JoshuaA

As a back alley frequenter I can confirm this is correct.
 

Okay, so it has little impact on anyone's day. But it's a theme park for goodness sake. This looks like something you see whilst walking down a back alley in Staines. No level of enjoyment whatsoever. And this is off a main walkway in the park.
 
I think there's a wider issue though. This is opposite Ghost Train, which will inevitably be closed all year. You've also got Walking Dead just a bit further down, a ride which will likely be closed for a while. And the other end of the pathway, you've got Jungle Escape, another experience that will be closed for a good while. In the centre of the park, you have a complete dead zone. Of course, it's not Thorpe's fault everything round there is closed, but this doesn't help. 
 
It might be part of a redevelopment, but it begs the question why do that now? I honestly can't think of any other theme park I've been to that would leave a guest-facing wall looking that glaring bland.

But don't companies go to B&M for Hypers and Gigas because they have the most experience making them, and arguably make the best ones? Eyebrows would equally be raised if a park went to Gerstlauer for a traditional, 7-8 row long train Giga, no?
 
All very true, and if B&M were ever going to design a new generation launch coaster, Busch/Sea World would be the most obvious choice for the first one, given their relationship.

I think its awful. Chessington is compact and small too, but that is priced modestly..
Thorpe Park does not warrant that price jump. It should be the lowest in price IMO, as it has the least to offer. Lets also consider that the park has not received a proper new ride since 2016 (and that ride will most likely be closed for sanitary reasons and also because its terrible lol).
 

I think its awful. Chessington is compact and small too, but that is priced modestly..
Thorpe Park does not warrant that price jump. It should be the lowest in price IMO, as it has the least to offer. Lets also consider that the park has not received a proper new ride since 2016 (and that ride will most likely be closed for sanitary reasons and also because its terrible lol).
 

Not really comparable, gigs are once in a lifetime, even if you go and see the same band again, they may have new music or change up what they're playing, gigs are also few and far between. Your favourite band might come to your nearest city once every couple of years, Thorpe Park isn't going anywhere. Thorpe also hasn't changed all that much since my last visit in 2016.

Also, out of all the gigs I've been to (probably verging on 40 or 50) only 4 have been anywhere near the £80 mark, most of the time they're about £25. 2 were stadium tours by a band that hadn't toured in several years, 1 was a pop act in the O2, and 1 was a resale ticket that cost more than it should have. The last gig I went to cost me £18. I could see that gig twice and still spend less than a day ticket to Thorpe, and I had far more fun at that gig than I ever did at Thorpe.



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To raise the online booking price when EVERYONE will have to book online is dodgy however you slice it.

By the sounds of it, the Seaworld company owe money for Ice Breaker and Emperor as well. One could presume that a lot of the final payments were due for all these attractions just as park closures and furloughs hit. I doubt Seaworld would want to be sued by RMC, B&M, Intamin & Premier all at the same time...

Coaster groups are very white male dominated. Especially the forums. Only about 1 or 2 forums actually have a half decent female presence, but that is down to a fair amount of work on the members part to become an established part of the community and then part of the site's team. A lot of the time the females at meets have been dragged into it by boyfriends or family members. Very rare to see girlfriends dragging their other halves along (does happen though).
 
BAME is even lower in numbers. I might not even need additional hands to count how many I've seen or met on meets over the 17 (Jesus I've been in this game a while). 
 
At the end though you cannot flat out force people to join a forum on what is an incredibly niche interest. People like theme parks as a general visit thing but do they LIKE them? 
 
It's an incredibly difficult situation for many industries. Engineering has a very similar issue in terms of a lack of numbers in diversity as it was always seen as a bloke's thing to do (current company has 1 female in the engineering side, the rest are admin or finance). And with a lot of management at the companies being an old boy's club made it hard for any women involved to advance unless you had the right people in charge (this isn't a point at the running of this forum). But you've got to build the interest in it first before demanding that there be diversity, as you are then potentially promoting people to senior roles who aren't always best suited for them as a tick boxing exercise.
 
If there's one thing I have noticed about the coaster community; it's the very prominent number of LGBTQ+ members. Which is a fantastic positive to consider.

Sorry to divert from the media rant, but...
I confess when I saw this, I was a little confused. I think anyone who had big plans this year is frustrated/annoyed/upset. And I don't think it's unreasonable for people to have a moan online about it to vent those feelings.
 
But then I've seen a ton of drama on social media within the 'enthusiast community' crop up this week. Claims, with evidence, of people being homophobic, racist, bigoted and who knows what else. Digging deeper, I saw many self-entitled people going on and on about how unfair things are, I've seen people making statements like "parks abroad are open, so why aren't our's". Some absolutely crazy things, coming from adults who are all just within their own crazy bubble. It's mental, and a bit disheartening.
 
