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Thorpe Park: General Discussion

Plastic Person said:
I can’t remember what year Merlin purchased Gardaland, but Jungle Rapids predates it. Agreed though, it’s a great ride, surprisingly wild and atmospheric!
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I *think* the purchase was around 2006? So you're absolutely right, the Rapids came with the sale (there are some seriously stunning rides that come from the pre-Merlin era!). They've been incredibly well maintained by Merlin for nearly 20 years and the ops seem great - almost a perfect template to use if they renovate RR!

owenstreet7 said:
I'd also be very surprised if the Beach wasn't removed or repurposed into a ride before Rumba Rapids goes.

That's plenty of space for development 😁
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I'd like to see the beach removed - it used to be sooo pretty now it looks a bit sad 😔 if Thorpe are thinking of sticking with thrill, it'd be brilliant to see an attraction take its place but equally, expanding the play park/creating a modern water & sensory play area, like the one at Blenheim Palace for example, would be great for families!

I always associate Thorpe with having an Atlantis/Watery vibe due to the lake and walking in to see the beach, depth charge and tidal wave, so personally, if they ever developed that area, I'd like to see them still lean into that 😊
 
BooMT said:
I'd like to see the beach removed - it used to be sooo pretty now it looks a bit sad 😔 if Thorpe are thinking of sticking with thrill, it'd be brilliant to see an attraction take its place but equally, expanding the play park/creating a modern water & sensory play area, like the one at Blenheim Palace for example, would be great for families!

I always associate Thorpe with having an Atlantis/Watery vibe due to the lake and walking in to see the beach, depth charge and tidal wave, so personally, if they ever developed that area, I'd like to see them still lean into that 😊
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I'm very keen on the idea of a Log Flume style ride (Chiapas, Biberburg, Viking Voyage, Catapult Falls etc.) on that site that uses the existing beach for it's splash sections. The beach just is a natural site for something like that and possibly carry on that beach theme.

It's something that appeals to both thrillseekers and families much like how Loggers Leap did, high capacity and with the park's other water rides not being as reliable, I personally think it's a good long term investment.

It's a huge space that could be redeveloped into a variety of options including entertainment, multiple family or family thrill flat rides, a family-thrill coaster, a flume or a combination of those. I'm just amazed it's still there when let's say Loggers Leap got the chop.

There's so much that could be done with that area and I personally think it should be on the park's top 3 priority development areas alongside Slammer and the island behind Swarm that I affectionately call RMC Island.

coasterenthusiast said:
I’m heading to TP for a short break Tuesday to Wednesday, does anyone know how busy it will be?
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I'd say check out QueueTimes.com's crowd calendar as that gives some indication of how busy it can be.

Schools go back that week so you may get inset day crowds earlier that week. It gets better towards the end of that week.

2023's crowd calendar showed it was busier Monday and Tuesday however from Wednesday onwards, it was quieter much like how queue times usually are during term time outside of school trip season.

Thorpe Park crowd calendar - August 2024

August 2024 crowd calendar for Thorpe Park. View opening times and predicted crowd levels. Find the least busy days to visit.
queue-times.com queue-times.com
 
Inferno seems to have some long downtime coming up. Shame its closed the same period Hyperia is closed.

Not sure if its been mentioned on here but theres a few spots on inferno which have been welded / strengthened so wonder if its anything to do with that.

Regardless, its great to see the park be so open about planned maintenance. Something we haven't really seen before.

Screenshot2024-09-04172923.png.01d74758c783b531690729eaa76c7046.png
 
Matt N said:
I wonder why Thorpe is closing so many major attractions for maintenance in the month of September?

It seems odd when it’s never been done previously.
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I believe that part of the reason is that they're starting to install shelter for ride hosts and other staff members (rain, wind and sun). They've already been installed on Wickerman and Rita at Alton Towers.

As to why they need to be installed now? I'm a little uncertain, but I would suggest that possible concerns could have been raised by HSE, or an employee body. The weather is also about to start taking a turn for the worse, so it could be some future forward planning.
 
