Matt N

Really interesting - thank you for posting this!
 
The very obvious and self-inflicted rise and fall of Thorpe Park, and the reputation damage following the Smiler crash are the standouts for me.
 
Its also mad how erratic Alton Towers’ attendance has been over the years compared to the others.
 
I echo what’s been said above - this is evidence that the public want to come and see new coasters and rides - NOT walkthroughs and stupid gimmicks. Semi-regular ride additions appear to increase attendance according to this graph.

One thing I would say is that I don't think thrills necessarily only appeal to teens and young adults. Thorpe may have a big selection of thrill rides and quite a heavy focus on the thrill market, but I don't think that's necessarily the architect of the park's recent struggles. A look at my data suggests that the extremely thrill-focused 2000s were very successful indeed, and the park actually rode that wave of success right up until 2011; they experienced sustained growth for the best part of 10 years under a thrill heavy strategy. Park attendance grew by 133.3% in the decade between 2000 and 2010, and the park's growth trajectory was a near perfect upward curve for this entire time.
 
I don't think thrills and teens necessarily go hand in hand perfectly. Appealing to the teenage and young adult market doesn't necessarily mean appealing to thrillseekers and vice versa; the thrill market encapsulates a surprisingly wide range of people. It includes people like older families and adults as well as teenagers and young adults. Appealing to the teenage/young adult market can also be done in ways aside from building thrill rides.
 
I'd wager that Thorpe's issue is one of recent investments and target market rather than ride lineup, in two senses.
 
The first sense is that the park in recent years (under Merlin) has tried to go for too much of a niche part of the thrill market, in my opinion. The bulk of the park's additions within the last decade have not been traditional thrill rides, such as coasters and thrill flats; the only investment that would fit either descriptor is Swarm, which only narrowly makes it into the last decade having been built 10 years ago in 2012. Many of the park's recent attempts at thrill have not been "traditional" thrill rides with wide appeal; the bulk of Thorpe's recent thrill investments have been very "edgy", scare based, horror themed attractions with quite niche appeal. In my view, something like DBGT is aimed at a very specific, niche corner of the thrill market and will have far less universal appeal than something like a roller coaster. Ditto with the likes of Walking Dead; the IP is undeniably popular, but an attraction in the style of TWD:TR will appeal to a much smaller subset of thrillseekers (only teens and young adults, really). These investments undeniably appeal to the teen and young adult market very well, but attractions like these don't really open themselves up to the other (arguably more lucrative) corners of the thrill market, such as older families and adults.
 
The second, and arguably more important sense in my view, is that the park seems to have struggled to target towards anyone in recent years. From Swarm onwards, and particularly strongly in the years following DBGT, the park has given off the impression that it has been somewhat paralysed by indecision about who its target market actually is. It seems to have been a fun family park one minute, but a hardcore horror park the next minute, and then a fresh-faced thrill park focused on coasters the next minute after that. The park arguably hasn't made an overly committal move towards appealing in any particular direction since DBGT back in 2016, and any attempts at appealing to one particular market have not been very sustained. In 2014 and 2015, the park went pretty family-based... before going hardcore horror in 2016 and 2017. The park rethemed X to appeal to families in 2013... before retheming it to appeal to hardcore horror fans, arguably reversing the effects of their prior move and then some, in 2018. The park started 2018 off by saying it was "The Year of the Walking Dead" and appealing to hardcore horror fans... before changing tack mid season and going for a more light hearted vibe with all the Love Island stuff to appeal primarily to teens and young adults. 2019 and 2020 were then relatively family-based... but the park went back to horror with Black Mirror in 2021. I get that it is difficult for Thorpe to pick a target market (I'm terribly indecisive myself...), I get that the park has had many different managers with different ideas in recent years, and I do understand that a public business with shareholders will likely find it difficult to have an overly long term view, but my view is that Thorpe would be a fair amount more successful if they took one particular path, properly ran with it, and made some properly decisive moves towards cementing the park as a destination for that particular target market. I think Exodus could well solve this issue (a 230ft hyper is certainly a pretty decisive move towards appealing to the wide subset of the thrill market who like roller coasters), but it does appear that recently, particular paths taken by the park haven't really been given enough time to succeed before the park moves on, and the moves towards these paths haven't been overly committal. The park in recent years has seemed somewhat "on the fence" about who its target demographic actually is, and quite uncommitted towards any particular path. I feel that if the park were to take one path and properly commit to it, they would be a fair bit more successful.
 
Those are just my thoughts, though. I could be very wrong.
 
I apologise, as I know I probably shouldn't question their decision making given that they have the KPIs and charts and things to back up their decisions and I don't. I also know that I'm being a massive hypocrite talking about indecision seeing as I'm pretty indecisive myself... so I should probably stop there seeing as hypocrisy is not a hill I wish to die on. I fully understand how difficult it can be to make a decision and stick to it sometimes.

Note: I intend to keep editing this post as time goes on and more years are released.
Hi guys. During the coaster consultations in 2021, Merlin released an attendance graph showing all their parks' attendance figures since the early 1980s. I had some time on my hands yesterday evening and decided to try and extrapolate some slightly more precise guest figures for each park from this graph to try and determine the precise(ish) attendance trajectory of each UK Merlin park from the earliest year listed here (1984 for Alton Towers and Chessington, 1983 for Thorpe Park, 1987 for Windsor Safari Park and 1997 for Legoland Windsor).
 
For some idea, this is the original graph I was working with: https://www.cwoa-consultation.com/proposals?lightbox=dataItem-komw1163
 
To make things easier for myself, I divided each million on the graph into 8 rows (thus leaving ~125,000 guests per row, as my rather crude MS Paint annotation indicates):

 
As such, I then decided to extrapolate a precise(ish) figure from the graph by looking at what row each park's figure fell within. All of these figures are rounded to the nearest 31,250; I know that sounds oddly specific, but it's 1/32 of a million, and a quarter of one of these rows, so it's the most precise figure that remains easy to determine by eye. It also keeps the margin of error to only 1 or 2 percent in most cases.
 
The precise(ish) trajectories that I managed to extrapolate for each park, including percentage increases and decreases for each year, were as follows:
Alton Towers - opened 1980, first year on graph 1984
1984: 1,843,750 (first year, #1/3 on graph) 1985: 1,812,500 (-1.7%, #1/3 on graph) 1986: 2,250,000 (+24.1%, #1/3 on graph) 1987: 2,312,500 (+2.8%, #1/4 on graph) 1988: 2,875,000 (+24.3%, #1/4 on graph) 1989: 2,437,500 (-15.2%, #1/4 on graph) 1990: 1,937,500 (-20.5%, #1/4 on graph) 1991: 1,843,750 (-3.6%, #1/4 on graph) 1992: 2,625,000 (+42.4%, #1/4 on graph) 1993: 2,843,750 (+8.3%, #1/4 on graph) 1994: 3,312,500 (+16.5%, #1/3 on graph) 1995: 2,843,750 (-14.2%, #1/3 on graph) 1996: 2,875,000 (+1.1%, #1/3 on graph) 1997: 2,875,000 (0.0%, #1/4 on graph) 1998: 2,875,000 (0.0%, #1/4 on graph) 1999: 2,593,750 (-9.8%, #1/4 on graph) 2000: 2,437,500 (-6.0%, #1/4 on graph) 2001: 2,187,500 (-10.3%, #1/4 on graph) 2002: 2,656,250 (+21.4%, #1/4 on graph) 2003: 2,562,500 (-4.7%, #1/4 on graph) 2004: 2,086,750 (-18.6%, #1/4 on graph) 2005: 2,187,500 (+4.8%, #1/4 on graph) 2006: 2,218,750 (+1.4%, #1/4 on graph) 2007: 2,250,000 (+1.4%, #1/4 on graph) 2008: 2,593,750 (+15.3%, #1/4 on graph) 2009: 2,656,250 (+2.4%, #1/4 on graph) 2010: 3,062,500 (+14.0%, #1/4 on graph) 2011: 2,687,500 (-12.2%, #1/4 on graph) 2012: 2,406,250 (-10.5%, #1/4 on graph) 2013: 2,593,750 (+7.8%, #1/4 on graph) 2014: 2,312,500 (-10.8%, joint #2/4 on graph) 2015: 1,968,750 (-14.9%, #2/4 on graph) 2016: 1,750,000 (-9.7%, #2/4 on graph) 2017: 1,875,000 (+7.1%, #2/4 on graph) 2018: 2,187,500 (+16.7%, #1/4 on graph) 2019: 2,500,000 (+14.3%, #1/4 on graph) 2020: 968,750 (-61.3%, #1/4 on graph) 2021: 2,343,750 (+141.9%, #1/4 on graph) All-Time Peak: 3,312,500 (1994)
All-Time Low (excluding 2020): 1,750,000 (2016)
Peak Within Merlin Era (2008 and later): 3,062,500 (2010)
Low Within Merlin Era (2008 and later, excluding 2020 and 2021): 1,750,000 (2016)
 
