James6

Yep thats what I mean , Theres no real buzz in the park anymore , the only place I feel it actually is when you enter the SAW building and thats it

Ha , I agree . Just thinking about it some more , It may and probably was the first one to launch you downwards. Would make more sense I think

Was just thinking (whilst reading the Rush topic) and I'm sure I've read somewhere that Detonator was the first drop tower made by Fabbri therefore making it a prototype of some kind? Was probably some sort of dream but thought it was worth a mention

It was no trouble ThorpeparkJack :angry2:Yes I agree, I did take that into account and if it had just been this visit , I would have just been fine and called it a blip but it is frequently happening. It's SO annoying though because I love Thorpe, But recently it really has lost the little "magic" it had left when I first started visiting (2003)

Actually I agree with you completely, I've never thought about it like that and how unique the chessington rides are. And I didn't take into account the zoo. So actually there is probably enough for a whole day , I do wish however, that there was another "big"ish ride there.

I noticed today , while discussing with Paul, Chessington, a very under-invested park, especcially compared to Thorpe , still offers a better day out of a higher quality. Only thing for me is that there still isnt enough to spend a whole day there I don't think , lets hope for a few more good rides in the next couple of years

I agree watching from the SAW Que it was extremely noticeable, one barely made it horizontal and the other was putting riders with there feet higher than there heads(the way it should be), and by the end of the ride they are incredibly out of sync , at one point they were both swinging the same way , only for a brief second but still.Luckily I got the good side , If I had my "good" phone on me I would have taken a video . However I did notice it got better throughout the day and later on its barely noticeable. Seems the swing closest to Colossus takes a while to warm up.

ha , ok , if you insist its nothing special so don't get your hopes up.Went to Thorpe Park today after deciding to do it rather than chessington The weather on the way there was constant rain and so I thought it would be quiet at Thorpe, how wrong I was. I am currently considering writing a letter and am going to think long and hard about visiting Thorpe in the future. I just thank god my annual pass covers Alton and Chessington as well.Right well lets start from the start, arrived there early to heaves of people and instantly I could feel it in the air it was going to be a bad day. We walked in and went straight to SAW to find out it would be "opening slightly late this morning". Then after a little chat with one of the workers there they said it was likely it wouldn't be working till this afternoon due to. Wait for it...... Maintenance. Now I'm no big cheese billionaire that runs a bustling theme park but surely you leave your maintenance till either off-peak or after the ride has closed that evening? And it Wouldn't be that bad if they even stated it on the boards outside but nope, you have to wait till you've walked all the way to the saw island , joined the que and THEN you find out.So with that irritating information I chose to Que for Colossus, My next in a very long list of regrets today. It was still testing when I entered the Que and was greeted with a wait round the back of the second tunnel to my surprise so I guessed it would be about an hour, then after a couple of trains go round with people another train went round empty adding to my groans and wishes I had gone to chessington. and then as I got to the distance where your to far in to get out but far enough away that you want to get out SAW opened. I stayed in the Que for Colossus and enjoyed my ride. Then walked past SAW and it was up to 2 hours already... , so I decided to try out the single rider Que as I decided it would be the only way possible I could ride SAW and what is at the moment my only saving grace for the park. I've not seen the films but jigsaws voice in the indoor queuing bit really sets my heart pumping and for the first time in 3 visits all effects (that I know of) were working. Meaning the first time Ive seen the blades swing and blood squirted and they are very good effects at that. Then I decided to eat and I love the food in the calypso BBQ and I know it takes a while to get your food there but today, seeing other people who ordered after me get there food before me was frustrating to say the least. Yet again though I can compliment the staff as even through the rain they were friendly. Today was the first day I've actually left earlier than I needed to and on the way out Colossus broke down and sounded quite serious as they were really pushing you to leave the Que. which made me think ,at the time it was 2 hours long and had I been standing in that Que for an hour or even half an hour I would want some sort of fastrack, I think I would just break down if I had qued for an hour and then have to wait an hour and a half for it to be fixed whilst I could have been on other, but if you leave then you've wasted an hour and a half and got no compensation. (There are many times I don't think you should get compensation in one form or another, but this isn't one of them, they used to do it Alton towers and it was annoying the ride broke down but it didn't put a damper on your whole day.) Surely there's a way where they know you've qued an hour and let you leave and try the other (few) rides that are working.During the day I saw quite a few stealth trains go round empty and I didn't even make it out of the lost city.Whilst walking out I thought I would try one of my favourites Quantum... But yep you guessed it , it was broken down.The atmosphere, one of the things I thought that was pretty good on Tuesday because it felt a lot more "friendly and family" with less smoking and less "sup bruv" people. But again today I had to hold my coat over my nose to not pass out as the smell of smoke makes me lightheaded and gives me a headache. Everywhere I turned there was another gang of "init bluddd"'s ready to "bang me out" if you look at them funny.I'm not an angry person at all and I would say I'm quite forgiving but Thorpe park , these past 2 or 3 visits I've had have been unforgivable. Maybe had one of them occurred, I would be able to deal with it but 3 in a row. If I didn't have an annual pass and had payed £34 or whatever it is to get in. I would NEVER visit Thorpe again unless I had been assured by friends/family who've visited previously they had sorted some of what are the main aspects to an enjoyable day out. I am sure you have probably read this and said , well that's not that bad but, I really do feel let down by Thorpe that my past couple of visits have all had aspects to them which in some way or another made them that bit(or a lot) less enjoyable. I will probably edit and add more as I remember it , this is all.... for now :PSorry for the HUGE rant. I'm not usually like this , I promise!! :PI may have exaggerated some things unintentionally but I've read it over a couple of times and I don't think I haveAlso , quick note, didn't want to make a fuss over it I just didn't think anyone would want to listen to me rambling on. sorry for the trouble Anyway hope you enjoyed it

