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Thorpe Park: General Discussion

Re: Thorpe Park

Scott said:
Nothing new = drop in visitors.
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I disagree with you there slightly. If that were the case then most of the smaller parks in the UK would not exist! A lot of parks cope quite well without new attractions for years.

Even bigger parks can cope just the same.

Just to point out though, I do think Thorpe need new smaller rides/attractions installed on these quieter years, moreso with the new brand image.
 
Re: Thorpe Park

In my opinion a park does need new things to keep guests up. Even small parks need to refresh and continue investing to keep going. A park with the size and stature of Thorpe should be investing in its non-coaster years to encourage more people to visit.

As long as the product is good people will come back, but if there isn't something new to attract guests it's only natural that numbers will drop. Thorpe's investments in small and medium years have hardly been stellar and it's not giving people an excuse to come back - nor is it helping them gain a foothold in the family market they've isolated.


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Re: Thorpe Park

Some small parks do not do anything for years and still stay up in one piece. Not the best of examples (but a good enough one) is Oakwood. Given 2013 is the first investment that park has had in 7 years it just goes to show that a theme park without investment can operate quite finely and guest figures are not damaged in a way that jeopardises the park's future.

I do agree it's only natural that numbers will drop. It depends what way you look at it though, especially with the bigger parks in the UK. Alton Towers for example, they usually have a 0.3-0.5 million decrease in guest figures following a Secret Weapon year, which is very natural for the park. Look at 2007 at Alton when there was pretty much nothing new (The Dung Heap and Haunted Hollow were in no way new attractions) guest figures had little to no change. As long as a park is good enough or has a good reputation figures will stay steady for a while.

I read your initial comment quite generally rather than it directed at Thorpe specifically. I do agree completely with the way which Thorpe currently stands, they need new 'filler' attractions. With a supposed new brand image aimed more at the family, they need some more variety. Otherwise one day Thorpe will just become a roller coaster junkyard.
 
Re: Thorpe Park

Oh I agree that parks can continue fine - but they tend to be the regional or local parks around the UK. Big national places like Thorpe and Alton need investment year on year to encourage people to visit again.

It's particularly worrying for Thorpe considering they tend to ignore their non-coaster years. Which is not good if you're rebranding to families.


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Re: Thorpe Park

I don't think parks need a new attraction every year, but if all they install is roller coasters then the park gets a bit bland.

It's not about yearly installations it's about variety.
 
Re: Thorpe Park

Well I get the impression from Thorpe over the past season, and into the present, that they are rather up in arms with the whole rebrand and market shift in an attempt to boost the park's figures and provide a more positive outlook for the future.

Personally, especially if they are looking at shifting towards pulling more families (Albeit those with older children/teens), I'd say they need to perhaps look at bringing in a new dark ride. Yes, they do tip towards the thrill market more, but families will not all be bound to like thrill rides.

For example, if my family visit a park there's only me, my dad, and my sister (14) who will do the big rides. However, my mum would refuse to do anything considerable. For this reason Thorpe would not be the place I'd look to for a family day out. I'd take Alton or Drayton over it. They have the big thrills such as Nemesis and Shockwave, but they also have the more family friendly rides such as Duel and Pirate Adventure. At Thorpe unless you want Flying Fish or one of the small kids ride's such as Rockey Express you're rather limited.

Something similar to Hex would work if you ask me. A simple family friendly dark ride, but with a mature, darker theme to target it towards the older, but less adventurous portion of their market.

The new brand and target market are a step in the right direction, but to be truly successful they really need to look at their non-thrill offerings. The sooner the better.
 
Re: Thorpe Park

I don't think Thorpe will get anything new next year. It's been really poor investment ever since 2007 during the Medium/small investment years.
 
Re: Thorpe Park

James said:
Some small parks do not do anything for years and still stay up in one piece. Not the best of examples (but a good enough one) is Oakwood. Given 2013 is the first investment that park has had in 7 years it just goes to show that a theme park without investment can operate quite finely and guest figures are not damaged in a way that jeopardises the park's future.
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Whilst I don't have any figures, I would say that Oakwood's lack of investment during that 7 year period has seriously damaged the park. I would also say that if it wasn't for the Neverland development this year, the park would really be in trouble.

When I remember how busy Oakwood was in the late 90s and early 2000s and compare that to the decline in visitors that park has seen in recent years, i don't think that all the cutbacks have helped the palce at all. I went in the middle of August last year and was able to saty on Megafobia and re-ride as there weren't enough people to fill the train. This was on one train operation, perfect weathr and on a firework night.

Compare that to Oakwood this summer though, now that there's been investment, that place seems to be booming! ;D
 
Re: Thorpe Park

That's why I said not the best of examples. ;)

Oakwood has suffered. But not to a point where it has closed several rides/attractions down or closed the whole park down. It has just about scrapped the barrel with staying open for 7 years without investment. Oakwood has always had the upper hand though of being the only theme park in Wales and also being positioned near holiday resorts so they've always been guaranteed so many guests per year.

