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Thorpe Park | Derren Brown's Ghost Train | VR Attraction

Re: Thorpe Park construction?

Just thought of another Lionsgate IP it could be- The Expendables.

The Expendables IP is fairly popular and a dark ride themed to it would probably be full of fancy pyrotechnics and other special effects. However, I still think a HG theme is more likely because its more popular with the teens and the image of the building that has been leaked looks very District12-esque. IMO, I would prefer a HG ride over any other Lionsgate IP.
 
Re: Thorpe Park construction?

Just thought I'd point out, on the plans for the entrance portal the main sign says "Thorpe Depot" beneath the attraction name. I know it may not mean an awful lot, but it implies what they're aiming for in terms of story/theme.
 
Re: Thorpe Park construction?

Wow, it's not very often that the UK will see a brand new dark ride get built from the ground up! Nice one Thorpe.

As much as I'd love to see a big new coaster, a good dark ride could really make Thorpe a much better day out IMO.
 
Re: Thorpe Park construction?

What happens when Thorpe reach the end of the lionsgate IP? They either rip Saw, their most successful investment to date (?) Of its name - or, they renew.

This hunger games theory is looking sound to me.

I still worry about the expense of the IP stealing funds away from the ride hardware, theming, etc. Especially if the IP needs renewed licensing every few years. Eugh. Friend sent me a txt along the lines of "I'm so worried it will be actor led" and I have a horrible feeling they're right.
 
Re: Thorpe Park construction?

For me I just hope it's not just a shooter ride and it's a well themed dark ride.

I also hope they use the technology Disney and Sea World use and make it a trackless system.

I still fail to see though how the market if Thorpe will take this ride. I just cannot see them being interest in a dark ride.
 
Re: Thorpe Park construction?

When we had our behind the scenes tour with South Parks we were told that they have renewed the Lionsgate contract for FN's and the Saw contract so they both should be staying for the foreseeable future.
 
Re: Thorpe Park construction?

marc said:
For me I just hope it's not just a shooter ride and it's a well themed dark ride.

I also hope they use the technology Disney and Sea World use and make it a trackless system.

I still fail to see though how the market if Thorpe will take this ride. I just cannot see them being interest in a dark ride.
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This is what I have been saying, I just can't see Thorpe's audience taking to a ride like this, even if it does have a great IP it will be nothing on the same level as universal dark rides, most will ride this once and feel no urge to ride it again, I know id pick a coaster over a dark ride that's for sure.
 
Re: Thorpe Park construction?

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned and might sound silly, but if Thorpe were originally going to get a coaster in 2015 and Alton got one in 2016, then perhaps Merlin didn't want to push back Alton's 2016 coaster, so Thorpe gets a dark ride for 2016, instead of a coaster?
 
Re: Thorpe Park construction?

But this dark ride is going to be Merlins biggest ever investment so its hardly cutting back.
 
Re: Thorpe Park construction?

^I didn't say anything about cutting back - what I said was that, instead of getting a coaster, they'd get a dark ride, because, if there was a coaster at Thorpe for 2016, Alton's would be pushed back. Merlin wouldn't install 2 major UK coasters in the same year, as it would be like competing with yourself.
 
Re: Thorpe Park construction?

Ready_23 said:
But this dark ride is going to be Merlins biggest ever investment so its hardly cutting back.
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It costs way more to make a dark ride decent than a coaster.

Not only that, it takes creativity and skill that is hindered by the company obsession with gimmicks.
 
Re: Thorpe Park construction?

They are not spending that much though, it's a 3rd of what DLP just spent.
 
Re: Thorpe Park construction?

Very true Joey, so let's be honest Merlin really are not not spending that much at all on this.

Let's hope they do a good job.
 
Re: Thorpe Park construction?

Urgh actor lead, the horror! Hopefully it isn't though because they tried that already with Saw Alive and realised how much it costs.

I don't like movie themes in DISNEY parks that aren't movie themed, so if this is Hunger Games I'm going to detest it.

