Thorpe Park Trip Reports

[Tom]

This problem has been a regular occurrence at Thorpe for a number of years now, I'm not sure on the exact reason for it but something needs to change.

 

Overall it was an enjoyable day

 

If you still visit and enjoy your day, then it certainly isn't a problem!

[Mitchada04]

Colossus is back on two trains?! Hoorah!

[Coaster]

If you still visit and enjoy your day, then it certainly isn't a problem!

That logic doesn't make any sense to me, you can still enjoy a day at a theme park even if operations are not what they should be at times - it doesn't spoil the whole day.

[paige]

Hasn't Stealth been having issues which has meant that it's only been able to run on one train since the start of the season? If so, you can't blame them for testing it so much, they wouldn't want people getting stuck at the offload like at AP day

[Coaster]

Hasn't Stealth been having issues which has meant that it's only been able to run on one train since the start of the season? If so, you can't blame them for testing it so much, they wouldn't want people getting stuck at the offload like at AP day

I'm not blaming them for testing it a lot, I'm saying that it should be done outside of park opening hours.

[CharlieN]

Stealth ran 2 trains on the second weekend of opening.

[400400]

Hasn't Stealth been having issues which has meant that it's only been able to run on one train since the start of the season? If so, you can't blame them for testing it so much, they wouldn't want people getting stuck at the offload like at AP day

It's ran 2 trains for my 3 visits this year

[Mattgwise]

A worker told me they have been trying to run two most peak days but are sometimes having to take a train off due to issues during the day

[Matt10]

It has been having problems with the traction wheels before the unloading station as the ride computer was detecting that the next block section was already full, due to a faulty sensor most likely, e-stopping the ride. As far as I'm aware, the issue has been resolved as the ride has ran itself in over the first few weeks and the overall operations have improved.

[Ian-S]

It was running two trains fine on Sunday.

[Mark9]

Without going into over the top trip details etc etc I have three things to say from my trip.

 

1. I love the landscaping teams work across the park. Some really nice gorgeous bright flowers all over the park. Really nice.

 

2. I wish Merlin as a whole got out of this dreary theme park look all over the place. What is old looks run down and what's new is already themed to look run down. When the weather is like it was yesterday, the whole park looks washed out and miserable. I don't expect miracles of course, I just wish a little more care was taken. Inferno for example is supposed to be this tropical volcano themed rollercoaster, but its just this dingy rollercoaster slowly turning green and grey.

 

3. Brilliant operations yesterday. Hard working staff and two train operations across the board.

[MattyMoo]

Just in case anyone is interested - visited the park on Wednesday for my first visit this year. The park was very dead. Everything walk on with the exception of Nemesis & Colossus which were 10 minutes due to them opening after "inclement weather" ahem.

Ride count:

Stealth x2
Swarm 
Fishy 
Detty <3
Nemesis Inferno 
Dodgems x2 <3
Rapids 
Storm Turd 
X
Tidal Wave
Slammer
SAW
Colossus
I'm a Filler Attraction Get Me Out Of Here
Fin's Bar
Rush

Was very pleased to get on the mighty Slammer, forgot how good a ride that is. Nice to see Tidal's newly refurbed entrance, one of the best ride entrances in the park. Stealth was fantastic as always, Swarm was so empty that even the bag drop was shut!  Like the new queue times board in the Dome, nice touch.

For those effects watchers out there: Stealth smoke, Swarm smoke, Nemmy smoke, gushing water tower all working.
No flame from Tidal or Swarm but that may have been turned off to save a few quid. No water effect on the helicopter part of Swarm and NO SPINNING BLADES ON SAW, THE HORROR. Also - spotted they've fixed the countdown clock on the vertical lift hill but used a dot matrix LED Board and not a 7 digital-style segment clock like the others (Disney wouldn't stand for that  - they should've just nicked one of the clocks from SAW Alive.) But hey, it's fixed. Sort of. Shout out to the pigeons and associated pigeon mess residing in the station entrance as you return after your ride. 

