CharlieN

Thorpe’s social media is absolutely embarrassing. More and more brands try and present themselves as fun and ‘down with the kids’ whilst forgetting the basics.
 
For example, you’ve got airports repeatedly tweeting about how they’re on giphy without communicating with the public regarding an incident.
 
The best park Twitter is that of the Efteling, in my opinion. They don’t try to be your best mate by posting self-deprecating memes or stupid gifs; they actually treat you with the respect you deserve as a paying guest. Their responses are immediate, helpful and just by using punctuation, not too corporate sounding. It’s a simple approach, but social media is the only way a park can ‘speak’. Therefore, it’s so important that the ethos of the park and it’s rides are coveyed by the social media team. 
 
 

Thorpe’s social media is absolutely embarrassing. More and more brands try and present themselves as fun and ‘down with the kids’ whilst forgetting the basics.
 
For example, you’ve got airports repeatedly tweeting about how they’re on giphy without communicating with the public regarding an incident.
 
The best park Twitter is that of the Efteling, in my opinion. They don’t try to be your best mate by posting self-deprecating memes or stupid gifs; they actually treat you with the respect you deserve as a paying guest. Their responses are immediate, helpful and just by using punctuation, not too corporate sounding. It’s a simple approach, but social media is the only way a park can ‘speak’. Therefore, it’s so important that the ethos of the park and it’s rides are coveyed by the social media team. 
 
 

Thorpe needs to go back to 2014 marketing where an island like no other was used. You could easily use the same format for adverts except change the line at the end saying 'and now new for 2019 there are...'.

Constructively criticising the parks for their flaws is a much better option then pretending everything is fine... It is a DISCUSSION forum after all no?
 
At the end of the day we all want the parks to succeed, I want Thorpe to become a park I would actually plan a trip to again, same for Chessie really, as they've both regressed as parks over the last few years... It's not helped by looking longingly across the Channel and seeing the quality additions on the continent, and wondering why the second biggest theme park operator can't match even decent quality additions that some small family run parks are getting...
 
 
 
Thorpe have a brand issue problem, not helped by their constant changing philosophies and target audience, which added onto that they actually have nothing to shout about addition wise means they haven't got a marketing campaign to speak of... 
 
Pushing for the birthday celebration would be sensible, but are the park able to get a budget for that? Do they have anything confirmed for this season events wise beyond Fright Nights? Wouldn't be surprised if they've had a review of the events last season and had a lot of question marks over their successes.. I honestly no idea of the whole year of Walking Dead or Love Island Lates were actually critical successes, especially the Lates stuff beyond goons being able to whore some night rides...

I really enjoyed Dr Archibald, it all synced up really well and was pretty effective in creating fun scares.
 
Ridiculously, while clearly nothing like as technologically advanced it was actually more of an enjoyable experience than the £millions worth of DBGT. Makes you realise DBGT just isn't fun however clever it is, and when you are literally creating a world from scratch in a VR headset why would fun not be your starting point?

Energylandia have confirmed via the latest edition of the German Kirmes and Parks Revue magazine that Zadra will open sometime in autumn 2019, with the rest of the Dragon's Castle area opening in 2020.
 
On top of that, the park will also open their Vekoma multi-launch (which may or may not be over water, not quite clear) in 2020. Up until now, it hadn't been clear when that would open.
 
The coaster will be an extended version of Vekoma's new off-the-shelf Shockwave model, the first of which is opening in Dragon Valley Theme Park, China. Below is the standard Shockwave model...
 

The standard Shockwave's stats:
Speed: 62.1mph (100kmph)
Length: 1095m
Height: 38.5m
Inversions: 5 (loop, batwing, 2 corkscrews)
 
Energylandia's version:
Speed: 62.1mph
Length: 1320m
Height: 38.5m
Inversions: 4 (loop, batwing, corkscrew)
[Thank to CoasterForce member eKs_Prod for posting the info]
 
So it seems the first half of Energylandia's is much the same as above, with changes presumably after the batwing to incorporate the second launch.
 
The Shockwave model looks really good fun, and with new Vekoma being fab, I'm sure this will be too. Can't help but feel turning it into a multi-launch seems a bit forced and for the sake of it; should have gotten a custom multi-launch. But can't really complain too much.
 
The only other point I have is that I wonder how similar it will feel to Formula, the park's current Vekoma launch, or if it will end up rendering it obsolete already...

some of y’all really need to buy a sarcasm detector huh 

Over the past few years, China has very much burst onto the theme park scene, with many parks being built from the ground up and seeing substantial coasters added. It's probably fair to say that some of B&M's, Intamin's and GCI's best-looking coasters over the past few years have ended up in China. And that investment doesn't seem to be slowing down, so here's the thread to discuss all things China! 
 
