Fred Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Id of thought 2013 was thorpes lower budget year (if they still have the 1 large, small and medium budget years!) Am looking forward to seeing concept art and plans to see exactly what they are wanting to do. With the coaster being pushed back to '17 or whenever (and that being an obvious big budget year) it's pretty obvious that cycle didn't last long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted January 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 People said the Saw was a dead IP... 1 new movie, 1 more planned and it being the parks most successful ride suggests otherwise Inferno 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Surely a film franchise being rebooted means it is dead and it's just Lionsgate wanting to make more money from a popular franchise? That the ride was built before the 6th film still means that it was after the IP reached it's peak of popularity... Especially as the 6th film was actually the lowest grossing of the 7 films (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saw_%28franchise%29#Box_office)... So yeah, popular choice, dying franchise... Plus factor in new coaster syndrome to the park, it's not as black and white evidence really... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldFarmerDean Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 I hope it was you're own family ;)Joking aside, it's deemed as this 'scary thrill ride' due to it being renowned as pulling such high forces. If you find it simply 'enjoyable' and this nine year old you speak of enjoyed it then I'm very pleased for you both. However, Detonator is a sticky wicket; people either love drop towers or hate them, and I think I can safely say I haven't seen all too many nine year olds jumping onto Detonator; if anything I've seen more nineteen year olds anxiously jumping off. It was another family we went with, not in my family but she was crying because she wasn't tall enough to do all the big rides when her a brother a year older was... Guessing this must be an extreme case aha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 The fact that MMM are involved makes me rather excited for the project. From memory, they've been involved with: Experiment 10 Swarm Smiler Flight of the Demons Fright Nights 2013 Sanctuary (I think) Probably more... All of those have great quality theming (the amount is up for debate by some, but meh). I don't see any reason to doubt that this will be of poor quality theming-wise. Dodgems come rather cheap, and a 10 minute 4D film won't be overly expensive to produce. I bet that £3-4 million would be enough to create some good theming, and the budget for this could (and probably will) be higher than that. I think some people are jumping the gun here tbh. At least wait until there's a tad more information. adam_sparks1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 The fact that MMM are involved makes me rather excited for the project. From memory, they've been involved with: Experiment 10 Swarm Smiler Flight of the Demons Fright Nights 2013 Sanctuary (I think) Probably more... All of those have great quality theming (the amount is up for debate by some, but meh). I don't see any reason to doubt that this will be of poor quality theming-wise. Dodgems come rather cheap, and a 10 minute 4D film won't be overly expensive to produce. I bet that £3-4 million would be enough to create some good theming, and the budget for this could (and probably will) be higher than that. I think some people are jumping the gun here tbh. At least wait until there's a tad more information. If it involves Merlin Studios (when did they change their name to Magic Makers?) then that will probably get you a piece of theming, since they do charge the parks for stuff (hence why Towers/Chessie outsource certain things that shouldn't cost the earth, like signage)... They made Madagashcar Live... So it's all all good stuff they've done it seems... They do seem very hit and miss with the quality of things (Sub-Terra is a prime example of this)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Magic Making do everything. It's really not a biggy at all. They've done some right stinkers. Most of it's on the right track. I imagine this will be crap though, there's not much they can do. They changed their name to magic making in 2012, just rarely been used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexander Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 I don't understand why an IP has to be current to be worthwhile. Universal essentially an entire park based on dead IPs. Angry birds will pull in a HUGE number of young family based on the name alone, for the next few years. I don't particularly agree with the ethics because Rovio are massive sellouts and have literally milked the brand dry, that said, who am I to complain with what the public want? What's more interesting to me, however, is how late into the season its opening. It would lead me to think maybe their Plan A fell through for this year, and they've fallen back to Plan B... Universal also uses HUGE IPs which will always be popular or be remembered for a long time. Think about how long Jaws was around for and how famous it is, just like with Back to the Future and Jurrassic Park. They are all iconic IP's, SAW and Angry Birds are not. But being Universal Studios they have the money to do the IPs justice. I'm just not a fan of IPs as I find them quite lazy and I express this quite frequently, if it's a park like Disney/Universal that's understandable but a theme park which doesn't really have any connections to films/movies/games just makes them stick out like a sore thumb. I'm sure a lot of people will disagree, however, I do think it will benefit the park and give it more of a family appeal. GOOSEANIMATICS 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Surely a film franchise being rebooted means it is dead and it's just Lionsgate wanting to make more money from a popular franchise? Well hey, if its a popular enough franchise to bring back then Thorpe made the right decision to build a Saw themed rollercoaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altitude Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Not really liking this Angry Birds theme. Personally, I would have gone for 'Flood World' and just send all the guests to Chertsey. Glitch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkC Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 I told my 6 year old sister yesterday that they are going to have angry birds next time we go to Thorpe park and she seemed over the moon. Surely an IP as large as angry birds will pull in a large crowd to matter how crap it is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 I told my 6 year old sister yesterday that they are going to have angry birds next time we go to Thorpe park and she seemed over the moon. Surely an IP as large as angry birds will pull in a large crowd to matter how crap it is? I think that's the issue that we've had with a lot of Merlin IPs, that it will be a success in bringing people in for that one trip regardless of the effort put in, so why put large amounts of effort into it? Short-term thinking is Merlin's forte... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Magic Making do everything. It's really not a biggy at all. They've done some right stinkers. Most of it's on the right track. I imagine this will be crap though, there's not much they can do. They changed their name to magic making in 2012, just rarely been used. Ah, didn't know they did everything! Though, since the end of 2011 (I think Experiment 10 was the first project they did?), there's been an obvious increase the quality of theming (and hey, Krake's theming looks decent too). I personally can't think of any 'stinkers' they've done quality-wise, though of course not seeing all the work in person probably contributes to that. Saying that though, I see no reason to doubt that the theming we get for the area will be of at least a good quality. Back from the dead wahey... I love the optimism here Josh, however, when you say "the park has been crying out to have a fun area for ages, and now it's finally getting one," I can't help but think it's still a bit bittersweet. Yes, it's a new theme, but it will simply be the same area with what looks to be faint or nuanced efforts that'll be spread so thin it'll be hard to tell it apart from the area it is now. It's the obsession with sporadic themeing that means anyone with the misfortune to have visited Thorpe as often as I have will look at (the unimaginatively named) Angry Birds Land and see nothing more than the current Calypso Quay with a few shinier bits that deeply upsets me. It's not going to be a new area to us, it is? It'll be a slapdash lick of paint here and there and a few extra bits that'll stand out garishly against the chipped and rusted Nemesis Inferno and surrounding areas. Of course, Thorpe aren't aiming to please bored enthusiasts who've realised there's better out there - they're aiming for the family market and in particular a demographic whose age means that instinctively will find pleasure and escapism in a few plastic pigs and some dodgems. Chuck in the infectiously catchy soundtrack from the game and you'll have them falling over each other to get a piece of the action. It's just a bit of an easy way out really. Any IPs in a park of Thorpe's budget and size are just a waste of money. No imagination, no innovation, no appeal; not enough space or consistency to separate them from other areas, not not enough of a budget to realise them properly. Hey Sidders; nice to see you! You say I'm being optimistic there, but surely you're being equally (if not, more) pessimistic? Yes, Thorpe's last two big-themed projects had sporadically placed theming, but they were built from the ground up. I think the fact that with Swarm they added in theming elements afterwards, which helped create a bit more of a complete feel, shows that Thorpe took on board the response of the sporadic theming, and tried to rectify that. Of course, with Swarm, it's going to be difficult to get the full complete feel enthusiasts are craving, because it's now too late to go back and add everything missing, to a degree. This is the first major retheme of a ride / area Thorpe have done in a VERY long time. I can think of Ribena Rumba Rapids back in 2002, and that wasn't exactly major, really? For me, I'd find it very hard to justify how people can say 'it will feel the same as before' or 'there won't be much theming' or whatever. This isn't Thorpe building something from the ground up, it's them having the basics sorted, and able to actually construct something which will be thematically interesting, I hope. This is what I'm hopeful for about the area; they have a template, and there's plenty of opportunities to work from that template. Whilst I agree with you about no innovation and lack of space, and no imagination is 50/50 really, but there is certainly the appeal. Saw worked wonders, is one of the best received rides on park (from what I've been told, at least) and is a very big name in the horror franchise the decade (whether people think it's worthy of that is a different matter, but still). Did anyone really think it was going to stop after 7 films? If everyone is honest to themselves, I'd say not. And with the reboot / sequel / whatever, there's still appeal there. I reckon Angry Birds is the same. It's more risky, but I think it could work out well. It's by no means a dead IP, but it is a bit of a limbo-state at the moment. It's no where near big enough in the gaming world to be seen as something special really. Regardless though, there is appeal. Also, whilst previous IP projects probably could have done with more budget, we have no idea what the budget is for this area, so who knows what that will hold? I could well end up thinking the area is rubbish when it opens, and could be eating a lot of my words here. But I remain hopeful that we'll see something decent for this sort of investment, and won't make any concrete judgements until we at least see some plans / concept art / more information. Ryan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 I wonder what type of theming we could see other than just fibre-glass models of the birds if Merlin really want to push the boat with this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 I wonder what type of theming we could see other than just fibre-glass models of the birds if Merlin really want to push the boat with this. It might work like their new game, where to unlock more theming you have to pay Thorpe £35 to get a fuller Angry Birds experience... MattyMoo, JoshC. and Ryan 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerfuffle Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 It's also a good sign in terms of Angry Birds Toons, as the characters in that specific art style will be slapped onto the dodgem cars and (possibly) Detonator! This sort of thing makes me look forward to Angry Birds 4D (or whatever they're gonna call it) even more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topsyturvy15 Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 If only id come up with the idea of catapulting birds at walls to kill pigs .......................