Merlin don't even own Thorpe Park (or for that matter Alton Towers nor Warwick Castle) they lease them from Nick Leslau.

Chessington was never being considered to have major rollercoasters built as Tussauds had already been struggling with planning even the tiniest rides for a good decade or so. The idea that Colossus was meant for Chessington in any shape or form is just made up. Perhaps they would have 'liked' to have a thrill coaster there but it wouldn't have gone past a board meeting. Chessington had received a steady investment in bigger thrill rides until that point and so already was the thrill park out of the two.

 

Hmmmmm, back in the mid 90s there were definitely plans afoot for Chessie to get a B&M Invert where Rattlesnack currently stands... Some plans were around on the internet some time ago regarding it I'm sure (and that was probably the precursor to Chessie's limitations on what they could build)...

 

Saw being the most successful in the world is a very long stretch to claim... It also depends what we are defining 'success' as... Certainly it's opening day cannot be claimed as a success, and historically there are bound to be attractions and rides across the entire world that would have provided a much higher percentage bump in attendance (I'm thinking things like Corkscrew at Towers, more classic than modern day, since most parks have a rather tame attendance boost these days)...

 

As for WC16, there'll be multiple companies working on it... Sure Thorpe will be using Scruffy Dog again because they're cheaper than Merlin Studios...

Yeah, some info should be taken with a pinch of salt really, I'm still sketchy on that 'Rita & Stealth were supposed to be one ride' fact I was told on my lift walk.

I don't believe the Colossus at chessie or Saw bit for one moment, however he was half right in how that ride was the most successful ride at Thorpe Park though.

I really hope WC16 is a big success (regardless of it's current unthemed exterior) as if it goes well for them and boosts guest figures significantly, I can see other Merlin parks building similar scale dark rides in the future such as Towers and even Chessington (amongst the Europe parks too perhaps).

Out of interest considering Thorpe's plans must be very similar to concept images, is the park allowed to enhance or update planning at anytime, I.E add a themed facade over that back wall on WC16 or something similar?

Merlin don't even own Thorpe Park (or for that matter Alton Towers nor Warwick Castle) they lease them from Nick Leslau.

That's not particularly pertinent to the way the park is operated. It's all down to freeing up cash and how assets are displayed on the balance sheet.

 

NP.

Workers where on site till quite late last night! Working on a Sunday as well

Behind schedule already then?!

Behind schedule already then?!

I dunno but there was only 4 or 5 people working

Out of interest considering Thorpe's plans must be very similar to concept images, is the park allowed to enhance or update planning at anytime, I.E add a themed facade over that back wall on WC16 or something similar?

The park can submit another planning showing amendments and stuff much like they have already done when they altered the building size a bit and were requested to show how the plaza element would look. 

A little construction update for y'all...

 

 

Things are coming along nicely; can't be too much longer before we start to see more of the building go up.  This shows how big the site is too I think!

 

From what I've heard, the marketing plan is to drip feed info every couple of months until the ride opens.  So we're in for a loooooooong closed season folks.

A little construction update for y'all...

Things are coming along nicely; can't be too much longer before we start to see more of the building go up. This shows how big the site is too I think!

From what I've heard, the marketing plan is to drip feed info every couple of months until the ride opens. So we're in for a loooooooong closed season folks.

It's looking good! As for that long closed season I wonder if my closed season updates will make a return and make it a little more bearable

considering a bit of queue, pre show, and presumeably a shop is going in the building... am I the only one concerned how small it is... it really isn't going to be a coaster, even not an SFX coaster... wy worst fears of a slow, boring dark ride, waste of money basically confirmed... sorry to rule out the ride already!

considering a bit of queue, pre show, and presumeably a shop is going in the building... am I the only one concerned how small it is... it really isn't going to be a coaster, even not an SFX coaster... wy worst fears of a slow, boring dark ride, waste of money basically confirmed... sorry to rule out the ride already!

 

All of what you see in the above photos is for the building, and not the undercover queue line.  My guess is that the grey/brown section marked out will end up containing the shop, bag drop, pre show and possibly even the station.  If correct, that leaves more than half of the building that contains the ride to be built.  Still a lot of space!

 

Also, there can be an in between coasters and "slow, boring dark rides" - a dark ride doesn't have to be a coaster-style ride to be fast or exciting!

How did you get from 'not a coaster' to 'slow boring dark ride'? A great dark ride can be miles more exciting than all the cheap quick-thrill coasters they could have more easily squeezed into that site. Do ya know what a dark ride is? The UK has always been dragging behind for THRILL dark rides so you can't really judge what is possible by anything else in the country.

 

Oh no.. Unless you're one of those no imagination 'all dark rides are a waste of money that should be spent on a coaster' people.. be gone with you!

It's looking good! As for that long closed season I wonder if my closed season updates will make a return and make it a little more bearable

Heaven forbid a closed season without you Mr Allgood! 

 

As for Warehouse Cluster 16... it's very interesting to see that large pit looks like it's in the ride area! 

This is actually just

 

the pre-show X deserves

How did you get from 'not a coaster' to 'slow boring dark ride'? A great dark ride can be miles more exciting than all the cheap quick-thrill coasters they could have more easily squeezed into that site. Do ya know what a dark ride is? The UK has always been dragging behind for THRILL dark rides so you can't really judge what is possible by anything else in the country.

