JoshuaA

Double post, but I wanted to rant about these models as I really dislike the showing from Intamin.
I'm gonna give opinions on each model:
 
UltraSplash: If Mack sue, I would not blame them. This is basically just a Powersplash with track that is basically a knock off RMC's single rail track. This model is by far the worst and I hope it flops. If Intamin get a sale for this one, I hope Mack take them to court and then some.
 
Giga Splash: Okay unlike the others its somewhat original. Though Intamin have one of the WORST track records with waters rides like this.
Shoot The Rapids, Perlious Plunge, Pilgrims Plunge (no incidents, but unreliable), Drenched, why should people build a Giga Splash over the more reliable Mack Supersplash? So yeah, a fair model, but I don't see parks being keen to buy (especially Cedar Fair and Six Flags parks).  I think its the best of the bunch though, and it actually brings something to the industry.
 
Vertical LSM Coaster; Nothing too offensive, I do not think they can beat Premier though. Sky Rocket II's have such a good price point and I'm unsure if Intamin can match it. Even if they can, would they be as reliable? I do not think they will be. 
 
Hot Racer: RMC do not do launches yet. Though I see them in the very near future, and this model looks cool, though I do think it will cost more than the RMC equivalent, which will mean it will not be as desirable. Remember RMC do a LOT of things without any sub contractors. Intamin even contracted RMC to build some of their previous rides (El Toro, T Express). Also RMC have a lot more experience with the single-rail track.
 
I really hope Intamin go back to being innovative one day, most of these are following trends instead of starting them. Which is what made Intamin so good imo. 
 
 

You're confusing marketing and promotion. The promotion was good, as you said in the first paragraph. The overall marketing of the attraction (e.g. its brand, who it was aimed at vs the nature of the experience) was what killed it.
 
The ride was positioned by marketing as a high-intensity thrill ride comparable to Saw, when in reality its super floaty and hella boring and probably the 'tamest' of the big 5. It should've had a lighter-tone theme and been pushed as a less intimidating ride, something to introduce new riders to the bigger thrills of the other coasters, giving it the approachability it warrants. This would've been especially useful as the park seems to lack from an outside perspective an 'in-between' coaster. More thrilling than X and Fish, but not as intense as Saw, Inferno and Stealth. 

Got an email about this two weeks ago and kept forgetting to post here - Tulleys now have a drive-in cinema 😄 https://tulleysdriveincinema.co.uk
 
Great idea! 
 
 

Unless the cup design has changed since last season, the refillable cups have a chip at the bottom which registers whether the cup is active or not. If it's active, you can proceed as normal. If not, you can only get water out of it.
 
No real need to monitor them (though arguably there should be regularly cleaning of them due to them being a high touch point).

With some regret, as someone that has lived in Staines all their lives, I have to point out that there are some really unpleasant kids around here. It’s always been that way. Don’t get me wrong, there are many wonderful and well behaved upstanding young citizens that live in the surrounding areas. But for some reason, there is a much higher percentage of young men and women who are utter bastards to one another.
 
so much so that most of Staines’ nightlife has been regulated to the point where it’s just not worth it for many licensees. All the late bars and clubs are gone. The police around here even implemented a town centre yellow card / red card system for disorderly behaviour.

you’ll find a lot of these lads and lasses killing time at Thorpe park. It’s not necessarily the parks fault. of course it’s thrill rides now attract all walks of life from all over. But it also sucks the less respectable members of society through the doors more frequently. It’s always been an issue locally. The quell the issue, the town council stopped issuing licenses  to venues as the public couldn’t be trusted to be respectful. That’s how bad it’s been in Staines for 20 years and more.
 
 

Are Intamin the new Golden Horse LOL?
I'm sure parks will trust them over Mack to build their water rides, it isn't like any of their large scale water rides have failed hard in the past..
 

Are Intamin the new Golden Horse LOL?
I'm sure parks will trust them over Mack to build their water rides, it isn't like any of their large scale water rides have failed hard in the past..
 

