planenut

Finally braved TP for the first time this year, and very wary of the virus and the almost impossible "Social distancing". Took a couple of different style face masks and found the one I use when riding my bike the most secure.
 
Difficult for the staff as they cannot be any closer to the riders than they are.
 
Originally doubted I would get many rides in but there was hardly a queue all afternoon so I managed a decent number. Several times after the braking hill we raced round the lower bend and engineering had to change a couple of drive wheels.

So here's the Thorpe problem in a nutshell. Their investment in the 2000's was big. it was exciting, it was dynamic, it was a dream to be a Uk theme park fan with rides left right and centre. But the Thorpe problem comes down to a lack of space and a lack of diversity. They've got themselves into a rut when The Swarm kind of failed. Their target audience demands the newest, most exciting attractions. Who cares about Colossus and its measly ten inversions when The Smiler has fourteen.So then when they fail to grow, they start to downsize. The problems start to increase. The lack of investment means a lack of return which just spirals until we get to now. Thorpe doesn't have the advantages of the family market. Chessington went through a similar slump when it left the thrill market altogether and turned to family. The difference there though is that the family market spends money. Kids demand toys and treats. Ap family holders are all too happy to grab a nice meal and a pint with their family. They like staying in an over-priced hotel. Kerching. 
 
Thorpe's target audience doesn't. Thorpe AP holders are happy to only spend a pound in the park all day. It starts to cost too much money to remove the SBNO attractions. Just build a wall. Who do you target at now when the bulk of your attractions are thrill heavy. 
 
Really there is absolutely no reason why the park couldn't build a family rollercoaster or some entry level flat rides (give me a breakdance you cowards). But they won't because all they want are headlines and aren't interested in sustaining the park beyond the end of the financial year. So we get short term rubbish like I'm a Celeb or Black Mirror instead of attractions that stand the test of time. I'm amazed that Chessington actually replaced Black Bucaneer and are replacing Rameses with a generic drop tower AND redid Tomb Blaster AND built a Rainforest area, refurbishing Toadies and building a Log Flume at the same time. This stuff never happens at Merlin, it will certainly never happen at Thorpe because the idea of cookie-cutter attractions would never fly. So instead the current attractions just age away and nothing gets built or done. 
 
If you were to ask me what Thorpe should do, I'd go with refurbish attractions, build rides that attract a wider audience and beef up that awful entrance with a new look and better security stations. Inferno shouldn't be turning green, family rollercoasters are awesome additions and  a stabbing should never be able to happen again. There is absolutely no point in building an RMC or B&M Hyper if the rest of the park looks like a rubbish dump. Putting a bow on trash is still trash. 
 
And that for me is the Thorpe problem.

I had the box on the other day, and there was a news item where the presenter was talking about theme parks opening up, and people in the picture had to be secured by another for safety, a ride in Legoland; I then heard a voice that I immediately recognized and they then showed the speaker and I was right. I used to work with the guy twenty-five years ago, and haven't seen or spoken with him since. Funny old world.
 
I don't do facebook or similar, I'm a bit of a dinosaur, so the chances of getting a message to him are slim.
 
 

So I actually had a good day today, I’ll admit after the first hour everything felt a bit weird, but after that getting more used to things I actually enjoyed it.
 
Carrying on from above, the arcade from that angle does look bad - I’ve no idea I can only assume it had to be done very quickly for some reason or work wasn’t able to be completed due to corona - I do hope something is done to improve it as it don’t look great.

On a more positive note - Firstly with the social distancing I think the park did really well - there are markers literally everywhere spaced out 2 m anywhere there would be a queue - there are sanitiser stations everywhere and I didn’t find one which had ran out all day, on rides there’s social distancing where it’s needed - some rides seem odd such as quantum which literally runs 3 rows - others do make sense, but obviously this is new and will be tweaked over the next few weeks. There’s signage everywhere - again it’s all been done professionally and properly, proper signage throughout, information videos on screens and park wide announcements. For guests following it it’s a mixed bag - some queue lines seemed to follow it better than others, ride ops did step in at times and make announcements reminding people which jogged memories and people would then distance out more. Did notice some not wearing masks on The Swarm, at the same time someone at stealth didn’t have a mask and the staff quickly found one, disposable masks are also on sale in the shops as well as Thorpe branded ones.
 
Entrance to the park was efficient- those without bags skip security queue and go straight to temperature check - the ticket window queue to the right of the entrance is repurposed info a holding queue for those waiting to get in before park opens to allow people to be socially distancing whilst waiting.
 
Park audio has had so much work, probably more than its ever had, its not finished but it’s already significantly better, queues like colossus which have needed work for so long have had it, areas which never had audio before now have it, its really so much better. A few tweaks are needed with some volumes too loud or quiet but that will come over time - you need the general noise of the park to get these levels right. 
 
Ride availability wasn’t bad - rides in old town were closed along with rumba, I expect these to open over the next Few weeks, as expected Ghost train and walking dead closed. Shutdown wise only actually saw Stealth and Vortex go down which isn’t bad for “first day” of season - all rides full capacity too which is obviously more important  now with reduced seating.
 
