Thorpe Park Trip Reports

[Ryan]

Ryan, is that you on the right with chequered collar?

Indeed it is.

[Smidget]

I can't remember, he was doing his funny noise when Stealth was testing though.

Ahh okay. When I went on it with him he was yelling like a loony - was pretty funny.

Have got a pic of us on it but I don't have a scanner here at uni so Marc can upload it, if he can be bothered.

[StevenVig]

Ryan, is that you on the right with chequered collar?

Indeed it is.

Beautiful aint he?

[Zappomatic]

Amazingly quiet day on park today, with no queues for anything at all - not even Swarm backwards! The only real waiting was for Samurai which apparently needs 15 riders to be able to run - took some encouragement to get passers by to get on.

There seemed to be a couple of camera crews on park and it seems one of them (or maybe it was the same one?) was following around Liam from One Direction. Really did have to laugh how they all got led up the exit path for Nemesis Inferno when there was no queue through the main entrance anyway!

Park looking a lot cleaner and neater than it has in some time with lots of things repainted including Lost City queueline fences, outside of the Dome, Canada Creek Burger King and the block containing Burger King, Mexican Cantina etc. I get the feeling the park are now taking cleanliness seriously as there was no evidence of last season's litter, the exception to this being around the Rumba Rapids course - needs sorting out.

The Swarm backwards is certainly an interesting sensation, but I prefer riding forwards.

Quantum was incredibly jolty. Can see this having some downtime soon...

Rumba Rapids actually got people wet by waves splashing over the side of the boat for once, however we did scrape the tops of the pipes a few times.

The Swarm and Colossus were running on one train. Nemesis Inferno had two trains on but only one was in use but the park was so empty that even the one train was going out with plenty of empty seats!

Lovely to see the return of mist and lights on Nemesis Inferno.

Menu at Bar 360 has changed slightly (and prices have gone up). It now features sharing platters, and a few changes and additions to the main meals. I had sausage and mash which was an extremely generous portion and quite tasty, but I would have liked more of the onion gravy and maybe some peas or beans to go with it.

Later in the day most of the music around the park completely cut out which on top of the lack of guests made for a slightly weird atmosphere. I think the playlist in Canada Creek may have been changed - still not the old upbeat country classics but definitely less dreary than last season. As previously mentioned the entrance, Dome and Neptune's Beach now have a pretend radio station type setup called The Noise. Among the current chart stuff I randomly heard an old Craig David song which for some reason I found very funny indeed.

Staff all very friendly and polite, and some of them chatty. Pleasingly despite being only the third real open day they all seemed to know what they were doing!

All in all a really good day with plenty of positives and very little in the way of niggles. Let's hope they can keep it up!

[Dan9]

Wrote this a few days ago then lost it so it's taken a while to find the motivation, but here we are...

FRIENDS AND FAMILY DAY YO. ~09/03/13~

I never know how to start these properly, so let's get straight to the point. The Swarm backwards blah blah terrible queueing system blah blah another merlin cock up blahhh. The ride itself is good, but only because The Swarm was a brilliant ride to begin with. All the inversions were still very enjoyable backwards, but the bits in between were fairly dead in comparison to going forwards. That said, I've only ridden it once backwards so I'll have to go again before I could call it a waste of time, but either way at least it adds another variety of experience. Later in the day however, I managed two rides on it forwards and it absolutely blew me away. Every part of it was sensational. I really hope the fire is working more often this season, because it complements the new near miss perfectly. After years of experience it's hard for a single ride to have such an effect, especially one I'd already done many times before, but I actually let out an involuntary 'woah' as soon as we hit the brakes. It was in masterful form.

Nemesis Inferno. If Thorpe Park's the closest thing to my 'home' park, I would consider this the closest thing to my 'home' ride, so I was genuinely delighted to see it doing so well. Whilst the outside volcano is a bit dirty in places now, the station was fantastic. New lights along the queue line and surrounding the trains, new boarding announcements and the dispatch theme was back and perfectly timed too. Factor all that in with enthusiastic staff and it was a great place to be. And then the tunnel, oh my. Lights all working and mist so thick you couldn't see where it ended. There was so much of it it drifted beyond the service road and covered Monks Walk. The ride was its wonderful, whippy self.

Detonator followed, and it's still the best flat ride in the park. From Detonator we could see that Stealth had only just opened, so naturally... Front-row Stealth was excellent. Maybe it's just because I haven't been on it so frequently in the last two years as I used to but it was so much better than I remembered. I can't remember the order of the rides from here on so I'll just write what I remember first. Slammer was running (whaaat) and with a solid 10 or so riders per ride (this isn't a knock at Slammer though, the park was very dead). Crazy to think it's now the last of its kind, and as a ride experience it's still going strong. Rush is still a favourite of mine, but the cycles were really short. We only had one top swing on each side and then it was over, which was odd considering it was barely loading half of its capacity each ride.