Chessington/Chessington Zoo - opened 1931, first year on graph 1984, first year as CWOA 1987
1984: 625,000 (first year, #3/3 on graph) 1985: 562,500 (-10.0%, #3/3 on graph) 1986: 500,000 (-11.1%, #3/3 on graph) 1987: 875,000 (+75.0%, #3/4 on graph) 1988: 1,187,500 (+35.7%, joint #3/4 on graph) 1989: 1,250,000 (+5.3%, #3/4 on graph) 1990: 1,062,500 (-15.0%, joint #3/4 on graph) 1991: 1,437,500 (+35.3%, #2/4 on graph) 1992: 1,218,750 (-15.2%, #2/4 on graph) 1993: 1,531,250 (+25.6%, #2/4 on graph) 1994: 1,687,500 (+10.2%, #2/3 on graph) 1995: 1,875,000 (+11.1%, #2/3 on graph) 1996: 1,812,500 (-3.3%, #2/3 on graph) 1997: 1,843,750 (+1.7%, #2/4 on graph) 1998: 1,843,750 (0.0%, #2/4 on graph) 1999: 1,656,250 (-10.2%, #2/4 on graph) 2000: 1,562,500 (-5.7%, #3/4 on graph) 2001: 1,531,250 (-2.0%, joint #3/4 on graph) 2002: 1,281,250 (-16.3%, #4/4 on graph) 2003: 1,312,500 (+2.4%, #4/4 on graph) 2004: 1,218,750 (-7.1%, #4/4 on graph) 2005: 1,093,750 (-10.3%, #4/4 on graph) 2006: 1,031,250 (-5.7%, #4/4 on graph) 2007: 968,750 (-6.1%, #4/4 on graph) 2008: 1,250,000 (+29.0%, #4/4 on graph) 2009: 1,343,750 (+7.5%, #4/4 on graph) 2010: 1,437,500 (+7.0%, #4/4 on graph) 2011: 1,500,000 (+4.3%, #4/4 on graph) 2012: 1,406,250 (-6.2%, #4/4 on graph) 2013: 1,531,250 (+8.9%, #4/4 on graph) 2014: 1,562,500 (+2.0%, #4/4 on graph) 2015: 1,437,500 (-8.0%, #4/4 on graph) 2016: 1,437,500 (0.0%, #4/4 on graph) 2017: 1,500,000 (+4.3%, #4/4 on graph) 2018: 1,593,750 (+6.3%, joint #4/4 on graph) 2019: 1,656,250 (+3.9%, #3/4 on graph) 2020: 500,000 (-69.8%, #4/4 on graph) 2021: 1,281,250 (+156.3%, #3/4 on graph) 2022: 1,468,750 (+14.6%, N/A) All-Time Peak: 1,875,000 (1995)
All-Time Low (excluding 2020 and 2021, including pre-CWOA years): 500,000 (1986)
All-Time Low (excluding 2020 and 2021 and pre-CWOA years): 875,000 (1987)
Peak Within Merlin Era (2008 and later): 1,687,500 (2019)
Low Within Merlin Era (2008 and later, excluding 2020 and 2021): 1,281,250 (2008)
 
Legoland Windsor/Windsor Safari Park - opened 1970, first year on graph 1987, first year as Legoland Windsor 1996
1987: 812,500 (first year, #4/4 on graph) 1988: 875,000 (+7.7%, #4/4 on graph) 1989: 968,750 (+10.7%, #4/4 on graph) 1990: 1,062,500 (+9.7%, joint #3/4 on graph) 1991: 1,031,250 (-2.9%, #3/4 on graph) 1992: 968,750 (-6.1%, #4/4 on graph) 1993: 937,500 (-3.2%, #4/4 on graph) 1994: N/A (-100.0%, N/A on graph) 1995: N/A (0.0%, N/A on graph) 1996: N/A (0.0%, N/A on graph) 1997: 1,468,750 (first year as LLW, #3/4 on graph) 1998: 1,312,500 (-10.6%, #3/4 on graph) 1999: 1,500,000 (+14.3%, #3/4 on graph) 2000: 1,687,500 (+12.5%, #2/4 on graph) 2001: 1,531,250 (-9.3%, joint #3/4 on graph) 2002: 1,593,750 (+4.1%, #2/4 on graph) 2003: 1,437,500 (-9.8%, #3/4 on graph) 2004: 1,437,500 (0.0%, #3/4 on graph) 2005: 1,500,000 (+4.3%, #3/4 on graph) 2006: 1,625,000 (+8.3%, #3/4 on graph) 2007: 1,500,000 (-7.8%, #3/4 on graph) 2008: 1,875,000 (+25.0%, #2/4 on graph) 2009: 1,906,250 (+1.7%, #3/4 on graph) 2010: 1,906,250 (0.0%, #3/4 on graph) 2011: 1,906,250 (0.0%, #3/4 on graph) 2012: 2,031,250 (+6.6%, #2/4 on graph) 2013: 2,312,500 (+13.8%, #2/4 on graph) 2014: 2,312,500 (0.0%, joint #2/4 on graph) 2015: 2,343,750 (+1.4%, #1/4 on graph) 2016: 2,187,500 (-6.6%, #1/4 on graph) 2017: 2,312,500 (+5.7%, #1/4 on graph) 2018: 2,125,000 (-8.1%, #2/4 on graph) 2019: 2,062,500 (-2.9%, #2/4 on graph) 2020: 687,500 (-66.7%, #2/4 on graph) 2021: 1,562,500 (+122.7%, #2/4 on graph) All-Time Peak: 2,343,750 (2015)
All-Time Low (excluding 2020 and 2021, including pre-LLW years): 812,500 (1987)
All-Time Low (excluding 2020, 2021 and pre-LLW years): 1,312,500 (1998)
Peak Within Merlin Era (2006 and later): 2,343,750 (2015)
Low Within Merlin Era (2006 and later, excluding 2020 and 2021): 1,500,000 (2007)
 
