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Thorpe Park: General Discussion

RoyJess said:
Perhaps this is a test and will be rolled out to all the other parks so that they can phase out the VIP pass altogether, would stop all this "look at me I'am a VIP status, I just push my way in front of the lesser guest" :p:Do_O
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Can’t see Merlin cutting that cash cow, £2000 each people would still pay it.

Agree though this must be a test before it rolls out to other parks.
 
bluesonichd said:
... , Main ride Q = 20mins ... Fastrack Q = 3hours ! :eek::Do_O
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It's already has happened over the last few seasons on very busy days, but not to that extreme

ringo said:
Can’t see Merlin cutting that cash cow, £2000 each people would still pay it.
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No it will be a cash increase for them...

I can see them selling more as they probably won't be an upper limit, and if the VIP was scrapped, then to have the same benefits, they would have to purchase 4 x season Fast track passes, one for each themepark (4 x £400 = £1600) and I suspect if this is a success, then they will increase the price of the season Fast Track pass

I wonder if these Season Fast Track will also have date restrictions, only valid on off peak days :po_O
 
BarryZola said:
I wonder what Merlin's balance sheet would look like if it wasn't for the creation of fast-track?
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It's hard to tell. If there was less secondary spend I imagine that would be reflected in the various ticket prices.

There's a magic revenue figure that you want to achieve per guest. Some parks hit you with one price - Disney - "give us four figures, we'll pick you up at the airport, stick you in a hotel and feed you on the dining plan" vs. the more drip drip approach of Merlin, Six Flags and Cedar Fair with entrance, food, car parking, games and the fast track.

Our local cinema is doing any film, any time for £5, but only after jacking up the cost of all the film food. I suspect per cap spending is the same, but the split between tickets and secondary has changed (at least that's true for us - I checked the credit card statements). If we're typical, their revenue will be flat but chances are your guests think they have got a bargain on the tickets.
 
After visiting Legoland on Saturday, we nipped to Thorpe on Sunday morning. I don't know if it was the weather or what, but the park looks great and had a wonderful vibe.

Pros
  • Walking Dead is brilliant, ten times better than X and infinitely better than X:\WTF - hats off
  • Ghost Train - our ride was flawless, when it works as intended, that thing is perhaps Merlin's best ever ride
  • Operations were pretty good all round from what I saw
  • Pizza Buffet is ten times better than Explorers, they have Quorn for us veggies this year
  • Staff on the whole were great, particularly the guy on the Ghost Train photos (Jack, I think).
Cons
  • Fastrack/RAP was out of control on the Ghost Train, to the point where the standby line was pretty much that - I am still a big proponent of Fastrack but only when used in a pragmatic way
  • The LG level of the Dome area sucks and stinks - they need to sort that
  • Ride availability was better than it has been, but Storm Force and TWD were down a lot
The first hour is where it's at - you can do all coasters in that time if you don't dawdle.
 
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I visited for the first time in years on Saturday. The park was packed and with NI and TWD down queues were fairly big.

Saying that although we didn’t get on as many rides as hoped we had a really good day out and certainly better than my recent visit to a packed AT.
 
Queue times today, management would of known it would be rammed but couldn’t even be bothered to get a filler attraction like I’m A celeb open to take some of the strain

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ringo said:
filler as in the queue would be rammed like everything else, some of the public love it. world first an all :D
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I’m a celebrity has a throughput of like 6 people per hour though.

What would have helped however, is having higher capacity attractions like Loggers Leap and Slammer open to take pressure away from the bigger flats and roller coasters.

Loggers would also have helped aliviate Storm Surge of a 90 minute queue (poor souls), as the park is clearly struggling with just one water ride open. (Remember the park is effectively down on the Rapids too, due to the temporary over 18s rule.)

Of course, it’s school trip season, and the park’s are always rammed regardless, so don’t be too shocked by these wait times. :)
 
ringo said:
Queue times today, management would of known it would be rammed but couldn’t even be bothered to get a filler attraction like I’m A celeb open to take some of the strain

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Certainly not ideal to have Rumba and Tidal Wave down simultaneously.
 
Just a minute, why were the Rapids down? And what's this about an 18 and over only rule? I haven't been to TP since fright nights, things were even worse than what's advertised on that queue board and I have no interest in returning whole things are like that.

Loggers Leap's continued closure is a farce, and I am actually amused that both Tidal Wave and the Rapids are down for whatever reason while they have chosen to keep it closed. (That said I do feel sorry for the guest's who's only answer to a water ride is a choice of two slides)

It's likely to be the first time in 10 years I don't visit Thorpe, oh well, I don't feel like I'm missing out on much, my only regret is that Chessington isn't worth a visit on its own (from where I live) so that will be getting missed too, through no fault of its own.
 
Both Towers and Thorpe apply a minimum unaccompanied age restriction of 18 to the rapids during school trip season only.
 
For notice (before people jump on the "H&S GONE MAD!!!1" thing) Thorpe have implemented such a rule for a few years now, presumably because the clientele there are more likely to act like idiots (such as swimming between boats or holding onto the bridge)...
 
This is true, same for Chesington, at least one staff member (adult) had to be in the boat on Dragons Fury when my sons school went (2012) I got two goes since the head "does not do fun" and refused to get in the boat (he didn't know about the rule).

Question about Thorpe, where do you pick up Annual Passes from? I know the logical answer is the Annual Pass building, but this is Thorpe we're talking about - and does anybody have any experience of when is a good time to pickup such passes with a a short queue, early afternoon perhaps?

I plumbed for a couple of thosd offer £25 passes, certainly cheaper than a PMAP so long as we don't go to Thorpe more than 35 times in the year (hell if we go more than 10 it'll be a miracle).
 
School trip season at Blackpool, one of the reasons I simply stopped going was being stuck on Valhalla for half an hour because the kids kept jumping in the bloody water.
 
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