Inferno

Apologies for the double post..... One more argument in favour of a "thrill park".. No matter how much a Theme Park invests, realistically they don't change that much, do they? If I look back to my childhood, many of the rides I enjoyed as a kid are still at the parks today. Which is great by the way, but bear with me..... One of the good things about Merlin's 3 park cluster near London is that they keep theme park visits suitable and 'fresh' for many years. For example... You'd take your young kids to Legoland for a few years, and get to know the place, ride everything. That's great. Then as the kids get slightly older, Chessington is just down the road. Again, an entire 'new' park to experience for a few years. After a while the kids will want to go on some bigger rides, well... Thorpe is right there next door, and once again offer's a full park of 'new' attractions to ride. A new park to experience every few years! If for example all 3 parks offered a range of thrill and "family" rides, that would be great too, however might guests feel they're always going back to the same places after a few years? I think it's a really nice way for kids/families to have something different to visit every few years rather than keep going back to the same places. You can't beat that "first time in a park" feeling, and that's what kids get with Merlin's London 3.

I think this is a really interesting point, and I agree. I must admit for a few years I did have the opinion that a "family park" would attract people with more money to spend... I always thought that teens and young adults would spend less, and families more.. But now I've got a little Inferno myself.. I'm not actually sure that's the case. I'd estimate I might actually have less disposable income than ever - even back when I worked part time in Starbucks I had more disposable income, and wouldn't think twice about filling up the car and heading to Thorpe every other week, buying lunch and merch there etc.. When little Inferno (I guess I'm going with this now) is old/tall enough we'll definitely head to the appropriate parks, but I can't see we're going to have the money to buy food and merch there very often. Tickets alone will be a budget-blower to be honest with you, and I imagine many others are in a similar position to me. (I know there will be many families with loads to spend, just from my perspective) Anyway... ahem, TANGENT. I agree - I don't see the issue with having a "thrill park" actually. Yes, having a mixture of attractions (like Towers) will attract a wider audience, but they've proven that targeting 'thrill hunters' works. 2009ish was an unbelievable success for them. I don't think Thorpe's problems are that they don't attract enough families. I think the problems are a) the fact it's a bit of a sh** hole... (the "no drugs, our rides are thrilling enough!" sign above the entrance says it all) b) the lack of investment, meaning the "young people" aren't as compelled to book and travel there like they were when there was a new ride. --- It will be interesting to see what effect the energy crisis and cost of living increases have on this situation actually. I expect the traditionally expensive 'family day out' (Legoland / Chessington / etc) might be affected, meanwhile Thorpe with their new coaster might still attract a lot of teenagers who might still live with parents or shared housing etc.

The IPs baffle me to be honest. Thorpe's ones are all so embarrisingly dated now... Actually I'm sure all of them are completely dead in the water now aren't they? Why do they keep paying for them? (I assume they're still paying for them? Who knows). The latest major attraction being "themed around" a magician from years gone by is just bonkers isn't it. Do many of the younger guests even know who he is anymore? Angry Birds is the worst offender for me though. I realise that it's is arguably "still going" to some extent, but really Angry Birds was only a big deal back in 2009. That was 13 years ago... That means all the teenagers at the park were 5 years old or younger when Angry Birds was "a thing". Madness. I'd love to see the back of the IPs at Thorpe. Saw I think still stands up because the ride has almost become Saw, rather than the other way around, but the rest are just so outdated it's hopeless. Was there some beef here or something? 🤔

Genuinely think these toilets are the best addition this year. Looks good! Telling people it's a pedal is such an essential part of a day at Thorpe isn't it 😂

Ohh interesting thread! I agree with Merlin’s parks being stressful. As much as I adore Alton Towers, it isn’t a relaxing day at all is it. Especially on days with shorter hours. Chessington can be another stressful place with low capacity rides and high crowds, and that’s going to become much worse with their new one train coaster. I’d say Thorpe CAN be more chilled than Towers sometimes, but can really swing the other way depending on crowds etc. I think Fastrack sales dramatically adds to the stress and is a major downfall of Merlin’s parks. As for relaxing parks - Disneyland Paris for sure. I think Seaworld has got to be the most relaxing park I’ve ever been to though. (Aquatica if we are including water parks!)

