in my opinion thorpe park is great for really young children and those that like rollercoasters although i go on all the rides my little brother who is too big for the small rides and wont brave the rollercoasters the only ride he will go on is the rapids anyone else got any opinions on the subject?
thorpe park family friendly?
- Thread starter xkirstyx
- Start date
Not true.
Thorpe is actually really okay for the under fives. I'd object to paying £18 for them to go there, but there's enough to keep a brave youngster happy (as long as some of it opens) :lol:
The problem comes when the child reaches a slightly older age. Anything between about five and nine really (maybe a bit older, and it does depend on height and bravery of the children) is an issue - there's just nothing in that "midrange" age bracket for entertainment.
Eight year olds just don't want train rides and water rides. They want more than the Flying fish for excitement. Thorpe just can't offer them anything at all.
My problem, is why cater for such a massively young audience, but not the mid-range? It just doesn't make any sense to me. If you're not going to cater for kids of one age, then just ditch the kids stuff altogether and become a singular thrill park.
Thorpe is actually really okay for the under fives. I'd object to paying £18 for them to go there, but there's enough to keep a brave youngster happy (as long as some of it opens) :lol:
The problem comes when the child reaches a slightly older age. Anything between about five and nine really (maybe a bit older, and it does depend on height and bravery of the children) is an issue - there's just nothing in that "midrange" age bracket for entertainment.
Eight year olds just don't want train rides and water rides. They want more than the Flying fish for excitement. Thorpe just can't offer them anything at all.
My problem, is why cater for such a massively young audience, but not the mid-range? It just doesn't make any sense to me. If you're not going to cater for kids of one age, then just ditch the kids stuff altogether and become a singular thrill park.
caffeine_demon
Strata Poster
YTep - thorpe needs more for the 5-11 yr old market - it's all well and good people saying "but thorpe is for thrillseekers, go to chessy ", but wherever you are, families will make a bug portion of the parks customers.
Actually, I think at Thorpe, families make up a very small percentage of the visitors. However, you need to make a little more effort to accommodate them.
This is what annoyed me about Saw. Eurofighters are a family ride. Perfect for the 8 or 9 year old kind of age range. Yet they give it a 1.4M height limit (probably due to the horror overtones).
You can have fantastic thrill rides, without needing such a consistently high height limit. Apart from B&M, I think every manufacturer has some form of excellent thrill coaster with a 1.3M or lower height limit.
Actually, a lot of the flats are less than 1.3M - but it does depend on how much your child likes to spin and spew.
This is what annoyed me about Saw. Eurofighters are a family ride. Perfect for the 8 or 9 year old kind of age range. Yet they give it a 1.4M height limit (probably due to the horror overtones).
You can have fantastic thrill rides, without needing such a consistently high height limit. Apart from B&M, I think every manufacturer has some form of excellent thrill coaster with a 1.3M or lower height limit.
Actually, a lot of the flats are less than 1.3M - but it does depend on how much your child likes to spin and spew.
wadler said:
That's exactly why X:\NWO fails so miserably. However, I believe it has the 1.4M limit due to the way it works. The backwards movement and restraints mean you need to have a more "grown up" physique - so the 1.4M is for safety.
DanzibarDrums said:
Minor_Furie was nine when he went on it in the opening year
Okay, he's probably a bit different, but cousins of his and friends were riding Nemesis at 10 (he wasn't because he's a short arse).There are a lot of brave kids, and the Eurofighter are a top end thrill for the braver kids, and also a good coaster for their parents. Excellent top end child friendly thrill
ryan462 said:
Rattlesnake has a 1.4M limit, so it's the same as Nemesis et al
elmerfudd
Mega Poster
Thorpe park over the years has become a huge tourist attraction for late teens to young adults, and I think thorpe park has recognised this. Hence Saw-the ride. Thorpe park do have that little play area that has small rides but they are really for like 3-5 year olds! However, i disagree, I think there is lots for the Midage market (8-12) - Quantum, Zodiac, Vortex, Loggers Leap, Flying Fish, Storm in a cup, Ribina Rapids, Rush? Mr monkeys banana ride which is actually really good! I think there is plenty on offer for all ages. So yes, to answer your question Thorpe park is family friendly.
