New For 2015?

[Deleted Users]

^It's refreshing.

[Ricky]

The fact of the matter is, it is clearly evident TP made the yearly additions prominent just by looking on this topic, the first time in 14 years they haven't had an investment and people are kicking off. 

 

People have become so accustomed to it, that they are literally confused that there isn't anything new! It's actually laughable. I am by far happy that they aren't wasting there money on some god forbidden flat ride that would be delivered in such a bad way, it would end up like Storm Surge. 

 

Storm Surge is literally, what happens when you begin clutching at straws with additions. They probably ran out of ideas, and saw this as a cheap way out to keep their customers 'happy'. Which is somewhat ironic as Storm Surge is the epiphany of bad service. What would have been nice, is if they took the year out of investment in a new attraction to go back to Storm Surge and spruced it up to a standard that is actually worth flaunting. 

[JoshC.]

The fact of the matter is, it is clearly evident TP made the yearly additions prominent just by looking on this topic, the first time in 14 years they haven't had an investment and people are kicking off. 

 

Just to say it's actually 18 years (they've added new attractions every season since 1998).  

 

Makes the point even more blatant though that Thorpe have dug themselves into a hole.  They went through an accelerated period in the early 2000s where not only did they add ride after ride, they also added pretty big ride after ride (okay, so something like Vortex or Samurai or Rush may feel like a filler nowadays, but they were big at the time).  It's something that wasn't sustainable for so many reasons, but they now have that expectation on their shoulders to add large thing after large thing.  

 

Unfortunately, some of the more recent non-major years (in my opinion, 2008, 2010, 2011) have no only failed to reach that expectation, but also been disappointments in their own rights.  2013 and 2014 were better on the whole.  So it will be interesting to see how this season compares...

[Ricky]

I still sit pondering sometimes, what the worst investment was, Storm Surge, Time Voyagers (If you could actually call that an investment) or Angry Birds Land.

[Whatever]

I still sit pondering sometimes, what the worst investment was, Storm Surge, Time Voyagers (If you could actually call that an investment) or Angry Birds Land.

 

Storm Surge by a country mile.

[Kerfuffle]

Storm Surge by a country mile.

Completely agree. While Time Voyagers was a moderately fun 4D experience and Angry Birds Land as we speak is bringing the families back to Thorpe...Storm Surge - an extremely dire experience - just sits and stands out like a sore thumb in the worst possible location, creating not only an ugly-as-hell sight...but also a drainage nightmare for anyone heading for X.

[Matt 236]

Storm Surge makes even Angrybirds land look like the Wizarding World Of Harry Potter

[pluk]

For me it would be Time Voyagers; that was the destruction of something great for something poor, whereas the others were the loss of pretty much nothing for something poor. 

[JoshC.]

Would have to agree with pluk. For all of Storm Surge's faults, it is at least a ride which can be enjoyed (yep, some people DO actually enjoy it). It also made a dead area a bit more lively.

Time Voyagers on the other hand was something that was so poor, so lazily executed (Gardaland logo at the end - come on!) and in general just not enjoyable.

[Coaster]

I enjoyed Time Voyagers, is that a bad thing? 

Then again I never did Pirate's 4D, hence why I may not hate it as much as some if Pirate's was better.

[Benin]

I enjoyed Time Voyagers, is that a bad thing? 

Then again I never did Pirate's 4D, hence why I may not hate it as much as some if Pirate's was better.

 

They're both bad, but Time Voyagers was much, MUCH worse...

 

Although still none of the crap additions at Thorpe can beat the crapness of Dung Heap at Towers...

[James Allgood]

Time Voyagers was such a muck up! It only stayed in the park for 2 or 3 years? *feel free to correct me... Storm surge is so much better!  

[HermanTheGerman]

The thing is though, you could ignore Time Voyagers. Storm Surge on the other hand is a monstrosity right in the centre of the park, hidden by nothing.

[Coaster]

In my opinion, it's between Storm Surge and Angry Birds.  Storm Surge offers a poor ride experience (it wasn't that bad when it spun), you get soaking wet shoes and they make no attempt to reduce this problem, it breaks down far more than it should, it leaks, it squeaks, the throughput is dire and it looks like it's still part way through construction.

