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Thorpe Park: General Discussion

I have something that could potentially interest you guys regarding Thorpe’s future; Theme Park Predictions had a “reliable source” tell them something very interesting to do with Thorpe Park’s next project:



If you don’t want to watch the video, he’s basically suggesting that Merlin has signed some form of multi buy deal with B&M (with Chessington’s new coaster and various upcoming Chinese Legolands having one or more B&Ms within them, I don’t think this is the most obscene theory by any means), and this will result in Thorpe’s next coaster being a B&M Hyper Coaster on the Loggers spot (although quite possibly stretching out of the Loggers area) that will beat the Big One’s UK height record and possibly Stealth’s UK speed record as well. He says that signs of construction will begin next year and that the ride will open in 2023.


Do of course take this with a pinch of salt, but he says that his source is reliable, and if this does come true, I think it could be very exciting! I’ll admit I’m slightly doubtful about the prospect of a 2023 opening, as I’m unsure whether Thorpe would want to infringe on Chessington’s project, and I also feel as though we would have seen more in the way of planning permission by now given the scale of such a project, but I don’t think the ride type and nature of ride suggested seems at all inconceivable, personally, and I think such a ride would be a phenomenal fit at Thorpe!
 
Matt N said:
I have something that could potentially interest you guys regarding Thorpe’s future; Theme Park Predictions had a “reliable source” tell them something very interesting to do with Thorpe Park’s next project:



If you don’t want to watch the video, he’s basically suggesting that Merlin has signed some form of multi buy deal with B&M (with Chessington’s new coaster and various upcoming Chinese Legolands having one or more B&Ms within them, I don’t think this is the most obscene theory by any means), and this will result in Thorpe’s next coaster being a B&M Hyper Coaster on the Loggers spot (although quite possibly stretching out of the Loggers area) that will beat the Big One’s UK height record and possibly Stealth’s UK speed record as well. He says that signs of construction will begin next year and that the ride will open in 2023.


Do of course take this with a pinch of salt, but he says that his source is reliable, and if this does come true, I think it could be very exciting! I’ll admit I’m slightly doubtful about the prospect of a 2023 opening, as I’m unsure whether Thorpe would want to infringe on Chessington’s project, and I also feel as though we would have seen more in the way of planning permission by now given the scale of such a project, but I don’t think the ride type and nature of ride suggested seems at all inconceivable, personally, and I think such a ride would be a phenomenal fit at Thorpe!
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CC my thoughts from SW9 thread here: TBC: SW9 Speculation
 
I would not be at all surprised if Merlin have done some sort of deal with B&M. It is the only logical explanation as to why Chessington are getting a B&M when it would have likely made more financial sense to go with another manufacturer for that scale of coaster.
 
From a financial angle it makes sense for both parties atm
Raw material costs are sky high so b&m would want to tie parks down to bulk order if they can so they can plan better.

From merlins angle a multi ride deal (i have read it’s actually 9-10 coasters- 3 in the uk) gives them security as well as they’ve effectively orders well ahead ….
 
jon81uk said:
Hopefully if Thorpe do get a hyper coaster it won’t be inverting. A fast, fun but non-inverting coaster is one major thing they don’t have at the moment.
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Given that no current B&M hyper inverts, I’d say that’s probably a fairly likely outcome if one was to be built!
 
Benjsh said:
Probably looking at a similar model to Mako, do we think?
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quite possibly it could even go over the lake which would be really cool, could have some jets or whatever as the train passes.
I've thought for a long time that a hyper would suite Thorpe but I've always, and still am, very sceptical about whether they would build one and whether they could pull it off well enough. I think it could work for them though, especially if its the UK's tallest coaster. A great marketing campaign about it being the tallest ever in the UK or whatever and a good theme and there you go they'd be on to a winner.
 
Matt N said:
Given that no current B&M hyper inverts, I’d say that’s probably a fairly likely outcome if one was to be built!
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Given how easily Thorpe Park seem to mess everything up it wouldn’t surprise me if they tried to do something new and it’s just awful.
 
I think it would make perfect sense for Thorpe Park to build a B&M hyper. Also, given that these days rollercoasters don’t drum up major media attention (positive) than they did say back in the 90s, so I really think if they did have a record breaker on their hands then it would almost market itself pre opening.
 
