Han30

You really haven’t missed out with Storm Surge - it’s pretty naff, your feet get absolutely drenched, it takes forever to get to the top - and then you end up bobbing around at the end for what seems like an eternity!

Stealth 17 times Saw 9 times one Summer Night event years ago - I had a wicked headache after that 🥳 And X around 10 times in a row also during Summer Night event

I went in BML last week - end of the day and it was just me and the people I was with. Have done is 4-5 times now having gone with people who hadn’t experienced it before. I guess it’s ok but my main gripe like others is that (a bit like DBGT) you only really need to do it once plus it is taking up a decent sized space which has previously house fright night mazes. On a side note I love the music played in that area and also the uniforms that the staff/actors wear - I want one of the jackets 👌

@Matt N blimey that was a pretty vivid and detailed dream! The only theme park related one I can remember was going to Thorpe on a really windy day and Stealth had blown over so it was essentially flat - it still had a big queue which confused me!

The whole experience is just a mess and it’s like they never really thought things through that well. The 2 photo points in the queue are no longer in use so the ending part and the photo booth is pointless. They had the bag drop the first year and then got rid of that after just one season. Instead of fixing the mid section which I thought was a really good effect they’ve just hashed up a mini maze in there. The pre show is so long and tedious and they’ve now added almost a second preshow with an actor which seems to go on forever and as a result the second VR section has been cut. The initial second VR section was very odd so I do prefer the updated one but I would rather it have stayed what it was instead of cutting it to accommodate the actors speech which is quite tedious. My favourite part was the exit/gift shop but they’ve fudged that up now that the demon is gone - it genuinely scared me the first time I saw it but now just a person coughing doesn’t have the same effect. Even the shop looks pretty awful compared to how it used to be - half empty and selling other ride merch. Its just not worth re-riding (I only do if I’m with someone who hasn’t been on and wants to try it). There are so many options they could have gone for for a dark ride - even a bog standard ghost train would be better at this point. All the hype surrounding it and it’s just a pile of crud - I guess it was a gamble they took which hasn’t paid off. Wondering at which point it will just be called “ghost train” because I don’t think I’d want my name to be affiliated with it. Maybe I’m being harsh - I just miss the arena in all honesty.

They definitely weren’t communicating well - if you were riding for the first time you might assume the ones in bags are the clean ones maybe. Anyway I didn’t hear what was said as I had my head set on but apparantly the actor was both shouty and very sarcastic. Also - do they no longer touch peoples legs in there? That’s the main reason I went on 😂🤣. The ride is so dead in the water. We just had a woman coughing at the end - right in my face at one point so hoping she didn’t have a dose of covid. Will the demon at the end ever resurface? That was genuinely the best part of the ride

I went on Tuesday - second visit of the season. It was pretty busy in comparison to over the Easter weekend (guessing due to only premium and platinum passholders being the only annual passholders able to attend those dates). The Thrill Makers are…..interesting - I’m not bashing them because they seem popular for younger visitors - one of them came over to us and was really engaging which was nice but we wanted to move on before the show started so used the excuse that I needed a cigarette - I was quite shocked when the girl said “oh it’s fine don’t worry you can smoke here, it’s not enforced” - literally smack bang in the middle of what was a quite busy area and where kids were around. She even pointed to someone else smoking to prove her point. I know Thorpe aren’t as strict as other parks but I wouldn’t sit and smoke where there are kids about because it’s disgusting and I’m sure many parents wouldn’t want their kids inhaling second hand smoke. One fairly big gripe I have is with the Colossus team - painfully slow. Both this visit and last they weren’t even opening the air gates until the station was clear from previous riders which is insane - the queue yesterday was at 90 minutes at this point and my friend timed how long it took from the train coming in and the air gates opening and it was over 2 mins. If this is to do with safety issues then fair enough but it’s not happening on the other coasters? Very bizarre and it also results in being sat on the brake run for what seems like a bloody eternity which is uncomfortable. The new toilets are actually the best thing this year 😂. Staff on the whole are very friendly aswell

