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

Who was in your group and how old are the children?
Me, dd1.(19), dd2 (11) dd's friend (18)

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

No have never been before, it's quite a distance from us (nearly 3 hours) I think next time we will do as dd1 did and travel down the day before and stay in a hotel (only £39 through Booking,com) as traveling there and back in one day was exhausting.

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

It was a real treat. Staff were friendly and helpful, the fast track passes were brilliant and the food was good and not all that expensive IMO

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

Dd2 is a sucker for a cuddly toy so the Angry Bird was a huge hit and she loved not having to queue (she has ASD and so queuing is stressful for her) She loved the rides where she got wet best (the ponchos were very handy)

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

Dd liked Tidal Wave and X

• 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 for a family group such as ours, I think it would be more difficult with smaller children though. We usually go to Alton Towers, I preferred Thorpe Park though as it seemed cleaner,the food was better and the staff were friendly and helpful. Thank you Mumsnet and Thorpe Park

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

Myself, my husband, my eldest daughter (12), eldest son (10) and our youngest daughter (5 months).

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

Yes, once, as a child!

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

We had a fantastic day and the children loved every minute of it. It started off freezing cold but we (parents!) enjoyed it more as it warmed up a bit towards the afternoon.

Our experience of the park improved as we got further into it, some of the rides and areas did look a bit worn and could have done with a little revamping. The newer rides were very impressive and we all enjoyed it overall. We particularly liked the fact that the surrounding areas were included in the ride and that it was themed. It was great the way the sights, sounds and smells were all included in the experience of the rides.

We ate at the bar and grill which was lovely and the food was enjoyed. The only thing I would say as a vegetarian is that there isn't a great deal of choice at all and that is the same around the park.

There weren't any places in the toilet cubicles to hang a handbag, which was unusual and challenging!

As the park is compact compared to other theme parks it did make navigation easier but wasn't too small either. The fairly flat ground was also good in comparison to other parks.

For us, the fast track passes were a necessity due to my son finding queuing difficult and anxiety provoking. Some of the rides were still a little long to get onto due to the way the queuing worked and that could prove to be an issue in the future for us given that it didn't seem overly busy. Not sure I'd be happy paying £75 each for one!

Looking at the posters for angry birds land we did think that it was lacking somewhat, unless there are more rides than advertised.

We had a very good day overall and the children remained excited throughout. Samurai wasn't open which they were both disappointed about as that was one of the rides they were most looking forward to going on.

In warmer weather I can imagine it being a lot busier but I'd hope that the levels of professionalism remain as high. The staff were very pleasant and helpful, couldn't fault them at all.

Really surprised and pleased at the goody bag, the angry bird toy will be much enjoyed! We had no issues using the park money but decided to wait until next time to get the annual pass due to it being very busy. One thing we didn't realise is that this meant we didn't receive the discount on what we spent as we didn't have the pass yet. The ponchos were a welcome addition too.

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

My son loved tidal wave and the fact that everyone got so wet! He did decided to wear his poncho though! One of his favourite parts of the day was the heartline role on colossus.
My daughter loved all of the rides and went on pretty much everything! She is definitely the thrill seeker of the family and loves the fast rides.
My husband thought that the new rides were very immersive and really enjoyed it. I thought that the way the rides looped around the walking areas was very exciting and made the whole experience a lot better.

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

My son had just reached the 1.4 requirement and loved colossus and tidal wave.
I think that swarm would also be a good one, my son didn't go on all the faster rides (although did try some and he enjoyed swarm) but did love the ones like this.

• 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 as long as the children were over 1.4m as there really weren't many rides for the younger ones and I'm glad we decided not to take our 7 and 2 year old. Thorpe Park was a great day out but definitely one for the older/taller children.

Photos to come as they're on my phone and I think I should be able to add them from there easier.

Some photos of the day.

