Park Operations

[Cal]

Noticed Stealth has a new pre boarding announcement in the station to try and help with throughputs, telling you to sit down bars down etc..

 

Colossus also had a new announcement in the queue, again to help with throughputs, explaining the baggage and loading procedure.

 

Good to see a continued focus on throughputs. Think Hyperia could do with a themed pre boarding announcement in the station instead of the operator using the PA every time. For a good half hour yesterday it was set to the whole area, so he was telling the whole queueline and plaza the loading instructions and that they had 20 till the train was leaving... 🤣

 

Saws SRQ queue was closed when I attempted to go on yesterday - unsure why

[tactic]

2 hours ago, Cal said:

Saws SRQ queue was closed when I attempted to go on yesterday - unsure why

Probably due to staffing, IIRC I think the single rider queue needs an extra staff member for batching.

[JoshC.]

13 hours ago, Cal said:

Noticed Stealth has a new pre boarding announcement in the station to try and help with throughputs, telling you to sit down bars down etc..

I do wonder how much of a difference it makes. I'm certainly not against it (themed/stylised pre-recorded messages telling you what to do is a win in my eyes). But do people take it in? Do people listen? Do they even notice? Who knows.

 

As I say, I'm not saying they shouldn't do it, but I do wonder if it makes any difference. 

 

13 hours ago, Cal said:

Think Hyperia could do with a themed pre boarding announcement in the station instead of the operator using the PA every time.

On that note, I wonder if a themed one at Hyperia would have the same effect. Having someone tell you it, a voice which you haven't heard in the queue or elsewhere, which is less polished, makes people pay slightly more attention I think. Adds to the sense of "you need to do this".

 

Again, no harm in a themed one being made, but would it have the same effect, if any?

 

 

Obviously these are broader questions for the industry in general, just something I'm thinking out loud about.

[Matt N]

 

I have some throughput timings and insights from my visit to Thorpe Park on Sunday. The readings I was able to get were as follows:

• Colossus (Theoretical: 1,300pph on 2 trains) - 764pph (2 trains, average of 4, 18th August 2024)
• Hyperia (Theoretical: 1,050pph on 2 trains) - 765pph (2 trains, average of 9, 18th August 2024)
• Nemesis Inferno (Theoretical: 1,150pph on 2 trains) - 932pph (2 trains, average of 8, 18th August 2024) Note: This reading was skewed downwards by one particularly slow dispatch; prior to that, the average was over 1,000pph.
• Saw The Ride (Theoretical: 1,000pph on 8 cars) - 853pph (unknown number of cars, average of 10, 18th August 2024)
• The Swarm (Theoretical: 1,100pph on 2 trains) - 882pph (2 trains, average of 5, 18th August 2024)

In terms of some more general insights:

• Saw and Colossus were operating about as well as I’ve ever seen them operate. Saw in particular seemed to be operated excellently!
• Hyperia was operated very well, with little to no stacking; a train was frequently starting to head up the lift hill as the train in front hit the brake run! However, its throughput is definitely inhibited by how slowly the train moves along the final brake run; due to this, there is unfortunately quite a bit of idle time in the station between trains. If they were able to sort this out and make the train return to the station more quickly, I think they would get much closer to that 1,050pph theoretical figure.
• Operations on Nemesis Inferno were pretty good; it quite frequently wasn’t stacking! I did notice quite a few empty seats on my train, though; maybe they could be slightly more forthcoming in encouraging different groups to sit together?
• The Swarm was a bit of a weak link, unfortunately. There seemed to be very little urgency to the operations on there; I honestly think the 882pph reading I got was quite a generous assessment of the situation. Dispatch times of multiple minutes were not uncommon. It’s a shame, as when operated well, Swarm can be a real throughput powerhouse! I do wonder if the return of the baggage hold on here would help; people dealing with baggage on the platform does seem to delay the opening of the airgates and the swift movement of people onto the ride somewhat.

 

[planenut]

Stealth on Wednesday was managing a rate of 1200 per hour with two trains.

 

You still get people who have queued for a long time, standing there looking at empty seats needing to be told to move.

 

A young lad decided, once in the seat, that he was not going to ride. His mum was not pleased telling me that she had just paid £15 for his fast-track ticket.

[Inferno]

Stealth really can be good for getting people through can't it.

 

I do feel for the people who bottle it when they get to the station!  I hope they changed their mind and went on in the end!

[Mark9]

18 hours ago, planenut said:

Stealth on Wednesday was managing a rate of 1200 per hour with two trains.

 

That's really impressive actually. Especially as the intamin website reckons it can only get 1000 people per hour and Intamin heavily over inflate the capacity normally.

 

 

Well done Stealth team!

[planenut]

Sometimes, they get onto a"launch thrash" with the Controller giving the team a countdown over the speakers.

[JoshC.]

Today was the first 9pm closure, and it should be said it was a fab day.

