Thorpe Park: General Discussion

[AT86]

Would a Mack Gameplay theatre fit in the Ghost Train building?

 

[owenstreet7]

I would like to see a shooting ride similar to buzz light year spin, or toy story mania, I think it would fit in well with a family/thrill market with some competition, and it would add a good amount re-rideability, for instance if someone didn't want to do hyperia they could try to get the high score on this ride.

Fantastic idea, I'd imagine this would go down well with Thorpe Park's audience.

I wonder about that intamin family LSM launch, a somewhat family thrill (depending no the lay out), 1m height requirement and it can inverte, and I think uk parks need more launch coasters (currently we only have like 1 per park): https://www.intamin.com/blog/product/family-lsm-coaster/

That is a good idea - I had more in mind a coaster that didn't have inversions although this would also fit the bill.

I think Thorpe Park has a lot of emphasis on inversions where one without would be a breath of fresh air.

one more thing I would mention is closing down storm surge and look at replacing it with something else, it has poor capacity dosn't add much to the line up, it dosn't look the best and can be quite bad to move around (the water drips in to the walking dead queue and you have to pass under it)

I thought about this and whilst I agree that it has poor capacity and doesn't look visually appealing, I feel it would be the ride that Merlin would keep over Rumba Rapids due to it's reliability, thrills and operating costs.

In an ideal world, it would go to the Alton Towers Water Park as an expansion.

Would a Mack Gameplay theatre fit in the Ghost Train building?

Possibly or I'd say the 4D Cinema building which would be a better use of that space.

 

[TBoy535]

I like the Thorpe logo and branding it suits Thorpe very well and its target market and it’s a completely different style to any other park theme park I know. They should continue with the golden swirls behind it they used a few times in promotion.

However, if they are going for the “polished look” The park also needs to follow. This relates to paving or resin (which would help define areas a little better) Front entrance needs some serious work not just on a practical point but aesthetically, alongside the exterior of the dome & bridge needs modernising finished off with strip lighting/LEDS. Basically so it doesn’t resemble a 90s leisure Centre.

I think a spinning rollercoaster like Poulton’s Park maybe a little more thrilling, I feel it would be a good fit to replace the rapids and appeal too everyone. I just can’t see Merlin ever investing in the water ride again due to running costs, climate, staff etc. Plus, they already have 2 water rides essentially anyway? I agree though with the two kiddy rides in the park what’s the point?

 

[pluk]

Okay; I’d it’s been a little while

Has the new logo grown on us or do we still think it’s naff?

I certainly still hold my thoughts

I still don't like it. It has no impact and is not memorable, even as something of an enthusiast I had to search it to remind myself of what it actually was.

The old one certainly needed an update, the lettering looked really cheap and clip arty, but the infinity swirl was recognisable and sort of made sense. As a visual hook it's been replaced with nothing at all, and that has to be a mistake.

 

[owenstreet7]

I think a spinning rollercoaster like Poulton’s Park maybe a little more thrilling, I feel it would be a good fit to replace the rapids and appeal too everyone. I just can’t see Merlin ever investing in the water ride again due to running costs, climate, staff etc. Plus, they already have to water rise essentially anyway? I agree though with the two kiddy rides in the park what’s the point?

I love the idea of a Mack Spinning Coaster although I think having Dragon's Fury at Chessington might put Thorpe Park off investing in one unless that ride goes eventually.

On the topic of water rides, it'd be sad to see the Merlin parks go the way of Carowinds where the park got rid of every water ride.

I'm not sure I see them going that route due to a few factors.

• Warm Weather during warmer months in the UK
• Popularity amongst guests
• Highest capacity rides in the park
• Could pull guests in the same fashion as a rollercoaster or a dark ride.
• Offers something different in the parks
• Allows users to get wet at a theme park

I'd certainly imagine they'll focus on one or two major water rides however I can't see them getting rid of them completely.

I think it is different depending on the type of water ride as well.

Could we see another major rapids ride at a Merlin park? I'd be sceptical to see that happening after the incidents of recent years, ride experience and the rising costs associated.

Could we see another flume ride at a Merlin park instead? I'm inclined to think that Merlin may prefer to invest in one of those rides instead due to the ride experience, potential lower costs compared to the rapids and with the success of Chiapas.

I think the reversal of removals of flume rides in different places such as Carowinds and Adventureland, Iowa could end up being reflected in the UK. I'm half thinking Paultons Park will get a larger water ride for 2026 which may influence potential decisions in the future.

I'd say part of the discussion is that the UK seems to have more soakers like Valhalla, Stormforce 10 and Tidal Wave rather than more conventional water rides that don't get you as soaked such as Tiger Rock.

I'd like to think that UK parks should focus on something where you don't get completely drenched but mildly sprinkled where you can enjoy the ride throughout the year as there is a market for a water ride in the UK of some form.

 

[Squiggs]

Okay; I’d it’s been a little while

Has the new logo grown on us or do we still think it’s naff?

