Screaming at Thorpe Park

With Stealth, Saw, Colossus and the Swarm amongst a variety of other thrilling rides, Thorpe Park is THE place for thrill seekers that love being propelled at force, upside down and round in circles at high speed.

But there's more to the park that meets the eye. Thorpe Park is a theme park "resort" located between Chertsey and Staines off the M25. The park is themed like a haunted Island with volcanoes, jungles and a bee infested plane crash site.

There's also water rides, dodgems and a smaller rollercoaster for those who aren't into big thrills!

A friend and I visited Thorpe Park in the middle of June and were surprised by the short wait times for many of the big rides. When visiting in peak summer, school holidays and weekends, you can easily expect queues of up to 2 hours for many of the big rides! Having said this, we did wait two hours for the brand new ghost train, which was advertised everywhere from the park website to pizza boxes in supermarkets...despite all the hype, we were disappointed once on the ride as the acting wasn't a good as it should have been...I won't reveal any more as I'd hate to spoil the fun for any of you out there crazy enough to try it for yourselves...

Despite this disappointing ride, we enjoyed all the others so much we went on them several times! Whilst the vertical drop on "Saw: The Ride" and extending over the track on "The Swarm" were my favourites, Ellie enjoyed the adrenaline rush of the high speed "Stealth" which accelerates from 0-80mph in only 3 seconds!

The ride "X" was another favourite and a great way to start the day off at a (slightly) slower pace in the dark with lights and music.

Unlike the other times I visited Thorpe Park on school trips, we decided to turn this trip into a mini break and stay in the "Thorpe Shark Hotel" in the park for one night. We managed to get an incredible deal through the official website and got 25% off our stay and our 2nd day in the park free. This meant that the break was an absolute steal at £55pp. including breakfast and parking.

Whilst the rooms in the hotel were rather on the small side (perfect for 2 people but a bit pokey for a family of 4) 1 double bed, a set of bunk beds and a small wet room, they were clean and comfy and the shark theme was really fun! An advantage of staying in the hotel is you get to be one of the first ones in the park as soon as it opens as well as having a free fast pass ticket for the 1st hour of the second day. The full cooked breakfast was pretty yummy too!

Eating in the evening was really easy as "Fin's Bar and Grill" is open passed closing hours for hotel guests to enjoy a meal. Ellie and I both had burgers which were really tasty and not a bad price considering the restaurant's theme park location. Plus, the second day we had "donut sundaes" from the "Donut Factory" in the park which were delicious! Who wouldn't want a warm donut topped with whipped ice cream, apple sauce and cinnamon sugar sprinkles for lunch? They also do a Strawberry Cheesecake and Millionaire's Shortbread one!

So? My top tips for Thorpe Park?

1. As with any other theme park, planning in advance is a major advantage. Take a look at the park website and decide which rides you'd really like to go on, that way if the queues are really long you can prioritise those rides.

2. Make use of the special offers! There are so many offers around for the park that let you have a free 2nd day or even a free second ticket (you can get those on the side of Cadbury's packets...)

3. As with many other theme parks, they are slightly quieter first thing in the morning as just before closing so use all the time in the park. Go on the biggest rides first and save the smaller, water rides for the middle of the day when the queues for the big rides would be unbearable.

4. Even though the park is a reasonable size, it is really easy to navigate as all the big rides can be seen from a distance. If you're looking for a smaller ride such as the Rapids, find out which big rollercoaster they are close to (by looking at a map which are located on stands around the park) and walk towards the ride that way.

5. It's definitely worth visiting the park during the week, not in school holidays because it is quieter, having said this some of the rides were shut for renovation when we went, but because we were there for 2 days, we did manage to go on all the rides.

Fancy booking your own trip to Thorpe Park? I can book theme park tickets for amazing prices! Contact me today to book yours and get some exclusive tips before you go!