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Thorpe Park: General Discussion

The incident was 5 years ago, so it would have been running for at least a year after this I guess? So it probably played a part in the closure but it certainly wasn't closed instantly.
 
This was absolutely nothing to do with the ride's closure.

You'll notice Tiger Rock (the only Mack log flume left at a UK Merlin park) has only survived closure with Mack being asked back for modifications to the crests of the drops. These modifications got denied for Loggers Leap.

RicketyCricket said:
@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.
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There's nothing concrete in the article that suggests her knees took "a lot" of damage, the photos show a lump around one of her knees (another photo shows the other is fine), this does not amount to "crushed legs" and is totally disproportionate to all the things she claims Thorpe Park caused her.

Im not a doctor either but surely a lump like that is commonly explained as fat gathering above joints like knees/ankles? Of course it's possible she was injured worse internally than a photo would show, but the article shows nothing medical to suggest that.

If there was a concrete diagonosis or X-ray, it would be headline in the article (and not on The Mirror).
 
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TakeYourMedicine said:
This was absolutely nothing to do with the ride's closure.

You'll notice Tiger Rock (the only Mack log flume left at a UK Merlin park) has only survived closure with Mack being asked back for modifications to the crests of the drops. These modifications got denied for Loggers Leap.
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What is the purpose of the modifications out of interest?
 
Stuie said:
Sorry, do you mean they were denied by Mack, Merlin or planning?
Not that it matters now really. I was just interested.
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Merlin shut the rides and didn't grant parks the budget to reopen them with the modifications. In the case of the Flume we got a swift replacement and a great new ride, but Loggers just sat there for years.
 
How does that fit with Dragon Falls/Tiger Rock, as that stayed open whilst the other two shut and has only received the mod this year?
 
TPC said:
Did pirate falls at legoland get this update?
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That's a Zamperla flume so didn't get the call from Merlin but I have no idea what the circumstance with that ride is.

John said:
How does that fit with Dragon Falls/Tiger Rock, as that stayed open whilst the other two shut and has only received the mod this year?
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That's the question! Supposedly Chessington persuaded to keep it open because the park would die without it, otherwise it was certainly down for removal too.

The hypocritical delay just gives a window into how dysfunctional Merlin's decisions actually are. But I won't pretend to know more detail on that. It's a very good thing Tiger Rock stayed open though, shows that Loggers' closure was pretty pointless and just came down to Merlin's usual hesitation to spend money on 'old' rides
 
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It's all very odd. I mean, I guess it's possible that a boat could stop right at the very edge and then subsequently move if someone attempted to get out (see also - the botched evac from Python @ Efteling). It seems such an unlikely event though and getting out if the boat stops is pretty dangerous anyway, which is why they always had signage telling you to stay put.

I know that on some flumes the anti-rollbacks don't extend all the way to the top of the lift, which theoretically means a boat can always be brought "back from the brink" if it were to stop right on the edge, I'm not sure whether or not that's the case with Loggers/Flume/Tiger Rock - it's possible that they were worried that there would be no way to safely evacuate from that specific location.
 
John said:
It's all very odd. I mean, I guess it's possible that a boat could stop right at the very edge and then subsequently move if someone attempted to get out (see also - the botched evac from Python @ Efteling). It seems such an unlikely event though and getting out if the boat stops is pretty dangerous anyway, which is why they always had signage telling you to stay put.

I know that on some flumes the anti-rollbacks don't extend all the way to the top of the lift, which theoretically means a boat can always be brought "back from the brink" if it were to stop right on the edge, I'm not sure whether or not that's the case with Loggers/Flume/Tiger Rock - it's possible that they were worried that there would be no way to safely evacuate from that specific location.
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I guess just pushing it forward isn't an option?...

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First time visiting Thorpe in 3 years yesterday, and had a great day except for the fact that SAW is in a bit of a sorry state at the moment.

Many of the speakers in the indoor queue are completely broken, the effects in the dark ride section (particularly lighting) are all broken and the ride was stacking a ridiculous amount yesterday with no urgency to get the trains moving.

Only other snipe I have is that F&B staff just don't seem to want to serve with any urgency? We were in a queue for Amity Kebabs, probably about 20 people in said queue, and waited about 30 minutes to get served. 4 members of staff working, and the queue for the outlet was full of dropped food, vomit and paper cups etc. It took for 5 guests to comment on how disgusting the queue was for any member of staff to sort the issue out. There's also hardly any choice on-park in terms of food and beverage.

Great to see Rush operating with both swings though, and operations were generally good.
 
Good to see that you enjoyed your day! Admittedly, I last rode Saw in May 2018, but I don't remember being unimpressed with the indoor section and the theming. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that they were probably some of the ride's redeeming features for me! I wasn't a huge fan of the actual coaster portion; the layout was good, but it was just too rough for me, and the intensity got a bit too much for me after the MCBR. Did you enjoy the coaster?
 
Matt N said:
Good to see that you enjoyed your day! Admittedly, I last rode Saw in May 2018, but I don't remember being unimpressed with the indoor section and the theming. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that they were probably some of the ride's redeeming features for me! I wasn't a huge fan of the actual coaster portion; the layout was good, but it was just too rough for me, and the intensity got a bit too much for me after the MCBR. Did you enjoy the coaster?
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It's a solid ride but I remember riding it not long after it opened in 2009 & a few years later, and in comparison from then to now it's a totally different experience. Genuinely never experienced a headache like I did yesterday after coming off the ride- not even during an awful hangover.

I've always loved the dark ride aspect to it, and took some close friends on the ride yesterday for their first time, and it was frustrating to see the lack of care taken to the lighting and effects which didn't showcase the ride in the best way like it did a few years back. Main issues were the strobe lights on the first initial 'mini-drop' were broken, so you didn't actually see the 'trap' hanging above (could also see the mini-drop as well from light pollution which wasn't the case years ago- takes the surprise element away). Also the lighting on the second trap (the solid blue/purpley lights with the air effects) were broken, so you didn't actually see the trap at all, and the body on the floor with the inversion/barrel roll had no water spurting out when the train went over/through the inversion.

A shame really, because just like you, the indoor section for me is personally one of the redeeming features of the ride.

Do have to say though, Swarm was running far better than I ever remember it. More intense and a lot more fun than what it was like a few years back.
 
kydog1299 said:
Do have to say though, Swarm was running far better than I ever remember it. More intense and a lot more fun than what it was like a few years back.
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Ooh, I love a good ride on The Swarm! My rides in May were probably the best I've ever had on it, and I loved it to start with! There's a good reason it spent a long stint as my favourite UK coaster!

Also, would you guys say that B&Ms tend to get better as they get older? As I've heard multiple people now say that rides like The Swarm, Mako and Nemesis Inferno, to name just a few, have gotten better with age.
 
A little bit of roughness (which usually comes with age) adds to the feeling of intensity in my opinion.

As long as it's not batter your head between the restraint, it is nice to have a bit more jitter. Adds to the wild uncontrolled feeling.
 
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