Thorpe Park

This article is about the British theme park. For the Lincolnshire village, see Thorpe Park, Lincolnshire.

Thorpe Park

File:ThorpeParkLogo.gif
Location	Chertsey, Surrey, United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°24′17″N 0°30′47″W
Opened	24 May 1979
Owner	Nick Leslau, leased to Merlin Entertainments
Slogan	The Nation's Thrill Capital
Operating season	17 March 2011 to 6 November 2011
Area	500 acres (2.0 km2)
Attractions
Total	33
Roller coasters	6
Water rides	5
Website	www.thorpepark.com

Thorpe Park is a theme park located in Chertsey, Surrey, England, UK. It was built in 1979 on the site of a gravel pit which was partially flooded, the intention of creating a water based theme for the park. The park's first large roller coaster, Colossus, was added in 2002. In 2007, Tussauds was bought out by Merlin Entertainments, who now operate the park on a lease from Nick Leslau.

Some of the major attractions at Thorpe Park include:

• Nemesis Inferno, a B&M inverted roller coaster featuring interlocking corkscrews a pre-lift section themed around a volcano.
• Colossus, an Intamin multi-looping rollercoaster with a record breaking 10 inversions.
• SAW: The Ride, a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter themed around the Saw franchise.
• Stealth, a launched roller coaster which accelerates to 130 kilometres per hour (81 mph) in approximately 1.9 seconds.
• X:\ No Way Out, an enclosed rollercoaster that travels backwards through the dark.
• Loggers Leap, the tallest log flume in the UK from 1989–1993 and from 2005–present.
• Tidal Wave, a 'Shoot the Chute' water ride.
• Storm Surge, a spinning raft ride said to be built by hillbillies. New for 2011. Dismantled and moved from Cypress Gardens USA (the now Merlin-owned LegoLand Florida).

In 2009, the park had 1.87 million visitors, making it the second most visited theme park in the United Kingdom, after Alton Towers with 2.7 Million Visitors. It was the 11th most visited in Europe.

Ride Guide

Colour	Target Audience
	Thrill ride
	Family ride
	Children's ride

Roller Coasters

#	Name	Opened	Park Area	Description
1	Colossus	2002	Lost City	Intamin roller coaster with a record-breaking 10 inversions...featuring Corkscrews, Cobra Rolls, and In-Line Twists.
2	Flying Fish	1983	Amity Cove
3	Nemesis Inferno	2003	Calypso Quay	Bolliger & Mabilard Inverted Coaster based around the Theming of a Large Volcano that's waiting to erupt...features Interlocking Corkscrews, Zero-G Roll and the longest Pre-lift hill section in the world.
4	SAW - The Ride	2009	SAW Island	Gertslauer Eurofighter Coaster themed around the SAW Horror Movie Franchise, features one of the steepest incline drops in the world, at a scary height of 100ft.
5	Stealth	2006	Amity Cove	Intamin Powered Launched Coaster taking riders from 0–80 miles per hour (0–129 km/h) in 2.1 secs reaching a height of 205 ft (62 m) with a bunny hill finishing the ride.
6	X:\ No Way Out	1996	Lost City	A Vekoma roller coaster that goes backwards in the dark.

Thrill Rides

#	Name	Opened	Park Area	Description
7	Detonator	2001	Calypso Quay	Drop Tower
8	Rush	2005	Lost City	A ride with 2 swings which can hold up to 32 people per ride, takes you up to 75ft.
9	Samurai	2004	Lost City
10	SAW Alive	2010	SAW Island	A all year round live action horror maze themed to the SAW series of movies.
11	Slammer	2005	Canada Creek	An S&S Power Sky Swat, similar to a fly swat action in the air.
12	Vortex	2001	Lost City	A KMG Afterburner flat ride.

Water Rides

#	Name	Opened	Park Area	Description
15	Depth Charge	1991	Neptune's Kingdom	Dingy water slide racers.
16	Loggers' Leap	1989	Canada Creek	Canadian themed log flume.
17	Neptune's Beach		Neptune's Kingdom	Paddling pool area and sand-pit area for young children, with a few small slides. It is separated into 2 sections, with the second section only opening if the "beach" is very crowded.
18	Rumba Rapids	1987	Calypso Quay
19	Storm Surge	2011	Amity Cove	64-foot (20 m) spiralling 'team' raft water slide.
20	Tidal Wave	2000	Amity Cove	Giant flume set within the New Hampshire setting of Amity Cove.
21	Wet Wet Wet	1998	Neptune's Kingdom	Set of bodyslides for young children.

