As soon as hotel rehearsals began, I immediately set aside a date to return to Thorpe Park in hopes of riding Derren Brown's Ghost Train. I had originally hoped to take my friend Liam to experience it at the end of May, but due to it being delayed, we held off until Saturday.
We arrived at 9am to discover the crowds were as you'd expect from a typical Saturday in the summer. Half-an-hour later, annual pass holders were let into the park. Liam and I ran across the bridge, passing most of the others. Discovering that Ghost Train would open at 11, we headed back to the dome to collect my disabled pass. Then, back to Ghost Train to pick up an allocated ticket (scheduled for 11:15). Whilst we were in that area, the first ride of the day was Nemesis Inferno.
Up until now, Liam had never been on a coaster bigger than any of Chessington's small selection, so he was incredibly nervous about this. Too nervous to ride at the front, so he decided that the third row would be a better fit. As always, Inferno was intense yet smooth. Liam didn't know what had just happened afterwards, leaving the ride feeling dazed and confused.
We then headed through the Lost City, where I'd ride Rush alone. I really like Rush, such a unique ride for this country, yet one of my favorite flats. The queue was advertised at 10mins- by the time the ride ended it had been exactly 10mins since I'd joined the queue! Nice to see that the park can be accurate on queue times :P
Afterwards, Liam's second challenge was waiting- The Swarm. I was really looking forward to getting back on this, seeing as I was torn between Smiler and Swarm. This time, Swarm managed to knock Smiler off it's number one spot. Liam thoroughly enjoyed it, telling me we'd have to do it again.
But then, it was time to derail our minds...
I won't go into too much detail, but yes. It was time to (finally) experience Derren Brown's Ghost Train. After we were given a scare-maze style safety briefing, we went inside to discover what awaited at the end of the line... A gift shop :P
My first impressions of Ghost Train weren't that good- I think I was expecting too much from it. I decided I'd return later on in the day to have a definite opinion.
After a ride on the rapids, it was time for Stealth- one of the rides Liam was most nervous about. After weighing it up, he finally gave in. We sat on row 9- the first time I'd sat there this year. I'd forgotten how much force Stealth pulls on the back, and what a weird sensation it was. Liam seemed to enjoy it, but still feared it. It was then time for lunch, before a lap on the Rocky Express.
Before we headed over to The Swarm, I picked up a fortune from Derren. It read:
Then it was onto The Swarm on my favorite seat- back row, right hand side, inside seat. The amount of forces it pulls is incredible, combined with the intensity and smoothness it possesses. A quick ice cream, before it was time for Ghost Train again.When you believe something, you look out for things that tell you its's true. You ignore anything that suggests you're wrong. Everyone does the same. And we feel scared when our beliefs are challenged. Be gentle with people when they're like this. And sometimes be wrong.
Coincidentally, we ended up in the same group as GThing64 (perfect, as Liam didn't want to do it again as he found it too scary). Despite having the same experience (bar the ending), I found Ghost Train was a lot more enjoyable now, probably due to the fact I understood the story a bit better (and I didn't over-hype myself). It's a very interesting experience- one that I couldn't recommend enough.
I had promised Liam that if he went on the big coasters I'd take him on Tidal Wave- one of the few rides that scares me. Feeling drenched, I changed into my new Ghost Train shirt, before taking on Samurai for the first time. Wow, what a ride! Incredibly intense, confusing and fast-paced. By far the best flat on park!
We ended the day with another journey on Derren Brown's Ghost Train. This time I had a different experience, which was a nice surprise, however I preferred the execution of the first one. The sun set, and our day at Thorpe Park was over.
Ride count (14)
Flying Fish x1
Stealth x1
Nemesis Inferno x1
The Swarm x2
X x1
Rumba Rapids x1
Tidal Wave x1
Derren Brown's Ghost Train x3
Rocky Express x1
Rush x1
Samurai x1
Thanks for reading!