Thorpe Park - opened 1979, first year on graph 1983
1983: 843,750 (first year, #1/1 on graph) 1984: 1,031,250 (+22.2%, #2/3 on graph) 1985: 1,093,750 (+6.1%, #2/3 on graph) 1986: 1,093,750 (0.0%, #2/3 on graph) 1987: 1,093,750 (0.0%, #2/4 on graph) 1988: 1,187,500 (+8.6%, joint #3/4 on graph) 1989: 1,343,750 (+13.2%, #2/4 on graph) 1990: 1,000,000 (-25.6%, #4/4 on graph) 1991: 968,750 (-3.1%, #4/4 on graph) 1992: 1,093,750 (+12.9%, #3/4 on graph) 1993: 1,281,250 (+17.1%, #3/4 on graph) 1994: 1,218,750 (-4.9%, #3/3 on graph) 1995: 1,125,000 (-7.7%, #3/3 on graph) 1996: 1,187,500 (+5.6%, #3/3 on graph) 1997: 968,750 (-18.4%, #4/4 on graph) 1998: 875,000 (-9.7%, #4/4 on graph) 1999: 906,250 (+3.6%, #4/4 on graph) 2000: 937,500 (+3.4%, #4/4 on graph) 2001: 1,187,500 (+26.7%, #4/4 on graph) 2002: 1,437,500 (+21.1%, #3/4 on graph) 2003: 1,531,250 (+6.5%, #2/4 on graph) 2004: 1,468,750 (-4.1%, #2/4 on graph) 2005: 1,562,500 (+6.4%, #2/4 on graph) 2006: 1,812,500 (+16.0%, #2/4 on graph) 2007: 1,843,750 (+1.7%, #2/4 on graph) 2008: 1,843,750 (0.0%, #3/4 on graph) 2009: 2,125,000 (+15.3%, #2/4 on graph) 2010: 2,187,500 (+2.9%, #2/4 on graph) 2011: 2,125,000 (-2.9%, #2/4 on graph) 2012: 1,843,750 (-13.2%, #3/4 on graph) 2013: 1,786,250 (-3.1%, #3/4 on graph) 2014: 1,843,750 (+3.2%, #3/4 on graph) 2015: 1,531,250 (-17.0%, #3/4 on graph) 2016: 1,625,000 (+6.1%, #3/4 on graph) 2017: 1,562,500 (-3.9%, #3/4 on graph) 2018: 1,593,750 (+2.0%, joint #4/4 on graph) 2019: 1,500,000 (-5.9%, #4/4 on graph) 2020: 562,500 (-62.5%, #3/4 on graph) 2021: 1,218,750 (+116.7%, #4/4 on graph) All-Time Peak: 2,187,500 (2010)
All-Time Low (excluding 2020 and 2021): 843,750 (1983)
Peak Within Merlin Era (2008 and later): 2,187,500 (2010)
Low Within Merlin Era (2008 and later, excluding 2020 and 2021): 1,500,000 (2019)
 
To sum up each park's trajectory:
Alton Towers may have been top dog for the bulk of the years since 1984, but it has also had the most volatile guest figures. It has had peaks as high as 3.3 million in 1994, but also troughs of only slightly above 2 million in the mid-2000s or even slightly below in the early 1990s and mid-2010s, with a nadir of 1.75 million being reached in 2016. At that point, it was well away from #1 and almost rubbing shoulder to shoulder with #3 park Thorpe. Interestingly, its peak was early, in 1994, and only 2010 has ever come close to that since. Merlin have attained fair growth at Alton Towers; between 2007 and 2019, attendance grew by 11.1%. Chessington started off fairly well, attaining steady growth from 1987 up until 1994, where it stayed at its peak until about 1997. However, attendance dropped through the floor from 1998 onwards, hitting a low of under 1 million in 2007, so it's fair to say that Chessington's trajectory has been far from uniform, although things improved notably under Merlin. Interestingly, Chessington is the park that has thrived most under Merlin, with attendance having grown by 74.1% between 2007 and 2019. Nonetheless, the high water mark was hit quite early on at Chessington, with that near 2 million peak guest figure being all the way back in 1995, and no year post-1997 has yet come close to it. Legoland Windsor has had the most consistent growth trajectory of all the parks. With its low back near opening in 1998, its peak in 2015 and no particularly catastrophic attendance drops (COVID aside), it's grown fairly consistently over the years. It's also a park that has thrived pretty well under Merlin; between 2005 and 2019, attendance grew by 37.5%. Thorpe Park has had a bit of a roller coaster of a growth trajectory. The 80s and 90s were a little bit choppy at Thorpe Park, with peaks of close to 1.5 million and lows of under 1 million. The park really hit its stride from 2001 onwards, maintaining a near perfect growth trajectory right up to the park's 2.2 million peak in 2010. However, things have been a bit of a struggle since then, with guest figures having almost consistently declined since 2011 right back to a low of 1.5 million in 2019. The park has comparatively struggled under Merlin, with attendance having fallen by 18.6% between 2007 and 2019. I hope you find this interesting! If you don't agree with something I've done or notice any errors, however, don't be afraid to flag them to me.

My thought is that a lot of the scenery will be old and with low upkeep so lots will be heading to the local tip.
 
They'll likely need a bigger skip.

@Matt N I suspect the Mad Professors Lab/Zombie scene is being ripped out. This scene was made purely for Duel. 

Was at Towers over the weekend for the first time this year and my first time doing Towers Oktoberfest so thought I'd write up some thoughts.
 
The only negatives over the weekend was the Rectrosquad and X Sector so I'll get the negatives out the way first.
 
I'm a big fan of flats and liked the idea at first but can't help but feel they all look so out of place at Towers. As much as I enjoyed Spinjam and it was my favourite out of the flats, it looks really out of place at towers. The waltzer looks dreadful and the only one that looks alright is Funk N Fly. Hearing the music and funfair jingles played at towers just doesn't seem right.
 
They all seem fairly popular so would love to see them invest in some permanent flats which Alton are desperately crying out for.
 
X Sector was an absolute mess. The whole area of the 2 coasters look dirty and need a proper clean up.
 
There was a period of around 2 hours on Saturday when Oblivion and Smiler were down. So obviously without Enterprise, the only open attraction was a temporary fairground ride. Did make me laugh.
 
Both coasters were running reduced capacity. Smiler ranged from running 2-3 trains over the weekend and Oblivion had 2 seats permanently closed on every shuttle and only running 1 station.
Its a shame as I normally love getting a few re rides on Oblivion, its capable of being one of the highest throughput rides on the park and its being run awfully. I know it can't be helped sometimes but having the coasters on reduced capacity completely defeats the purpose of the extra flats they have in. 
 
Would love to see them give the area a decent clean up, 1 or 2 permanent flats and sort out the capacity on the coasters. 
 
The Smiler was running pretty rough. It was nice having the Single rider open for this and it worked really well, would love to see them open a few more of these up on the rides it works well on. It was also nice to see the bagdrop open, glad they've seen sense there as it makes a huge difference to throughput and always has one of the biggest queues on park.

Had plenty of rides on Nemesis which will probably be my last in its current form unless I get there on its last day. By far my favourite UK coaster, I can't help but think its a shame its closing as it still runs so well  but I'm all for them investing in its future! I love how they effortlessly run Nemesis so well, it never stacks and the queue moves so quick.
 
Wickerman, Galactica, Thirteen were also all running really well and the trains were flying out with no stacking. No bag drop open on Thirteen but were still sending the trains out quick.

Oktoberfest was great, much prefer it to Thorpes. Entertainment carries on for an hour after park close, the lawns had a great atmosphere and was busy till 8pm on the Saturday. No cringey German accents, a proper band, everyone enjoying themselves and having a laugh. 
 
Will probably not bother with Towers next year with Nemesis closed, its always my main reason for going but looking forward to seeing what they have done with it in 2024. Hopefully the flat ride situation will be sorted out by then too.

For me its:
 
1) Stealth - Never used to be my favourite Thorpe coaster but loved it more and more in recent years. Easily the most re rideable on park and is just as enjoyable every time.
 
2) Inferno - I often overlook Inferno as I compare it to Nemesis. It gets better and better every year, Its always one of my favourite coasters at the park to ride in the dark it absolutely flies round in the evenings at Fright nights. 
 
3) Colossus - I have a soft spot for Colossus. In my teenage years it was always my favourite coaster at the park. Always loved its soundtrack and the way the area and queue interacts with the ride. Its a good layout and although its a little rough, I really don't find it as rough as others say.
 
4) Swarm - Surprisingly for most, this was always my least favourite out of the 5 in its early years, I found it forceless and the layout too short. As times gone on I've liked it more and more. Its super re rideable and its got much more forceful over the years, love the helix by the helicopter.
I find the vest restraints incredibly uncomfortable, not sure about anyone else but have found them to be even tighter in recent years and when I hit the breakrun I can't wait to get out of my seat. This massively hinders the overall enjoyment for me.
 
5) SAW - To be honest I've never been the biggest fan of Saw. Find it rougher and more uncomfortable than Colossus which is the main reason I'd rank it lower. I do love its theme though and there are few good elements I enjoy. Although its my least favourite out of the 5 I still tend to ride it on most of my visits if it doesn't have much of a queue.
 