AstroDan said:
Whatever the park builds, the impact on guest figures is likely to be negligible.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk
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Is that necessarily true though? A good campaign, Alton Towers like, with a record breaking ride, and a record people can easily understand too. The tallest in the UK is a pretty good record and they can make out like its never been done before and all that. Also with a good theme to go hand in hand with some good adverts.
I really think if they drum up hype in the correct way and do the marketing correctly with a ride that beats a key record that guest figures could actually rise however probably not anywhere near there all time high. I it were to be the UK's tallest I really think they're would be a buzz about it and groups of people challenging each other to do it.

Of course if it's not a hyper or anything with a decent marketing potential than you would of course be correct so I suppose all we can do is wait.
 
AstroDan said:
Whatever the park builds, the impact on guest figures is likely to be negligible.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk
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What makes you say this, out of interest? I've often heard it said that Thorpe has hit its ceiling attendance-wise, but based on the Merlin attendance figures released earlier this year, Thorpe certainly has "room to grow" so to speak (2019 saw the park get 1.5million, while the park saw over 2 million between 2009 and 2011; they're a solid 25% below their peak at present), and given the park has pulled off plenty of successful marketing campaigns in the past, including under Merlin, I certainly think a new ride could provide a real boost to buck Thorpe's downward attendance trend during the 2010s!

Of all of the major attractions Thorpe has built post-2000 (I'm talking Colossus, Inferno, Stealth, Saw, Swarm and DBGT), I'd argue that only Swarm and DBGT could have been considered to be unsuccessful. And it could also be said that numerous extenuating circumstances (Olympics, poor summer weather, park at its "ceiling" attendance-wise from huge years between 2009 and 2011) contributed to Swarm's lacklustre performance. I'm not saying they were the sole cause by any means, but I think they could certainly have contributed. Personally, I'd say that a 75% hit rate for major investments at Thorpe could be a pretty promising sign of how a new coaster could perform, especially if it was easily marketable.

Ultimately, I think a hyper would have a fair shot at being a big success, personally. The British public do seem to like their record breakers; most of, if not all of, Britain's modern record breakers (both national and on a worldwide scale) were huge successes for their respective parks. Ultimate, Big One, Smiler, even Thorpe's own Stealth and Saw (technically, it had the steepest freefall drop in the world for a period, as well as the steepest drop in the UK); all of these are/were hugely popular. As much as I know many like to paint Thorpe as doomed, I don't think that any ride built there is doomed to fail by any means.

I think that if the right product were picked and the marketing campaign was strong, a major new ride could go down very well at Thorpe, and raise attendance significantly.
 
For me Thorpe needs a major successful ride - you could argue the last three major investments just haven’t boosted the park.

I think a lot of that is down to the way the park is marketed at a particular audience. It’s simply not a family park. Only so many chavs want to go
 
Jb85 said:
For me Thorpe needs a major successful ride - you could argue the last three major investments just haven’t boosted the park.

I think a lot of that is down to the way the park is marketed at a particular audience. It’s simply not a family park. Only so many chavs want to go
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Out of interest, what's the 3rd major investment you're referring to? I know Swarm and DBGT weren't exactly rip-roaring successes, but all of the others were at least modestly successful, from what I can tell!
 
Matt N said:
Out of interest, what's the 3rd major investment you're referring to? I know Swarm and DBGT weren't exactly rip-roaring successes, but all of the others were at least modestly successful, from what I can tell!
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walking dead
They must have paid a few quid for that re theme - why.

looking on Thorpe park mania - they seem to be indicating a project name of Exodus…. to be fair it does sound very Thorpe
 
I’m not sure how much we can read into the success (or lack of) for the last two big capex projects at Thorpe.

The Swarm opened in 2012, a year that was dire for almost every outdoor visitor attraction in the UK. The weather during the peak summer period was amongst the worst and wettest on record, and the London Olympics drew a lot of leisure spending for this year away from traditional attractions. I don’t think I could name a single park (Alton Towers included which has typically responded well to capex) that didn’t see a decline in attendance in 2012, regardless of capex.

DBGT opened in 2016. This was the year after The Smiler’s accident and public appetite for thrill-seeking rides was notably surpressed. Attendance at Alton Towers and Blackpool Pleasure Beach was also weak this year. DBGT also opened epically late in the season, was unreliable, and was widely regarded as offering a poor ride experience. This resulted in the ride being slated all over social media and the news. This speaks to the poor nature of the ride, but I don’t know if it really speaks to Thorpe’s lack of potential to see an increase in attendance from a quality investment that opens on time and is reliable.
 
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