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I'm really impressed by the ride teams at Thorpe. We really take for granted how hard they work to keep the rides moving so efficiently. It's really telling how good we have it, The Swarm probably had the worst ops but they were still only stacking trains for about 10 seconds per cycle (and that is an exaggeration). The Hyperia team must have been chosen by the goddess themselves, because they run that ride so well, never stacking, always dispatching as soon as they can. Also shout out to Inferno's team who were doing a great job. They need a batcher though as lots of trains going out with two empty seats next to each other. And finally, the older I get the more I see myself preferring Thorpe's coaster line up to Altons. As much as I like Nemesis Reborn, I think the rest of the line up is either gimmicky nonsense, run awfully or just dull. Whereas Inferno is running the best Ive seen it (honestly, it's so good right now), Stealth and the Swarm are just so much fun, Hyperia manages to be open ( ) and I still love hanging out around Colossus and hearing that music. In general Thorpe is just a better experience all round. Better hours, better rides, better food, better operations. I would have never said that 20 years ago, but now, to me, Thorpe is in a different league.

Colossus being closed would improve my visit 😉

There was a post on LinkedIn from an BALPA event hosted at Thorpe Park. This graph shows the direction they want Thorpe Park to take. It’s quite simple and fairly obvious but also I’m glad they are taking that direction in becoming the thrill park, nothing else. The graph also shows the way they want to improve revenue and the way they’ve done it. A few things: 2021-2023 it says “event led strategy” and in 2025+ it says “event development” to me it suggest Thorpe management want to and the plan is to bring back events. It was never the plan to drop them from Thorpe’s side. Also they state multiple times how they are keen to remove IP. I hope the management outlasts the cuts as when funding does come back, we need them to push forward with these goals as ultimately this is the correct way forward.

Just a general observation/thought. I find my enthusiasm & excitement for Thorpe Park/ Merlin parks muted this year. It’s just simply “open”, no new things to do, no events to change things up every few months, no dramas or issues. No 2025 TV advert, no real advertisement. No communication from parks e.g passholder page. Simply there’s nothing going on and nothing going to happen in the near future (excluding fright nights). There’s no evolving, it’s a difficult one as we had a period of investment and events. To simply going back to basics and providing what they have already. This is my first season since becoming a passholder which there has been no events or new attraction to keep it entertaining. I suppose what I’m asking, is this normal? Down periods in years gone by, with not much happening.

The push for digital only ORPs. That said they're still about and have 2 physical ones that I've purchased since 2023. Can I change it to things you now see all the time? Because vloggers. And (especially at Towers) cosplayers are just everywhere. Saw someone last weekend in full Phalanx get up complete with name badge and box with fake egg of Nemesis creature in it. It’s weird to me.

In a nice, but admittedly very random, addition, Colossus now has a smoke effect! https://x.com/ThorpeParkMania/status/1936799436602065404?t=uY0MNotqAIdP5sGeIsb4tA&s=19

I get the reference however.. The only thing worse than people moaning about Christmas stuff in shops in August is forums talking about halloween.

Depends on the park for me, especially if such place has x amount of rides that requires a minimum number of people to ride in order for it to operate. some parks when quiet feel pleasant to visit, enabling numerous re-rides and getting lots done, assuming they don’t have silly operating hours (glares at Towers). But then again, with empty paths, areas, fewer or no entertainment (depending on the park), it can definitely impact atmosphere and environment. Making it feel more flat and empty as a result. Not sure where everyone else is on this, but I find parks on average the most enjoyable when they are between the busier end of quiet and the busier event of lively. But that might just be me.

It's an interesting question. I have spent too much of my life waiting so I don't like queuing and when it comes to riding, I do take it into account. It depends also on the people around you, and any themeing, this particularly relates to whether one is alone. The chatter amongst a group can be enjoyable, if you're included. The atmosphere can be affected, especially if the Park is "dead".

