March 13, 201411 yr comment_178122 As a map to navigate anywhere it is useless. The geography of it is nonsense. As a guide to what the rides are it is useless. The options from the visuals are just 'coaster' or 'not coaster'. As a representation of the themes of the rides it is useless. They all look the same. Bland. As a promotion of the park as a resort it is useless. The hotel doesn't get a look in. As a promotion of the parks new investment it is useless. You can't tell there are any lands, let alone a new one which barely registers. As a representation of the parks current identity it is useless. The rides look massive, at a glance you wouldn't know there was anything there for anyone other than thrill seekers. That map is utterly useless. I'm not a fan! Is there a chance this is just the app version and a decent one will be printed?
March 13, 201411 yr comment_178125 Here is a full jpeg of the MAP the most disappointing thing for me is the dodgems having a higher height restriction than Chessingtons.
March 13, 201411 yr comment_178128 Ok, so my first impressions are that I like the new cleaner, more professional looking image. It is definitely a lot more family friendly and easy to look at compared to all the vomiting and 'hiding in the bushes' big heads. I also really like the fact that the map does seem to make a point that the park is built on an island. Hopefully like Marc said they might start to make more use of this again! However although the fun looking, giant representations of the major coasters do draw your attention to what many would consider the park's biggest selling points, I feel that on this small App version atleast, it has sadly created a forced perspective type effect making the rest of the park look even smaller than it has in recent years! Verdict: It is definitely a nice improvement on the last few years, I for one am really pleased to see that the park are moving ahead with their new more inclusive marketing direction and if they were to sort out the sizing issues this could be one of their best maps in years. However I will not make a definite decision on the map until I hold one in my hands. P.s. Is there really that much grass still left at the park?
March 13, 201411 yr comment_178129 Thanks for the full size. Seeing the details it is even worse than I first though! So, at a glance.. Wild wings noodle bar is half way up Colossus lift hill? X is yellow? There isn't a bloody great boat in the water as a handy point of reference? Quantum exists in the imagination only? Colossus cobra roll encircles zodiac? The inaccessible 'Thrills Workshop' deserves more map space than many rides and about the same as the new hotel? The amount of dead space, when there is so much detail lacking in the main image because of it, is just crazy. Those are just from the little bit of screen shot that first came up. I know it is not supposed to be a scale representation of the park, but this is so badly done it is laughable. I don't think it succeeds in any regard.
March 13, 201411 yr comment_178131 Here is a full jpeg of the MAP the most disappointing thing for me is the dodgems having a higher height restriction than Chessingtons. I I'm perfectly honest I'm glad about the higher height restriction, as with the lap bar at Chessington I can't get my legs in properly and it's really uncomfortable (I am about 6ft, and I hate the trains on as well!)
March 13, 201411 yr comment_178132 I think the new map is a big improvement but a lot of stuff is in the wrong place like the alton towers map. I'm guessing they move stuff slightly to make it more clear
March 13, 201411 yr comment_178133 ... a lot of stuff is in the wrong place like the alton towers map. I'm guessing they move stuff slightly to make it more clear Which would make sense if what we were left were at all clear!
March 13, 201411 yr comment_178134 I I'm perfectly honest I'm glad about the higher height restriction, as with the lap bar at Chessington I can't get my legs in properly and it's really uncomfortable (I am about 6ft, and I hate the trains on as well!) Disappointing for me as my 1.05m son won't be able to go on this and he loves Chessington's!
March 13, 201411 yr comment_178136 It's an improvement, which is nice. However, I have two issues with the map: -Things are missing. When you don't have graphics showing your rides (like Quantum, Rocky Express), you lose the point of the map. It's meant to give you a visual representation! Other rides, like Rush and Slammer, feel swept under the carpet too. -Where's the soul? At the moment, I'm seeing 'We have 5 amazing coasters!' and 'we have other rides'. The old map had quirkiness at least. It just feels so corporate to me. It needs some life chucked in. As I say, it's an improvement, but it's like in fixing some poor features of the old map, they've created new ones. Lose-lose really
March 13, 201411 yr comment_178137 Erm, ok... It's cleaner, but it seems if you're not a coaster, you're not important... Even the Angry Birds stuff which you would assume would be promoted extremely highly and made prominent on the map is relegated to minimalism... And of course, some rides don't exist apparently... And X is almost completely hidden, embarrassed almost to be on there... A weird one it must be said... It's both an improvement (no big-heads doing stupid stuff) and a downgrade (the previous map was relatively map-like, not that Thorpe needs a decent map, as you just point yourself in the direction of the next ride you want to ride)... 1 step forward, 2 steps back... As an aside, it confirms 2 awful things, both Angry Birds 4D and the Dodgems have Fastrack... Joyous...
