2021 Season

[MattyMoo]

4 hours ago, JoshC. said:

The park announced yesterday that the Shark Cabins will reopen from the 12th:

 

 

As the government's restrictions mean that hotels must be self-contained, there will be nothing available in the evening as normal. It will be interesting to see what will be offered, and what these catering options will be.

 

I know that I would struggle to entertain myself with the Dome's standard entertainment when the park closed at 5pm. No clue how I would manage to do so without that tbh

 

Yikes, that's a lot of time to kill being stuck in a little box! Unless I'm guessing they'll hire in some food & beer carts maybe? Or maybe the huts outside DBGTROTD are still there from FN's?

[JDann]

Wonder if Fastrack / VIP will make a return at some point this season. I tweeted the park about it but they told me to just keep an eye on the website, which is a shame as I would have liked to have planned to visit in the next couple of months. 

[Glitch]

4 hours ago, JDann said:

Wonder if Fastrack / VIP will make a return at some point this season. I tweeted the park about it but they told me to just keep an eye on the website, which is a shame as I would have liked to have planned to visit in the next couple of months. 

It will probably be announced at start of season. Remember most staff are on furlough currently.

[JoshC.]

Thorpe Park have updated their website with the following information.

Black Mirror Labyrinth is scheduled to open in 21st May

 

The Walking Dead The Ride AND Derren Brown's Ghost Train are set to reopen in 17th May!!

 

I genuinely did not expect to ever see DBGT again tbh.

 

 

(Presumably this is under the scenario that indoor entertainment can reopen in May)

[Inferno]

Wow, same here for DBGT.  I thought Covid would be a good cover story for closing it down for a second season, conveniantly phasing it out without drawing too much attention to the closure.

Surely Ghost Train isn't bringing in any money, especially considering the number of staff it takes to run it, plus the additional cost of actors for Black Mirror?  Does anyone even think of DBGT when they think of Thorpe, really?

 

Good news Black Mirror is finally opening.

[LukeP_8]

2 minutes ago, Inferno said:

Does anyone even think of DBGT when they think of Thorpe, really?

No. Not even slightly, it's something I ride for the first time, enjoy it, somewhat impressed but after that it's just so meh. One of if not the least re-ridable ride at the park. 

I'd honestly take a refurbished arena back over DBGT.

 

Excited to see how Black Mirror will be though, however I do hope this is Thorpes last filler attraction before something meaningful goes in again. 

[JoshuaWAH]

Strange.. I honestly do not think the VR could work at all in a post covid world so either they remove the backbone of the attraction or they have their heads in the clouds when writing this. Imagine the H&S, the headsets would be the perfect place for covid to spread right?

 

The Walking Dead should be okay, though I doubt we will have any actors at all. Which is, okay. I do wonder how the old 'no empty seat' rule would go down though. As obviously you cannot pair up with a other group, so if you have a odd number you are screwed. Overall I wouldn't be surprised if both rides did not open at all tbh

[JoshC.]

2 hours ago, Inferno said:

Surely Ghost Train isn't bringing in any money, especially considering the number of staff it takes to run it, plus the additional cost of actors for Black Mirror?

 

I wonder if it's a case of they feel they have to open. I think everyone understands its closure last year, but if they still have the contract and still pay money for it, and Covid restrictions aren't disappearing any time soon, I guess they have to bite the bullet eventually. If the interest it generates from being open ultimately makes them more money through merch sales than the money they spend on staff and running it, I guess it's a good thing. Though I imagine it's a risk as to whether it actually will...

 

I'm sure the cynic could suggest Thorpe are opening it to show to the higher ups within Merlin how ridiculous the ride is and they need money to either complete re-imagine it or replace it. But who knows.

 

9 minutes ago, JoshuaWAH said:

The Walking Dead should be okay, though I doubt we will have any actors at all. Which is, okay. I do wonder how the old 'no empty seat' rule would go down though. As obviously you cannot pair up with a other group, so if you have a odd number you are screwed. Overall I wouldn't be surprised if both rides did not open at all tbh

 

Walking Dead is an interesting one. Storm Surge requires a minimum of 4 people in a boat, so groups of 3 or less we turned away last year. So it wouldn't be much different to that. Obviously it's a bigger problem since it's a bigger ride, but there is form there.

 

Of course, there isn't actually anything stopping the park from sitting people from different groups next to each other. Whilst the idea of social distancing is very much engrained in our minds as a society at this point, the recommendation is - to the best of my knowledge - keep 2m away from people, and if you cannot, wear a mask. That's why mask wearing has been so important in indoor spaces, such as shops, where it is impossible to stay 2m away from people at all times.

