August 8, 201213 yr comment_139766 Looks pretty cool. Now lets just hope they stick to what they said they were going to do and reinstate the tidal wave effect. I think that would shock people the most as the effect has been off for years now and would really catch people unexpectedly. They never actually said that I cant see it happening personally.
August 8, 201213 yr comment_139771 Oh sorry about that. I was sure that it had been semi confirmed regarding its return in 2013, though it was so long ago since I heard the news I may have misunderstood it. My bad. Even so I still think it would be a nice touch to reinstate the effect and I personally would not be surprised if it made a return sometime in the future so long as it is a viable proposition, but hey, that is just my opinion.
August 8, 201213 yr comment_139773 I think (if possible), that the gas should be used for a fire effect on Nemesis Inferno!
August 10, 201213 yr Author comment_139799 Rather disappointingly, no fire or water effects today it seems. Even the sound effects are a bit off.
August 10, 201213 yr comment_139806 The Swarm was very poor today. - Until around 12 noon it was running a one train service with a 90 minute queue. - The fire effect stopped working today at around 11, meaning that I didn't get a ride with it on. - There were no water skims operating at all today despite the hot weather. - The sound effects were out of time - The dispatch times were quite lousy. - On some rows the LED's were not working. Sort it out Thorpe park!
August 10, 201213 yr comment_139813 ^ You forgot to mention the endless breakdowns.... Oh so many breakdowns Nearly every time I've been this year they've only added the second train half way through the day. Are they trying to build up the queue to sell more Fastracks?? I can't see any other reason for it! It seems that when the ride is finally up and running as it should be by about 2:00ish, the throughput is amazing. It's a shame they cant get it right in the mornings! Well that's what I've found in my experience anyway
August 10, 201213 yr Author comment_139815 I got on twice today. The first time, no effects whatsoever; the sound was really off too. That was about quarter to 12. I went on in the afternoon as well and the fire effect was temperamental. Sometimes it went off, sometimes you could hear it but it didn't work (or produce a little flame rather late) and after a while it was just packed in. Obviously having some troubles getting to work consistently. However, when it does go, phwoar, it's great. Could feel the heat of it from the queue line sometimes!
August 11, 201213 yr comment_139843 I would suggest it is not about the country - it is about the park operator. Trying isn't really good enough, they should succeed as well.
August 11, 201213 yr comment_139845 Just found this video of THE SWARM at night with the LEDs working (well most of them )
August 11, 201213 yr comment_139846 I imagine it'd be down to not having a dedicated effects team - they'll all be bundled to the overstretched engineering team which are too busy trying to react to the rides breaking down.
August 11, 201213 yr comment_139847 I would suggest it is not about the country - it is about the park operator. Trying isn't really good enough, they should succeed as well. From the effects on Valhalla to the mist on Inferno, I really do put it down to the low standards in the UK when it comes to effect based attraction.
August 11, 201213 yr comment_139849 Just found this video of THE SWARM at night with the LEDs working (well most of them ) Thanks for the find scarycoasterboy! Dear god, them LEDs are too sexy for words, really making me want to go fright nights just for the atmosphere that rides going to bring
August 11, 201213 yr comment_139858 Went to Thorpe today and none of the effects (fire and water) in the Swarm area were working. Was a shame as I wanted to see the new fire effect from the fire engine - maybe next time But I did manage to get 7 rides on the Swarm today - with the help of the Ultimate Fastrack
August 11, 201213 yr comment_139861 I'm guessing the water maybe off for a reason... Can't see them both breaking at the exact same time?
August 12, 201213 yr comment_139867 It could be a problem with the water squirting up into the gas dispenser causing the flame to stop. This wound be a reason for both of the water effects to stop http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWJYMRk1TEY at about 8:30 it shows the fire going over the vent. which I have never noticed 0_0
August 14, 201213 yr comment_139924 The fire is bloody good (when it catches, otherwise it gives the entire area an evil gassy smell)... It surprises a LOT of people in the area and even scares children... The ambulance is also well received, now hopefully they can fix the water jets... A big problem with Swarm however is the bag drop... First of all, there seems to be only one staff member in these things atm on most of the rides, which is the first problem... Then the whole thing in general is an overall faff and really needs improving... For example, people queuing for the bag drop means no one queuing for the ride in the station, as many guests seem to favour the left side (for some reason), leaving the right side empty... This is something the batcher needs to look at trying to improve... Then the collection is an absolute horrid mess... Seriously so, due to a lack of staff, and reasonably good throughput on this thing, it just results in a queue of people waiting for their bags AFTER the ride... And this queue often stretches back to the right side of the station because those exiting there aren't clear on why there is a queue suddenly appearing, therefore causing more faff and blocking the entire exit paths on both sides... I think really, they should've just had the more traditional bag drops in the station platform, indeed, if the staff slightly slowed down the loading process (which already is a bit of a cluster, as a mass of people are trying to move around), and placed boxes in the spaces between rows, there would be a minimal result to the throughput, as people in the bays could drop their bags in whilst waiting, and then you wait a bit longer to open the gates to let unloading guests to quickly collect stuff (which with shoes happens anyway right now), it would remove the bag drop issue on both ends of the scale... Some people never get to see their picture off the ride because of this fact, therefore it's actually potentially losing Thorpe money, so a consideration into the system needs to be improved (whether it be boxes, or more staff, as it's the only ride it has excessive problems on)...
August 14, 201213 yr comment_139925 ^^ Questions To Thorpe Park thread? I've only seen 2 staff members in there on my visits, I'd like to think as its summer hols they'd have 2 I always panic a little about seeing my ORP when there's bag faff (without seriously thinking I'd actually miss it) But the fact that people are actually not getting to see their photos is really bad! Inbetween batching, the batcher could do things to help, such as ask people to get their bags ready to be put straight into the bag room, making sure all loose items are secured, etc. I dunno, might help speed things up if only a little
August 14, 201213 yr comment_139934 When they do have more than two staff in there they only seem to chat to each other and ignore the queue anyway.
August 14, 201213 yr comment_139935 When they do have more than two staff in there they only seem to chat to each other and ignore the queue anyway. Simliar thing that I experienced on sunday with Th13teen ERT, they was about 5 in there and they were chatting amongst themselves for ages.
August 14, 201213 yr comment_139963 Baggage is quite badly placed in Swarm. Most of that area is quite badly positioned, which you could probably only have noticed once it's opened. I, for one, adore the front row queue. What a pointless waste of space that was. Noone uses it, noone understands it, there was no need for it. Imagine it'll never be open eventually.
August 15, 201213 yr comment_139967 Should've kept it as a single rider queue... It's amazing how much better organised Raptor is... Simply because it doesn't have a bag drop or a front row queue (not that Thorpe or even the guests use it, like on my first visit this year where we ended up starting the queue for it, proper madness)
August 15, 201213 yr comment_139985 Although it is slow, I prefer the baggage drop-off/collection points as I feel much safer putting my stuff into there. As with nemesis and the blind scrabble to get your bags first and make sure someone doesn't take it
August 15, 201213 yr comment_139987 I far prefer the baggage holds - it's just not in the best position available. The queue would've been awful to use for single riders also though, best not have either and just let people queue up slightly behind the rows as long as its not excessive.
August 16, 201213 yr comment_140013 If I were to run single rider, I would make them queue up out the exit. but then it would probably confuse the staff at the baggage dropoff. and cause more mess on people exiting
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