coasterverse

Wouldn't even remotely be surprised if this was the outcome (even as potentially one of Ghost Train's very few genuine fans) - I think its days were numbered when they stopped running the fakeout finale and just chucked ride staff in front of it to guide guests in the other direction instead of bringing it back or at the very least redecorating the fakeout finale room to be something different so that the original exit route is retained even if the fakeout was cut.
 
I said at the start of the season that I reckon Ghost Train had maybe 2 seasons left in it at most. I will genuinely be sad to see it go - but even more so if it goes without a plan for its future. It may be a bad attraction on paper, but I'd rather take something rather than nothing any day of the week. I just hope that whatever comes next isn't a demolishment of the building and another coaster built there.
 
Thorpe are crying out for a good dark ride - I love the Ghost Train building and is definitely sizeable enough to fit something else in there - the only issue would be getting the motion platform out and the new ride system in. There's many more much more appropriate locations for a new coaster when the time comes. For the love of Christ keep it as a dark ride, but do it more traditionally this time.
 
I'd love to have seen how DBGT could've gone if it weren't for the VR gimmick and Derren had been given full creative control...

Wouldn't even remotely be surprised if this was the outcome (even as potentially one of Ghost Train's very few genuine fans) - I think its days were numbered when they stopped running the fakeout finale and just chucked ride staff in front of it to guide guests in the other direction instead of bringing it back or at the very least redecorating the fakeout finale room to be something different so that the original exit route is retained even if the fakeout was cut.
 
I said at the start of the season that I reckon Ghost Train had maybe 2 seasons left in it at most. I will genuinely be sad to see it go - but even more so if it goes without a plan for its future. It may be a bad attraction on paper, but I'd rather take something rather than nothing any day of the week. I just hope that whatever comes next isn't a demolishment of the building and another coaster built there.
 
Thorpe are crying out for a good dark ride - I love the Ghost Train building and is definitely sizeable enough to fit something else in there - the only issue would be getting the motion platform out and the new ride system in. There's many more much more appropriate locations for a new coaster when the time comes. For the love of Christ keep it as a dark ride, but do it more traditionally this time.
 
I'd love to have seen how DBGT could've gone if it weren't for the VR gimmick and Derren had been given full creative control...

I agree that would be a real shame. Hopefully they can keep it that way.
 
I’ve been having a think about all this….
 
It’s weird that so many of us seem to share the same “meh” feeling towards Thorpe & Merlin at the moment, especially with Thorpe, because actually when you break it down they’re really doing very well.
As has been mentioned, there are no SBNO rides, which is unheard of in recent years. They have a fantastic line up, including a brand new massive coaster. There are no silly cheaply-made mazes anymore, and they’re even continuing to run their notoriously expensive and less popular rides, like ghost train and Rapids.

In fact, the park is in very good shape: the decor looks better than ever, reliability isn’t too bad, the food is quite good considering how it is elsewhere, the new brand is working nicely, and the park feels fresh, modern and clean for the most part, especially when you consider how poor the rest of the Merlin parks are. Thorpe seems to be very well run to be fair.
 
It’s also not like there has been new ride after new ride over the last decade, and now that’s stopped. There hasn’t! Arguably, when it comes to new stuff, now is an excellent time in that regard, right off the back of Hyperia opening.
 
An odd one for sure.
Perhaps it’s more a general ill feeling everyone has towards Merlin? Or a side effect of the Universal news overshadowing the “business as usual” at Thorpe? Or maybe it’s an extension of the general doom and gloom shrouding seemingly everything in the country at the moment.

Perhaps if we are honest with ourselves, we all take the likes of Thorpe for granted these days?  I think I do to be fair, because it be beyond devastated if it suddenly had to close for some reason.
 
I even think of Stealth for instance.  If that reached a point this summer where they were forced to make a decision to close it at the end of the season, I know for a fact I’d be up there riding it, and thinking to myself “you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone” 😂  

Fingers crossed for a @Parm Pap update soon.

Why not go the whole hog, take the lift hill down increase the angle by a couple of degrees and add 5-8 ft to the top of it. 
Should do the trick 😉
 
All seriousness though, a zero car with a ballast tank built in? Fill it during downtime then empty it before sending first riders around. Seems the cheapest solution. 

I was at a Ghost Train behind the scenes tour last Tuesday with the initial presentation taking place in the hospitality tent thing - Fright Nights rehearsals were taking place next door and they were definitely rehearsing to the Big Top theme which I believe is used in the Big Top room in Trailers, so that seems to suggest it'll return this year.
 
Hoping that the scenes that remain inside Trailers are modified in some way too - Trailers was really showing signs of aging last year and was looking really, really exhausted.

I was at a Ghost Train behind the scenes tour last Tuesday with the initial presentation taking place in the hospitality tent thing - Fright Nights rehearsals were taking place next door and they were definitely rehearsing to the Big Top theme which I believe is used in the Big Top room in Trailers, so that seems to suggest it'll return this year.
 
Hoping that the scenes that remain inside Trailers are modified in some way too - Trailers was really showing signs of aging last year and was looking really, really exhausted.

Completely agree with the comments re Octoberfest this year. Wouldn't surprise me to see this go next year, and personally wouldn't bother me as I've never really thought it adds anything to Thorpe anyway.
 
I've been to the Towers one a lot over the years and have always really enjoyed it. They really benefit from the area they've got on the lawns. The location is a big plus too, the entertainment goes on for an hour after park close and this obviously means people leaving and see it going on may go over to the lawns and stay for a bit too. 
 
