Mark9 Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Continuing the long running 'what do you think of a ride' competition, this time we get to the 2006 ride Stealth at Thorpe Park.Opening on the 14th March 2006, Stealth when opened was to be the parks icon ride. Featuring a 205 foot top-hat and an 80 mile per hour launch, there is no doubt that part of Thorpe Park's continuing success is this short but sweet, Intamin rollercoaster. But is it any good? You decide but remember, it isn't just the ride that is important, it's everything around it. Is the soundtrack adequate, does the theming match up to the ride experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 I put good, love the ride, love the music, but for me the theming isnt great, what it has is nice by all means, but it dont have much of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whiteknuckle Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Probably my favorite ride at the park, at the moment. 2 downsides though, 1. Reliability and 2, length. Looking at Xcellerator at Knotts Berry Farm, which I'm going to in a few months, I'm sure they could've extended the length a bit, and maybe take the track through the turnaround on Tidal Wave. Just my opinion.Theme wise, I think it fits in pretty well with the Whole Amity Cove area, though some of the audio can get a bit annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepie Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Ahh Stealth. It is indeed one of Thorpe's best attractions. Pure thrill and adrenaline. Sadly for me, it represents a lot of the negative things about the late Tussauds under the DIC ownership.At the time, I was disappointed by Stealth's ride time, however, now it doesn't bother me as such. I think what is there captures the essence of the Rocket Coaster perfectly and any extra track, whilst yes it would have added to the experience, I don't personally feel as though we've lost much of the experience.The Steatlth DJ when the ride opened was genius, along with a very expensive sound system and design, allowing for unique interactivity with the guests in the queue and around the plaza. Sadly, a lot of the sound equipment left with the DJ and now we're left with a sound loop that frequently dips in and out due to the parkwide link.Stealth's theme is shoe-horned in with the rest of Amity. It waters down the amazing Tidal side of Amity Cove. Perhaps I'm just not a fan of the racing theme itself, but the area just feels so barren and not in a good way. The area consists of mainly painted walls rather than any interesting set pieces.The ride's queue leaves a lot to the imagination in terms of theme. Much of it winding its way around a grassy bank and a stagnant pond. I'm afraid some sea shells does not equate to good theming! Aside from that, it also fails to interact well with the ride at all, with the exception of a segment that goes underneath the ride.The ride station, whilst fitting that it's outside, it's literally scaffolding supports with a tarmac platform at the top. However I feel that special mention needs to be given to Stealth's trains, in which they're incredibly gorgeous. Loading procedures are efficient and the queue can move very respectfully as a result.The ride itself though, shall remain one of Thorpe's star attractions purely for it's bold statement of height, speed, acceleration and the amazing rush it produces! Sidders and Luke_A 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mer Posted January 17, 2012 Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 Rawwr I love Stealth. The launch is like "WHOOOOA!" and the G's you pull when you go up are like "ARRRGH!!" and the airtime as you go over the top hat is like "WAAAA!" and then when you plummit towards the ground it's like "OMGGGGGGGGGG!" and then the airtime hill is like "EEEEEEEEK!"Sorry if that looks spammy but those I feel are pretty good explanations :DIn all seriousness though, it's a great coaster. Love the music too! And the themed trains, let's not forget those. I remember the Stealth mini-site and seeing the update photos of the trains at school in a science lesson and being like Luke_A and Cornflakes 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 Remember the mini-site? Don't need to remember when it still exists: http://stealth.thorpepark.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted January 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 Remember the mini-site? Don't need to remember when it still exists: http://stealth.thorpepark.com/Great find Peter! I remember following that site religiously back in 2005/2006. Hard to believe Stealth is entering its seventh season already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 I find it pretty poor to be honest.The launch is about all there is to the ride. Okay, I 'get' that that's the point, but it just doesn't do 'it' for me - it's not the comfiest or most re-ridable of rides. There's slight quirkiness in the theming, and the audio is okay, but Stealth is a ride I can go without doing on a Thorpe visit, and it is for those reasons which is why I, perhaps slightly harshly, rated it 'poor'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted January 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 I voted good. It remains the only ride that I am scared off, Marc will back me up when I say everytime I ride it I do end up screaming just that little bit and no matter what I do my eyes end up closing. It's probably just the un-naturalness of the launch that does it.Sadly Stealth has a fundamental flaw that its ride time and length is so short. Rides like The Incredible Hulk, Shock and I-Speed really show that a launch should be followed up by something far more substantial. We could argue to the end of time that Stealth doesn't need more track because that launch is memorable. The problem being Stealth was outdated by Storm Runner, Kanonen, Xcelerator and Superman Escape before Stealth even opened. The general public, it won't matter. As an enthusiast its quite a flaw.And the theming is rubbish. Things that have been abandoned and a giant tyre do not a theme make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smidget Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 I voted good. Having not done any other accelerators (yet!) I feel Stealth is a reasonable first experience of an accelerator. That and the fact that is scared the life out of me when it first opened, so much so that I rode SAW before I rode Stealth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomtom99 Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 AMAZING! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James & Co. Posted August 20, 2012 Report Share Posted August 20, 2012 Great ride but I think they should bring back the single rider queue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammydodger Posted September 4, 2012 Report Share Posted September 4, 2012 yeah, the ride and music is good but I think it needs more theming as it is such an important addition to the park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC! Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 I really like it. The park wouldn't be the same without it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graw Posted October 7, 2012 Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 I love it, the force on the launch is just incredible and the whole ride has this "oh my god" factor about it, but you feel exhilerated and like you just had loads of fun when you get off, more fun then scary basically. A great rush! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammydodger Posted October 10, 2012 Report Share Posted October 10, 2012 Yep stealth is pretty good, it leaves my hair in a mess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJames Posted October 29, 2012 Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 Stealth is my fave ride at thorpe.... Just the right length(well it could be longer) but it is so fast and really tall and I love the music on WTTP radio! Tom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted October 29, 2012 Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 Just the right length(well it could be longer) Pure genius. Repped repped and repped. Sidders, Liam T and Mark9 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zalittleguy Posted December 9, 2012 Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 I think they should replace the top hat with an inverted one, kinda like mr freeze. That would be soooo cool, and win the tallest inversion world record! Tom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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