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

We have been to Legoland twice when we had Merlin passes and thoroughly enjoyed it. When we went parking was included with the general pass, now you have to pay unless you have a more expensive pass. That kind of thing enrages me straight away and makes me think negatively of the experience.

The ultimate fun day out is when there is something for everyone! My daughter is 2 years old so it can sometimes be hard to find something that she would enjoy AND we would enjoy (rather than enjoying watching her enjoy herself :P). Every great day needs to have a few funny mistakes in too though...forgetting the sandwichs...getting soaking wet or just generally making a fool of yourself. The ultimate fun day has to have the potential to be the ultimate fun memory :)

Who was in your group and how old are the children?
Me, DH, DD and DS, both 11 (dd over the 140cm DS just under)

Have you been to THORPE PARK Resort before, if so, when?
DH had been there a few years ago

What was your, and your family's, overall experience of Happy Height Day?
We really enjoyed it, the angry bird has been fought over lots! DD got a certificate to say she was tall enough and yet was still a bit nervous about the rides - all talk and no trousers that one! thier favourite ride was the magic carpet one, was it Quantum? We didnt really do the wet rides as i already had a stinking cold and cough so didnt want to get worse - we'll save that till we go back on a warm day!

What were your/your DCs highlights of the day?
all of it - they loved the fast track pass, we'd not normally be able to afford that!

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

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, but only if they have children old enough to appreciate it - though we do fancy neptunes beach on a hot day!

Some pics of our day!

non-tester: Ultimate fun day out: LOTs and LOTS of activities for the kids. If the kids are busy and happy then everyone is! Plenty of parking / toilets etc and places to eat so that the practicalities are easy.

All inclusive prices so once you've entered somewhere you are not having to pay more for extras.

Plenty for different ages AND some things we can do together too.

Oh and if you could arrange for the sun to shine that would be perfect!

We were fortunate enough to be chosen for Thorpe Parks Happy Heights day . We got there at about 10:30 and was seen straight away and given a goody bag which contained the passes , vouchers , ponchos for the group and my sons favourite - a cuddly Angry Bird
In my group there was me,dh and my niece who is 11, my eldest son who is 9 and my youngest son who is 1.None of us have ever been to Thorpe Park before so it was a new experience for us all .
We had a brilliant day and everyone had so much fun . My nieces favourite ride was Stealth , she was so excited ( slightly nervous too !) as she is only just recently over 1.4m she has never been on a ride like this before .My eldest sons favourite was Loggers Leap , there was no queue on it and he wanted to keep going on it over and over again. I was with my youngest so I didn't go on anything, we spent our time looking in the shop mostly when the others was queuing . I'm glad they had the Fast track passes as I don't think it would of been much fun if I had to stay around for an hour per ride as they queued. We went to Desperado's for lunch . We ordered the meal deals but there was a bit of confusion with the order but was promptly sorted out when I queried it .
We would definitely recommend Thorpe Park especially for the older children as although there is things for the smaller ones it is pretty much aimed at over 1.4m we found .

Have to add from earlier that we didn't get the refill drink thingy but it looked like a really really good idea.

A fun day out would be where no one fights or sulks or says 'this is boring' but we all actually get on and have fun (this seems to be harder than you'd think for my family)

It used to be so easy with a smaller child but moody teens are an alien species. It has to be a deal that is brokered. 'We are going to the Tate but Primark in Oxford Street is also on the agenda.' Or 'I would like a nice (boring) walk by the Southbank but really nice food in Wagamamas.' It's just understanding your children and compromising. I love the King's Road but she hates what she calls the 'goat's cheese' restaurants. So we go to The Stockpot which is basic filling grub - no one is hungry or grumpy and we all get what we want. Ultimately a good day out is no cross words (but some crosswords on the train when exhausted on the way back).

Who was in your group and how old are the children?
Me, 44, DH 46, dd 10, ds 7

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

My dd and I went for the first time last October, when she reached 140 cm. Before that we were frequent Chessington visitors, we live in close proximity to Chessington and Thorpe Park. Interestingly, my dh and I attended a works Christmas party held at Thorpe Park in 1987, and had our first kiss! Quite poetic to come back with our dc.

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

It was excellent, everyone had a really good time.

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

I love The Swarm, I could stay on it all day! In fact I am planning on returning when the dc are at school so I can.

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

My dd loved Nemesis Inferno the best, also liked The Swarm.

• 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 if they are over 140 cm and like fast scary rides. If shorter then Chessington is more suitable.

