride like Wicker Man permanently, considering shifts, days off, etc. that’s quite a few people knocking about all of a sudden with no ride to operate! For those who have worked at the parks, what happens to these staff during the time their ride is closed? I assume they are seconded to other rides, although surely they are then over-staffed on those rides (if that is such a thing these days) with people who may not be trained to do much on those rides? I hope it’s not a case of hours being cut or people being displaced on to other departments? Likewise with the shorter delays of a few hours, what happens to the staff in the meantime?
  10. Galactica having a theoretical throughput of 1,500 an hour is just so hysterically optimistic.
  11. Inferno

    Wicker Man

    Very strange. I can’t imagine there will be much to do in the way of repairs. It was only a small amount of white whispy smoke. Maybe a smoke machine malfunction or something? Or some tool has dropped a battery pack or vape thing?
  12. Finally been on Hyperia - and wow, what a bloody ride. I can not actually believe we have this thing in the UK. It’s a monster. You really can see it from everywhere. I particularly like the view of the lift hill as you walk down the path towards it from Inferno‘s direction. The ride may be short in duration, but I was out of my seat for 6 - 8 business days on my first ride alone. I mean even just going through the stall, you’re airborne for about 20 minutes. The seat’s only purpose is to support your ass while you climb the lift - after that, you’re up against the lap bar until the gift shop. The first drop just doesn’t let up, and gives some very weird and different airtime. It’s also FAST throughout. Of course I knew it was >80mph before riding, but until you get on there you really don’t think about how fast that actually is. Even through some of the higher points of the ride, which look quite slow off ride, you’re flying (literally) through them at huge speed. I can honestly say I was speechless the first time I hit the brakes. It’s so unique and just something totally different for us here in the UK. Unfortunately the plaza and queue are a bit of a mess, and clearly unfinished. Hopefully this is something that will be sorted before next season, because it would really level the ride up even more. Also the speed at which the train comes back to the station could do with some work to help with waiting times. I’m very impressed. An excellent ride which is perfect for Thorpe. It’s fantastic to have that new ride buzz at Thorpe again! I can’t wait to see it lit up for Fright Nights. It’s encouraging to see the permanent lights already there!
  13. Thorpe are absolutely smashing it out of the park this year. Fingers crossed these late hours are well attended, because I seem to remember “Summer Nights” being a bit of a flop for them a few years ago - my visits were certainly very quiet in the evening
  14. I must admit I’ve always thought it was a bit weird, a big brand like that running a closed Facebook group of all things, for pass holders only. Theres really no need for it. Yes, updates are great, but the same can be achieved in other ways, and they can include non pass holders too. Giving customers direct access to departments is also far from ideal. Really everyone should be going through the same channels for everything to start with. It’s just the way the world works, and it’s better for both staff and customer if done well.
  15. Thank you Josh! I’m loving all the details behind the scenes! A proper nerdy enthusiast binge this thread. I kind of agree with that last comment there - I don’t think it matters at all if the queue times are slightly off. At the end of the day, the queue time board really only serves to help you decide “ok let’s do it” or “woah nope not this time” - it’s a nice to know, but an estimate really is enough.
  16. Matt this is absolutely glorious. It’s a weirdly interesting topic that actually has a massive impact on a visit. I’d love to know how queue times are actually measured - or is it literally just a glance and an estimate? I remember some fanfare years ago about Saw the Ride having some sort of Bluetooth thing that tracks where people’s phones are, but that has always sounded like a lot of bs to me 🤷‍♂️
  17. Inferno

