Inferno

Good idea for a thread I agree with Detonator - the wait at the top is so tense. All drop towers freak me out, but Detonator is the worst (or best, depends how you look at it!) Still get nervous every time. In terms of actually being scared though - as in "oh my god am I actually going to survive this thing", it would have to be either the Wild Mouse at Blackpool, or the Bomb Bay at Wet 'n' Wild Orlando.

The pop corn is a random one... Obviously they've got an enormous backstock of it! The Fright Nights poster though - need that.

I love the idea of the Swarm's theme! Alien invasion, crashed plane and helicopter, near miss with a smoking wing, fireball explosions, the whole thing based on a panicked evacuation.... Sounds bloody awesome. And can you remember the buildup to opening? Crazy alien dude predicting the end, viral videos of the start of the attack... God the potential was unbelievable! The trouble is, a lot of it is totally wasted... Nobody 'gets' what the hell is supposed to be happening... It's just "that ride that has the plane crashed and that". A lot of it just too half-arsed to be noticed. I think the station building is absolutely amazing, but ruined by the lack of a roof! The atmosphere could have been amazing in there if it was enclose and made fairly dark. Same goes for the helicopter - it's fantastic that it's there, but it's 'plonked' in the middle of nowhere where nobody can see it. Therefore, again, wasted. The queue doesn't help with the atmosphere either. Cattle pen nightmare! That said, I do love the Swarm. Definitely one of the most badass themes going, and I actually love the ride its self. The music is fantastic as well!

I just don't get this Winter Wonderland at all.... To me it's just a glorified fairground with disgustingly overpriced rides. But tbh my opinion is irrelevant because I can't afford those prices anyway!

Literally thought I was watching an accident there! Madness. I bet it's amazing though!

Yeah I agree, the gist of the movie is too complicated to be translated in to a ride I think. Fair play to them if they can pull something off though. Personally I'd like to see a lighter theme for the next big ride. Thorpe is the only UK Merlin park that doesn't have SeaLife built in in some way - I would like to see something along the lines of the theme for SeaWorld's Manta on the new island. Some of the queue could be in glass tunnels through big tanks, etc, and the island could have a nice SeaLife centre and themed shop too! That would be fantastic imo. Perhaps an Atlantis theme?? As for the ride its-self, I don't know. I'd just like to see a nice fresh and lively theme BTW didn't Swarm plans show up in early spring 2011?? So I suppose if the 2015 coaster is happening we'll see plans within a few months.

Thanks for sharing this! Makes me happy that it was so well supported.

I think this is a fantastic idea! As for the issues with cost... Merlin have an enormous marketing and PR operation! Surely they can cobble together a little video? In fact they've just released this one which is really well put together! Looks so professional! So they're definitely capable of doing it.

Being shot in the head is worse than being shot in the foot... Does that make being shot in the foot ok though? Nope! Still sucks.

Disgusting isn't it. And the thing is, it happens time and time again. Always exactly the same story whenever it gets busy, especially halloween half term. I think Thorpe would simply argue that the Fastrack queue is "considerably shorter than the normal queue", which to be fair is true... Still terrible though! The answer is to go to Fright Nights in early October when it's quiet, then do Scarefest later in the month when the parks are busier - because Alton seem to run the whole Fastrack thing better than Thorpe! It's such a shame that Thorpe are still unable to handle a crowd

So it's spent the morning banging out bolts at enough force to chip a roof tile, then was "fixed" within an hour or so... Somehow I can't quite believe that cracked roof was caused by this incident... Surely that would be an enormous safety issue?!

Oooh dear, I'm supposed to be going again next weekend... I hope it won't be the same!

I guess this is about trying to prevent people from cancelling their trips more than anything, because the news would have you believe that the apocalypse is coming. Where is Les Coogan when we need him?

I agree that a strobe would be better, but the solid light would still be pretty blinding for those on the ride though. Th13teen's camera blinds you as it flashes at night, so imagine what the Flasher would be like!

The cheer when it re-opens always cracks me up as well! I agree about the flasher, that would be great in the dark. They're obviously having an absolute nightmare with this ride I found the Smiler absolutely incredible in the dark! The Marmaliser's screen does light up the entire area

I honestly wouldn't worry about it! I mean how many times have you been there over the years and the barcodes have failed to scan... They usually just have a look at the ticket and allow you to go through.

Seems to be only affecting the station though :/

Looks like this is now resolved. Not ideal really is it on a day as busy as today. The usual hilarious pictures of the guest services queue are beginning to appear on Facebook! What is their problem with power cuts? I swear they shouldn't happen as much as they do.

I am usually the first to slate Saw for how rough it is... But my couple of rides on it at the weekend were literally as smooth as The Swarm! I have no idea what's happened! Must be down to the individual cars I suppose.

Yeah it's just normal price, £24

Yes you can I was allowed to use it.

I've done Brave it Alone They made us swear that we wouldn't reveal anything about the experience on social media & forums so I don't think we should say much tbh... All I can say is that, as a fan of Thorpe Park, you can not miss it. It's much more full-on than I thought it was going to be! PLEASE book yourself on one of these!