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Thorpe Park: General Discussion

GooseOnTheLoose said:
Comparing the popularity of two decaying concrete troughs is akin to debating which bin smells better on a hot day.

It is a race to the bottom of the drain, and frankly, I have seen paint dry with more urgency than either of them flow.
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Congo River Rapids is at least landscaped great. And has good interaction with Runaway Mine Train. Rumba is plain boring to be honest and Congo can get you wet
 
Whilst an Intamin Blitz would be spectacular and would really offer Thorpe Park something incredible

Thorpe Park have a fantastic opportunity to build the UK's tallest, fastest and even longest wooden rollercoaster on the site of Rumba Rapids. Considering that Megafobia has closed, the records are lower and I'd imagine a 25m and 50mph coaster could do it.

With a woodie, Thorpe Park would have a coaster with no inversions, offers something thrilling for smaller guests (1.2m), also for those who may be intimidated by larger coasters and for the RCDB, have a "Thrill" scale coaster which they don't currently have (I know "Thrill" on RCDB typically cover Family Thrill).

Both a record breaking woodie and a world class Intamin Blitz are realistic options I'd imagine. Let's wait and see what the planning application shows (come on Thorpe, let's get that consultation happening)
 
TBH the only reason Thorpe shouldn't get a wooden coaster would be if they were planning one for Chessington instead - Wicker Man has proved the enduring popularity of a GCI in the UK

Rumba is pretty rubbish but at least it rarely gets (got?) a long queue, unlike CRR. In recent years I've been more likely to ride Rumba out of the two as I'd rather wait 5 minutes for a bad rapids than 30+ for a mediocre one.
 
John said:
TBH the only reason Thorpe shouldn't get a wooden coaster would be if they were planning one for Chessington instead - Wicker Man has proved the enduring popularity of a GCI in the UK

Rumba is pretty rubbish but at least it rarely gets (got?) a long queue, unlike CRR. In recent years I've been more likely to ride Rumba out of the two as I'd rather wait 5 minutes for a bad rapids than 30+ for a mediocre one.
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I'd be sceptical that Chessington are considering their next coaster post-Minecraft that soon

Although considering wooden rollercoasters, there wouldn't be a reason why Chessington and Thorpe couldn't have one each as they'd serve different markets. One could be for the families (like the Gravity Group ones) and one could be the more thrilling and possibly UK record breaking type i.e. Megafobia, Wodan, Troy
 
owenstreet7 said:
I'd be sceptical that Chessington are considering their next coaster post-Minecraft that soon

Although considering wooden rollercoasters, there wouldn't be a reason why Chessington and Thorpe couldn't have one each as they'd serve different markets. One could be for the families (like the Gravity Group ones) and one could be the more thrilling and possibly UK record breaking type i.e. Megafobia, Wodan, Troy
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I wonder if noise would be more of an issue at Chessington due to local residents (and of course the animal residents) compared to Thorpe.

And a lack of space. Chessington should focus on their Vampire Vekoma Flyer rebuild ;)
 
Believe the rapids site would be difficult to do anything quite noisy because it’s the closest spot to Thorpe Village and currently not much in the way to block sound. Apparently the Hyperia/Loggers leap location is the least troublesome. Room for another coaster between Saw/Hyperia in due course?

Although they got permission for Stealth/Inferno not too far from the rapids so must be a possibility, but can’t see a loud wooden coaster getting through easily. Might be better for a dark ride (they won’t after GT though right?).

For me they need a modern multi-launch coaster. If they went for a Mack spinner would that fill the right gap?
 
Skyscraper said:
The trains would have to be redesigned or modified though, as I don't think the restraints meet the UK safety standards or something.
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I don't think that's ever been confirmed but is something that could easily be resolved if it is true.

I believe that it is unlikely considering that Merlin haven't worked with Vekoma (RMC's European Seller) in a very long time.

One thing to point towards would be why Minifigure Speedway is made by Zierer and not Vekoma who are established in manufacturing Family Boomerangs.

With Hyperia's design, it is possible RMC may have pitched a design for Hyperia before going with Mack.

Alfredo said:
Thorpe should have a major 1.2m coaster, X used to fit this but it got rethemed
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X had a 1m height requirement during that time it was themed to X and was forwards facing.

Definitely think this is the gap Thorpe Park have with coasters, a 1.2m family thrill coaster that is as thrilling as the other coasters but doesn't have inversions. I'd say it would be smarter to focus on airtime instead.
 
Bowser said:
Walking Dead being 1.4m is absurd. My son can go on Falcons Flight and Hyperia but can't go on that!

Is the theming any scarier than say The Curse or Ghost Train?
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I'd say so. Using the Chimp as my barometer, Curse is fine, Ghost Train absolutely not, Walking Dead maybe if there's no actors.
For people who don't like horror, it's quite intense in there, lots of dark spaces where someone *could* jump out at you, the coaster itself is nothing to write home about but there are plenty of props that lurch out at you. Then at the end, there can be actors, who if you're immune to that sort of thing, are meh,
but if you've got a low tolerance for that sort of thing, can be rather scary.
 
The nostalgic part of me will be sad to see Rumba Rapids go, but honestly it was rubbish, and I do think the space can be utilised much better

Blitz would be the dream, but with the potential BTTF coaster coming to Universal, it seems a bit redundant. Not turning my nose up at one though!
 
Alix said:
I'd say so. Using the Chimp as my barometer, Curse is fine, Ghost Train absolutely not, Walking Dead maybe if there's no actors.
For people who don't like horror, it's quite intense in there, lots of dark spaces where someone *could* jump out at you, the coaster itself is nothing to write home about but there are plenty of props that lurch out at you. Then at the end, there can be actors, who if you're immune to that sort of thing, are meh,
but if you've got a low tolerance for that sort of thing, can be rather scary.
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The music/sfx in the corridor between the preshow and load station is incredibly loud as well, enough to be uncomfortable for those who are sensitive.
 
Skyscraper said:
The music/sfx in the corridor between the preshow and load station is incredibly loud as well, enough to be uncomfortable for those who are sensitive.
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Sensory issues are not specific to age and height though. Just seems a rather arbitrary restriction because the TV show is age restricted but that is far far gorier than the ride. If anything i wonder if they've done it to give the impression that it's more than it is? (I have been on the ride btw).

Merlin's own scare mazes only have recommendations rather than restrictions and again i'd argue they're much more frightening to the average customer and full of jump scares. The onus is on the individual or the parent/carer to determine what is suitable, height restrictions should be in regards to ride safety. A 40 year old who is 1.39m cannot ride The Walking Dead, does that make any sense?
 
I am a bit sensitive to ghost train/scare maze business myself, but I'll happily suffer it if the experience is thrilling and worth the anxiety. WD: TR, even without actors, is generally just obnoxious for all of the reasons listed above - a noisy, claustrophobic walk to ride what is essentially a junior coaster, then that same walk back again. It's possibly the nadir of nonsensical Merlin IP placement.

The theming is admittedly quite good, though.
 
Not sure if it's the reason but there was an issue with Walking Dead where the park realised that due to the shared lapbar it was possible for someone to climb/fall out of the car. This is why it's not permitted to take a row to yourself and single riders must be paired with another single rider. That could explain the reason for what seems to be an unusually high height restriction. However I suspect it's more likely to be being used as a filter for age-appropriateness of the theming.
 
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