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Looks less like an extension of the existing track and more like a separate line altogether.

Optimistically I'd hope they'd be able to extend it all the way down to Ringsheim, but that might be way too costly.
Yes, you're correct. They have said this is a separate shuttle monorail between the Hotel Resort and Rulantica.

Aside from the colossal costs involved (this project alone has been delayed considerably) Ringsheim would also require negotiations another council - while this project all falls within Rust's jurisdiction (also why there is a free bus service around Rust itself but for the bus between Rust and Ringsheim you have to pay).
Plus going by houses in Ringsheim undoubtedly will cause complaints while this line sticks to the road side surrounded by fields, the hotels and supermarkets just.
Would be fantastic but I just don't see it happening anytime soon.
 
Yes, you're correct. They have said this is a separate shuttle monorail between the Hotel Resort and Rulantica.

Aside from the colossal costs involved (this project alone has been delayed considerably) Ringsheim would also require negotiations another council - while this project all falls within Rust's jurisdiction (also why there is a free bus service around Rust itself but for the bus between Rust and Ringsheim you have to pay).
Plus going by houses in Ringsheim undoubtedly will cause complaints while this line sticks to the road side surrounded by fields, the hotels and supermarkets just.
Would be fantastic but I just don't see it happening anytime soon.
From what I remember the main issue they were worried about was the permits getting it over the motorway as it would need to be shut for the work to be done.

There's not actually that many houses on the way from rulantica to the station (if any?)

I may be misremembering slightly but their blue sky plan was to put the terminus about here
Screenshot_2023-12-18-19-34-07-38_3d9111e2d3171bf4882369f490c087b4.jpg
So the ride could run along the road to the left all the way to the water park without encountering any residential areas beside the ones right next to the station already (there's surely an argument there for pre existing noise pollution or some such)

Screenshot_2023-12-18-19-38-31-90_3d9111e2d3171bf4882369f490c087b4~2.jpg

Not saying it would be easy, nothing like this ever is. but they aren't in too bad a position in that respect.
 
So, there's been a new lease of life granted for Dreamland Margate:


Live Nation have bought the majority shares in the park. Which is amazing news. They soon realised that just being a seaside park wasn't attracting business, so they changed their model to become a really cool and quirky seaside events space (if you've been, you'll know how amazing the site is for live events). This coincides with having their operating hours increased to 4am closures, and having their 2-day consecutive event basis increased to 4 days within 28 days of one another. Which is also a significant boost.

Really happy to see this place absolutely thriving!
I wonder if they have any interest in the site as a 'theme / amusement park' or do they just see the site as a permanent base for their main business.

Obviously you're aware Lofty, but for those that aren't, Live Nation don't just promote and manage concerts, they also own Festival Republic, who are responsible for many of the UK's major music festivals, hence the significance of the 4 day event expansion.

Either way though, it's great news. :)
 
I wonder if they have any interest in the site as a 'theme / amusement park' or do they just see the site as a permanent base for their main business.

Obviously you're aware Lofty, but for those that aren't, Live Nation don't just promote and manage concerts, they also own Festival Republic, who are responsible for many of the UK's major music festivals, hence the significance of the 4 day event expansion.

Either way though, it's great news. :)
More than likely it will keep the operational model that it has at the moment which is live events with rides, over an amusement park with live events. It's working so well for them financially and operationally that they'll have sold it that way to Live Nation.

There was discussions happening when I was there with the likes of Electric Daisy Carnival, and we hosted Camp Bestival on site. The festival site works so well as the park has over 6 different venues within the one site ranging from capacities of 8,000 to 200(ish).

I actually think a few more struggling sites across the UK could take up this model. It's definitely been a winner for them, shrinking their operational losses from £16m to £1m within a year or so span. It's insane.
 
From what I remember the main issue they were worried about was the permits getting it over the motorway as it would need to be shut for the work to be done.

There's not actually that many houses on the way from rulantica to the station (if any?)

I may be misremembering slightly but their blue sky plan was to put the terminus about here
View attachment 28818
So the ride could run along the road to the left all the way to the water park without encountering any residential areas beside the ones right next to the station already (there's surely an argument there for pre existing noise pollution or some such)

View attachment 28819

Not saying it would be easy, nothing like this ever is. but they aren't in too bad a position in that respect.
Here's hoping then, hopefully get one or two more trains
 
More than likely it will keep the operational model that it has at the moment which is live events with rides, over an amusement park with live events. It's working so well for them financially and operationally that they'll have sold it that way to Live Nation.

There was discussions happening when I was there with the likes of Electric Daisy Carnival, and we hosted Camp Bestival on site. The festival site works so well as the park has over 6 different venues within the one site ranging from capacities of 8,000 to 200(ish).

I actually think a few more struggling sites across the UK could take up this model. It's definitely been a winner for them, shrinking their operational losses from £16m to £1m within a year or so span. It's insane.
I assume that's a special smaller Camp Bestival? We sometimes go to the full summer Camp Bestival Festival, as it's one of the ones we get free tickets from one of our suppliers for, in this case Thatchers. It's held at Lulworth Castle and Weston Park on consecutive weekends.

It would make a great full festival site now that the events can run for 4 days though. What's it like for camping space? Do you think they'd use the big nearby park for camping, and the amusement park for the arena? Or do you think they'd just run them like 'city festivals' with no camping? The site itself is probably big enough for an arena, but not much more.
 
