Mermalizer

This is probably a bit late, but I thought it would be good to talk about the trip to Thorpe Park I had earlier this month. The first time I went was last year and I had to do the rides on my own, but this time I had my sister and her boyfriend come with us. We had two days on 'the Island' and stayed over in the Shark which I absolutely loved. Did all of the big coasters except for The Swarm on the first day (we did other rides such as the Ghost Train and the water rides), then used the hour's Fastrack to do The Swarm on the next day, plus another go on Stealth and Inferno. We did Colossus again but I found that incredibly rough on the second go - though I was near the back so I wasn't surprised. We did Saw again too which my sister loved, and personally I didn't find it rough, in fact I loved it. Later on in the day we went back to do Saw again and they let us go round again (we had to get off first, but we didn't have to go in the queueline again). Doing Saw four times in two days was one of the highlights of the visit because I'd chickened out on it last year, but now I love it. The indoor section is incredible, and the indoor drop (the bit I was worried about) is great and not as intimidating as I'd thought. Getting my sister to go on Stealth was also a highlight...she didn't like it as much as I did xD The queuetimes weren't too bad mostly because it was after the schools had started again but before my time at university had started. This was balanced out by most of the big coasters only having one train on; Colossus, Inferno, Stealth (which is understandable), and The Swarm (which we did on the hour's Fastrack from the hotel). On the other hand, I have to give major props to Saw's operating team. They were operating like a machine! I don't think the queues ever got over 15 minutes while I was there. The new music is also great, though I miss Rumba's old music. The Island Theme is great for setting up the atmosphere in the park, and I love the improvements in The Dome and around park. We even got to go on the grabber machines at the end of the night - they were playing The Hunger Games films on the big screen during the evening, does this happen usually? I really enjoyed my trip to Thorpe Park, and it helped me get a little more happy since I haven't been feeling good lately. The only thing I didn't like was getting stuck on the M6 on the way home.

Ouch...that does not look good.

Thank you for all of your advice. The trip is tomorrow - hopefully I'll be able to post about how it went after this weekend.

Thanks for the advice. My main concern with the Fastrack is that because it's July, the queues will be pretty big (and my parents are slow walkers), and it's a five hour drive from my house so I can't go often, so I'm concerned about not getting on everything. I was really only thinking about Fastrack for maybe one or two rides, and obviously the morning on Day 2. I'm hopeful about DBGT being open. Now I'm worried about Slammer though.

Thorpe has a queue times website? Could you please tell me the address?

I'm shocked that this has happened and am upset that yet another incident is not only doing bad for theme parks but is also causing people to get hurt. However, I can't say I'm surprised with M&D's types of coasters and track record. If this were an Alton or Thorpe coaster, I'd be in shock like I was with the Smiler crash. But with a park full of rusty and rough Pinfari thrill coasters, I almost felt as if this were inevitable. Even the look of the rides scream unsafe. I wouldn't be surprised if M&D's had to close after this, whether that's before or after the inevitable litigation from the victims and their families (not to mention Pinfari is already in the dust, so M&D's is on their own). Big and rich Merlin can handle a lawsuit and a drop in attendance, but for a small park like M&D's? It could cripple them. Hopefully all of the victims will be okay.

People as in...not just hotel people? Fingers crossed for an opening in the next few days...

I'm hoping it is - or at least I can get a preview as a hotel guest (since I'm staying in the shark) but I'd rather it would be open properly so I can hear the reactions first. Thanks! You seem to have some good protocol for what to do at Thorpe - I'm with a few other people, but I'll try and convince them to have lunch at a different time (but my parents won't be going on the big rides, so chances are they'll guard the bags). And I definitely won't be missing out on Slammer - since it's the only one in the world, I kind of feel a sense of 'now or never' with it (as well as its reliability issues, though it seems to be getting better?). So I'll try and get a go on it sometime.

Thanks for your advice so far guys. I appreciate it a lot.

I have a lot of confessions. I have never and have no intention of doing scare mazes or going to theme parks at Halloween. I'm not particularly good with jumpscares. I didn't do any of the big rides when I was in America (three years ago) and I regret that massively. The Smiler was my first inverting coaster. Never done a single inversion before then. And now I love inversions Freefall drops really unsettle me. Never been on Thirteen because of that. I find wave swingers traumatising. I also find drop towers quite alarming. Hoping to get over that and go on Detonator in about two weeks. May be the only one that thinks this, but I think Wodan is a pretty unoriginal name for a coaster. It's literally called wooden coaster.

First of all I've just joined this forum properly (though I've been looking on it for months, I've only just created an account) so if I've posted this in the wrong board then I'm sorry - I wasn't a hundred percent sure where it would go. So I'm planning a trip to Thorpe Park in about two weeks (9th and 10th of July). Needless to say I'm very excited for it. However, I have quite a few questions that I'm not sure on (first time going to Thorpe Park). Again, I wasn't sure where this would go but I presumed that me posting a ton of individual threads on Quick Questions wouldn't be the best idea, so I've put them all into one post. How much is it for a single Fastrack? I know these get pushed a lot by the park from what I've read, and there are packages for groups of rides, but if I just wanted to get one for, for example, The Swarm, how much would I pay for one? Do the coasters have front row queues? This is more of just a 'what if' in case I feel like going front row for a ride, but do the coasters have front row queues like Nemesis does at Alton Towers? I'm considering trying front row on The Swarm as it looks amazing. Can you choose which side to do on The Swarm? I want to do both sides and I hope that if I've done, for example, the left side first, the next time I ride can I request going on the right side? Which flat ride is good to start off with? Have to admit, never done any thrill flats before, but I want to start. I'm staying at the Shark so on Day 2 I have unlimited Fastrack until 11:00 - where should I use it? Obviously you'll know much more than me about it, but I do have some ideas. I was thinking either Amity Cove for Stealth (and it's not far from Nemesis Inferno) or Lost City for Colossus and all of the flats. I'd appreciate some suggestions. And finally, though this may sound wimpish, the biggest thing I'm worried about is that indoor drop on Saw (I'm not good with drops in the dark). What is it like? Again, sorry if this is in the wrong place or is a bit much. I'm a bit planning-crazy and I like to know what to do and how to do it. I'd really appreciate it if you gave me some advice on these things. Thanks, first time user Mermalizer