 

Oh no.. Unless you're one of those no imagination 'all dark rides are a waste of money that should be spent on a coaster' people.. be gone with you!

 

It's my opinion... I don't go to a theme park for dark rides... yes they can be fun like Duel & immersive like Hex... but unless it's going to be something like Tower Of Terror, or Revenge Of The Mummy... then it's really not worth the price tag, rollercoaster instead of course.

 

I do hope the end result is a world class dark ride that's worth the money spent, for everyone who wants a decent dark ride in the UK... but right from the news of it being a dark ride, I was definitely disappointed. But low expectations, and if the end result is great, then I guess I can only be happy there's something new at the park; I just personally would rather have a cheap(ish) dark ride like duel/tomb blaster which is interactive so you don't get bored of it... and still have the money to spend on something else ( like a top spin, or you guessed it... a rollercoaster  ). but I'm sure merlin know what they're doing..

That's not particularly pertinent to the way the park is operated. It's all down to freeing up cash and how assets are displayed on the balance sheet.

 

NP.

That wasn't my point, the 'inside source' claimed Merlin owned the Thorpe Park property, which they don't, they have a 35 year lease on it, which calls into question the accuracy of everything else the 'inside source' was claiming if they can't even get that one simple well known fact right.

People who disregard dark rides are fools...

 

A great dark ride never leaves people bored, irrespective of the 'interactivity' we see on Duel or Tomb or speed it flies through...

 

Why do people still think it's going to be a cred? The noise report on the planning application would've pointed to that, since even in a shed you can still hear a cred going around...

considering a bit of queue, pre show, and presumeably a shop is going in the building... am I the only one concerned how small it is... it really isn't going to be a coaster, even not an SFX coaster... wy worst fears of a slow, boring dark ride, waste of money basically confirmed... sorry to rule out the ride already!

I'm not sure how you can call it a boring waste of money before it has even been built, but dark rides (and rides in general) don't all need to be thrilling.  Thorpe lacks an experience ride, hopefully this will bring one to them.

I'm not sure how you can call it a boring waste of money before it has even been built, but dark rides (and rides in general) don't all need to be thrilling.  Thorpe lacks an experience ride, hopefully this will bring one to them.

 

because regardless of how immersive it is, a ride that basically goes around on a flat track at a relatively slow speed, isn't what I look for when going to a theme park necessarily, I call it wasted (money) potential, I care about the ride itself being fun and thrilling, and then it would be nice to have themeing, but that's second priority.

 

People who disregard dark rides are fools...

 

A great dark ride never leaves people bored, irrespective of the 'interactivity' we see on Duel or Tomb or speed it flies through...

 

Why do people still think it's going to be a cred? The noise report on the planning application would've pointed to that, since even in a shed you can still hear a cred going around...

 

It's not about getting creds, it's about what I enjoy. sorry I'm not like everyone else who can't get enough of a magical dark ride experience; I do enjoy them too usually... but I just can't stop thinking about the value for money in terms of thrills/enjoyment (for me) in comparison to a coaster, and that just ruins it for me, hence why unless it's like the mummy or contains thrilling elements then I'd probably find it boring. it's pointless me saying sorry, as I'm the one being spited by thorpe as they've chosen to build something that doesn't seem like it's going to appeal to me.

I could understand Dean's opinion until he said shooting dark rides are good.

I could understand Dean's opinion until he said shooting dark rides are good.

 

haha but unless you're someone who truly appreciates the themeing over interactivity, which can't be most people... then shooter rides appeal to pretty much everyone, and thorpe could have done with one with the family market being focused on a bit more, but at the same time a ride like that isn't exclusive for families. As much as I love coasters, I feel the same as everyone else about thorpe needs more non coaster & flat ride stuff to do, and loved the addition of angry birds land, because it was a small/medium investment, the same as what a shooting ride would be, not a large one.

because regardless of how immersive it is, a ride that basically goes around on a flat track at a relatively slow speed, isn't what I look for when going to a theme park necessarily, I call it wasted (money) potential, I care about the ride itself being fun and thrilling, and then it would be nice to have themeing, but that's second priority.

I fully understand that you have an opinion, but my issue was that you seemed to be essentially calling the investment a "waste of money" just because it doesn't suit what you want in a ride.

When shooters are done right, we get Men In Black : Alien Attack.

Also worth pointing out that Haunted House (Duel) and Terror Tomb (Tomb Blaster) were on the same scale as this for size and budget.

Although a lot more will be quoted as the WC16 budget because these days they always include the PR & advertising budget which is huge. They were definitely not cheap dark rides, just rides of their day and you wouldn't be able to compare from the state they are in now.

They also both had new ride hardware invented especially for them, probably a bit like WC16.

"Most people don't appreciate theming over interactivity"

This is a very enthusiast-y outlook on 'theming'. In this situation if your enjoyment of the ride depends on whether you appreciate theming for the sake of theming, then it can't be a very good ride. That's shouldn't be the point of theming, and usually the best themed rides are subtle and have a lot of detail that sinks into the bigger picture.

An exciting dark ride will be well designed for everyone