Matt 236 Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 If Paramount happens, I can see Merlin trying to open up as many of their uk parks for as long as possible. Ok that's 5 years away (and thing could've changed a lot), but to tackle the competition, I can see them do this and open as many rides too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 More advanced technologically maybe, but not in the case of maintenance. BPB have to replace lots of wood every year, as well as coping with rust on the metal coasters (due to the sea) and re-welding sections of PMBO track that gets blasted by the salt in the sea air, not to mention the huge amount of maintenance that Valhalla requires, so to get all the rides open in BPB is very impressive, and if they can then why can't the other parks? I'd much rather Thorpe and Towers opened on a full lineup every weekend rather than one week in half term with only a few rides open. Yes it is impressive. In fact very impressive. But we don't have to use that as a weapon against the Merlin parks now do we. (by the way, my opinion is that Thorpe shouldn't be open at all, its short queue times and low attendance are showing that as it currently stands, there isn't enough to bring people in) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 Yes it is impressive. In fact very impressive. But we don't have to use that as a weapon against the Merlin parks now do we. (by the way, my opinion is that Thorpe shouldn't be open at all, its short queue times and low attendance are showing that as it currently stands, there isn't enough to bring people in)I'm not using it as a weapon, merely an example of what can be achieved if the intent is there.Thorpe is probably quiet because there isn't enough open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstroDan Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 Oh I fully agree that it would be better that every ride at Alton Towers and Thorpe Park were open every weekend - but practically, it isn't going to happen. There is no way they would get every ride at Alton Towers or indeed Thorpe Park refurbished between November 10th and February 13th. It just isn't going to happen unless they employed triple the engineers/technicians. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJames Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 I think the way the event has been set up and advertised has had a massive impact on the amount of people turning up this week. -The annual pass fee; not only is there a fee to visit the park, there is a reduced line up once inside. The extra £5 fee is bound to be pushing several annual pass holders away as they know they can experience a whole park for free weeks later. -The Lack Of Advertisment; Judging by social media, not many people even realised the park was open this week until around today due to thorpe's endless posts on facebook because of low numbers. However, those visiting also don't seem to realise that it's only reduced rides open, maybe this is due to the pretty hefty £20 fee for 6 rides and a show. -The lack of things to do; yes the park is open from 10am-4pm, however after completing all of the brainiac elements, there is still 4-5hours left of your day. Yes, re-rides are avalible due to short queues, however 6 rides just isn't enough to fill up the time slot and people would much rather visit when they can make the most of their day with a full ride line up. It's all very well saying that thorpe doesn't have enough open as there aren't enough people, however I think the way it is being run and advertised is resulting in low numbers. The only way to see if the event will work with more rides open is by trying it out with more rides. I certainly think that X, Detonator and possibly a flat could have assisted the current line up as maintenance could have been completed towards the beginning of the closed season instead of at this point. Alton Towers has a February event which works and pleases people, so does chessington, so it's just thorpe now who need to follow suit. I'm not saying it's not an enjoyable day out, I'm just saying it seems like there isn't enough open to make the trip worthwhile. The maintenance this year seems to be very last minute, as most rides have just started to be taken apart and done up from pictures I have seen. Not to mention, the carousel hasn't been removed either, as this will need to be done before the opening of I'm a Celebrity. Thorpe park seems very last minute this year, and all of their decisions have been at the very last minute they possibly could have been made, and with the ideas of gaining/saving as much money as possible and bringing the most guests in. Yes, an ideal business plan, however it needs to be executed in the right way and things need to be taken care of instead of rushed at the last minute in the future. Cal, AstroDan and OldFarmerDean 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete_A Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 The thing is, I have just returned from a 3 day visit to Efteling which is a park, as you probably know, that is open 365 days a year. They have the same kind of winters as we do, but they still manage to open woodies and steel coasters when the weather plays. This weekend saw the water coaster open, as well as all other coasters. Efteling have a dedicated schedule they adhere too for ride maintenance, just like Disney do. They advertise a ride to be closed and it will be for its annual refurbishment. It then opens.... If Efteling can keep a park open with large coasters 365 days a year, then surely Merlin parks could do??? If you have a big enough maintenance team, then its easy. Of course it the weather makes it impossible to open then fair enough, but for efteling that's the exception rather than the normal. But... and this is a big but, I don't think the Merlin parks have any budget ANYWHERE near Efteling.... Such a shame....... pluk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordanluke2009 Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 Premium pass holders still get free parking at Legoland. Mate,remember I work there they are now charging Premium its been on the website for ages, but better yet you don't check Legoland's website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 Saw and Colossus simply cannot operate under 5C; it's just too cold for them to operate. Arguably, it's not cost effective for them to run Tidal Wave in particularly cold weather (Tidal Wave is a very