 

And this kind of circles back to the points that were raised when parks were first re-opening: what use is social distancing on rides really? When you hurtling round a coaster, what difference does it make if a stranger is sat a row in front of you or next to you? Don't get me wrong, I get why it's being done by parks, and in the absence of any scientific evidence, it's probably the easiest thing to do to keep people feeling safer and happier, but it is very much a placebo-like thing to do.

 

For reference: when I was at Parc Asterix last year, they were completely filling up trains. No social distancing, grouping people together and even using single rider queues. Admittedly it felt a bit odd at first, but really, I didn't feel any less safe compared to the UK parks with their socially distanced trains.

 

Anyways, I've rambled...I imagine Thorpe will go with the easiest rule of 'only even-numbered groups can ride', unless they've someone managed to change the 2 person per row rule (which I doubt) 

[LukeP_8]

13 hours ago, JoshC. said:

Black Mirror Labyrinth is scheduled to open in 21st May

 

The Walking Dead The Ride AND Derren Brown's Ghost Train are set to reopen in 17th May!!

With that being said is there any news on what will be happening with Jungle Escape or if it will reopen this year?

Ofc I hope it doesn't as I've never felt as though I'm a celeb or any other iteration has a future at the park and just leaves a legendary event space occupied imo.

I've seen on the website it still just states "Please note - this attraction is currently closed.  The majority of our rides and attractions remain open." Or even "2020 ticket availability coming soon!"

[JoshuaWAH]

Jungle Escape I hope one day becomes a maze spot again, or maybe even a space for a show during the summer (like how it used to host Brainiac).

 

TWD, DBGT, and Black Mirror can all be bulldozed together please. Imagine the amount of space it would open up, and it is not like they would be removing much. I am sure Black Mirror will be fun though, for a month.

[Matt A]

Thorpe Park: experts in theming removal! (photo taken yesterday)

 

In other news...

 

Stealth is celebrating its 15th birthday by having its bag room closed and replaced with shelving:

 

And a marquee has appeared in front of the security huts:

 

Photos from Sky Survey UK: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=skysurveyuk&set=a.255034999417922

[Mattgwise]

Being positive! All three Tidal Wave boats ready to go! Normally the third is missing for a chunk of the season! 

 

I won't make any comments on anything else.🤐

[Martin Doyle]

I actually think Camelot looks in better condition.

 

Deadly serious

[Mattgwise]

1 minute ago, Martin Doyle said:

I actually think Camelot looks in better condition.

 

Deadly serious

No comment! 🤐

[JoshC.]

Interesting photos.

 

With the last set of aerial photos I thought the three-pronged silver thing was something that the fireball theming stood on, but that photos suggest otherwise. Seems the dark square is where that lived, and the three-pronged thing is new?

 

Certainly looks like there's a boat there, for example. I wonder how that looks when the pool is filled in? Could be like a partially submerged small boat, and then a water splash effect or something? Either way, I'm curious to see how that looks in practice!

 

The Stealth bag room replacement with shelves is not a bad idea imo. The area is usually chaos anyway and could cause a bottleneck both before loading and getting off the ride. The temporary nature is a bit of a shame, but I guess that's in part because this could be a trial? If it does work, it would be nice to see that reworked so it looks nicer.

 

I wonder if they've made any changes to Saw too and got rid of the bag room for shelves? Less space so slightly more challenging there, but it's possible. Thorpe's bag rooms have always felt a bit unnecessary as with a well-designed layout all the rides they've featured on wouldn't have needed them. And of course they're an unnecessary expense really. I can't see their removals having adverse effects on throughputs so in theory I have little against their closures.

 

I also seem to remember there being a marquee in front of the security huts last season after the stabbing incident? Featured walk through scanners and the like? Presumably that's once again returning. No clear view of what's happened to the entrance plaza otherwise though!

 

There's some nice views of Swarm in that photo set too!

[Marhelorpe]

Staying on the positive side of things, it's fantastic to see Pier 13 Pier Oasis keeping it's bright and colourful sponsorship in place!

 

Nothing else really needs to be said looking at those pictures of Tidal Wave's pool!

I think...

[SteveJ]

7 hours ago, JoshC. said:

The Stealth bag room replacement with shelves is not a bad idea imo. The area is usually chaos anyway and could cause a bottleneck both before loading and getting off the ride.

