tomglazed

Completely agree! On that same topic, I definitely feel like they have placed so much emphasis on their roller coasters that they have brushed many of their flat rides aside. Thorpe really does have an impressive collection of flat rides which I feel like doesn't get a good representation on this map. Quantum is non-existent, Samurai is majority covered, Rush & Detonator are way too understated; it's to the point where Storm Surge gets a greater presence than a lot of their other more impressive rides.

I like the new map design concept but the actual information is confusing. Notice that the colour coding that they have done for the ride names key: purple for thrill, orange for family thrill; but certain ride names on the map don't use the correct colour. Rush is orange when it is a thrill ride (purple section), and one or two other examples which seem little off. I understand that the colours of the actual ride names on the map aren't a key to how thrilling they are but it feels a little... mishmash. If your going to colour code with a key, it would make sense to colour the ride names accordingly.

I think we've seen what can happen when Chessington rip something down to start over. Let's not let them do it more than they have to.

I unfortunately wasn't able to attend Thorpe Park last year so to hear that Vortex wasn't reaching a full height is pretty surprising. I'm guessing there was some kind of mechanical limit they'd put on it to reduce wear and tear or had wear and tear meant the ride was struggling to reach it's full height?

I agree with what your saying. But I think this is the biggest red flag in a while to show just where Chessington sits on Merlin's priority list.

I'm quite surprised at Merlin's apparent strategy to go for first this, most that, fastest here, higher there, rides. One of the main reasons is going for new experiences usually leads to one thing: new problems. You have no other client to talk to because you are the one that bit the bullet and were the first mover, when the arguably "smarter" parks let someone else ride the teething problems out before they get one of their own. On the face of it, Merlin looks like the kind of company that, on the whole, don't want to invite risk, especially costs associated with risks. New rides, new problems, new financial headaches. Something tried and tested doesn't have to mean tired and tatty. There's a way of having a good solid quality ride which doesn't necessarily have to make you dizzy from loops, scared of heights or give you a temporary face lift from the speed. I just hope Merlin can figure that out.

Okay, I think it's been made clear we all have differing opinions on what is going on... majority opinion is it that its dire but still. I think we can all have an opinion on what's happening and at this point it isn't looking good but I think what Holly may have been trying to emphasise is that none of our opinions are informed. We're informed in the sense we understand some basic inner workings of the park from an enthusiast point of view but none of us truly understand the in's and out's of management of a theme park, let alone a global theme park business. So we can say what we want, but they aren't informed opinions.

Just a thought. I know everyone is honing in on the fact they have some 16 months for this refurbishment, so they have had ample time to essentially install a new ride and then some. If they had planned to only work on the new theme elements over the closed season and then the fire happened? Then their resources are going to be shuffled around and you have to make do. It's like leaving your homework to the last minute at school but then finding out you have run out of a colour ink, you have to make do with what comes out; a trippy colourful mess which you hope the teacher will accept. Is it an excuse? Not really because as you have said, they have had ample time to start earlier but if they had put plans in place that got scuppered because of a freak accident then it's another case of "make do".

Let's get Thorpe Park to a consistent and reliable point with its park audio before we even start thinking about outfitting moving ride vehicles with something as complex as an onboard audio system... Walk before you can run.

Whilst I certainly do think the lone cactus is comical and the fact they aren't further along is worrying, let's not forget that a rather major incident happened with the fire and has completely destroyed a cafe and damaged Bubbleworks. No one could have foreseen that coming and that no doubt has taken some resources, whatever that maybe, in order to rectify it. I'm sure things would be turning out differently had that not happened.

And you would hope that for this very reason, more effort would be put into Runaway than Flying Fish. That's just my logic at least, it might not be Merlin's.

I guess this is one of the down sides to having such access to closed season. We're able to see the progress they make and in what time. We'll have to wait and see what the final product is. Admittedly though, the picture of a lone small plastic cactus is almost comical...

I agree, I would be highly surprised if this was a planned event. No matter what ride it is, Merlin would usually announce ride removals at the beginning of their last season of operation or at least allow for time for people to have their last rides by making people aware mid-season. Saying that a ride will not be returning midway through a closed season just screams huge unexpected maintenance headache and "were washing our hands with this heap".

Probably dreaming a dream but recent events make me more inclined to think they are more willing to look at their existing rides and how they can be improved (Swarm Backwards, X). At the end of the day, most of the time it'd be cheaper than buying a whole new ride so something for a mid-term investment year?

In other news, Space Mountain Mission 2 is getting some love in the form of new trains with the new restraints Vekoma has introduced! Clearly Disney heard the cries of pain from many of their guests due to the head bashing against the existing restraints so they are trying to rectify this. You can see the new trains, waiting in the wings awaiting their debut here. They look a little plain but hopefully Imagineers will get their hands on them and add some detailing. Space Mountain isn't due a period of maintenance until later this year apparently so they have a little time to work on them, also means it'll be a while yet until we see them in use. What do you guys think?

Considering a lot of the time you barely get touched with any water on rumba rapids, you could be riding on toxic waste and you would be fine.

It does shock me the actions of Merlin sometimes. I know it's not yet finished but their history may speak for itself, it won't be just fanboys moaning this time round. I can see a lot of members of the GP saying "What happened to the mine train ride?", "Isn't this meant to be made new?". I don't know about you but my friends and family are quite observant and these kind of details affect whether they bother coming back, if they see little is being invested for the price they are expected to fork over to get in. They always use BOGOF but there is always the obligatory "OH MY GOD, FULL PRICE COSTS HOW MUCH?"comments when they look at the tariffs board. Really am hoping that we see some sort of "surprise" when it opens because Merlin will have done themselves no favours if not...

I realise that the railway is in the wrong area of the park to be tied in with the new land but it'd be relatively easy to tie the CCR to an Angry Birds theme if it ever where to happen. Replace the bears with evil piggies and hey presto.

BBC also cites that a "Plant Room" was also affected by the blaze. The only room of that kind in that area would be Bubbleworks. A positive thought would be that hopefully the major components like the massive pumps are usually completely removed and moved to the warehouse during the winter for maintenance; with any luck that would have happened and the damage would be limited so minor components or mainly cosmetic.

I think Storm Surge is very hit and miss, quite literally with those spin pads! If your going fast around the curve then you can miss the pads, and even if you hit the pads, if there isn't any weight in your boat going over the pads then it has little to no effect.

That's quite a sobering thought... Still yet to ride the new X, definitely intrigued to see just how shorterned the ride is. Does stacking happen quite often?

On that note, I have seen nothing from Thorpe to say "one of a kind" or "world's only" or anything of that nature. Not usually Thorpe or even Merlin's style to miss out on such a marketing opportunity.

If there is one ride, which has showed that at least one thing Thorpe Park does have is perseverance. They really don't seem to want to let go of Slammer without a fight.

One thing we have all learnt from this topic is that everyone has very different tolerances with roughness. I personally have never had much of a roughness problem except the last turn is extremely snappy. I can honestly say the first time I rode, waiting on the stairs and in the station I really had chills it had that kind of atmosphere. It is just dark section has a lot more potential. Maybe when Thorpe does away with the IP we'll see something happen in there other than shifting from trap to trap.

I agree with you that sometimes Thorpe seemingly has little regard for atmosphere when it comes to music but I think it'd be more unpleasant hearing Colossus music then having the X club music playing quietly but still noticeable whilst queueing up outside Colossus' station.