Ah gutted. I will be going to Thorpe Park for the first time as an adult on the 20th September. Last time I went was on a school trip 16 years ago (I think??) - SAW: The Ride was being built.

The main aim is to get on Hyperia so I'm not overly bothered that Nemesis Inferno is closed but it's still 1 ride down.

Which leads me onto a further question. With Alton Towers, there's always a recommended order of doing the coasters to get as many rides during the day. Is there the same thing for Thorpe Park? A go-to area to start with?
 
djransome said:
Ah gutted. I will be going to Thorpe Park for the first time as an adult on the 20th September. Last time I went was on a school trip 16 years ago (I think??) - SAW: The Ride was being built.

The main aim is to get on Hyperia so I'm not overly bothered that Nemesis Inferno is closed but it's still 1 ride down.

Which leads me onto a further question. With Alton Towers, there's always a recommended order of doing the coasters to get as many rides during the day. Is there the same thing for Thorpe Park? A go-to area to start with?
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To be honest, pretty much everything except hyperia have minimal queues right at the start of the day, so the choice is yours.

I see you're going on a friday, which should mean the park won't be too busy, but hyperia usually gets it's longest line at the start of the day, so depending on how busy it is I would hold off until about 12pm or so to ride it, unless you want to use the single rider line earlier.

Also considering it's been 16 years, I'd definitely recommend trying the swarm first if hyperia has a long line, it's great fun! Saw, on the other hand... maybe leave it until late in the day if you don't want your day impacted by a headache
 
Call_um said:
Inferno seems to have some long downtime coming up. Shame its closed the same period Hyperia is closed.

Not sure if its been mentioned on here but theres a few spots on inferno which have been welded / strengthened so wonder if its anything to do with that.

Regardless, its great to see the park be so open about planned maintenance. Something we haven't really seen before.

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Strengthening has been in Inferno for years. White topped supports are the ones that have been modified.
 
I'd always recommend Saw and Colossus first, personally. Both of those have quite low capacities and can get long queues later on.

Alternatively, Stealth and Inferno are also good, but when doing those first, I have sometimes found myself caught out by longer Saw and Colossus queues later on.

Essentially, though, starting on anything other than Hyperia should be fine!
 
Regarding the Inferno closure - this thing desperately needs a repaint.

Last closed season they only half repainted Colossus and said this was because there wasn’t enough time to paint it all and get it through winter maintenance.

Could the Inferno closure now mean they can get enough maintenance done before the winter to mean it can be repainted?

Optimistic take on it in know, but it is a possibility?
 
Track inspection takes (maybe) a couple of days and can be done basically whenever they want - you could do it early mornings with minimal impact on operation if you split it over multiple days do get it done during the main season. The trains are more difficult as you have to at least partially disassemble them for NDT.

Realistically, I don't see them having enough time to carry out a full inspection on a train during the closure whilst for the track you wouldn't need to close it for anything like that long. Very much feels like an excuse to cut 2 weeks of staff budget, having it overlap with the already arranged Hyperia closure is particularly poor.
 
John said:
Track inspection takes (maybe) a couple of days and can be done basically whenever they want - you could do it early mornings with minimal impact on operation if you split it over multiple days do get it done during the main season. The trains are more difficult as you have to at least partially disassemble them for NDT.

Realistically, I don't see them having enough time to carry out a full inspection on a train during the closure whilst for the track you wouldn't need to close it for anything like that long. Very much feels like an excuse to cut 2 weeks of staff budget, having it overlap with the already arranged Hyperia closure is particularly poor.
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The Inferno closure isn't good timing especially when it's timed with Hyperia's closure period.

I think this is something out of their control as Merlin wouldn't want to close two major coasters in the name of cost cutting. Saw is probably the one coaster that takes up the most staffing wise and would be the one coaster logically would close first if they were cost cutting.

Somewhat optimistic that it may reopen earlier if all goes well.
 
Rainy day at thorpe, all rides closed at the moment except for the indoor attractions.

I live close by and the weather seems fine(?) albeit a bit rainy but I guess there’s no way of telling how strong the winds are at altitude
 
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