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Wonderful news. I know they've been talking about it behind the scenes for a while, so good to see it's come to fruition. I know some people will say the park should be open that later regardless over summer, but it has always been the case that the demand isn't there. Trialling it / doing it on select days helps test the waters. Hopefully this can be a step to later summer closing, and maybe even the park testing 10pm Fright Nights closes again.

Opening hours have been extended until 9pm on the last 2 Saturdays of August (24th and 31st) Great to see - especially at a time when hours are being cut on a weekly basis at Towers at the moment...

Similarly to you I’ve always found the back to be smoother, and the inside seats to be smoother as well. Front row outside seat is just god awful these days. But I guess it fits the theme better than it ever has before 😂

From my personal experience, I don't really find a difference with what row I sit on. I find different trains to be rougher than others though, I imagine that depends on which ones have recently been serviced, and had wheels replaced etc...

Excellent news! Hopefully the extension of hours rather than cutting hours like Alton Towers are is a sign of Thorpe Park doing well this year! My only concern, though, is that there may not be demand for it. I remember Thorpe Park doing 8pm closes back in August 2019; I went to one of them, and the park had completely emptied out before 6pm. It was brilliant for repeat riding, but a damning indictment of the demand for late night openings… those 8pm openings were quickly dropped shortly after my visit. This is a positive sign on the whole, though! I don’t know if anyone else agrees, but overall, it does seem to me like Thorpe Park is the most prosperous UK Merlin park this year. The Hyperia buzz could be partially contributing to this, but it doesn’t seem like Thorpe has the general air of negativity surrounding it that Chessington and particularly Alton Towers currently have.

Passholders whine more than anyone. I'd want to maim people if it were me dealing with it. Which was probably half the issue with the often sarcastic responses from Thorpe. Fine for an individual, but not when representing a company.