Storm Surge: Petition

[thorpeparkjunkie]

Hi there everyone, I am planning to write a letter to Thorpe Park & Merlin in hope of Storm Surge's top frame to be themed. I think we can all agree it would improve the look of the ride & help it blend in with Amity Cove.After recent petitions on TowersTimes to remove the Fanta sponsership being so succesful I think it is worth a try. The frame currently looks very bare & sticks out like a sore thumb. Let's try and help the ride blend in better beccause I myself feel it lets the rest of the park down.http://www.fotowhizz.com/thorpe/stormsurge003/023.htmhttp://www.fotowhizz.com/thorpe/stormsurge003/015.htmPlease State your name and a comment including suggestions if you can.Many ThanksBen

[jjh123horry]

I find the theming on this to be atrocious. We find some themeing at the base of the ride, but whilst going up the ride and on the decent, we are consumed with bright colours and nothingness. The ride is dull and I think adding in something at the top of the decent will give the ride a greater impact. Also if we look in the ride images on the thorpe park site, they advertised buckets to be fitted along the sides to make riders wet. This didnt happen and perhapes these could be added in as well, at the top of the desent perhapes, but the ride is needing some theming to give it a real personality, because at the moment it is quite boring. Ah Thank you

[thorpeparkjack]

This is a good idea which I fully support. If this were to happen it would improve the area, and remove the scar on the landscape surge has become.

[rhystheman]

rhys, I agree that it needs theming. I didn't realize how ugly it was until I saw the pics. I didn't actually notice when I went.

Edited August 13, 2011 by Neilfever

[Mark9]

rhys I agree needs theming dint realize how ugly it was till I see the pics didnt actually notice when I went

Isn't that a big point then, when you are on it, the lack of theming isn't that evident. It's only when you see it in images or at the park from a distance that its lack of theme becomes a problem.

[Kevin]

It's a very subjective opinion, and to be fair I only demonstrate it as it's common sense.Things such as Colossus being painted more than definitely worth the cost, don't get me wrong. It has an absolute shedload of reasons you can justify it with, such as corrosion or damage to the track from adverse weather being put back is something of massive opportunity to save on downtime and costs. Exactly the same for Vampire. It has been costed at a mere £30,000 - how much do you think the park spends on welding, cleaning and upkeep on that track? More than that each year.I do enjoy having such a subjective opinion on here, as no one can justify their idea properly so my original point of 'what will it actually change to the guest experience?' - and all I've got in return is 'OMG makes me hate Merlin so much' or 'durgh it'll look nice'. That shark was smashed through the front of Amity Eatery three years ago but I don't see anyone appreciating it, do you?And Fred I totally agree with you - the old signs were awful, and as part of the brand focus they'e been changed which clearly has an advantage, as it fits in well with the brand and makes me people think 'cool a shop, that's branded it might have cool **** in it yeah' instead of the old signs which were as interesting as a dishwasher. Along with other brand leaks, such as Beano and park signage.My point still stands and is open to decent criticism - and I do apologise that Merlin is a company that wants to make money to reinvest in their attractions, not Disney who hope that throwing money at problems will help!And remember - AT LEAST IT'S NOT TUSSAUDS!

[Mark9]

A few points come to mind here.- Everytime its always "but they aren't Disney who just throw money at a situation." And every single time it goes back to those small, tiny parks all over Europe who are able to do these amazing rides and theme effects on a shoe-string budget. Those are the parks Merlin lose points to, not Disney or Europa Park or Universal.-The thing with the shark is that at the time it was well appreciated. But time has moved on from a small shark sticking out a restraunt. Thorpe has had nothing on here but praise for what they are doing with Swarm so its quite clear that actually when they do something, they do get noticed and applauded for it. I've got no idea on the public reaction but I reckon it's pretty positive thus far.- The irony really is no one has said they hated Merlin for Storm Surge's lack of theme. I said I'm depising them a little bit for this idea that theme is only worth it if it brings in a return. But no one has said Merlin are rubbish. In fact a few have agreed with you (including me) that Storm Surge doesn't really need lift hill theming.You mean the same Tussauds that bought us rides like Nemesis, Oblivion, Air, Colossus, Vampire, Professor Burps Bubbleworks, Hex, Chessington's redevelopment in the 1980's, Runaway Mine Train and springboarded Thorpe to be a force to be reckonded with... Hopefully in time, people will remember the greatness that Tussauds actually did for the UK theme park industry and not just for its rotten end.