Voltron is really REALLY good. Relentless in pacing and doesn't let up aside from the turntable and final brakes. A good variety of elements as well keeps things interesting and the airtime I don't think gets mentioned much. And if people think it's rough then they clearly don't know what a rough ride is. Blue Fire walked so Voltron could run. Straight into my top 3.

I have seen them counting down the inferno dispatches, going ‘next train leave in 30s’ then counting down, but I think it depends on the operator. Haven’t seen it this season but the last 2 it’s definitely happened to me on multiple occasions.

To me it’s always seemed that a train can dispatch after it’s passed the block brakes before the slow right-hand turn next to the maintenance shed. Back in 2009 sort of time, when the park was heaving after Saw opened, the operators on the coasters used to count down over the tannoy, and often the trains would be ready to go and would have to actually wait to be sent - the operations back then were incredible at times. Inferno would regularly dispatch before the next train had to come to a stop. I remember very regularly coming back to the station and watching the dispatched train in front fully leave the station and be out of sight round the corner as we rolled in without stopping. I’ve never seen it dispatch earlier than that though - I suppose in theory the lift hill creates a block doesn’t it? So I guess if it would be setup to do so, a train could be sent before the other one reaches the first brakes as the lift hill would stop if the block ahead (the main layout) isn’t clear by then? Not a lot of point though because realistically it’s rarely going to be that quick, and would literally save a couple of seconds at the very best

VID_20211016_121210~2.mp4

Thorpe have certainly done a lot right the last couple years and its great to see. It was great to see an American enthusiast group so enthusiastic about Thorpe are Hyperia in particular on twitter. Believe Hyperia got its record throughput of 54 trains in an hour on their ERT too. I used to love Nemesis but have never liked reborn as much as the original. Inferno seems to get better and better every year, can't beat an old school B&M.

Stealth's station audio has made a soft return, with the revving and pre-launch message now playing again!

Ok there are plenty of jokes to be had with this one, but I’ve got a few observations of things that have quietly disappeared from theme parks over the last decade or so. Park branded Ponchos This is a weird one for me. Seemingly overnight about 10 years ago these all just vanished out of thin air. These used to be everywhere. On all the water rides there would always be people wearing them, and when it rained there were ponchos galore! Although I know it was a waste of plastic, I almost miss seeing these. I remember being in Florida years ago and spotting countless UK park ponchos around. The iconic “don’t wet yourself” Thorpe ones were everywhere. Cigarette smoke As someone who’s always lived in a non smoking house, growing up I always associated the smell of smoke with theme parks! It’s a sign of the times I suppose, but the smell of smoke has all but disappeared from theme parks (replaced by those toilet air fresheners that people suck on now). Wasps Another sign of the times I think. Many of the fizzy drinks are now sugar free by default. The queue lines across the UK were always dreadful for wasps during the summer time. Remember those horrible wasp catchers they used to hang in the trees that were always full to the brim with dead ones? On ride photos What happened to these? You used to see countless people wandering around with ORPs at the parks! They seem to have faded away!

Thank you everyone for your help and advice! We all had a blast - great little park with the good and unique rides! Some key takeaways that took me by surprise however… The merch is HYSTERICALLY expensive. Frankly it’s no wonder Merlin are in a financial state. It’s clear that nobody ever buys anything any more from seeing the evidence - dust on a lot of the ridiculously priced novelty mugs- which priced far higher than better quality ones at DLP. Most of the restaurants and coffee shops today were closed, including the fish and chip place, burger kitchen, and the chicken shop. I poked my head in to Pizza Pasta to see the prices, and most tables were vacant at lunch time, which I’m not surprised about given it’s £22.something pp…. Clearly Merlin’s pricing strategy is not working if they can’t even half fill the only open restaurant at lunchtime… There is evidence that Merlin are struggling - the area where the show was is very out of place now, and there are bits around the park that show signs that the company isn’t doing well - the rapids sat abandoned, a lot of decor falling in to disrepair, etc. the car parks are also not staffed at all, causing chaos with cars going in all directions due to conflicting signage etc. single staffed cafe in heartlake as well was not good for anyone involved. Also many rides stayed closed throughout the day. HOWEVER - it’s a great little park. Plenty of people having a great time! The railway is a fantastic attraction! Lots of interaction on the way round, and brilliant team working there! the new duelling coasters are excellent and seem to be going down extremely well. (ignoring the dreadful landscaping and plastic sheeting on the fences?!?!) another high capacity ride somewhere in the park would be very welcome I think. I really like some of the finer details around - like the slides on the hill down to the main park, and the little rivers down the paths. Really adds to the experience for the little ones. When they build something on Viking River Splash, it’s a huge plot in a great location. Hopefully something good coming here soon! Overall, impressed. Certainly an expensive day out now, and I think Merlin need to be careful not to let the experience slip any further as it’s borderline at the moment….. but still on the right side of quality vs price at the moment I think.

