Doc

Poor Storm Surge. The most disliked ride at Thorpe

I do hope it is another piece of theming. I will be impressed if it it, so long as it does not interfere with views etc. I would say maybe a submerged vehicle of some sort, but then again, I usually always get this stuff wrong.

Slightly confused. I mean I can't say that I go to Thorpe that regularly but I sure do try to keep up with every day goings on and to be fair, the ride seems to be having a pretty decent first year, especially compared to the likes of SAW and Stealth. I am not in a position to comment on the fastracks being sold as I am not familiar with the system but I would say that out of all of Thorpe's latest investments, this one has shown to be the most successful and I would not say it is has had as many reliability problems as you make out it has. I know it has its 'off moments' when it is down and the fire effect still inactive is getting annoying but I would not say it was "a disappointment". These things take time to get right. AIso I personally find the ride ridiculously smooth, though I don't know if the experience varies depending on what seats you are in as I have only been on the back rows.

To be fair Slammer does contribute to the whole "nations thrill capital" thing Thorpe have going on so it would make sense that they would want to try and hold on to it for as long as possible. Still we should find out its future soon enough. They must clearly have something planned for it.

An animatronic walkthrough probably would not work well in this park. Mainly because it would probably be neglected and vandalized. Those kind of attractions are better for smaller seaside parks that are more family orientated. So we may possibly be getting vengeance or a Sub Terra type ride. Though to be honest the only area the vengeance ride could really be effective is in the SWARM area. It would be kind of hard to do a 5D darkride themed around Amity. I take it the Gerstlauer Sky Fly still a possibility?

So this is actually going ahead? Fair enough. I suppose it would be more efficient in its new home, especially as it is in close proximity to the other Merlin attractions. However, I still can't help but feel the attraction will lose the charm it became famous for. It was the original Dungeons and now that it is being relocated and recreated, it is just an "off the shelf attraction" with no historical significance so to speak. In my eyes it is kind of like saying, okay we are going to demolish Alton Towers and recreate it in Florida or something. I don't know, maybe I am just a fool who is overreacting? I guess we will find out in January.

Agreed. Guess we can't blame Thorpe on this one.

To be fair out of all the Merlin parks, I think Thorpe should have been the last choice to convert into a teen/thrill seeker park. Through the 80's and 90's Thorpe had everything beautifully laid out in front of them. A great and strong children's area (Ranger County), family friendly rides such as the Flying Fish, Loggers, The Canada Creek Railway, Wicked Witches Haunt and a host of other great things that made Thorpe a great family day out.. In my opinion, the physical change from family park to thrill park was with the addition of Inferno in 2003. That was when it looked like it was too late to turn back. Of course I love Thorpe now, but I think it may have been stronger if it remained family only. All those great family attractions that are gradually getting removed. Shame it can no longer connect with many families who have been going there for years. Still what's done is done and there is no going back now.

Sorry I did not make my point clear. I meant to say that under the influence of Merlin, they seem pretty keen on only adding one ride per year which to be honest makes sense business wise. It gives them more to introduce in the future instead of throwing loads of rides in at once, so their investment is more spread out. It also gives them the chance to promote one ride very effectively without having to worry about giving two or three new rides equal coverage which can get difficult. My point was take out Slammer if you must, but please don't just let it stand their SBNO for another 8 years. We have lost Saw Alive, MSFS, CCR, Time Voyagers and I am sure there are sadly many more losses to come.

I am glad I got to ride it for the first time the other week then. Like most people have said, it is a good ride and visually impressive, but if it goes, so be it. Though knowing the way Thorpe work I doubt it will be replaced until years to come. It would be better if for 2013, they removed Slammer, replaced it with another cool flat whilst also doing the new SWARM ride. Sadly knowing Thorpe's reputation, I doubt they would add more than one ride per year.

I have just seen all of the comments made on facebook. Not really sure what to make on the matter now to be honest. I think the best thing to do is put the pitchforks away until the inspection/report comes in. It seems that some people are just rushing to stupid conclusions and blaming all workers in the park at the time which of course is ridiculous. As for the people who said they should close the park, 1) Terrible events like this while very rare do still happen. The majority of parks in the UK (not sure on Europe) have experienced issues like this over the years. Blackpool, Loudoun Castle to name but a few. Does this mean that all those parks should close too? No of course not. They investigate the issue and ensure that it never happens again. Of course it is a terrible time for that little girl's family but alot of these posters on Facebook clearly have not thought about the situation rationally. The only way closing the park could be justified is if these kind of accidents happened annually. 2) Do these people realise how many people would loose their job and that their area could potentially suffer as a result? Luckily incidents like these are not common and whilst they can be fatal I believe that people just need to wait until the facts come in before they start crushing the park. As a last thing, may I also add. No way is that bridge 30 ft tall.

