WTF Merlin?

[Furiustobaco]

Thorpe today:

Inferno operations were the best I’ve seen them, trains literally flew out and didn’t stack.

Trailers II is a brilliant sequel to the original- I generally found the original a little underwhelming but this one brought it.

Trailers 2.0 was funny, had some great improv moments, and had some great startle scares. It reminded me in ways of like Twisted Clowns at Tulleys. Not being completely taking itself seriously but still having scares and being a lot of fun.

The original for me didn’t really bring enough scares or laughs to be too enjoyable, but this one had such a fun but unhinged vibe to it. I dig it.

Roamers are interesting additions and the circus area is cool. I do think it could utilised in a better location tho, as it’s a little tucked away.

Only criticisms would be some of the grafitti on swarm are just borderline amusing for the wrong reasons (Amelia’s sexy Snapchat name is not for me).

Also What happened to Billy the puppet on Saw the Ride? No initial speech at all, just 10 seconds of silence while waiting for the next block to clear- sad..


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[Matt N]

It would appear that Thorpe Park may be having ride availability issues at present; a man has gone to LadBible and complained about how he got on “no rides” on his birthday trip to Thorpe Park: https://www.ladbible.com/news/man-furious-thorpe-park-birthday-party-20220728

He says that he queued for Nemesis Inferno, Detonator and Walking Dead and they all broke down, thus meaning that he left furious at 2pm as he feels he is “too old to be queueing for that time”.

The park says that they had 94% ride availability and 80% guest satisfaction (guests who said they were either “satisfied” or “very satisfied”) on the day he visited.

 

[Tonkso]

Easy to check, queue-times.com would have downtime statistics for that day.

I can also believe it, despite what official statistics say I always end up in a queue when something breaks down at Thorpe. Leaving out the day I went when it was incredibly windy and our of their control, I've found myself in the station building for Colossus 3 times in the last 4 years only to hear it has just gone down.

Every visit I've had in the last 5 years has had 3 or more big attractions down at once.

Thorpe has a serious problem and it needs resolving. On last park trip (Plopsa and Wal Bel) nothing broke down all day, or I didn't notice if they did because they were either back online quickly or the rest of the park was operational so it impacted nobody but those in the queue at the time.

 

[Tonkso]

Incidentally, their own statistic implies 20% we're not satisfied. You're never going to please everyone, but that figure should not be double digits, let alone 1/5 of your visitors.

 

[Geeky Pastimes]

Did our first trip to Heide Park today and had a great time. Really impressed with the theming, audio around the park, and the general atmosphere. Had a great time!

Ride operations were terrible but thankfully it wasn't too busy (probably thanks to the current heatwave) so we didn't queue more than 30 minutes for anything.

 

[Dar]

OMG, Merlin (Attractions Operations Limited) are being forced to close down and liquidate! /s

I was presented with this article by the ALGORITHM and found it weird that merlin are in a debt dispute with Experian. Did they think someone had stolen their identity and they needed to check their credit report? Did B&M refuse them another ride on credit?

The owner of Madame Tussauds and London Dungeons has been slapped with a winding up petition by Experian.

Merlin Entertainments, which owns theme parks such as Alton Towers and Legoland as well as some of London’s top cultural destinations, faces proceedings due to a dispute over debt.

A winding up petition sees unpaid creditors take legal action against the company owing them funds.

Experian’s petition relates to a subsidiary, named Merlin Attractions Operations Limited, rather than the group.

However, Merlin Entertainments has sought to quash any speculation about the leisure operator’s financial position and said Experian’s petition is “wholly inappropriate”.

The company will be applying to set the petition aside, a spokesperson said.

Experian’s claim was focused on a “very small debt” and it would be “completely false and damaging” to suggest the firm was in financial difficulty “in any way,” they added.

“Merlin Entertainments has a 20-year track record as a highly cash generative company, and supportive owners. Our 2021 audited accounts show a strong recovery from the pandemic,” they said.

Merlin’s spokesperson pointed to the recent opening of its tenth Legoland, in Korea, and said the company continued to invest in “exciting and ambitious projects.”

In the leisure firm’s half-year review published in June, the operator noted “robust consumer demand and elevated revenues per visitor” across markets including the UK.

The company had seen a revival of fortunes as Covid lockdown restrictions had been eased across different regions.

Experian did not wish to comment when approached by CityA.M.

Link to "article"

 

[bladeboy]

Alton Towers have announced three of the four mazes for this Scarefest are returning ones: Altonville Mine Tours, The Attic and Darkest Depths. Don’t get me wrong I do think they are very good mazes but I can’t help but feel very underwhelmed. The return of AMT is a surprise as this will be its 7th season and I expected it to be retired. The other two mazes will be on their 4th season, which is a good stint for scare mazes. Hopefully the final maze will be something good but I can’t help but feel disappointed so far for the 20th anniversary of Scarefest.

 

[Swat]

Alton Towers have announced three of the four mazes for this Scarefest are returning ones: Altonville Mine Tours, The Attic and Darkest Depths. Don’t get me wrong I do think they are very good mazes but I can’t help but feel very underwhelmed. The return of AMT is a surprise as this will be its 7th season and I expected it to be retired. The other two mazes will be on their 4th season, which is a good stint for scare mazes. Hopefully the final maze will be something good but I can’t help but feel disappointed so far for the 20th anniversary of Scarefest.

I am a huge scaremaze fan and have been going to Alton as part of my halloween trips since FOTS and Boiler Room by the hotels, the fact they are still dragging these mazes out and charging £32 for them screams budget cuts for the other investments!

 

[Archie]

 

[Bowser]

Not sure if this is the best thread but did anyone get the Merlin T&C email update today?

"From 1st April 2023 we reserve the right to discontinue any Merlin Annual Pass product provided we serve you with at least 45 days’ notice."