Matt N

An easy one
 
Crossing the causeway into Cedar Point. Nothing will ever beat that drive across lake eerie and seeing the greatest skyline of any park in the world just standing there before me after 14 years of badly wanting to visit!!
 
 

Park I like less then most - Port Aventura. The most mediocre collection of rides in a park. The worst park guests I have ever encountered. Just a horrible place to visit, only Shambhala and Dragon Khan make it worth visiting. And even thats a push. 
 
Park I like more then most - Toverland. Not spoken about enough. An excellent theme park that continually renovates and improves. Such a gorgeous place to visit. 

It's true that this and Colossus will be similar, in that they are coasters which will have 'standard' trains and a 'standard' lift hill (assuming, of course, there's no surprises like spinning cars or whatever)
 
I wouldn't be surprised if this is being geared up mid-to-long term as a "like-for-like" Colossus replacement. When Old Town and the island behind Swarm are eventually taken up, you're not left with much room for expansion, so do have to consider removals and replacements, and Colossus would be the first choice in terms of major coasters.
Project Exodus would be a similarly iconic coaster for the park, and similar in terms of maintenance. (If anything, probably easier to maintain, given the problems the park have had with Colossus' supports around the lake)
 
At the same time, it's not hard to imagine Colossus staying for a good while yet. It is *the* coaster which put Thorpe 'on the map'. It's still pretty popular. And who knows, with a retrack, it may become smoother (and be a cheaper alternative than completely ripping it out and building something new).
 
So yeah, it's very 50/50 - I genuinely would not be surprised either way if we see it here or not by the end of the decade.

True - it could be.
 
They seem to have issues with the foundations don’t they apparently? 
 
Theres also a clone opening soon (supposedly at least), so it won’t even be unique to the UK.
 
on the other hand though there’s space available elsewhere for new rides in the future.

Park I like more than most - Walibi Holland. Yeah it aint the best park in the world but when you visit during the halloween season its a great visit and it helps that Untamed is one of my top coasters.
 
Park I like less than most - Europa Park. Again, I DO like this park. However I am far from being one of the many that think this park is the holy grail of theme parks. I find their coasters to be relatively middle of the road in that they are good without being spectacular and the fact their dark rides are disney knock offs doesnt really sit well with me.

For all my sins, Thorpe Park. Though even then, there's plenty of people who love it more than me.
 
I have a big soft spot for Walibi Holland, even with their brash, in-your-face marketing. I just can't help but smile every time I even think about one of my visits.
 
In terms of small parks I have a big liking for, I'll sing the praises of Plopsa Coo and Parc du Bocasse till the cows come home.

Can I just use this thread to reiterate myself and @Mark9's hatred of Bakken?
 
I guess De Waarbeek counts? But mostly because its a small park so probably more under the radar rather than people hating it.

No, can’t honestly see this happening for the reasons largely mentioned above. 
 
Disney World is ‘primarily’ aimed at families, hence why most attractions are in the medium-family thrill category as the new additions in Star Wars Land and Avatar Land for example have proven. 
 
Pretty much all the other Disney resorts have ‘thrill based’ parks not particularly far away and they are all able to generally operate successfully without this affecting their product and demographic.

Or like a dark gothic horror theme, with the area called the Dark Kingdom, and call the new coaster as Knightmare

Part of it was down to the fact that's where the space was, and that's where investment was going. The Canada Creek Railway was introduced when they introduced the Canada Creek area (including Loggers Leap). It wasn't just a means of transportation, it was also an attraction in its own right, and looping round Canada Creek and giving that - albeit minimal - interaction with Loggers Leap helped too.
 
The area by Rumba and what's now Inferno had other attractions, and didn't really have the space for a train station, train storage shed and a turnaround.
 
 
It should be remember that the farm was just that - a farm! It had animals and restaurant. It wasn't noisy or disruptive in any way. If Thorpe Park didn't exist, no one would bat an eyelid at that area being used as a farm.
 
It should also be remember that when Thorpe Park opened, it wasn't really a theme park. It was a leisure park, which slowly developed into a theme park, with rides added in at certain periods. A farm in that location made perfect sense in the context of what Thorpe Park originally was.
 
At the same time, having it far away from everything else made sense. It was a place for animals and for quiet, away from some of the louder and busier leisure activities at the park. 
 
I don't think the plane exhibits were in any different parts of the park than what exists now. They were located in various parts of the park, including what is now The Jungle, where Vortex/Zodiac are, and parts of where Loggers Leap are. When Loggers Leap an Canada Creek were introduced, some parts of the lake were infilled to create the area. This might be the separate lake that was spoken about.
 
It was separate. 
 
Treasure Island opened in 1983, so pre-dates CCR. Before CCR opened, one could take the waterbus to the Farm, or you could walk there. To walk there, you would go alongside the lake, from what is now roughly between Rumba Rapids and Inferno to the Farm. About a third of the way along was the station / entrance for Treasure Island. You can see a pathway in the video @Mattgwise posted.
 