It made me happy though that at least forums like this aren't like that. Sure, TPM has never been perfect, and sadly it's quieter than ever on here, but for the most part these days, it's drama-free and pretty civil. Lords knows I'd prefer that over whatever happens on Twitter and other social media pages.
 
I stopped following a few people involved in the crazy drama, so hopefully I won't see any more of it and continue to live in blissful ignorance about the situation forevermore... 

My first post back in over a year to check-in what Thorpe is doing. I held my breath, and this is what I see. A maze. Another maze.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Soz 4 my negativity xox
 
Anyways, I like black mirror a lot but I find this a rather bizarre choice of an IP as the episodes are generally stand-alone and there is no permanent cast as touched upon some other people in the posts. But, I'll be interested to see how this works when it eventually comes. Next year. 

Least you're not the people who think bare coaster track has no place in a "world class theme park".

I guess it comes down to expectations. What have Merlin done over the past 10 years to make anyone think that their attractions should be classed as world class? Even moreso over the past 5 years.
 
Merlin's investments do the job. They're better than quite a few parks, and at an individual park level their larger investments are more regular than quite a lot of other parks (although it has stretched out further admittedly). "It's fine" sums it up quite nicely.
 
We can want Merlin parks to do fantastic things. We can want every park in the world to do fantastic things. But honestly, Merlin don't hit the fantastic mark often, so it just feels unrealistic to expect that. You could argue it's a pessimistic outlook, but equally it's quite realistic imo

I am really getting quite sick and tired of seeing enthusiasts moaning and crying about POSTPONED trips to theme parks this year thanks to the pandemic.
 
Look, I know this page is ofcourse a forum dedicated to a theme park and I myself am very proud of being an enthusiast. However, I do feel some enthusiasts on social media really need to look at what's going on in the world before they go on an Ian Beale style "IVE GOT NOTHING LEFT" sulk about postponed park visits. People are losing their jobs and with that, the abillity to make a living to pay the bills. More importantly, many people are losing loved ones to this virus. So with all that happening, I personally find it hard to feel sympathy to a bunch of people who are crying over not being able to visit parks that will STILL BE AROUND when all this is said and done. Those who are losing loved ones do not have that luxury. I have a friend who lost her nan recently and was not even allowed to attend her own nans funeral. So yes, forgive me if I find it hard to feel sorry for having to wait a little longer to ride the likes of Shambhala,Taron, Zadra,Taiga and Iron Gwazi or going to flaming Disneyland Paris.
 
Rant over. Again I know this doesn't apply to all enthusiasts but I am seeing enough of it to really get on my wick.
 
It's not just postponed park trips. It's also the sulking over canceled festivals and concerts. People should check their priorities as far as I'm concerned.

Europa have released a well executed and simple video outlining it's rules. Seems a good system to me... 
 
 

Hard to tell if this response is sarcasm, from someone living under a rock or someone who genuinely believes the Covid-situation has been well handled across the board...

Might as well start another bandwagon.
 
Best Theme Park Restaurants 

5/ Rollercoaster Restaurant- Alton Towers. Probably my favourite UK park restaurant, I love how they’ve used the  ‘food loop’ Concept and that the place is
also dedicated to past and present coasters. I personally enjoy the food here too. 

4/ Tivoli Foodhall-Tivoli Gardens. Great variety here, plus the Smorrebrod (cultural delight) were absolutely delicious.

3/ Silver Lake Saloon- Europa Park. I love the food and I love the atmosphere and think I’m a sucker for most Wild West style places. Reminds me of Smith and Western a little. 
 
2/ Polle’s Keuchen- Efteling. This place is something of a masterpiece to the point where the food is almost secondary. Charming surroundings, meet and greets and amazing thematic set-pieces Which perform often. The pancakes are great too.
 
1/ Rutmoore’s Tavern- Phantasialand. I adore the cosy setting and theming plus the food is divine. It’s like stepping in time to another world or something!
 
The Worst Theme Park Restaurants 

5/  Woodys Burger Bar-Oakwood Theme Park. Bland quick service food, the burger was tasteless and inedible to the point it makes Burger Kitchen look like Five Guys.

4/ Aus Fastes Des Rome- Parc Asterix. Barely food and more processed than Jedward’s auto tune. Cold, tasteless, bland and did I say processed? I didn’t favour to much of Astérix’s food but this was something else!

3/ El Paso Dinner Buffet- Port Aventura.  P.A has become infamous for it’s terrible food quality and that is true. Expensive, inedible food that makes eating a chore as, opposed to enjoyable. I ate something so bad here I thought I was going to vomit!

