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Thorpe Park: General Discussion

Squiggs said:
It's basically the case with all water rides (other than maybe slow boat ride type attractions).

Any ride that involves pumping significant amounts of water to a significant elevation is traditionally very power hungry. It's one of the reasons why Merlin have also significantly reduced the operating times of the rapids across their parks as a cost saving measure.
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I get that but the boat isn't being pushed by the water as it's running in a dry trough up top. It's just for effect only. The only section with moving water is the backend of the ride from the curve? It's not going to be the same level of power required as say the rapids that used far more water.

Yes it's going to use power but not anywhere in the same league as the rapids.

Wad the water running at pass holder day?
 
SuperMuscleMan said:
I get that but the boat isn't being pushed by the water as it's running in a dry trough up top. It's just for effect only. The only section with moving water is the backend of the ride from the curve? It's not going to be the same level of power required as say the rapids that used far more water.

Yes it's going to use power but not anywhere in the same league as the rapids.

Wad the water running at pass holder day?
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Wouldn't this be similar with Tiger Rock too that it is being pushed by water in the water sections rather than the rapids
 
owenstreet7 said:
Wouldn't this be similar with Tiger Rock too that it is being pushed by water in the water sections rather than the rapids
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I'd agree but even so it's a far shorter track and the top trough section is empty on tidal wave and relies ong gravity so your not pumping vast quantities up the top only more for the effect. I would assume the water cleaning and filtration system is a bit of a cost but not huge.

The chain and loft hill is on demand, as opposed to constant on the flume.

I'd love to see a Minecraft version of the flume at cwoa but a new layout.
 
It's been a while since I've properly watched Tidal Wave, do the water tank effects still work? From what I remember it was supposed to release a lot of water when the boat comes down?

I know the fire doesn't work anymore (still?) but are there any other effects that don't work anymore?
 
hogofwar said:
It's been a while since I've properly watched Tidal Wave, do the water tank effects still work? From what I remember it was supposed to release a lot of water when the boat comes down?

I know the fire doesn't work anymore (still?) but are there any other effects that don't work anymore?
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This is all news to me; I didn't even realise that the ride ever had fire effects*, but I have just seen photographs of it on Google and it looks impressive! I don't know anything about the water tank effects, either, other than the huge splash caused by the boat itself.

(*I know that The Swarm definitely once had fire effects, but these were sadly not there when I last went in 2024)
 
hogofwar said:
It's been a while since I've properly watched Tidal Wave, do the water tank effects still work? From what I remember it was supposed to release a lot of water when the boat comes down?

I know the fire doesn't work anymore (still?) but are there any other effects that don't work anymore?
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Last time I was on park - no. It's a shame when it opened it was beautifully themed and was one of the better themed areas of the UK. Chessington had started to die off (this was around beno time) and towers was on air. I remember seeing Nick Knowles (DIY sos) one summers evening in the year NI opened from the sign and the ride still looking pretty sharp after 4+ years of being open.
 
Tidal.jpg


This is from 2016. They fixed it for the 2016 season, worked a few years then haven't seen it on again since.

The fire effects had to be removed when Stealth got built. They installed a new one a few years ago but they've never got it working. Its had a new electric panel installed for this year so they're still actively working on it. Maybe one day...
 
Secret Weapon said:
Why did it have to be removed? Was Stealth too close to Tidal Wave, or was it due to a power issue (e.g. the grid being over-loaded) ?

(On a sidenote: why were the fire effects removed from The Swarm ?)
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Was something to do with the gas pipes or tanks being at the Stealth site so they were removed and never replaced.

No idea about Swarm, pretty much all of Swarms effects have been left to rot unfortunately.
 
Just a quick question: apologies if this has been mentioned before, but given that Thorpe Park's new area will be called Launchpad, will this cause any trademark infringement with the similar Launch Pad name being used by Blackpool?

Or is it unlikely to be an issue because, unlike Blackpool, Thorpe Park will probably not be selling "Launchpad" merchandise?

(Incidentally, I think AT sold 'Corkscrew' merchandise, even though other parks - such as Flamingo Land - had identical rides with the same name)
 
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Secret Weapon said:
Just a quick question: apologies if this has been mentioned before, but given that Thorpe Park's new area will be called Launchpad, will this cause any trademark infringement with the similar Launch Pad name being used by Blackpool?
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No, because neither of them are registered trademarks.
Secret Weapon said:
(Incidentally, I think AT sold 'Corkscrew' merchandise, even though other parks - such as Flamingo Land - had identical rides with the same name)
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This has literally nothing to do with Thorpe Park.
 
Hid said:
What Flat Ride should be put in Slammer's plot for me always thought a large Star Flyer would fit Thorpe Park.
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I wish Thorpe Park had sold Vortex and built a big Aviktas-style gyro swing instead - either where Vortex is, or where Slammer was. I'm not sure whether they will go down this road now that Blackpool have beaten them to it, though.

One of my favourite flat rides is still the old-fashioned Michael Houghton Top Star Superstar rides found at funfairs, but Merlin might not think that it's prestigious enough, sadly.
 
Secret Weapon said:
I wish Thorpe Park had sold Vortex and built a big Aviktas-style gyro swing instead - either where Vortex is, or where Slammer was. I'm not sure whether they will go down this road now that Blackpool have beaten them to it, though.

One of my favourite flat rides is still the old-fashioned Michael Houghton Top Star Superstar rides found at funfairs, but Merlin might not think that it's prestigious enough, sadly.
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Aviktas would look great in the Vortex plot by the lake. Most of the Thorpe Park target audience wouldn't be aware there's one at Blackpool and some probably aren't even aware Pleasure Beach exists tbf.

I'm still holding out hope for Slammer 2.0. maybe another manufacturer can have a go at a modern Sky Swat without the problematic air compression.

Realistically a Star Flyer makes a lot of sense. They're popping up in a lot of thrill parks across Europe and seem very popular.
 
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