Props to the singing ride-op on SAW (didn't quite match the theme of the ride but whatevs, he was mega enthusiastic and was keen to dispatch trains quickly) and the poor chap (who was very chatty) working in DBGT Shop who had the misfortune to be working on the 6th May having to deal with irate guests wanting to ride the thing - but hey, why not buy a magnet guyz? Tried peeling off the "Arriving May" sticker that covered up the 6th May date on the big DBGT posters as a souvenir but decided against it. Older guy on the offload platform of Rapids and also an older cleaner chap in Fin's who chatted to us, asked how our day was going etc. were very friendly and cheery, thumbs up. (See it's not all bad!)

Nemesis, Stealth, Swarm, Colossus all one one train operation all day. As noted elsewhere, NI, Colossus and SAW all shut very quickly after even the slightest bit of rain...

Saw an E-Stop/Lift Evac on Storm Surge. Took a long time to offload (as per) as they have to load boats before you can get off/wait for enough people to queue to fill a boat, but, was a good laugh and passed some time. X was a good bit of fun too and credit where credit is due for what they've done on a limited budget, the lights inside were impressive and well placed. 

I haven't "experienced" I'm A Celeb before and have to say it didn't really do it for me at all - I maintain that us Brits just don't do "participation" things like that and it was pretty damn cringey all the way through. Theming was pretty good inside but I can't see it lasting too much longer, especially since it has those first-to-be-cut expense of "actors". The challenges were a bit odd, the actors tried but it all fell a bit flat and seemed a bit odd, and the non-enthusiast friends I was with were not impressed.

Saw that Samurai was testing in the afternoon but maybe they do that every day just to check she's still alive after all that life support

Overall I had a nice chilled out day with mates (despite the on/off weather) - but one or two visits (max) a year is enough for me, personally. Was nice going with peeps who hadn't been in so long, interesting to hear people's opinions after their first ever ride on the attractions there. Stealth and NI were their stand-out faves, Slammer also got rated highly. They thought Colossus was very rough, thought Swarm was brilliantly smooth and offered a different experience to the other coasters there, and loved the theming of the ride/area. They also took great offence at the DBGT shop being open and signs pointing you in it's direction to ride  X got the thumbs up, and IAC got the WTF award  

EDIT: Like Mark said too - sunken garden looks lovely and spotted some very nice landscaped bits around the park

[David B]

Went to Thorpe Park on Saturday 14th May and Monday 16th May. The highlight of my weekend was the VIP Coaster Climb on The Swarm. I climbed the lift to the top. The view from the top was great on what was a clear day and could easily see Windsor Castle, Wembley, Heathrow and London.

I would recommend the climb to anybody. I found it very informative and it gave me a lot of insight knowledge of the park. I went to the control room were I was given permission to make an announcement over the PA. We then had a tour of the breaks.

I also went on virtually all the rides over the weekend including rides on Nemesis Inferno 3 times in a row, The Swarm 3 times in a row. Rush twice in a row.

Samurai was also in operation was great to ride and was a pretty good ride to.

 

[CharlieN]

So many of those pictures are utterly breath taking! 

 

[L7123456]

25 minutes ago, David B said:

 

 

 

[yeah]

Went to Thorpe Park on Saturday 14th May and Monday 16th May. The highlight of my weekend was the VIP Coaster Climb on The Swarm. I climbed the lift to the top. The view from the top was great on what was a clear day and could easily see Windsor Castle, Wembley, Heathrow and London.

I would recommend the climb to anybody. I found it very informative and it gave me a lot of insight knowledge of the park. I went to the control room were I was given permission to make an announcement over the PA. We then had a tour of the breaks.

I also went on virtually all the rides over the weekend including rides on Nemesis Inferno 3 times in a row, The Swarm 3 times in a row. Rush twice in a row.

Samurai was also in operation was great to ride and was a pretty good ride to.

 

Out of interest, what announcement did you make?

Sent from my SM-G361F using Tapatalk

[planenut]

Great pics and story David, thanks for sharing.

Some interesting angles of the rides and park; Stealths paintwork blending nicely with the bright sky; great shot from the top of SWARM's lift hill looking toward the sunset complete with spectrum.

 

 

[David B]

4 minutes ago, planenut said:

Great pics and story David, thanks for sharing.

Some interesting angles of the rides and park; Stealths paintwork blending nicely with the bright sky; great shot from the top of SWARM's lift hill looking toward the sunset complete with spectrum.

 

 

Thanks for the feedback, Its the first time I have done a trip report on TPM.

[David B]

10 minutes ago, ChessingtonSam said:

Out of interest, what announcement did you make?