2/ Jerome’s Grill- Port Aventura. I’ve had some lovely Pizzas in my time dining, the one I ate here wasn’t one of them! Disgusting, plastic, oily and more tasteless than a series of love island. Probably the worst pizza I’ve eaten, those cheap supermarket pizzas are gourmet compared to this travesty. 
 
 
1/ Piratengrill- Plopsaland De Panne. I never thought Port A.V. could be topped for disgusting food. Apparently not. The burger here tasted terrible to the point I struggled eating. To make matters worse, it was horribly expensive and they took so long serving I thought I’d be seeing CHRISTMAS there.
 
I miss going places.

Meanwhile the UK will only start testing arrivals to the country at the end of this month.
 
So don't hold your breath on our lot opening anytime soon. Because we're run by idiots.

The American enthusiast phrase book is, 'it's hauling ass, those turns are insane, let's hope it can be RMCed in a few years'

That is hauling a** man. I see this being amongst Mako and Shambhala for hypers (very good). 
I think its really down to Intamin's reputation. Rides such as Skyrush or I305 are popular with us because they are intense, but the GP just find them too intense so they don't get enough ridership to be worth investing in. This is made worse by the various problems that Intamin coasters have had (I305's black out turn, Maverick's Heartline, constant downtime, throughputs that are way above what is actually possible being promised).
 
B&M is just a no brainer I guess. High throughputs, reliable, and the GP and enthusiasts are happy.

The Walking Dead is a coaster that IMO worked best in its X format, because to put it simply, it is a family coaster.
Even when it ran backward and in the dark, it was a tame ride that had lower ridership as the height restriction stopped families from riding and the ride was too tame and the ride was also uncomfortable.
 
X fixed this, ditched the stop and start breaks, lowered the height restriction so pretty much anyone could ride it, and consequently was a lot more popular among the GP.
TWD right now is IMO the second most expendable ride at the park. The ridership seems to be criminally low, the past few visits during peak times this coaster was completely walk on when other rides had 2 hour waits. It is not a bad ride at all, but it certainly has failed to keep people coming back to it. I do enjoy the ride, but I do think retheming X was a stupid decision as this ride will always be a family coaster. Even when you throw barbed wire around it and cover it in zombies.

Since most of the rides/themes at Thorpe are apocalyptic and full of destruction, expect some hasty rethemes for 2021. I got this list straight from Park Pixie so she gonna get in BIG trouble.
 
Nemesis InFun - No?
The Walking Alive People: The Ride
Pleasant: The Ride
Swoopy Swoopy Fun Woosh
Darren Brown's Empty Rush Hour Train
 
 

First time ride for me today. 
 
- It's really well hidden and has broken the flow around the area. No approach from Storm Surge, cut off the walkway around the store, and actual entrance isn't even in view when you commit to the path that only goes to it. All for an 'exit through the shop' opportunity?
- Pre-show is OK, doesn't rely too heavily on having to know TWD already.
- Long smelly corridors on entrance and exit remain long and smelly. No actors today.
- Requiring two riders per row remains an incredibly dumb and troublesome rule.
- The little scenes you shoot through are passable, the last one with the screens is the best but hardly breathtaking.
- The ride is too light throughout to be dark. Highlights the overall poor nature of the hardware the dark can disguise quite well. It's so obviously a kiddie/family coaster with an adult theme. That being a thing is still just mental.
 
Overall? Meh. It was far more enjoyable in its previous guise as a pointless but straight up cheesy fun rave coaster in the dark. I'd happily ride X a couple of times any visit, I'm not sure I'd want to bother going back on TWD ever again really.
 
 

I think it just boils down to how important the role of theming plays within the park. I think Thorpe Park has theming but in most areas its pretty loose and the areas are just kinda there. The area around Colossus and the cluster of flats in that area is a good example, it looks good for the most part, but its more loose. 
 
Like Six Flags has 'themed areas' too, doesn't make 'em a theme park lol. When I visit Thorpe Park it gives me Six Flags vibes to be fair, and that is not a bad thing. Six Flags Great America is very similar, some areas are themed well (Southwest territory) and others not so much.
 
They do vary a lot though. Parks like Europa are meant to fully immerse you in its world. Then look at a park like Cedar Point which has no theming on any ride (I guess Steel Vengeance and Maverick have some pretty queue lines?). These parks are both brilliant, but they are incredibly different. You go to Europa Park for the experience, for the theming. The rides are kinda like the cherry on top. You go to Cedar Point exclusively for the rides. That I think is the core difference between an amusement park and a theme park (though obviously a lot of parks straddle this line). I think Thorpe sits toward the middle, but is more in the direction of being a amusement park as the theming is more secondary to the rides.