expensive ride to run, and very, very few people would go on it). Similarly, even Loggers and Rumba won't attract many people in cold weather due to the association of them being quite wet rides. So, you quickly realise it's not really worth even giving access to a good third of the park (space-wise, that is) during cold weather, as it would mostly be to open Rocky Express and Slammer (and the latter needs a fair amount of maintenance itself). In a couple of years time, I don't see any reason why - if given a reasonable enough maintenance budget and appropriately sized team - they couldn't open the current line up, Inferno, X, the dark ride and a Lost City flat or two for a February event / winter opening. That would then be a good line up and very much worth it. Personally, I think Thorpe have been a bit too optimistic opening this year in February. The maintenance team were seemingly over-stretched last season as it was, and they just didn't have the time to be able to get enough open and, arguably, not enough variety. Even as soon as 2017, we could have enough variety, enough indoor attractions and in general a good line up. But I guess the park have got to start somewhere, ey? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordanluke2009 Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 Also thinking of that, surely X must of been off its winter schedule it should of been the first off the list. One other thing Inferno is ready and has done the winter checks. They may have a devious plan if Stealth decides to break down they can open Inferno as compensation or better yet X. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchada04 Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 Mate,remember I work there they are now charging Premium its been on the website for ages, but better yet you don't check Legoland's website. http://www.legoland.co.uk/Plan/tickets/Parking/ What this website? The one that states: Standard Parking is free for valid Premium Annual Passholders. Or the Merlin site: http://www.merlinannualpass.co.uk/faq-about-premium.aspx Free parking is available at THORPE PARK Resort, Chessington Resort, Alton Towers Resort, LEGOLAND Windsor Resort and Warwick Castle. Just saying. Checked the website. X is right next to a construction site. Inferno is not clear. Maintenance track had scaffolding all over it and the exit leads into the construction site of the 2015 ride. If Stealth breaks it breaks. Rides are subject to availability. Matt 236, Flipper and J.S217 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted February 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 Also thinking of that, surely X must of been off its winter schedule it should of been the first off the list. One other thing Inferno is ready and has done the winter checks. They may have a devious plan if Stealth decides to break down they can open Inferno as compensation or better yet X. Inferno certainly isn't ready, there's scaffolding around the track in some places! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.S217 Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 not Inferno Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJames Posted February 17, 2015 Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 If Stealth breaks it breaks. Rides are subject to availability.What will the park do if the swarm and stealth suffer fairly major breakdowns simultaneously? If swarm and stealth' winter maintenance hasn't been carried out to the full, and rides both suffer technical difficulties; whether it's for 1,2 or 3 days. What will the park do then? With no back ups it appears they only have the option to answer: "Rides and attractions are subject to avaliblity". However, I can imagine the few hundred people on park will be extremely angry paying a fee to get in and finding the top 2 rides closed, and only 4 kiddy rides to do. Rides are subject to avalibility may be an excuse when the full park is open, however in this case if they use that excuse they will be receiving a battering from park guests who have exclusively paid to ride the swarm and stealth and finding they are broken with no substitutions open. I imagine thorpe are going through this week praying nothing breaks down, as they will not have any solutions to the problems if the major rides are broken for a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted February 17, 2015 Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 If swarm and stealth' winter maintenance hasn't been carried out to the full, and rides both suffer technical difficulties; whether it's for 1,2 or 3 days. What will the park do then? With no back ups it appears they only have the option to answer: "Rides and attractions are subject to avaliblity". However, I can imagine the few hundred people on park will be extremely angry paying a fee to get in and finding the top 2 rides closed, and only 4 kiddy rides to do. It sounds like here you're suggesting Thorpe would open rides without carrying out full maintenance... Surely you realise that's nonsense? If the park are going to open rides (especially 2 of their top rides), they're going to ensure all necessary work is carried in (indeed, they wouldn't be able to open them if they hadn't!). I'm pretty sure Thorpe are quietly hoping and praying that the rides don't break down, as you're right - it will lead to complaints, and there's no way they can open any other rides to replace it. Just as another hypothetical situation: Say Nemesis and Air broke down simultaneously at Alton during their half term event. All of a sudden, the line up doesn't look much more than CBeebies Land and a couple of fillers. So this situation is exactly the same at Alton; not something exclusive to Thorpe. OldFarmerDean and Matt 236 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan9 Posted February 17, 2015 Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 What will the park do if the swarm and stealth suffer fairly major breakdowns simultaneously? If swarm and stealth' winter maintenance hasn't been carried out to the full, and rides both suffer technical difficulties; whether it's for 1,2 or 3 days. What will the park do then? With no back ups it appears they only have the option to answer: "Rides and attractions are subject to avaliblity". However, I can imagine the few hundred people on park will be extremely angry paying a fee to get in and finding the top 2 rides closed, and only 4 kiddy rides to do. Rides are subject to avalibility may be an excuse