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Thorpe Park: General Discussion

I went on it on Saturday just after it got fixed, after it broke down for a second time as we queued for it. One of the engineers watched us with binoculars as we were riding which wasn't very re-assuring.

It creates a weird feeling but not exactly enjoyable. My girlfriend had to sit down for couple after getting off and for some inexplicable reason couldn't stop yawning. I asked if it bored her, apparently not. I find afterburners and top scans much better flats to be honest. Still if you haven't been on it you should definitely try it.
 
Generally I find Chessington a better day out that Thorpe, as long as I go on a quiet weekday to both parks. The chance of feeling ill at Thorpe is too high as it is just thrill, thrill, thrill. Whereas at Chessington you can ride Dragon Falls five times in a row and stay dry, or spend an hour on the bumper cars (I know Thorpe added bumper cars since my last visit). I've had some really fun chilled out days at CWoA, however at Thorpe I either get annoyed with queues or feel ill after riding all the thrill rides too quickly
 
jon81uk said:
Whereas at Chessington you can ride Dragon Falls five times in a row and stay dry, or spend an hour on the bumper cars
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is chessington ever that quiet? I personally think thorpe is a better day (comparing both parks with low queue times). At chessington, I find that once you've managed to get on the main rides, there is nothing else to do but reride them. I think I'd get bored at chessington on a quiet day, but then again, I like non stop thrill parks. Thorpe not only has a line up that appeals to me much more, but better theming (mostly swarm), a better dark ride (there is no question if DBGT is better than bubbleworks or tomb blaster), and as it's quite a small park and it's not on a hill, you can walk around thorpe much longer without feeling tired. All opinion though, I just prefer thorpe.
 
Leah said:
is chessington ever that quiet? .
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I have been 3 times on quiet weekdays like that and managed to stay on the bumper cars without having to queue again and done Dragon Falls severel times without getting off. Also spent half an hour just watching gorillas, fed the Lorikeets, walked in with the Monkeys, ate lots of pizza and generally had a nice relaxed day.
 
Leah said:
is chessington ever that quiet? I personally think thorpe is a better day (comparing both parks with low queue times). At chessington, I find that once you've managed to get on the main rides, there is nothing else to do but reride them. I think I'd get bored at chessington on a quiet day, but then again, I like non stop thrill parks. Thorpe not only has a line up that appeals to me much more, but better theming (mostly swarm), a better dark ride (there is no question if DBGT is better than bubbleworks or tomb blaster), and as it's quite a small park and it's not on a hill, you can walk around thorpe much longer without feeling tired. All opinion though, I just prefer thorpe.
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With the greatest respect, the 2 aren't really comparable. They're completely different parks, and for very good business reasons. There's actually far more to do at Chessington when you consider the zoo, Sea Life and live shows. It's not about "rides". If I went to chessington with a mate I'd be done by lunch time. But I struggle to do everything when kids are with me. If I took my kids to Thorpe, we'd be done early there. But when I go with friends, I'm perfectly content in there for 12 hours during fright nights.
 
matthewgcole said:
With the greatest respect, the 2 aren't really comparable. They're completely different parks, and for very good business reasons. There's actually far more to do at Chessington when you consider the zoo, Sea Life and live shows. It's not about "rides". If I went to chessington with a mate I'd be done by lunch time. But I struggle to do everything when kids are with me. If I took my kids to Thorpe, we'd be done early there. But when I go with friends, I'm perfectly content in there for 12 hours during fright nights.
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Thats kind of the point I was getting at. The majority of times I've been to chessington, I've found it stressful due to the amount of people there and lacking in rides that interest me, even if I go with family. Thorpe on the other hand I could easily have two/three days at just because it's my rides. I was just trying to get to the point that chessington is great if your happy with a relaxing day and multiple rerides (on a quiet day, that is), but overall I think thorpe has much better offerings for older family's or teenagers. All opinion though, feel free to disagree.
 
Considering Chessington is the bigger of the two parks as well, you'll probably spend a lot more time there than at Thorpe if you want to do everything. When it's dead at Thorpe, you can do everything in under 3 hours.
 
It does benefit from the fact that everything is right next to everything else. Tiny little place Thorpe. It needs to be super quiet though as they have an obsession with running one train on everything when it's quiet.
 
I have always defended Thorpe in the past, but today was an absolute shambles. Total let down.

Thorpe Park - the carousel of disappointment.
 
Rick said:
I have always defended Thorpe in the past, but today was an absolute shambles. Total let down.

Thorpe Park - the carousel of disappointment.
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Want to elaborate on that? Never thought it was that bad a park, always considered it better than legoland and chessington (in terms of investment, upkeep, and quality of the rides). Of course though, one or two bad visits due to breakdowns, poor operations, or lack of customer service/communication can change your opinion of a park.

Also, can you wear glasses on DBGT?
 
I hope they let me wear glasses. I'm in the queue now, but I haven't seen anything on the boards saying glasses can't be worn, so I'm assuming its allowed.

I don't visit Thorpe very often. In fact, this is only my third visit. Found that operations today have been an absolute joke. Swarm and colossus on one train with an hour queue, colossus with 80 minutes. staff on DBGT trying to get a crowd of 200+ people single file through a narrow gate. Slammer I think was evacuated, and staff are being really unhelpful communicating about it.

Also, is samurai having parking issues? Seems that every ride today has been stuck in the air for a minute or so in a really uncomfortable position before parking.
 
Looked pretty bad yesterday. Wouldn't let us anywhere near it. Doubtful it will open soon :(

Anyone on park today? Is slammer up yet? Had to evacuate yesterday and was down the rest of the day.
 
Gutting that, what's wrong with it? Meant to be going tuesday, as long as Swarm and Ghost Train are open it'll still be a decent day.
 
They won't say what's wrong, I'll ask again tomorrow. They just tell you to go away. I'm assuming it's something like the launch cables gone or something else they wouldn't want you to se because they're not letting anyone near.

Was stealths brake run always painted dark red/brown?
 
Leah said:
Also, is samurai having parking issues? Seems that every ride today has been stuck in the air for a minute or so in a really uncomfortable position before parking.
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Samurai has had "parking issues" since it was first built at Chessington in the 90's! For some reason they wanted it reprogrammed so that the arms would always park in the same place. Every other Top Scan on Earth just stops wherever it stops.
 
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