February 22, 201213 yr comment_132537 It really is astonishing in every way that this is the same company installing Swarm, Raptor, Saw - The Ride, Th13teen, Krake, Secret Weapon 7, Battle Galleons, Wild Asia, Sharkbait Reef.STORM SURGE!
February 22, 201213 yr comment_132543 Just goes to show that adding something new every year can just be a waste of money and effort...
February 23, 201213 yr comment_132552 Sorry to bash the Storm Surge, but as we all marvel at the top notch quality of The Swarm, I was just thinking about last year.. It really is awful isn't it! God knows what they were thinking... theres cheap and nasty and then theres... that! I honestly think there must be some plans afoot for the X/Arena/Storm Surge area... its placement in the most awkward place ever, and the fact its second hand to begin with, and its a temporary stop gap.Hope so anyway!
February 23, 201213 yr comment_132565 Hopefully more temporary than Zodiac was as a ride replacement, or Dettys temporary status...
February 24, 201213 yr comment_132617 Back in June last year, Storm Surge was just the right kind of ride; a light splash and a bit of a breeze - making it perfect for Summer months; but I agree the water issue has got worse and worse.What actually lets that much water into the boats? Is it the "waterfall" at the end that I've never seen work?
February 24, 201213 yr comment_132629 Following everyones moans about boats filling with water, can we hope that the park have addressed this, this season?
February 24, 201213 yr comment_132632 The last time I went on Storm Surge they were using a sort of water hoover to get the water out from the bottom, it was only at the end when we were waiting to get off there was a bit of a puddle!
February 24, 201213 yr Author comment_132633 They were also testing out new boats on the ride which had a drainage system
February 24, 201213 yr comment_132634 If they sort out the drainage system and the velcro that made the boats spin (they were getting worn down towards the end of last year) then I'll ride it and enjoy it. Hopefully they have done!
February 24, 201213 yr comment_132636 Yeah hopefully! Always have to sit up one side of the boats otherwise!
February 24, 201213 yr comment_132638 If they sort out the drainage system and the velcro that made the boats spin (they were getting worn down towards the end of last year) then I'll ride it and enjoy it. Hopefully they have done!I think they had a lot of issues with the spin pads throughout the season with many boats obtaining large rips in the lining of the bottom of the boat. For this reason most of them were removed. Alongside this when the boats started to get stuck they felt the spin pads acted as an obstruction and slowed the boats down significantly .
February 24, 201213 yr comment_132643 I guess that makes sense, I mean I presume the boats they used for the first season were ones which the ride has had since it was built so they will be getting quite old; they aren't built with the most sturdy material.
February 24, 201213 yr Author comment_132645 No they were all brand new boats, although later in the season an original boat was used from Cypress Gardens
February 24, 201213 yr comment_132662 No they were all brand new boats, Really? How much cash did they throw it this crap? The ground works for it are quite substantial too, it must cost a fortune in water as it pisses it all over the floor (not in the trough) and now it sounds like it is using up valuable maintenance money as the boats and spinners are both broken after just one season and need to be fixed. Couple the underlying poorness of the ride with half the effects being broken and the boats filling up with water and it is a joke.For the money they have spent on it they could have got an couple of amazing trailer flats and just parked them up, it could not have been worse. If only they would admit defeat, cut their losses and bin it.
February 24, 201213 yr comment_132663 I think the ride itself is great, but its location and theming really lets the whole thing down in all honesty. If it was located on the new land fill next to the dome, with an enclosed station and some sort of theming at the top of the lift hill the ride would have been substantially better. But alas, it had a very tight budget and is rumoured only to be a temporary attraction until the whole area, along with X and the arena is revamped....
February 25, 201213 yr comment_132713 Just seen a video showing the ridiculous amount of water the boats have a lot of the time!It also shows that it pretty much doesn't spin at all anymore. Heres my video of it spinning on the opening day skip to 1.54 for spinning http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTutBLn7ZDY it use to be fun.
February 25, 201213 yr comment_132714 Clearly Storm Surge is a desperately touchy subject for some enthusiasts.Bless those people. Sure Storm Surge is the closest thing to unrivalled crap at Thorpe, but it's so easily ignored as a ride it's barely worth talking about.
February 25, 201213 yr comment_132721 The 3 times I went on storm surge last season I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't queue more than 10 minutes for it. It's not exactly thrilling but it's a fun ride if you want something else to do for a little while. I think my opinion may be biased by the fact that I never waited more than 2 minutes for it though
February 25, 201213 yr comment_132725 The 3 times I went on storm surge last season I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't queue more than 10 minutes for it. It's not exactly thrilling but it's a fun ride if you want something else to do for a little while. I think my opinion may be biased by the fact that I never waited more than 2 minutes for it though I've queued longer then an hour never doing that again fast track or last hour will be the next time I ride storm surge.
February 25, 201213 yr comment_132727 I used exit passes twice, and on fright nights there was no queue
February 25, 201213 yr comment_132729 One year on, I realised that I don't hate Storm Surge as much as I thought I did.Obviously it is not a looker, it leaks alot and lacks theming, but once you get past that, it is actually a fun little family ride which in my opinion TP desperately needed.I admit it does have many...many flaws, but overall I found myself enjoying the ride last year and it offered some good views of the park when you ascend up that never ending lift hill.Personally I would keep it for a few more years, let the vegetation grow around it a bit and then remove it along with the surrounding area for something better. When it was erected, it was never meant to be Thorpe Parks most attractive ride and why people rate it so badly I do not quite know. I would rather have Storm Surge than Octopus Gardens any day.
February 26, 201213 yr comment_132730 I don't know what vegetation it is you speak of, LG95 - the ride is surrounded by concrete!
February 26, 201213 yr comment_132732 The area that I am talking about is in that big patch of dirt located underneath Storm Surge's Supports.http://www.themeparkreview.com/parks/pimages/Thorpe_Park/Storm_Surge/ss11.jpg (I presume that I am allowed to link photos?)There only seems to be a few measly twigs there at the moment but I always assumed that it was their plan to grow vegetation in that empty dirt area to break up the view of all the concrete and steel.I mean maybe I am wrong and they are just weeds, but personnaly I would like to see them plant some type of greenery around the ride and in those empty spaces just to lighten the area up a little.
February 26, 201213 yr Author comment_132733 IF they can run it with the pads on there like it did at the start of the year, its actually quite a fun ride, along with the cure for the boats flooding its hardly bad, sort these few things out and there are things id like to see go before it does.
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