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Thorpe Park | Hyperia | Mack Hyper Coaster | 2024

I think this is due to Alton just overall recieving better investments in between big investments. Alton managed to get a hold on the kids market first, this was something that they needed. Cbeebies Land was a great success, it gave Alton a real draw for kids, and it had buzz around it. Cbeebies Land now gave a BIG reason for families to come with kids. Those investments also led to the Enchanted Forest, and the Stargazing Pods, further expanding on the resort. The park added the Dungeons, despite me disliking it, i guess it is another to do and a further expansion to the resort. This year we got a fairly fun looking dark ride, and a well needed boost to a completely dying area.

Thorpe just kind of meandered with their investments IMO. They converted XNWO into X for 2013, to hastily change it back in 2018 so they could claim a new ride. They added Angry Birds, which is about the only investment i'm somewhat behind? I'm not going to talk about the Ghost Train, but to me it really is just one massive fail that they tried to band aid in 2017. The Smiler and Wickerman also are two very solid investments IMO, say what you want about Smiler, but it is a very good ride and the public seem to love it heavily, Wickerman was a home run.

Alton IMO has at least taken a direction, Thorpe to me has just kind of stagnated, i don't really feel the park is better than it was in 2012. With Alton i can say i enjoy the park more now.
When I made my post, I was looking at it from a business standpoint (even though we as guests may see Swarm and DBGT in a different light to Smiler and Wicker Man, there won’t really be any distinction to the higher-ups at Merlin; all 4 were major investments for their respective parks), but from a guest standpoint, I do get what you’re saying.

I think Alton have perhaps utilised their medium and low years to greater effect than Thorpe in recent years, and dare I say that people might feel like Thorpe has been far more neglected because DBGT was not seen as an especially worthwhile major investment by many. Would I be correct there?

Had DBGT been a coaster or a more well-received dark ride, would people feel the same way about Thorpe that they do currently?
 
If Thorpe have got a new coaster truly in the works, then surely we would've seen plans submitted by now? Especially since Loggers Leap is beginning demolition.
I’ve heard lots of rumours that it wouldn’t be opening until 2024, if something is in the works (That’s why I named the topic “Thorpe Park 2024?”). I do think that would make sense given Chessington’s coaster is opening just down the road in 2023.

March 2024 is still the best part of 2.5 years away, which is more than enough time for the park to file for planning permission, surely? Swarm’s wasn’t filed until February 2011, and I think Saw’s was October 2007. They’ve got plenty of time yet.

For the record, I’m not saying that a coaster is a dead cert, but given the evidence we have and the teasing we’ve seen, I’ve got a pretty good feeling, personally!
 
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If we put two and two together would that mean Lumber Jump and Timber Tug are going too? I'd assume so, but at the same time I wouldn't rule out them either staying or especially being relocated. They could fit pretty well into Amity (I perfectly agree with people who think they won't as well), but where?

Sad to hear about Rocky though, was a great way to just chill out and it was oddly fun too. Would've been nice if they announced its closure though.

EDIT: Hmm, seems like it might be true
 
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It'll be a telling few months to see if we start seeing clearing of old town. Its such a big dead area of land espesocally outside of Fright Nights, I'd like to hope we see more than just a coaster in that area and please remove Slammer, whilst you're at it!
 
Removing Old Town? It was such a great place to sit down to ride out the headaches induced by a ride on Colossus and a few too many repeat rides on Swarm. Pretty much the only reasonably quiet place in the park with benches. Then again, I suppose that function could be replaced elsewhere.
 
Had DBGT been a coaster or a more well-received dark ride, would people feel the same way about Thorpe that they do currently?
It's a good point; had 2016 seen a largely well-received investment, things would feel very different. There's even a (slim) chance Thorpe still could have ended up with a 2020 major investment too.

There's so many ifs and buts, but whilst it would not feel as long since something major, I think it would only mask some of the other issues the park have, like a slowly ageing line up and pretty much a lack of anything worthwhile in non-major years.

If Thorpe have got a new coaster truly in the works, then surely we would've seen plans submitted by now? Especially since Loggers Leap is beginning demolition.
March 2024 is still the best part of 2.5 years away, which is more than enough time for the park to file for planning permission, surely? Swarm’s wasn’t filed until February 2011, and I think Saw’s was October 2007. They’ve got plenty of time yet.
The park have good relations with the council and will be in regular contact. If they're planning on building a big new ride any time soon, the park will almost definitely be having conversations with them, to give a forewarning, to get the best chance of approval, etc. This will be even more true given the lack of a MTDP, which would speed up the process of an application if the park were submitting plans under pre-determined guidelines.

