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WWTP Radio, Thorpe Park's iconic radio station!

Jax

Jax

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The more famous successor to Thunder Rock Rally Radio at Alton Towers. What are your guys' thoughts on it? Do you have any info that nobody knows about it?


Share all in this thread for the famous radio station that has been playing throughout Amity Cove and the surrounding area since 2000!
 

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Jax said:
The more famous successor to Thunder Rock Rally Radio at Alton Towers. What are your guys' thoughts on it? Do you have any info that nobody knows about it?


Share all in this thread for the famous radio station that has been playing throughout Amity Cove and the surrounding area since 2000!
Click to expand...
I know that Carole King really appreciates the guaranteed royalty cheques, especially given as she wrote pretty much half of the playlist (not that she necessarily needs them).
 
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GooseOnTheLoose said:
I know that Carole King really appreciates the guaranteed royalty cheques, especially given as she wrote pretty much half of the playlist (not that she necessarily needs them).
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True lol. She deserves a lot of credit for the wonderful songs on the loops
 
What does WWTP stand for? Presumably something something Thorpe Park?
 
WWTP Radio is a highlight whenever I'm visiting Thorpe Park. The Big Bob Jones sections are great and a little goofy, the adverts crack me up ("Try Super Smart Mini Mart!" "IT'S TWO IN THE MORNING AND I NEED DONUTS!!") and both Tidal Wave and Stealth have their own loooong playlists so the music doesn't get repetitive in the queues or on repeat visits.

(And I'm very grateful to those who have shared both loops online, segments et al, they're great background listens when I just need something on.)
 
Burbs said:
What does WWTP stand for? Presumably something something Thorpe Park?
Click to expand...
I don't believe there's ever been official confirmation, which would suggest that it probably actually doesn't.

If it does stand for something though, it's possibly along the lines of Wild and Wet Thorpe Park, given that it coincided with the aligning of Thorpe Park as generally water themed.

WWTP is what would be referred to as a radio call sign, in the US. Given that we're supposed to believe that WWTP is an American radio station, this makes some sense. Radio station call signs often don't have much to do with the station's formal name. Call signs are assigned by the FCC.

The first W, under the call sign schema, is for continental. Meaning that the radio station is situated within the continental US states (lower 48), but west of the Mississippi, K is east. These rules have changed over the years though, for a long time the third letter in each call sign was fixed and assigned alphabetically until exhausted. WWAA, WWAB, WWAC etc.

The rest of the station's naming convention doesn't follow the rest of the FCC's schema, but is part of a "range" given to fictitious radio stations upon request. Similar to how Ofcom have fake postcodes and phone number spectrums available in the UK for fictional purposes. This is further complicated because the FCC can make exceptions to break their naming conventions, and name stations however they want to be named. The call sign WWTP was granted to a Catholic radio station, in Augusta, Maine, in 2012.
 
The original Tidal Wave loop was perfection. Just been doing some research and the closest thing I could find was this on Spotify...


From: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6jMuP3OwDGgSY6kAMnoT1q?si=OdKIRa0GTHyomFCye1QaDw&pi=pohqLzgGQ7qB2


Made some amendments where they had the right song but the wrong artists, which is understandable given how many pop songs were covered by other big artists in the 60's. And there are a few tracks missing (I'm The Urban Spaceman, Blueberry Hill, Be My Baby)...


From: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1KOtLHQfF0wgculSh7WGIB?si=Xrc2gPQySuuc0G_dfO4Rmw%0A&pi=bo6j0eRvT4aYy


That's the original playlist to the best of my knowledge, could have missed some bits though. There's a condensed version with Big Bob on YouTube which is great, shame it's not the full 2-3 hour audio.


From: https://youtu.be/vvqv-ageHRk?si=oCWcLDDALWRZDr83


Dossing around Amity Cove as a teenager introduced me to some all time great artists at a pretty young age. Even now when I listen to Pet Sounds and it opens with Wouldn't It Be Nice, I still associate it with Tidal Wave. Similar to how many grew up with the Grand Theft Auto radio playlists.

