Inferno

It’s been really interesting reading everyone’s opinions today. After checking the website on and off today I’ve come to the conclusion that, yeah, it’s not what I would have built, nor is it what I expected them to go for, but I think it’s still something special, to get really excited about! I think it’s very easy to sit at home imagining what we’d build in planet coaster - but in reality Merlin just don’t tend to build really long coasters. It’s just not what they do. And actually, that’s ok. None of the other beloved Merlin coasters are long, and they’re still great. I think we might have been unrealistic thinking that Thorpe would get a super-long hyper - that would be a lot of track to buy, and a lot of maintenance to keep up as well. They have no real need to build that sort of thing. Merlin are used to building short, 100ft(ish) coasters, so actually the fact they’re going for the UK’s tallest is a huge leap forward. (A loggers leap forward I guess) Yeah - I still think it’s a missed opportunity to have a coaster this tall and not make the most of it by building something longer, and I’d have really liked to have seen a MCBR and multiple trains, but compared to Thorpe’s other coasters this one does appear to have a lot going for it. The country seemed to go wild for a 100ft eurofighter in 2009 - this feels a lot more special than those sorts of investments that we all lapped up not so long ago. I’m still hopeful that the layout will be revised and the track length will be longer than what we have seen today when the official plans go in, but this looks very promising!

This has got to be a rough mock up, surely, that will be amended? all I can think is that they haven’t included some lower-level track in the plans yet, and this mock up is purely to demonstrate the impact on the skyline? The track length has got to be too short compared to the height? It’s likely going to hit the brakes at a huge speed and be a bit of a waste. If you look at the aerial plan of the layout, Colossus appears to have a longer track, even though it’s less than half the height. That can’t be right?

That was my first impression too - it does seem very short in length doesn’t it considering how tall it is. Honestly though seeing a new coaster on the Thorpe skyline on those plans is so weird, but SO welcome.

Thank you for relaying it all @JoshC.!

I'm wondering how high the chances are that they have just shown a layout to show “an roller coaster” in the rough area it’s planned for, just to give an idea what a ride would look like there, but it’s actually nothing like this in reality? Will be interesting to compare the layout they’ve revealed with what actually gets put through to planning.

Oh dear that doesn’t sound like a good start. Forgive my ignorance - but are Thorpe really a bad neighbour? I wouldn’t have thought noise levels would be excessively bad, but traffic would be the big issue? Hopefully the noise issues will be addressed somehow, and everyone is happy in the end. @JoshC. I don’t mean to pry, but what was your concern if you don’t mind me asking? (Genuinely interested in what it’s like to live close to Thorpe tbh) Love that video on Thorpe’s social media confirming the facts - would like to see more of that sort of stuff! Great to read that this is going to be “a big one” after all! 236ft is enormous for the UK! UK’s tallest coaster - that’s not a bad claim is it!! @Project LC You mentioned it’s quite a compact layout - does the proposed layout still appear to be a decent length? Thorpe’s rides are over rather quickly aren’t they! Interesting that this isn’t your traditional out and back hyper. Any indication of wood or steel? Very exciting times ahead! Looking forward to seeing the website tomorrow.

I’d put my money on a tall B&M, like a hyper but I reckon it will have a twist (maybe a couple of inversions or a launch). I love that it’s so unknown - I’m kind of hoping the mystery is somehow kept for a while longer, like it used to be years ago when new rides got built!

Yes there's still all the "Exodus" and "pyramid" stuff isn't there. An exodus is "a mass departure". Maybe X is going to disappear soon, making way for even more development space for the project (or later expansion to the project)? A couple more days and we'll know a little bit more about it all 😃

Totally agree - Thorpe’s rides are generally pretty headache-inducing aren’t they! I must admit I always take some paracetamol to Thorpe 😂 much needed when visiting on a quieter day. There isn’t long to wait now until we get a clue what this might be.

It starts just next to Oblivion’s photo kiosk apparently.

Interesting. In some ways it’s quite sad to say goodbye to Canada Creek - so many lovely memories of Loggers Leap and the Railway! It really used to be a really vibrant, happy, family-friendly area not so long ago! Those days have long since passed however and it’s good to see it finally layed to rest. I hope they keep the Diana memorial. All 3 Old Town rides are probably quite portable aren’t they? They could simply move them / some of them elsewhere in the park I suppose, if they’re not scrapping or moving them elsewhere. I read online a while ago that some of the Octopus Garden rides have been kept in storage at the farm - I wonder if some sort of kids area will make a return at some point, maybe even next year to compensate for the loss of smaller rides. I guess Creek Freak may have seen its last days as well then?

