The World of David Walliams: General Discussion

[swalesuk01]

The only ride we was the carrousel and boy how cheap was the work. The gold highlights just bleed into the purple, then if you look up into the canopy the holes for the poles look rough and didn't even paint the back of the top fascia boards.

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[Thameslink Rail]

And meanwhile Legoland unveil an incredibly ambitious new area in pristine condition with all the paint work done properly. David Walliams could have been so much better if Merlin were willing to spend money on actually making it look nice.

 

[Skyscraper]

The only ride we was the carrousel and boy how cheap was the work. The gold highlights just bleed into the purple, then if you look up into the canopy the holes for the poles look rough and didn't even paint the back of the top fascia boards.

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When I rode GG on Sunday we did spot some slightly unfinished walls in the RAP queue.

 

[AT86]

And meanwhile Legoland unveil an incredibly ambitious new area in pristine condition with all the paint work done properly. David Walliams could have been so much better if Merlin were willing to spend money on actually making it look nice.

You are comparing apples with oranges. The new area at Legoland is a high capex year investment, comparable with Wickerman in budget terms. TWODW is more in line with Dino Coaster or Black Mirror investment levels.

 

[Thameslink Rail]

You are comparing apples with oranges. The new area at Legoland is a high capex year investment, comparable with Wickerman in budget terms. TWODW is more in line with Dino Coaster or Black Mirror investment levels.

But why does that have to mean that everything looks cheap and rushed? Even in low investment years, Legoland are pretty good at making everything look good.

 

[ChristmasPud]

You are comparing apples with oranges. The new area at Legoland is a high capex year investment, comparable with Wickerman in budget terms.

Budget shouldnt have to make the difference between good and bad though. The budget just has to be suitable to what's needed, a small project should still be really good for what it is. Both are new family areas at the UK's biggest parks too, so really WoDW shouldnt have been such a small budget

 

[Steve74]

I give it 2 seasons until the wall paper is peeling off the walls, some curtain tassels get broken, paint is flaking off the picture frames and every bit of woodwork has "For Sex call Jaydon on 07........." etched into it.

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I often wonder why they don't install metal waist height railings in internal queue lines like Universal have done in some rides. It stops people leaning against the walls and also potentially vandalising it. I mean, look how good and untouched Th13teen's queue looks around the Tesla coil - as good as new because guests can't get to the wall to damage it. Of course it wouldn't stop wear and tear completely or vandalism for that matter, but it would help towards extending the life of the theming. ( from 8m06s for an example of the railings in a queue).

 

[Tim]

Budget shouldnt have to make the difference between good and bad though. The budget just has to be suitable to what's needed, a small project should still be really good for what it is. Both are new family areas at the UK's biggest parks too, so really WoDW shouldnt have been such a small budget

I feel the reason this problem exists is because marketing demands that every year be a major investment. Although we know Merlin work on a Low, Medium, High scale you'd never guess it based on how each year is advertised as "the next big thing"
So when the park has a Low investment year rather than adding a new flat or refreshing a few areas they are forced into building ambitious new attractions that stretch the budget beyond what it can reasonably deliver.

Legoland sort of get around this problem because:
A: They've been able to get more high capex investment.
B: On a medium capex year they can copy a major ride already installed at another park.
C: There are plenty of cheap kids rides that in any other park wouldn't be as easy to market.
D: New models can also be marketable.

 

[swalesuk01]

After going around I wish they just advertised Gangster Granny as new for this year. If your budget can't stretch to properly re theme the carousel and the frog hopper just do one this year.
Then next year use the capex to re theme the rest of the area then you could have advertise it as a whole new area. Almost a free second draw from the same basic ip
For me the area is just lacking so much, ranging from a proper food outlet to a decent shop. Then you have all the empty buildings and the disjoint of the planters trying to hide the driving school with no attempt to theme them.

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[Matt.GC]

I often wonder why they don't install metal waist height railings in internal queue lines like Universal have done in some rides. It stops people leaning against the walls and also potentially vandalising it. I mean, look how good and untouched Th13teen's queue looks around the Tesla coil - as good as new because guests can't get to the wall to damage it. Of course it wouldn't stop wear and tear completely or vandalism for that matter, but it would help towards extending the life of the theming. ( from 8m06s for an example of the railings in a queue).

You know what, I was thinking the exact same thing when I was in the Thirteen queue myself! Hex would be another example where the design doesn't lend itself to the temptation of someone damaging it. Contrast that the the Rita queue where there's so much graffiti. Oblivion has a fair bit in the building before the station (the grimmest bit of queue line at Towers in my opinion)

Vandalism and wear and tear is hard to combat but it can be limited. Unfortunately for GG, the hallways have to be thin due to the space but if this was wider they could have had a rail on either side to discourage this. I know Disney do this alot, the only vandalism I noticed in DLP was the incredibly thin bits of queue line for Peter Pan. There was some vandalism at Europa but again these were confined to thin queue lines but most of theirs are so fast moving you don't have time to etch a picture of a penis into the theming anyway.

Most other theme park operators have a better track record of theming repair and maintenance as well. I like the GG indoor queue line but if anyone wants to experience it properly I suspect this will be the last season to ever see it in this condition.

