Thorpe Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the Lincolnshire village see Thorpe Park, Lincolnshire.
| Location | Chertsey |
|---|---|
| Website | Thorpe Park |
| Owner | The Tussauds Group |
| Opened | 1979 |
| Operating season | February to November & December to January |
| Area | 500 acres |
| Rides | attractions in total
|
Thorpe Park is an amusement park in Chertsey, Surrey, England built in 1979 on the site of a gravel pit which was partially flooded to make a water theme park. It added its first thrill ride in 1983, the "Space Station Zero" roller coaster (subsequently moved and re-themed as "The Flying Fish").
Contents |
[edit] Park guide
Like many theme parks, Thorpe Park is split up into several distinctly themed areas.
[edit] Port Atlantis
Also known more commonly as "The Dome". This building contains such essentials as guest services, shops, toilets, lockers, a bar and staff areas. It has a sea theming! When the park initially opened this was known as the Mountbatten Pavilion.
[edit] Lost City
The largest area of the park contains the majority of the park's rides and is loosely themed around a lost - presumably Mayan - kingdom. Rides include:
- Colossus — Opened in 2002, this Intamin built rollercoaster features ten inversions (Vertical Loop > Cobra Roll > 2 Corkscrews > 5 Inline Twists) and currently holds the record for the most inversions of any rollercoaster in the world. The ride was also the first to feature Intamin's stadium seated cars outside of their megacoaster models. A clone of the ride was constructed at a park in China 2006.
- Samurai — Mondial Top Scan which originally opened in 1999 a few miles down the road at Tussauds' sister park Chessington World of Adventures. It moved to Thorpe Park for the 2004 season following a trip back to the Mondial plant in The Netherlands to be refurbished, which included a change to the colour scheme. Despite only ever seeing work at theme parks, Samurai is a fairground model and sits on a trailer.
- Vortex — 32-seater park-based model of the popular KMG Afterburner. The ride opened in 2001.
- Quantum — Fabbri Magic Carpet ride, opened in 2003 alongside Eclipse (A Fabbri Observation Wheel which moved to Chessington World of Adventures for the 2005 season) to act as an extra filler attraction.
- Zodiac — Although the ride has only ever gone under one name, the park has actually had two Zodiacs. In 2000 following the destruction of one ride and the closure of another due to a fire on the Wicked Witches Haunt ride, the park purchased an ex-German Travelling Huss Enterprise to keep guests happy. Unfortunately due to the age of the ride and the amount of work it had seen, the ride was scrapped at the end of 2005 only to be replaced by another second hand Huss Enterprise, this time from Drayton Manor Theme Park who had been forced to sell the ride due to noise complaints from locals.
- X:\ No Way Out — Housed within a very distinctive terracotta-coloured pyramid is the world's first (and only) backwards in-the-dark roller coaster. The ride is a modified version of the Vekoma Enigma and opened in 1996. One of the last major developments by former owners RMC to remain in the park today.
- Rush — an S&S Screaming Swing seating 32 people on two arms, which uses compressed air to propel them up to a height of around 60 feet. The ride is renowned for its use of simple lap bars for restraint. The ride lost its crown as the world's largest Screaming Swing when Cedar Point opened a larger model.
[edit] Calypso Quay
Calypso Quay is home to:
- Nemesis Inferno — a Bolliger & Mabillard inverted roller coaster, thought to include the familiar name of Nemesis (a popular roller coaster at Alton Towers) within its title for marketing purposes (a sign, when exiting the ride, invites riders to visit Nemesis at Alton Towers and refers to it as its "brother ride"). Themed as an escape from a giant volcano.
- Detonator — a drop tower in which riders are hoisted up 115 ft, with legs dangling, and launched down by pneumatics. This gives a comparable amount of airtime to freefalling from a tower twice as tall.
- Pirates 4D — a 3D cinema with water and vibrating effects in the seats.
- Ribena Rumba Rapids — a river rapids ride by Intamin, which was updated from Thunder River in 2002.
- Storm in a tea cup — this ride was rethemed to look worn down and damaged to fit with nearby Amity Cove's tidal wave theming.
