Project LC

A vast improvement over the old one. Good to see improvements even if it is just the website.

If this ever opens I don't expect it to be that good. Far too many delays now and with huge changes in design that will now be needed. To me it seems like it might be very similar to Merlin. Which is something I really don't want to see. Which is a shame as it had great potential.

LC was for large coaster (I believe) and WC was white chapel. Saw had the code name Dylan. Unlike Alton towers Thorpe's are quite random.

It wouldn't be too bad. Its capable of 2 trains so imagine it would have a similar throughput to a normal flat ride like rush and it would be higher than whatever slammer did. If throughput was there goal though they could go for the skyline attractions skywarp.

Well the ride would have to go all the way from slammer to rocky express so the toilet block and that food stand would have to move. I'm not suggesting that it's a likely replacement, more it would be nice to see them get one.

I'm not really sure how the foot print would work without moving a couple of buildings but the xtreme spinning coaster from Mack might be a nice addition. Certainly gimmicky enough for merlin and would provide something as a tie over until their next big coaster.

Repainting vampire wouldn't cost as much as some other coasters due to its close proximity to the ground. They repainted nemesis so Merlin are perfectly capable of doing it. But there is no return in that sort of investment so I doubt it will get done anytime soon.

You have to consider it from Merlins point of view. They spend millions on a ride where its USP is being made of wood. Opening another ride with the same USP or a similar superior one like an RMC would mean Thorpe ends up stealing customers from Alton. SW8 wouldn't boost visitor numbers as much as it could have without competition and so it would be considered a poor use of funds. While Thorpe may get a woodie at some point I highly doubt it will be any time soon.

I think the best choice would be a thrilling family coaster focusing on airtime around loggers leap. A woodie wouldn't make sense as one is opening at Alton next year. They might want to take on Blackpool with a multilaunch but then again that would also be a reason not to go with one. I'd love to see a RMC T-Rex replace Colossus but I highly doubt that would happen anytime soon.

I assume it's so when avatar 2, 3 and 4 come out in 2018, 2020 and 2022 they have an attraction that is with the trend. Doesn't excuse the ride being incredibly dull though.

For a new coaster to open in 2018 they wouldn't need to start vertical construction until about November for a march opening (Merlin seems to aim for May anyway). Steel construction is very fast and as Thorpe is very flat the foundation's wouldn't be complicated to construct. The thing that would take the most time would likely be the planning permission which they still have time for. That being said they spent a lot of money DBGT and I suspect 2018 is a low investment year. So I would say 2019/2020 is when the next coaster might come along.

Some American park has some RMC raptor track on the way. Maybe Thorpe should consider some for loggers site or perhaps the bigger T-Rex track.

Well that statement is in no way optimistic. I shall assume it's another loggers situation until they say something otherwise.

They should have all been open by 10. There chance was to have yesterday as a one off but clearly that isn't going to be the case. The GP will always want to blame someone and that unfortunately is the first person they see. They have every right to be angry when they are paying £30-£50 to get in and half of the park is shut. It's just a shame that anger is directed towards the hosts rather than the managers.

Management will know the blame is on them and will be working on fixing it. I'm quite sure someone very high up will have arranged some kind of meeting about the shambles of today. Probably not Nick or the COO but I suspect they would have been told. Unlike other problems that cost the park in the long run this would have cost them a lot of money and generated a fair amount of negative reviews instantly. On top of that this problem is 100% completely their fault. So management must report why it happened and what they are doing to prevent it from happening again.

If it's on one train and is struggling to launch then I suspect the 2nd train is ready but adding it would make no difference as the launch is not ready to send the train.

What a complete mess they have on their hands and they should be truly embarrassed by it all. I feel sorry for anyone who's day has been wasted. Although I imagine they are handing out free returns to everyone.

I suspect it's also a little more reliable so the number of people riding it twice in a row is no where near as much.

I hope Colossus keeps it's theme, IMA Score may produce good music but nothing they have made comes close to Colossus.

I strongly believe that VR will never be up to what they want it to do. The 1st generation headsets were never designed to be running all day playing the same thing over and over, and no generation of headset will be designed for that either. The graphics will age horrifically as graphics always do, the hardware will become tired and outdated faster than Merlin will be able to keep up with, it's got an IP of a man that in a few years will be completely irrelevant and the ride system is so under used and stuck as a VR tech demo that they might as well just use the chairs from angry birds and be done with it. It is possibly the single most short sighted investment Merlin have ever done and all the problems the ride is giving them they truly deserve. It could have been so much more and a fantastic ride but they had to go with every idea on the table and then throw in some VR so people think they are innovative. It's a flawed concept and a ride that will forever be stuck with the thought of it could have been so much more.

That would be a lot of continuous investment for a diminishing reward over time. What I suspect will happen is the rise of the demon will result in guest satisfaction going up slightly and them leaving it at that. I highly doubt it will be as successful as they had hoped and I suspect a fair few will still dislike it. The ride is a flawed concept which I don't think they are able to change now it's been built.

It never seems to get much of a queue compared to the other rides anyway. Just get rid of it and replace it with something completely different. That thing is beyond redemption and isn't worth the time or money. I'm sure the people at MMM can come up with another disappointing attraction to replace it.

I am amazed they allowed it to open in that state. How any engineer could have signed that off is a complete mystery.

Was it doing that all day?