But yes, thanks to the Neverland development Oakwood has had a fantastic year and the park very much feels full of life once again. :)
 
Re: Thorpe Park

Let's be frank - a park the size of Thorpe should be able to complete a rebrand and build a new ride at the same time.
 
Re: Thorpe Park

James said:
That's why I said not the best of examples. ;)

Oakwood has suffered. But not to a point where it has closed several rides/attractions down or closed the whole park down. It has just about scrapped the barrel with staying open for 7 years without investment. Oakwood has always had the upper hand though of being the only theme park in Wales and also being positioned near holiday resorts so they've always been guaranteed so many guests per year.

But yes, thanks to the Neverland development Oakwood has had a fantastic year and the park very much feels full of life once again. :)
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Yep fair point!

To be honest though I do think that if oakwood hadn't opened Neverland this year and hadn't done the other investments (circus land and moon landing slide re-furb) the park would have had to close. Last year, from what I've heard was a terrible year for the park, this year they've done amazingly. So it does show that new investment works. And for Oakwood this summer it really really did work. The park was booming!
 
Re: Thorpe Park

THORPE is suffering an identity crisis right now. Without being certain of exactly the direction they are taking, which is obvious given hardly anything has happened, how do you decide what sort of attraction to invest in?

Someone needs to grab that place by the scruff of the neck and drag it kicking and screaming from out of its own bottom. It seemed to be showing signs of improvement, but from my visit there, it was just diabolical still.

It just doesn't seem to have clear leadership at the helm.

Personally I think it needs a solid mid level well themed coaster. X forwards is just ridiculously tame. Fish is, well, fish. I know you lot love your dark rides, but personally I find them very "meh" and can take them or leave them, and doing them well costs an absolute fortune. Though I can maybe agree with a Madhouse. Anything else at TP would be daft and where the heck would you put something substantial enough to draw in crowds?

They have plenty of flats, not a great deal of room left, so stick a well themed (I know, I know) mid level coaster in, where there is presently naff all.
 
Re: Thorpe Park

It doesn't seem to have been mentioned on here, but Thorpe Park now offer some VIP extras! (Please note you may need to remortgage your house).

Ride Lift Hill Walk - £50

Backstage Tour - £50

Thrill VIP Experience - £289.99
- Entry to Thorpe Park
- Priority parking
- Personal VIP Host
- Unlimited VIP ride access
- Belongings storage
- Gift bag

Accelerate VIP Experience - £359.99
- Entry to Thorpe Park
- Priority parking
- Personal VIP Host
- First ride of the day on the ride of your choice
- Unlimited VIP ride access
- All Day Dining
- Exclusive photo package (6 souvenir photos + 6 digital downloads)
- Belongings storage
- Gift bag

The Ultimate VIP Experience - £454.99
- Entry to Thorpe Park
- Priority parking
- Personal VIP Host
- First ride of the day on the ride of your choice
- Unlimited VIP ride access
- All Day Dining, butler service and reservations at any of our food outlets
- Exclusive photo package (6 souvenir photos + 6 digital downloads)
- Belongings storage
- Gift bag
- Exclusive backstage tour
- Harnessed ride lift hill walk

More details here: http://www.thorpepark.com/plan-your-visit/vip-your-day.aspx
 
Re: Thorpe Park

Great idea, something that I love to see parks doing. However it is all ridiculously priced. £50 to walk up a lift hill is a total rip off. I paid somewhat less than that at BGW for behind the scenes on the major coasters, a trip to the top of Griffon's lift, 2 ERT rides on each major coaster (front and back row), fast tracks for the coasters, preferred parking, a great tour guide and a photographer taking photos for the free photo CD we were given at the end of the day. There is no comparison!

:)
 
Re: Thorpe Park

I imagine most of these things have been available in the past, just never promoted or properly sorted into packages, however you would have to be really rich (or stupid) to pay for some of this, imagine going for the ultimate package as a big group, it would be 1000s.

It is however a nice idea for those who do have money to burn.
 
Re: Thorpe Park

£50 to walk up a lift hill?! Ouch!

Although no Crashpad stays included in the higher priced packages... surly a missed opportunity there?
 
Re: Thorpe Park

James said:
£50 to walk up a lift hill?! Ouch!

Although no Crashpad stays included in the higher priced packages... surly a missed opportunity there?
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The kind of people who can afford these prices aren't gonna stay in a shipping container, let's be honest.
 
Re: Thorpe Park

AshleeKel said:
James said:
£50 to walk up a lift hill?! Ouch!

Although no Crashpad stays included in the higher priced packages... surly a missed opportunity there?
Click to expand...

The kind of people who can afford these prices aren't gonna stay in a shipping container, let's be honest.
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The kind of people who can afford these prices aren't going to want to go to Thorpe Park either! People who can afford the VIP treatment will spend the money going to one of Europe's VIP theme parks. :)

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