When Stealth opened the playlist doubled in size and I think more has been added over the years, but the original Tidal Wave loop was separate. Now I think the Tidal Wave area plays a mix of the two.
 
Burbs said:
What does WWTP stand for? Presumably something something Thorpe Park?
Click to expand...
I believe it's World Wide Thorpe Park

RicketyCricket said:
The original Tidal Wave loop was perfection. Just been doing some research and the closest thing I could find was this on Spotify...


From: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6jMuP3OwDGgSY6kAMnoT1q?si=OdKIRa0GTHyomFCye1QaDw&pi=pohqLzgGQ7qB2


Made some amendments where they had the right song but the wrong artists, which is understandable given how many pop songs were covered by other big artists in the 60's. And there are a few tracks missing (I'm The Urban Spaceman, Blueberry Hill, Be My Baby)...


From: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1KOtLHQfF0wgculSh7WGIB?si=Xrc2gPQySuuc0G_dfO4Rmw%0A&pi=bo6j0eRvT4aYy


That's the original playlist to the best of my knowledge, could have missed some bits though. There's a condensed version with Big Bob on YouTube which is great, shame it's not the full 2-3 hour audio.


From: https://youtu.be/vvqv-ageHRk?si=oCWcLDDALWRZDr83


Dossing around Amity Cove as a teenager introduced me to some all time great artists at a pretty young age. Even now when I listen to Pet Sounds and it opens with Wouldn't It Be Nice, I still associate it with Tidal Wave. Similar to how many grew up with the Grand Theft Auto radio playlists.

When Stealth opened the playlist doubled in size and I think more has been added over the years, but the original Tidal Wave loop was separate. Now I think the Tidal Wave area plays a mix of the two.
Click to expand...

I know Stealth currently plays the loop from 2017 which is about 3 hours and 30 minutes long, as I have it in my possession. I've never heard about Tidal Wave having 2 loops that play throughout the day....interesting....
 
RicketyCricket said:
The original Tidal Wave loop was perfection. Just been doing some research and the closest thing I could find was this on Spotify...


From: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6jMuP3OwDGgSY6kAMnoT1q?si=OdKIRa0GTHyomFCye1QaDw&pi=pohqLzgGQ7qB2


Made some amendments where they had the right song but the wrong artists, which is understandable given how many pop songs were covered by other big artists in the 60's. And there are a few tracks missing (I'm The Urban Spaceman, Blueberry Hill, Be My Baby)...


From: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1KOtLHQfF0wgculSh7WGIB?si=Xrc2gPQySuuc0G_dfO4Rmw%0A&pi=bo6j0eRvT4aYy


That's the original playlist to the best of my knowledge, could have missed some bits though. There's a condensed version with Big Bob on YouTube which is great, shame it's not the full 2-3 hour audio.


From: https://youtu.be/vvqv-ageHRk?si=oCWcLDDALWRZDr83


Dossing around Amity Cove as a teenager introduced me to some all time great artists at a pretty young age. Even now when I listen to Pet Sounds and it opens with Wouldn't It Be Nice, I still associate it with Tidal Wave. Similar to how many grew up with the Grand Theft Auto radio playlists.

When Stealth opened the playlist doubled in size and I think more has been added over the years, but the original Tidal Wave loop was separate. Now I think the Tidal Wave area plays a mix of the two.
Click to expand...

I saw the playlist you referenced earlier, there are a lot of strange additions which also definitely aren't in the loop.

Are we sure it's "Living Doll" played, by Cliff & The Shads / Drifters, and not "Move It"? It's possible he's got two hits on there. I just don't think that a park would feature a song with the lyric "I'm gonna lock her up in a trunk
So, no big hunk can steal her away from me", but I could be wrong.


From: https://youtu.be/k5mIq3yF6Nc?si=5-4HrgO-Cy1MlIhi

Edit: Isn't "On The Beach" also on there?


From: https://youtu.be/iaDKEQAPLTs?si=AcFfP5pY2rZROLlP
 
It's deffo Living Doll because I heard it last time I was at the park, and On The Beach plays after the Frankie's Pizza ad iirc
GooseOnTheLoose said:
I saw the playlist you referenced earlier, there are a lot of strange additions which also definitely aren't in the loop.

