Thorpe park T.R. inc 10 looper

Well i am very bored here in Hong Kong airport so i thought i might as well type my report for thorpe park which i went to last week.

Having been to Magic Mountain and Vegas on the way to England i had certainly experienced some great coasters, so i was a bit concernced that i might be let down by Thorpe park. Saying that i had watched with great excitement Collossus being built and i could not wait to ride it. So on with the ride reviews. They are in the order that we first rode them.

Collossus. We ran straight to this ride after the gates had opened, as this was probably the main reason everyone was here (including us). The ride looks great, the track is very close to your heads in the queue line which only builds your anticipation. They were only running one train which annoyed me, as knew it would mean a hell of a queue later on. We got on the second ride of the day at the back. As you go up the lift hill ( which has sprayed messy black oil all over the supports) you get a nice view of the park, not for long as it is only 98 feet high. Little drop then curve to the left and down the main drop into the big loop, over little bunny hop down under a bridge and over a water filled area and into the cobra roll, back under the bridge and into the first corkscrew, and then another which goes through the main queue line. Up a little rise then turn 180 degrees and the 4 clockwise in line twists, i can not emphasise how fun these are, your head is so close to the floor and then this metal net ( for catching stuff) you could almost touch them. The speed is perfect you do not feel sick at all, then turn 180 degrees again and the one anti-clockwise twist, which is even closer to the floor. And thats it.

What about it, well i was impressed, it was a lot of fun and nicely themed (even though the budget was cut) it was a bit rough though at the back, it did not feel like a 3 month old coaster at all, the cars shook a bit and not what i expected. Nonetheless, the average british rider will not complain about that at all, they are happy like me to have a fun multi looper to ride. rode twice, 35 mins for the second ride - 8/10

Vortex. A KMB afterburner which is themed into the Collossus Inca type theme. This ride was so much fun - i loved it, as did my friends. Longish queue all day rode twice 20 mins both times. 7/10

X-No way out. Should be called The Underground, as it is just like riding the London undergound i.e. a long walk to get to the patform, uncomfortable trains, which stop and start in the dark going backwards. An absolute waste of time, just as the ride gets going down it stops completely blows air and spray on your face and then starts again. Utter Crap. Apparently John Wardley is going to revamp this ride in the near future, i hope so as the pyramid could fit in really well into the Collossus theme with a paint job and a new dark coaster inside. rode once 0/10

Detonator. A 100 foot high forced drop. I love these rides although nothing beats the Giant Drop in Dreamworld, but this is a good addition to the park. 6/10

Pirates 4/d- your usual Leslie Neilson picture. Fun nonetheless. 5/10

Shoot the chute splash ride. ( i have totally forgotten it;s name) mY GOD, do you get wet on this ride or what. Not a great idea for a miserable english day, but fun anyway. The kids seem to love this one. 6/10

Loggers leap. Typical log flume with two drops, but the final one is a biggie. Fun ride especially if you cram 5 into the boat. 5/10

Ribena rapids. has been done up, with new boats this year, and the tunnel has had stuff added to it. I thought that it is still a bit tame and could do with some more stuff added to it. A waterfall or more hoses perhaps. 5/10

Zodiac- a typical enterprise which was broken, which is good as this is the only ride that makes me feel ill.

Overall i had a fun day, since Tussauds bought Thorpe three years ago they have added europes tallest chute the shoot, 2 spin and spews and a freefall ride. And this year the worlds first 10 looping coaster. they are not stopping there however, they are building the sequel to nemesis ( the amzingly intense b&m invert at Alton Towers) called Nemesis Inferno. It is to be themed around a Volcano. It will be the first invert with interlocking corkscrews, and will have quite a long bit of track before the lift hill. It is being built as we speak and will open next year. That is a lot of investment and they are going to turn Thorpe Park into a real atrraction for us southerners. This park will be a definate for all us brits and any of you Americans and others out there from next year onwards.

Hope you enjoyed this trip report, i have to go board my plane now, but i will be doing my Alton Towers trip report complete with my review on Air (the b&m flying coaster) next week when i get back to Sydney.

Cheers

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-Sean Newman
88 coasters in Track Record!! Hypersonic XLC Coaster # 100 in July.
Nitro Laps:105
B+R Launches:28