EC! Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 They should have got one of these for angry birds land (its simlar to vortex yes blah blah but it goes all the way round ) Because thats an extreme ride, but its a family area... It's stupid enough Detonator is in there... paige 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.S217 Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 I<3 ANGRY BIRDS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 Because thats an extreme ride, but its a family area... It's stupid enough Detonator is in there... Family does not mean you can't have thrill rides though!!! Marc, FrightNights04 and Tom 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 Because thats an extreme ride, but its a family area... It's stupid enough Detonator is in there... Never have understood this whole idea of 'family areas can't have thrill rides'. Detonator is for people over 1.3m high, there are a lot of 1.3m high+ people in a family. Family means something for all to enjoy, there is something in Angry Birds land for all members of a family. JoshC. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC! Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 Family does not mean you can't have thrill rides though!!! Like the park doesn't have enough and dete being there makes it a little pointless seeming thats the "extreme thrill" in the area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 I would say that painting directly over the old buildings but not covering any of the older theming details (the blast markings) would be lazy... I would say that what essentially mount to stickers would be lazy... I would say that fibreglass models dotted around the area would be lazy... Etc... The tropical 'theme' was more of a tie-into having pirates, a volcano and Rumba Rapids all in a similar area... Thorpe cannot get away with detailed themed areas because it's so small, hence why Angry Birds is splitting Amity in half (which is in itself, pretty daft, when an alternative could have been to have Amity themed Dodgems and a dark ride of some variety in the cinema... Whilst Det wasn't ever truly themed highly, it was at least styled to fit into a tropical themed area, which is more than can be said for Rush and Slammer and their respective themed areas they're sat in... Coaster and paige 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 Like the park doesn't have enough and dete being there makes it a little pointless seeming thats the "extreme thrill" in the area. Not even sure what you mean here... Angry Birds Land consists of: -4D cinema (something for everyone, though likely with younger members of the family in mind). -Dodgems (something for everyone) -Detonator (1.3m ride, for the more thrill-orientated members of the family. Bare in mind that when someone hits about 8 or 9, they're likely going to be 1.3m tall). Just like Ryan said, there's something for everyone. Having Detonator in the area makes more sense to me than not including it - you broaden the appeal of the area and it is the very definition of a family area in my opinion. It's not like having Detonator in the area is adding to the overall number of thrill rides on park either. In fact, there's more 'Thrilling and Fun' rides on park now than 'Extreme Rides', with the introduction of Angry Bird Land. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC! Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 What I meant was the park already has a tonne of extreme rides and Detonator in angry birds land would make a another extreme ride in that park pointless because first and foremost that area has to be appealing to kids and having 2 massive flats in that area wouldnt make it look family friendly and would dwarf the family attractions that thorpe want you to go on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchada04 Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 Surely Hogwarts is a family area? That has a Junior coaster, family dark ride and 1.4m thrill coaster! (Alright it just happened to be there but still!) A true family area is one where no one has to split from the family because they're bored. If the kids are too small to go on Detenator they can go on the dodgems or 4D cinema while the older ones go on it. Or you could watch the people going on it and laugh. Maybe even have a look in a shop or play one of the games. A family is a tricky thing to define but usually you'll have one older kid and one younger. If you can cater for all in one area then you have a family area. JoshC. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted May 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 I would say that painting directly over the old buildings but not covering any of the older theming details (the blast markings) would be lazy... I would say that what essentially mount to stickers would be lazy... I would say that fibreglass models dotted around the area would be lazy... ... I don't think it's lazy, more in-keeping with the areas budget which obviously won't be millions like it would be for a so called large investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 I would say that painting directly over the old buildings but not covering any of the older theming details (the blast markings) would be lazy... I would say that what essentially mount to stickers would be lazy... I would say that fibreglass models dotted around the area would be lazy... Etc... The tropical 'theme' was more of a tie-into having pirates, a volcano and Rumba Rapids all in a similar area... Thorpe cannot get away with detailed themed areas because it's so small, hence why Angry Birds is splitting Amity in half (which is in itself, pretty daft, when an alternative could have been to have Amity themed Dodgems and a dark ride of some variety in the cinema... Whilst Det wasn't ever truly themed highly, it was at least styled to fit into a tropical themed area, which is more than can be said for Rush and Slammer and their respective themed areas they're sat in... I do see where you're coming from about those bits being 'lazy' (I don't necessarily agree, what with budget constraints, etc., but I see where you're coming from). However, I just don't think at this stage we can definitely say 'Well, this was lazily done' until it opens. Even looking at Scorpion Express, whilst I'm not a fan of it, you look at how much was done in the last couple of weeks before opening and can be surprised at the quality from that timescale. The thing is, with Detonator, as soon as Pirates 4D went (which was 7 years ago now...), there's absolutely no relevance to fit Detonator in with the surrounding area. Even before then, the idea of pirates and a tropical land is all very shoehorned together, since there was no real link between the two in the area itself. The splitting Amity in half is a weird one. On the one side, it feels stupid to split up an area and create thematic confusion. But at the same time, was Amity already a mish mash of themes? Half of it is being flooded by a tidal wave and the other half is a speedway which doesn't seem to really care (or even acknowledge) that a tidal wave is hitting. So, on the other hand, I think splitting it up does no harm and creates more separate identities (Amity Cove and Amity Speedway) which can be utilised more. What I meant was the park already has a tonne of extreme rides and Detonator in angry birds land would make a another extreme ride in that park pointless because first and foremost that area has to be appealing to kids and having 2 massive flats in that area wouldnt make it look family friendly and would dwarf the family attractions that thorpe want you to go on. Still not sure what you mean here, sorry... Detonator is the only extreme ride in Angry Birds Land. There's no way they can add any other rides to the area (unless they incorporate Teacups once the Tetley sponsorship runs out). So where's another extreme ride coming into this? I'm confused. As I said as well, there's less Extreme Rides then 'Thrilling and Fun' rides on park now, it's just Thorpe have focused on the thrill rides for so long now people forget that. Angry Birds Land is still appealing to the family market and I bet loads of kids want to go. I don't see how Detonator, or the addition of another extreme ride elsewhere in the park, would affect that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC! Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 Still not sure what you mean here, sorry... Detonator is the only extreme ride in Angry Birds Land. There's no way they can add any other rides to the area (unless they incorporate Teacups once the Tetley sponsorship runs out). So where's another extreme ride coming into this? I'm confused. As I said as well, there's less Extreme Rides then 'Thrilling and Fun' rides on park now, it's just Thorpe have focused on the thrill rides for so long now people forget that. Angry Birds Land is still appealing to the family market and I bet loads of kids want to go. I don't see how Detonator, or the addition of another extreme ride elsewhere in the park, would affect that? The other extreme ride if you looked was because I commented on GFK's post about putting a spinning upsidedowny version of vortex and, My point was that with detonator already in the family area it would be stupid having that in there because of vortex and because of the space and because of the fact that it was a family area so it would be silly to make it look like an extreme ride area as those would be the first 2 things you'd see there, I know there isn't an extra thrill rde going in there I was just replying to why putting that thing in there wouldn't be good for the area also you pretty much wrote what I meant any way in the quote above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 The other extreme ride if you looked was because I commented on GFK's post about putting a spinning upsidedowny version of vortex and, My point was that with detonator already in the family area it would be stupid having that in there because of vortex and because of the space and because of the fact that it was a family area so it would be silly to make it look like an extreme ride area as those would be the first 2 things you'd see there, I know there isn't an extra thrill rde going in there I was just replying to why putting that thing in there wouldn't be good for the area also you pretty much wrote what I meant any way in the quote above. Ah, I see. My original post was referring to why it's not stupid that Detonator is in Angry Birds Land and not about having the ride GFK mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.S217 Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 Angry birds I would say is designated to the 9+ demographic why because most kids do not receive there first phone till they are 9 or 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkC Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 Angry birds I would say is designated to the 9+ demographic why because most kids do not receive there first phone till they are 9 or 10 My sister who is 6 knows and plays Angry Birds on my iPad! I think you would be surprised at how many of the younger kids know what Angry Birds Is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.S217 Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 My sister who is 6 knows and plays Angry Birds on my iPad! I think you would be surprised at how many of the younger kids know what Angry Birds Is! IK that but I'm just saying if it was not for the cartoon and the starwars crossover it would be that age demographic along with ipads ect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 They should have got one of these for angry birds land (its simlar to vortex yes blah blah but it goes all the way round ) Thorpe would never get one of these, not just because it's similar to Vortex but the throughput would be diabolical. There's only 20 seats and that ride cycle is 4 mins, and a shorter one wouldn't be that good on that sort of ride. Looks like a great ride though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paige Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 IK that but I'm just saying if it was not for the cartoon and the starwars crossover it would be that age demographic along with ipads ect When I went to Thorpe in April, I saw a lady buying a few pieces of AB merch for her son (plush toys etc.) who looked no older than 5. I think it's really just a case of bright colours and 'pretty birds' regarding the younger ones. Even if the land itself may not 'appeal' to the younger ones as they may not know what it is, the simple fact that they are easily fascinated/attracted to bright, shiny or 'pretty' things will make up for that I'm sure. Well, merch-wise atleast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 I don't think it's lazy, more in-keeping with the areas budget which obviously won't be millions like it would be for a so called large investment. So just because it's a small budget means that we can't expect a lot better than this? I mean come on, this is the same park that spent £12 million on Swarm 2 years back, are we really saying that the budget is so low for this (probably cos they've spent 70% of it on the IP rights, AGAIN), that this is an acceptable level of development for one of the biggest parks in the country? Perhaps it's the amount of budget that's apparently an issue, or perhaps it's that the parks don't know how to use a budget to the best of their abilities? I mean, you see smaller parks with fewer visitors and lower budgets than Thorpe spend their money in ways the Merlin parks don't seem to understand, so there's clearly something amiss when we play "wait and see how it turns out" when the majority of the theming for this area is in simple terms, stickers stuck up on walls... I mean, couldn't the budget stretch enough for that extra can of paint remover to remove the blast marks off the nearby walls BEFORE painting Balamory? I do see where you're coming from about those bits being 'lazy' (I don't necessarily agree, what with budget constraints, etc., but I see where you're coming from). However, I just don't think at this stage we can definitely say 'Well, this was lazily done' until it opens. Even looking at Scorpion Express, whilst I'm not a fan of it, you look at how much was done in the last couple of weeks before opening and can be surprised at the quality from that timescale. Scorpion Express is the epitome of Merlin investment though... Half baked ideas, poor design (be it queueline, facade, take your pick really) and a cheap finish to it all... Look at every single Merlin investment, and there is always some hint of lazyness about it... Be it Smiler's station building or (lack of) drainage, Zufari's pre-show and queue that doesn't actually let you SEE anything, or even Swarm's dead end finale and rather iffy area theming (or indeed, Saw's shed, or Polar X-Plorer's shed to give a slightly international feel to Merlin's inability)... When you use the term "budget constraints", I think of parks like Lightwater, who couldn't afford to build a Tractor ride the other year... Is this meant to be that park's that can afford £10 million plus rides cannot find it in themselves to get together a fair amount of money to continue investing into the parks to (quite frankly) a better standard than we have at the current time? Let's be honest, if smaller family run parks can build interesting rides and areas that are well themed and designed, then why can't the "2nd biggest park operator in the worldtm"? Perhaps it's a lack of care for the parks in the same way that a family run park would do so? Either way, when you look at Merlin additions beyond the ride systems themselves, there are a lot of issue with the finalised product across all the parks, full of half baked ideas with a strange scattergun approach to the