HermanTheGerman

Umm, the blocking system was overridden, just not necessarily by that young girl.

It looked pretty poor to be honest. A lot of the old details had disappeared, and parts of it had been very blatantly plastered over, in an attempt to stop it from cracking.

Wow, if the ride ends up looking anything like the photos on /bellows then they might as well just admit that they're out to give everyone a severe case of depression. It actually looks alarmingly similar to that Dismayland parody we saw a few months ago which is funny... Sad.

See... I interpret that as meaning they've decided to do some refurbishments instead. Funny that...

^ Ha! That is brilliant.

They were given the budget and things, but they rather stupidly decided to advertise the new ride before they'd even done any ground tests (or even decided on what they were getting). I'm also under the impression that they weren't 100% sure of where the ride was going either. They're hideously unorganized at the moment, and this is a prime example of it.

Um, they had 'New Ride - Coming 2016' on the park map...

It's not on cost cutting grounds. If it was, then they wouldn't be tearing them down would they. And no, they're not going to ever publicly confirm it. Wouldn't exactly look very good.

Well, they obviously think there is something wrong, otherwise they wouldn't be shutting a bunch of staple attractions would they?They have their reasons, even if they are a bit naff.

Yeah, but that's Air and Rita...

They're being closed/removed as part of Merlin's mass H&S overreaction following The Smiler accident as I'm sure everyone with a brain has figured out.

I'm pretty sure someone's already said that all Mack Merlin flumes are closing... It's a shame, but if we're honest, the only real casualty here is Loggers. Falls and The Flume are in no fit state to go on at all and they're a total embarrassment to the parks they're in. As for the Heide flume, wasn't everyone saying it was naff anyway? Small side note - Dragon Falls may still be around next year. It had a big refurbishment last winter, so chances are they're not so concerned about that one.

Wouldn't surprise me at all if it's true. They were planning on binning Ripsaw this year a long time before the crash happened anyway. The Flume and Charlie won't be missed whatsoever, and Sub Terra, well... good riddance. So the only real casualty is Hex, and what a shame that is. This is the only real shame. Such a good ride (the only good ride on this list) and I'd imagine if there's any ride here that they'd rather have open- it's Hex. Oh well, I wasn't planning on visiting Alton Towers next year anyway.

We will be able to tell. Mostly because it's being spent on aesthetics this time round, rather than backstage improvements that no one will ever see.

That's if Dragon Falls is still operating next year...

If budget cuts are behind this, then it's not that unacceptable. The company have just suffered a massive financial hit. Absolutely huge. With next year likely to be almost as bad as this year for Alton Towers, it's only going to get worse before it gets better. Its a necessary and totally justified move to cut budgets for the next season. You can't be telling me you didn't see this coming? While I totally agree that it is very disappointing and a massive same, we'll just have to make do for the next year or so. Sure, they could try and look their best and entice as many guests as possible, but the damage has already been done. Repainting and opening everything is no incentive to come, it only stops people from being put off even further. So the money that they'll save by closing these rides and cutting their budgets, will undoubtedly help them more in the long term.

And there goes one of only four decent rides as Thorpe Park. What a shame, I had a bit of a soft spot for Loggers, and Canada Creek as a whole. Probably is time for an update though...

Ouch... I wonder if we'll see a pay cut to all the money obsessed Merlin directors' pay...?

Or maybe they'll just hire less staff? People that work five days are still going to be able to do that. Just maybe the days when they're not working, the park will actually be closed it self? But I don't know, I'm clueless about the staffing side of Chessington.

If you though Curse of the Lost Tomb was good, Haunting in the Hollows and MoHPH would have blown your mind.

This Howl'O'Ween lacks theming, Rameses Lasers and an atmosphere in general because most of the ents team walked out about a month ago. Several props, the stage and most likely Haunting in the Hollows haven't returned as a result of some irreversible damage happening over the summer. Couple that with the budget cuts, meaning that they can't replace them and that is why they haven't been able to put on a good event this year. It's disappointing, I agree.

It's in their events marquee.

Trick or Treat Wood has never gone above 5 minutes (groups of around 10 go through every minute). And Curse is a little more, waited around half an hour today.

He's the Director of Thorpe Park, not Merlin.

Its the old Halloween loop. The one originally used in Transylvania.