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[AstroDan]

The World of David Walliams

I experienced this new area for the first time yesterday. However interestingly, have not yet experienced the headline ride for the area: Gangsta Granny. This is because the queue was constantly 90 minutes or more, and I just couldn't bring myself to wait it out - not so much the physical time, but the fact it looked painfully slow moving.

As a consequence, my views on the area.

The area is a repaint of Cloud Cuckloo Land - nothing more, nothing less. There is no crafted physical theming to mention, it is principally bright colours, 2D cut outs and signs (aside from the entrance feature). Old theming from attractions such as Nickelodeon: Outta Control remains in situ and so too do some features from Land of Make Believe / Cred Street / Cloud Cuckoo Land. The Fandango is a fun support ride but, again, is generally just a plonked funfair ride with some disco balls, whilst the carousel and Frog Hopper re-dos are the bare minimum. The fact that Driving School is not part of the area is also confusing and ill-planned. The area's audio seems poor, and was not particularly audible.

I didn't find the area had much atmosphere at all. The lessons of Th13teen/Dark Forest seem not yet to have been learned, as Merlin put capex into the Gangsta Granny ride, but the area is left to the park to search down the back of the sofa for a few loose pennies.

Typical sort of half-job that we have come to see from Merlin Entertainments over the years but this area easily needs the same money spending on it again that they already have, to truly make it into a "world".

I look forward to experiencing the ride in due course, which I am looking forward to.

 

[MaxPower]

It's simply a continuation of the lowering standards that Merlin set for new attractions / areas.

The general public will accept it and enjoy it as the bar has been set so low in recent years, but for those of us who remember when the park was ambitious, it's just frustrating to see another opportunity to sort this area go to waste.

 

[AT86]

The positive side of the issue with TWODW is that it is highly unlikely that the area is ‘finished’ - unlike say Dark Forest which was a poor attempt at a retheme that was then just left for a decade, this area is very likely to see additions in some of the empty buildings soon, meaning there is a chance for additional theming pieces and updated facades.

The fact they won’t need planning permission and could start work inside either the theatre or Nick building from backstage areas very easily means they could crack on with additions relatively quickly.

 

[Poisson]

Gangsta Granny was enjoyable. I waited about 20 mins for it. Very reminiscent of your standard Merlin transport ride, Dungeons/Tussauds quality. The art style means they can get away with some 2D stuff. Wasn't mind blowing but decent. The queue however is dreadful and already falling apart. Drastic rethink required.


Rest of the area is a shambles and a disappointing step. I still feel with a real budget Towers could nail a decent area, look at Wicker Man for example. This ain't it though.

 

[Matt.GC]

GG itself, although not mind blowing, is decent enough. It's not as though the area would take much cash to sort out really. It has a strong IP, a 4d cinema, a fully functioning large indoor boat ride and plenty of empty buildings. It just needs some attention to detail and few quid. Sadly though, since the little it would have cost to at least make the area look half decent was not spent, it worries me that they think this standard is "good enough".

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[Kraken27]

Sadly though, since the little it would have cost to at least make the area look half decent was not spent, it worries me that they think this standard is "good enough".

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They'll just bring back their social media man... so it'll "be better than nothing".

 

[Matt N]

Random aside; I know that Gangsta Granny does stop a fair bit, but I’ll admit that I’m struggling to wrap my head around how they’ve managed to get so much ride duration out of what looked like a fairly short track layout. Does the ride just not move very far at all between scenes or something?

It actually looks to have a fair bit of track in the POVs I’ve seen, but the track layout looked very short in the plans during construction… I’m baffled as to how they’ve made GG a fairly long ride (must easily be 5-6 minutes?) out of that track layout.

 

[ChristmasPud]

it is highly unlikely that the area is ‘finished’ - unlike say Dark Forest which was a poor attempt at a retheme that was then just left for a decade

But thats exactly like Dark Forest, it was just a hasty repaint to excuse a new ride going in the area. There were vague intentions to 'finish' it later with flat rides and stuff but of course it was just left and the same risks happening with David Walliams. The only difference is the IP might motivate them to expand like CBeebies

 

[pluk]

You are comparing apples with oranges. The new area at Legoland is a high capex year investment, comparable with Wickerman in budget terms. TWODW is more in line with Dino Coaster or Black Mirror investment levels.

No, it's a comparison of guest experience with guest experience. The exact same thing. The customer does not and should not care what stage of the capex cycle this comes from.

Its advertised as a new world, but it very clearly isn't. AT knew their budget but have spread it so thin it gives a bad impression to the visitor. If they'd spent what they've spent on just opening DWs GG they could have done that properly, effectively had the same thing to market, and looked to expand into a world in the future.

 

[djtruefitt]

Random aside; I know that Gangsta Granny does stop a fair bit, but I’ll admit that I’m struggling to wrap my head around how they’ve managed to get so much ride duration out of what looked like a fairly short track layout. Does the ride just not move very far at all between scenes or something?

It actually looks to have a fair bit of track in the POVs I’ve seen, but the track layout looked very short in the plans during construction… I’m baffled as to how they’ve made GG a fairly long ride (must easily be 5-6 minutes?) out of that track layout.

It stops in each section for quite a bit, there’s very little movement between the scenes either, as it uses a lot of doors/shutters/curtains to separate the different rooms.