.jpg.90f6c4fc19f2b25f0e60b0a590c37d80.jpg)
JoshuaA
-
Posts
1212 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
23
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Events
Posts posted by JoshuaA
-
-
Got a few for Cedar Point and Great America
- Corkscrew, Rougarou, Gemini, and Blue Streak are all way better than Valravn
- Valravn is worse than Oblivion; rough and boring
- Corkscrew is a good ride
- Gemini and Blue Streak are underated
- S&S freespins are fun rides
-
-
-
2 hours ago, Platform15fan said:
What if do or die is not going to be in that location of the park though and they move it behind swarm there is rumours that the containers are behind swarm already someone has already spotted the container saying sanctum. Lastly they will probably put a different maze in the do or die area what if it's a surprise and it's _ _ _ _ _ _ try and solve the word of the underscores of the word I don't want to keep repeating the maze name as it keeps getting mentioned over and over by people including bigtopdan by the way guys I put underscores to give a big of a guessing game of words but this will be a very easy one.
I doubt they would use that space where Sanctum was again, I remember Sanctum used to be very muddy. The ground literally was a mud bath and I presume it must of been hell for the actors to work in!
If Do Or Die was to go in Sanctum's spot they would really need to sort out the mud. I think that location like Amity Beach just isn't optimal anymore.
-
Tulleys are pretty reluctant to add touch scares and for good reason.
I think touch scares works best in mazes like Sub Species, I wouldn't say any other maze to date bar Skin Snatchers has used touch scares effectively tbh..
JoshC pretty much summed it up, touch scares can actually break immersion instead of their desired effect if used incorrectly. It also can put actors at direct risk touching guests, some guests can react badly to it and there is nowhere to hide when you are directly in contact with the guest.. I think Tulleys works without the need for touch scares.
-
I presume this will replace The Colony and I have to admit that I LOVE this idea.
The Colony has so many structures that can be tweaked to accommodate this unique theme, the tone of the attraction could also be more on the wacky side like Twisted.
This type of theme gives actors so much freedom to make this completely unlike anything else., I really hope Tulleys run with it.
-
Only opened for a short while though.. I honestly see this opening in late october for a day or so before closing again and sitting stationary until 2020..
-
Yeah.. RIP I guess.. Toadstools, Submission, Ripsaw, Slammer, Merlin sure do hate flat rides. They are the ones missing out though as flat rides can be fairly cheap to install and can be a decent draw.. Like even a larson loop would be good right now!
-
-
1 hour ago, JoshC. said:
Let's keep in mind that Europa have access to a vast amount of engineering power, and have a space to keep a huge amount of spare parts / resources (thanks to being Mack). Very few parks in the world have that option, and I'm sure many parks envy the position they're in. Equally, it's incredible from a H&S perspective that they're in a position to reopen the ride less than 24hrs later - even if a UK park, for example, were able to replace and test a chain in such a time frame, a H&S investigation would delay a reopening.
Europa certainly have that advantage but I think a lot of it does come down to the fact that they just know how to run a theme park efficiently.
Look at the fire, what would of been a huge setback for most other parks (masses of burnt space and theming ruined) is now being redone and made even better. The operations on all the rides also I think speaks volumes about how competent Europa are at running the place.. Barely any downtime, unthinkable dispatches, etc!
Sure they have a lot of resources due to being owned by Mack but I do think they still deserve some slack..
-
8 hours ago, Glitch said:
Must of been budget cuts.
Props to Europa for being amazing as usual. The park has had it kinda rough considering the fire, the way the park react to some of this stuff is truly incredible.
-
Sceamland is a odd event for me. I like every year feels so different but in some ways I feel a little miffed that mazes such as Paradise Foundation, Crank Jack, or Festino (2016) end up completely on the chopping block. Some of these mazes I just listed had some brilliant unique ideas that I think really justified more than just one year of operation.
The event certainly never gets stale due to this but I really wish they would keep the stuff that does work like Paradise, which was such a awesome attraction that should of been a staple at the event!
I didn't get to visit last year but can't wait until my next visit, I really think Screamland is something different from the usual.
-
I have to admit Zadra looks very impressive from the POV. Looks like Goliath on complete steriods, RMC never fail to impress me when it comes to pacing and layouts.
Energylandia is certainly a must do now for enthusiasts with that pretty amazing top 2.