Are we sure it's "Living Doll" played, by Cliff & The Shads / Drifters, and not "Move It"? It's possible he's got two hits on there. I just don't think that a park would feature a song with the lyric "I'm gonna lock her up in a trunk
So, no big hunk can steal her away from me", but I could be wrong.


From: https://youtu.be/k5mIq3yF6Nc?si=5-4HrgO-Cy1MlIhi

Edit: Isn't "On The Beach" also on there?


From: https://youtu.be/iaDKEQAPLTs?si=AcFfP5pY2rZROLlP
Click to expand...
 
Some songs missing from the playlists posted, but identified by "Now Playing" on my Google Pixel in the background of my recent visits are:

"Mr Sandman" - The Chordettes
"California Girls" - The Beach Boys
"Walkin' Back to Happiness" - Helen Shapiro
"Mr. Tambourine Man" - The Byrds
"Born to Hand Jive" - Sha Na Na
"Hound Dog" - Elvis Presley
"Hang on Sloppy" - The McCoys

No firm answer on Cliff. @Jax is likely right about Livin' Doll, but I think he's also got more than one hit playing there.
 
Mr Sandman, California Girls, Mr Tambourine Man, Hound Dog and Hang On, Sloopy all play by Stealth I think? The other two play on the Tidal loop
 
I could be imagining it, but I swear that Daydream Believer by The Monkees is also part of the WWTP mix. I seem to remember it playing by Stealth on one of my recent visits.
 
Just to clarify, the playlist I posted and amended is the original 2000 Tidal Wave playlist. Not the 2006 onwards one which is almost double the size with all the additions. Most, if not all are on various Spotify playlists like this one...


From: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4vWYwuAtTbTn7Nnaz6tzkB?si=Q8MZNsu3RB6YZpRhmqVESw


Some fantastic tunes on there but for me the Tidal Wave one was perfect. Livin Doll was definitely on it.
 
Jax said:
The more famous successor to Thunder Rock Rally Radio at Alton Towers. What are your guys' thoughts on it? Do you have any info that nobody knows about it?


Share all in this thread for the famous radio station that has been playing throughout Amity Cove and the surrounding area since 2000!
Click to expand...
It wasn’t actually a successor to Rock Rally Radio. WWTP came first in 2000, with Tidal Wave. The playlist was extended in 2004, and has been tweaked a little ever since.

Stealth’s WWTP was introduced with the ride in 2006. Originally a pretty long playlist but it was condensed in 2007 for unknown reasons. The guy who runs Thorpe Park Mania, or at least did at the time, was apparently given the playlist to work with in 2009, and it returned as a (different to the first one) longer playlist that season.
 
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Enter Valhalla said:
It wasn’t actually a successor to Rock Rally Radio. WWTP came first in 2000, with Tidal Wave. The playlist was extended in 2004, and has been tweaked a little ever since.

Stealth’s WWTP was introduced with the ride in 2006. Originally a pretty long playlist but it was condensed in 2007 for unknown. The guy who runs Thorpe Park Mania, or at least did at the time, was apparently given the playlist to work with in 2009, and it returned as a (different to the first one) longer playlist that season.
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My wording was a bit off, I meant WWTP was and still is a lot more popular than Rock Rally Radio 😅
 
WWTP's music always seems to me like an odd choice from a perspective of the park's target audience age, but a fantastic one for building immersion in the areas it's used in. There's nothing new about theme park music basically being additional theming in audio form, but the fact that these songs are so emblematic of their time and radically different to current popular music really helps to cement Amity in a specific time and place.

One thing I've not seen mentioned is that despite Stealth originally stretching Amity out from just Amity Cove with Tidal Wave, the WWTP playlists for the 2 rides are markedly different in genres. I guess you'd term the Tidal Wave playlist as having much more motown etc., whereas Stealth leans much more heavily on rock and roll to suit the drag racing - definitely more my thing!
 
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