What most urgently needs to be done at Thorpe Park after Project Exodus, in your view?

[Matt N]

Hi guys. I was scrolling through the Project Exodus thread, and I noticed that in some of the most recent posts in there, people were talking about the other things Thorpe Park needs to sort after Project Exodus is completed. With that in mind, I thought a thread discussing the things people would most like to see done at Thorpe Park after Exodus might be interesting. So, what do you think most urgently needs sorting at Thorpe?

 

Personally, I'd like to see the following happen at Thorpe Park in the not-too-distant future:

• Either the installation of a new dark ride with universal appeal or a more family-friendly retheme/rework of Derren Brown's Ghost Train. I feel that Thorpe could really do with a dark ride with greater universal appeal; I had hoped that this might come with WC16, but the ride that Derren Brown's Ghost Train ultimately turned out to be is/was arguably far too niche in appeal to add much to the park's lineup for most.
• The installation of a non-inverting thrill coaster of some description with a lower height restriction. I think that Thorpe could really do with a non-inverting, 1.2m height restriction thrill coaster to heighten the park's appeal for older families and add a little more depth to their coaster selection. I think something like a GCI wooden coaster would fit the bill nicely.
• The retheme of The Walking Dead The Ride back into a more family-friendly theme. As much as The Walking Dead The Ride looks very well done, I do feel that retheming a Vekoma junior coaster to such a blatantly adult theme was perhaps a questionable move, and I think that making that ride a little more family-friendly again could widen the park's appeal and offer more for the older family market.
• In general, I would like to see the park focus less on things with overly niche appeal going forward. I've used the phrase "niche appeal" quite a bit within this post, but I do feel that Thorpe Park's recent undoing has been focusing on things that don't have especially wide appeal, even within the thrill market. Within the wheelhouse of thrills, things like thrill coasters and thrilling flat rides have fairly wide appeal, but the sorts of things that Thorpe Park have been doing in recent years arguably don't have a wide appeal in the same way. Things like DBGT, Walking Dead, Black Mirror and such appeal to quite a limited cross-section of the thrill market, and I feel that focusing on thrilling things with wider appeal could reverse the park's fortunes without necessarily reinventing the wheel. I have no problem with Thorpe installing attractions like that from time to time, but these types of niche attractions have been the park's primary focus for the best part of a decade now, and I do think that things with wider appeal should be the absolute bread and butter of the park's additions.

But what do you think that Thorpe Park needs to focus on after Project Exodus?

[Benin]

There's so much of the park you could bin.

 

Depth Charge, Beach, Storm Surge, X:/TWD, DBGT for starters opens up a MASSIVE chunk of area. Especially if you include Slammer as well.

 

Making the entrance actually appealing should be their next step. Every time I see pics of it it looks awful. This in turn would work with demolishing Depth Charge and the beach and making a big plaza area with stage and food options. Bit like the temporary stuff at Towers recently. 

 

Then get a good dark ride and high throughput water ride that's actually good.

 

Oh, and a Top Spin. Preferably indoors.

[JoshC.]

13 minutes ago, Benin said:

Oh, and a Top Spin. Preferably indoors.

 

Themed around a garden centre?

[coasterverse]

I've gotta disagree with the whole 'family friendly' approach you mention in your post, @Matt N. Mainly because most parks in the UK are already primarily focused on this, especially in the south. Legoland, Chessington, Paultons, hell even Adventure Island are all primarily family focused parks first and foremost. Having a theme park down south whos main focus is purely on thrills is much more likely to benefit them in the long run as it's a good niche for down south.

 

Hell, even the parks up north for the most part are becoming more and more family focused - Lightwater Valley, Drayton Manor seems to be heading that way too, and even Alton Towers have got an extremely large predominantly family friendly section of the park that seems to only grow larger as the seasons progress, meaning more thrillseekers will be more likely to travel down south to Thorpe to get their adrenaline fix (or to BPB I guess).