Onto SawwwwwwwwwwwowowowowOW OW OW. OW. The Ride. Ohhh dear. It still hurts just to think about it, but it's really trying to rival Furius Baco for catastrophically awful. Next...

Colossus kept closing every time we went near it, so I was forced onto we went for Samurai. All the rides I'd had on it last year had been of 'ok' standard, but this was pathetic. It gave us a normal ride for about 40 seconds and then lumbered about for a few minutes. Running out of ways to describe rides now, so Loggers was erm, good? The lack of tunnel wasn't too bad and didn't change much for me, although I think it would have been if you dropped into the entrance of the tunnel rather than it now being a fairly pointless afterthought. I'm sure they took that into consideration, but maybe it's something they can look it in the future. Vortex was also throwing a tantrum all day, so Quantum... yep, Quantum. Still makes me feel a bit ~off~ afterwards. Somewhere along the line we did Rumba too. As you can see, writing a trip report like this twice can lead me to slack off a bit towards the end. Not much else to say here.

Ridecounts'ralwayscool:

Nemesis Inferno x4

The Swarm x3

Detonator x1

Stealth x1

Rush x1

Loggers Leap x1

Slammer x1

Saw - The Ride x1

Samurai x1

Rumba Rapids x1

Quantum x1

Yay.

[Mark9]

So yeah, went to Thorpe yesterday via South West Trains which I haven't done for a while. Got to Thorpe and was with Ian, Marc, Ricky and Smidget.

Nemesis Inferno - They've done a fantastic job this year with, what budget they've got has been used well. Love the light changes and the return of the dispatch music. And then the return of all the mist effects, just brings Inferno above being just a bog-standard inverter and into something special. Easily the most improved ride at Thorpe this year.

Saw: The Ride - Not too bad this time around. Didn't notice anything too spectacular.

Slammer - Oh Slammer . Best ride of the year by far. Just by being open on the first days of season for the second year in a row. Bravo to Thorpe engineers on all their hard work.

Colossus - Enjoyable ride on Colossus. It's second train seems to have returned from its little holiday and was chilling on the break run

Lost City - Samurai, Rush, Vortex and Zodiac are all awful these days. Samurai was giving okayish rides but isn't designed for theme park service, Zodiac sounded ill and is alright, Rush was only giving us two high swings. On a quiet day like it was yesterday, would it have killed them for giving us longer rides. Vortex was appalling. If they ever have to decide between Vortex and Slammer, please scrap Vortex. It no longer serves its purpose with one sole top swing. All that build up to nothing. Quantum was amazing as per usual, the ride decided to go mad again.

The park looked fresh with several areas repainted such as air gates and stations, buildings and areas. Reliability was also good with only Vortex breaking down whilst we were on it and every ride that was due to open, being open. All in all, a really great day at Thorpe. I just Thorpe they can carry this through the season.

[Whiteknuckle]

Quick write up from my trip yesterday.

Me and Mum went up, mainly to renew our annual passes. We headed straight for the Swarm backwards, up over the steps and onto row 7. Going over the first drop was pretty insane, but the rest of it was pretty mundane. Quick ride foward on the front row, which was walk on we then headed to Stealth, again front row then back row. Quick front on nemesis Inferno, with a nice amount of tunnel mist we headed out to renew our passes.

Quick cup of coffee in the Dome, it was off to Saw, the ride, which banged my head about a bit, one lame ride on Samurai, then 2 on Colossus, front first, then a middle. Me and Mum were both suprised how fast she was running, especially through the inlines. Missed Slammer out, so headed back to Stealth for another 2 goes, although they had taken a train off, and also the same with The Swarm.

Then headed back to the car in the rain.

Got home and relised I could have stayed for the ERT, D'oh

Forgot to say I did Loggers once aswell, just to see what the state of the tunnel was for myself. Not impressed with the mess they have left it in.

[J.S217]

Yesterday after school I was picked up by Chris's Dad and we were dropped off at Thorpe Park for 3:45 around that time any way we got there the first ride we did was rush only 2 high swings but hey they staff were having great fun saying things like "in order for this ride to start you need to be as loud as you can" then after rush we headed for my Favourite Ride Nemesis Inferno we did the front which was fantastic as always absolutely loved the Tunnel effect with the huge amount of mist which covered the whole track and the use of Red lights was great. The we headed for Loggers which was great fun then it was time to head over to The Swarm for the ERT Photo shoot which I can say was great fun.

ride count.

Rush

Nemesis Inferno

Loggers Leap

The Swarm X9

overall a nice way to start off the weekend

[Coaster]

I'm braving the weather and going today so expect a trip report later. (No photos, sorry!)