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam T Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 My none enthusiast friend asked me today 'Is it true that Thorpe Park are getting an Angry Birds land?' I turned to her and said, yes, to which she just burst out laughing saying she has an Angry Birds Activity Park down the road from her (Sundown Adventure Land) so why on earth will she travel down to Thorpe Park to experience the same thing... I think that says it all. I was reading an interesting article on TST last night, all credits to Astro Dan for the interesting post, and though my experiences to Thorpe Park have been minimal, there is one thing that sticks out like I sore thumb... consistency. The truth is Thorpe doesn't have any, okay so Swarm Island, Colossus/lost city area, and small bits of the part are consistent with their themes, but on the whole it just seems to be blurred, and now they want to stick a kid brand in the middle of Amity Cove? That causing more harm than good! They're advertising three very different rides under one brand, Detonator - extreme thrilling... Dodgems - mild thrilling, 4D cinema - not so thrilling, so who are they trying to appeal too? I don't think Thorpe know themselves and are just trying to appeal to everyone at the cost of losing their identity. The best part of this is, they're still saying they are the nations thrill capital AND a resort... (Side note - I'm very excited for the dodgems though) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Amity cove area finishes just short of this area, detonator and the 4D cinema are part of calypso quay area. EDIT: also Liam, just because it's a thrill capital doesn't mean it's JUST FOR TEENS, thrilling can be considered differently at all ages bumper cars can be thrilling for a 5 year old, stealth can be thrilling for a 30 year old, heck bumper cars can even be thrilling to a pensioner! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 ^(I think) He's referring to Teacups and Stealth, which are technically Amity Cove. I'm becoming really confused by people mentioning about having different level of intensities in a family area. Angry Birds Land will be marketed at a family market (regardless of the fact Angry Birds as a game was meant to target a younger audience, it is now a family thing), and families want a range of things. The dodgems and 4D cinema will appeal to all the family, and be suitable for young children, and Detonator will appeal to the older audience (by which I mean anyone above the age of what, 8 or 9?). Isn't that what the perfect family area should do? And considering Thorpe are still aiming for thrills, why shouldn't their family area have a thrill ride? It's sorta funny how people say Chessington need more thrill rides because 'they are a family park', but Thorpe's 'family area' can't have a pre-existing thrill ride incorporated! pluk and OldFarmerDean 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam P Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 That is a great point as to what is thrilling for what age. Indeed my 4 year old loves Tuk Tuk at Chessington, to him that is thrilling, my 9 year old has been riding Detonator since he was 8, and would have been since 7 had he been tall enough! With the Cinema this area covers for all ages in my view and shocks me the mass praise Lightwater Valley got last year for the activity park (which in no doubt helped there gate figure performance) yet a year later when Thorpe do the same its out dated?! Don't get me wrong they do need to get this theme right in the location it is in and maybe it won't be an ever lasting theme. Beanoland was much stronger and only lasted 9 seasons but to me, this is a perfect family area as whilst I'm not thrilled about a dodgems ride, it will suit the rest of my family which is what it's there for! Amazingly for the nations Thrill Capital they had more coasters my 1.05m son could go on than either Alton Towers or Chessington, if they could just tell the staff the change in direction Angry Birds will be a massive success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyMoo Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 This is the post LiamT is talking about: http://www.towersstreet.com/talk/european-parks-and-attractions/thorpe-park-europe%27s-most-un-resorty-resort/ OK, maybe it's a little over the top in parts, but ultimately, it's pretty spot on - amazing how much "damage" an awful map, CAPITALS, "Say No To BO" etc. can do to the brand image - I.e. cheapening and nastying it... which to me explains why they are sticking the word "Resort" on the end of Thorpe Park. As I keep saying - I just hope Angry Birds Land is pulled off well and a turning point... that said, other than the pointlessness of Swarm backwards, I think 2013 was one of Thorpe's best years in some time, so perhaps last year was the beginning of the change GOOSEANIMATICS 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexander Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 What do you think Detonator will be renamed to? Catapult? Topsyturvy15 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 What do you think Detonator will be renamed to? Catapult? I hope it keeps the same name, to be honest I don't think it needs tampering with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldFarmerDean Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 I think it will keep the name detonator, just be called 'Angry Birds Detonator'... with the angry birds on top the ride, and some pigs dotted around the station area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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