Thorpe Park: General Discussion

For any Stealth fans here, Ride Sims have just released an OFFICIAL Stealth simulation! (with an awesome soundtrack)

https://www.ridesims.com/ride-simulators/Stealth

https://www.facebook.com/thorpepark...fGf1e3PLtNKLHzmRZRfM_q5uE&fref=nf&__tn__=kC-R

 

I'm presuming the bridge in the photo is the second (almost hidden) bridge that connects the swarm island to the staff footpath?

 

TPWW have done a video remembering Slammer

 

Seems another change of direction may be on the cards in the not too distant future; the current divisional director for Thorpe is moving across to Legoland.

 

Oh my; the last few years at Thorpe really have been a quite literal rollercoaster...

 

Our strategy is currently experiencing a technical delay. Please enjoy one of our many other strategies at Thorpe Park Resort.

 

I feel for the poor sod that will be inheriting that position. The ultimate punishment of the Merlin group is being sentenced to it.

 

Out of interest, what sort of role does the divisional director play within the park? I know they’re the main figurehead for the park within the company, but do they deal with day-to-day operations, things like future investments and the financing side of things or a bit of both?

 

Now forgive me if this is a load of rubbish, as I know Wikipedia is hardly a beacon of reliability, however the page for Derren Brown’s Ghost Train states that the ride is currently being demolished and the park announced in January 2021 that it will not reopen. Can anybody confirm or deny this? I don’t keep totally up to date with Thorpe Park happenings so forgive me if I have missed something.

 

Does the statement have a citation for verification? I'm guessing no...

 

Nope, Thorpe haven't announced anything like this, so I presume the RMC Google Maps style edits have appeared on Wikipedia.

Now we may find out that actually there is accidental truth to the statement before the season starts. But that's based upon nothing more than a low accuracy educated guess in terms of how long the Derren Brown license was for.

In terms of Divisional Directors, if confirmed, then that would mean Towers and Thorpe are without one (unless they've now filled the Towers role).

 

The Wikipedia page has already been changed back, could have been some 12 year old who thought it was hilarious, or it could have been based on some level of truth.

It is pretty unlikely that they will be able to operate DBGT in 2021 so if the license has come up for renewal it would make sense for Merlin to save the cash and not bother with it, giving them time to assess what they want to do with the attraction in the longer term.

Or Derren Brown could have decided he doesn’t want his name over the door anymore, wouldn’t surprise me with how much he seems to have distanced himself from it since 2016.

 

Yeah it almost definitely won't open this season as it's just not Covid-friendly, and social distancing could be here till December anyway. Someone on YouTube suggested that the VR could be removed and the windows fitted with LED screens (like Hogwarts Express at Universal). That would make the experience covid-safe but at the cost of severely reducing the effect.

 

Still have the issue of an enclosed space though and people screaming.

Could we see the removal of the VR at some point. Those headsets are very old now, and were never designed for the kind of usage they've been subject to.

 

Rip it out and use the building for a "proper" dark ride.

 

As I've said before, though a lovely idea in theory, this kinda scheme for any 'poor' dark ride isn't feasible. When you're talking the likes of Derren Brown, Duel, Tomb Blaster etc., the buildings are very much designed around the ride system, and would be an extremely limiting factor in the design of any new ride. Far more sensible to bulldoze entirely and start again.

 

I've had a pretty good poke around the Ghost Train building, it'd pretty much be a blank canvas once the ride system had been removed ?

 

DBGT be like:

 

No not at all really, there is a lot of structural steel built in ways to avoid the transit system, a large pit housing the motion base, specially designed 'underground' stations and of course the huge hanging train area... if anything, it's a more specific build than many dark rides.