Coaster Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 I agree with what you are saying which is why I was so surprised and confused when the man doing the speech said that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 How could it be a mistake? People visit to ride a rollercoaster there, they don't decide to visit because the rollercoaster is about an invasion. It's down to how its marketted, and I've thought thorpes advert is pretty boring - particularly adding in the YMAS song. If they went with a more raptor style advert, that may have drummed up more interest. 200,000 less people? I doubt it - not at this stage. The drop for towers between 2010 and 2011 was just shy of 250k, and that was for entire season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge2002 Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 Said it before and I'll say it again. 2012 will be a fluke for visiting figures. When was the last time we had 3 massive international events in the space of three months, let alone in the same year. With just the Olympics left to go, it'll either boost figures massively, or hit them horrifically. Foreign Tourists, who probably make up about 30-40% of their visiting figures have just got other things on their mind right now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 The weather and the recession is also playing a part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 200,000 less people? I doubt it - not at this stage. The drop for towers between 2010 and 2011 was just shy of 250k, and that was for entire season.Well that is definatley what he said but I wasn't sure either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saz Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 Perhaps it's because The Swarm doesn't really have much of a 'gimmick' per se. Colossus - "You go upside down 10 times!" Nemesis Inferno - "Ooo your legs dangle and it's like the one at Alton Towers." Stealth - "Wow it's really tall and fast!" Saw - "It's based round those Saw films." Swarm - "Errm you're like at each side of the track and you go under a plane." This is what worries me for the 2015 coaster - will Merlin think a coaster with no loops but a lot of airtime be marketable enough? Perhaps they should therefore go with that rumoured wooden coaster and stick a zero-g roll in it like the one currently being built over in the US.... Cornflakes 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valentez Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 Perhaps it's because The Swarm doesn't really have much of a 'gimmick' per se. Colossus - "You go upside down 10 times!" Nemesis Inferno - "Ooo your legs dangle and it's like the one at Alton Towers." Stealth - "Wow it's really tall and fast!" Saw - "It's based round those Saw films." Swarm - "Errm you're like at each side of the track and you go under a plane." This is what worries me for the 2015 coaster - will Merlin think a coaster with no loops but a lot of airtime be marketable enough? Perhaps they should therefore go with that rumoured wooden coaster and stick a zero-g roll in it like the one currently being built over in the US.... Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the 127ft inverted drop or as mentioned in some press release "The Thorpe Park Inversion" Swarms gimmick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saz Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the 127ft inverted drop or as mentioned in some press release "The Thorpe Park Inversion" Swarms gimmick? Yeah, that was the gimmick the marketing team hoped would sell the ride, but it doesn't have the same ring to it as 'world's first ten looping coaster' or 'world's first horror themed roller coaster'. Don't get me wrong though, Swarm is easily one of the best coasters in the country in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchada04 Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 This is what worries me for the 2015 coaster - will Merlin think a coaster with no loops but a lot of airtime be marketable enough? Perhaps they should therefore go with that rumoured wooden coaster and stick a zero-g roll in it like the one currently being built over in the US....Unfortunately the Rocky Mountain coaster being built as SDC doesn't have a zero-g roll but more of an inverting stengel. Without going too far off topic here, The Swarm's gimmick of a 127ft inverting drop hasn't been promoted as much as it could have been. The TV advert was brilliant and all my friends thought it was a new game but it doesn't show of the gimmick or give any stats which (unfortunately) the general public in this country like. That's why the SW series is so popular as each one is a world first so people can brag about being on the first ever vertical drop coaster for example. You also rarely hear of it as Europes tallest winged coaster which is another good gimmick. Personally I love everything about The Swarm from the ride to the marketing but the general public will never be as interested in a well themed, gimmick free coaster than one with an IP or worlds something so I alo fear for the 2015 coaster. Would love a coaster like the one being bulit at SDC for 2013 though (if Merlin can ever get over their fear of splinters) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted July 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 Personally, I thought a winged coaster was enough of a selling point for Swarm. If Inferno's 'gimmick' is having the track above you and your legs dangle, then having nothing below OR above you should be enough of a gimmick to sell. Then there's the whole inverted drop thing which - though maybe not as marketable - could still be shown to be pretty special. Perhaps the public aren't too dazzled by this though? Maybe all they want is the world's first or world's only ride; after all, Colossus and Saw both had 'world's first' attached to them, Stealth can sell itself with it's height and speed, though was a European record at the time as well, and Inferno had the typical 'World's greatest' tagline shoved on (I think). Swarm was a UK first and Europe's tallest - and that's all they've really done. They've used the word 'unique' for the drop, but nothing about how it was a world first drop or anything. Maybe the public really are quite narrow-minded (or perhaps tainted by marketing in general) and believe that if something isn't a world first / record breaker, then it's unlikely to be any good... Let's just hope that isn't the case though, ey? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstroDan Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 I worry that if Thorpe Park's season is currently as dire as I have been led to believe (the worst perfoming park in the group so far this year) that the next "massive investment" and indeed, other investments, could be scaled back or put on hold? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 Said it before and I'll say it again. 2012 will be a fluke for visiting figures. When was the last time we had 3 massive international events in the space of three months, let alone in the same year. With just the Olympics left to go, it'll either boost figures massively, or hit them horrifically. Foreign Tourists, who probably make up about 30-40% of their visiting figures have just got other things on their mind right now... Foreign Tourists make up practically none of the percentage of guests. I'd hazard a guess at no more than 5%. However, yeah those international events, plus the weather being awful, plus the eurozone completely blasting everyones confidence in economy, plus the cuts taking a bite (which everyone knew would happen this year anyway) equals a lot of reasons for lower gate figures. I imagine next year would be better. They chanced it, they did a lovely business gamble. Has it paid off? You can only really find out by end of season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 The Swarm was a poor show today. - No water shooting on the helicopter turnaround - Very bad timing of the water jets on the fire engine area - No LED's on the trains - 1 train operation for most of the day plus lots of fasttracks causing a very slow moving queue - Breakdown causing everyone to evacuate the area - Not as many jets of water shooting out of the fire engine or helicopter With that said, I did manage to get 3 rides in on it meaning that I have reached 50 in total! BigBobJones 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepie Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 It's a real shame that one of the park's headlining attractions is running in such a sub-standard condition. Obviously everything listed above has a valid reason for not being operational but it gets to the point where you have to beg the question whether it's worth having the ride open at all until they're at least able to get the ride running to an acceptable capacity and throughput again. I've heard horror stories from the past week of it running one train and then that train running with seats unavailable, then adding fastrack into the midst and you get queues which should be 30 minutes, turning into 2 hour waits. This is beyond frustrating and I would imagine having the ride open at the moment is making more of a negative impression on their guests than it would be to close the ride. I really hope that making sure the ride, at the very minimum can run at the capacity and throughput the ride is capable of is at the top of the park's priorities and are pushing for it to get sorted. Also, with a ride where "extreme special effects" became part of its spiel, I hope getting the fire and water skims back up and running remain next on the list. I'm surprised to hear such a primitive set-up for the water is in place, I would have thought having a sensor nearer to the actual effect would be a more effective way of ensuring the effect works every single time. Hmm, we'll see in due course I guess. BigBobJones 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 I've heard horror stories from the past week of it running one train and then that train running with seats unavailable, then adding fastrack into the midst and you get queues which should be 30 minutes, turning into 2 hour waits.This was exactly what happened today - Then you also have the problem that the slower the queue moves, the more it builds up resulting in an even longer wait! It was the same on Thursday when I was there on a school trip although we were there at the beginning so at least there were no fasttracks then. Today however was a different story, there were tons of them! I would have thought having a sensor nearer to the actual effect would be a more effective way of ensuring the effect works every single time. Hmm, we'll see in due course I guess. I agree, today the helicopter water skim didn't go off once (when I was in the area but I doubt it did at all, I was in the area on three seperate occasions throughout the day.) The fire engine one was (I think) going off every time, but it wasn't going off until the train had started going through the tower. I think it is such a shame that a brand new 20 million pound roller coaster is being run like this already, having not even lasted a year running well. I know that it will have problems but with all of these at once it is appauling. Hopefully these will be sorted soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragon2000 Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 Yup, also visited the park today and was looking forward to showing off The Swarm to a family member. As much as I love the ride itself, today was indeed a very poor performance for Thorpe. Things looked fairly bright first thing at opening, despite there being a 'Swarm will be operating on reduced capacity today' sign outside the entrance it started off on 2 trains and managed to get on within 10mins. Annoyingly the front row queuing system seems to have been given up on and even after politely requesting the front seat the ride host denied us (it would only have meant getting on 1 train after). So front row now seems to be purely pot luck, great On the ride, really disappointed with the complete lack of helicopter water fountains and the late timing of the fire engine fountain splash. The helicopter blades were also not turning... Returning later, found the ride broken and not being allowed anywhere near the island. Later still, Swarm has gone down to 1 train. Wait in the slowest moving queue ever. Think we must have moved about 5 meters every 10mins. Finally get to the batch area and realise why. Ride host is letting fast-trackers in time after time after time. Basically ignoring the normal queue. Could not believe it, ridiculous. No way should