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Thorpe Park 2017: DBGT: Rise of The Demon

Maybe they've got fed up of our moaning for years about themeless toilets so for 2016 they're going all out with £30 million themed toilets. Exciting!

Also more corrugated metal (roofing this time), in addition to the depressing look. Grr.

On some of the plans the project is also titled "Project Whitechapel", which also happens to be an ITV drama, although I doubt it would be that as it's not family friendly and generally unknown. But interesting nonetheless. No doubt this will be like The Swarm's codename so we aren't going to be able to work out much from it. Just wild guesses.
 
Whilst it's highly likely the concept art will be similar to the finished product (Merlin are a sucker for dilapidated theming), there is a chance it could simply be a placeholder; if an IP is involved then they'll likely hide as much as they can at this stage.

A Halo attraction could work, but like Cheese said the best possible coaster to theme to Halo would have been a wing rider, and Thorpe have that covered! A Halo attraction somewhere in the world is only a matter of time.
 
*prays that the concept tower will be replaced with the dilapidated statue of Master Chief from the latest Guardians teaser*
 
I think that it's important to note that the plaza area and associated theming are £3m of the rides costs. That's a lot of money to be spent just on the plaza. This is one big project!
 
Hm, well, that chucks my Halo theory out of the window then. Call of Duty is a very popular video game that suits the Thorpe demographic but I am not sure how they could get away with making a ride that glorifies war, seems like food for tabloid trolls. Those boarded up windows would suit a Nazi Zombies shoot up though hehe.

Realistically, I really have no clue whatsoever. Anyone in the know who can give us a teensy hint?
 
Tom.B said:
WC16? I assume the 16 means 2016, but WC? Toilets 2016?
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I think Futuroscope has a dark ride where you sit on toilets. Don’t know if it’s any good. But as DiogoJ42 said, project names often have very little to do with the finished project. It could be the initials of someone who’s involved with the project, or something like that.

With them reportedly spending £20 million they certainly have the budget to do something pretty good. If you’re cynical you’d say they’ve gone for a dark theme, because it won’t be so obvious when the theming starts to look tired if it’s poorly lit. Some of the existing dark rides are in a bit of a state if you see them with the houselights on, but it’s actually hard to tell when you ride them normally.

Having said that the ‘dark theme’ does fit Thorpe Park’s brand and the problem with a bright ride is that, unless it’s supposed to be set inside (like the Bubble Works) it’s very hard to disguise the fact you’ve got a roof over you. Most major dark rides have a dark theme of one sort or another. Harry Potter in itself doesn’t have to be dark, but on Forbidden Journey you’re chased by dementors. I’d say most of the better Disney dark rides have darker themes, although I am a bit of a sucker for A Small World, and Pooh’s Hunny Hunt in Tokyo gets good reviews. But Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion and Tower of Terror all have dark themes.

However, there are different kinds of dark themes. The abandoned warehouse theme is getting overdone.
 
I have no idea what the IP could be but it's not something I'm terribly excited about, not least because I expect it to be an IP that I either know little about or have no interest in. If I had to guess then I'd go for some sort of video game related IP.

This brings me on to the part of the attraction that does excite me somewhat: the ride itself. Merlin are spending a hell of a lot on this (rumoured to be £30 million). If that is true then it is a lot higher than any other single theme park project they have undertaken. It far exceeds the budger of Arthur at EP.

So with a budget like that there has to be something special about it. Chances are a lot of the money has gone on securing the IP. They'll also be a substatial amount on marketing. It's still going to leave a lot left. I can't imagine the theming to the exterior of the building will be costing tonnes. The bulk of the money will be going on the ride system and technology.

Merlin spending this amount of money on a dark ride will be seen somewhat as a risk from their point of view. That leads me to think whatever happens it will be an interactive dark ride, it just helps them guarantee success a little bit more. I also exepct it to be largely screen based with 3D/4D effects. Some form of ride putting you into the world of a video game fits with all of this to me and as far as I know it is not something that has been done in a ride before. Being put into a game is an interesting idea and one that could really work - it's something I expect to see more of at theme parks in years to come as economies of scale drive down some of the associated costs with these high-tech dark rides.

