March 19, 201411 yr comment_178822 You did and bless you, you came to see what was occurring - I think I spotted a chip in what small amount came up lol I can second, a chip was present. Nothing gets at me anymore though; like I've told you; I've had a kid climb off Inferno and vomit on me before
February 20, 201510 yr comment_203196 Hi all, is there any word yet on when (or if) there will be an Annual Pass Preview day this year? The Chessington weekend is 14/15 March (can't book it yet though) so was wondering if it was the same weekend or maybe the weekend before? Can't see anything on the Thorpe website...
February 20, 201510 yr comment_203197 I've heard through the grapevine that it is Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th March
February 20, 201510 yr comment_203198 Yep it was confirmed as 7th and 8th on the half term map and various replies to posts on facebook.
February 24, 201510 yr comment_203538 You can now book tickets for annual pass day on eventbrite - http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/thorpe-park-resort-annual-pass-preview-day-tickets-15845100121 It's 10am-4am but last year they kept the top coasters open till 5, so I'm hoping they do that again this year? They also have the shark hotel open on Saturday night for , 99 per room which sleeps up to 4 people. You also get breakfast, first to ride time and 1 hour of free fast track between 10am-11am. Hopefully fast track won't be in operation throughout the day, except of course VIP pass holders. Slammer, Samurai, Tidal wave and Rumba rapids are all going to be unavailable for the weekend which is a shame, as I would've liked to go on Slammer and Samurai. I can understand why Tidal wave isn't open though, even though I went on it 4 times in a row last year More information on thorpes website - https://www.thorpepark.com/events-experiences/events/annual-pass-preview-weekend/
February 24, 201510 yr comment_203555 It's frustrating to see that a good four rides won't be open on the preview weekend, considering it could turn out to be a popular event for the annual pass holders. In a way I can understand why slammer and samurai won't be open, considering their current reliability status. It's a shame to see that both of the rides struggle so much, although admiteddly slammer has been improving while samurai has been breaking down more and more. Let's just hope they are both up and running once more for park opening weekend and certainly for easter holidays, as the park will need those important filler rides to remove some of the crowds. I don't seem to get why rumba and tidal wave are closed, reliability wise they should manage the extra weekend, however the cold weather may mean they are unpopular and it may not make business sense to open them up. In terms of the 4pm closing, I imagine if it's particularly busy, they may extend hours till 5pm, however if it's not too popular, then I'm sure 6 hours on park will be enough to experience everything!
February 24, 201510 yr comment_203559 If it's due to giving them the TLC they so desperately need then I don't mind as much - if it's to save costs or because they haven't left enough time to finish general maintenance/filling them up then I'm a bit annoyed!
February 24, 201510 yr comment_203564 I really don't understand how the parks are always so crowded on Annual Pass days! Not everyone has one, you know! I know this from Chessington last year - Vampire even had 80 minute queues.
February 24, 201510 yr comment_203567 I really don't understand how the parks are always so crowded on Annual Pass days! Not everyone has one, you know! I know this from Chessington last year - Vampire even had 80 minute queues.A weekend is a very popular time to visit theme parks and seeing as most annual pass holders will be free on the weekend, they like to take advantage of the exclusive perk. Just a guess at why it's busy on them anyway.I was very surprised when visiting fright nights preview last year that it was so empty. I can only presume that it was empty as it was on a Thursday night and this was an inconvenient time for people. I remember all the rides being walk on with mazes at 5minutes or less with the exception of studio13.
February 24, 201510 yr comment_203571 I really don't understand how the parks are always so crowded on Annual Pass days! Not everyone has one, you know! I know this from Chessington last year - Vampire even had 80 minute queues. I don't think last year's or 2013's AP preview days were that busy for Thorpe though in fairness? The only bad AP day they've had was 2011, and that was because of seriously under-estimating how people would turn up.
February 24, 201510 yr comment_203573 Last year's was quite good, not too busy at all and they extended to 5pm.
February 24, 201510 yr comment_203581 2011 failed because you didn't have to prebook and each pass holder could bring 2 friends for £10 each. And then they had a few food places open and it was chaos. Since the prebook system it has been much better! Not dead no because they won't purposefully make the park dead but they've been pleasant with 30 minute queues. Tidal Wave has had it's water tower removed so maybe it's having some more work done to it than usual that is taking longer than planned. Rumba Rapids meh wouldn't mind if they left that closed all year.
February 24, 201510 yr comment_203585 I don't seem to get why rumba and tidal wave are closed, reliability wise they should manage the extra weekend, however the cold weather may mean they are unpopular and it may not make business sense to open them up. Pass holder Day 2013 It was snowing (in the Afternoon) And Tidal was going strong I doubt That's The Reason!
February 24, 201510 yr comment_203587 2011 failed because you didn't have to prebook and each pass holder could bring 2 friends for £10 each. 2011 preview event also failed purely because no one was interested in Thorpe's new ride.
February 24, 201510 yr comment_203590 2011 preview event also failed purely because no one was interested in Thorpe's new ride. Yeah, Storm Surge having over a 2 hour queue (even if that was on reduced capacity) definitely means no one was interested in it.
February 24, 201510 yr comment_203592 Yeah, Storm Surge having over a 2 hour queue (even if that was on reduced capacity) definitely means no one was interested in it. What you have to remember, is that storm surge with a 2 hour queue is actually only 500people inside the queueline which really isn't that many...
February 24, 201510 yr comment_203594 Considering on 9/10 boats it is capable of a minimum of 500 people per hour, managing up to 700 people per hour, your maths is somewhat inaccurate. Which means, it is capable of having a 2 hour queue with between 1000-1400 people. More than double what you are stating. I think you should base it on facts rather than what you think the throughput is.
February 24, 201510 yr comment_203596 Wikipedia stated a 300pph throughput... I know it's an extremely unreliable source, however most of the thorpe park throughputs on Wikipedia are seriously over-estimated. I don't have any calculations of what the real throughput is, however I imagine it is fairly low.
February 24, 201510 yr comment_203597 Well take it from me, who have worked on it for 3 years and operated it for one.
February 25, 201510 yr comment_203600 Glad to see all those years you spent working on it have given you a thorough knowledge of it from front to back. Good on you for memorising its throughput
February 25, 201510 yr comment_203602 Good to see AP weekend return (although we found that out over a week ago). In terms of the four rides as disappointing it is, I can see why they've closed them for this event. Slsmmer requires hefty maintenance, Samurai is on its last legs and I get the impression a tidal & Rumba may endure a noticeable amount of work this year (I reckon). Shame it's only on til 4pm, but not much can be done about that. Last year's event was actual,y quite good, queues weren't too bad even though a few things were closed from what I remember (Zodiac & Slammer definitely were). 2011's was a disaster, went there and didn't get a single ride
February 25, 201510 yr comment_203603 I get the impression a tidal & Rumba may endure a noticeable amount of work this year (I reckon).Did you get that impression when it was announced they wouldn't be open on time?
February 25, 201510 yr comment_203608 Well take it from me, who have worked on it for 3 years and operated it for one. I hope by 'working on it' you mean you are slowly removing all the bolts?
February 25, 201510 yr comment_203616 Just booked for the day on the 7th. Was surprised to see that I didn't have to enter my Merlin Pass numbers for the tickets I required! I just selected 4 tickets and that was it done!! This means that anyone can go online and book tickets for the event. As I recall, you don't have to swipe your card at the barriers on the day, just the pre-printed ticket, so how will they actually know if you are a AMP holder or not?
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