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

Me, DH an 3 dc's aged 14, 10 and 5

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

It was a first for us all

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

Fantastic. The Goody bag was a wonderful touch, the angry bird is being shared between my two DS's. The poncho's were fab and the gold pass was brilliant.
The Park Money was WONDERFUL! We never spend money on food at places like this, so it was a real treat for the kids, we got them some sweets for the journey home too.
Although, we ate at the BBQ place and thought the food was grim (sorry!) i certainly wouldn't pay for it.
The staff on Collossus didn't understand the fast track passes so we missed out on that ride and the queue wasn't moving at all.
The staff were great, really friendly and helpful but you could tell some of them had just started and weren't 100% sure what they were doing.
All of the family friendly rides were excellent. I agree that signs pointing the way to rides would have been great, i can never understand those park maps! Great size park though, just right.
We will definitely be staying in a hotel next time as its 3hrs in the car for us, but we will go back over and over again this year and all the children loved it.

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

Well DS5, is clearly an adrenaline junkie and loved X (I think he went on it 4 times!) and also loved the Flying Fish, log flume and rumba rapids. These were great as we could all go on together.

DD and I enjoyed SAW and Nemesis Inferno, but were SO disappointed that The Swarm was shut down when we went to go on it. Definitely one for next time.

DS (10) loved X and the log flume and the rumba rapids, he wasn't one for the scary rides at all!

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

Nemesis Inferno. It feels scary to begin with, but it is actually a really nice ride, with no extremes like Stealth, which looked utterly terrifying!

• 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.
We had a wonderful time, a great family day out actually. But I would suggest to people to wait until their smallest is at least 1.1 as otherwise there won't be much to go on together.

Thank you so much Mumsnet and Thorpe Park, we had a fantastic time and will be recommending to all our friends, can't wait for Angry Birds in May!

I'm shattered today, Kormachameleon. My body doesn't want to work, or wake up.

My girl on the carousel, she was sad because she wasn't allowed on a horse due to the lack of an available adult, I wasn't able to go on the ride at the time. And certainly couldn't get on the horse, lol.

Glad it's not just me.
I got in about 8 have never felt so tired, I thought I might be ill.
Was asleep by ten and woke feeling headachy and tired.
Wtf?

yup pj day declared here too.All wiped

I wonder why? Never felt so tired in my life!

Same here. I do not want to be awake. Ds (5) didn't get to bed until 10pm and was up at 5.30am asking me to help him find a pirate outfit for a party. Seriously dude?!?!

We will be staying next time, I am wiped out. Poor dh has to work tonight. I'm eating and watching tv all evening.

Suppose we walked a lot plus too long drives.
I wish I was off tomorrow.
Glad it's training and not actual work.

Yep, my feet were killing me and the journey back was painful.
I don't work on mondays, but I do have about 4 weeks worth of uni work to catch up on!

Ds was enjoying himself really!

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

me, Dh, ds 14, and dd 8

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

I went once in 2004 as i was working with NEET young people and this was a 'treat' for them

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

it was a bit coloured due to our hassles getting there (!) but apart from that, it was a good day. S was disappointed as Swarm and Saw both broke down (or had problems) each time he tried to go on, but that couldn't be helped. It was busy but didn't really feel it as it is fairly well spaced out. As has been said, the smokers were everywhere (ex smoker!) The fast track passes were wonderful as were rhe vouchers, we didn't eat in the restaurant as a mner told us the wait was very long, but had some toasties from one of the outlets in the dome which were fine.

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

Dd8 loved Quantum and Storm surge (we went on that twice!) and the flying fish. DS enjoyed nemesis, collosus and x. Getting food and souvenirs was amazing for them as we wouldn't normally eat out at attractions or buy things!

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

d8 was about 2cm below the height barrier, but I would have thought she would have liked Zodiac and possibly Rush. I wouldn't have felt happy with her going on the really scary ones!!

• 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 think I would. There were plenty of staff (dh saw a HUGE security guard escorting a couple of ne'er do wells off the site . It was clean (as staff seemed to be constantly picking up litter) The bad sides were some of the rude people (but that's life) and the stalls as people have said, difficult not to give in to some of them, and the costs were a bit steep.

However, we would never have gone had we not had this opportunity and for DS it was the BEST birthday treat!!! Thank you

A few snaps:

We should have a grown up day with all the thrill seeking Mumsnetters! I wanted to go on all the rides and I couldn't.