When CCR opened, you could still walk to the Farm, and I believe walking was the only way still to get to Treasure Island.
 
 
Yes, the park own them. Treasure Island could function as a ride site, Thorpe Farm almost definitely not.
 
Here's a very crude picture:

Roughly speaking, everything within the yellow region is - in some loose definition - Thorpe's, or of Thorpe's responsible.
Everywhere within the red region (up to the yellow line) is pretty much where the park are allowed to develop rides currently. That's not to say that the park couldn't develop outside that region, but it would require a lot of extra work and changes with the council.
 
As you can see, Treasure Island lies within this region. Back when Treasure Island was an attraction, The Swarm island didn't exist, nor did the straight patch of land above it. In the mid 2000s, the park decided to build an engineering facility building (which is one of the buildings directly above where "The Swarm" is written, just under one my crude yellow lines). The new land helped create a service road to connect it towards the back of the park in an easy way.
 
The Farm is outside of this development region. The park currently use it as storage and work space for some teams (such as Landscaping and Waste Management). At least one of the buildings there is listed too, so can't be demolished. There is some stuff that's also just kind of chucked there (if you've seen the Big Top documentary from Jack Silkstone, you'll see that the clown entrance feature has pretty much been dumped there).
 
Again, it's not impossible for it to be used for something low key or quiet, but highly unlikely.
 
 
The park certainly has gone through several transformations over the decades. Especially in enthusiast circles, there's more and more people who weren't born when Colossus opened, and that was truly the turning point for the park becoming a thrill park. So there's lots of people like yourself who will never know Thorpe as anything other than a thrill park, and it's really strange.
 
If you're interested in learning more, there's a fair few sources out there, albeit less stuff pre-Tussauds
Thorpe Park Mania: We have an okay selection of history / archive bits, albeit a bit more recent stuff... https://thorpeparkmania.co.uk/
Memories of Thorpe Park: Memories of Thorpe Park have a good range of stuff too... https://memoriesofthorpepark.co.uk/ / https://www.facebook.com/MoTP.uk/
Thorpe Park Nostalgia: If you're on Instagram, this is a great account to follow from someone who worked at the park and shares lots of stuff from the later 90s/early 00s... https://www.instagram.com/thorpeparknostalgia/
 
And obviously, feel free to ask on here too!

Disney won't build anything like Velocicoaster.
 
The most thrilling coasters they've built are Space Mountain at DLP and Rock n Roller Coaster. They've never been interested in the out and out thrill market even when IoA first opened with Hulk and Duelling Dragons in Florida. Whilst California has Knotts and Magic Mountain nearby.
 
The newer coasters look firmly in the family thrill category (if Tron rides like the other Booster Bikes thrill would be a stretch anyway), which is Disney's demographic. Never been afraid to have a number of "bigger" attractions. The likes of Tower of Terror or Test Track for example are great examples of the type of ride Disney go for. 

Maybe. 
 
I don't think it would take Velocicoaster to cause a significant shift though. All of the Disney investment points at interactive family rides and I think thats how it will continue. It would take a severe drop in attendance that is unrelated to covid-19 restrictions that may force Disney to alter slightly. Right now though, no. 

I aint too sure. The thrill market as a niche is far smaller than the family audience. Disney will most likely always be the biggest family draw in the world so I cant see them rushing to put in thrill coasters purely because Universal have done so.
 
They would have moved to do that back when IOA first opened with Hulk and the Dragons.

There's also a handy bit of info here: https://memoriesofthorpepark.co.uk/treasureisland.html
 
I'll follow this post up with more later, but again, Memories of Thorpe Park can give a nice bit of info about Thorpe Farm and CCR:
https://memoriesofthorpepark.co.uk/thorpefarm.html
https://memoriesofthorpepark.co.uk/ccr.html
 
 

Treasure Island was halfway between Thorpe Farm and the park, virtually a little west of where the vacant island next to Swarm is. Thorpe Farm was nowhere near Canada Creek/Old Town. The railway was shortened to just a loop when the farm shut.
 
See image below and watch the attached video. At 2:31 you can see the interchange for the Treasure Island Railway. Waterbuses used to also run from Model Village (next to where Sunken Garden is now over to the jetty you can see just east of my Thorpe Farm label. 

 

Sorry to double post, but unsurprisingly, the opening has now been officially pushed back to 2025: I think they’ve got a far better chance of meeting 2025 than 2024, personally; 2 years seemed like a phenomenally short amount of time to build a new park from the ground up, whereas 3 years seems perhaps more achievable, in my opinion.   On a side note, it would appear they’ve altered the concept art a fair bit; the British and French flags from the huge dome buildings are gone, for a start! Could this be the altered concept coming out of the SSSI designation?

Heres another of mine and I aint sure how "unpopular" it is. I will assume it is given the massive fanbase and popularity Europa has in the theme park/coaster community. Full disclaimer, I really like Europa before anyone things likewise!! 
 
Of the two top German parks, I FAR prefer Phantasia to Europa. I believe the following reasons are valid enough.
 
