Inferno

Fantastic news about Zodiac seemingly making a comeback soon.

It seems Thorpe are a lot more prepared for the season ahead than Alton Towers, which has several rides closed for the foreseeable future, and is continuing to struggle to open rides at opening time every day.

Hopefully Thorpe will be able to continue with their good operations and availability that they’ve had for several years now. It’s encouraging to see only 2 rides listed to be closed, for just 2 days at that.

Fantastic news about Zodiac seemingly making a comeback soon.

It seems Thorpe are a lot more prepared for the season ahead than Alton Towers, which has several rides closed for the foreseeable future, and is continuing to struggle to open rides at opening time every day.

Hopefully Thorpe will be able to continue with their good operations and availability that they’ve had for several years now. It’s encouraging to see only 2 rides listed to be closed, for just 2 days at that.

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Ride availability page updated to show that Tidal Wave and Zodiac will be closed this weekend. It specifically states 21-22nd March so will be interesting to see if they open next week.

Zodiac was closed most of last season and has last operated in June (?) I believe but looks like it'll be making a return this season. The gondolas which were removed last season have been added back on and it looks like all the gondolas have been tidied up. All the old branding Thorpe logos have been removed.

Boarding is going up:



It was a rehearsal day today. I fully expect the whole ride to be covered, the sign to be removed and the boarding to have something on by opening.

Looks like the fire effect might not be dead in the water (pun intended) quite yet...


Here's what it looked like before:

A big shame they didn't finish it this year. Strange decision, the rest of it looks so good!


Not sure its been mentioned but Passholder day has been announced for next Sunday 22nd. Hours are 11am-5pm which is a shame as we got 11am-7pm last year. No night rides on passholder day this year.

Shame its closing 1 year before its big 40, and we didn't get a last chance to ride (it definitely said returning 2026 on the queue boards) but budgets have clearly changed and forced it to close.

I'm not surprised and do think its the right decision. Its by far the worst rapids in the UK and it's a shadow of its former self. The more recent changes it went through took all the fun it had left out of it, removing the fun soundtrack and changing to dull colours.

Last year, it was hardly open anyway so it just isn't worth the resource getting it open anymore. Whats the point in getting it through winter maintenance and ages staff training for the sake of a couple of months. Then when it is open, you have the huge running costs + heavily staffed. I'd rather have the rapids closed than cuts elsewhere on park.

My favorite memory hands down is when they added that huge fire hose type water effect near the start of the ride. That didn't last long 🤣

Rumba was always good fun in my early years of visiting Thorpe so sad to see another Thorpe classic close. RIP Rumba ❤️

I wonder if it’s something that became a victim of its own success, and because of that just spiralled out of control over the years.

Many parks can be busy but still have fast moving queues, and actually to be honest if theoretically Merlin somehow abolished RAP (and fastrack) all together, you could almost argue that queuing would barely be an issue for anyone at all, even on busy days, because the single queue would simply just keep moving at a pretty fast pace, at least on the high capacity rides anyway.

I wonder if the issue is that over the years RAP and Fastrack have made standby queues at UK Merlin parks appear unbearable on peak days, causing RAP to appear more essential…. Which in turn causes queues to worsen…. Which in turn causes RAP to appear even more essential… and so on.

Just a thought. But I do think this idea that standby queues on peak days can be silly might be the reason RAP is relied upon by so many.

Looks like it is happening, with this being a project that was tendered over a year ago...

Something that I often find weird is how much the height restrictions can differ between similar rides at different parks.

For example, to ride Marauders Mayhem or Dobble Teaparty you have to be 1.1M tall, but Mad Hatter’s tea party at DLP, essentially the same ride, can literally be ridden by a newborn baby as there are no restrictions.

That same newborn baby could also ride Pirates of the Caribbean with its drops and spooky scenes, but would have to wait until they’re 0.9M to ride Curse at Alton Manor.

Similarly Runaway Mine Train at Alton Towers has a min height of 1.3 meters, but the likes of the far more intense Wickerman and Big Thunder Mountain is only 1.2. Although Wicker does have individual restraints rather than the single bar between 2 people on runaway and BTM

Tower of Terror can surprisingly be ridden by someone just 102CM tall. So most 4 year old children can ride that before they’re allowed on the teacups at AT & TP.

Is anyone else aware of any bizarre height restrictions, or any of the reasoning behind some of them?

For the record I’m not arguing against any of these restrictions, clearly there’s a reason for them, I just find it an odd and interesting quirk.

