RobertA

I guess it will all depend on the wording of the contracts and things like that.
 
With something like Olympia, I'd have thought the contract would be for bringing the coaster for 5 (or however many) events, with an expectation of annual events. But obviously if an event doesn't run in a specified year, then the ride can't be bought to the event, so it wouldn't count. 
 
With the parks, their contracts would count years/seasons, and since the attraction is in situ all the time, it would be different. ie, the contract would be for the ride to be in situ for 5 years, not necessarily for it to run 5 years. This is where the wording and fine print of the contracts would come into play. Could an IP specify they want an attraction to run a minimum number of days in a season? Would Merlin agree to that? Does the IP still get paid if an attraction doesn't open? To what extent does having an attraction closed affect the brand name of an IP (I'd suspect it's minimal, but who knows)? All of these things could be different for different IPs too.
 
I remember when Saw first opened that there were rumours floating around that Lionsgate had stated that if less than 90% of the special effects were working, the ride had to be closed until they were fixed. I believe it was absolute rubbish, but many people believed it. 
 
Personally, I'd expect the set up to be pretty basic at its heart. Thorpe/Merlin pay a fixed amount each year, and the IP get a certain percentage of the profit of merchandise related to that IP too. That would last x amount of years, and then discussions would reopen. Obviously there'd be other stuff, but that'd be the heart of it. I could be way off of course, but just what seems sensible.
 
 
At this point, with Ghost Train, I'd've thought that Derren would rather not have it run a year beyond the original planned contract ending, and just cut ties with it. It certainly feels like he's no longer connected with the project.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves; nothing has been announced regarding a Tomb Blaster re-style into Forbidden Tomb for 2021 by the park.
 
If it does happen, it will probably be as cheaply done as this year's, ahem, "upgrade", and not really be an improvement. I imagine they'd probably just turn off the targets and remove the guns, rather than actually remove the targets (see the start of the ride...).
 
 
I used to like it when enthusiasts who worked in the industry kept quiet about (any potential) future plans, and didn't leak stuff, rather then tell people on the internet so their e-penises can match the size of their egos. 

Heh, only just found this topic!
 
Hey, I'm Robert. I have 82 credits with my #1 being Olympia Looping, and my most ridden coaster is Stealth with 24 total rides on it. Throughout my time at parks I've blacked out on a Capriolo, broke down on two rides, waited two hours for a scare maze in pouring rain, chipped my tooth on an inflatable slide, and almost threw up on a Go Gator.
 
Might sound cliche but theme parks are truly one of my favourite things, and they're an absolute blast. I hope I hit 100 credits in the next two years, so I better get going at that

It is going to be a capacity nightmare if it does a similar cycle to Magma or even half the time TBH. With slow loading times often and 20 seats available, with propably half allocated to RAP and fasttrack I see this regularly have a 90 to 120 minutes queue. 
 
Yes it is nice that they are (sort of) 'adding' a flat although it's more a replacement. Still, at least no loss in number of attractions I guess. 

I imagine next year will be a near repeat of this year. 
 
TWD, DBGTROTD, BM all closed.
Capacity issues elsewhere. 
 
If only they had a nice open space like a farm to relax in, a large capacity train ride to take you there, an event space like an arena where people could be spread over a large searing area, or a log flume where each riding group could have their own socially distanced ride vehicle. 

Heh, only just found this topic!
 
Hey, I'm Robert. I have 82 credits with my #1 being Olympia Looping, and my most ridden coaster is Stealth with 24 total rides on it. Throughout my time at parks I've blacked out on a Capriolo, broke down on two rides, waited two hours for a scare maze in pouring rain, chipped my tooth on an inflatable slide, and almost threw up on a Go Gator.
 
Might sound cliche but theme parks are truly one of my favourite things, and they're an absolute blast. I hope I hit 100 credits in the next two years, so I better get going at that

At this point I wouldn't be surprised if all the indoor stuff was delayed AGAIN, and it would be another financially devastating year for the park. TWD can't operate, Derren can't operate, Black Mirror's probably staying shuttered for the second year in a row. And with the IPs, you might get the chance we've seen the last of Derren and TWD a year ago if they're not renewed. The Thorpe guys are probably considering getting some kind of temporary "panic button addition" if BM is delayed again.
 
I simply can't see 2021 being the godsend year everyone's hyping it up to be with distancing regulations being thrown away in early summer. The year will be another "not so great" year for the park, clearly better than 2020 but still far from previous years. See it as some kind of "if 2020 was a full season length".
 
They could open BM if it's absolutely bodied by covid restrictions but it'll give awful first impressions of the new attraction and everyone's gonna call it "just another subpar filler until the next big thing". I want Black Mirror to be good and it would be nice to see it do well.
 
Black Mirror opening at all would be nice though, always good to see things we haven't seen before. Most of the time.

The length of the IP contracts vary a lot, seemingly depending on how big an investment the attraction is. They'll have certain clauses and the ability to have pre-determined extensions triggered.
 
I believe Saw was on an initial 5 year contract and had regularly been extended. The Lionsgate and Walking Dead mazes, and I'm a Celebrity, were 3 year contracts, with options of 1 year extensions. Angry Birds I've no clue actually. Walking Dead The Ride is under a separate contract to the mazes. I'd have thought 4 years, but who knows. But yeah, it's very true that it would be easy to retheme it to a generic zombie ride if they wanted to!
 
Specifically for Derren, I've heard the contract was 6 seasons in length, which would put 2021 as the last season potentially. But all that remains to be seen.

Welcome RobertA. You'll hit 100 before you know it and be aiming for 200!