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Thorpe Park: General Discussion

We were going to go but when we saw Swarm and Inferno were shut we decided to hang back and wait (those are my sons favourite rides) and by the time they re-opened them it was too late to get there at a decent hour.

Other than the ones in August, is there any other plans for late night stuff?
 
So myself and a few other TowersStreet members went down to Thorpe for their 10am - 10pm day on Saturday, and stayed over at the Thorpe Shark Hotel. Got to be honest, I was somewhat dreading what 12 hours at Thorpe might be like, but we had a brilliant time! Here are some thoughts:
  • Despite Samurai and Vortex being unavailable, it was nice to visit a park where there are plenty of rides to actually go on!
  • Operations on the whole were good, especially by Thorpe's standards. Several coasters did open on one train on Sunday; this was because of less time for maintenance following the 10pm close.
  • The park was nowhere near as busy as I was expecting and coasters were walk on by the end of the day.
  • The Walking Dead: The Ride - you cannot polish a turd. Some of the effects are quite nice but at the end of the day the ride is just not suitable for a horror theme, the coaster is boring and it is yet another waste of money.
  • Got on Derren Brown on the Sunday (it broke down and we were evaced from the queue on Saturday. This is the second time I have ridden it, the first time was the year it opened. The fake shop is quite cool but apart from the I rate the experience as awful. Long, boring, poor quality VR, dirty headsets with smudged lenses (this was the first group of the day through the attraction), a now poinless middle scene between getting off one train and on to the other. I could go on.
  • The Shark Hotel is what you would expect, very small rooms but it is clean and relatively functional. The bed was surprisingly comfortable!
  • However, the park closed at 10pm. The bar then closed at 10.30pm. There is NOTHING to do in the evening other than go to bed. We had to each buy two drinks from the bar before it closed, sit in the cold dome and entertain ourselves before heading to bed. Strange.
All in all though, a thoroughly enjoyable day and a half at the park, aided by the lovely weather!

:)
 
I was on DBGT when it broke down. Went through the strobe "maze" which I thought was a tiny improvement on the old mid point scene. Got back onto the train and had a notice saying that there was a delay. There was a clatter and bump under the floor at one point (which I assume was the bumps which make it feel like a train resetting??) We'd been sat for 25 minutes and so we asked to leave, which gave a nice look at some behind the scenes bits and pieces. At least we had a good sit down.

We'll probably do another of the walking dead weekend day to try the maze, which we didn't bother queueing for. (Was surprised to even see it open, wasn't expecting it to be).
 
Another point regarding Thorpe. Why did they invest in a big new IMAscore soundtrack (and make a CD that is seemingly no longer on sale at the park) only to play their depressing Walking Dead soundtrack in so many places!?

They really need to sort out their identity crisis.

:)
 
Rob said:
Another point regarding Thorpe. Why did they invest in a big new IMAscore soundtrack (and make a CD that is seemingly no longer on sale at the park) only to play their depressing Walking Dead soundtrack in so many places!?

They really need to sort out their identity crisis.

:)
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Are they doing this especially for the Walking Dead weekends, as when I went on the 6th, I remember all of the normal music playing?
 
I was genuinely impressed with Thorpe on Saturday, despite having 2 rides down the park wasn't a total misery and queues were generally manageable. There seemed to be several factors at work:

- for a 10pm close, the park wasn't particularly busy
- operations were half decent on most rides. Inferno is no match for even an average Nemesis team but Saw, Stealth and Swarm were all well operated
- they've finally addressed the under-priced fastrack. Coasters are now £10 each (5 for £45) and other rides £6 (5 for £25), I'm not sure if there's also a lower sales cap but it certainly seemed like very few people were using it compared with previous years.
 
John said:
- for a 10pm close, the park wasn't particularly busy
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Interesting then, that the park have taken the decision as to do it once again this Saturday?

I noticed that the park are now selling an Annual Pass (with the usual restrictions) to students for just 35 quid. That's ridiculously cheap. Can only presume that they're really trying to drive attendance up, even if revenue remains low in comparison.
 
Plastic Person said:
Interesting then, that the park have taken the decision as to do it once again this Saturday?
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It's not that the park was quiet, far from it, however I have been to Thorpe Park on far busier days and it has been a misery. This certainly was not the case on Saturday!

:)
 
That's good to hear. It looks like the park's tactic of largely closing in the week and extending openings at weekends is paying off, then. The 10PM openings have tempted to me back to the park for the first time in a few years, especially given the cheaper entry ticket for the evening.
 
All the 10pms
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Only 5 on a Sunday? That seems odd. Most parks have a similar Saturday/Sunday attendance, why have a 5 hours difference?
 
Tim said:
Only 5 on a Sunday? That seems odd. Most parks have a similar Saturday/Sunday attendance, why have a 5 hours difference?
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Most people (with traditional Mon-Fri working hours or kids) will have a late night or night out on Saturday and be home early doors on Sunday to get ready for Monday - early night/bath/homework/school clothes ready etc.
 
Stuie said:
Most people (with traditional Mon-Fri working hours or kids) will have a late night or night out on Saturday and be home early doors on Sunday to get ready for Monday - early night/bath/homework/school clothes ready etc.
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That is true and it is the reason Legoland always hold their final Fireworks of the year on a Friday and Saturday (all others are Saturday and Sunday). But during the summer holidays, at a park aimed at Teens and Young Adults... seems a bit odd.
 
The 5pm Sunday close has changed to 6pm a couple of times so far this season so it’s not set in stone if there is demand for it.
 
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