Family Rides

#	Name	Opened	Park Area	Description
22	Canada Creek Railway	1989	Canada Creek	Miniature railway with a 'Count the bears' on-route activity
23	Chief Ranger's Carousel	1994	Ranger County
24	Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride	1994	Ranger County
25	Rocky Express	1989	Canada Creek
25	Storm in a Teacup	1986	Amity Cove
26	Time Voyagers	2008	Calypso Quay	4D Cinema film with waterjets, moving seats and 3D glasses.

History

Thorpe Park is situated on the site of a former quarry on the border between Chertsey and Egham in Surrey. Then owners Ready Mixed Concrete Limited flooded the site after the quarry's closure in the late 1970s, with the intention of opening an educational leisure park. When Ready Mix Concrete sold out to CEMEX, a CEMEX UK office opened on grounds owned by the park. On 24 May 1979, Thorpe Park was officially opened by Louis Mountbatten who lent his name to the Mountbatten Pavilion, a large domed structure located at the entrance to the park. At this early stage in the park's history, the complex consisted of educational exhibitions such as Model World, a collection of famous structures from around the world built in 1:36 scale, with the Mountbatten Pavilion housing a standing aircraft display.

In 1998, the park was bought by The Tussauds Group, owner of Alton Towers and Chessington World of Adventures. Due to the latter's proximity to Thorpe Park, Tussauds embarked on a strategy to allow the two parks to cater to different markets: Chessington would be transformed into a family park, and Thorpe Park would cater for the teenage/young adult market.

Timeline

Pre-1987

• Attractions included the Cinema, Magic Mill, Waterbus services, Model World, Railway, Teacups, Nature Trails, Phantom Phantasia, Thorpe Farm and Sunken Gardens.

1983

• Space Station Zero opened.

1987

• Thunder River water ride opened, at a cost of over £2 million.

1988

• The 630 seat Palladium Theatre opened.

1989

• Canada Creek area opened.
  • Loggers Leap (largest log flume in the UK until 1993, and again since 2005) opened.
  • Rocky Express opened.

1990

• Space Station Zero was re-themed into the Flying Fish and moved outdoors.
• Carousel Kingdom opened.
• The Rangers Show opened.
• Drive in the Country opened.

1991

• Fantasy Reef area was refurbished.
  • Depth Charge opened.

1992

• Children's area was refurbished.
  • Viking Rowers opened.
  • Hudson River Rafters opened.

1993

• Calgary Stampede opened.
• Virtual Reality Centre opened.
• Magic Mill closed.

1994

• Ranger County area opened.
  • Carousel opened.
  • Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride opened.

1995

• Mr Rabbit's Tropical Travels opened.
• Miss Hippo's Fungle Safari opened.
• Drive in the country closed.

X:\ No Way out

1996

• X:\ No Way Out, the world's first dark backwards roller coaster, opened.

1998

• The Tussauds Group purchased the park.
• Palladium Theatre closed.
• Ranger Show closed.
• Dare Devil Drivers opened.
• Wet Wet Wet! opened.

1999

• Pirates 4D, a 4D cinema attraction starring Leslie Nielsen, opened.
• Carousel Kingdom closed.
• Viking Rowers closed.

Tidal Wave's splash

2000

• 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.
• "Dino Boats" closed.
• On 21 July a major fire broke out in the centre of the park.
  • The fire destroyed The Wicked Witches Haunt (previously known as Fantom Fantasia) and the inside area of Mr Rabbit's Tropical Travels. The Wicked Witches Haunt was closed immediately. Mr Rabbit's Tropical Travels was reopened until the end of the 2001 season; it was then demolished to make way for the 2003 rollercoaster, Nemesis Inferno.
  • A Huss Enterprise was drafted in as a replacement.

The Enterprise was renamed Zodiac to fit with the Lost City theming

2001

• The Lost City area was established, with the Enterprise (now 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.

2002

• 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.

2003

• 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 Spider- man 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.

2004

• Eclipse closed mid season due to a lack of riders, having lasted just over one season. It was moved to Chessington and was renamed 'Peeking Heights'.
• Samurai, a Mondial Top Scan moved from Chessington, opened.
• New Spiderman show opened.
• Tea Cup Twisters rethemed to 'Storm in a Tea Cup' to fit with nearby Amity Cove's theming.
• Flying Fish closed at the end of the season to make way for Stealth in 2006.

