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comment_164771

Been trawling through the planning portal recently (because what else are Sunday evenings made for?) and came across something interesting...

Don't know how many people knew this, but the original planned Tidal Wave was meant to be rather different. It was meant to be a bit longer (25m, so not much longer really), and face in a different direction, and the queue was meant to mainly be a board walk. The entrance would be opposite what is now the Fish and Chip shop, with that being the entrance to the Pirates 4D cinema. The ride itself would likely have had a more pirate-y theme, as these plans indicate:

OldTW1_zpsb93e3e1b.jpg

OldTW2_zpsba332e1a.jpg

We can see it's still themed quite nicely (imagine a near 90ft tall boat at Thorpe!), has a nice style to it, and a similar exit queue (which probably allows for people to possibly get wet as they leave).

But due to concerns from the council, including such large theming and the board walk style queue, the plans were changed to what we have now (which included doing infilling of land). Interestingly, the plans were submitted in September 1998, so maybe Tussauds were thinking of opening it in 99 along with P4D for a new pirate-themed area as their first major investment, but due to the delays, could not (the ride was approved in May 99). Really don't know there..

Have to say though, as nice as these plans look, I'm glad we got the Tidal Wave we have. After all, it gave us Amity Cove and WWTP radio, two of Thorpe's finest successes in my eyes, and showed that the park can come up with something clever, original and quirky. Plus, imagine how long the queue outside the entrance would nowadays using that queue! :o

comment_164785

I think tidal wave was quite a clever idea.

Pirates/Boats/Fish etc would've been so obvious.

They obviously made quite an investment into the creative process (this is of course before Tussaud's/Merlin developed their fetish for themes involving destruction). Its easy to see why they picked tidal wave though. If you asked a focus group which theme they found more interesting, I know which one I'd have picked.

I hate that the pirate theme is always done so lazily. Mutiny bay has to be quite possibly one of the most uninspired areas at the Towers. Its so bland and predictable. I'd love to see what actual research they did in to Pirates, because the answer is probably none.

  • 3 weeks later...

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