[edit] Canada Creek
Themed around a Canadian creek, this area is home to:
- Loggers Leap — a log flume which is themed around logging in Canada (hence the boats are themed as "logs"). Features two drops (one indoors/underground). The larger of the two drops contains a straight section (double drop) which adds a bit of airtime to the ride.
- Slammer — an S&S Sky Swat, located to the rear of X:/ No Way Out. This ride is the first Sky Swat outside of America, and only the second to be built by the company. The ride was plagued with problems in its initial year of service, stranding riders in most positions imaginable (including upside down) and regularly opening late or not at all.
- Canada Creek Railway Station — for the trains taking visitors to Thorpe Farm. This is currently the only method for visitors to reach the farm due to the waterbuses/ferries being removed since the construction of Stealth began.
- Rocky Express — small, circular roundabout-type ride for younger visitors.
During the Fright Nights around Halloween, Canada Creek also becomes home to the "Hellgate" horror maze (previously "3D Freakshow").
[edit] Amity Cove
Themed around a 1950s American fishing village devastated by a tidal wave. The rides in this area include:
- Tidal Wave — a "shoot the chute" style ride from O.D. Hopkins, on which riders are carried in a 4-tonne reinforced GRP hull to a height of 85 feet over a 3 million gallon lagoon. The boat is then dropped down a track into the lagoon with an impact force of 1.5g, forcing 3 tonnes of water into the air. Most of this water either shoots straight up and lands back on the riders, or shoots forward in a long spray that reaches a 'Splash Zone' where spectators can stand, meant to represent a tidal wave. It is often seen as 'the wettest ride in England' as the sheer amount of water dropped means that the riders get completely soaked.
- Stealth — Thorpe Park's newest roller coaster which opened in 2006. Stealth is an Accelerator Coaster designed by Intamin AG and features a hydraulic 80 mph (128 km/h) launch up a 205 ft top hat incline at approx 3gs, a vertical drop and a large "airtime" hill.
[edit] Ranger County
Ranger County is themed totally around the "Thorpe Park Rangers" mascots, which are becoming more and more phased out of the park's identity as the years progress. The current rides consist of:
- Mr Monkey's Banana Ride — a small swinging ship type ride, themed to a banana.
- Chief Ranger's Carousel — containing figurines of the Thorpe Park rangers and references to past rides.
- Miss Hippo's Fungle Safari — cars travel around a short track through figurines and shrubbery.
"The Sing Zone" is currently featuring on the Ranger County stage.
During the Fright Nights events in October, Ranger County also contains a themed maze, which has been known as "The Asylum" since 2005.
[edit] Neptune's Kingdom
Themed around the mythical Neptune, this area is home to:
- Depth Charge — a four lane water chute ride. Riders sit in dinghies.
- Neptune's Beach — two large paddling pools for small children with various fountains and an imitation sandy beach.
- Wet Wet Wet — 3 water chutes differing in height.
[edit] Octopus's Garden
A small aquatic-themed area with several small rides for very young children. Currently working every half an hour.
[edit] Thorpe Farm
The farm is reachable by the Canada Creek Railway (this is currently the only method of visitors reaching the farm due to the water buses/ferries being removed since the construction of Stealth began). Thorpe Farm features many live animals, such as sheep, pigs and goats. There is also a small gift shop and a restaurant present on the farm.
The farm is now closed and it has been revealed that it will not re-open due to lack of visitors and is to be replaced with rides in the future.
[edit] Fastrack
Fastrack is the current name for a priority queuing system in place at Thorpe Park as well as other Tussaud's parks. The system is based on the idea of assigning guests a time to ride a particular attraction and allowing them to skip the queue. The system has worked in a number of ways at the park and under a number of different names. The first such system to be introduced was the Q-Bot system which emerged in the 1990s and attracted attention from BBC programme Tomorrow's World. This system gave families a pager-like device which beeped when it was their slot on a particular ride. This system did not last long due to the high cost of the devices and did not catch on in other parks.
