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Thorpe Park: General Discussion

Matt N said:
It must have taken real balls to build a ride like it, something so completely different to anything else ever built, and I admire and applaud the creativity of those who designed it
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Yeah, at some point there was a brilliant concept and a great ambition to make it. But the final project seemed like that brilliant idea got deconstructed and misguided by a hapless corporate consortium, until the final product was nothing like the concept intended.

Also bad creative management meaning the final attraction felt like a patchwork of different ideas cellotaped together.

The modern day tube train and fracking thing was meant to be part of the 'disortientation', but it was so badly done that whatever they were going for with it fell flat.
 
Personally I would rather they used audio and effects to tell a story. I am thinking of the Sweeney Todd scene from the London Dungeons, that scene doesn't even need an actor but people sit in chairs with speakers on the headrest and you will hear screams from people being poked in the back or from the seats tipping back at the end. The effects seem to be far more reliable and they get a reaction. They can also turn off the effects on a single chair if someone has back or neck problems and they have wheelchair bays with speakers at roughly head height. If they put those chairs on the train then told a story about some robbery or murder on a train then they could have a ride that is more reliable and cheaper to run and it would have a storyline that is easier to follow. The problems with that are
1. It would be difficult to retrofit the train like that
2. People have an expectation of what DBGT is now and people expect VR and actors because that is how DBGT is generally described by Enthusiasts and by Wikipedia.
 
OilyWater said:
Yeah, at some point there was a brilliant concept and a great ambition to make it. But the final project seemed like that brilliant idea got deconstructed and misguided by a hapless corporate consortium, until the final product was nothing like the concept intended.

Also bad creative management meaning the final attraction felt like a patchwork of different ideas cellotaped together.

The modern day tube train and fracking thing was meant to be part of the 'disortientation', but it was so badly done that whatever they were going for with it fell flat.
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I wonder what the original pitched concept for DBGT actually was? I wonder whether the VR and live action aspect of it was heavily involved, or whether it was a more broad “Thorpe needs a dark ride”? Or whether it was “Thorpe needs a Derren Brown attraction”, as it’s always been said that Thorpe wanted to work with Derren for years?
 
I would love to see some concepts for the ride and some of the ideas involved, as I imagine a lot was changed with the ride and a lot probably cut due to budgets!
 
So as well as Merlin pulling annual passes from sale (as is being discussed in the MAP thread), Thorpe Park have taken their passes off sale too and they are listed as ‘sold out’.

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Thorpe Park haven't confirmed their opening dates yet, but the indoor attractions will definitely be closed like last season, at least at first anyway. TWDTR and Black Mirror will probably open on May 17th, but could we also see DBGT open then considering social distancing rules are going to be reduced from that date? (People will finally be able to hug others from outside their bubble)
 
I think you're misinterpreting the rules.

By step three (May 17th), the government will complete a review of social distancing between friends and family. By step four (21st June), the government will complete a review of social distancing in public settings.

Details here.
 
skyscraper said:
Thorpe Park haven't confirmed their opening dates yet, but the indoor attractions will definitely be closed like last season, at least at first anyway. TWDTR and Black Mirror will probably open on May 17th, but could we also see DBGT open then considering social distancing rules are going to be reduced from that date? (People will finally be able to hug others from outside their bubble)
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DBGT's likely date is June 21st if all goes to plan I'd say.
 
The bigger issue with the "hotel" at Thorpe is food provision, indoor hospitality can't happen until stage 3. So they could probably open the hotel with takeaway food or continental breakfast bags delivered to the room or something, but I don't expect people will really want that and also there is the issue that drinks etc could only happen outdoors in the evenings too.
 
How long have they been calling it Thorpe Shark Cabins rather than Thorpe Shark Hotel? Obviously you cannot call something a hotel, and then try to open it when hotels are not allowed to open. So have they re-named it because of this?

Very much a long shot trying to make out that it is self contained accommodation though.
 
Rob said:
How long have they been calling it Thorpe Shark Cabins rather than Thorpe Shark Hotel? Obviously you cannot call something a hotel, and then try to open it when hotels are not allowed to open. So have they re-named it because of this?

Very much a long shot trying to make out that it is self contained accommodation though.
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They changed the name a while back (maybe towards the end of 2019?) presumably due to the complaints from people who turned up expecting a hotel and who got some shipping containers.
 
AT86 said:
They changed the name a while back (maybe towards the end of 2019?) presumably due to the complaints from people who turned up expecting a hotel and who got some shipping containers.
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Ah fair enough, I had not noticed that so wondered if it had been a more recent change. Cabins are certainly a more accurate description than hotel!
 
Rob said:
Ah fair enough, I had not noticed that so wondered if it had been a more recent change. Cabins are certainly a more accurate description than hotel!
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It was rebranded for huge 2020 season. But the new branding still has hotel in the cabins image. So it is a bit confusing.

I guess they could open, and open Finns for takeaway only, as you’ll be allowed to go inside to collect food, similar to how you do for food places now.
 
I think the term social experiment fits it best.

"How much would you pay for a tin shed with a tiny window, sticky floors, flooding showers and bed bugs?"
 
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