Thorpe Park Resort

[BenBowser]

^ You must be missing something as Chessington. It gives you a massive magical feel. It's atmosphere is legendary. It gives you the Chessington buzz. It feels like its transforming you to another world with its general magic.

[Burniel]

To me it's just excitement and adventure ... nothing's magical about "wild asia"

Back to Thorpe now

[BenBowser]

nothing's magical about "wild asia"

It doesn't have to have a magical theme or story, it just has that special atmosphere. It's music, it's smell, the water in the fountain, the screams from KOBRA and Monkey Swinger, the bunting blowing in the wind, the water jets on the floor. It's magical in its own way.

[Burniel]

nothing's magical about "wild asia"

It doesn't have to have a magical theme or story, it just has that special atmosphere. It's music, it's smell, the water in the fountain, the screams from KOBRA and Monkey Swinger, the bunting blowing in the wind, the water jets on the floor. It's magical in its own way.

If you want to argue this, at least do it in the right topic.

My opinions on Thorpe are simple: they need to sort out the mess of a park they have created tbh

[oliverdouglas22]

There is a lot of wasted space at Thorpe Park. Firstly X should of been taken down and the theater behind it is never used except for fright nights. The Asylum house and Blair witch scare zone should be new space for rides. Finally, Storm Surge and Neptune's Kingdom needs to turn into a water park!

[Danny]

There is a lot of wasted space at Thorpe Park. Firstly X should of been taken down and the theater behind it is never used except for fright nights. The Asylum house and Blair witch scare zone should be new space for rides. Finally, Storm Surge and Neptune's Kingdom needs to turn into a water park!

So your suggesting they get rid of all of their scare mazes, I couldn't disagree more!

[Danny]

Was it common knowledge that Thorpe has agreed to changing Asylum's name??!! I knew they were in arguments with mental health protection people but never knew thorpe we actually changing Asylums name?

[bensaund]

For me Alton is Magical and I agree Chessington is an advernture.

But for me Thorpe has no magic of soul. It does indeed have some great rides there, but I don't really enjoy my time there as much as I do at other parks. It is just dirty, full of loud smoking teens and isn't really a theme park.

I think the problem for Thorpe is the people who go there don't really care about what the place looks like, they could easily remove all the theming from all the rides, stick in a Waltzer, Top spin and other generic rides, sell lots of alcohol on side and people will still be happy to pay tons of cash for Fast Tracks and say they had a great day out.

What Thorpe has going for it is that it has a HUGE population living on its doorstep, easily to commute via train and the free bus or it is on the M3/M25. It has no competition at all so they really don't have to try at all.

Where at the Towers are in the middle of nowhere, public transport is difficult and most guests have to drive a long way to get there. Alton do need to try hard and I believe they do a great job in doing this.

For me I am happy to drive 168 miles to Alton, stay in a hotel as I really enjoy it. Thorpe is only 15 miles down the road so it is easy to go to.

in 2013 I went to Thorpe 13 times, Alton 11 times, Chessington 11 times. Considering Thorpe is on my door step, the fact I drove all the way to Alton so many times speaks wonders as 2 of my visits at Thorpe I stayed less than 1 hour due to 1 train operation, huge queues (On a week day) and rides out of action. Another day 2 hours as it was too busy and others trips were just a few hours in the evening when they were open until 7PM. The only good days I had at Thorpe were Annual pass day and Summer nights, all the others were just OK.

I'd never pay to get into Thorpe on a normal day knowing what I know now, I would pay for Alton (2for1 of course).

I might think about Summer nights again as that was fun, but I feel Thorpe isn't great value even if you are getting in with a 2FOR1.

This is the main reason I won't be renewing my MAP at the end of April and leaving it a few years. I want Merlin to come up with something which will make me want to visit. I am happy to wait for the next lot of coasters or for them to make improvements which improve your day. I just feel the price is going up and up and you are not really getting much extra for the money you are paying.
Look at Thorpe in the early 00's, Tussards were spending a fortune on the place and the rides they added made Thorpe what it is today, but Merlin seem to be running on a much slower investment cycle. I feel they really need to pull their finger out and fix issues which guests are screaming out for, like a paint job on Colossus. It must be so embarrassing that people are saying that one of your signature rides which is 12 years old is knackered and people assume it is 25+ years old due to the state it is in.

