Monthly Archives: November 2013

When Kids are a Problem

Working at a theme park you have to deal with many issues and incidents and small children feature high on the list of problems. I worked at Thorpe Park where there a few attractions for the youngsters which caused problems for the parents who wanted to ride the coasters. The park operated a parent swap system enabling parents to ride in turn without the second one having to queue but clearly many people wanted to ride together. Continue reading

Great Queue Lines

Nobody relishes a long wait in line before they get the chance to experience an attraction. Long queues also put a serious dent in the number of rides you can fit into your day causing more frustration. It can be really depressing crawling around endless twists and turns wondering when your ordeal will end. Most queue lines are pretty uninspired and do nothing to alleviate the boredom but occasionally you find a much better experience and the line truly becomes part of the overall experience. Continue reading

Is the Merlin Annual Pass a Good Investment?

I won’t beat around the bush here. If you are frequent visitor to Theme parks in the UK the Merlin Annual Pass is a no brainer. With four of the UK’s theme parks and many other visitor attractions being operated by Merlin Entertainments the Annual Pass can prove to be great value and you don’t have to make many visits to justify the cost. Continue reading

Apocalypse

I have to admit that on the occasion of my last visit to Six Flags Magic Mountain I was so focused on riding Tatsu and X2 that I hadn’t given much thought to anything else. There had been several new rides constructed since my last visit but I hadn’t given them any thought so it came as a great surprise when Apocalypse turned out to be my favourite attraction at the park. Continue reading

Stealth

stealth close

I have to admit to a fair amount of bias regarding this ride as I worked on it for three years and it was certainly my favourite place to be every day. Stealth was built in 2006 and remains the most popular ride at Thorpe Park despite the arrival of Saw the Ride and the Swarm. The 205ft structure is visible from miles away and I still look up whenever I pass it. Continue reading

A New Kind of Hitler

When working at a theme park health and safety concerns are paramount and one must always be acutely aware of potential danger. The parks tend to employ a lot of young people who can become rather distracted and wrapped up in the fun of it all. Those in a supervisory or management position must try to keep things running smoothly and safely. Various managerial techniques are employed but my own preference is for using a pterodactyl! Continue reading

Winter Wonderland

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If you live in the UK and are depressed that the theme parks are closed for the winter then take heart because Winter Wonderland opens its doors once more 22 November. This enormous homage to all things festive can be found in Hyde Park, London and offers plenty of attractions for everyone to enjoy. OK it is not a theme park but there are themed areas and plenty of rides and if past years are anything to go by you can have a thoroughly good day or evening out at Winter Wonderland. Continue reading

Another Season Ends

November is here and in addition to signalling the imminent arrival of Christmas this is the month when the British Theme parks close for the season.  After the relative excitement of the Halloween period it is a time when enthusiasts must face months away from their favourite attractions. They can usually then cheer themselves up with the anticipation of new rides being built for the following season. Except that next year there don’t appear to be any! Continue reading

Ride Specific Uniforms

When I was working at a theme park we all wore the same rather boring uniform regardless of the ride we were staffing. I found this rather disappointing and was very jealous of the staff at other parks who had ride specific uniforms. I always felt that these must help immensely when it came to acting the part whatever that might be and I couldn’t help thinking that the special uniforms were much better for the overall look of the park. The only thing that made me feel better about my uniform were the hideous neon green shirts the staff at Six Flags Magic Mountain were forced to wear! Continue reading

More Trouble at The Smiler

My goodness it is only a week since I wrote about the dangers of falling debris from theme park rides and now there have been two further high profile incidents. To make matters worse both events occurred on the same ride! The Smiler at Alton Towers is closed again as this ride, which appears to be cursed, has suffered failures to both the structure and the ride car. Continue reading