Sent from my SM-G361F using Tapatalk

I announced that the ride had closed.

[ThemeParkCrafter]

Thorpe Park on 7th August 2016

Recently I visited Thorpe Park. Before I start, I will say my ride/ flat ride count was quite low just because I wasn't feeling too well at times and some of the ride reviews are from my past visit (like stealth). Sorry about not posting any pictures but here is my ride count.

Storm Surge- 1
Nemesis Inferno- 1
X- 2
King Pig's Wild Dodgems- 1
Detonator: Bombs Away- 1
Tidal Wave- 1
Rumba Rapids- 1
Depth Charge- 1
Angry Birds 4d- 1
Swarm-2
Derren Brown Ghost Train- 1

When I entered the park, it was 5 minutes late because gates opened at 9:35. However, the Thorpe theme wasn't playing and was replaced with pop music as well as the screens not doing the coaster medley/ video which I love. Even though, there was this, Thorpe park is very impressive when you walk in on the bridge and go on the onlooking platform of the park and see all of the rides.

Storm Surge (5 mins wait)- 7/10:
Starting off the day, once gates had opened slightly late, I knew this would be my first stop due to the queues being so long later on in the day. Despite the queue moving slowly, I got on the ride and I do have to say I really enjoy it. I love how fun the ride is but 2 things I dislike are how ugly the metal supports are and the low capacity of the ride causing queues to move at snail's pace.

Nemesis Inferno (10 mins)- 8/10
To be honest, I was quite nervous to ride because this coaster was first proper upside down ride (not counting air). I sat in the middle seat of row 4 I think and enjoyed the coaster but there was no smoke in the pre-section. However, I thought the layout flowed well despite it being short meaning it is my 5th favourite coaster. If only the volcano theming inside the station and entering the station on the break run was better.

X (1st time on 5 mins)- 7/10:
I found the ride quite good but more effects would improve the ride as well as theming it somehow to lost city. Going on back row, it was nothing spectacular but I just had an enjoyable ride with some good audio/ lights. I think the ride was on a 2 train operation.

King Pig's Wild Dodgems (walk on)- 8.5/10
Personally, I just love dodgems and it is one of my favourite flat rides. Bumping and being bumped into created a fun experience which I thoroughly enjoyed. Only slight improvement would be to make it look less like a traveling model but still a great ride. There was a funny moment at the end of the ride where the ride attendant said the speech about entering and starting the ride as oppose to leaving.

Detonator: Bomb's Away (5-10 mins)- 7/10
Unlike some enthusiasts, I don't find drop towers intense and really that scary. If only audio was louder for the counting down on the drop at the highest point, would create a far scarier atmosphere. Who else thinks the ride would be greatly improved if the angry bird was at the top of the ride?

Tidal Wave (15 mins)- 6.5/10
Let me get this clear Tidal Wave is not a bad ride, but I think the only thing going for it is the theming and the offride views. The drop just gets you too wet and due to all the water in the air, you can't enjoy the drop. However, I was happy to ride with a shorter queue bearing in mind the queue went to a 90+ minute queue in the afternoon with all the sun. I still can't understand why people would wait that long with the splash zone getting you just as wet with no queue whatsoever.

One of my group members did a ride on Storm in a Teacup in 5 mins but the issue was that his teapot did not spin. Despite this, he seemed to enjoyed the ride though.

Rumba Rapids (15 mins)- 6.5/10
Rumba Rapids is a good ride but just is not wet enough. When I rode, I probably got the wettest but that was just a few drops of water. Later on, when some of my group rode, whilst I was queuing for DBGT, they got a lot wetter perhaps due to it not being fully balanced I presume. Final thing about Rumba is please re-add the water container theming next to the camera! 

Depth charge (weird queuing time)- 6/10
I was queueing up for depth charge for about 20 mins when it closed down due to some breakdown. Being told the issue could take up to an hour, I was a bit annoyed so I went to guest services and got some fastrack. When I returned, it had reopened so I was on in about 5 mins. Good points were it was a fun ride and it was something different but the extremely short length and slow moving queue meant it was not amazing.

NOT FROM THIS TRIP: Flying fish (walk on)- 7/10
This ride was done on my previous visit so I decided to ride depth charge instead (see above) but from what I remember, it was a fun, family friendly ride but the lack of theming ruined some of it. The person riding in my group seeemed to smile on-ride.

