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Containment


Ryan

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Planning application shows a small cattlepen queue instead of the "timed bays" they had a FN. With IAC low throughput not really hindering the queues as much as everyone dreaded this could do about 120 an hour. Horribly low but no worse than IAC so it'd be nice if it was free. If it's paid for I really hope it's ramped up as it wasn't worth £10. Unless they make the price more reasonable.

Odd move with budget cuts all over the place and actor led experiences really not being that popular. But it could have more relation to DB than we think.

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Have they gone completely mad?!  Another low-throughput attraction using actors?  Why?

 

This...

 

Like, even if it's £10 a go again, that'll only really cover the actors involved in this? But judging by the plans it has an actual queue, so would a charge even exist?

 

Just some weird decisions coming from Merlin...

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I loved Containment but a year long attraction? Not a good move if that's the plan - SAW Alive didn't work financially as a year round attraction so I can't really see this being any different, unless it is a permanent upcharge being applied, in which case, it maybe could work out.

 

It still irks me greatly seeing SAW Alive sitting there for 80% of the season not being used.

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TPM's article - http://www.thorpeparkmania.co.uk/news/25-01-2016/Containment-to-be-Made-Permanent

 

 

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I'm going to be perfectly honest here.  I really don't get the point of this.  It strikes me as a pointless thing.  Why?

 

BECAUSE SCARE ATTRACTIONS DO NOT WORK OUTSIDE OF HALLOWEEN AT UK THEME PARKS.

 

Look at every scare maze that Merlin have had outside of Halloween...

 

-Freakshow 3D; Summer 2005.  Dead, despite the park being busy.

-Saw Alive; 2010-2012.  Only lasted two full seasons, and the main reason it was popular was because it was Saw.

-The Twilight Zone; Vampire XXI event at Chessington.  Dead, despite the park being busy and pushing all things Vampire.

-Sanctuary; early 2013 at Alton Towers.  Dead, despite being free and a popular maze the previous Scarefest.

-Krake Lebt; 2012-2014(?) at Heide Park.  Okay, not a UK park, but still a good example.  Lasted just as long as Saw Alive before being turned into a kid-friendly version.  Then axed.

 

If people want their scare attraction fix outside of Halloween in the UK, there's plenty of places to go.  Theme parks is not one of them.

 

Scary attractions are good at theme parks.  Great.  But scare mazes and the like just don't have the popularity that they do during Halloween events.  People go to theme parks all season round for the rides and attractions; not to walk around a maze and be scared by people.  They go to theme parks at Halloween for that.  At least with I'm a Celeb, you've got an attraction where you can have fun and laugh, so it at least has potential to work.  

 

I'm not jumping on the wagon of saying 'Actor led experiences don't work', or 'It will be expensive to run'.  Whilst they're very valid points, these things won't matter if it's a popular / worthwhile addition to the line up.  But this is the thing, this won't be a popular addition to the season-round line up.  This won't be a worthwhile addition either.  It just makes no sense?!  

 

And if I've interpreted the plans correctly, Thorpe have said they used Fright Nights to gauge whether Containment would be popular.  And since it was popular, at a scar, Halloween themed event, they think it will be all season long.  Where is the logic here?  

 

Personally I don't think this will have an upcharge (see, for example, Sanctuary's situation in 2013).  If they keep it the same, you're looking of groups of up to 10 people.  Is there really going to be 10 people every 10 minutes wanting to pay to go through it?  No.  In all likelihood, they will change it so that it's designed for smaller groups, but I still don't think it will have an upcharge in that case either.  The small queue they've got shows that in my opinion.  I wonder if this will be an attraction which only opens at certain times through the day (say 12-4 or something, for example), or only on peak days? 

 

Another thing which I really question is the budgeting.  When I went in Containment, there were 4 actors through the experience.  They could probably get away with 3 if they keep it relatively similar.  But you still have to consider letting actors take breaks and whatnot, so you'd need a couple more presumably?  So say this attraction is using 5-6 actors.  Wouldn't those actors be better placed in I'm a Celeb, making a more memorable experience for all the family?  Or roaming round the park, entertaining all the guests and helping create a fun atmosphere on park?  Or a small show somewhere?  It just seems weird to throw money at this when it could be better spent in so many other places across Entertainments.  

 

As many people here will know, I don't like being negative about theme parks without good reason.  And even then, I don't like heavily criticising decisions which will have had lots of thought and time put into them.  But I just can't see this being anything other than an unpopular attraction outside of Fright Nights, before gaining lots of attention for 3 weeks of the year.  And in a couple of years time, we're just going to be left with it sitting idly by.  

 

Of course, there are still plenty of details we don't know about (the exit has also moved, which might indicate a reasonable re-design inside?), and there could be enough changes there to make it suitable enough to open year round.  We don't know yet.  But I just don't see that happening.  I'll still experience the attraction the first time I go when it's open, but whether I'll make regular visits to it is a completely different matter... 

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What on earth are they doing this for. My only thought can be is that they have made it Derren Brown themed.

If it's meant to be an all year round scare attraction then they are the stupidest company in the theme/amusement park industry. How can a company "taking on Disney" make the same mistake over and over again. How much money do you have to waste on the same idea before they get it doesn't work.

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They have escape rooms all year round across the country...

They obviously received good feedback during fright nights which is why they are bringing it back.

I honestly don't see why anyone could be against them bringing an attraction to the park, if it's of no Intrest ten don't go through it!

 

There's also generic scare mazes all year round across the country that work fine.  But that's never meant they've worked in a theme park setting.  Admittedly escape rooms are more popular since they're less scary, but I fear the same thing will happen here.  

 

The good feedback is surely to be expected though?  And even if they asked guests "Would you go on this all year round, not just in Halloween?" and the main response is "Yes", there's still a huge difference between someone saying that and someone doing that.

 

I'm not against them bringing an attraction to the park, especially when if it's a well-themed attraction which I enjoy.  But I feel like the money invested in actors for this could be much better invested in other attractions / general entertainment across the park.  It's also an attraction which will have little return appeal, unless they are able to make it easy for the codes and clues to be changed.  Which is a problem when there's a big push on Annual Passes and return visits.

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It is a company with money issues and Merlin seem to be hung up on actor lead experiences. They invest money in them and every time they have been unpopular and a disappointment. If an idea doesn't work you don't keep investing in it.

Yes this will be a tiny investment but it shows Merlin do not learn.

I'm not sure if I buy the "they are unpopular" line often thrown round.

In 2012 when saw alive was closed it was closed because it's an easy thing to cut when the entire park was sturuggling - 'not because saw alive was unpopular.

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Aren't most escape rooms across the country 2/3 hours long?

 

Not 10 minutes?

 

Josh's post on the last page hit the nail on the head on this... It's pretty daft, and given the amount of budget cuts going on, wouldn't this money be better spent on well, ANYTHING else? Not like they could put even MORE money into DBGT for example...

 

It's these sort of decisions that make you wonder about Merlin... It's not like they don't have a major addition coming in this year...

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