Blimey , really wish I had gone to that side of the park for the morning then!. you done more than me and I was there for almost double the time! Why oh why did I stay on the SAW side

That's strange , I feel very safe in Colossus's as they're quite heavy and hold me in. But I agree Nemesis Inferno's do feel extremely safe, But personally I feel safest in SAW's

EDIT: I have decided to remove my trip report as I felt It could be seen as me being a bit angry which its not at all Lets just say I'm writing a letter and it takes a LOT for me to write a letter! I think that shows how bad my day was today and I will definatley be thinking twice about visiting Thorpe park soon which is a shame as its the closest park on my Annual pass. Message me if you wish to see my trip report, I warn you in advance its lengthy Ride CountSaw x 1Colossus x 1

hello , Made one of the biggest mistakes of my life ( slight exaggeration ) chose Thorpe . Don't have a clue why I did to be honest. Going to post a trip report on why it was so bad in Thorpe park trip reports as I dont feel this topic is the right one to express how livid and let down I currently am by Thorpe park.I would also like to say thanks very much for the help last night that I wish I had listened to you guys more and chosen chessington. I guess my favourite ride ( SAW) just drawed me to it today

ha , ok well thanks very much , I guess its going to be down to how I feel in the morning

ok thanks very much Now just a few last things , I promise . At Thorpe do rides like samurai, slammer and rush close in heavy rain? don't see why they would but just checking. and also what was the ques like for Dragons fury with only 2 people per car ? thanks again for all your help guys

oh WOW . and ok I'm almost sure on chessington now then

Ha . Although on Tuesday I still managed to have a good day out which was actually mainly due to the staff. However I haven't exactly got a basis for comparison seeing as its been a year since I've been chessington. Oh and just looked at the forecast for tomorrow and its heavy rain all day , which of the 2 would you say is better in the rain ? not that any parks good in the rain just which would you say is more enjoyable/most will be open in the rain.

At the moment yes! , but within 5 minutes I promise you it will have changed back and forth again 6 or 7 times at least!

AH , its like a ping-pong match in my head. Thorpe,Chessie,Thorpe, Chessie. .

Well I guess I'm back on Chessington then , actually I think I'm sure about it seeing as I haven't been there in a year or so and haven't been on bubbleworks since the re-theme , better start preparing myself! . And thinking about it I'm going to Thorpe park in another week or so when all these insane ques will hopefully have died down.

Thanks very much , looks like my decision is made! , TBH I was almost certain on chessington but then I saw in the easter que times topic that they were relatively low , well minute actually compared what they were when I went on teusday , and then you just helped finalise my decision , thanks

I was wondering , what ques are likely tomorrow at chessington? as I am either going to pop into Thorpe or chessington for a few hours , just don't know which , any help is very much appreciated! Thank you

Can't wait till Friday , going to be able to ride this for the first time in a couple of years

Hello , I'm James B)Been a member about a week I think now but only just found this topic so just wanted to say hey and thanks for having me

Quote:Just to let you know, when I rode 3 rides after it was back in operation, the axes still didn't swing. Not lit up or anything. The crossbow-needles weren't lit up either. However, when I passed that MCBR, I was the axes, stationary at their highest point, lit up. No idea as to when they went back in operation. The body was lit up, but no blood). Similar situation James6?Yes sounds like it, although to be honest I put it down to being first on it after breaking down and maybe them just not turning them on. But if they weren't operating with you a few rides after the incident I guess it wasn't just that. Although it was weird , the first time I rode SAW a few weeks ago the blades were stationary in the vertical position , but today they were apart as if they were at the top of there swing. Also this time I actually noticed the body under the barrel roll and I thought it added quite a lot to that part , spiralling towards a dead body, would have been better had the "blood" been squirting though.And yes I agree staff there were particuly friendly however I think that the staff were great across the whole park. A huge improvement on last year I think.

haha , I see how you could love them but to me they looked very "doctor who" which doesn't quite fit in with a tropical, calypso theme. Hmm... maybe few fake palm trees or bamboo sticks could go in there. Or better yet some mischievous monkeys that spray water at the riders!