Thorpe Park Resort

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ColossusInferno
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If it was to be a B&M Hyper, expect it to be round the same height as Mako, so it doesn't tower over Stealth. The GP still see Stealth as a very tall roller coaster remember!
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Burniel
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See, this discussion comes up often and I disagree. Assuming it is a hyper, Thorpe Park want it to "market itself", and for that they require it to dominate the park's skyline, as a hyper's height is its main USP. Stealth's main USP is, for me, its launch, which would still probably be the most forceful thing at the park.

Regarding it "towering over Stealth", I've never considered this to be an issue, as it depends where the ride's lift hill is. If the lift hill is immediately behind Stealth but is, say, 250ft tall, then it will somewhat dwarf Stealth (although what with Thorpe Park being so compact, it will still be very clear that Stealth is tall due to it being next to The Swarm, Tidal Wave etc). But, if you put the station and lift hill on the Loggers site, then had the majority of the ride's airtime hills along the back of the park, I fail to see the issue. With the exception of Saw, the Loggers site is possibly one of the most secluded spots to place the lift hill, thus reducing the extent to which it dwarfs other rides. Additionally, when looking out from the main entrance (and from most of the areas of the park from which Stealth is visible), a coaster taller than Stealth would not look so tall due to it being so much further away from the person.

I don't really understand the argument that a taller hyper would diminish Stealth, because even if you stood Mako next to Stealth, Stealth becomes far less intimidating. It's all about positioning and perspective. Thorpe can definitely pull off 230ft+ if place correctly and I'd love to see them try.
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Burniel
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Sunday mornings are usually the quietest part of the week during Thorpe Park's peak period. You're correct, it will be busy whenever you go, but I've found that if you get there early (9:30ish) on a Sunday, you'll find that the park is relatively quieter until 11-12, mainly due to Thorpe's target market being teens and older families, who are more likely to lie in on Sundays. I've often found that on a Sunday, it's possible to whip around a couple of the busier attractions before the park gets too busy. Of course, being school holidays, it might not be quite so quiet, but it should be fairly good. In terms of the rest of the day, I don't see much difference between how busy the two dates will be. With that in mind, I'm leaning towards Sunday 6th, but there's probably not all that much in it.

I don't know how soon you have to decide, but as weather plays a big part, it might be worth holding off for 10 days or so and then checking the weather for the 6th. Of course, this requires you to plan your trip within a few days, but it gives you the chance to abandon the plan if a heatwave strikes.
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Nickolai
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It has been confirmed I am going to Thorpe Park later on this year. Because it will be my first time going to Thorpe, I would like to make the most of my visit by experiencing as much as possible, because it's very likely the next time I will be going there is when I am able to drive and take myself there (2019-2020). We are aiming to go on a weekend day late September/early October to avoid the Fright Night ram. Does this seem like a sensible idea and if so how long should I expect waiting times to be? Is it worth still purchasing Fastrack? Like previously mentioned by Xtremecoasters any answers or advice would be very helpful!  :D
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Dom
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Fright Nights now begins 29th September, so expect all weekends from then to be busy. If its after that date than expect the park to be very busy as Fright Nights is usually THE busiest time of year for the park. If you are visiting during a FN weekend than i highly recommend fastrack for the mazes. If you don't intend on doing the mazes than i'd say hold off with the fastrack as the rides go quiet once the mazes open at 3pm.
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Bert
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I as far as I'm aware Thorpe Park have certain height limits for certain areas, for example one of the lowest height limits is 100ft(I've heard at least, you guys know how accurate I am with this stuff) whereas I've also heard that they can build up to 500ft in some areas. With how small Thorpe Park is in size I could see them getting a Mack Hypercoaster as we've seen how versatile Mack can get with their rides and a 'UK's tallest/Europe's tallest' would very easily market itself they could even have a 'World's first Hyper coaster with ... element'.

Whatever this ends up being I also see this being drastically different to rides other UK Merlin parks might be getting in the similar time frame such as SW9 or Chessington's scheduled coaster from their LTDP. 
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Burniel
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Dom wrote: If you don't intend on doing the mazes than i'd say hold off with the fastrack as the rides go quiet once the mazes open at 3pm.
Don't wish to interrupt, but this just reminded me of something. I'm really not a scaremaze kind of person, but I've always been interested in riding the coasters in the dark, and a friend of mine recently suggested we visit during Fright Nights for an evening in order to do this (they'll either purchase a couple of fastracks or just not do any mazes, I don't think they're that fussed), but I was wondering how much the queues for the rides drop once the mazes open. Would we have time to get all the major coasters done in the dark? Is it even worth getting to the park before 3, bearing in mind I'm relatively local and visit fairly frequently? Does the Thorpe Shuttle run until 10/11pm on these nights?