Lunch was next next to ccl, loggers leap and rocky express. One group member rode rocky express and seemed to enjoy it. Looking (more like attempting and failing) above the fences for loggers leap, I failed to see much but could definitely see ccl track being removed- presumably with platform 15. At this point, I started to feel a bit ill so I let my group do some other rides.

NOT FROM THIS TRIP: Loggers Leap (10 mins)- 7/10
I remember the good theming elements in the station but apart from that, there was very little. On the final drop I got soaking wet. It was also good to go through the woods lower on the ground unlike the flume From log flumes, this to me is worse than pirate falls but better than the flume and dragon's falls.

NOT FROM THIS TRIP: Mr Monkey's Banana Ride (10 mins)- 5.5/10
From my previous trip, I thought the ride was OK but I just don't like the forces on pirate ships. However, the theming was good enough but needed a repaint. The people in my group seemed to enjoy it whilst I was seeing if the carnival games could be possible because why not!

Derren Brown's Ghost Train shop was next but I will go into more detail later.

Angry Birds 4D Experience (probably queued for 20 mins)- 8/10
Bearing in mind, this was the 3rd attempt for riding after being 1 mintute too late first time and there not being enough glasses on the 2nd time, I was very happy to ride at last. Compared to ice age at Alton towers, it was a more enjoyable show with far better effects. In fact, I might say it is my favourite theme park 4d cinema ride. One BIG issue is queuing. The way it works is who can push in the most rather than who has been waiting the longest can watch the film basically. This is worse than ice age which has a queue so people who came early can enjoy the show. One family only got in on the 4th attempt which is shocking with the amount of empty seats. Still something fun to do.

THE SWARM (done twice with 10 mins queue with priority passes both times)- 9/10
Finally, Th13teen at Alton is not my favourite coaster anymore. My 20th coaster credit (I know it is low but I do 1/2 theme park trips a year) was absolutely fantastic. One part I especially liked was the restraint system because for once on a 1.4m coaster, I could put my head wherever I wanted without having major head banging. Theming on the ride truly improves the ride atmosphere both on/ off ride and I can only think how amazing front row would be. My favourite part of the ride is definitely the drop when I was in the left side 3rd row especially because I had the feeling of falling out of the ride win the restraint only allowing me not to drop down. On regard to the island behind swarm, it loos like it will be the site of the next coaster possibly (hope for RMC or B&M hyper). Like other enthusiasts, I wish the ride was longer but the swarm is just a really FUN coaster to do, probably better ride for 1st inversion than Nemesis Inferno.

X (2nd time using priority passes for 10 mins)- 6.5/10
This time round on x had some differences with the first time round. Firstly, there was confusion about where to go with priority passes because it isn't labelled very well. Also, boarding was a mess (explains my score). Having just 1 member of staff in the boarding station, telling people where to sit and sorting out both main queue/ fastrack made me feel really bad for him. There was confusion about which row to sit on. Eventhough I had these issues, I preferred the light show and found sitting in front row improved the experience (couldn't really tell the difference forces wise).

NOT ON THIS TRIP: Stealth (twice with 5 mins and 10 mins)- 8/10
Stealth is a crazy coaster that is fun but has minimal theming (but the music in Amity area is amazing). It was my first proper 1.4m coaster and I prefer it to Rita as well as Nemesis Inferno but swarm beats it anyday!

Now the part you have all looked forward to- Derren Brown's Ghost Train review. To stop anyone worrying at seeing spoilers, I will write everything in spoilers but due to most of you knowing what happens, I won't post what happened exactly, second by second.So for each part/ aspect of the attraction I will write a rating out of 10, then will I give an average rating and overall opinion.
 

Spoiler! 

First Impressions of the Area- 8/10
Personally I just love the look of the building which is very impressive and unique for a theme park attraction. The small details that wouldn't necessarily be at a merlin park but a Disney park make the structure look more realistic and well designed. I do quite like the flooring around the area which makes a change from the standard bland 1 colour floor. Ahem Lost Kingdom at Paulton's Park. Only things I disliked is seeing the building when you come from the x side but to be honest, the red fits with x so it isn't a complete eyesore and not having the tower in the plans. Don't get me wrong, Nitrogenie makes epic ice cream but hearing the loud pop music and seeing a purple shipping container ruined some of the atmosphere.