 

It's a shame as the weather seems to have put people off. Today was probably the quietest day I've seen the park this summer. This did have the upside that there were short queues; everything was more or less a walk on from 7.30, Hyperia aside.

 

I guess the issue with a late closure is, if there's no extra entertainment/reason to stay later, people won't. We see with Fright Nights people stay. But something like this, there is no incentive to visit and stay late beyond more ride time. And some people may think "longer open hours = busier = longer queues". On the flip side, I hope it improves guest satisfaction further.

 

 

There's another thing to be discussed: Hyperia. Hyperia is still advertised, as it has been since reopening, as possibly closing before the park does. It has done this on some days, and others it's remained opened till close (or even a few minutes after). The ride closed its queue at 8.30. It was advertised as a 40min queue (which was about right). So the park are well within their rights to do this. There was also an announcement in the area at 8.20 this was happening, as people were loitering. 

 

There's quite a few complaints on Twitter circulating because of this. It's a layered one, as I do think that they could.improve their communication here. The other side of the coin is the reason they close earlier is because they want to stop a mad rush of people going and extending the queue time dramatically. A lot of the complaints I'm seeing are from people who wanted to get a night ride on Hyperia and were leaving it as late as possible.

 

I see the frustration that people have, but I also see it from the park's perspective too. Ultimately I think it's a minority of park visitors who are complaining about it, but the park should also see if there's an alternative way to communicate an early closure.

 

 

To get back to the main point though. 9pm closure good. Thank you Thorpe. Great job. Let's hope it proves successful. 

[Cal]

I got to the park just before 5 and also had a great evening. Managed multiple rides on Hyperia and Stealth, all other major coasters and a few flats.

They got seriously unlucky with the weather, so I hope this doesn't put them off late closes in the future as today clearly wasn't successful. After half 6/7 the park really filtered out and the only ride with a queue was Hyperia.

 

I'm surprised they didn't offer discounted tickets for late entry. Could've tried marketing it a bit more on social media with later entry tickets maybe..

 

 

Re Hyperia, I don't necessarily disagree with the early closing, but I do disagree with the way it was communicated tonight.

Luckily I was in the area so managed to get in the queue, but I would've left with a bit of a sour taste in my mouth if I'd have arrived after 20:30 and got turned away.

[Marc]

I do think communicating it is a difficult one, they do make it clear at the park entrance, at the ride entrance and on the app / website that Hyperia queue lines will close earlier than advertised park close, it seems when they do choose to close it early they close it so the ride will clear just after park close, the last rides went around about 9:20 this evening.

 

I get why people get upset over it but it is the exception, Thorpe as a rule never really do this so I do trust they have their reasons for not wanting it to have a huge queue at the end of the day - I suspect come next year this won’t be an issue anymore.

[Benin]

9 hours ago, JoshC. said:

I guess the issue with a late closure is, if there's no extra entertainment/reason to stay later, people won't. We see with Fright Nights people stay. But something like this, there is no incentive to visit and stay late beyond more ride time.

 

Bring back Love Island Lates or whatever it was called.

 

Genuinely think there's such little demand culturally for such late closures. Though I'd imagine a lot of that is down to there being very little variation in activity at Thorpe/Towers and Chessie/Lego are full of kids who need routine. 

[Matt N]

In an intriguing move, it seems as though Rumba Rapids will be closing from 9th September, with no reopening date specified, according to the Ride Availability page.

 

Could this be simple cost-saving, or could it be something more?

[Inferno]

It’s a bit of a shame about the late openings being poorly attended again - it seems to be in line with Merlin’s expectations though and it does demonstrate that, as much as we all hate it, staying open until late outside of Halloween isn’t really necessary.  It must cause a headache staffing wise, and of course cost more to keep the park open later.

 

As for Rumba closing from the 9th - hasn’t this happened before?  I think I recall Rumba being weirdly expensive to run? In which case, since the weather is turning and crowd levels will drop off (bar Halloween) it makes sense to close it I suppose. A bit of a shame though that we lose a ride from the lineup even if it’s quiet 

[Mark9]

8 hours ago, Inferno said:

 

As for Rumba closing from the 9th - hasn’t this happened before?  I think I recall Rumba being weirdly expensive to run? In which case, since the weather is turning and crowd levels will drop off (bar Halloween) it makes sense to close it I suppose. A bit of a shame though that we lose a ride from the lineup even if it’s quiet 

 

The amount of staff they need to run Rumba alone is ridiculous but is part of the course for all water rides with no restraints now. I'd bin off Rumba to be honest, it has such little value now at the park.

[JoshC.]

9 hours ago, Inferno said:

As for Rumba closing from the 9th - hasn’t this happened before?

 

I had the same thought, but can't be sure either way. Still digging around to find out.

 

Over Fright Nights it closes at dusk in any case.