In comparison, for the 8-12 range:
Drayton has Apocalypse, G-Force, Pandemonium, proper pirate ship, Maelstrom, etc, etc. All of them wipe the floor with Thorpe's poor mid range offering.
Flamingoland has Corkscrew, Kumali, erm, everything actually! Again, they're all much better than Thorpe's offering.
Now, I'll ask this - if you're 9 and your list of rides in a day is Quantum, Zodiac, Vortex, Fish, Teacups, rapids and a toddlers pirate ship - do you actually think that's a good thing? Would you go to Thorpe and only ride those things? Just because people are 9 doesn't mean they don't want something else.
Also, it's the mid range between about 4 and 8 which is the real place they're missing rides - too old to spend all day on simple merry go rounds, under 1.2 so can't do the more exciting stuff.
If you have to spend most of your day with a child looking at rides rather than riding, then it's NOT family friendly!
Drayton has Apocalypse, G-Force, Pandemonium, proper pirate ship, Maelstrom, etc, etc. All of them wipe the floor with Thorpe's poor mid range offering.
Flamingoland has Corkscrew, Kumali, erm, everything actually! Again, they're all much better than Thorpe's offering.
Now, I'll ask this - if you're 9 and your list of rides in a day is Quantum, Zodiac, Vortex, Fish, Teacups, rapids and a toddlers pirate ship - do you actually think that's a good thing? Would you go to Thorpe and only ride those things? Just because people are 9 doesn't mean they don't want something else.
Also, it's the mid range between about 4 and 8 which is the real place they're missing rides - too old to spend all day on simple merry go rounds, under 1.2 so can't do the more exciting stuff.
If you have to spend most of your day with a child looking at rides rather than riding, then it's NOT family friendly!
elmerfudd
Mega Poster
I dont understand why you are comparing Draytons flat rides with Thorpes, because they are pretty much identical (Apoloclypse - Detonator, Maelstrom - Vortex, Pandemonium - Rush? 'Proper pirate ship' - Mr Monkeys banana ride, and even the somberos and the calagary stampede when that was at Thorpe park.
Go on thorpe parks website, and i can assure you that for ALL of thier thrilling and fun rides, the height limit is 1.1 or under so i cant understand why you are saying the younger market cant have an exciting time.
Go on thorpe parks website, and i can assure you that for ALL of thier thrilling and fun rides, the height limit is 1.1 or under so i cant understand why you are saying the younger market cant have an exciting time.
nadroJ
CF Legend
All of those comparisons you just made are the perfect example of why Thorpe loses, all of the Drayton Manor 'versions' of the Thorpe flats are ten times better in my opinion (apart from the Pandemonium/Rush thing).
All of the Drayton versions are slightly better/more thrilling than the Thorpe flats and therefore are more suitable for kids aged say 8-12.
All of the Drayton versions are slightly better/more thrilling than the Thorpe flats and therefore are more suitable for kids aged say 8-12.
CoasterKing
Mega Poster
Don't bother. Thorpe Park is a nightmare for even more mature older guests. The park is tiny considering what you might expect and the there are always huge crowds making it quite an ordeal to walk around. The ride line up is mostly aimed at older teenagers/young adults and there is very little to do for younger children. Legoland would be better. It is just up the road from Thorpe and it is far less crowded plus the rides are purely aimed at families. Or maybe as a second option you might consider Chessington which is again better for families.
elmerfudd said:
Okay!
Depth Charge, Rapids, Flume, Quantum, Fish, teacups, rocky express, banana boat and 4D cinema! Excellent value for money! £20 for a young person to be able to ride 8 rides - as long as it's not raining when they won't want to do the wet rides, so 8, or maybe 5 rides!
Brilliant compared to the dozen rides I can mention, without even thinking, that are youngster suitable at Drayton or Flamingoland!
A
Anonymous
Guest
THORE PARK isn't suitable for families, end of story. It's aimed at teenagers and adults, and between the age bracket of 6-10, I struggled. Even though I was quite willing to ride Rush & Detonator.
I think what Thorpe needs is a 1.2M coaster in the X:/ tent and a Haunted house to replace Fungle, then it will be family friendly.
I think what Thorpe needs is a 1.2M coaster in the X:/ tent and a Haunted house to replace Fungle, then it will be family friendly.