AN enormous indoor adventure park, fitted with inflatable obstacle courses and thrilling activities, has shut down with immediate effect.
The family-friendly attraction has been a hit with the community for over six years, welcoming 400,000 visitors during that time.
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Ultimate Warriors adventure park in Gloucester has plunged into administrationCredit: Ultimate WarriorsThe site, fitted with obstacle courses, was enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of visitorsCredit: Ultimate Warriors
Ultimate Warriors, formerly Ninja Warrior UK, in Gloucester, shut down earlier this month.
This comes after the adventure park was plunged into administration, only a year after leaving the national Ninja Warrior group.
Ultimate Warriors hoped to sell the business, exploring every option to remain open.
Following a sale falling through last minute, they had no option but to close, nearly seven years after it opened in October 2019.
Only recently, Ultimate Warriors had refreshed its equipment and activities, running independently as a family-run business.
Ultimate Warriors Gloucester said on Facebook: “After six and a half wonderful years, it is with great sadness that we announce Ultimate Warriors has entered administration and has closed its doors.
“We explored every possible option to keep our much-loved venue open. Unfortunately, despite strong interest, we are devastated to have a sale fall through at the last minute.
“As a small business, we simply do not have the financial reserves to continue operating in such uncertain economic conditions, even with the incredible support and feedback we have received from our guests over the years.”
Ultimate Warriors was formerly part of the Ninja Warrior UK franchise, which owns 16 adventure parks across the UK, all based on the hit ITV show.
Similar to the Ninja Warrior UK set up, Ultimate Warriors in Gloucester had a variety of activities, including monkey bars, slides and climbing walls.
Now, the Ultimate Warriors team is supporting its staff get new jobs, including reaching out to Airhop Gloucester to possibly accommodate them.
Ultimate Warriors Gloucester said: “To everyone who visited us, celebrated with us, worked with us, or supported us along the way – thank you. Your support, loyalty, and memories will stay with us forever.”
What do we have here? Some of my very favorite actors — Alfred Molina, Alfre Woodard, Clarke Peters and Geena Davis — starring in an eight-episode, B-grade sci-fi comedy-drama, “The Boroughs,” now streaming on Netflix.
Molina plays Sam Cooper, a retired engineer — that will be important — being brought grumbling to the Boroughs, a posh, city-sized retirement community plopped down in the middle of the Southwestern desert. Sam’s late wife, Lily (Jane Kaczmarek, in flashbacks and dreams), had planned the move, but she died suddenly, while they were dancing to Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road,” which will become a kind of trigger and motif going forth. Still, fate — in the form of daughter Claire (Jena Malone) and son-in-law Neil (Rafael Casal) — has pushed him solo to the Boroughs and a house on a cul-de-sac. (Seen from above, the town is laid out in a series of concentric circles, as EPCOT was meant to be when Walt Disney was alive and it stood for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. That has no relation to this show; I’m just throwing it out to the fans.)
Before this happens, however, we get a preamble. Is that Dee Wallace, the mother from “E.T.: The Extraterrestrial,” as Grace, a former occupant of Sam’s new home? (Why, yes it is.) Grabbed one night by something clearly not human, she’ll leave the show before the first credit rolls; but we’ll know from the start that there’s a monster on the loose. And even before Sam has settled in, he’ll be attacked by her now-widowed husband, Edward (Ed Begley Jr.), who has escaped to his old house from the Manor — a memory care unit more reminiscent of something out of “Squid Game” than anywhere you’d want to park a beloved fading parent — muttering “The key is in the light, the owl is in the wall,” and thereby turning Sam detective.
The joint is run by young Blaine Shaw (Seth Numrich), who supposedly took it over from his father, who took it over from his father before him, with Hollywood-blond wife Anneliese (Alice Kremelberg) by his side. (It is perhaps no accident that we’re also served a background clip from “Double Indemnity,” featuring a blond Barbara Stanwyck.) They radiate a kind of vampiric smoothness, and it will take you no longer to realize that something’s up with these two than it takes to say “Something’s up with these two.”
