JoshuaA

I guess if you think about it, Sub Terra was a much cheaper attraction. Basically just a fake lift, and a tiny drop tower. The Ghost Train is much more complicated and expensive, being a overtly complicated simulator that uses VR. Sub Terra had much less going on but actually was still enjoyable when it had actors. It cost a fraction of what DBGT cost, so it wasn't as bad. Even if it was a failure in itself. Sub terra did actually have the finale added on shortly after opening, so some money was spend on it post opening. Though it probably wasn't much. The Ghost Train is harder as they spent so much money on something problematic. So if they do close it thats a lot of money down the pipe. I think Merlin in general does stretches. Wickerman being the most hilarious (Wodan has a fire effect as well! So does many other wooden coasters).. Maybe a bigger GCI with the 'biggest wooden coaster in the UK' or something like that. Honestly even Alton seem to have given up with worlds firsts. Wickerman being the example. I do think GCI, B&M, and Intamin are the biggest contenders here. Though Merlin haven't worked with Intamin properly for a bit, Thirteen as well. Which is one of the more unreliable rides at the park. And they also had their part in the Ghost Train somehow, which again is not a positive. I'd say a GCI on Loggers plot is the most likely. I don't think we'd see anything too innovative either. I think the island sitting there is bad, though I do think Loggers plot is worse. The park probably at the time thought they'd be building a coaster very soon, and Loggers was open at that point as well. I think Old Town is more in need than that new island. Which could be saved for a future investment. And yes, I think Swarm really opened in the wrong year. Its a crowd pleaser, and had a good campaign. 2012 was just not favourable.

Lol I'm not a Shawn fan, but the witch hunt certainly isnt justified. Shawn's core content is vlogs, vlogs, vlogs. I don't watch him very often, but that is what his is known for and what the people watch. So I could see why he would travel for work (TPW) even if the videos are god-awful. Also the park is not to blame (lol no business checks the address of every vistor lol) This is a horrible virus and and we should be careful, but being the covid police is not the answer (there is no law against what talkwide is doing so..)

It sadly makes a lot of sense. I'm guessing travel being hard at the moment also being a major problem. Europa Park is not just a park that appeals to people nearby, its a destination that you go to (like DLP). I really hope the park rebounds. I also feel bad for the town of Rust, as Europa creates so much business for nearby family run hotels and eateries. I hope next year proves a better year.

Seaworld/Busch are their own mess. The reason the prices are so cheap and they have so many additions is that the company are frantically trying to change their image and the point of their parks post Blackfish. The current additions they are doing is unsustainable, RMC and B&M both demanded payments earlier this year. They are a company that are adding these coasters as a last ditch effort, the prices reflect that. I have heard the parks aren't performing as well as they should be, so Seaworld/Busch are the last company Merlin should aspire to be. They have good parks, but business wise they are a mess.

This is fair, though I understand why people would be critical and still visit the Merlin Parks. If you're not in the north, then basically its Merlin or drive to the other side of the country lol. I also don't get too much of the hate anyway, Merlin have their faults, some big downfalls, though they are not the worst thing in the world. They sure do have an annoying obsession with worlds firsts, Thorpe Park is pretty neglected, but they do treat Chessie and Alton pretty well, and their Legoland properties are usually well kept and well invested in. There is many parks ran worse, look at Six Flags parks. Portaventura, I feel like people are overly harsh sometimes. Including myself. Merlin do a lot of things right. Though it would be nice to have some independent parks down here.

When you get to watch Terror Tomb and the RMC being built on the roof open next year you'll disagree.

when alton is more likely to get another coaster before Thorpe gets a new proper new ride period..

