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Thorpe Park: General Discussion

LordOfDarkness said:
Wonder what the legality is for an outside company to retrack a ride where the original manufacturer still exists?

I thought track designs were patented etc.
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If it Taziker one of the business development pushes they had on was to support existing manufacturers. One of their pitches was to fabricate locally to help out.
 
LordOfDarkness said:
Wonder what the legality is for an outside company to retrack a ride where the original manufacturer still exists?

I thought track designs were patented etc.
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Unless there's something about the track design itself that's patented (like X2 track is), there are no issues. The park have purchased the ride, it's theirs to do what they please with. Obviously it would effect any warranty if one were remaining, and possibly any future costs if they wanted Intamin to work on it again one day, so I'm sure its carefully considered .
 
Danny said:
In all fairness, GG was initially destined to be shipped overseas to the US. It made financial sense to allocate it to Towers when that fell through rather than building something from scratch when they already had a ride system created.
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And a source for this information?
 
JAperson said:
And a source for this information?
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There are politer ways of putting this question I think but anyway...

It's sometimes difficult to quote a source when the information is gained from someone working within the group rather than somewhere public. As mentioned before, there's a lot of people who have links to the industry in here and share information as and when they feel able to. Whether readers choose to believe that information or not is another matter, that comes with how long a member has been on the forum and whether the information they've previously said turns out to be true or repeatedly turns out to just be a load of rubbish. Danny is a seasoned poster though and I can back up that what he's saying is true.

Anyway, back to Thorpe discussion please :)
 
Craig said:
There are politer ways of putting this question I think but anyway...
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Admittedly you are correct, I should've phrased it in a politer fashion, for which I apologise @Danny
Craig said:
Danny is a seasoned poster though and I can back up that what he's saying is true.
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This does reassure me of the truth of the statement.
My apologies again, I only meant to ask a question as to where the source was gained from as it's an interesting piece of information.
 
There are rumours swirling that DBGT may be on its way out... construction walls were up in the shop on the last day of the 2022 season according to Theme Park Guide, and there were construction materials, as well as old bits of theming, behind these walls: https://themeparkguide.co.uk/news-page/End-Of-The-Line-For-Derren-Browns-Ghost-Train

Some of the theming in the shop was also draped in tarpaulin.

Could the end of the line be nigh for DBGT, in its current form at least?

I'm not sure, personally. Given it was a £30m investment, I imagine they'd want to get at least a decade or two of shelf life out of it, so I'd be surprised to see them shut it after 6 years.
 
Matt N said:
There are rumours swirling that DBGT may be on its way out... construction walls were up in the shop on the last day of the 2022 season according to Theme Park Guide, and there were construction materials, as well as old bits of theming, behind these walls: https://themeparkguide.co.uk/news-page/End-Of-The-Line-For-Derren-Browns-Ghost-Train

Could the end of the line be nigh for DBGT?

I'm not sure, personally. Given it was a £30m investment, I imagine they'd want to get at least a decade or two of shelf life out of it, so I'd be surprised to see them shut it after 6 years.
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A £30 million disaster more like that makes the Smiler investment look good for the fact it actually works when it has too for the most part, and I'll say this again but DBGT is perhaps Merlin's most expensive mistake and something that many who planned it all look back on with embarrassment.
 
Matt N said:
There are rumours swirling that DBGT may be on its way out... construction walls were up in the shop on the last day of the 2022 season according to Theme Park Guide, and there were construction materials, as well as old bits of theming, behind these walls: https://themeparkguide.co.uk/news-page/End-Of-The-Line-For-Derren-Browns-Ghost-Train

Some of the theming in the shop was also draped in tarpaulin.

Could the end of the line be nigh for DBGT, in its current form at least?

I'm not sure, personally. Given it was a £30m investment, I imagine they'd want to get at least a decade or two of shelf life out of it, so I'd be surprised to see them shut it after 6 years.
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Although I would love DBGT to leave, I think it is unlikely considering the money Thorpe has put in to the attraction.
 
John_P said:
I've heard they'll be rebranding it to a different clairvoyant and a transport system that more reflects modern Britain.

Clinton Baptistes Spooky Rail Replacement Bus Service.
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Would probably be superior to what we have now!
 
Matt.GC said:
£30m? That's never been verified.
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For what it’s worth, Thorpe did proclaim it to be “[their] most expensive investment ever”, which would make it at least £18m.

£30m was never officially verified, but that’s the rough budget ballpark where most inside sources seemed to point to.
 
It's likely a bit of a stretch to equate a bit of work to being given the chop but we will see.

You would assume it would SBNO for some time before being ripped out.
 
Tbh, even now its a money eater with staff costs, expensive computer / VR replacements needed regularly.

Yes it cost allot to build but is the current upkeep cost worth what it is delivering or better to wipe the slate clean….

I cant think of a single attraction rebrand that would be useful for the transit system other than say a fright nights attraction …… escape the apocalypse
 
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