THORPE PARK Resort Happy Height Day reviewer thread. Non testers: tell us what makes the ultimate fun day out and you could win THORPE PARK Resort annual family passes worth £196 NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

This is a thread for the 50 Mumsnetters who attended the Happy Height Day at THORPE PARK Resort. Thanks for going, and we hope that you and your family had great day!

Here's what THORPE PARK Resort say: "We see so many excited kids every year who have just reached 1.4m and are now tall enough to have the ride of their lives. At THORPE PARK Resort we're championing this achievement with our Happy Height Day, and celebrating the moment these kids experience a whole new world of thrills!
Whilst we love seeing these kids giddy with excitement to ride on Stealth for the first time, with over 25 rides and attractions throughout the Park and with a new ANGRY BIRDS Land opening in May, there really is so much to keep the whole family entertained. And that includes those under 1.4m"

Below are some questions for you to answer, but do feel free to add any other comments you or your family may have.

Please remember to also write a review of your day on the MN review area here

• Who was in your group and how old are the children?
• Have you been to THORPE PARK Resort before, if so, when?
• What was your, and your family's, overall experience of Happy Height Day?
• What were your/your DCs highlights of the day?
• Which, if any, attractions/ rides would you most recommend to parents with children who have just reached 1.4m in height?
• Overall, would you recommend THORPE PARK Resort to your friends and family if it came up in conversation? If so, why? If not, why not?

Please also upload any photos of your family enjoying their day out THORPE PARK Resort to this thread. Please note photos may be used by THORPE PARK Resort on Facebook, their website and possibly on other marketing material.

For those of you who did not attend Happy Height Day, what makes the ultimate fun day out for you and your family? Everyone who adds a comment will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win THORPE PARK Resort ANNUAL PASSES for a family of four worth £196

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

Getting ready to go.....
Really excited. Can't wait.

were of . fingers crossed bridge quiet

Sounds cool!
My boys said they will back you up if you wanna start a revolution.
Ill have a black buggy containing a ginger toddler, a 22 yr old dd sulky pants and two adult sons

Right, we are off. DC are so excited ( me too!). I dont have a mumsnet scarf, or any naice ham with me BUT If you spot an rather knackered blue Landrover pushchair - please say hello, that's us!

We are here! Yay

Who was in your group and how old are the children?
Me, dh, dd1 (10 and just 140cm!) and dd2 (7).

Have you been to THORPE PARK Resort before, if so, when?
Yes, several times over the past 5 years. Last time was about 2 years ago.

What was your, and your family's, overall experience of Happy Height Day?
Had a fab time. We couldn't stay all day due to dh's work, but managed lots of rides. The car park looked packed, but inside the park it didn't feel like there too many people. Obviously the fast track ticket was extremely useful and I think this helped to make the time we had there well spent. I was interested to discover you could buy a variety of different levels of fast track tickets and think we might buy a fast track ticket next time. Dd2 loved the big Angry Bird in the bag. Managed to buy dd2 a mini Angry Bird in the shop.

What were your/your DCs highlights of the day?
Dd2 and I loved The Flying Fish and went on that several times. Dd1 liked Logger's Leap - I got too wet and was freezing after that one. Dh loved Nemesis Inferno - went on it with dd1.

Which, if any, attractions/ rides would you most recommend to parents with children who have just reached 1.4m in height?
Well, dd1 went on Nemesis Inferno and Collossus. She enjoyed them both. She did not like the look of Stealth!

Overall, would you recommend THORPE PARK Resort to your friends and family if it came up in conversation? If so, why? If not, why not?
Yes. We went to Legoland last weekend and felt ripped off. I know we had free tickets, but the prices are not as high as Legoland and the park seemed cleaner and not as crowded. Dd2, who is about 125cm, went on lots of rides which she loved. I thought there was enough there for the under 140s!

Thank you so much MN. It was brilliant. I wish we could have spent longer there, but we still made it on to quite a few rides. Dd2 loves her big Angry Bird. We are not going away on holiday this year and will definitely be using our annual passes a lot.

We've just arrived back home after a great afternoon out - dd2 had a music exam so we couldn't arrive until lunch time. Will post more when I figure out how to add photos to this thread - we took some while it was sunny. Thank you Mumsnet & Thorpe Park!!!!!

