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The C. View

A blog by JoshC. in General

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About this blog

Detailed, sometimes rambling, entries about rides and attractions..

Entries in this blog

'A Look Back' - Colossus

After trawling through the planning portal again, which is always interesting I find, I came across the original plans for Colossus. Much like with the http://forum.maniahub.com/topic/151-tidal-wave/page-30#entry164771]original Tidal Wave plans, they are quite different. But before I divulge into that further, let's look at how a new coaster came about in the first place... As is well known, in 1997, the Tussauds Group took over Thorpe. Prior to that, as you'd expect, it was hard for the
JoshC.

JoshC.

3

Phantom Fantasia - 30 Years On

As we'd expect, 30 years ago, Thorpe Park was a very different place. In fact, it wasn't really until 1983 that the park saw investment in 'theme park rides'; until then, the park was a more educational/leisure area. One attraction which opened in 1983 saw Phantom Fantasia - the first incarnation of what many knew as Wicked Witches Haunt. The ride was rethemed into WWH in 1994, before its untimely closure in 2000 due to the infamous Thorpe Park Fire. Whilst I never got a chance to ride the o
JoshC.

JoshC.

4

The Swarm - Forwards vs Backwards

As we know, following a poor response to marketing of Swarm last year, Thorpe decided to "revisit" Swarm's image and increase the "'thrill factor' for visitors". This was despite very positive reviews for Swarm as it stood last year. So, along with the new billboard theming elements, the back two rows have been turned backwards. Now, in a way, it's very hard to do a comparison between the two. They are, essentially, the same ride - they follow the same layout, you more or less experience th
JoshC.

JoshC.

1

Why X:\ has No Way Out of my Heart

Back in 1995, Thorpe Park was an extremely different place. Rather than being an island screaming out to the world about its thrills and spills, it was a quaint little family theme park, that kept itself to itself. Instead of the skyline being dominated by the likes of Stealth and Swarm, a large diving pole was the centre point, with Loggers Leap and Depth Charge being the highest rides on park at 60ft and 40ft respectively (and yet wouldn't really obstruct the skyline from outside the park too
JoshC.

JoshC.

3

Should Thorpe Park Welcome Families?

Since the turn of the century, we've seen Thorpe accelerate from a quaint family theme park into a park which offers one of the largest array of 'thrill rides' in Europe. During this period, there has been quiet on obvious shift in target market - from families looking for a nice day out to young adults (which arguably is the 16-34 region in this case) looking to do something for a day. Many question the viability of this strategy, mainly from an economic perspective. However, are Thorpe righ
JoshC.

JoshC.

3

Is the concept of a 'Vanilla Coaster' dying?

In the past two decades or so, roller coaster manufacturing has seen many technological advances. Back in the 1980s, the idea of having a roller coaster where the trains were underneath the track or having a launched roller coaster was about as technologically superior as the industry has reached. The first 'suspended' coaster, 'The Bat' at Kings Island in America, opening in 1981, only to close two years later due to being highly temperamental, whilst the first launched coaster, 'King Kobra'
JoshC.

JoshC.

3

Can a Coaster in the UK be the 'Next Nemesis'?

Regularly with new projects in the UK, and even some internationally, are compared to Nemesis; Alton Towers' map-defining roller coaster. It's natural really when you consider that Nemesis is pretty much in every enthusiasts' top 10 coasters / rides, and usually near the top as well, and that it's been ranked even as a top 10 roller coaster in the world at one point/ So, with new projects, there's always talk of 'Will it be better than Nemesis?', 'Will it do a Nemesis?' and so forth. But what
JoshC.

JoshC.

4

How do you Solve a Problem like Fastrack?

This is a blog entry that relates to the hot topic of Fastrack and Fastrack sales. So why's it in here, and not in that topic? The aim here is to illustrate how Fastrack sales affect the main queue of a ride, and demonstrate what many bring up - those who pay for the premium service (Fastrack) negatively affect the service of those who do not pay for such a service (those who use the main queue). Unfortunately, this will be quite mathematically thought out, will ramble on a bit, and uses many
JoshC.

JoshC.

2

What 'The Passing' Needs to do to Make Everybody's Grade.

The introduction of Thorpe's new maze to Fright Nights this year has been quite a hot topic. Since 'The Passing' was announced, many were left fearing (or, depending on your views, hoping!) that their underwear would be stained brown after going through a maze which puts a bag over your head and simulates your death. However, reviews have been mixed, with some feeling as though it is not worth the additional charge, feeling as though there's many wasted opportunities, whilst some - like mysel
JoshC.

JoshC.

2

Why Thorpe shouldn't have left at the Dead End.

With Fright Nights, Scarefest and all other things Halloween drawing ever nearer, I guess it's time for some Halloween-themed blog entries! Dead End was seemingly a one-off scare zone that hit Fright Nights in 2010, and Thorpe's first attempt at a scare zone since about 2002 / 2003, when the event first started out. Located on the pathway next to Zodiac and The Crust, it was perhaps a typical Merlin scare zone, in the sense that it wasn't technically a scare zone, but rather a set route with a
JoshC.

JoshC.

2

What was the thing with The Antelope?

Back when I was about 8 or 9, I visited Gulliver's World (Warrington). The trip was unplanned really, and only lasted a couple of hours (well, from 10 til after lunch). However, the one thing that has always made me remember this trip is The Antelope - one of only 2 wooden coasters to be built in the UK in the past 50 years. At the time of riding, I'd never heard of Antelope before (heck, I'd only heard of Gulliver's Warrington a couple of days before my visit!), nor had I heard any reviews
JoshC.

JoshC.

3

Why Saw is actually a really good coaster.

Back in 2009, we were graced with arrival of a new coaster at Thorpe, yet again breaking the overall investment the park had spent on one attraction - £13.5 million, beating Stealth's £12 million (which, as we know, has now been beating again by The Swarm's overall investment). Before Saw - The Ride opened, fans were buzzing from excitement, and were hoping that the ride would perhaps be the park's best themed attraction, or at least the best since Tidal Wave opened in 2000. After all, Euro-
JoshC.

JoshC.

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