6) Walking dead - Preferred what they did with X and will never understand why they changed it to this after the reasons they rethemed to X. Its once again a 1.4m restriction on a non thrilling ride.
 
7) Fish - Good for what it is.

It's an awkward one, and I'm not really sure what they can do.
 
I think the ride clearly hasn't been a rip-roaring success (or at very least, a rip-roaring success to the degree that the park were hoping for), seeing as it's still on entry via timed tickets as far as I know (correct me if I'm wrong there...), which would indicate that it isn't the most popular ride. It also doesn't appear to be seen as a headline attraction in the same way as the likes of the coasters, from what I can tell, which isn't too good given its age and the money that was spent on it (£30m, supposedly).
 
The problem is, though; I think it was too expensive for them to just leave or do anything overly drastic to it. To abandon a £30m ride (the most expensive ever built in the UK) after only 6 years in operation would be a huge loss of money. So I'm not really sure they can do anything to it without losing a huge amount of money.
 
In an ideal world, I would get rid of it and put a new family thrill dark ride in there that has wider appeal. Perhaps an Oceaneering system, like Jumanji at Gardaland, would work well?
 
Personally, I feel that its appeal was too niche for such a major headline attraction. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with parks building horror dark rides, and I admire Thorpe's nerve for doing DBGT in the first place, but I think there is a reason why not too many horror dark rides with scare maze-type elements akin to DBGT exist, and the ones that do exist are mostly lower budget support attractions within their respective parks rather than bank-breaking headliners like DBGT. That reason is that the appeal of that type of attraction (horror, with scare actors and many scare maze type elements) is quite limited in the sphere of the wider theme park visiting populace, and there's only so much reward you can get from horror fans, hence it's not usually worth spending tons on that type of attraction. I'm a young adult who likes a good thrill; I would consider myself a thrillseeker who isn't scared by much hardware-wise, so I'm right in the park's target market. However... I have not done DBGT because horror attractions are not my thing at all (I know this makes me sound like a coward, but I'm not keen on forced participation, and I have a slight phobia of costumed characters/scare actors... I haven't done TWD:TR since it was rethemed for the same reason), and I know that I'm not alone in feeling this. Something like DBGT will naturally be a lot more polarising than something like a roller coaster or a more traditional dark ride, and I think that's part of why it hasn't been a greater success.
 
Ultimately, I think that it was a huge, huge gamble. It was a pretty admirable gamble; it had a really admirable degree of ambition behind it, and its uniqueness is in many ways quite stunning, but it was a gamble that ultimately backfired quite spectacularly. Overall, I think the ride was almost a bit too ambitious in many ways, with the experimental technology seemingly being quite problematic, and its appeal was arguably too limited for a ride of its scale.

Funny you should mention that because I made a video on this at the beginning of the year:
 
 
I explained it more in depth in the video but I'll vaguely recap here. My personal rankings are:
 
7. Flying Fish: Great for a kids ride or for someone who's never ridden a coaster before and wanting to dip their toes in the water... but obviously every other coaster at the park is more thrilling and enjoyable imo so couldn't really place it anywhere higher than last.
 
6. Colossus: As far as I'm concerned, the worst big coaster at the park. For its age the theming and whatnot is very impressive, but the coaster is incredibly uncomfortable, the restraints are awful and for anyone even slightly above average height will be pushed for legroom.
 
5. Nemesis Inferno: Granted, Inferno is the better Nemesis of the two. And quite honestly, I do find it enjoyable. However, as someone that sometimes seriously struggles with motion sickness - Inferno has always just sent me over the edge. As a result I'm not able to ride it very often at all, so can't really place it any higher than this either.
 
4. The Walking Dead: The Ride: I really do like TWD. The pre-show and... post-show? is incredible (by Thorpe's standards). Yeah I get that the actual coaster portion is just your bogstandard Vekoma family coaster, but even the portion where the train 'stalls' and needs restarting just adds to the exhilaration for me. The theming inside of the actual ride portion could use some updating as the zombies just look like your generic fun-fair ghost train style props... but if they ever implemented some actual animatronics to this ride (and proper lighting so you can actually see things rather than 2 second flashes of light) I think it could be insane.
 
3. The Swarm: The Swarm is incredible. Extremely smooth, the theming is incredible... there really is a lot to love about this coaster. But personally I just find it gets a bit tame and boring in the second half. It's all amazing right up until the helix around the helicopter, and then it totally peters out in speed and intensity.
 
2. SAW: The Ride: Deciding upon these next two coasters was a real battle. I love everything about SAW. It's got a great queueline, the use of the Billy pre-show is great, some of those tight elements in the layout are insane - it genuinely does feel like a deathtrap (but in a good sense, as that's exactly what the ride is supposed to simulate). Granted it can be incredibly painful and you need to act on the side of caution not to re-ride in too quick succession to avoid a brain hemorrhage, but that's all part of the experience baby! Oh, and I absolutely LOVE that the trim brakes near the end of the layout aren't functional, genuinely.
 
1. Stealth: Stealth is my baby, man. What it lacks in theming it absolutely makes up for in speed. Stealth takes my breath away every single time I ride and I still get anxiety when I sit down and wait for dispatch. Also... those views you get at the top of the top hat are incredible! 

Well, well, well. Deary deary me.
 
I think this was possibly my second (maybe third?) visit to Thorpe Park this year and of course I always have to have my obligatory ride on DBGT. In fact, the ride was a walk-on at about half 12 (the person on the gate wasn't even checking tickets, so I just walked straight though even though I hadn't actually booked!).
 
I rode DBGT at the start of the season, and they had implemented some changes to the second-preshow that I thought were absolutely fantastic. A little more backstory, tying together all of the plotholes and having a member of the infected burst into the room warning people not to ride. Now... I'm not sure if this is just because I visited during the extreme off-peak days... however this second-preshow was skipped in its entirety. Instead, we were directed straight through onto the train after the talk from Derren at the start.
 
Onto the VR section now. I know lots of people have had issues with the VR headsets on here before and I assume I have just gotten lucky until now... however my headset today was absolutely awful. Constantly drifting, sometimes just locking the camera into place so I couldn't even look around (which, might I add, was absolutely horrendous and triggered immense motion sickness every time I tried to look around). I sat down after being directed onto the train and immediately put on a headset where the audio wasn't coming through one of the headphones... so immediately got up and found somewhere else.
 
Other than the technical issues, the first VR section was exactly as normal.
 
Then we de-board the train as normal, and get hurried along into the big train room. Now, as we skipped the second pre-show... we obviously didn't have any 'codes' or anything to give to the actors in this room, which made the entire situation totally pointless. We were taken off the train, directed into a large room where people were just pacing up and down freaking out, the infected come out, and then we get directed straight back onto the train again. No participation from the audience, just straight back onto the train.
 
Look, I totally understand that there's probably a potential lack of staffing... but the whole 'remembering the code to get out of the room with the infected' bit is kind of the entire motif of the ride. Without that, you're basically just watching VR.
 
Anyway, back onto the train for the second and final VR section. Again, VR and audio issues galore. We had the super-extended VR part two (I assume there was some sort of technical issue and hence we were held up), but aside from all of the VR and audio issues... I actually really liked the extended VR section. It's a real shame they don't let this play out in its entirety all of the time. I really don't jump at the jumpscares on DBGT anymore, but some of the jumpscares in the extended VR Part 2 section really got me (and I couldn't even look around because my VR was stuck again!). For part two I had to change my headset three different times during the actual VR segment and had members of staff asking me what the problem was - pretty sure after they got me settled again they radioed in about all of the issues as I could hear people talking on the radio about them... so other people must've had the same problems as me.
 
And then... the grand finale.
*sigh* 
 
This, for me, has always been the highlight of DBGT... but not today. Nobody made any attempt to direct people's attention to the ouija board and the audio was so low in the fake shop that nobody even knew what was going on. It was just me and my friend observing the ouija board and even when the infected person came out... nobody even looked! 😂 Which brings me on to my biggest pet peeve about DBGT which I've always been very vocal about - the demon costume.
 
