Project LC

It costs so much because of the overcomplicated technology. The VR costs a fortune, the animation costs a fortune, the trains cost a fortune. I'm not sure if the trains are AGR or track but I would assume they are tracked but if it's AGR then that is a huge amount down the drain for nothing. You then have the loss of money from involving 9 million different companies and I'm sure Derren Brown didn't come cheap. I would certainly not say this attraction was value for money and I'm amazed anyone comes off the ride thinking it was good to be honest. To me it's just one massive Merlin disappointment.

I don't think it has. It might have opened on time the day after it reopened otherwise it's always opened at 11 or later.

Galactica is using mobile phones and is so poor many would not even consider it as a VR option. The HTC vive is the best on the market and they certainly didn't cheap out on the headsets, what they have evidently cheaped out on is the things running the headsets. The pcs seem like the minimum requirements (probably lower) and the headsets run as if its on the minimum however it is quite hard to tell if that is down to the very poor video its playing.

It never seems to open before 11 anyway. It's too complicated for its own good.

You are very optimistic about Merlin if you think more is going to be added to it over the next few years.

Oh the ride is edging ever closer on my ratings towards Rita and Sub terra. I understand its complex but its over complicated. When you throw so many new things into a project this sort of downtime and delays should be expected.

Been on it? I own it.

Maybe you could build an entire land and put it in a theme park. Perhaps have the ghost train opposite some sort of power plant which could be some kind of multi launch coaster called blackout.

Well I am very glad I didn't see it in previous years then.

Shame it stops playing if there is a breakdown as if it does in the first section you are left very confused for it all.

Well very glad that John didn't turn up to see his creation in such a state, it must have been heartbreaking enough when they first changed it but if he were to see its send off as well.

Seeing as its the first day of fright nights it wont be super busy like the later dates. However compared to day in march for example it will seem packed.

I thought they were basically copy and pasting the work you had done on the British dark rides project just with very little effort and not caring about the details.

So bubbleworks last 10 years a roaring success then from start to finish.

I must say the concept of a roller coaster using rubber tyres like that you find on a car is rather amusing.

Does anyone know the parks opening times for the weekends of September to October because on their website all it says is Whilst its nice to know the park is open then it would be really useful if I knew what time it was open.

I'd say the ratios of express passes was about 50-75% with the odd train being 100%. There was no point in running 3 trains as the 3rd was back on the break run by the time the 1st train was sent on shambhala and dragon Khan on most occasions. The only ride being sent in reasonable times was baco. Thanks to the visit though I'm able to see more things Thorpe is doing right. So one positive to take away from it.

Not the Iron Horse by any means. Microwaved from frozen is the quality there and pretty poor service as well. One member of the group was a fussy eater so unfortunately didn't get to try the Mexican area. My issue with the operations were the crazy number of express passes making Merlin's fastrack seem generous and the very slow loading. Was taking about 1 minute 30 to send a train on shambhala. There was also an incident my group encountered with shambhala. The person I was riding with was too large even though they fitted the test seat (what's the point in having it if it doesn't relate to anything). They tried no effort to push the bar down and made me get off as well as they found 2 people to take our seats. Quite safe to say I was furious after waiting an hour for nothing. In fact so angry someone else in my group had to explain to guest services in the fear I would get myself thrown out. That incident is probably why I rate PA so low as I guess I have a rather distorted view on the place.

Would not surprise me if they are using Intel stock coolers. I get the impression HTC gave them pc requirements and that's what Merlin went out and bought but of course HTC wouldn't have mentioned cooling.

Well 2 ride hosts told our group that a lot of effort went into the attraction such as Derren Easter eggs and heating the building so it's like the real underground. The trains are not that hot naturally.

Oh I didn't mean it was causing the issue, I just was giving an example of a weather related problem. The building is heated though so its like the real underground.

It struggles with heat a lot. The PCs have no where to vent and by the sounds of things Merlin cheaped out and didn't go for water cooling for each PC.

Oh I'm not sure about that, Swarms shipping container is a good rival and I think saws is quite poor although does sort of fit in with the theme.

It does have a very high running cost though and will need constant investment to stay a major attraction. While throughput will increase and hopefully the reliability there is no getting around the fact that the headsets, pcs and animation will need replacing every few years. Fortunately for Thorpe the ride seems to be popular and is pulling people through the gates even when the ride itself isn't open. The fundamental question is if it will continue to pull in guests.

Went to the park all of last week. Wonderful rides, very nice looking and the absolute worst operations ive seen. Oh and all the food was pretty poor. Overall I can't say I'm a fan of the park. As for Ferrari land I don't really get it, Baco offers a good launch and Huracan offers a good drop tower so the entire new investment seems odd to me but will no doubt be popular.