The next system emerged around 2000 known as Virtual Q. This method worked using a number of machines by the entrance to a ride, guests would scan their park tickets in the machine and were printed out a ticket with a time to ride the particular ride. This system remained in place until the 2005 season albeit being rebranded as Fastrack in 2002 and the number of tickets people could receive were limited to 1 per ride per day. The system was partially successful but it was not without criticism. It gave people the chance to skip queues for free but it often led to far larger normal queues than would have existed without the system. Tickets also used to run out within the first few hours of the park opening and the machines also had a button to print out tickets without scanning your park ticket in. The system was also rarely in operation on busy days and often on quieter days had longer queues than the normal queue, somewhat defeating the object of queue jumping. The system was used less frequently throughout 2004 and 2005 and has now disappeared throughout all Tussaud's parks.
What exists now is a similar system but one which is not free. Guests still have the option of skipping the queue in this way but they are required to purchase their Fastrack tickets at Guest Services or other ticket outlets. Numerous tickets are available such as ones including all the Roller Coasters or all of the Water Rides etc. Prices vary depending on the season. The system is largely a success as a vastly reduced number of tickets are issued and the main queue is less affected by the scheme. Criticism is mainly aimed at Tussaud's penny-pinching but it does allow people to ride all the rides even on busy days.
[edit] Records
Thorpe Park has held, and still continues to hold, a number of records for its rides. These include:
- Colossus was the world's first (and until recently, only) roller coaster to feature 10 inversions.
- Stealth is Europe's highest and fastest launched roller coaster. In 2007 Stealth will lose the speed record to PortAventura's new rollercoster, "Furious Baco".
- X:\No Way Out is the world's only backwards in-the-dark roller coaster.
- Nemesis Inferno holds the record for the longest pre-lift hill section of any B&M inverted coaster and is also the only ride of its type to feature inter-locking corkscrews.
- Loggers Leap is the tallest log flume in the UK.
- Rush is the world's first S&S Giant Speed Swing.
- Slammer is the first Sky Swat in Europe
[edit] Timeline
Pre-1987
- A few attractions including the Cinema, Magic Mill, Waterbus services, Model World, Railway, Teacups, Nature Trails and Sunken Gardens.
- Space Station Zero opened.
- Thunder River water ride opened.
- Palladium Theatre opened.
- Canada Creek area opened.
- Re-themed Space Station Zero into the Flying Fish.
- Carousel Kingdom opened.
- The Rangers Show opened.
- Drive in the country opened.
- Fantasy Reef area refurbished.
- Depth Charge opened.
- Children's area refurbished.
- Viking Rowers opened.
- Hudson River Rafters opened.
- Calgary Stampede opened.
- Virtual Reality Centre opened.
- Magic Mill closed.
- Ranger County area opened.
- Carousel opened.
- Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride opened.
- Mr Rabbit's Tropical Travels opened.
- Miss Hippo's Fungle Safari opened.
- Drive in the country closed.
- X:/ No Way Out, the world's first dark backwards roller coaster opened.
- The Tussauds Group purchase the park.
- Palladium Theatre closed.
- Ranger Show closed.
- Dare Devil Drivers opened.
- Wet Wet Wet! opened.
- Pirates 4D, a 4D cinema attraction starring Leslie Nielsen opened.
- Carousel Kingdom closed.
- Viking Rowers closed.
- Tidal Wave, a Shoot the Chute made by Hopkins Rides, opened becoming the tallest ride in the park, at that time.
- Dare Devil Drivers closed.
- Bumper Boats closed.
- On July 21 a major fire broke out in the centre of the park.
- This destroyed The Wicked Witches Haunt and Mr Rabbit's Tropical Travels rides, which both closed immediately.
- A Huss Enterprise was drafted in as a replacement.
- The Lost City area was established, with the Enterprise (that was introduced in 2000) being rethemed and renamed Zodiac and Vortex (A KMG Afterburner) as its first rides.
- Thunder River closed, ready to be revamped into Ribena Rumba Rapids for the 2002 season.
- Detonator, Mega Drop made by Fabbri, opened in Calypso Quay.
- Colossus, An Intamin roller coaster with a record-breaking 10 inversions, opened.
- Safari High Dive show opened for one season.
- Thunder River re-opened as Ribena Rumba Rapids.
- Debut of the park's annual Halloween event, Fright Nights.
- Nemesis Inferno, a Bolliger & Mabillard inverted roller coaster themed around a tropical volcano opened.