Just back from an amazing day out, thanks to Thorpe Park and to Mumsnet for organising! The boys had the day of their lives and it was really well organised from start to finish. In answer to the questions:

• Who was in your group and how old are the children?

Me and three boys aged 9 and 2 x 10 year olds

• Have you been to THORPE PARK Resort before, if so, when?

Not been before

• What was your, and your family's, overall experience of Happy Height Day?

Fantastic! The extras like the fast passes and the ponchos made it seen really special. We were really treated like VIPs and the staff were very friendly and helpful

• What were your/your DCs highlights of the day?

Highlights were being able to go to the front of every ride, using the vouchers for treats in the shop, and they loved the water rides

• Which, if any, attractions/ rides would you most recommend to parents with children who have just reached 1.4m in height?

The kids were tall for their age, but still quite young, so we went for nemesis, Tidal wave and colossus. They loved the look of the ultimate thrill rides like Swarm and Saw for another time

• Overall, would you recommend THORPE PARK Resort to your friends and family if it came up in conversation? If so, why? If not, why not?

Definitely! It was really well laid out, easy to find, food was reasonable price and the kids had a blast!

Thanks again for a great day!

Who was in your group and how old are the children?
There was me, DH, DS who is 14 and DD 10.

• Have you been to THORPE PARK Resort before, if so, when?

Once before a couple of years ago on fright night.

• What was your, and your family's, overall experience of Happy Height

Day? We had a brilliant day overall, the £50worth of vouchers was fantastic. Used for some lunch, a couple of drinks and an ice cream later in the day. It has made me realise just how much money we spend on a day out. Obviously we spent some money in the shop for kids on way out and some money on the games around the park, which you dont have to do, but its fun fun fun!

• What were your/your DCs highlights of the day?

My highlight of the day was going on Saw with DS and DD. I was terrified but pleased that I did. Im not one for upside down, twisty rides but I secretly loved it. That said, my poor boobs were squished to pancakes. My only gripe on the rides is the bars that come down to hold you in. Honestly, I am not ginormous proportions and am only 5'4 but I did feel like a heifer on one of the rides - think it was Zodiac, couldnt jump into seat (Idid) but the bar was squashing my boobs so much it was sore and the guy wanted to push it down further. So I got off the ride, slightly mortified but Im pleased to say I wasnt the only one who did so!

• Which, if any, attractions/ rides would you most recommend to parents with children who have just reached 1.4m in height?

All the rides are over pretty fast so even if scared its not for too long. If they love roller coasters then there are plenty to choose from. I have to say DS and I are not big adrenalin junkies - we like the mental torture side of things eg on fright night in the mazes. We did go on a few rides though which were fun and as I said previously they were over fast enough for me to be shaken but ok. I was very brave.

DD LOVES and is not fazed in the slightest by anything at Thorpe Park. She has been on everything and loves Stealth, actually she loves it all. She just isnt scared by it and laughs her head off, doesnt feel sick either. Weird child of mine! Cant wait to go back again soon.

• Overall, would you recommend THORPE PARK Resort to your friends and family if it came up in conversation? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes we would recommend Thorpe Park, my DC have outgrown Legoland now and we used to get Merlin Annual passes every year when they were little. It was such an easy day out for us when they were younger.

Not sure how the TP annual passes work and if friends can come along, will look into it. But even then its a good and cheap day out even if friends come too. You dont have to eat in the restaurants, there are picnic tables and even though this was the first open weekend it was busy but not over crowded.

I really liked the fast track pass, that made the day so much better for us. Part of the day out is spent in a queue and I hate that, the kids get fussy and on hot days it can be hell for everyone, so I think we will do fast track again.

Thank you MN and Thorpe Park we had a brilliant, fun day out, despite the coughs, colds and the fact it was freezing today.