    Kings Island

    Great post! A bit of a shame that it was slightly disappointing, but the night ride on The Beast sounds amazing. Love moments like that when you’re reminded why you love all this stuff so much ❤️
  18. The Passing returns - hopefully they’ve at least shaken off the head bags and charged the iPod shuffles before we go again.
  19. Oh….? So you’re supposed to show up at the start of the time slot? What, literally every single person on that slot is supposed to show up then? even by their own bizarre logic, it doesn’t work… Because there will still be the same number of people queuing, it’s just they’ll all arrive at once, meaning the queue would start off gargantuan and decrease before the next slot starts. God I miss the days of free mazes, you just turn up and bloody queue… what a concept.
  20. Wow well done Matt, that’s fantastic!! Congratulations! 🍻 Well done for sticking at it and achieving that First - amazing.
  21. Oh dear what a nightmare for anyone visiting over the busy summer 😬 It’s bad enough for queues when everything working. The more time that goes on, the more bizarre the Mandril decision seems to get - what an absolutely dreadful decision it was to go with that ride type given the capacity issues that have plagued the park for years.
  22. Only 2 years late, but here's my write up of Brave it Alone in Studio 13 in 2014.
  23. Oh definitely. The sort of period of time I'm reminiscing about was probably a good 15 years ago really... Which is crazy, there are enthusiasts riding the coasters at Thorpe right now who weren't even born at the time I'm harking back to... 🫥 A lot has changed since then. Oh this is definitely true, and I think some of the forums were responsible for their own demise.
  24. As we approach the start of the preparation for Fright Nights 2024, I thought I'd do a few more blog post ramblings on some nostalgic Thorpe memories I have. I started off a couple of years ago now, with Dr Pepper Sun Scream, then Brave it Alone in Cabin in the Woods back when it opened in 2013... Now it's time for another trip down memory lane, to Brave it Alone in Studio 13, 2014 (a staggering 10 years ago somehow). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - We did Studio 13 way back in 2014, the second ever year of Brave it Alone, and I believe the last year they let you choose which maze you wanted to experience? So... with our brave it alone tickets booked for the brand new Studio 13, here's what happened! 10PM came around on a surprisingly quiet Fright Nights at Thorpe. We had been fortunate in that we'd managed to experience all of the mazes multiple times that evening, including I believe 3 or 4 runs through Studio. I think unfortunately the days of the lucky quiet evening at FN have long since gone! Much like the previous year when we'd braved it alone in Cabin in the Woods, we met up with the other participants at the Clypso BBQ, and were asked to sign the waver form. One notable difference this year was that there were far fewer staff running this, there were no managers present as there were in large numbers the previous year, and the bar was closed and we weren't offered a drink as part of the experience, although the Director was there again chatting to us along with a couple of members of park staff. As far as I remember, there were 2 of us (my friend and I) doing Studio, 2 others doing Cabin, and 1 doing My Bloody Valentine. So in all honesty you can see why Brave it Alone had to change - they were having to keep 3 mazes open after hours for very little money really.... After chatting with the director for 20 minutes or so, we were taken by one of the members of staff down to the iconic and formidable blue door at the entrance to Studio 13, where we waited and chatted with the member of staff for another 10 minutes or so, the memorable Studio queue music still playing! This was a stark difference to last year, where we were very much outnumbered by concerned staff and Thorpe management who were I think quite stressed about the whole affair... This year it was very much cut back in terms of a single member of staff with us, having a nice chit chat! Anyway... the time had come! While we were chatting at the door, it suddenly swung open, and an actor grabbed my shoulder and screamed at me "YOU'RE LATE! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?", as she pulled me inside, shut the door, and held me against the wall opposite. Here, she stood very much in my face and warned me that if my lateness made her look bad, I'd be dead. I was given the hurry up and told to run down the iconic first corridor, while she pushed me along it. When I reached the end of the corridor there were multiple actors waiting for me, all seemingly very upset about how late I was! I was pulled and pushed around, backwards through various doors as far as I remember, then was stood against the wall while they took my 'photo', which involved a blinding flash, before I was spun around multiple times and sent on my way through the next part of the maze alone. I don't think I made it far before I made it to the makeup department scene. I was sat down in to an office chair and as far as I remember I was taped to it, to stop me from 'wasting any more time'! Here I had the unpleasant experience of multiple actors putting makeup on my face! This only lasted a few seconds before I was released and sent on my way through the rest of the maze. I am finding it a struggle to remember the middle part of the maze, but from memory I think much of it was a similar idea to the Asylum, it was very much a case of following the fences through the maze, with no particular scenes as such for a short while. What I do remember though is spending the entire middle portion of the maze being utterly crowded by the actors, who were all seemingly taking it in turns to get right up in to my face to tell me to hurry up! I distinctly, however, remember the ending of the maze... As I approached the bedroom scene, I was surprised to realise that one of them had managed to get a bottle of water in to the front of my jeans and had proceeded to empty the contents in to my nether regions... I have to admit at this point I did think to myself... ok, wtf is this? The majority of the actors then disappeared, and I was left at the entrance of the bedroom scene with a single actor, who had interacted with me earlier on after the makeup scene! He had complimented my pretty eyes and told me "You'll do nicely".... The reason behind all this then became apparent, as he said he wanted me to meet his daughter. I don't specifically remember at what point during the maze my hands had been tied in front of me (or was I wrapped in tape with arms by my side? Can't remember), but I was tied up regardless. The actor pulled me in to the bedroom where I saw his daughter (a live actor I think?) led on the bed. He told me to say hello and give her a kiss, which of course I denied. He pushed me towards the bed, and I believe other actors then came to his aid and also assisted in getting me to be on the bed with her... He then asked me what I was doing, and seemed very angry when he discovered how wet the front of my trousers were 🙄 He had the chainsaw in his hands at this point and told me he'd never let me do this to anyone ever again, before the chainsaw was very abruptly pushed up between my legs, and off we both went down the exit corridor and out of the doors! I was half way across the path before the chainsaw was eventually removed from my damp crotch. The member of staff was waiting at the exit, where she said to me "... you ok?" 🤣. A few moments later my friend came out, who had suffered the same fate, and off we went (still tied up by the way) to collect our bags from the BBQ before heading out. Unfortunately there wasn't an opportunity to chat to the other participants at the other mazes this year as there was previously. -- In conclusion, I will say that I did enjoy Brave it Alone in studio 13, although this was a very different approach to Cabin in the Woods the previous year. Where the Cabin BIA experience focused on a lot of physical pushing and shoving, shouting, being physically picked up and moved, crawling, and even bodily fluids to some extent, the Studio experience was more about making you feel uncomfortable and awkward, and it was a lot less 'hands on' when it came to all the pushing and shoving. It certainly was a less 'scary' experience than the previous year. I don't want to be a bore, but I wouldn't have gone with the bedroom scene, and if I'm honest the wet underwear was something I could have done without on the drive home! I also found the "You're late" storyline (which seemed to fade away during the maze) meant that the experience was very quick as it really was a fast run through the maze. I have to say that I did also miss the 'meet-up' at the bar with everyone at the end, as this was a great way for everyone to chat and compare experiences as you all left the park. All in all, this is a great memory I have of 'old thorpe' - I commend them for trying something niche, and for daring to be different. I love the idea of brave it alone, and who knows, maybe one day it'll make a return in some form or other. But until then, I'll never forget it - Fright Nights a decade ago was Thorpe at its peak in my opinion.
  25. It's such a shame isn't it! I really do miss the way it used to be.
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