Very jealous of your pyjama days! We are just back from running the Sport Relief mile . All shattered now and having a rest in front of a DVD!

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

Me, DH, DD1 (age 12, height 1.52) and DD2 (age 11, height 1.44).

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

Once, long ago when DD1 was a toddler. I think there used to be a farm...

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

Absolutely great, from beginning to end. It was lovely being welcomed at arrival with a goody bag but I didn't get chance to take my own Happy Height day pic so if there's a chance to chase up copies that would be great.

The Angry Bird toy and ponchos were really appreciated and the £50 Thorpe pounds made our day! The fast track ticket was great, we would consider getting one again if the budget allowed. DD said it made her feel really special being able to just walk up the fast track line.
We got our annual passes in the middle of the day when we went to the car to get dry clothes, so saved 20% from that point on too.
We spent the day going on rides, having lunch and generally having a good time.
The staff were all really helpful, friendly and polite. They are a credit to the park.
Clearer signs and details of the rides would have been helpful- we totally missed X and were gutted that queues shut ages before closing for some of the rides. There were other rides we missed too and we spent a lot of time going round in circles.
The smoking area needs enforcing too, and perhaps a more visible security presence if groups of teens are the target audience.
There was a good choice of food outlets and the prices were not as bad as they could have been.

What were your/your DCs highlights of the day?

For 3 of us, it has to be Swarm. For DD2, it was winning the donut! We are looking forward to Angry Bird Land, although it looks to being more of a corner than a land!

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

DD1 recommends them all but said she's not going on Stealth again because she the man behind her thought he was going to die and it put her off! We all enjoyed Nemesis and Tidal Wave, although we got soaked, even with ponchos. Swarm was amazing, really smooth and very well done. I chickened out of Saw and Stealth but they enjoyed.

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?

Absolutely yes, but I would recommend getting the fast track tickets if the budget allows, as we would not have had such an amazing time if it had been spend queuing up for most of it. All in all it was a brilliant day, so thank you Mumsnet and Thorpe Park for the opportunity.

A few more pics...

I'm still writing my review in between helping a child make pizza sculptures for homework and catching up with the laundry. DD2, who is ten and 148cm tall, had this to say:)

Thorpe Park is a wonderful theme park with lots of rides especially rollercoasters. I think there could have been a wider range of different rides. I also think that they could have set people down the Depth Charge more often because the queue was very long and they didn’t send people down often. The ride I enjoyed most was Tidal Wave because it was unexpected, surprising and different. Storm Surge was good, however you had to wait a while to go on it even if you were at the front of the line. Mr Monkeys Banana Ride was not at all very good. It was very boring and I would not go on it again. The Flying Fish was amazing. One of the reasons I liked it was that it was not a big scary
Rollercoaster but it was a small rollercoaster so people who are scared to go on the big rollercoasters can go the Flying Fish. Bar 360 Grill and The Coffee Shack had very slow service however, the food was nice but it wasn’t worth the long wait. Overall Thorpe Park is a lovely place and I would rate it 8/10!

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

Dh (50) Me (40) Ds1 (10) over 1.4 height Ds2(5) just under 1.2

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

Yes. Bought ds1 a year or so ago. He was 1.3, but was too scared to go on some of the easier rides, even then.

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

We had the BEST time.
We went to guest services to get wrist bands for the children with our mobile numbers on it. (Makes note to buy theses from e-bay or wherever)
The person who served us, it was his first day and he didn’t know what he was doing. But hey!! The gold passes, dh asked for another, saying that I would be taking ds1 and he would be taking ds2, on different rides. Man went to ask, was refused. But we insisted. Got one. So glad we did this because it made the day possible.
I think – Thorpe park should give a wristband . Because throughout the day lots of staff didn’t recognise our gold ticket or know what it was for. And if you just gave a wristband to all members of the party, it would make it so much easier for us, and for the ride attendants, to spot it instantly.
Off we went.
Dh is not that good on rides. And he did spend a lot of the time sitting around. Or when I took ds1 off on ‘big rides’ , dh took ds2 on smaller. And then we’d meet up. And then ds1 and I would go off again.
We were separated a lot. And I guess that is a problem for families. How will I manage this on future days, when I just take the ds’s myself??
We went on loads of rides: depth charge, flying fish . Ds2 loved it. (3 times me, ds1 and ds2 went on these)
Ds1 and I started on swarm, that we thought was very quick and quite meek. We built up to Nemesis. I swore I would never do Stealth. But we did. And I got someone to take a picture, just to prove that I did!!! We finished with Saw, which we thought was the best/worst/scariest.

