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YAY Merlin!

Tonkso said:
It could be a UK H&S thing, they may be able to run at -5 technically, but legally they can't.
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I was thinking more of times where it's been very cold at Thorpe or Towers and rides have been up and down...

For example, 27th Oct 2018, every coaster apart from The Walking Dead was down for most of the day, not for lack of trying, they were popping online at times, but just went straight down again. So I can't imagine it was regulations that were the main issue, or they wouldn't have been able to get a couple going for one of the coldest hours in the evening. (Stealth ran that evening for at least an hour.) The temperature was about 3 or 4 degrees with no wind, rain or snow in the day. dropping to 1-2c in the evening.

I had pre purchased coaster fast tracks for the kids that day, so had reason to reach out to Thorpe about it, and this was their response... They do mention H&S, but for reasons I mention in my last paragraph, I don't but that, they also imply that their coasters just don't like the cold, which made more sense on this occasion.

Thank you for your email regarding your recent visit to THORPE PARK Resort!

Firstly, I would like to apologise that your day with us did not live up to your expectations. We want all guests to have a great day with us so it was disappointing to learn that this was not the case for you and your group.

Unfortunately on the 27th October, We experienced some delays with the operation of our rides due to adverse weather. This affected the operation of seven of our rides as they were unable to operate in low temperatures. These temperatures are set by the manufacturers of those rides in accordance with Health and Safety regulations. In anticipation of the forecasted cold weather we did increase the availability of other attractions. With Living Nightmare, Saw Alive and Vulcan Peak opening at 12pm and Blair Witch Opening from 3pm. We also extended the operating hours of The Walking Dead:The Ride until 11pm. However I can see that this may not have fully rectified the enjoyment of your visit.

Due to this we have activated our Island Return Guarantee which means you can revalidate your entry tickets for use on selected dates during our 2019 season by bringing your tickets or booking confirmation to our admissions team at the entrance of THORPE PARK Resort.
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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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Either way it's good news.

They do have the makings of a really good winter event, they just need to get a few more coasters open. If they could open Wickerman, Spinball, Oblivion and Smiler (I dunno, give the ride computers cozy winter jackets or something,) then along with the smaller rides, and Cbeebies, that'd make the park a very worthwhile winter visit.

They even have 5 or 6 all weather dark rides at their disposal when the new one is built. Curse, Hex, Sub Terra, Granny G, Dungeons and Horizon.

I think what I'm trying to say is that, recent investments position the park (either deliberately or coincidentally) in a better place for year round opening, they just need to get a handful of the coasters working in colder weather, and they could have a full theme park offering in the winter.
 
In terms of temperatures; I think the temperatures a ride can run in depends on the sort of components it has, which will vary on a case-by-case basis. I seem to remember hearing that the temperature tolerance of a ride’s components are often adjusted according to the sort of temperatures it will typically operate in. A ride in Florida will typically have very different components (in terms of temperature tolerance) to a ride in Eastern Europe.

For instance, I know Taron was adjusted by Phantasialand to operate in some ridiculously low temperature like -10C, I’ve heard people talk about having ridden Energylandia’s coasters in temperatures well below 0C, and I’ve heard of occasions where all of Europa Park’s coasters (excluding Atlantica) have operated in temperatures as cold as -5C.

Many of Alton Towers’ coasters, on the other hand, struggle at below 5C, from what I’ve heard. I know Thirteen’s operating limit is something surprisingly high like 5C or over, for instance.

Speaking of Thirteen, have they solved the issue of it not being able to run in the rain?
 
Matt N said:
For instance, I know Taron was adjusted by Phantasialand to operate in some ridiculously low temperature like -10C, I’ve heard people talk about having ridden Energylandia’s coasters in temperatures well below 0C, and I’ve heard of occasions where all of Europa Park’s coasters (excluding Atlantica) have operated in temperatures as cold as -5C.
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I remember hearing somewhere that Phantasialand has heating systems installed on many of their rides in case of extreme cold. Even Chiapas can run in negative five celsius according to the website.
 
cookie said:
I remember hearing somewhere that Phantasialand has heating systems installed on many of their rides in case of extreme cold. Even Chiapas can run in negative five celsius according to the website.
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I remember that this was the case at Efteling, specifically Baron 1898. I went in February 2018 (-3 degrees C) and could see the orange heaters below the track in the station.
 
cookie said:
I remember hearing somewhere that Phantasialand has heating systems installed on many of their rides in case of extreme cold. Even Chiapas can run in negative five celsius according to the website.
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Heth said:
I remember that this was the case at Efteling, specifically Baron 1898. I went in February 2018 (-3 degrees C) and could see the orange heaters below the track in the station.
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This is the info I was looking for, thanks. Makes perfect sense, and seems to be something that ‘could’ maybe be retrofitted.
 
So, Thorpe today, where to begin.

