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YAY Merlin!

So it looks like Thorpe have started a single rider line for Saw, really hope they bring back the one for Stealth one day as I found it always worked great on there.

 
Ooh, brilliant news; I look forward to trying this out on my solo Thorpe visit on 10th September!

The one on Smiler works very well indeed, so let’s hope the one on Saw is the same!
 
The park did trial single rider on Saw in 2009, 2010 and maybe even 2011-12 (memory is hazy). In terms of filling up seats, it worked well. It was always a bit of an organisational faff though, since it didn't have the infrastructure set up for it to work.

As I understand it, this is something which has been pushed to be tried by some staff for a while. So this is serving as a trial period to see if it works at improving utilisation scores (ie number of seats filled), and how it works from a practical / organisation standpoint. Then maybe they can go from there.
The issue the park will face is the same they have always faced - the majority of the park's rides aren't designed with a single rider queue in place. Really, Stealth is the only one which has the infrastructure to do it properly and not interfere with Fastrack / Ride Access Pass queues and ride exits. The current Exodus plans don't show a single rider queue either (though these can of course be changed).

So yeah, hopefully it works, and hopefully longer term the park can implement ways to make single rider queues work properly. But at the same time, it should be stressed this is just a trial, and even if it does go down well, there's no guarantee it will mean it stick.
 
It used to work great on Nemesis Inferno too.

You just waited to the side on the long exit ramp, used to get so many re-rides in. Same for AT Nemesis too.

Not sure when they scrapped them both would be great to have them back.
 
spicy said:
It used to work great on Nemesis Inferno too.

You just waited to the side on the long exit ramp, used to get so many re-rides in. Same for AT Nemesis too.

Not sure when they scrapped them both would be great to have them back.
Click to expand...
The problem with those exit side SRQs, though, is that they actually reduced throughput due to the delays incurred by batching people onto the ride from the opposite side of the platform.
 
Matt N said:
The problem with those exit side SRQs, though, is that they actually reduced throughput due to the delays incurred by batching people onto the ride from the opposite side of the platform.
Click to expand...
As I recall, on Nemesis the panel ride op would call single riders on the mic without batching them first (as in, "single rider, row 1", "single, row 3", etc.) as airgates were letting the next group.
 
Just thought this topic deserved a post with all the recent positive things Merlin are doing. It really is exciting to be a UK enthusiast again after a pretty quiet decade in terms of major investment and coasters. The following reasons really are reason for a YAY Merlin.

The show Merlin put on last weekend on Nemesis last day with all the Phalanx actors in the area and the videos they have uploaded to social media, Merlin went way beond anyones expectations.
The fact Nemesis is even getting such attention with a complete retrack when perhaps at one point Merlin wouldn't have put such a huge investment into an existing coaster. It's certainly going to be very exciting to follow Nemesis demolition then resurrection over the next year.

The darkride/indoor coaster going into Alton Towers.

The Duel refurbishment.

Chessington's finally getting some much needed love and attention with it's B&M currently going vertical and the incoming water park.

Project Exodus at Thorpe and the UK's tallest rollercoaster record finally being broken. Again going to be exciting following this construction.

So Yay Merlin!
 
spicy said:
Just thought this topic deserved a post with all the recent positive things Merlin are doing. It really is exciting to be a UK enthusiast again after a pretty quiet decade in terms of major investment and coasters. The following reasons really are reason for a YAY Merlin.

The show Merlin put on last weekend on Nemesis last day with all the Phalanx actors in the area and the videos they have uploaded to social media, Merlin went way beond anyones expectations.
The fact Nemesis is even getting such attention with a complete retrack when perhaps at one point Merlin wouldn't have put such a huge investment into an existing coaster. It's certainly going to be very exciting to follow Nemesis demolition then resurrection over the next year.

The darkride/indoor coaster going into Alton Towers.

The Duel refurbishment.

Chessington's finally getting some much needed love and attention with it's B&M currently going vertical and the incoming water park.

Project Exodus at Thorpe and the UK's tallest rollercoaster record finally being broken. Again going to be exciting following this construction.

So Yay Merlin!
Click to expand...
It really is insane how much positivity there is around UK parks and more specifically Merlin right now.

What has changed? Didn’t they change hands, or do whatever the opposite of ‘going public’ is not long ago? Is that what we’re seeing the effects of?
 
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Nicky Borrill said:
What has changed? Didn’t they change hands, or be do whatever the opposite of ‘going public’ is not long ago? Is that what we’re seeing the effects of?
Click to expand...

The Lego family (Christiansen) together with a couple investments funds bought Merlin in 2019. I think that has a lot to do with the changes we are seeing. Even if the management is the same, I expect the new owners have given more investments and put more pressure on quality.
 
spicy said:
Just thought this topic deserved a post with all the recent positive things Merlin are doing. It really is exciting to be a UK enthusiast again after a pretty quiet decade in terms of major investment and coasters. The following reasons really are reason for a YAY Merlin.

The show Merlin put on last weekend on Nemesis last day with all the Phalanx actors in the area and the videos they have uploaded to social media, Merlin went way beond anyones expectations.
The fact Nemesis is even getting such attention with a complete retrack when perhaps at one point Merlin wouldn't have put such a huge investment into an existing coaster. It's certainly going to be very exciting to follow Nemesis demolition then resurrection over the next year.

The darkride/indoor coaster going into Alton Towers.

The Duel refurbishment.

Chessington's finally getting some much needed love and attention with it's B&M currently going vertical and the incoming water park.

Project Exodus at Thorpe and the UK's tallest rollercoaster record finally being broken. Again going to be exciting following this construction.