Okay so for people in the midlands/the north of the country, yes there is a fair amount of other options. Lightwater Valley, Flamingo, BPB, and a couple more. But down here in the south east its kind of the only option for parks. The only park down here is Paultons, which is nearly two hours away from me, and a 3 hour train journey. Paultons is a great park, but not quite something that I could go to year round for thrills as great as it looks. Thorpe Park, Chessie, and Legoland are my nearest parks. Besides Paultons the only other option I really have is Brighton Pier for a spinning mouse and a Pinfari looper. Merlin around the London and surrounding areas kind of own the monopoly on theme parks. I would totally visit BPB more if it wasn't 4 and a half hours away. And the only merlin park I actually like is 4 hours away (Alton). If there was a big non Merlin park that had some great coasters I would totally ditch Merlin, but sadly if you want good coasters Thorpe is really the only option for people here.. I don't think Merlin are all bad as well, Six Flags do a lot of things WAY worse. But its not quite as well ran as a Cedar Fair park. If Thorpe wasn't such a mess I would have a better outlook on the chain, Chessie and Alton are both respectable IMO. Even if a little rough around the edges. These passes are kind of bad, I do think the park should compensate for charging more for less. Even if its just 30 minutes exclusive rides on one ride. I also think for people like me, what are my options? Paultons is a good two hours away from me, there isn't a huge amount of options. Unless I wanna fly, which is hard at the moment. So yeah..

You also get a prime view of the mass refurbishment that is happening to transform Tomb Blaster back into Terror Tomb for the 2021 season.. I heard dan from the donut stall is happy to give more info

Its miles better than Black Mirror though. Also Chessington don't really get much in terms of gate figures anyway. IMO I would much rather this than what replaced Ripsaw..

Overall I understand this, though I do think they would have to improve their current booking system so people don't get pis*ed again. 120 is okay I guess, but if you can't book half the time, then it will be seen as a rip off and will be torched by current passholders. I think the booking system should allow more passholders in line with this price hike, and on off peak days, IMO they should maybe even make the limit sky-high. If there is a ton of normal tickets available, why should a passholder not be allowed in? Passholders tickets might be completely sold out on a monday in September, but the park could easily take another 100 passholders because the park's dead anyway.. I do feel that the park should really bring back some things for loyalty (like passholders day, maybe ERT). Make it feel like a loyalty card, you feel like you got what you paid for. Even small things like a half hour ERT on one coaster can make the pass feel so worth it, I remember getting it on Wickerman a year or two ago. It is something simple, but damn good! I do wonder how they price/priced Alton/Chessie/Legoland in comparison though. Considering they actually have had investment recently..

I doubt they will touch Tomb Blaster, though Blue Barnacle and a new drop tower are good enough investments IMO. It seems Merlin are taking interest in Chessington so I hope it pays off. With names, sure it might annoy us enthusiasts. Though I don't think the general public care all too much, look at parks abroad. With roller coasters named 'roller coaster'. Sure a cool name and good theming are always neat, but I don't think the name here is life or death. Look at Six Flags parks, they basically just name everything after The Joker. I don't know, maybe I'm just happy the park is getting anything anyway. They could of replaced this a stall or something like Ripsaw or just left that plot to rot.

Top ten parks: 1. Europa Park 2. Cedar Point 3. Phantasialand 4. Alton Towers 5. Six Flags Great America 6. Six Flags Over Texas 7. BPB 8. Universal Studios+ IOA (this was agessss ago tho lol) 9. Disneyland Paris 10. Portaventura So Universal Studios definitely would go up if I went back. I decided not to rank Seaworld and the Florida Disney parks as I have no memories of either of them. I had trouble with 5 and 6, Over Texas is more beautiful and has texas charm, though Great America has the superior coaster lineup.

Honestly is opening this even worth it? Assumed bad throughput, a 'live experience' rather than an actual ride, this has failure written all over it.

there once was a ugly barnacle that was so ugly everyone died. Anyway cool they are getting it replaced, that is a dream for most Merlin parks with flats these days. The name though, lol interesting.

Steel Vengeance Steel Vengeance lol Seriously though, this honestly looks like a middle tier RMC IMO. Definitely not in the tier of Steel Vengeance or even Zadra which looks to be paced very well. I honestly think GCI's don't tend to give the best framework for a RMC, as most of them have twisty layouts with banked turns. And RMC are really all about airtime hills (look at Steel Vengeance).

