Logger's Leap

[Odyessy]

12 minutes ago, Archive said:

This is very short sighted and based on singular opinion. And nothing to do with why it didnt open in 2016. Also the ride could possibly be considered more popular than most the major attractions on park today when you take into account how long its been there, the fame it had in the 90s (Diana etc, and a time when it was the biggest ride for years), it's also still an excellent attraction, with large appeal and long queues.

 

I said that the ride's popularity and the ride closing were not linked, though I do see why it reads differently in what you quoted. Though what you're classing as popular is what I'd class as well known, which are 2 different things

 

The point I was getting at was that over 2014 and 2015, LoggersLeap was not as well received as Storm Surge and Tidal Wave and did not have as many riders as Storm Surge. In that sense, it was not the most popular water ride on park. And this was not a sudden thing, there had been a steady decline in the ride's popularity in that sense for a good 4 years at least

 

Loggers Leap also attracted long queues due to an average throughput, inefficient loading and being the only family ride in the area. people were happy to wait in those queues of course, but the fact it had long queues means very little tbh

[Marc]

51 minutes ago, Coaster Jamie said:

Just for clarity, are you saying that you would consider it okay for Loggers to sit SBNO for five years?

 

I think we'll have to agree to disagree if that's the case.

 

Thorpe park is there to offer you a day out and has an advertised line up of attractions - which loggers leap is not. Depends by what you mean by ok - I wouldn't like that to be the case but if it is and in 5 years we get a fast thrilling coaster then that's fine with me.

[Marc]

26 minutes ago, Archive said:

 

I disagree with this blanket rule to be honest.  That's certainly how Merlin work and up to their management, but not "how the industry works" by necessity. Considering how long theyve had to consider this (its well known the ride was in a poor state), I do find it unprofessional. And 5 years for a company as large as Merlin to not do anything is pretty poor, and I see absolutely no justification for why it should ever take so long.

No point being optimistic and "sitting tight" when this is example number 10 of poor practice which wouldnt happen under a company that cared. Much better to go be interest in something else than to be pointless loyal to a company that doesn't care at the top. The ride didn't go from working order to suddenly broken for 5 years - that isnt how rides work. They could get it properly refurbished and reopen the ride next year if they actually saw the necessity to. But the company wont get any direct returns from that will they? It is a mess.

 

Merlin are not the first theme park operator to leave a ride SBNO and it most certainly won't be the last - I'm not sure why you insist Merlin are the only ones who would ever dare do such a thing?

 

And if there's no point being optimistic and being tight then what on earth are we doing on a Thorpe Park forum?! 

 

And yes your right they most likely could - but as I've previously said there are obviously plans for the area - be that with or without loggers - I'd be more worried if the company was needlessly spending money on things which do not add value to the park. (I'm not saying loggers leap is not a good ride - but thrope will have a significantly better idea of how much loggers actually adds to the parks line up than we do)

[Matt 236]

I must confess the state of Loggers hasn't really been acceptable now for a number years. Even prior to the 2013 tunnel chop up, there was heavy exposure of light during the first lift and the rest of the ride was looking tired.

 

It is a shame a general TLC scheme has never existed to retain a consistency of upkeep around the park. Whilst some areas have received some TLC, there are certainly areas that have been neglected now  for a number of years.

 

The situation though of Loggers reopening/replaced is certainly an interesting one given the circumstances. At 27 the ride was always highly  popular with all ages and achieving a throughout of over 800 PPH (much higher than Storm Surges) was impressive to say the least. 

 

Given previous situations, how dead the area is (bar Fright Nights) now and there is only one other major expansion area, I fear it is more likely Loggers is for the lumberyard and not forest preservation.

 

Merlin as a company have a number of flaws, but there are certainly operators out there who are somewhat considerably worse.

 

 

[Coaster]

8 hours ago, Odyessy said:

Loggers Leap also attracted long queues due to an average throughput, inefficient loading and being the only family ride in the area. people were happy to wait in those queues of course, but the fact it had long queues means very little tbh

Average throughput?! There was a continuous convey of boats in the station and the queue always moved very quickly (going by my own experiences), it must have been one of the highest throughputs on park.