-
On 8/16/2019 at 8:16 AM, JoshC. said:
For a recent example, Untamed cost €12m. Assuming a ground-up RMC would cost more, and then take into account Merlin inflating prices, a brand new RMC would probably be slated to cost between the £18-20m mark. Hardly cheaper than a 'big' manufacturer.
Sure, Freespins would be a nice idea, but they'd be pretty low down on my list of rides I'd like to see go to Thorpe (or Towers really). It wasn't too long ago the idea of one them (or a similar-ish Intamin Zac Spin) would have been shot down for being ridiculous, due to their average throughput. Now it feels like that option would be brilliant because it's something.
It definitely is. Alton did that with B&M in the 90s to be fair. Six Flags seem to have done it with RMC.
But for every successful partnership, they'll be unsuccessful ones. Sure it's not coaster-related, but Merlin/Simworx is a prime example. Parque Reunidos work closely with Gerstlauer, but they've gotten very little out of it. It's a gamble, especially with smaller manufacturers, so it doesn't always pay off.
Wildfire and Outlaw were around the 10 million mark. I assume the topper track is a tad cheaper than IBox. Wildfire cost 110 million Sek which is about half of what Helix cost! Wildfire isn’t a small coaster by any means earns either.. 18-20 is pushing it even with inflation and Merlin.
I think with free spins they make a good supporting coaster. They also fit into spaces that other coasters can’t squeeze into. A bit like a skyrocket 2 or a impulse, not the best rides but it’s fun, cheap, and compact.
With simworx I don’t think they could of done anything to deliver what Merlin wanted for the Ghost Train. Also not forgetting that every Tom idiot and Harry manufactured that mess.
I think no company or nobody on this entire planet could of delivered the ghost train without changing the current idea of the attraction. The VR just doesn’t work, it didn’t fail because of Simworx, it failed because it was a bad idea to begin with.
-
35 minutes ago, Mattgwise said:
The one someone fell out of? It was $10 million according to RCDB and it was also a conversion, not full blown new coaster.
Yeah, the one with the Gerstlauer trains.... 10 Million probably sounds more like a accurate price but that is still way cheaper than most coasters. Especially on the scale of New Texas Giant.
Sure it was a conversation, though conversations aren't much cheaper than ground up RMC's anyway.. RMCing a coaster literally just re-uses parts of the layout and parts of the supports..
Outlaw Run (groundup RMC woodie) cost 10 million too.. (according to RCDB)..
-
8 minutes ago, JoshC. said:
Thorpe went for a smaller and cheaper manufacturer for DBGT in Simworx. But Thorpe asked too much and Simworx over-promised (and had to get in multiple other manufacturers making it a cocktail of technology which didn't really mix). It doesn't matter what manufacturer you go for, it matters what brief you give them and how much money you put into it.
I was talking more about coasters.. The Ghost Train is a complete cocktail of an attraction, isn't there like 10 companies involved in the ride? Its needlessly complicated and expensive. Nobody could deliver that attraction, it failed before it was built..
9 minutes ago, JoshC. said:With RMC's popularity ever-soaring, their prices will be going up. They're definitely not a 'small' or 'cheap' manufacturer these days.
RMC are still cheaper than Intamin, B&M, and major Mack coasters. They are rising in price but Six Flags were very smart by building those things left and right while they were cheap. What I am saying is Merlin should perhaps pull a Six Flags and try and install coasters that are cheap but good (freespins!). Working with more obscure manufacturers sometimes could lend to cheaper coasters and might even lend for some cheap deals. I feel like Merlin are a little too reliant on Intamin and B&M..
18 minutes ago, JoshC. said:S&S's track record hardly does much for them. Few of their coasters have been trouble-free (even Steel Curtain had construction issues). If Thorpe went for a coaster from them, if..or rather, when..a problem came about, they'd be slammed for being cheap.
Freespins tho. Cheap, no problems with them.. Easy to install, fun rides IMO. S&S have had their issues but their freespin model has had no issues and would be something very easy for Merlin to start cloning for peanuts.
25 minutes ago, JoshC. said:It's simple: you get what you pay for.
Is it though? New Texas Giant cost 5.5 million dollars and is considering one of the best coasters in Texas.
Or look at Chance's GT-X model, Lightning Run is considered by many to be a top 30 coaster, this coaster model costs 7 million.
