Henry M

Wild

Is anyone else going to Thorpe Park tomorrow. I doubt it but I just wanted to know.

Great review! To be fair I don't think it is overrated because I have never heard someone raving about how good ANY of the rides are.

When I showed somebody nemesis, they said, oh that used to be at Thorpe park, how stupid they think they can just re paint it and call it a whole new ride.

Common sense applies hear.

Yeah, but look at their safety record, it is pretty good. Also at CP if there are winds because the coasters are so big, they can easily stall.

You go down one person at a time, so it is a solo and personal ride. There is not much of a queue as there are very limited numbers so the one person at a time does not really create a wait. Thanks for the tip, I have done it now!

Illuminate confirmed. I think something sinister is going on...

People keep talking about the Intamin seat belt connection system, well here is a big shock to you all, the belt is not made by Intamin! The clip is used in many places, for example on parachutes for planes.

Today I took the train out to London with the primary reason to try out the colossal new slide, which twists it's way down the iconic Mittel Orbit tower in the Olympic park. I also stopped off at Tate modern, Coca Cola London eye and a surprise fun fair with TWO new credits for me located within the Olympic Park. The Slide Firstly, let me start off by saying this thing is like out of a child's wonderful fantasy land, where they think it would be awesome if there was a giant slide twirling its way down from the very top to the bottom. Who on earth came up with the idea and then went ahead with it, I applaud you for your bravery. It seems so crazy to have this slide attached to the structure, and even after seeing pictures of the finished thing, it still made me wonder if I was seeing things right...yes, there is ACTUALLY a slide on that tower. The tickets coast £10 for children (over 8's only and over 1.3m tall) and £15 for adults, which is actually very good value, considering that includes going up the tower, to the highest floor, and the slide as well. Your money could be spent on something a lot worse, like a bottle of wine. The view is okay, but nothing special from the top, due to the fact it is out of the main London area, as you will see in the pictures. If you want to get iconic views of London, you are best to go up the shard or the eye (both of which are more expensive than the slide). Don't get me wrong though, it is still a nice half outdoor half indoor viewing deck. After as much time as you want up at the top, it is you turn to get 'kitted up' to ride. This consists of a rugby hat, and arm protectors. I was not fussed by this at all, I would prefer to wear this than get a burn down my arm. Later I would find out why they were necessary! The staff are slightly boisterous but they are efficient at ensuring everything is sorted. I personally feel that the waiting area should have a soundtrack, or some ambient music in the background to make it more atmospheric, rather than systematic, however the queue was not very long, and within a few minutes, I was snug in a rug ready to pull myself into the long tube, that reminded me too much of a worm. Now to the actual ride experience. You start off around a nice long corner in a clear tube, picking up speed down the surprisingly steep decent, then you hit the darkness. About one second after this, comes the least present part of the whole slide. Suddenly and un-expectantly, there is a corner, and a steep and unforgiving one at that. The person who I was with got whiplash around this corner, and I managed to get punched in the face by my own elbow. OW! After that though the rest of the slide is very enjoyable and it was filled with twistyyyy goodness and great pacing, not to mention some surprising and smooth forces, especially towards the end. The light and dark transitions are nice, and seem to enhance the experience of total disorientation. The whole slide after that point is really fun and it is a great addition to the tower, which really needed that little extra something, and the worlds longest and tallest slide does the job perfectly. It is definitely worth visiting, and now on to the pictures... The view from the new viewing gallery in the Tate Modern. I have no pictures of inside, but I went to see the O Keefe exhibition, and it was really good, she had some serious talent. Other 'art' in Tate was not so good. The free areas are just things like tubes stuck on a wall. hmmm. And into the Eye. Personally I preferred it when it was sponsored by EDF, as there is so much Coca Cola adverts pasted everywhere. It was kind of a standard London Eye experience. Some great views over the Thames and Hyde park. Note in the bottom right hand corner, what do you see...Yep, there was a random star flier in the middle of London. Nothing else there, just that, it was random. Mandatory shot of the houses or parliament. Panning...Panning...Get out of my way child...Panning... After that I tried to get into the aquarium, but standard annual pass holders are not allowed into any of the London attractions during August. Don't ask me how we got into the Eye. After that we went down to Stratford on the Jubilee line from Waterloo, nice and easy. Once I plowed my way through Westfields, I arrived at the Olympic park, and was amazed at how vibrant it was. Having a large fair set up with two rollercoasters and a large screen showing the Olympics on did help. I went on my first spinning wild mouse, and I thought it was really good. We both sat on one side, and once we hit the second part, it was non stop insane spinning. Reasonably well themed and well maintained. Honestly, I was shocked when I came across a massive rollercoaster. I don't know about other countries, but this simply does not happen here. Now onto the next credit. A wacky worm, no, wale, no shark! I sat on the back row and it was fine. I had a good laugh on it and had no shame! Yeah, just about old enough so parents don't scowl at you. I think this is a reasonably new coaster, as it all looked clean and fresh. Here is a picture for the geeks. Worst part of this ride (yes, I am actually reviewing a wacky worm) were these trim breaks. I was seated at the back row and as we started going down the drop, I got exited for a nice pop of air time, however, as I crested the edge, the trims slammed on, making the drop uncomfortable and air-less. I have also never been on a waky worm, but I did not think they were trimmed like this. Aaaaannd, the tower. it still looks nice and modern. All the park areas are still well maintained. You can see the slide wrapping it self around the tower. It does slightly damage the aesthetics of the slide, but the tube is so thin you can hardly see it. A closer look at this Wiegand piece of art. If Tate taught me anything, it is that ANYTHING can be a work of art. See, from a distance, you don't really see it. It does look like it is floating though, which is slightly unnerving. More tower goodness. It is suspended from these wires, to allow it to slightly flex. weeeee. It is a really twisty slide, and so fun. Who says slides are for kids! See the first steep corner there at the top. It is a jaw/neck/back/EVERYTHING breaker. This ride breaks many records...and bones. Here is an image showing the clear bit of the slide. You cannot really see people going down it though, because it is so fast. Here is the view from the top looking over the now West Ham stadium. Cannery Warf is fairly close. See, it is a little out of the main London city area. Shard scraping some clouds Your heart begins to beat harder as you realize that you are going to slide, straight down from this height. The start of the tube and the loading area. And off you go! Thanks for reading!