So Yay Merlin!
Click to expand...
Fully agree, and don't forget the new duelling shuttle coasters for Legoland 😀.
 
I had forgotten actually, was thinking more of the German Legoland wing - so there's another.

A usual year might have just one sole hope highlight and a mockery or 2, so its great to see a buzz of positive activity.
 
Little things but some tidying and moving is happening at Thorpe.

First the Thorpe Belle (Saw Alive) has moved for the first time in 13 years closer to Saw.
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The old queue has gone and the area is being tidied.
FqJuMnaXgAs7yQ5.jpeg

The old Containment escape room has also left.
IMG_20230301_203823.jpg
IMG_20230301_203843.jpg

Im still hoping slammer will be leaving sooner than later.

Source
Source
 
While I'm obviously happy this is happening... this took a very long time to do consdering when the attractions closed? Some SBNO eyesores that took a (half a) decade to get rid of, seemingly all put away effortlessly in a couple months. What took them so long?

And they've still got Slammer...
 
Another yay for Merlin and Thorpe Park, Saw The Ride’s Single Rider queueline that was being trialed at the end of the last season has been made permanent, Walking Dead The Ridehas joined the lineup, with Samurai continuing too.
Thorpe have also confirmed they are hoping to roll it out onto Stealth later in the season.
18ED2462-794A-476A-BC11-1F278B54741E.jpeg7C858AEB-E9D0-457F-8F6B-CE079AD5C19F.jpeg
Source: TP AP Group.
 
www.bbc.co.uk

Alton Towers could open year-round in tourism plan

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council is proposing the idea as part of a tourism strategy.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk

Staffordshire Moorlands investigating all year opening for Alton Towers, Merlin haven't committed anything yet but it's positive to see the council appreciating that the park accounts for 1/3 of the district's tourism. It's worth noting that a chunk of the Peak District National park is covered by the Staffordshire Moorlands too so for Alton to be such a big chunk is a real boon for them. Maybe they will look to be a little less restrictive with the parks opening hours and development too?
 
After my Thorpe Park trip today, it really made me realise how much effort Merlin is/has put into the park.

  • New ride theming panels on Detonator
  • New single rider queues
  • New fences to encourage plant growth
  • Ghost Train repaint and revamp
  • Colossus receiving two new replaced pieces of track
  • A complete repaint of the whole station of The Swarm
  • The small matter of the construction of Project Exodus
For some reason Colossus' new track pieces were painted grey as opposed to the blue/green colour. This might be a primer which gives me hope for a full repaint of the ride in the future (however I might be being too optimistic). Also, I was happy that the saws on Saw: The Ride were actually spinning for the whole day. I'd never seen or done a ride with the saws functional before but having them spin really enhanced the ride experience (in my opinion).
 
Glad they're doing the refurb work, I really am. I do worry how much they'll have to do though, at least to make it a park which is pleasing to look at. There's such a long way to go. If they're deciding to go down the amusement park aesthetic, I can live with that, but it needs a tidy, from the entrance and throughout the park.

But these baby steps are a good sign of things to come, I hope...
 
Tonkso said:
www.bbc.co.uk

Alton Towers could open year-round in tourism plan

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council is proposing the idea as part of a tourism strategy.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk

Staffordshire Moorlands investigating all year opening for Alton Towers, Merlin haven't committed anything yet but it's positive to see the council appreciating that the park accounts for 1/3 of the district's tourism. It's worth noting that a chunk of the Peak District National park is covered by the Staffordshire Moorlands too so for Alton to be such a big chunk is a real boon for them. Maybe they will look to be a little less restrictive with the parks opening hours and development too?
Click to expand...
Not a huge part of the peaks though, other than Dovedale (interesting fact about Dovedale, one side of the river is Derbyshire, other side is Staffordshire... Thorpe Cloud is Derbyshire side.) there's the Manifold trail, Thor's cave, a few lovely villages, and Leek, which is lovely too. (There's obviously a lot more places than this worth a visit, but these are the well known, well visited places.)

In Derbyshire the Peak district brings in more than 14 million visitors per year and adds around £1B to the local visitor economy. Around 50% of the entire tourism economy locally. I'm 'guessing' places just outside the Peak District like Ashbourne, Belper, Amber valley, Chesterfield and Derby itself make up the rest.

This quote is interesting, and good to see...

"We don't want the Moorlands to be hidden any more," councillor Keith Flunder said.

"The council wants to raise the profile of the Moorlands so it becomes a stronger destination as a place for both day visits and longer holidays."
Click to expand...

Because excluding Dovedale on the border there, I've always wondered why some areas of the peak that side of the border are much quieter than similar places in Derbyshire (and South Yorkshire and Cheshire) when you visit. They're beautiful places, and definitely worth visiting.

Back onto the topic at hand though, this seems like it's actually being proposed and driven by the council themselves. I wonder what incentives and support they're offering Merlin to help them grow the out of season trade.

Another thing that's always bugged me, and I do not know the answer, is why in other countries can B&M models operate in temperatures as low as -5c* but in the UK they start having issues at +5c... Are the coasters built and designed in a specific way to withstand lower temperatures? If so, in what ways, and can they be 'retrofitted?'

*To quote Phantasialand's official website... Experience Black Mamba all year round in summer as well as in Wintertraum - riding fun at up to -5°
 
It could be a UK H&S thing, they may be able to run at -5 technically, but legally they can't.

Merlin are yet to comment, which makes me doubt they will go for proper all year opening, but we'll see. The real message I'm taking from this is that the council are going to be more supportive of the park going forward, and we perhaps may see some limits removed and hopefully changes like longer opening hours or longer fireworks.
 
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