Samurai which was moved from Chessington

2005

• Slammer, an S&S Sky Swat, opened on 26 March, 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.

2006

• Stealth, an Intamin Accelerator Coaster which launches riders from 0–80 miles per hour (0–129 km/h) in 2.3 seconds, opened with the park on 15 March. A 'Ride It First' competition was held with the lucky winners experiencing Stealth before it opened to the rest of the guests.
• Zodiac was replaced by another Enterprise, sourced from Drayton Manor.
• StreetXtreme replaced Stuntzmania in the Arena.

Slammer

2007

• Flying Fish returned, located between Tidal Wave and Wet Wet Wet.
• Thorpe Farm closed, mainly due to a lack of visitors.
• Canada Creek Railway reopened as a small circuit around Canada Creek, and it no longer travelled to Thorpe Farm. The railway takes a bear hunt where riders spot models of bears around the journey.
• Ribena's sponsorship contract ended and so 'Ribena Rumba Rapids' changed its name to 'Rumba Rapids'. The ride remained unchanged.
• Stealth was 'upgraded'. The ride now accelerates from 0–80 miles per hour (0–129 km/h) in 1.8 seconds; previously it had been 2.3 seconds.
• No show was hosted in the Arena, although the Se7en scare maze was still hosted there in Fright Nights.
• The park started opening for February half term; in previous years the park had not opened for the season until March. During February reduced entrance fees applied, as limited rides were available. Many rides were still closed for winter maintenance.
• X:\ No Way Out was slightly refurbished, with a new storyline added about how 'X Laboratories Facility' lost control of their super-computer, thus sending riders into the strange and disorientating ride. Also, robot dummies and new lighting were added to the queue line and ride.

2008

• New 4D Cinema film "Time Voyagers" opened to replace "Pirates 4D".
• It was announced that Canada Creek Railway would not run for the whole season due to construction of SAW: The Ride.
• The arena was once again used for shows this season after having not been used the previous season.

Saw - The Ride

2009

• SAW - The Ride, a custom Gerstlauer Euro-fighter rollercoaster opened.
• Canada Creek Railway re-opened with an altered route.
• Miss Hippo's Fungle Safari closed.
• Fastrack for Rumba Rapids.
• Thorpe Blast was due to return but was cancelled in August.

2010

• Saw: Alive is opened. This is the park's second Saw-themed attraction, and its first permanent horror maze.
• Two new outlets - Desperados Mexican cantina and The Coffee shack.
• Thorpe Park adopts a new brand image, aimed towards the teenage and young adult market, introducing the 'Fat Heads' mascots. The entrance is repainted and most signage around the park replaced.
• Octopus Gardens closes in September and is demolished to make way for the relocation of Storm Surge from Cypress Gardens in 2011.
• Construction of Storm Surge begins in late September.
• Thorpe Park released an iPhone App. The app displayed information about shopping, food and drink, queue times & the park map as well as various other fun & games.

2011

• Storm Surge opened on 17 March 2011, after being relocated from Cypress Gardens.
• Two new food outlets were opened: Bar 360, replacing 'The Glass House' in the Dome, and Amity Kebabs replacing Amity Bugle in Amity Cove.
• The Official app was updated to display real-time queue times in the park.
• On 5 April a fire broke at park and caused major internal damage at the Saw Alive Maze. The maze is gutted by the fire. On 2 May work started on restoring the attraction.
• Thorpe park blast Returns but now called "blow it up" as advertises on Thorpe Parks website http://thorpepark.com/plan-your-visit/events.aspx
• British wrestling organisation the Frontier Wrestling Alliance (FWA) presented matches over the four day Easter weekend in the Dome in front of thousands of the park's visitors.

2012

• The Swarm is set to open in the Spring. A B&M wingrider set around urban devastation costing £20 million.

Queuelines

Fastrack

Fastrack is the current name for a priority queuing system in place at Thorpe Park as well as other Merlin parks. The system is based on the idea of assigning a limited number of guests a time to ride a particular attraction and allowing them reduced queuing time. The system has worked in a number of ways at the park and under a number of different names. Fastrack is normally popular on busy days and can easily sell out.

The Fastrack queue is a shorter queueline that joins on to the main line - minimising queue time. The visitors have to pay to use the shorter line, and are given tickets to be used at a certain time, letting them enter the Fastrack line.

The first such system to be introduced, which was trialled for three seasons, emerged in the 1990s and attracted attention from BBC programme Tomorrow's World. This system gave guests a pager-like device which beeped when it was their slot on a particular ride.

