Slammer

[MattyMoo]

Confirmation of Slammer removal for 2024. praise be to Varney.

[Benin]

On 12/5/2023 at 11:44 AM, MattyMoo said:

Confirmation of Slammer removal for 2024. praise be to Varney.

 

Only a year out.

 

Thorpe have applied for permission to remove it. Finally.

 

Rust in pieces.

[MattyMoo]

Fingers crossed the locals don't oppose the removal and vote to keep it as a world heritage site.

 

Now all we need is the Tidal fire effect fixed to confirm that 2025 will be a golden year.

[Parm Pap]

sOmething is coming, but will it be a spinny one?

 

 

ding dong, ding dong  . . . . . . . . 

 

 

 will the dead still be walking in twenty of the six?

[JoshC.]

It is literally going to be the ride and control buildings that are removed, and nothing else, with nothing going in its place.

 

The queue will remain to be used for DeadBeat. 

The trees will largely remain.

The pit under the ride is staying as is.

 

It's nice to remove a dead ride, but it does beg a question...why now? It's been closed for 7 years, why remove it and put nothing in its place? Was there a plan to put a ride there? Is it a change in the powers that be? And if there's money to do this, why isn't there (rumoured) money to finish to Colossus repaint, or carry on the Sparkle Project?

 

It's certainly an interesting development.

 

TPM tweets: https://x.com/ThorpeParkMania/status/1859671221912445105

[Cal]

I know it hasn't operated for years but still sad to see this go. To this day still my favorite flat ride by far.

 

Interesting they're removing it without a replacement. Hopefully we'll get a new flat for 2026. 

[Inferno]

I agree this is a bizarre turn of events.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s good that it’s going - even if it is just a bit of a tidy up, but with all the cuts and money scrounging across Merlin this seems a bit weird.

 

If that rumour about Colossus’ repaint being scrapped is true then that’s a real shame. What a waste of money even doing the first half in this case, as having it half done still looks sloppy, and possibly even worse than before…

[MattyMoo]

Very very bizarre if they have the money for this and not for other things. We shall see over closed season I suppose.

 

Similarly, have fond memories of Slammer.... well, maybe not fond, it was intense AF but I very much enjoyed it. Remember getting my mates to go on it when it had reopened following rumours of it never re-opening, as I told them they may never get the chance again (and they didn't!)

 

If Colossus stays half painted for 2025, that's a very sorry state of affairs. Bonkers.

[Benin]

13 hours ago, JoshC. said:

 

The pit under the ride is staying as is.

 

All hail the Slammer Memorial Pit.

[Mark9]

1 hour ago, Benin said:

 

All hail the Slammer Memorial Pit.

 

They'll start putting in little food carts there soon. Slap down a few benches and boom, new food area.

[MattyMoo]

Things left behind = eAstEr EgG and definitely NOT laziness or cost cutting.

[Inferno]

Looking back at Slammer - my god it was bloody terrifying wasn't it?

For a long time it was one of the only remaining rides (apart from drop towers) that made me feel genuinely scared!

 

I don't think I will go as far as saying I miss it, because to be honest it was never really open long enough to be a major part of the park in my eyes at least, but it was definitely an iconic and very unique ride.

 

You could be stood basically anywhere at Thorpe Park, and you'd occasionally see the huge paddles soaring through the air (when it was open at least) - it certainly made itself known when it was running! It was absolutely enormous when it was spinning.

 

The ride experience was so different to anything else - I remember the very genuine screams of fear from fellow riders when the ride would first start turning, especially on that first forward swat. The restraints also really amped up the fear factor, as they were so open and free. You were very much hanging out of your seat, against those wobbly shoulder restraints!

 

Comfort levels were not a priority for Slammer were they? The rush of blood to your head throughout the entire ride, and the weird restraints were certainly interesting, and riding it in the rain was an ordeal to say the least.

The long delays between dispatches towards the end were very tedious when queueing, and I remember being stuck at the top unable to lower back down to the ground many times, either in the freezing cold or in the baking sun (the awful smell of those sun-baked shoulder harnesses is still hot on the back of my nostrils after all these years).  But none of that really mattered, because it was one of those rides that was just there to be as thrilling as possible - and it bloody was.

 

It was good having a ride like Slammer at Thorpe.  Hopefully something equally as unique will replace it one day!