I really do hope this thing makes it to winter wonderland in hyde park this year.

Cowboy

This video is the funniest thing I have ever seen. So many issues but I cannot believe this guy seriously thinks the smiler crash is a hoax! Rule number one about making a video like this ... Learn how a rollercoaster works. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKXjJXwEESw

This video is the funniest thing I have ever seen. So many issues but I cannot believe this guy seriously thinks the smiler crash is a hoax! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKXjJXwEESw

East

Does Dorney Park have a phobia of floors or something, I mean they have: Stinger: Inverted (no floor) Talon: Inverted (no floor) Possessed: Inverted (no floor) Hydra: Floorless. There is a pattern.

NO questions please, just choose.

Beg. Borrow. And steal!

They have liturally just bought a tonne of cheap rollercoasters for the sake of it! This is the type of park which will have a bad accident in a few years time.

Jimmy

Somehow Nemesis Inferno. I had a great ride in the back row in the rain and it was awesome. Only mildly wet due to being in the back row, but it was insanely fast and massive g force the whole way round. Smooth as well.

They needed the netting to ensure the cars don't fly off the slide. Think back to RCT3 water slides with the nets.

Relating back to TPR videos, if they give you credit for the video, is it OK? I saw a Lad Bible video of your coverage of the new revolution on dare Devils dive but they gave the credit for it.

Thanks for the support but it seems to me that it is not going to happen. Kind of annoying being so close to some amazing coasters and not for the first time. Still it looks like a great park and maybe as an adult if I hated enough money I might be able to go. On another note, why did Robb refer to the special coke machines there being unique to Holland?

Why do you want to go when there are kids there? Oh Henry! NAH! NAH! NAH! I did not really think of it like that. I just would have thought it would be better when kids were AT school. Yeah ... It was a pretty dumb think to say...