Ops, fantastic.
Uptime, fantastic.
Queues, well managed...

Wtf happened.

Got two rides on each of the big 5 (bar Colossus, just one), got every other ride done bar Storm Surge (couldn't be bothered) and Tidal Wave which had an hour queue almost all day so we didn't bother.

The park just worked, and it's the best day we've had at Thorpe in years. We weren't even going to go this year, it was only yesterday at breakfast when we decided we wanted to to check out the new stuff at Chessington on Sunday, last time we went they still had Ramses.
 
Ian said:
The WTF Merlin topic has had a considerable amount of replies. That's cool and I accept that enthusiasts tend to be picky rather then complimentary. It's easy to say what we don't like and how we would have done things differently. We have to remember that the vast majority of Merlin visitors don't scrutinise everything as intensely as we do. What we like, general visitors might not and vice versa.

To keep things balanced, I thought I'd start a YAY Merlin! topic where we can celebrate the stuff they've done well. Remember, this is from your perspective, not what the "general public" think.

The one thing that sticks out the most for me is the theming in the European parks, namely Gardaland and Heide Park. Raptor was fab! A nice tightly designed ride with near-misses at strategic moments. It was the first, and probably one of the best Wing Coasters out there. And, although I've not ridden it, Krake at Heide looks incredible.

In the UK, the most recent Merlin investments that I enjoyed where Journey to Atlantis at Lego Windsor and The Swarm at Thorpe. Both are well themed and are enjoyable ride experiences. Cbeebies Land at Alton smartened up a tired area of the park.

There are other nice touches around, too. Such as the Corkscrew tribute at Alton's entrance plaza, the themed monorail trains and the retheme of X:\WTF.

The new Azteca hotel at Chessington is marvellous. Nicely themed with a sexy restaurant - possibly my favourite place to eat at any of the Merlin parks.

I'd even say that the Merlin annual pass is good value for money. For £200 (ish) there is access to 31 attractions (ok, I admit that I'm only really interested in the parks), but take into account the discounts, the odd perk and reduced tickets for friends, it's ok. I'm interested to see what the cost of the new VIP pass will be.

So go on then, rack your brains. What Merlin attractions have you been impressed with?
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I really like Merlin parks! I love the innovation at Alton Towers and I’m really enjoying how they’re focussing a bit more on the overall theming/immersiveness (if that’s a word) of a ride.

The only thing I’m not mad keen on is the way they deal with fast track (disappointed more with Thorpe park than Alton) but apart from that I’m generally a happy customer and always have a good time!
 
With Legoland submitting a application for solar car ports Chessington have submitted one to upgrade their car parks. The Macaw grass car park will get new materials to help stabilise the ground, improve access, operational efficiency and circulation, as well as improving the existing drainage system. So hopefully it will not be as muddy.
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The car park will be surfaced using a mix of materials: aisles and western access track with concrete, and the parking bays with a geo-grid cellular confinement system with a reinforced grass infill and porous sub-base. To complement the works, new planting will take place, along with the installation of entrance and exit 'portals' to identify the vehicle access points.
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Also in the application is the proposal to replace the four electric car charging points in the north car park, along with the installation of eight new units to make and a new row of twelve.
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Source

Considering how much is coming attraction wise to Merlin parks this year its great to see them doing improvements to their parks infrastructure and TLC as well.
 
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You beat me to it, ya bastad 😆

This has seriously made my day - I've been fantasising about night rides! Doubt I'll ever be this excited about a 30 year old ride again

I'm a major question mark for opening day as I have a nasty feeling I have family commitments, but that's enough to get me there the following Saturday!
 
Will said:
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You beat me to it, ya bastad 😆

This has seriously made my day - I've been fantasising about night rides! Doubt I'll ever be this excited about a 30 year old ride again

I'm a major question mark for opening day as I have a nasty feeling I have family commitments, but that's enough to get me there the following Saturday!
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Already have both days booked… And the Monday between!!!
 
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I was planning to do the Tuesday

Possibly with birthday cake

(Apologies for potential spam :p )
 
Great news !! very happy towers have done this i booked for both days on opening weekend, providing nemmy opens on the 16th do you think it going to be a crazy day to remember where thousands of people will be there eagerly waiting in forbidden valley for that first ride on the beast ? i really hope it a day to remember.
 
An absolutely perfect day at Alton today, really pleased. Yes it was only at 28% capacity, but strong uptime allowed us to ride everything with rerides (including first train of the day on Wicker Man!), two front row Nemesis rides, the best ride we've ever had on Rita somehow, and even time for Curse, Gangster Granny (had never ridden it), time to stop and eat at Explorer's Pizza, and time for the Aquarium too.

Oblivion did go down for a long period (evac from the lift and crest!) but they actually reopened it for the last half hour, Europa Park style.

Really impressed with the park overall today, great staff too.
 
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