🤞 - However, Big Thunder Mountain is world class. I guess we’ll see! 😆 Agreed! This is why we need a B&M with 3 long trains that have 4 seats across and lapbars, and a MCBR 🙏 I so hope this is a queue eater 🤞🤞🤞🤞

I agree - as much as targeting “thrill-seekers only” appears to have caused problems, I think a biggie would be better this time, then something more family oriented next time. I think building a family ride out of the blue would be a weird move, because even if it’s fab it will be very much on its own as the only decent thing in the park for that audience. I feel they need to add some more family stuff before opening a big headline family ride. On the other hand though, the Old Town location in to the woods would really suit a family coaster wouldn’t it. And let’s face it, Wickerman is a brilliant ride even for “thrill-seekers”. I’ll be honest, I am just happy to see an actual coaster go in here. Whatever it is, it’s some very much needed development. (Unless it’s another low capacity, fastrack riddled shuttle coaster like they’re getting at CWOA)

Maybe reading too much in to it, but one thing to note is the leaflet mentions “The new ride will provide an exhilarating…” blah. Maybe meaning this is likely to be a single coaster rather than a “land” similar to Chessington’s? I can’t imagine Heathrow would be an issue, would it? Any aircraft flying over a built up area at 500ft is asking for trouble, regardless of coasters, especially the traffic to/from Heathrow. If any aircraft to/from Heathrow is at 500ft (but not on short finals or immediately after takeoff) the top of a coaster is the least of their worries. I hope the local residents are onboard with Thorpe’s application. It’s all getting very exciting! (And a little weird - getting new coasters hasn’t been Thorpe’s thing for years!)

Really? 🤨 Ah yes, rollercoasters, those pointless, non-headline things nobody goes to theme parks for. What a waste of money at a theme park 🙄 Seriously though how exciting! Looking forward to the 10th.

I'm not sure how I feel about the argument for a Hyper taking away from the other coasters. I do agree, it would absolutely dwarf the other rides, however by next season Colossus opened 20 years ago, Inferno opened 19 years ago and Stealth opened 16 years ago... Many of their "big coasters" opened before much of the target audience were even born. It's also worth noting that anyone who visits Thorpe who has been to parks abroad immediately notice how small Thorpe's coasters are - it's been a talking point I've heard countless times over the years. With those points in mind, is it actually an issue that the new ride might be deemed "bigger and better than the old stuff"? The truth is, the existing rides aren't doing anything 'special' to pull a crowd anymore. Does anyone really talk about Inferno or Colossus much anymore? Not really unfortunately. They're antiques to a lot of people! I think they'd still attract queues on the day, like they do now, but a BIG new crowd pleaser would really pull people in and make an impact, especially if another large coaster was added behind Stealth a few years later. I think it's time the old rides became supporting rides now, making way for the new generation! At the same time though, the thought of "a Maverick" possibly coming to Thorpe is extremely exciting!! I wonder if Merlin would still consider an Intamin these days?

A Mack would certainly come out of left field, but that’s an interesting thought. It would definitely be something different at a Merlin park. I think I agree with Matt, my money would be on a B&M hyper if I was placing a bet. Even after all the RMC hype over the years, I still think it’ll more likely be a B&M, for reliability alone. It’s a safer bet for Merlin. Mack do a very impressive looking hypercoaster though 🤔 It’s exciting to know that “something big is happening” but actually having no idea what it might be. It could literally be anything at this stage. One thought - what do people think about whatever this is potentially not being a big thrill coaster? Does anyone think they might go down a more family-friendly route following the miracle turnaround that Wicker Man brought to Towers after the crash? It pretty much brought them back from the brink! Really looking forward to whatever happens though. I’ll always have a soft spot for Thorpe, and I’m so looking forward to hopefully seeing their fortunes change for the better with this.

https://www.blackpoolpleasurebeach.com/icon/ Spinning rear cars confirmed on Icon. I think that will be a very unique and pretty intense experience! Will be interesting to see how this works in the loading area - there isn't a lot of space in there. Hopefully it'll be done a bit better than the Swarm.

Considering Tomb Blaster has just had a bit of an overhaul, another retheme so soon seems extremely unlikely, although it would be cool. Also Scorpion Express has only just (all be it 7 years ago now) had a major refurb, so surely that’s not going anywhere anytime soon? That would be a major attraction to lose at a moments notice. It’s impossible for anyone to say really one way or another about any of this, but I think the pirates cove rumour seem the most legit. I wonder if Sea Storm will simply be replaced by Rocky, or if they will add Rocky alongside it (a bit like how squid surfer is 2 rides as one) to increase capacity perhaps?

