Thorpe Park Resort

[definedancing]

Oh -it's an 'I'm A Celebrity' maze. Big whoop.

My reaction also. Just not very exciting, or even something I can see them expanding.

[MerlinFan]

The new attraction for next year really needs to make up for the disappointments of the new additions since The Swarm.

[Luce]

I emailed the VIP team with regards to some information and they told me that bar 360 has recently been refurbished. Did anyone else know about this?

I'm sure I heard something about this last year but can't recall the details exactly

[stealthsmiler]

It doesn't look to be getting the best reaction on facebook, and I too am not that excited. I think I'm a celeb has had its time and really needs to end now and I don't think it will have the same fear as the jungle as it won't be real insects, therefore I do think it could very likely be a let down, however Thorpe could suprise me.

But I do think the Bush BBQ could be themed quite well.

[Ladyofthelake]

It's currently listed on the Thorpe Park website as 'New Bar and Grill' and the previous link to the menu has been removed. This does seem to suggest a refurbishment and potentially also a new menu.

[Jack]

From TPM FB so yeah, it's changed

[Morgan]

You beat me to it [emoji14]

[KoasterKraver]

Isn't there an i'm a celebrity maze and area at madame tussauds blackpool? Anyway I cant wait to experience the effects.

[Owen]

No, i wouldn't have thought so KoasterKraver

[Morgan]

Here are some pieces of merch I saw yesterday:




And there are plenty of new clothes:





I ended up buying those two t-shirts!
There are also loads of new "I Thorpe Park" and "Island like no other" branded merchandise.

[lewis97]

Isn't there an i'm a celebrity maze and area at madame tussauds blackpool? Anyway I cant wait to experience the effects.

There is something of the sort, but nowhere near to the extent that Thorpe are going to.

https://www.madametussauds.com/blackpoo ... fault.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[paige]

I immediately thought of the I'm a Celebrity/jungle/wilderness section in Madame Tussauds too!


As a whole, I'm not too sure how I feel about this. I can see why Thorpe feel the need for this from a business perspective, but even so it doesn't seem to have been particularly well received from the non-enthusiasts. The prospect of a more neglected area of the park being somewhat renewed is nice also; I just find it a shame that Thorpe are again relying on an IP. I know this is only the third instance of an IP within the entire park but given how The Swarm was blamed for 2012 despite many other factors which could also have affected numbers I'm not sure if Thorpe want to 'risk' putting another original concept into the park. It's nice to see something new, but my expectations for 2016 have diminished slightly.


However, I shan't knock it until I try it.

[daymo74]

Where is this going please? I never went to Studio 13 or the Asylum & I can't find any reference to where the actual site within the park for this new "Attraction" is?

[Dom]

Where is this going please? I never went to Studio 13 or the Asylum & I can't find any reference to where the actual site within the park for this new "Attraction" is?

Do you know where the carousel was? Its basically going near there opposite the restaurant.

[Jamster42]

The swarm because it's great theming, music and ride experience.

[Dom]

Inferno's Pizza and Pasta restaurant will be open for MAP holders on Wednesday 1pm-3pm and Thursday 11.30am - 3pm. It costs £5.50 for adults and £3.10 for kids. the only catch is they want your feedback.

[Burniel]

I'm sure I made an identical thread to this last year ... oh well.

It's a tough one, because they all have so much going for them.

SAW - Amazingly themed experience with amazing drops.
The Swarm - Winged Coaster. 'Nuff said.
Stealth - That launch :O
Colossus - The airtime hill and cobra roll.
Nemesis Inferno - Front row, far right seat.

Overall went for SAW, because it's the one I'd be most disappointed about if it broke down on my visit.

[Owen]

So, after some years Thorpe Park Resort have opened a selection of rides and attractions for February Half Term - branded as BRAINIAC LIVE!

The ride and attraction line up is as follows -
- THE SWARM
- Stealth
- ANGRY BIRDS 4D EXPERIENCE
- King Pig's Wild Hog Dodgems
- Flying Fish
- Depth Charge
- Storm in a Teacup
- Various side games
BRAINIAC attractions -
- BRAINIAC Information Station (The Dome)
- Elephants Toothpaste (Amity Cove)
- Energy Bikes (ANGRY BIRDS LAND)
- Airzooka Challenge (Stealth Plaza)
- BRAINIAC LIVE! (Lakeview Marquee [white tent near THE SWARM])

Various catering facilities were also available such as KFC, Peckish, Amity Fish and Chips, Amity Coffee, The Amity Kebab Co. , Roast and Relish, Amity Donuts and various within The Dome including the newly re-themed 'Bar 360' now under the name of Fin's Bar & Grill - to suit the Thorpe Shark Hotel.

Now my review.

Firstly I will start with positive aspects of the event, these include attractions such as ANGRY BIRDS 4D EXPERIENCE and THE SWARM. As well as the various BRAINIAC stalls within the park.

