Inferno

Ugh. I've tried so hard 😆

Thorpe is full of hidden secrets and Easter eggs, and the internet is full of videos and websites listing them (this is one of the better ones). I used to consider myself a bit of an expert on Thorpe Park - I knew every little detail, in ever corner of the island, but my attendance dropped a little in recent years and now I'm not sure I'm quite the nerd I once was! I learned of a few new ones from that article! I thought It'd be interesting to hear if you know of any little-known hidden details (Easter eggs) at Thorpe Park? My favourite one is probably the high water line on the KFC building from the tidal wave!

This is such an interesting thread. Totally agree with the points raised here about lack of direction, poor marketing and lack of investment. I think, to an extent, Saw the ride happened to Thorpe Park. When Saw opened, the park was buzzing. The park was PACKED all year, and the new coaster seemed to have an almost legendary reputation across the country. Similar to the Smiler, I remember frequently seeing people wandering around, even down here in the west-country, wearing Saw the Ride lanyards, bags and tshirts. Thorpe and Saw seemed to come up in conversation, and the adverts were all over the TV and online. You couldn't miss it. Riding on the wave of 10 years of huge investment, Thorpe Park was almost entirely brand new, with a seemingly ever-growing selection of rides. With the draw of the new rides, along with the incredible value of 2for1 day tickets and cheap annual passes, Thorpe had truly hit the jackpot by building Saw. They were untouchable. They could do no wrong. "Build it and they will come" seemed to be the winning formula, and who could argue? It worked! Then The Swarm opened, and even though it was a very good and well received ride, for reasons I still don't understand Merlin declared it a failure. I'm not sure they knew what to do - everything they'd done up until this point had been a huge success. Had the bubble burst? It started to unravel.. I feel like since Saw, there's been this attitude that if it has a sticker on it with some bought-in brand, it will succeed - it's bound to, right? I mean, it worked with Saw! And to be fair, Lionsgate Fright Nights started very well, we had some very unique mazes, with huge crowds loving them. Then the bubble really did burst. The woefully embarrassing Angry Birds land arrived, the desperately poor I'm a Celeb maze opened, the optimistic and well-meaning Walking Dead rebranding came and went without much fanfare, and the dreadful Derren Brown's Ghost Train pulled in to the park about as gracefully as a delayed Southern Trains service. Then came the maze that absolutely nobody wanted, Black Mirror, I mean who actually wants this stuff? Time after time, it feels like the park have been desperately trying to replicate Saw on a budget, by sticking branded labels on things to try to sell them (especially with Walking Dead), but it just isn't working. What makes matters worse though, in the pursuit of the Saw the Ride holy grail, the rest of the park has been forgotten about and left to rot. Literally. I hope Exodus can buck the trend, and remind the powers that be that people ultimately want a great day out on some exciting rides that will stand the test of time, not a list of brands and TV shows from 5 years ago to take a selfie in front of. I'm hopeful that Exodus marks a definitive end to the nonsense, and the park can flourish again on their own merit.

Really though.. Does anyone have any predictions for 2022? I suppose there won't be much changing at all considering Exodus is around the corner, and of course nothing has been announced or hinted at. I'd assume it'll be another year heavily focussing on events? I did see on Instagram recently they put out a 'would you prefer' poll, with 2 styles of circus branding for a new Carnival event. (Probably should have taken a screenshot) #BIGTOP2K22 I'm beginning to wonder if it'll even open in March now due to Covid - there's so much unknown isn't there!

Yes I definitely think it is. Since moving out of my parents' house around 10 years ago I haven't had a TV licence at all, and I don't think I've watched any live TV since. The idea of scheduling my evening around a TV show coming on to the telly at a certain time is a mad thought to me. We've all become so used to everything being on demand! For me the only thing I miss about traditional TV is watching the F1 live. Other than that, I'm not all that bothered.

I sincerely hope it’s not Doctor bloody Who.. or any IP for that matter. Thorpe have been kidding themselves since 2009, trying a thousand different IPs which just haven’t worked out. I hope they drop the IP fad now. Apart from Saw, It hasn’t worked. Original themes are so much better! Good news to hear there has been mention of Slammer and surrounding buildings being sorted.

I suppose it could be a launch 🤔 Although that could make the already fast layout even faster. who knows at this stage I guess God I hope the first drop isn’t trimmed 😐 That’s a good point about the western style Burger King and toilets - I really hope those are either rethemed or replaced. Old Town BK isn’t really a nice place is it. A new restaurant would be much better now, it’s very small and cramped and a bit 90s. I was originally hoping this project was going to include the development of that entire corner of the park rather than just “a ride stuck on the side of it”. I’d like to see Slammer removed, all the western buildings gone, and have the ride properly surrounded by a nice new area, with a decent shop and maybe a new restaurant. Here’s hoping that still happens. It would be a shame to have such a big ride and not finish it off. Come on Thorpe - please do it well and don’t half arse it like you have with basically everything else for the last 9 years.

Pack it in HAHA! Tbh I thought the same, I don’t understand stuff like that - it’s just a bit awkward and uncomfortable for no reason isn’t it 😂 @Matt N That’s a good point about Goliath. That is quite a short layout isn’t it, but seems like a great ride. Judging by the POVs though it still seems to be longer than Exodus. I guess we need to take the recreations with a pinch of salt though. I still have a feeling the layout will change. It’s dawning on me how absolutely enormous this ride actually is on the skyline.. I mean good lord look at it compared to Colossus. I’m feeling positive about it and very much looking forward to seeing more!!

Same here - it looks like something quite unique doesn’t it. And to be fair if this was a tall dive machine, this would be considered a long layout. My opinion has changed quite a lot throughout the day. I was secretly hoping for a double down maybe before the brake run at the end as a tribute to Loggers! Maybe that’ll find its way in to the final plans 😂

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?