Music- 9/10
Imascore have done extremely well to produce such a great masterpiece creating the perfect atmosphere of the ride. If I am not mistaken, I think the audio is on a 30 minute loop but it contains so many styles of music that even though there was little to do in the queue, I was enjoying hearing the music! Reason why it is not a 10/10 is the speakers were loud but the sound quality was not perfect.

Queue- 6/10
I mean it is nice merlin tried but I wished there would be some television screens showing some info about subcore or some large theming aspects. Still there were some nice details and it the cattlepen fences were slightly themed which was good. Unfortunately, due to the way the queue was working, every 15 mins or so, people were let into the queue but it only went to the wooden fence without the overhead cover meaning I had no pictures taken. Due to the way queueing worked, I had a queue of less than 55 minutes which was amazing bearing in mind I had feared I would be in a 2.5 hour queue.

Pre-show- 8.5/10
This part of the experience is like something that came from his TV shows (which I love) so I found it interesting. Pepper's Ghost was used but the original screen which was reflected was a screen and not 3d so Derren brown looked a bit 2d but that doesn't really matter. Another slight issue is that the real smoke at the end came slightly too late so it made it a bit obvious to me Pepper's Ghost was used. These things are seriously minor!

Entering the Train- 7/10
A bit of waiting was involved but entering the Victorian modern train was very good. Only wish the audio was a bit different at this point; perhaps a heartbeat could work. Tip: When you enter the train, pick the vr headsets that have no mind the gap bags on them!

First VR- 7.5/10
I had the woman in this scene and it was alright picture quality, bearing in mind I had expected a lot worse from all of the negative reviews. The movement of the carriage felt real, especially when I take the tube nearly everyday and this really added to the immersion even when I took off the headset. Before riding I found out that there are currently only 3 journeys here so the person I was with had the homeless man. By far, the weirdest part was seeing no-one on the train with the very first part of vr yet I could feel the person mentioned above's hand.

Evacuation Scene-6/10
As I took off the vr goggles earlier, I didn't really understand why we were exactly evacuated and being rushed off the tube, nobody could realise the amazing illusion with the modern/ Victorian train. When we were in the room, we were there for probably 1 minute with no extra actors like protestors or construction workers. When the train came, I didn't jump but most of the group did (including the person above who denied it).

Second VR- 7/10
Going back on the train, the illusion was still not noticed and after this vr section began, it got a bit too much for me who has never done a scare attraction. No leg ticklers or smoke could be seen throughout but I did get a basic storyline from the screens above showing the demons. I didn't really think they were noticeably CGI (ahem unlike pan: obvious CGI the movie) and they looked quite scary. Bearing in mind I saw some very young children (looked about 10) somehow riding, I could only suspect how frightening it would be for them. The gas section was awful because the person I was with took the headset off. 

Shop- 9/10
Wow, wow, wow. Merlin have created an impressive shop with great theming and effects as well as some very unique merchandise. When speaking to a member of staff when dbgt was closed, I was told the effect of video screen Derren has no sensors and looks over randomly. The hidden bookcase turns around every minute unless someone passes these bars with sensors which will mean the effect has to be reset due to h&s. Sadly no purchases today but when I ride fully, I will buy some things. Also Derren as the fortune teller is seriously freaky!

Staff- 9/10
Every staff member was friendly especially one off the management called Andy. Some of the information mentioned from him has been posted and it was clear to me he would especially do anything to make guests have great days. Even the actors on the train were OK with me taking off the headset. Not exactly a staff thing but my companion felt like the actor in the evacuation scene was overacting.

One final thing is if you don't want to be touched much, sit in the middle of a section because the actors touch those at the ends more. Don't scream too much or the actors will try to scare you the most- I saw a girl being touched 3 times because of her loud reaction.

 

Overall Rating- 8/10 (when rounded up)

For what the attraction is, it is spectacular, especially bearing in mind how unique it is in Europe and the world. As long as you are good with scare attractions and have a good headset, you are sure to have a great time. This is a Disney style attraction in a Merlin park with a universal halloween horror nights twist.

Overall, the day was fantastic (except for feeling iil) but I look forward returning in the summer from the return ticket given at the end of the day due to dbgt and stealth being shut for most of the day. Next time, maybe stealth will reopen and I will experience dbgt fully. When I return after (probably in 2019), I am looking forward to ride loggers leap and seeing what more the island like no other has to offer! Also thanks for reading and I am more than happy to answer any questions! 

