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2019: Rulantica

DistortAMG said:
I genuinely believe that Varney and Co have created so many layers of abstraction within Merlin, what they think is happening and what is actually happening on a park level is totally different.
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I think you hit the nail on the head. Regardless of anybody's personal opinions of Merlin good or bad, what their senior team intend and what the reality actually is seems extremely different.

They can't be stupid, they just must be out of touch, or have created a situation where their policies are interpreted so haphazardly by subordinates that they manifest in the worst ways possible (due to the unmanageably fast growth and size of their company?)

Often youd think parks would be better off managing themselves when they have so many restrictive policies handed down from Merlin HQ

Either that or theyre so powerless thanks to the short-term demands of their shareholders, also a problem of their own making by going public. Not that the company were too different before then either
 
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I think it's a mixture of both to be fair. The high level is certainly a million miles away though from park level stuff that is for sure.

I wonder what Nick is actually doing there though? On an invited leisure trip? Stopping off after viewing some Merlin attractions in Europe maybe? Maybe even discussing potential purchases from Mack for Merlin and having a tour of the new construction at the same time. Who knows?!
 
DiogoJ42 said:
I genuinely believe that Varney and Co are so out of touch with reality, that they think Europa Park is a Merlin attraction. Roland and Co probably don't have the heart to correct someone that delusional, so they are humouring him and playing along.
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*points at Wodan*

"Ah, there's our world's first coaster from last year. Heard some reports of it being too small - obviously they must be mistaken"
 
Nick probably spent the meeting telling Roland how he was getting it all wrong.

‘Pffft you need to get yourself an IP mate, and without a world’s first this waterpark ain’t going nowhere. I take it the walls will just get covered in vinyls right? You’ll definitely not need to open this place past 4pm each day’

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Sam said:
Nothing gets past you!
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The irony being you only posted your sarcastic retort to make yourself sound mightily smarter.. again?

Its a bizarre photo for sure! But probably yes just people in the industry keeping a general awareness of big projects. Something which Merlin seemingly dont do a lot of, or at least Nick Varney speaks publicly like Merlin has their head in the sand towards what other parks are doing.

It's weird but nice to see they do talk!
 
Finally Nick's reaching out for help. Or Mack are buying out their parks? (I wish! ;))
NV: "We have a tropical waterpark like this. We want to expand it but it's boxed in as we didn't think about future expansion."
Roland: " Very orginal, hahaha... Oh wait you're serious? This is only phase one of Rulantica!"
NV: "We close Towers at 4pm and sell fastrack"
Roland: "Haha, only 4pm? We don't need to sell fastrack, we keep our queues moving. So what's your park maintenance programme like?"
NV: "We just finished a fantastical TLC program"
Roland: "What do you mean finished? You don't maintain your parks throughout every year hahaha?":D
NV: :oops:

I imagine the Mack's having a good laugh afterwards. "And then he told me they just built a new campsite on the carpark out of sheds! Hahahaha! :p
 
InPark Magazine have posted a really good article about Rulantica. Here are a few of the more interesting points I picked up on:
  • Krønasår acts as a sound barrier between Rulantica and Rust, and as Rulantica expands the Krønasår sound barrier can also expand
  • The next phase of Rulantica has already been approved by the council but they may add a wellness and spa area to Krønasår first depending on guest feedback
  • New attractions are planning every year, just like in Europa-Park
They also have some new construction photos:

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Just 5 months to go until Rulantica opens!
 
“I did not want to do a sunken city, but knowing that we had to include some element of water I thought we could integrate a ‘shipwreck beach’ concept…We did not want to go with a tropical or pirate theme as those have been done many times. So we created this mystical, hidden island of Rulantica located in Scandinavian waters.” - Chris Lange

I love the fact that they've stayed away from the predictable waterpark themes and have come up with one hell of a great concept - Snorri is adorably cute I must say!
 
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djtruefitt said:
In a bizarre turn of events Nick Varney and some Merlin lot have visited Rulantia today.

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Insert witty quotes now
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Varney: I have a lot of world's firsts, do you?

Roland: I own the one of the best theme parks in the world.

Varney: Oh...
 
A look at how the some of the slides in the second tower complex are progressing:

 
I assume the water will be heated eventually, so won't worry about that. 12'C may sound like bliss when you are suffering a heatwave, but being in water that cold will feel freezing! :D

What's with those metal bits at the side? Looks almost like it is so you can slide a gate in to them or something? Also looks like they will be VERY painfull to catch a toe in.

Clearly this is not safe and must be bulldozed right now will obviously be unrecognisable by the time it opens. ;)
 
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