I think sometimes its about getting the right manufacturer at the right time, if you pin down a company while they are still very young (Six Flags to RMC) then sometimes you can get amazing coasters for 1/3 the price of most big coaster additions.
-
-
1 minute ago, Glitch said:
Is that not what they did with the ghost train?
There is a difference between being innovative and being plain stupid. If the park worked with some of the smaller and cheaper manufacturers such as Chance, S&S, RMC, they could get great rides for peanuts. What Thorpe and Merlin have been doing recently isn't innovative or interesting, its a waste of money.
- Sidders and Martin Doyle
-
2
-
I honestly think Merlin need to think outside the box for future investments if they are going to become reluctant with money.
Look at Six Flags, they put their faith and 5.5 million dollars on a company with no coasters to their name in the middle of Idaho, for 5.5 million dollars they got New Texas Giant.
Six Flags might be cheap but they are smart, if Six Flags ran Thorpe it would be a lot better than it currently is. Six Flags don't spend much money but when they do its spent fairly wisely.
If Merlin want to draw in the figures for peanuts they should considering adding rides like freespins, RMC'S, and skyline's crap. If they did adopt the Six Flags business model it would be more more effective IMO. Six flags are in many ways tacky and uncalled for, but they do install good rides at the end of the day and I think Merlin recently have been more focused on 'experiences' than actual rides (DBGT, IAC, Sub Terra)..
-
If done right this could be a great attraction. The space looks pretty ideal for a maze so its all down to the delivery with this one.. Hopefully Thorpe stick the landing, Fright Nights really need a another good maze after last year..
-
Most of what the posts above me say are completely correct, but here's my two cents.
- Lack of image: Thorpe Park don't really have a clear audience now. At least back in 2012 they had a image and demographic, in 2019 the park have huge indentity problems and the new adverts and tagline just scream soul-less. Chessington and Alton are not perfect but any means but they have a clear brand and a clear target market which they both do well, Thorpe is the vanilla ice cream of branding at Merlin.
- IP's that make no sense: Gruffalo and Room On The Broom make somewhat sense. IAC, Angry Birds, and TWD literally felt just Thorpe picked their IP from a hat. Do we need a half arsed area themed to Angry Birds? HELL NO. IAC was another example of Thorpe slapping on a short IP for a short lived attraction that shouldn't exist in the first place.
- Poor small, medium, and large investments: For small investments we got IAC and a bunch of reused unthemed little flat rides which were placed pretty blindly.. For medium investments we got Angry Birds and the best family ride re-themed to something scary, for large we got DBGT- one of the biggest fails in Merlin history. 13 million spent on something that probably won't make it past ten years of operation.
- Neglected parts of the park: Colossus's new concrete look, Swarm's wood in the station, Inferno's queueline, Old Town in general, Slammer.. The park feels so neglected, Thorpe right now feels like the unwanted redhead child of Merlin..
I think what Mark said was very true in that Chessington was in a similar position for a while, things can change. Though I feel like Thorpe really has a dug itself a hole and its going to take some hefty investments and clean up to recover what is the current mess of the park. I think replacing Loggers and Slammer with new attractions would be a good first step, that area is crying for a refurb, its needed a refurb for like 4 years now..
-
1 hour ago, Stuntman707 said:
Good idea, your eyes and ears may get burned.
Don't forget his soul too..
-
They could of got a Wildfire clone for that money.. If this cost 20 million then they should of just bought something ground up lol
-
I wouldn't say Hex is the best dark ride ever built but I think its the perfect antithesis to something like Derren Brown.
When broken down Hex is a very simple attraction, though it is highly effective and highly immersive (more so than the Ghost Train could ever be)..
Hex is so eerie I sometimes find the attraction scarier than some mazes, its crazy how the right location matched with simple effects and theming can create such a tense atmosphere..
Unpopular Opinions
in General Discussion
Posted
I think Corkscrew is generally perceived as bad, going into it I saw a lot of bad reviews and people calling it awful. I actually really liked it, better than Valravn!
Valravn is a tough one though I don't think many people rank it as low as I do, I would call Valravn one of the worst coasters at the park. Rough, boring, bad throughput, restraints that literally try to strangle you.
I also think people generally don't give Gemini and Blue Streak enough credit, both brilliant rides in my top 10 at the park. I think these coasters tend to not get enough love.