2017 Season General Discussion

[JoshC.]

47 minutes ago, HermanTheGerman said:

Umm, no? Its a totally valid point. If a company has the arrogance to claim they're that big, they should be held to that standard. 

 

So its justifiable because it may cost the park, say, an extra £60 a day? That's one walk up ticket price. One. Guests pay that much to get in and still the park can't be arsed to have enough staff? Its pitiful. 

 

Is it arrogant of them to claim it though?  They are the second most visited visitor attraction operator, why shouldn't they use that as a selling point to investors?  But that claim doesn't mean they have a certain standard to be at.  For all things in life, people still end up going to bad things (for a variety of different reasons).  Of course it's true to say people will be more inclined to (re)visit quality places, quality and visitor numbers are 2 very different things. 

 

For me, I see it like this.  Merlin might be the second most visited attraction operator, but they're definitely not the second 'best', so why do people always try and pull that card when they Merlin don't make that claim and no one thinks it's the case.

 

 

You've also underestimated how much they would save.  I don't know how much they would save, but it'll be a lot more than £60 a day...

[Coaster]

It's awful.  People don't pay £60 to look at shut down rides, rusting behind fences or "new" additions being SBNO due to a lack of staff.  Absolutely pathetic that a park on the scale of Thorpe, with a multi-million pound company behind it, is being run in such a terrible manner whilst parks with a scrape of the budget continue to provide far higher standards of ride availability, customer service, park appearance and overall guest experience.

 

The "second only to Disney" tagline can be interpreted in many different ways, one of these could be the quality - even if statistically they're basing it on the gate figures.  Marketing.

 

Honestly if it wasn't for the new music (and the few aesthetic improvements) there would be nothing positive about Thorpe this year.  It's dire.

 

3 hours ago, Marc said:

The cost of running rides is more than 2 people's hourly wage. For what it's worth I was in old town at around 2 ish - rocky was going around half full with the other 2 closed - not sure it was making much difference..

No, I don't buy that.  People pay for this.  Hard earned cash is handed over to visit places like Thorpe, it's absolutely appalling that they run on such skeletal staff they can't even open three rides which require one staff member on each!

[JoshuaA]

Merlin is undoubtedly one of the giants in the industry, whether they say it or not, they have the money, but still, some parks that are financially struggling are operating better than Thorpe..

Lets face it, Merlin plonked two second hand flat rides in their park, and then decided to not run them properly..

Plonking two fairly out of place flat rides was bad enough, but if they can't even staff them, whats the point?

 

1 hour ago, BaronC. said:

You've also underestimated how much they would save.  I don't know how much they would save, but it'll be a lot more than £60 a day...

The amount of money they're saving is probably peanuts to them though.

Like I would understand Dreamland, or other financially struggling parks to do things like this, but Thorpe.. Its really just greed.

They have the money to staff these attractions, Merlin could build a £30 Million coaster if they wanted to right now..

Though they're more concerned about saving £60 by closing some of their support rides for most of the day..

Meh, lets hope Blackpool claw back with Icon next year, as I feel Merlin needs some park that could actually threaten them.

[Flipper]

I'm on the side of BaronC, they're second in attendance to Disney. You're comparing the twelve (?) gated attractions Disney own, against the hundred and odd Merlin now have. Thorpe doesn't even scratch the surface of the attendance figures achieved by a single Universal park, or PortAventura etc. so to make a big thing out of Merlin being second so Thorpe should be flawless is BS. Thorpe is not only a long way down in attendance of any theme park in the world, or even Europe, its probably a long way down against other Merlin sites around the world; and remember; each site has its own budgets and management who make the majority of the decisions. Whilst I fully agree the attractions should be open, I also sway to agree it makes sod all difference closing them during the off-peak if they're being ridden by a few hundred people a day tops. It's a waste on resource, everything from having the staff to open them, to the engineers to safety check them. I think some people on here think that rides just magically open every day sometimes... think about it. Saving those two staff members is the difference between a solo (poor) platform operation on Samurai and a decent one (two). It could bring the third body required to run two trains on Inferno, there's lots of positions which could easily be considered a priority position. And with it coming to end of terms, people are graduating, taking exams etc. I wouldn't be surprised if this decision is solely based on staff availability and they're taking the hit for one week.