Visited Thorpe Park for the first time in a couple of years on Saturday - arrived for opening and left just before closing. I was really surprised at how quiet the park was, and it seemed even more quiet judging by the queue times on the app yesterday. How are they performing against their expected visitors this year, are numbers significantly down or did the hot weather maybe just deter people from visiting over the weekend? I'm wondering if maybe the prices are just too high to justify for some people now. Anyway - had a fantastic day, the park was clean and the touch ups that were done for Hyperia (things like the old school Samurai paint job etc.) were noticeable. Hyperia is great - managed to get on it twice before we left.

Sounds like the discourse over Nemmie Rebs atm. Saturday didn’t feel much in the way of roughness at all. Way people go on about it makes it sound like riding an old school Vekoma.

Rode it twice today. Dunno what all this discourse is about it being rough. It's fine. There are vibrations present, and you can notably see the train shift during the stall. But it doesn't negatively affect the ride experience for me. There are significantly worse rides out there, even in the park itself. I will say it is more vibratey than say this time last year though, and it does make me fear for how the ride will age. But yeah, for now, I'd love to ride it with someone who is calling this rough and see what on earth is going on. Because if that's rough, then....

They just need to scrap it now. It does nothing for anyone, it's costly, it has a terrible atmosphere with ride hosts shouting down the PA and down megaphones all the time. It's also an awful ride that barely gets you wet. Opening 3 hours after park opening? Get rid. Not worth the effort.

Credit to DigitialDan on Twitter. I mean, that's one way to fix the screen - put a massive sign in front of it. AI is not the one though, look at those Hyperia wings 🙃

Noticed on a few visits this season after the cycle has finished on Rush there is a wait of nearly 2 minutes until the restraints are released, which is really awkward and leaves a lot of people very confused and questioning whats going on. I know it has to wait for air pressure to build up after the cycle before restraints are released, but the time it takes to do this has significantly increased. Its also running particularity poor, hardly reaching full height. I believe Rush goes through a more extensive winter maintenance program once every 3 years which includes having the top come off which I believe is this closed season. Hopefully it gets the work it needs to get running well again as its running pretty poor at the moment.

It's strange because the rest of the park received new TVs which are basically always on and working. So is Swarm just cursed with other issues, or is there another reason why it doesn't work. The effects situation is a crying shame. It's easy to forget that when the train goes through the tower before the station fly over, it used to (/ is still meant to?) trigger the Swarm 'noise'. I can't remember when I last heard that. There's definitely a disparity between creative and operations. I find it hard to believe that Thorpe would actively have wanted the water effect on Hyperia given the way Swarm's has gone down, and how quickly it stopped working. Hopefully they can stabilise and streamline that process in the future.