[pluk]

I don't think this petition is a good idea at all.When they get something so seriously wrong it destroys the heart of the ride (oblivion vs fanta) petitions and the like are great and can work. To set them up for something as small as this just devalues the ones relating to serious problems, they'll just think "oh another one, stick it in the shredder" and the important ones will get missed. Storm Surge is an absolute hunk of junk, I consider it an embarrassment to the park: it looks awful from nearly every angle, is positioned very poorly, the theming is half arsed throughout, bits of it are falling apart already and most importantly it delivers a VERY poor ride experience because it is inherently a very poor ride. No amount of plastic tat stuck to the side of it will improve that.In general I am very pro expenditure on theming/experience. Although an individual piece (be it a shark head, general painting/maintenance or cheap fix to x) will not make anyone think "I must come back to see that again" they make an overall impression and when taken together will definitely result in return visits in the future. I think the importance of this is sometimes lost by those in charge because the results can not be seen on the balance sheets tomorrow, it is investing for the future and the returns can be difficult to quantify.The only petition I would theoretically support in relation to the Surge would be for its removal, but that would be a waste of time since they've only just spent a ton of cash putting it in and it is currently getting massive queues from first time riders. Give it couple of years when everyone knows it is a turd hopefully the lack of interest from the public could see it removed anyway.

[Kevin]

A few points come to mind here.- Everytime its always "but they aren't Disney who just throw money at a situation." And every single time it goes back to those small, tiny parks all over Europe who are able to do these amazing rides and theme effects on a shoe-string budget. Those are the parks Merlin lose points to, not Disney or Europa Park or Universal.

But they also have to compete with each other. And how many of them actually are there?

-The thing with the shark is that at the time it was well appreciated. But time has moved on from a small shark sticking out a restraunt. Thorpe has had nothing on here but praise for what they are doing with Swarm so its quite clear that actually when they do something, they do get noticed and applauded for it. I've got no idea on the public reaction but I reckon it's pretty positive thus far.

Lets be honest - it's not TP that has put the effort in, they've been told they have this much and they want to do this. The marketing is effectively a carbon copy of Raptor, let alone the ride actually itself.

- The irony really is no one has said they hated Merlin for Storm Surge's lack of theme. I said I'm depising them a little bit for this idea that theme is only worth it if it brings in a return. But no one has said Merlin are rubbish. In fact a few have agreed with you (including me) that Storm Surge doesn't really need lift hill theming.

Yeah, it could have been themed a lot better and it would have enhanced it originally however it would simply add little 'sex appeal' to the ride now.

You mean the same Tussauds that bought us rides like Nemesis, Oblivion, Air, Colossus, Vampire, Professor Burps Bubbleworks, Hex, Chessington's redevelopment in the 1980's, Runaway Mine Train and springboarded Thorpe to be a force to be reckonded with... Hopefully in time, people will remember the greatness that Tussauds actually did for the UK theme park industry and not just for its rotten end.

As ever; 'last impressions really count' - Stealth, AIR, Rita, Bubbleworks v2, Vampire v2, turned TP into a white elephant that means it cannot continue operating unless money is launched in great amounts at the park. Yes it's a legal money press but that's not to say it's a solid state.Thoughts?

[Mark9]

But they also have to compete with each other. And how many of them actually are there?

Off the top of my head I've got Tripsdrill, Parc Asterix, Klotten, Rainbow Magicland, Liseberg, Tussenfryd and Phantasialand. There's countless others though.

Lets be honest - it's not TP that has put the effort in, they've been told they have this much and they want to do this. The marketing is effectively a carbon copy of Raptor, let alone the ride actually itself.

The point is someones putting in the effort. Whether Raptor and Swarm are exactly the same is neither here nor there. You could even argue it's the same tactic as Oblivion but that doesn't take away from what a great idea it is.

As ever; 'last impressions really count' - Stealth, AIR, Rita, Bubbleworks v2, Vampire v2, turned TP into a white elephant that means it cannot continue operating unless money is launched in great amounts at the park. Yes it's a legal money press but that's not to say it's a solid state.Thoughts?

With the first three, its all subjective the rides quality. I like Air and Stealth whereas Rita I have little interest in. Some may like all three or like you, hate all three. TP white elephant, interesting because even on its quiet years it seems to always be busy. I can remember days in 2004/2005 where it was literally just me on a Colossus train whereas now that would never happen. Seems quite stable to me, compared to Alton and Chessington anyway. As I said, I hope one day Tussauds are remembered for the great rather then the terrible. It's interesting you bring up Vampire because if Tussauds hadn't done anything, the rides removal would have been more likely. Old Vampire was a reliability nightmare.

[JoshC.]