 

And to whoever posted a while ago about 'how hard can it be to operate a frog hopper' - jog on. As an ex ride-operator every ride is different; none of them are overly complex they just naturally have different things to look out for. But having worked at a few places, including Paultons; I guarantee you now working children's rides can be and often is 10x more challenging than operating a coaster or thrill ride at Thorpe. An adult screams they want Rush to stop? Nah, it keeps going you're an adult. A child screams for a frog hopper to stop? You better stop it ASAP otherwise you're gonna have a parent giving you the odds, a complaint filed against you, and your job on the line. You've got to be so much more on the ball with your operation, your visual checks, your customer service the lot; just because you're working around children and (worse) their parents and guardians.

[Marc]

57 minutes ago, Coaster said:

Honestly if it wasn't for the new music (and the few aesthetic improvements) there would be nothing positive about Thorpe this year.  It's dire.

 

 

Yet you continue to visit regularly- they must be doing something right!

[Project LC]

They did also "fix" DBGT and they have improved security so there is some positive additions this year. Yeah the rotation of whatever that area is currently called is poor but it's hardly damaging guest experience much. 

[ThemeCrafter264]

I just guess it would have been nicer to have slightly less money spent on dbgt and use it to operate all 3 kids rides, so they are open all day long!

[Coaster]

6 hours ago, Marc said:

 

Yet you continue to visit regularly- they must be doing something right!

I wouldn't call four visits in the space of five months "regular."

[Marc]

6 hours ago, ThemeCrafter264 said:

I just guess it would have been nicer to have slightly less money spent on dbgt and use it to operate all 3 kids rides, so they are open all day long!

 

DBGT is the parks newest large investment- it had a wait time of 2 hours - I'm sure the vast majority of guests woukd disagree!

 

1 hour ago, Coaster said:

I wouldn't call four visits in the space of five months "regular."

 

You visit what you describe as a "dire" theme park almost once a month - I would.

[JoshC.]

5 hours ago, ThemeCrafter264 said:

I just guess it would have been nicer to have slightly less money spent on dbgt and use it to operate all 3 kids rides, so they are open all day long!

 

The big new thing which 90% of guests talk about and want to do vs 3 kids rides which 2% of guests care about.  What one should be the priority?

 

I wonder if things would have been different if, hypothetically speaking, Slammer was still around and Tug and Lumber weren't?  Would we have seen further reduced hours on that to help compensate?  Small rides around the park operate rotationally?  Or would we have seen cuts elsewhere meaning more rides opening later, less staff on rides, etc? 

[JoshuaA]

8 hours ago, Flipper said:

And to whoever posted a while ago about 'how hard can it be to operate a frog hopper' - jog on. As an ex ride-operator every ride is different; none of them are overly complex they just naturally have different things to look out for. But having worked at a few places, including Paultons; I guarantee you now working children's rides can be and often is 10x more challenging than operating a coaster or thrill ride at Thorpe. An adult screams they want Rush to stop? Nah, it keeps going you're an adult. A child screams for a frog hopper to stop? You better stop it ASAP otherwise you're gonna have a parent giving you the odds, a complaint filed against you, and your job on the line. You've got to be so much more on the ball with your operation, your visual checks, your customer service the lot; just because you're working around children and (worse) their parents and guardians.

In my original post I meant that it probably wouldn't be hard to staff all three of the flat rides..

Obviously all rides have different circumstances, but all three of the rides really don't need much staff to run.. Which was my point..

 

8 hours ago, Flipper said:

 Whilst I fully agree the attractions should be open, I also sway to agree it makes sod all difference closing them during the off-peak if they're being ridden by a few hundred people a day tops. It's a waste on resource, everything from having the staff to open them, to the engineers to safety check them

Judging from the post- it seems this happened on happened on a weekend in July,  so barely a off-peak day..

If you're going to put in some random second hand flat rides that barely fit in, at least operate them for god sake.