New brand signage around entrance / dome looks good - much more professional and suits the park well - Infinity looks really good too, sadly they seemed to have some struggles in there today so didn’t get to try it but definitely will soon!
 
New car park system was good - passes scanned quickly, I do wonder if eventually pass holders will be able to register a car reg?

Was also happy to see fastrack not on sale - they easily could have sold it, and people would have bought it - but not selling it definitely is a big plus for guest experience especially when staff are getting used to the new procedures on rides.
 
All in all I had a good day - it was rough around the edges in some places but open day ALWAYS is - with the added part of the vast majority of staff spending the last few months on furlough along with  all the new procedures needed it ran significantly smoother than i thouht it would - am happy the parks able to reopen!

Ordinary influenza takes at least 7000 people each year, and that's only the UK. Stay aware, stay clean, stay safe. If they start enforcing two metre spaces in queues, that means some of us will suffer standing in the North Sea.

Children have been said to be at the absolute lowest risk though.. Not many young folks have died from the virus, actually the current number for the age range 0-9 is 0. And 10-19 is a very low death rate. Young people are not the worry here.
 
Honestly I like the UK approach, I find the current media coverage to be somewhat drastic and melodramatic. People mass buying crap and self isolating themselves are just perhaps a little too easily influenced by the current media brainwashing them. It is a nasty virus and some people are going to die, but there is many other things such as cancer, heart problems, or even the Flu itself which kills tons of people a year but I don't see anyone locking themselves in a room crying over it? There is more chance of crashing your car on the way to the parks that catching the corona virus.. But you still drive cars don't you?
 
 

Hi All, thought I'd better pop in as it's been a while.
You are mostly in the age groups that will be fine, if you get it, it'll be like a lousy flu.
Think about those around you, especially your older friends and family, and help them prepare.
Standing in a queue to buy those extra loo rolls will be just as dangerous.
Just look forward to those shorter queues.
 
Stay safe, stay clean, and be aware of those around you, and that applies everywhere.

This took me a minute.
 
Well played sir, well played.

I had to ask @JoshC. to explain that one to me, I confess. Good work indeed.

Perhaps they haven't got enough people to fix it, as I understand it takes many hands to make it work.

Perhaps they haven't got enough people to fix it, as I understand it takes many hands to make it work.

Quite interesting, got me thinking about the Merlin rides where I've been happy enough to run around and ride again;
 
- Duel
- Nemesis
- Oblivion
- Vampire
- Dragon's Fury
- Swarm
- Stealth
- Inferno
 
I always have the most fun at a park when the queues are low enough to do that on one of those rides. Most I've done is seven times on Nemesis. Had an awesome one-off time on Colossus at the end of the day where we got to go round twice without leaving the station, staff were hyped up to go home. When the ride hosts are motivated it really makes the atmosphere electric and 1000x more enjoyable. For this reason the best part of the day at any Merlin park is usually the hour before closing.

Stealth was outstanding today. No queue at all but they were still storming the dispatches. I didn't see a moment's down time or delay.
 
Repeat front row rides for me. That has to be the single best coater experience in the county. It's incredible and I'll never tire of it. 

I looked on Facebook, and queuetimes.com, Stealth’s back open again! With 60 minutes of queueing time!! XD

Luckily, I have been busy, so I have not been over to TP for a while.
 
Last year the catch car was replaced and therefore had to be made from scratch. The odd thing there was that it was rebuilt (not made) the year before.
 
Last month there were several problems with sensors, and high temperatures affect the running of some rides, even making them too fast.
 
I have been trying to get information but as most know, it's difficult to get. The answer from the Park is always "there are other rides available".

Luckily, I have been busy, so I have not been over to TP for a while.
 
Last year the catch car was replaced and therefore had to be made from scratch. The odd thing there was that it was rebuilt (not made) the year before.
 
Last month there were several problems with sensors, and high temperatures affect the running of some rides, even making them too fast.
 
I have been trying to get information but as most know, it's difficult to get. The answer from the Park is always "there are other rides available".

Luckily, I have been busy, so I have not been over to TP for a while.
 
Last year the catch car was replaced and therefore had to be made from scratch. The odd thing there was that it was rebuilt (not made) the year before.
 
Last month there were several problems with sensors, and high temperatures affect the running of some rides, even making them too fast.
 
I have been trying to get information but as most know, it's difficult to get. The answer from the Park is always "there are other rides available".

I too managed to catch a quiet day at Oakwood last Saturday; due to the weather, and it's forecast, evening fireworks had been cancelled and the park was to close at 6p.m., Speed and some other items were closed due to high winds.
Megaphobia is the biggie and in the damp she was flying, and lack of customers meant a run of 9 rides without getting off during the afternoon.
Bobsleigh I think is an entertaining ride when with each turn one tries to get that bit faster, without falling off, and there was a spell when me and colleague were able to ride again without going round the queueline as there was nobody there.
People do add to the atmosphere of a park but sometimes, lack of them is a bonus.