So there you go - worlds first "put IP here" dark ride/worlds first put yourself in a game ride.

Or it could be a huge maze made of shipping containters! :p

:)
 
Funcone said:
I think Futuroscope has a dark ride where you sit on toilets. Don’t know if it’s any good.
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Raving Rabbids ride, no idea either if it's any good though...

You know what's depressing on this thread? Seeing things like Halo or CoD thrown out there as potential themes... And these are pretty much taken from Thorpe's surveys if I recall correctly to boot...

You'd think after a successful brand in the Smiler Merlin would feel more confident in producing their own... Clearly it's much less effort to use someone else's though...
 
Merlin know with a rollercoaster they have a safety net for attracting guests, it's easier to sell, plus they always have a USP such as a world's first. The fact The Smiler brand was strong, interesting and caught guests' attention was just coincidence in the end and good work by Merlin Studios and the Marketing Director. I doubt it changed the big bosses mind frame of requiring a USP that is guaranteed on paper to get the guests and make them a profit.

Assuming this is a dark ride that uses hardware that already exists on the market there is no USP (that Merlin desire) to justify the investment, so an IP is the easy answer. On paper the IP will bring in the footfall they are aiming for, an in-house brand would be seen as too risky for this type of ride. It's clear with two years of IPs (Angry Birds/I'm a Celeb) this is the way Thorpe is heading, and for a dark ride an IP probably is the safer option (even though I love brands that are produced in-house).

Rob will probably be spot on and the ride will be "the world's first Halo gaming ride" or something like that.
 
Definitely something Victorian is coming...

CCEFJNYWAAAQR3L.jpg:large
 
I still reckon there's a good chance its Hunger Games. As its an IP well within Thorpe's reach, seeing as none of the films have been massive sell-out blockbusters. And with the final film being released just four months before the start of the 2016 season, it will be fresh in people's minds.

That bottle of perfume does looks like something you'd find in the capitol, or even as an ornament in Snow's mansion.
 
Merlin have filed two intriguing trademarks recently; 'Chronicles of London' was filed on the 23rd March and 'Automatons' was filed only a few days ago, on the 8th April. They have similar classifications to The Smiler's trademark, which would suggest that they are looking to use the names for attractions and merchandise.

Now there is obviously the suspicion that one of these will be the name of Thorpe's 2016 attraction, and with the codename of Project Whitechapel, 'Chronicles of London' could be seen to fit. Whereas 'Automatons' has a few extra classifications and is a name which could lend itself well to some sort of ride vehicle. However, Merlin have stated that there is new midway brand/attraction in the pipeline, so it is possible that either of these may be the name for that. It has also been established that Merlin have purchased the .co.uk and .com domains for 'chroniclesoflondon', which could be to set up a minisite for the 2016 attraction or a website for the midway attraction. Of course there's also the possibility that these names will be for attractions we aren't aware of yet, so we'll just have to wait and see...

At the moment this only add to the speculation, but neither of these trademarks seem to allude to an IP so we may be seeing an original concept next year. You'll be able to find details of the trademark applications on the 3rd page here.

Credit to Lewis for finding it
 
"Chronicles of London" doesn't exactly fit in with many IPs that I know. Will be interesting figuring out if it's related to Thorpe. Highly unlikely - the idea of Thorpe's dark ride next year being a historical journey through London sounds too good to be Merlin.

It could, potentially, be something related to the 'Spirit of London' in Madame Tussaud's. Maybe a replacement?
 
BenBowser said:
I still reckon there's a good chance its Hunger Games. As its an IP well within Thorpe's reach, seeing as none of the films have been massive sell-out blockbusters. And with the final film being released just four months before the start of the 2016 season, it will be fresh in people's minds.

That bottle of perfume does looks like something you'd find in the capitol, or even as an ornament in Snow's mansion.
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...but this IP has been snapped up for us in Dubai. http://www.mirror.co.uk/usvsth3m/theres-going-hunger-games-theme-5493196
 
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