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2026: General Discussion

Although on the app

It states:
Runaway Mine Train
Monorail
And Skyride as down for opening

Could it be simply they were like this for last weekend and simply hidden on the app. Furthermore haven't been updated on the app for this weekend.
 
Hid said:
Although on the app

It states:
Runaway Mine Train
Monorail
And Skyride as down for opening

Could it be simply they were like this for last weekend and simply hidden on the app. Furthermore haven't been updated on the app for this weekend.
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It could be, but it's quite unlikely. Given that this is basically now how every season starts, I wouldn't be expecting to ride any of these if you're visiting this weekend.

Maybe the week after, if you're lucky.
 
Mick said:
I imagine the freedom of designing a brand new Universal theme park or some of the areas and attractions inside it slightly outweighs the attraction of spray painting some letters and numbers on the side of shipping containers.
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There may not be any more freedom in designing a new area at Universal compared to designing one at Chessington, Gardaland or Alton Towers.
 
jon81uk said:
There may not be any more freedom in designing a new area at Universal compared to designing one at Chessington, Gardaland or Alton Towers.
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True, freedom probably wasn’t the correct wording as I imagine Universal has to follow very prescriptive measures. A bigger company sometimes means more autonomy and less individual creativity.

I meant more along the lines of being able to showcase something of the quality of, say, Isle of Berk, and be like ‘I helped turn this into reality’ - compared to A World of David Walliams which had to be delivered to a shoestring!
 
Nerdsticks said:
Shame, as a fellow Level Four Guest ™, I was hoping for more meta references very subtly sprinkled across all Merlin parks.
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The interview that he did with The Guardian to promote Hyperia was the first time that I had ever heard of 'levels'; is this an industry-wide term, or just one that is specific to JB and/or Merlin?

I am probably a Level 0 or Level 1 (if not a negative 1) as I am mainly just interested in the ride hardware; if anything, some of the 'theming' actually makes the rides worse at times - such as the painfully loud laughter on The Smiler, and the unskippable - albeit entertaining - pre-show for Wicker Man.
 
KolonelKlink said:
Imagine pretty short odds on John having joined the Bedford brigade:


From: https://x.com/olibarnacle/status/2031755431220044193?s=46&t=OuG-53CJRHzzDVEPmDXGSg
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It seems that the tweet has been deleted, for some reason?

For what it's worth: I believe that Bradley Wynne helped to recruit John Burton into the Merlin creative team, and Bradley joined Universal a few months ago*, and so it's not inconceivable that Bradley might help to bring John Burton into Universal as well (although - as others have pointed out - John Burton also has connections to Bianca Sammut in the UAE as well).

The only caveat is that Bradley Wynne is apparently the Creative Director, and thus John Burton would presumably be taking a demotion from his current position in Merlin if he were to join Universal?

Also: Universal may be different from Merlin in that I assume that many of the ideas come directly from the corporate overlords in America, and so I'm not sure how much input the British branch has? But maybe I am wrong.

If JB has in fact left Merlin then I wonder if they will remove the hi-viz footage of him from the Hyperia queue-line videos? I don't think they would go so far as to remove all other written references to him from the rides, though, although you never know.

*Bradley left Merlin around 2018 and so he wasn't directly poached by Universal (I think he left in part because there were no major projects on the horizon after Wicker Man, as Hyperia was still a long way away)
 
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desperately flailing around to add value to the platinum pass.

All I can foresee is all the peasant main gate-runners filling up the normal Nemesis queue while platinum pass holders saunter in and use their one-shot to choke up the fastpass queue before the rides even open
 
Or that's the Monorail closed for the season. Keep the highest price pass holders happy and the rest of us can walk it to the entrance.
 
idleross said:
On that note - How / Where do platinum pass holders get their one shot fast-tracks?
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Apparently you get your pass scanned at the fast track queue of the ride you want. Obviously not tested that yet but it was on something, FB possibly.

On another note, this change has almost convinced me to buy @Chimpy a platinum pass instead of an essential - my original cunning plan was to save money however if we're now able to use different gates that makes the logistics are bit more of a factor. I can't see her being thrilled to walk on her own to the main entrance, and then hang about whilst I use my free fast track - no matter how amusing I find that idea. Which makes me wonder if there is method in merlins madness
 
I think Monorail needed a complete overhaul and I hope that's what it is getting all 8 Trains, refurbed track all repainted and stations refurbed
 
Alfredo said:
Corkscrew has green supports now
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It does indeed;


From: https://x.com/TowersStreet/status/2032493523212136452?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet


From TS Facebook

idleross said:
On that note - How / Where do platinum pass holders get their one shot fast-tracks?
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As @Alix has said, you just scan your pass at the Fastrack entrance of your chosen ride. The MAP website has been updated with the new process.

Free fastrack

www.merlinannualpass.co.uk www.merlinannualpass.co.uk
 
Skyscraper said:
It has been announced that from this weekend, Platinum MAP holders can enter the park via the Galactica Gate for the rest of the year. Interestingly, the gate will open from 9:30, instead of the previous time of 9 am.


From: https://x.com/i/status/2032396386751393965
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As do the main turnstiles and the monorail (when operating):

From: https://x.com/RobertTheGM/status/2032471419964051814?s=20

(taken from the website https://www.altontowers.com/plan-your-visit/before-you-visit/opening-times/)
 
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