I agree with Ben to be honest... The park is still doing good but they need that something to top it off! A new themed area is needed like an alpine Swiss village as I've mentioned before which isn't a theme about death or destruction and a B&M hyper/Intamin Mega like a Shambhala but not as big. They also need a couple new flat rides. I mean look at flamingo land even though they're not owned by Merlin they keep attracting guest every year!
Ironically, its the investment overload between 2001-2006 that has left Thorpe in the state it has become (or seems to be perceived). The truth is, continually throwing flat rides at the park is a short term investment at best. How many people now visit the park for Vortex, Zodiac and Detonator for example. That was absolutely fine in 2001 when the only other major ride was Tidal Wave and No Way Out. But we've moved on considerably since then and any flat ride would have to be more then just 'a flat ride' to build excitement.
bensaund wrote:
The good thing is Thorpe have enough room for at least two good coasters with the two spare islands they have. They already have a good selection of flats.
Now 'The Nation's Thrill Capital' should really live up to its name, they need to do another coaster in the next 3-4 years. As much as we are all looking at Colossus, if they spend the minimum amount of money or give it a complete re-do, I doubt it will attract many visitors as its not anything new. You really need to add something new to the mix to attract guests. The club nights seem to be working for them, the hotel should expand their revenue and they are starting to do events as well. Things are slowly looking up for Thorpe, but they really need to pull their finger out and Merlin really need to give them the cash to invest as the park could be so great, I just feel they don't ever seem to go that extra mile.
Thing is, Thorpe is invested in well. From up to date music systems to new queue boards which are significantly better then any other in the Merlin group. It pushes further then the others in terms of events such as Ministry of Sound nights, its reliability has improved massively since the dark days of 2009 and it has five decent, large rollercoasters. By continually adding something new between 2001-2006, the park has built this reputation that it always adds new things when in reality, that can only go so far. With the park now starting to ditch the thrill capital tag-line and aiming at 'up for it' families, the emphasis will change and we can hopefully have a more balanced line up at the park.