Mark9

It was a beloved ride between 1995-1999. But that was twenty years ago and it has been a ride very much out of step with the rest of Chessington. This is a long time coming frankly.

How could you forget about Rita, Speed Monster, Desert Racer which are all far closer 🥺

I really didn't like Valravn. It really bugged me that it was always so busy because for my money there at least 12 coasters there that are better.

Can we do that anyway? You can keep the pony.

But what if... it is?!

Sick.

But Josh, it took them FOUR hours to get there. Legoland should have foreseen this and built the park in Porthill.

Nemesis Inferno will always be there for you.

Nah, ain't related, it's just an accelerator thing where they spend a lot of their lives closed, although to be fair Rita is pretty reliable in comparison. They've said nothing about Quantum all season. It's an outrage. An absolute racket.

Sorry Josh, didn't mean to come across as rude sarcasm, more playful sarcasm. Apologies.

I don't know a single theme park with accurate queue boards. Once I queued 2 minutes for Pegasus at Europa Park and the queue board said 1 minute!

I know this is your Thorpe Park and you can have whatever you like but my god, that sounds exactly like everything else currently at Thorpe. it's so depressing.

New ride, Orion. https://www.wvxu.org/post/kings-island-will-debut-orion-giga-coaster-spring-2020#stream/0 B&M giga, described as a half way house between Leviathan and Fury 325.

I have a few theories. None of its concrete evidence and is pure conjecture on my part. - The failure of the Swarm. We all know that Merlin were initially disappointed by the Swarms first season. Many reasons were cited (which I'm sure those in the know can find) but essentially, I think this lack of interest in the new coaster dented confidence in what the park could do. Baring in mind, 2011 saw one of the biggest years the park had and that was on the back of Storm Surge. Cheaper investment bought massive returns. - The next Big thing. I think Thorpe has fallen into the trap that Six Flags did. By appealing solely to the thrill sector you severely limit interest. Teenagers want the next big thing and in the 00s, Thorpe easily provided that thrill. Hit after hit, success after success. Coasters galore, several years where we got two flat rides. That investment was unsustainable. Now though, rides like Colossus, Inferno, Tidal Wave, Detonator & Vortex are old hat. They are unmaintained and look their age. Thorpe were unable to drum up interest with The Swarm, Derren Brown opened late and was pretty weak and the less said about the reliance on IP to drive interest the better. The park has a real image problem which leads me to.. - Branding. Thorpe has a huge perception problem. Is it a thrill park, is it a park for up for it families, do we make X a family coaster then two years later refurbish it for adults. Do we change our market to families and then close the biggest family ride we've got (Loggers Leap). Do we advertise our park in our 2019 advert or have an image of goats, donuts and a hotel room. None of this evokes excitement. It smacks of a park throwing anything, everything at the wall to see what sticks and new general managers are not given enough time to evolve/change the place before they are fired and a new one bought in. - The Smiler crash. Ironically, four years later, I feel like the crash has had this weird echoing effect at Thorpe compared to the other two main Merlin parks. It's almost like it never recovered from the initial drop in attendance whilst Alton has recovered well thanks to Wicker Man and Chessington never saw the drop because of its family audience. You could say the lack of investment is really hurting Thorpe right now but then there seems to be no steps to change this. - The park itself. It's fallen a long way since the hefty days of 2006. If they are to recover the place they need to sort out their offering. Having abandoned flat rides and log flumes standing doesn't help, neither does the game stalls or the lack of maintenance and paint jobs on their rollercoasters. The basics need to be sorted for Thorpe to recover. Chessington was exactly the same way in the 00's but that now feels like the strongest Merlin park IMO. If Thorpe can sort this then they might be able to get back to the top.

Colossus for reference cost 10 million in 2002, inflation into 2019 puts it at 16 million. Flamingoland are either telling the biggest porky since Derren Brown or got seriously ripped.

I put it on a high pedestal because I think its an awesomely themed attraction and find it incredibly enjoyable. Nothing to do with the incredible craftsmanship of a ride like Dreamflight or Huntik, it's just because I think Hex is a seamless, immersive attraction and one of the few rides in the UK to hit its brief with a bullseye.

Hex is the best themed attraction in the UK, maybe even Europe. It's high praise I suppose, I just don't think many rides give the chills and immersion that Hex provides.

Dubai is alright, it's got a Waitrose and everything. For me its a principle thing. Just because the Middle East is far worse does not in anyway excuse the stance that the Polish government and Polish media is currently presenting. Until this stance is softened, I'd rather ride an RMC in a more welcoming country like the Netherlands and Sweden.

Wish I could go, unfortunately as Polish politicians have declared LGBT enemies of the state, I couldn't possibly visit with that kind of hatred running through the country. Some things come above rollercoasters and this is one of them.

Thats every single Spanish guest unfortunately. All I remember about PortAventura is the little _________ *Insert own swear word here* pushing past us at every opportunity. Horrid. Yes, this one in particular drives me nuts. 'I went to this obscure theme park in the middle of Lativa and it was running two trains on one of its rollercoasters, MERLIN NEVER DO THIS' Oh sod off.

People that spoil things. 🤪

A lot of my opinions are completely opposite to yours. I find Superman proper dreary compared to Air. Considering what it could do and what it does do, it's a real let down for me. Especially as its one of the busier rides there, it doesn't deliver. I liked Raging Bull and was gutted we only got on it once. Different enough from the other hypers to make an impression. V2 is tedious to me. Goliath on the other hand excellent, Batman the Ride sublime. We suffered a power cut unfortunately so will have to go back..

Lets just hope it actually gets built this time. This poor Intamin has been pretty neglected since 2011, just sitting in fields and car parks just wanting riders.

All the positivity is in the European theme park topics currently. There was a brief rest-bite when Wicker Man and Icon opened but they weren't enough. Unfortunately Thorpe has fallen quite a distance from its heydays in the 00's when there was hope of enthusiasm and big projects from the park. Now-a-days a bouncy castle (which Chessington doesn't even advertise with theirs) is the best we get. Things like Slammer and Loggers just being abandoned are symptoms of a far bigger issue that Thorpe faces.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-49095935 A story so short that it goes straight into the Smiler crash after two sentences.