Thorpe Park Resort
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scubahood
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- Joined: Sat Apr 05, 2003 10:20 pm
- Location: UK
As many have said The Swarm is easily the best ride at Thorpe Park. Although I have to disagree with those saying it is better than Nemesis. It clearly is not. I'm headed back tomorrow or today technically so if anyone wants pictures of anything or info let me know on twitter @scubahood
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Vladimir Bobinski
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- Location: Warwickshire
This may require a separate topic, but I'm very interested in working out what was happening on the possible new island, other than ground works. Also what was happening around the warehouses behind the swam, it was a hive of activity, looked like a lot of woodwork?
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Colossus
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- Joined: Fri May 23, 2003 11:45 pm
My view on the ride is that its a grower. First ride was front right side (over the bridge) and although a few nice feelings through the elements it was a bit of a let down. During the day I rode in various positions and now favour front left (not going over the bridge).
The theming is great, however operational wise, the front row system is just plane (intentional spelling mistake he he) silly. The baggage kiosk is too small / not enough people which resulted in queues, which then affected flow in the station. This along with no SRQ produced LOTS of empty seats during the day especially when the queue reached a peak of approx 20 minutes.
This is no Nemesis by any stretch of the imagination for me. It doesnt even compare. In my rankings its Number 11 in the UK and 42 in the World.
The ride is pleasant, but not intense. Its a good solid ride, but thats all it is.
The theming is great, however operational wise, the front row system is just plane (intentional spelling mistake he he) silly. The baggage kiosk is too small / not enough people which resulted in queues, which then affected flow in the station. This along with no SRQ produced LOTS of empty seats during the day especially when the queue reached a peak of approx 20 minutes.
This is no Nemesis by any stretch of the imagination for me. It doesnt even compare. In my rankings its Number 11 in the UK and 42 in the World.
The ride is pleasant, but not intense. Its a good solid ride, but thats all it is.
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TB2
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Exactly what Thorpe needs thenColossus wrote: The ride is pleasant, but not intense. Its a good solid ride, but thats all it is.
1. Expedition Everest 2. Hollywood Tower of Terror 3.Superman De Acero 4. Katun and Nemesis 6. OzIris 7. Blue Fire 8. Black Mamba 9. Manta 10. Oblivion
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Dylan
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Agreed, a re-rideable coaster in Thorpe park that is not headache inducing. Perfect!!TB2 wrote:Exactly what Thorpe needs thenColossus wrote: The ride is pleasant, but not intense. Its a good solid ride, but thats all it is.
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AstroDan
I find Nemesis Inferno as described above - not headache inducing and re ridable. This looks better than that.
Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk
Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk
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SpinballEdders
I also find Colossus re ridable as well. it can give you a headache but not enough to make you say "ugh, I ain't going on that again"
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Dormiens-Dave
So back from my day at Thorpe yesterday and here are my thoughts on The Swarm and the day in general. I have tried to break the review down into sections
The Area.
This is definately the most positive part of the experience, its the first time Thorpe have managed to get a defined area that is set apart from the rest of the park and it is stunning. The theming is the area is again is first class, from the burnt out fire-engine round the back of depth charge to the amazing crashed airplane the quality is top notch. Including some lovely little touches such as the block paving near the crash site becoming warped and broken (as though the plaza should have continued but has been smashed apart by the plane).
other fantastic little touches are the sound effects the trigger when the train dispatches, when the train passes through the plane and when the train passes through the ruined church tower. This along with the mist and the water splashes (not as effective as Manta's and also out of time a bit but i;m sure tweaking will be on-going, as they where running the trains long after park close).
The queue is well themed by default of wrapping around the station building and it has some nice touches such as the TV screens but its going to be a frustrating queue to stand in for more than 30 minutes as much like Th13teen is moves towards and away from the entrance and you get no sense of progression, also there is a huge extension that comes off at the merge point so you are going to think you have reached the end and potentially have another 30 minutes of queue.