8 hours ago, Flipper said:

You're comparing the twelve (?) gated attractions Disney own, against the hundred and odd Merlin now have. Thorpe doesn't even scratch the surface of the attendance figures achieved by a single Universal park, or PortAventura etc. so to make a big thing out of Merlin being second so Thorpe should be flawless is BS. Thorpe is not only a long way down in attendance of any theme park in the world, or even Europe, its probably a long way down against other Merlin sites around the world; and remember; each site has its own budgets and management who make the majority of the decisions.

Some parks like BPB, Dreamland, and I bet Paulton have terrible attendance, and still from my experience give a better Guest experience overall than Thorpe.

Thorpe is never going to be like Europa Park or perfect, but things like this are just hilarious, and shows how the operations can be quite poor..

Dreamland for example are financially dying, but they still make effort to open their rides and staff them..

[Coaster]

4 hours ago, Marc said:

 

You visit what you describe as a "dire" theme park almost once a month - I would.

Not a dire park, just in a dire state.

[ThemeCrafter264]

The GP are noticing 2 of the 3 rides at shut. https://mobile.twitter.com/marybmcnulty/status/886551910110638080

[Flipper]

16 hours ago, JoshuaA said:

In my original post I meant that it probably wouldn't be hard to staff all three of the flat rides..

Obviously all rides have different circumstances, but all three of the rides really don't need much staff to run.. Which was my point..

 

Some parks like BPB, Dreamland, and I bet Paulton have terrible attendance, and still from my experience give a better Guest experience overall than Thorpe.

Thorpe is never going to be like Europa Park or perfect, but things like this are just hilarious, and shows how the operations can be quite poor..

Dreamland for example are financially dying, but they still make effort to open their rides and staff them..

 

Firstly, didn't come across that way, whatsoever.

 

Secondly, staffing-staffing-staffing. And training. I've not visited Dreamland but a fair few people I know whom have would stand up and disagree with your statement that they staff and open all of their rides. I'm not denying Paulton's gives an excelling experience, because they do; and (sorry Paultons) they do operate rotational ride operation where it is required. Blackpool; they're just a bit of a joke reaaaaaaally. Rides often run on reduced capacity or lower staffing just because they can; I.e. Steeplechase. Rides will often close - again, kids rides outside of Nickelodeon, ala Convoy Ride; because they can't afford to staff them. Rides operate on shared operation such as the ones under Avalanche; and some rides open for a minuscule amount of the day - Grand National, thats what 11am, 12-noon opening depending on what mood they're in?

 

You're trying to make a point that is just coming across as biased; that every other park is better than Thorpe when all parks have their pros and cons. I'm in no way a die-hard Thorpe lover; nor am I a die-hard Blackpool hater; but please don't come up in here making claims like you are, when actually, you're quite blinkered in your views. Next time you go to Blackpool take a look at what times rides open, if they open, what they're staffed like etc. and then come back and tell me that they're operating so amazingly better than Thorpe.

 

Thank you.

[MattyMoo]

On 16/07/2017 at 2:18 PM, ThemeCrafter264 said:

The GP are noticing 2 of the 3 rides at shut. https://mobile.twitter.com/marybmcnulty/status/886551910110638080

 

I'll have that Twitter user know that the smell of rubbish is all part of the abandoned themeing in various areas of the park.

[ThemeCrafter264]

My friend visited yesterday and managed just 5 rides throughout the day (1 ride every 96 minutes). I understand it was a very sunny day and it's school holiday period but this is simply unacceptable, bearing on mind I visited on a quite hot day and rode 25 rides, in the Easter holidays. Also, he seemed to say the advertised time for DBGT: ROTD was 30 mins, yet the queue was 2 hours. I'm not going to completely blame the park but one of the UK's largest parks, it's slightly disappointing to hear this.

[Benin]

You see that stuff ALL the time, especially when reading Trip Advisor...

 

It's more than likely a combination of both the park AND person in question, be it through bad planning, breakdowns or general faffage...

 

I do love people who complain about it being busy in summer as if it's THE BIGGEST SCANDAL EVER!