I'm not signing, but a thought:There is some subtle theming around Storm Surge. You've got bits and bobs on the control box, the pipes close to the Kebab place, and the odd other bit here and there. If they wanted / planned to add theming to the box at the top, surely they would have done it with the money that was instead spent on that theming. After all, I think more or less all of us would agree that theming at the top of the ride would be better than little bits at the bottom of the ride. So, it seems Thorpe could have some sort of reluctance to do so. Also, I'd prefer whatever extra money given to theme the top to go on another ride, one which is more popular, has a longer life left in it or be left for Fright Night theming budget. There's my little two cents. Best of luck with the petition though, take it to Mike Vallis regardless of the number of names and see what comes out - sometimes strange things happen!

[Kevin]

With the first three, its all subjective the rides quality. I like Air and Stealth whereas Rita I have little interest in. Some may like all three or like you, hate all three. TP white elephant, interesting because even on its quiet years it seems to always be busy. I can remember days in 2004/2005 where it was literally just me on a Colossus train whereas now that would never happen. Seems quite stable to me, compared to Alton and Chessington anyway. As I said, I hope one day Tussauds are remembered for the great rather then the terrible. It's interesting you bring up Vampire because if Tussauds hadn't done anything, the rides removal would have been more likely. Old Vampire was a reliability nightmare.

My personal opinion of the rides is little of what I'm including, I'm saying the effort put in was pisspoor.And apologies if it wasn't well worder - my words meant to read if investment slowed down, it would be a massive white elephant.Inferno smoke fixed? For how long? The noun you are looking for them to achieve is maintain. Which doesn't happen.

[Coaster]

I think that the ride needs more theming on the frame because at the moment the structure looks like a fair ride put up for the weekend!And where have the water cannons gone????

[TraX]

Before anyone does anything, I think we should know what we actually want to be themed. The lift hill, the frame on the top, the entire ride?!There's only so much they could do. Oblivion is a different matter.

[jjh123horry]

And where have the water cannons gone????

And where are the buckets which they advertise on the website. Look below for the image Thorpe need to improve the themeing for a lot of things. Especially this ride!Storm Surge - Wrong Advertising!!! Edited August 13, 2011 by jjh123horry

[Sidders]

Oh, the irony of that link ;)Where indeed...

[jjh123horry]

Oh, the irony of that link ;)Where indeed...

Does the link not work?

[Sidders]

Well, it says I do not have access to the photos or that they could have been deleted/removed by the user. Whether that's just me is unclear.

[jjh123horry]

Well, it says I do not have access to the photos or that they could have been deleted/removed by the user. Whether that's just me is unclear.

Try it now. Ive linked it to the thorpe park website instead

[Coaster]

And where are the buckets which they advertise on the website. Look below for the image Thorpe need to improve the themeing for a lot of things. Especially this ride!Storm Surge - Wrong Advertising!!!

I agree with you, but what I meant is that the water cannons that used to be in the queue were gone when I last went.However, the buckets that were on the poster would be a great idea!

[Tom]

As stated earlier, promo art is not a full indication of how a ride will turn out, remember one of Saw's Promo arts showed three saw discs rolling along the track

[jjh123horry]

As stated earlier, promo art is not a full indication of how a ride will turn out, remember one of Saw's Promo arts showed three saw discs rolling along the track

But I think the fact that thorpe are showing on their website that their are buckets and more than 1 waterfall thing around the ride, they really should have them.

[Sidders]

But that's like saying Nemesis Inferno should erupt every single time a train leaves the station, just because Thorpe promises a "fiery, death-defying experience". Granted there were many themeing opportunities missed with Storm Surge and ultimately the ride would've been better had it not touched our shores, let alone been clumsily dumped in it's current location, but that's where it is and that's where it will stay until it's removal. I'm all for a little themeing here and there, but with a ride like Storm Surge you can't expect some random inflatable hoop and a bit of seaweed to improve the ride experience.But who knows what may happen - anyone remember Eclipse?

[Benin]

But who knows what may happen - anyone remember Eclipse?

Eclipse had more theming than Storm Surge... Just it was (and still is) bloody useless at being a ride...Kinda like Storm Surge actually...

[thorpeparkjunkie]

I had a reply back from THORPE PARK today The reason Storm Surge's top was not themed was because there was problems with planning.But THORPE PARK have recently asked for planning to theme or add a top to structure.So there it is...They want to theme it but can't at the moment - I'm glad they tired and still are trying though

[Sidders]

If you believe everything you read, stop reading.No doubt they initially tried, but something tells me that because no such themeing ever appeared on the plans, Thorpe had already given up and saw it as a valid opportunity to skimp more money.