The Virtual Q system emerged in 2000 and worked by using a number of machines by the entrance to a ride where guests would scan their park tickets and received a printed out a ticket with a time to ride the particular ride. The system was renamed "Fastrack" in 2003.

The current system is based on the "4Play" ticket which was introduced in 2004 as an adjunct to the ticket machine issued Fastrack tickets. The ticket allowed guests to pay £4 and get a non time limited ticket for one Fastrack ride on Colossus, Nemesis Inferno, Tidal Wave and Logger's Leap. The range of rides that Fastrack is offered on has since been extended. From 2006, tickets could be purchased in themed packages or individually. Fastrack tickets are also available for Thorpe Park's Fright Night maze attractions. The current packages available are:

Price (£)	Ticket Name (Each ticket holds one ride per person)
£2-£5	One Shots Stealth Pole Position - £5 Stealth or SAW - The Ride £4.50 SAW Alive £4 Colossus, Nemesis Inferno, Samurai, Rush, Tidal Wave, Loggers Leap, X:/ No Way Out, Storm Surge £3 Flying Fish, Rumba Rapids, Slammer & Vortex £2
£7.50	Hydration - One ride on each of the following: Rumba Rapids, Loggers Leap, Tidal Wave & Storm Surge SAW Package - One ride on each of the following: SAW - The Ride & SAW Alive
£10.50	Extreme - One ride on each of the following: Colossus, Nemesis Inferno X:/ No Way Out & Loggers Leap OR Tidal Wave Accelerator - One ride on each of the following: Stealth, Samurai, Vortex & Rush
£66	Ultimate Fastrack - Unlimited Fastrack rides all day long and one entry pass to SAW Alive

The prices are currently per rider and may only be once. Fastrack tickets are also available for the Fright Night attractions (The Asylum, Hellgate, The Curse and SE7EN) as a bundle for £15.

Single Rider Queue

As another way of aiming to reduce guests' queuing times, Thorpe Park also operates single rider queue lines as an adjunct to Fastrack. Single Rider is available on Stealth every day, and also on Flying Fish on busy days. The Single Rider for Saw - The Ride has currently been removed. The system allows people who don't mind riding alone another way to queue in a separate queue line. If a single spare seat becomes available, then a single rider would be admitted, potentially reducing the queue time. Riders are informed that the single rider queue may be as long as the main queue. Single Rider used to also be available on Detonator, Nemesis Inferno, Tidal Wave, Colossus, Vortex, Quantum and Rush, but was removed from these rides with effect from the 2007 season, and has not returned on these rides since.

Records

Thorpe Park has held, and still continues to hold, a number of records for its rides. These include:

Stealth

• Colossus was the world's first roller coaster to feature ten inversions (the highest number of inversions in the world). It has not been surpassed by any other coaster, but equalled by an identical coaster in China.
• Stealth was previously the fastest rollercoaster in Europe until Furious Baco took the record in 2007. Stealth still holds the record for the fastest acceleration of any roller coaster in Europe (0–80 miles per hour (0–129 km/h) in 1.8 seconds as opposed to Furious Baco's 0–83.9 miles per hour (0.0–135.0 km/h) in 3.5 seconds) and is still tallest and fastest in the UK.
• X:\ No Way Out opened as the world's only roller coaster to travel backwards through darkness for the entire length of the circuit.
• Loggers Leap is the tallest log flume in the UK, although it lost that record for several years to The American Adventure's "Nightmare Niagara", then regained the record when that ride was removed.
• Tidal Wave was the tallest water ride in Europe until 2002 and possibly the wettest water ride in the UK.
• Nemesis Inferno has the longest pre lift section of any inverted B&M coaster in the world, and was the first inverted coaster to feature interlocking wingovers (corkscrews)
• Saw: The Ride is the only rollercoaster themed around a horror movie, and is therefore dubbed as the world's scariest ride. It also holds the record for the rollercoaster with the steepest free-fall drop in the world, at 100 degrees, and third steepest drop overall in the world after Steel Hawg at Indiana Beach in the USA and Mumbo Jumbo at Flamingo Land in the UK. The drops on these latter two roller coasters are controlled by braking fins, whereas the drop on Saw is not, hence it holds the title of steepest free-fall drop.

Music

The music played at Thorpe park is a combination of commercial tracks, library music and commissioned music. Composers such as Crispin Merrell and Ian Habgood have composed music for various attractions including Nemesis Inferno and Colossus, as well as the music for the main entrance. However, in 2010, the usual entrance theme was replaced with chart music.

