MattyMoo

I think the billboard is a fab addition to the ride - but I do wonder what the cost of that billboard could've achieved if spent elsewhere on the park! I love the Swarm (sorry, SWARM) and SWARM Island, but I do question Thorpe's priorities sometimes.
If there's no new X and only 1 train on Swarm to start the season, this would be a monumentous fail on Thorpe's part

I think the billboard is a fab addition to the ride - but I do wonder what the cost of that billboard could've achieved if spent elsewhere on the park! I love the Swarm (sorry, SWARM) and SWARM Island, but I do question Thorpe's priorities sometimes.
If there's no new X and only 1 train on Swarm to start the season, this would be a monumentous fail on Thorpe's part

The people complaining on Facebook about there only being 4 rides open have given me a dent on my forehead from all the face -palming.

1 train operation on opening weekend?

Still think mine should have won:
Put your hands down chav

With thanks to Neil at Thorpe Park:

It's one of my favourite rides, it offers such a unique experience and I'll be sad to see it leave, sad but definitely not surprised.

I KNEW there would be a corkscrew/zero g thingy after those big inversions...
As for the spider theming stuff, I'll wait until it's finished for actual judgement, as thematic pieces are always harder to judge whether or not they'll actually be good or work well until (unsurprisingly) they are finished...

DAT FINALE...

Is the change to X WTF this year going to be that there is no change...? Only 10 days to go!

Well, with Slammer potentially being the only sky swat in the world, that's Thorpe's 2014 marketing strategy sorted for them... No need for a new ride or ruining modification of an existing ride to draw in the idiots willing to throw fistfulls of cash at them...

Less is more?!
Have charlie. You morons.

Hello all
I've been following this thread for some time now and thought it was about time to join in!
A little while back someone said X had been put in the "Thrilling and Fun" section; then its tagline description changed to "The ride that takes no prisoners". I looked at its page today and I think the full description of it may have changed...again...?
Take a look:
http://www.thorpepark.com/rides/x-no-way-out.aspx
it now reads: "Enter and you will be thrown into a world of disorientation as your senses are pushed to the limits with eerie sounds and crazy flashes."
I might be wrong but I swear it never said that before?!?! Maybe it did and I am just mildly delusional...
I really hope X gets some attention this year.

Erm, what? The ride isn't changing, a billboard will not affect the physics of the ride.

The funny thing is that the majority of the track is still sitting outside the entrance near the car parks, as are some of the footers.
Seeing them fail to line up the supports correctly was quite funny though, as was Marc contemplating stealing a bit of track

You can tell they have had to use a very wide angle lens to fit the room in the frame, since all their faces are stretched. The room will look even smaller in person.
I think this supersedes Storm Surge as the weirdest development at Thorpe Park in recent years.

Never mind that, does the girl in the onesie doing her hair have a Facebook fan page? Haha.
I wonder how sound proof those doors are by the bathroom, no good if your friend is chucking up after two days THRILLSEEKING!

I keep trying to read this in an optimistic light, but I just cannot... Get... It... To... Work...
The state of affairs when a temporary 'hotel' is considered a main investment and swapping trains (or part of trains around) are considered bonuses to it... No, a bonus would be making the park an actual nice and enjoyable place to visit, which while the (as yet unconfirmed) NWO refurb would go a little bit towards, that is barely scratching the surface of Thorpe's problems...

I'm starting to think that anyone who suggests Thorpe get a TopSpin should be banned for a week...

They have done a good job of making it fit in with the existing bridge, I'll give them that. But...
The entrance and bridge have been derided for years for being inadequate, drab and hardly a fitting gateway to a magical place, which I think I'm right in saying Thorpe have made no secret of their desire to improve and upgrade at some time. Then instead of using this is a opportunity to actually carry out those improvements they 'theme' more stuff to the same horrid and outdated scheme. Hilarious.

This x1000. Reverse Swarm just smacks of desperation, especially when there are so many rides that need some TLC... or just need a lick of paint.

In terms of marketing, the only things I think that weren't quite right were
- lack of much actual and any quality ride footage in the main ad (relative to the whole ad length. Just a few quick cut shots, with no play on the slow turn upside-down at the highpoint which I would have thought would have grabbed peoples attention). Yes it looks stylish, but the ride and the theme don't come across too well.
- longevity of the campaign. This is the main one. Maybe it was just me but after the excellent build up with the viral snatches, Lez Coogan online and on park, missing wall, cinema teasers etc, it just died. I saw the full ad quite a bit for around a month after opening, then it vanished. The only thing coming out from the park was via facebook which is naturally seen almost exclusively by those who are fans already, preaching to the converted is unlikely to bring in new people.
What concerns / annoys me about all this is

So the response (presumably from riders doing exit surveys) to the ride has been very positive, yet they are fiddling with .... the ride? Not sticking with what people have told them they have done so well, people have told them they like and instead fixing the marketing which people didn't react to and Thorpe admit has failed, but messing with the bit they have done well. Don't get me wrong, I don't think the ride is perfect. But the things that are wrong with it (length, odd dull ending, fastrack/general queue faff, continuity of theme in places) do not get fixed by slapping a gimmick on top. In fact this is likely to make some of these things worse.
It smacks of lack of confidence in their ride and being a knee jerk reaction. People aren't stupid, Thorpe can call it an evolution all they like but making such drastic changes just one year after opening will look to all the world like the ride is inherently not good enough at its core. I am interested in the sensation of riding backwards and will be giving it a try at some point, I'm sure a fair few people might do the same, so from that point of view it could be a successful move in the short term. But in the long term the ride is deeply devalued and I'm sure guest satisfaction will not rise, people with too many choices to make are rarely happier, wondering what they are missing out on. And that is before we see how they have managed the queue line and fastrack around this, which I'm guessing won't be pretty but would be glad to be proven wrong.
The effort and money they are spending on The Swarm would be put to better use fixing up almost anything else on the park and letting the word of mouth from all the people who have been reacting so positivity to the experience to bring in the punters. Maybe if the rest of the park was somewhere near the standard The Swarm already is more people would be coming back anyway, gimmicks or not.

Umm, I think it was sarcasm.

Vampire requires an endless amount of announcements which unfortunately cuts out the ride music due to the volume.

Required Announcements (From what I remember)

- Stand Clear, Gates Opening
- Please Leave bellongings on opposite side of the platform, wear your bloody shoes
- I said wear your bloody shoes you traveller
- Okay, you've all got your shoes on?
- Stand Clear, Gates Closing
- Re-Check All Bars (Or just the fatty in the 3rd row)
- Hold On Tight, Here we go

... And repeat.

I'd be happier if they would run 3 trains again...
Sigh, give me early 2008 operations again... Those were the days...

Meanwhile in cat land....