Mired in grief, Sam is initially reluctant to interact with his new neighbors, until former weatherman Jack (Bill Pullman) breaks down his defenses. Judy Daniels (Woodard) used to be a reporter, her husband Art (Peters) is a pot-smoking old hippie who pretends to go golfing but heads off to a ghost town where he grows mushrooms, “searching for proof that there’s more to life than just knockin’ about and hangin’ out.” Wally Baker (Denis O’Hare) used to be a doctor, but now needs one. (It’s cancer, and terminal, though it doesn’t show.) They have complicated relationships, but there’s nothing better for ironing things out than creeping together through dark tunnels by flashlight, hoping that nothing jumps out at you, engaging in weightless banter as you go.
Davis plays Renee Joyce, a former music manager who came to the Boroughs to stay with her mother after Renee’s husband stole her money, and stuck around; I think she’s meant to be younger than the rest, but if you want to look up Davis’ age, I will wait here while you gasp in astonishment. She’ll hook up with friendly young security guard Paz Navarro (Carlos Miranda); he played drums in a band once, and they were both at Glastonbury in 2010 and love Barbra Streisand. (What are the odds?) He’ll have a lot to do when a Scooby Gang — that old, invaluable, incredibly satisfying trope — finally comes together.
The series was created by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, who were co-writers on the 2018 Henson Co. puppet epic “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance,” from which they have imported a central plot device regarding vital essences and a magical matriarchal figure. (Called “Mother” there and here.) Their 2020 dying girlfriend film “Life in a Year,” directed by Mitja Okorn, has some thematic mirroring here, as well — death hovers over the story — and it seems probable that somewhere in the series’ gestation, they discussed Ron Howard’s 1985 science-fiction flick “Cocoon,” with its retirement home setting and senior-citizen heroes.
Sewn together from these and other scraps of previous paranormal adventure stories, “The Boroughs” is almost entirely predictable — not a criticism, in this context, since surprises in such a story are liable to bring bad news, and our affection for its heroes ought not to be sacrificed in the name of dramatic effect. That is not the kind of sacrifice the age needs, and this is not that kind of series. Nor is B-grade a pejorative, but rather an honorable tradition, especially when it comes to sci-fi and horror. (We’ll get a glimpse of Roger Corman’s original “Little Shop of Horrors” playing on a TV — cathode ray, of course.) Once you get on its wavering wavelength — sentimental, sincere, sweet, a little silly, not overly concerned with making perfect sense — and realize the show is not out to hurt you, it’s a very enjoyable watch.
THE bus swings round the hairpin bend with ease, climbing higher and higher into the clouds.
I’m grateful for the driver’s skill as the winding trip eventually takes us clear of the tree line to reveal Switzerland’s breathtaking scenery below.
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The Swiss Alps are an adventurers playgroundTake the cable car to soak up the stunning viewsCredit: R.THOMMEN
The Laax Alp Nagens bus stop is a dizzying 2,263 metres above sea level — and the scenery gets more and more beautiful as we then hike along the mountains, which sit in the Sardona Tectonic Arena.
The Arena is an impressive natural geological phenomenon in the Swiss Alps, where tectonic movement has resulted in rocks up to 300million years old being pushed up above younger rock formed a mere 35 to 50million years ago.
It has been absurdly easy to get up here thanks to Switzerland’s world-class public transport.
Buses are a great way to get around but make sure you have some cash as you often have to buy a ticket on board.
I’ve only got four days here in Laax, but that’s more than enough to get swept up in the magic of the Swiss Alps in spring.
While the snow still clings to the mountain peaks, along the valley floor below it the scenery turns from white to neon bright green, as the grass returns and trees and flowers burst into life.
Luckily, if your legs get tired on a hike, there are plenty of cable cars to get you back down to your accommodation. For me, that’s Laax’s Rocks Resort.
It’s an adventurer’s playground — ideal for families, thrill-seekers or anyone who just wants to fill their lungs with mountain air.