I took a hungover DH; DD1 (11 and 144 cm) and DD2 (7 and titchy).
We arrived close to 12 and left about 4pm , mainly because we live close by so can easily come again with our new annual passes
We felt like VIPs with our fast pass, and people stopped us to make sure we were having a good time, which was lovely. The queues weren't 't bad at all, compared to Legoland, but the passes made the day for me even so. I hate queuing!!
We have never been to TP before, the kids are probably just old enough now. Even do we were all to wimpy to go on any of the "big thrill" rides. DD2 loved the Flying Fish, and even hungover DH coped with that a few times. DD1 liked "X", and the log flume one. DD2 and I also loved the big water slide, and we didn't get wet at all.
The good was disappointing, there was a 30 minute wait for the 360 Grill, so we had toasties instead which were OK but at 25 quid I was glad we had the magic money!
The souvenir shop was disappointing, we ended up with pic n mix which I roiled never have let them have normally.
The weather held out, which was great, and though it took a while to get the pass sorted out we got there in the end and we will definitely be back in the summer. Hopefully by then we will be a bit braver!
Loos were fine, getting in and out and parking were fine, the staff smiley and helpful.
Thank you Thorpe Park and thank you Mumsnet, we had a great day! Tips: better food and more places to sit inside and eat. I will take a picnic next time!

So here are some pictures - after we arrived we sat fine and ate paninis and toasties in the coffee shop by the entrance - the girls targeted their favorite rides. Neither had been before but they were keen to get going. They went on Depth Charge and I wimped out. I was relieved they didn't get drenched on their first ride.

We all went on Flying Fish which they really enjoyed, it was a gentle warm up & they felt brave for trying it. Dd2 is 12 and just talk enough for everything but didn't feel ready for everything. We really liked Storm Surge & rode it with another Mumsnetter (who was LOVELY & from Cambridge).

The girls felt brave enough to go on X and rode in a different car to me, they thought it was really scary & were so pleased with themselves for being bold. After that they thought they'd try Colossus but even with our magic passes it was an hour's wait so we decided against it. They liked Mr Monkey's Banana Ride & thought it would be good for younger children.

We had some doughnuts which were delicious after Logger's Leap. I loved having my poncho such a good treat in the goodie bag, but we went so fast it blew up & over my head. I got soaked! The girls wore their ponchos for Tidal Wave and were no wetter after riding than they'd been before.

We'd definitely recommend Thorpe Park & are looking forward to our next visit, probably during the Easter Holidays. The food seemed good value, my coffee tasted good. We really enjoyed our visit and are very much looking forward to using our passes over the next year. Thank you again!!

Who was in your group and how old are the children?
Me (40) Dh (50) DD (15) and DS (11)

• Have you been to THORPE PARK Resort before, if so, when?

No, never

• What was your, and your family's, overall experience of Happy Height Day?

Overall it was fantastic and extremely well organised.

• What were your/your DCs highlights of the day?

DD and DS loved Colussus and being tall enough to go on some of the rides without me or DH.

• Which, if any, attractions/ rides would you most recommend to parents with children who have just reached 1.4m in height?

Blimey, depends on the child! DS age 5 didn't come but would have loved all them! X, probably, it's quite twisty but no upside down scary stuff. Or Detonator - over in seconds but brilliant. Not Swarm, at all. DS was so scared by the stuff in the queue.

• Overall, would you recommend THORPE PARK Resort to your friends and family if it came up in conversation? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes, for those that have taller, older children. And who remember a change of clothes. Or to at least put the poncho on before tidal wave!

here is some other feedback:
-We would have liked more tea/coffee stands.
-When we considered buying new clothes for a soaked ds, we decided against it due to the really high cost of things - £18 for a t-shirt and £35 for a sweater. It would have been great to have a cheaper range.
-Dedicated smoking areas would have been nice for us non smokers.
-Something went wrong with the fast pass system for Colussus which we returned to at four ish. We were directed by a sign to the disabled access but the staff there were really confused by this. After a queue built up they tried to get people to go back to the fast pass system and then only allowed two people on at a time. Someone else strolled up with some other pass and was allowed on before lots of us who'd been waiting a very long time. Had people gone back to the Fastpass they'd have joined the back of another queue, after a long wait. Even when I explained we'd not asked for disabled passes as we had fast passes, this made little difference and made the last part of our day quite stressful for ds.
-The vast majority of staff were amazingly polite and lovely, which was great.

