Coaster Posted October 21, 2016 Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 Quote The beginning of the re-theming of that area as they now have the rights to the Julia Donaldson books. Vampire will be changed to The Room on the Broom ride with new rides in Market Square coming later. That MUST be a joke, surely?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted October 21, 2016 Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 26 minutes ago, ChessingtonSam said: This is Merlin we're talking about. Of course they will! Can you give me an example of an area Merlin have done anything like this too? Cbeebies is done pretty well and well received - cant think of any others Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted October 21, 2016 Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 CBeebies Land might end up being a good analogy for this considering they followed the same IP process, with plenty of backing out and backing in again of external properties when they werent happy with the proposals. Its also a basic chop and retheme job the same way. CBeebies land was alright at face value but is shoddily built under the hood, which I think comes through in the guest experience. It looks fairly cheap and garish compared to loads of other popular childrens areas built on that sort of scale. The original area, when it opened (before the usual decline into obscurity) was awesome with some genuinly great touches. The rides and themed features are thinly spread, especially the Night garden boat ride with its TV-in-a-box queue and sparse, clumsy animations. I can't judge for children but those over a certain age of awareness would probably be disappointed to see it in real life, compared to their experiences of watching it on TV. As for examples of Merlin's other mid-range investment attempts to create kids attractions out of old ones, I point people in the directions of: Pirate Falls: Abomination Blast - changed to cheaply produced off-the-shelf Lego models and a far more generic theme Fairytale Broken - made more generic and cheaply produced with the reduction of the ride's charm Heartlake City - an original area (which was also the park's 'classic' area) just painted over all pink with some "High tech" interactive exhibits that don't work well from the beginning. Ice Age 4D 'Madagascar Penguins and the ever-diminishing budget after the film proved to be a flop' Show The shows are on the list because even those were budgeted as medium scope plans somehow. "They can't get rid of Transylvania its a classic!" Unfortunately it was much more of a famed classic in the early 2000s and that didn't stop a big business barging in and ruining it then. Merlin don't have interest in areas and themes that aren't 'theirs'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted October 21, 2016 Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 6 hours ago, MarkC said: Saw this post on Facebook: Seems like an interesting idea. This is the sort of thing where a source is required as much as the quote... They're really dragging out saying that Gruffalo is replacing the Bubbleworks. Already beyond tedious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeah Posted October 21, 2016 Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 11 minutes ago, BaronC. said: This is the sort of thing where a source is required as much as the quote... They're really dragging out saying that Gruffalo is replacing the Bubbleworks. Already beyond tedious. That's what I was thinking, could easily have been a fellow enthusiast joking around. Tbh Id much rather they just removed Vampire than retheme it to Room on the Broom, and you all know how much I love Vampire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted October 21, 2016 Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 That model is so dull and awful... There's zero sense of motion (because lol animations cost money), and the 2d cave backdrop is so cheap and tacky... No doubt that model will appear in the ride too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt 236 Posted October 21, 2016 Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 So it's official, even though most saw it coming. Kerfuffle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted October 22, 2016 Report Share Posted October 22, 2016 19 hours ago, Marc said: Can you give me an example of an area Merlin have done anything like this too? Cbeebies is done pretty well and well received - cant think of any others Cloud Cuckoo Land is an example. That area is bad. On the other Mutiny Bay is a much better area then Merrie England Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted October 22, 2016 Report Share Posted October 22, 2016 16 hours ago, Benin said: That model is so dull and awful... There's zero sense of motion (because lol animations cost money), and the 2d cave backdrop is so cheap and tacky... No doubt that model will appear in the ride too... Its built fairly well and looks fine as props and studio work go, but it is relatively boring because Scruffy Dawwg are just Merlin puppets for their theme park division. They arent allowed to do anything outside what MMM stringently provides them. This isnt how attractions used to be produced, but theres neither the trust in craftspeople or a reliable team of contractors anymore. Animations are so developed these days, and the simple pretty ones arent that costly to do (theyve been done pretty nicely in the UK ever since the early 80s), its so bizarre Merlin have so rarely commisioned them - let's see if they turn up in the ride. There will be projections too but I dont have a source to show you. pluk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeah Posted October 22, 2016 Report Share Posted October 22, 2016 Also indicates that itll be the film version of the gruffalo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMsimonW Posted October 24, 2016 Report Share Posted October 24, 2016 Saw there was an open fire door in the fountain room doesn't look there is much going on at the moment however there was a guy in a high vis jacket wandering around earlier today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattgwise Posted March 1, 2017 Report Share Posted March 1, 2017 Literally driving home this evening and drive past a shop to see this out of the corner of my eye. Turn round and it's the feet from the Bubbleworks. Very random. A shop in Carshalton, Surrey. Matt 236, Han30, CharlieN and 5 others 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlivusPrime Posted March 2, 2017 Report Share Posted March 2, 2017 14 hours ago, Mattgwise said: Literally driving home this evening and drive past a shop to see this out of the corner of my eye. Turn round and it's the feet from the Bubbleworks. Very random. A shop in Carshalton, Surrey. Bizarre, hope someone snaps it up before it gets dumped or lost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dk3 Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 Does anyone know what year the finale music returned to the fountain finale? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HermanTheGerman Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 2011 was the year it came back. Though it was redone for a second time in 2014 with a stereo version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dk3 Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 26 minutes ago, HermanTheGerman said: 2011 was the year it came back. Though it was redone for a second time in 2014 with a stereo version. They initially added it back in mono!