16 Aug 2025
Thorpe Park has some brilliant rides – the line-up really is strong and that’s what makes the park worth visiting. However, the biggest problem is the clear understaffing, which causes unnecessary delays and frustration. For example, on Nemesis the staff member responsible for counting people onto the ride wasn’t there, meaning trains were being sent out with lots of empty seats, making the queue times even worse than they should have been.
Queue management also needs some serious improvement, especially with RAP and fast pass systems. On Detonator, there were only about 16 people ahead of us in the queue, yet we still waited 35 minutes because the main queue was only used to fill occasional spaces after RAP and fast pass guests had been loaded. This makes the regular queue feel painfully slow and poorly managed.
Food and drink prices are now frankly extortionate, so it wasn’t surprising to see lots of people bringing their own picnics instead. Parking was another big frustration – when we arrived a few hours after opening, the one-way system was confusing, there were no attendants around to direct traffic, and it was very unclear how to find available spaces.
Overall, the rides themselves are great, but the organisation and operations really let the experience down. With better staffing, clearer planning, and fairer pricing, Thorpe Park could be so much better.