 

On the other hand, Angry Birds Land not only cuts across a land, but has also managed to make a laughing stock of Detonator and they don't even seem to be able to prevent the Dodgems from breaking down on a regular basis!  Further to this, the overall area looks cheap and tacky, and the garish paint on the buildings doesn't fit in at all in my opinion.

 

However, despite the many flaws of ABL, I do enjoy the 4D cinema so my vote goes to Storm Surge as the worst ride.

[Matt 236]

I think Angry a Birds is supposed to look sort of bright and eye catching because of all the colours in the games and everything and the area as a whole is supposed to look generally bright and happy with a slight carnival look and feel.

My only criticisms for the land really is the flooring should've been redone and Detonator.

I consider ABL the 3rd best attraction investment in Merlin's ownership, after Swarm & Saw

[JoshC.]

On the other hand, Angry Birds Land not only cuts across a land, but has also managed to make a laughing stock of Detonator and they don't even seem to be able to prevent the Dodgems from breaking down on a regular basis!  Further to this, the overall area looks cheap and tacky, and the garish paint on the buildings doesn't fit in at all in my opinion.

 

I don't particularly see how they've made a "laughing stock" out of Detonator when they've literally changed the signs and put bird by it?  The ride is exactly the same as it has been for the past decade and a bit...

 

I still also don't get why people moan about Amity Cove being 'split up' too.  The area that how has the Dodgems and Peckish used to be a games area and a loosely pirate-themed chippy, which had no relation to Amity at all.  Also, Stealth never really felt like part of Amity Cove to me - sure, it's got similar audio and the name Amity appears, but Amity Cove and Amity Speedway are two different things.  They really should be made more distinct.  The only problem now is the Teacups seem out of place.  Fingers crossed the Tetley sponsorship ends soon and they just shoehorn it into ABL to be honest.

 

I consider ABL the 3rd best attraction investment in Merlin's ownership, after Swarm & Saw

 

Despite my criticisms of some of the following, Sub Terra, Smiler, CBeebies Land, Zufari, Cloud Cuckoo Land... are all better investments than ABL.  Ignore; turns out I can't read.

Edited February 6, 2015 by JoshC.

[HermanTheGerman]

I think Angry a Birds is supposed to look sort of bright and eye catching because of all the colours in the games and everything and the area as a whole is supposed to look generally bright and happy with a slight carnival look and feel.

My only criticisms for the land really is the flooring should've been redone and Detonator.

I consider ABL the 3rd best attraction investment in Merlin's ownership, after Swarm & Saw

Well, doesn't that say a lot about Merlin's investments.

[Coaster]

I don't particularly see how they've made a "laughing stock" out of Detonator when they've literally changed the signs and put bird by it?  The ride is exactly the same as it has been for the past decade and a bit...

 

I still also don't get why people moan about Amity Cove being 'split up' too.  The area that how has the Dodgems and Peckish used to be a games area and a loosely pirate-themed chippy, which had no relation to Amity at all.  Also, Stealth never really felt like part of Amity Cove to me - sure, it's got similar audio and the name Amity appears, but Amity Cove and Amity Speedway are two different things.  They really should be made more distinct.  The only problem now is the Teacups seem out of place.  Fingers crossed the Tetley sponsorship ends soon and they just shoehorn it into ABL to be honest.

Exactly the point, they've renamed it but literally done nothing to make the new theme make any sense!  It's supposed to be a moderately sinister theme, so why is there just a bird outside it?

 

The pirate-themed chippy wasn't pirate-themed in the later years (apart from the fact that they left the sign above it), and whilst it wasn't a complete transition between the areas, it made more sense than walking from Amity Cove through Angry Birds, then back to Amity.

[J.S217]

Stormsurge would look beautiful as a destroyed pile of metal

[Coaster]

Stormsurge would look beautiful as a destroyed pile of metal

It already looks like that.

[JoshC.]

Exactly the point, they've renamed it but literally done nothing to make the new theme make any sense!  It's supposed to be a moderately sinister theme, so why is there just a bird outside it?

 

The pirate-themed chippy wasn't pirate-themed in the later years (apart from the fact that they left the sign above it), and whilst it wasn't a complete transition between the areas, it made more sense than walking from Amity Cove through Angry Birds, then back to Amity.

 

I still don't see how that makes it a laughing stock though?  I agree it doesn't make sense how it is (and personally I think it's a shame they didn't retheme it), but I don't think they've made it a laughing stock.  They played it very safe, renamed it so they could say it's part of ABL, and then done nothing to it.