- Also Quantum, a Fabbri magic carpet ride, opened.
- Eclipse, a Fabbri ferris wheel, opened.
- A Spiderman show was performed in the arena. This continued into 2004 and was replaced in 2005 by Stuntzmania.
- Calgary Stampede closed, to make way for Samurai from Chessington World of Adventures
- Samurai, a Mondial Top Scan, moved from Chessington, opened.
- New Spiderman show opened.
- Flying Fish closed at the end of the season to make way for Stealth in 2006.
- Eclipse closed at the end of the season due to lack of riders. It was moved to Chessington and renamed 'Peeking Heights'.
- Slammer, an S&S Sky Swat, opened on March 27th, after being delayed due to technical issues.
- Rush, an S&S Screamin' Swing and the world's biggest air-powered speed swing (Until the opening of Skyhawk at Cedar Point in the US), opened during the afternoon of 27 May.
- Stealth, an Intamin Accelerator Coaster which launches riders from 0-80 mph in 2.3 seconds opens with the park on March 15th. A 'Ride It First' competition was held with the lucky winner's experiencing Stealth before it opened to the rest of the guests.
- Zodiac is replaced by another Enterprise, sourced from Drayton Manor.
- StreetXtreme replaces Stuntzmania in the Arena.
Time(s) Unknown
- "Dino Boats" were at one time built and later removed in the Calypso Quay area of the park.
- The Rocky Express was moved from nearer the entrance to the park to the Canada Creek area at some point between 1994 and 1997.
[edit] 2007 Season
Thorpe Park is to stay open for its longest season ever in 2007. The park will be open for the February half term and weekends in February and March before reopening fully in mid-March. The park will once again be opening late during the summer and October. For the first time, however, the park will also open during December and early January from 12:00 until 21:00.
[edit] Fright Nights
Fright Nights, or as Thorpe Park refers to them "Fright Nites", have been running at Thorpe Park since 2002. For the last 1-2 weeks of October, Thorpe Park dons its Halloween costume and aims to scare as well as thrill its guests. The event has changed in a number of ways over the years with the addition and removal of different scare attractions and theming. The park also opens until 10pm (11pm 2003-4) to allow guests to ride the rides in the dark. Some of the extra attractions that have featured over the years are:
[edit] Scare-Zone
This was a short-lived attraction which lasted for only the 2002 season. The stretch of park from Canada Creek through Ranger County was converted into a Scare-Zone where the Halloween theme was concentrated with costumed actors walking about and smoke machines etc. At the two extremes of this area there was Thorpe Park's first two haunted-mazes, The Freezer in Ranger County and Freakshow 3-D inside the X:\No Way Out pyramid. The scare zone did not feature in the following years' event and has not returned since. The park has attempted in recent years to carry the theme throughout the park by using Halloween music, largely from the horror-music band Midnight Syndicate, and spooky objects.
[edit] The Freezer
The Freezer was the joint-first haunted maze that Thorpe Park installed, in 2002 and stayed at the park until 2004. The attraction is sited inside the Ranger Showcase building and was entered through a large freezer-style door. The concept of the attraction is a medical or scientific research establishment that is carrying out tests on bodies when they come alive and wreak havoc. The attraction is characterised by its consistent use of strobe lighting and loop-playing of the Air-Raid Warning sound. Live actors dress up as either zombies or scientists and scare guests anyway they see fit. Other features of the attraction include a corridor filled with hanging body bags.
The attraction itself underwent numerous changes during its time at the park. The first year (2002) was the only year it could truly be considered a maze as the attraction featured dead-ends. These were removed for the following years as it caused congestion within the attraction and the attraction became a simple walk-through. The Freezer in its current state was altered slightly for the 2005 season and was renamed The Asylum to help clarify the theme.
[edit] Freakshow 3-D
Along with The Freezer, the Freakshow 3-D was one of Thorpe Park's original mazes in 2002 and like the Freezer it remained in its original form until 2004. The basic principal of the attraction is very similar to The Freezer in that the guest follows a path through a series of winding corridors. The Freakshow 3D's theme is vastly different, however. The attraction was less focused on jump-out scares and more focused on spooking the guests.
