Theme Park Ranting and Raving

[JamesB]

I agree with everything thats been said. I must admit that I have gotten tired of visiting theme parks lately not because I don't enjoy them but just because I don't have that feeling inside you that really makes you want to go. It just seems that parks like Chessington and Thorpe are slowly losing their appeal. Partially its the queues and prices that put me off but also just the general state of the parks and the effort made. We are so in need of some world class attractions. I agree Saw was a step in the right direction but already its gotten rough and the reliability is slipping fast from what I've heard. I cant quite put my finger on it but I'm just quickly going off theme parks, particularly in the UK.I was ready to give Merlin a chance and thought they were doing a good job but looking back on it it seems they are slipping up a bit. The focus shouldn't always be on new rides but also upkeeping the current, classic rides. (For example Vampire, Nemesis, rapids... and all sorts) It was sad to so much of the budget go to waste on Thirteen, surely a lot of the budget could have been spent on upkeep than advertising the ride to be such a big, new thing. It was almost Saw version 2.

[Marc]

The queue line music.

The Queue line musics still there :SThere was never music inside the queue line.

[A-Kid]

In its first few weeks (last year) they had a version of the outside queue ambient theme in the internal queue, just without the random radio calls. I remember it well as it was the time where all the audio was so loud, you could hear it clearly from the car park. Jigsaws voice was rather powerful. I don't think I've heard it so grand ever since that time. I actually don't remember hearing it after the audio was turned down...Its nice to hear the blades are back up then.

[Mark9]

The true test will be if Saw and Th13teen are kept in tip top shape, we will see that from now on upkeep will be a priority even if upkeep of older stuff isn't possible. If Saw and Th13teen are left to rot, we'll know for sure they aren't committed. To be honest, for all we complain Saw isn't doing badly at the moment really. The area is still generally clean and tidy, the queue screens and audio still work perfectly, the queue shotguns still work, the station timer still ticks. If you compare this to say, X:\, it's winning already. If by the time Merlin are fully into the swing of the next major development the same can still be said, they'll get a pat on the back from me.

I disagree with this. Battle Galleons is a clear example of how Merlin aren't all that different. Now admittedly I haven't ridden it since it's opening season, but back then even two months after it opened, half the targets didn't actually do anything and on our boat only three of the eight guns worked. I don't know if the blame could be put down at Merlin's doors because after all they are a multi attraction owning company and probably care less about one gun working on one of its minor attractions. But the point is, everything should work every single time without fail.

[JoshC.]

In its first few weeks (last year) they had a version of the outside queue ambient theme in the internal queue, just without the random radio calls. I remember it well as it was the time where all the audio was so loud, you could hear it clearly from the car park. Jigsaws voice was rather powerful. I don't think I've heard it so grand ever since that time. I actually don't remember hearing it after the audio was turned down...

I completely remember this. It really is a shame.The unfortunate thing about the blades is I'm counting down the days till they're not working again..

[Dan9]

To be honest, for all we complain Saw isn't doing badly at the moment really. The area is still generally clean and tidy, the queue screens and audio still work perfectly, the queue shotguns still work, the station timer still ticks.

But these are all things you'd expect to be still working anyway, it's not we should have to congratulate Thorpe on their awesome efforts to keep a big clock and a strobe light working. Also, pretty much all the indoor effects (so all the important bits, basically) are still out of sync, so I'd say Saw still has a long way to go before I'd class it as 'doing well'.

[JoshC.]

But these are all things you'd expect to be still working anyway, it's not we should have to congratulate Thorpe on their awesome efforts to keep a big clock and a strobe light working. Also, pretty much all the indoor effects (so all the important bits, basically) are still out of sync, so I'd say Saw still has a long way to go before I'd class it as 'doing well'.

It's scraping by is the term I'd use. The more I think about it, the more I think Thorpe were actually right for once. It is the world's scariest roller coaster. The utter thought of how much work will need to go into sorting out the effects is enough to give anyone nightmares...(We all knew this topic would result to Thorpe bashing. Shall we move elsewhere; BPB perhaps?)

[Dan9]

It's scraping by is the term I'd use. The more I think about it, the more I think Thorpe were actually right for once. It is the world's scariest roller coaster. The utter thought of how much work will need to go into sorting out the effects is enough to give anyone nightmares...(We all knew this topic would result to Thorpe bashing. Shall we move elsewhere; BPB perhaps?)

Yes, because sorting out such effects such as a strobe light, a few TV's, some air guns and a water hose-pipe must be mind-nummingly complicated for paid engineers.

[Marc]

And you know the problem behind it all?Its a bit more complicated than that! And regarding music I still never remember it playing in the inside queue, but if it did I suspect its been removed for other reasons rather than being broken..

[JoshC.]

Yes, because sorting out such effects such as a strobe light, a few TV's, some air guns and a water hose-pipe must be mind-nummingly complicated for paid engineers.

Huh?Are you being as sarcastic as me there?|Sorry, I/m tired.

[Dan9]

And you know the problem behind it all?Its a bit more complicated than that! And regarding music I still never remember it playing in the inside queue, but if it did I suspect its been removed for other reasons rather than being broken..