The fast track made it brilliant. It has now dawned on me that because I have now been spoilt, I am not sure I could cope with ds1 and his Aspergers, and queuing, without it. So I phoned Zoe Cartell, ( who was so nice about this) to talk to her about that.
It seemed that we got on quickly. Whilst others were waiting 45 minutes plus. But dh said that actually, ds1 and I were away for 25 minutes or so, each time. Now I think back, we were in a reasonably sized fast track queue, for obviously alot longer than I realised, on the big rides.

I am still appreciate that I got fast tracked at all, though !!
We had bought a few snacks.
We went for lunch early. Bar 360 , we were sat quickly. But the food wasn’t that great and my spaghetti and meatballs was totally different to ds1’s and I could not eat it. The manageress was very nice about it and removed it from the bill. And gave me a prawn starter. Dh said that it was a blessing that we used £35 of our vouchers. But he thought that the food was much more basic than say a Harvester, and he was only happy to pay the £35 because it was vouchers, and a gift, and not our actual money.
The place was very clean. With litter pickers around.
We ignored all the costly extras.
I am normally fab with a map. But got quite dis-orientated and I feel it would be fab to have a few signposts, saying ‘Saw this way’ ‘Nemesis that way’, to help.
We went on tidal wave by mistake. The height restrictions weren’t clear, and thus ds2 at under 1.2 was refused., but only once the ride was about to set off and we had to be pulled out at the last minute. Not good. Crying. But ds1 stayed on. It might have been handy if the signs at the entrance were clearer.
The Angry bird was a total hit with ds2.
The blue water protectors were a total hit with me. We went on Loggers Leap. Without them. The guy insisted we woundn't get wet. He was a LIAR. But we put them on for our future 2 trips on Loggers leap. Which was my, ds1’s and ds2’s favourite trip. But because we got soaked, within a short time, we were very cold and never really dried off. This is why we left when we did. The first time they let us on. Then the next two times, they insisted that ds2 wasn’t big enough so he had to wait ages for a special boat. So, no continuity?
Plus, if you have a just under 1.2, then surely if the adult insists its fine, on such a meek ride as loggers leap, then what is the problem? I think a bit of common sense should not go amiss here.
We used the last of our tokens for doughnuts and a toy and a badge and a medal, in the shop. Fabulous.
Dh had taken ds1 and ds2 on teacups. Banana boat was a bit too weak. And the carousel was very poor. So slow. It needed to be speeded up and made a bit more groovy.
We finished off, after saw, with another loggers leap, a depth charge and a flying fish. The we were all knackered.
We decided to do the annual passes another day.
Dh commented that it was a great day. That had been made brilliant by all the extras that we had been given. Thank you.

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

Fast track made the whole day something else.
Me – doing stealth. After swearing that I never could/would.
And saw. Mine and ds1(10)’s favourite/worst!!
Ds2 liked depth charge. And flying fish.
Our favourite’, for ALL of us, was the Loggers Leap.

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

I would give 1.4’ers a list of rides to start with, start on easier, build up to swarm, then the others. Stealth and Saw last.

• 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.
But I think people struggle with children of different ages, as I suspect I will.

I feel very knackered today. My diabetes has been going mad.
I am sooooo tired.

Not surprised that others have said the same.

I am so very very very sorry that I did not pluck up enough courage to talk to more Mn'ers.

I am sure, that other than LCHammer, who I did find ( for all of 3 seconds), there was a number of Mn'ers I saw.

Shall we arrange a bit better. To go to the Angry birds day?

And all those that want to go on the big rides can ?

One toddler who has to watch and wait, A sensible one who listened to her mother and wore a poncho on Tidal Wave and one who likes to not listen to her mother and got rather wet:P