The weird thing was that when we got on the train the actors kept saying “don’t take the headsets out of the bags yet” giving the impression that the headsets actually work. My niece who I was with assumed the same (we hadn’t been on for a couple of years and a ton of headset were in bags) - after the first section my niece said she got shouted at by one of the actors for not using a headset - cos it was broken. Apparently the actor was quite rude and shouted at her for not having a working headset - would make more sense for the actors to tell people that the headsets in bags don’t work but they didn’t and implied to take them out once everyone was seated. I think my niece has only done ghost train twice before and due to covid and what was being said it’s an easy mistake to make, however I don’t think shouting sarcastically at a guest is the best attitude to have! Honestly I wish they would flatten the thing - at least the arena was a decent space for fright nights mazes

Went on this on Tuesday as someone in our group had never done it before. It was bad. SO bad. The preshow is boring now though I appreciate that if you’ve never been on it then it’s worth watching. So standing up watching that I was looking forward to getting on the train to sit down - no chance. We were greeted by an actor who talked a lot and then another actor came bursting in which was quite funny. Onto the train - loads of headsets in bags! Second section had a few actors in there who were pretty good at making us jump. Back on the train and they’ve gone and cut some of the VR to make it shorter! Over to the “exit” and there is no demon, but a rough looking woman just coughing everywhere. I’m assuming they’ve given up on the actual demon at the end now? Haven’t seen it for a long time though granted I rarely ride it these days but my last 2 rides just had a human coughing. Also amuses me that the “gift shop” has a photo kiosk when they no longer do photos for the ride 🤷‍♀️. I think the actors are trying hard to make the experience better and the ones in the middle section were pretty good but the one at the beginning was just very tedious especially right after standing and watching the preshow. I think it’s completely dead in the water and would need a miracle for it to be half decent. I would be up for the park to flatten it and bring back the arena again - at least it was a decent scare maze site

It’s been a long while since I went to a meet and would definitely be interested

If you are visiting on a day where kids are at school then one day is more than enough. If you visit on a half term day you may not get on everything you want due to queue times sometimes being really long.

Oh wow that is brilliant! Huge congrats to you Dr C

Going a tad off topic but I have 2 questions - What is going to happen to - 1) creek freak and 2) the curly fries place 🤣

I have smelt it quite a lot a Thorpe park - worst time being recent fright nights where it absolutely reeked of it outside the dodgems. Another time on the bus when there was only a handful of us and someone had some strong stuff on them. Had a young lad come up to me asking for a cigarette paper which I didn’t have but I offered him a cig and he said he needed paper to roll a joint! It’s the only park I’ve been to where you can smell it frequently

I think I accidentally clicked the wrong answer on the poll (I’m blaming my age 🤣 - the irony). Honestly I don’t think you can ever be too old for theme parks - if it is something you enjoy, go for it! I turned 40 last year (should probably change my forum name as I’ve been here 10 years and I’m no longer 30) and I don’t feel my age in general day to day life. That said I totally understand particularly Thorpe Park - because it is mainly teenagers that visit I can often feel a bit out of place but then I certainly don’t act my age so it doesn’t bother me - I usually visit the parks with my 17 year old niece and it’s not as noticeable as when I’m with my friend who is my age and her son because we are both in our 40s (don’t know if that made any sense - it’s been a long day!). I don’t think anyone at parks would be looking at you and thinking you are out of place unless they are extremely judgmental. I visited Thorpe a couple of times by myself when my ex worked at the park - first time I felt so uncomfortable at first and then after a while I thought sod it - people are out enjoying their day and won’t be scrutinising other guests or even noticing. Ive been an enthusiast for 21+ years but didn’t start visiting the Merlin parks regularly (more than my annual visit) until 2013. I did have a Tussauds pass in 2002 but that only covered off peak days for Thorpe and Chessington. So I was 32/33 when I became a regular visitor. Yeah I do feel old at times - but if I still enjoy parks when I’m 70 I’ll still be visiting. I totally understand being a bit self conscious but I honestly think these things are often more of a big deal in your head than in reality and the way we might feel is not a clear indication of what is real. Not sure if I’m making sense - it’s been a long day and I’m zonked. Also apologies for possibly typing an essay 🙈