Stuntman707

That’s really nice. I hope there is more wooden trim.

The British theme park archive has a series on U.K. Dark rides:

Starting a conversation for the best ride documentaries you’ve seen. Great to discover new info on rides you even think you already know and great to watch when there’s nothing on tv! I’ll start off with this Documentary on probably the greatest Huss Top Spin ever built:

I don’t think BPB wanted to shut it the way it happened but it’s well beyond coming back at this point.

I don’t think BPB were ever planning to do one in, one out every year from now on. The time had obviously come for Wild Mouse to go. At the same time, parks only have a finite amount of space to fit in new, big rides.

Finally starting to see more news. Looking forward to the new season now! Also got a Creams Woking update:

It’s now being marketed as the first wooden coaster built in the U.K. for 21 years. Woo Also I noticed the smoke machine is not built into the structure either, it’s off to the side of the track. So that might just be for the photo shoot too.

There are rides which are obviously superior to what we have in the U.K. I think the main difficulty is getting a park with enough commitment and funding to build one. I hope the London Park goes ahead and at least shakes up the industry a bit. It’s a shame Paramount doesn’t seem to have the commitment unlike Universal when it comes to theme parks. Back to Blackpool, no doubt Icon will be the biggest U.K. attraction of 2018 and hugely successful.

It’s looking like a great ride on it’s own but what would be the cherry on the cake is if they are planning on adding plenty of scenery too. Could be something to really rival Merlin and take business from Merlin’s theme parks. Especially when the local hotels cost a lot less than Merlin’s! Thorpe should get a Mack mega coaster

I could kind of understand them banning KMG, but why are other manufacturers on that list?

Duel is very important to Tower's lineup. It eats through large queues and is quite often a walk-on attraction. I've heard that the new soundtrack will be longer and made to better suit the atmosphere of the different areas. Also TLC have confirmed it will have zoned audio which is great. There are still concerns about the use of visible purple UV over original blacklights that just highlight the pigments in the scenery and no word on the trommel tunnel as of yet. TLC have hinted at a new story also saying they have found the elusive missing genetic surgeon.

I agree the full tracks are designed to be played at the park for variety and ambience. Having songs on loop every 5 mins would be very repetitive! The Soundtrack is a condensed form to fit on 2 CD’s and make the tracks a more conventional size for listening to in one go. I believe they still contain all the elements of the longer tracks.

Great to see Duel is finally getting TLC! Wanted this to happen ever since seeing Hex revamped. Duel is in dire need of repair as several of the original effects no longer work and were just left broken including the rotating tunnel. The UV strip lights were over powering and it will be great to hear a new soundtrack.

The cheapest Bloody Valentine’s open dated tickets for this year are still available. Limited to 500. https://tulleyshalloween.digitickets.co.uk/category/12366

Tulleys have limited open dated early bird tickets available now. https://tulleyshalloween.digitickets.co.uk/category/12366

New gifts for 2018: Wood and Bricks! So people are already coming up with some great things to engrave on a brick such as: I Con P Beach Roland Mack. King of Fun. Merlin is destroying Alton Towers Magic R.I.P 2018 etc.

Maybe they should take Homer’s advice regarding “firsts”.

European First, haha. Merlin, you are pathetic! Nothing can't just be unique, interesting, one-of-a-kind or imaginative. It HAS to be a "first". I'm fed up and sick of it being mentioned on every single project Merlin does. For crying out loud it's just a bridge that won't have anything on it 90% of the time. On a positive note, the tiger themed logo is actually quite good.

Yeah true, it does take away value from Fright Nights. You could argue that Fright Nights is still popular as the park often reaches capacity. Therefore they want to maximise the extra sales with the late opening hours and Walking Dead IP. However it may well have an impact on Fright Nights if people who would have usually gone visited earlier. That and there being much better events during October like Shocktober Fest they may decide to go to instead since they have already done Thorpe. Leaving out TWD, you're essentially left with only 3 mazes (2 if you count Saw Alive opening outside FN), while shocktober has a massive 9 this year!

So here's my expectations for the Safe Zone: I expect it to be almost the same as X apart from the pre-show. They might have some actors in the ride area for press release. Basically over-exargerate expectations and mis-sell the attraction to the press as usual. Then the actors will go because Thorpe can't afford to keep running live attractions like their last "Permanent" attraction, Saw Alive. Anything more than this would be nice. Just set your expectations low or you'll probably be disappointed.

Interesting article about “zombie” jobs at Thorpe. Makes me wonder if the park is planning to have permanent roaming actors during this season. Also having them audition at heights, do they plan on having actors on the lift hills? https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/must-reads/thorpe-park-resort-advertise-scarers-work-year-walking-dead/05/02/

Yes, he changed the first two drop profiles but they already had the foundations designed when Wardley was eventually involved and it was too late to change any more of the layout. The rest is all designed by Merlin Magic Making.

It’s just something keeps telling them to make dark, abandoned (whether that’s just literal rather than intentional!) miserable and scary themes all the time, yet when I read forums for Thorpe and Towers most people do want more of a balance. Most people would have been ok with SW8 being a family wooden coaster with an original pirate theme but Merlin are trying to market it as a thrill ride when it’s clearly not. I just can’t see it going as fast as a ride like Wodan for example. Anyway, it would be nice to see Thorpe do something uplifting for a change if they do get a new coaster. Just something fun and original that fits in with the island theme. If Melin insist on depressing theming, they should buy an abandoned industrial estate and open it as a new midway attraction. At least stop trashing the parks.

Does anyone know how Merlin does market research for new projects? I have to wonder what the results would be if they simply ran a survey with comments to all passholders. Or read the forums