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Thorpe Park: General Discussion

Visited Thrope Park for the first time yesterday and while I enjoyed it, the overall experience just seems off, there's no real identity anywhere, they've attempted the "theme" in the theme park yet everything just seems squashed together to create a glorified amusement park.

For example, you have the "Lost City" with Colossus and Samurai it hardly feels like a proper themed area when you have Saw thrown into the corner and then Vortex, Zodiac hiding away behind trees with no real connection or flow to the Lost City area feels like just amusement park rides thrown in for the sake of it; sadly an occurring pattern across the park.

And don't get me started on Derren Browns Ghost Train and The Walking Dead Ride, the latter is an obvious IP grab to attempt to get more visitors in, could've been called Zombie Invasion the ride and would've made no difference what so ever.

Derrens Browns Ghost Train however I have mixed feelings on, while mostly negative the idea is brilliant; the execution not so much. Big shout out to the staff member whose job it was to delay us all in first room keeping us hyped and excited, must've been tough as it was obvious he had to do that for every group going in. The actual VR section of the attraction however had sound being cut out and audio looping of people screaming at the end to make up for time which killed the atmosphere. The idea is brilliant and I feel a lot can be done with the VR Horror Attraction idea, unfortunately it failed to deliver here.

Overall, brilliant roller coasters and staff and I'd go back simply for them alone. And maybe I'm thinking too much into it, Thorpes target audience might be not be those who care for the themes or experiences they just want to ride the next big loopy de loop, who knows. :confused1:
 
Why do they still have the grotty remains of a road running through the park, complete with patchy yellow line? It just looks so tacky and unprofessional, like an RCT scenario where you just CBA and smash through the objectives without actually trying
 
Dar said:
Why do they still have the grotty remains of a road running through the park, complete with patchy yellow line? It just looks so tacky and unprofessional, like an RCT scenario where you just CBA and smash through the objectives without actually trying
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Where in the park is this? Would it be Amity, by any chance, as it would seem to fit that area most?
 
This area near Detonator:
lHsuz1e.jpg
 
Stevie said:
Wait, that's still a thing?
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Yes. It contains Angry Birds 4D, Detonator and King Pig's Wild Hog Dodgems; admittedly, it might now be a subsection of The Jungle, but Angry Birds Land very much still exists.
 
I know it’s not a big ride but anyone know what’s up with Flying Fish or heard anything? Seems to have been closed for nearly a week now!
 
After our visit on Sunday I am afraid to say that Thorpe Park just gets worse and worse each year. It should be a great day out, a fairly small park crammed full of coasters and other rides (although less than there once were thanks to cuts) however the way that the park is being managed and operated is turning it in to a joke. I know we moan about Alton Towers on here but Thorpe makes Towers look like Europa!

Ride availability is poor. B&Ms are notoriously reliable yet Inforno was up and down like a yoyo. Stealth opened late, then went down, then openeded, then went down. The Swarm was down for a while. Quantum is still undergoing its winter maintenance, just like other rides at other Merlin parks.

Operations remain sluggish. The Swarm was stacking on every single dispatch and staff did not seem in a hurry. Then at the end of the day we did Inferno and guess what, staff were rushing around as quickly as they could. Why? Because all they cared about was getting home. Says a lot about who employs them really.

The worst thing for me however is the food. The options are truly terrible and if you want anything other than fast food then good luck! Fins Bar and Grill is a joke with paper menus and four options as your main course; beef burger, chicken burger, veggie burger and nachos. This is supposed to be a hotel restaurant as well! But it's okay, at least you can get a nice Goose beer. Oh what, it's off? Stella all round!

We managed to have a laugh as we always do but if I did not get in on my pass I would not pay for a day out at Thorpe Park.
 
All of the above, plus:
Rob said:
Operations remain sluggish. The Swarm was stacking on every single dispatch and staff did not seem in a hurry.
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There also seemed to be a lack of discipline on Swarm. The two enabling hosts were both chatting to each other on the aiphone between every dispatch. These phones are for communicating with the operator, not to chat to your mates.

The operator, who is ultimately in charge, did not care and allowed this behaviour to continue. I would question if any of these people should be operating rides if they cannot maintain a basic level of concentration.
 
Alsty said:
All of the above, plus:

There also seemed to be a lack of discipline on Swarm. The two enabling hosts were both chatting to each other on the aiphone between every dispatch. These phones are for communicating with the operator, not to chat to your mates.

The operator, who is ultimately in charge, did not care and allowed this behaviour to continue. I would question if any of these people should be operating rides if they cannot maintain a basic level of concentration.
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Yes, I noticed that as well. I also noticed a host who had to be reminded that they need to keep holding down the dispatch button on the platform rather than play with their hair or something like that.

Also on the subject of food, I meant to add the Sticky Sisters has gone but has it reverted back to a BBQ venue as before? Nope, it now sells horribily overpriced Rollover Hot Dogs, disgusting. I used to really enjoy eating at Calypso BBQ yet now it is nothing more than a waste of space.
 
Alsty said:
All of the above, plus:

There also seemed to be a lack of discipline on Swarm. The two enabling hosts were both chatting to each other on the aiphone between every dispatch. These phones are for communicating with the operator, not to chat to your mates.

The operator, who is ultimately in charge, did not care and allowed this behaviour to continue. I would question if any of these people should be operating rides if they cannot maintain a basic level of concentration.
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Last year Fright Nights it was dispatching host and operator who were constantly talking via phone after every dispatch.

It does seem management just don’t care, 2 mins stood watching how things are would open their eyes as to why the park is depressing
 
Taken from the ‘ride assistant’ job spec on Thorpe Park’s recruitment website:

‘As you’d expect in a theme park, there are high company standards to maintain in regards to ride area cleanliness and health and safety, so an eye for detail and perseverance to upkeep the highest standards is key!’

Sounds like they are struggling to recruit the right level of candidates. I wonder if ever increasing employment rates and Merlin’s crap wages have anything to do with it ;)

Oh and in related news here is the main photo on the Thorpe Park Jobs homepage. An eye for detail indeed :)

y4FWqSQ.jpg
 
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When I worked at Chessington, the low wages were offset by the fact that the park used to run monthly social events with free food and usually a ride like Vampire or Dragon's Fury open for the staff. We also had our magic pass that gave us 20 free tickets to use at all the Merlin attractions. This was pre-Smiler incident however, so I wonder whether these perks still exist for the staff these days.
 
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