Why is our first ever visit to Thorpe Park Resort such a big deal? And why are we looking forward to it the most this year?
Ever since first becoming an enthusiast there has always been one park at the very top of my list to visit, however due to personal reasons it has always been just that little bit out of reach! That is until NOW!!!
This weekend (Saturday the 8th of August and Sunday the 9th of August) a 15 year long battle will finally be won as I finally get the courage to make the trip I have dreamed about making for so long it’s almost embarrassing!
Ever since an early age I have struggled with severe anxiety, and one extension of this is travel related anxiety! The fear of the unknown and the lack of ability to move past this and expand my horizons.
Well, that was until around 2 years ago when I finally mustered the confidence to make the 3 hour drive from my home town to Drayton Manor!
Now this may seem silly, however to me this personal goal not only gave me a new found sense of achievement, however it also finally made me realise one thing, If I put my mind to it and trust in myself then moving outside of the travelling comfort zone I had set myself was perfectly possible.
The following year (2019) I finally made my own way to Alton Towers which again was something I had always wanted to do, therefore this year – 2020 I aim to conquer my biggest personal goal yet! I am going to muster the inner strength and confidence to finally set aside my panic and put my foot to the metal as I make the longest drive I have ever faced yet and finally set my feet firmly on the plaza of my top UK bucket list park – Thorpe Park Resort!!
Now, as we all know Thorpe Park is home to not only the UK’s fastest roller coaster, however it is also home to to extremely unique rides overall.
These include the likes of the UK’s only B&M Wing Coaster – The Swarm, the UK’s only horror IP themed roller coaster – Saw: The Ride and one ride which I simply have to ride no matter how rough others have made it out to be – Colossus!
These are all rides which have sat firmly at the top of my bucket list for quite some time, and this weekend all of that will change!
But why all the excitement? And why is all of this such a big deal? Well, 1 reason really – Anxiety can be crippling!
The effects that Anxiety can have can on you range from physical pain at the most extreme to severe nerves, a sheer lack of will to move beyond your ‘safe zone’ and an overall constant state of dread and despair!
Trust me when I say this – It takes a huge amount of inner strength and courage to move past this, however as I have found in recent years the more personal belief you have in your own ability to do so, the more likely you are to achieve said goal.
As all of you who have stood and looked up your most fear ride prior to setting foot on it for the first time will know all too well, after riding that ride the sheer sense of exhilaration and achievement you get from doing so is immense, and this will therefore be same feeling I will experience from setting foot on the plaza for the first time this coming weekend!
Now then, enough about all of that, let’s move on. Which rides am I looking forward to riding the most this coming weekend?
Well then, that’s actually a tricky one to pin, however one ride which I am very much looking forward to trying out for the first time is Colossus!
Now I know exactly what you will be thinking right now “wait a minute, what?!”. Well the reason for that is simply this, It will give me my first official taste of what I will have to look forward to from Flamingo Land’s new addition next season when it finally opens to the public.
There is however one ride which tops that and that’s Saw: The Ride.
As many of you who have followed TPI for a long time will know, we absolutely adore everything horror! So much so, that Halloween is in effect our Christmas (weird we know lol)!
Ever since hearing about this fantastic addition making it’s debut back in 2009 I have been absolutely adamant I would eventually experience it for myself, and couple the fact we are huge fact that I have a huge soft spot for the horror franchise the ride is based on it’s safe to say that experiencing Saw: The Ride this coming weekend is top of my list of things to do as soon as possible.
I therefore plan to start my day on Saw, then make my way to Colossus and so on and so forth.
The other two main coasters however which are also top of my creds to get list are the phenomenon that is Stealth – the park’s 205 ft tall 80 mph launched Intamin Accelerator coaster and The Swarm – The 2015 UK’s only B&M Wing Coaster!
Although the temptation is there to just start my day on both of those I do as they say want to leave the best until last!
Stealth ranks highly in my Top 10 Bucket List Coasters which I will include the following link to should you want to check them out and this therefore means that I truly can’t wait to experience this and all other additions to the park for myself this coming weekend!;
There are however some rides and attractions I will not be able to experience this coming weekend due to the current pandemic and I can’t begin to stress how gutted I am about this!
That does however mean I have more than one reason to make a return visit to the resort either later this year (depending on how this weekend goes) or next season instead (once things have hopefully improved).
The rides I was most looking forward to riding other than the ones stated above were Derren Brown’s Ghost Train (Which again is another top must do personal choice for me) and Walking Dead: The Ride (the rethemed former X: No way out! also known as the Thorpe Park Rave Coaster).
With these attractions being currently closed it does present me with a reason to make another visit in the near future once both have reopened and as such I fully intend on making this happen as soon as they both open once more.
The one other thing we are also looking forward to the most is seeing how good old Nemmy Inferno stacks up against her predecessor, and with this ride being featured on the the Inbetweeners (which I am also a huge fan of by the way lol) it’s safe to say a ride or two (if possible) on this wouldn’t go a miss either.
In short Visiting this weekend will not only mark a huge personal landmark and achievement for me, however it will also give me the chance to ride some of my most sought after rides in the last ten years and for that alone I truly can’t wait to make my way south and step foot on ‘the island like no other’ for the very first time this coming weekend!
Make sure you join us over on our official Facebook page throughout both days for plenty of LIVE updates, photos and more as we share all of our first reactions and thoughts on the some of the UK’s most intense rides to date.
We will also be featured in Coaster Gen’s Thorpe Park vlogs too when they drop next week so don’t forget to follow the link below and check out their channel when it does!
For now however, BRING ON THE WEEKEND!!!
* All of the above images and title image were supplied by our great friends over at Coaster Gen!
We would like to offer huge thanks for allowing us to use these as the photography is absolutely first class.
Be sure to check them out on the following link;