It needs to make a return. I don't care how much it costs. Bring it back.
Having no mention of a demon in the first VR section, no mention of a demon in the large train room section, and oh! Suddenly there's a demon thing that nobody has talked about walking around the train in the third VR section!... oh and it's gone again.
 
The storyline is totally discombobulated. Either stick with the demon storyline or abandon it altogether. 'Rise Of The Demon' my arse. More like 'The Demon? What Demon? Oh, There He Is! Oh No, Gone Again!'
 
It truly gets worse every single ride.
 
Also... I mentioned it earlier in the year but it's even more apparent now - the Ghost Train shop is virtually completely empty now. Which I can't help but wonder why? Are they just not ordering new stock to the shop because they're planning on closing it soon or do they just not see the point of restocking because it doesn't get a lot of footfall?
 
I can't imagine it being the latter, because DBGT can get very, very busy at times! I'd be interested to hear what everyone else thinks.
 
Sorry for the long one, folks! 😂

Gosh its been years.
 
Firstly, the top ten new rollercoasters of 2022:-
 
1. Wildfire
2. Velocicoaster
3. Monster
4. Goldstriker
5. Jetline
6. Kvasten
7. Hagrids Motorbike Rollercoaster thing
8. Flight Deck
9. Wild Mouse (Grona Lund)
10. Railblazer
 
And finally, my current top ten rollercoasters.
 
1. Nemesis - Alton Towers. The saving grace of the park at the moment. The most consistent ride out there and one of the very best. It will be severely missed next year.
2. Steel Vengeance - Cedar Point. One of the finest rides ever built.
3. Blue Fire - Europa Park. One of my favourite rides and operationally the most perfect attraction. I love it.
4. Untamed - Walibi Holland. A sublime rollercoaster and one I really need to get back to.
5. Helix - Liseberg. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it the last time I rode and its definitely one that gives a beating to your thighs. The ejector air time is something else.
6. Katun - Miribilandia. A near perfect big rollercoaster. Very intense.
7. Wildfire - Kolmarden. I still am amazed that this random Zoo in the middle of Sweden has one of the finest rides in Europe. It stick outs like a sore thumb, but it must be one of the easiest RMC's to re-ride in the world.
8. Wodan - Europa Park. This one just grows and grows. Remarkably consistent and always deliver a fantastic ride.
9. Alpina Blitz - Nigloland. A fantastic ride and severely under-talked about. A really great ride.
10. Taron - This had to make it in there, I find it one of the most exhilarating non looping coasters in the world. 
 
Hopefully, with the pandemic pretty much done, there will be a lot more new parks and places visited in 2023. Onwards and upwards!

Planning Committee will be talking about Exodus on the 5th October and the agenda says that the planning committee will be recommended to grant planning permission!

For anyone interested, documents have been uploaded to the EIA application. Here’s a link to the EIA letter: http://publicaccess.staffsmoorlands.gov.uk/portal/servlets/AttachmentShowServlet?ImageName=313746
 
The project description describes a 4,000m2 aluminium warehouse, which will be up to 75m*57m in ground space dimensions and up to 20m tall.
 
That’s very tall for a dark ride… for some idea, Sky Lion’s building is 13m tall, and DBGT’s is 10m tall.
 
I also feel that the building is too large in terms of ground space for something like a flying theatre; Sky Lion is actually very compact, and takes up less than 1,000m2 of ground space, so even a double theatre version probably wouldn’t be any larger than 2,000m2 or so. This is 4,000m2; larger than any other dark ride building on park (Duel, the current largest, is about 3,000m2), and also larger than DBGT (2,306m2 according to the planning application). Would a flying theatre, even one with 2 theatres, really take up that much ground space?
 
It could be a dark ride, but my money is on an indoor family coaster of some sort; the building area could definitely accommodate one, and a 20m building height sounds more “coaster” than “dark ride” to me.

Visited Thorpe Park today
 
It was an off peak day with limited capacity on Colossus and Saw.
DBGT was not operating (due to lack of actors I assume).
 
it being so quiet, made me take a non-event day in. 
 
The park lacks consistency, music all over the place. The place looks dire everywhere aging, the overcast weather didn’t help. But certainly everywhere looked so old and dirty.
 
This closed season, I really want them to focus on making the park consistent. Repairs to paint/wood work and theming.
 
If I visited once a year on this day, I’d feel like Thorpe didn’t care and there was no atmosphere 

This list is probably fairly similar to my previous list, that’s mainly because up until a recent trip to Plopsaland I hadn’t been to an abroad theme park since 2017. Uni, music (my other main passion in life) and covid have just got in the way too much but I am very slowly trying to push my way back into going to abroad parks. I’m still annoyed my 3 day trip to PA with onsite accommodation and unlimited express passes got cancelled 2 years ago.
 
Anyway, back to the list! It’s a bit of a rough list considering that I haven’t ridden many of the coasters on here for years. Any coaster on here from the US I rode in 2016 which makes up over half the list.
 
Top 15 Roller Coasters:
1. Kingda Ka
Probably because my expectations were lowered slightly, but this properly blew me away! That launch has some insane power but also lasts forever! Then when you start going up the tower that also seems to never end! Before anyone comments, I’m aware everyone usually tends to prefer Dragster but I never got to ride that (and who knows how that’s going to ride now…) but I imagine I probably would’ve loved that even more! But in general, when I think of good memories from my life, riding this coaster is one of the best memories I have!
 
2. Shambhala
I haven’t ridden this since 2014 so the placement of this is very rough, but I remember been amazed by it throughout. All the times I rode it in 2012 and 2014 I was completely blown away and the on ride DVD from 2012 looks like I’m having a religious experience! This is a coaster I’m dying to get back on at some point though, it’ll probably change places but I’m fairly certain it’ll stay in my top 5!
 
3. El Toro
Definitely the most intense and craziest coaster I’ve ever been on! I had bruises from the airtime it was that mad! And I must not forget about that first drop in the back row! That drop felt like it had a hydraulic launch on it! I’m aware placing it below Kingda Ka is controversial but whilst it is objectively a better ride, the overall experience of Kingda Ka just stays with me a bit more.
 
4. The Ride to Happiness
I only managed to get two rides in on this, one at the very start of the day then one later on in the day after almost 3hrs worth of queuing (it broke down after we waited around 1hr, got to the station and they made us leave the queue for it to reopen 30 mins later, we then queued another 1hr 10mins for the exact same thing to happen but this time we were stubborn and stayed, it then opened 40 mins later so we got our second ride!). The first it was running a bit slow so it disappointed me a little but was still a great ride. However by the second ride it had noticeably warmed up and now I understood the hype, definitely an all round amazing experience with the theme, soundtrack and out of control sensation. I do really really need to get more rides though so I’ll try and go back again next year!
 
5. Nitro
Having ridden Mako earlier that year, to me it felt almost the same but just slightly better. Solid airtime, good length but then that helix into the mid course was a pleasant surprise! You get halfway round it and you’re like “oh sh**, I can’t lift my arms”. I did only get one ride though so my judgement probably isn’t the best.
 
6. Mako
Unlike Nitro, I got loads of rides in and there’s no other description I can really give other than pure fun! Similar positives to nitro as well as a good soundtrack going up the lift hill and a memorable ending. And this never had a queue when I was there so 16 year old me was in my element back then!
 
7. Manta
Pretzel loop, enough said! But yeah this coaster was probably the biggest surprise of my Florida trip back in 2016! This and mako and interchangeable! You can clearly tell B&M flyers have come a heck of a long way since Air!
 
8. Cheetah Hunt
Let me explain! I only got one ride but it was in the back row and I was riding with a close friend at the time. We were just going crazy and having a laugh the whole way round and since it’s a long time we were enjoying that laugh for a while. So whilst the coaster might’ve been worse than I remember, the one ride experience I had on it was amazing and all I can remember was an extremely fun long ride with some good speed!
 