More a mini village than a resort, it boasts everything from the world’s longest treetop walk (1.56km) to skate parks, trampolines, basketball courts, swimming pools and more hiking and biking trails than you could ever tick off in one trip.
The hotel rooms are comfortable yet chic — and have a perfect view of the sprawling forest next door.
Relax by the sparkling lakeCredit: Unknown
If you are travelling with family there’s comfortable one, two and three-bedroom apartments.
My room has the perfect view of the 30metre-drop bungee jump — and I perch myself on the window seat to read my book and watch kids and parents alike plunge off the ledge.
The room also gives me a great view of the 220-metre zipline over the skatepark and snake run.
But after a busy day of adventures through the forest, I’m starving.
Luckily, there’s nine restaurants and two coffee shops to choose from, as well as six bars and lounges.
Take your pick from Italian at the Ristorante Camino or spectacular vegetarian options at the Riders Restaurant.
From beetroot wine to local Swiss delicacies, this is a must-visit spot to chow down at.
Also on offer are Asian specialities at Ikigai, Swiss treats such as rosti potatoes at Tegia Larnags — and of course cheese fondue, at Casa Veglia.
You don’t need to look far for ways to work off all those calories though.
On a particularly gorgeous morning, we hire electric mountain bikes to explore the surrounding trails.
They snake through forests, over meadows and along ridges, each turn revealing another gasp-worthy vista.
The e-bike makes the uphill sections a breeze, while the downhills are fast and glorious.
Two hours in, we roll up to Lake Cauma — a jewel-toned lake so startlingly blue it feels almost artificial.
We refuel lakeside with a rich Toblerone mousse from Ustria La Cauma restaurant, with its terrace perched above the water.
Food, it turns out, is as much a part of the journey round these parts as the scenery. Menus are hyper-seasonal and full of heart.
And old traditions are not forgotten. As spring turns to summer, local farmers take their cows up to the high pastures, the cattle decorated with flower crowns and large bells.
And come the winter, for those who are keen on skiing and snowboarding, this resort will become the place to be — a perfect spot for spending a day on the slopes before scoffing down hot cheese fondue in the evening.
I will certainly be back.
GO: Swiss Alps
GETTING THERE: Swiss, British Airways and easyJet airlines all fly to Zurich, with flights out of London every day of the week (multiple times a day).
It’s then two trains and a bus to Laax, taking about 2.5 hours in total.
STAYING THERE: Rooms at the Rocks Resort, Laax, are priced from £170pppn, including breakfast and wifi.
Don’t worry if your Hogwarts acceptance letter got lost in the mail — a new “Harry Potter” experience will soon let you hop aboard the Hogwarts Express anyway.
Harry Potter: A Hogwarts Express Adventure will open at the Southern California Railway Museum this summer for guests to experience the Wizarding World rite of passage aboard a real moving train in the Inland Empire. The experience will run from July 24 through Sept. 27. Yes, that includes Back to Hogwarts Day on Sept. 1.
A Hogwarts Express Adventure will include a Platform 9¾-themed preboarding experience as well as House competitions and chants, spell-casting challenges and other interactive activities aboard the train. Guests will also be able to grab some themed treats from the trolley. The train ride will end at a Hogsmeade-inspired village where more food, beverages and merchandise will be available.
The Rail Events Inc. press release also teases a possible encounter with “a dark and mysterious force.” The company, also known for the Polar Express Train Ride, developed A Hogwarts Express Adventure along with Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences.
This is a big year for “Harry Potter” fans. “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” a new television series based on author J.K. Rowling’s popular book series, is set to debut on HBO Max on Christmas Day. The show will introduce audiences to a new Golden Trio, portrayed by Dominic McLaughlin (Harry Potter), Alastair Stout (Ron Weasley) and Arabella Stanton (Hermione Granger), as they embark on their Hogwarts journey. (Rowling remains controversial for her views on trans women.)
Ticket sales for A Hogwarts Express Adventure will begin April 28, with prices starting at $77 for adults and $67 for children ages 2 to 11, depending on departure time.