There is a few core reasons to why I think Thorpe has reached its current state.
Heavy expansion, and then, nothing at all. Thorpe had a rapid expansion/investment rate up until about 2012. They received the cream of the crop when it came to investments. Merlin at some point seemed to be more keen in investing in Thorpe over Alton even. Ever since 2013 the park has seen to take a backseat, and their last proper investment was the nail in the coffin (DBGT). The Ghost Train basically ruined all hope of Thorpe ever regaining its status as a worthy rival to Alton Towers for the best park in the UK. It also ruined all hope of any good investment anytime soon. Merlin have no reason to pump money into Thorpe anymore. Lack of a resort. Thorpe Park is barely a resort. It barely has a hotel, and honestly it offers the least out of the 4 UK Merlin Parks when it comes to non theme park stuff. Look at Alton, they offer 2 hotels, Enchanted village, the roller coaster restaurant that is open past park hours, a water park, golf, a ropes course, and entertainment in their hotels. Thorpe Shark is absolutely pathetic in comparison. Chessington and Legoland also have much better accommodation. I bet those hotels are cash cows too, why invest in a park with one small budget hotel when you can invest in a park that is a full resort (Alton Towers) No image. Thorpe Park is like a middle age person going through a identity crisis. It doesn't know who it is, who its target audience is, and it shows. 

Pluk summed up what I think.
The main thing that went wrong here is the person who did indeed bring the knife in the park. I am sure this could of happened at most parks. Thorpe actually have a fairly decent system in place. Some parks in mainland europe you can just walk into without even a search.. It is very easy to sit here in hindsight and list everything that the park has and hasn't done, though before this happened I swear nobody was complaining about security/searching at the park?
 
Nasty things happen everywhere all the time. Theme parks are not exempt from this.
^^^ This
 
There is many things Thorpe do wrong, but I find some of this hate thrown at them for this to be a bit uncalled for. 
 
 

I'd have exactly the same attitude. I wouldn't hold the park at fault regardless of who got hurt, even if it was me let alone family or friends, not unless they gave them the knife or set up the fight. This is one of the major things wrong with the world in my eyes; everything is always someone else fault. Someone should have prevented, someone should have intervened, someone should have seen the future. The suspect is the suspect.
 
You can mitigate against a risk, but you can not eliminate all danger. The security as it is is a reasonable response to the risk presented. With this being the first incident of this type in 40 years, how many issues have they prevented with their actions in this time? Loads I expect. Considering your opinion of their clientele you'd be hard pressed to argue against that having been the case, but you can't prove the effectiveness of a preventative measure.
 
You can learn from incidents, you can see how something happened and amend your processes for the future, but that does not prove an ability to have foreseen.

Pluk summed up what I think.
The main thing that went wrong here is the person who did indeed bring the knife in the park. I am sure this could of happened at most parks. Thorpe actually have a fairly decent system in place. Some parks in mainland europe you can just walk into without even a search.. It is very easy to sit here in hindsight and list everything that the park has and hasn't done, though before this happened I swear nobody was complaining about security/searching at the park?
 
Nasty things happen everywhere all the time. Theme parks are not exempt from this.
^^^ This
 
There is many things Thorpe do wrong, but I find some of this hate thrown at them for this to be a bit uncalled for. 
 
 

Pluk summed up what I think.
The main thing that went wrong here is the person who did indeed bring the knife in the park. I am sure this could of happened at most parks. Thorpe actually have a fairly decent system in place. Some parks in mainland europe you can just walk into without even a search.. It is very easy to sit here in hindsight and list everything that the park has and hasn't done, though before this happened I swear nobody was complaining about security/searching at the park?
 
Nasty things happen everywhere all the time. Theme parks are not exempt from this.
^^^ This
 
There is many things Thorpe do wrong, but I find some of this hate thrown at them for this to be a bit uncalled for. 
 
 

The only person who's fault this was was the person carrying the knife. To try to deflect any blame on to Thorpe is plain wrong. 
 
It doesn't matter what measures they put in place, if someone wants to get something in they shouldn't get in they will. The best way to reduce the risk of someone trying is random searches of a differing nature, and that's exactly what Thorpe do. I'm sure there'll be a short term reassurance effort where they cause hours of queues going OTT with searches but it'll be back to normal soon enough, just as it should be.

Bellewaerde have a new roaming character, Jona Corona:
 

(From TPWW...only photo I could find)
 
Apparently Jona goes around telling people of all the safety rules relating to coronavirus...of which he doesn't appear to mind breaking the rules about social distancing...

Sad to read but I can definitely relate to this. I have followed Thorpe and the forum for many years (often just a reader) - but I really feel the park just has nothing left to offer for me. Maybe I have grown out of it, but then again this shouldn't be the case for a "thrill" park, plus I love going to many other family parks, Disney, Europa, Alton to name a few.
 
I just feel the park now has very little to offer compared to most others. It looks run down, the rides are in general ok but nothing outstanding, and I feel my money is better spent elsewhere. Yes I now have the money and freedom to travel wherever I want, but Thorpe as a business should be still trying to draw me in as a person who loves themeparks. You have to spend money to make money, and whilst they may be short of it at the moment, the money they have spent over the last few years may as well have been thrown down the drain. Poor management and poor decision have led to the park becoming what it is today, a shadow of what it once was. Even with "average rides" the look and feel of the place can make a huge difference, and all I see is poor maintenance, rapidly deteriorating quality, and a "that will do" attitude. As James May would say, it just doesn't give me "the fizz". 
 
