Sparkle Project

[Cal]

11 hours ago, Inferno said:

I wonder if they're going to put a screen up and show the football over the coming few weeks maybe?

(grass is footbally isn't it?)

Good guess! On park now and they’ve put a big screen up, a bar and a Ben and Jerry’s stall.

 

Edited June 13 by Cal
Attached photo

[Cal]

Not sure how many were in it, but Thorpe have today announced they will be closing the passholder group on Facebook as in their words 'regrettably, we no longer feel that the group is serving its intended purpose.'

 

Big shame. I always thought it was a great way to see updates which the general public wouldn't necessarily be interested in, and also a great way for them to get and interact with feedback. 

 

I did notice since Hyperia had opened it had been a lot less active, with them replying to less and less comments etc..

[tactic]

That’s a real shame, really enjoyed checking the group over closed season for the updates. What was the intended purpose for the group if anyone knows cause it seems a shame for it to go?

[Benin]

Probably just not getting the traffic/clicks anymore now that Hyperia is open and there's very little behind the scenes stuff really going on that they can't just post on their usual socials.

[JoshC.]

2 hours ago, Benin said:

Probably just not getting the traffic/clicks anymore now that Hyperia is open and there's very little behind the scenes stuff really going on that they can't just post on their usual socials.

 

Yeah, I think this is the main thing.

 

The park said they were going to do an announcement about the group after Hyperia's opening day, but then the issues started with Hyperia and it took a backseat. 

 

The group was primarily focused on sharing updates that the wider audience wouldn't be interested in with those who would be. It works during the winter. It worked during Hyperia's construction. But now, there's nothing to share really.

 

The group also was a way to get feedback from Passholders, which was also a mixed bag. I imagine the issue is that now the park post operational updates (ie when Victory Plaza opened) or asking for speculation (eg about Fright Nights), and these invariably lead to complaints. I imagine it gets tiresome to hear the same complaints a lot, especially when they didn't plan for it to be like that...even if those complaints are fair. People also became a bit rude at times. When the people running the group were literally running it at any and all hours, it probably was a bit much

 

The group has served its purpose for now. They're not deleting it, it just won't be active any more. It's a shame as there's a loss of direct contact to the marketing team, who are actually in a position to action certain issues that guest services can't, but it's time to stop it. Would be good to see it return each winter though

[Benin]

Passholders whine more than anyone.

 

I'd want to maim people if it were me dealing with it. Which was probably half the issue with the often sarcastic responses from Thorpe.

 

Fine for an individual, but not when representing a company.

[Inferno]

I must admit I’ve always thought it was a bit weird, a big brand like that running a closed Facebook group of all things, for pass holders only.

 

Theres really no need for it.  Yes, updates are great, but the same can be achieved in other ways, and they can include non pass holders too.

 

Giving customers direct access to departments is also far from ideal.  Really everyone should be going through the same channels for everything to start with. It’s just the way the world works, and it’s better for both staff and customer if done well.

[Marc]

I know lighting wasn’t really made a big deal of from the park during the sparkle project but now it’s fright nights it’s the first real chance to see all the lighting installed and it’s really pretty impressive.

 

To start with it simply for the most part looks really good - most of the rides have color coordinated lights, what’s also nice is the new lighting seems to be able to do various effects such as around inferno the lights do some sort of flame effects shining onto the ride. On that point I believe this is one of the first times the parks actually lit up the rides too, of course Stealth and colossus have had lighting before but other than that most of the lighting was more there to light up just the paths, now themed lighting is directing up to the ride structures them selves which look great.

 

Finally not only looks good but there’s been some decent thought into how they work too - Vortex for example the lights are all white to start when loading, then when the ride cycle starts the lights all change to their “themed” status, also noticed when leaving at around 10:30 all the lights around the park lighting up the paths had changed to a standard white light, small things but nice to see some real thought has gone into how it all works, it’s clearly been a big investment and does make a difference!