From what I remember the main issue they were worried about was the permits getting it over the motorway as it would need to be shut for the work to be done.

There's not actually that many houses on the way from rulantica to the station (if any?)

I may be misremembering slightly but their blue sky plan was to put the terminus about here
View attachment 28818
So the ride could run along the road to the left all the way to the water park without encountering any residential areas beside the ones right next to the station already (there's surely an argument there for pre existing noise pollution or some such)

View attachment 28819

Not saying it would be easy, nothing like this ever is. but they aren't in too bad a position in that respect.
I this circumstance it may be better to resite the station entrance to the other side of the road too.
 
During the Mack annual Christmas message Michael Mack states there will be a little surprise in the CanCan Coaster, whether that's a new VR Film or something else?

 
Some slides for Aqualibi?

Good to see Aqualibi is getting the expansion they needed. It's an amazing waterpark (and the cleanest I have ever seen), but the slides were kind of blah.

It's been a while since I posted on the forum, but I am glad to be back!
I am back with some POV video's I made of Aqualibi's newest water slides when I was invited last week.


Here is every slide and what they have to offer
🎢 POMAKAI - Experience the heart-racing action of the Canon Bowl! Ride down a slide starting at 21 meters high, spanning 134 meters with a thrilling 12-meter diameter bowl, reaching speeds of up to 50 km/h. Accessible for riders from 1 meter 6 centimeters tall.

🌪️ WIKI WIKI - Race through the Rally Racer! Embark on a 147-meter journey, starting at 16.8 meters high, featuring 4 dueling points and a max speed of 24 km/h. Open to riders standing at 1 meter 6 centimeters tall.

🚀 BANZAI - Prepare for liftoff on the Duelling Rocketblast! Launch from 16.8 meters high onto a 176-meter slide with 2 upward launches, 4 dueling points, and speeds of up to 29 km/h. Accessible for riders from 1 meter 6 centimeters tall.

🌪️ WAIKIKI - Conquer the Tornado Wave! Begin your adventure at 21 meters high, slide through 175 meters into an 18-meter tall wave, and reach a thrilling speed of 44 km/h. Open to riders standing at 1 meter 20 centimeters tall.


Not only were the slides new but Aqualibi has completely remodeled their showers and toilets. There are now a lot more showers and the showers are less awkward. They also added small pieces of theming that weren't there before.
 
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I assume that's a special smaller Camp Bestival? We sometimes go to the full summer Camp Bestival Festival, as it's one of the ones we get free tickets from one of our suppliers for, in this case Thatchers. It's held at Lulworth Castle and Weston Park on consecutive weekends.

It would make a great full festival site now that the events can run for 4 days though. What's it like for camping space? Do you think they'd use the big nearby park for camping, and the amusement park for the arena? Or do you think they'd just run them like 'city festivals' with no camping? The site itself is probably big enough for an arena, but not much more.
It was a park overlay with them, working with their team for the creative overlay, scheduling acts, etc. it was like a mini festival at the park.

Accommodation is not something that they offer. Instead, they work with all of the other suppliers of this in the area as it's full of B&Bs, hotels, AirBnBs etc. Part of the reason of being able to do it was to work with the local economy to boost it, which it definitely did. It's also worth mentioning that most of the people that visit come in on the train from London, etc. so they even worked with the train provider and Network Rail to schedule a later train to assist with this. They've genuinely boosted the local economy by a huge amount in their events schedule.

On a separate note, the Sub Sea Systems Inc.'s Aquaticar has started testing, and looks even more crazy than the concept art:

1703118610805.jpeg

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7143397235005751297/
 
Why would you want to sit in the water but wear what looks like a monstrosity of a heavy helmet instead of having a proper roof? Is it because the car would have to be a lot heavier to account for the amount of air encapsulated underneath the roof which in turn would require more power from the bubble propulsion unit?
 
Why would you want to sit in the water but wear what looks like a monstrosity of a heavy helmet instead of having a proper roof? Is it because the car would have to be a lot heavier to account for the amount of air encapsulated underneath the roof which in turn would require more power from the bubble propulsion unit?
I expect buoyancy would be a bit of a 'mare with a setup like that. :D
 
Walibi Belgium will be investing over a million euros in renovating their acclaimed shooting dark ride Challenge of Tutankhamon over the off-season. Some of the more significant investments will include updating the ride vehicles with new chassis and guiding technology by ETF Ride Systems, replacing much of the Sally tech which the ride had been using since it opened in 2003. Many of the components the ride opened with aren’t being manufactured anymore, hence the need for the upgrade. A widened loading platform is also being implemented, and cosmetic changes are expected throughout the ride.

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Toverland will be switching to offering guests reusable drink cups with a €1,50 deposit starting tomorrow, due to tightening environmental regulations in the Netherlands effectively prohibiting the park from employing single-use plastic. The park will initially offer texture-less cups and then towards the February holidays introduce permanent designs brandishing the park’s logo. The plan is to also introduce multiple stations throughout the park offering these cups, as well as make them available at every catering establishment, gift shop, and guest services.

For other food offerings, the park intends to switch to paper packaging, or edible containers in the case of ice cream.

 
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