9. Taron
Also let me explain! Whilst this is probably a far far better coaster than Cheetah Hunt, I also only got one ride on it. It was in the middle row and the person I was with didn’t really like me and was a bit annoyed I’d made him wait 90 mins for it. So again it all came down to the experience as the atmosphere was a bit tense. But it was still a fab coaster and that 2nd launch is hard to top! I do really need to go back at some point, with friends that don’t hate me and not in the middle row!
 
10. Sheikra
Being a huge fan of Oblivion’s drop, this ride for me just takes it a huge step further with the addition of an actual layout after the drop! The Immelmann is fab then the drop off the mid-course into the tunnel then splashdown makes for a great finale! Despite the small number of elements, as a result of the sheer size and reasonable length of the coaster I didn’t really notice that so to me it was a fantastic coaster and one of my favourites in Florida!
 
11. Anubis: The Ride
Out of the few Gerstlauers I’ve down (Saw, Smiler, Rage and this) this definitely stood out as the best to me! Partly because it was perfectly smooth to my surprise but it also packed a punch like no other coaster I’d done before! Aside from that dead spot after the mid-course, every single element delivered and was taken at great speed! And that launch is definitely one of the best I’ve done! This ride is telling me I need to get on some more (good) European Gerstlauers!
 
12. Montu
For me this felt like an invert that was long and had more packed in and as a result is my favourite invert I’ve ridden! It has the intensity and whip of most of the other inverts I’ve ridden but then lasts double the time so of course I’m going to rank this higher!
 
13. Icon
For what Icon lacks in intensity, the stuff it does have isn’t very common in the UK! It’s a long ride, has lap bars (I know Sik has them too, but they’re not nearly as comfortable) and has plenty of good airtime moments! It’s just one of those rides I feel relaxed but excited when I ride it, it’s also very re-rideable. Then Enso (as a single rider) adds the intensity the ride lacks, though it is a bit too expensive so I won’t factor that into the placement on the list. But personally I adore this coaster and consider it my favourite in the UK! I just wish other coasters in the UK could be long (and comfortable!) rides!
 
14. OzIris
I haven’t ridden this since 2013 but this felt very similar to Montu but had some standout moments. The first drop not having a pre-drop really makes it rather amazing in the back! And the water feature is really cool as well! A very solid 2nd place B&M invert for me and arguably has better elements than Montu! But Montu’s length does give it the edge in my opinion.
 
15. Rock 'N' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith (WDW)
The theming really makes this ride for me! Whilst the coaster itself is probably rather average, the storyline of the ride and the experience of being in a runaway limousine with Aerosmith songs blasting out loud was fantastic! And I didn’t find that rough at all so I was just smiling the whole way round! Never got to ride the Paris version but it looks like they might’ve butchered it now…

I struggle to find figures for Paultons, but most seem to suggest around the 1 million mark (I think I read 1.1 million somewhere, but don’t quote me on that one).
 
I think Chessington’s capacity struggles are compounded by a combination of the fact that it’s on the MAP (I seem to remember hearing that Chessington is considered one of Merlin’s most valuable assets due to how many MAP visits it attracts) and the fact that it’s in London with a huge population on its doorstep.
 
The graph suggests that figures spiked fairly significantly in 2008 in spite of no especially significant investment that year, which I think could have been at least partially caused by the conception of the MAP.
 
By comparison, Paultons is more remote in location and doesn’t have a similarly lucrative annual pass product to boost its figures. Based on my own experience there, I’d also wager that a notable percentage of its visitors spend their time mainly in Peppa Pig World, which could help the queues stay low in the rest of the park.

Personally, I think thorpe shouldn't try to appeal to young families, especially not in the half hearted fashion of adding a playground, realistically why would you go there when you have the likes of chessington, legoland and paultons as alternatives with a lot more available for kids? It just leads to a day of saying 'sorry you aren't tall enough for that ride'. Frankly there isn't enough space to make it a park that appeals to literally everyone and I think that would be a waste of time and effort. 
 
I think there is nothing wrong with thorpe focusing on families with older kids, teenagers, adults etc. There is a market for that, but having said that they are harder to impress and with the lack of any decent additions over the past 9 years I'm not surprised by the attendance figures. Agree with above- black mirror and derren brown were way too niche to appeal to the majority of adults/teens and wouldn't be enough to draw someone to the park that wouldn't have been going annually anyway. 
I think exodus with the right advertising will bring people to the park, and hopefully will have results that demonstrate to management that the park should focus on these sorts of things that will appeal to its main audience- adults, older families and teenagers.
 
On chessington- I'd be interested to see how these figures compare to paultons, having been to both I think a day at paultons is much more pleasant, much shorter queues, and plenty of rides for kids of all ages, so without hesitation I'd recommend to families with kids <10, I just wonder why chessington struggles so much more with queues. 

Moving forwards in my view, 
it needs a 8 Million spent just tarting up attraction’s cosmetically, and Colossus new trains.
 
Itneeds to continue to invest in thrills but also needs to re introduce theme park staple attractions that are suitable for the whole family, 
 
Something similar to Wicked witches haunt re-imagined, a decent family area. I am probably in terms of GP among a large proportion of perspective customers who have younger children, and quite simply haven't been to thorpe in 2-3 years (other than for the beach this summer) for the simple fact its not fair on the kids they have 3 rides suitable for my eldest. And absolutely nothing for my youngest.
 
I get it’s a Thrill Park, but to have a family day out we need to cater for whole families to have a good day aswell.
 
I will use Adventure Island as a perfect example it’s primarily a thrill park on the Coast, but it caters for everyone and does it well. 
 

Note: I intend to keep editing this post as time goes on and more years are released.
Hi guys. During the coaster consultations in 2021, Merlin released an attendance graph showing all their parks' attendance figures since the early 1980s. I had some time on my hands yesterday evening and decided to try and extrapolate some slightly more precise guest figures for each park from this graph to try and determine the precise(ish) attendance trajectory of each UK Merlin park from the earliest year listed here (1984 for Alton Towers and Chessington, 1983 for Thorpe Park, 1987 for Windsor Safari Park and 1997 for Legoland Windsor).
 
For some idea, this is the original graph I was working with: https://www.cwoa-consultation.com/proposals?lightbox=dataItem-komw1163
 
To make things easier for myself, I divided each million on the graph into 8 rows (thus leaving ~125,000 guests per row, as my rather crude MS Paint annotation indicates):

 
As such, I then decided to extrapolate a precise(ish) figure from the graph by looking at what row each park's figure fell within. All of these figures are rounded to the nearest 31,250; I know that sounds oddly specific, but it's 1/32 of a million, and a quarter of one of these rows, so it's the most precise figure that remains easy to determine by eye. It also keeps the margin of error to only 1 or 2 percent in most cases.
 