Saw and Thorpe Park

Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures started their partnership with Thorpe Park in March 2009, when SAW - The Ride opened. After this, during Fright Nights 2009, a film called SAW - MOVIE BITES was shown in the Time Voyagers cinema and SAW music was played around the park. A year-round horror maze based on the franchise, named Saw: Alive, was opened in March 2010. It features recreations of scenes from the movies, using live actors and sensory effects to scare visitors. Located on the plaza in between SAW - The Ride and SAW Alive is a SAW Store.

Future

2011

The park had planned to install a new ride on the former location of Octopus Gardens. This area was previously highlighted as a potential location for a flat ride in the park's medium term development plan. The ride was confirmed as being a spiralling raft ride, located from the recently closed Cypress Gardens in Florida, and known as "Storm Surge". The demolition of the Octopus Gardens area began in September 2010. In February 2011, the park announced that Storm Surge would be built in another area, due to apparent paranormal activity when an ancient burial ground or settlement may have been disturbed during preparations on the originally planned site, although this was revealed to be a publicity stunt.

2012 and beyond

Two new roller coasters are planned and five other rides planned to open between 2012 and 2015.

On 31 January 2011, Thorpe Park submitted a planning application for its 2012 Wing Rider roller coaster, to be manufactured by Bolliger and Mabillard (B&M) of Switzerland named "The Swarm". With a height of 38.6 metres (127 ft), The Swarm will be the second B&M Wing Rider coaster to ever be built. It is to be themed around a crash site, with features such as a broken helicopter and aeroplane to be situated around the ride. The teaser poster for the coaster was released online on 17 December 2010 along with the project codename, "LC12", and the tagline: "The end is coming". The poster depicts a giant mushroom cloud beside a silhouette of Stealth.

On Wednesday 30 March, the plans for The Swarm were approved for construction with full planning consent. At the start of 28 April 2011 marketing of the ride started. Construction of the coaster is due to start in May 2011 for its Spring opening in 2012. On the 3rd of August, it was reported that the first piece of track was delivered to Thorpe Park and was put on the construction site of The Swarm. But only on the 11th August were the track pieces photographed for the first time.

Medium Term Development

Thorpe Park has released plans for a hotel adjacent to its current car park with a boardwalk and 250 rooms as well as a boat service which would link the park to the hotel.

Planning documents outlining other future plans for the park over the period of 2010-2016 were released in early 2010. These plans include updating and extending many facilities; the addition of a few new flat rides within nine potential locations, and two new major roller coasters to be sited within three potential locations. One roller coaster is set to be opened in 2012 (see above) and the other in 2015.

Special events

Fright Nights

Fright Nights, previously named "Frite Nights", is an annual event that has been running at Thorpe Park since 2002. For a period during October the park opens until 10 pm on peak days to allow guests to ride in the dark. To continue the loose Halloween celebration, special temporary attractions such as scare mazes are constructed for the event. Actors in costume and make up are also found around the park, including in the queueline for Saw: The Ride.

In 2011 the park have announced the arrival of a new attraction for the 10th birthday of Fright Nights. "Happy Bloody Birthday Fright Nights returns for its 10th terrifying season. More scares, awesome new Fright Night attraction for 2011, some awesome rides in the dark".

Current yearly attractions

The five main Fright Nights attractions are located around the park. They are usually set up around September and dismantled during February.

• The Asylum is a 'live action horror maze' attraction that has been a part of Fright Nights since 2005, replacing The Freezer. It uses a maze of chicken wire fencing, smoke and strobe lighting to disorentate guests. The Asylum involves various actors, including a patient armed with a chainsaw to chase guests out of the exit.

• Hellgate was introduced in and is located inside the X:\No Way Out pyramid, with the entrance at the rear of the building. The attraction is based on a run down stately home, ruled by the fictional evil spirits of Lady and Lord Denham.

• Se7en open in 2006 is the gruesome third maze, based on the Seven Deadly Sins - lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride. The attraction is situated in the Arena in the centre of the park where a temporary structure is erected inside a tent.

• The Curse was introduced for the 2008 Fright Nights. This maze is based around an old ship wreck that was washed ashore to Amity Cove.

• DEAD END is a 'scare-zone' that was introduced in 2010. It is based around the park's past, and features pieces of 'dead' rides and theming, as well as actors.