[cptnmingo]

We visited the park on Wednesday 27th July 2016, and it is best summed in the vlog we made which I have shared down below. The main purpose of our visit was to ride DBGT and Stealth. We didn't realize Stealth was down for maintenance so that was a fail, but we did manage to get on DBGT after nearly 2 hours of queuing and it breaking down once. It was pretty good in the end!

We also managed ride; Nemesis Inferno, SAW, Colossus, Samurai, Rumba Rapid and Swarm. There were some issues that day with rides breaking down an awful lot which didn't help as we would loved to have fit more in. We also did the I'm A Celebrity Maze which was... Weird... Anyway, I leave you with our vlog! Hope you enjoy and stay 'til the end for my attempt at making it look like I've ridden Tidal Wave even though the queue was shut... =D
 

 

[terrortomb]

I don't normally post trip reports, in fact I feel this may even be the first. However, I feel my experience yesterday at Fright Nights was one to talk about.

 

I have not had the best experience at Fright Nights due to extreme business in the park and long queues. However, last night I gave Thorpe another chance to provide an exciting, memorable experience that one might expect from walking into a major theme park. Long queues are expected, but so are at least 2 mazes and a couple of rides? I mean it cost £10 to just pre-book entry for the day.

 

So we arrived just before 5pm with 5 hours to see where the adventure could take us. X (one of my favourite rides at TP) had a 50 minute queue so we skipped that. Beginning with Big Top, the queue stated 120 which is acceptable considering it opened at 3pm and most of the park was busy anyway. The queue line was tolerable with sufficient plastic bag bins along the fences, though I nearly tripped on some uneven ground that looked like there was an earthquake. The music was a little repetitive, but circusy enough that it made me want to get out my juggling balls. Thankfully, the queue moved gradually so the time passed as expected. The maze itself was about 7 minutes long with a good variety of different rooms, and the music was enjoyable enough to have a bit of a dance to but I wouldn't say the experience was particularly scary. As we swiftly made our way to the exit, it dawned that the queues would be getting larger and perhaps it's best to do the other maze, Platform 15.

 

Platform 15's queue uses the old Logger's Leap queue, not the best queue line in the world as I always found it felt a bit isolated, but fair enough. The cattlepen split sharply into row after row after row in the cold darkness. It was a heaving queue tucked away in a little land of its own, surrounded by tall fences that hid the defunct body of Logger's Leap behind. The queue moved gradually, another 120 minutes queue was fine though as we would still have time to fit X and another rollercoaster in, it was only 6:20pm. However, this was no ordinary 120 minute queue. Not only was the queue long, bland, tedious and slow, it was getting slower. We were still in the cattlepen section after one hour and a half and people were beginning to moan. It was getting colder but there was nowhere to sit and no food to eat. I saw the end of the huge cattlepen... a bridge... of hope!! As we drew nearer, so did the 120 minute mark. In fact it may have even passed. Other rides raced and twinkled in the darkness but the dark queue of bodies around only rocked a few inches every 10 minutes. Finally we reached the top of the bridge, only to be gobsmacked to see yet even more queue. My feet ached and people moaned some more, which had now become a source of entertainment. After another 20 minutes we had passed only a few more feet, and I realised the ground below us was the only thing keeping me standing. I said I'd give this queue 0.5 out of 10 due to the ground below my feet. Another 20 minutes passed, we were still standing on the same bit of ground... the queue had stopped entirely!! After a long wait people were now sitting on the ground moaning and nobody knew what was going on. The timer for how long we'd been queuing read 2 and a half hours and the entrance was only just in sight in the distance. So we stood some more. The timer soon read 3 hours, the entrance was still only just ahead but my frozen feet could not longer feel the 0.5 out of 10 ground anymore, I guess that would make it a rating of 0.0?? I mean by that point, one could have learnt 7% of a foreign language in the time we'd been waiting, and my boyfriend remarked he felt he'd been born in this queue. Finally, after more queuing and more standing, we reached the beginning of the maze at a hefty 3 hours and 25 minutes!!! I have never been in such a long queue in my entire life, Thorpe Park. Then, Platform 15 itself consisted of walking along pebbles and through a long narrow, pitch-black tunnel, which I honestly believed would lead us straight into the lake. Either that or we were walking home!! To be fair, the maze itself was fun in the end, probably one of my favourites. But the queue was utterly abysmal.