It’s such a shame isn’t it. Thorpe does have a lot of cool features around, but they’re mostly abandoned. Hyperia’s one minute wonder water effect being one of the worst offenders ever. The screens feel to me like another casualty of the cutbacks. I suppose they’re running on the bare minimum staff now, meaning maintenance will be prioritised to essential stuff first. 🤷‍♂️

Has anyone seen any of the queueline TVs on this year? Very strange decision to invest time and money getting them working again last year for them to be switched off a month later? I have a lot to praise about Thorpe in recent years, but their upkeep of any kind of effects has always been shocking. Not a single effect working on Swarm Island. The water by the fire engine is currently green and they haven't even bothered to fill up the area by the helicopter with water this year. No Inferno mist effects or Stealth smoke effects on Sunday too. How hard is it to keep a smoke machine going 🤣

Hi guys. On paper, everyone’s dream theme park visit is one with no queues. Queues are the bane of everyone’s existence when it comes to theme parks, so to not have them sounds like a dream… right? After a recent visit to Paultons Park on 5th June that was particularly deserted, as well as some ensuing discussion with people off the back of that, I’ve been pondering this notion. With this in mind, I’d be interested to know; in your view, can a theme park ever be too quiet? Is the theoretical ideal of a park with no queues and no crowds really such an ideal in reality? Personally, I’m actually somewhat undecided on this. From my own perspective, a large part of me would say no. A quiet park means all the more rides for you, and as a person who doesn’t mind doing a good number of rerides on things I enjoy, that suits me down to the ground! There are very few things better than a nice riding marathon, in my view, and depending on the park, some of my best memories in theme parks have been from times where I’ve just been able to ride over and over (a 30-ride day at Thorpe Park in September 2023 sticks particularly fondly in my mind)! On the other hand, though, some might argue that depending on your own tolerance for reriding, queues are almost necessary to lengthen the day and break up the rides a bit. There’s also the argument about atmosphere that I can see; I had a brilliant day, but at points, my Paultons visit was almost quite surreal due to the sheer lack of crowds. When you’re the only person within visible eyeshot at points, it is certainly quite an odd experience! So on balance, I would probably lean towards no, but I can see some of the arguments for yes. I can also see that the answer might differ depending on the park; I’ve certainly found riding lots of rides easier and more enjoyable in some parks on a quiet day than in others! But I’d be keen to know; do you think a theme park can ever be too quiet?

Ooh interesting one! I think yes, a park can definitely be too quiet. Thorpe is by far my most visited park, and back when I had an annual pass I’d frequently visit on quieter days. The trouble is, it was occasionally possible to have everything, and I mean literally everything, done by lunchtime with ease. Fantastic for re-rides etc, but it didn’t feel like a “full day out” if you know what I mean, and it certainly lacked the atmosphere and that buzz you get from a bustling theme park. I remember going to a very quiet fright nights one year, having arrived at opening time. We had ridden and re-ridden everything all day, and then when the mazes opened we went through all of them several times, to the point that we weren’t fussed about doing Asylum anymore that night even though it was literally “walk on” with hours to go - unheard of these days for a maze. Don't get me wrong - I look back on those visits with fond memories, and LOVED the amount of rides we could get on, but overall I think it’s a better overall experience when the queue times are around 10 minutes for things. Queueing a little definitely helps space the day out nicely, especially in smaller parks like Thorpe. It also builds up that anticipation a bit, and forces you to take in the atmosphere and theming around you. Staying with the fright nights as an example - my favourite ever FN was the year Cabin in the Woods opened. The atmosphere around the park really added to the experience, particularly around Cabin where we spoke to several strangers around the park about the different routes etc that could be taken. There was a real buzz about it that could only be felt because so many people were sharing the enjoyment. So yeah, as much as I adore a re-riding marathon, I really do enjoy experiencing a park that is alive and visibly thriving. The perfect balance for me would probably be no queue exceeding 20 - 30 mins all day, but the last hour or so having walk ons. 👌🏼 best of both worlds!

It's true, really. Sat on Stealth today, waiting for launch, person next to me (adult).... "What's that wire going to the top?" Me: "That's so if the train gets stuck at the top , they pull that cable which pulls out a valve at the top causing the whole frame to deflate, lowering everybody safely to the ground!" My co-rider looked up to the top and declared, "makes sense"!