The precise(ish) trajectories that I managed to extrapolate for each park, including percentage increases and decreases for each year, were as follows:
Alton Towers - opened 1980, first year on graph 1984
1984: 1,843,750 (first year, #1/3 on graph) 1985: 1,812,500 (-1.7%, #1/3 on graph) 1986: 2,250,000 (+24.1%, #1/3 on graph) 1987: 2,312,500 (+2.8%, #1/4 on graph) 1988: 2,875,000 (+24.3%, #1/4 on graph) 1989: 2,437,500 (-15.2%, #1/4 on graph) 1990: 1,937,500 (-20.5%, #1/4 on graph) 1991: 1,843,750 (-3.6%, #1/4 on graph) 1992: 2,625,000 (+42.4%, #1/4 on graph) 1993: 2,843,750 (+8.3%, #1/4 on graph) 1994: 3,312,500 (+16.5%, #1/3 on graph) 1995: 2,843,750 (-14.2%, #1/3 on graph) 1996: 2,875,000 (+1.1%, #1/3 on graph) 1997: 2,875,000 (0.0%, #1/4 on graph) 1998: 2,875,000 (0.0%, #1/4 on graph) 1999: 2,593,750 (-9.8%, #1/4 on graph) 2000: 2,437,500 (-6.0%, #1/4 on graph) 2001: 2,187,500 (-10.3%, #1/4 on graph) 2002: 2,656,250 (+21.4%, #1/4 on graph) 2003: 2,562,500 (-4.7%, #1/4 on graph) 2004: 2,086,750 (-18.6%, #1/4 on graph) 2005: 2,187,500 (+4.8%, #1/4 on graph) 2006: 2,218,750 (+1.4%, #1/4 on graph) 2007: 2,250,000 (+1.4%, #1/4 on graph) 2008: 2,593,750 (+15.3%, #1/4 on graph) 2009: 2,656,250 (+2.4%, #1/4 on graph) 2010: 3,062,500 (+14.0%, #1/4 on graph) 2011: 2,687,500 (-12.2%, #1/4 on graph) 2012: 2,406,250 (-10.5%, #1/4 on graph) 2013: 2,593,750 (+7.8%, #1/4 on graph) 2014: 2,312,500 (-10.8%, joint #2/4 on graph) 2015: 1,968,750 (-14.9%, #2/4 on graph) 2016: 1,750,000 (-9.7%, #2/4 on graph) 2017: 1,875,000 (+7.1%, #2/4 on graph) 2018: 2,187,500 (+16.7%, #1/4 on graph) 2019: 2,500,000 (+14.3%, #1/4 on graph) 2020: 968,750 (-61.3%, #1/4 on graph) 2021: 2,343,750 (+141.9%, #1/4 on graph) All-Time Peak: 3,312,500 (1994)
All-Time Low (excluding 2020): 1,750,000 (2016)
Peak Within Merlin Era (2008 and later): 3,062,500 (2010)
Low Within Merlin Era (2008 and later, excluding 2020 and 2021): 1,750,000 (2016)
 
Chessington/Chessington Zoo - opened 1931, first year on graph 1984, first year as CWOA 1987
1984: 625,000 (first year, #3/3 on graph) 1985: 562,500 (-10.0%, #3/3 on graph) 1986: 500,000 (-11.1%, #3/3 on graph) 1987: 875,000 (+75.0%, #3/4 on graph) 1988: 1,187,500 (+35.7%, joint #3/4 on graph) 1989: 1,250,000 (+5.3%, #3/4 on graph) 1990: 1,062,500 (-15.0%, joint #3/4 on graph) 1991: 1,437,500 (+35.3%, #2/4 on graph) 1992: 1,218,750 (-15.2%, #2/4 on graph) 1993: 1,531,250 (+25.6%, #2/4 on graph) 1994: 1,687,500 (+10.2%, #2/3 on graph) 1995: 1,875,000 (+11.1%, #2/3 on graph) 1996: 1,812,500 (-3.3%, #2/3 on graph) 1997: 1,843,750 (+1.7%, #2/4 on graph) 1998: 1,843,750 (0.0%, #2/4 on graph) 1999: 1,656,250 (-10.2%, #2/4 on graph) 2000: 1,562,500 (-5.7%, #3/4 on graph) 2001: 1,531,250 (-2.0%, joint #3/4 on graph) 2002: 1,281,250 (-16.3%, #4/4 on graph) 2003: 1,312,500 (+2.4%, #4/4 on graph) 2004: 1,218,750 (-7.1%, #4/4 on graph) 2005: 1,093,750 (-10.3%, #4/4 on graph) 2006: 1,031,250 (-5.7%, #4/4 on graph) 2007: 968,750 (-6.1%, #4/4 on graph) 2008: 1,250,000 (+29.0%, #4/4 on graph) 2009: 1,343,750 (+7.5%, #4/4 on graph) 2010: 1,437,500 (+7.0%, #4/4 on graph) 2011: 1,500,000 (+4.3%, #4/4 on graph) 2012: 1,406,250 (-6.2%, #4/4 on graph) 2013: 1,531,250 (+8.9%, #4/4 on graph) 2014: 1,562,500 (+2.0%, #4/4 on graph) 2015: 1,437,500 (-8.0%, #4/4 on graph) 2016: 1,437,500 (0.0%, #4/4 on graph) 2017: 1,500,000 (+4.3%, #4/4 on graph) 2018: 1,593,750 (+6.3%, joint #4/4 on graph) 2019: 1,656,250 (+3.9%, #3/4 on graph) 2020: 500,000 (-69.8%, #4/4 on graph) 2021: 1,281,250 (+156.3%, #3/4 on graph) 2022: 1,468,750 (+14.6%, N/A) All-Time Peak: 1,875,000 (1995)
All-Time Low (excluding 2020 and 2021, including pre-CWOA years): 500,000 (1986)
All-Time Low (excluding 2020 and 2021 and pre-CWOA years): 875,000 (1987)
Peak Within Merlin Era (2008 and later): 1,687,500 (2019)
Low Within Merlin Era (2008 and later, excluding 2020 and 2021): 1,281,250 (2008)
 
Legoland Windsor/Windsor Safari Park - opened 1970, first year on graph 1987, first year as Legoland Windsor 1996
1987: 812,500 (first year, #4/4 on graph) 1988: 875,000 (+7.7%, #4/4 on graph) 1989: 968,750 (+10.7%, #4/4 on graph) 1990: 1,062,500 (+9.7%, joint #3/4 on graph) 1991: 1,031,250 (-2.9%, #3/4 on graph) 1992: 968,750 (-6.1%, #4/4 on graph) 1993: 937,500 (-3.2%, #4/4 on graph) 1994: N/A (-100.0%, N/A on graph) 1995: N/A (0.0%, N/A on graph) 1996: N/A (0.0%, N/A on graph) 1997: 1,468,750 (first year as LLW, #3/4 on graph) 1998: 1,312,500 (-10.6%, #3/4 on graph) 1999: 1,500,000 (+14.3%, #3/4 on graph) 2000: 1,687,500 (+12.5%, #2/4 on graph) 2001: 1,531,250 (-9.3%, joint #3/4 on graph) 2002: 1,593,750 (+4.1%, #2/4 on graph) 2003: 1,437,500 (-9.8%, #3/4 on graph) 2004: 1,437,500 (0.0%, #3/4 on graph) 2005: 1,500,000 (+4.3%, #3/4 on graph) 2006: 1,625,000 (+8.3%, #3/4 on graph) 2007: 1,500,000 (-7.8%, #3/4 on graph) 2008: 1,875,000 (+25.0%, #2/4 on graph) 2009: 1,906,250 (+1.7%, #3/4 on graph) 2010: 1,906,250 (0.0%, #3/4 on graph) 2011: 1,906,250 (0.0%, #3/4 on graph) 2012: 2,031,250 (+6.6%, #2/4 on graph) 2013: 2,312,500 (+13.8%, #2/4 on graph) 2014: 2,312,500 (0.0%, joint #2/4 on graph) 2015: 2,343,750 (+1.4%, #1/4 on graph) 2016: 2,187,500 (-6.6%, #1/4 on graph) 2017: 2,312,500 (+5.7%, #1/4 on graph) 2018: 2,125,000 (-8.1%, #2/4 on graph) 2019: 2,062,500 (-2.9%, #2/4 on graph) 2020: 687,500 (-66.7%, #2/4 on graph) 2021: 1,562,500 (+122.7%, #2/4 on graph) All-Time Peak: 2,343,750 (2015)
All-Time Low (excluding 2020 and 2021, including pre-LLW years): 812,500 (1987)
All-Time Low (excluding 2020, 2021 and pre-LLW years): 1,312,500 (1998)
Peak Within Merlin Era (2006 and later): 2,343,750 (2015)
Low Within Merlin Era (2006 and later, excluding 2020 and 2021): 1,500,000 (2007)
 
