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This is one of those funny stories which has some truth, but was sensationalised by Thorpe to grab attention. There's a lot more detail in this post about the original plan, but this picture summarises it nicely: These are all of the considered locations. There is one location which is essentially next and parallel to Monks Walk (pretty much the back half of Dead Creek Woods and first half of Blair Witch from last year). Obviously not an ideal location. The one next to it would have involved the removal of the carousel and Mr Monkey, and again wouldn't have been great either. Eventually, the current location was decided upon, to obviously redevelop Octopus Garden (an area which was very much out of place at Thorpe). For some fun bonus info, the park did indeed have South West London Paranormal in (they've visited a few times in the past actually). Jim, who is quoted in the above article, was actually the examiner for my driving test and we spoke about it quite a bit (I also passed my test - woo!). Basically he said there was some stuff detected, some of the stuff he said was obviously used to play along with the story (since there was never any construction in that area, though they did explore the area next to Monks Walk). The group wanted to explore more on different dates, but the park refused, and I don't actually think they've been invited back the the park since.. Funnily enough, that was one of the best, far-reaching, pieces of marketing the park have ever done. It was picked up all over the world, with everyone wanting interviews with the park, wanting to know their next steps, etc. It just really captured the attention and imagination of everyone. And all of that for Storm Surge! It's why I always feel they should capitalise on the local history and mythology behind it more. The nearby Chertsey Abbey opened in 666AD. There's mythology of a headless monk haunting the town and Monks Walk. It practically writes itself for a dark ride or Fright Nights maze.

Hi guys here’s a little video from monks walk plus a couple updates and information please watch and enjoy https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=v-RGrn0fSpg

You've misinterpreted my post a bit, this is always the nature of planning in its earliest stages, it's not rushed or low effort if its just a desktop study. I was just pointing out that a picture on a map doesn't necessarily mean that much in planning terms. At most they would have visited Monks walk to check the measurement of the site. It was probably only included to show that Octopus Garden was the best out of some very poor locations. It would be an obvious (I hope) nonstarter having Storm Surge placed by Monks Walk. Although I'm hopefully not as negative as you make out, yes, I think that many things Thorpe Park have done in recent years have been rushed and amateurish. I do try to only post about things I've had some perspective on (ie not talking out of my bum!) but am always open to hearing from others if they have a different point of view. I'm always open to them changing their ways but I've watched Thorpe Park go from one of the best to the dumbest parks in the UK that's for sure. Would love for it to be more professionally run, but I doubt that will happen through Merlin. Storm Surge remains a beacon of total naffness for the park and I will never forget the hilarious day it opened.

The DBGT team ran around like headless chickens when designing the ride if that counts? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

...because how else would you be able to take in the sheer beauty of Valhalla...before Odin casts you into fiery Helheim?? Lesson is kids, don't f*ck with Ragnarok in front of Odin (so the story goes).

No it was done on the 3-3-19

From a planning perspective, I think those locations were just literally all the locations the ride could physically fit, decided by someone from their desktop and maybe a few measurements on site. Probably to make the case for the only viable location being Octopus Garden, the best of 3 very bad locations. Like you say I dont think any more was really considered. The PR stunt was totally a PR stunt, probably after somebody told the PR person what Monks Walk was and they threw out a story in 5 mins that went all over the world for some reason.

The more I think about RMC, the more I really like them. Whether its original creations or reimagining older woodies, they have a real knack for quality. I'm really starting to regret Heide not RMC'ing Colossos.

So I visited this place today, and had a pretty good time - For those who can't be bothered reading or want to avoid spoilers... It's fun, nicely themed (though could be better). There's a good variety and mix and things going on, and it's just a well presented, well staffed good day out. Hopefully it grows and develops and can iron out any early problems it has had!

Liseberg withdrawal symptoms resulted in me almost recreating Loke...