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Thorpe Park: General Discussion

Jb85 said:
I’m no scientist but surely most of them are perfectly safe without restraints - even the inverted ones ….. wouldn’t the g forces hold you in place?
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In normal situations.... A broken wheel bearing could change all that 😲 Plus many coasters have airtime (including the first "extra" drop at BPB Grand National). Swarm/Colossus would definitely give you more than a nose bleed without restraints!

I'm guessing the need for the "extra seat belt" on harnesses is because there is a single point of failure, which in itself is worrying.

But Slammer would be aptly named if the harness failed. As with Samurai (Top Scan) where a woman died in the USA after the harness failed.
 
Smiley said:
I'm guessing the need for the "extra seat belt" on harnesses is because there is a single point of failure, which in itself is worrying.
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To the best of my knowledge, a lot of restraints have at least two points of failure inherently built in; the restraint as a whole is not usually one point of failure only.

The seatbelts add a further point of failure into the equation, but the restraints themselves normally have multiple points of failure built in.
 
Smiley said:
Plus many coasters have airtime (including the first "extra" drop at BPB Grand National).
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Now you see, people managed for many decades without a seat belt down that second hump...likewise the last mini drop on the mouse, that simply ripped the car out from under you...both designed to raise you then slam you back into the seat.

Back on topic in the right park, I can only agree that I love Swarm, and would prefer a nice restraint on that one!
 
@rob666 Didn't really on the mouse, because:
A. You were shoe-horned in if there were two of you, and
B. You legs were probably already broken 😂

I love the Swarm harness - make all rides like that! Air also comes to mind, especially for the seat complexity/orientation. Maybe I'll get a seat belt for my seat belt in the car.... Seriously, just design it right the first time 😜
 
The long awaited and anticipated Passholders Day is back at Thorpe Park.

Only thing I'd comment on is that it's at the same day as Chessington's and there's people who are booked into one only to find Thorpe are doing one at the same time.

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owenstreet7 said:
The long awaited and anticipated Passholders Day is back at Thorpe Park.

Only thing I'd comment on is that it's at the same day as Chessington's and there's people who are booked into one only to find Thorpe are doing one at the same time.

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Yep lots of people are understandably saying that they'll switch.
 
owenstreet7 said:
The long awaited and anticipated Passholders Day is back at Thorpe Park.

Only thing I'd comment on is that it's at the same day as Chessington's and there's people who are booked into one only to find Thorpe are doing one at the same time.

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Are there any real advantages to these passholder only days? From what I've seen they seem to be just as busy as any other day and as having an annual pass means you can go anytime I don't see why everyone jumps at these days.
 
MrTowers said:
Are there any real advantages to these passholder only days? From what I've seen they seem to be just as busy as any other day and as having an annual pass means you can go anytime I don't see why everyone jumps at these days.
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They're usually pretty dreadful. Park won't be ready to open properly by then and they know that, so they use passholders as guinea pigs to test out any new systems and processes and train up new staff. It's not guaranteed that there'll be a full ride offering (in fact that's very unlikely) or a full quota of F&B. I guess local passholders at least might be a bit more relaxed about things not being perfect but for myself it's a 230-mile round trip and I would not be taking the risk.
 
MrTowers said:
Are there any real advantages to these passholder only days? From what I've seen they seem to be just as busy as any other day and as having an annual pass means you can go anytime I don't see why everyone jumps at these days.
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From what I've experienced at Chessington's in November, it's quieter in comparison to a regular day however it's very popular with passholders.

The ones at the start of the season are meant to be soft openings so staff get training although the ones at the end of the season are celebrations of the end of the season.

For passholders, it's a perk/benefit/reward for being a passholder that the parks don't have to provide but it's a nice bonus.

The parks aim to get as many of the rides open as possible however some of the rides may need additional time before opening.
 
I’ve never done an end of season one, but I did a few of the pre-season pass holders days at Thorpe and Chessington, and my god they were awful. The numbers didn’t seem to be capped even in the slightest, and the infrastructure and ride availability was nowhere near sufficient for the amount of people they had allowed into the park. So are these pass holder days worth it? When I visited, certainly not. I vowed to never go back on pass holder days so maybe things have got better now.
 
GooseOnTheLoose said:
Food and Beverage is outsourced, any profit from those outlets isn't Merlin's.
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I wouldn't sign any agreement without a revenue/profit share, in the same way Amarak's payment to Merlin would be based on "numbers through the door". But it's ultimately a lose-lose-lose (Merlin/Amarak/consumer) because in the middle of that luke-warm, stale, badly made sandwich is Amarak - that needs to prioritise profit over everything.

No-where in any contract is there a mention of customer satisfaction. That's why KFC at TP do so well - their brand is on the line, so whilst they jack up the prices they have to keep the same quality and service.

Would you go to your local Woodcutters??? 😂
 
Smiley said:
I wouldn't sign any agreement without a revenue/profit share,
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Even with a revenue share, the profit remains with the food and beverage outlet.
Smiley said:
in the same way Amarak's payment to Merlin would be based on "numbers through the door".
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It isn't. Aramark's multi year deal was a chunk of cash up front, to secure the contract, followed by annual rental of units. There's no contractual obligation for Merlin have "numbers through the door".
Smiley said:
No-where in any contract is there a mention of customer satisfaction.
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In most contracts, between most organisations, you will find clauses around customer satisfaction, or delivering a quality service; the ability for one party to terminate the contract if standards aren't being upheld.
 
Quick question. I have just reserved a ticket for the annual pass members day on the 16th march. I haven't done one of these before so I wonder what to expect?

I'm sure I have seen vlogs before where there has been a reduced offering and been a bit meh but I may be wrong about that.

I was hoping to add a second person onto the reservation so that I could bring someone along but it didn't have the option so I guess I'll have to go on my own?

Not sure whether to take it or leave it. If it means no queues for hyperia I may be tempted and if I can pay for a second visitor as well that would be a bonus.
 
GooseOnTheLoose said:
In most contracts, between most organisations, you will find clauses around customer satisfaction, or delivering a quality service; the ability for one party to terminate the contract if standards aren't being upheld.
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Except there aren't, as there can be a multitude of definitions. Almost impossible to litigate. Opening times, hygiene standards, etc are about as far as it goes. It's not unique to Merlin.

Amarak's focus is on profit, Merlin's probably on revenue share. The two are worlds apart. Customer satisfaction drives both and none at the same time.
 
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