But notice how now to collect your bags you'll have to cross back to the onload platform, squeezing past the old bag room to get into a far worse bottleneck on your way out, then U turn back towards the exit stairs. Looks a total nightmare!!

Definitely the only reason this being done is to save staffing costs in the wake of covid.

[Matt A]

1 hour ago, Marhelorpe said:

Nothing else really needs to be said looking at those pictures of Tidal Wave's pool!

 

Inconsistency is key!

 

26th Feb:

 

14th March:

 

I'd imagine this is most likely cleaned since it is a pool people swim in (or they're legally required to for this reason).

[JoshC.]

44 minutes ago, SteveJ said:

But notice how now to collect your bags you'll have to cross back to the onload platform, squeezing past the old bag room to get into a far worse bottleneck on your way out, then U turn back towards the exit stairs. Looks a total nightmare!!

Definitely the only reason this being done is to save staffing costs in the wake of covid.

 

Yes upon another look I realised that the current placement is awful (and I assume that will be the location it's set to stay in). And not very good for Covid.

 

Frankly, most of the time bag rooms are an unnecessary expense which the parks could do without. And, for example, I haven't noticed any major issues with throughputs when Towers got rid of most of theirs. But yes, the solution here is just another bad bottleneck unfortunately.

 

The ideal situation would see the bag room modified and repurposed into a locker space, but that is an upfront cost of course. Hopefully they see the worth in doing that. 

 

34 minutes ago, EpicSmatty said:

I'd imagine this is most likely cleaned since it is a pool people swim in (or they're legally required to for this reason).

 

The beach is cleaned and repainted most closed seasons (all, I think?). Presumably yes, there's a level of legality involved in doing so, but it is something that is usually consistently done every year

[HermanTheGerman]

1 hour ago, JoshC. said:

Frankly, most of the time bag rooms are an unnecessary expense which the parks could do without. And, for example, I haven't noticed any major issues with throughputs when Towers got rid of most of theirs. But yes, the solution here is just another bad bottleneck unfortunately

Both Thirteen and The Smiler’s throughputs have tumbled though since they lost their bag rooms 

 

Stealth is the ride that would be least affected by this loss though, given that bags would still be given in before going to the boarding gates (unlike at Thirteen, The Smiler, Colossus etc. where you have to climb over the train) so dispatch times shouldn’t be affected. The placement of it is still awful though and will cause bottlenecks for sure. 

[Matt A]

2 hours ago, JoshC. said:

The beach is cleaned and repainted most closed seasons (all, I think?). Presumably yes, there's a level of legality involved in doing so, but it is something that is usually consistently done every year

 

Just goes to show how much better a bit of cleaning makes it look! Wish they applied this to the rest of the park.

[Inferno]

On 3/7/2021 at 12:47 PM, Inferno said:

Good to see the tidal wave refurb going on, and even better to see the entrance plaza getting a bit of work done.

This hasn't aged well, has it.  Both of these things seemed better before 😐

[JoshC.]

10 hours ago, 2542464 said:

On a different note there's still 3 weeks to go until the park reopens which is plenty of time for theming features to be brought back after being worked on like Tidal Wave's circle thing (the extended requirement to stay closed has probably given much more time to do things like this which may be why it wasn't done in previous years).

 

3 weeks can be a long time, but remember that during those 3 weeks the ride will be testing regularly for staff training. Whilst something could still be done, it takes away time from training whilst it's installed, checked for safety, etc. And I believe that the ride has been running for training lately.

 

And in any case, here's an image from early 2019 (lifted from Google Maps of course):

Compare with the image EpicSmatty posted:

On 3/15/2021 at 10:00 PM, EpicSmatty said:

 

We can see the new theming has already been installed. Maybe there's more to add to it though.

 

As I say, at this stage I'm expecting that when the pool is filled with water, it will look like a boat that's there is sinking, and the rest could be for some sort of special effect, like some sort of water splash/fountain/explosion. But no idea really, so curious to see what it is.

[Inferno]

49 minutes ago, JoshC. said:

the rest could be for some sort of special effect, like some sort of water splash/fountain/explosion.

That could be cool - do we have any reason to think this may be something 'special'?  It looks like a jetty to me.

[JoshC.]

45 minutes ago, Inferno said:

That could be cool - do we have any reason to think this may be something 'special'?  It looks like a jetty to me.

Absolutely no reason - just wishful thinking on my part! 

 

(I admit it looks unlikely and probably is just a boat and jetty, but I'm in that 'overly-optimistic-season-is-almost-here' mode)