Coaster
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Posts posted by Coaster
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2 hours ago, Marc said:
They have never had an incident like this - hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Thorpe have never searched everyone entering the park, they don’t have the facilities too and have felt they don’t need to. Blackpool’s setup is rather different, if I remember rightly Blackpool had huge issues with anti social behaviour which I assume is why their very strict security was implemented?
Theres only so much they can do to mitigate risk, compared to other parks in the U.K. I’d say Thorpes security is already fairly strict and will no doubt evolve as required.
The lack of facilities is exactly my point - Thorpe should have a facility similar to Pleasure Beach where everyone gets searched IMO.
In relation to antisocial behaviour, it occurred at Pleasure Beach back when it was free entry however since introducing the security measures it's a very rare occurrence in my experience.
Thorpe Park on the other hand has a lot of antisocial behaviour, more than I've ever seen in Pleasure Beach, and yet their security measures are nowhere near up to the same level. You mentioned about PB upping security due to antisocial behaviour, yes this is true, however my point is that they have had a secure entrance with the capacity to search everyone since 2009 whereas Thorpe (a park which has suffered from antisocial behaviour for years) doesn't.
I have witnessed more antisocial behaviour at Thorpe than in any other park personally, by a long way. There have been times where I haven't felt safe due to the behaviour of other guests. I feel that much stricter security and having scanners built into the entrance would prevent this, and given that Thorpe's bag checks have caused long delays whilst also not being thorough for years, they have had ample time to introduce a better more permanent solution IMO.
Why should it be accepted that a park handling thousands of guests per day has such a "DIY" security setup with a few huts and massive queues? It is just not good enough.
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On 7/20/2020 at 10:03 AM, Marc said:
I'm not sure it does show a failure on thorpes part? Thorpe Park's security procedure (the parts which we see anyway) is IMO probably the most stringent out of all the Merlin theme parks already and will no doubt evolve again after this incident. I agree that I haven't had to walk through a scanner at thorpe other than on some special events, but the same can be said for any entertainment venue I've visited in the UK over the past couple of years.
I think that given that Thorpe has a lot of security incidents and seems to have a higher number of poor guest behaviour than other UK parks, it should have higher security levels. BPB for example have scanners which all guests must walk through.
QuoteThe bag search was bought in after a number of terrorist incidents. I agree if they want to search every guest to a higher standard it will take investment in more equipment and infrastructure, and that 2 hour queues to get in are not a long term solution, but to say the park don't have proper security measures is a ridiculous statement.
I don't feel that they do though, because they don't have the capacity to search every guest thoroughly enough to make it safe. They either have to not search all guests completely or cause 2 hour queues; this has been an issue for years and they have had plenty of closed seasons to address the issue with a new entrance but it hasn't happened.
QuoteI don't agree Thorpe Park is not a safe environment, "Behaviours" you mention can and do happen in all sorts of places, when you manage thousands of people a day your bound to have trouble at some points, Fright Nights are typically busier and therefore your probably more likely to have someone out to cause trouble. And as far as I know this is the first instance of knife crime at TP - how would a "properly secure entrance" stop someone picking a fight in the park?
I have witnessed a much higher number of security incidents at Thorpe Park than any other park in the UK, I've never encountered that sort of behaviour on such a large scale at another UK park. I feel that increased security presence would be a deterrent to people who would otherwise cause that type of behaviour.
QuoteHolding Merlin or Thorpe accountable for the knife crime problem in the UK is abit OTT - Thorpe Park's checks were always simply Bag Checks - The park no doubt work with local police forces to plan and execute things such as security / bag searches etc.
I'm holding them accountable for the fact that somebody was able to get a knife into a supposed secure theme park. Given the issue with knife crime, plus Thorpe Park's tendency to attract poorly behaved guests, I think that makes it even worse that bag and guest searches haven't been thorough. I am not entirely blaming Thorpe; obviously the moron who did it is the culprit, however I do think that Merlin/Thorpe should be held accountable for not having stringent enough security.
QuoteTo enter the park you need to have a ticket scanned at a turnstile or manually by staff, they of course know how many people are in the park at any given time, as far as I know there are no "legal limits" for Covid 19 - they simply have to ensure social distancing measures are in place which they are, park capacity is significantly reduced from normal.
