JackR Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 I was told by someone in my year, Sunday's ride count was really good and they only stuck around to see the fire works after re-riding everything... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Users Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 50+ minute queue was mainly a result of it being slow due to the problem it had... Would they have all gone to guest services and complained if it hadnt opened, a handful maybe.The queue went nearly all the way back to the entrance with that one extension open. That's at least 50 mins normally I thought? Or have there been problems every time I have queued from there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 I was told by someone in my year, Sunday's ride count was really good and they only stuck around to see the fire works after re-riding everything...Yes, it was! I went to the fireworks spot early to get the front view and still got on loads of rides. My fave ride in the dark is Colossus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 I find that a little harsh, IMO they more than made up for it by pretty much working on stealth all day to get it going for the last few hours of the season, with it being quiet they so easily could have left it down all day and no one would have really cared to much.So, you're opinion here is that Thorpe should have just said 'Oh, it's quiet, it's the last day of the season, let's not bother fixing it!' then? Or have I misinterpreted? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topsyturvy15 Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 Really hope its done again, the atmosphere was great and the DJ was pretty impressive. The music made the park end on a high and it the whole day that bit different. The stampede to the stealth opening was pretty savage though and luckily no one was trampled! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 I find that a little harsh, IMO they more than made up for it by pretty much working on stealth all day to get it going for the last few hours of the season, with it being quiet they so easily could have left it down all day and no one would have really cared to much.Stealth doesn't make up entirely for all the other rides down time.So, you're opinion here is that Thorpe should have just said 'Oh, it's quiet, it's the last day of the season, let's not bother fixing it!' then? Or have I misinterpreted? That's sort of Marcs viewpoint. I think what hes saying is its the last day of the season, Stealth's technical problem was quite complex and it would have been easier for the park to have left it closed for the day. Considering the next day it was pretty much going to be stripped down to wheels and bolts, putting in that extra effort to get the thing open for what was 3/4 hours is very good of the park to do. I've known other large parks not bother... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 Stealth doesn't make up entirely for all the other rides down time.I'm not to sure, tbh I saw Colossus go down but that was back up within 20 mins or so, didn't see storm surge's down time.And in reply to josh, yeah what mark said is what I meant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 Cheers for clearing that up.The thing is, from a guest (not a fan) perspective, I really shouldn't care if it's last day of season or anything like that - if a ride is broken, I'd expect the park to do their upmost to fix it for guest's enjoyment. That's what they did on Sunday, and, in my opinion, I can see that as the only option the park should consider; if they want to be the best, guests should be their priority right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 Cheers for clearing that up.The thing is, from a guest (not a fan) perspective, I really shouldn't care if it's last day of season or anything like that - if a ride is broken, I'd expect the park to do their upmost to fix it for guest's enjoyment. That's what they did on Sunday, and, in my opinion, I can see that as the only option the park should consider; if they want to be the best, guests should be their priority right?True, and your right. But I guess in the reality that's not allways what happens, and they could of so easily left it down all day and simply told guests it would be closed today, sure it don't look great but people would accept that. I just thought was very good of them to go through the efforts they did for a few more hours of it running. thorpeparkjack 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 Cheers for clearing that up.The thing is, from a guest (not a fan) perspective, I really shouldn't care if it's last day of season or anything like that - if a ride is broken, I'd expect the park to do their upmost to fix it for guest's enjoyment. That's what they did on Sunday, and, in my opinion, I can see that as the only option the park should consider; if they want to be the best, guests should be their priority right?Bit of a non commital answer from me really as that is what the park did. As I say, I've known other parks not bother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flipper Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 In fairness, they did say for most of the day "It's unlikely to open" so even after that, when it actually did open fair play to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thorpeparkjack Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 It was a great effort from the park, and lets face it we should expect it all the time, but the world does not work like that. WELL DONE THORPE PARK ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 Don't get me wrong; I'm glad Thorpe did it, and it's something that should be praised; as Mark said, other parks in similar situations would not bother. So a well done to Thorpe of course! :)But when push comes to shove, it should be expected really, which I think is something we'd all agree on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidders Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 In other news, there are some sources (ahur-hum) on CF stating that the blown-up fire engine is to be the fire engine used for the themeing element in the pond under the up-curve into The Swarm's in-line twist.How reliable are