It's Winter Time once again, and that can only mean one thing, the
Closed Season is upon us once again.
Plenty is going on in the park ready for the new season, with the
refurbishment of the Skyride, the Corkscrew's deconstruction and
general maintenance around the park
The most notable developments for the 2009 seasons however include the
demolition of the 3D Cinema tent ready for the park's new Sea
Life Centre, Sharkbait Reef in Mutiny Bay. And of course there's the
refurbishment of Cred Street , which will become Cloud Cuckoo Land ready
for the new season.
Meanwhile the Winter Season is underway over at the hotels. For more
information and photos of this, head over to the
Winter
Season page. The park also opened for the February Half
Term, for pictures check out the
event's gallery.
Welcome to the February Half Term.
Guests are greeted in the entrance plaza by the brand new water park
map.
Our first stop is Mutiny Bay, enjoying
it's first closed season....
...all is quiet in these waters as none
of Mutiny Bay rides are operating during the winter months...
... after all, Battle Galleons isn't
exactly the most appealing ride in the cold weather
Away from the battle Galleons the
pirates have clearly gone somewhere hot for Christmas as all is
peaceful.
The Flume is also closed during the cold
weather, as these pictures were being taken the queue line was in
the middle of being painted.
Talking of water rides, the rapids are
also closed during half term...
but where's all the water??
oh... there it is. A very full looking
Rapids storage lake,
but at least the crashed jeep is getting a bit of a wash.
But across the way big changes are afoot
as KFC and Pizza Hut have departed and the unit they once occupied
has started its transformation into a pizza and pasta bar for the
2009 season
A fence conceals the transformation of
the restaurant's outdoor seating area.
Oh, and in case you were wondering what
has happened to the rapids boats, this year they are back stage by
Duel
instead of their usual closed season storage.
The big news for the February Half term is that Nemesis, which was
originally part of the events line-up is instead receiving some TLC
ready for the new season. Here's a quick look at how its maintenance
is coming along.
But its not just Nemesis that's
currently offline in Forbidden Valley...
... Ripsaw is currently also under its
mid-winter wrapping.
And Refresh@Ripsaw is also currently
closed.
A first look at the 2009 Annual Pass
(and its prices)
While in Forbidden Valley, let's take a
look at the brand new Sky Ride carriages, which are currently being
installed.
And its not just the turn around
station, changes are taking place across the Sky Ride system.
Talking of new additions, what's that in
the car park? An aquarium van?? It can only mean one thing... time
for a Sharkbait Reef update. As you can see the logo has received
some modification on the original design posted on TowerTimes last
month, although the basic design remains the same.
Mean while on site, the area between the
Mutiny Bay Shoppe and Eastern Express has begun its radical
transformation ready for the new Sealife Centre...
But hold up... is that an advert for Sharkbait Reef in a board marked
Cred Street??
Surely you mean Cloud Cuckoo Land?
Let's have a look at how the new area is
coming along...
Starting with some fresh new paint
jobs...
Along with the first signs of the newly
rethemed Ug Swinger. Look carefully and you can just see the ride's
internal frame along side the toadstool that will be its operating
cabin.
Across the park another new feature has
appeared in the Farm toilets and baby changing rooms. We're not sure
when all this appeared, but here at TowersTimes we always love a
quirky feature in a toilet.
While X Sector is open for Half term,
only Oblivion is operating. Here you can see Submission and
Enterprise still closed for their Winter maintenance.
Little has changed at the Meltdown,
which is being refurbed over the closed season after the departure
of KFC and Pizza Hut. A fence at the back suggest the restaurant may
have an outdoor seating area in the new season.
From outside the park, as ever you can
see The Flume boats stored behind Duel, and if you look carefully in
the distance you can see piles of the old Congo River Rapids boats
as well.
A steady pile of old rides is appearing
in the car parks, with Sky Ride gondolas joining the Splash Kart
track.
Talking of old rides, to Ugland now
which these days has a dramatically different skyline....
Yes the Corkscrew has gone, as has the
Ug Swingers, leaving Ug Land quite
empty for the new season, with just Rita and a selection of shops,
restaurants
and sideshows left. No doubt soon construction walls will appear for
SW6
Meanwhile Scarefest 2009 adverts have
already appeared around park, featuring the park's spooky mascots
And finally, for all those fruit
juice enthusiasts out there, it looks like Tropicana's sponsorship
in the park has ended to be replaced by Minute Maid. Exciting
times!!