Inferno's Bose cannons have been an issue since at least 2009 when I started reading these forums. They did turn them up a bit (I guess) a few years ago, but they weren't right even then. I think they were off for several years prior to that? I completely agree with you - I can never understand why things like this are just left broken for.. well.. decades actually. Very frustrating because the music is really important in my opinion. I've done a bit of armchair maintenance and it looks like those cannons go for about £600 now adays. It surely wouldn't cost very much to buy some new ones and get them installed. It's just such a shame because I can remember waiting to get on Inferno as a teen, and hearing the bass absolutely booming in the station. It was really something when they worked actually! The old Inferno theme song must have been written with those bass canons in mind. It was glorious 😂

Oh! If it was like this last year then I didn't even notice a difference. I'm secretly kind of a fan of this though.. They can take a few meters off the top too while they're at it haha!

Icon Park have released 2 statements. Looks like they're open again as normal (except Freefall), blaming the tenants. (I guess different companies operate different areas of the park)

This is absolutely awful. I unfortunately saw the video this morning before I had really realised this had happened and it's been haunting me ever since. Really, really horrible thing to happen to the poor guy and everyone who witnessed it. I don't want to watch it again to confirm but it does look like the gondola hit the brakes towards the bottom of the drop, and the poor lad simply slipped out underneath the restraint at huge speed. It hasn't even been 18 months since the previous victim fell to their death from the Star Flyer in the same death trap park. Makes me wonder how seriously safety has been taken at Icon Park...

Yeah I agree about the roaming actors being an odd choice. The brief seems to have been "VIBES. YEAH, JUST DO VIBES ALL YEAR." It's good they have them though - and I assume it takes away the recruitment problem when it comes to hiring for events? I very much look forward to vibing with them in a few weeks before soaking up the vibes in the Vibes Bar & Kitchen. Might even treat myself to a vibe on Vibena Rumba Rap-vibes.

Great article 😊 100% agree about the decade of consistency. Colossus is the one that’s always just ‘there’. TP’s backbone. The most “rollercoaster” rollercoaster they have. There’s something about it, love it or not, that just delivers every time, and even though it had the inversion record I think it’s always been good enough / wild enough for people to see past that. While Colossus may not be the best coaster at Thorpe, I think a lot of people would be sad to see it go. I don’t really ride Colossus much anymore tbh because of the throughput, but it wouldn’t be Thorpe without the unmistakable CHHTCHTCHT every few minutes, and a walk down “heartline avenue” 😂 which actually is a brilliant part of the park (especially if they’re going to tart it up) There’s been talk of theming repairs taking place soon. Could this signal Colossus is here to stay for a while?

Rumba is a weird one isn't it.. I really loved the old soundtrack and bright colours, I think because it sort of fit the ride. Rumba hasn't been a very good ride for many years, so the colour scheme, Christmas lights in the tunnel and the upbeat/retro music just fit in, because it was nothing serious and just a bit of fun. I think the new-style, more serious, colour scheme and IMAScore music were really nice, but the ride itsself didn't really fit in with them.. I think if the ride was a lot better / more serious it would have worked, but as it stood, it didn't seem to fit.. A lot of people missed the old music because that was arguably one of the best things about the ride! Hopefully this is a little more than just bringing back the old colourway and maybe the music.. But if not, at least it'll have its retro and nostalgic feel back if nothing else.

I've always wondered that too. I think they used to start earlier and things were usually just about ready for opening day. Maybe it's all down to staffing? I guess there's hardly anyone there at all over Winter, and they hire people / contractors etc a month before opening to keep costs down?

Thorpe Park is like the kid doing their homework on the bus isn’t it.. But I suppose at least the homework is being done now adays! I can just never understand why everything’s always left until the last possible second! Some really nice changes here though. I really like these videos they’re putting out. promising to hear that they’re listening to feedback now!

