Inferno

Hyperia will be closed for a few days towards the end of September. Wonder what this could be? Perhaps an adjustment to the speed at which the trains enter the station, ahead of the busy Fright Nights? Fingers crossed.

This is so lovely Matt ❤️ Brought back fond memories of my Grandad Keep making memories Matt. I hope you’ve got an ORP with him!

It’s a bit of a weird one this, because it’s not like Thorpe to close a queue before park closing time. Historically they’ve always been really good (and very open) about closing the queues at closing time, not the rides. It’s a point that they themselves have made many times in their “tips” sort of posts, and blogs etc. What’s not helping is that I expect the entire reason for many people’s visit this weekend was to get a night ride on Hyperia, which was then unexpectedly ruined… I suspect basically everyone in the park was planning on joining the queue in the 10 mins prior to closing, which would have resulted in a long queue, pushing the opening hours later and later. It wouldn’t only affect the ride team, there would be engineers, security, admissions, and all sorts I would imagine. All I can think is that the staffing situation is such that they have people working really late and needing to then be in again early to open up again? It wouldn’t be good to have staff going home at midnight for instance, then having to get up again to be in for 8AM - yes I know this happens, and does at my own job, but putting things in place to look after staff is a good thing, if that’s what this is about. I can’t imagine the park is awash with staff at this time of the season, given that September is a quiet time. I suppose Thorpe’s staffing structure also isn’t really setup to deal with late nights either is it, other than Fright Nights, where extras are brought in and special measures are in place, etc? Staff rostering is a nightmare at the best of times, let alone when there’s a sudden change like this. Whatever it is, it’s crap for everyone. But at least it’ll only be while hyperia is new. Would everyone have preferred it if from opening time Hyperia’s queue was advertised as closing 1hr before park close?

It’s a bit of a shame about the late openings being poorly attended again - it seems to be in line with Merlin’s expectations though and it does demonstrate that, as much as we all hate it, staying open until late outside of Halloween isn’t really necessary. It must cause a headache staffing wise, and of course cost more to keep the park open later. As for Rumba closing from the 9th - hasn’t this happened before? I think I recall Rumba being weirdly expensive to run? In which case, since the weather is turning and crowd levels will drop off (bar Halloween) it makes sense to close it I suppose. A bit of a shame though that we lose a ride from the lineup even if it’s quiet

What does everyone think of Saw’s new queue structure? I think it’s a great step in the right direction. Plenty of shade in the summer, and shelter from the rain. I’m surprised this hasn’t been done on any of the other rides to be honest. Especially Hyperia where something generic could have gone down well. Saw’s new one is very rough and ready, but I suppose they can get away with it given the theme. I think on any other ride it would need a different approach. Great to see positive steps being taken still even mid way through the season.

Stealth really can be good for getting people through can't it. I do feel for the people who bottle it when they get to the station! I hope they changed their mind and went on in the end!

That's a bit of a shame - I wonder if this is the onset of the late-season "urgh" that seems to come about towards the end of Summer... The little things like this seem to slip a bit at Thorpe as I imagine staff grow more tired with managing it all day in day out! On the subject of TWDTR - TPG have uploaded a lot of photos from inside the building, with layouts of the corridors and rooms etc - very interesting! I've always wanted to have a free-wander around that building to see what it's all like. https://themeparkguide.co.uk/archive/The-Walking-Dead-The-Ride-Behind-The-Scenes

Love the new website - looking forward to having a bit of a trip down memory lane when all the Fright Nights archives are on!

What a bizarre situation this is… you can buy a NameDrop? I’m baffled.

Matt N: "Virginia Reel 1 was too intense for me" 😁 I didn't like it either Matt. Great post as always, and you had some great weather!

That's very true, although I'd assume the hint JB was suggesting there might be for a longer term project for the island. I imagine if there's going to be a coaster going on there, the planning would take a good 4-5 years if Hyperia is anything to go by, so if they're just planning it out now then it could be a while away. That leaves a bit of time in the meantime for a smaller flat ride or something else perhaps where Slammer is? It's so exciting that Thorpe is getting some investment after all these years.

I agree, my visit this year was a busy one, and from what I've seen it's certainly been busy throughout the year. Alton Towers is such an odd place to me. They seem to have bouts of good operations and success which appear to lead to delusions of grandure - resulting in situations like the seven million hotel rooms that are currently at the resort, but then in the next breath they close half of the hotels over winter and cut the hours in the park, even on peak event days, and keep rides closed for very long periods of time (Hex for instance, I mean come on). It always seems to be a very oddly run place to me, lurching from a "We're a massive world-class resort" attitude to "We're closing early because someone's called in sick" sort of thing... I think at smaller parks, cutting an hour off the end of quiet days isn't so bad, but given AT's size it really does have an impact on the day even on the quietest of days. I do understand that staffing etc is an issue, but with the very well-connected and well thought out Universal probably opening in the coming years, I think really they need to get a grip of all this and decide if they want to be a realistic competitor, or be a small regional theme park where these sort of cuts-to-hours, staggered openings and ride/hotel closures are more normal. That said, if the issue is down to staffing, that isn't a problem I'd like to be tasked with solving... It can't be an easy place to recruit for being where it is. As stated above, maybe cutting 30mins off the start of the day would be better? I don't know.