I'll start with a few good looking things...
(All images sourced from VHCoasters on Facebook/Twitter unless said otherwise)
 
Daxing East / Great Xingdong Tourist World
Guizhou, south-west China
 
Opening in 2018, this park features a tilt coaster, SLC, spinning coaster and dive coaster all from Golden Horse, along with a few other smaller coasters...
 

Tilt coaster
 

Dive coaster
 
On top of that, they've got an 11 inversion coaster (basically same as the standard 10 inversion coaster, but with an extra vertical loop) that will be opening soon...
 
 
Guangzhou Wanda
Guangzhou, south China (near Hong Kong)
For those that don't know, the Wanda name is one of the biggest in Chinese theme parks, and indeed in Chinese entertainment in general. They're a massive thing in cinema, hotels, shopping centres, etc - if you visit China, chances are you'll come across / use something owned by the Wanda group.
 
Fun fact though - Wanda sold all 7 of their open theme parks, plus 5 others under construction / development, to another Chinese group - Sunac - in October last year. So there could be some name changes afoot soon..
 
Anyways, the thing that makes Guangzhou Wanda so special is their duelling Intamin semi-shuttle launch coasters, Dual Dragons. One track is inverted, the other a standard sit down, and they share the same vertical loop...
 
\

 
Definitely one of the crazier coasters out there!
 
Wanda City
Jiangsu, east China (just next to Shanghai)
Another Wanda park, also scheduled to open this year. This includes a crazy themed B&M wingrider which is almost 200ft tall..
 



 
And some concept art, for comparison..

 
This park will also feature a Mack Blue Fire clone and a family thrill coaster too.
 
 
I think that's enough to whet the Chinese whistle now, but there's plenty out there which I've probably forgotten about, missed or don't know about.. Look forward to seeing what else comes from the east over the coming years..

Bobbejaanland have released concept art for their new Gerstlauer triple launch...

It's also my birthday this year.

Some fabulous insight from Efteling on how they're planning on reducing queueing and waiting times... https://www.efteling.com/nl/blog/backstage/20190114-kortere-wachtrijen
 
Highlights:
-Longer opening times
-Better flow at main entrance and car park
-New system on Vogel Rok to allow 3 trains to run
-Purchasing of a 5th train for Joris in case one requires maintenance
-Introduction of SRQ on Flying Dutchman, following successful introductions on Bob, Baron, Symbolica, Joris and Python
-New version of the app that notifies you when a queue reaches a certain length 
-Since last year, they've adopted the UK way of closing queue lines (IE at park close, not closing them so the ride stops running at park close). This isn't as common in Europe as you'd expect
+More
 
The park are still preserving with their version of Reserve n Ride, making further adjustments. I've yet to use the system (visiting only on extremely quiet days since it's introduction), but it was experienced some problems during its time. It's nice to see them learning and trying with it, but I wonder if they're clinging onto false hope trying to get it to work.

How about the same game using members instead of rides?

Because you're the minority and the majority enjoy Inferno more than the others.

Exciting times for Paulton's!
 

I don't personally, just merely making a point. It would be a silly decision (and won't happen anyway) when something brand new could be brought to the park. Although I'd love to be proved wrong I Can't see anything new for a few more years now. 

Build a brand new coaster that isn't Knightmare would be my option.

Never a greater post on this forum.

The unprofessionalism all round from Thorpe Park is shocking. And no offence but it's pretty embarassing to see a self-appointed theme park 'personality' seemingly using their job at Thorpe Park as self validation for their inflated enthusiast opions.
 
I know many enthusiasts (in the real sense of the word, not this enthusiast "community" cult  ideology) who are extremely hard working and have been in the attraction industry for years. They make it all happen to entertain others, they dont get any wider recognition and they dont seek it either. Whereas this Jordan character trying to get PR attention at any opportunity, the tweets, that dumb enthusiast awards thing and many other enthusiast cliques, seem to be far more interested in themselves than working in entertainment. Or getting their enthusiast friends 'in' behind the scenes so they can boast about themselves too.

Thorpe Park needs to get back to basics, get back in touch with the public (especially if it's wanting to go for families more like it says it does) and offer a good value day out. Not a day in a tarmac car park sponsored by a hundred fads, with signs constantly reminding you you're on "the island" (whoops, you built over most views of the water years ago!), and then getting egotists to tell others why they're wrong online.
 
Theme parks are really just about having a laugh out with friends, with a day of fun.  Isn't that what we all got into it for?
People behind the scenes need to be open minded, less self congratulatory and sort the park out properly. But I guess massively glamorising the 'brand' to the point that it bears no resemblance to the park is what they're better at and all they're interested in currently.

I dont want to sound like an angry vox pop but I feel like it's justified here after the continued unprofessional attitude from Thorpe Park
 
Absolutely ridiculous that park doesnt just come out and say "Loggers Leap is closed". How hard is that? The moment Loggers Leap closed it got glossed over by people either too over-optimistic on what to expect from Merlin, or who were doing it to save bad press. While it probably could have been refurbished as necessary and reopened (like any other park would), this just isn't Merlin's track record.
 