Upon arrival I was greeted by the electronic board above the entrance advertising the new I'M A CELEBRITY...GET ME OUT OF HERE! attraction, it done this by simply showing this video - http://youtu.be/HO34D_dGBLo - while having other information about the event being played every now and then. I liked how the advertising was there but wasn't overpowering. I then ventured into a very quiet park and headed towards THE SWARM. I noted the queue was rather large for BRAINIAC LIVE! and decided to pass as I wasn't to bothered as I had seen a video before hand, and moved into THE SWARM Island. The first thing I had noted was the theming for THE SWARM was still in top condition, although the recently added billboard element had started peeling slightly. I saw the queue time was 5 minutes and joined what seemed to be a very short queue, to find the one train operation was causing this to move at a fairly slow rate and the initial 5 minutes had expanded to approximately 20 minutes give or take. THE SWARM was running as smooth as ever and I found absolutely no problems with it. After I had finished on THE SWARM, I decided to head for Stealth, however I will save this for later. Moving on to ANGRY BIRDS LAND, I noted the lack lustre theming had not changed and the absence of Detonator: Bombs Away was noted although I was not bothered by this as I am not a fan. I also noted King Pig's Dodgems was proving to be popular amongst the younger children at the park. ANGRY BIRDS 4D EXPERIENCE was definitely a highlight to my day due to me finding that the experience as a whole was much more family friendly and the effects used (especially the water) had been improved vastly, the host made the experience much better this time around also - engaging the audience by telling us to 'boo' or 'cheer'. I also rode Storm in a Teacup for the pure hell of it. Skipping to the final hours of the day, I noted THE SWARM was considerably fast and was taking on inversions at a very fast rate. As well as the rides on offer, the BRAINIACS IN TRAINING tents were also quite varied and seemed to have guest at them constantly, even if some weren't exactly where they were on the map.

Now the more negative aspects of my trip.

As I mentioned earlier I was going to leave Stealth out. The reason for this was because as much as it pains me to say - it was not at all a highlight of my trip. As my second ride of the season, I decided to take on Stealth in 'Pole Position' (front row). I was very much looking forward to this seeing how much I had enjoyed this last year, and the experience was ok. The first thing I noticed was that even with entering the park at 11 o'clock, Stealth was still testing. At the point when I had gotten in the queue, it was approximately 2 hours into the 6 hour event and Stealth was still testing - luckily it soon opened. Upon entering the '15 minute queue' I was optimistic I would be off the ride by 12:20, I was wrong. Although it is understandable that queuing for 'Pole Position' adds a small amount of time to your initial queue time - it was ridiculous! As well as being on one train operation, the time took unloading rider was quite frankly abysmal. Once finally seated and at this point still quite happy the train took off. Although it was in no way a bad ride - it was nothing like I had previously experienced and I was slightly disappointed, but it was not so much so to ruin my day. I then later experienced this again - after it has began operation after breaking. This time I was sat at the other end of the train, and once the train took off, I wished it hadn't. The ride was very uncomfortable and lead to some back and neck straining, to compare - it was probably worse than Saw: The Ride on a bad day. This unfortunately affected my day slightly due to the pain down my neck and back. My final ride also happened to be the last train of the day. Initially I queued once again for 'Pole Position' to avoid the pain that was dished out earlier. After queueing approximately 20 minutes, we were told the ride had ceased operation once again, I must admit this angered me slightly. I then noticed how badly the theming and paint work around the ride had been looked after, I understand that this is a 9 year old roller coaster, but it was clear that the paint work was peeling and stickers for gates were missing. This didn't make me angry, more so sad. Finally the ride was back in operation and I had one train until it was my turn, at this point an employee had asked if my friend and I could move from 'pole position' too row 4. This annoyed me as I was going to have another rough ride which I was trying too avoid by queueing well over half an hour for 'pole position'. I was smart and held on this time and this helped slightly.
My second bad point was how little there was for younger ones that was suitable, this left only the Flying Fish and ANGRY BIRDS 4D EXPERIENCE I witnessed a small girl cry due to the lack of entertainment for her.

Although my last two experiences on Stealth were not very good, the other aspects of the day made up for this, I would give the event as a whole a 3.6/5 due to the fact they could have opened more up for younger ones, and made sure the attractions they were opening were ready to be opened. Overall I am pleased with the event, and hope it returns next year bigger and better!"


Now post you reviews below! Also feel free to question me about the above as I will happily answer where I can.

[Altonboy001]

personally the swarm is absoloutly boring

[JammyBand]

Im a big fan of the walkthrough style attractions (like Hex for example) so I'm sure I will find this attraction very interesting! However, I am actually quite worried about how their Fright Nights is going to run this year. Im assuming My Bloody Valentine may be gone completely because Im not sure where else they could relocate it, which is going to be a big shame but it was inevitable. I would have thought they wanted to continue Studio 13 for a couple more years because it was brand new and it would be cost-effective to reuse the props. But last year it was the 13th year of Fright Nights and so maybe that is why Studio 13 was called Studio 13 and maybe it was never planned to return! Anyways, with Fright Nights becoming vastly more popular each year Im not sure how they are going to pull off a succesful event this year with potentially 2 main (and 2 of the best) scaremazes gone!