I think this is the thing, parks submit planning applications because of the formalities required. By the time they're at the point of submission, I don't think there's any real doubt in their mind it will be rejected.

As Matt says, the previous two coasters had planning applications submitted 13-16 months before the ride opened. Stealth had plans go in in August 2004, so 19 months before opening. If 2024 is the magic year, then next year at some point makes sense for seeing coaster plans.

Sorry to double post, but rumours are now rife on Twitter that Rocky Express and Old Town are closing for good after today, and there are supposedly even videos of a group of enthusiasts riding Rocky Express for the “last ever cycle” at 2pm today… take from that what you will.
It's funny how these rumours spread so quickly on final days. Is it something that the park planned to "leak"? Is it just Chinese whispers from one person which just went really quick? How many people have known this for a while and have sat on it?

I very much am under the impression that Rocky Express will not be returning next year (though with the park still to have full park buyouts this coming weekend, yesterday almost definitely wasn't its last ever cycle...). But one should not take these things for absolute definite until it's confirmed one way or another.


If we put two and two together would that mean Lumber Jump and Timber Tug are going too? I'd assume so, but at the same time I wouldn't rule out them either staying or especially being relocated. They could fit pretty well into Amity (I perfectly agree with people who think they won't as well), but where?
I guess nothing has been said about Timber and Lumber because, simply put, they don't have the same appeal. Rocky is a ride that's been at the park for over 30 years; it's got that history in the park. Of course, many enthusiasts still largely ignored it until yesterday's "Oh bugger, it might be leaving, I should ride it", but heyho.

Timber and Lumber could be moved to round by Depth Charge - Containment is no longer used and the shipping containers are just awkwardly sat there. The slides associated to the beach have been closed all year. There's even the patch of grass to the left of the Dome if the park really wanted to put them there. Whether they will is a different matter. But one would hope they understand that the removal of three 0.9m rides would be a huge hit given that, despite all their efforts, families with small children will always continue to visit.

Its such a big dead area of land espesocally outside of Fright Nights,
This is an interesting point. Outside of Fright Nights it's very quiet. During Fright Nights though, it's a big hub of activity. Two mazes and scare zone were there this year. Okay, it's been announced to be Platform's last year, but Creek Freak Massacre is presumably still staying. Would be very strange for that to hit the chopping block too unannounced, especially as it was very well received in 2019.

I guess Rocky Express could simply have hit the end of its life / the park don't consider it worth spending the money on it any more. And rather than having a larger dead area during the season, they could move the remaining two rides, and just open up that part of the park for Fright Nights. Obviously there's the Platform 15 / Loggers discussion, which still suggests something else is coming, but I don't expect to see that part of Old Town turn into a proper construction with lots of mud any time soon.
 
Out of interest @JoshC., would any preliminary discussions that Thorpe has with the council be out of the public eye, or would these be something we would have to be able to access?

Also, if a ride were to be coming in 2024, is it remotely feasible that the park could be shutting Old Town early to conduct some preliminary work that doesn’t require planning permission?
 
I doubt there's any details that would be available to the public. I won't lie, I don't know how it will work exactly. But the park won't just send in an application for a big new roller coaster to the council without having had some prior discussions about it, since to even get to that stage, the park will have already spent a fair amount of time and money to get there.

As for shutting Old Town to start some work. Sure, it's possible. You don't need planning permission to cut down trees (in most cases) or remove a log flume trough. If the park wanted to start making real progress with that next year, it certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility that closing Old Town makes that work less of a hassle.
 
Out of interest @JoshC., would any preliminary discussions that Thorpe has with the council be out of the public eye, or would these be something we would have to be able to access?
Generally, they will be private. At least, it almost always is in the work I do.

It tends to be that you have some (or a lot!) of meetings with the council and their various specialists who may have an interest (generally their environmental/ecological/infrastructure/transport/etc, specialists) to make sure you've understood all of their various concerns and requirements so that when you do submit the formal planning application you're already at least somewhat aligned with the council's thinking.

It also helps with keeping things moving smoothly though the process - pre-application information is submitted and reviewed (typically in a series of rounds) as it means a lot of the information isn't "new" when it lands in the planners lap.

The formal planning process (which can also include rounds of public consultations too) is then a chance to get this out to the public and present something that's well considered from every angle. The council then take into account the input from their specialists and the public to make their decisions.
 
Wish I’d caught up on this thread before pulling it as my ‘talk for a minute’ topic on Saturday!!!

Definitely some exciting developments, and if rumours are true about more of the area and it’s attractions being closed for good, that suggests a bigger scale investment to me. Whether thats a massive coaster, or something smaller and the redevelopment of the whole area… Either is good news on the whole.

