Thorpe Park Resort

AstroDan · Tue Mar 08, 2011 6:55 pm

It looks terrible, as expected. Even TPM the reception is pretty frosty.

:P

Tue Mar 08, 2011 7:09 pm

How anyone expected this to look anything other than terrible is beyond me. However, Thorpe have had a new attraction every year since Saw, and the park is saving up for a huge attraction next year - one of the biggest the country has seen for a long time. So maybe totally slating them for something they got for next to nothing and are trying to assemble cheap is a little harsh.

AstroDan · Tue Mar 08, 2011 7:34 pm

I don't think anyone ever expected it look good. But there's always hope... These images today have merely confirmed everyones original expectation.

:P

Tue Mar 08, 2011 7:46 pm

I think it looks alright.

Actually apart from that weird steel box at the top of the lifthill, I think it looks really nice.

It looks a lot better than this:

AstroDan · Tue Mar 08, 2011 7:47 pm

To be fair, a turd on a plate would have looked better than that.

In terms of the overall ride line up for the average guest, I doubt anyone can deny it isn't an improvement.

That doesn't stop it from looking awful, though - in my opinion!

Tue Mar 08, 2011 7:53 pm

Regardless of its taccy and in your face colours - It looks completely and utterly boring!

Is this ride not just a council estate park slide on a rainy day...with rubber rings?

AstroDan · Tue Mar 08, 2011 7:57 pm

There are some of these that look impressive. Hansa-Park have a pretty awesome looking one, with good theming and a much longer layout. Asterix's is boring, but being built into a hillside and out of view for the most part, with some unusual theming concepts, works reasonably well.

This one is just too open.

Tue Mar 08, 2011 8:04 pm

I think the Steel Box at the top of the lift is going to have Amity theming.

It was a gazebo on the old Storm Surge:

Tue Mar 08, 2011 8:55 pm

Seems odd that they wouldn't have installed it before the advert, though, and giving it's AP day in just five days, they'd be cutting it a bit fine...

Tue Mar 08, 2011 10:29 pm

I think the advert will heavily mask the state of the area around it.

AstroDan · Tue Mar 08, 2011 10:41 pm

I love how even the garden shed from Florida has made it to Thorpe.

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Craig · Tue Mar 08, 2011 11:21 pm

You can do it if you [s:1mnn6d51]Home Depot[/s:1mnn6d51] B+Q it.

Although I quite like the experience these rides give, they look FAR better when they're put into an existing landscape. As a standalone ride, I'm not a fan - they just look messy. A massive amount of space wasted too

djtruefitt · Tue Mar 08, 2011 11:25 pm

Is the ride ment to have an appearance of looking old and faded or is it just old and faded and they are passing that as a theme?

Because looking at this picture the underside of the track looks really dirty compared to the picture of the old ride:

But I suppose its better than a new kids show and 10 crabs.

Tue Mar 08, 2011 11:31 pm

The rust is the theme...

That's how AWESOME this ride is...

Note, this ride is not awesome in any way shape or form, it is pathetic that the only UK addition to a Merlin park is this...

Wed Mar 09, 2011 12:01 am

[quote=""Benzin""]Note, this ride is not awesome in any way shape or form, it is pathetic that the only UK addition to a Merlin park is this...[/quote]
*ahem* This, and the small matter of a world-first suspended Mack dark transit system, which runs partially-submerged under-water, through a 1 million litre ocean tank with live aquatic life, due to open at Legoland, you mean

.

Ignoring Legoland, though, you point stands. It's not an impressive addition at all...

djtruefitt · Wed Mar 09, 2011 12:09 am

But we also have these Sealife crabs! I mean who needs rollercoasters and new rides when you have crabs..

Wed Mar 09, 2011 3:17 pm

I'm not going to fully judge it because I have not seen it in person yet and there may be more theming added.

However...

I am VERY dissapointed with this so far, they could have added loads of theming! It does NOT fit in with Amity Cove or THORPE PARK for that matter. The landscaping if you can even call it that looks crap, cheap, lazy and well just like SAW - Alive and Saw: The Ride (not the rides there well themed actually I am talking about the landscaping).

LAZY LAZY LAZY!

Even parks like Pleasurewood Hills could have done better than this!

This is Merlin for goodness sake "2nd to Disney" as they always boast well Storm Surge isnt really what I would call "2nd to Disney"

Sorry to rant but its so dissapointing.

However it does like fairly fun and I want to ride it but in terms on the way it looks I wouldnt even rate it a 1 at the moment.

SORT IT OUT! THORPE PARK!

Wed Mar 09, 2011 4:06 pm

I am reading it right that they have got some of the cast of The Only Way is Essex to appear as 'actors' on the advert

Wed Mar 09, 2011 5:54 pm

I can't imagine how big the queues will be for this on opening day, and during the holidays.

EDIT:
Lets just have hopes everyone and see if this ride will be better than we all expect, because although it's a family ride, it may be quite fun, even if it does look horrible.

Wed Mar 09, 2011 6:14 pm

[quote=""Martin.C""]Only 5-6 people per boat, with only 8 of them? The waiting time is bound to be over an hour for this ALL the time. Plus, I'd be amazed if the capacity per hour gets past 300![/quote]
Not sure that's right.

Judging by this video, ride time's about 2m 30s. Let's play it safe and say 3 minutes.

3 minutes, eight boats, you're looking at a boat dispatched every 22.5s, which (thinking from the point of view of a rapids) seems reasonable to me.

5-6 per boat - let's say 5 - so you're dispatching 5 people every 22.5 seconds.

That works out at 800 people per hour, and remember that's with generous estimates on ride length. It's not a wow-fantastic figure, but it's not dire. Definitely more desirable than your 300 guess.