I agree it is a huge shame that there is quite literally nothing going on.

Although to be fair over the last decade there has been a lot of rubbish advertised as “new” - the various year-round mazes and some of the events for example. The absence of those sort of things isn’t that bad in my opinion, and realistically something new isn’t needed every year. Not many parks do that do they.

In recent years they have also made a lot of improvements to the areas other than the rides - the toilets to name one example.
Thorpe is probably one of the (if not THE) best Merlin park in terms of general upkeep.

I agree though that it is a shame there doesn’t appear to be anything at all happening again. It’s been a few years now since they’ve been able to boast anything notably new.

I wonder if Colossus will finally be finished in the next couple of months at least? Despite all the cuts to spending at Merlin I’d at least expect that to be done before opening, as well as Zodoac getting sorted.

I wonder if the beach project will ever happen now? I can’t help but think the money would be better put towards a larger project.

I took a wander down Monks Walk on Monday and I didn't take any photos/videos, simply because there was nothing to take photos of.

I think in some ways we've been spoilt over recent years, with lots of works visible from Monks Walk (from Hyperia, to Fright Nights, etc) as well as many in-park updates. But it hasn't always been like that - rewind 10+ years ago and Monks Walk never really showed anything particularly interesting beyond the odd glimpse, despite many things happening. Okay, we still got the odd in-park update too, but right now the level of updates is going back closer to a reset of what was once the norm.
I do also think compared to many other seasonal parks, Thorpe gets a heck of a lot of eyes put on it out of closed season, with many updates shared and visible. Thorpe have, in some ways, been the exception to the rule in that case.

That's not to say the lack of any visible updates isn't disheartening though. Finishing off Colossus' repaint would be amazing. Inferno and Swarm would benefit from TLC. Rumba Rapids is dying. The fact there's been no visible work there is a shame, and indicates we're unlikely to see much there. The Beach area cannot really be seen from outside the park, so we're none-the-wiser about anything happening there.


The 'New for ___' is a double-edged sword. New stuff each year can be beneficial, but Thorpe in particular are seeing the dangers of adding in new hardware/rides yearly as now they have several 'old' rides which are going to require more work all close together. New events can be okay, but gimmicky and don't really draw people in.

If you look at some of the better-received parks, the likes of Phantasialand and Efteling, they don't add in many new things. Since 2015...
Phantasialand have added in 3 new coaster, rethemed a coaster and a 4D show and added in a couple of walkthroughs / play areas.
Efteling have added in 2 new coasters (I guess technically 3 as one is a duelling coaster), 2 new dark rides and rethemed a couple of things.
In that same time, Thorpe have added in 1 new coaster, 1 new dark ride, rethemed some things and done a couple of walkthroughs.
The level of investments isn't as big a difference in the overall park experience and quality. And that's the bigger issue - Thorpe haven't consistently been able to upkeep their attractions (or revitalise them) the same as other parks that invest at a similar frequency.

I think the other issue - which is Merlin-wide - is Thorpe does rely extremely heavily on returning visitors, as opposed to new visitors. Whether that's them, over a 10-20 year period, having exhausted the market and not been able to expand it or a purposeful strategy to not try and reach more people, or another reason entirely, is unclear. But it is certainly the bigger issue that the park face. They've had a huge new coaster for 1 and a half seasons - that's still a big deal, and not really something that should be viewed as stagnation.
But when the park aren't pushing it and rely too heavily on repeat visits, then it will feel like that.


You say that, but then they've recently announced Legoland Germany are getting a Lego Harry Potter Land, which will be Merlin's single biggest investment into any theme park. Legolands California and Florida are getting substantial new coasters next year. Chessington are getting Minecraft World soon, and Towers' big new coaster seems to still be going ahead. Gardaland invested 12 million Euros into retheming their indoor boat ride this (where that 12m went I don't fully know, but that's what they did).

They're financial issues have been documented in the press, and their selling / closing down of midway attractions, outsourcing and structural changes are further signs of that I expect. But they are still making investments, and notable ones at that, in many places. But it feels like Thorpe is being brushed aside a bit right now (along with Heide Park...if I didn't know any better, I'd have thought Merlin forgot they still own it).

I agree it is a huge shame that there is quite literally nothing going on.

Although to be fair over the last decade there has been a lot of rubbish advertised as “new” - the various year-round mazes and some of the events for example. The absence of those sort of things isn’t that bad in my opinion, and realistically something new isn’t needed every year. Not many parks do that do they.