 

But I have to agree on Thorpe needing a good dark ride, just not on the 'make DBGT tamer' thing. A good, high quality, actually scary ghost train would be a perfect fit for Thorpe Park. As Thorpe Park is a thrilling theme park, a thrilling dark ride such as a ghost train is the perfect fit. They would be seriously missing a trick if they just decided to get rid of the ghost train altogether - it just needs improvements such as replacing the windows on the train with television screens, making the movement scenes to and from the underground platform longer and have the actors that currently stand around and brush your knees actually, you know, act. Perhaps like they're infected or something? idk. Bring back the train crash sequence in the tunnel (but make it look much better and increase reliability) and then back on the train for much of the same.

 

Either that, or just rip out everything inside the building (the exterior can stay, I actually really like the exterior theming) and start again with a trackless darkride ghost train instead.

 

Thorpe also really do need a good quality water ride now that Loggers is in the Thorpe archives. Due to good ol' British weather, I think it'd benefit from being inside. Maybe build it on the island behind The Swarm, or if you wanted to save that space for a new coaster, demolish Slammer and Black Mirror (and probably even TWD:TR) and that frees up a decent amount of space for either an indoor water coaster or an indoor log flume type beat.

 

Swap out the majority of Thorpe's flat rides, too. Rush, Zodiac and Samurai are all well past their sell-by dates. Just look in the Zamperla catalog and blindly pick one - I'm sure whatever you choose will still be a fantastic fit for the park.

[Hethetheth]

Surely the obvious answer guys: bring back Rocky Express. It will solve all our problems.

 

 

In all seriousness though, a high quality dark ride and proper decent water ride.

[Matt N]

3 hours ago, coasterverse said:

I've gotta disagree with the whole 'family friendly' approach you mention in your post, @Matt N. Mainly because most parks in the UK are already primarily focused on this, especially in the south. Legoland, Chessington, Paultons, hell even Adventure Island are all primarily family focused parks first and foremost. Having a theme park down south whos main focus is purely on thrills is much more likely to benefit them in the long run as it's a good niche for down south.

 

Hell, even the parks up north for the most part are becoming more and more family focused - Lightwater Valley, Drayton Manor seems to be heading that way too, and even Alton Towers have got an extremely large predominantly family friendly section of the park that seems to only grow larger as the seasons progress, meaning more thrillseekers will be more likely to travel down south to Thorpe to get their adrenaline fix (or to BPB I guess).

Perhaps “family-friendly” was the wrong phrase. I was more meaning that I feel that Thorpe Park should try to aim for a slightly wider cross-section of the thrill market than they currently do. The thrill market is wider than teenagers and young adults, and if they installed more attractions that would work for families with older children (aka 1.2m in height and up), I think that that would go a long way in terms of helping to widen the park’s appeal while also keeping it appealing for its current thrill-seeking clientele and not reinventing the wheel too much. Older children and adults may not necessarily want super intense thrill coaster after super intense thrill coaster, so I do feel that things like a thrill coaster with slightly wider appeal could really benefit Thorpe Park.

 

I agree that going full-on family friendly may be counterintuitive given the competition within both the immediate area and the wider UK, but I do feel that Thorpe Park could benefit if it focused on a wider portion of the thrill-seeker market than it currently does.

[ML27]

I know zodiac used to have a lower height limit (1.1m maybe) and I know for a lot of family’s that was brilliant for them at thorpe. I always saw it on the Merlin Passholder group, if you added rides with a lower height restriction (including a rollercoaster) you’d get a lot more families.

 

People aren’t necessarily put off Thorpe Park because of the intensity of the rides. It’s also down to when you go on the website and filter it to anything lower than 1.4m there isn’t much to ride.

[Jack95]

Now saw alive has been moved and the surrounding area as been cleared, it’s got me thinking are they clearing this area for a future development under the cover of exodus? They could easily fit a Premier Rides Sky Rocket similar to Tigris at Bush Gardens TB in that area. 
 

Merlin seem to be investing quite heavily into new/redevelopment rides so maybe an area to watch!