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HermanTheGerman Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 I thought so, but not certain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 All scenes were in mono in the ride, since your boat was spinning, there was no left and right to the room, so it would have made no difference. If you like, the whole ride was actually in 12 track - one channel for each scene's music all synchronised together, bar the finale (the 13th track) which was on its own loop. The finale was the only track in "stereo" on its own. However it wasn't typical stereo, it was just mixed slightly differently to open up the sound a bit more in that scene. It was always like this as far as I know, but probably fiddled with in 2006 and then the sound system was redone in there in 2014 similar to how it used to be. The ride's audio is a much-fiddled catastrophe. It used to be a shining example of how to do attraction music, a really fun theme with ingenious variations and a diverse audio experience, as well as technically a very good set up for its time. But it became fiddled with and fiddled with in its later years that it didnt really matter which track went where in the end - no scene had any identity anymore and the music was edited and downsampled to death. A real shame. People tried to put parts back over the years but it needed a whole new system which was never paid for. If they really wanted to change the music in 2006, they should have created their own score, not ruined the brilliant original. Mattgwise 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dk3 Posted March 6, 2017 Report Share Posted March 6, 2017 Thanks both for your replies. With regards to the whole ride, I'm still at a loss as to why it no longer exists. It was absolutely fantastic and was my favourite ride with nothing ever coming close to topping it. I guess I'm still in shock at the whole debacle of the retheme in 2006 and then finally removing it last year. I'm actually angry. Why can't rides and attractions be given a 'listed' status? Here was a perfect example of one that should have been. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted March 6, 2017 Report Share Posted March 6, 2017 Some rides are built for a good run of 10 years or so, before the next creative challenge in taking their space and a total redesign (ideally). Like The 5th Dimension and Terror Tomb. But in the 2000s park managements changed rapidly and there was no longer a creative culture driving these developments. So when there rose an opportunity to redesign a dark ride, it would more often just get botched in a very short term, low budget change. Dark rides may be fantastic for as long as they're maintained, as soon as details start to drop and after the warranty is expired or the maintenance is handed over entirely to the park's own teams (who are almost always underfunded and have not the skills or awareness - or time - to professionally maintain a show), then there's a slippery slope to the ride's closure. Professor Burp's BubbleWorks was a different case because it really was timeless, it had so much to it and still wholeheartedly entertained families in a really classic, addictive colourful way. It also had a lot of quality work put into its animations and artwork, and was all original ideas too remember, so worth a lot of the industry's early heritage in the UK. And yet it was destroyed in a very vandalistic way, both behind the scenes and in the scenes, by sheer corporate stiffness. The ride was still very popular but needed some structural maintenance to the building that DIC who owned Tussauds then didn't give a toss about and didn't pay. So a quick-fix sponsorship was brought in to get some money, and an extremely corporate, charmless retheme plan drawn up to cater for it. But oh well, no need to be angry, just on to the next challenge. The ride may have turned the ride into an embarassment in 2006 compared to what 'BubbleWorks' truly was, I wish they'd changed the name in 2006 too just to keep it separate in guests' minds. But it didn't stop the original ride from being fantastic for the millions who rode it, and I hope the industry can get something as original and from-the-hip fun as Prof Burp's BubbleWorks again some time... you'll see it in a smaller creative company and not the big multinational machines most likely. dk3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlivusPrime Posted March 6, 2017 Report Share Posted March 6, 2017 How much had the ride deteriorated by 2005? I must have first rode it that year or the year before, but I remember very little, and what I do remember is only positive (bearing in mind I would have been 10 or 11 at the time). Was it purely down to the building's structural integrity, with the theme then coming afterwards? Surely the damage must have been pretty extensive for them to consider refurbing the whole thing, especially when perfectly adequate scenes are there to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted March 6, 2017 Report Share Posted March 6, 2017 I think it mostly sits in a park's desire to keep the dark ride going to the highest level too... Efteling know the Dreamflight is the most popular ride on park, so station and queueline withstanding continue to ensure it looks fantastic... Fata Morgana is the same really, though nowhere near as popular... Then again there's a lot of "cheesey European dark rides" that take some weird charm from the dodgy old effects and what not, so it works both ways really... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted December 4, 2017 Report Share Posted December 4, 2017 Thought that was well known that the IL posters were literally just glued on top of the originals? At least someone's saved them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyMoo Posted December 4, 2017 Report Share Posted December 4, 2017 Merlin Entertainments reserve the right to use their Amazon Prime membership as they see fit. Whatever and SteveJ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted December 4, 2017 Report Share Posted December 4, 2017 5 hours ago, Benin said: Thought that was well known that the IL posters were literally just glued on top of the originals? At least someone's saved them... Yeah it was well known they were under there, but apparently not with whoever organised the closing down! The only cool/valuable part of the original ride left straight in the skip, as usual. Looks like only 3 three were saved and the big ones (the more memorable) probably too big for any staff to have snuck away in a car. My problem is how insincere their attitude was, when they did nothing to improve the ride for its closing down, misled the public to cash in on nostalgia, and charged people £35 each for a man in a costume reading Wikipedia. At least it's unintentionally hilarious! You'd never get this level of rubbish with a proper theme park like those in Europe, run by much smaller companies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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