In recent years they have also made a lot of improvements to the areas other than the rides - the toilets to name one example.
Thorpe is probably one of the (if not THE) best Merlin park in terms of general upkeep.

I agree though that it is a shame there doesn’t appear to be anything at all happening again. It’s been a few years now since they’ve been able to boast anything notably new.

I wonder if Colossus will finally be finished in the next couple of months at least? Despite all the cuts to spending at Merlin I’d at least expect that to be done before opening, as well as Zodoac getting sorted.

I wonder if the beach project will ever happen now? I can’t help but think the money would be better put towards a larger project.

Does anyone feel like Ready Player One has overstayed its welcome at the cinema?

Sonic Spinball had to be rethemed for similar reasons, the allegations that Knuckles filed meant they had to quickly drop the brand in closed season so it's definitely possible they could reopen as just David Land and drop the Walliams.

Ah love these.

Unfortunately my lists are very short nowadays, but I've had a fair year theme park wise (considering how life is now!)
Thorpe Park x1
Alton Towers x1
Legoland Windsor x1
Disneyland Park Paris x3
Walt Disney Studios Paris x2

I do miss the days when I had huge lists, and I was at Thorpe & Towers 10-20 times each!

Sad to have not been to any fireworks events or halloween this year, for the first time in... I don't know how long.

Still, could be worse.

Paulton's next year for the first time in 20 years!

Ah love these.

Unfortunately my lists are very short nowadays, but I've had a fair year theme park wise (considering how life is now!)
Thorpe Park x1
Alton Towers x1
Legoland Windsor x1
Disneyland Park Paris x3
Walt Disney Studios Paris x2

I do miss the days when I had huge lists, and I was at Thorpe & Towers 10-20 times each!

Sad to have not been to any fireworks events or halloween this year, for the first time in... I don't know how long.

Still, could be worse.

Paulton's next year for the first time in 20 years!

I know it's the red tinted glasses but I love looking back at the videos of Thorpe from the 80's and 90's. There's an innocence to the park that doesn't really exist anymore.

The park have released an hour-long interview with Fright Nights management about this year's event.

There's some cool insight about things and is well worth a watch.

Will share my thoughts about some things discussed at a later point.

I just came back from a pretty quiet Fright Nights (a Monday), and it was good fun! I was at the front of two of the mazes, and back at the other two, and generally I thought it was e better than last year. Anyway I'll briefly summarize the mazes

Trailers:
Good fun and consistent as usual, but scary is a stretch. I do think even with new rooms it is getting stale, I also find the newer rooms to be like barely noticable compared to what was there previously. Acting quality was great though.

Stitches:
Similar opinion to last year, it's really eerie and well themed. I was at the front and felt pretty on edge for most of it. Probably my favourite maze?

Deadbeat:
Last year I roasted it, and I would say improvements have been made for sure, though subtle. Last year I felt it lacked scares and felt very flat, but this year I felt like there was more actors, darker sets in places, and a lot of smoke. I thought the ending was mediocre last year but this year the two actors in the finale chased us out which was brilliant. I thought overall there was some good timed scares, a good level of them, and just overall was a good scare maze.

I honestly was shocked at how much subtle changes could make Deadbeat actually really fun!

Survival Games:
Honestly I miss the old days when this was a intense maze that pushed limits. As the years have gone by, it seems to have just got weaker, and this year's version I thought was meh. Last year was impractical with batching, with the arena having 4 actors to 60 people wandering around. Despite this though I think removing the multi route/separation makes it feel like a tamed down version of its previous self.

I do like the new beginning, I feel it gives me techno vibes and explains a narrative a lot better. Despite this though once you remove Survival Games's gimmick and USP, you begin to realize it's mostly a maze of black walls and actors insulting you. I really didn't feel intimidated enough. The lack of forcefulness like previous years felt sad.

Crows:
Honestly this can stay for many more years and I have no issue with it. Thorpe have literally created an iconic character, and their scare zone has been consistently fun.

Purgatory Town:
Cast here are brilliant, and had some hilarious interactions. Though the theming and budget of this zone can't be more £250. If the cast weren't so good, I would be more inclined to complain.

Not sure if it still does, but in the first few days of the event, the park was playing The Verve's Bittersweet Symphony shortly after closing. Apparently the reason is to represent the same feeling you get when the last song plays at the end of a good night out (ie bittersweet). Apparently meant to recreate when the park played Perfect Day in 2013's Fright Nights (which was in the film You're Next).

