The Walking Dead: The Ride - Speculation and 'Construction'

[JoshC.]

[MattyMoo]

11 hours ago, Marc said:

For all of Ghost Trains issues, I wouldn’t say it’s unpopular. 

Some non-enthusiast friends rode DBGTROTD over fright nights and loved it. Genuinely.

 

I know, I was shocked too

 

Interested in this X removal, and like everyone else, I'm as intrigued as to just how they are going to get a top spin in there, but it's proof that Merlin are a determined bunch.

[AlexChewee]

I think the 2018 announcement do have something to do with X. Maybe they are going to incorporate the whole building and make it a Walking Dead Maze/Ride just a mere suggestion of course.

[1729]

23 hours ago, Benin said:

 

There was a phase 1?

Phase 1 was what happened to rumba last year: big mechanical works getting all the pumps running, repainting of 3/4 of the queue, new/old props added and a new soundtrack

They did say after it opened they wanted to do more and I wouldn't be surprised if you get more improvements to rumba this year (much like it seams platform 15 was supposed to be a 2 year project from the start not just bad reviews made them improve it this year the plan originally was to do it over 2 years)

 

[Josh3103]

I think they could be planning something to do with The Walking Dead and making it a "permanent" addition to the island 

[Jodie]

Maybe something to do with Loggers Leap, world's first horror themed log flume 

[JoshuaA]

I think making Living Nightmare a full time attraction could be a move I guess, though those types of investments usually are never good in the long-term, and I would of hoped Merlin have learnt their lesson after Sub Terra, Saw Alive, IAC, ect..

 

Also with lots of staffing already being used in IAC and DBGT I'm not sure they have enough staffing and actors to support another attraction?

 

Loggers Leap though I think is gonna sit stationary for a while, as right now its probably in way too much of a state for a re-opening..

Even if they did slap on a obligatory worlds first it would probably be too much money and effort for the park to try and restore it.

[Benin]

Lol if it's another year round maze... Who needs imaginative attractions anyway...

[Stuntman707]

I really hope Merlin don’t ruin the Swarm with VR like they did with Air.

 

I must be one of few who actually really liked Sub Terra as an experience, when it wasn’t broken!

 

What I’d like to see for 2018 in order of priority:

1. Loggers Leap to reopen or even just plans for Old Town redevelopment.

2. New entrance building & plaza with much faster security, please! (Annual Pass priority lane perhaps?)

3. The grime washed off Colossus. I don’t expect anything like Europa Park but at least pretend you actually care about your rides Merlin.

4. Storm Surge demolished. It’s painfully slow, pisses more water than a sieve and blocks the view of X.

 

That’s my wish list, If one of these things happens I’d be happy but sadly I won’t hold my breath about any improvements yet.

 

Also, don't waste any more investment on DBGT for a third year, just focus on new attractions and the park in 2018.

[Coaster]

7 minutes ago, Stuntman707 said:

I really hope Merlin don’t ruin the Swarm with VR like they did with Air.

 

What I’d like to see for 2018 in order of priority:

1. Loggers Leap to reopen or even just plans for Old Town redevelopment.

2. New entrance building & plaza with much faster security, please! (Annual Pass priority lane perhaps?)

3. The grime washed off Colossus. I don’t expect anything like Europa Park but at least pretend you actually care about your rides Merlin.

4. Storm Surge demolished. It’s painfully slow, pisses more water than a sieve and blocks the view of X.

Couldn't agree more with the above, IMO Thorpe needs to focus on providing an enjoyable day out next year, as this is a priority which seems to have been dropped in recent years.

 

In my opinion the priorities for next year should be reopening the SBNO rides, sorting out the terrible entrance and improving park operations, these fundamental basics should be perfected before any new attractions are even considered IMO.

 

Sadly, I expect we'll see budgets spent on yet another pointless, short-term gimmicky attraction at the expense of the overall guest experience of the theme park.

[holtjammy16]

11 hours ago, Josh3103 said:

I think they could be planning something to do with The Walking Dead and making it a "permanent" addition to the island 

I hope not, why would they do that when they have Saw alive (an original all year maze) sitting unopened after a new SAW film has come out 

[Mark9]

13 hours ago, Coaster said:

Couldn't agree more with the above, IMO Thorpe needs to focus on providing an enjoyable day out next year, as this is a priority which seems to have been dropped in recent years.

