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Kent, England | The London Resort | Entertainment Complex

Yeah, I'm just gonna back up what has already been said.

With Wallace and Gromit, it really has stood the test of time, it is a British icon that pretty much everyone, British or not, knows. Blackpool Pleasure Beach got a Wallace and Gromit attraction just two years ago, this is very much a popular brand and IP which all the family can enjoy. Why couldn't Merlin theme an area to this instead of Angry Birds.

Angry Birds isn't even British ffs. It's a Finish brand so I get why Särkänniemi have a themed area for Angry Birds...plus that was opened not long after Angry Birds first became big. But it was such a **** move for Merlin to make to theme an area at Thorpe...I give it 5 years before no one knows what it is anymore.

I'm a Celeb is dying. It is contracted to continue until at least 2017 but I'm pretty sure viewing figures for the season just gone, ratings were down considerably.

I reckon a Dr. Who IP would be great, that has stood the test of time. I think Alton's Ceebeebies land was a great move too. Merlin need to use IPs that have a. been around a long time to KNOW they have stood the test of time and b. actually be popular!
 
Ian said:
Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that Paramount are being unashamedly British about this project and they're making wise choices. What I do disagree with is the 'longevity' argument. I don't visit a theme park for an IP, I do so for the experience and thrills. It doesn't matter if I ride something once, five times or one hundred times, if the thrill-theme-fun formula is right, an IP is almost irrelevant. I'm not saying that I'm a Celeb, Shrek or Angry Birds are the wrong IPs to use, it's about the execution of attraction/area. Heck, I don't like Harry Potter but I was blown away by what I experienced at Universal Florida. We shouldn't automatically mock Merlin or praise Paramount (I like the alliteration there), instead see how it turns out.
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I agree Ian, but I recently read something that rang so true with me and I can't believe I never thought of it before. One of the reason things like Harry Potter have been so successful is that Universal catered to what was being asked for. There are a billion Harry Potter fans in the world, and so the park catered to that popularity. It was something that was desired in the public sphere. I think you can appreciate that you are the anomaly in this case of not really being interested in Potter, but you were still blown away by it, and that in part is to do with the culture behind what makes Harry Potter what it is. Angry bloody Birds or whatever doesn't have that rich and deep culture behind it, whereas something like Wallace and Gromit in does. OK not on the same scale as Potter, but it is still something that is generally loved in the British public sphere, and so it will go down well.

I know you say you don't visit theme parks for an IP, but a lot of people do, and that in part in because of parks like Universal doing them so bloody well. People flock from all over the world to go to Hogwarts, and theme parks all over the world have suddenly gone ooh, people enjoy things that they know, we can do that! And then completely get the wrong end of the stick and end up with something awkward and weird (see the WTF Merlin topic ;]). Basically, if you are going to do an IP, pick something that people generally love, and you're good to go.
 
This is all very encouraging, one step closer and all that... but GRRR! It's all so agonisingly slow!
I mean, they've been discussing this for 2 years now, and it's still at least 5 years away from being done, and that's only if it's finished on time (which of course it won't be).
And that's only if it opens at all (which it still might not do).

How come Six Flags can announce a brand new park in China and be planning to open it by 2018?? (Which, of course, they probably WILL do).

Yeah yeah, consultations, public workshops, Wallace & Gromit, Dr Who, yadda yadda yadda - just get on with it ffs! Get the diggers in already! Get B&M in. Get Mack in. Get RMC in. Jesus....

Britain sucks.
 
Paperwork....consultation.....red tape....nature conservation....(repeat several times)...

Yep, Britain does suck indeed!!
 
I too don't buy the longevity argument, but for different reasons to Ian.

When I moan about IPs being outdated, I don't mean they're old... I mean they're not relevant anymore.

IPs have two purposes. The first is as a marketing method to bring people to the park. Current, popular brands are best for this, but that's not to say older but still relevant (to the attraction's audience) won't work.

Something like Wallace and Gromit isn't going to make the masses go "oh man I would LOVE to go on the Wallace and Gromit ride!" but it is a platform to make an attraction that appeals to a really broad audience and will last and be loved and be a staple, quality thing.

And that's a sign of good things, imo.

People do visit parks for IPs, unfortunately. Else parks wouldn't spend so much trying to get them on board. What Pepper Pig done for Paulton's or Potter did to Universal is evidence that IPs matter.
 
As I finished university early yesterday, I decided to take a walk around the park site to see if there was anything of interest. Since there still is some time to go until anything actually happens, I wasn't expecting much. Regardless, I took photos of things anyway.

A hill located in the centre of the site has had some work done to it, and they are using machinery to possibly flatten it or maybe something else. The following photos show the hill and machinery.







The photo below is of the area where I presume they will build the place where the boats will dock to bring in the public from the other side of the river. At the moment, its just a strange and interesting empty sand bank.



That is all the photos I took of the site, but I did realise some changes from my last visit. Walkways are being covered in concrete and they are installing gates which to avoid dirt and quad bikes to enter. More flat land is appearing after some trees and vegetation have been cut and farm animals have possibly been moved now.

NOTE: THE SITE HAS AREAS WHERE THE PUBLIC ARE NOT ALLOWED TO ENTER. ALL PHOTOS TAKEN ARE FROM AREAS ACCESABLE TO THE PUBLIC. DUE TO THE STATE OF THE SITE, SOME AREAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC MAY BE DANGEROUS TO ENTER DUE TO THE WEATHER SO TAKE GREAT CARE IF YOU CHOOSE TO GO AHEAD.
 
I'm attending the masterplanning and infrastructure workshop being held by the Paramount London team tomorrow afternoon so if anyone can think of some good questions I can fire their way please make your recommendations asap (I doubt there will be any talk of specifics such as attractions at this point). Will report back if they mention anything of interest that you don't know about already :)
 
Indeed things are moving ahead, they are sorting out the "supply chain" and will soon be tendering out contracts for construction.

I like the name "Paramount London" the logo they've made looks nice and elegant. It makes sense really on an international scale.
 
Given that Disneyland Paris "The biggest entertainment brand in the world" dosn't get the 15million visitor Paramount are boasting about I do worry that the park will struggle to meet their budgeting. However this is a massively exciting project for the UK so hopefully they can deliver a great resort.
 
IIRC, the no.1 most popular theme park in the world is the Magic Kingdom with 18m visitors a year. So saying they'll get 15m is quite a claim!
 
It's not a theme park though, it's "an entertainment complex". The theme park is just a part of the whole, which if it includes cinemas, shopping malls, chicken baiting, Burberry parades and other Kentish pastimes could raise the number significantly. Remember, Pleasure Beach Blackpool used to have 8 million visitors a year.......
 
Tony Sefton, the chap who championed and headed the project, has resigned.

Details are sketchy, no reason has been stated.

I hope it doesn't stall the realisation of the project.
 
Ah here we go, things did seem to be running far too smoothly and to plan.

I really hope this doesn't affect the project but he wouldn't resign for no reason, surely.
 
According to what I've read Sefton had been quite ill and had to scale back his involvement.
 
Ben said:
He must have heard how well the Wild Fronteir was doing and just gave up.
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28ijAe6.gif
 
Ben said:
He must have heard how well the Wild Fronteir was doing and just gave up.
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=D>

It's such a shame - it is true, he had been very ill for a while. It's a shame to see him go, this project wouldn't have even been dreamed up without them.
 
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