 

Personally, I felt that that specific area was very much a dead spot, so by actually creating some sort of theme / feel to the area, they've done good.  But I still think the point holds that there's not exactly much continuity between Tidal Wave Amity side and Stealth Amity side beyond the name Amity and Big Bob Jones in the background.

[Coaster]

I still don't see how that makes it a laughing stock though?  I agree it doesn't make sense how it is (and personally I think it's a shame they didn't retheme it), but I don't think they've made it a laughing stock.  They played it very safe, renamed it so they could say it's part of ABL, and then done nothing to it.

 

Personally, I felt that that specific area was very much a dead spot, so by actually creating some sort of theme / feel to the area, they've done good.  But I still think the point holds that there's not exactly much continuity between Tidal Wave Amity side and Stealth Amity side beyond the name Amity and Big Bob Jones in the background.

It just looks ridiculous, a sinister(ish) theme, atmospheric music to match and then just a bird plonked outside it!

 

Whilst there was never a consistent theme, they could have just put in Dodgems and themed them to Amity Speedway, would have been much nicer in my opinion!  Then ABL could have just been the 4D experience, which IMO is the only thing about the area which is well done.

[TPJames]

Whilst there was never a consistent theme, they could have just put in Dodgems and themed them to Amity Speedway, would have been much nicer in my opinion! Then ABL could have just been the 4D experience, which IMO is the only thing about the area which is well done.

Advertising an Angry Birds 4D experience by itself wouldn't have gained nearly as much attention as the whole of Angry birds Land did last year.

I just feel ABL is wrong on so many levels. It is far, far, far better than storm surge but it feels so out of place. Thorpe really did try and advertise a whole new land so they could to bring in as many guests as possible but I feel like the result as a whole really makes the park look tackier than it ever has before:

-Firstly, the May opening. Angry Birds Land could have easily been opened earlier, I'm not sure what's up with Merlin's late openings but they need to be changed, closing detonator off and a walkway which is good space in the middle of season does not make the park look good.

-Secondly, the land itself. Thorpe have gone completely off dividing the park into lands over the recent years so why plonk a land in the middle of the park randomly? It doesn't make much sense.

-Thirdly, the location. As I've said before it feels out of place, the land has no atmosphere to it and feels like a walkway to stealth, not a land with attractions in it.

-Fourthly, the theming. The land itself has barely any theming to it, and in no way feels like Angry Birds except for the couple of bird models placed here and there. It seems like a poor effort, and on fright nights the land really stood out as this "removable theming" was never removed meaning the land stuck out like an eyesore during the evenings.

-Finally, the IP. I don't know whether thorpe are trying to prepare themselves for paramount opening and trying to match them, or they are just going down the IP route in general, however I don't feel it's a good choice to take. The theming in films and games are much better than thorpe are likely to create, resulting in a disappointing experience, and that's what angry birds feels like.

HOWEVER, I do actually enjoy the attractions within the "land". The Dodgems run really well except for the distinctive smell, detonator really does pack a punch and the 4D experience is great fun even if it is a little repetitive at times. If only they had incorporated the attractions into the park better than they did as the way they've done it really seems like an awfully lazy effort.

[Ricky]

I disagree! ABL has loads of atmosphere... I mean the music that you can hear.... the 2D images and spray paint... what better way to set an atmosphere?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh wait...

[Project LC]

Now I know I'm about to say something you are all going to disagree with and think I'm more mad than you already do but...

there is way worse investments they could have had than ABL and storm surge for that matter. Storm surge replaced a land which was effectively a dead loss to Thorpe. It took up space, cost money to run to provide for very few guests. Storm surge may not be loved by the people here but it can be fun. Without having to queue for it on summer nights it provided a good laugh. I'd be willing to wait 30 minutes for it on a sunny day as do many others. Kids coming off of it seem to enjoy it. So on that front I don't think it can be called a total faluire.

ABL provided a clean up for that dying area. Time voyagers looked terrible when it wasn't in use. It added the dodgems which are fun, maybe not a theme park class ride but a fun one none the less. It provides entertainment to families and it does it's job. Yes it's standard is low just being spray painted on but does that not imply it's not very permanent. The queue line for the dodgems is done in tidal wave style and none of it looks very long term. Yes it may not look good now but I would not be surprised if in 3 years it's all reskined to fit in with the rest of the world of amity.