overall investment, be it Thorpe and the tales of Storm Surge, Towers and Shed-Terra, or Chessie... All Thorpe had to do is visit Peppa Pig World to see how an IP area SHOULD be done up... But instead, well so far we're seemingly on the road to be as good as Lightwater's Activity Park... Coaster, paige and pluk 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 Hate to use the old cliché, but how can you tell something will be lazily done if it's not finished yet? And, with Detonator, what extensive retheming can they do? Change the logo, have a couple of models around and some audio. There's not much you can do to theme an outdoor, 115ft drop tower, is there? Yes, there really is. I still don't get why people think Detonator fits in well with Inferno (and, by extension, the tropical theme that once was Calypso Quay)? It's a drop tower about a controlled explosion - how does that fit in with a volcano? It fits in a darn site better with Inferno than with Birds fired at each other! JoshC., paige, Cal and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 ^Fair point. You can added theming to around the bottom of the tower and in the queue line. It's something which would work well with any drop tower in creating a great atmosphere. Would have been good to have a 'TNT' box structure around it; fits nicely with the theme of the ride and the Angry Birds theme too. Shame that hasn't happened. I wonder if it was ever looked into though... Also, Benin, my point more related to the fact that Thorpe have £3million for this project (whether that includes the IP or not, I do not know, but I'm assuming it did). That's what they have and there's no use arguing that point. Given that they've only got £3million for the project, I think what we'll likely end up with is going to be good. Of course, we'll wait and see if that ends up being the case, but just my personal expectations from a fanboy-perspective. I agree with what you're saying though (in response to Marc), about low budgets, etc. Merlin are the second largest (in terms of visitors) theme park operator in the world, so why can't they splash a bit more cash, especially into 'smaller investments'? After all, it's all well and good having these brilliant big investments, but if the small investments are stupid, then you're not going to create a good park. Maybe it is a case of them not spending money as effectively as they should or something else. Who knows? But whatever it is, it needs addressing. My point about Scorpion Express was about the amount they added in in the couple of weeks prior to opening. It looked like a joke, but the park did add in quite a lot (both big and small things) in the last couple of weeks. I was trying to draw on a possible parallel that a lot can be added in a short timescale and can actually look quite decent. As said, I'm not a fan of the ride itself and in fact totally agree with what you said about the ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted May 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 The structure for the entrance to the area is now under construction - looks massive! Thanks to Josh Inferno, JoshC. and Cal 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 Thing is, improving the overall investment quality won't improve, because this addition will get people flocking to the park... Whether or not they leave with a positive view of the actual place, remains to be seen, but does Thorpe have the actual infratructure to deal with families whilst also trying to shake off the teen market image? Arguable... The issue is probably a mixture of both, Merlin not providing enough cash to make a good attempt at a fully developed class area, and the parks themselves not using the budgets in the best manner... (I can't remember how much CBeebies Land is costing Towers though atm, I don't think it's much more than £3 million though) Paramount Park will probably be the best thing to happen to the UK if it can produce a completely developed top-class park... Then perhaps we won't see concrete bland shed stations and shipping container shops that apparently in the eyes of Merlin constitute as theming... JoshC. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 (edited) Probably worth stating that I've read CBEEBIES Land is costing £8million. EDIT: Sorry, only just seen this: I still don't get why people think Detonator fits in well with Inferno (and, by extension, the tropical theme that once was Calypso Quay)? It's a drop tower about a controlled explosion - how does that fit in with a volcano?It fits in a darn site better with Inferno than with Birds fired at each other! Errr...How? Wording it like that, a drop tower doesn't fit in with either theme! But the idea of explosions fits in better with Angry Birds (black bird with it's explosion special power, the TNT blocks, etc.) than with a volcano. Edited May 14, 2014 by JoshC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 Wonder on that front how much is being paid towards BBC and the various rights and stuff for those characters (considering they're all separate entities rather than one big one)... Shame financial breakdowns of park investments are available to the wider public tbh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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