[Stuntman707]

Yeah, it should be expected to be busy now over the summer holiday. I remember last summer, I didn't get on many rides at all. There's no point complaining it's not as quiet as it is off-peak. Also not that I disagree It's bad, but it's well known that the queue estimates are not reliable at all. It's better to see how big the crowd is before joining. If the back of the line is not far from the entrance, you know it's going to be a 2 hours+ wait. 

[Marc]

You do hear of this quite a lot (and I've done it my self before too) it's very easy to wonder around the park deciding each queue is too long, before you know it you would of been better off just joining one of them.

 

One tip I would have is get there early - a few times this year I've got there for 9 ish - the gates are often opened early (no promises!)) and the park has been so so much better at getting rides ready for opening. At 9:30 my last trip all rides which were due to open were - you can easily get Stealth, Inferno, Colosus and saw done before the queues start to get to bad!

[planenut]

Queues at Stealth were up to 90 minutes today, 9000 prebooked school visitors, but Thursday, wait for this, 12000 prebooked school slots, and the park expected to exceed capacity.

[MachoMachine]

It's schools week so it's expected to be extremely busy! 

[Flipper]

3 hours ago, planenut said:

Queues at Stealth were up to 90 minutes today, 9000 prebooked school visitors, but Thursday, wait for this, 12000 prebooked school slots, and the park expected to exceed capacity.

 

Knowing you're not thick, I believe you're meaning 'reach' capacity and not exceed. Legal stuff, and all that.

[planenut]

7 hours ago, Flipper said:

 

Knowing you're not thick, I believe you're meaning 'reach' capacity and not exceed. Legal stuff, and all that.

I too questioned it, watch what happens!

 

Schools week? I did ask one teacher yesterday if the pupils are expected to write a project based on their visit to Thorpe Park, but they appeared not to expect one.

[JoshuaA]

On 17/07/2017 at 4:31 AM, Flipper said:

 I'm in no way a die-hard Thorpe lover; nor am I a die-hard Blackpool hater; but please don't come up in here making claims like you are, when actually, you're quite blinkered in your views

I'm not a hardcore fan of either parks, though I was judging from my recent experiences of both parks. Oh and this is a forum, were you know people express there opinion.. though obviously we all have different experiences at parks, and I personally think the operations at BPB are fairly solid.

Though don't we all have a little bias in our opinions?

The blinkered comment is perhaps one of the silliest things I've seen on this forum..

On 17/07/2017 at 4:31 AM, Flipper said:

 

Firstly, didn't come across that way, whatsoever.

 

Secondly, staffing-staffing-staffing. And training. I've not visited Dreamland but a fair few people I know whom have would stand up and disagree with your statement that they staff and open all of their rides. 

Well it was a tad of bad wording on my part, though my point still stands.. And yes Dreamland has fairly sluggish operations, but they did just come out of administration.. And generally all the rides were open (excluding planned closures) when I visited, but obviously you don't pick everything up during one visit. My experience at BPB was generally very positive, but maybe I could of gone on a really good day?  Things like this can put bias into opinions, and we're all "blinkered" in a way. Though for me the staff at BPB and Dreamland felt way more friendlier and the park generally felt less like a money machine than Thorpe. Don't get me wrong Thorpe is a great park, but they could operate so much better..          

Things like this really doesn't have to happen, same with the occasional one train operation on busy days. 

[Coaster]

On 17/07/2017 at 2:31 AM, Flipper said:

Grand National, thats what 11am, 12-noon opening depending on what mood they're in?

Grand National opens at 11am  

 

On 17/07/2017 at 2:31 AM, Flipper said:

You're trying to make a point that is just coming across as biased; that every other park is better than Thorpe when all parks have their pros and cons. I'm in no way a die-hard Thorpe lover; nor am I a die-hard Blackpool hater; but please don't come up in here making claims like you are, when actually, you're quite blinkered in your views. Next time you go to Blackpool take a look at what times rides open, if they open, what they're staffed like etc. and then come back and tell me that they're operating so amazingly better than Thorpe.

They're operating so amazingly better than Thorpe.  And their operations aren't even good...