1. Whilst Europa has a far large coaster selection, I much prefer Taron and Black Mamba to ANY coaster at Europa. I actually personally find most the Europa coasters "middle of the road" with the exception of Wodan. I would rather one world class coaster to a handful of "good ones". Quality over quantity.
 
2. With water rides. Again, Europa has a far bigger selection but I would have Chiapas and River quest over any of the Europa water rides. Same as I said in point 1.
 
3. Dark rides. I personally prefer Maus Au Chocolat to all Europas dark rides. I personally cant warm to the dark rides at Europa as I find them to be blatant rip offs of Disney dark rides.
 
4. I find it a more manageable park in regards to not feeling knackered when walking around and trying to fit it all in. I liken Phantasia to a dish where the portion is just right and the food is incredible whereas Europa is a buffet where one has gone mad stacking the plate high.
 
5. I think Phantasia has a more unique overall feel to it and the theming quality in my book is far higher. Rookburgh and Klugheim optimise that.
 
6. I prefer the food options at Phantasia. Rutmoors tavern is heaven and the noodles in China are gorgeous!!.
 
So yeah. They be my reasons for having the opinion of Phantasia being the better park to Europa.
 
 

One that came to mind after how both rides have been running this year.
 
I'd say that Infusion is much more intense, fun and thrilling than Icon.  It also looks cooler and delivers a much higher throughput based on both rides' performance this year.
 
The only thing that holds it back from being better outright is inconsistency and the fact it's sometimes horribly rough.  If it ran at its best, all the time, I'd genuinely consider it a "better" coaster than Icon.

Yes. Yes you are!! 😛
 
For me the obvious small coaster that did a lot with its space was wild mouse at blackpool. Just an absolutely brilliant nostalgic ride and is truely missed. The other I will go with is Balder at liseberg. Doesnt take up that huge a space at all and is a quality wooden coaster.
 
Big coaster that wastes its size. Now the one I am gonna go with is either Diamondback or Silver Star. Two absolutely naff hypers. Sorry if that triggers any of the "Europa is perfect" brigade 😜

Obvious one here, Nemesis. Everyone knows why.
 
 
Big coaster that is a waste.. mmm. Leviathan at Canadas Wonderland. Behemoth in the same park is a much better ride are is basically the same, just longer and with far more air time.
 
I'll throw in Top Thrill Dragster as well. Waiting for the thing is a nightmare because of the risk of roll back. You go on it and sure, it is thrilling. but I want more than just twelve seconds of actual thrill, it severely under-delivers.

Small coaster? Think I’m also going to have to say Backlot Stunt Coaster. What is packed into it’s space is absolutely sublime and amazing. That helix alone warrants it’s position here IMO. 
 
And big coaster wasting space? Valeavn comes to mind. It just doesn’t really do anything outstanding or different to any other dive coasters or the other (and much better) B&Ms within the same park. 
 
Blivvy has the drop, Valkyria has the variety and Baron has the theming/backstory. This one just exists tbh. 

Wild Mouse was easily the best "thrill per footprint" coaster out there imo.  In terms of still existing coasters, I'd probably go with Revolution.
 
In terms of big coasters that waste their size, I'd say Oblivion, because it has a good first drop and then that's... it. 😂

I'm surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet, but Coaster Chall recently posted a very interesting video about what Drayton could be receiving in 2022, as well as what could be coming in 2023:
If you don't want to watch, Chall's inside source is suggesting that:
Drayton Manor's 2022 addition will be a Viking-themed area on the triangular plot of land near to where Vertigo and Buffalo are located named Viking Village. The addition is set to be fully revealed in March 2022, with an opening apparently set for 1st April. The rides installed will be a Zamperla Disk'O Coaster, a Zamperla Nebulaz and a pony ride-style attraction (think George's Dinosaur Adventure at Paultons) themed to Viking battle horses. As well as this, Vertigo will apparently be kept, rethemed into the area and included in park admission, and Buffalo is also being rethemed to the Loki Serpent Snake. Away from Viking Village, markings are already being taken for a new roller coaster, and Looping Group are currently scouring for different manufacturers to build it. However, the ride is said to have 800m of track, forwards and backwards sections, and a swing launch somewhere within the ride. In terms of a location, the combined location of Apocalypse, Pandemonium and Test Track is apparently being eyed up for this coaster, and it's rumoured to be a 2023 addition, functioning as a phase 2 expansion to Viking Village. Isn't this all very exciting? Take this with a pinch of salt, of course, but Chall's inside source within Drayton Manor has been incredibly reliable so far, correctly predicting nearly all of what happened with Adventure Cove in 2021. So for that reason, I'd say that what Chall is saying has a high chance of being true, personally!

Welcome to TPM @CineramaMax!

Hellooo I'm Max! Long time lurker but was once a member as a teenager as 'Coaster XTREME', so it's good to be back with a slightly more mature username xD.
 
I'm a filmmaker/film geek and long time coaster/theme park enthusiast.
 
I've been going to Thorpe Park since I was very young and I run some of the biggest theme park groups on Facebook..