when the full park is open, however in this case if they use that excuse they will be receiving a battering from park guests who have exclusively paid to ride the swarm and stealth and finding they are broken with no substitutions open. I imagine thorpe are going through this week praying nothing breaks down, as they will not have any solutions to the problems if the major rides are broken for a few days. What basis do you have to suggest Thorpe haven't carried out sufficient maintenance? This whole 'more time = good, less time = bad' thing has no actual substance to it. Checks are carried out by Thorpe and several outside companies every winter before a ride is allowed any people on it. Rides are not like people requiring a certain amount of sleep before they can function properly. I'd be interested to know how happy you would be to ride Expedition Everest knowing it hasn't had a proper refurb since it opened 8 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted February 17, 2015 Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 Alton Towers have shows by both Mr. Bloom and Mr. Tumble of CBeebies this half term (which they don't have ordinarily). Could that be part of the contract Towers signed with BBC (and interlinked with the contracts signed by the actors who will have to attend certain publicity events)? Just wondering really as it might mean that the park don't have to foot the bill... Why? Why should someone who choses to pay less for a standard pass get the benefit of what someone who pays extra to get a premium pass? Why are the parks currently obsessed with elitism? The issue is, because of the way they have introduced it all via the restrictions, they've just essentially forced people who want to do certain things (I.e. London Midway in Summer) to get the Premium Pass rather than the Standard... And are even this year devaluing said pass by posting restrictions on it on some attractions... Aside from free parking and unlimited park access, what does a Premium Passholder actually get in comparison to a Sub-Standard Pass? Also, Six Flags/Cedar Fair Passes are actually cheaper (and don't have many if any forms of restriction) than a Merlin equivalent ($139.99 for Magic Mountain, some other parks are cheaper, but as they allow you into all of the chain anyway, the value for money there is very good)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldFarmerDean Posted February 17, 2015 Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 Try the new Inferno's Pizza Pasta Restaurant, exclusively for Annual Pass Holders! So Thorpe are trialling their Pizza Pasta restaurant, tomorrow and thursday... received an email from them, and it's open for lunch Wednesday & Thursday and they will give reduced price of £5.50each in return of a filled out feedback form. EDIT: Should be at the park tomorrow, so will hopefully try it out, although not sure why they need feedback for as I'm sure merlin have got plenty of them aha! Matt 236 and JoshC. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyRed95 Posted February 17, 2015 Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 Stealths down :'( sad times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted February 17, 2015 Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 Stealths down :'( sad times WE'RE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS PEOPLE! RubyRed95 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted February 17, 2015 Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 pluk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted February 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 It's open now no need to worry! RubyRed95 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyRed95 Posted February 17, 2015 Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 It's open now no need to worry! Haha I know xD it was closed when I arrived and for quite some time after, asked the staff and they said they didn't know if it'd be back up :/ but all good now!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted February 17, 2015 Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 Could that be part of the contract Towers signed with BBC (and interlinked with the contracts signed by the actors who will have to attend certain publicity events)? Just wondering really as it might mean that the park don't have to foot the bill... Why are the parks currently obsessed with elitism? The issue is, because of the way they have introduced it all via the restrictions, they've just essentially forced people who want to do certain things (I.e. London Midway in Summer) to get the Premium Pass rather than the Standard... And are even this year devaluing said pass by posting restrictions on it on some attractions... Aside from free parking and unlimited park access, what does a Premium Passholder actually get in comparison to a Sub-Standard Pass? Also, Six Flags/Cedar Fair Passes are actually cheaper (and don't have many if any forms of restriction) than a Merlin equivalent ($139.99 for Magic Mountain, some other parks are cheaper, but as they allow you into all of the chain anyway, the value for money there is very good)... It's certainly not in the contract for them to have to provide guest appearances - they'll have separate contracts on hefty appearance fees. The Annual Pass issues are far too confusing and the rules are bent to suit any attraction in any way possible - they really need someone in MAP to lay down the rules as to exactly what the parks can do, and make them stick to it for the sake of the integrity (and the saleability) of the pass. But that's for another topic. pluk and JoshC. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyRed95 Posted February 17, 2015 Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 People are honestly complaining quite a bit about most of the rides not being open, heard a lot of irritated mumbles walking around. when I went to collect my annual pass, some woman was yelling at a member of staff asking for a full refund because 'half the rides were broken'. How did they not realise? It's even on the map. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whatever Posted February 17, 2015 Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 Surely if these people pre-booked tickets, they'd KNOW thet only half the rides were open, and if they didn't, they're ignorant. RubyRed95 and jon81uk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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