That space behind Stealth has just got to be used for a coaster, or at least a large scale and very worth while investment - they must have spent a fortune on dredging etc to make the man-made island there. It's mad that it's just been sat there empty for all these years after investing in creating it in the first place.

A bit of a weird question… but one I’ve thought of a few times over the years. When a ride unexpectedly goes down for a few weeks, for example Wicker Man at the moment due to the fire, that suddenly leaves a team of staff stranded. I assume it must take a team of around 15ish people to staff a ride like Wicker Man permanently, considering shifts, days off, etc. that’s quite a few people knocking about all of a sudden with no ride to operate! For those who have worked at the parks, what happens to these staff during the time their ride is closed? I assume they are seconded to other rides, although surely they are then over-staffed on those rides (if that is such a thing these days) with people who may not be trained to do much on those rides? I hope it’s not a case of hours being cut or people being displaced on to other departments? Likewise with the shorter delays of a few hours, what happens to the staff in the meantime?

Galactica having a theoretical throughput of 1,500 an hour is just so hysterically optimistic.

Very strange. I can’t imagine there will be much to do in the way of repairs. It was only a small amount of white whispy smoke. Maybe a smoke machine malfunction or something? Or some tool has dropped a battery pack or vape thing?

Finally been on Hyperia - and wow, what a bloody ride. I can not actually believe we have this thing in the UK. It’s a monster. You really can see it from everywhere. I particularly like the view of the lift hill as you walk down the path towards it from Inferno‘s direction. The ride may be short in duration, but I was out of my seat for 6 - 8 business days on my first ride alone. I mean even just going through the stall, you’re airborne for about 20 minutes. The seat’s only purpose is to support your ass while you climb the lift - after that, you’re up against the lap bar until the gift shop. The first drop just doesn’t let up, and gives some very weird and different airtime. It’s also FAST throughout. Of course I knew it was >80mph before riding, but until you get on there you really don’t think about how fast that actually is. Even through some of the higher points of the ride, which look quite slow off ride, you’re flying (literally) through them at huge speed. I can honestly say I was speechless the first time I hit the brakes. It’s so unique and just something totally different for us here in the UK. Unfortunately the plaza and queue are a bit of a mess, and clearly unfinished. Hopefully this is something that will be sorted before next season, because it would really level the ride up even more. Also the speed at which the train comes back to the station could do with some work to help with waiting times. I’m very impressed. An excellent ride which is perfect for Thorpe. It’s fantastic to have that new ride buzz at Thorpe again! I can’t wait to see it lit up for Fright Nights. It’s encouraging to see the permanent lights already there!

Thorpe are absolutely smashing it out of the park this year. Fingers crossed these late hours are well attended, because I seem to remember “Summer Nights” being a bit of a flop for them a few years ago - my visits were certainly very quiet in the evening

I must admit I’ve always thought it was a bit weird, a big brand like that running a closed Facebook group of all things, for pass holders only. Theres really no need for it. Yes, updates are great, but the same can be achieved in other ways, and they can include non pass holders too. Giving customers direct access to departments is also far from ideal. Really everyone should be going through the same channels for everything to start with. It’s just the way the world works, and it’s better for both staff and customer if done well.

Thank you Josh! I’m loving all the details behind the scenes! A proper nerdy enthusiast binge this thread. I kind of agree with that last comment there - I don’t think it matters at all if the queue times are slightly off. At the end of the day, the queue time board really only serves to help you decide “ok let’s do it” or “woah nope not this time” - it’s a nice to know, but an estimate really is enough.

Matt this is absolutely glorious. It’s a weirdly interesting topic that actually has a massive impact on a visit. I’d love to know how queue times are actually measured - or is it literally just a glance and an estimate? I remember some fanfare years ago about Saw the Ride having some sort of Bluetooth thing that tracks where people’s phones are, but that has always sounded like a lot of bs to me 🤷‍♂️

Great post! A bit of a shame that it was slightly disappointing, but the night ride on The Beast sounds amazing. Love moments like that when you’re reminded why you love all this stuff so much ❤️

The Passing returns - hopefully they’ve at least shaken off the head bags and charged the iPod shuffles before we go again.

Oh….? So you’re supposed to show up at the start of the time slot? What, literally every single person on that slot is supposed to show up then? even by their own bizarre logic, it doesn’t work… Because there will still be the same number of people queuing, it’s just they’ll all arrive at once, meaning the queue would start off gargantuan and decrease before the next slot starts. God I miss the days of free mazes, you just turn up and bloody queue… what a concept.

Wow well done Matt, that’s fantastic!! Congratulations! 🍻 Well done for sticking at it and achieving that First - amazing.