 

With the remaining few minutes of the park, we only just managed to get a backseat ride on Inferno, which was actually surreally smooth. Either that or I was dreaming by that point. Then, the car park. Oh that was an experience in itself! From the moment we left the park it took over 40 minutes to get out the car park due to more queues, during which we had created our own form of entertainment... a noteworthy chorus of car honking which was rather amusing.

 

So that is my Halloween experience of the final few hours of 2016 Thorpe Park, and how Howlaweeningly horrifying they were. I do love Thorpe, but I feel their love for guests' sanity is questionable. Take the VR headsets from Galactica and use them for a queue line, perhaps. Even a few episodes of the Gruffalow on TV screens would not go as a miss. Or, if a queue is going to be almost twice as long as the time stated, at least inform guests so they can make informed decisions to plan their day. In any case, next time - if there will be a next time - a picnic, a hot water bottle, and a language book would be the minimum requirement to take on this island Halloween adventure... exciting? No. Memorable? It was record-breaking.

[Matt 236]

Well said.

 

Certainly enjoyed Big Top and compared to last year it feels much better and the flow feels more consistent, not to mention the Ranger figure that appears within.

 

Platform 15 has set me a new personal record, but sadly not an acceptable one.

 

Nearly Three and a half hours of queuing. The longest queue I've ever queued in my life. May have well travelled to Universal Halloween Horror Nights in the time it took to get in. 

 

Platform 15 in extreme contradictory was actually surprisingly good. The buildup from scene to scene and the conductor story line was done rather well. Still not worth the queue though and really needs it's batching sorted.

 

Inferno in the dark is bliss, that is all.

 

Not the best end of season to Thorpe though, 2013's and 2014's were more acceptable in comparison.

[CallumSyxr]

Hello, I attended FRIGHT NIGHTS at THORPE PARK RESORT this year on Media Night,15th October & 16th October

and here is my full review put together from all the nights I have been FRIGHT NIGHTS this year.

 

This year was a great year for fright nights, had a bit of theming around the park but in my opinion I think they should of added more

theming, around the whole park and give the stations a eerie look so it gives it a scary atmosphere then just the same old fright nights

theme tune. Around the park they played many fright night tunes but I think they were repeating tunes too much as I heard Hello Zepp

like 10 times around the park. This year on the days I went I found a lack of roaming actors when I went last year there was way more

actors roaming the park.

 

The ques in the park were Ok so this was a advantage. The thing I found funny was they consistantly kept on running out of fastracks, before you go on at me

I know Fright Nights is a busy event but surely seeing how many people they had last year they would atleast have enough fast tracks. The mazes were good

but the only one that was bad I thought was platform 15 as it lacked actors at some point and it was very much overhyped, but I did love the train scene and the

finale of Platform 15. Saw Alive was same as usual, getting a bit boring now. Cabin In The Woods Great this year very intense, last year I thought it was very poor but I think that was just because I had a bad run through that was rushed, but great improvement from last year LOVED IT. Blair Witch I didnt do this last year but this year It was good I got a good run through Brillant finale, loads of actors and very overgrown and a forest type feeling, there was loads of jumpscares it was great this year. Big Top OMG! a massive improvement from last year, loved the chainsaw finale it had some great theming and some history of the park, very disorienting and very trippy and the actors went full on as I was licked in the face very extreme and intense maze this year best maze since the Asylum.

 

Rides in the dark were good as usual most rides on 2 train operation but defiantly some great thrills in the dark.

 

Top 5 Mazes FRIGHT NIGHTS 2016: (5=worst 1=Best)

 

5) Platform 15

 

4)Saw Alive

 

3)Blair Witch

 

2)Cabin In The Woods

 

1) BIG TOP

 

Thanks for reading my review of FN this year!.

 

Also Check out my Fright Night Vlog this year

 

 

[MachoMachine]

Nice to hear you had a good time! Shame about the roamers. If you were there for media night they were everywhere including on thorpe bus?  

Pretty sure an actor didn't lick you as they're only allowed to do that during Face it Alone, and even then I've never experienced it.