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Thorpe Park: General Discussion

Re: Thorpe Park

It staggers me that they had the balls to;

a) Market it as new
b) Keep it
c) Pass it off as a Hotel
d) Build it in the first pace
e) Even consider it to begin with...

Yeah... That sounds about right!
 
Re: Thorpe Park

It's Merlin.... They stopped shocking me along time ago. This is the company that can try and sell a turd!

If they started building quality products that might shock me!
 
Re: Thorpe Park

AstroDan said:
It staggers me they have the balls to market this as new.

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It will be new. Well, that was my understanding. I was under the impression that Snoozebox was gone and Merlin were building their own version?
 
Re: Thorpe Park

Sammy said:
It staggers me that they had the balls to;

a) Market it as new
b) Keep it
c) Pass it off as a Hotel
d) Build it in the first pace
e) Even consider it to begin with...

Yeah... That sounds about right!
A) - agreed.

B-E) however... Curious Sam, have you stayed in it? It's actually really not bad. I completely understand where you (and most the rest of TST to be fair, don't mean to single you out :p ) are coming from, but having stayed in the hotel, it was actually quite good.
 
Re: Thorpe Park

I have a feeling they are only marketing it as new to draw in the family market. "Waterfront Hotel" sounds far more family friendly than "Crash Pad" - marketing it as new for 2014 will work to draw in families that may be unaware of Thorpe's offerings in the past. If Thorpe shown this as a Crash Pad retheme it would have been unlikely to draw in families as much as advertising it as new would.

Obviously they are still shipping containers at the end of the day. But that's marketing for you... and Merlin polishing a turd.

Still doesn't fix the fact the park has bugger all to offer families. One bit at a time I suppose...
 
Re: Thorpe Park

Jared said:
AstroDan said:
It staggers me they have the balls to market this as new.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

It will be new. Well, that was my understanding. I was under the impression that Snoozebox was gone and Merlin were building their own version?

I thought they'd just bought the containers off Snoozebox. Are they really going to do a like-for-like replacement?
 
Re: Thorpe Park

John said:
Jared said:
AstroDan said:
It staggers me they have the balls to market this as new.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

It will be new. Well, that was my understanding. I was under the impression that Snoozebox was gone and Merlin were building their own version?

I thought they'd just bought the containers off Snoozebox. Are they really going to do a like-for-like replacement?

The Snoozebox ones are gone and they are building their own, there will be small changes in the rooms im guessing in response to any guest feedback they had.
 
Re: Thorpe Park

To think they had those plans for that lovely hotel too...

The Merlin Way.... The minimum amount of effort for the greatest cost to the consumer

It's no wonder they got shunned at IAPPA
 
Re: Thorpe Park

This really is a complete change in marketing strategy. Waterfront Hotel clearly sounds a lot more appleaing to families than the Crash Pad. Although I've not stayed there it does seem like they are trying to make it sound much better and more sunstantial than it actually is.

I do also think that this will eventually lead to a permanent hotel. Merlin are very keen at the moment on developing there resort theme parks with hotels. I'd imagine that they want to firmly change their image and appeal, and check that it all goes to plan in terms of getting guests in, before they commit to a permanent hotel.

:)
 
Re: Thorpe Park

If Alton Towers can make 2 hotels in the middle of nowhere profitable, I don't get the worry Thorpe have in making a hotel in LONDON work.
 
Re: Thorpe Park

TheMan said:
Dave said:
It's no wonder they got shunned at IAPPA

Did they?

Yes, there was no mention of them as a company during the event. Very little was also made of The Smiler apart from what was on the Gerstlauer stand.
 
Re: Thorpe Park

This whole THORPE PARK Resort is beyond ridiculous.

Even if Thorpe did add a proper, large hotel, it couldn't be classed as Thorpe Park Resort in my eyes, because, the way a theme park resort is defined, it needs to have:
a) have a decent sized theme park with a VARIETY of rides
b) have another attraction other than a theme park to keep the resort open all year round.

Look at Chessington and Towers for example, they both have two proper hotels (well Chessington's second is in the making), and a second gate attraction, Chessington Zoo is big enough to spend a day in (providing all areas are open) and the Alton Towers Waterpark can be good fun for the afternoon.

However, Thorpe Park Thorpe Park Resort lack these things that they just don't have the space for, and it doesn't help that you can do the park in a day, sometimes and hour if you aren't a thrill seeker.

Thorpe need to look at more urgent and important things before adding a shipping container Hotel, not to mention branding themselves as a resort.
 
Re: Thorpe Park

BenBowser said:
TBH Thorpe need a lot of things looked at before they can be branded as a resort.

Yeah, like a mini golf course and a water park! I can see them building a waterfront water park at Thorpe Park. It would work with a good mix of thrilling and family slides. UK's first Aqua-loop anyone?
 
Re: Thorpe Park

Towers pushes the boundary of the term "resort" (i don't think it is one), Chessington and Thorpe are definitely not resorts.
 
Re: Thorpe Park

For me, the term resort is acceptable if there's enough to do for you to spend an entire day there without going into the main park. Adding a second gate, including a waterpark, is pretty much automatic qualification for resort status. On that definition Towers is a resort but no other UK merlin park is. Chessington's zoo is part of the main park, so doesn't count towards resort status - you can still easily do the lot in a single day (especially if it's a school day in which case it'll be deserted)
 
Re: Thorpe Park

For me Towers is definitely a resort. You can easily have one day on the theme park and another around the hotels with the waterpark/golf/spa etc. Towers is also big enough to be considered a two day park during busy periods. I don't really get why some are happy to class EP for example as a resort but claim Towers are really pushing it as a resort. Sure EP have a bigger park and more hotels but is there actually that much more to do if you don't go on park for the whole day compared to Towers? I know there are free of charge swimming pools which Towers doesn't have but when I went I did not really notice much. Unless you of course count walking around the hotels admiring there beauty, I concede that could take a full day! :p

Oh and for the record I'm not saying that I don't think EP is a resort. I do indeed think it is.

:)
 
Re: Thorpe Park

John said:
Chessington's zoo is part of the main park, so doesn't count towards resort status - you can still easily do the lot in a single day (especially if it's a school day in which case it'll be deserted)
Ahh yes, but the website and the resort in general class the zoo as separate but just included with your park ticket (something I think Towers should do with the waterpark).

If you look when you are at Chessington, there are actually gates in Mexicana and Market Square (ways into the zoo from the theme park) which are closed in the winter. And that brings me to my second point, Chessington Zoo is open throughout all of the winter (excluding this year due to the construction of the Azteca Hotel) with its own, massively reduced entry price. Chessington is definitely a theme park resort in my eyes, whereas Thorpe is a long way off.

However I will take on board that chessington is totally empty on a school day, but then again, so is Alton.
 
Re: Thorpe Park

Europa Park does lack ancillary attractions, but the theme park is that enormous that it's almost a resort by default.

To me, a resort needs to be somewhere you could easily pass at least 2 days, stay overnight and not at any point be bored - and by bored I mean not simply re riding constantly by the second morning.

On this basis, I would only consider Disneyland Paris, Alton Towers, Portaventura, Europa-Park in Europe. Others, such as Efteling and Phantasialand simply need more.

Thorpe Park isn't even a slight resort. It's a joke next to the above.

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Re: Thorpe Park

Thorpe Park Resort.

The name doesn't work in my eyes. Plus you can do almost everything in one day, which is more than enough in my eyes. In some ways Chessington is the same.

Still want to try the 'Crash Pad' just to see what it is like before making a judgement on the hotel. :)
 
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