Thorpe Park: General Discussion

[Ash]

I appreciate with Hyperia on its way they want the park looking its best, but where is this level of “other” capital investment at Alton. We’ve seen nothing on this scale for decades.

 

[Johnny Rocket]

I appreciate with Hyperia on its way they want the park looking its best, but where is this level of “other” capital investment at Alton. We’ve seen nothing on this scale for decades.

Hopefully with the opening of Project Horizon! Alton really needs it.

In fairness, Thorpe have supposedly been forced into re-theming Angry Birds Land as the IP expired, and looks like the Tidal Wave works to replace the walkways have been done over the course of a couple of years. Other than that, it’s clear they’re focussing on revitalising the rides on the path between the entrance and Hyperia with Colossus and the flats being painted up. All very exciting though.

 

[Matt N]

Stealth is also receiving TLC, and that isn’t directly on the path to Hyperia. They also seem to be jetwashing the other coasters like Inferno and Swarm.

 

[Johnny Rocket]

Stealth is also receiving TLC, and that isn’t directly on the path to Hyperia. They also seem to be jetwashing the other coasters like Inferno and Swarm.

That’s true! I’d say this is probably the biggest set of changes across the park in one year since 2003, and it’s great to see.

And the KFC refurbishment while keeping the existing theming is just.. *chefs kiss* (proof will be in the pudding)

 

[MattyH]

Exciting times to be at Thorpe

I do hope that the foot operated tap finds it's way to some form of theme park museum.

 

[DiogoJ42]

Exciting times to be at Thorpe

I do hope that the foot operated tap finds it's way to some form of theme park museum.

Shawn probably already has it in his shed.

 

[Skyscraper]

From TPWW's recent Thorpe update, here's Steath's catch car removed from the track!



Pretty big isn't it?

Also, apparently pre-boarding screens will be added to rides for loading instructions. (6:10 in the video)

Source: video

 

[Quantum]

Thorpe really investing in the overall look and appearance of the park is great to see. Over to you Alton Towers...

 

[Poisson]

I'm always impressed Thorpe managed to crack the catch car a few years back. It's a solid lump of metal.

 

[ThemeParkAddict]

Also, apparently pre-boarding screens will be added to rides for loading instructions. (6:10 in the video)

Source: video

This is interesting and I don't doubt that Thorpe know better than me, but is that really necessary? Aren't almost all the rides just 'put bag here, sit in seat, pull down big bar, do seatbelt'?

 

[The Big Mack]

This is interesting and I don't doubt that Thorpe know better than me, but is that really necessary? Aren't almost all the rides just 'put bag here, sit in seat, pull down big bar, do seatbelt'?

Having worked at Thorpe Park and other UK parks, guest faff is particularly bad on UK coasters. Anything to help speed up dispatches is most welcome.

 

[djtruefitt]

This is interesting and I don't doubt that Thorpe know better than me, but is that really necessary? Aren't almost all the rides just 'put bag here, sit in seat, pull down big bar, do seatbelt'?

I’m heading that is basically what the video will show you, edited slightly different for different rides.

 

[Skyscraper]

Whether guests will actually pay attention to the screens though is another thing...

 

[The Big Mack]

Whether guests will actually pay attention to the screens though is another thing...

Then they can expect to be screamed at by the ride teams to quickly take their seats and pull their bars down used to have a blast doing that when we wanted to nail our throughputs! The only way to get the 'Great' British public to hurry up.

 

[Johnny Rocket]

I’m sure it’ll help a small amount, event if it’s only a handful of people per train, it can still save a few handy seconds so better than not having it at all.

 

[Enter Valhalla]

Unpopular opinion but I think that getting rid of the bag room on Stealth actually makes loading much more efficient.

I’d like to see the SRQ return, although the reasoning behind its removal in 2012 apparently was due to how long it was taking for single riders to be called and take their seats actually slowing things down.

I guess there’s nuance in all of this and there’s no concrete answer as to what will always make throughputs better, but at least Thorpe seem to be making an effort to improve efficiency, unlike a certain Merlin park down the road who appear as though they’re actively trying to make things as inefficient as possible.

 

[will6789]

Unpopular opinion but I think that getting rid of the bag room on Stealth actually makes loading much more efficient.

I never rode Stealth with its bag room in use, but just look at SAW's bag room for comparison, it's basically the same setup as Stealth's and can lead to chaos in that area with queues merging, row assignments being given by the host and people trying to drop their bags. The hosts in the bag room have to work really quickly to keep things moving, if they slow down, it pretty much immediately impacts operation of the coaster. (and SAW has fewer rows to fill compared to Stealth!)
Bag rooms work best when they're further away from the station (like Smiler and Thirteen) creating a buffer zone and smoothing out the flow of guests.

 

[Alexsniff7]

I never rode Stealth with its bag room in use, but just look at SAW's bag room for comparison, it's basically the same setup as Stealth's and can lead to chaos in that area with queues merging, row assignments being given by the host and people trying to drop their bags. The hosts in the bag room have to work really quickly to keep things moving, if they slow down, it pretty much immediately impacts operation of the coaster. (and SAW has fewer rows to fill compared to Stealth!)
Bag rooms work best when they're further away from the station (like Smiler and Thirteen) creating a buffer zone and smoothing out the flow of guests.

the walking dead one seems to always be slow for me because it's one person doing the collection and returns

 

[Matt N]

Thorpe Park has now revealed its opening hours for the 2024 season: https://www.thorpepark.com/plan-your-visit/before-you-visit/opening-times/

Some things to note include:

• The season begins on Sunday 24th March 2024 and ends on Sunday 3rd November 2024.
• During the months of March, April and May, the opening hours are 10am-5pm on weekdays and 10am-6pm on weekends.
• Towards the end of June, this changes to 10am-6pm on weekdays and 10am-7pm on weekends.
• The entirety of the summer holidays is 10am-7pm.
• In September, opening hours transition back to 10am-5pm on weekdays and 10am-6pm on weekends despite Oktoberfest being on.
• In October, opening hours are 10am-9pm for most of the month due to Fright Nights being on. Fright Nights lasts for 24 days and runs from Friday 4th October 2024 to Sunday 3rd November 2024.
• There are only three midweek closed days all season. These are Monday 14th, Tuesday 15th and Wednesday 16th October 2024.

These sound like pretty decent hours to me, and it does seem like the number of midweek closed days is reducing, which is always good to see!

I wonder why Thorpe Park seems to have longer hours than Alton Towers?

 

[jon81uk]

I wonder why Thorpe Park seems to have longer hours than Alton Towers?

I think the more urban location helps as you can stay later because there isn't the driving via A/B roads to do, its quicker for many to get home from Thorpe. Plus the average age of Thorpe guests is probably higher, whereas at AT any CBeebies age kids would need to leave earlier to get them home for dinner and bedtime. This also works for staff too, they probably have less far to travel so are able to work later more easily.

I think AT could do those sort of hours too, maybe keeping the 5pm for longer in June to focus more on the holidays and even closing CBeebies an hour before the rest of the park would be a sensible option, but they choose not to try harder or pay enough to make staff want to work the longer hours, as you don't get paid for the commute there is no incentive to drive for an hour to work a long shift at AT when Aldi is closer to home.