• Who was in your group and how old are the children? There were four of us, a scared DH,DD(6) and Ds(9)-1.41m and very excited!!
• Have you been to THORPE PARK Resort before, if so, when? Not been before.
• What was your, and your family's, overall experience of Happy Height Day? Overall we had a great time. The park did look busy,especially later on in the day but I was pleasantly surprised how much room there was in the park and how little waiting around we had to do. The golden fasttrack pass was amazing and really made the day much more fun and almost decadent!!
• What were your/your DCs highlights of the day? Both Ds and dd loved the x. Our tastes were a little tame compared to some but I let the dcs decide which rides they wanted to go on and I said I'd cheerfully go on anything. We discussed at length nemesis inferno, however decided that was one for next time!! Dhs favourite was storm surge (very tame!) and mine &dds loggers leap.
• Which, if any, attractions/ rides would you most recommend to parents with children who have just reached 1.4m in height? I'd recommend the water rides if they want fun without death defying roller coasters but I hope we grow and feel able to use them soon!!! Well me & the dcs not DH he found the flying fish too much...bless.
• Overall, would you recommend THORPE PARK Resort to your friends and family if it came up in conversation? If so, why? If not, why not? Yes, cleanliness was excellent, lots of helpful staff, very polite. We ate at the calypso BBQ and that was quite good. When we go again we'll feel bereft without the fastrack pass which was amazing!!

I must just add the ponchos were excellent and we really got the full use from ours. We'd have been really wet otherwise!

This is ds (11) before, during, and after Saw.....

Non-tester. The best days out are the ones mixing a warm sunny day, outside, with well-rested children and no cooking!

Well I won't be giving my feedback tonight as we have only just got back and I am knackered!
One dd has gone for a sleepover and the other is starving and I need wine.
Thank you mn we had a lovely day I am a bit annoyed about the amount of time my kids queed for rides that were then shut down when they got to the front (4 times to be accurate) but I'll nee back tomorrow to leave proper feed back and pics.

Who was in your group and how old are the children?
In our group of 4 was myself ds1 age 19 , ds2 age 17 dd age 11( 14cm just ) .But we also had extended group 2 adults 60 plus and ds 3 age 9 but tiny at 112cm .

Have you been to THORPE PARK Resort before, if so, when?
Ds 2 has been once before on fright night trip with school .For the rest of us it is the first time

What was your, and your family's, overall experience of Happy Height Day
Going from Ds1,ds2 and dd they had a fantastic time loved that was loads of big rides and dd now she hit 140 cm dead on was up for all the big rides other than stealth.
Ds 3 was more fed up as is very small and we did struggle with few things but will mention after
one of 60 plus loved it other was bag holder by choice .But overall a very fun day and Thank you

Which, if any, attractions/ rides would you most recommend to parents with children who have just reached 1.4m in height?
I would recommend maybe starting simple with Vortex before moving on to the really big upchuck rides

Overall, would you recommend THORPE PARK Resort to your friends and family if it came up in conversation? If so, why? If not, why not?

I would recommend it to friends but would stress that if they have no children over 140cm or children that don't like big rides at all then save your money .Though there is a reasonable amount for smaller children not a park for them like legoland etc really even theme is very pre/teen orientated

Food /Picnic areas#

We had something in the BBq calypso area and actually this was very nice and reasonable priced for a theme park .£7 for bacon cheese burger waffle fries and colsaw /Burgers were way beyond the standard fast food stuff proper beef burger rather than patty style
was very tasty ( easily 1/4 ).Chicken piri piri buger went down very well to.
kids meals at £5 ( cheesburger was eaten ) and fries plus drink was a good size and plenty for dd age 11

Drinks we brought refillable at £7 and used tehm around the park

We did see lots of picnic benches so be fine to bring your own and we even saw some covered benches in case of sun or more likely rain since this is the uk .not really any grassy areas as such to sit

toilets

These according to my children and the older members of group was nice and clean and plenty of them no huge waits and since my mother is a Hyacinth Bouquet type when comes to clean bathrooms for her not to moan must been good
Disabled toilets was plenty around and locked need a radar key to open them and big bonus was they all had a button to open the doors so no need to juggle door and wheels

What a brilliant day! My phone was playing up so sorry I wasn't able to catch up with anyone - it was fun playing 'spot the MNer' - and Nerfmother that was me! Hope everyone with long journeys had a good ride home.