Thorpe Park - opened 1979, first year on graph 1983
1983: 843,750 (first year, #1/1 on graph) 1984: 1,031,250 (+22.2%, #2/3 on graph) 1985: 1,093,750 (+6.1%, #2/3 on graph) 1986: 1,093,750 (0.0%, #2/3 on graph) 1987: 1,093,750 (0.0%, #2/4 on graph) 1988: 1,187,500 (+8.6%, joint #3/4 on graph) 1989: 1,343,750 (+13.2%, #2/4 on graph) 1990: 1,000,000 (-25.6%, #4/4 on graph) 1991: 968,750 (-3.1%, #4/4 on graph) 1992: 1,093,750 (+12.9%, #3/4 on graph) 1993: 1,281,250 (+17.1%, #3/4 on graph) 1994: 1,218,750 (-4.9%, #3/3 on graph) 1995: 1,125,000 (-7.7%, #3/3 on graph) 1996: 1,187,500 (+5.6%, #3/3 on graph) 1997: 968,750 (-18.4%, #4/4 on graph) 1998: 875,000 (-9.7%, #4/4 on graph) 1999: 906,250 (+3.6%, #4/4 on graph) 2000: 937,500 (+3.4%, #4/4 on graph) 2001: 1,187,500 (+26.7%, #4/4 on graph) 2002: 1,437,500 (+21.1%, #3/4 on graph) 2003: 1,531,250 (+6.5%, #2/4 on graph) 2004: 1,468,750 (-4.1%, #2/4 on graph) 2005: 1,562,500 (+6.4%, #2/4 on graph) 2006: 1,812,500 (+16.0%, #2/4 on graph) 2007: 1,843,750 (+1.7%, #2/4 on graph) 2008: 1,843,750 (0.0%, #3/4 on graph) 2009: 2,125,000 (+15.3%, #2/4 on graph) 2010: 2,187,500 (+2.9%, #2/4 on graph) 2011: 2,125,000 (-2.9%, #2/4 on graph) 2012: 1,843,750 (-13.2%, #3/4 on graph) 2013: 1,786,250 (-3.1%, #3/4 on graph) 2014: 1,843,750 (+3.2%, #3/4 on graph) 2015: 1,531,250 (-17.0%, #3/4 on graph) 2016: 1,625,000 (+6.1%, #3/4 on graph) 2017: 1,562,500 (-3.9%, #3/4 on graph) 2018: 1,593,750 (+2.0%, joint #4/4 on graph) 2019: 1,500,000 (-5.9%, #4/4 on graph) 2020: 562,500 (-62.5%, #3/4 on graph) 2021: 1,218,750 (+116.7%, #4/4 on graph) All-Time Peak: 2,187,500 (2010)
All-Time Low (excluding 2020 and 2021): 843,750 (1983)
Peak Within Merlin Era (2008 and later): 2,187,500 (2010)
Low Within Merlin Era (2008 and later, excluding 2020 and 2021): 1,500,000 (2019)
 
To sum up each park's trajectory:
Alton Towers may have been top dog for the bulk of the years since 1984, but it has also had the most volatile guest figures. It has had peaks as high as 3.3 million in 1994, but also troughs of only slightly above 2 million in the mid-2000s or even slightly below in the early 1990s and mid-2010s, with a nadir of 1.75 million being reached in 2016. At that point, it was well away from #1 and almost rubbing shoulder to shoulder with #3 park Thorpe. Interestingly, its peak was early, in 1994, and only 2010 has ever come close to that since. Merlin have attained fair growth at Alton Towers; between 2007 and 2019, attendance grew by 11.1%. Chessington started off fairly well, attaining steady growth from 1987 up until 1994, where it stayed at its peak until about 1997. However, attendance dropped through the floor from 1998 onwards, hitting a low of under 1 million in 2007, so it's fair to say that Chessington's trajectory has been far from uniform, although things improved notably under Merlin. Interestingly, Chessington is the park that has thrived most under Merlin, with attendance having grown by 74.1% between 2007 and 2019. Nonetheless, the high water mark was hit quite early on at Chessington, with that near 2 million peak guest figure being all the way back in 1995, and no year post-1997 has yet come close to it. Legoland Windsor has had the most consistent growth trajectory of all the parks. With its low back near opening in 1998, its peak in 2015 and no particularly catastrophic attendance drops (COVID aside), it's grown fairly consistently over the years. It's also a park that has thrived pretty well under Merlin; between 2005 and 2019, attendance grew by 37.5%. Thorpe Park has had a bit of a roller coaster of a growth trajectory. The 80s and 90s were a little bit choppy at Thorpe Park, with peaks of close to 1.5 million and lows of under 1 million. The park really hit its stride from 2001 onwards, maintaining a near perfect growth trajectory right up to the park's 2.2 million peak in 2010. However, things have been a bit of a struggle since then, with guest figures having almost consistently declined since 2011 right back to a low of 1.5 million in 2019. The park has comparatively struggled under Merlin, with attendance having fallen by 18.6% between 2007 and 2019. I hope you find this interesting! If you don't agree with something I've done or notice any errors, however, don't be afraid to flag them to me.

It's official now innit. Bit cheeky for Merlin to phrase it like that though, implying that OMG Nemesis is closing 4 good!!111 - either the work experience social media admin did this, or it's done on purpose to get that sweet sweet footfall.
 
Also - Phalanx... return of Sub Terra confirmed? Or at least "a nod" and eAStEr EGg to Sub Terra.... 
Would be good to have another dark indoor ride back considering Hex seems to have thrown a wobbler all season.
 
 

I can only speak from where I stand on it. Massive investment in 2000's is one thing but for that target market (thrill seekers, up for it families), that investment can't just stop. it has to keep going. The park also has to continually re-invest in the older rides to keep everything fresh. Colossus and Inferno in particular are not new rollercoasters anymore and look their age. That isn't acceptable anymore.
 
Thorpe is also obsessed with walk throughs, horror mazes and psychological experiences. None of these are reasons to visit a place, they compliment existing attractions. Somewhere in a board room, the Thorpe execs thought Black Mirror was a revolution but it isn't. 
 
Family rides are an issue at Thorpe because they are either over 25 years old at this point or aren't main events. There's absolutely no reason why a family ride could fit the bill in the park but they don't ever pursue it. X was a great example of a short sighted decision.
 
I'm not convinced by Exodus, it's just another thrilling rollercoaster in a park that relies heavily on them already. It will have an amazing first year and then what. How can they sustain it? It's not going to convince anyone that wouldn't already go there for the thrill rides. it's why I think a B&M hyper is a better option, that ride is the ultimate crowd pleaser and has near 25 years of success already.
 
Back in the 00's there was a balance, even if slightly skewed. Things like Eclipse, Flying Fish's refurbishment, Quantum and Tidal Wave appeal far more to a wider range of people. I mention Tidal Wave because even though themed to a catastrophe, it has a fun, cheeky theme to sell it. All of this is just my view and I'm glad I'm not in charge because I don't really know how to rescue Thorpe from its lull.

Thorpe needs something, but what is it? 
 
it has a good rides selection for teens which is also a poor target audience, that directly causes other issues.
 
presentation/maintenance/vibe etc
 
there isn't an easy fix to make the park bounce back.

This is brilliant - granted it feels weird not hearing the SAW theme on blast in the station, but the Billy puppet pre-show really sets the tone for the rest of the coaster. They really do either need to turn the station audio down (they really need to do this because the station audio is always SO incredibly loud - I couldn't imagine having to work in there, it's hard enough standing there for 10 minutes before boarding the train!) or crank the Billy dialogue waaaaaaay up.

From having watched a POV, Billy says something along these lines:
”So, thrill hunters… the game has begun. You are locked into a mechanical device from which there is no escape. Ahead of you are a series of devices that will determine your existence. Time is against you. Live or die… make your choice. Here’s what happens if you lose…”

I think Billy might have been either very quiet or off entirely on my last visit, because I don’t remember hearing this speech very well.
 
POV:
 
(Billy’s speech starts at 0:16)

From having watched a POV, Billy says something along these lines:
”So, thrill hunters… the game has begun. You are locked into a mechanical device from which there is no escape. Ahead of you are a series of devices that will determine your existence. Time is against you. Live or die… make your choice. Here’s what happens if you lose…”

I think Billy might have been either very quiet or off entirely on my last visit, because I don’t remember hearing this speech very well.
 
POV:
 
(Billy’s speech starts at 0:16)