Thorpe Park Resort

[Justin]

I do agree, I feel that it will be the first of any major coaster to go. A Mack triple launch coaster would be a nice replacement, even if they decided to keep the Lost City theme!

[DeadJack5]

I actually can't stand this ride, being a bigger guy it can be painful and a tough squeeze but even besides that, it's an extremely rough ride for those of other sizes and it just makes riding it uncomfortable. The theme is just a mess in some points, it does look extremely run down compared to it's past and honestly I avoid this ride the most, I do 1 or 2 rides throughout the season and that's enough for me.

[Adz]

You're all reading far too much into it :P. 

There are absolutely no new rides planned for 2019, so this has to relate to the series of events the park has been teasing since before Christmas.

As for the 2020 project, there hasn't been a planning application so I think we can be sure at this point that it is delayed until at least 2021, and with various changes with the parks management and direction over the last few months I wouldn't be surprised if it's had a complete rethink. With any new ride you're unlikely to have the park acknowledge or even tease of its existence until planning has been filed. 

[Dan]

I must be a rare breed in that I don't actually find Colossus at all rough. There is some vibration from the floor of the train but it doesn't really have any jolts in the same way that Saw and The Smiler do. If it wasn't for the awful design of the trains, I would find Colossus much more enjoyable, but I wouldn't say it's unpleasant to ride.

[Swarm Chris]

Found myself humming really old Thorpe Park adverts this morning. It's the big enormous, great humongous, great Thorpe Park!

Don't remember that cat though. I suspect it received a similar fate to Poochie.

[ScottLann]

 Looking at Thorpe Park's Instagram, the infinity sign that has been noticed is related to a gaming event that they are hosting this year. No relation to Project 2020/2021 unfortunately

[Swarm Chris]

So the infinity logo was updated:


Source

A gaming event running 6th April - 31st May, which promises:

Catch your favourite gamers battling it out in the relentless action of the live-streaming arena, immerse yourself in nostalgia as you reignite your childhood in the retro gaming lounge and defy your senses and push yourself to the limit as you engage with the latest virtual reality tech.

All included with regular park entry, except for the VR content, although you need to book a slot. Playing some of the retro games could be fun, especially if it's a wet day, although the pre-booking requirement would prevent just wandering in and out. Having it run by HYPD puts me off massively though.

It's definitely something - but I'm not sure why I'd want to go to Thorpe Park to play video games.

[Swarm Chris]

And all remaining resemblances of hope for Project 2020 were lost.

[H8223R]

This has been hit with a lot of negativity. Personally, as long as this doesn't impact the day to day running of the park or the focus on their 40th Birthday this year, I'm not really that bothered. On another note - could this be the fate of the I'm A Celeb building or will this event be housed elsewhere? It's a bit of a weird choice to go for, it's as if Thorpe are throwing stuff out there just to fill the time between now and the next major investment.

[Dan]

This has been hit with a lot of negativity. Personally, as long as this doesn't impact the day to day running of the park or the focus on their 40th Birthday this year, I'm not really that bothered. On another note - could this be the fate of the I'm A Celeb building or will this event be housed elsewhere? It's a bit of a weird choice to go for, it's as if Thorpe are throwing stuff out there just to fill the time between now and the next major investment.

It’s being held in the Lakeview Marquee.

It’s a bit of a confusing move by Thorpe, but with it being free to access, I can see it being somewhat popular amongst a portion of the park’s clientele.

[ProfBurp]

Found myself humming really old Thorpe Park adverts this morning. It's the big enormous, great humongous, great Thorpe Park!

Don't remember that cat though. I suspect it received a similar fate to Poochie.

Absolutely love this and I used to love that catchy tag line too, awwww the good old days! Don’t miss seeing the yellow shorts from the uniform though!

[ProfBurp]

It seems not as popular as they hoped from the social media feedback they’ve had so far, it will be interesting to see how many people actually book one of the ‘time slots’ or whether they are begging for people to come in on the day! I just hope the appeal is there as much as they had hoped. Yeah it’s not my cup of tea, but as much as TP have made some mistakes recently, I’d hate to see them fall flat on their face with embarrassment, so fingers crossed there are some willing people out there who will enjoy this as it’s quite a long period to run for!

Good news is it’s not in peak summer, so perhaps there are other events for the 40th Birthday planned, it’s certainly something I (and sure many of you) would like to see happen anyway.

[ProfBurp]

It’s certainly gone very quiet again on the 2020 front, looking more and more unlikely everyday that goes on of anything happening next year at this rate.

