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Thorpe Park: General Discussion

Looking at how busy yesterday was it's crazy they don't open the scare mazes up from 11am on Saturdays. This would increase capacity and allow more income.

Maybe as well a wild idea as I imagine access in the event of a fire would be a challenge, but with the rapids drained this time of the year it would make for an amazing scare maze walking the full length of the troth with covered parts and open parts. A temporary ramp down for access and then some ramps up at the existing fire exits of the ride could be possible. They could even use the existing queue lines.

I don't know if this would even be allowed but at least it would make use of a large empty part of the park at there busiest time of the year. I imagine it also gets very dark at night as its away from most of the lighting making it a great location for scare atmosphere. If I remember correctly there used to be a scare maze that used parts of the old log flume and train so this could be similar.
 
Poisson said:
The rapids trough will be partially flooded at all times and has telegraph poles bolted to the floor.
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Ah ok. I'll be honest I've never seen it drained but I imagined it would just be a concrete hollow. Thanks for clearing that up.

Maybe just keeping the rapids open for fright nights would be better then. I definitely remember them being open this time of the year in the past and as you don't get very wet they would be popular unlike tidal wave that really isn't, although does look amazing in the dark.
 
MrTowers said:
Ah ok. I'll be honest I've never seen it drained but I imagined it would just be a concrete hollow. Thanks for clearing that up.

Maybe just keeping the rapids open for fright nights would be better then. I definitely remember them being open this time of the year in the past and as you don't get very wet they would be popular unlike tidal wave that really isn't, although does look amazing in the dark.
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I get the idea that the rapids is absolutely done for which is why they've been limiting operations since 2024.

Staffing is a factor but I think it's also that it can't reliably run throughout the year.

I'd also say it's telling that it's time is up because they haven't applied the sparkle project to the ride, the cameras stopped working most of the season and the ride is starting to look really tired.

I have a feeling we're going to get a consultation very soon and one of the projects will be the Rumba Rapids replacement.
 
owenstreet7 said:
Staffing is a factor but I think it's also that it can't reliably run throughout the year.
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it also is likely to be expensive to insure, it is one of the most dangerous theme park rides (doesn't mean it is dangerous, it is like saying a 0.000001% chance vs 0.0000000001%) primarily because the vehicles aren't fully restrained (unlike on a rollercoaster)
 
flyingguitar said:
it also is likely to be expensive to insure, it is one of the most dangerous theme park rides (doesn't mean it is dangerous, it is like saying a 0.000001% chance vs 0.0000000001%) primarily because the vehicles aren't fully restrained (unlike on a rollercoaster)
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I think that is something that isn't necessarily a factor as it's something that used to run throughout the year until 2023.

I'd say something technical may have happened since the start of 2024 to stop it from running reliably.

With Congo River Rapids, that had reduced it's operations but nowhere near as much as Thorpe with Rumba. It opens a few weeks later at the start and closed from Mid September. Last year, they closed mid October. This could be cost cutting but possibly maintenance as well.

Is River Rapids at Drayton Manor open at the moment? I think this could also be a factor that maintenance on the Merlin Rapids is becoming more and more demanding if Drayton's manages to run year round.
 
These are rapids, not Mack Stryker coasters.

They’re really quite simple machines. A few big pumps, a turntable, lifthill, a fleet of rubber rings with fibreglass on top… and not a huge amount else.

I think any closures are almost certainly down to operating costs (primarily staffing) rather than anything else.
 
I was at Thorpes fright night yesterday for the first time in many years.

The main issue I have is they charge for a four maze bundle, but with queues over an hour for each, it’s impossible to get them all done in the four hour window.
 
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