Like other testers, we were bothered by smokers in the park. Also a lack of working hand dryers, but the loos were all clean and tidy. There are absolutely no sign posts in the park, and the map pretty poor, so finding our way around was an issue. (Chessington is well sign posted in the park, follow their lead). £5 parking is a bit steep. We live nearby and want to come after school, we will only be there an hour, and still have to pay £5? A season parking ticket, or even better no parking charge, would be better.

We were very excited by the gold fast pass. However, this is not quite as good as it seems as for all the big rides, you still have further queueing, sometimes another 20 minutes or so. The Swarm is the worst arranged ride, in that when you finally enter, there is another queue for dropping off bags. Then you have to decide which queue to join, either this side or over the bridge, you don't know at that point which queue is shorter. If you go over the bridge, there is no one to tell you where to stand, its a free for all. After the ride, another long queue to get bag back. Nemesis, Colossus and Saw also had long queues after entering with the fast pass. Stealth was the only ride where it really did work as a fast pass. Yes its obviously a shorter waiting period overall, but for £75 I would have been upset at all the additional queueing.

We took our lunch with us as we are not fast food fans, and decided to buy the children sweatshirts with our vouchers. We checked out all the shops first, there was only one to fit my 7 yr old. Then all the other sweatshirts are adult sizes. My dd wanted a Nemesis sweatshirt, but the smallest size (Small) was enormous on her. She eventually got a Swarm sweatshirt, an adult small only needed the cuffs turned back once.

Thankyou for a great day out, what an amazing prize. The ponchos were a nice bonus (we didn't try them out as it was too cold for water rides) and the angry bird too. My dh and dd are going again tomorrow as she has the day off school, and I am sure we will be there many more times this year.

Non tester - my perfect days out are at places that keep the kids happy and let the grown ups be big kids and enjoy themselves too. Clean toilets are a must and I'm not keen on paying for extras if I've already paid to get in.

My dh and dd (wearing her Swarm sweatshirt) went to Thorpe again today, and managed 11 rides in 4 hours (Loggers Leap, Vortex x3, Swarm x4, Nemesis x4!). I wonder how many times we can go before it closes in October. If only there was a season ticket for the parking

Non-tester.

My idea of a great fun day out would be a spontaneous trip, no need to take a picnic so there would have to be reasonably priced decent food options, nobody being left out because they're too short, and no crowds. Oh yes, and no wasps

Non-tester here.
Top of my list of priorities would be something that's easily accessible by public transport as I don't have a car. I've just checked out the Thorpe Park website and I'm really pleased (and a bit surprised!) to see that it is accessible by bus/train. I'm impressed with the level of detail provided on the website too, it would make it very easy to plan a journey.

Anyway, once we are there, a fun day out would be lots of things to do, without paying a fortune for each one. The small things make a huge difference - clean loos and plenty of them, lots of places to sit, places to picnic, good signposting, friendly, helpful staff. I'd really like theme parks to come up with some creative solutions to the queuing problem that doesn't include paying a small fortune for special passes. I realise this may not be likely! But it would definitely increase the amount of time I'd be prepared to go to the theme park. Even just providing things to do in the queue would be an improvement.
With regards food, I don't mind packing a picnic to keep costs down but I don't enjoy lugging it round all day. Somewhere to store picnics (and changes of clothes etc) would be really welcome.

ultimate fun day with my family is.sun.park.picnic.games

Non-tester

I took my severely autistic son (non-verbal aged 14) on his first ever roller coaster ride last summer. He absolutely loved it, although I was very aware as we were click clacking up to the drop he had no idea what was coming - I was saying 'it will be fast keep your hands in' over & over again to try & give him some warning.

Anyway since then I have been trying to work out whether I can grab a carer to help me out & try a day with him somewhere with fast rides. We need two adults to manage him. Even if I take his brothers - he still needs his own 2:1. Luckily someone who works with him has a husband who hates fast rides do she'd be keen on the excuse to go.

So for us queue jumping passes as waiting too long leads to meltfowns (for him & carers - with two adults for him his brothers could queue with their dad along with everyone else). And a carer's pass for my necessary helper so it doesn't cost an extra fortune on a family day out.

Am planning to try it sometime - just trying to gather the courage..... It would be hard work but really rewarding I think.

Non tester:

Perfect family day out means that even if there were tears and arguments during the day, at the end of it, everyone is happy, sleepy and content

That usually means good food is involved, whether it was a sumptuous dinner for the adults and a treat candy floss for the little ones, somewhere where at least one of us can go running off in a zig zag fashion, arms flailing wildly, and somewhere where we can all cuddle up to reflect on the day

Non tester here.

The perfect day out for us (2 adults, 1 short 9 year old, 1 short 7 year old and a regular sized 1.5 year old )

Crowds - I accept there will be crowds on sunny days and in holidays but I wish theme larks would find a way of making lines shorter and congregated crowding less, I appreciate this must be hard to do!