Same operators, just the holding company of Merlin will be different. I assume that the same management and day to day operations will be the same. From the press release they are keeping it as a seperate company, same HQ and not distributing or changing assets of merlin. 
 
Fingers crossed this helps with investment in the parks, if the parent company wants to invest more then there arent shareholders to block it based on profit. There is a full document on Merlins website about the plans. https://www.merlinentertainments.biz/recommended-offer/
 
The document also says that the two companies (Blackrock and Kirkbi) were there before public listing: 
 
"KIRKBI and Blackstone jointly controlled Merlin in the 8 years prior to the 2013 public listing, during which time Merlin became the second largest location based entertainment business globally, and the partner of choice for the world's leading brands to deliver immersive experiences to guests."
 
So fingers crossed we go back to the investment days! 

This one was from back in March in the batching area for DBGT a group of 4 lads in front of us (complete pain in the butt all of them) were moaning about waiting - they had RAP so hadnt even waited the full 75ish minutes.  When the people in the other batching area went through they then tried go through but were stopped - their response?  “THATS RACIST” - I laughed out loud, as did the people who were nearby - they then started getting lippy with the poor ride host who moved them to the other batching area (meaning they’d have to wait longer) - when we were called through it was like karma when their faces dropped

Heard today at Thorpe Park whilst riding, er, Stealth......
"I used to ride this in the 1980's, it used to only go up to the top and roll back but they've extended it since!

A master of his craft, who, in a word, has probably touched all of our lives.

So me and my other half have just got back from a 4 day trip - one day at Chessington and three at Thorpe. Very mixed trip which I’ll summarise in bullet points.
 
- Operations at Thorpe were (for the most part) very, very good. Two trains on all the major coasters (and TWD) every day and rapid dispatches. Chessington really needs work in that area though!
- Our ride on DBGT wasn’t bad, pretty much all of the effects were working well and it had hardly any downtime whilst we were on park. Only reason we went on though is because we had an hour of fast track for it included with the hotel stay, otherwise we wouldn’t have bothered. It’s bad that, for a ride that was supposed to be so re-rideable, we see pretty much absolutely no reason to go back on anymore. It needs to go.
- BounceZilla is a complete and utter monstrosity and we thought it looked mortifying for all involved. I’d imagine it’s probably quite fun, yes, but this should not be at Thorpe Park imo.
- Jungle Escape has flopped harder than anyone could have expected. We didn’t see anyone queuing or going in, or even glancing at it, whilst at the park. Considered giving it a go, but didn’t think it was worth the £10pp upcharge for what seems to more or less be IAC in sheep’s clothing.
- Went in GameFX for 45 mins or so when it was raining yesterday and was moderately impressed. Good variety of consoles and games, and plenty of them to go around. The VR experience also looked good fun. It was pretty quiet though, on a busy day when it was pouring down outside. Evidence that maybe people don’t want to go to a theme park and play video games? ?
- TWD:TR has improved since last year imo. Not sure why or how, but I enjoyed it a lot more this year. Much better experience with live actors than without for me personally as well.
- Quantum still looks a week or two away from finally opening this year to me. We watched it being worked on and it was tested a few times (that we saw), but it isn’t making a great sound when sent on it’s full cycle ?
- Best ride on Vortex that I’ve ever had, it’s running so well this year.
- Old Town looks as sorry as ever. I’m not going to even bring up SBNO rides as everyone already knows the situation!
- I’ve always had a soft spot for Thorpe Shark, however after this visit I think the park desperately needs a proper hotel. We stayed in a tiny Travelodge room after Chessington and it felt so, so, so spacious compared to the shipping containers.
- I’ve not been to Chessington before but I think I preferred it to Thorpe, which I didn’t think would happen considering the target markets (not that anyone, including Merlin, knows what Thorpe’s really is). Better theming, better atmosphere, better maintenance. However Thorpe definitely wins on the operations front.
- Impressed with the 40th anniversary merch on offer. They should be doing more to commemorate it than selling new stuff though.
- We left 2 hours early today due to the queue times. Our fault for (mistakenly) booking during half term but there you go!
 
Apologies for the long post! Just some thoughts on what will probably be my only visit this year. My second to worst visit that I’ve ever had unfortunately.

I would suggest drinking plenty of water because I know from my own experience that dehydration can lead to migraine.  I always without fail take headache pills to parks because I usually get one.  Could it be motion sickness related?  If so I can’t recommend Cinnarazine highly enough (you can get it over the counter called Stugeron 15).  If none of the above are sounding any good then I’d avoid Zodiac, Saw and Colossus,  - the latter 2 have crazy head banging moments which I’m sure have killed off some of my brain cells in the past

Halloween is without a doubt, my least favourite time of year at theme parks. Nothing could interest me less then a bunch of dressed up students ignoring me too make some girls scream in a maze, or the park over run with people in the dark looking to make trouble.