I really wanna try this ride, but I am scared that I might not enjoy it because of the blood rush, and minimal restraints! Anyone had any really bad/good experiences on it?

Slammer has had SO much time and money spent on it, although it's still a nightmare for stopping in various positions, amongst everything else.The fact the ride is so rare now, I think can only be a good thing..for marketing terms atleast

It's a unique ride and almost one of a kind with the others closing haha. However, it's not the nicest ride experience, it's hurts on the hips and I always look forward to it ending.

I really wanna try this ride, but I am scared that I might not enjoy it because of the blood rush, and minimal restraints! Anyone had any really bad/good experiences on it?

Before going on it for the first time, I was really hesitant. It's not as bad as you might think. I've been on it loads of times now, and I've never had a bad experience on it. You do feel the blood rushing to your head but it's not painful at all. Having said that, everyone's different, so you might feel differently about it

Thing with Slammer, it's ride experience seems so reliant on the restraints, in that...Shoulder bars to tight = Painful shoulders and headShoulder bars to loose = Painful hips/leg areaLap bar to tight = Painful legs/hipsLap bar to loose = Painful shouldersPersonally I've become pretty good at getting both restraints to a comfortable level, and therefore the ride is completely painless, in fact I even think it's one of the best rides in the park.

Anyone know about what rides were closed today so I know for tomorrow ?

Stealth, Colossus, storm surge and Alive are all unavailable. WTF?Alive, fair enough. But the other three, all at once, unbelievable. Anyone have any ideas whats up / expected timescale for repair? Was considering a trip this week but don't think I'll bother.

oooh I didn't see this thread, I've been moaning about this in the planned trips thread! Would love to hear any info about why the rides are closed and whats happening.Edit: Also, is it just me or is the scrolling text on the website that tells you which rides are unavailable reeeeeeeeeeaaaaly slow?? Makes it even more annoying.

Stealth, Colossus, storm surge and Alive are all unavailable. WTF?Alive, fair enough. But the other three, all at once, unbelievable. Anyone have any ideas whats up / expected timescale for repair? Was considering a trip this week but don't think I'll bother.

Stealth / Storm Surge opened yesterday and stayed open later than the rest of the park because of them opening late, Colossus opened today.

Thats great. I might go now then.But I did get that info from the website this morning and it was still there after park opening. They need to be more on the ball updating that or it'll cost them business, I can't be the only one who saw that this morning and changed their plans.

Thanks for that Marc, made me alot happier!!You're right pluk, I got that info from the site this morning too and if I hadn't already got the tickets I probably wouldn't have bothered going Monday. Definitely not good for business

Stealth / Storm Surge opened yesterday and stayed open later than the rest of the park because of them opening late, Colossus opened today.

That's great customer service there and isn't something the park had to do. A nice gesture from Thorpe!

That's great customer service there and isn't something the park had to do. A nice gesture from Thorpe!

That is true, that sort of thing makes me very happy. If I'd been there it would have meant a lot to me, it shows they are there to keep the punters happy and don't just have the "we've already got their money, so screw them" sort of mentality that Ive seen before (and the car park charges make me feel every time).

Wonder if they told the staff that before or at closing

Oh us staff know before anyone else what rides will be open and closed for a few days (like Storm Surge and Stealth) what most peeps don't understand is that if a ride doesn't pass it's morning checks they won't and can't open it and the engineer's will work hard as possible to make sure the ride (s) are open later in the day....something else what makes me laugh is that half the peeps on here don't know how complex most of them rides are, they might not seem it to you but when you work on the 5/6 days a week you get know the rides pretty well.... rides will break down and that can't be helped so stop moaning about it

what most peeps don't understand is that if a ride doesn't pass it's morning checks they won't and can't open it and the engineer's will work hard as possible to make sure the ride (s) are open later in the day....something else what makes me laugh is that half the peeps on here don't know how complex most of them rides are, they might not seem it to you but when you work on the 5/6 days a week you get know the rides pretty well.... rides will break down and that can't be helped so stop moaning about it

To be fair, I think most people will be well aware of both of those things. That's not the point, of course there is a lot to go wrong and things will break down. It does seem to me though that something is not right when three major rides are down at once and that is not thought of as out of the ordinary. There must be a reason for this.Thorpe just seems to have more downtime problems than most parks. I have no facts to back that up other than my own experience, but my own experience is all I'm concerned with!! This thread on the whole is not about moaning though, it is just useful to know what is open and not to plan visits. I'm grateful to those who let us know here.