I agree to an extend, I liked Blair Witch though abit. Mostly for just being a pretty straight forward attraction that was enjoyable IMO. Platform 15 though, yeah, the sooner it departs the better. Though I'm pretty certain Thorpe will just bring it back, as its easy to set up, and overall probably won't cost much. Even though its one of the worst attractions in the park's history.. So I agreed on most things, up to this. Now I disagree with this. Back in 2012, conga line mazes were the norm, but now, I would say they are the minority. Conga line mazes have certain benefits, like less congested groups. But that is something that a well designed maze with a smart cast can avoid in the free flow concept. Sub Species at Alton Towers is a great example of this, a maze that had countless routes and multiple options up until the finale. They batched groups of up to 20 when I went, that may seem like a lot. But with the design of that maze, within the first minute or so people were sent in different directions and most run throughs saw me spent half the maze alone. The cast always know exactly when to intervene and split up small groups, and or obstruct them because they are too close with other people ahead. Cabin In The Woods in its first year or two did manage to deal with its guests fairly well even with its awkward at times layout. Though in the later years, yes it did slip. A lot of it comes down to how the maze is batched, and the cast within it. I would say some of the best mazes in Thorpe's history have been free flow. My best moment in Creek Freak this year is when an actor pulled us into a corner and told us how she would count to 5 and then chase after us and kill us. Personal moments like this just don't happen in mazes with the old school format, neither does the sheer splitting up and anarchy which was Sub Species. At events such as Tulleys now it is more of the same. Most of the conventional mazes there use a free flow like system. Wastelands is a great example. Many of the other mazes there are technically free flow too. Coven, Chop Shop, Cottage, Wreckoning, and my home Twisted all don't use conga lines (even if those mazes are linear). Overall free flow mazes can be really good with the right cast and when the batching is half decent.

This to me signifies that perhaps the maintenance team aren't given enough time to upkeep the coaster or that they need change the current way it is maintained. GCI's usually are very reliable, there is also no reason for Wickerman to be so problematic. It is one of the smaller GCI's, and one of the newest. I do think perhaps the park need to up their game with the maintenance. Look at Wodan, thats been running since 2012 and that nearly has a 1,000 feet of track on Wickerman. It also is paced a LOT faster, and Europa Park operate for much longer hours. I am sure that thing tears the track to shreds with its sheer speed. I feel wooden coasters are really all about the teams behind them, Colossos may have kind of been Intamin's fault. But El Toro, Balder, and T Express never got into that state. So Merlin obviously are not proactive and the best at upkeeping wooden coasters in general. I feel Wickerman's problems are lowkey really down to Merlin just not being experienced with wooden coasters.

Its a wooden coaster, they need in general more upkeep and regular retracking. I'm sure Merlin weren't oblivious to this when pitching Wickerman. This wouldn't be as bad with a RMC Hybrid, as the track would be steel. I do think Merlin really knew what they were buying with Wickerman, every GCI before and after it has needed the same upkeep and money to keep them up. I'm sure its going to need many more retracks. Colossos is even worse, that ride uses more expensive track. The answer to that question is yes IMO, they bought a wooden coaster. Its going to need looking after and maintaining much more than a steel coaster. Everybody knows that.

I wouldn't count Rameses as a ride as it was dead 90% of the time. And when it was open, it was walk on.

This is a good point, though I would disagree with Wickerman. I feel the ride is butter smooth, and it is well maintained. Colossos is a different story, Intamn pre-fabs are notorious for being maintenance nightmares. This is why only a few where ever built, they require more maintenance than any RMC or GCI surely. And this with Merlin's neglect is what made Colossos such a failure. With RMC it really depends, Steel Vengeance isn't a B&M, but I would say its more reliable than the 4 intamins in the same park. It does seem to have a complex structure, though I don't wanna roast it too much as it was open quite a bit when I went, and Cedar Point has very moody weather. I do think the topper track RMC's are by far the most problematic. Outlaw Run and Lightning Rod in particular have been claimed to be difficult to maintain and even 'rough'. So I think its fair to say RMC probably won't sell many more true woodies. So I would say its safe to rule out a Topper Track at Thorpe after Lightning Rod's failure. I feel a middle size hybrid or a large raptor would benefit Thorpe the most. It wouldn't be too hard to maintain, and would be a decent investment. RMC are by no means Mack or B&M, but a hybrid would not be too much. Wickerman IMO actually proves Merlin can handle a wooden coaster. I haven't seen Wickerman down too much, its more reliable than Stealth, Rita, Smiler, and Saw from my last visits. And Colossos, lets blame Intamin, everyone cool with that?