Considering Merlin apparently deemed The Swarm and Ghost Train a financial failure, I wonder if the next big project will be handled any differently? The projects Thorpe have done for a while now (really since Stealth) have very much been good attractions 'tacked on' to the existing, ever-crumbling park. Saw the Ride for example was added on some new land at the side of the existing park - great ride, and great reception, but it's out on a limb. The Swarm, again fab ride, but was added to another island and had little impact on the rest of the park. Derren saw just a single building added to the centre of the park, offering nothing new to the overall park experience at all unless you decide to ride it (and even then returning guests won't bother) None of these did much to make Thorpe a better place in general, they just added another (all be it mostly very good) attraction to the list. I am hoping they think a little differently this time, and build something that incorporates itself in to the rest of the park a little bit. I'm thinking in the same way that Manta at SeaWorld for example is more than just a ride, it's an entire area complete with aquariums, shops and scenery, forming quite a big part of the theme park itself instead of simply being another attraction. I'm hoping whatever they build won't just be a single ride in a given area, but will extend in to its surroundings, and in doing so, redevelop the areas that it inter-twines with. I'm hoping that (assuming this new attraction is in Old Town) some of the ride might go towards the centre of the park, and come with new landscaping and scenery - for example, look at the sheer amount of un/poorly-used space available here. Back to my SeaWorld example - I think it would be a great opportunity to see something on the scale of Manta, which involves the tired and disused areas of Old Town and Slammer being demolished and re-developed in to something fresh and new, maybe even have several attractions on the same site - something like a Manta-style SeaLife aquarium, along with a themed restaurant and nice surrounding scenery in this instance would be good I think. I'm not necessarily saying "I want Manta" - what I'm hoping for is for this new project to be something more than "the cool new ride". I want it to actually change a big portion of Thorpe Park, and become part of the park in general, not to simply add something cool to the side of it. In my opinion, Thorpe needs 'general park refresh' as much as it needs a new attraction, and I think a big project that achieves both could be a good thing and turn the place around a bit.

Such a shame about the state of Duel at the moment. I was a bit shocked how poor it was on Fireworks weekend. Nearly everything was either broken, badly timed, fully lit up when it shouldn't be, or in darkness when it shouldn't be. One section at the start is total darkness so you can’t see anything at all, then the rest of the ride might as well be in broad daylight. The swinging heads (or the one that works at least) ‘swings’ when the car has already gone past, then the mechanism is lit up by a spotlight when the car turns back around towards it and you can see it resetting 🙄 The sound is also dreadful now, with only a handful of speakers actually playing sound here and there. The whole ride is like a parody of a bad ghost train now. There’s a part of the ride near the end where you get a blast of hot air from the left - I’m not sure if it’s a light running very hot?? I thought to myself the other day, would it be such a bad thing if Duel burned down after everyone went home?

It's hilarious but also incredibly sad that the overwhelming response to this thread is just the smell of bins and weed. The place really has gone down the toilet hasn't it.

Does anyone else have these random things in life that just make you think of Thorpe Park? For me, it's these things every time! Dr Pepper I've never been a big fizzy drinks fan, but ever since they used to give out free Dr Pepper at Sun Scream, the taste of it always takes me back to Thorpe Park around 2009ish era! Dolly Parton Every time I hear Dolly Parton I am taken back to Loggers Leap's queue! Water fountains There's a particular smell that seems to come from water fountains in shopping malls - maybe they use the same type of cleaner/chlorine, but the smell always reminds me of Tidal Wave! Arcade machine music This sound is Thorpe Park to me:

Completely agree. The park in general is not in good shape at all is it. The floornumbers in Rush’s loading area and the tarmac near Derren Brown, those 2 things alone - Well, nobody cares. 🤷‍♂️ But I agree with what you say - it’s when everything has this same shabby “meh it’ll do” neglect, the park overall looks dreadful. Another example is that they opened their NEW attraction this season, and used an abandoned ride as the queue line. Nothing says “f*** it that will do” louder than that, does it. I guess it’s down to a lack of funding? because clearly there are people working there who genuinely care. Saw’s new dispatch for example is great, some of the new branding and signage is really lovely, and Trailers was a beautifully made maze - but all of these things fall down when they’re surrounded by neglect, sbno rides and fading rust-covered coasters. I had my worst theme park visit in my life this FN, and to be honest because of that I really don’t want to go back to Thorpe. I will of course go and try any major new ride if they ever get one, but the park has gone so far downhill that it needs a monumental change to turn it around I think. As it stands at the moment, based on my experiences this season, Thorpe Park is not a good day out anymore in my opinion. There are multiple, far better theme parks within easy reach.

Went to the fireworks yesterday to see the season off for another year! The fireworks were probably the best they’ve done yet in my opinion - by far the most impressive display! May have shed a tear at one point if I’m honest 😂 After a very disappointing Thorpe FN visit this was a perfect reminder of why I adore theme parks. The atmosphere before and during the show was great - lots of people from all over the country dancing and having a great time, kids and adults alike, and the show itself was incredible. I’m lucky enough to have been nearly every year for the last 10 or so years, and every time it blows me away how extra the show actually is. The theme park isn’t in great shape however if I’m honest - A lot of major rides were closed, but I understand some are down to parts being stuck in Europe with no lorry drivers to get them here, so perhaps can’t be helped. Duel is also an embarrassment- it felt like we were trundling around an abandoned props warehouse! I really hope they invest in Duel soon, and add some new sit-in restaurants to the park to cater for the mad queues. The park is looking a bit rough around the edges now adays, but the magic is still there I think. Wickerman however, and Nemesis in the dark - WOW. These, along with the incredible fireworks, is what theme parks are all about, just pure fun, leaving you wanting more. What a great way to finish the season! If anyone is reading this is a theme park fan and hasn’t been to Alton Towers Fireworks before - GO. You won’t regret it.