If Old Town is essentially closed next season (and potentially 2023) then it’s going to be a very different fright nights next year!!!
 
Gutted about Rocky if true. Another childhood memory of Thorpe gone! I always made time for it during each visit.

I'm having trouble picturing a large scale coaster in Old Town. Granted, I haven't been to Thorpe in years and the area may be much bigger than I'm remembering but I just can't see it. I can see a coaster aimed more aimed at families fitting in the area quite well. Even a new flume, maybe? As much as I want need them to get a huge, thrilling, world class coaster there are also a few gaps in their line-up to be filled and a solid family coaster is top of that list.
 
There is a lot of tree felling taking place which can be seen on Bing Maps, that space would make for a great 'Main' ride area with the lift going up the side with the Loggers final drop (Red line) and a twisted drop. The area by Creek Freak overlooking the lake would make an amazing sightline and throw in a new flat and you could rejuvinate the area. They could use the old Platform 15 entrance/exit as the station as there is plenty of space behind the Burger King area for a brake run and turn around (Blue Line). A woody or RMC would fit perfectly with the current areas theme but they may even decide to change it all up and a Blitz would also be able to utlize that area very well. Using that space would also mean that there would be less reliance on ride themeing. Just shove it in the woods and let nature theme it.
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There is a lot of tree felling taking place which can be seen on Bing Maps, that space would make for a great 'Main' ride area with the lift going up the side with the Loggers final drop (Red line) and a twisted drop. The area by Creek Freak overlooking the lake would make an amazing sightline and throw in a new flat and you could rejuvinate the area. They could use the old Platform 15 entrance/exit as the station as there is plenty of space behind the Burger King area for a brake run and turn around (Blue Line). A woody or RMC would fit perfectly with the current areas theme but they may even decide to change it all up and a Blitz would also be able to utlize that area very well. Using that space would also mean that there would be less reliance on ride themeing. Just shove it in the woods and let nature theme it.
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fingers crossed having that whole area sit to rot for years like that could potentially be to free up the biggest(even bigger) ride area since colossus possibly? That's a lot of space! Especially considering the ride space you highlighted doesn't even include the potential lift and drop.. or even the queue, station & exit areas that could be reused..

I shouldn't be excited but i totally am 😵
 
If you wanna go crazy on your pipe dream, if they removed slammer, that opens up the whole old town plaza too.
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Thats a whole lotta space.
 
Something I’ve been pondering… If this doesn’t turn out to be an RMC… Will we ever see one built in the UK? I can’t see who, or when else it could happen…

That area is big enough for a monster… Thorpe has the ceiling to build a monster… RMC said back in 2018 that there was another in the pipeline for Europe…

Maybe Looping put Drayton back on the map with one, but I doubt it…

It’s now or never IMO…

The hope is real, sadly the expectation of disappointment is also real…
 
Im sure this has been discussed before but do we have any idea when/if the SAW IP will lapse? If we want to get really out there, SAW would be a perfect fit to carry on the Creek Freak branding and they could incorporate it as part of a whole area refresh with little cost. Given this is all still based on hearsay until we see work being carried out I am looking forward to seeing whats carried out over the closed season. Thorpe have to be looking at RMCs as an option, surely.
 
Something I’ve been pondering… If this doesn’t turn out to be an RMC… Will we ever see one built in the UK? I can’t see who, or when else it could happen…

That area is big enough for a monster… Thorpe has the ceiling to build a monster… RMC said back in 2018 that there was another in the pipeline for Europe…

Maybe Looping put Drayton back on the map with one, but I doubt it…

It’s now or never IMO…

The hope is real, sadly the expectation of disappointment is also real…
For my money, there’s more ways than you’d expect to build a UK RMC that don’t entail Thorpe building one for this project.

For starters, I reckon there are quite a few UK parks that could build one, with a little creativity. Alton could build one in the valley (and rumours suggest that something of that ilk was planned for SW8 prior to the Smiler crash), or in a different pit elsewhere on park, Blackpool could build a compact Raptor or similar, and some of the larger mid-size parks (e.g. Drayton, Flamingo Land, Paultons) could probably build a Raptor or family hybrid. RMC has a vast breadth of products and scales of ride, which I do think makes them a possible proposition for more UK parks than you’d expect.

Not to mention, Thorpe has the island next to Swarm that is still unused; maybe a Raptor could be their next major investment? (If this one isn’t an RMC, of course)

If this isn’t an RMC, then there are no shortage of alternative opportunities for RMC in Britain, which can’t be said for something like a B&M hyper.
 
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