Coaster

Fantastic article regarding the Show Services, it's great to see such a professional attitude being taken with park audio and some areas of the park have such a nice atmosphere where this has been improved.

You clearly didn't read the signs/website then Thorpe staggers openings more than Pleasure Beach these days, Rumba was on a 12 noon opening a few weekends ago and several other rides over an hour late - at least BPB make it clear which rides open when and it feels like a well planned procedure rather than the disorganisation at Thorpe of not knowing which rides are meant to be open and unadvertised late openings becoming more and more common. I've had occasional days at Thorpe where operations are great but usually they are very slack, rides opening late on low capacity and then stacking when they finally go up to two trains. Not saying this doesn't happen at Pleasure Beach either as their operations are far from perfect, only that I find them better than Thorpe's.

Grand National opens at 11am They're operating so amazingly better than Thorpe. And their operations aren't even good...

Did it today, was much better in its previous form. All they've done is remove all the best effects and replaced them with cheap cardboard cutouts. The projections were some of the best effects but they've all been removed now. Also, aliens in a haunted house? Literally makes no sense. The previous version was much better with the characterisation of the undertaker, darker tone (you couldn't see the warehouse before and the whole ride was an illusion, whereas the whole theatrical side is ruined now) and the ending was much more entertaining. The ride is a mess now with some of the Over The Hill (1) characters remaining but barely fitting in amongst the cheap new theming. Adventureville was good though.

Not a dire park, just in a dire state.

I wouldn't call four visits in the space of five months "regular."

It's awful. People don't pay £60 to look at shut down rides, rusting behind fences or "new" additions being SBNO due to a lack of staff. Absolutely pathetic that a park on the scale of Thorpe, with a multi-million pound company behind it, is being run in such a terrible manner whilst parks with a scrape of the budget continue to provide far higher standards of ride availability, customer service, park appearance and overall guest experience. The "second only to Disney" tagline can be interpreted in many different ways, one of these could be the quality - even if statistically they're basing it on the gate figures. Marketing. Honestly if it wasn't for the new music (and the few aesthetic improvements) there would be nothing positive about Thorpe this year. It's dire. No, I don't buy that. People pay for this. Hard earned cash is handed over to visit places like Thorpe, it's absolutely appalling that they run on such skeletal staff they can't even open three rides which require one staff member on each!

Does anyone know when the new old coaster is going to open? Ridiculous that it's taken them four years (since it was initially advertised on the park maps) to build and open a 2nd hand Pinfari...

It's laughable and confirms what people say about Merlin's complete disregard for guest experience to be true.

Terrible to have these on rotation when the park already has less attractions available than it has done for the past few years. Also as said above, the times aren't clear. Thorpe has nice music now but the park is going downhill faster than Oblivion.

Press night was on the same night as Annual Pass preview until last year, which was strange as the "preview" was after Fright Nights had been open to the public for a whole weekend!

Surely that doesn't matter since there's only one train out on the track nowadays! (Of course it does actually matter, but the whole situation is ridiculous).

I actually see the way they operate the rides now as more dangerous - as it shows they have no trust in their rides or staff. They're not operated professionally, or they must be dangerous, hence why they've had to slow down the operations.

Waited 90 minutes for Fury from the last few lines of cattlepen a few months ago, used to take 20 minutes maximum from the exact same point. If that's not incompetence what is? I've never seen a ride run so poorly and when it's one of only two major coasters (and right at the park entrance) it's an absoloute disgrace.

It's also the longest. Considerably. Stealth and Rita are fun rides but are ultimately over in a matter of seconds, Icon is designed to be a full-length coaster with low-to-ground elements and the focus isn't really so much on the launches. If you're looking for "the fastest launch" you'll be disappointed. Personally I'm just happy we're getting such a long coaster with a great looking layout from a highly reputable manufacturer. Back on topic, Drayton is a great park but they do need another major coaster.

I highly doubt they closed it purely for this upgrade, it's probably a case of it needed maintenance so they used the time to give it a refresh.

Was pleasantly surprised to find X open today and the improvements are fantastic, really shows the difference a small expenditure can make between a mediocre and amazing experience. The ride is looking the best it has in years - the entire queueline has been repainted, new lighting effects and the "dance version" of the park's main theme is such a good idea. Well done Thorpe!

It's just an odd situation I think, half the park is shut and in dire need of investment yet they bring in two second hand flats. The rides aren't really of the standard you'd expect in a park on the scale of Thorpe and they look terrible, though I guess it's better than nothing.

Still better than I'm a Celebrity

I'm not sure why they didn't just restore the existing theme, the area worked fantastically as Mystic East when it was properly looked after.

Prices go up, park gets worse...

As much as I enjoy the G Force, I'm surprised the ride was allowed to be designed with an inverted lifthill for this very reason. What if it E-stopped and couldn't be quickly reset?

Question. How has it taken four months (and counting) to get a frog hopper open?!

Yet another series finale where part 1 was better. There were lots of great things about part 2 and I enjoyed it, but the ending was weak.

No, as they are imposed restrictions by the manufacturer, H&S and vital to follow. Height restrictions have always been in place, the situation is completely different. Unless age restrictions are being added to every rapids ride in the country, I'd say it's the decision of the park/company. Unlike height restrictions, they don't guarantee anything - as the same incident could happen with a person over the age of 18. Whereas height restrictions are set in place due to the design of the ride, restraint system etc. Hardly a comparable situation.