So? It doesn't really matter if operating a hose pipe is more complicated than it sounds, it should all still be working.

Huh?Are you being as sarcastic as me there?|Sorry, I/m tired.

Yes.

[JoshC.]

Yes.

Ah, thank goodness.

[Marc]

So? It doesn't really matter if operating a hose pipe is more complicated than it sounds, it should all still be working. .

Nothing is run by a hosepipe =\ ?The out of sync must be something to do with the ride workings rather than the theming for it all to change slightly..

[AstroDan]

I totally agree.BUT I will say one thing. A load of EP Enthusiasts whom I speak to regularly on line visited Alton Towers for the first time last month.They thought it was amazing, and some preferred it to Europa-Park stating that Air and Oblivion were fabulous attractions. They even thought Rita and Th13teen were pretty good.Now I am not saying it is - I think EP is wonderful, but I am merely stating that's what they thought...

[Marc]

Well that's odd, just did saw and all the effects are back in sync!

[MikeyT]

Aha good news! Some coincidence that is!

[Laelda_95]

Is it so bloody hard to hold your vomit in on x:no way out? I've queued p for it many times, only for someone to puke then them have to clean it up. I get inpatient and leave. The one time I did get on it, I was puked UPON,.

[Benin]

Least throwing up on NWO sounds a lot better than say, throwing up on Chessie's Carousel...

[Deleted Users]

I thought I would bring back this thread as I have had some thoughts on the UK theme park industry lately.I think that most, if not all of us on the forum have come to expect Merlin's aggressive PR and what can feel like penny pinching and red tape with the MAP restrictions, price hikes in the parks, VAT exclusion, etc. What currently angers me more is people defending their actions with "Oh the big Orlando parks do it, it's fine!". Fine, Merlin wants to be known as a premium attractions company, that's great. Then, we are subject to things like Fanta being plastered over one of the Tower's most iconic rides, Thorpe running out of food and rides falling into a pretty sorry state. However, any criticism of this seems to result in "Oh, Merlin couldn't possibly measure up to the American parks!" which just contradicts the previous argument. Value for money at the parks at the moment is pretty dire. Even Six Flags bothers to invest in parking structures and security and has much cheaper tickets and annual passes to balance out their parking prices. Also, just because other parks do it, doesn't mean it is the right thing to do. The VAT cut which they want people screaming about, which won't happen, would just mean a quicker rise in prices so the customer would notice no difference in a few years.Of the recent installations to UK Merlin parks, I think only Wild Asia was done properly; it wasn't marketed incorrectly and is just seems like a complete experience. Merlin seem to be content with building very average rides and hyping them up massively. It may work in the short run but a park filled with Thirteen's or Saw's (Storm Surge has been somewhat pardoned for being moved from a defunct park but it really is a mess) really does not seem viable. Saw already developed some pretty terrible jolts last year and nothing was done to address them and we all know how hit and miss Thirteen's reception was. Sure, Nemesis may have cost more to build but in the long it is probably going to be a much larger pull for Alton Towers.This attitude of building half-baked attractions has probably stemmed from the dominance Merlin has in the UK. For family rides at least, this could be on the tipping point with Drayton now having 2 kids TV themed areas and Paultons having an extensive land for one of the most popular kids shows airing at the moment. It's also interesting how Alton failed to acquire the Shrek 4D show and that doesn't even seem to be the strongest candidate now that the franchise is finished.Anyway, to finish off this pretty scattered piece, the current heads of Merlin don't really seem to get that they are selling an experience, which is essentially being tainted by over the top sponsers,etc, etc. It DOES have an impact of their profits as people will be less likely to revisit.

[pluk]

Agree with all the above. I think a big part of the problem has been what the Merlin parks have been run for in the past - how they want to make their money. The Disney/Universal way seems to be to invest to make a profit in the long term - they are looking way in to the future to get returns on investments and do this by building reputation and a desire to build brand loyalty leading to repeat visitors. The Tussards was always run for immediate gain by a short term thinking investment group, they wanted immediate profit and a high turnover for maximum profit when they offloaded to Merlin. This was done by investing as little as possible while increasing visitor numbers with heavy and gimmicky promotion - who cares if people are 'tricked' into attending and think it is crap, we've already got the punters money and don't care if they don't come back because we plan to sell up.The new owners appear to be in it for the long haul, so I'm optimistic it'll get a whole lot better - they will care that people want to come back. They've got a hell of a lot of turning around to do though, to change the whole direction and mindset of the company which is being run by a lot of the same people is going to be hard and take time.

[Mark9]

Agreed with Daniel9 here completely. One bug bear, the early Tussauds weren't in it for the short haul, they built well meaning, permanent attractions that looked the part and were the part. Chessington still relies on Runaway Train, Dragon Falls, Vampire, Bubbleworks and Tomb (even if the original rides have been pervereted and raped by late Tussauds) and Alton still gets loved because of Nemesis, RMT and Oblivion.I actually take huge insult with Merlin. They claim to be the second biggest entertainment owner after Disney and if you include the amount they own, then yeah thats true. But the sheer gulf in quality is so huge you could fill it with the Pacific and Atlantic ocean and still have room left over for a B&M.