I'm thinking the first weekend would be quietest. I understand there are a few actors that roam the park, but they're presumably not too bad? :P
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Nickolai
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Sorry, I forgot about that FN date! What I meant sorry is that we will go on a weekend day before FN starts so any time before the 29th. Sorry to cause confusion! What would general queue times be during September weekends before Fright Nights? 
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Dom
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September is usually quiet. I went last year on a Saturday and queues ent that bad. If its the beginning of September than its more busy than towards the end of September due to some school trips (Believe it or not). So if you go the weekend before FN starts than it should be reasonable with at most an hour's queue and that will be for Colossus 
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Nickolai
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Thank you very much! Can't wait to visit!
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nemefan08
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Another quick question, how does front row queuing work at Thorpe? I know stealth has a front row queue but that's the limit of my knowledge. Do the staff let you pick your row? I heard The Swarm had a pass system, is that still operational? Cheers for any help
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Dom
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Front row works as follows

Stealth, Nemesis Inferno and Colossus have a seperate queue near the station for it.
Saw and Swarm are own batching, so you decide where you go.
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ColossusInferno
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Let's be honest. It will probably be a let down like most new UK rollercoasters. I hope I am proven wrong though, fingers crossed
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Justin
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Thorpe Park is in desperate need of a new coaster, especially with DBGT essentially replacing what would traditionally be a coaster. 
With The Swarm not reportedly being the success the resort hoped, along with DBGT, I strongly believe the 2020 Project will be something impressive and on a large scale! 
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Chris
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Thorpe is not big enough to warrant different permitted heights in different areas. There is no set limit - each planning application is considered on a case by case basis.

Well, until we see sight of the next medium term development plan..
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Justin
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I expect something of considerable length! 
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MakoMania
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As long as they deliver airtime, I'll love it!
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Owen
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Isn't there a limit on the length of track Thorpe can build in place still?

Also, it's interesting how a teaser can change the minds of so many... this time last year people thought a hyper would never happen :P
That being said I don't really buy that the park are "still looking" if this is actually an attraction for 2020, especially on the scale that it's likely to be. Either they are more or less decided or they aren't looking to build anything until 2021 (in my opinion). I honestly don't know what they could planning. I don't necessarily think it needs to be high or large, but it does need to have something that'll pull in the crowds - Ghost Train has done a great job, but now they need another strong hit for a coaster.

Then again, who is to say this isn't just to get enthusiasts talking - I wouldn't be surprised...
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Burniel
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Owen wrote:Also, it's interesting how a teaser can change the minds of so many... this time last year people thought a hyper would never happen :P
I've always thought a hyper should be Thorpe's next coaster, and I think many people would agree, it's just more been a case of being unsure if Merlin would build such a ride. I don't think the hyper model was ever considered any less likely on the whole than any other model. I don't know about the track length, but I think that was something from the old MTDP, not sure if it's a restriction or just something that was true for all the coasters they were planning for the foreseeable future.

I'm not entirely sure where you're getting this "DBGT was a smash hit" idea from either. It's believed that attendance at the park saw no change from 2015 to 2016, following a very poor year in 2015, and the ride has received good but hardly smashing reviews, not to mention its downtime. I think this could be why they mention something that can "market itself", rather than relying on gimmicky VR and expecting people to wait several hours for something when they don't even really know what it is. Perhaps this also explains the "reliable" and "high throughput" comments.

I think the (possibly sad) reality is that such a large proportion of Thorpe Park's target audience only really care about riding the biggest and baddest, so I really do think they need to make Project 2020 visually large.
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Owen
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I think it's worth mentioning that the quoted comment isn't serious, however regarding your other point...

I never said anything about Ghost Train was a smash hit, I said it has done a great job considering all the issues it had and the fact it didn't open for half a year in which people held off from visiting the park (you also have to take ROTD into account) - hence why this next investment needs to be better in terms of numbers because they need a hit like The Smiler. The size this is really irrelevant in my eyes, so long as it's marketed correctly and has decent height there are many ways to have a popular ride. The Swarm dominates the skyline in the park yet didn't capture much attention, however Saw  with its interesting design and IP did - it definitely needs something, but not necessarily size.

If I am honest I wouldn't look into anything said by Thorpe at the event personally, as things can be twisted and they can keep things to themselves. Just because they say something 3 years in advance doesn't mean it'll be 100% truth. :)
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