Oh dear Inferno's queue is a bit of a mess isn't it. Good news about the lift though, it's been so long I forgot it had one. Hopefully Saw's will be next. It can't be that big a job can it? It's a lift... Fix it people! Glad to hear about the old Depth Charge building going as well, it was very dated! No doubt Mr Silkstone's video will be out in the coming days giving a proper overview of everything. There's even time to rename Fin's Vibe 360 and re-do the all the park sign posts again before opening day.

Wow, 10 years! Love the article. Honestly it’s terrifying how fast that’s gone. It doesn’t feel like a decade has passed since standing there under the lift hill thinking how cool the area was. A few shots from my first visit in March that year! So shiny and bare!

Wow - great to see the proper plans. Still can’t believe this is actually (hopefully) happening at Thorpe. Lapbars as well - YES. Theming doesn’t seem to be a thing does it. that would surely be in the plans, right?

Hmm.. £15 for spinny Icon? I wonder how well organised it will be? I just remember Backwards Swarm was a shambles especially on busy days, but Icon's station is much smaller, and it's only on the 3rd train.. Maybe it being an upcharge will help with that. Backwards Swarm was free, and even that was a flash in the pan that only lasted 2 seasons.. I wonder how this will go down?

Absolutely LOVE reading up about these! Thank you for taking the time to write them up! Great to hear the experiences in the other mazes. I agree with what you've said there @JoshC. about how vivid the memories still are being a good indication of just how good the BIA experiences were in the early years. I'll get my Studio13 BIA online soon

@JoshC. Really looking forward to hearing your experience with it! I did Studio 13 the following year too (I think on the first night BIA was offered that year?) and was considering writing that up.. Will be interesting to compare experiences! I agree, it's looking unlikely that something like this would return.. But we can hope!