Since you are going midweek it should hopefully be quiet although it is school trip season. I visited Sunday just gone and it was quite manic but if you get there early enough you can easily get in 2-3 rides before the queues build up. I would suggest taking a packed lunch as I find food at Legoland pretty vile - although I did buy quite a nice iced latte at the end of the day which wasn’t bad. If you want to visit the shop don’t go at the end of the day as it gets big queues - though hopefully not as bad as weekends. Hill train at the end of the day is a god send. I’ve only used it a couple of times but Sunday my back was killing me and you also get a lovely view of Viking River Splash (RIP) from the train. And speaking of - the rapids pathways are all blocked off so you can’t go past it in either direction. We did Dragon and the log flume very early and both were almost walk on which was good - I think the Duplo area gets queues quick as it’s one of the first areas you get to so going further back could work in your favour

I agree that would be a real shame. Hopefully they can keep it that way. I’ve been having a think about all this…. It’s weird that so many of us seem to share the same “meh” feeling towards Thorpe & Merlin at the moment, especially with Thorpe, because actually when you break it down they’re really doing very well. As has been mentioned, there are no SBNO rides, which is unheard of in recent years. They have a fantastic line up, including a brand new massive coaster. There are no silly cheaply-made mazes anymore, and they’re even continuing to run their notoriously expensive and less popular rides, like ghost train and Rapids. In fact, the park is in very good shape: the decor looks better than ever, reliability isn’t too bad, the food is quite good considering how it is elsewhere, the new brand is working nicely, and the park feels fresh, modern and clean for the most part, especially when you consider how poor the rest of the Merlin parks are. Thorpe seems to be very well run to be fair. It’s also not like there has been new ride after new ride over the last decade, and now that’s stopped. There hasn’t! Arguably, when it comes to new stuff, now is an excellent time in that regard, right off the back of Hyperia opening. An odd one for sure. Perhaps it’s more a general ill feeling everyone has towards Merlin? Or a side effect of the Universal news overshadowing the “business as usual” at Thorpe? Or maybe it’s an extension of the general doom and gloom shrouding seemingly everything in the country at the moment. Perhaps if we are honest with ourselves, we all take the likes of Thorpe for granted these days? I think I do to be fair, because it be beyond devastated if it suddenly had to close for some reason. I even think of Stealth for instance. If that reached a point this summer where they were forced to make a decision to close it at the end of the season, I know for a fact I’d be up there riding it, and thinking to myself “you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone” 😂

Definitely - I wonder if Project Pivot will go ahead for 2026 - and if it does, that's not a draw to get people through the gate. Is there any point to it if there's only going to be one event a year? (this year at least). If it does go ahead... Slammer site flat ride for 2027? If it doesn't go ahead... new flat ride next year? I feel like we're at a bit of crossroads now for the next development - one would assume TWD IP is nearly expired (and it's not relevant anymore anyway)... questions over Ghost Train what with the disappearing shop and merch - then if you get rid of Ghost Train AND TWD you have a massive space - but would they really want to remove a building that'll only be 10 years old next year? Questions over Rumba Rapids, as we all know it costs a lot to run in terms of power and staff... Interesting times. What would be disastrous is attractions are removed/SBNO without anything replacing them, but to be honest - that's the way I think it will head.

I think that’s a good point about fright nights in particular. It used to be something I’d very much look forward to all year, but in recent years it has become, as you say, a rip off, and nothing more. Without that around the corner, for me at least, it does feel odd that the Merlin parks are sort of not really on my mind anywhere like they used to be. Merlin do seem to very much be in a rut don’t they… it’s all very worrying to be honest, especially given that Paultons and others are accelerating while Merlin continue to decline. It will be interesting to see what they manage at scare season in the short term at least, and looking longer term, what they will announce over the next 12-24 months…

[/benderlaughingharder.gif] The quiet years were always the years that visits were made because of the groups. The rides were always second. Plus the stagnation of the UK in comparison to mainland Europe on top of often cheap access to those parks makes them far more exciting than heading to a Merlin park with a hope of a good visit rather than an expectation.

Well, we won kind of....