[thorpe fan]

I just have had a crazy idea that Storm Surge has been placed in the wrong area. I think they should of put Storm Surge right next to Depth Charge and get rid of Neptune's Beach and Wet and Wild. This could have lead to Depth Charge having a refurbishment and have theme of sliding down a mountain with the submarine on top (like Typhoon Lagoon). Additionally they could of themed Storm Surge the same so that it doesn't look bare. It could have been so much better and they could of left X to be more inviting to customers and left more room for another family ride.

[Ronnopm94]

I totally agree. A little theming would not go amiss, especially if it was blended in to hide that ugly scaffolding like support structure. This,at help wig the agonizingly boring lift hill climb that takes longer than the actual ride.

[themealgang]

Storm Surge needs to go. It was an absolutely hideous addition to the park (water ride in Britain?! ) and looks completely out of place. It baffles me why the park even purchased it anyway. It deserves to be on the scrap heap.

[Zac]

Just watching Sky News coverage on the floods, nice helicopter shot of Thorpe, not looking good though!

[Kimberley]

Thorpe posted this on their Facebook:

Look who's turned up at THORPE PARK Resort... The Army and Emergency Services are here helping flood victims in the local area.

The extent of the flooding is concerning in the nearby area, but we can only hope that it doesn't have a significant impact on the park

[Martin]

http://www.itv.com/news/update/2014-02- ... -flooding/

1 minute into the film is a helicopter shot of Thorpe Park and the extent of the flooding.
Although the park itself doesn't yet look flooded.
The date on the film is Monday 10th Feb

[Adz]

The park itself is not flooded too badly at the moment. Surprisingly the park copes rather well with the fluctuating water levels.

Certain parts do flood such as the Stealth maintenance area - but these are designed to do so so it's not a major concern.

[Dom]

To be honest, I would rather go to Alton Towers instead of Thorpe Park all the time. But for someone who doesn't actually go to a theme park more than once a year, Thorpe Park still has a certain quality and enjoyment to it. It has some really unique rides, and the theming on both Swarm Island and Amity Cove are the best themed areas in the whole park. I have never gone to Thorpe park and thought, this place is terrible. Some areas do need to be refurbished. But I think the Colossus looks helps its theming.

[Katherine]

Opinions on their new Angry Birds area?

[Burniel]

You could say I "discovered" that Thorpe Park was only a 40 minute drive from me at the start of the 2012 season.

As a coaster wuss, I was anxious to go, as I thought it might be a day of sitting around watching my family spin round on ride like Colossus, SAW and The Swarm, as I'd heard of these coaster's legacy.

On first viewing, I was pleasantly surprised. As we went in and I saw Stealth looming above everything, my mum reminded me that I didn't have to do anything I didn't want to, and my dad pointed out that there was "a nice slide ride" right at the front of the park. I went on the "slide ride" (or as I now know it, Depth Charge) twice in a row.

We then went on Storm Surge, which ok is not great, but is a breath of fresh air for coaster wusses, who usually find themselves going on log flumes all day.

We were now pretty wet, and rather stupidly thought to go on Tidal Wave, followed by Rumba Rapids and Logger's Leap (oh dear).

In the afternoon, I let the family enjoy the coasters, satisfied with my ride count. Little did I know I still had Flying Fish and Quantum to enjoy!

That was my first visit to Thorpe Park. A lot has changed.

• The novelty has worn off
• The paint on any "family ride" is peeling
• Kids rides are disappearing slowly but surely
• My sister now does all the rides (she used to be too short), so I'm kind of alone

In 2012, I visited Thorpe no less than 8 times, finding Sunday mornings the quietest and best times to go. In 2013,that has gone down to 5. In 2014, I am unlikely to go until at least Summer (in fairness that's more the financial side of things), but will probably get  visits max. They really need to do up their family rides and get a nice family coaster in as well, not something stupid like X, a genuine family coaster (Vampire and Dragon's Fury are great examples of this at Thorpe's sister park).

Just sort yourself out Thorpe, please

Opinions on their new Angry Birds area?

Well the dodgems sound fun but the rest of it sounds stupid.

[BenBowser]

Opinions on their new Angry Birds area?

Out of Date! I'm normally really optimistic but this can only end badly. I would probably prefer to add a second Storm Surge to this. :P

[bensaund]

They need to do the family thing and this is a step in the right direction.  But I feel this should be the start of a much bigger investment.

Currently they are not a family park and this won't make it any more of a family park as this is only a half day family patk so more is still needed to be invested