these sources? Surely Thorpe wouldn't be allowed to simply blow up a fire engine and then use that as themeing - it'd have to match the plans exactly, surely? And built by skilled manufacturers to the exact specifications, would it not? Josh mentioned this on an earlier page so it made me pose the question as I'm quite unsure at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pluk Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 I though it was obvious it was the one they would use to be honest, never really considered otherwise. Why would they keep buying fire engines? Didn't consider the planning side of things but that shouldn't be a problem, if it's the same size as in the plans then thats all that really matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan9 Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 I must say the effort they took to open Stealth just for a few hours was great to see, very impressed with that. Mark9 and SkySkream 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 By the looks of it, the fire engine blown up was of the same style as the fire engine shown in the plans, and probably of the same size. Also, where it's only been burnt, and not 'blown' up, and the fire engine in the plans is behind a fence, I see no reason why it couldn't be used in honesty, unless there's something about planning which would prevent it.Would make for great continuity too, considering it was blown up to a Swarm audio piece for marketing of the ride. Speculation on my part on the earlier page, but as soon as I heard that they were blowing up a vechile, I did hope it would be related to Swarm's theming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackR Posted November 11, 2011 Report Share Posted November 11, 2011 The fire engine is in the plan. Plus they didn't fully blow it up, it was only fire bursting out of the windows after all... The vehicle is, after all, behind a fence and it's not exactly a significant change. I think by blowing the Fire Engine up and using it for theming, Thorpe are killing to birds with one stone. Clever move in my opinion which benefits the park before and after The Swarm opens.EDIT: It's under the Zero-G rolls if anybody is interested. You can see the Fire Engine is slightly submerged in the pond so the fact that the vehicle is slightly tilted in the plans also makes sense. I originally thought it was a Police car so wrote a long post about why they may/ may not use the Fire Engine only to find out I was mistaken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkySkream Posted November 11, 2011 Report Share Posted November 11, 2011 The sad moment when you commend a park because they kept a ride open all day.Surely thats a basic rule for theme parks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan9 Posted November 11, 2011 Report Share Posted November 11, 2011 The sad moment when you commend a park because they kept a ride open all day.Surely thats a basic rule for theme parks? It wasn't open all day. Read before you post... It was closed until around 5:30/6pm, but was relentlessly worked on, tested, and finally opened. The point is, many parks would have just not bothered considering it would only be open for a couple of hours, it's the last day of the season, and it's not really that busy anyway. Even if they decided to keep it closed for those last few hours, most people would have understood considering the circumstances. But they didn't, they actually put the effort it... SkySkream and JoshC. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben miller Posted November 11, 2011 Report Share Posted November 11, 2011 it was actatly amazing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
th13teen Posted November 11, 2011 Report Share Posted November 11, 2011 I feel the whole event would have been better if the fireworks had been behind stealth and they used the stealth plaza area as there concert area including the DJ and possibly lighting effects! This would also have meant people would be far more spread out, however I must say it seems like they did a good job this year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted November 11, 2011 Report Share Posted November 11, 2011 I don't think the logistics of having one exit for the complete mass of people would work though... At least the Colossus line has two exits and is an overall bigger area... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Users Posted November 11, 2011 Report Share Posted November 11, 2011 Thats actatly true.You feel the need to highlight someone's misspelling and then miss out an apostrophe in your three word reply. JackR and Tom 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobD Posted November 11, 2011 Report Share Posted November 11, 2011 Before I post anything, I'll make no secret of the fact I did not attend the event, (and am basing this on videos I've seen), but, I'm once again struck with a feeling of how overwhelmingly publicity based this event was. Stir up a bit of controversy by burning a statue of a celebrity, blow up a firetruck and market the swarm... and have a rave with fireworks. I know it's all pitched at a specific audience, and I risk yet again encroaching on the is Thorpe Park a 'theme park' anymore debate, but,regardless of opinion, I feel the event was an easy cop out. It was basically a bog standard firework event, just like those in many (public) parks across the country. Is this special? Not really. Does this really create an emotional response from the public? Not really. I pitch this event against PortAventura's summer fireworks; yes, I know the parks aim at two very different markets, but the difference is obvious. Why can't the UK actually bother spending on anything. I won't turn this into a rant about how much Merlin's rake from every customers wallets comparatively to their international rivals, but simply say, for a group of such size, they really do know the meaning of doing things on the cheap.To give comparison; PA's firework event.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGqUVfGI188(if anyone wants to watch the second half, links are on the video)that's how it's done, Merlins, and your nowhere near. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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