[Josh3103]

A new coaster would be great it in that area but I don't want loggers to go but it seems inevitable it will

 

Leaving the ride in that state is a disgrace and also they have lied to the public by saying that renovations are happening when there not. That is absolutely disgraceful 

[Benin]

Let's be honest, the closure of Loggers (and very desperate redevelopments of other older attractions) have been coming for a long time after the dreadful mismanagement of the late Tussauds years... It is peculiar how initially Merlin seemed quite keen on redoing parks up (Chessie got a few random new bits and pieces in terms of theming for example), where did that go?

 

Probably intrinsically linked with going on the stock market... Sure lots of parks do close rides or have them SBNO for years (for varying reasons, though these are generally more solid than 'renovation', which appears to be the buzz word of the bigger franchises), usually many times if a ride needs replacing they will get to doing so post haste to soften the blow (say like, SW8)...

 

Unfortunately the way Merlin operate continually hamstring their parks, as investment levels are tied directly to park performance in one big pot... Yet surely the best way to tackle poor performance (whether it be due to general poor days out or the crash) is to put money into the park to ensure that the day out is enjoyed and promote either returning or to get others to do so... SW8 was completely changed after the crash, even though Ripsaw was still removed (much like Blade was meant to be) in the end, and we've also seen budgets get slashed from other rides because others are given priority (Zufari vs Smiler)... This stuff is VERY Disney during the late Eisner years, which are perceived as some of the worst times for Disney parks, similarly with Six Flags or Cedar Fair...

 

The way of life needs to change in Merlin... In order to refurb a ride you have to bring a marketing piece with it? That's such an idiotic way of running a park and it shows for both staff and guests on the ground, and it's why we have a £30m VR elephant in the middle of the park that already needs expansion because it didn't reach expected KPI targets...

[Ian-S]

Perhaps anything related to Loggers is having to wait until the Flumes at Alton are dismantled?  I mean I know Merlin make some strange decisions but surely even they are not dumb enough to ignore the obvious, ride a needs new xyz (pumps?), ride b has perfectly good ones and is already earmarked for removal, why invest in new pumps for ride a when you can scavange the parts from ride b?

[ConnorJ]

Perhaps anything related to Loggers is having to wait until the Flumes at Alton are dismantled?  I mean I know Merlin make some strange decisions but surely even they are not dumb enough to ignore the obvious, ride a needs new xyz (pumps?), ride b has perfectly good ones and is already earmarked for removal, why invest in new pumps for ride a when you can scavange the parts from ride b?

This is what is thinking


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[ThemeParkLover]

On 12 November 2016 at 9:43 AM, Benin said:

 

 

The way of life needs to change in Merlin... In order to refurb a ride you have to bring a marketing piece with it? That's such an idiotic way of running a park and it shows for both staff and guests on the ground, and it's why we have a £30m VR elephant in the middle of the park that already needs expansion because it didn't reach expected KPI targets...

Exactly,Merlin are trying to expand a ride that was awful in the first place because it didn't make enough money.maybe if it opened on time or opened at all they would get more money. They should be fixing technical glitches and polishing the experience not trying to do another major revamp to try to pull in more money.

[SteveJ]

On 11/11/2016 at 11:30 PM, Marc said:

 

Merlin are not the first theme park operator to leave a ride SBNO and it most certainly won't be the last - I'm not sure why you insist Merlin are the only ones who would ever dare do such a thing?

Ive not suggested that, even the most 'accomplished' parks leave major rides SBNO but usuaully always scheduled or discreet, and not as often as Merlin are now. For a company as large and profitable as Merlin to leave popular rides SBNO to save money (Alton Towers) or because they've cheaped out on maintenance for so long (Thorpe Park) is very telling of how they fund their parks and this kind of action will only run the parks increasingly into the ground.