That is terrible. Whatever the case, I do hope she makes a full recovery. Such a horrible thing to happen Looks as if Chesington may have a bit of negative media coverage on their hands soon. I personally have never been on Tomb Raider so I am not familiar with the area though I am surprised nobody picked up on the broken structure before then.. Again thoughts go out to her family in what is clearly a horrible and unfortunate time for them.

Well they do need a dark ride. I would say give it a go,

I rode it first the time today so I can finally give my personal, honest (and late) opinion of what I think of the ride. First of all the ride itself was just great fun. Not to intense but crazy enough for me to swear repetitively (in my head of course ¬¬) as the train was going up the lift hill. It was really quite smooth and the inversions were great. I just wished the ride was a bit longer. Now in terms of theming, woah. Now I have been looking at pictures of the ride and its area for months now and though I have never said it here, I could not help but think that the ride is somewhat lacking and even a bit ugly (yes I know its apocalyptic) but what put me off from the pictures was the complete lack of obvious trees, vegetation, poor brick laid paths as well as those ugly chain fences that surround the area. Upon visiting the area today however, I was completely taken aback. Everything looked so realistic and I can honestly say that I am now in love with this area. The animated helicopter had to be my favourite feature but I was also very keen on the crumbling chapel which actually was alot more complex and realistic than I first though. I am not even angry that they did not include a roof as it looks fantastic the way it is now. Anyway to finish this off, I came to Thorpe today expecting to see a relatively expensive but average coaster that was in some crappy looking area but after seeing it for myself, I came off the island feeling both satisfied and happy with the work they have put into this ride. A few things they could do to improve the area maybe would be adding some sort of debris/rock around the footers like Inferno has or adding another flat eide or building so the ride interacts with its surroundings a little bit more. 4 stars. (late review over)

Now that is cool. Well done for the dudes who made that. No dodgy marketing, not misleading, just a good atmospheric video. Great work right there!

Firstly thank you for the quick response. I agree that usually Saturdays tend to be the busier day but as you said, being the first day of the half term I guess people may want to leave visiting until later in the week. The info on ride times is excellent and I will do my best to acknowledge this on my visit. As you said I will try making the most of the first hour there, starting at SWARM, and then going round to get to the other major coasters. I always thought midday may be fairly quiet in terms of queues as everyone will be eating but I guess I will find that out for myself. As you said, it really does vary daily and I guess I won't know how bad it is until I get there. Still it is nice to get somewhat of a head start. Thank you again for the help and haha, I'all try

Due to it still being a bank holiday I imagine it will still be relatively packed. Maybe a few less because of the celebrations, but maybe a few more. It is kind of hard to predict. Anyway I know I am probably going to regret asking this but can anyone inform me how busy it might be on Saturday the 2nd of June (first day of half term?) To be fair I am going to be going again in July when peeps are still in school but I was invited to go one month early as well and I never like to say no to a trip to Thorpe. So does anyone know how busy it will/can get or if anyone could give me a quick tip or two? Thanks in advance.

I don't think I have ever got hit by the body, even with my arms up. I want to though

I liked the manakin... By the way can I ask. Is it possible for the lap bars to fail whilst the ride is in motion? Only a friend of mine that was on it claimed that the lap bar came apart from him whilst going up the lifthill so he had to hold on to the sides or something like that. I don't know whether this can happen of whether he was just making it up/over exaggerating, though to be honest I would not be surprised. Poor X :/

As long as it is getting some kind of repaint I am happy. It was starting to look a bit tacky... Still, I can dream of the day they finally decide to re theme it.

I wonder how long it will last? I looks like it was obviously made to last but I imagine one by one the effects will die away or get removed and the fact that they have to have people "acting" to go with the ride's back story probably just takes up more money and effort. Personally I quite like the ride as it is a new and unique idea in which I commend Merlin for. I just cant see it lasting that long.

I guess with SAW Alive closed, it is pretty much garunteed that there will be no SWARM themed horror maze. A Swarm themed Sub Terra ride could still happen though I imagine Merlin will want to try out something new.

I too like the idea of bolt on rides. Speaking only for Thorpe here, the park has done a pretty good job at ditching the themed areas it already has (ranger county... ) So any attempt to make some kind of brand or link between rides is great news in my books. I encourage it infact.As for the Swarm area taking the old Thorpe Belle. As cool as it sounds, I sadly doubt that would happen unless they find some way to move the former river boat over to "Swarm Island". I do wonder what will happen to the Belle after SAW Alive leaves though. (off topic)

I have not actually seen the advert on tv...then again I usually just stay on the computer all day every day so why would I?I have to agree with Insider9150. While I would have enjoyed a new advert, it is only a small attraction and is probably enough to pull in the crowds this year.Hopefully a new one next year though. The boy in it gets on my nerves after a while.

Arn't they trying to gradually remove all the fast food chains like KFC and Burger King and replace them with their own merlin brands?If so I can't see the need for a new food outlet.