 

Rumba is an interesting one at the moment. It's been closed for an extended period of time, and that's sort of flown under the radar. Many of my recent visits it's just been sat there, although on Thursday it was testing, with staff in all Watcher positions. Saturday again it was dormant. Two weeks to get it back open. 

 

Thorpe did say earlier in the year,  on the Facebook passholder group, that it's a seasonal attraction. I guess it makes sense; it's a staff intensive attraction that is out the way and will have a low ridership in autumn. A different kettle of fish to, say, Tidal Wave, which though expensive to run and has low autumnal ridership, is very prominent. Too prominent to close.

 

Remember in 2020 when Rumba was 'transformed' for Oktoberfest into the Oompah Rapids? That feels a lifetime ago, and now it's closed for basically the whole event.

 

The park need to do something with it. Realistically, the park lack a mid-level water ride; one that gets you wet, but not too wet. Rumba and Storm Surge are rides on water, but barely get you wet. 

 

Updating Rumba, with new boats and effects, could work. The other option would be the scrap it entirely and put a new ride there. With some work, they could create a closed water system there and put in a new water ride (new gen log flume with restraints?), but it won't be cheap. 

 

The issue for Thorpe right now is they still have Slammer SBNO, next to the big new thing, they've got flat rides which are nearing 25 years old, they've got an elephant in Ghost Train, which surely can't operate as is until the end of the decade, and coasters seem to be the main draw to the park. Where in all that do they fit in a Rumba replacement?

 

So the bigger question is: do they drag our Rumba as much as possible, rolling the proverbial turd in a bit of glitter, or do they take the hit and SBNO-it, hiding it behind a few extra trees?

 

Neither is ideal, but it feels like we're leaning more towards the latter.

[JoshC.]

Naturally because I've posted today that it's been closed for ages, it's re-opened today. Currently has a queue which stretches almost to the Teacups!

[MattyMoo]

10 hours ago, JoshC. said:

So the bigger question is: do they drag our Rumba as much as possible, rolling the proverbial turd in a bit of glitter, or do they take the hit and SBNO-it, hiding it behind a few extra trees?

 

Neither is ideal, but it feels like we're leaning more towards the latter.

 

Especially when you look at Legoland and Viking's River Splash. That ride must be newer as I remember supplying the reinforcement for it 😆

[Cal]

Really wouldn't mind seeing the end of Rumba to be honest. I'd say its quite easily the worst rapids in the UK and I imagine its very expensive to run especially with the amount of staff it requires nowadays.

 

Would rather see it used a re-development area in the future rather than a re-theme or some work, but I imagine there are favorable sites for new attractions so can't see it being used for a long time.

[JoshC.]

Park seems to have bought a few misters for around the place:

 

 

Weird to get them towards end of summer, but better late than never (equally could have been delays outside their control). But if they have bought and own them, it should be easier to then get them out in future.

 

Also, the Hyperia stage is outside Ghost Train, presumably ready for Oktoberfest prep:

With Oktoberfest starting a week today, it does continue to show, in my opinion, that Oktoberfest is very much just a side quest style event that is the middle child of Thorpe's current line up. Whilst I like the idea, I question the worth of it moving forward. 

[Inferno]

Wow that’s really great news about the misters - they seem to have put quite a bit of thought in to this sort of thing, and shade and shelter, this year.

[MattyMoo]

Looks like Inferno has some long downtime coming up.

And that was nearly a no Stealth situation for my visit on 17th and 18th which would be UNSPEAKABLE.

[Cal]

Interesting - shame its closed the same period Hyperia is closed.

 

Not sure if its been mentioned on here but theres a few spots on inferno which have been welded / strengthened so wonder if its anything to do with that. 

 

Regardless, its great to see the park be so open about planned maintenance. Something we haven't really seen before.

[JoshC.]

27 minutes ago, Cal said:

Regardless, its great to see the park be so open about planned maintenance. Something we haven't really seen before.

On the other side of the coin, the park haven't needed to do much planned maintenance to rides before. Arguably, as a seasonal park open mid-to-late March to early-November, they shouldn't need it either. 

 

But yes, it is good to see them being open. I do think there should be some discount in entrance price for 23rd-27th though; 2 major coasters closed? Big ouch.

[Inferno]

I agree, why on earth are we seeing planned maintenance popping up during the open season at seasonal parks?

 

This is also happening at Alton Towers - several rides closing for avoidable planned maintenance (like adding single rider queues and re-doing stations) during open season.

 

Disappointing that Inferno will be down for 2 weeks. I know it’s a slow period at the end of Sept, but the park is very much still open and many customers will specifically plan to visit during these times to avoid crowds, something that the park actively encourage as it spreads the load throughout the year for a steadier stream.

 

If this planned maintenance on Inferno can wait several weeks from this point, can it not wait another month and just be done during the off season? 
 

I hope this isn’t a sign of things to come across Merlin…