[Vinlarr89]

First post. Go easy on me!! 
 

For me, Thorpe really need to invest heavily in the entrance to the park. It’s the first and last impression that the park makes on guests, and it’s really not great. 
 

It really needs flattening, and then a great centre piece focal point building with plaza surrounding for themed events throughout the year etc. 

 

I don’t even think this area should have rides, it should be somewhere that is pleasant on the eye, engaging and there as a conduit between the outside world to the life inside the park. 

 

I always get that feeling as you walk into Alton towers with the lake in front of you and the towers in the distance, something I don’t think is felt at Thorpe, and whilst the lake etc can’t be replicated I’m sure an equally well designed centrepiece and plaza area of the park would help take people on a similar mindset journey as they enter and exit the park. 

[tactic]

I totally agree with that, the entrance just doesn’t seem very special. It feels like there’s something grand missing to pull everything together. Also don’t get me started on the amity beach after the dome, I think that needs to go tbh, it ruins everything as soon as you get into the park imo.

[Mark9]

2 hours ago, Vinlarr89 said:

First post. Go easy on me!! 
 

For me, Thorpe really need to invest heavily in the entrance to the park. It’s the first and last impression that the park makes on guests, and it’s really not great. 
 

It really needs flattening, and then a great centre piece focal point building with plaza surrounding for themed events throughout the year etc. 

 

I don’t even think this area should have rides, it should be somewhere that is pleasant on the eye, engaging and there as a conduit between the outside world to the life inside the park. 

 

I always get that feeling as you walk into Alton towers with the lake in front of you and the towers in the distance, something I don’t think is felt at Thorpe, and whilst the lake etc can’t be replicated I’m sure an equally well designed centrepiece and plaza area of the park would help take people on a similar mindset journey as they enter and exit the park. 

 

I sort of agree. I think the actual entrance building, the bridge and the view from outside the dome are great, up there with Towers Street. But the problem is before you get to the Entrance building, Thorpe looks like a prison. There is zero attempt to incorporate security with an inviting experience. 

 

The Dome is so awful now, it's just modern with no personality. I like the pictures on the outside of peoples selfies from their day. But the inside is really poor.

[Matt 236]

The security area is definitely the focal point where changes need to be made. Maybe demolish the old huts and put in a more permanent building that looks visually appealing but offers efficient checks.

 

The entrance structure also needs substantial work too, although some back of house areas would also need adjustments. 
 

It’s really a shame that the dome has gone from this charming (yet ageing) nautical portal to what is basically a bland hub area. Like some budget holiday resort maybe. 

 

The bridge is actually ok, but maybe just needs a bit of modernisation in parts. 
 

The entrance used to work fine in the 90’s/2000’s but in places no longer feels fit for purpose. 

[Inferno]

Completely agree about the entrance - it’s an absolutely shocking way to start the day, especially when it’s busy.

 

I do really like the bridge though (and the dome to be fair) - and when exiting the dome the view across the park I think is really good!

 

I’m not sure they still need the beach - it’s a very odd thing to have at a park like this now adays, especially right at the front!  Replacing that with something else would be amazing.

[Vinlarr89]

When you look at how much space the beach and associated area take up, there’s great scope for a really nice centrepiece and plaza to be built that would look fantastic as you step out the dome. Then overhaul the dome to match. 
 

I remember a few MTDPs ago there was a plan to widen/ upgrade the entrance bridge. I don’t think it needs widening, but it could do with improvements. 
 

However I strongly think the park will see this as too much real estate to be wasted, and instead place a ride in this area. 
 

Looking at the rest of the park I do wonder when we might see a coaster on the island behind swarm island. Hopefully the long awaited woodie 

[Inferno]

It does seem daft that (I assume) millions were spent on the huge bit of infilling by Stealth, and where Saw Alive was, just for it to sit empty or have a queue on for a few years.

 

I imagine it was down to priorities changing and future budgets being pulled after the Swarm was deemed a failed project?