As we approach the start of the 2022 season, I thought I'd do a few blog post ramblings on some nostalgic Thorpe memories I have. I started off with Dr Pepper Sun Scream, now it's time for Brave it Alone back when it opened in 2013... I have hazy memories about this, but recently I found an old post I made after I experienced it and thought I'd spruce it up a bit and share! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - We did Cabin in the Woods way back on Sunday 13th October 2013, when the experience was brand new (and in my opinion at its best!) So... Here's what happened! After park closing at 10 pm, we met the Director, his assistant, and some park managers along with the other 'brave-it-aloners' at the bar area in Clypso BBQ, where we were read a very long and elaborate warning speech while having a drink. We then had to sign an agreement that stated that 'you are prepared for anything to happen' and that 'TP takes no responsibility for anything', blah blah... After around 20 minutes, when the guests had all left the park, the 10 or so of us were then given one of the classic "Don't wet yourself" ponchos to protect clothes from fake blood, dirt, facepaint and bodily fluids (yep, really). We were then split up and were walked with a park manager to our chosen mazes, where we were asked further questions such as "are you aware that literally anything could happen in here", and "please you must tell us now if you have any reason to not experience this"... At this point the nerves were setting in - why did these warnings keep coming up? What on earth was going to happen inside? After waiting outside the cabin door for a few moments listening to the actors inside, I stepped in to the cabin's first room, the one with the 4 doors, which was brightly lit. I was alone. Suddenly the lights turn off for a second, then back on, but now there are 2 actors standing right in my face! Do any of you remember the guy who played Les Coogan back in 2011/2012? Well I had asked him if he's still known as Les Coogan earlier in the day, But I'll come back to that in a minute. 'Les' pushed me backwards in to a chair in the corner of the room, where I was screamed at and told of the horrors I was about to see. The chair was then tipped backwards and I was led on my back! This was amazingly intense. The interrogation continued. The actors were hillbillies of some sort, so there was... Umm... dribble.... lol! I was then told to crawl in to the next room. Here I was left alone with a single actor who after a while forced me to 'kiss the moose' on the wall, similar to the film. Interrogation went on for a couple of minutes, lights flashed on and off, the actor started getting crazy bouncing off the walls, when my friend crawled in to the room with an actor riding on his back! (I did laugh at this!) I snuck out in to the next room at this point... This room had a person in a plain white mask, and was one of the most surreal parts. She forced me against a wall and slithered around me... very odd! The lights then went out, flashed back on, revealing her mask right up in my face. This happened a few times with her appearing and disappearing at different points. I was then grabbed by another actor who looked panicked, saying "don't look, just get over here". He stood facing me and grabbed me by the shoulders, then pushed backwards (quite fast!) through several flaps and doors until my back banged against a wall!! I was then pushed (very violently) back down on to the floor by a different actor, and told to continue onwards. This next part is a blur to be honest, but I did a lot of walking, crawling, being pulled and pushed around, had lots of jump scares, until I reached the spinning tunnel, which had 2 female clowns inside... Both clowns had 'penis shaped' balloons which they, errm, 'rubbed' me with in various ways... Yeah I'll leave that to your imagination... They then taunted me with them and popped them in my ears. One of the clowns then got behind me, wrapped herself around me and held me still, while the other licked my face and neck while the other laughed in my ear. This was very uncomfortable and weird!!! CLOWNS!?! All of this while the tunnel was spinning around me! I can't remember what happened between here and the final room., however when I did reach the final room, the actor who played Les Coogan in previous years (remember from earlier?) stormed up to me, with about 5 other actors in tow! They each took hold of one of my limbs, picked me up and put me flat on my back on the floor.... 'Les' then completely went crazy!! They were dragging me around, and Les's final words to me were "DON'T YOU ****ING DARE CALL ME LES COOGAN AGAIN BOY. GET OUT OF HERE NOW." I was then pretty much forced to apologise to 'Les', and literally thrown in to a door leading out of the maze! The look on the faces of the park staff was hilarious when I came out! I particularly remember one of the managers looking genuinely worried! It was absolutely fantastic and much more intense than I could have imagined. The whole experience lasted around 10 minutes. Worth every penny of the £15! Bargain. I have probably missed bits here, and probably haven't done it justice, but you get the basic idea. We then all made our way back from the various mazes and met back at the 'bar' in the BBQ, where we all had a good chat about it! Some of the other guests had done Asylum, which was totally mad apparently. They were all drenched in fake blood, and said that many of the asylum patients were completely naked. Lots of 'adult' themes going on in there, including a performance in the bed scene which I'm not sure would hold up today. Some of the others had done Saw Alive which was apparently amazing as well. I can't describe how good Brave it Alone was in its first year! Genuinely terrifying to have literally ALL of the actors focusing on you the entire time.

Wow, it sounds SO good. I've weirdly tried to avoid watching a POV because of just how epic everyone says it is - even if it's years away, I'm waiting to see it in person, and can't wait! The queues even after all this time seem absolutely mad, but even so it sounds like it's worth the wait.

There's been some speculation about the key referring to the Netflix series Locke and Key, but that skull and horns doesn't seem to fit with that? Interesting!

Wow, congratulations Dr Josh!! What have you been studying?

Really interesting to read this.. Thank you. I haven't been to Disney since Genie but it sounds like an absolute fiasco on top of existing cracks that are beginning to show. I must admit the pull towards Disney is beginning to wear off for me... Don't get me wrong, I very much look forward to going back, but I can't get onboard with all this pre-planning that now needs to happen before a visit. Genie, dining plans, dining reservations, magic bands, arriving hours early to see shows... I don't really understand why you now seem to need to plan and invest so heavily before even leaving for Disney. I understand that you can use quick service and standby queues etc (cringe at all this Disney lingo by the way), but they've 'imagineered' it so that you don't have as good a time as you would if you'd jumped through the Disney hoops and payed the extras. We're planning on going to Orlando in the next few years hopefully, and watching various videos and reading posts like @Mark9's above just stresses me out 😂 and really only makes me look more in the direction of Universal etc, where you can just book park tickets and have a great time. Remember those days? 🙄 Maybe I'm just becoming an old fart, but I just cba to get the degree in Disney planning that now seems to be required before a visit. When you search online/YouTube on Disney, it's all about planning/diningplans/reservations.. Ugh, who cares? Is it that worth it? I'm not sure it is.