 

In my opinion the priorities for next year should be reopening the SBNO rides, sorting out the terrible entrance and improving park operations, these fundamental basics should be perfected before any new attractions are even considered IMO.

 

Sadly, I expect we'll see budgets spent on yet another pointless, short-term gimmicky attraction at the expense of the overall guest experience of the theme park.

 

So there's one SBNO ride currently which will definitely not be opening in 2018. I'll put that to bed right now, Loggers is not opening in 2018. You're setting yourself up for disappointment if you believe that it could open next March.

 

What I really want to see at Thorpe is the presentation to be high on the agenda. That entrance way is utterly horrific. Years and years of quick fixes have left it looking like a ghastly mess. Temporary fences as far as the eye can see, security stations set up in odd locations, ticket booths everywhere but never clear which ones are open (In fact, are the ones just after the main Thorpe Park sign ever used??!). I'd personally destroy the whole lot and start all over again. 

 

 

[Marc]

Agree the entrance needs work - it’s unfortunate how extra / higher level security checks were forced on them with such little notice but understandable after events across the U.K. - I can’t see the entrance being totally flattened, especially not this closed season I’ve always seen this be done as part of the hotel, but improvements to the security queue system to make sure it’s quick and efficient are needed.

 

As Mark says, loggers won’t be open next year we have to be realistic, but some firmer idea or what’s going to happen to it will be nice, same with slammer , Cant see that returning would be nice for it to be removed over closed season but we will see.

 

Some parts of the park need some TLC, the path between Detonator and Stealth is looking pretty worn and needs some paint / repair work, and in general where queue lines have been damaged etc would be good to see them looking nicer. Following on with the audio / queue line tv improvements we’ve seen over the year will be good too, getting some more of the quieter areas of the park fixed etc.

[Coaster]

1 hour ago, Mark9 said:

So there's one SBNO ride currently which will definitely not be opening in 2018. I'll put that to bed right now, Loggers is not opening in 2018. You're setting yourself up for disappointment if you believe that it could open next March.

 

53 minutes ago, Marc said:

As Mark says, loggers won’t be open next year we have to be realistic, but some firmer idea or what’s going to happen to it will be nice, same with slammer , Cant see that returning would be nice for it to be removed over closed season but we will see.

I'm not expecting Loggers to reopen purely because of the way Merlin are, however I don't think it is unrealistic in terms of being achievable, next year will be the THIRD year of the ride being closed, surely that is more than enough time to refurbish and reopen a log flume?!

 

There is more than one ride SBNO, Slammer is also closed, and I would hope for the ride to be removed over the winter (well, actually I'd rather it reopened but it won't!) rather than left there to rot.

 

In addition, over the course of the season several rides are standing but not operating at different times, for example Rumba Rapids and Rush during Fright Nights.  Whilst I appreciate this is at times unavoidable, I would suggest that Rumba in particular was down to a cost cutting measure at the expense of the overall theme park offering.  This is where I feel that ride availability should be prioritised over short-term "world's first" attractions such as IAC.

[pluk]

13 minutes ago, Coaster said:

 

I'm not expecting Loggers to reopen purely because of the way Merlin are, however I don't think it is unrealistic in terms of being achievable, next year will be the THIRD year of the ride being closed, surely that is more than enough time to refurbish and reopen a log flume?!

Kind of missing the point there. The time that has gone means nothing, as we know nothing has been done. What's unrealistic is betting it open for next season as of now with only the rotting remains still standing.

 

[Marc]

The point I was making is more that we know loggers won’t be opening next season, any work it needs hasn’t started (visibly atleast) - that’s what I meant by being realistic - but as I said it woud be nice if we heard something more concrete on what ever future it has.

 

I don’t agree Slammer should reopen - I enjoyed the ride, it was unique and quite fun, but it was unreliable, unpopular and had a low throughput, if the money pot was unlimited yeah sure reopen it, but IMO it’s not worth them throwing money at, id like to see it removed as soon as possible so the area can be ready for its replacement what ever that may be.

[Stuntman707]

It would be good for Thorpe to announce some kind of plans for the near future. Also they need a TLC project like Towers. Just something to get the hype going for next season. If all they offer is closures and ‘world first’ announcements which is already a complete joke now to be honest, people will lose interest.

 

I’m not sure about renewing my pass next year. There are better, more exciting things happening in 2018 outside of Merlin and Thorpe is offering nothing so far to compete for my money.

