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Thorpe Park: General Discussion

I can remember the day well...

It was atrocious we got there at 10 waited 2 hours to get our passes renewed and got on 2 rides. Abysmal!

Hopefully they learnt from thier mistakes but it was very poor and I wouldn't go again.
 
I don't blame you! It was the same at Chessington's AP day a few years back. I don't see the point in doing Passholder preview days if they're going to be busier than a normal weekend day, surely the whole point is that you're meant to feel a sense of exclusivity. How can that be the case with 2 hour queues for the big rides and a 30 minute, yes 30 minute queue for BANANA?!!!
 
They did the same thing last year, and it worked well to avoid the overcrowding of previous years.
 
Last year wasn't very busy, indeed so forgettable I'd actually forgotten visiting until today, when I was reminded of enthusiast rage at not being able to ride the first train of Mraws...
 
Last year's event was decent and well-managed. Do not be put off by people that have not been since 2011!
 
Benzin said:
Last year wasn't very busy, indeed so forgettable I'd actually forgotten visiting until today, when I was reminded of enthusiast rage at not being able to ride the first train of Mraws...
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I saw this mentioned over on TPM and vaguely remember it being reported at the time, I can't remember what actually happened.

I'm always a little hesitant about AP days, as in the past they've been busier than the first weekend of the main season as loads of pass holders attend assuming it'll be quiet without realising just how many pass holders there are. Hopefully the ticketing system will go some way to mitigate this problem.
 
Also note: No new attractions to May. What are people gonna want to see? The new seating at the stealth diner?

The passholder day, was dead quiet last year, and it will probably be the same this year.
 
John said:
Benzin said:
Last year wasn't very busy, indeed so forgettable I'd actually forgotten visiting until today, when I was reminded of enthusiast rage at not being able to ride the first train of Mraws...
Click to expand...

I saw this mentioned over on TPM and vaguely remember it being reported at the time, I can't remember what actually happened.
Click to expand...

I was there at the time, and basically the enthusiast in question wished to ride the first ever backwards train of Swarm... However, because of the ticketing system Thorpe had implemented on the day, the staff members refused the enthusiast entry into the backwards queue section...

As a result, said enthusiast lost his rag about it (because being on the first train of something matters to some people), and kicked off for about 5 minutes, by which time some other guests with back row tickets had turned up and went on...

It was a pathetic thing to see, and shows how entitled some enthusiasts think they are because they are enthusiasts or have worked at a park...
 
From the Merlin shareholder presentation:

KFYOrLW.png


Sounds exciting! Merlin ticketing is quite old-fashioned, so hopefully this should bring interesting improvements. How about self-service ticket buying machines, instead of long queues at kiosks in the morning?
 
the park is the home of the world’s first winged roller-coaster, The Swarm
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I think there may possibly be a reason why Merlin don't refer to it as the "world's first winged roller-coaster", albeit it isn't coming to my head right now...
 
Sam said:
From the Merlin shareholder presentation:

KFYOrLW.png


Sounds exciting! Merlin ticketing is quite old-fashioned, so hopefully this should bring interesting improvements. How about self-service ticket buying machines, instead of long queues at kiosks in the morning?
Click to expand...
Wonder if it'll also involve more trials of the 'no queues' ride booking system they tested...

In other news, the presentation mentioned a Shark Hotel for Thorpe... Possibly this?

1545718_10152133644380867_1303269356_n.jpg
 
The new ticket thing is blatently that "No Queuing Queues" concept they had last year...

And it'll probably be extremely awful again... The idea (in a similar fashion to Magic+ at Disney) annoys me, because I don't want to have to plan my day so meticulously in order to enjoy myself...
 
Sam said:
From the Merlin shareholder presentation:

KFYOrLW.png


Sounds exciting! Merlin ticketing is quite old-fashioned, so hopefully this should bring interesting improvements. How about self-service ticket buying machines, instead of long queues at kiosks in the morning?
Click to expand...

The ticketing isn't too old fashioned, they upgraded all the turnstiles at all parks a few years ago, I think they can now accept print at home barcodes. The issue with the queues at kiosks is the reliance on 2 for 1 vouchers which can only be redeemed in person, no-one is going to book online or use a machine when it is still cheaper to use a 2 for 1 voucher. What they need is the Kellogg's (and other) vouchers to have a code to redeem online. If they want to limit it then it could be only valid for the date you book for and leave open-dated online tickets at 30% off or similar. It's the website ticketing interface that needs upgrading not the turnstiles.
 
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