One thing I would say about Legoland is that the hill the park is set on can make it quite a trek to negotiate at times if you’re not the most able walker. I’m a relatively adept walker (if I do say so myself!), so I didn’t struggle with it too much on my most recent visit, but I have been in the past with a member of our party being in a wheelchair and it was quite hard work! With a small child, I can imagine that their littler legs might potentially struggle. So I’d recommend making use of the Hill Train, if it’s open. I’d concur with @JoshC. on the note of queues. I found many queues to be pretty overstated on my last visit, and like Josh, I also found Minifigure Speedway’s queue to move quite quickly compared to that of other rides. On the subject of Minifigure Speedway, I should also warn you that they do not let you pick your side as they do on many other duelling coasters. I struck lucky and managed to get on both sides without needing to ask, but if you are keen to try both, you may have to ask. I haven’t visited with a young child (other than when me and my older sister were young children ourselves on our initial visit in 2009, which is now some years ago!), so I apologise if I’m not too useful to advise you on visiting with a child, but I hope you have a nice time regardless!

Depends how little your little one and what rides you're looking at doing, but some general thoughts... -Flight of the Sky Lion has a horrible queue (especially if it's warm), and it does move quite slow -Ninjago and Dragon queue times often are inflated / over stated -Log flume gets you wetter than you'd expect -There's lots of play areas about; most of them are pretty decent! -Food is expensive (even by Merlin standards) -The duelling coasters have a quick moving queue, even when the queue is full

It’s been 10 years today since the horrific Smiler collision. BBC News are running coverage about the accident, but for some reason are glossing over the fact that the 2 injured riders raising this are doing so to raise money for the air ambulance charity who helped save many lives that day. I still can’t get over that it actually happened to be honest. I remember seeing the footage on the news and feeling devastated that it happened at Alton Towers of all places - somewhere many people cherish as somewhere filled with joy and happy childhood memories. I also remember visiting in the week after the park re-opened, and how empty and weird it felt being there after what happened. A very sad time for everyone involved, and for all the staff. I can’t help but wonder what Alton Towers would be like today if this incident hadn’t happened. To this day, their reputation is damaged, and they certainly took a huge hit in the months and even years after the incident. Perhaps the park would have been prosperous if this hadn’t happened, or perhaps an incident was waiting to happen anyway given the shortcuts that were being taken.

NEW "World Premiere" - FULL TOUR Disneyland Paris 2025 New entrance to Studios opened today. Looks pretty decent!

I did a Hyperia coaster climb this evening. There was some chatter when it was made live about the cost being expensive (£120). It is, no beating around the bush. But it is worth it. My experience was about 3hrs all in, and included lots of time spent scaling the ride, time spent in the console and time spent around the turnaround outside the station, with lots of opportunities for photos, fabulous hosts and a great vibe. Find attached a variety of photos (of me). I'll write a proper TPM article later.

Really cool post I found on Reddit, where a users dad manufactured the original Vampire trains (read the comments for more info). Some awesome pics! [Bat] hand and fabrication of cars at Arrow

Totally agree, the amount of time available to enjoy the rides is fleeting, and sometimes it’s only when rides are gone that you realise how much you love them! Loggers is a big one for me. But even the rides that do remain, the memories made are done and can’t be re-done, not really. It’s so important to go and do what you love, and make those memories and keep enjoying what you love doing. You never know what’s round the corner. As for what I’ve learned about being an enthusiast over the years - I think it took me a while to realise I was even an enthusiast. Just because I don’t go to parks every weekend, count creds, collect merch, have a YouTube channel, do big coaster trips, or even visit THAT many theme parks in the grand scheme of things, I am still an enthusiast and still very much enjoy calling it one of my hobbies. There are so many different types of enthusiasts out there, but really we all share that common love for the parks, even if we all have different ways of enjoying them. Secondly for me, I think I used to be all for the rides, but now I’m in my mid-thirties I’ve very much come round to appreciating theme parks rather than just the rides. I’ve never appreciated Disney as much as I do now, especially DLP as it goes through its transformation. Funny how things change isn’t it

First not-too-good day at Thorpe in a while it appears today. Colossus is closed all day, and was yesterday. Nemesis Inferno closed all day. Stealth on one train.