• Unknown While the name, theme and whereabouts of the new attraction is unknown we can safely say that something is lurking in the shadows for the 2011 10th anniversary.

Former yearly attractions

• For 2002 only, the stretch of park from Canada Creek through Ranger County was converted into Scare-Zone. Two haunted-mazes, The Freezer and Freakshow 3-D were installed at either end of the area.

• The Freezer ran from 2002 until 2004. The attraction consisted of a maze which was entered through a large freezer-style door. The Freezer was altered slightly for the 2005 season and was renamed The Asylum.

• Freakshow 3-D ran from 2002 until 2004 Guests wore 3D glasses through the maze style attraction.

• Ultimate Horror Movie Bites was a film being shown in the Pirates 4D (now Time Voyagers) cinema featuring clips from The Ring, The Birds, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Haunting.

• Saw - Movie Bites was shown in the Time Voyagers theatre. It featured short clips from the SAW films and was strictly for guests over the age of 18.

In adverts for Fright Nights, the three main roller coasters (Colossus, Stealth, and Nemesis Inferno) are referred to as the "Unholy Trinity"

Thorpe Blast

Thorpe Blast took place after Fright Nights every year in early November. All attractions remained open until 8 pm and a fireworks display with popular music ended the night—hence the name, Thorpe Blast. The event stopped taking place after 2008.

Sun Scream

Sun Scream is a Dr Pepper sponsored period during August which offers 'stunts, rides and festival vibes'. During this time various shows and events take place throughout the park - in 2010 this included karaoke and motorcross show. Cans of Dr Pepper are given out freely during this time and most of the park's theme music is replaced by chart music.

Cirque du Freak/Twisted Carnival

Twisted Carnival, formerly known as Cirque du Freak is an annual event that takes place during Easter and began in 2010. Past acts have included Flawless, Skate Naked, Aerial Acrobatics and contortionism.

The event was renamed Twisted Carnival for the 2011 season, and included performances from:

• Stevie Starr, The Human Regurgitator
• Tobias Mead
• Soul Mavericks
• Babes with Blades
• Halo & Flamo

More performances take around the park, and feature 'twisted' circus acts.

Head Rush

Head Rush is an extreme sporting event involing motocross stunts. Based in the Arena at Thorpe Park you can witness daredevils take to the ramps on motobikes in a freestyle motorcross bonanza. The park is in association with Xtreme Action.

Based from 29 June to 2 June you can view in the Arena at 12.30pm, 1pm, 3.30pm & 5pm.

Thorpe Park in popular culture

• The park itself was used as the setting for Season 2 Episode 3 of Primeval, under the name of the fictional Blue Sky Park.

• The park was also used as a setting for an episode of The Inbetweeners.

• Thorpe Park is also featured in a new television game show 'Scream if You Know the Answer!', which started in early May 2010 on UK satellite channel watch. The second series started in early May 2011.

• Thorpe Park was part of a running gag in the UK Play series, Rock Profile, where it would always be mentioned in the guest's day out. "They took me to Thorpe Park, they gave me a mini milk and then I went to bed!".

• Ride footage of Stealth and SAW: The Ride have appeared at the end of episode 9 of Big Babies.

• Thorpe Park appeared on Embarrassing Bodies in series 4, episode 6.

Controversy

• In 2001, the BBC consumer affairs programme Watchdog featured Thorpe Park for falsely advertising the new Vortex ride as open when it was yet to be built. A short investigation was carried out until Thorpe Park opened the ride later that year.
• In August 2009, the theme park introduced a 'ban' that stopped riders being allowed to put their arms in the air on hot days in an attempt to stop body odour (BO). Comedic signs were put up on the main rollercoasters with the words "Say No to BO," and "Seriously, it's Called Deodorant." Many national and online newspapers reported the act. The 'ban' was in fact never enforced, and was most likely a publicity stunt to gain attention for the Summer.
• After opening Saw: The Ride and Saw: Alive, Thorpe Park came under criticism for making their newest attraction too unsuitable for the young audience that would be allowed to ride them. The horror maze was deemed too gory by some.
• After releasing the plans for the 2012 coaster, codenamed 'LC12', Controversy was raised by BALPA - British Air Line Pilots' Association. BALPA stated the park were tasteless for incorporating a crashed plane into the rides themeing with London Heathrow Airport and Gatwick Airport in close proximity. Alongside this in 1971 there was a plane crash in Staines.

See also

• Merlin Entertainments
• The Tussauds Group
• RMC Group

External links

• Official website
• Merlin Entertainments