I've never thought its worked as well at Thorpe, whether that be due to the location of the stage or different target audience I'm not sure.
 
 
They've not even changed the entrance music this year which is surprising, could help making people aware theres actually an event going on etc.. 
 
They didn't bother with ride overlays last FN too which was a big shame. Hope they do this year as it really makes the event in my opinion. 
 
 
Have seen this a few times last week on Vortex, Big Easy Bumpers, High Striker, Fish, Rapids. Seems to be happening on off peak weekdays so I imagine its unofficial cost cutting or they're struggling with staff at the moment? 
 
I guess it doesn't matter too much at the moment with the off peak weekdays being very quiet but still not ideal.

I see today Thorpe has "scheduled late opening" for some attractions, except... none of the attractions were scheduled to open late in the app or online...
 
At 1pm, Flying Fish, Zodiac and Detonator are "scheduled late opening" and WDTR hasn't opened yet today.
 
Are they low on techies so prioritising opening each day? What's going on?

The issue with the train crash sequence (and why it was removed for the 2018 season) was that it just didn't work. Completely temperamental, had a mind of its own, and they just couldn't get it right.
 
As cool as it was, it was also another effect that made it a "one and done" type ride. And, given its temperamental nature, when it didn't work, anyone who was expecting was more disappointed.
 
I maintain my original standpoint with this version of Ghost Train: the concept is the best they could have done with what they had to work with. There's issues (transition to crypt, the shop exit, etc), but given the hand they were dealt, it's not bad.

Just cos you're an influenza M8 and have been on it already and had your golden moment....

I was waiting for some PP insight, much appreciated.
 
Will my visit for 11th June be OK, in the form of a song please?
 
One would imagine that if Hyperia is not planned to open on Thursday, they'd be announcing that by park close today?

This might be controversial, but I have to say that I really don’t see the point of heavily promoting the “story” for Hyperia. If there was ever a ride where an in-depth backstory was pretty much redundant, I think this is it. The ride has next to no theming, and unlike many Merlin rides, it pretty much doesn’t appear to focus on theming or storytelling at all.
 
If I were Thorpe, I’d be ditching any major focus on the theme or story in marketing and just going all in on the coaster itself. Just hammer home that silhouette of the layout and its giant elements and hammer home the records, with only the very vague “find your fearless” imagery present as an indication of the theme/style. To be fair, I think they’ve done that pretty well up to this point, but the marketing seems to have taken a bit of a weird turn in the last couple of days.
 
Granted, I’m no marketing expert by any means, but the approach of the last couple of days is certainly not how I’d approach marketing Hyperia. The coaster itself is the key strength of this project, so why not play to your strengths? I fear that this sudden focus on the theme and “story” of Hyperia will only invite criticism regarding the very minimalistic nature of the actual ride theming.
 
I’ve never objected to Hyperia being minimally themed. I think it’s par for the course for a coaster of this size; rides of this size speak for themselves, they’re very hard to theme heavily, and even parks known for heavy theming (e.g. Europa Park, PortAventura) have themed their hyper coasters very minimally. However, I think that if Thorpe want Hyperia to be a minimally themed ride that focuses solely on the coaster itself, I think they need to stick to that in the marketing. I think this “backstory” marketing sets people up for a heavily themed ride that doesn’t exist, and I fear that it will draw attention to the ride’s minimal theming and away from the massive coaster itself, the main strength of the project.

Not being funny but if it takes 20 minutes to get up the lift hill the queues are going to be horrendous and in my view this is just another way of Merlin exploiting fasttrack sales.

this project has turned out to be one questionable decision after the other to be honest - don't get me wrong - I absolutely cannot wait to ride - but everything from the station building, planned landscaping, lack of a viewing platform, queueline etc has been pretty disapponting thus far.
 
I also personally find thorpe's generous (putting that lightly) overuse of the gold colour super tacky. if it was used as a highlight colour against a black station, it would look so much more elegant. also a little confused by the black and gold colourscheme of the station, queue etc but the actual coaster itself is white and gold? wouldn't a white and gold station have fit the aesthetic better than a black and gold one..?

God the capacity is gonna be crap.
 
 

As the OFFICIAL DG95 DOMINIC GARDNER would say. A WORLD EXCLUSIVE…
 
 
trains delivered

^ I mean this is basically what I was trying to say to be fair 🙃

Yep, Detonator really looked nothing like the concept art did it... Oh wait.

I love it when Jack comes back every year or so to complain about Fastrack at Thorpe.

It's like when Steve posts every now and then to tell us how **** Merlin are. It's like a comfort blanket. 

Just turn the ruddy thing off 
Credit Coastersnaps on Twitter or "X" as no-one calls it.

Damn I'd forgotten about this.
 
Swarm was also meant to have a viewing area of sorts that took you up to the helicopter. 
 
There's a reoccurring theme here....

I wonder if you’ll still be able to see the splashdown?
if not, it makes you wonder what’s the point of that, since splashdowns really are better for onlookers than for riders.

The lack of viewing area is a real shame.
 
At the same time, it was always in a silly location, since it could only be located after going on the ride, or by going through the exit shop. So logistically it was a bit weird.
 
Still, that's not enough to have put a damper on it. Just wish it could have happened; overlooking the lake and getting the view of the ride would have been awesome.

They have kept the sign so i'd say it seems very possible 😂.
 
You can see it down Monks Walk by Rumba Rapids.