[MattyMoo]

Yay, brilliant review! (A mod may move it to the Meets topic, I'm not sure! )

Agreed re: Peaj and his wallet - that would've completely ruined my Day but he completely took it in his stride! Glad it wasn't just me that couldn't handle all those Swarm re-rides! I had the same concerns for myself! Sidders had me in stitches after about 2 minutes of meeting him, he literally ran off into the park and was like a kid in a sweet shop, bloody brilliant I did witness him hugging the B&M goodness out of an Inferno support too!

Love reading the reviews of the day, can't wait for more and photos too when the rest of the members get back home!

[J.S217]

Yeah I really enjoyed the ERT and meeting every one sorry for not mingling as peaj would say with other great people, I kinda get shy around people a bit older than me but I hope to see you epic lot on the 24th of march

[J.S217]

I know they are I remember the other meet I went to was the Ex 10 last year for fright nights that was great fun

[Coaster]

Went to the park today, it was raining most of the day but we still had a great time!

Park was practically dead by late afternoon, with the exception of Stealth (which opened late today) and Colossus (on a one train service.)
We really enjoyed everything, a shame that X wasn't ready but we will be back soon (Merlin pass holders) so it didn't really matter to us.

I thought that the changes on both The Swarm and Nemesis were worthwhile and really good, especially the inferno tunnel. The water effects on The Swarm were not working properly, but I will let them off because the fire went on almost every train - and it was raining!! I thought that the billboard near miss on The Swarm was very effective.

Anyway, onto the RIDECOUNT:

The Swarm x16 (Was completley walk on most of the day and they let us stay in the station and swap rows as we pleased for most of it or just go back behind the gate and wait if there were people there, which was very nice.) I think we rode it about 7 time backwards and the rest forwards.

Nemesis Inferno x3 (Also walk on for most of the day)

Saw: The Ride x2

Tidal Wave x2 (Yes, we are mad! )

Detonator x2

Colossus x1

Stealth x1

Slammer x1

Rush x1

Rumba Rapidsx1 (Looking very run down atm, could do with an extensive refurbishment)

Depth Charge x1 (New boats were very fast, there was airtime!!)

Zodiac x1 (New stickers on the pods which don't say Tussauds!)

Other notes from the day:

From the Colossus brake run we saw the front of a refurbished X train (which was left outside). It was painted completley black, and the old thorpe park logo was gone, with it instead just saying "THORPE PARK" in capitals. From what I could see it was individual lap bars but no seat divider, although I didn't really get a long look at it.)

- Saw Alive looked like it had sunk slightly on one side, it was definatley tilted!

- New Thorpe park radio station playing at the entrance/beach area and randomly interrupting the Colossus theme music at one point.

Overall we had a great day, it was great to be back on park after over four months of it being closed and we will definatley be visiting again soon!

TOTAL RIDES ON THE SWARM: 87!

Thank you for reading

[J.S217]

Wow what a ride count Should of gone today, is the second train on Colossus Running?

[Coaster]

Wow what a ride count Should of gone today, is the second train on Colossus Running?

No, it was on a one train service. A shame really, we would have gone on it a lot more as it is one of our faves there but when nearly everything else had a really short/no queue it wasn't really worth waiting for.

Plus we wanted to beat our record of 10 rides on The Swarm in a day, I think it's safe to say we safely beat it, even if most of the rides were in the rain!

[J.S217]

well you have blown my Inversion count out the water

[Ryan]

Thursday 14th March 2013

Just going to leave a ride count as I did the Trip Report for my Annual Pass day visit and I'll just be repeating myself.

• Swarm - 3
• Saw - 1
• Stealth - 1
• Colossus - 1
• Inferno - 2
• Rush - 1
• Samurai - 1
• Slammer - 1
• Detonator - 1
• Vortex - 1
• Storm Surge - 1 (was actually decent, and I saw the Wembley Arch from the top )
• Quantum - 1
• Flying Fish - 1
• Depth Charge - 1
• Mr Monkeys - 1
• Loggers - 1
• Rumba Rapids - 1
• Rocky Express - 1
• Teacups - 1

As you can tell, the park was empty

[TPJames]

How was the park empty on a sunday??? I'm amazed- I wish I could have been there!

[JoshC.]

How was the park empty on a sunday??? I'm amazed- I wish I could have been there!

Sundays tend to be quieter anyways I think.

Seems as though this weekend wasn't exactly a popular one to go to theme parks in general..

[jmgpannal]

Probably because the weather was horrendous! Very wet most of the weekend.

[RideAddict]

I've been at Thorpe Park today for the first time this year - here's a general review of the day, with the highs and lows included.

Firstly, a ride summary...