I will still follow this forum and the park, and I do hope it can turn things around, but changes in its management and direction are clearly needed. 

Why an Indian tourist? How is this relevant?

Think your name ideas are awful. Nothing wrong with what they’re called now.

Some updates from today:
 
-You no longer need to queue in the main cattlepen for Nemesis Inferno. They have removed the fence so you bypass it, and the first extension is now going to remain open.
(This does open up the problem where people will end up queueing in the cattlepen in the first extension, but you know, baby steps)
 
-Inferno is no longer loading every other row. When I was there, Row 4 was left empty for some reason. Also saw Row 3 left empty too. Not sure why.
 
-Colossus is now loading a group, then leaving a row, then loading another group, rather than every other car (as is Stealth).
 
-Since Saw is basically running as normal (both rows loaded, since I believe it requires a minimum of 4 people to ride), it makes you wonder what the point of social distancing on rides even is. Does coronavirus not exist at Saw?
 
-Most people were obeying social distancing in fairness. I never saw a person not wearing a mask.
 
-The park was very quiet. And it felt very lifeless too. I've been on quiet days in the past. I've been on days where things go terribly wrong and loads of rides are closed. But this felt different. It still very much felt like you were living in a world where a pandemic was going on. There was no escapism. (Be interesting to see if I think that about other parks or if this is Thorpe-specifc).
This further isn't helped when areas like Derren, the walkway by Fish, etc feel so dead, with no music or...anything really. 
 
-All water rides were testing today. I believe some of them are hoped to be opening within the next few days if all goes the park's way.
 
-Timber Tug Boat opened today. I believe Lumber Jump is due to open tomorrow now too.
 
In terms of face covering. I was wearing a reusable one I bought from Lidl (2 for £2.99, 2 layers with space for a filter). It stayed on all rides fine, except for my back row ride on Stealth, where it came off my nose (front row was fine though!).
 
 
As for non-Covid stuff...
 
-I had my worst ever ride on Saw today. Was very painful.
 
-Swarm felt very vibrate-y.
 
-The vegetarian place by Ghost Train is alright for what it is. Does diversify food choices a lot.
 
-There's some new music in Old Town. Well, kind of new - it's the Old Town-soundy excerpt from the bridge loop. But it fits.
 
All in all, an okay visit. The park are doing well enough with the Covid-restrictions. They're still learning and getting stuff wrong, but it seems they're ready to fix it. Hopefully as time goes on things will be better. The park itself is the same old same old really. Some of the branding refreshes are nice, others aren't. It's hard to judge the park under such weird circumstance, but it does just feel a bit...meh.

I heard the park's future additions have been leaked:
2022: Nothing
2023: Remove some theming
2024: Nothing, Again.
2025: New gamestall to replace Slammer
2026: Nothing.
2027: Remove a coaster
2028: Giant murder hornets take over and park is forced to close forever.

WELL! There goes my hope for an RMC coming our way any time soon.

Ah okay. I assumed it has been closed for a while. Damn though.
 
Lol just like how Loggers Leap was a "longer term project". No its just lazy, when a independent park in Blackpool is starting to look better than you, you know you've really fu**ed up. It is sub-standard, and should not be the standard going forward for UK parks.
 
Remember people like parks that look good, Phantasialand and Europa are highly regarded for a reason. Even amusement parks make effort to keep their park tidy and professional, both Six Flags parks I have been to are much prettier and well kept than this. It is the same as having your retail store untidy and dirty, just because it doesn't affect you directly. Walking past it is going to leave a weird taste in people's mouths, because people like things that look good.

I think you have hit the nail on the head there. It's exactly why the forum was thriving ten years ago! If Thorpe announced a total multi million pound refurb, major new coaster or even a new buyer then conversations may be different.

I have said this time and time again. A fan forum will almost certainly reflect the current state of what it is dedicated to which in this case is Thorpe Park.
 
If Thorpe Park was performing and delivering to its potential, this forum would reflect that with members getting real excited about the place.
 
As it is, the park has been a shadow of its old self for a few years now to the point where many who once loved it are now staying away as they are fed up. So ofcourse this forum reflects that.
 
It would be nice to see positivity.....but when the park is leaving little to find positives in, its hardly surprising that you see more constructive criticism on here

Imagine leaving a forum because some people are honest and think something looks crap when it does.

We can’t all be positive when there is nothing to be positive about.