Thorpe Park Resort

[Dan]

If there were to be a major attraction in 2020, we would have seen a planning application go in by now.

[Swarm Chris]

I think perhaps there is a week or two before 2020 is a complete write-off for the kind of development we're hoping for. 

If it wasn't for the Logger's announcement, I would have said it's definitely a write-off already. To me the timing is strange, they could have done that well into the closed season, rather than right before the parks start opening again and they're trying to hype 2019. It's just that little bit of traction, which to me gives the slightest hope 2020 is still the target.

[Swarm Chris]

This precisely, there has been a little bit of waiting for Thorpe to mess up again in everything they say or do. Now it really doesn't help that they have done so fairly regularly in the last year, along with seeding some of this through their own "banter". But some of the more positive stuff has perhaps been missed.

I've said somewhere in one of my many speculation posts this week, that I wonder if the park isn't going for a slight fresh start, or at least a restart on certain aspects. Improving quality and openness with guests has, it seems to me, slowly but surely been happening in the background. These videos wanted to show off how much work the park does over winter. The mere fact that the turnstiles are closed doesn't mean the park is just sat vacant. Additionally, various new information has been added to the support website, including an actual temperature at which most of their rides will stop at (it's 5c). A lot of things I've seen asked for on this forum have appeared in Thorpe's output this year.

So if they're doing these small changes, then I hope that's also happening on a bigger scale across the park. The rides have all been shown to get some serious work this year. How much in comparison to other years? Well we'll have to wait for Thorpe Park Winter Updates 2019/20 to guage that.

[AltonOperator]

Infinity symbol,
Fairly cheap,
I would not object,
Very unlikely.

[Dom]

Wait! How did no one think of this before!

[Htjc_]

Or maybe the symbols are a hint to the infinite amount of time it will take until Project 2020 actually happens.... If it happens, which is looking increasingly unlikely. Or maybe the infinite IP's Thorpe will get over the coming years. Or the infinite jokes that could be made about their questionable decisions lately. The possibilities are endless. (see what I did there!) Seriously though I have lost all faith in Thorpe Park.

[AltonOperator]

Wait! How did no one think of this before!

I would actually love one of these! Its not the massive coaster we all want but its a whole lot better than the new bench we're probably getting  :lol

[Justin]

I do enjoy Colossus, however, the queue times have often put me off. Being over 6ft, the ride is also uncomfortable, especially if sitting in the rear row of each car. As one of the main coasters, I do like to grab a ride on it when I visit.

In a strange way, the station has a certain charm about it. It feels very classic which adds to the lost city theme. I also think the soundtrack for the ride is iconic. I particularly like the soundtrack, along with Inferno's.

[Swarm Chris]

If that turned out to be Project 2020, then all those Loggers Leap comments they just managed to get rid of, would pale in comparison to what would happen on their social media. :lol

[Pins]

It looks a lot like the new annual pass logo, and the Thorpe logo in general.

[Justin]

It does look like part of the logo, I've never considered that! :O

[Sporech]

The legroom is the biggest problem on Colossus for me.
Also, it's so hard to actually get in and out of the trains; If I want to drop my bag off in the luggage hold, it's horrible to climb through the train and then back in again.

That said, I don't find this ride rough at all. I find SAW very rough, but Colossus I have no problems with. The only bit that puts me off is the barrel rolls, which really grind against your shoulders.
Still one of my favourites at Thorpe though. The area around it is nicely landscaped and I like how it interacts with the path. 

[lewis97]

Colossus was actually my first inverting coaster. I guess I figured that if I could survive the ride which held the world record at the time, I’d be alright on anything...

Nowadays, it’s the coaster at Thorpe which I don’t mind missing out on if the queue is particularly long, given the relatively uncomfortable ride experience.

[AltonOperator]

It looks a lot like the new annual pass logo, and the Thorpe logo in general.

That's a fantastic point. It could be a complete rebrand for the park with a new modern logo

[Swarm Chris]

If that turned out to be the new for 2019 thing, then all those Loggers Leap comments they just managed to get rid of, would pale in comparison to what would happen on their social media. :lol

:sus:

Yeah, it's as probable as any other suggestion.

[ellboy]

Gerstlauer Infinity !! :-k

[Htjc_]

Gerstlauer Infinity !! :-k

I think Merlin would have learnt from that. The Smiler has its problems.

[Ladyofthelake]

For me, Colossus has reached the point where I'll do it once a season but otherwise I tend to give it a miss. The trains are uncomfortable, and at points it is just too rough to be enjoyable anymore. Whilst it has received the odd paint touch up, it is also in desperate need of some serious TLC. I know it is meant to be located in the Lost City, but there is a difference between something being themed to a ruin and it looking neglected.

I also find the operations on it are usually some of the slowest on park - usually not helped by it running on one train for a lot of the time.

[Swarm Chris]

In fairness to Thorpe, I do believe they ran Colossus on 2 trains for the whole season last year - or at least on weekends and busy days. It's just that turn-around time is so bad, it seems like it's only running one train. I once timed 7 minute regular dispatch intervals.

Pro-tip avoid if raining, as you'll probably sit in the brakes by the station for a few minutes if they're running two trains.

[Adz]

Colossus is one of those rides that really got me into theme parks and general geekery. That being said, I have no real love for the ride as it's turned into a rather unpleasant experience all round. The ride also used to look pretty spectacular but as the years has passed and the park has failed to maintain any sort of appearance standard it's lost even that value. 

The ride was dated technology even when it opened and the train design has always been utterly horrid, the roughness though is primarily caused by the ride shifting on the infilled land which is why the park has gone to the effort of removing the waterways underneath in recent years. 

It would be nice to see the ride undergo a major overhaul including a repaint and new trains, but I don't think it will fix the rides roughness so it's probably best to remove it and replace it with something else entirely.