 

We are all here on a Thorpe Park forum because we have a passion for the place and theme parks surely - so of course people ought to speak out if they are seeing the park run hard into the ground. In a sense Merlin have a duty of care to the place, theyre the third operator to run it, but of course that idea won't gel with them as they just see it as a popular 'brand' in their UK empire. Which is a shame, because it means the solid, fun attractions die like this, while the new ones are the likes of I'm A Celebrity, Angry Birds Land and a flawed Derren Brown's Ghost Train.

 

If their system of running the parks was working on the whole and things like Loggers shutting down was just a mistake then thats one thing, but it's clearly not, that's why I say people shouldn't be naively optimistic, that's all. Also their PR cloud of confusion and lies about the situation is concerning, they had no idea when Loggers closed if it were coming back or not and it certainly isn't currently being refurbished, and no plans to refurbish it existed at the time of its closure. So I disagree with what was said.

 

Also Benin is spot on.

[Marc]

50 minutes ago, Archive said:

For a company as large and profitable as Merlin to leave popular rides SBNO to save money (Alton Towers) or because they've cheaped out on maintenance for so long (Thorpe Park) is very telling of how they fund their parks and this kind of action will only run the parks increasingly into the ground

 

Loggers leap was just one of 3 Mack log flumes which Merlin closed for this year (Beleve one in Europe closed too?) - loggers leap had also had significant work over the past 4/5 years, I don't think it's anything to do with "cheaped out maintanance"

[SteveJ]

Not wanting to argue as this is besides the point, but I'm fairly well informed that it was to do with this and has not had the significant maintenance it's increasingly needed for many years. There may be other factors to its closure this year but its certainly been poorly maintained.

 

Also maintenance in any Merlin park is horrendously cheaped out on costwise which Ive experienced first hand sadly. It's one of the company's biggest problems. The bare minimum is done to be passed off as certifiable and anything less the ride is just shut (Loggers, Tomb, Skyway) or has short term fixes.

 

I don't see the relation between the other Mack flumes that have closed, Dragon Falls received new evac platforms and other things to help with evacs because of increasing breakdowns, and new lift mechanisms in recent years, hence why the thing is still open. The Flume was shut because of a combination of evac difficulty amidst increasing breakdowns too and the change of location for SW8, but unlike Loggers I'd argue the Flume wasnt worth keeping anymore so its justifiable. It's not a trait of Mack log flumes on the whole.

[Marc]

I meant the Mack flumes in Merlin parks - I seem to remember at the same time as Flume and Loggers closing Another one also closed in one of the Merlin European parks but that maybe wrong.

 

I expect if they feel the ride is worth it they will invest in the work it needs (Slammer and Samurai are good examples of rides which they invest in, both of which would have likely closed at many other parks!) - Personally I hope they do - although I expect enthusiasts views on if a ride is worth keeping and the parks maybe different!

[yeah]

See I would have no problem with Loggers being closed this season IF it was really being redeveloped, and substantial changes made to constitute it being shut for a whole season as opposed to it being done during closed season. But we all know it's being demolished, and that it won't return for 2017. Worst thing is the announcement well get. "Loggers Leap has been a popular family attraction here at our resort for over 27 years now. So it is with deep regret that we must announce it has taken it's final leap. We are as sad as you but we hope you enjoy what takes its place #ByeByeLoggersLeap"

[Marc]

I'd guess if it comes to the point they are announcing its full closure they would like to have something new to announce which will take its place - to be fair they could have a decent coaster going off over the lake which would really bring the area back to life!

[Josh3103]

When I hear that inevitable announcement I will definitely be crying my eyes out because it was such a great ride

[lewumbrajumbos]

was it tho

[Ryan]

4 minutes ago, lewumbrajumbos said:

was it tho

Yes it was a great log flume  

[lewumbrajumbos]

1 minute ago, Ryan said:

Yes it was a great log flume  

Determine what you mean by "great log flume"

[Ryan]

The drop was great

[lewumbrajumbos]

But the lift hill was terrible I mean come on

[Ryan]

5 minutes ago, lewumbrajumbos said:

But the lift hill was terrible I mean come on

 

Should be a launched lift tbh

[Kerfuffle]

25 minutes ago, Ryan said:

Should be a launched lift tbh

 

[yeah]

I feel like I'm in a Merlin Magic Making meeting.