It seems strange to me that they were not checking pre-booked tickets which were clearly in place to ensure that social distancing was possible through limiting the number of guests.
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Would anyone be able to remind me how to change my signature? I can't seem to find the option anywhere.
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I was very saddened to hear about the incident yesterday. Truly a horrible event for the victim, staff, and guests. This shouldn’t happen anywhere; let alone a theme park and I hope that everyone is safe and that the victim recovers.
Sadly, I feel that this emphasises the absolute failure Thorpe Park have made in terms of security. For years, the park has needed a purpose-built entrance with a much higher number of security scanners and more thorough checks. Even after the tightened security measures introduced around the UK a few years back, they are still relying on waving people through a few (two I think) huts. On occasions last year and the year before, I wasn’t even asked to step through the security scanner. This should be compulsory for all guests and there should be the capacity to do this efficiently.
Today’s knee-jerk reaction causing a 2+ hour queue to enter the park is not the answer either. It should not take a stabbing to make a park that handles thousands of guests daily realise that they need proper security measures (which they still don’t have).
Whether they like to admit it or not, Thorpe Park is not a safe environment. Some of the behaviour I have seen from guests in the past, particularly during Fright Nights but also at other times of the year, is disgusting and puts people in danger. Thorpe Park are aware of this behaviour and yet have still not introduced a properly secure entrance.
A park handling crowds on the level of Thorpe Park should be able to search all guests safely and efficiently. It shouldn’t cause long delays, nor should they have to wave people through due to not having the capacity to search everyone properly. It is a farce and either Merlin or Thorpe should be held accountable for yesterday’s incident, as they have had years to sort this.
In addition to this, I have also read multiple reports that despite requiring guests to pre-book online, they haven’t even been checking tickets of pass-holders. This means that they potentially could have exceeded the legal limits for safety due to COVID-19? Plus, they aren’t following guidelines and then an incident occurs at the park which is not good by any means.
Ultimately, I feel that Thorpe Park have failed to keep guests safe. This is not the fault of staff, who have a very tough job and are doing their best, but the management and Merlin Entertainments should be held accountable IMO.
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It looks like some dodgy back alleyway not a theme park! 😂
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The rides are always heaving though? Particularly in the evenings.
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2 hours ago, JoshC. said:
You could say the same for Joris. And beyond the on ride pre-show, the same for Baron too (which is very, ahem, barren when it comes to landscaping).
In fairness though, Joris has a much better queueline which showcases the ride well, and also goes across a lake, it's much more interesting and I don't remember it having much (if any) cattlepen?
There's also the dragon, albeit broken now.
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This looks awful. The Dome always looked amazing as "Port Atlantis", now it just looks run-down.
Why would they remove all that fantastic theming and leave it looking so dull and bland? Unless it was dangerous or falling down, I can't understand it.
See this parallels with what's happened at PB over the last 5/10 years, removal of theming and "fun" features in favour of a bland, corporate look.
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If I'm being totally honest, this doesn't look up to Efteling's usual standard.
Sure it's only a junior coaster, but it just doesn't look inspiring at all; the layout looks worse than say, Scorpion Express or RMT, and there isn't really much theming beyond the station, just landscaping. And then there's the cattlepen queue, I wouldn't really expect that at Efteling, I mean even the Dragon at Legoland Windsor has a proper themed queueline.
I'm obviously not in the target audience for this but for an investment from Efteling and as a replacement for Bob, this just looks disappointing IMO.
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Incredible 😂
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Pleasure Beach have extended their season and will now close on the 13th December (weekends only Nov-Dec) and have also extended season passes free of charge. They are also offering the option to defer 2020 season passes to 2021 or receive a (not yet announced) discount from next year's passes. The promenade illuminations are also being extended until 3rd January.
All in all, an excellent response to a difficult situation in my eyes.
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3rd place: The Curse
Winner: The Asylum
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My votes;
The Freezer
The Asylum
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The Freezer
The Curse
Experiment 10
The Asylum
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50 minutes ago, JoshC. said:
HERE'S A TIE. Silly me didn't think of what on earth to do if there's a tie. So making this up on the fly: the first person who didn't vote in that set to cast a vote between Blair Witch and The Freezer gets the deciding vote. If no one has voted by Sunday at 8am, it opens up to people who already voted in the last set.
I vote for The Freezer.