Even if the tech is spot on and the theming is good it's the meshing together of elements that is key, and I don't see a team at Merlin having the talent to be frank. Look at the intricacy of the way the theming interacts and flows with the ride elements on something like Ratatouille or Spiderman, it's incredibly precise and the results are incredible. Unfortunately on the other hand you have things like that weird Thor dark ride in Tusenfryd. It seemingly ticked all the boxes: great theming, good storyline, good ride tech. The actual ride itself is less than impressive purely for the fact that nothing flows and the effects are bloody awful to the point of being embarrassing.

I'm scared of how bad this could potentially be.
 
Re: Thorpe Park construction?

marc said:
They are not spending that much though, it's a 3rd of what DLP just spent.
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More like over 200m was spent on Ratatouille, but since you're getting custom Pixar animation that's an unsurprising figure...

Jordan's post is pretty much spot on, especially in regards to how an apparently amazing on paper dark ride can fall so easily flat due to simple issues...
 
Re: Thorpe Park construction?

I've not done this weird Thor ride, but I'm not worried about this being that kind of bad, because Merlin know better than to try.

Giving praise where due, Tussaud's/Merlin have always been good at finding creative solutions that fall within their budgets. That stereotypical British thing of selecting concepts because they can portray them with low budgets. Whilst we all criticise the repeated use of shipping containers and the like, they are choosing these themes because they will look good with what small budget they have. I wanted Chessington's Runaway train to be an Aztec themed ruined jungle with carved rock work and foliage - and it makes more brand sense, especially given the new hotel, but there's no way they could make that look good with their budget, being realistic. So they went with a theme that could utilise manmade structures, flat facades and found objects.

So I really do not believe this will suffer the fate of being a high budget price of tech with detailed immersive theming that none the less falls short (Darkastle comes to mind here - huge budget, high quality, but just not that great).

As for them learning that actor led is a bad idea - given that they went there with Sub Terra... And that they did that Krake maze. (That's open year round, though... Even off peak when the park is DEAD. Which demonstrates the differences in markets?) I think the company suffers from poor communication with the parks and a lack of reviewing over time to avoid repeating issues. In order to maximise their budget, I bet different departments pass the strain on, and the company is too large for anyone to go "hang on a minute, if we make this actor led to cut hardware cost, its just passing the cost onto Thorpe, and will cost the company MORE money then just giving the project a larger budget...."

I'm expecting, instead of a grand classic dark ride, something with staggered pre shows - like Hex and Sub Terra. And I'm expecting actors to pick up the narrative pieces. Hex is great and Sub Terra far from bad, but since neither have been a monumental success it seems odd to risk one at Thorpe. It's good news for us though - it means that, perhaps, they're thinking less about instant return and more for the overall quality of Thorpe Park, which is the lowest of their resort theme parks without a doubt. Maybe they're aiming to improve guest experience and not just pull people in en mass. Maybe they've realised that adding new attractions only contributes a tiny part to attendance. Or maybe this is Hunger Games themed and they know it'll solve both issues, smirking to themselves.

Someone mentioned to me that the Thinkwell group based in CA have rights to the Hunger Games... http://m.hollywoodreporter.com/entry/view/id/352779

Now, if only Thorpe would hire Thinkwell for this project. Oh we can dream.
 
Re: Thorpe Park construction?

Thorpe Park announced today that after over 20 years of service in the park the Chief Ranger's Carousel will close to the public at the end of this season to make way for the new attraction.
 
Re: Thorpe Park construction?

This is going to be interesting to see what they do here, given the size of the building I can't help but think this is going to follow in recent popular dark rides footsteps and be full of screens and projections.

Trouble with that is Universal and Disney spend hundreds of millions on these rides to make them as good as they are, Merlin simply aren't going to do that.

Its annoying as Merlin do have the potential with the financial backing of the Blackstone group to create a dark ride on the level of Spiderman/Transformers but we already know that this won't be in the same league as those two which is frustrating.

I'm still excited to see what it ends up like though, personally I liked Merlin's last dark ride effort with Sub Terra but I'm hoping that this will be much better than that.
 
Re: Thorpe Park construction?

The main issue I can see is that Merlin settle for "alright" when they can, and should, strive for brilliant. There's no real reason this can't be as good as Spiderman or Mystic Manor, other than Merlin laziness and penny pinching.
 
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