The Ride
The ride is not a "Ohh my god Wow" coaster, the best description is Air on steroids (its much better than Air though). I managed 8 rides on it and each riding position offers something different, though i definitely found the left side to be more thrilling than the right as it has nearly all of the head choppers and felt more thrilling. The ride doesn't pack huge G's but its fun and the wing-riding position is peculiar but adds a lot to the ride. The ride is however too short, it wasn't too noticable on Thursday as it was constantly walk-on but after a 1 hour queue people may feel short changed as it doesn't exactly give the wham-bang thrills of Thorpes normal offering which guests probably expect.
At the end of the day though this is an incredibly solid ride with the best theming seen in the UK for 10 years. Certainly adds a much needed capacity increase to Thorpe and show-cases what Merlin Studios can do.
As for breakdowns we spent a pleasant 15 minutes on the lift hill but no major downtime to be concerned about.
The Area.
This is definately the most positive part of the experience, its the first time Thorpe have managed to get a defined area that is set apart from the rest of the park and it is stunning. The theming is the area is again is first class, from the burnt out fire-engine round the back of depth charge to the amazing crashed airplane the quality is top notch. Including some lovely little touches such as the block paving near the crash site becoming warped and broken (as though the plaza should have continued but has been smashed apart by the plane).
other fantastic little touches are the sound effects the trigger when the train dispatches, when the train passes through the plane and when the train passes through the ruined church tower. This along with the mist and the water splashes (not as effective as Manta's and also out of time a bit but i;m sure tweaking will be on-going, as they where running the trains long after park close).
The queue is well themed by default of wrapping around the station building and it has some nice touches such as the TV screens but its going to be a frustrating queue to stand in for more than 30 minutes as much like Th13teen is moves towards and away from the entrance and you get no sense of progression, also there is a huge extension that comes off at the merge point so you are going to think you have reached the end and potentially have another 30 minutes of queue.
The Ride
The ride is not a "Ohh my god Wow" coaster, the best description is Air on steroids (its much better than Air though). I managed 8 rides on it and each riding position offers something different, though i definitely found the left side to be more thrilling than the right as it has nearly all of the head choppers and felt more thrilling. The ride doesn't pack huge G's but its fun and the wing-riding position is peculiar but adds a lot to the ride. The ride is however too short, it wasn't too noticable on Thursday as it was constantly walk-on but after a 1 hour queue people may feel short changed as it doesn't exactly give the wham-bang thrills of Thorpes normal offering which guests probably expect.
At the end of the day though this is an incredibly solid ride with the best theming seen in the UK for 10 years. Certainly adds a much needed capacity increase to Thorpe and show-cases what Merlin Studios can do.
As for breakdowns we spent a pleasant 15 minutes on the lift hill but no major downtime to be concerned about.
Last edited by Dormiens-Dave on Fri Mar 16, 2012 11:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Sam
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I'm going to quote this in its entirety, as it's by far the best review of the ride so far.Colossus wrote: My view on the ride is that its a grower. First ride was front right side (over the bridge) and although a few nice feelings through the elements it was a bit of a let down. During the day I rode in various positions and now favour front left (not going over the bridge).
The theming is great, however operational wise, the front row system is just plane (intentional spelling mistake he he) silly. The baggage kiosk is too small / not enough people which resulted in queues, which then affected flow in the station. This along with no SRQ produced LOTS of empty seats during the day especially when the queue reached a peak of approx 20 minutes.
This is no Nemesis by any stretch of the imagination for me. It doesnt even compare. In my rankings its Number 11 in the UK and 42 in the World.
The ride is pleasant, but not intense. Its a good solid ride, but thats all it is.
Disagree. Both in the minds of the public and many enthusiasts, Stealth is still the best, most intense and most iconic ride at Thorpe Park.scubahood wrote:As many have said The Swarm is easily the best ride at Thorpe Park.
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Chaz
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- Posts: 344
- Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2010 5:17 pm
- Location: Woking, Surrey
All my pictures are uploaded from yesterday here - http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151413864005232.831424.662520231&type=1&l=69130ed282
Video is currently uploading to YouTube and should be up within the hour here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR-ZRT4bexs&feature=youtu.be
Video is currently uploading to YouTube and should be up within the hour here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR-ZRT4bexs&feature=youtu.be
1ne, 2wo, 3hree, 4our, 5ive, 6ix, se7en, ei8ht, 9ine, t10n, e11even, tw12ve, th13teen
www.facebook.com/charliemarsh7
www.facebook.com/charliemarsh7
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Vladimir Bobinski
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- Posts: 245
- Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2011 10:45 pm
- Location: Warwickshire
My picture link on the previous page finshed loading last night, some of my favourite pics.