March 13, 201411 yr comment_178138 I can just see Slammer still hiding in there - words like "fingertips" and "skin of teeth" come to mind.
March 13, 201411 yr comment_178139 I like the new map design concept but the actual information is confusing. Notice that the colour coding that they have done for the ride names key: purple for thrill, orange for family thrill; but certain ride names on the map don't use the correct colour. Rush is orange when it is a thrill ride (purple section), and one or two other examples which seem little off. I understand that the colours of the actual ride names on the map aren't a key to how thrilling they are but it feels a little... mishmash. If your going to colour code with a key, it would make sense to colour the ride names accordingly.
March 13, 201411 yr comment_178142 What I like about the new map/ No longer includes those (annoying) heads, I never liked them. Greater emphasis on the park's coasters (as they certainly dominate the new design) More family friendly design which reflects their widened target audience well The appearance of it looking more like an island full of exciting rides, rather than just a landscaped area The colours are more vibrant Has a few similarities with the maps in the 90's and 2005-2007 Tussaud years What I don't like about the new map/ Ride size and proportions are out of scale and inaccurate Some rides such as quantum are missing Difficult to navigate for new guests (which I guess there may be quite a few of this year (even if most of the rides can be seen from a fair distance in the park)) Coasters contain no trains Summary Certainly slightly better than the previous map design we've seen, but size and scale proportions let it down, by making everything out of scale. The 90's maps are definately my favourite ones in terms of design closely followed by the 2008 and 2009 ones too.
March 13, 201411 yr comment_178145 What I don't like about the new map/ Ride size and proportions are out of scale and inaccurate Some rides such as quantum are missing Completely agree! On that same topic, I definitely feel like they have placed so much emphasis on their roller coasters that they have brushed many of their flat rides aside. Thorpe really does have an impressive collection of flat rides which I feel like doesn't get a good representation on this map. Quantum is non-existent, Samurai is majority covered, Rush & Detonator are way too understated; it's to the point where Storm Surge gets a greater presence than a lot of their other more impressive rides.
March 13, 201411 yr comment_178146 The only flat really shown is Vortex. Is it just me or does Saw's tower look like a wooden coaster?
March 13, 201411 yr comment_178147 I love how they use nerdy terms for Colossus 1 Vertical loop 2 Corkscrews 5 heartline rolls and one Cobra roll :L
March 13, 201411 yr comment_178149 I like the new map design concept but the actual information is confusing. Notice that the colour coding that they have done for the ride names key: purple for thrill, orange for family thrill; but certain ride names on the map don't use the correct colour. Rush is orange when it is a thrill ride (purple section), and one or two other examples which seem little off. I understand that the colours of the actual ride names on the map aren't a key to how thrilling they are but it feels a little... mishmash. If your going to colour code with a key, it would make sense to colour the ride names accordingly. I thought rush had always been considered a family thrill ride? especially due to the 1.2+ height restriction And Nemesis has now been raised to 115ft, apparently. It already was 115ft
March 13, 201411 yr comment_178150 Well according to the new map, Inferno produces G-Force similar to the G-Force an Astronaut experiences during a rocket lunch! I'm guessing that whoever wrote that was hungry at the time...
March 13, 201411 yr comment_178153 I thought rush had always been considered a family thrill ride? especially due to the 1.2+ height restriction It already was 115ft Rush is a thrill ride and has a 1.3m restriction. But yes, Inferno has regulalrly been said to have a 115ft maximum height since being built. Here's a nice little info-graphic from the park:
March 13, 201411 yr comment_178158 I love how they use nerdy terms for Colossus 1 Vertical loop 2 Corkscrews 5 heartline rolls and one Cobra roll :L Not 'nerdy' terms at all, those are the official titles for those elements... Just because most people go "it's a loop"...
March 13, 201411 yr comment_178159 What's "Hideaway" by the Carousel? The orange lettering implies a family friendly ride...!
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