I certainly still hold my thoughts

I literally can't picture it at all. It is so utterly forgettable, even when on the park's website I sometimes miss there is a logo on there at all.

When I just tried and recall it, I know full well what I'm actually doing is recalling Thorpe Park in the style of the BPB logo (without the exclamation mark) instead.

 

[Matt N]

Okay; I’d it’s been a little while

Has the new logo grown on us or do we still think it’s naff?

I certainly still hold my thoughts

I didn't hate it at the time, and I still don’t hate it now; I quite like it. I think it’s quite clean and classy, albeit I’ll admit that I think it works better in some contexts than others. I also think it works better with the “swirl” type thing behind it than on its own.

Maybe as a compromise, they should have kept the infinity swirl and had the new lettering in front of it? I think that might have worked.

In terms of what I would do with Thorpe Park in the coming years, as others have discussed it; I would personally stick with thrills, but broaden the scope of what “thrills” is. Add some 1.2m level thrill rides that older families might enjoy; something along the level of Wicker Man would fit like a glove in Thorpe Park and really broaden out their lineup, in my view. I don’t think they need to appeal to young families, as that is a heavily saturated market within the local area, but I think some thrill rides with slightly broader appeal would not go amiss.

My issue with Thorpe Park in the last decade or so is that a lot of what they’ve tried has been too niche in appeal. For a major investment, Derren Brown was a ride with really niche appeal, and The Walking Dead was also a huge mistake that made a ride with wide appeal into one with overly niche appeal, in my view, even if the theme looks to have been executed quite well. There’s nothing wrong with a horror-themed ride, but I feel the decision to retheme a Vekoma family coaster, and the only real “middle ground” coaster in Thorpe Park, to a horror theme was a spectacular misstep. Reversing the Walking Dead retheme would be a brilliant move, in my view.

They’ve gone some way towards trying to redress the balance with Hyperia, which has broader appeal. I’d like to see more things that are thrilling, but with broader appeal.

 

[KolonelKlink]

The old one certainly needed an update, the lettering looked really cheap and clip arty, but the infinity swirl was recognisable and sort of made sense. As a visual hook it's been replaced with nothing at all, and that has to be a mistake.

Infinity swirl plus new font would have been the most sensible refresh. The old font was pretty ropey like you say but the new one is truly awful - the shape and angle of the “o” is particularly offensive to the eyes. It’s not even of its time - it’s just garbage.

 

[AT86]

Walking Dead can’t be sent with only one person in the row, which is why they were waiting for an odd numbered group to pair you up with.

Edit: the post I was replying to seems to have disappeared(?), so now I look like I am talking to myself.

 

[djransome]

Walking Dead can’t be sent with only one person in the row, which is why they were waiting for an odd numbered group to pair you up with.

Edit: the post I was replying to seems to have disappeared(?), so now I look like I am talking to myself.

My post has got a "waiting for moderator approval" at the top - I think it's because I was editing it, to make more sense/fix spelling mistakes. I'm not very good at articulating myself sometimes so when I read it back I think "I'm not making sense to others" haha.

So in that case of Walking Dead - even if I joined the main queue as a solo rider - I just have to accept that I need to wait until an odd numbered group come through? If that's the case, that's good info to know. Walking Dead is alright, it's not one I am overly fussed about so in the future I will give it a miss as a solo rider and go back to somewhere like Saw / The Swarm / Stealth which will take less time to go on.

 

[AT86]

So in that case of Walking Dead - even if I joined the main queue as a solo rider - I just have to accept that I need to wait until an odd numbered group come through? If that's the case, that's good info to know. Walking Dead is alright, it's not one I am overly fussed about so in the future I will give it a miss as a solo rider and go back to somewhere like Saw / The Swarm / Stealth which will take less time to go on.

That’s right, no matter what queue you would need to be paired up with someone else to get a full row.

 

[owenstreet7]

So in that case of Walking Dead - even if I joined the main queue as a solo rider - I just have to accept that I need to wait until an odd numbered group come through? If that's the case, that's good info to know. Walking Dead is alright, it's not one I am overly fussed about so in the future I will give it a miss as a solo rider and go back to somewhere like Saw / The Swarm / Stealth which will take less time to go on.

That is true, Walking Dead has a train where the seats don't separate between two people which is why they can't batch a single rider alone.

I'd definitely love Thorpe Park to get Vekoma to bring in a new modernised train with individual seats and lapbars like the modern Vekoma coasters so they can offer better capacity, operations and flexibility with odd number groups.

It can be an awkward ride because of the seats, restraints and the wait for a odd number group to come along (which can be longer than other rides).

 

[djransome]

That’s right, no matter what queue you would need to be paired up with someone else to get a full row.

I'll put it down to just being unlucky then as I watched the streams and streams of "2's" go through. Can't have it all my own way. Thanks for explaining.
I know I saved myself an estimated 20 minutes on SAW so I guess it all evens out in the end.