Chriso

Thank you for the detailed reply Marc! I'm struggling with the quoting system so this post may look a little unorthodox but hopefully it makes sense... See I dont see the target audience as being an excuse for mediocrity. Whilst I appreciate you are right there are people that have been to both and will undoubtedly compare. Merlin, one of the themepark industry leaders should not be building poor attractions because they know they can get away with it. The problem is the monopoly Merlin have over the themepark industry in the UK but I'll get onto that another day... I dunno even the suspended train cant be appreciated. All of the marketing material shows the train from underneath with Derren stood underneath it. I appreciate because of the illusion this cant be done but I just wanted to have a good look at it rather than be shoved into the train. Not sure about it being effective as the only person I saw run out of the way was Charlotte Crosby who was paid to be over dramatic for PR purposes, no one on my batch really acknowledged it. Its too predictable to just collect people by the tunnel entrance ready for the jump scare. Thats correct however this was more of a dig at the marketing. People are genuinely expecting a completely different experience afterall one of the main USP's was the fact it was re-ridable because of the different experiences. When in reality this different experiences are only minor changeable elements in a poor story. Theres no connection to these characters that change. They aren't involved in the story so other than to tell you a bit of background info so what does it matter if its a man or a woman telling you? I can understand if they were involved in the second section but they aren't. Very true. Good point! I do think some of the adults were cowering as form of showing off their mates. Playing up to the experience and making themselves known. I sat opposite the cast from love island / TOWIE and they just laughed the whole way through! See I'd say the overflowing queues are just down to the poor capacity. I'd also be interested to see if the gate figures show an increase as thats the most important factor not the queue of an individual ride. I really hope it works for Thorpe. The last thing I want to see is the park slump and for future investment to slow because of IMO a poor attraction. But at the same time I want Merlin to acknowledge the flaws and learn from this when it comes to other major investments. Thorpe are very much struggling to paste over the cracks that are showing on social media. Facebook comments are nearly all negative. People are rightly angry about the throughput and overall reliability of the ride. The google reviews for the ride average out at 3/5 stars.

Thanks MattyMoo, I've heard it from several sources close to the parka and involved in the project. As for the themeing thats one thing I can appreciate. The standard was excellent through out I just wish there was time to really take it in and appreciate it! Apologies Ryan you are correct, rose tinted specs was a little harsh and inappropriate I shall edit my first post!

Of course people have different opinions Ryan! Such is life... I merely questioned those opinions in the hope of forming discussion. This is a Forum right?

I rode back at the media evening and thought it was dreadful, if you have any knowledge of VR or have experienced how powerful VR can be in the gaming industry you will know that this attraction is light years behind where it could and should be. If you have experienced universal/disney dark rides you will understand the importance of a cohesive story and you will see how disjointed and wooly the story is for this ride. Important details are brushed over and everything is too rushed to be fully understood. A huge part of the budget has been used on themeing which cannot be appreciated due to induced panic and the fact you have a VR headset on for 80% of the ride. I dread to think how much money was spent on making the train move from one station to another and then slightly tilt at the end. If you want a similar experience buy or borrow a gaming VR headset, download a VR horror game, sit on your sofa and get a family member to touch your leg occasionally. This thing is basically a glorified 4D cinema where you have to get up halfway through to experience 30 seconds of live action (which involves some lights on a stick in a tunnel) and then sit back for the second half of the film. Literally pointless. The ending is dreadful, there is no climax it just ends to a chorus of 'is that it?' Ive been told that a few effects weren't working for the media day. Leg ticklers, smoke machines, air jets in the seats, basic 3D cinema concepts that dont work. How can these simple concepts not work?? The multiple stories are a myth. There are two endings that both have the exact same mechanics and simulation just slightly different VR imagery. There are also a number of different characters that lead the first section. Therefore the different stories are just the different combinations of the above and have been completely miss sold by Thorpe. Its marketed completely the wrong way too, it separates the brave from the easily scared because its marketed very well as being a scary ride. Its really not a scary ride at all. Therefore the people brave enough to ride it that want to be scared end up disappointed whilst the people that were too scared (who would have likely appreciated it more) are too intimidated to ride it at all. Add the experience with the dreadful throughput, the staggering amount of staffing and actors this thing requires, the ongoing maintenance issues, the overheating inside the building, the fact Derren doesn't want to be associated with it I'd say Merlin can walk away with their tails firmly between their legs. If this is deemed as innovative then I dont want any more innovation.