Odyessy

Saw has different operating guidelines to most other rides In layman terms it has 2 different wind speeds which can make it stall 1- very high wind speed in any direction 2- lower wind speed in a certain direction So whilst many rides are affected by lower wind speed in any direction, Saw might be fine as long as it's in a good direction. That's why it can remain open while smaller rides don't If the wind is in the wrong direction though it's pretty much screwed

It's interesting you mention IT. The next IP Merlin go for will be their 27th external IP For those unfamiliar with IT, it's about a clown who appears everyone 27 years. Given THORPE love to do fancy things with their numbers (experiment 10 for 10 years, studio 13 for 13, platform 15 for 15), I could see them making Merlin's 27th IP about a current franchise where the number 27 is so important

The Farm is used for another purposes now - the buildings are used for storage and the Landscaping team use it develop some plants / trees before planting them around the park Since there's so little space for that sort of stuff to be done elsewhere, it's unlikely the Farm area would ever be opened to guests ever again

I said that the ride's popularity and the ride closing were not linked, though I do see why it reads differently in what you quoted. Though what you're classing as popular is what I'd class as well known, which are 2 different things The point I was getting at was that over 2014 and 2015, LoggersLeap was not as well received as Storm Surge and Tidal Wave and did not have as many riders as Storm Surge. In that sense, it was not the most popular water ride on park. And this was not a sudden thing, there had been a steady decline in the ride's popularity in that sense for a good 4 years at least Loggers Leap also attracted long queues due to an average throughput, inefficient loading and being the only family ride in the area. people were happy to wait in those queues of course, but the fact it had long queues means very little tbh

I wasn't saying that. Practically everyone here has basically made Loggers Leap out to be the most popular water ride, when it simply wasn't. Just something to keep in mind As I say, it did not open in 2016 because it wasn't the best. I'm just saying it wasn't the best in 2014 and 2015

Unfortunately, Loggers Leap was not as popular as people may think. In 2014 and 2015, LoggersLeap was rated the third best water ride by guests after Tidal Wave and Storm Surge. Storm Surge also had more riders than Loggers Leap in both those years It was still popular in a way, and it's decline in popularity wasn't the cause for its closure. But it was not as popular as people seem to think or make out

The second VR is pretty much universally disliked. And whilst people have responded to the ride very well, it isn't being rated as scary So despite the good response as a whole, changes can't be ruled out given how weak the final third of the ride is

Fun fact, Ghost Train was more reliable than Stealth and The Swarm today

The park don't want to run the maze during Fright Nights in case people think it is a scare attraction. In a similar vain, they don't want to turn it into a Fright Nights attraction in case people think it's the same old maze It's being closed now because pretty much everyone involved in the maze is going to be working in a Fright Nights attraction in some way. So, very soon after the closure, they're either going to be going through inductions and rehearsals or doing behind the scenes stuff. Any leftover staff will probably be pumped into other areas (like the evening entertainment). So it's in no way cost cutting

When people mention flat rides, consider this Since Merlin took over the parks, the only flat ride added to the UK theme parks is Kobra. And some people would call that a roller coaster. Even if you consider the Carousel at Chessie and new CBEEBIES ride, that's 3 flat rides in 9 years Just some food for thought

Stealth and Nemesis Inferno were advertised as being closed all day from before park opening. As said though, NI opened towards the end of the day. Engineers realised that Tidal Wave wouldn't be able to open today shortly after the park opened Ghost Train was on full capacity, but after the weekend where may guests complained of being in the queue for several hours, the park decided to only have about 90 minutes worth of queue inside the queue, and batch people into the queue at regular intervals. Everyone seemed quite content with the system, and people waiting outside the queue were regularly informed. Unfortunately, it did suffer a breakdown late in the day that couldn't be resolved, but aside from that it was running pretty much all day Everyone who visited today was given an open-ended return ticket for this season, if they purchased a day ticket, or a priority pass for one of the closed rides, if they were an annual pass holder. I know not everyone here is a fan of priority passes, but I think it's a reasonable form of compensation in this situation.

The ride opened not long after 4 and stayed open until after close Thorpe said from the offset the ride wasn't going to open today and issued anyone who was visiting a free return ticket. So it was a nice surprise to see it open

All queues were open until 7pm for all guests Since the start of summer, the park have extended ride close on some days, especially if the park has been busy or there's been a few temporary ride closures