[tactic]

I do think that the amity beach needs to be replaced sooner rather than later, I’ve haven’t seen it being used in years (but then I haven’t rly been spending much time in the middle of the day in that area).

 

I think they could defo get a couple of new flats in that area or even a small scale coaster that could interact with the area well as an entrance feature, I’m probably way to ambitious here but a smaller version of  gatekeeper (ofc not a wing coaster) with some kinda stall element that you walk under right after you come out of the dome would be awesome. ik this is way to ambitious and would never happen at thorpe but it’s just an idea of what that could do with all the space the beach takes up

[Vinlarr89]

5 hours ago, Inferno said:

It does seem daft that (I assume) millions were spent on the huge bit of infilling by Stealth, and where Saw Alive was, just for it to sit empty or have a queue on for a few years.

 

I imagine it was down to priorities changing and future budgets being pulled after the Swarm was deemed a failed project?

I’m sure we will see these areas getting investment at some point. The island behind swarm is actually pretty large and could house a really decent coaster. Pretty sure from the old MTDP it can go to 60m as well so potentially another large one in a few years. 
 

There’s also two more areas that are available to build on not currently used that are sizeable. So land isn’t really a big problem for Thorpe in this regard. 
 

However I don’t think throwing coasters at the park is what the park is crying out for IMHO

[owenstreet7]

Correcting the error of closing Loggers Leap permanently after it's years of abandonment by building a modern spiritual successor of the ride. 🙂

 

In all seriousness, building a modern flume like Chiapas at Phantasialand would be absolutely fantastic for the park.

[Vinlarr89]

An intertwined GCI woodie or intamin multi launch with an intamin modern flume in the rumba treasure island area would be sick. Trouble is it won’t happen under Merlin’s watch as they don’t invest in entire areas it’s all piecemeal expansion unfortunately. 

[owenstreet7]

19 hours ago, Vinlarr89 said:

An intertwined GCI woodie or intamin multi launch with an intamin modern flume in the rumba treasure island area would be sick. Trouble is it won’t happen under Merlin’s watch as they don’t invest in entire areas it’s all piecemeal expansion unfortunately. 

It seems Merlin have invested in whole areas more recently with the World of Jumnaji at Chessington, Mythica at Legoland and in the future, both Project Play and Project Refresh and Renew are both entirely fresh new areas. 🤔

 

It hasn't seemed to happen at Thorpe Park or Alton Towers as of yet though.

[Vinlarr89]

Yeah, that’s a fair point. I just can’t see them investing on the level required for Thorpe pure thrill audience into a whole section. Imagine it would be in the 40-50m bracket in one hit. Especially given all the Merlin cuts. 
 

I do think Merlin will shift their focus South to react to Universal, and probably already starting to see them react to that with investment into Chessington and will expect more in the form of a big headline ride for Thorpe next big anniversary 

[owenstreet7]

19 hours ago, Vinlarr89 said:

Yeah, that’s a fair point. I just can’t see them investing on the level required for Thorpe pure thrill audience into a whole section. Imagine it would be in the 40-50m bracket in one hit. Especially given all the Merlin cuts. 
 

I do think Merlin will shift their focus South to react to Universal, and probably already starting to see them react to that with investment into Chessington and will expect more in the form of a big headline ride for Thorpe next big anniversary 

Very good point - with one coaster and a selection of flat rides, it is doable. For Thrill, it's likely to be easy to add something like a Huss Top Spin or an Intamin Gyro Swing for a fraction of a price of a coaster.

 

With Lost Kingdom style investments where it includes multiple coasters, I'm not so sure whether it's doable.

 

Looking at the price for Joris En De Draak, that cost £12-13m at the time. This likely may have gone up since then.

 

I can't find a precise price for Chiapas at Phantasialand however with £15m being touted - this may include theming. I think it's likely closer to £5-10m for the ride system and less expensive than a coaster and even a rapids. Prices likely went up since when Chiapas was installed.

[JoshC.]

If Thorpe get a Top Spin I will scream and cry and hate life.