The attraction was located in X:\No Way Out's pyramid in a section of the queue that was closed off from the 2001 season. It is difficult to pinpoint a specific concept for the attraction but guests must wear 3D glasses and the walls, floors and ceilings have holographic and psychedelic paintings on that appear to stick out. Live actors are also used and in the latter years of the attraction were extremely good at their task. Actors wore all black cloaks with a spooky coloured mask which gave the effect of a floating head. Due to the very limited plot of the ride it was not considered to be anywhere near as successful as The Freezer even if it was visually very impressive. The attraction opened for brief spells during the summer of 2005 but was closed and the area is now occupied by Hellgate.
[edit] Ultimate Horror Movie Bites
This attraction was only in place for the 2003 event due to the very negative response it received from guests. The attraction occupied the Pirates 4D building but the film was replaced with a film including clips from films such as The Birds, The Haunting, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Ring. During the screening, the seats would vibrate in much the same way as they do in the Pirates 4D film. At the end of the last clip, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, an announcer would announce the end of the attraction before being cut off and cut up by an actor dressed up as Leatherface who then stormed into the auditorium brandashing a chainsaw. The attraction was seen as little more than an advertisement for the films shown and the live actor involvement had little effect on an audience numbering around 500. It did not return in 2004 and was replaced by the more successful Circus Of Horrors show.
[edit] Circus Of Horrors
The Circus of Horrors appeared in 2004 as a replacement for Ultimate Horror Movie Bites. It took place in the Pirates 4D building with a stage created in front of the projection screen. The Circus Of Horrors are a world famous touring freakshow. The attraction at Thorpe Park featured a small selection of freaks at each showing, a different set each time. The attraction was hugely successful and, as the Circus of Horrors are an experienced company, truly entertaining. It has returned every year since then and has become a extra-charge attraction due to demand. In 2006 the Circus of Horrors moved out of the Pirates 4D building and instead performed in giant cages outside some of the bigger attractions (eg Stealth, Colossus) and in the Dome.
[edit] The Asylum
The Asylum was one of Thorpe Park's "new" Halloween attractions for 2005. In reality it is 95% The Freezer in that once you are inside the building it is exactly the same except for a few minor layout changes. The overall theme is the same. The differences are purely external, the original "Freezer" entrance door has been replaced by a more subtle prison door which is in the place of the exit of The Freezer. The purpose for this rebranding can be seen as a clarification of the existing theme or, cynically, as a way of marketing a new attraction on the cheap. The idea that it was to clarify its theme carries some weight as the plot overview now suggests that the attraction is an Asylum for freaks and zombies rather than a medical and scientific research facility that has been overrun by its subjects.
The Freezer was (and is) a very successful attraction so criticisms of The Asylum have been limited. A few minor criticisms have included the fact that there is no longer the experience of seeing terrified guests leave the attraction (The Freezer used to eject its guests onto the Ranger Showcase's stage in front of the queue) as the Asylum now uses the stage as its entrance. The Freezer also used to launch you straight into the attraction whereas The Asylum has a rather anti-climatic walk through a blank corridor after entering the door. One major change which has been widely praised has been to allow the actors to make physical contact with guests, as Thorpe Park's insignia states: "The actors will touch you, but they will not harm you."
[edit] Hellgate
Introduced in 2005, Hellgate was Thorpe Park's first attempt at creating a story-based attraction. Whereas The Asylum/Freezer had a general theme, Hellgate attempted to create a tale and a purpose for the attraction. Hellgate used the same area the The Freakshow 3D used, the inside of X:\No Way Out's pyramid but its layout and entrance was changed slightly, partly due to the construction of Slammer. Guests queue up near Colossus and are batched into a long dark corridor adjacent to the X... pyramid. In 2005 a recorded storyline was played in this corridor explaining the background of the attraction. The plot was essentially a trip to a haunted house. The major downfall of the storyline idea was that the recording was not loud enough to be heard over the crowd volume. The story also had difficulty being carried through into the attraction and the recording did not return in 2006.