Nemesis - 2 rides
Stealth - 2 rides
The Swarm - 5 rides, consisting of 2 forwards left-side, 1 forwards right-side, 1 backwards left-side, 1 backwards right-side
Storm Surge - 1 ride
Colossus - 1 ride
Saw - 2 rides
Vortex - 1 ride
Slammer - 1 ride

I arrived at about 11:05am to find it extremely quiet, to my pleasure, and just how I expected it. To summarise the whole day, it was great, with most rides practically a 5-minute wait or walk-on. Very cold, especially with the wind blowing. However tidy the park may look, IMO it still looks very grubby and tired and dated in the older areas. Most rides were on 1-train operation, something I don't often see as I usually visit at weekends when there's 2 or 3 trains on. Here's a few comments on the rides I rode:

Nemesis
She's looking good with the volcano effects working again and the red lights in the tunnel. Too much mist in there. Still packing a punch at nearly 10 years old, and so smooth. The loading music and despatch tune in the station sound terrific, the best for years, and it's good to hear this blast out again. Takes me back to it's prime days around 2005ish.

Stealth
As usual, performing very well. Hard to spot the repainted track but eventually I saw it.

The Swarm
On entering the area, the new billboard is fantastic looking and a very close shave! I actually like it now I've seen it, for ages during its planning I wasn't so sure. Moving on to the backwards row queues and I really don't know what the fuss has been about all these months. They've done it fantastically and for a first-timer, it doesn't look like an add-on. Speaking of first-timers, I sat next to a girl on the backwards row, she was only about 12 and told me it was her first ever time on the ride - she hadn't even rode it forwards but seemed to love it. Bravo to her!

On my first ride of the day on the forwards left-side seat, between leaving the the dive drop and going down underneath the plane wing, the fire effect on the fire engine blasted. I've seen it before but never seen it go off when I'm on the ride!

My experience of braving it backwards can be described as not only awesome, but one that also plays with your mind, as we're all used to the track ahead of us coming towards us, rather than going away. Turning these seats around has made the braving it backwards experience a totally unique one, considering you can now choose backwards or forwards on this ride. Riding backwards certainly does play with your mind (it does for me, anyway). I keep thinking of a mirror image as you go through the elements the other way round. So today I have tried it forwards and backwards on both sides - 4 different ride experiences. Sweet! I'll definitely try it backwards in the future, but won't be putting myself out especially. If the queue is short and worth it, then I'll do it.

Storm Surge
As per usual, the boats are full of water which is pathetic, it takes forever to get to the top, you get drenched, and I'm hating this more and more each time. But why do I still put myself through it? To pass the time, probably.

Colossus
Rattly, just about enjoyable. Nothing's changed about this.

Saw
I went on Saw about 10 minutes after Colossus. When I was going up Colossus' lift hill I could see Saw was stuck halfway round on the flat brake check section, with riders waiting in the car. After attempting it for the 2nd time, it was still closed but suddenly opened back up. Got on the ride and had 2 OK rides. People here moan about about bashing your head on this ride. In reality, the truth is that you can hold yourself still, and realise that it's the ride car going round the track that is bumpy and rough.

It was also here that I bumped into a member of staff I know - a total surprise, as I didn't expect them to be working there! However, it pleased me.

Vortex
Usual standard ride. Brilliant.

Slammer
It's like it's never been away. Still packing a punch and those white plasters all over it cry out desperately for a repaint - something that we'll probably wait forever for.

Other points to make on rides I didn't go on:

• Loggers Leap - I saw the non-existent tunnel from Saw. Hmm, nice!
• Samuari's parking problems are evident even to a passer-by like me. Sort it!
• Rumba is looking awful as always.
• Detonator is running nicely, but I watched it once as it went to the top. The Davina countdown played and finished with it still at the top, waiting to drop. Finally, about 5 seconds later it dropped. Nice sync there.
• The Noise radio. It's OK, and hearing some general recent music or chart music is nice, but going from the old Let's Twist Again tune in Amity Cove to a modern-day Swedish House Mafia track just isn't cricket!

I left about 4pm, happy that I went. I was supposed to hit Chessington today, but I'm glad I changed my plan!

[MattyMoo]

The release of Detty is controlled by the ride op

[pluk]

Nemesis

Too much mist in there.

Such a thing does not exist!

[Nicky]

I can imagine that the reason the back row queue of Swarm seemed really fantastic is probably because the park was so quiet. I'd hate to see it at a weekend. It was bad enough on AP day.

[Coaster]

I can imagine that the reason the back row queue of Swarm seemed really fantastic is probably because the park was so quiet. I'd hate to see it at a weekend. It was bad enough on AP day.

It was fine last weekend on Sunday, but then the park was almost dead. I'm yet to see it on a busy day.