I'm uploading a you tube video at the moment, should be processed in 5 mins. it's a video of a test run on the opening day, sorry for the slight shakiness.
I'm uploading a you tube video at the moment, should be processed in 5 mins. it's a video of a test run on the opening day, sorry for the slight shakiness.
Last edited by Vladimir Bobinski on Fri Mar 16, 2012 2:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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spark
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- Location: Sheffield
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Thinking about it, i hope TP actually keep the trees and bushes cut back, as normally a ride looks sparse for the first season but this is how it should look all the time, not fully in bloom come next season
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RyanY
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- Posts: 567
- Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:20 pm
- Location: Lincolnshire
Thanks for the reviews.
There really making look forward to riding this.
17 days to go.
There really making look forward to riding this.
17 days to go.
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djtruefitt
I really liked the Swarm, and like many have said its certainly a ride you want to re-ride, espeically as its a completly different expereince on each side and at front of back. Even on my 3rd or 4th ride round I noticed new things I hadnt seen before. I certainly enjoyed it.
The whole area is also great, and for those who say Thorpe cant do themeing, they certainly can now with this whole area. It looks alot better in real life compared to photos, and it makes TH13TEEN and the dark forest look completly crap. There is so much detail all around the area, from the plane, helicopter, fire engines, upside down lorry, shop, etc. All of them look great, and when I saw the station had no roof on photos I thought it seemed a little odd, but in person I think it works really well and does give you a good view of the ride above.
It also has a really great soundtrack, including a theme overall but also theme music for each feature such as the fire engine, plane, helicopter, station, etc. All of which work well and link together.
I imagine the queue line will get very boring if you queue to whole lot, it even goes back behind the station. Its certainly a good few hours queue line. But at least it does have the videos in the queue, which do seem fairly long with various interviews with reporters on park, official government type people, photo calls, photos, etc.
The whole area is also great, and for those who say Thorpe cant do themeing, they certainly can now with this whole area. It looks alot better in real life compared to photos, and it makes TH13TEEN and the dark forest look completly crap. There is so much detail all around the area, from the plane, helicopter, fire engines, upside down lorry, shop, etc. All of them look great, and when I saw the station had no roof on photos I thought it seemed a little odd, but in person I think it works really well and does give you a good view of the ride above.
It also has a really great soundtrack, including a theme overall but also theme music for each feature such as the fire engine, plane, helicopter, station, etc. All of which work well and link together.
I imagine the queue line will get very boring if you queue to whole lot, it even goes back behind the station. Its certainly a good few hours queue line. But at least it does have the videos in the queue, which do seem fairly long with various interviews with reporters on park, official government type people, photo calls, photos, etc.
Last edited by djtruefitt on Fri Mar 16, 2012 7:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Rob L
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Haha, how this made BBC News I don't know, but I and a few other TTFers were on the train that got stuck on the lift hill for about 15 minutes.Matt-1509 wrote: Looks like a small lift stop was caught by the BBC...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17389375
I may post more about this ride later but my overall opinion was that it is good but not anything amazing. The theming is nothing short of incredible. One thing that should be pointed out is that it doesn't feel too short when you are riding it.
Last edited by Rob L on Fri Mar 16, 2012 6:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Jem8472
A few photos I took of the day, not the greatest but for most of the early ones where it is foggy I was too excited :P
I loved the actors around the site, they were great. I wonder where they got the tinfoil hat idea from? :para:
Better put one pic with me in it :P
I loved the actors around the site, they were great. I wonder where they got the tinfoil hat idea from? :para:
Better put one pic with me in it :P
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Dormiens-Dave
There are a number of Army type boxes dotted around the area... read the labels and see if you can see a little homage to Merlin Studios North located at our favorite theme park.......
And i note a few familiar faces in those batching pens
And i note a few familiar faces in those batching pens
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djtruefitt
I notice my self!Dormiens-Dave wrote: And i note a few familiar faces in those batching pens
I like all the little detailing on the themeing, such as the LC2012 references on the side of the shop, and LC12 on the benches at the new food outlet.