Once inside the building guests follow a course through the attraction passing through different rooms of the house where costumed actors attempt to scare their victims as much as possible. Unlike The Asylum, Hellgate is comparitively well lit and so less disorientating. Hellgate is generally seen as more of a "jump-out" scare type attraction whereas the Asylum succeeds in messing with the mind, disorientating guests and terrifying them in a more subtle way. The attraction changed little for the 2006 season.
[edit] SE7EN
Introduced in 2006, SE7EN is Thorpe Park's latest addition to the Fright Nite family. The attraction is situated in the Arena in the centre of the park where a temporary structure was erected inside a tent. Guests queue up outside and just inside the arena where they pass burnt out cars and obscene graffiti. The attraction's official description refers to the Seven Deadly Sins.
Inside the attraction follows the same principles of The Asylum and Hellgate in that guests follow a path through an attraction where live costumed actors scare guests any way they can. Unlike the previous two attractions, SE7EN does not continue the same overall theme throughout the attraction, rather guests walk through a series of different rooms each themed to something disgusting. One room contains an actor playing a sick slob, watching John Carpenter's Halloween on DVD and with a toilet bubbling over in the corner. Another room contains a butchered meat and rotten food in a fridge. In one room guests are squirted with water unexpectedly. Unlike the other attractions, actors have set roles and tend to stick to their own room. Despite being less consistent than the other two, SE7EN succeeds quite well in disgusting and perhaps disturbing, if not disorientating, guests.
2006 was the first time the Arena has been used in this way and judging by the queues for the attraction it is likely that this attraction will return next year and that the Arena will continue to be used in this way in future Fright Nites.
[edit] Future developments
- 2007
- The Flying Fish powered roller coaster returns to the park after being removed at the end of the 2004 season to make way for Stealth. Planning permission .<ref name="FlyingFish">Planning Application (PDF). Retrieved on 2006-06-18.</ref> has been granted and vertical construction of the ride is due to begin shortly. No rides have been removed for the re-introduction of the Fish.
- Canada Creek Railway and Thorpe Farm are removed from the park's offering, and there are no plans to re-open them in the future.
- 2008
- X:\ No Way Out is receiving a retheme, it will be themed to an abandoned/haunted ride. The cars will be placed forward. It is expected that the rides exteriror building will be painted or pannels will be placed over it. The enterance to the ride will be placed in the canada creek area of the park to fit with the mine theme.
- 2009
- This will be a big year for Thorpe Park. A new roller coaster, said to be the on the same scale as Nemesis Inferno, will open in the Canada Creek area. This has been confirmed by park managers during educational talks. The ride is likely to be made by Bolliger & Mabillard, who have produced other rides for Tussauds such as Nemesis, Oblivion, Air and Nemesis Inferno. It is likely to be either a "Flyer" or a "Floorless" model. Originally penned in for 2008, the project has been put back a year to 2009 so that thorpe park will gain maxium publicity for the hotel.
- Thorpe Park Hotel will open. This was first mentioned on the Medium Term Development Plan submitted in 2003. Recently, an exhibition has been staged at Thorpe Park giving locals a chance to view the plans. The hotel is expected to be located away from the main park on an area north of the car park, previously owned by RMC quarry works. If built the hotel is set to have 250 rooms. Planning permission has now been applied for. Planning permission
Flyers have also been produced with suggested artwork and other information on the hotel. Said flyers have been seen in Educational meetings.
[edit] References
<references/>
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- English Theme Park Forum
- Official site
- Thorpe Park Guide @ ThemeParks-UK
- Thorpe Park Mania
- TPCWoA NEWS
- Reviews, photos and videos of the main rides at Thorpe Park (including stealth)
- Thrill Factor
- Thorpe Park Insider
- Reviews
- RCDB - information on roller coasters
| Roller coasters at Thorpe Park |
|---|
|
Colossus - Flying Fish - Nemesis Inferno - Stealth - X:\ No Way Out |
| UK Theme Parks: |
| Tussauds Theme Parks: |
|
Alton Towers | Chessington | Thorpe Park |
| Other Selected Theme Parks: |
|
Blackgang Chine | Blackpool Pleasure Beach | Drayton Manor | Dreamland Margate | Flamingo Land | Lightwater Valley | Oakwood | Robin Hill |