Big Top (2016-2017)
Experiment 10
The Asylum
Se7en
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Depth Charge (3)
Detonator: Bomb's Away (3)
Nemesis Inferno (5)
Quantum (3)
Rumba Rapids (1)
Rush (3)
Samurai (3)
Stealth (3)
Storm in a Teacup (3)
The Swarm (3)
Tidal Wave (3)
Vortex (3)Nemesis Inferno +
Rumba Rapids -
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1 hour ago, SteveJ said:
But but, how are these forum members gonna cynically mock your posts now?
I'm sure they'll manage!
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Pleasure Beach was awesome this weekend.
Big One open all day yesterday and most of today even with some fairly high winds, 2 trains on some of the coasters and a lovely atmosphere on park.
The service was great, staff were all very friendly and helpful.
Ghost Train has some amazing new scenes and lighting improvements throughout the ride, bringing out some of the UV in detail that it hasn't been seen in for years!
River Caves also has some changes and improvements to the lighting, and looks in pretty good condition inside. Audio in Angkor Wat keeps cutting out though.
Overall the most enjoyable weekend I've had at Pleasure Beach in a few years. There's a much nicer atmosphere about the place than it's had for a while.
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Colossus (6)
Depth Charge (5)
Detonator: Bomb's Away (5)
Flying Fish (2)
Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride (5)
Nemesis Inferno (6)
Quantum (5)
Rumba Rapids (4)
Rush (5)
Samurai (6)
Saw - The Ride (5)
Stealth (5)
Storm in a Teacup (5)
The Swarm (6)
The Walking Dead - The Ride (5)
Tidal Wave (5)
Vortex (5)
Nemesis Inferno +
Flying Fish -
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Taziker Industrial have written a fantastic article on the retracking of The Big One - lots of good info!
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Colossus (5)
Depth Charge (5)
Detonator: Bomb's Away (5)
Flying Fish (5)
Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride (5)
Nemesis Inferno (7)
Quantum (5)
Rumba Rapids (5)
Rush (5)
Samurai (5)
Saw - The Ride (5)
Stealth (5)
Storm in a Teacup (5)
The Swarm (5)
The Walking Dead - The Ride (4)
Tidal Wave (5)
Vortex (4)
Zodiac (5)
Nemesis Inferno +
Vortex -
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Colossus (5)
Depth Charge (5)
Detonator: Bomb's Away (5)
Flying Fish (5)
Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride (5)
Nemesis Inferno (6)
Quantum (6)
Rocky Express (2)
Rumba Rapids (7)
Rush (5)
Samurai (5)
Saw - The Ride (5)
Stealth (5)
Storm in a Teacup (5)
The Swarm (5)
The Walking Dead - The Ride (5)
Tidal Wave (5)
Vortex (4)
Zodiac (5)
Nemesis Inferno +
Vortex -
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Stealth's broken for 2020?
2020 Season
in The Past
Posted
Thorpe introduced security measures a few years back so clearly there is a need for them and they realise that; initially it was set up mid-way through a season (I think?) hence the temporary setup, however it's strange that they didn't redesign the entrance with a more permanent solution over the following closed season.
The park handles thousands of guests daily, they can't expect two search huts to cater for that many people. Having a queue that size to get into the park is ridiculous and this has been an issue for a few years now, it also means that the thoroughness of the checks is sacrificed to get people through quickly. I'd also suggest that causing such a delay to the start of people's day puts them in a worse frame of mind and could potentially lead to worse behaviour inside the park.
A visual deterrent of having a large number of scanners lined up forming part of the entrance structure would I feel be much better and safer for guests, whilst also ensuring that everyone has to go through security (not just those with a bag).
I did used to visit Thorpe a lot yes, although I'd say perhaps less days there than Blackpool overall. My point is, Thorpe is notorious for this sort of behaviour, fights take place there a lot, as does other intimidating behaviour. I truly do not feel safe at Thorpe at times and this rarely occurs at other parks, the place has issues with antisocial behaviour and has done for years. This is why I believe it needs much more stringent security checks. In relation to the other Merlin parks, I feel that they too should have better security, however they do not seem to attract such high levels of bad behaviour as Thorpe does so regularly.
I'm not suggesting that this is a problem exclusive to Thorpe, however I feel that Thorpe has a much higher risk of this type of event occurring than any other park I've visited.