I...don't get it frankly. But I've also seen some really positive reactions online.

For me, it just doesn't make sense / fit with Fright Nights. I got why they did it in the exit area of DeadBeat (since it's nightclub themed). But parkwide? I don't know; I just don't get it.

Playing other pop music too, again I don't get it. Probably has some 'hidden meaning', but yeah...doesn't do it for me.


Really good point, and I certainly didn't think of it that way.

Obviously there will be different schools of thought. I do still think there will be plenty of scare actors who would be more than willing to give it a go...even if just as a once off, but there will definitely be people who aren't keen on the idea (or choose to go there and then realise the style isn't for them).

I'm very intrigued by how Universal will set up HHN (or whatever they end up branding their Halloween event). The European market is very different and has very different expectations and standards for Halloween attractions. Do Universal stick with what they know, and bring that slice of American culture with them, or do they try to still keep it in the same form, but add the European flair to it. If they can bring on board British / European creatives with experience of creating and running Halloween attractions, they definitely could find a way to make it work.


One thing which I've noticed is that it would be very difficult for your average guest on your average night to do everything (ie all Fright Nights attractions and shows and major rides in the dark). There will definitely be many, many people who don't manage that. Whilst the park will have a lot of repeat visitors thanks to Annual Passholders, and I'm certainly all for keeping things fresh, for many people, a show feeling very similar won't have that much impact.

I'm sure that there are people who are going "we didn't do X last time, let's do it this time". Equally, people who are going "we did Y last time and enjoyed it, let's do/watch it again".

Of course, there will be people on the other side who crave new things / got everything done last time. It is all about striking a balance.

I still maintain that one year with no big new things is fine. Equally, I'd have preferred to see some extra work go into things like park-wide theming, themed audio, etc.


Doesn't surprise me. The profit in particular makes perfect sense given they're effectively introducing 4 paid attractions now, so they make more money from passholders as well as non-passholders.

Halloween events always do well for parks, given the later openings and limited-offering attractions, and that's true anywhere.

Equally, for Thorpe, I think it's a telling statistic. It's not necessarily that Fright Nights has become more visited, but that the rest of the year has become less-visited. Obviously both things could be true (and probably are), but I think that statistic is driven by the park being quieter the rest of the year.


I'm too lazy to look at what the days were last year, but this year, Thorpe has 207 open days and 24 of them are Fright Nights dates. So they're getting about 20% of their visitors across 11.5% of their open days. Those numbers are pretty meaningless without additional context, but I'd be interested what is was like in past and how important that is.

Glad to see that they've now changed the soundtrack on a lot of the rides for Fright Nights, after not doing it for a number of years. They're in the same/similar voice as the advert for this year.

Unfortunately no change on Stealth or Samurai though, and you can hardly hear it in Colossus' station as its very quiet.

The park is looking amazing in the dark this year. Lots of lighting changes and additional smoke machines making the park look the best it ever has done at night. A lot of Swarms effects have been restored and Infernos mist is pumping.

I love this smoke effect on Colossus.

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Watch IMG_3720 | Streamable









Hyperia is lit up in red from 7pm, and the lights go off as each train goes down the first drop.





Really not a fan of the music that starts blasting out at 9:20 park wide though, including in the Hyperia queue 🤣

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Watch IMG_3747 | Streamable

Also really not a fan of the new scare zone and just seems like that was added for the sake of adding a new scare attraction. Would love to see another Crows/Towers style scare zone. Why not use the old Blair Witch route from Trailers to the Nemesis Inferno exit like before?

Love that Hyperia is lit up red this year for Fright Nights, rather than bright white. Looks brilliant 😍

https://www.facebook.com/thorpeparkmania/posts/pfbid026Rwstrftd6WfrWixrpci43qLc6PCPfHZrQTEve5Dyyrd12rC2fFvyDURntJCsK6Cl

Tidal Wave fire effect is still not working, in case anyone didn't know.

Whilst I don't anticipate there to be significant discourse on here this evening, the Fright Nights Launch Event is this evening, so I'd expect there to be spoilers floating about ahead of the official opening tomorrow. Please share anything that could be considered a Spoiler here.

If you want to follow along and get some updates of the event, and insights into what might have changed and the quality this year, follow along with your favourite fansite (that's Thorpe Park Mania, in case it wasn't obvious) on all good (and bad) social media!