Decent, easy food with space to eat it. I don't want to have to push my way through a billion people to get my kids something to eat, lots of green spaces with some benches would be idea so people could buy food and come away from the area.

Entertainment while we're waiting to go on a ride and while we are in lines, it would make it a lot less stress waiting 30-40 mins if there was something to see while waiting.

Free or very cheap water stations so we can get fluid all around the park, often there will only be branded fizzy drinks when sometimes on hot days, a mouthful of water would be a godsend.

Wasp traps, because, well wasps.

A good mix of things to do for all ages I'd like my 9 and 7 year old to have a fun day as well my baby.

We love Thorpe Park though, are you planning on getting the shark hotel I saw on facebook?

Non tester.

Fun day out for us means it not having to be a military operation (like Legoland), manageable queues (waited 3 hrs for Air at Alton Towers last July), and decent non-crap food choices, with outdoor areas to sit and have a break.
I also hate the sight of grab machines and arcade games in theme parks, it should be one price for all included, not let's squeeze every penny out of them.

We love Gullivers theme parks. No hard sell, no big queues, designed with childrem in mind. A pity they are a bit scruffy and run-down, because the concept and vision is excellent.

I'm a non-tester.

What makes a fun day out for my family is a place with something for all of us to do.

My youngest needs rides that he can enjoy (size appropriate, characters, a sense of adventure--but not too much).
My middle son enjoys fast rides, short lines.
My oldest will do things with all of us but it would be nice for her to have an area that's not run over with little people or older people: like a safe teen zone.

I can't be every where at once. Though I would not leave my youngest with a stranger, it would be nice if some parks offered staff to play with littler visitors for short periods of time while parents and older children did something as well.

What do I need? Short lines and quiet zones where I can recharge.

In my non-tester capacity, I'd say the ultimate family fun day out involves great weather (if possible), as little queuing as possible, variety, good toilet facilities, picnic seating, good (reasonably priced) cafes, and something to suit ages 1-100. So not asking for much!

Non tester here! Sounds like the testers had a fab day out

An ultimate fun day out for us would include:

. Easy free parking, with clear directions to it and from the car park to the attraction. Toilets nearby would be great.
. No huge queues for entry. We try to go to theme parks on INSET days to avoid the masses - I struggle with standing for ages (balance problem) so a queue just to get in the place starts me off on the wrong foot...
. A good range of activities to suit all age groups and confidence levels.
. Lots and lots of benches and places to eat a picnic/ice cream and affordable hot and cold drinks kiosks near to the seating.
. Good views of the attractions so that the watchers can enjoy seeing their family taking part.
. Lots of play areas to let off steam - not just fast rides - a mixture always goes down well.
. lockers to deposit bags,coats,brollies depending on the weather
. shade!
. friendly helpful staff who have been well trained to deal with customers
. affordable healthy eating
. sensible health warnings on rides, not just blanket do nots, it's very hard to believe that some of the rides are as dangerous as they say eg no pregnant ladies/back problems etc when it is a tame slow ride...
. good descriptions of the rides, eg if there is a chicken exit/loos/how long it lasts/how long the queue might have to wait
. kennels for dogs - we have taken ours to Legoland and it was lovely to be able to pop back and take him for a walk/check water etc

Sorry, got long!

The ultimate fun day out for us would include a carefully thought out queue assist scheme that caters for a family of 5 (2 adults, 3 children) as we have found other theme parks less helpful with the maximum of 4 people rule meaning our family has had to pretty much split up to ride on anything, unless there is a very short queue that we can manage as a family. We would also have a nice variety of rides suitable for various heights having a range of ages to our children. Special treats for the girls would include a buffet style lunch so they can help themselves and ice cream readily available within the park. As parents we welcome some calmer but fun areas to go to such as an aquarium as it helps keep behaviour in check for the longer term during the day. We also find play areas for climbing, sliding etc very useful for burning off excess energy.

I am not sure if this is the right place for this but I thought it was likely that someone from Thorpe Park would see it here. I was a tester and had a fab day out. I am the mnetter that was given this opportunity and I filled out all our details etc for the annual passes. I also put myself down as lead pass holder and put my email address. Today I received an email from Thorpe Park which started "Dear DHfirst name". I am steaming.

This is not the first time that I have had a Merlin Group pass and before it was the same. I filled out the forms, I put myself as lead pass holder and I paid for the passes, but all paperwork used to come addressed to my DH. This is really not on and I think that doing this after a product test by a site predominantly used by mums is really out of order.

I am sure there are others who can articulate what I am trying to say much better than I can, but this casual sexism is a disgrace. It's not even his bloody email account