Ah yes, the old 'what's next for Thorpe Park?' discussion. We've been here many times. Of course, after such a long hiatus of major investment into the place, saying that 'something might get built in the next 3 years' isn't too much of a stretch. Like Poke' says, roll the dice enough times and eventually you might drop lucky.
And once again, the prospect of a B&M hyper is front and centre in the debate. Yes, a B&M hyper would be absolutely perfect for Thorpe Park, it would be absolutely perfect for the UK coaster scene and, dare I say it, it wouldn't harm the European coaster scene either seeing as there's only 2 of the things on this side of the pond. It grieves me that there's more metre-age of B&M hyper track in Carowinds alone than there is in the whole of Europe!
And also, yes, if you're gonna go to the trouble and expense of building a B&M hyper at Thorpe, it would kinda make sense to go all out and claim the UK height record. With T'ultimate gone, you could claim the UK length record too, maybe. And if you've got the UK height record, then the UK speed record would probably come with it by default. Sounds wonderful.
I mean, if I woke up one day and was the boss of Thorpe Park, the very first thing I'd do would be to phone Claude or Walter and say 'Dude, I'm sending you a blank cheque, please build me a British Shambhala, asap.', because I know full well that that would be an instant and enormous success. It just would. Of course it would. Even if the Staines Massif were wary of it at first, the sheer number of goons flocking in from all over the Western world to ride it would more than make up the visitor numbers. You know it, I know it, and everyone who's ever ridden a (*good) B&M hyper knows it.
I suspect even Merlin know it too.
So why won't they do it? Why didn't they do it years ago??
Well... durrr, isn't it obvious? It's money innit. B&M hypers are expensive. Like, super expensive. I mean, just the sheer volume of steel involved makes them expensive by their very nature. Especially if you're gonna try and build a Shambhala beater - you've gotta be talking about £30 mill' for one of those bad boys, right?
Ok, so what if they scaled it back a bit and built something a bit smaller, something more akin to, say, Mako? Yes, it would still be a B&M hyper, it would still be that crucial airtime machine that Thorpe (and the UK) needs and it would still be a bloomin' good coaster. I've not ridden Mako but I hear it's decent (might even be Matt N's number 1, not sure
). And, crucially, with a third less steel involved it would be significantly cheaper than a Shambhala beating monster.
But would it have the necessary impact, or marketability of something huge? Hmm, not sure. You wouldn't be able to claim any UK records with a Mako.
So where does that leave us? Well, suppose I'm the boss of Thorpe Park again. Suppose I had £20 million to spend, and on the phone to Claude he said 'A Shambhala is gonna cost you £30 mil' mate. For £20 mil' the best I can do is a Mako, and that's only cos I like you'. Then what?
Well, in that case I'd be on the phone to Intamin: 'Dude, I'm sending you a cheque for £20 mil', please build me a Kondaa asap'.
Forget about the height, speed and length records - you've still got that large, airtime filled, EGF/Goliath beating, killer ride that Thorpe (and the UK) really needs and goons will come flocking in from all over the Western world to come and ride it. With it being Intamin you could get them to throw in some wacky, world-first element too so the marketing boys don't have a meltdown.
In fact, the more I think about it, the more I like this idea. But it's still not my prediction for what
will happen. I still don't think Merlin would shell out £20 million on a Thorpe coaster. But let's go back to UK height, speed and length records for a moment. We know that a record breaking
steel coaster is probably asking a bit much, but what about wood? 'The UK's Longest, Tallest, Fastest Wooden Roller Coaster' has Thorpe Park written all over it and is a much more attainable target. In fact, it'd be a piece of piss - something the size of Troy or Wodan would comfortably do the job. What the hell, you could make it the
steepest one too. No expensive theming required, no flaming effigies, no elaborate pre-show, just a kick-ass, airtime filled, decent length woodie with a ready-made tagline and USP built in. And all for (probably) less than 15 million quid. Bargain! It really is such a no-brainer that I find it incomprehensible they haven't done it already. And if they're not careful, somewhere like Paultons could quite easily beat them to it.
So that's my prediction. Not British Shambhala, sadly, but a woodie, probably (but not necessarily) a GCI, one that claims a handful of UK wooden coaster records.
And you know what? I think I'd be fairly happy with that outcome.
and the fast food stalls (especially the bloody chicken shop) always seem busier… But I do know the real money is still made during the holidays and events following… When fast track queues (almost 100% profit) restaurants, bars, hotels AND shops are full! 
