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Thorpe Park is known as the 'Nations Thrill Capital' located in Kent, UK. After working the night shift my friends and I decided to drive the hour and a half to Thorpe Park for the day, and what a day! The sun was shining and the schools hadn't finished for summer.
We started the day off by only paying £18 (what a bargin) to enter the park with 2 for 1 special tickets that gets you access to 30+ rides and attractions.
The first ride of the day was stealth, which launches you 205ft up into the air, going from 0 - 80mph in 1.8 seconds. (Holding the record for the fastest acceleration in Europe). All I can say is OMG! Going that fast in such a short space of time sent shivers down my spine. If you ever visit Thorpe Park this is a must.
We queued up for all the must do rides:
Detonator winches you 100ft up, then fires you back to earth at 75km an hour
Tidal Wave is an 85ft drop through water
Nemesis Inferno is a suspended rollercoaster featuring a jounrey through the heart of an erupting volcano.
While letting our lunch settle we tried our luck at winning a soft toy from the arcades section. You know what it's like, you start one game and then you become addicted until you win. We eventually won 2 soft toys (a purple dolphin and a crazy shark) after paying about £15. It's the fun that counts!!!
Finally one of Thorpe Parks flagship rides and my main attraction of the day was COLOSSUS!! Currently a record breaking 10 vertical loops (the highest number of inversions in the world), this rollorcoaster made the list of top rollorcoasters to ride before you die.
What can I say? We had been queuing for rides all day and wasted a lot of time, so we decided to buy Fasttrack tickets for £3, which lets you on the ride at a certain time instead of queuing. The best decision we made all day!!
We arrived at Colossus at 3pm our designated time and waited for about 5 minutes. Upon entering the station, the dramatic music really helps to build the suspense. Before you know it you are in your seat about to set off. We climb up the lift and off we go for a minute of madness.
If you ever go on this ride I need to warn you!! Going though the corkscrew section you head bangs against the sides of the restrictor causing serious pain. You may need to bring padding!
All in all I would rate Colossus as a 7/10 but definitely a must if you are in the UK. I have now completed 1/6 of the rollorcoasters suggested in the book. I think a trip to the USA is in order.
Which rollorcoaster's have you completed from the list????
9 July 2010 at 19:00
Very cool! Jealous of your riding the Collosus! I love roller coasters and actually did a little roller coaster tour myself last summer, riding Top Thrill Dragster (once a record holder for tallest and fastest, but now that goes to Kingda Ka) and The Beast, which is the longest wooden roller coaster. Unfortunately, Son of Beast was closed; they've had a lot of problems/injuries with that one and word on the street that its going to be dismantled. We were at Cedar Point, which has some of the tallest, fastest rides on the planet, and one that is tops for angle of descent, the Maverick, which initally descends at a 95 degree angle! Next year, I think I might be headed to Pennsylvania for some more record holding roller coasters.
10 July 2010 at 04:01
I love rollercoaster too!!! I think I need to visit the USA because all the ones over here aren't scary anymore.
I am planning a coast to coast trip next year so I may have to use theme parks to help with a route.
Where do you recommend going?
13 July 2010 at 11:22
I've been on Colossus several times now and although it's not the best ride out there, it's deffinately worth doing!
Do you mind if I add a link to your site on my page?
13 July 2010 at 14:07
Last time I went to Thorpe Park I told myself I couldn't leave without going on Stealth...So me and the only other friend who would do it with me queued up for ages and ended up going RIGHT AT THE FRONT. It was over so quickly, but the impact left us shaking and completely lost for words for a good few minutes afterwards. Going, "It was just...just...yeah...I'm mean....wow :O."
13 July 2010 at 15:45
Stealth just went by in a flash! If I had more time at the park I would have definatly gone on it again.
Mytoon it would be great if you put a link on your page. I will return the favour when I get round to adding links!