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Thorpe Park: General Discussion
- Thread starter Ted
- Start date
RicketyCricket
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Taron
Throughput wise a B&M Hyper would be amazing. They would literally never run it on 3 trains though.
Yeah I've heard this - but as mentioned, one of the world's busiest airport is very close, so not sure how realistic it would actually be.
Yeah I've heard this - but as mentioned, one of the world's busiest airport is very close, so not sure how realistic it would actually be.
Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Mako (SeaWorld Orlando)
Would Thorpe get away with a taller ride than Stealth if they put an aircraft beacon on top of it? I'd personally love a B&M hyper at Thorpe, and I would actually prefer one to an RMC. I know that sounds very strange, but my reason for wanting a B&M hyper more is because Thorpe is probably the only park in the UK that could realistically put one in until London Resort opens, as most of the country's other parks either don't have the money, don't have the space or have tight planning restrictions. Whereas there are quite a few parks that could install an RMC if they thought far enough outside the box; Alton, Blackpool, maybe even a mid-level park like Drayton Manor or Flamingo Land!
RicketyCricket
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Taron
The tallest building in Canary Wharf is around 800ft, and that's only 3 miles away from London City Airport ... So I guess there are ways around it. Obviously it's not that simple though.
That's a very good point actually, Thorpe is definitely the only place that could fit one. Stilly though Thorpe isn't exactly huge, and the surrounding water makes it more tricky to build. The cost of filling in parts of the lake to accomdate a hyper would significantly add to the overall cost of the coaster.
DiogoJ42
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- The Metropolitan Line
LYC is a rather unusual airport. The glide slope in to the runway is considerably steeper than most, because of the tall buildings. Coupled with the short runway, only a very small selection of aircraft are actually allowed to land there.
Heathrow, on the other hand..... Well let's just say the A380 is not known for it's STOL capabilities.
Heathrow, on the other hand..... Well let's just say the A380 is not known for it's STOL capabilities.
Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Mako (SeaWorld Orlando)
Ah right. Thanks guys! So Thorpe could possibly exceed Stealth's height in 2020, but it would be quite hard; is that what you're basically saying?
Out of interest, when do you guys see planning permission being submitted for Project 2020? For reference, I think DBGT's planning application was filed in around September/October 2014 and Swarm's was filed in around February 2011. However, the rumours about what ride type Project 2020 will be seem to indicate that it will be quite a bit larger than both Swarm and DBGT, so part of me thinks that we may see an application very soon...
Out of interest, when do you guys see planning permission being submitted for Project 2020? For reference, I think DBGT's planning application was filed in around September/October 2014 and Swarm's was filed in around February 2011. However, the rumours about what ride type Project 2020 will be seem to indicate that it will be quite a bit larger than both Swarm and DBGT, so part of me thinks that we may see an application very soon...
The flight path doesn't go over Thorpe, it goes around the east boundary if the pilots are following the rules, also they should be at least 1000 foot whilst over Thorpe because it's in a built up area, planes are big and are deceptive in their height, it would be different if it was a small local airfield with cesnars coming in and out, then the height might be an issue, but it's not really, the flight ceiling for drones is 400 foot in that area, so if an A380 is flying over Thorpe at that height, nicking the top of a Rollercoaster is going to be the least of its worries because it's probably a few seconds away from crashing.
I think the height limit is more to do with local residents not wanting a Rollercoaster in their skyline, which is also why the top of Stealth is painted the color it is.
I think the height limit is more to do with local residents not wanting a Rollercoaster in their skyline, which is also why the top of Stealth is painted the color it is.
Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Mako (SeaWorld Orlando)
Not sure whether this has been mentioned, but Alton Towers' baggage hold removals have clearly been a success profits-wise, as according to multiple members on TTSP Forum, The Swarm's baggage hold has now disappeared and has been replaced with baggage cages on the platform.
I do personally prefer the baggage hold to the baggage cages as a system, so I am a little disappointed at this decision, but if it's what needs to happen to fund Thorpe's next big thing, then that's fine by me! Besides, baggage cages don't seem to have impacted dispatch times on Thirteen and The Smiler at all, so I'm sure it will be just fine and I'll like the baggage cages just as much as the baggage holds!
I do personally prefer the baggage hold to the baggage cages as a system, so I am a little disappointed at this decision, but if it's what needs to happen to fund Thorpe's next big thing, then that's fine by me! Besides, baggage cages don't seem to have impacted dispatch times on Thirteen and The Smiler at all, so I'm sure it will be just fine and I'll like the baggage cages just as much as the baggage holds!
Poopoohead
TS Member
What? Thirteen has been utterly abysmal this season, smiler only slightly better
zerogravity
TS Member
Yea the swarm will be ok without baggage hold being a wing coaster. Its when punters have to walk past their seat to the cages, adding to the faf in the station which causes longer loading. Admittedly staff do tend to help when they can but shouldn't be expected.