they sell so many fast track tickets for a ride on reduced capacity . Finally think we are about to get on and guess what... break down time!! Gets fixed after 20mins and there is no apology whatsoever from any member of staff. Thanks. Resume slow operations. Total queue time = 90mins Third time we went to ride was right at the end of the day. Still on 1 train. Still a real slow moving queue. Get to the station and find staff not really focused on the job in hand. Few things I saw: staff *kicking* the dispatch/advance button; messing around on their (in-ear) radios which were loud enough for guests to hear; no batching; standing in a huddle in the middle of the station having a gossip; climbing up on the track in the center of the station. Poor show. Total queue time = 50mins As I said earlier, thank goodness the ride itself is decent... P.S. One final thing - would it hurt for Merlin staff to say 'please and thank you'?? It's something that is really starting to bug me (and is also lacking at Chessington), it's really simple, and for every job I've ever had it's the No1 thing for customer service... P.P.S. Still have never seen the fire effect work Coaster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Users Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 It is slightly frustrating that fast track sales benefit from a ride running in an inferior state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 I think that's just how Thorpe run their Fastrack, always been way too unbalanced on busier days... BigBobJones 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBobJones Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 The Swarm has been so much of a disappointment this year, it is always breaking down, the times it runs with one car and this is the one with the 4 busted seats, they are selling way too many queue jumping tickets (Sorry fast track), the ride itself isn't smooth and the DVD has been working once this year... still no fire effect either. Your 2012 ride is disapointing lots of people. technical problems I can deal with, but selling thousands of fast tracks when the ride has such limited capacity is insulting to normal guests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Users Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 I think that's just how Thorpe run their Fastrack, always been way too unbalanced on busier days... Well it depends if the fast track limits reflect the current lower capacity or not. It has a compounding effect as more people are going to buy them because they are artificially inflating queue times. The Swarm has been so much of a disappointment this year, it is always breaking down, the times it runs with one car and this is the one with the 4 busted seats, they are selling way too many queue jumping tickets (Sorry fast track), the ride itself isn't smooth and the DVD has been working once this year... still no fire effect either. Well Saw wasn't much better in its opening year. Capacity and effects were both big problems. Swarm seemed to have a more promising start in terms of capacity. Whether the 'the effects just need to be signed off' statement is true after however many months of it being used is another matter. It's a pity because the ride seemed to mark a change for the park at the start of the year so hopefully this is just a blip, albeit at an unfortunate time of year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan9 Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 Thing is, The Swarm's first year is actually going quite well - if you compare it to Stealth and Saw anyway... In all seriousness the ride having technical issues isn't surprising in its first season, even Inferno had a fair amount in 2003 I'm told, but the lacklustre effects on show in peak season is disappointing. I mean I don't claim to know all the causes, but you'd have thought Thorpe would be on top of this by now or at least improving. Hope it doesn't become a trend, the little things are what makes The Swarm stand out from the crowd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 Slightly confused. I mean I can't say that I go to Thorpe that regularly but I sure do try to keep up with every day goings on and to be fair, the ride seems to be having a pretty decent first year, especially compared to the likes of SAW and Stealth. I am not in a position to comment on the fastracks being sold as I am not familiar with the system but I would say that out of all of Thorpe's latest investments, this one has shown to be the most successful and I would not say it is has had as many reliability problems as you make out it has. I know it has its 'off moments' when it is down and the fire effect still inactive is getting annoying but I would not say it was "a disappointment". These things take time to get right. AIso I personally find the ride ridiculously smooth, though I don't know if the experience varies depending on what seats you are in as I have only been on the back rows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 Whislt one train op isnt great, I think on Saturday they opened up Colossus, Nemesis, Saw and Rush all till 6:30 to try compensate for it. Dont like that fastrack is sold for it whilst on one train though. Id like to see the effects back up soon, but id guess that some of the engineers working on it to try get it back up to 2 trains will be the ones who eventually look at the effects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mer Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 When I was there on Wednesday they weren't selling Swarm Fastrack (had a sign that said it is currently unavailable and this was only at 1pm ish so I'm assuming it was because of the one train op and not due to selling out) but they let Ultimate Fastrack people through, didn't see anyone with any other tickets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge2002 Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 Perhaps the out of sync effects are linked to the fact its only running on the one train? I can only assume after a certain amount of time the jets go into standby mode, and it takes them a few minutes to start running water through again when a train passes after so long. That's just my random theory though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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