[AltonOperator]

I'm not entirely sure of the technicalities but if a coaster is listed on a previously approved LTDP, isn't it easier and faster to get planning permission once the time comes to build it? that might suggest planning permission may be later than expected.
I also seem to remember them getting some kind of permission to build anything below a certain height without permission?
I may be talking rubbish so please correct me if I'm wrong

[Swarm Chris]

I'm not entirely sure of the technicalities but if a coaster is listed on a previously approved LTDP, isn't it easier and faster to get planning permission once the time comes to build it? that might suggest planning permission may be later than expected.
I also seem to remember them getting some kind of permission to build anything below a certain height without permission?
I may be talking rubbish so please correct me if I'm wrong

They had to get planning permission to install fences by Walking Dead, so the allowed limits are very small. They tried for easier restrictions, but the request stalled middle of last year.

Edit: Although they can stack shipping containers for Fright Nights without permissions :lol

[Dom]

I'm not entirely sure of the technicalities but if a coaster is listed on a previously approved LTDP, isn't it easier and faster to get planning permission once the time comes to build it? that might suggest planning permission may be later than expected.
I also seem to remember them getting some kind of permission to build anything below a certain height without permission?
I may be talking rubbish so please correct me if I'm wrong

They had to get planning permission to install fences by Walking Dead, so the allowed limits are very small. They tried for easier restrictions, but the request stalled middle of last year.

Edit: Although they can stack shipping containers for Fright Nights without permissions :lol

The last dated planning application that I can obviously see is dated 3/1/18. Yet they have done work to fill in the waterbed around Colossus. It’s interesting in that they probably should have put planning in for that particular work. I don’t know how the planning office works and what they require from Thorpe. It could be the documentation has already been submitted but not been out online yet. Anything is possible

[Swarm Chris]

You're right there is an odd amount of things they can do with our without planning permission. Changing waterbeds in an area of flooding definitely seems like something you should get permission for. :lol

One thing is for sure, nothing big (worthwhile :sus:) is getting built without one though.

[Ladyofthelake]

This is certainly an interesting move from Thorpe Park, and not one I was expecting them to go with prior to the teasers appearing. In some ways I can kind of understand Thorpe wanting to try and capitalise on the growing eSports market. Holding a gaming event will attract some people who may not go to Thorpe Park otherwise and potentially make commercial sense with those people then potentially making return visits and/or buying season or annual passes. What I am slightly concerned about is the choice of partner in HYPD as some of their content on their social media channels raises questions as to the kind of messages they promote to those who watch their channels.

I think what has caused some of the frustration with people is the fact that there is no prospect of a major thrill addition any time soon. Had there been some form of planning application, or signs of construction, then people may have been more accepting or forgiving knowing something bigger was in the works.

[Sporech]

I must be a rare breed in that I don't actually find Colossus at all rough. There is some vibration from the floor of the train but it doesn't really have any jolts in the same way that Saw and The Smiler do. If it wasn't for the awful design of the trains, I would find Colossus much more enjoyable, but I wouldn't say it's unpleasant to ride.

Same honestly. I don't find it painful aside from lack of legroom. Same with Smiler, I don't think it's rough at all, meanwhile I find SAW unbearably rough. Not sure what the logic behind it is.

[Swarm Chris]

I'm concerned that Thorpe have dug, or are still digging, themselves into a public relations disaster and are actively damaging their brand. The public response yesterday was overwhelmingly negative and somewhat unprecedented. The negative feedback I felt, was coming from a wide range of guests and not just enthusiast followers who want an RMC.

The problem I believe is more fundamental than simply people disliking a single event. The problem is that people's perceptions of the park seem to be changing more widely and becoming more negative. Comments yesterday were using terms like "cheap" and "not interesting", along with questions about why no real developments were being made. The park was quick to respond in a couple of cases, questioning how people could judge the quality of an event before seeing it. And that is the fundamental problem: people saw their advert and judged it poor, based on their perception of the park. People rightly should judge things based on their perceptions and experiences. Goodwill towards the park seems to be draining rapidly.

I agree with Lakey above, the backlash seems to have been amplified by a lack of public plans from Thorpe. None of their developments in the last 6 years have earned a lasting positive perception, despite what the park may claim, so people have been holding on for the next new thing to rectify this. The parks own publicity, both online and in-park, has several times been hinting at new things coming, promoting the building excitement. Presumably, fully well knowing that new things were not coming (the Project Zer0 case being an example that they definitely knew nothing was coming). So they've created this atmosphere of people expecting something new coming; and then it not. It's then always great to watch a certain subset of the community turn on people and mock them for their disappointment.

Thorpe Park need to be taking a long hard look at their public image right now. They're going into the new season with what feels like very little positivity. The public perception of the park is becoming more cheap and uninspiring, rather than exciting and entertaining.

It's the parks 40th year, and it's sad to see where the park currently is.