 

I’m most hyped about Icon at Blackpool, never been on a full sized Mack coaster and very exciting to finally get one in the U.K.

Tulleys was amazing this year and far supassed Thorpe’s Fright Nights. I will definitely be going there in 2018. Also next year, they will have NINE scare attractions and didn’t have the crowding and e-stop issues Thorpe really suffered from this year.

 

I will still visit Thorpe but I don’t think I’d get the value next year out of an Annual Pass Renewal Unless they have a compelling new attraction or event.

[Marc]

^Surely its depends on what the worlds first is??

 

I think people do forget that it was only last year Thorpe opened Ghost train - regardless of how successful/ how much you like it, its still a significant investment for the park, and by going by Merlins usual 4 yearly cycle it won't be till 2019 we start to see plans for the next big thing opening at the park. 

 

 

[Stuntman707]

A world first could literally mean anything with Merlin. A re-theme, VR retro-fit, new IP etc.

I know DBGT is still a new attraction. It’s just quite depressing when you think what kind of coaster Thorpe could have built on the same budget.

It was a bold move to make an attraction built around VR and it’s a nice experience. I just don’t think VR works in a theme park. I go for the thrills and rides I can’t replicate at home. This is a good watch about what makes rides thrilling:

 

Then you look at Towers which has a new hotel this year and a new ride next year. And Legoland which also has a new hotel and a new ride this year. Thorpe is still stuck with a temporary hotel and no new rides to know of yet but multiple rides left SBNO at the end of the season.

[Marc]

I think the hotel investments fall outside of the standard theme park 4 year cycle, so its still possible we could see one at Thorpe at some point, it is abit of a strange one why Thorpe is the only one left without a full size hotel, Towers obviously got their new hotel this year but then we saw Splash Landings hotel closed for most of the year and only open in the peak times, I guess the reason being is the other hotels are more profitable - is a odd one when Shark hotel seems to at least do pretty well for the park.

[Stuntman707]

Surely it’s clear evidence shutting Splash Landings that Towers have too many hotels now. Technically 4 if you count the lodges.

[JoshuaA]

I'm kinda glad Thorpe have not messed around with a permanent hotel yet, as the Merlin hotels just strike me as expensive and a waste of time..

Alton is by far the worst offender when you can get a B&B for like a fraction of the price..

[Stuntman707]

I think the problem is that Merlin see themselves being on par with Disney and therefore justify the very high hotel prices for their respective areas. In a way, they are the biggest amusement operators in the U.K. But in direct comparison, Disney has way better and much bigger parks, theming and rides.

[JoshC.]

5 hours ago, Stuntman707 said:

It would be good for Thorpe to announce some kind of plans for the near future. Also they need a TLC project like Towers. Just something to get the hype going for next season. If all they offer is closures and ‘world first’ announcements which is already a complete joke now to be honest, people will lose interest.

The (sad) thing is, people don't lose interest.  The general public lap up the world's first stuff - they see it and something twigs in their brain that if it's the first, it's the best.  And since it's the best, they have to do it.  It works particular well with the family market and young adults, which of course is what Merlin pretty much solely caters for.  Yeah, some of the world first claims are complete rubbish or long winded nonsense to the point that they could come up with another tagline which would be equally as appealing, but it's easy and it works.  

 

 

 

As for the hotel discussion - literally every Merlin hotel / lodge / resort 'thing' is massively profitable.  Splash Landings is/was the only exception, and Merlin currently blame that on the fact Towers is still in a recovery phase after Smiler's crash.  4 hotels there is probably one too many in my opinion, but I reckon that, had the Smiler incident not happened, Splash probably would have been open all year round this year, and if the park does recover well enough like Merlin think it will, it'll be open all year round sooner or later.  

 

It makes it more an inevitability that Thorpe will get a proper hotel.  They did have plans for one to open in 2018 but it got pushed back (yet again), and I think that was again down to the profit issues post-Smiler.  But a hotel at Thorpe has been in the plans since like 2004/5, it is going to happen one day...

[Project LC]

The hotels at the theme parks make money. People pay the insane prices to stay in them and Merlin want to offer as many rooms as they can. The theme park division hasn't been performing well while the hotel roll out has been successful. I'd say the reason Thorpe doesn't have a hotel yet is because of the competition it will face is greater than the others.