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Thorpe Park: General Discussion

Matt N said:
Fair enough; we all like different things! I don't personally think that The Swarm feels too short when you're on it; to me, it feels no shorter than critically acclaimed rides like Nemesis and Wicker Man, and it really packs a punch into its length!

As I love it so much, I generally feel sad seeing it not get much love; most people seem to find it quite mediocre as a ride, but I adore it!
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I agree with you. It interacts with the scenery and public very well. For a flat piece of land i think thorpe did a great job at making a great interactive ride.
 
When I rode Swarm last year I actually thought it had improved on what I remembered (which was back in about 2013). However, I still don't rate it that highly.

I haven't ridden any other wing coasters yet so can't compare, but are they all like Swarm? I don't know if they're less extreme due to their design, or if it's just B&M in general who've made their coasters less intense over the years.
 
I find Swarm has pacing issues, it feels like you're waiting for the rest of the train to catch up over the inversions and (for me anyway) it lacks the punch that a coaster as short as that needs. I've had a few good rides on it, but generally find it quite a poor coaster.

The theming is also in a bad state compared to when it first opened, so many things missing or not as impressive as previously.

Fenix is a much better coaster IMO, it takes the inversions much faster/better and the airtime hill is fantastic.
 
Those who (still!) think B&M make less intense coasters these days need to go to Liseberg...

Merlin seemingly peaked their Wing Riders with Raptor, which even though it's a dark theme (and other Merlin bingo answers) perhaps is the closest to old style Tussauds they've been...
 
Matt N said:
As much as I'm sure it was an interesting experience, I'm glad that they turned The Swarm forwards again; I rode in back row in May 2018, and it was one of the best rides I've ever had on it! So fun and smooth, yet so intense!
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I loved it backwards! Looking back down the lift hill when you got to the top always shit me up! lol
 
Thorpe Park logic at its best.

'People keep chucking up on XNWO due to the backwards motion on what is essentially a tame family coaster with multiple brake runs throughout the ride. To counter this we have turned the ride forwards.'

And at the same time.....at the other end of the park...

'Dare you brave it backwards? We challenge you to ride the Swarm, a coaster that's some 100ft tall, featuring far bigger drops, much more exciting elements, and far greater speeds, than X which isn't interrupted by mid course brake runs in the most intense seats on the ride facing the wrong way.'

Yeah that works.

Seriously, I tried it, it didn't impress me. Finally we have a coaster in the UK that is themed to a reasonably high standard, including great use of head chopper moments and near misses, so let's turn it backwards so no one gets to experience it as it was meant to be.

That, along with VR was a pointless gimmick and I'm glad neither lasted too long.
 
The Swarm is the definition of mediocrity, in a league with Air as one of the definitions of an inoffensive but fairly dull coaster (albeit the theming was quite nice initially).

If a gimmick was going to be tried on anything it was right to be that, and I think it worked quite well, certainly gave a reason to go on it again and much better than the VR fad.

I'm genuinely surprised that they paid even more money to go to the effort of changing the trains back.
 
D4n said:
I'm genuinely surprised that they paid even more money to go to the effort of changing the trains back.
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That didn't cost them. There was a cost in getting backwards tested and signed off initially, but turning them back the right way was just a case of putting them back together that way after annual stripdown.
 
Do we know what kind of window for planning the park have for a major development for 2020? If we were seeing anything like a coaster for 2020 we would need to start groundwork pretty soon.
 
Doublethink said:
Do we know what kind of window for planning the park have for a major development for 2020? If we were seeing anything like a coaster for 2020 we would need to start groundwork pretty soon.
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I think the most obvious indication of anything significant happening would be Loggers Leap actually being removed rather than being allowed to fester for another 9 months
 
Doublethink said:
Do we know what kind of window for planning the park have for a major development for 2020? If we were seeing anything like a coaster for 2020 we would need to start groundwork pretty soon.
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As much as it could still happen, I think 2021 is probably more likely for Thorpe's next major investment. As for what it could be, I'd say a B&M hyper sounds like a good option still, as well as an RMC.
 
Not only does the park need a decent hyper, the entire country needs one as well and I think Thorpe are realistically the only place that can get one. I wouldn't say no to an RMC, but that's not top priority for me.
 
Ted said:
Not only does the park need a decent hyper, the entire country needs one as well and I think Thorpe are realistically the only place that can get one. I wouldn't say no to an RMC, but that's not top priority for me.
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That's the same line of thought as I'm thinking along. As much as I'd love an RMC, there are quite a few UK parks that could get one. Alton and/or Blackpool could put one in with a little imagination, and even one of the mid tier parks (e.g. Paultons, Drayton, Flamingoland) could put something like a Raptor in.

With a B&M hyper, on the other hand; Thorpe is the only park in the country that could realistically install one. All of the country's other parks are constrained by either space (Blackpool), money (most mid tier parks) or planning restrictions (Alton). Mako at SeaWorld Orlando is my current number 1 coaster; a simply phenomenal ride that is packed with airtime, is super smooth and rerideable and is just genuinely a sublime experience. The UK needs something like it.
 
Shock horror! CRUSHED legs! RUINED years of her life!

Sounds obviously like they were a tight fit, it wasn't a comfortable ride, and she massively overreacted to getting her knees bashed a bit by the padded front of the log flume. I'm sure we've all ridden these rides and had a similar experience getting squashed by the boats, right? My dad once had a bad foot and it got swollen after a day at Thorpe Park, I don't think he left with five years of "PTSD, chronic anxiety, depression and putting on weight"

'Doctors diagnosed with superficial ischaemia' ie she got her knees bashed by the boat.

Funny how they put that part only way down the article after detailing her sob story of not going to university, seflies "before the injuries" (she looks exactly the same), not wanting to go to school, etc.

There are plenty of people with far worse problems in their lives who still do go to school and have to face things far worse.
Some guests try these tricks for the most minor of things all the time at UK parks.
 
@TakeYourMedicine Did you see the second picture down of her knee? I'm no doctor but that is not normal, it's clearly taken a lot of damage.

I think it's a bit more than a typical leg bashing scenario. If her legs were wedged under the front of the boat at the wrong angle I'd imagine it could be pretty traumatic for a 14 year old.
 
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