Smiler being a prime example
Smiler being a prime example
SirDossa
TS Member
Dragged a non-enthusiast pal to Thorpe Park yesterday. It’s worth noting that the last time he visited Thorpe Park, the Flying Fish was the only coaster on park so he was rather shocked when we pulled up in the car park to see the skyline of Stealth and the Swarm!
Great day on the park, and we did everything apart from Colossus (ten inversions being one too many given the sore heads as a result of one too many San Miguel’s the night before) and Derren Brown’s Ghost Train (only ride with a queue all day which never dropped below an hour, and having been on it before, I wasn’t willing to wait this long).
Operations were great with all the major coasters having two train ops despite being walk on. Stealth has overtaken the Swarm as my favourite ride on park, I had forgotten just how forceful and intense it is. We had a very enjoyable ride on Saw too although I definitely noticed that it has got rougher over the years. Gave the Walking dead the ride a go, and wasn’t impressed at all. The theming inside is virtually non-existent, and the ride layout remains uninspiring to say the least.
Lots of scare actors around the park which was good to see although we didn’t hang around for any of the mazes or night time riding as we had done everything we had wanted to do and were keen to escape before the rush hour!
All in all, a great day was had with no rides experiencing any downtime and operations were way better than on previous trips.
Great day on the park, and we did everything apart from Colossus (ten inversions being one too many given the sore heads as a result of one too many San Miguel’s the night before) and Derren Brown’s Ghost Train (only ride with a queue all day which never dropped below an hour, and having been on it before, I wasn’t willing to wait this long).
Operations were great with all the major coasters having two train ops despite being walk on. Stealth has overtaken the Swarm as my favourite ride on park, I had forgotten just how forceful and intense it is. We had a very enjoyable ride on Saw too although I definitely noticed that it has got rougher over the years. Gave the Walking dead the ride a go, and wasn’t impressed at all. The theming inside is virtually non-existent, and the ride layout remains uninspiring to say the least.
Lots of scare actors around the park which was good to see although we didn’t hang around for any of the mazes or night time riding as we had done everything we had wanted to do and were keen to escape before the rush hour!
All in all, a great day was had with no rides experiencing any downtime and operations were way better than on previous trips.
SirDossa
TS Member
Haha it certainly was great compared to my last trip. I have no doubt that this was because it was a random quiet Thursday as opposed to a weekend, but I was impressed to see all rides running and all the coasters on two trains!
It was fun seeing my friend's reaction to some of the rides as well, especially 'Rush' which out of everything we went on seemed to be the one ride which left him feeling a tad worse for wear
It was fun seeing my friend's reaction to some of the rides as well, especially 'Rush' which out of everything we went on seemed to be the one ride which left him feeling a tad worse for wear
Benjsh
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
I don't get down there all that much anymore tbh, being from Manchester.
However what i will say about the place is for all the good ride hardware they do have there.......I always seem to leave the place feeling slightly underwhelmed. Saw & Colossus are borderline un-rideable for me now or at least they were on my last visit. Way too rough. Slammer going was sad to see as it was one of only a few flat rides anywhere in the world that I rather enjoyed. Rush, another I like, seems to be pathetic compared to what it once was too.
I have lost all faith in Thorpe. Darren Brown's FARCE train was the final straw for me. Absolutely makes me cringe knowing how much that cost them and there's dark rides that were made 20 years ago and for a fraction of the cost that are miles better.
Laura91
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Storm in a teacup
Was on park yesterday and have to agree there were minimum queues all day. Managed all the coasters in the first hour, containment and multiple run throughs of all the mazes and rerides throughout the afternoon.
I wasn’t impressed with the mazes they were all quite predictable and lacked major scares. The actors were fantastic though, especially in containment.
Did note there was no shop scene in Derren Brown which was walk on by about 8pm.
I wasn’t impressed with the mazes they were all quite predictable and lacked major scares. The actors were fantastic though, especially in containment.
Did note there was no shop scene in Derren Brown which was walk on by about 8pm.
SirDossa
TS Member
Yes, I do agree with your above points. I've only been on the ghost train once, and came off thoroughly disappointed. It didn't help that it kept breaking down whilst in the queue which ended up being over two hours. This was a few years ago now mind, and I was keen to get on it yesterday and experience the changes that have since been made to it, but was not willing to wait over an hour for it. With regards to Saw, I defs found it rougher yesterday than previous rides on it, but it wasn't too bad!
I would not ever go there again on a peak day. The last time I went prior to yesterday's trip was on a Saturday on the run up to Halloween a few years ago, and I found myself at Westfield with the missus come lunchtime. (Yes, it was really that bad!).
