Matt N
CF Legend
I’m not sure if the horror themes is it, as Alton Towers has done a very similar thing for years and remains successful.
I think it could have something to do with Thorpe’s lack of family appeal, however; the key difference between Thorpe and Alton is that despite the fact that both parks actively target thrill seekers, Alton arguably has a wider appeal, with more family rides as well as thrill rides; it’s always been touted as a destination for everyone and has been very successful at delivering this.
By comparison, Thorpe pretty much went for thrill seekers only from about the dawn of the new millennium onwards, with this motive accelerating once Merlin took over and changed the branding. As a knock-on effect, that meant that a lot of families were alienated and went to one of the other more family-orientated parks nearby, such as Chessington, Legoland or Paultons.
Now I’m not saying that Thorpe Park pursuing thrill seekers and being a thrill park is a bad thing, because I’d argue that the country does lack true thrill parks to a degree; the only UK parks I can think of that still actively target thrill seekers are Thorpe, Alton and BPB (possibly Flamingo Land, as well, as they have put in the 10-looper for this year), so it is comparatively a gap in the market when compared with parks aimed at young families, which there are quite a few of even in Thorpe’s near vicinity alone. There have been plenty of parks across the world that have been hugely successful at being thrill parks, such as Cedar Point and the Walibi parks.
However, I think what the more successful thrill parks have that Thorpe lacks is a solid backbone of family rides. Take Cedar Point as an example; they are known for their collection of thrill rides, but they also have tons and tons of family rides as well, making the park’s appeal very broad. While Thorpe Park does have family rides, there aren’t an awful lot in comparison to the thrill rides, especially in terms of major-scale family rides.
So my point is; I don’t think the park’s decision to target thrill seekers was a bad thing, but I do think they might benefit from having more family rides, especially ones of a major scale. Maybe target the park towards thrill-seeking families with older children as opposed to just the 18-30 age range and introduce some more introductory thrill rides; I think something like a GCI would be nice. Thrilling enough for enthusiasts, but not intimidating enough to scare away less confident riders, and a low height restriction makes them have a wide appeal.
I do think something like a B&M hyper would work nicely at Thorpe, however, so as to give the park a true icon in the way that the Big One is for Blackpool Pleasure Beach. They’re probably the only park in the country that could feasibly build one.
I think it could have something to do with Thorpe’s lack of family appeal, however; the key difference between Thorpe and Alton is that despite the fact that both parks actively target thrill seekers, Alton arguably has a wider appeal, with more family rides as well as thrill rides; it’s always been touted as a destination for everyone and has been very successful at delivering this.
By comparison, Thorpe pretty much went for thrill seekers only from about the dawn of the new millennium onwards, with this motive accelerating once Merlin took over and changed the branding. As a knock-on effect, that meant that a lot of families were alienated and went to one of the other more family-orientated parks nearby, such as Chessington, Legoland or Paultons.
Now I’m not saying that Thorpe Park pursuing thrill seekers and being a thrill park is a bad thing, because I’d argue that the country does lack true thrill parks to a degree; the only UK parks I can think of that still actively target thrill seekers are Thorpe, Alton and BPB (possibly Flamingo Land, as well, as they have put in the 10-looper for this year), so it is comparatively a gap in the market when compared with parks aimed at young families, which there are quite a few of even in Thorpe’s near vicinity alone. There have been plenty of parks across the world that have been hugely successful at being thrill parks, such as Cedar Point and the Walibi parks.
However, I think what the more successful thrill parks have that Thorpe lacks is a solid backbone of family rides. Take Cedar Point as an example; they are known for their collection of thrill rides, but they also have tons and tons of family rides as well, making the park’s appeal very broad. While Thorpe Park does have family rides, there aren’t an awful lot in comparison to the thrill rides, especially in terms of major-scale family rides.
So my point is; I don’t think the park’s decision to target thrill seekers was a bad thing, but I do think they might benefit from having more family rides, especially ones of a major scale. Maybe target the park towards thrill-seeking families with older children as opposed to just the 18-30 age range and introduce some more introductory thrill rides; I think something like a GCI would be nice. Thrilling enough for enthusiasts, but not intimidating enough to scare away less confident riders, and a low height restriction makes them have a wide appeal.
I do think something like a B&M hyper would work nicely at Thorpe, however, so as to give the park a true icon in the way that the Big One is for Blackpool Pleasure Beach. They’re probably the only park in the country that could feasibly build one.