To be fair, I think most people will be well aware of both of those things. That's not the point, of course there is a lot to go wrong and things will break down. It does seem to me though that something is not right when three major rides are down at once and that is not thought of as out of the ordinary. There must be a reason for this.Thorpe just seems to have more downtime problems than most parks. I have no facts to back that up other than my own experience, but my own experience is all I'm concerned with!! This thread on the whole is not about moaning though, it is just useful to know what is open and not to plan visits. I'm grateful to those who let us know here.

Saying that rides are really complex is a load of bollocks - the rides are genuinely massive Meccano sets with generic parts - if they bothered to backstock parts then their availability would be a lot better.I understand parts can go that are exceptionally hard to source however parts don't just 'go'.

Quite. It's that there are a lot of individual parts that make up a ride, any one of which can fail, not that each of those parts is complex.I would asume that parts would be less likely to fail unexpectedly if they were more regularly checked for wear and tear.

Oh us staff know before anyone else what rides will be open and closed for a few days (like Storm Surge and Stealth) what most peeps don't understand is that if a ride doesn't pass it's morning checks they won't and can't open it and the engineer's will work hard as possible to make sure the ride (s) are open later in the day....something else what makes me laugh is that half the peeps on here don't know how complex most of them rides are, they might not seem it to you but when you work on the 5/6 days a week you get know the rides pretty well.... rides will break down and that can't be helped so stop moaning about it

I've never doubted how complex the rides are, infact I've always enjoyed observing the mechanics and pondering the immense amount of work and technology that goes into them. But, as I said in another post, when you pay nearly £30 to get in the park, then nearly £50 on travelling costs, then add to that some of the extortionate prices for food, drink and merchandise around the park (I'm not even going to start on the £1 per entry lockers) you don't expect to arrive to find four major attractions out on one day, it's a huge let down to say the least, especially if it's one of your favourite rides. Having said that, I will be writing up my first ever TR shortly and it's not all doom and gloom, so I'd like to know what you guys think.

As always on this subject, there's tons of excuses flying around. Yes, the rides are complicated, but why has Thorpe Park got a dirty reputation for shocking ride availability?Granted, things are a lot better than they were and keeping rides open longer than expected to make up for ride downtime is great. Using the website to inform guests early that two rides will be down on this day and that is also helpful. However as mentioned, it's a very expensive day out and frankly, the rides should be open. It doesn't matter what way you turn it, the rides should be open.Thorpe Park is STILL the only park that I visit, where I worry that one of my favourite rides may be closed.

Oh us staff know before anyone else what rides will be open and closed for a few days (like Storm Surge and Stealth)

You staff know next to nothing, no offence intended of course, but you have no idea if a ride goes down when it will be back in operation.Planned maintenance, fine (although I question why the new ride and the icon ride have to be closed for scheduled maintenance on the same day) but you guys are just as powerless as the guests when there's a mechanical problem.I'd actually forgotten about Thorpe's rubbish reliability. Seems like such a long time when Thorpe was relevant for discussion actually.

Some rides ARE complex, no-one can deny that, but parks need to ensure that all rides are running at full capacity every day the park is open...Thorpe failed to do this on a constant basis...And ride staff are the LAST people to know what the actual problem is... All platformers know is that it's broken...

To be fair, Thorpe's reliability has been top notch this season. Sure, some rides have had their blips, and the situation with two major coasters and the new ride down that occurred is awful, but it has still been good for the majority of the season.Strange for me to defend the park's reliability, but hey-ho. It's been very good this season, and there's just the unfortunate blip...

I'm going tomorrow...hoping that Storm Surge will be available. It's not a big disappointment if not, but as this is my first time visiting this year, I can only hope that it is open...we shall see.

I too must praise Thorpe generally this year. Although I have not been since the (shocking) Annual Pass Day, what with living in the Midlands, it appears to have been better than for several seasons. I look forward to my next visit with the assumption, for once, that everything will work.