No surprise to everybody that it's sat there for years seizing up and much is now probably beyond reasonable repair. So just tell your customers Thorpe Park, the ride is closed. It's the least you could do! You've only created far, far worse response by trying to shove your biggest family attraction under the carpet.

And now this tweet, probably because the park is such a joke at the moment that its own staff find it funny (I would). It needs a proper sort out this place.

It's my favourite park I've been to personally. I was won over when I got there as it's more than the sum of its parts. The rides are good but it's really the combination of fun, charming aesthetics and a lovely atmosphere. Where Thorpe is big on rides but small on everything else in between, Efteling has it nailed it where Thorpe fails. It's just so nice to just BE in.
 
Even on the rides, I find rides like Joris en de Draak more thrilling than most rides at Thorpe. It's got more of a kick than I expected. Air time galore! Baron is also great and Symbolica is one of the best dark rides I've been on.

Just got back from the Efteling/Netherlands and definitely struggled to leave (quite literally because our flights back got cancelled and had to be rescheduled). 
 
Key points from the park:
Park was decorated with lots of little Christmas decorations, from a Vogel Rock Santa hat to several trees and ornaments in the main path Warm fires and numerous entertainers were scattered throughout the park, including a choir and Live musicians  A large tent (with bar and ice rink) and a small Ferris wheel comprised of additional attractions,  Park was lively on the weekends but literally dead in the week, with queues rarely excieeding 20 minutes (even on Symbolica) Bob Saw some of the longer queues in the park (probably because it’s getting demolished and has a low throughput) Villa Volta featured an ‘impressive’ projection mapping show on it’s facade at night (although riders had to use an alternative exit) Vogel Rock’s audio was ‘experiencing’ some major difficulties, on one train the music didn’t ‘synchronise’ properly whilst on another the music wasn’t working at all Dutchman and Pirana remained closed during the trip due to maintenance  Apart from Baron, you have to take your bags on all the rides now Python is now incredibly smooth since it’s retracking  It also snowed on our third (and what should’ve been our final) day, making it the ‘true’ Winter Efteling  Park looked beautiful as always at night. The park’s dark rides as always were simply beautiful (Carnaval maybe less-so). From the magnificent set pieces of Droomvlucht, atmosphere of Fata, Villa’s effects and the ‘sheer perfection’ of Symbolica. A similar ride system  at Phantasialand would make a perfect replacement for Geister Riksha (assuming it’s getting ripped out next year).
 
The Coasters in general are fun and highly enjoyable all around. Baron compensates it’s small drop and layout which immense details and story telling (which makes it one of the better coaster out there), Joris is great and throws a trick or two. Bob for me is probably the weakest coaster, but is still fun and will be missed.
 

Oh, and out of nowhere, Phantasialand have announced that Rookburgh will include a new hotel (somehow). The steampunk-themed hotel will be called Hotel Charles Lindbergh...
 
Damn Phantasialand. Just when you think you know what they're doing, they throw this out there..
 

It has been a long one coming,but after a park like no other it is finally time to update some top 10’s. 
 
Roller Coasters:
1/ Steel Vengeance 
2/ Helix 
3/ Maverick 
4/ Taron 
5/ Millennium Force 
6/ Shambhala 
7/ Wodan
8/ Nemesis 
9/ Raptor 
10/ Icon
 
Parks visited:
1/ Europa Park
2/ Cedar Point 
3/ Efteling 
4/ Phantasialand 
5/ Disneyland Paris 
6/ Liseberg 
7/ Port Aventura 
8/ Blackpool Pleasure Beach
9/ Alton Towers 
10/ Thorpe Park
 
Some of you may be shocked and surprised by my choices here, but I can reassure you there is methods In these conclusions. 
 
Everything in a park from location, styling, selection and character is analysed amongst what kind of park it may be. Not every park needs tonnes of thrilling rides or magical theming and details everywhere, they are all different and would be a dull world if they weren’t. 
 
The differences between my top two perhaps elaborate this. 
 
And finally, Cedar Point Coasters ranked from top to bottom (most were ridden at least twice):
 
1/ Steel Vengeance 
2/ Maverick 
3/ Millennium Force 
4/ Raptor 
5/ Rougarou
6/ Top Thrill Dragster 
7/ Gate Keeper 
8/ Valravn 
9/ Magnum XL
10/ Gemini
11/ Wicked Twister
12/ Blue Streak
13/ Corkscrew 
14/ Iron Dragon
15/ Cedar Creek Mine (the irony), 
 
Wilderrness Run and Woodstock Express were  not ridden.
 
 
 

They literally just got a pic from google and you took time to respond to that lol