I'm just happy merlin are adding a flat ride. Alton next plz

So I'm hoping the park take some drastic direction next year. This year can excused, but I definitely think the park in 2019 had a real top heavy lineup with 1 good maze and everything else being just okay. So for mazes, even though it would take a lot of effort, I think they have to use The Jungle building at some point. Thorpe have a few locations, but a lot of them are problematic. The Jungle once emptied would be ideal for any attraction, so I feel the park should really prep that building. With that I see Creek Freak returning in full form, I also see a scare zone or two from this year also staying. Sadly, I see Platform also staying as what else can they do with huge space? Other than that, it is really free reign for new attractions. I do hope the people behind Creek Freak are still around next year, as that maze certainly showed the difference between a team who wants to make quality and a team who makes Do Or Die.. I also do back paid mazes, though I think they should be priced reasonably and in a bundle like Alton's. Also they have to be long and good enough to justify the money Anyway lets run the locations. Bouncezilla/Big Top/Do Or Don't's location Not the biggest space to work with, but it seems a staple in recent mazes and I see an attraction coming to this spot. Hopefully a maze with a tent with a great layout and design like Big Top. The Beach This is plausible, but as others have said. The flooding is bad, and I don't know if Thorpe could make a maze work here. It is fairly likely though IMO, so maybe they can make it work. Sanctum's old location Sadly this won't and shouldn't be used IMO. I remember the mud being a real issue here, it also is kind of is in a awkward position so I'm not sure having a full blown maze here would be viable ever. So with that said, I feel the park is really running out of options at the moment. I do think a maze in Big Top 2016/2017's plot is incredibly likely. But after that.. You have the beach? The park really needs to splash some cash on The Showcase building or maybe even Saw Alive's boat and redo that (that is incredibly unlikely though). Maybe they could even bring back Saw Alive, I don't like bringing mazes back either. But I feel Saw Alive was always a solid maze and the maze was built for permanent use. It feels a little like a waste. With that highly themed queue just sitting there dormant. I'm sure it wouldn't even cost that much to bring it back, so it would be a cost effective way of bringing a indoor maze back to the lineup. Saw movies are still being made, so maybe it would be worth to give that one another a few years. So yeah my predictions Platform 15 Creek Freak Massacre Containment New Maze next to Zodiac and Rush Saw Alive/re-use of the building (this is a pipe dream lol) New Maze on the beach/Roots of evil (plz the first one) Maybe a scare zone if we're lucky

Yeah honestly I feel superheroes in general have kind of lost traction over here in general. I feel they are much more appreciated over the pond. I think DC's rocky track record of movies in the past ten years hasn't helped. People know these characters, but I don't think they know much besides the name. I also doubt Merlin could get the rights. Six Flags kind of have a hold on DC. Like how Merlin has Lego. Six Flags also brand everything these days to DC IP's.

Unfortunately Merlin run their parks much different to how Six Flags run things. Six Flags love to use their DC and Looney Tunes rights left and right, with Merlin the IP's are kind of spotty, and nowhere near as widespread as lets say Six Flags. With X/X No Way Out at Thorpe Park, its really just a small family roller coaster in a pyramid. The ride never really had much theming, even less than lets say The Dark Knight Coasters at Great Adventure and Great America. The ride was in pitch black darkness, and the queue line was just black corridors. It is a shame because if they did theme it to how you said, it would of been amazing! But it was really just a family coaster in pitch black. I honestly don't see Merlin using a DC theme, Six Flags have already kind of milked that one lol. DC isn't really all that big here either too be honest, I think you folk are much more interested in DC than we are.