Who was in your group and how old are the children?
Me, dd 14, ds2 10 and ds3 6

Have you been to THORPE PARK Resort before, if so, when?
Nope, today was our first visit.

What was your, and your family's, overall experience of Happy Height Day?
We had a fantastic time. It felt a special occasion right from the start. Ds3 commandeered the Angry Bird immediately, the Gold Pass was amazing. We went on all the rides we wanted, plus some more.
We were made to feel incredibly welcome - don't think I've come across friendlier staff in a UK tourist destination, they were universally great.
For food we didn't want to take too long so opted for a hot dog meal. Price was reasonable and they were demolished by all.
I think next time we're there we'll invest in Fastrack passes for a few of the rides, don't fancy the length some of those queues will be in high summer...

What were your/your DCs highlights of the day?
I always knew ds2 was a bit of a white knuckle fiend, today proved that beyond doubt! Thanks to the Gold Pass we had three rides, one after the other, on Stealth. He thought it was amazing. He also loved Nemesis, Rush, Colossus and Swarm, although he did wonder what TP has against vehicles! Ds3 loved Flying Fish and Storm Surge, Dd liked Storm in a Teacup. We all enjoyed Logger's Leap.

Which, if any, attractions/ rides would you most recommend to parents with children who have just reached 1.4m in height?
I'd agree with the point made further upthread - it really depends on your child. Ds2 adores adrenaline rushes so the faster/higher, the better. He's not so keen on the spinning ones. It really is horses for courses. It's a place that would need several trips to get round everything properly.

Overall, would you recommend THORPE PARK Resort to your friends and family if it came up in conversation? If so, why? If not, why not?
I'd definitely recommend it - the whole day was a great experience. A real mix of rides, plenty of food options, sweets not stupidly expensive, extremely helpful, friendly and polite staff, clean and well-maintained site. We're already planning several trips to do the water slides when the weather's warmer, especially as more of them are open to smaller dcs.
My only caveat would be that if your child's under 1.20m their options are limited. I really hope the Angry Birds stuff is accessible to them.

Hello mumsnetter who waved In a cafe -under a NC, don't out me! You looked lovely, sorry we didn't get to say hello.
I forgot to say, the app was absolutely brilliant and we used it a lot to go to different rides - so, so easy and what a fantastic idea.

• Who was in your group and how old are the children?

Me, DP, DD 8, DS 6 and DDs friend 12

• Have you been to THORPE PARK Resort before, if so, when?

Not been before

• What was your, and your family's, overall experience of Happy Height Day?

BRILLIANT! Impressed by now much stuff the DC could go on even if under 1.4. Park didn't feel crowded and the passes were magic! Park was very clean and every member of staff we came across was helpful and polite.

• What were your/your DCs highlights of the day?

X ride! They loved and and rode it over and over again. Food in the 360 grill was very nice.

• Which, if any, attractions/ rides would you most recommend to parents with children who have just reached 1.4m in height?

Not swarm! DDs friend although quite brave was as white as a sheet when he got off it!

• Overall, would you recommend THORPE PARK Resort to your friends and family if it came up in conversation? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes! Not for smaller ones, but over 1.2 yes. Lots of variety and a really fun day out for all the family. Even if the scary rides don't appeal there are 'beginners' roller coasters which still make you feel a bit brave!

If I had to think of some downsides...the stalls/amusements/machines were EVERYWHERE (lots of pestering from DC). Also the games were very very overpriced, £2 for one go on the fairground type games.

Overall I was impressed. Particularly with the staff. DD was crying before one ride but still wanted to go on it and 3 staff members stopped and spoke to her to reassure her how safe and fun it was. She went back on it twice afterwards!

Even at slightly over 1m you would pay and find on,y 3 rides they could go on so I definitely wouldn't take a toddler again although the beach would be great in the nice weather.

I'm amazed that nobody else has commented on nemesis constantly closing down and saw and the winged one being closed on and off for ages.